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It was a bloody relief to escape the dungeon of Demonology class. Calum is a good teacher, and definitely deserves respect all he’s done, but he had the eyes of a harpy - You couldn't let your guard down for a split second... "or they would bury thee in guilt and interrogation." Yayaya. Everybody has that one scary teacher; but at the very least, I learned something from mine.
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Calum made many boisterious claims about life, school, and the arcane. His lectures had a special place in my heart, right between fear and curiosity. Say what you will about my magic, or lack thereof, I was a mighty wizard with a quill. Though it might be mighter than the sword, it is a paltry tool under the Word of Power. Even if I achieved the highest honors in every class of every semester, without arcane ability, there were absolutely zero guarantees that school life would lead anywhere but mediocrity. Though it was my vivid dream to become a Maister, my future was a blur.
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Maister Calum had been particularly preoccupied with the topic of Seraphs. Out of his lecture, one lesson quote puzzled me: “A maister's duty consumes half the effort it takes to become a Seraph. To engage their limits, the candidates must follow a harrowing gauntlet." Calum’s words. Seraphs were still a bit of a mystery profession. I have never seen a book about them, and none but the upper echelons of the Ecclesia seem to know who they are. That's still true. So much hush, yet every non-fool knows how a maister is made: they must pass three tests of arcane mastery, successfully serve as a diplomatic envoy, and complete a quest on behalf of the Meridian Council. Call it the simplest harrowing thing ever.
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At any rate, because I was feeling wistful or optimistic, I memorized Maister Calum's recommended timetable of studies.
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Theme 1: Bestial Science -> ins and outs of monsters
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-Monster Monologues
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-Anatomy of the Unsightly (Elective)
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Theme 2: Primal Physics
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-Energy Lyrics and Manipulation
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-Crystal Dynamics
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-Visceral Magic
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3. Tome Study
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-Mandate Theology
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-Divine Practice
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4. Physical Ed 1, 2, 3.
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5. Arcanology
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- Mara Vectors
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-Arcane Symmetry
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6. Old One Mechanics= ?
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"Maintain exceptional marks in all the aforementioned fields," I remember him saying. And I felt indifferent about it. Of course, the most important goal is to pass the current semester in one peace. “If you have the faintest intention of success, not simply graduation, best keep your wits at a whetstone's length.”
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A terrible and striking revelation slapped me across the face when I reread his list of recommended courses.
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“How in Herod's Hell am I supposed to pass physical education?”
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***
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My old chess mentor once told me something about aging: the older you get, the faster it seems to go. I remembered that during a random study session. When you spend your days and nights cooped up indoors, your entire week feels like the same day. I had spent the first semester at Cinderfall buried in books, in denial. I so terribly wanted to bury my problems in books, flip the page, and let them disappear.
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Months after Calum's extra-curricular lesson, I still thought about those four other students. I didn’t speak to them, so there was no hearsay of Seraphs, or anything related ever since. Maybe, I should have tried to speak to them, or to just be social. You'd think, after how we sat together in that after-hour lecture, I'd have had an excuse to speak to Warren. There lay the perfect excuse to break the ice... or bread. But every time I saw him alone in the archives or with friends in the main hall, my tongue twisted into knots. I feared what he would think of me. If nothing else, he'd avoid me on principle, like the rest of the noble bloods. Blegh.
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I was a coward. A smart coward. You know why? By the time the first semester ended, I managed to achieve a diamond seal in all of my courses, including Arcane Symmetry.
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Arcane Symmetry: it's the fundamentals of the Pillar Magics conflated into one premier course. Why was it so important? Because it means the difference between conjuring a fireball and lighting yourself on fire, between levitating an object and floating uncontrollably. Very useful, yes?
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While I tested sensitive to magic, I could do no more than understand the arcane. Despite late hours in study and achieving astounding marks in my courses, I never once conjured a successful spell in the first semester. I had to progress, nonetheless, unsure of myself because the school was more concerned with theory anyway. Theoretically, could a student eventually master the spells? If yes, I had nothing to worry about.
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And I never did ask professor Elrik about the 'sacrifice' Calum had mentioned. The timing just never seemed right, and I was too nervous. But I happened to enjoy his lectures, being one of the few who would laugh at his jokes. Perhaps nobody else could understand them?
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Demonology, in the end, was a sober trial. It wasn't "hell," like the other girls complained, nor was it a reason to ponder suicide as other students dramatized. Side note: everybody joked about killing themselves in school. It was morbid, and it was always the silver spoon babies. But I thought the classes wwere interesting. I learned much about otherworldly things. I learned that every human leaves a signature of themselves in the Pendulum Dimension: it's the realm of extra-terrestrials.
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I wanted to learn more from veteran Calum, but his other courses only catered to advanced students. He was a maister, after all, so I was very lucky to attend his class in my first semester. Luck could lead me to his lectures in the future. He carried plenty of wisdom in his words as if he'd lived every story he ever told. So, I would ask myself, did he ever see a demon? Did he fight against powerful mages? Even a maister would never leave such a battle unscathed. What if that’s what happened Magister Elrik? I often got lost in thought, thinking about such things
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