Introduction to Elemental Affinity

You brush your hand through your messy brown hair that falls to your neck. At the moment, it's stuck in a form of bedhead that could arguably be considered presentable and not lazy. Really, you just slept through your alarm and had to rush to class, barely getting your things and getting out the door in time.

As you step into your class, you gaze around the room. The first thing you notice is that every desk has a clear glass with a grey, gelatinous substance inside it. You can't tell what the substance is, but there seems to be a current of reactive elemental brown energies somewhere within it.

The second thing you notice is that, as you feared, you are the last person here. No one really seems to care, though a few students look at you curiously. They probably don't know why you're here still, with your aptitude score of two. Really, you don't know why, either.

The teacher stands out as well. She's a tall, thin woman wearing a blue pantsuit. Tall doesn't fully describe it, as you think that she might be close to seven feet tall is she were to stand up straight. It's kind of alluring, even if it isn't exactly a kink of yours. The way that her predominately blue and white magical streaks outline her hips when you focus only makes the image better in your eyes. Her black hair falls to her lower back and sways as she turns to look at you before gesturing to the last open seat.

You think that the ogling probably didn't help the bad impression you made by being late, but you find your seat quickly. The professor glances at you one more time, and it looks appraising.

Turning back to the class with a practiced, blank face, the professor begins to speak. "Welcome to Introduction to Elemental Affinity," she says, "My name is Professor Aspecta and I'm going to be your teacher for the coming months."

As she speaks, a brief, pink heat comes between you and the person you're sitting beside. You take her in out of the corner of your eye, noticing her slender yet pretty frame, and wonder if she was checking you out. It was unlikely, especially if this school was as hierarchically structured based on aptitude as some had claimed. Leaving it, you turn your focus back to the professor.

She looks around the room at all of you, seemingly pausing on you once again. She continues, saying, "You may have noticed that only Wyverns are currently here for this portion of the lecture. The reason for this is that the nature of the magic you have been chosen to learn is more specialized than most. Who here, if any of you, has heard of the concept of Elemental Affinity before?"

Silence fills the room, the typical first class jitters causing most mouths to remain closed. A part of you thinks that you may be able to guess based on the wording, but you know that's unlikely given your inexperience and apparent magical handicaps. Besides, speaking up isn't exactly your thing to begin with. You'd rather learn on your own, though you know that will have to change if you're going to stay in this school.

"Anyone?" Aspecta asks, looking around at the students before her lips twitch slightly upwards. "Don't worry, you haven't reached Advanced Illusions quite yet, so there's no need to think the most obvious answer is some sort of trap."

Eventually, the brunette sitting next to you shoots up her hand and when the teacher nods to her to speak, she says, "It means the type of elements a magic user is good at using. Like, if you're really good at making fireballs, you're gonna suck at making tornadoes."

"You're on the right track," Aspecta replied, "but that isn't QUITE correct."

Another smile comes to her lips as she adds, "Oh and please refrain from using words like 'suck' to describe someone's skill unless you are discussing Professor Schwartz's abilities at playing the guitar. Don't tell him I said that, though."

Most of the class laughs, including yourself and the brunette, though you notice a reddish black energy evaporating off of her face. No one speaks up, and Aspecta sighs. She says, "No one has a guess?"

A redheaded student in the very front raises her hand. At first she seems like a typical, freckled, redheaded beauty, but you cock your head as you notice the magic crossing all over her body. It seems to be holding her appearance in place, as if the thing you're seeing with your eyes is just a construct. With an internal shrug, you let it be. If this girl wants to be something she's not, who are you to stop her? If anything, given your scores, she'd be the one to get back at you for prying in the first place.

Aspecta notices the hand and calls on her. The girl nervously says, "Um, I think that it Elemental Affinity might be like the elements that we're attracted to?" Taking in Aspecta's stare, the girl hastily adds, "Like, um, how my dad is into water magic the most, and it responds to him more than other elements do."

With an encouraging smile that didn't reach her eyes, Aspecta says, "Good, I think we're starting to get closer to the idea. I like how you put that, but we're still missing some important concepts. Anyone else want a go?"

She looks around the room, eyes boring into each student. When she looks at you, you glance away, and that was apparently the wrong move as she immediately calls you out to answer.

Oh shit, she called on you to answer. Okay, okay. Affinity, meaning that it's something that people are close to, that they relate with in some way. You take a deep breath, hands clenching your thighs, and say, "It means... Not being GOOD at certain elemental spells, so much as having a good CONNECTION to that kind of element? Like how you have an affinity for water and wind, so your magical, um, wells, or whatever they're actually called, are geared towards those elements. The elements don't just respond better to you, but you also respond better to them. There's a sort of a... understanding, there."

God, you hope that's acceptable. You're kind of just flying by the seat of your pants here.

Looking up, you see Aspecta eyeing you curiously. She says, "I'm glad someone did their research and looked into their professors. It's always a good idea to know what magic your professors can do, so that you can better understand their perspective. Where did you find out my affinity, by the way? I don't believe any of our standard brochures list it."

What? Your brow furrows, and you wonder what to say. Finally, you respond, "I just... saw it."

Absentmindedly, Aspecta murmurs, "Hmm, that's not exactly an informative response." Before you can add anything, she claps her hands together and says, "Anyways, that answer was perfect, and incorporated a taste of some advanced theory that you'll all encounter in later classes. Although we usually don't even mention it until more advanced courses, keeping in mind that the elements you have an affinity with can influence you might be helpful. Magic, especially elemental magic, is rarely a one-way street. This course, however, will be focused only on how we can influence the elements we have affinity with, as well as on the elements themselves. I will be introducing the four main elements and how they interact with each other, and towards the end of our time we will dip our toes in some elemental manipulations."

Elemental manipulations, cool. You wondered if that was at at like the experiments you did when you learning in your cottage, the ones where you created waves and gusts of wind, transmuted metals, and manipulated shadows and flames. It would be exciting to see what magicians with actual power could accomplish.

She walks up to the closest desk to the front and indicates the glass on it. "Please stick the thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand into the Affinity Liquid," she says, "Most people tend to have a greater affinity for two Elements, and before we can really get into the details, I need to see if I'm going to have to be focusing on certain combinations more than others."

You look around as the other students begin placing their fingers into the liquid and pause as the short-haired brunette next to you gives you a little wink before doing so herself. You take a deep breath and then dart your thumb and forefinger into the liquid to see what happens.