Glacies Orientation (4)

The crowd, both above and below, were speaking in hushed tones but due to the sheer number of people it sounded akin to a wave crashing against a sandy shore. A constant wave, a constant ebb and flow of noise could be heard as the chattering continued. Then, all at once, it stopped.

Walking on the stage was a group of men and women, each wearing a different colored robe. At the head of them was a middle-aged man with graying hair whose robe was of a pale blue color. Those who had the gift of sense could clearly tell that the man was no ordinary fellow, as every which way he walked it was as if heat itself would flee in fear. Not only was his aura cold, but his entire demeanor was frigid and formal. Behind him were the presiding professors of the new first years, or so Cyrus guessed when he saw Caligo and Cilla walking with them, six in total.

The finely aged man at the head walked slowly but steadily towards the podium, taking his place on it and cast his sharp eyes towards the crowd at large. Meanwhile, the professors flanked him from either the left or right with a clear look of respect reflected on each of their faces. With a gesture from the professor clad in green robes, the man on the podium began to speak.

"I am the headmaster of this Academy, Grandmaster Xerxes Glacies" said the apparent headmaster, his voice projecting not only from where he stood but also from all around.

"Today we welcome the next iteration of students to our ranks. Among them are those who will become the guardians of the future, while others will seek to maintain our present. No matter which becomes which, know that sitting in this very room is the Empires strength" said the headmaster as he put one hand forth.

"Each and every one of my future students, I ask you: What is magic? Is it a form of power, to show off one's skill to all?"

As he spoke, the temperature of the entire room dropped ever so slightly as an icy mist began to form above the stage where the headmaster stood. With a snap of his fingers, the mist turned into beautiful yet fragile ice flowers with glistening petals. They slowly spun as they fell towards the ground, before dissipating right before they touched the ground.

"Is it meant to crush our enemies, to open the path for civilization?"

The delicate snow petals combined with one another, forming sharp and deadly spikes that hurtled toward the ground with startling speed. Once more, they faded into nothingness right as they were about to hit the floor.

"Perhaps, it is meant to form the foundations of all. To shelter us, to protect us, and to allow us to thrive in a hostile world."

The falling spikes stopped in place, each rising once more while growing in size. Suddenly, each spike exploded into a powder that settled towards the ground obscuring vision of the stage for a moment. When it cleared up, what was revealed was an ice model of the entire city in which they resided. Each wall was displayed, each building was erected, and there were even small ice people standing in the streets possibly ordering from stalls.

"Nay, it is not a single one of these…but all of them and more. Magic…is a way of life, it is a school of thought, and it is a way of thinking. It forces us to carefully study the world around us, asking why are things the way they are and dissect it into understandable parts. Through careful study, accumulation of knowledge, and then the wisdom that comes from the application of said knowledge… we can do anything."

Both his hands slowly rose into the air, and up above the entire crowd each and everyone saw the birth of a city.

"Through careful research, we discovered how to erect tall and sturdy structures. This allowed us safe havens from the beasts that lurk the outside world."

The city grew in size and scope, eventually smaller cities began to form around it equally distant from one another.

"With careful application of knowledge, we were able to move massive amounts of supplies across long distances that we never before thought was possible. Allowing us to move forward throughout the land and erect many more bastions for human civilization, or to conquer those created by those who would reject magics majesty."

As the cities continued their growth in complexity, size, and scope smaller settlements began to appear with vast farmlands surrounding them.

"Through careful trial and error, we were able to breed the swiftest horses that consumed the least amount of energy that was fit for combat. This allowed us to form a large organization that could scour the land for our enemies, both beast and man. With the increased safety and security we could then expand our borders even further, we could farm arable land that was never safe enough to use before and our citizens were for once...finally… no longer required to hide away in our towering cities and could roam the land freely."

Looking above, one would not be chided for believing that an entire ice world had formed above them. Complex cities, vast forests, lakes and rivers, villages and settlements and even vast fields of icy grass and frozen hills could be seen. If the crowd had been forced to silence by the majesty of the Grandmaster before, now they were cowed into silence in awe.

Lowering his hands, causing the parallel world created above to slowly fade into nothingness, the headmaster spoke once more

"Magic is varied and it is versatile. It has more applications than we can imagine and more than perhaps we can ever know. Yet, it is here at Glacies where we seek to teach and inspire our students to meet that challenge and uncover the unknown, to push the boundary of what we think to be possible one step further through their own effort. To ask a question that no one has ever thought of, to do careful research in the direction of the question, to transform the question into a valuable hypothesis, to carefully experiment in an effort to prove what they believe and then, after much trial and error… to succeed in bringing something new into the world, something never before seen."

The headmaster then stepped down from the podium, with his hands behind his back he began walking to the side of the stage slowly becoming hidden from view. However, his voice rang out once again as he left.

"That, is what magic is"

With the last of these words, the entire spectating crowd broke into a standing ovation. To them, those who do not walk the path of magic, what they witnessed was an amazing spectacle and an inspiring speech that was worth all the coin they paid to bear witness to it.

To the students, however, what they witnessed… was far different.

The petals were beautiful to the naked eye, and to the magical sense it displayed a scene of the perfect application of essence manipulation.

The spikes were deadly and dangerous to the casual observer, but to them they were a creation of essence that was made with but a single tweak to each ice flower showing off impossible control over the world at large.

The creation of the ice world above, caused most of the students to simply blank out in shock. Their thoughts stilled, their minds turned blank and some even had their eyes roll back. What they witnessed was not mere essence manipulation… but creation itself.

Coming to their senses, the students had varied reactions. Some were humbled by the experience, some had their passions ignited, while others experienced unending greed and lust for such ability. Regardless, all of them learned a valuable lesson this day.

Cyrus, however, did not have any outward reaction to the display. Inside him, was another story.

"I want that, I require that, I need that, I MUST have that… that skill, that control, that knowledge, that ability, that wisdom, that intelligence, that understanding that…" thought Cyrus, unendingly and unceasingly as his greed was transformed into obsession which was quickly transforming into insanity. Luckily for him everyone around him was still relishing in the afterglow of what they had just experienced, even the normally uncaring Minerva.