Aquila School of Magic IV

(Sandrine POV)

"I can't believe that we haven't eaten one dish twice in the last week. I didn't think there were so many different dishes in the world. Who are the cooks and how do they know so many dishes?", Mariella asked. 

"You're right. And they all taste delicious.", Joanna says. 

It has been a week since we arrived here at Aquila School of Magic. It took three days for us to see everything. Three days, just to see the entirety of the school campus. I saw many magical creatures. We even got to know some of the teachers and they made an intimidating first impression. But I'm sure they aren't as bad as they seem. Sunday is free for the students to do whatever they wish. On Saturday there it is possible to work on your own and ask the teachers from all the subjects questions if you have questions. All in all, there is a lot of self-study involved.

"I read about it in the library, the Emperor went on a long journey when he was younger and collected recipes from all across the world. That's why there could be more dishes than there are days in the entire year.", I tell them. I went to the library and the Head Librarian, recommended me some books to start off with. He was very nice to me. I can see that he loves his job.

"So we could eat a new dish every day?", Mariella asks.

"Yes. We could eat a new dish for two years, every day and still not eat something he had before. But the cooks are looking for the dishes, which the kids enjoy the most."

"Wait, when did you go to the library?", Joanna asked. 

"I went there on the days we were free. I like it there. There is so much to learn. You can't imagine. There are mostly copies, but the originals were written by the Emperor himself. He has so much knowledge *sigh*, we will never be able to read everything.", I say. 

"Maybe we don't have to.", Bruce says to the side. We turn to him.

"What do you mean, Bruce?", Joanna asks. 

"I heard about it from my parents. In one of the subscriptions for 'Theories Today', that we own, there was this article that theorised that shortly after founding Cadia, the Emperor used a technological device, which allowed the leaders of the cities to learn new things. It was researched and the article states, that Cadia made an explosive leap in technology. This shouldn't have been possible this fast and to that extent.", Bruce says. This is interesting. 

"And why does that mean that a special device was used? Why couldn't they just learn it normally?"

"Because across Cadia, all the cities experienced this growth in the same year. It is impossible to learn all of that so quickly."

"Aha ... that makes a lot of sense then. Maybe we could use that as well?", Mariella asked.

"I doubt it. If that were the case, we wouldn't have any reason to study magic here or read any books. There are other reasons as well, I think.", Bruce says. 

"What lessons do you have today?", I ask the others. 

"I have 'history of magic', what about you?"

"I have 'history of the world'. Do we all have history?"

"No, I have the basic introduction to magic.", I say.

"And I have care of magical creatures. It seems we all have different classes. Are there any more?"

"Yes, there are the basics and higher forms of science as well. They are important for classes like Runes and Spell creation. The librarian told me, there were more, but I don't remember.", I tell them.

"That makes sense I guess. Well, we better get going.", Joanna says and we all stand up to go to our respective classes. 

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I focus on where I want to go with the stairs. It has been quite a bother and I usually have a headache in the evening. Thankfully, I trained on how to get to my classes in the past three days. I wanted to be ready and not get to a class late, because of the stairs. It has gotten easier, but it's still hard to do. I reach the classroom, which is quite big. Everything in Aquila is so clean and beautiful. 

There aren't many in class, only 8 people. That makes sense since there are only about 35 students in the school. The door opens and in walks an old man with pointy ears and a long white beard. He looks rather fierce and a few books and papers are floating around him. He is wearing expensive-looking clothing that is elegant but allows him the freedom to move around. 

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He looks at every one of us in the eyes and then nods his head. 

"Greetings everyone. I welcome you all to Aquila as well. My name is Jassin Qingolor and as some of you might already suspect, I am an elf. A high-Elf to be exact. One of the last of our kind. I will be your 'Magic Combat' professor next year. This year, I will introduce you to magic and explain to you the basics. This will not only make it easier for you next year, but it will also show you the dangers and potential that magic holds. 

First off, some rules. I welcome you to participate in the lessons. But ... there will be no interruptions while I am talking. If you have something to say, then raise your hand and only after a demonstration is over. Magical combat is a hard and dangerous subject and I expect full concentration without playing around. Good, now that that is out of the way, on to the more enjoyable things.

There will be people who claim that the art of magical combat can be separated into the use of dark spells and light spells. Those who use dark spells will be 'evil' and those who use light spells will be 'just'. That is complete nonesense. It doesn't matter what spell you use, but intent is what matters. Intent is the second most important thing in magical combat. The first one obviously being magic itself. For that reason, the Emperor designed the stairs the way they are. 

This year, you will find them to be bothersome, but next year, when you start to use the spells, you will be thankful. Now, let's get into the introduction."

Professor Qingolor continued this way until the lesson was over. I didn't even realise that the time had passed until he said it was over. I have to say that Professor Qingolor knows a lot about magic. I can't wait for the next year to come and for us to start practising magic. Now, my second lesson of the day will start.

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(Neoth POV)

I watch as the students go about their day. I must say, things are going perfectly. I did things differently than what Hogwarts does in the future. First off, there is no trip to Diagon Alley, to visit Gringotts and buy school supplies. There the rich will find themselves in 'better' positions as they won't lack anything. In Aquila, the kids will get everything from the school. The school uniform, which is so much better and more comfortable, will be provided and they will all look the same. 

The wand will also be acquired when they enter Aquila. The Wand Tower is something I came up with after I remembered the Grimoire Tower in Black Clover. The principle is simple. I just had to have the students find a want that suited their magic. And that was a simple matter. After a bit of rune magic, the boxes could fly and voila, the Wand Tower was born. It is a bit more complicated than that, but not much. 

The Tree of Knowledge is an amazing addition to the school. Many would kill for the knowledge the library contains. I copied most of the books I have in my library and then added them to this one. That way, nothing really happens if they are destroyed. Which should be impossible, since it is guarded by the Adeptus Custodes. I managed to make a giant and important breakthrough that made my Custodes, so much better and superior to the original ones. 

What I did, was I left this universe for a short while. That's right, I left the Wizarding World and the universe for a while and entered another one. This one will be the next one I will visit and ... maybe 'invite' into my Imperium. The world of One Piece. A world that might have some of the most powerful 'humans' in anime, if we forget about One Punch Man and Dragon Ball and a few others. What interested me in the humans there, was their potential for strength, without any 'energy'. Sure they use Haki, but that is their own willpower and spiritual energy.

That potential was something I wanted for my Custodes as well. So I used my home and opened a door to said universe. There I gathered the DNA of some humans and then returned again. I researched the genome and managed to find what made them physically so potentially powerful. The increased vitality in the One Piece world and their genetics, which transformed that vitality into strength. I managed to add this particular trait to the gene seed and then created the Adeptus Custodes. 

The result?

A new breed of Custodes that have all the benefits of the original ones, the loyalty to me from their bloodline and the potential to strength and power equal to humans in the One Piece world. They are true monsters now and I can see that they have more potential for strength than just what is seen in the world of One Piece. Using technology and magic, I have many things planned in the future and the Custodes will be one of my most powerful soldiers and confidants. 

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Back to the differences between Aqula and Hogwarts. I decided that self-study is going to be a big part of the curriculum. You can ask the teachers as much as you want, except on Sunday. The teachers will hold lessons, but it will be much more in the sense that the teacher will explain things and then tell you where you can find the respective literature on the topic. Knowledge is important but it is better learned if it is coupled with practice. 

Unlike the DADA, or Defence against the Dark Arts, I created the subject: 'Magical Combat'. This course includes defence and offence and doesn't care about whether a spell might be considered dark or light. If you want peace, prepare for war. Knowing the spells does not make you an evil wizard or witch. On the contrary, if you know the spells that your enemy might use, you can prepare and learn how to fight against them. And that is exactly what the Magical Combat course is for. 

For that course, I have asked Jassin Qingolor, the last High Elf in the world. He is the last of the dying breed of elves who aren't the degenerated House-elves. Wizards and witches will recreate or try to recreate the elves and fail miserably. I have offered sanctuary to the last remaining true elves and Jassin is the last remaining High-Elf. I have known him since he was a child and taught him what he knows about magic. He is skilled and very powerful in the art of magical combat. 

Broram Ingotsunder is the half-dwarf who teaches forging in Aquila. 

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He is very skilled and a strong half-dwarf. His spirit is nigh unbreakable and he can create armour and weapons, second only to me. He will teach the students in the fourth year onwards. 

There are more teachers but among them, Zugan stands out as well. He will teach the children 'Magical Nature'. This course combines magical creatures with plants and is a more in-dept and magical version of survival training. 

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Zugan is a powerful man and knows his stuff. I was his teacher as well. Most of the teachers today, were my students at one point. But they didn't learn all their knowledge from me, but from real-life experiences. They are all very skilled and the students will come to enjoy their skills and learn from them more than they ever would in another school. 

I am looking forward to the future Adeptus Magicae that come out of this. But there are so many other jobs that wizards and witches can take. The future holds limitless possibilities.