Mark of the Rising Sun

As the end of the term approached, I realized that I didn’t have enough time to read through the books. Between football, magic, and Kat all my time was used up. At the end of the term, we had to show that we had what it takes to move on to the next level, or it was sayonara for us. Even with my mad skills, and power, I was still nervous. Then there was the amount of stuff that the teachers were piling on. They weren’t really adding spells to our lists, but they were having us improve upon the spells we already knew. Making them stronger, making them better. It took all that I had to not be a nervous wreck. Kat had it worse as she was not as big of a natural as I was. It all came harder to her, and I had to take time to help her improve her work.

Other students were working hard, and then crashing at the end of the day, staying up all night studying and working, and even trying various herbs and things meant to stimulate magical power and intellect. One student went into a fit halfway through a class and had to be escorted out and calmed down. We didn’t see her for the rest of the day, and she looked pretty haggard the next day. Some people were overeating, others weren’t eating enough. Everyone was just a bundle of nerves.

Finally, the last week of classes began and the panic kind of went away for most of us. We realized that we had done everything we could to be ready, and either we had what it took or we didn’t. The schedules were different for everyone. We each had a 15-minute window with each of our teachers in order to do the required tasks. It was just the teachers, and us, no other students were allowed. The teachers would then grade the work and at the end of the week, we would know whether we could come back the following year, and based on the performances, what classes we would continue to take. That was partly how it was determined how many years a student can go before finishing school, at least at this one. Students could then, if they wished try at another school with less rigid structure.

My first test of the week was light class. My female professor gave me an encouraging smile before turning the lights off and enveloping us in darkness. “Now,” her voice rang out, “I would like you to create a light for me.” Her words from before came back to me, “Unless your goal is to blind your opponent, you don’t want to make your spells to bright, or it will hinder you as well.” Keeping that in mind, I made enough light to fill up the room, but not too bright that it hindered either of our sights.

“Now I would like you to focus your light. See what you can do with it, shape it, and mold it.” We had practiced this a little bit, but this was the first time I had had a chance to play with it. She led me through various skills including creating shadow puppets using only a small light that I created in the shape she asked for. It was fun, but at the same time, challenging and it gave me the deepest joy, as I was able to fulfill all the requirements placed before me. By the end, I was tired, but content with the level of work that I displayed. Since I didn’t have any more tests that day, I crashed on my bed and ruminated on the test. I figured that I passed, and would be taking the light classes again the following year.

Magical History was my next test, and it was the only test that was both written, and given to everyone at the same time. As soon as I started, I knew that there was no way I was passing this test. History had never been a strong suit for me, magical or not, and even though the magical history had been a lot more interesting, it still didn’t stick with my mind the way other subjects did. I looked through the several questions, putting an answer here and an answer there, and then put my head on the desk and waited until the end of the time since no one was allowed to leave while the test was in session. At the end, I turned in my paper and said goodbye to the teacher confident that I would never be taking a class with him again.

Next up was the biggie, Wind class. This was my element, and I had to pass it. Luckily, this was the only class I had never had any trouble in. The other classes, I had struggled at one point or another, but had always been stellar in wind. He had me bring up strong gusts of wind, and then gentler winds to hold things afloat. He had me focus my wind into just a small space, and even increase his speed a little. The last one he had never taught in class, but I had learned in football practice. He knew that I had been selected to join the team, and had added that piece to the test to see how I was doing in that regard. He was a big fan of the team, and wanted to make sure that only the best players were on the team.

The most interesting test was the test for integrating magic and life. It was kind of a freeform test, in which, we had to show our ability to mix the two without causing something that would make Norms suspicious of our activities. I couldn’t really think of anything too interesting to do until I remembered the idea I had on the field. I reached out with my mind to the teacher, and after some surprise, we talked.

I have found a way to communicate with others telepathically. There are many uses for this technique in the world, and in football. I hope to teach this to other magic users to create a form of communication that cannot be overheard by others. I might be able to focus this ability into a device to talk over long distances.

Impressive, I must admit. I have never seen the likes of it before. I have heard of people with familiars able to speak with them telepathically, but never has it broadened out into other minds as well. I hope to see what you do in the future.

With that, I broke the contact and we ended the test right there. Feeling pretty confident, I left for the day. When I got back to the dorm, Kat was practically pulling her fur out. I spent the next hour trying to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be alright. She was sure she had failed her test in one of her favorite classes. Eventually, I got her calmed down, and we began studying in earnest for our tests the next day.

With the healing final, it was pretty straight forward. We had a patient with a minor ailment that we had learned to take care of and heal him or her of that ailment. Healing was not a class I was great at, but I was able to fulfill all the requirements of the test and move on to the next year.

The last class, non-elemental magic was interesting as well, I had to think quickly and combine spells together to get the proper results for the tasks given to me. The teacher was quite strict and didn’t want any slackers getting in to the next year of her magical class. Despite the difficult tests, I was fairly confident of my success.

Since that ended my tests, I was able to devote more of my time to football practice, and learning skills that would help me in the coming school year. They were confident that I would make it into the second year. My time was also spent helping Kat prepare for her last test, the wind test. I knew she was capable of greatness, but she also got test anxiety, and I needed to be there for the worst of it. Luckily, I was a good friend, and a patient person as well.

Friday was a break day. All the tests were over and they were busy compiling our results. At the end of the day, we would know where we stood for the coming year. We waited with bated breath for the knowledge of our fates. The hallways and classrooms were empty. The bags were packed, and everyone was ready to go home, but this last event stood in our way. Some students would be joyful, others would be heartbroken.

About three o’clock in the afternoon, a paper magically appeared on the desk. With some anxiety, I picked it up and looked at it. Unsurprisingly, the only class that I had failed, and would be unable to continue, was the Magical History. The rest I passed with acceptable scores and better. Wind and Light classes were especially high scores, which I was quite proud of.

Kat had not achieved as good of marks, but she did pass most of her classes, including the one she had fretted about for most of the week. She would return the following year as my roommate, I didn’t want a new one. She seemed a bit quiet, but I could tell she was happy about the results even if they weren’t as good as she was hoping for. I decided that I would strive to help her further next year so she could achieve more.

With that, the school year ended and we all went home. My parents picked me up in the magical car, and we drove home while I regaled them with the exploits of the last year. The thought of trouble was far from my mind, I was only focused on enjoying my vacation, and spending more time alone with Hope.