Magic Shadows

You watch the liquid closely as your fingers sink into it. It feels like you are putting your fingers into runny jello, but nothing seems to happen at first. After a moment, you see a magical thread in the liquid probing your finger, but not much else seems to be occurring.

You glance over at the brunette next to you and your eyes widen. The top half of her liquid has turned a red color and bubbles like it was boiling, though it doesn't burn the girl, so it's likely still cool. The bottom half is a light brown color that seems to have dried out and hardened. She looks at the transformed substance with a grin and then looks over at you.

Her expression changes to one of confusion as she does so, causing you to look back at your glass. It still feels the same, which confirms your theory about the brunette's seemingly boiling glass, but it looks different. A glance around the room confirms that other students have brown, red, blue, and white liquids, symbolizing the four main elements. The top half of yours, meanwhile, is an iridescent, bubbling rainbow that somehow seems energetic and still at the same time. The bottom half has turned into a pitch black, flowing liquid, and little pieces of it are reaching up into the top half of the glass, darkening it slightly.

You lift the glass, rotating it and studying the magical currents. Compared to the energy in the nearby students' glasses, the energy in yours is higher and easily noticeable, but the substances remain the same. As you rotate the glass, you find it hard to pinpoint what colors the top half even show.

Professor Aspecta, meanwhile, has been casually looking over the glasses one by one, mentioning their combinations as she does so. "Ah," she says as she sees your neighbor's glass, "The first Fire and Earth combination of this year and you..."

She pauses as she sees your glass, a finger going to tap her chin for a moment before saying, "Huh, interesting... Shadow and... Magic?" She pauses, biting her lip, then seems to decide on something. She says, "You have an interesting combination that hasn't been seen before, in written history at least. Magic has only been the purview of one other mage if the stories are accurate, but it was long enough ago that it is largely believed to be a tall tale. Perhaps there was some merit to it."

The Professor sounded intensely curious, but also somewhat trepidatious. The brunette next to you, however, speaks up and sounds surprised. "Magic and Shadow?" she asks, "I thought there were only four Elements: Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. And how can Magic be an element?"

"Technically, Ms..." Aspecta trails off as she looks at the brunette expectantly.

"Amelia Harker, ma'am."

"Technically, Ms. Harker," Aspecta continues, "It's still a matter of some debate in the magic community if there are other elements. The four you named are historically what we have considered to be Elements, but there are some other disputed Elements. Void, for instance, is a substance that is all the elements, yet none of them. Shadow is typically thought of as a lesser element, partly because it hasn't been seen in about two hundred years, and even then it was rare."

Of course Shadow is weak. Even the special things about you are just, well, shadows of what the other students seem to have. It made sense to you though, unlike the Magic component of all of this.

Aspecta notices your darkening expression, looks at you, and says, "It's not that Shadow is weak, so much as that it was hypothesized that it was composed of the other elements, or was related to Void. In actual fact, it reportedly had very interesting and powerful applications, and is related to Dark Magics."

After shaking her head, Aspecta adds, "As for how Magic can be an element, well, it's less clear than even Shadow. The theory is that Magic is the most basic of all Elements in our world, a substance that makes up everything that is, including the other substances that are the building blocks of our world. As such, it could be thought of as an element all on its own."

Students in the class almost universally stare at Aspecta in disbelief or confusion, including you. Seeing this, she says, "Magic binds everything together. We cannot see all of it like we can see the Earth, but it is there, and we can see and interact with pieces of it. Theoretically, a magician with a Magic affinity could see it all the time, even interact with it, summon it and change it."

Wait, do other people actually see less magic than you? That seems unlikely, but it might be the case... The professor starts to think, staring in the distance. After a few moments, she shakes herself and returns her attentions to the class.

Before moving on, Aspecta lightly pats you on the shoulder and grins at you as she says, "So I suppose those congratulations should be followed by condolences. While everyone else will need to simply follow the curriculum for their two Elements, I'm afraid this means you're going to have to take some courses on all four, in addition to courses on that center more specifically on Magic and Shadow. Those might even require research. I'll have to work out a plan with the Headmaster."

You groan at the thought, though a part of you finds it exciting. Instead of having your dreams of magical work shattered, it seems that the little aptitude you have is unique enough to warrant a stay of execution. Learning about it all might be interesting, so even though it will be hard and a bit tedious you're looking forward to it.

Aspecta flashes you another smile before moving on to finish cataloguing the rest of the students' affinities and resuming the rest of her lecture. Occasionally, students sneak glances at you. Many snigger or genuinely laugh, seemingly poking fun at you, but some seem more reserved and curious, even fearful. It's almost hard to focus until the class resumes, with the myriad of emotions and magical energies taking their toll on your vision, mind, and feelings. It's like a cacophony of voices is working together with a blinding illusionist who's in love with crackling rainbows, but eventually things quiet down and you can return your attention and gaze to the professor.

The rest of the class is uneventful, outlining the very basics of what you'll be covering for the semester and taking notes the whole time. Partway though, though, you stop taking notes. It seems as if they're taking a slow approach to get students re-acclimated to the idea of learning, and are only talking about basics of the elements that you already found out years ago just by listening to them in your free time.

However, at the very end of the lecture something different happens; you feel something bump into your foot and you glance down to see a folded up piece of paper there. Soft, fading waves the color of Fuchsia fall from it. As everyone stands, you casually snatch it up, and feel a connection to the brunette beside you, her intense lust and emotions having connected her energies to the paper. Furrowing your brow, you open it to read the pencil written message inside.

"Meet me back at the Dorm. Wanna talk to you. - Amelia"

You look up towards Amelia's desk only to find that she's already left while you weren't paying attention to her, so you fold up the note and put it in your jacket pocket. There is a two-hour gap between the end of this class and the start of the next. Given last night's debacle, you had considered using that time to study or to learn more about the school in order to fit in better. But if a seemingly lustful woman is sending you letters asking you to meet her alone after only having met an hour or so ago, maybe it would be worth it to find out what she wants.