Forum Thread

Kynik, still watching from amongst the crowd with the others. Her observed the careful dexterity of the wielded blade and applauded on cue. Though he'd practically grown up among the estate's knight quarters, he knew he himself was not quite yet at such a level. He could most certainly try to achieve that in the future, but that would come with more practice and experience.

When the archer took her turn, he wasn't surprised at the results but still just as impressed. Each arrow neatly stuck in its perfect place, his hands politely clapped with the rest of the crowd and stopped shortly before it had died down.

Luna stared at the girl,"Geneva... huh" she kept muttering to herself. As she watched the presentation, she watched the targets carefully, and seeing a blur, and nothing. It was very impressive.

---

Therese crossed her arms, scoffing lightly before clapping into her hands dryly, her gaze this time not showing any sign of surprise or impression. Aim and fire... it's less an art and more just a reaction test. Nothing to write home about even... She thought, then sighing again. Most impressive is her reaction time and her name then...

The applause for the second was followed by the third stepping forward. He was a white haired boy who was rather short. His clothes were stylish, yet simple. From appearances alone, it was easy to see that he was from neither a noble family nor a mercantile one. A few first years silently scoffed, but the combined stares from the teachers, as well as His Majesty, Principal Sparmi, and Samton were enough to quieten them. He came empty handed, and gave a deep bow and spoke. "I am Luther Lark, a mage-in-education. I would like to present my magic.

With this, he took a step near the center of the field. Then, concentrating all his might, with closed eyes, he raised his right hand to the sky.

A huge gust of wind arose from the center of the field. It almost appeared as though a typhoon was forming. There's something in there... Tien observed correctly. As the wind died down and everyone looked to see what it was, there, soaring in the sky, was an eagle so huge it was nearly impossible to see the ceiling. What was more, it seemed to have a greenish hew to it. "It's Spigaoithe!" One student shouted. Indeed, it seemed to be the true spirit of wind, Spigaoithe. As the audience watched in awe, it flapped it's wings once more, sending winds all over the hall. After doing so, it shrunk and disappeared, leaving another gust of wind behind it.

What had just happened had only been processed by some. The boy bowed and stepped back, to which the king nodded in approval.

---

Spigaoithe is from "spiorad gaoithe", Irish for Wind spirit.
To those who did not understand, The student used light and wind magic to create an illusion of the wind spirit. This will be stated in the next post so u may, if u want, have ur characters to play dumb till then.

This time, the face of the future alchemist was filled with shock and excitement. This, she had to admit, was an impressive feat, even though she did have doubts too. Summoning the elemental deity for a simple trick for the king... so it's either trickery or the king is just that much of a big-shot. Which... makes me glad I'm not affiliated with wind. Her line of thought was so dense, she didn't notice that the large currents completely blew away her adhesive gel, making her hair now spikier than a porkupine.

Thalia gazed at the bird. She was familiar with illusions, having used it several times, so she wasn’t that impressed. However, she did admire the skill, and the intensity and more importantly— the realisticness of the creature.

She continued speaking to Mira. “Alex Klores was my brother. He too, came to this school. He learnt a lot. Always showing off his skills and playing with me, daring me to give him more challenging skills, to push him past his boundaries. He never failed any of his challenges.”

---

Mira listened to Thalia respectfully while waiting for the boy to show his magic, she was blown away by the results. “I’ve heard about the wind spirit in old children’s tales but this is crazy” she said to herself while moving to get a better look. She was caught up in awe and accidentally ignored Thalia, drowning her out with her confusion.

---

“That’s not the real thing. It’s an illusion. The fact that it is so realistic, that it can baffle many, is amazing. He didn’t summon the wind spirit just for a performance for the King.” Thalia giggles. She sweeps her hair back into its original state.

---

"Thank you all for your wonderful performances! It is good to see that the Academy is as skilled as it always has been. The swordplay, archery, and magic were all fantastic. The illusion was good enough to appear real." The king spoke as the assembly quieted down. "The future of the Nation is in great hands." He smiled.

"Now, to the matter at hand." A sigh escaped the king as he began to speak. "I believe most of you have experienced the strange phenomena from a few days ago. I am referring to the sudden failure of Earth magic." Murmurs broke out in different parts of the hall but the looks from the professors were sufficient in quietening them down. His Majesty continued; "I'm quite certain a few of you might already be aware of the what we suspect might have happened. It is of no use to try and hide it. We believe there's a possibility Erdgeist, the Spirit which lords over the Earth element, has been severely hurt, if not... Well, what follows is chaos, as you may or may not be aware."

"Most students here, especially second year and onwards, would be aware that certain elements, and therefore certain elementals, clash against each other, effectively keeping themselves in check. However, now that the Earth elementals have weakened considerably, the water elementals no longer posses an enemy, nor do the air elementals posses a prey. This unexpected unbalance is similar to a small ripple which in turn grows into a huge wave. As future knights and mages, you will have an important role in preventing that."

"For now," the King spoke now in a concluding manner, "the students from the fifth year will be part of the expedition team, aiming for Erdgeist's abode. The third and fourth years will assist in defeating monsters which will try to approach the residential area. The first and second years will continue with their education for now. More will be informed to you sufficiently soon. What is utmost important is that you do not panic. Spirits are resilient beings, and do not perish easily. Sufficiently soon, we will be able to return to the normal."

Kynik thought back to his early lessons at home from before his family had been forced to admit he had no magic capability. The names of the spirits seemed familiar, ticking off the early memories before he'd been allowed to focus on his swordsmanship.

"That sounds fairly serious." The male student noted, thinking out loud. A hand drew up to pinch near his chin in thought. "I wonder what could have hurt a leader of elementals." His brain wracked itself of the different possibilities but he wouldn't be able to come up with a proper guess.

His vision glanced to the other students around him, trying to read their reactions.

Mira’s face flushed as she realized her mistake, “That illusion is so well created. That mage must be very skilled” she said while trying to cover up her mistake. Her mood was quickly changed by the announcement of the earth elemental, she clenched her fist and bit her lip. She was lucky to have two other elements but earth being gone affected her tremendously as it was her strongest. “I knew something was up, I’ve barely been able to use it for a bit” she said quietly to Thalia. Her expression had a mix of sorrow and anger.

---

Thalia chuckles softly at Mira’s statement. She listens to the King speak of said earth spirit, and dips her head in understanding at Mira’s comment. “It is guaranteed, however upsetting. I know how you feel. Should it be the dark elemental spirit that is weakened, I know I too would suffer greatly from its repercussions. It is upsetting, but we must try to focus on the brighter side. We can practice our other magics together, and if you wish it, I will train with you, and also refrain from using my main element, darkness.” Her lips are pressed into a thin line, arms folded and eyes hardened in a glare, though they soften as she tries to comfort Mira

---

Professor Sparmi was the one who spoke next. After waiting for the audience to calm down, he asked the first and second years to return to their dorms.

Samton and Tien were still with the king. The meeting to follow would be the strategy meeting, as they were all aware.

That evening, after the king returned, Samton was back to his regular clothes and was taking a walk near the forest. He did not have much of a reason, but to clear his mind. Tien was standing rather closely by, but did not bother him since he knew not to do so when Samton was deep in thought.

Thalia does as told and returns to her dorm, leaving the preoccupied and worried Mira alone with her thoughts. She probably needed some alone time to sort out her…stuff. Thalia was never really that good with emotions, anyways. She undressed into more comfortable clothes, then sat on her bed. She whistles loudly, the sound resonating through the dormitory and into the woods, and stiffens, as if straining her ears to hear something. She bolts upright, eyes darting about, before sighing and falling back onto her bed. Her gloomy aura was apparent, as her shadows danced and stretched around her bed. She lies on her bed, eyes open wide, staring blankly.

---

Therese also went back to her dorm, sitting down on her bed and staring into the ceiling for hours on end. That was surely... a lot to process. First, there was the whole "Earth Element Ordeal", followed by the whole showcase of the higher semesters. A busy mind, though she took the time and by the evening hours, she was in her favorite clothing for comfort: simple pantaloons and a shirt, covered by a coat with burn marks and small holes. With that, she went outside just right outside the dorm and sat in the grass, laying down and gazing up at the sky. Her mind still preoccupied and her gaze locked onto the brightest star.

“That would be great, I appreciate it” Mira said to Thalia with a warm smile before waving and leaving for her dorm per the request of the teachers. Upon arriving back she opened her windows and let the dim sunlight illuminate her room. She washed off the makeup on her face, revealing her mark then plopped onto her bed. She started to read a book and zone out. The sound of whistling calmed her as she flipped through the pages of her book. This was the last thing she had left of her old kingdom, it contained pictures of her and her family, along with the history of their nation. It pained her to look at but she needed to have this knowledge.

---

Luna went back to her dorm and sat there, thinking. Was her main element really have no enemies anymore? Or weaknesses? She was thinking about the advantages of the outage when she caught herself. She was all at once ashamed and embarrased about her thoughts. What about Therese? Her friend might be upset about it and here Luna was, thinking about the good things happening to her. She was getting mad, a feeling started swelling up in her chest. She quickly grabbed one of the collection of stones lined up on her windowsill. There wasn't anything special about those stones. The only thing similar was the size. The were all smooth and the perfect size for holding. That was the whole point. To have something that fits. Luna instantly calmed down and picked up a book she had brought from home.

---

Mary-Sue was speechless during the whole speech thing. She had kept a low profile, trying not to gain attention as she stared. But it was time to head to her new dorm, so Mary-Sue, her backpack slung over her shoulder, walked slowly and silently to her dorm. Her face told of wisdom deep within, and sorrow at the fact that her Earth power was muted, atleast for a while. Until she could figure what was going on, she guessed. Mary-Sue had always been good at puzzles.

---

Therese sighed, then standing up and having a proud face that can be seen from the roof of the building. With determination follows experimentation, was one of her core beliefs, as she went to the Magic Field and folded her hands together, whispering to herself. Now back in her usual alchemistic attire of a scarred robe and a top hat with elemental symbols, she started whispering and chanting.

Oh great Scorching Phoenix, ruler of temperature and the domain of entropy, grant me the energy needed for this one move.

She appealed, shortly before her desired effect manifested: A shining blue ball of condensed fire, before she flung it out and her thought came to an end:

Spread your wings of thermal discouragement!

With that, the condensed fire expanded, exploding mid-air and showing two large blue-white wings seeming to fold out of the orb before dissipating. The shockwave resulting had flung Therese herself back several meters, a bit into the ground as well.

Mira was snapped away from her book as a ball of light could barely be seen from her window. It was coming from the practice field, she didn’t exactly have anything to do and training would take her kind off some things. She got dressed in her clothes she used to train and put makeup on before slinking out of her dorm room. ‘Surely the professors wouldn’t mind’ she thought to herself while walking on the cool grass. As she approached the magic field, she walked slowly because she wanted to see who was training. Peeking her head around a bush she observed Therese.

---