The next course was one of the aviaries shared classes. A large room with two hundred filled seats. Boys jostled in their seats eagerly, all separated by flock facing another blackboard.
This time there wasn't an automaton waiting for the boys' attention. No, this time, the front of the room was vacant, as was the blackboard. The room was lit by the sun peering in through the colorful stained glass windows lining the cylindrical walls.
The smell of cedar wood and ginger root were pungeant in the air, carried by a slight breeze in the room. The chattering continued loudly as boys from all sections yammered away. All except for Aldric, who sat continuing his practice of his runes.
On his desk rested a scrap of paper covered from edge to edge with the vanishing rune they'd learned earlier. He had drawn it so many times, they had begun to overlap on the page. Each time he drew it he forced himself to memorize the meaning of each section.
Caster, time, space.
Caster, time, space.
Caster, time, space.
Then he caught himself thinking about the final section of the rune. The single solid dot behind the caster mark.
What does this one represent? He wondered to himself. Then, with a steady slam, the classroom door opened, the class fell silent, and the architect stepped forward. His white cloak dragging along the floor, covering the edges is grime and sutt.
He disregarded the boys while he hung his cloak and began writing on the board. Unprompted, each of the boys began scribbling vigorously, trying to match the architect's speed.
Internalization & manipulation: lesson one, hardening.
The words sat on the board while the architect stared at them, almost mesmerized.
"Internalization," he began, still facing away from the boys.
"The art of controlling your emotions to the fullest extent. Who knows what that means?" He asked, turning toward the crowd. Again, the room was lacking in any volunteers.
"Now, now, participation will be required eventually boys, it's important to get comfortable with it now. So somebody guess, no wrong answers," he explained, siting on his desk and crossing his legs playfully.
A few nervous hands raised shakily in the otherwise stagnant crowd.
"Boys, I realize I've shown you some amazing things, however, I am still unable to see you I need verbal responses please," the architect joked. The boys chuckled softly loosening the tension in the room slightly.
"Does it mean focusing so heavily on one feeling, that you're able to use it like a weapon?" Halfor, the largest falcon in the flock, asked nervously.
"Halfor, that's a great way to explain it, yes internalization allows a caster to focus their energy into a specific emotion, and using that energy to manipulate things around you, for example making activating runes," the architect said, his tone excited and proud.
"Now, internalization is a difficult skill to master. It is draining physically and emotionally. Push yourself too far, and you may never be the same," he added.
The boys' faces fell glum again as the architect clapped his hands and sprang to his feet.
"Todays lesson is hardening," he stated, placing his hands together near his chest. His fingers twitched as he stood motionless. Then, a burst of energy popped around him like a bubble. His skin rippled from head to toe with metallic scales sealing like air hatches on a ship.
He demonstrated the hardness by banging his fist against his desk, snapping the corner clean off. The boys oogled his metallic form with deep interest before watching the metal scales flutter back to nothingness. The architect stumbled backward unsteadily, and caught himself on the desk.
"O-okay, now it's y-your turn," he said, his breath heavy and shaky. He grabbed the bottle of ooze from his belt and sipped it lightly. His jaw twinged like he drank something sour and his eyes buldged.
"To perform this specific shield charm, you must internalize your fear. You need to believe you're under attack and if you don't succeed you will die," he said harshly, smacking his parched lips.
"Get in pairs, one of you is the attacker the other is the caster. Attackers goal is self explanatory, casters goal cast the protective charm and deflect incoming attacks," he explained, drinking a small sip of water.
The excercise went as expected. One boy swung a wooden rod at full speed, the other cowered, focused, and caught a mighty thwack to the side of the head. Screams of pain played like a symphony as the architect listened on in silence.
Jasper had welts growing under his cloak, Rhys was sure he'd shattered his elbow, and a few of the other boys had all but given up. Loud clunks of wood echoed in the room. Screams followed the clunking noises at first, but toward the end of the lesson, the screams were meek and few between.
Aldric found himself learning to avoid the weapon being swung at him with ease. He hadn't even attempted to harness his fear. He found the lesson confusing, if he was supposed to train to kill his enemies, how would being afraid serve him? He wasn't afraid, as a matter of fact, he was content with the knowledge of what needed to be done.
As he lost his focus for a moment, Caspian, a stout young boy, swung his wooden instrument straight for Aldric's head. Aldric regained focus as he saw the attack, and everything around him slowed. His vision went pinpoint and his breathing grew rapid. A burn radiated behind his sternum with immense pressure.
His senses were distorted but his vision became something beyond anything he'd seen. The walls and floors of the room were lined with white ghostly networks, branching all along the foundation. He saw sections above him rotating and the networks pulsing like a vein transporting blood.
His mind was vacated of all thought as he admired the internal blueprint of the aviary. He trembled, not from fear, but from the raw energy he felt inside of him. He felt as if he'd gripped a live wire. He again, attempted to regain focus, but when he did, the pressure in his chest was too much.
He erupted with a scream and time sped up again. When his narrow vision returned to normal, Caspian stood in front of him agape, and holding a splintered wooden baton. Behind Caspian, the other boys watched mesmerized while the Architect towered behind them flashing a significant, and toothy smile.
When Aldric gazed down at his hand, he saw the stone-like scales that covered his body. His body surged, he felt a chill down his spine, and the scales fluttered in a ripple until they no longer covered his skin. When the last scale vanished, he dropped to his knees and toppled over fast asleep.