"Yeah that will make me feel better" Malik thought to himself, having some time to himself before the next class. Lately sadness clung to him like water to a cotton. To make extra money he had been selling his medicine to other Magi. His clan used a type of magic based on emotion. The more inexperienced members were given special drinks to keep them in a neutral state. To him it seemed to do little more than make him feel numb.
Business started when a girl asked if she could have some of it to help her calm her nerves. Malik although the sole prince of the family was not trusted with anything more than his dosage, but the girl offered a great price and he could do a lot with the money. At first, he felt emotions more deeply. His clan were not always sedated in fact while training at home they were not allowed to drink the odd blue liquid.
His first emotions were joy at making the money. It felt great to take off the yolk of his clan, Having the freedom to explore emotion without their nagging. The changes were subtle but the more he revelled in the joy at freedom the more he resented his family for chaining him. Being the only prince was not a mark of pride to him or the clan. They looked down on men for being unable to channel their emotions. While the women could travel between the deepest of extremes between moments, men struggled to mix and transform emotions moment to moment. All his siblings had been off the drug since they were ten years old yet here he was still being forced to drink it. He was glad to be rid of it. It was a symbol of his chains. His mood turned quite grim but still refused to drink it. He would pocket it into a bottle and bring it to the school for sale. The most competitive students began bidding for it. He could only produce one bottle per day but that just made the profit all the higher. The joy of making profit pushed back the hate he was nursing for his family. It was not like he could do anything about it. They were the royals, even if he could over throw them, who would follow him? So, the cycle would go until today something unforeseen happened.
"Sorry. I do not need it anymore since midterms are over, but I would be happy to buy it again when end of term comes around" Without the pressure of exams, most students did not want to buy the drug. He eventually made his way sulking to the top of the library 's spire. The glass glittered as the bottle fell into the forest below. The idea that he thought to throw himself from the top of the tower did not surprise him. In the past days his thoughts had grown increasingly dark. He almost asked one of his sisters for help before becoming angered that they did not notice his suffering, No one noticed, or no one cared enough to notice. It was at this moment an idea brightened his day.
Magi usually went down to the servs side to revel in their superiority but even when on his meds, their cheers made him smile widely. He would go down there before his next class and give them a rousing show. That will lighten his mood. The boy was beaming, and his face seemed to shine as he made his way to the wall lock for the Servs side.
Alice Macey was enjoying her cake as she always did in the servs 's garden. It was a small but relaxing place. There was a moderately large water fountain and the roof open to the air. Usually the bench was filled with students taking in the shade of the tree and chatting, but they often made way for her out of respect for how she treated them.
"Oh, the day just keeps getting better" Alice spoke through a mouth full of cake. She had finished returning marks for her midterms. Some students were sad but a pat on the back was enough to encourage them. Hujinn even seemed to be in a better mood lately. Now the gods blessed her with a magic show. It was bad form for a magi to be entertained by the parlor tricks, but they still brought a smile to her face.
"ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for art,"
Malik threw up his arms as he leapt onto the edge of the fountain.
"Excitement"
He raised the water behind him into two pillar that whirled like spiraling stair cases.
"And let us not forget beauty"
It was with these words that he shaped the water columns into the girls who showed him the most adoration.
"And do not worry lads I promise a lot of actions as well"
The Pillars with the faces of the girls collapsed into two large serpents which began to bite at each other with sharp fangs. None of the students found the sounds made by the water odd, indeed they hissed like real serpents. Most Servs could not see magic like this everyday and very few among them could exercise such control.
Truth be told neither could Malik, all that the students witnessed was an illusion, the sound effects were part of the illusion. Manipulating water especially to such a degree was beyond the young magi and as such he opted to use illusions. Alice was aware of it but still enjoyed the stories the boy told and the shows he put on.
Joy filled him as the servs in their varied clothes came before him to witness the show. Today would be the Tail of how the Serv Knight, Mariegold and the Magi Forrester over came the undead armies of the forsaken lich. The zombies and heroes all made of the illusionary water, their battles played out in the air above Malik 's head. He did not have the time for the full story and almost every child knew the story, so he kept to the most violent and romantic parts. His audience was cheering, and he could even see a smile on the face of the teacher, sitting under the tree. He never spoke with her but the idea that even a grown-up Magi enjoyed his performance, made him overflow with joy. Usually his medicine would suppress such an extreme joy but there seemed be no cap to his happiness. The joy and focus were thrown into his illusion and they became more detailed. He called upon his clan 's ability to channel their emotions into their spell works. The zombies when slain began to pile up rather than dissolve back into water. It was in the middle of the show that something hit Malik in the head. His focus was broken, and the illusion faded.
"Get out of here !!!!!!!!!!!!!" The voice shouted full of sadness. "And you have you all forgotten what they did to Salis?"
It was a girl with yellow hair. It was not a bright colour, more of a dirty hay like material.
"Agos killed him and now you welcome one here to show you party tricks like a bunch of children. Well we haven't forgotten"
The girl twisted her face in anger at the entire group. Her friends arrived with a basket of eggs from places unknown and they began to hurl them at the Magi.
The students wishing not to be apart of this began to slowly leave the plaza as eggs rained on the performer. Alice want to intervene but Malik started to play along and toss jokes at them.
"You know if you wanted a cook out I could have brought my chef 's hat" He taunted them with a smile on his face. The servs did not notice that even when the eggs hit their target,they would simply pass through. Alice decided not to intervene since the graceful dodging of the Magi was an illusion. The real Malik just stood there unseen, joking at them while his illusion danced around the eggs.
"Should I light a fire and we can rose these eggs" It was a poor choices words, seeing as he did not know, Galin had burnt the boy to death but simply hoped to make an eggcelent pun. His illusion called a small ball of flame to his hands, but the crowd seemed to turn on him.
"You aren't wanted here" The shouting began "You do not belong here!" The chants grew louder and louder.
Malik was becoming increasingly upset, His cheering crowd had turned on him for something that was not his fault. He thought to strike the hay haired girl but that would only make things worse. He resolved to flee under the cover of his illusion, but his foot slipped and with a splash he landed in the fountain. The water itself would have been embarrassing enough but all the eggs that passed through his illusion had dirtied the water.
Alice jumped to her feet, dropping the crumbs that remained of her snack rushing to aid the student, all the while the students cheered. Before she could take a third step, something dark with sharp wings flew out of the water and headed down the halls making at an astonishing rate.
"We did it!" The leader cheered and led her warband in celebrations.
"Stop that right this instant!" Alice yelled at the troop and their sudden supporters. She was a teacher that the students rarely saw angry and some even doubted she could be angry.
"Why on earth did you do that to the poor boy?"
"Poor, he is a Magi, His life is worth twenty of ours" on of the troop shouted in anger.
"I can understand" Alice started in a calm voice.
"Understand what!" "You are one of them that is why you are taking their side!" "We cannot expect any better from their ilk!"
Alice was no stranger to the hate harbored by the servs in fact she was certain that in some place of every serv 's heart there was a scar where they would pack up the hate they felt for the Magi.
That was one of the reasons she always taught with love and compassion. Hate is a fire that burns and consumes all. Hating these mere children would not change anything but she could not let them hurt people that were kind to them. The crowd had gotten loud and proud now especially since the more moderate servs had fled into the halls. She simple stood there in complete silence and stared at each and everyone of the cheering mass of fifteen until they were curious enough to listen.
"One of you tell me what that boy has done to you" Her voice was calm, but one could feel the annoyance beneath it.
"They killed Salis" The first reply came quick and was easy to fill in.
"That is what Galin Agos did. I am asking you what that did brown haired magi do to you, Elise" She singled out the girl who seemed to start it all. In fact, the girl 's book which was thrown before her eggs arrived currently lay at Alice 's feet. Alice stood before the fountain waiting on a response from either the girl or the mass. Some began to wonder off.
"No, you all wait here" Alice stopped the stragglers.
"We have class" came the excuse from one of them. She made and attempt to know all of her student personally but there were so many. That being said there were some here whose stories she did know.
"When this is sorted out you can tell them I kept you" It was not her place to deal with this. She could let them go about their business, but she saw what was really happening. She may have been the only one to notice but she heard sadness not rage in Elise 's voice. That could be dealt with another day but for not the anger that Elise was stoking to her own ends could not be allowed to flourish.
"You cannot keep us here!" In response to this outcry she simple froze the entrances to the plaza in sheets of ice.
"I ask again, what had that boy ever done to you?" The students seemed too distracted by the sealed doors to be in a mood to think. They spoke with each other and some moved to the far corner of the plaza in defiance.
It may have been impossible for Malik but with some ease, Alice summoned the water to slither into her hand, leaving the egg residue behind. She froze the ice shard into a make shift flute and began to play it. The students stopped their chatting and sat. Those still isolating themselves in defiance, sat far off where she had been eating her cake. The song went on for a few minute but was interrupted by a knock on the almost crystal-like Ice entrance. Alice dutifully made an opening for the read haired girl to come through.
"You decided to cut class and come here to play music," The girl pouted "Very disappointing Ms Macey. We may have to call give you extra work." It was then that the small girl led the charge of the level 1 class into the plaza. It was adorable to see the 15-year-olds when they just arrived. They moved like a herd. Rarely breaking from each other 's company, gathered in groups of ten or more. They all bonded over being strangers in a strange place.
During the first term many of them were homesick. Alice tried to act as a mother away from home to make them more comfortable, adapting to such a new place. They came looking for her since she was not there to greet them in the classroom.
"alright class, please take seats next to the bigger children and show them how good children behave."
"We didn't do anything wrong" the girl could not seem to hold her tongue in the face of the jest.
"Oh is that so?" with her level 1 s present, she decided it best not keep the mood too grim and serious. After all she now had back up and could not be easily shouted down as her precious class was now there to outnumber the older voices.
She made cartoonish expression of curiosity and before inquiring "Then what did you do?"
"We avenged Salis" They chanted in unison.
"I thought it was Agos that killed Salis?" she smiled as she prodded the group.
"He is a Magi and they are all Magi!" One of the boys yelled getting to his feet. Alice simply motioned him to join the rest of them in sitting, herself now resting on the fountain.
"I am a Magi would you like to throw books and eggs at me?" She asked the group. The answers were unanimously no. The group was in an uproar with the smaller ones chanting they would return the hail of books and eggs on anyone daring to throw things at her. The older ones agreed that they would not. She merely smiled as she watched and waited for the bravado especially amongst the smaller ones to dissipate
She waited until quiet was restored before continuing.
"Class, I know you all are happy to show how smart and amazing you are but please let the older ones answer because they did something very bad"
A waving hand shot up from one of the boys from her class. She simply paused mid statement and pointed to him signaling him to begin.
"What did they do?"
"They pushed the magi that does tricks for us into the fountain" The small red-haired girl answered without hesitation. This was the same one that led the class to find her. She was a bossy person but sweet once you got to know her.
"The magical thing about this school is how quickly gossip spreads" She chuckled at the joke before correcting her students.
"Class is it ok to throw eggs and books at people?" she gazed at her level ones to let them know to answer.
"No, Ms" They answered in a motley unison.
"Only if they try to steal your eggs" It was Andrew who answered.
"Well ok Andrew, If they try to steal your eggs then you can throw them." Alice chuckled at his joke. She knew he was a farm boy that was still a little homesick. Putting him in the stable helped to ease it but he still longed for the animals of his homestead.
"What they did was throw it at an innocent student who was putting on a show that I know many students enjoy" She gave a harsh look to Elise who started all of this.
"He is not innocent it is people like him that killed Salis" Elise shouted.
This was going nowhere; the conversation was circling but she had to persevere. They could not go on hurting innocent people. She could not stand for that.
"All that magi ever do when he comes down here is put on a show for the department. I have never seen him hurt anyone, attack anyone. He did not even try to fight back when you all were throwing things at him"
"we overwhelmed him with superior numbers" Elise seemed proud of what she accomplished. Alice could not help but rest her palm on her head in frustration.
"Show of hands how many of you legitimately believe you could have taken that Magi in a fight?" To her surprise, one of her level ones put up her hands.
"why do you think so Falin?" She asked the boy who she thought of as timid.
"what does legitimately mean?" He asked the teacher in his usual sheepish manner.
"It means erm the words escape me right now"
"It means rightfully or who here believes it to be true" One of the older boys answered for her.
"Thank you Yorick" She had lost some of their stories along the way as her students grew distant from her but she almost never forgot their names. She may have from time to time forgotten which names belonged to which faces though.
It was clear to her that if she was going to get the students to understand what they were doing, she would need to remove them situation itself and take a larger look at the picture. She was supposed to be teaching them arcane manipulation, but a life lesson should work fine as well.
"Alright let's take a break from this Issue and I will tell you a story" She announced.
"We don't want a story!" The older ones started but were soon shouted down by the level 1s. She waited until silence was restored before beginning her tale.
"Ms Can I go to the bathroom?" Ones of the teenagers under the tree who seemed perfectly fine.
"Maybe later once we finish up here" She smiled at the teenager who was eager to run from his perceived scolding.
"A long time ago there was a kingdom far to the south." The children sat and focused on her words but some kept whispering among each other.
"There was a King named Olaf. He ruled with his son and daughter. His wife had died in giving birth to her son. The king grieved for many months, but"
"He tried to raise her from the dead and her zombie killed him" An older girl shot up, trying to rush the story ahead. There were many stories about the horrors that will happen if you try to re animate the dead. Most target the magi who could do it but Servs revel in how gory and scary the tales often became and the death of the Magi the caused it. Acting out such cautionary tales were one of the few times they could portray their Magi leaders as incompetent and evil.
"Dalia Please go stand up at the back of the crowd please"
The girl twisted her face in displeasure, but Alice simply smiled kindly and paused the story until she moved to the back.
"As I was saying, the king resolved that he would cherish his family and prevent any ill from befalling them." She could read the expressions on the students, most already knew something bad was about to happen but they were curious as to what.
"One day while out riding, the boy was attacked by a bog beast. The creature rose from the river and attempted to pull the boy 's horse into the river. Bog beasts were creatures made of vines and all sorts swamp plants. They eat the large animals and can be mistaken for golem or treants"
"My village has those near us. We are not allowed to go near that part of the swamp" One of the older children exclaimed now thoroughly enticed by the story.
"yes, yes. You may sit down now Dalia" Alice motioned to the girl who was by now standing for some time.
"The boy was badly injured before his aids could come to his aid." She could see some of the other ones, smile at the mangling of someone who was not a commoner.
"So, he limped back to a castle. The king was furious. He ordered for his men to find and kill bog beast. The problem was that they could not tell the creatures apart and, in the water, they were not even certain what this one looked like." It was the next part that she needed to be clear with, the idea that blind rage destroys everything.
"In the end he had a bold idea. They would burn the entire Valley to ensure that the bog beast which hurt his son died. Do you think that was a good idea?"
The class appeared confused before the same boy put up his hands "No they can just hide in the river. If it is deep enough" It was the boy whose village was near a cloister them.
"Yes, but it was also very bad. Did the other bog creatures do anything to him that all of them should die?"
"They are just beasts it is not like they can think or feel" The older ones protested. It was clear that made up stories were not the way to handle this situation. She reached back through history and settled on a tale of valor and kindness. It was often told Magi as an example of why servs are barbaric creatures, but she hoped the more propaganda side would win out.
"Alright. I have another story for you after this one, A true story about people in a war a long time ago."
"We want that one now!" a minority shouted.
"This is what I mean you all have no consideration. What about your friends and classmates that want to hear the rest of the story.
"Can we just go to our classes, already?" One of the boys at the side protested. It was clear they were not proud at what they had done or maybe it was that they did not want to go be reminded of it.
"So under the king 's orders the valley was set ablaze with all the animals and trees being burnt to ash" The students did not seem particularly shocked or horrified by this turn of events. They were probably thinking about what the next story would be.
"Some months later the princess fell ill. The king was at a lost and summoned doctors from all over his domain"
"I hate when they do that" One of the level 1s spoke up this time. Alice knew that his mother was a healer and when such calls went out by the regional clan, she would be away sometimes for weeks.
"Yes, it is very inconsiderate, I suppose" She joked with the boy for a bit before continuing the story.
"No one knew what caused it, but one healer knew the cure. They would need the heart of a bog beast. The heart would be crushed the dried and mixed into a soup. The healer had not brought any with her, fearing that she would arrive late if she packed up all of her goods. They petitioned the king to get the heart, but all the nearby bog beasts were killed in the blaze. The king sent to the neighboring kingdom, but the heart arrived too late and the princess passed from this world."
Alice sighed and solemnly put her hand on her chest in a moment of silence for the fictional princess.
The class broke into an uproar. "That is not how fairy tales are supposed to end Ms. They are supposed to be happy endings." Truth be told in the original story the princess lived but Alice decided to add some shock value since they seemed so disinterested in the ordinary story.
"Well it is not a fairy tale, it is a fable." She waited but no one asked what the difference was.
"A fable has a lesson that we can learn. What did you learn from this?"
"Do not hap-hazardly burn down entire forests?" This was not the suggestion Alice hoped for, but she could have worked with this.
"Yes, would it not have been better to Kill only the bog men?" She put it to the children knowing full well that there was a flaw in targeting all the bog men.
"But wouldn't killing all of them just destroy the heart as well?" Yes, that is why justice would be killing only the one that attacked his son.
"who cares anyway they are just bog beasts? There will always be more somewhere in the world" The statement shook Alice, it was they type of attitude the Magi often took with servs. "What if a few die. There will always be more right?" The statement took her back to a time in her past.
She returned from her daze to see the students staring at her in anticipation. "Very well. Here is a story about what happens when between our kind when anger flow unchecked. Do you all know about the Siege of Florition? Florition was a powerful city on the edge of the Dirk Empire. It was very rich from trade and protected by powerful magi. They came into conflict with the Neighboring hordes of the Gurren Confederation. The city had expanded into the confederation in an effort to stop the constant harassment by the confederation army. The confederation raised five massive armies to take back the lands and capture the city. Most armies of that time were formed of servs with the key leaders being magi."
"Typical" on of the level ones scoffed Alice chose to ignore this. Tensions between the groups could not evaporate but they could not be beating up the gentle Magi who are kind.
"The smallest army was clan Fredrick. They were the only group to not use any servs. This made the other group suspicious of them. The Dirk Empire separated their armies into Serv and none serv battalions. Clan Fredrick only conscripted magi for their forces the comparison was enough to make some in the confederation weary of them.
The battle had been bloody to carve their way back to the city 's borders. Sieging went on for weeks and the Dirk empire would send Reinforcements soon. Being caught between the city walls and the Empire 's army was not something that the leaders could allow.
She could see the student 's eyes light up with the imagery of armored warriors scaling walls and fighting sword to sword. She tried to not paint the Fredricks as too prejudice in fact it was their better treatment of servs that allowed the clan to leave them relatively alone at home working the land to campaign abroad.
"Clan Axeford, the largest of clans, used them magics to empower their soldiers. The soldiers charged the walls indifferent to their death and began creating a small hill using their corpses. After some minutes the mound was tall enough to allow them to climb it into the city. Fredrick's group watched in horror as the foot men threw their bodies at the wall. Men dying with screams like beast, trampling one another.
The battle leader, Richardo crossed with his men once the front line had pushed into the city. It was a scene of horror. The Soldiers were keen to avenge their comrades and were slaughtering, raping and pillaging. They refused to heed the orders of Clan Fredrick and the serv field commanders were glad to ignore the commands of the magi from clan Fredrick. The smell of blood and the screams of women and children were becoming damp in the air. In frustration Ricardo took out his sword and cut open two men that were raping a serv girl in the street"
When told to magi it was important to specify that the atrocities were committed by unsupervised servs and aside from one or two magi scatter across the battle field, Fredrick's Clan were the only confederate Magi on the battlefield. Whether true or not this was how the history was recorded.
"He put the girl with one of his riders and ordered them back to rally with the rest of his host. His men who were scouting other parts of the city also brought back refugees who were falling victim to the army. Ricardo left his Chauncy Fredrick in charge of the city and went with all his haste to a village about half a day 's ride from the city. It was here the top clan leaders spent their days drinking while the army fought. He needed to inform them of what their men were doing and the urgent need to withdraw to regain order."
The class was deeply sickened as Alice went on to describe the horror 's Chauncey recorded as he led the band through the city rescuing serv and magi alike. Even those on the far bench came closer to hear the details.
"Eventually they held up inside a plaza. By now they could no longer avoid conflict with the other armies and were in open conflict. The defenders slept in shifts, all the while keeping an eye on their "rescued" since at any moment they might turn on them as well. Chauncy wanted desperately to expand the area he controlled but there were just too many. He had fortified the band in a market district. Defending against superior numbers, they lost more men than they had in the entire campaign. It was then as Chauncy and his remaining resolved to die defending the refugees. The Dirk empire arrived, riding drakes and other beasts of war. The roaring drakes were enough to scatter the invading army, except chancy and his force which was too tired to flee. In the end they were able to protect only a small fraction of the city 's population but they were welcomed into the Dirk empire for their kindness" There was a lot more to this story and a large amount of political intrigue on Ricardo 's end when he did reach the other leaders, but they needed to know why they should tame their rage and not a political thesis on the political structure of bygone eras.
The children did not cheer they simply looked upset at the story.
"So, tell me then, older ones? Who were you in the story when you threw things at the performer? Were you brave warriors defending the department or were you like clan Axeford? Murdering innocent people because you were angry about something they did not do?" She did not expect an answer, nor did she get one. The looks they gave each other spoke volumes. She knew somewhere in herself that come tomorrow this lesson maybe be forgotten but at least now they had some perspective on what they had done.
"Well there is about ten minutes left in this teaching period. I suppose I should finish what he started"
With that, Alice still seated to avoid slipping into the fountain began to create true water and ice sculptures. They lacked the sound of the boy 's illusions but they did have more detail and moved in a wider range.