It was the first day of classes. I sat in the lecture hall I would be teaching Ancient Magic History 101, a big class that is required for all students. Kramer was excited to tell me that the class filled up quickly and there was a long waitlist for all of my classes. This was promising, hopefully our class sizes can continue to grow.
It was twenty before nine and I was meeting with my TA. Thalia introduced herself to me, cheeks warm as she avoided my gaze. She held the textbook in her arms and told me she was excited to be working with me. I smile, telling her I'm glad that she will be assisting me and I wish her luck in her classes this semester. We speak easily, getting to know one another as the students fill in.
Soon enough, the lecture hall was being filled. Young students wandered in and they spoke eagerly. Their uniforms were pressed and pleated, a thing that will be forgotten in a few months. They all look excited and stare at me with wide eyes and big smiles.
I check the time and see that it is officially time for me to start. I stand from my chair and walk to the front. I look up and send the children a smile. Thalia stands next to me, her robe the uniform purple and her tie and stitching the Ancient Magic white.
"Good morning and welcome to Ancient Magic History, commonly known at AMH." I greet and my voice carries. "I am the Master of Ancient Magic, Master Solon. Thalia here is your TA, she will be the one answering your questions and holding tutoring sessions if one so needs it. Now, I'm sure you are all excited to learn today and learning is all about asking questions and having discussions. You will learn about our history as mages and of the origins of magic in many different countries. So, to start with our discussion, can someone tell me what Ancient Magic is and how it differs to the magic we practice today?"
A hand in front pops up and I see an eager boy with thick glasses. I point to him and he stands and introduces himself. "I'm Leonard Bacilli. Ancient Magic is the basis of the magic we practice today. There was the Great War and much of the secrets of magic were lost. The magic we do have has survived and adapted to the changing years."
I nod my head. "Yes and no, thank you Mr. Bacilli. Mana is the basis of magic and it is found in all living things. In this class we will learn what exactly is mana and how it is wielded. Magic is the use of mana to manipulate the world around us. As Mr. Bacilli stated, there was the Great War. Who can tell me of that?"
Many hands shoot up and I choose one in the back. "I'm Dayna Feallows. The Great War occurred when the monsters from the North attacked our country and our neighbors. The mages and the knights fought them back. However, many people died on the front lines. A lot of mages perished and only few remained."
I nod my head. "Yes. Thank you Miss Feallows." I lean against my desk and look at the group. "Ancient Magic is the history of who we are. You all have yet to take the aptitude test, but raise your hands if you want to go into Battle Magic."
Half the class raises their hands and it doesn't surprise me.
"Potioneers? Charmers? Elementalists?" A good handful raises their hand for each study. "Healers?" More hands rise at this.
"Ancient Magicians?" No one raises their hands and I keep a neutral face.
Slowly, a brave hand in the middle rises and I point at the boy. He stands. "I hear there aren't many jobs for Ancient Magicians. As a commoner, I need to leave with a stable job."
I nod my head. "What are you interested in?"
"Battle Magic."
I nod my head. "Yes that is a common misbelief." I then start to list the jobs that many of my graduates have. I see heads perk up when I say curse- breakers. I tell them they can work in the Academy, teach, and much more.
"If anyone has any questions about me or Ancient Magic, I'll be happy to answer as the Master."
A hand in the front shoots up and I point at the girl. "I'm Elara Maenix. How did you become the first female Master? And if you're the Master, why teach?"
I freeze, not expecting that answer but I smile. "How I started. Well, every year you will be tested on the strength of your mana. When you graduate, you take the test once more which will be sent to employers. To be a Master, your score has to be above 5,000. During my time here, the old Master had passed away and the seat was vacant. On the year of my graduation, I found out I could be the Master if I wanted to. I agreed and filled the position. I had always enjoyed the Academy, choosing to stay year round even during holidays. As Master, I missed academia. When the old teacher retired and his classes were free... I chose to teach the classes that I fell in love with."
The children chatter to each other and I see the girls whisper amongst themselves. I take a deep breath, knowing I faced hardships to be the first woman. I hide my frown when I know I had to leave the position in the past. But, it won't happen this time around.
As the class went on, I changed the topic of answering questions to starting with lecture. I started with the basics of what mana is and the importance of it. I answer questions that were brought up and encouraged discussions.
Soon enough, the hour went by quickly which led to a meeting to talk of the missing curses. I sat in a room with the Grand Sorcerer, the new Master of Battle Magic and his aide and mine, Kramer.
Because someone had broken in and stolen curses from the Tower, we needed to have a formal discussion on next steps to track down the perpetrator. However, only Milo and I know who did it and what will happen.
"Master Loid," Milo interrupts the man who has just finished saying his report on the accident. "Thank you for that, but now we need to talk about the next steps. Master Solon, what was stolen?"
I clear my throat and look down at the report. "Two items were stolen. Unfortunately, both items are from the Temple, so we will need to seek out the cooperation. I can go and meet with the Pope."
"Uh-" The battle master speaks up. "Shouldn't I go?"
"If you want to join us, however, the Pope and I are old friends and it'll be easier to convince him to help us faster if it'll just be us two." I shrug my shoulders.
"Master Solon you can just go by yourself. Please get it don't as soon as possible. Master Loid, I need you to send out a few men to start tracking down the missing curses. It's imperative that it doesn't fall in the wrong hands. Don't let anyone know what you're doing and act silently." Milo decides and the meeting has now concluded. "Please report everything to me as soon as you can. Otherwise, you are all dismissed, Master Solon please stay for a minute."
I nod my head, watching as everyone leaves. I wave goodbye to Kramer and soon it's just Milo and I.
"What has your brother said about the curses?" Milo asks, writing something down on a piece of paper.
"Last I heard, they sold the items to the auction house where a great exhibition will be done on my coming of age. All the big nobles will be there and many people will be charged."
Milo nods his head, listening to what I had told him. He takes a deep breath, putting the pen down and gives me his undivided attention. "Giselle, how are you doing? Your coming- of- age is fast approaching. She will be coming, right?"
I take a deep breath and nod. "I am fine. I feel as if I've done all the right things. My brother and I are closer this time, I've managed to get more respect from the staff, and I've befriended the ladies of society. However, I am very anxious. What if everything I've done falls apart and the past ends up repeating itself?" I finish my small speech with a whisper.
I look at him from the corner of my eyes and see him lean forward. "Giselle, I apologize that I wasn't able to help you until it was too late. However, I'm here now. I don't want my dear friend to die again. I will do anything, even if I move the Tower to protect you."
I fully turn to him, mouth open in shock. "You'll secede? I thought what you did in front of the Princes was a threat, I-"
"It was a promise." He corrects me. "I don't want to see you wither away again. If the worst comes, I will 'kidnap you' and take you far from here. Your previous life was hell and it was stolen from you. Your family, your friends and your husband was stolen by that tramp. You are a good person who deserves to be happy in life. If you ask me to do it, I will. I failed you in the past and I swear to you it won't happen again."
I pause, mulling my words over before I reach out to him, holding his hands. "Milo, you don't have to feel guilty. I truly appreciate everything you've done for me. You've brought me back from the dead and reversed time. I can't ask you to do more than that." I shake my head.
"I don't know if you remember, but you came to me, crying about your situation. You asked for my help. I had to go to another country for business and when I returned you had been married. I- I should've taken you with me, made an excuse of some sort. I shouldn't have left you alone where you-" he chokes on his words and shakes his head. "I haven't done enough for you. You're my sister."
I shake my head, my throat feels hoarse as I look at Milo. "You couldn't save me back then, I couldn't even save myself. You don't need to feel this burden anymore." I reach forward and hold his hand. "Thank you for everything, but you don't need to keep feeling guilty."
"I- You never saw yourself. Before you were engaged, you stood as a vibrant lady who no one could touch. With every party you attended with him; you withered away. On your wedding day, you left the party as soon as you can to not be with him. The slut wore white and acted as his bride. That was the last time I saw you, you looked so sad and depressed. I can't see you like that anymore. I refuse to."
I remember my wedding day. As I got ready, he berated me to the point of tears. He wore me down and I knew I looked miserable. I was flushed and my eyes clearly showed I cried for days. However, I continued on with the wedding and not one person had objected to it. I tighten my grip on Milo and give me a watery smile.
"That won't happen again." I stand up and he follows me. I embrace him quickly, burying my tears into his robe. "I want to kill him." I whisper my confession, tears streaming down my face. "He's hurt me so much... I want him dead."
"We will find a way. Don't you worry." He promises. "I want him dead too."
-/-/-/-
After we composed ourselves, we returned to our normal schedule. I had left to start my next class, Curse- breaking 352. I teleported to my new classroom which would be smaller since it holds fewer students. I smile to see that a usual empty classroom is surprisingly full. I look around and I spot a familiar face.
Sir Pine waves at me, but he humorously has student robes on with the red tie and stitching, indicating he's a Battle- mage student. I shake my head, not knowing where he had stolen the uniform from, but it's best not to ask. I introduce myself to my TA, Rodrick. I hand him the syllabus for this class and ask him to start passing it around.
I introduce myself to the class and I see that there are a lot of different colored ties. I'm glad to know that this class has interested other students from different departments. I start the class in a similar fashion as my first.
I lean against the desk and smile. "Good morning, I hope you are all interested in learning how to break curses. I know this class is pretty popular and I'm happy to teach you all. In this class, you will learn the basics on how to break a curse. First is identification, then research, and then it's the actual breaking of the curse. Sometimes, curses cannot be broken and have to be constrained. Sometimes, the curses may be something we do not recognize and so we need to do a lot of research. The second part of this class is learning about important curses, which is pretty much storytelling. Does anyone have any questions?"
A white- scarfed boy raises his hand and I choose him. "I'm Leon Brandt. As a curse-breaker, how will you be able to identify the type of curse? I thought there was only one type."
"That's a common misconception," I shake my head. "Magic has existed throughout the continent in different countries for hundreds of thousands of years. Information is shared between nations and so is magic, and unfortunately curses from many different places can exist in one city. Fortunately, a country can be known for the type of magic practiced. I will get more into that later. But if you recognize the key aspects, you can generally narrow the origin of the curse."
I go to speak, but I pause when I see Sir Pine raise his hand. I point at him and he clears his throat. "How great are your skills? Will you teach us all what you know?"
I force my smile to stay hidden and nod my head. "I'm the best of the best, and you will learn all that I know."
The students in the class whisper to each other, excited about the class and learning about the curses. I clap my hands and start the class. They take out their writing instruments and start writing down what I say. I decide to start the class with the different types of curses and the first portion of the semester will be centered around the curses found in our country.