Gaelira finished adjusting her uniform in front of the mirror while Octavia packed the last materials into her bag.
The Thornheart jacket was more comfortable now that she had learned the purpose of each clasp, although she still had to move her hair several times to keep it from getting caught beneath the collar.
The schedule they had received that morning remained open on one of the desks.
Fundamentals of Magic appeared first, accompanied by the name Professor Lenora Lion and the number of a classroom that Octavia seemed to know.
"How hard can it be to produce a basic spell?" Gaelira asked as she put away Octavia's notebook.
Octavia finished packing her materials and closed the bag before giving her an unconvinced look.
"You abandoned three tutors before they could teach you." Gaelira held her gaze while putting away the notebook. "That was before." Octavia raised an eyebrow and walked toward the door. "You also said the same thing every time they hired a new one."
Gaelira closed the bag and slung it over one shoulder. "Then I'd better do something different this time."
Octavia did not respond, but accompanied her out of the room with a slightly less pessimistic expression.
They went downstairs with other Thornheart students and left the tower as the first bell of the day began to ring.
Gaelira had expected a magical academy to begin its classes in a more impressive way, but the crowded corridors, nervous conversations, and students hurrying around reminded her far too much of any school on Earth.
The Fundamentals of Magic classroom was located on the lower floor of the central tower. When Gaelira and Octavia entered, they found thirty-six desks arranged in a semicircle around a stone platform.
The symbols of Thornheart, Moonveil, and Stormwing were carved into the backs, although the students were not separated by house.
Octavia chose two seats near the center and Gaelira sat beside her, leaving an empty seat to her right.
Most of the students were talking while organizing their materials, but several conversations grew quieter when Gaelira crossed the room.
Some recognized her immediately from the choosing ceremony. Others must have heard about the duel, because they began looking in her direction and whispering Clarke's name.
Gaelira opened the notebook and pretended to review the first few pages, although she could make out fragments of the conversations. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
"They say Palmwick couldn't even classify her."
"Meredith only let her stay because her family is noble."
"Clarke must have held back during the duel."
Gaelira kept her eyes on the paper. Responding would only feed the rumors, and she had no explanation she could offer without revealing something even harder to believe.
Octavia looked toward the nearest students, but Gaelira shook her head slightly before she could interfere.
"Let them talk. If I learn magic, it won't matter anymore."
A door behind the platform opened when the second bell finished ringing.
The woman who entered carried neither books nor a conventional wand. She was tall, with pale skin and white hair tied into a thick braid that rested over one shoulder.
She wore a dark blue high-collared coat, with the left sleeve rolled up to the elbow to reveal a completely transparent forearm.
Streams of different colors flowed inside the glass limb like veins made of light. Some moved slowly around the wrist, while others disappeared between the fingers.
In her right hand, she carried a brass rod whose tip split into two parallel branches, similar to a tuning fork.
The professor placed the instrument on the desk and looked across the room. The conversations did not stop completely until she tapped two glass fingers against the surface.
The sound was soft, but it spread through the entire room with a vibration that Gaelira could even feel in her teeth.
"I am Professor Lenora Lion," she introduced herself. "During this year, you will learn to recognize, shape, and release mana without setting yourselves on fire, freezing yourselves, or accidentally turning a classmate into something that requires a cage. If you consider those expectations too low, you may prove it through your results."
Nervous laughter spread through the room. Lenora picked up the brass rod and carefully struck it against her glass arm.
A low vibration passed through the platform, and the glowing currents inside the limb began to move faster. First they turned red, then blue, green, and white.
"Mana is not a spell," she explained. "It is energy without a defined form. Your internal mana works as a command that forces ambient mana to take on a structure. Most beginners fail because they try to control a force they do not yet know how to recognize."
Lenora moved one finger and the sphere transformed into a flame, then into a suspended drop of water, and finally into a current of air that stirred her braid.
Each change occurred without words or unnecessary movements.
Gaelira watched the demonstration without looking away. This was not a trick or an illusion created by her dying mind.
Magic existed, and it could be learned through concrete rules. If she understood those rules, perhaps one day she could discover how she had arrived in that world and whether there was a way back.
The whispers returned around her when someone mentioned the duel against Clarke again. Lenora placed the rod on the desk and tapped her fingers against the stone once more.
This time, the sound made the ink bottles vibrate.
"Rumors do not produce magic," she declared. "I do not care what you did before entering this classroom, which house you belong to, or who won a fight on their first day. Here, you will only be judged by what you manage to do in front of me."
The attention gradually moved away from Gaelira. The professor opened a drawer and removed a box divided into small compartments. Inside were transparent crystals about the size of a walnut.
She walked between the desks and gave one to each student while explaining that they were designed to react to internal mana regardless of the user's elemental affinity.
"Close your hand around the crystal and focus on its presence," Lenora instructed. "Do not try to create fire, water, or any other manifestation. Your only goal is to provoke a reaction. Color, intensity, and duration do not matter during this exercise."
Gaelira held the crystal between both hands. Small flashes began appearing around her. Octavia's produced a steady reddish light, while others flickered irregularly.
Gaelira closed her eyes and tried to find the energy Lenora had described. She searched for some unfamiliar sensation inside her body, but all she could feel was the pulse in her fingers and the cold stone against her skin.
She squeezed harder and remembered the sphere of light formed above the professor's hand.
She imagined the crystal lighting up, tried to command the mana to respond, and even repeated the words used during the explanation in her mind. Nothing changed.
When she opened her eyes, almost every crystal in the room showed some color. Hers remained completely dark.
Lenora Lion stopped in front of her desk, looked at the inert stone, and gave a single command.
"Try again."