Special Instructor I

On the morrow, Aurelia found her companion in his room refining a mixture in a simple iron cauldron he'd bought back in Salem. The sight of him made her heart wrench. He was pale as milk, and his lips blue. Tears leaped from her eyes as she charged to wrap her arms around him, hopeful her body heat might warm his cold body. 

Zariel Astral Qi lashed out, catching her mid-air. He settled her down beside him without breaking eye contact with his mixture. With his inability to heal, he had to steal the properties of healing from various herbs. A process that was as time-consuming as it was tedious. 

"Did you enjoy your night?" He asked, tossing in some Summer Yarrow and Ghost Shade before giving it a good mix within the caldron. 

"Dumb-Dumb… your bleeding," Aurelia cried, sniffling about. 

"I know… I broke through yesterday. Seems I miscalculated on how pure my Arcana is. It's too strong for the current me," He replied, his tone without emotion. It was as if he wasn't talking about himself. 

The thought of her Dumb-Dumb dying had frightened her to no end. Zariel was not just her companion. He was her brother, her mentor, and her best friend. 

Her fears made her even more mournful. "DUMD-DUMB DON'T DIE!!!!" 

"Damn it, Woman! I'm not dead yet! Just give me ten minutes! Fuck!" 

Aurelia was immune to his crast way of speaking, hugging him tightly, and cried loudly, "Don't die! Kay!" 

Mournfully, the boy relented to his fate. He hadn't the energy to get distracted. 

The refinement within the concoction had been a simple elixir. Something any man or fool could produce. It required no flame, only the ability to mix. Once it entered through the mouth, Zariel would begin extracting the genetic components to grant a temporary healing factor. 

After Ten minutes, Aurlia watched through teary eyes as her dumb-dumb lips began to return to their normal complexion. 

"See? All better." 

"Liar." Aurelia snorted. She held him tighter. "I can feel the broken bones in your arms." 

"That'll take a few months to heal." 

"Will it always be like this?" she asked, treading her hands through his hair, brushing the hair out of his eyes.

Zariel's eyes were cold, filled with schemes. "It will if you don't grow stronger. The more I am forced to protect you. The more damage I take." 

As the morning light of dawn struck her golden eyes, a profound fire lit up in a blaze of glory. "Really?" 

"I've no reason to lie," He said, unsure if his words were true or not. They had enough truth to it. 

"Then Aurelia will become strong then!" She swore.

***

In the weeks that followed, Zariel became rather intrigued by the various students' lifestyles within Trinity. It had all seemed so laid back. They did not need to work and did not need to worry about food or boarding. The college had covered all of that. All that was required of students was that they learn and respect Trinity's Handbook. A towering monstrosity Aurelia dreaded reading. 

It took a week to cover the material and another to get a feel of Trinity's layout. But even so, Zariel found himself lost more often than not. He'd blamed the building itself, claiming it was moving. A lie he was quite adamant to tell himself.

Still, most of Zariel's time was spent in Salem tinkering with the High Elves' blood. He was of the mind of integrating the bloodline into his soul. It was a tricky endeavor he was not quite proficient in yet.

He was there now, studying Zyile's blood, when a knock sounded over his cellar door, pulling him from his studies. He saw Aureila enter with Selene. 

"Wow… Every time I enter this place, it feels like I've entered another world." Selene mused. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just returning to Trinity." 

Zariel didn't mind anymore. The blood of a High Elf, while not the rarest, was highly uncommon within the Twelve Realms. Housing one of the highest attunement towards the element of nature. Few races could compete, especially when it came to healing or summoning. 

Aurelia pulled her along towards the teleporter and stopped suddenly. "Ah… Malos. People are watching our home. I counted ten."

"Did you kill them?"

"No. 

'What a shame." 

"Should I kill them?"

"If you feel like it." 

Selene made a nervous smile. "Look here! You are not to kill innocent people." 

The two looked at her peculiarly. Their expression asking, 'Why?' 

'And they call me a psychopath,' She thought, annoyed. "Killing when you haven't even proven—"

"Think if we burn one of them alive, they'll back off?" Aurelia asked, tilting her head. 

"We'd have to do it in the town square for all to see." 

Again, Selene felt she needed to inform them, "Killing openly is not the way to do things. You'll get locked up and kicked out of—" 

"Not if the fire doesn't kill them. We can extinguish them before they die." Aurelia was assured, her eyes sparkling. "Yeah, lets—" 

Selene bonked her on the head, pulling her through the teleporter against her protest. 

"What a silly thing," He laughed, pulling himself from his research. He looked up, peering into the void of the endless Weave on to the Karmic string connecting to him. "Hey, Zero… how long are you going to keep me waiting? Hell is sure to have figured out that I've escaped. It would be nice to have some assistance."

The string snapped. 

"And everyone says I'm an asshole. Literally, there is no bigger asshole than Zero." 

***

Within his classroom the following day, Zariel sat lazily in his chair, yawning with a drowsy expression. Today had marked the first day of the school year. Most students who had left campus for summer vacation had returned, filling the dorms and halls with chatter.

Most of it was about the new Special Instructor who had just made nine or eight. 

Various officials from the three powers had all gathered in protest or appeared out of sheer curiosity. Followed by various parents of students have been unlucky enough to be chosen. 

They had all been looking for Zariel for weeks now, but the boy never participated in meetings, much less orientation. His face was an unknown one until today. 

As students, ambassadors, professors, and parents all fluttered into his room, consumed with complaints, Zariel paid them no mind. Too busy studying Zyila's biology. 

"Alright now," said the Headmaster, forcing a wry smile. "Why don't you all take a seat first? Students first, then parents." 

In the face of Augustine Wright, the Headmaster and one of the greatest Arcanists of his Era. A hint of order echoed through the class, quelling the disgruntled parents and students alike. 

Aurelia and Zyila sat up front, their faces the only happy ones among the twelve students. 

When the bell rang out, the hologram of Arcana dissipated into light nodes as Zariel finally rose.

"Mr. Blackwater," A small girl with fuzzy hair and two large teeth called. "Umm… Are you… Are you really nine?" 

'It's been what? Two or three years since my descent? Am I nine?' He wondered and shrugged, too lazy to think back on it. 

"It's irrelevant. Age is but a number. What is important is my knowledge." he shook his head. "Don't ask stupid things." 

The girl turned red and lowered her hand. 

"Such a basic thing, and you can't answer it?" Professor Vortis intervene. 

"Tell me, Professor Vortis. If a bandit raids a village. Do you think they'll care about your age? They'll kill you or sell you. That is the reality. My age isn't as important as the reason why I've been assigned as an instructor. If you've got complaints." And he pointed to the Headmaster standing awkwardly. " Talk to him."

The chatter of conversation spun through the classroom with discontent. Shouts from parents came like a storm. 

"Silence!" Zariel commanded, his voice lashing at the spirit like a dagger. So perfectly hard and soft, many were stunned into a state of silence. He lifted a finger, slowly by hand, creating an immaculate drawing of sigils and runes intertwining in a complex array of pentagrams.

Professor Vortis and the Headmaster gaped in shock. Slowly becoming spellbound by what hung above the boy's finger. 

"This is the Basic Core of a Transmutation Circle. A foundation from which all transfiguration originates. Please memorize and copy it down." 

Zariel saw their blank looks, noticed the lack of material for the class, and snapped. Transfiguring the air around into notebooks and pencils, he laid them out before all twelve of his students. Watching them marvel in shock.

"Copy." 

The bucked tooth girl raised a hand. "Sir… um… Will we learn how to do that?" 

"It might take you a few years to get as good as me. But if you've got the basic material in front of you. I'm sure you'll be able to do it. In maybe three weeks. It's not that hard to grasp." Zariel told her. "Any more questions? Question pertaining to the Transmutation Circle?" 

Another student raised a palm, a boy with long red hair and emerald eyes. "Ummm, how are you able to draw on empty space?" 

Zariel tilted his head then. "Can you use Spirit Domains?" 

The students all nodded.

"Good, that'll make it easier. Then, pull the Arcana not into your body but around the finger. It'll take a few days to get the hang of it if you're talented. A few weeks if you are untalented. But it's an easy feat. Once you do so, just think of drawing, and the Arcana will listen." 

Aurelia giggled, amused by how the early chatter dwindled. All of them were gaping at the most basic Transmutation circle he'd shown her during their first lesson. 

"Now. By the time of the midterms. Each of you should be able to tranfigure without a basic circle like me. That should be the bare requirement for any idiot thinking of entering the field." 

Again, the buck tooth girl raised a hand. "Ummm, Mr. Blackwater. How is that possible? Isn't transfiguration—" 

Zariel pointed towards all the adults, glaring hard at the formation he'd created. "Look around you. Do you see how transfixed they are?" 

The twelve students nodded. 

"Do you know why?" 

The children all shook their heads. 

"It's because they're not looking with their eyes but their soul. All of you come closer. Allow your spirit domain to touch upon the Transmutation Circle and see what your eyes have blinded you to. When it comes to the arcane, never look with the eyes, but the soul."

They all ran closer, opening their domain that couldn't have been larger than ten meters. All except Aurelia, who didn't need extra lessons on the basics but was all the more happy to gloat. 

Within that Transmutation Circle housed a complexity and harmony that could not be learned through words. It was a feeling, an instinct that needed to be mended to the soul. 

"Fascinating,' said Professor Vortis, coming too. Pulling out his notebook from his robe, he began copying down the Transmutation Circle, unsure how such a thing could exist. He trembled, transfixed by the world within that Circle.