The atmosphere inside the hall was completely strange to Kialen; he wasn't used yet to this crowd of people, nor to the noise of loud voices and laughter echoing between the high walls. He sat in his wooden seat, watching the faces around him with cautious looks, while talking to himself silently and with worry:
Was it a right idea to throw myself into this study world?
Suddenly, the noise of the hall shattered when the teacher hit the table with his heavy hands, a hit that shook the corners of the place, and said in a firm voice like thunder:
"Silence!"
An immediate and complete silence prevailed, as if breaths were held in chests. The teacher looked at the young faces sharply, then continued saying:
"We have a new student who joined our ranks today."
He took out a folded paper from his pants pocket, examined it slowly under the curious eyes of the students, then spoke a name that fell on its owner's ears like the beat of a drum:
"Kialen Armenster."
The teacher raised his head, directed his looks toward the back seats and added:
"When you hear your name, come forward here to introduce yourself before your classmates."
Kialen stood up from his place very slowly, feeling as if thousands of eyes had turned into blades directed at him. Whispering started to flow between the rows, and students were examining his new outfit and his blue hair with suspicious interest. He moved toward the front of the hall, his steps heavy because of the tension burning in his chest. He stood before the teacher, so the teacher spoke to him in a quiet tone to calm his fear:
"Don't be afraid, just tell us who you are in a simple way."
Kialen nodded his head, then gathered his voice and said in a low tone but it reached everyone's ears:
"I am… Kialen Armenster."
He stopped for a bit to catch his breath, then continued:
"I am eighteen years old. I used to live before in a far village, and now I moved to live in a simple house here, and I registered in this academy with the motive of learning the secrets of ethereal threads and developing my abilities."
He was silent after that and felt the heat of shyness invading his cheeks, and said in his deep self with bitterness:
Now they will start laughing at my village nature and simplicity…
But what happened was an earthquake of another kind; all the students stood up in one movement showing sudden respect, and shouted in one voice that shook the walls:
"Welcome, Kialen Armenster!"
Then a storm of warm clapping started. Kialen's eyes widened from the intensity of shock, and his features froze; he never expected this warm welcome, instead he was preparing for the arrows of bullying and sarcasm. The teacher smiled with dignity and said:
"An excellent and honest introduction, we are the ones who thank you for choosing this academy to be the cradle of your knowledge."
Then he pointed with his hand toward his seat and added:
"You can go back to your place now."
Kialen returned to his seat, and noticed looks of friendliness in the eyes of some students who seemed to want to get close to him. But the teacher didn't give them time, as he hit his hand on the blackboard to bring back the attention and said:
"Listen well, today's lesson is central; we will explain in it how to refine magic reaching the first and second levels."
He continued while drawing complex symbols:
"The ethereal thread is a source of countless abilities, and the first of them is magic, which is divided into three rising ranks."
He started counting them on his fingers with awe:
"Level One: The Unique Ability."
"Level Two: Wrapping the limbs with Aura."
"Level Three: Activating the Spiritual Eye."
The teacher went on in his explanation:
"The unique ability is a simple essence, every individual in this existence owns a feature that belongs to his soul alone. As for my ability, it is the absolute control of gravity."
The teacher raised his hand slowly, and suddenly, the table and chairs rose, and even one of the students in the first row found himself swimming in the air in the middle of shouts of wonder and amazement. Then the teacher lowered everything quietly and smoothly to its place. He said after that:
"As for the second level, it is 'Aura'."
He continued the explanation with more seriousness:
"Aura is a shield and a weapon; it helps you in wrapping your fighting styles with raw energy, whether you use a sword, or a gun, or even your bare fist."
He sighed with annoyance and said in a sarcastic tone:
"I wanted to demonstrate before you the power of aura using a real sword, but the strict rules of the academy director prevent me from carrying weapons inside the hall."
Light laughs rose from the students, so the teacher completed:
"So, we will settle for a simple example using two pens. One of them is stripped of energy, and the other is wrapped with aura."
He held the first pen and hit it strongly on the table edge, so it broke and turned into fragments in a moment. He said coldly:
"As you see, the weak material broke it."
Then he held the second pen, and transparent ripples of aura appeared around it, and he hit it on the table, so a small explosion happened and a part of the hard table wood shattered while the pen stayed safe. He said while looking at them with a sharp look:
"Aura makes even the pen a deadly weapon. It is your companion in fighting, especially when you face users of the 'Field'."
Then he moved to the last stage:
"And finally, the Spiritual Eye. Its power lies in insight; it gives you an amazing reaction speed in fighting, and if you master medicine, it will enable you to dissect the human body condition with one look."
One of the students raised his hand and asked with curiosity:
"How can the eye diagnose disease, teacher?"
The teacher answered:
"The healthy body appears to the eye user in a pure green color, and if murky or strange colors mix with it, this means the organ is injured or suffering from some illness."
The student thanked his teacher, so the latter continued saying:
"But, there are in this department those who already passed the second level, and are now entering the training of the third level."
Then he added in a mysterious tone:
"And to open the gates of aura in your bodies, you need a medium called the 'Ethereal Stone'."
Signs of confusion appeared on everyone's faces, so another student asked:
"Does this mean there are two types of ethereal threads?"
The teacher laughed and said:
"A smart question. The ethereal stone is not a thread, but it is a crystal resulting from a huge condensation of natural ethereal threads. Every stone owns a special frequency, and no stone can fit any body."
He continued warning:
"If you tried to merge a stone that doesn't match with the vibration of your own thread, you might be hit with what is called 'Ethereal Rebound'. It is an incurable disease with almost no treatment, and requires rare materials that exceed imagination in their price. So, beware of using it without expert supervision."
He explained after that the rituals of use:
"The user must sit in absolute stillness, holding the stone or putting it over his chest. Then the internal threads start colliding violently with the stone's energy. One will feel a headache that crumbles the skull and pressure that almost breaks the rib cage. If the matching happens, the stone crumbles and its essence merges with your soul. And if it fails, the stone cracks into nothing and the user collapses physically."
He added seriously:
"And even with success, it might take months or a whole year until the full power of the stone appears in your veins."
At that moment, Kialen thought with despair:
That means I have to wake up every dawn for hard training… I just wanted some quiet sleep. Damn, life here is not a picnic.
The teacher said finishing the theoretical lesson:
"Because of this, we will head now to the Great Training Hall. The students who reached the second level will supervise the training of the rest."
Then he added:
"Every four or five of you will form a harmonious team. I will wait for you there, so don't be late."
The teacher went out leaving the hall in a noise of movement. Kialen sat with his head down, feeling a touch of sadness; who would accept to join him to their team while he knows no one? He leaned his head on the table surrendering to despair.
But suddenly, a student with jet-black hair and confident brown eyes approached him, and said with friendliness:
"Hello, I am Janeiro. Would you like to join my team?"
Kialen raised his head amazed, then said with spontaneous speed:
"Yes, with all pleasure!"
Janeiro smiled and said:
"Come with me to introduce you to the rest of the comrades."
Kialen stood up with a mix of excitement and confusion, and headed toward the corner of the hall to find the team consisting of two girls, a young man, and Janeiro. Janeiro pointed to the first girl:
"This is Leora Moncrest."
Leora smiled gently and said:
"Honored to meet you, Kialen."
Then the second girl with sharp features said:
"My name is Elthra Darkrose."
Kialen felt some awe and smiled shyly. Then Janeiro said pointing to the last young man:
"And this is Noctis."
Noctis came forward with dignity and shook his hand saying:
"Noctis Ravenheart, Level Two Aura user."
Janeiro added explaining:
"Noctis will be our guide and inspiration so we all reach Level Two. And since our team contract is complete, let's leave before the teacher pours his anger on us."
Kialen laughed with a feeling of relief and said:
"Let's go then."
The laughter of Janeiro, Elthra, and Leora rose, while Noctis settled for a light smile showing satisfaction, and they all moved with steady steps toward the training hall.