First Lesson: Beauty and Tranquility

Lyzbeth Heredis

In the following morning, I wake up to a bright sunshine. It is already mid-morning! Oh, shoot! I'm late. I jump to my feet, and I forgot! The bed is floating. I fall on my knees so hard that it feels like I've broken them. I hurriedly look at my schedule, and damn! 'Tis still early. Classes start at noon today.

During my primary years at a school in Scire, classes start really early, but here, it starts really late. And so, I just did my usual routine. I went to the dormitory bathroom and took a bath. Then, I wore that green-checkered dress. The guide says this is a training outfit, but I'd say, this is a school uniform.

Just in time, I went for the breakfast banquet. It just feels so awkward to see so many people already fond of each other. I'm a new girl. I doubt anyone would want to be friends with a Scirese. I simply ate the breakfast without any complaints. The thing I've noticed here is that they eat really healthily here. When I said healthily, I literally meant healthily. All of the foods are natural. They do not eat meat since it classifies as "selfishness" and "cruelty". 'Tis another one of those ridiculous rules. As enchanters, we must uphold the value of selflessness for The Arts we practice run on selflessness, but really. Why are they taking a little too far with the meat?

In any case, the food is tasty anyway. There is a nice garden salad with an all-natural dressing. There's also bread and a little fruit pie. For a drink, there's a nice cooling juice (since the weather here is so warm).

So, this shall be my food for the years to come. Looks like I will become a vegetarian from now on. I miss Scire already with these foods.

By noon, I follow my schedule. It is my first class with Mistress Soprano. Her class is something about Radiant Arts Discipline. We were instructed to go to the field of yellow flowers. 'Tis quite a strange place indeed to be a place for a class. What discipline would we learn in a field of flowers?

Before we go to the field of flowers, Mistress Soprano's assistant started handing us with some kind of stench-resistant masks. So, are we going gardening today? I look around them, and it seems that they know why. Are the flowers poisonous? The assistant made sure that everyone is wearing a mask before we enter.

When she opens the gate, we enter the most beautiful flower field I've seen in Medeis. I don't see the reason why we need to wear a mask. I take the mask off, and there it goes. It smells awful. It was as if a million cows dumped their waste on this field. Damn!

"You're not from Cassida, are you?"

I was just putting my mask on again. The smell is killing me. I turn to my back, and there is a girl. She has a strawberry blonde hair that shines with the sun. Her amber eyes pierce through me like a thousand knives.

"Is it that obvious?" I ask in return.

"Sure is. No Cassidan would dare remove his/her mask in this field."

"What are these flowers anyway?"

"These are the Siaras. Beautiful, I know, but the scent is deceptive."

And, there goes awkward me again. I cannot believe I find it hard to keep this conversation going.

"What's your name?" she asks to break the silence.

"Lyzbeth Heredis, and you?"

"Trichen Clari. So, why study at Cassida? Is there no school for enchanters at your kingdom?"

Of course, there are many answers for that question, but there are only four words that sum up the answer for those two questions. "I come from Scire."

"Oh."

Her expression says it all. That's how infamous the Kingdom of Scire is around Medeis. Her face is a little aghast as she hears my explanation. Once more, I feel myself getting awkward. I look around and all I can see are my fellow enchanters. Girls, even though wearing a mask, complain of the scent. Boys, pretend to act manly enough to impress the ladies. Well, my troubles are not about the scent. I managed to get used to the scent anyway. I cannot help but adjust the belt of this green-checkered dress. Though it is already fine, this is the only way I can fidget away my nervousness.

"Now, don't be awkward now, girl!" Trichen exclaims. "We're going to have to stick together at this school for a very long time. Don't be nervous about your first class, though Mistress Soprano is always full of surprises."

And then, there she is. Mistress Soprano appears before us wearing a yellow stunning gown with crinoline skirts and short sleeves that expose her shoulders. This time, she wears a far different dress from the green square-cut sleeved gown she wore when she welcomed me into Lucerna. Even though she is wearing a yellow gown, she never changed her emerald jewels.

I cannot help but wonder. How can she walk over the field of Siaras with such grace and sophistication? How can she disregard the smell of these awful flowers? 'Tis like she's frolicking over a Rose garden. I can hear my fellow enchanters' whispers, but I cannot help but always be in awe about her. She has my admiration as my instructor, and it is the first time that an instructor has my respect.

Then, she claps her hands thrice. Is that a hidden signal or something? In any case, everyone stood upright and paid attention to her. I can see the turn of her face. The crook of her forehead says it all.

"'Tis a shame that you cannot stand the Siaras," Mistress Soprano says clearly. "Pulchritudo et Tranquilitas, beauty and tranquility: these are the things you shall learn in my keeping. You will learn to value beauty everywhere and to value the peace. These are the values of a Cassidan. Though some of you are from Symphonia, Crustallus, or what not, I expect that as an enchanter, you will learn to value nature for the very House of Floresco trusts only in enchanters to preserve this kingdom's beauty."

All of us are silent. She already discussed a semester of Radiant Arts Discipline. What else can we learn?

"But still, the Siaras are weeds that we must remove," she continued. "Your task today is to use a fireball attack to destroy these plants."

A fireball attack. It is one of the easiest attacks there is. There is no need for incantations. All you have to do is pour out your energy and shoot. That's it. Even though it is easy to create, it is difficult to control. If one just randomly shoots fireballs, the results will be devastating.

"Alright, you may begin!"

I was just about to shoot a fireball, but as I look around me fellow enchanters, I see that they are acting a bit too recklessly. They are just shooting fireballs everywhere without even considering the wildlife around them. The objective is only to remove the Siaras, not destroy this prairie. I tried shooting a few fireballs, but the results I get are far too small. The fireballs I make are merely the size of a pebble. It can only destroy a single Siara. There are thousands of weeds around here. If this keeps going on, it would take a full day for me to even kill a hundred.

And suddenly, Mistress Soprano claps her hands thrice again. All of my fellow enchanters suddenly stopped firing. Well, I think it's because we are done. All the Siaras are gone, and I only managed to kill ten. Ten! That is a disappointing number! Ten out of a thousand is not even a significant percentage.

Now, I'm starting to be more like a Scirese right now. I can't believe I'm running Math in my head.

But, something odd is happening. No one dares to speak. Mistress Soprano, who caught our attention, does not even say a word. Her lips are turned downward as if she is disappointed by something. As she shakes her head, I am starting to understand. We did something wrong, haven't we?

"All of you failed," Mistress Soprano says flatly.

With Mistress Soprano's words, the noise and haste of our class returned. Everyone had something to complain about, yet everyone is far too loud to be even understood. I was expecting that I would fail, but damn. I did not expect that all of us would fail as well. As I ponder this over, I see Trichen approach Mistress Soprano right in front. She did not dare! All of us put a great distance between us and her, and yet, Trichen just broke that.

"Mistress!" Trichen exclaims passionately. "How can we fail? We did as you asked."

Mistress Soprano does not even open her lips. She just uses her finger to point Trichen back to her place. Without further words, Trichen just steps back. After a brief sigh, Mistress Soprano gives us an answer.

"Did you remember my words, young ward? Pulchritudo et Tranquilitas, beauty and tranquility. You must apply this in everything you do. You did what I said, but did you take care not to hurt the trees around it? Did you hear how the grass cried when you fired at them with no reason? Did you see how the little grasshoppers and birds flew and went away for your spontaneity? I didn't think so."

She's right. The prairie is gone. It seems that this place has been uprooted for a building to be constructed. This used to be so beautiful that it is breath taking, but now 'tis just empty. The little creatures that once lived here have all died or gone away. 'Tis as if a wildfire raged through this little prairie. Too bad, it would take a long time for this beauty to grow back.

"There was one, however, that did not fail."

And, suddenly. All of us are agape. Everyone is whispering with each other. Silently, I know they are all hoping that it would be them. There is a chance that it's me, but yeah, my attack is a fail. I did not even do anything.

"Lyzbeth Heredis!"

It's me? It's me! What? How could it be me?