Who knew what would happen after stealing some bread from a street stall? Certainly not Nagan. Nothing out of the ordinary should have happened, considering stealing food to survive was the norm. But fate, destiny, karma, whatever you wanted to call...
A/N: A bit of stronger language used and some violence (not much, but it may make some uncomfortable).
That, and it was one of those days where I really wasn't feeling it, so I personally don't actually like this chapter very much. But I promise the next chapter will be more interesting and will progress the story further!
Nagan wished the ground would swallow him up right then and there.
"What do you mean by that, Professor?" Az asked slowly, which Nagan was grateful for since he felt like he couldn't face anyone out of embarrassment. "Did he get a faulty crystal?"
"No, all of the quartz was specially transmuted by expert alchemists. But! There is a simple explanation to this," Professor Grishi offered before walking to the front and proceeded to pace back and forth while using wild hand gestures. "Back when magic was first being discovered and used, there were two ways to unlock your magic. The first was how we do it now: concentration and patience. But, there was another, quicker way to achieve results, and that was to be thrown into a life or death situation. For example, when did you first use magic?"
Professor Grishi stopped and stared at Nagan, waiting for his answer with wonder. It took him a second to remember when it started, and reluctantly replied, "I was nearly bitten by a cobra."
She nodded her head in approval. "That certainly qualifies as life-threatening. Of course, this is no longer practiced since some participants really had no magical potential to begin with, while others simply could not be saved in time. Even if you have unlocked your magic, that does not mean you are capable of doing anything useful. Anywho, you will learn more about this in your history class. For now, let us continue where we left off."
The class collectively groaned but went back to concentrating on their quartz. Professor Grishi opened a drawer from the desk and pulled something out in a small box before walking over to where Nagan sat.
After opening the box and setting a black gemstone in front of him, she began to give him new instructions. "This is a carrier's onyx. You may not be aware of it, but if you have unlocked your magic and do not use it properly, it will continue to build until it becomes explosive. That is why the quartz shattered so violently. Your new task is to transfer all your excess magic into the onyx without touching or speaking. And after that, you may carry it with you and use it to draw out more magic when you need it most. Good luck!"
Though it seemed like she wasn't quite done talking. "Anywho, this is not my first time witnessing this sort of thing. I was just starting to teach when one year I had a young man whose quartz did the same thing. Shatter with a flash!" She paused while recalling more memories. "Now that I think about it, Master Dagmire was also in that class. To remember him that young! When the incident happened, I was so shocked that I dismissed the class and asked the current master at the time about what I should do. I have learned since then that you new students are capable of many strange things. What was the young master's name though...Ah! Nageth Elvar! Talented young man! I have seen many talents come and go throughout the years like this one who--"
Nagan was no longer listening to her ramblings. A sense of pride swelled in his chest as he thought about how he did the same thing as his father. Though he didn't remember his father clearly, it made him happy knowing he truly was his father's son.
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A week had passed since the quartz shattering incident, and by now the rumor mill had thoroughly shared their versions of the story to the whole school. Most thought of it as the highlight of the month, some thought it was fake, and a few scoffed at it. But there was one person who was angered by it the most.
Carthadeus was absolutely livid.
Some scrawny kid who had no business becoming a mage in the first place struts in from the streets one day and proceeded to take his place as the prodigy of Carvolier? Carthadeus was furious! He, the firstborn of Honoria, was beaten by a discount fossil family line! How could this have happened!
It was later in the day when Carthadeus finally spotted a certain mop of blond hair. Just as Nagan passed, Carthadeus caught his attention, his fingertips sparking with barely controlled rage, "Elvar."
Nagan jumped at the sudden spike in magic energy and turned to see Carthadeus' cold glare. Every nerve in his body told him to run, but he refused and stood his ground. "Young Master Honoria," he greeted back and nearly flinched when Carthadeus' eyes narrowed into something feral.
"Don't you dare mock me, Elvar," he cut in sharply, "You introduce yourself as master, shatter some weak stone, and now want to call yourself the prodigy? You think you can beat me, an Honoria?"
"What? I never said anything like that--" Nagan was interrupted by Carthadeus' cold laugh. By now, the students around started to figure out what was going on and either stayed to watch or shuffled past quickly.
"Don't even try to make yourself seem innocent. You know you don't even belong here in the first place." Carthadeus stepped dangerously close into Nagan's personal space, but he still refused to budge. "You come from a disgraced family branch from the Elvars, you know. Even the Elvars were so disgusted by what your father did, they disowned him on the spot. All because he dared to become a drakon instead of an elva and married some gypsy whore. Furthermore--"
He never got to finish his sentence. Within moments the air became cold, causing others to instinctively flinch and backpedal away from the two. Carthadeus didn't have time to regret his words as the eyes of a snake focused on him. One second he was standing upright, the next he was on the ground with a searing pain in his jaw.
"Take that back," Nagan seethed, barely holding himself back from completely pummeling Carthadeus.
Without warning, Carthadeus raised his hand towards Nagan and shouted, "Drae vak!"
Nagan barely had enough time to duck as a crack of electricity cracked above his head and into the crowd behind him causing a few panicked screams. Luckily, there was a senior dwarn who saw what was coming and set up a protective barrier in time. Carthadeus nearly said another command, but this time Nagan was prepared with his own choice word: "Sor!"
To those who were watching, it looked as if the people in a certain radius completely froze for a few seconds. However, once those few seconds were over, Nagan was suddenly in front of Carthadeus, grabbing his raised hand, and smashing his wrist into the stone floor. Carthadeus howled in pain.
The fight only lasted a few seconds. Some teachers heard the commotion and swiftly broke it up before further damage could be made, but it was some time before they could actually separate the two boys. In the end, Carthadeus was sent to the medical wing for his injuries while Nagan was sent straight to Master Dagmire's office.
