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 Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 5:24 pm
At that pointed glance, Lian just gave her another one of those slow grins, and leaned so his elbows were resting against the top of his desk. Eyes flicked over to the new kids, and to the other ones wandering about. Huh. So the cute skunky thing was a boy.
...yeah, like that made a difference.
Lian ignored them briefly as he waited for kliken to stop talking. The red panda didn't raise his hand; the others hadn't waited for her to acknowledge them and they spoke up.
"An open mind." He said. Lian wasn't nervous and anxious for her approval as some of them appeared to be. "An imagination. A spine. Can't do things if you're a chicken. Bawk bawk."
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 5:25 pm
Fleur's ears twitched as the new student entered and was seated, waiting politely until then before he started to open his mouth to speak. His tail bristled slightly at the tone of voice from the late student - he did not have to be psychic to read the tension between that one and the instructor, and the last thing Fleur wanted to witness was a confrontation in the first class he had been optimistic about attending in forever.
"I...would assume one would need some sort of natural aptitude," he offered hopefully.
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:57 am
This was not at all going the way she had hoped. At this rate, Raven thought she might have been better off preparing a novice class. But the lesson was already planned, so she would have to hurry through the basics as quickly as possible.
"Concentration is vital to carrying out spells properly, Mr. Aisley," Raven acknowledged. "However, it is still possible to perform magic without it. This is when most magicians, whatever their field of study, make mistakes. Belief is also important, but it is not enough." Picking up a piece of chalk, she stepped up onto the platform and over to the chalkboard. "At the root of belief is doubt. Do you believe that two and two make four, or do you know it? To make magic happen, you must do more than believe. You must know."
With that, she wrote the word Will on the board, and continued to the next answer. She almost smiled as she considered it, but her voice remained unchanged. "Though the desire to learn magic is admirable, it is not required. Many people who do not wish to learn do so anyway. Others are born with such great magical aptitude that they sometimes exude magic on their own. In short, it is possible to perform magic without wishing to learn it." She paused. "It is not, however, reccomended."
While she hated to admit it, the latecomer did come up with a proper response. However, she wouldn't acknowledge it immediately. "On the contrary, it is quite possible to perform magic without courage. In many cases it is a fear-fueled reaction. This yields messy results, at great risk to the caster. One may not perform magic, however, without imagination. Seeing oneself achieve results is necessary. Visualization is a key part to many spells, but seeing the results is essential to all." Eyebrows furrowed, she wrote Imagination on the chalkboard as well.
"And while it is extremely useful to have a natural aptitude, Mr. Shlotkin, no one is completely devoid of it. There are types of magic that are fueled by lifeforce, and others that draw in energy from the surroundings. One need not possess a special aptitude in order to learn and use these spells. What is required is the learning, the knowledge- the procedure." With that, she wrote Procedure on the board as well. "While the procedure for each type of magic and each unique spell differs, there are keys to unlocking each kind. Without knowledge of these keys, one can never hope to control their magic, no matter how much aptitude they possess."
Turning away from the board, she faced her class again with some satisfaction. At least they got the basics done quickly. "Are there any questions, or are we ready to move on?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:58 pm
Kliken took down the words of the teacher into his notes word for word, hand moving rapidly over the paper so that he would be able to go over all of it again later. He under lined the words that teacher stressed, Will, Imagination, and Procedure seemed to be the most important words to remember to this teacher. This class was much different then the other one he'd taken which made him glad that he had asked to join, he would be able to learn a broader range of the subject by learning it from two different teachers.
He lifted his writing utensil up chewing on the end of it before looking at the teacher. He didn't have any questions that came to mind straight away so he looked around to the others in the class, curious if they would ask questions or if they would be moving on to the next part of the lesson.
He kept his pen at the ready regardless, ready to write down all that was said.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 5:01 pm
She spoke so quickly, Fleur had to scribble his notes for the most part, so he could only hope he could read them later - Note to self: buy a tape recorder - but after he finished, he simply folded his hands in his lap and waited for her to continue. He had no questions though this was all very complicated.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 1:17 am
Scrambling for his pen, Laial hastily jotted down notes. His handwriting was ridiculously messy, but he could read it. Will. Imagination. Procedy Procedure. Got it.
"It sounds really... structured," he muttered to himself. "Kinda like science." Laial was remembering a book he had read with scientific experiments in it, tilting his head thoughtfully. Could magic be a science too?
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 9:23 am
"Yeah, I got a question." Lian at least put his hand in the air, although he waved it around. He didn't wait for her to aknowledge him but - well! He put his hand in the air.
"Are there different sorts of magic? Like - I mean - They give us different sorts of dragons, right? They're supposed to reflect who we are and be all uber close to us and compatible and stuff. And all of us have to take classes but we're better at different things with skills and physical fighting.
"So I was wondering if it was possible if - like - if I could be better at offensive, and Fleur over there," he jerked a thumb at the cute kid, "Could be better at defensive, or botanical, or anything like that. And if we are, after the basics class, do we get put into more specific classes so I don't get what I'm bad at forced down my throat instead of mastering what I'm good at?
"Oh - and can we learn the magics most compatible with our dragons too? Cause Xiao is hella cool."
She trilled pleasently at that.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 4:08 pm
Raven nodded in approval. Despite some initial slowness, the class had decent ideas, and little trouble grasping the basics. Good. She hated dealing with dull students. There was only one question, and that was from the student she had the most doubts about. "There are indeed many different kinds of magic," she said quickly, not wanting to admit that it was a valid question. "However, it would be dangerous to teach an untrained student advanced magic. Once you have mastered the basics, and we can find where your aptitude lies, you may be allowed to specialize. Your dragon will be of help, and the two of you will learn some spells in tandem. However, you are not anywhere near there yet, so please do not get ahead of yourself."
Really. Everyone wanted to fly before they could walk these days.
"Now that you know the basic principles, you may be ready to begin manifesting your inner power. For some, this skill is innate, and these people can quickly move on to spellwork. For others, it takes practice to draw forth magic. Do now be discouraged; often the people who struggle with manifestation excel in the more difficult practice of casting spells, and vice versa. Only rarely does one achieve mastery of both without a great deal of effort."
The introduction was easy. But Raven had never had to teach rank beginners how to manifest magic, so she wasn't quite sure where to start. Finally, she settled on a demonstration. "Watch, please."
Closing her eyes, Raven raised one hand to eye level, with her palm facing up. The quality of the air around her seemed to shift subtly, making her form seem barely blurred around the edges. Then, after a few seconds, light began to appear in her hand. At first it was just a spark, but then it expanded and grew, and took on color and definition. When it was about the size of a golf ball, it was easy to tell that it was gold, with perhaps a bit of green inside. It kept growing, and when it was baseball-sized, one could see that the ball was made up of lots of tiny points of light. At that point, she opened her eyes. The ball pulsed, and then shattered, sending sparks of gold and green flying around the room.
Raven lowered her hand slowly. "Tell me what you think you just saw."
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 10:01 am
He made a face at her mild scolding. "I was just asking. Wasn't about to go and try to fly or anything." The words were a grumble, but if she had good hearing, he figured she could hear it. His ears laid back a little, like a cat, and he leaned even further back in his chair.
But even Lian had to admit, he was a teeny bit impressed with the magic. It came out of no where but, in the end, he said nothing. The red panda kept up with his reclined position, and looked at the teacher. It was probably her personal sort of magic or energy gathering or whatever - she said it was a manifestation, but like hell was he going to speak up again when all she did was treat him like a moron.
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:47 pm
Fleur's tail perked up considerably. He remembered this! Very vaguely, but he remembered this from his very first class - the one he had very few notes or recollections from. Think, Fleur, think! What did she say about it last time? "You...conjured the energy in your hand, but it fizzled out because you didn't give it a set purpose?" he offered hopefully. It sounded familiar, anyway. "And the colors are significant, right?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:12 pm
Impressed, Laial found his tentacles squirming over the edge of his shell, his eyes widened. That was pretty... he didn't know anything about it, though... "It was all golden and green," he blurted, wide-eyed. "Where did it come from?" He was aware it made him seem like a fool, so he subsided after a moment.
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 2:42 am
Once more the leech's hand moved quickly to write down all that the teacher said, not wanting to miss even the smallest of details that might end up being important later on... he paused for a moment when she said that they would be learning spells with their dragons later. He turned his gaze to Tural who was currently watching the Xiao with wide eyed curiosity then found himself wondering how a human teacher could teach things like magic to dragons.
He wrote the question down on a separate piece of paper as being one he would ask about later.
Kliken's attention returned to Raven when she told them to watch and his eyes went wide in surprise and awe at the colorful display of light the teacher demonstrated, "W-Wow..." He breathed, watching the little sparks of energy as they flew around the room until they dissipated. He turned back to look at the teacher, considering her question. He would be honest in saying he wasn't sure exactly what it was... he was pretty sure that calling it a 'light show' wasn't anywhere close to the right answer.
He looked over at Fleur when he spoke, writing down what his fellow student guessed as his answer curious as to if he were right or not.
"T-The colors are s-significant?" He murmured, curiously wondering if it were true so he looked over to the teacher to see what she said about Fleur's answer, "Wonder what g-green and g-gold mean." He said half to himself writing it down on his questions page... of course wondering what those two colors meant caused him to wonder about the rest of the rainbow and its possible meanings.
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:51 pm
Raven was very interested in what these students would have to say. And she was pleasantly surprised when one of them actually knew what she had done. "Very good, Mr. Shlotkin. I was wondering if you would remember this demonstration. Mr. Shlotkin is correct, what I summoned was nothing more than raw magical power. Many of you may be familiar of the concept of throwing magic at others as an offensive maneuver. This was different- magic, in its purest form, is not capable of interacting with the physical world. Only when it is given purpose can magic accomplish what you wish it to- though this task is not as easy as it may seem."
That was accomplished quicker than she hoped, though she was curious what the other students would think. The delinquent seemed to be keeping his mouth shut, something she almost regretted. As for the others... "Yes, the colors were important. Everyone's magic appears different, depending on their personal characteristics as well as their area of study. For example, when I was beginning to learn magic, my primary auric color was green, with shades of other colors mingling within. Now, after extensive study in light and holy magic, the gold overshadows much of it. Rather than an unnatural topcoat, my research and practice has become a natural part of my magical make-up. Today, each of you will learn your own primary auric configurations."
That was enough grounding to keep anyone from accidentally hurting themselves, she thought. Eyebrow raised, she looked at Laial. "Where does it come from? That comes next. Who would like to be the first to try this experiment for themselves?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 12:20 pm
Lian looked around the class when they all remained silent. Finally, the furry boy heaved a large sigh and stuck his hand up in the air, that same bored expression on his face. He wriggled his fingers.
"Over here, teacher. I'll do it. Might as well let me make a fool of myself early on, right?"
Still, he grinned, fluffy tail twitching.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 1:29 pm
Kliken remained silent as he took the next wave of notes, while he was really curious about magic and found then idea of helping the teacher to be facinating in theory he was to nervous to be the first one. To get up in front of the class to be a part of an experiment when he felt unsure of himself. He glanced over at Lian who did volunteer and gave a bit of a smile, finding him to be quite brave to so readily offer himself up like that.
The leech decided that he would watch, see what happened, and see what came from the experiment and how it was done. He turned from the page he was on, taking notes to get another sheet of paper to write down the results of the experiment.
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