Chapter 12: First Day With Professor Keller

There were a total of seven classes that were open to first years. After their conversation Alex, Tom, and Red all filled out their sheets in silence. They all selected the same courses. That is to say, all of them.

The required classes were, Basic combat skills, and Spirit Animal handling.

The optional classes were, introduction to scouting, introduction to Spiritual plants, introduction to mana, foundations of enchanting, and basic theory of monsterification.

After filling out the paperwork they took it to the Hall of Records. This building was nearly on the opposite side of campus from Alex's house. Which meant that it was very close to the student dorms.

The three had no issues turning in their paperwork and getting their class schedules. Each first year class met every day, except Saturday and Sunday. The required courses were both three hours long. Intro. to mana was two hours long. The rest were an hour a piece.

This meant that any student who took all of the optional courses would spend twelve hours a day in class. After learning this all the three could do was sigh and resign them selves to a torturous first year.

After leaving the building Tom and Alex decided it would be a good idea to start bringing the furniture to Alex's house. Red left to talk to his friend. It took a few hours, but Tom and Alex were able to finish before dark.

Sweaty and hungry, they met up with Red and went to get dinner. Afterward, Alex went home to clean up and rest before classes started the next day.

After locking the gate he turned toward the house. Eluril jumped off of his shoulder and began walking around the pile of compost. He watched her go for a moment. He smiled, absolutely sure that her tail was swinging just a little bit more happily as she walked to her hunting ground.

He continued into the house after watching her happily walk away. With a shake of his head and a grin to himself he opened the door to his new home.

The house really only had two rooms. The main room had some type of dark wood flooring. Every so often there would be a wooden pillar made out of the same dark red wood. The far side of the room had a single wall that faced north and had four large windows. Between the center two windows was his bed. The western wall only housed a single large fireplace and mantle. The eastern wall had one more window and a small room, whose door faced south. This room was Alex's goal.

After resisting the urge to sleep, it had been a long day, he made his way to this small room and opened the door. Standing in the doorway Alex couldn't help but say, "of course." This room only had a small vanity mirror, a sink, and a toilet. 'I guess I should be happy that there is indoor plumbing' Alex remarked to himself.

Eventually, Alex did remember that there was a well in the corner of the courtyard. He washed up using its cold water and headed to bed. By the time he was ready to sleep Eluril had joined him again. "Did you wash off your hands and feet before coming to bed?" He thought to her.

"Tsk" was all the answer he got for a moment. "Do you think I am some animal?" She asked, with more than a hint of indignation.

Alex decided not to point out that she was, in fact, an animal. That was most likely his smartest decision of the day, if the look she was giving him was any indication of her mood on this point.

Alex woke the next morning to the sound of Tom and Red banging on the windows near his bed. They had come to this decision the night before. Since the first class of the day was mana, and students in the dorm were woken up every day at dawn, it just made sense.

"Okay. I'm up." Alex made his way to the bathroom and got ready for the day.

Alex met Red and Tom at his gate. "Thanks for getting me up guys." Alex's smile was genuine.

"No problem, but if you want breakfast we need to hurry." Tom said. He was practically already setting out as he said this. They had to hurry to breakfast. Intro. to mana started at eight thirty.

After rushing off to breakfast, and rushing back, they barely made it to class on time. This class was taught by professor Keller. Not all classes were taught by professors, but all of the first year courses were. This was partially to introduce the professors to the new students. In reality it was mainly done to set a firm foundation for the students knowledge.

The large room had the shape of a half circle. The teaching podium were at the center of that circle. Stone steps rose up higher as you moved further from the center of the room. Every five steps up there was a row of wooden desks. The structure reminded Alex of a similar structure near the city center. Some times in the summer he could hear music and laughter coming from it at night. He never had the chance to go him self, but Alex knew that plays and music would be performed there from time to time.

Red, Alex and Tom found seats half way between the professor and the exit they came in from. Alex was excited to learn about mana. After his run in with professor Keller Alex realized that there might be something special about the way he uses mana.

Alex felt something hitting his hand. It broke him from his train of thought. Confused, he looked over to see Sylph staring at him. "I asked her to do that." Tom said with no small amount of righteous indignation. "I don't want your scowling face to piss off Keller again. So, every time you start scowling she will bite you."

Before Alex could even say anything Eluril chimed in as well. "That is a great idea! You are here to learn, not disrespect your teachers."

He had told her about what happened the day before on the way back from breakfast. From her new perch on his shoulder she dug her claws into him slightly. Her only response to his protest was, "that is what you get for causing trouble on your first day." She had no sympathy for his plight.

Alex was a little worried that professor Keller might still make things difficult for him. Red had told him it would be fine, and he seemed pretty sure too. Every time he would ask about it Red would just say, "wait and see."

It took a moment before late students stopped filing in the doors. After a moment longer, no new students seemed to be coming.

"What is mana?" Keller asked aloud, to no one in particular.

There was a long and pregnant silence that filled the room. No one spoke. None of the myriad of different Spirit Animals made a noise either. The silence stretched on and on, for what seemed like forever.

In reality, after about thirty seconds Red nudged Alex with his elbow. Alex looked at Red and the small black and red porcupine on the desk in front of him, as if to say 'what?' Red simply nodded toward the professor. Stunned, Alex shook his head from side to side. There was a clear look of intimidation in his eyes. It seemed to say, 'are you kidding me? What if I piss him off again?' Red simply nodded again.

Looking back and forth between Red and professor Keller, Alex eventually sighed and stood.

"Professor, if I may?" Alex said, trying to seem as calm as possible. The quaver in his voice betrayed him immediately though.

"Ah, yes please continue." Keller said, he had the tone and manner of a proper professor.

"Isn't mana the ambient energy that we take into our selves and change into our own?" Alex asked, not really having any understanding of mana beyond his own experience.

For a moment surprise seemed to register in professor Keller's eyes, but Alex was sure he was seeing things. "That is both correct and incorrect. Thank you for taking part in the class though." Keller said with a seemingly gracious tone.

"You see, I do not want idle minds in my course. Teaching, in my opinion, should be an interactive affair." As he said this he looked to all of the other students in the class. "If you believe you can pass my class without taking part in this process then you might as well leave now." As he said this, his gaze grew cold and he swept it across the class once again.

"Now, back to the matter at hand. It is true that mana is the fundamental energy that surrounds us. Some places have more than others, but it exists everywhere." His tone taking on the manner of an expert. "But it is not true that we change its nature. We take it into our selves and allow it to saturate and temper our bodies. How this is done is augmented by our connection to our Spirit Animal."

This Surprised Alex quite a bit. So much so in fact, that he didn't even hear Eluril's gentle 'tsk' in his mind.

"I wont go into that part of it mana as that will be covered in your mandatory course on Spirit Animals, but it suffices to say that we do not actually change the nature of the mana in our bodies." As he said this, Keller looked back to Alex with a gentle smile and nodded for him to sit.

Alex was surprised yet again by this professor. Keller had the perfect opportunity to ridicule him in front of the class. At the very least he could have made him look ignorant. But he did neither. In fact, between his tone and actions, he was quite polite in fact.

Alex looked to Red for clarification, but all he got was a look that clearly said, 'told ya.' The class continued on. Since it was the first day, they mainly covered the basic theory of was mana was and where it comes from. Before they knew it class was over for the day.