THE APPLE OF SNAKES

xi. winter storm

It would be this afternoon. Taayir had explained that it would take place once a week where he and a small group of others would train and see if this approach would be more effective. Nerluce had a good feeling about it, though, and was practically buzzing with excitement. So much that in the break between classes in the morning, the yellow-haired boy had turned around.

"Knock it off," he snapped. "Your fidgeting is distracting."

"I can't help it," Nerluce whined.

And he really couldn't. We wanted to be out there, doing things even now but he still had one more subject to suffer through and it was the worst of all of them. Magickal history. Nerluce was bad enough at normal history but when magick was added into the mix he just became exponentially worse at it.

"Well you better start helping it," Lyana said. "That old man is drawn to movement. Like a bird. He'll call on you all class if you keep bouncing."

"That's not true," Nerluce said. "Jurine's his favorite."

"Because he gets sick of hearing wrong answers all day," Jurine grumbled.

Lyana nor Nerluce were able to come up with a retort in time as the teacher entered the room. Nerluce knew he had introduced himself on the first day but his memory was so filled with nonsense magickal history that he couldn't remember it. He did look an awful lot like a bird, though. Thus, Nerluce dubbed him the Bird Teacher.

The Bird Teacher walked to the front of the class - or perhaps tottered would be a better word for how he moved. He seemed to be shaking violently with every step. He sat down at the desk in the front of the room, his eyes so freakishly wide they crept Nerluce out. The Bird Teacher crept a lot of people out with a combination of the way he walked, how he seemed to stare at everyone and everything, and...

"Today," the Bird Teacher said in a voice that sounded like someone opening an old door.

And how he spoke.

"Today," the Bird Teacher said again, only sounding like a slightly louder old door being opened. "We will be discussing..." He let his sentences hang for an eternity. Nerluce could already feel himself getting bored. He swore it was like the Bird Teacher died every other phrase and had to have the gods revive him so he could continue his lecture. "Magick's rise to prominence," he finally - finally - finished after an absurd length.

Nerluce went back to daydreaming.

That went extremely well for an extended period of time until - just as Lyana had predicted - the Bird Teacher called his name. Nerluce stood up, just happy to be moving about, and responded, "Sir?"

"I asked... what event... stopped the elemental wars from continuing for... another millennium?" the Bird Teacher said, raising his bushy eyebrows.

Nerluce paused, waited for a long time, just to make sure that the Bird Teacher had finished speaking before he paused for even longer as he thought the question over. Or pretended to, at least because he had no clue. "Was it... some peace treaty that they signed that made them allllll friends." Nerluce stretched the word in a mocking tone.

The Bird Teacher was not impressed, though someone in the back of the class covered their laugh with a cough. "No... it.. was.. not," the Bird Teacher said. "Jurine... would you like to... give the question... a go?"

"Sir," Jurine said, standing up as well. "The elemental wars probably would still be going on until this day if it wasn't for the rise of the heretic group who practiced the forbidden magick." Jurine had an impassive manner as he said this, but Nerluce's brow furrowed, suddenly much more interested. What were... forbidden magicks? "The magickians of this world had to put aside their differences and unite in order to defeat this force, otherwise they would have conquered all of Ecekasuri."