“Curse you, Magical Girl Rita!  But don’t think you’ve won just yet!  We’ll see how tough you are against my newest recruit!”

“Is that… Lisa?  What have you done to my sister?!  Garlaxus!”

The words ‘To be continued…’ flashed across the holoprojector screen as the episode of “Magical Girl Rita and the Ocean of Stars” ended, followed by the lights in the classroom turning on.

“Alright, that’s all the time we have before class.  Pretty fun for a trial run, all things considered.”  Eleris, Lea, and Yanaes moaned in frustration while Aire and Revvet were notably underwhelmed.

“Really?  The ‘brainwashed sibling’ trope?” Aire sighed in annoyance.  Eleris, however, had a different opinion.

“Dude!  That’s such a messed up cliffhanger.”

“I know, right?” Yanaes agreed as Lea slammed her hands down on her armrests.

“Garlaxus has gone too far!  How could he hurt Lisa?  That monster!”

“Yes, yes, Garlaxus is truly the Master of All Evil,” Leera said as she tried to calm Lea down.  “We can talk more about his heinous deeds later, now get ready for class.  I need to okay this new club with the principal before it can become official, and your classmates are coming in any minute.”  As if on cue, Arlee stepped into the classroom, taken aback to see Yanaes and company in their seats.

“Oh, you guys are already here.”

“Yo, Arlee!” the lamia called out with a wide grin, waving to her.  “Come on over, I want you to meet someone.”  Arlee’s eyes met Revvet’s, and a crooked smile stretched across the scolid’s face.  “This is Revvet, we’ve been friends since middle school.  Revvet, meet Arlee.”  Revvet craned her body over Arlee, eying the outlander up and down while the latter tensed defensively.

“So, are you Yan’s-?”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”  Arlee gave the scolid a stern look.  “I’m not dating Yan.”

“It’s true.  Scout’s honor,” the lamia said as he raised his hand.  Revvet cocked her head at Yanaes before twisting her body toward him.

“You were never a junior desert scout,” she called him out without hesitation in her deadpan manner.

“No, but my mom is the greatest hunter this rock has ever seen, so… I’m giving myself a pass I probably don’t deserve.”  The lamia wore a wide grin as he giggled.  “Point is, we’re not dating.  I’m officially off the market.”  Revvet couldn’t help but snort at his words.

“If you say so, lover boy.  Sounds like you dodged a bullet, Arlee.”

As more students filed into the classroom, a delicate girl strode in who stood out from the rest.  While she wore a pink hoodie adorned with embroidered petals, her lower half was a skirt of brilliantly pink and white thorny leaves, covering legs that seemed to be roots twisting into facsimiles of human legs.  Several petals and leaves layered themselves like hair over her head and framed her face, a beautifully vivid flower adorning her head like an ornament.  She scanned the room and smiled as she found familiar faces.  Yanaes waved her over, catching Revvet off guard as a pleasant aroma trailed behind the new arrival.

“I didn’t know Tsubaki was going to be joining us, too.  Nice.”

“I told her about Miss Rangers’ class yesterday, so she must have submitted a transfer request, too,” Yanaes explained.  The prickly plant girl walked right up to the group, smiling brightly.

“You guys are all here!”  Tsubaki was nearly as much of an extrovert as Yanaes, so it hardly surprised them when she walked right up to Aire and hugged her.  “I’m so happy this worked out so well.”

“Yup, we got the whole gang together,” Yanaes affirmed.  The alraune turned to Arlee and extended a soft and delicate hand to her.

“You must be Arlee.”  For a prickly pear, the alraune was disarmingly friendly.  “I’m Kokoro Tsubaki.”  Arlee shook her hand less because she wanted to and more because she felt like it would have been incredibly rude not to.  Immediately, she noticed a lot of things.  Alraune were cool to the touch, and Tsubaki’s pale green skin felt smoother than other races she’d met.

“N-nice to meet you,” she stammered as she turned her eyes away.  “Sorry, I’m still getting used to this whole ‘friends’ thing.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get along with us just fine.”  A warm and genuine smile lit Tsubaki’s face as she spoke.  “Also, Yanaes assured me that you weren’t dating him, so I’ll spare you the routine questions.  He said you yelled at his mother when she asked you.”

“I-I did not yell at Missus Akonda… directly.”  Embarrassment flushed her cheeks as Tsubaki giggled.  Yanaes gave Arlee a playful nudge as he slipped by next to her.

“Don’t sweat it.  My mom’s been through way worse.  You didn’t offend her one bit.  She actually likes you.  Says she can’t wait for your mom to come visit.”  The outlander gritted her teeth nervously.

“Can they not meet?”

“Knowing my mom, they probably already have,” he told Arlee.

As the last few students entered the class, there was a new face that stood out; there was a new student who was alarmingly beautiful, with ice blue eyes that shined like the diamonds in their earrings, and layered, platinum blonde hair that hung down past their rosy pink lips.  A puffy white jacket lined with black fur covered their upper body and the shirt underneath, and a black-and-white checkered skirt covered halfway down their thighs.  As if compensating for the short length of the skirt, they wore dark stockings and black leather boots with gold buckles and raised heels that helped them stand just an inch-and-a-half above Lea.  Slender fingers with sharp black nails grasped a designer book bag, and while their eyes glanced around with uncertainty, their expression and posture was confident and serious.  Yanaes couldn’t help but flick his forked tongue at the heavy perfume the new student wore.

“Who’s the rich girl?” Revvet spoke dryly, raising an eyebrow as she kept her eyes on the newcomer.

“I… don’t know,” Yanaes said as he regained his focus.  “I’ve never seen them before.”

“What, aren’t you gonna give us the read out on her measurements?”

Aire’s sarcasm was completely ignored by Yanaes, giving her a straight answer.  “Their coat’s a little too thick.  Also, stop assuming their gender, yeesh.”

There was no way she could physically roll her eyes any harder, but Aire shook her head and looked him in the eyes. “What are you on about?  That’s clearly-”

“I’m saying there’s a package under the curtains.  Now be quiet and give them a chance to introduce themselves.”  Aire’s face paled for a moment before quickly looking back and forth between Yanaes and the new student.

“Wait… what.  How can you tell?”

“Oh my gods…”  The lamia buried his head in his hands.  “This is what I put you through, isn’t it?  This is how you feel when I embarrass you.”  The new student’s eyes seemed to settle on the group, but Yanaes couldn’t help but notice that their eyes were focused specifically on Arlee, and when the lamia turned toward her he realized that Arlee’s body was tense and rigid, staring squarely back at them.  “Arlee?  Hey, what’s wrong?  Do you know them?”  His words seemed to pass through her until she finally answered him.

“No, I don’t.  It’s… it’s nothing.”

“Alright, everyone!  Take your seats,” Miss Rangers commanded.  She glided to the front of the class on fluid strides, getting everyone’s attention.  “Before we begin today’s lesson, we have three new students who transferred into the class.  And since I refuse to leave any child behind, we’re going to subject our newcomers to the horrors of introductions.  Let’s start with… Miss Virana.  Come to the front of the class.”  The scolid clicked her tongue as she rose from her seat and skittered down to the front of the classroom, crossing her arms as she turned to face her peers.

“Greetings, nerds.  I’m Revvet.  I use poison magic, and I like chemistry.  …That’s it.  That’s all you’re getting out of me.”

Yanaes couldn’t help but snicker before shouting out, “that’s what he said.”

“Can it, Yan!”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough,” Leera said as she tried to preempt any laughs or arguments.  “Miss Kokoro, come up front.”  The alraune in question rose from her seat and practically skipped to the front of the classroom.

“Hello everyone!  I’m Kokoro Tsubaki, and I was born to a vespid mother named Zia and a tenjin father named Aki on the twelfth of-“

“Stop, for just a moment, Miss Kokoro,” Leera interjected.  “Just tell us… tell us a little about yourself.  Two sentences worth.  You can save your autobiography for Writing Class.”  Tsubaki looked utterly embarrassed, trying to rethink her introduction.

“W-well… I want to be a doctor just like my father, and I hope we can all get along.”

“That’s more like it.  Thank you,” Leera assured her.  “Lastly, Miss Grace, please come to the front.”  The person in question brushed themselves off, as they walked to the front of the classroom, graceful as could be, clearing their voice. 

“Yo.  Hiya, name’s Sorel.  I’m, uh… gifted with earth magic.”  Aire didn’t know what to think of them.  Yanaes said they were a boy, but even their voice was feminine, as much as Lea or Tsubaki’s.  Naturally, Sorel wasn’t done speaking yet.  “And Miss Rangers, I’m a guy, actually.  I know it’s pretty hard to tell, what with how cute I am.  Seeing how some people can’t keep their eyes off of me, I figured I’d get that out in the open right away.”  Naturally, Aire gulped and glanced aside at Yanaes as he gave Sorel a thumbs up, but she also noticed how Arlee’s critical expression had a hint of a blush.

Their teacher seemed just as bewildered as the rest, as she cleared her throat from behind her podium.  “Well, right then.  Class, please give your new peers a round of applause, and look forward to their presentations next Yaday.”

“Wait….  what?”  Revvet’s eyes widened at Miss Rangers’ words.

“You didn’t think you could skip your summer project just by transferring into the class late, did you?  You three get a whole five days to prepare a presentation for next week.  Congratulations.” 

Revvet’s face paled, and Tsubaki shifted nervously as the class clapped.  Sorel, however, gave a graceful twirl before winking and looking across the sloped classroom.  “You won’t hear me complaining!  Most of the faces in the room are almost as cute as mine.  I think we’ll get along just fine.”

“Oh I hope so.  Alright, take your seats, now.”  The three of them returned to their seats as Miss Rangers began to draw a large circle on the board and divided it into four sections before drawing a smaller circle in the middle and erasing the encircled lines, making a hole in the middle of the diagram.  She drew a mountain on the southern portion of the circle, a water drop on the west, a cloud on the north, and a flame on the east.

“Mana.  It is the essence of all matter in this world.  It exists in everyone and everything, not just in this world but in the whole cosmos.  It is the breath of life and the voice of magic.  That is to say, life is magic.”  A wave of her hand, and the diagram began to glow, a matching color to represent each element, and the hole in the center of the diagram began to glow a bright white.

“Everyone is aware of the four cardinal elements, of course; Earth, Water, Air, and Fire.  And all magic draws from one or more of these four elements.  They can grant life, enrich it, and they can also overwhelm it, poison it.  Nourishment and toxicity.  Life and death.  The duality of nature is reflected in all of the cardinal elements.  Two sides of the same coin, or perhaps more accurately, the negative of a photograph.”  Leera drew a line extending from the side of  “Fire”, and another diagram began to draw itself in muted colors on the board across from the first, with the center of the second diagram becoming as black as tar.  

“In an overarching sense, Life and Death are within all elements, intermingling with them until they appear as something entirely new.  They weave in and out, through and across, saturating each one intrinsically.  Now, who can tell me what is missing from these diagrams?”  Aire thought about it for a moment.  She knew her dad could use lightning magic of a sort, but it wasn’t the same kind of magic elves used.  It was more organic, like an extension of his body.  Her gut told her the answer, and while other students put their hands up, Leera nonetheless singled out the student who seemed to be contemplating it the most.

“Aire.  Why don’t you tell the class what seems to be missing.”  Aire was caught off guard, finding all eyes trained on her.  She trembled with anxiety, but there was no malice or spite on Leera’s face; Aire could tell that Leera wanted to hear her answer, and that realization nonetheless emboldened her.

“…I don’t see any symbol for Lightning,” Aire spoke up.  Miss Rangers nodded her head.  “Isn’t Lightning supposed to be the Fifth Element?  Corresponding to the Fifth Path.”  Leera’s smile turned into a wide grin.

“You’re on the right track, but not quite there,” Leera prefaced.  “The reason why I didn’t draw Lightning is because Lightning isn’t an element, per se.”  Leera touched her finger to the board and traced a lightning bolt into the white space of the first diagram.  The symbol glimmered and writhed with magic.

“Lightning is an expression of pure, raw mana.  Unassigned, unrestrained.  Whereas Life magic draws from all four manas in varying degrees to achieve different effects, Lightning is pure.  The only ways to cast Lightning is to either strip the mana you are casting with of its cardinal properties, or have a perfect balance of all four manas.  Needless to say, both methods are easier said than done.  Electricity is, of course, one of the key components of what gives every living thing life, and binds matter together.  Such as with the electrical impulses that carry information and commands to and from the brain.  So, it is an expression of life in its basest and most dynamic of forms.  Now, perhaps someone can answer this next question.”  Leera gestured to the black, tar-like center of the “Death” diagram with one hand, and gestured to the class with the other.  “What do you suppose the inverse of Lightning is?”

The sound of straining wood caught Yanaes’s attention, turning his head toward the noise to find Arlee with her eyes wide open.  The outlander was sweating profusely as she fiercely gripped the table of her seated desk.  “Arlee?  H-hey are you okay?”  She didn’t respond, and so he slowly, gently, gingerly reached out and placed his hand on top of hers.  She quickly knocked his hand away, flinching away and glaring at him, her pupils narrowing and constricting into an “X” shape as she stared at him.

“Arlee, it’s me,” Yanaes said as he raised his hands up in surrender.  “Are you okay?  Do you need the nurse?”  As Arlee locked eyes with Yanaes, she could see out of her peripheral vision that several other students were looking at her, too.  As if she realized she was causing a scene, she shook her head, and instead answered their teacher’s question. 

“The answer doesn’t have a name.  Some people call it black mana.  Null mana.  Void mana.  But what it really is… it’s like darkness.  Deep, utter darkness…”  She trailed off, as their teacher raised her hand.  Arlee slowly took her seat, but Yanaes remained concerned.  The outlander remained tense, and her gaze fell back to Sorel, watching him closely.  

A new design drew into the center of the diagram, Lightning but wrong, somehow.  Too smooth, and swirling to a central point, like a black hole.  “Darkness is how it appears, I’ll give you that.  But the truth is… it’s simply chaos.  As the Witch of Chaos herself so put it, it is the primordial chaos that birthed our universe, given form and substance by the power of mana.  Like its counterpart, it is extremely powerful and the other most difficult form of magic to handle.  It can consume the wielder if handled improperly, and in inexperienced hands, well…” 

“Oh, can I answer this one, Miss Rangers?”  Tsubaki had her hand raised, and Leera allowed her student to proceed with an eyebrow raised.  “I remember a few years ago, one of the big underwater city domes of Marianas broke apart, and pieces of it rose to the surface of Lake Eternity.  It was all over the news for months, and they said chaos mana was involved in the accident.” 

“Right.”  Honestly, the elven mage didn’t know what she had expected, but she was pleasantly surprised that one of her students remembered that incident.  “More than that, it was a young girl who released all of that mana, not much older than any of you.  I don’t know what led up to her harnessing that much mana, let alone casting a spell with that kind of fuel, but she’s lucky to have survived.  Because many others didn’t.”  Hushed whispers were exchanged across the class.

“Let’s make something clear; magic is like art and science.  Being successful in magic requires a level of precision.  At best, mistakes create unintended effects.  At worst, mistakes lead to catastrophic backfires.  You’re here to learn how to formulate and cast spells, to control and mold your mana in accordance with your affinity.  That applies to everyone in this class.”  More whispers were exchanged, until finally a hand was raised; Lea’s.

“M-Miss Rangers… what about the students who can’t cast magic?” the timid girl asked, earning her a discerning glance from the teacher.

“What students who can’t cast magic?  You mean you?  Who told you ‘you can’t cast magic’?”  Lea shrank away at her words, but Miss Rangers insisted.  “Who said that to you?”

Lea cut her eyes to the side, hesitant to answer that immediately.  “My… my father,” she answered, practically trembling with embarrassment.  “He said it doesn’t run in our family.  He… he said that I was wasting my time.  I just wanted to be in a class with all my friends…”.  There was a certain anger in Leera’s eyes, not at Lea but at the lie she was told.

“Class, I want every single one of you to listen to me very closely; You.  Can.  Do.  Anything.”  She fanned her arms out to point at everyone in her room.  “Every single one of you can cast magic.  The magic is literally inside of you.  And you will all learn how to channel it in this class.”  Aire and Lea looked to each other as murmurs were sent through the other human students of the class as well.  

Above the elemental diagrams on the board, three new images drew themselves into existence with a wave of their teacher’s hand:  a book, a hand holding an orb of fire, and a person in the midst of striking what looked like a martial arts pose.  “The two overarching means of controlling mana and creating magic are Arcana and Elementalism.  Does anyone want to tell me what the differences between them are?” 

“I’ll take a stab at it.”  Revvet had hardly raised her hand as she spoke, and Leera just seemed pleased the dour girl was participating openly.  “Arcana is any magic performed with incantation, magic circles, catalysts, or using some outside method of channeling or shaping the power in general.  Elementalist magic is solely generated through an individual’s affinity for a given element and can draw from their thoughts, and it gets mistaken for arcanist magic… kinda frequently.” 

“Perhaps you’d like to explain to the class why that is?”  Revvet paused when the teacher slowed her down for a moment, as she closed her eyes, and collected herself. 

“Arcanist… mages tend to hide their method of expressing magic.  They can shorten incantations to a single word, or invoke the name of the spell by simply performing the incantation in their mind.  This is tougher than you might think, because the mind is a chaotic thing; any errant thought can ruin an incantation performed this way.  Other arcanists use motions with catalysts, already drawn out seals and glyphs, and so forth, and it can create the illusion of magic being cast instantly.” 

“Very good.”  Leera was pleased, clearly, as she shifted her attention to the hand holding the orb of fire.  “Elementalists, on the other hand, can manipulate the elements freely, as though they were an extension of their body.  Some people are born with a high aptitude for elementalism corresponding to their cardinal alignment, but for most others it can be prohibitively difficult to master, as it usually requires precise training, both physical and mental, to get right.  Two individuals from yesterday’s presentations were prime examples of this form of magic, actually:  Lea’s online friend, Miss Ferris, and the astonishingly masterful Mister Leerhart.  Once again, I must stress that you do not attempt to replicate his demonstrations.  His ability is… uncommon.  Elementalism is essentially the end goal of all professional mages, to have control with such ease that you would swear it’s a part of your very being.” 

“So… what’s the third symbol?  Is it that elven martial arts based… thing?”  Sorel had chosen to speak up next, slouched on his desk as what looked like a glittering amethyst hovered and danced above his index finger.  “Where does that fit in?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Leera said gleefully, touching the third picture and rearranging it to be between the other two.  “As Miss Virana touched upon, arcana is magic that is cast through a form of ritual.  The most common methods are spoken word, written, drawn, and gestured.  In other words, arcana is magic that is expressed.  We’ll get a little more in depth with each individual method, but the one relevant to your question is ‘choreomancy’, magic that is cast by dances and gestures.”

Leera enlarged the image of the crudely drawn martial artist as she strutted across the front of the class.  “That ‘elven martial arts thing’ is known as ‘Shinryuudo’, and it was pioneered by an ancient tenjin elf some eleven thousand years ago.  During the First Calamity, she used this martial art to perform such feats as crushing the Progenitor of Demons under billions of liters of water.  According to legend, she was pretty chill.  Now, as to where it fits in all of this, Shinryuudo (at its core) is a specific school of choreomancy.  It is arcana centered around body positioning and gestures that has been refined and streamlined to be performed seamlessly during combat, and it can even be used exclusively as a martial art.  However, as a combat-based choreomancy, it requires an extensive amount of physical and mental training, practice, and discipline to perform properly.  Sound familiar?  In other words, the school of Shinryuudo, a choreomancy, is a vehicle for honing one’s aptitude for elementalism.”

“Now, for the sake of transparency, I will not be teaching Shinryuudo or any other school of advanced choreomancy.  This is an academic class, not Physical Education.  But for those of you who can already perform or wish to pursue choreomancy, I will grade and critique your ability to execute what we learn in class through the lens of choreomancy.”

Yanaes’s ears perked up at Miss Rangers’ words, turning toward Aire with a wide and giddy smile.  She couldn’t help but groan inwardly at the thought, turning back and trying to focus on the lesson at hand.  For the first time in a while, she was taking actual notes for a class.  The prospect of being able to actually learn magic was exciting for sure, but seeing how their teacher seemed to have a wealth of magical knowledge a thought came to her mind.  She raised her hand, and the classroom shifted, shining a greenish spotlight on her from some unknown point in the ceiling.  Leera certainly made magic look effortless, that was for sure. 

“I know you said, ‘we can do anything’, and all, but it’s pretty obvious that uh… humans specifically have a LOT of difficulty performing even basic magic.  You mentioned how we could use catalysts and grimoires to make up for that the other day, but… is there a reason humans have more difficulty with magic?”  Lea looked to Aire, then to their teacher as her friend brought up a good point.  It was common knowledge that all but unusually gifted humans couldn’t perform magic in any meaningful way, right?  Leera just sighed, rubbing her chin as she tried to articulate her response.

“Well, magical aptitude is kinda like spiritual strength.  And strength is something you have to build, cultivate,” she explained.  “A very long time ago, during the First Calamity, the humans of the Old World lost their faith in magic.  They found other ways to compensate for (what they believed to be) magic’s shortcomings.  Magic was devalued, undesired, and over centuries and millennia, that innate spiritual strength was atrophied.  Even eleven thousand years later, humans by and large have a stigma against magic, but that magic “muscle” never disappeared.  It just needs to be exercised.  Anyone, anyone can perform magic.  And I can prove it.”

With a snap of her fingers, a pair of lights shined down on both Lea and Aire, and she gestured to them to come up to the front of the class.  Hesitantly, they made their way forward to the class, next to their teacher.  

“Right then, seeing as we don’t have a lot of time left, the perfect place to leave off would be a simple demonstration, and an exercise in expressing your own mana.  Now, show me your hands.”  Aire and Lea looked to one another before presenting their hands to their teacher.  Leera produced a marker from her person and placed a black dot in the center of each of their palms.

“What is this?” Aire asked as she looked at her marked hands.

“Ink.  That’s all!”  Leera placed her hands together in front of her chest before parting them.  Fire, sand, water, and a greenish wind wrapped together in a focused orb, swirling together, and colliding.  “Place your hands together like so, and breathe deeply.  Feel the air entering your lungs and your blood flowing through your body, from your heart all the way to your hands.  Feel the rhythm of your pulse, your life, and visualize your life flowing between your hands through the points on your palms.  Whether you know your own affinity or not is entirely irrelevant.  Simply focus, concentrate on that point, and you might just surprise yourself.” 

Aire looked at Lea, both girls nodding to each other as they closed their eyes, and held their hands to the same position.  She closed her eyes, focusing on the space between her hands, trying to gather what, exactly, she was doing.  Her hands tingled, buzzing as she furrowed her brow, yet she felt nothing between them.  Seconds felt like they were stretching into minutes as she stood in front of the class, a strange exhaustion creeping over her body, as if she was exercising a muscle she didn’t know she had.  Suddenly, her concentration was broken as Lea spoke up. 

“I… I did it!”  She shook her head, turning to look at her friend, seeing a small ember burning between her palms.  Realizing what she was holding, the small blonde panicked, and the flame flickered out in her hands.  Eleris and company gave her thumbs up and cheers, while the rest of their classmates gave a few scattered claps.  Aire just felt her heart sink, right until her teacher put her hand on her shoulder.  

Aire let her hands drop, casting her gaze to the hardwood floor.  “I… couldn’t do it,” she sighed in defeat.  However, Leera just shook her head and smiled reassuringly. 

“No, you did well.  You have something very special.”  Aire looked back up to her, confused, but Leera’s smile was sincere.  “When you have free time, practice just like that, Miss Leerhart.”  Aire blinked as the teacher walked away, and slowly nodded, as the school bell cut in at the last possible moment.  She had something special, but what was it?