Realm of Monsters

Rime began to pace around the front of the class, his hands behind his back. “You all have come here to learn magic. Most of you, don’t even know the first inkling of what you are getting yourselves into. So, first and foremost, what is magic? Anyone? No need to raise your hand, just say what you think.”

“Shooting fireballs?” A student said.

“Calling down thunder from the sky?” Another pitched.

“Love potions,” a quiet voice peeped from the back. 

Rime sighed.

“Casting spells?”

Rime looked up, “Who said that?”

“I did, professor.” A young man raised a pale hand. His shoulder-length black hair framed his sharp features. His face was clean shaven, save for the stubble on his chin. His red eyes didn’t shy away, but stared straight at the professor. 

Kithina thought he was quite the handsome human. Or vampire, she supposed. She realized she was staring and looked away. Stryg, stared at the man without shame. He had only ever seen one other with red eyes, a woman at the city gates. What is he? Stryg wondered.

“Name,” Rime commanded.

“Callum Veres,” the student answered. Veres? Kithina's eyes widened in recognition. A surname denoted that the person came from a named house. Wasn’t the leader of house Veres on the city council? 

“Ah, a Veres. I should have guessed. Your answer is wrong of course, but the closest one to the truth.” The drow professor continued, “Magic is the act of ethereal energy, turning corporeal. Ethereal energy, also known as mana, is invisible to the naked eye, yet it is very much real. The Realms produce this energy naturally. Some creatures have the innate ability to inherently absorb mana. The beings that can are able to use magic. Many creatures can use magic in one form or another, not just chromatic species, like you and I.”

“Which brings me to my next point. There are three different kinds of ethereal energy.” Rime raised three fingers, “First, is elemental energy. Any species who can use this energy are known as elemental species. The majority of magical beings belong to an elemental species. The second type is chromatic energy. Chromatic species are a group of species who can absorb chromatic energy into their bodies, hence the name. The third kind is called void energy, but it is purely theoretical, you won’t cover this topic until you are third-years.”

“Moving on, elemental species all have a magical nature, for example, all sirens have the ability to absorb elemental energy, without exception. This is not the case for chromatic species. The majority of them do not have the ability to absorb chromatic energy. The few that do, we call mageborn, like everyone in this room. You are the ones who have the potential to become chromatic magi.” 

“Now, you may be wondering what exactly are magi? There are two kinds of magic users. The first type are magi. They are people who have been trained to use ethereal energies in a very particular manner to create very specific

corporeal results, which is known as casting a spell. The second kind are known as natural magic users. They have the ability to use magic from the moment they are born, like a drake being able to breathe fire. There are no natural chromatic magic users, only elemental ones.”

“Chromatic energy, like elemental energy, has different types. The types of elemental energy are divided into eleven elements, while mana is divided into ten colors. The elements are listed in common terms, such as fire, water, light, and death. Chromatics follow a similar pattern, blue, red, green, etc. You will find more details of the types in your textbook.”

Stryg groaned silently. He had forgotten to get his textbooks from the library. Failure number three of the day, nice, Stryg thought.

Rime persisted with the lecture, “Types of elements can be easy to spot. A drake breathing fire is a clear use of the fire element. Chromatics are far more complex, however. There are two reasons for this. The first is that chromatic energy in its pure form is incredibly difficult to use, with only a few magi in all the Realms capable of casting spells with it. The second is that chromatic energy has a very unique property. In nature, pure chromatic energy absorbs and assimilates elemental energy. Specific colors absorb specific elements. This act taints the chromatic energy. What we chromatic magi inherently absorb into our bodies is tainted chromatic energy mixed with one element or another.” 

Rime watched the faces of his students, each engrossed with the information he was sharing. He nodded in approval, “Why is this important, you may be wondering? Because it limits chromatic magi. For one, chromatic magi can’t absorb pure elemental energy, unlike elemental species. We are stuck with tainted chromatic energy. The second limitation is the lack of diversity in our spells. Let me give an example. Frost giants are an elemental species. As such, they all innately absorb elemental energy, specifically, the water element. I reference the frost giants, because unlike most elemental species, like drakes or sirens, frost giants are not natural magic users. Instead they are magi, like us, casters of spells. But remember, as an elemental species, all frost giants can use mana and therefore have the potential to become elemental magi if properly trained.”

“The differences between elemental and chromatic magi is significant. A frost giant mage can cast spells to manipulate water in all its different forms, solid, liquid, and gas. Some chromatic magi also have the water element, thanks to chromatic energy absorbing the element. But, remember that energy is tainted, a mixture of different types. Because of this, a chromatic mage’s spells have limits. At best, they can use water in its liquid form, never in its solid or gas state.”

Rime pulled out a jar from his robes. It was filled with dirt and a plant bulb. “Now, having tainted energies is not always a bad thing. Sometimes the mixture of chromatic and elemental energy creates something entirely new. When chromatic green is combined with the water element, it allows a mage to cast spells like this.” Rime waved his hand in a slow precise manner. The bulb began to shake. It sprouted a stem, leaves, and in a manner of a few seconds, a lily flower.

Waves of gasps arose through the class. Kithina beamed in happiness. This was it, this was real magic at work. The impossible becoming reality. She could just imagine the day where she’d walk by the grass and the flowers themselves would rise to greet her. 

Stryg was equally amazed. It was different from the small flames that his tribe’s late shaman, Cruvor, could make, but it was just as grand. Stryg imagined being able to make fruits from trees whenever he wanted, he’d never go hungry again. 

Rime put the jar away. “Magic can create extraordinary marvels. But, it is not unlimited. Even the most powerful archmage can’t defeat an army on their own. No matter how powerful you become, remember this, you are not a god. You are still vulnerable. Which is why you must learn to work together to help cover your weaknesses. To aid you in learning this valuable lesson I will be assigning you a group project. It will be difficult, but you will have all year to complete it. The project will contain three sections. A written essay, a speech, and a practical presentation. Each group will consist of three students. Every student will be expected to play a vital participating role within their group, failure to do so will result in the entire group failing my class. If the project is not on par to the expected standard of excellence of this academy, the group will fail.”

Kithina tried to process the vital information. If a student failed a class the city would stop paying for her tuition. She didn’t have the luxury to fail a class or two like some of the rich students whose parents had paid their school fees. She needed to find classmates who were both well educated and willing to excel in class. The commoners might have the will, but definitely not the education. On the other hand, Kithina had been around wealthy youth before, she knew how arrogant or lazy some of them could be. She could easily imagine them willing to give up on the project, despite their educated upbringing. This wouldn’t be easy.

Rime pulled out a paper, “There will be a mystery prize for the group that achieves the highest score.”

The mention of a prize garnered the attention of the entire class. Kithina sighed in relief, perhaps it wouldn’t be so difficult to find good partners. 

“I have composed the groups at random. I will now read the names of the students who have been assigned to each group,” Rime said.

What?! Kithina thought in horror. She didn’t have a choice who’d she get? As Rime began reading the names from his list, Kithina’s worries began to take a hold of her. Her mind ran through all the horrid scenarios that she could encounter. What if one of her classmates was a mute, or an utter imbecile, or worse, entirely talentless at magic. She’d be done for. That was it, there was nothing she’d be able to do. Her plans for her dream academy life were slipping through her hands. 

“Kithina,” Rime said.

Her head shot up with the mention of her name.

“You will be paired with Callum Veres,” Rime announced.

Kithina looked at the handsome vampire. 

His pearl white teeth formed a smile, “I will be in your care.”

“Uh, l-likewise,” she nodded repeatedly. 

Kithina was lucky enough to be partnered with one of the most educated students. They actually might have a chance at winning first place. Plus he was handsome, not that his appearance had any influence on her, she lied to herself. He was also the son of a powerful family. If she made friends with him she could go far. She couldn’t be luckier. Her mind went so far as to play with the idea of romance with the vampire, maybe even marriage.

“Stryg will be the last member of your group,” Rime finished.

Kithina looked around the room, her eyes searching for the final mysterious member. No one seemed to look up in recognition. 

“Hello. I will be in your care,” Callum said as his face was stuck between a smile and a grimace. 

Kithina slowly turned her head. It couldn’t be.

“Hello, I am Stryg,” The blue goblin nodded. 

No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening. Kithina witnessed the moment her future died as the goblin looked at her.

“You must be Kithina. Hello,” Stryg tried smiling at the pretty dwarf. But he stopped as he watched the abject horror on her freckled face. 

“Topics for the projects will be assigned next class. Good day,” Rime concluded and left the classroom. Students got up and began conversing with their project partners. 

Callum stood, “I have to get going, but we should meet up at some point to talk about our plans for the project. It was nice meeting you both.” He placed his hand above his heart and made a small bow, “Good day.” 

“May the moon bless you on your journey,” Stryg said.

Callum tilted his head and grinned, “Thank you and may the stars light your path.” 

Stryg smiled at the farewell. After the vampire had left, Stryg turned to his other partner. Kithina's forehead was flat on the desk, her red locks of hair covering her face.

“May the moon ble-” Stryg began.

“Where do you think you are?” Kithina muttered without moving.

Before Stryg had a chance to answer she went on, “This isn’t some back alley game. We aren’t in the commoner district anymore, this is the magic academy, arguably the most important school in the Realm. And you come in here smelling like shit and alcohol. Late, too. So, I don’t care to hear your weird religious greeting. I want you to get your act together, so we can at least have a miniscule chance of not failing this class.”

Stryg clenched his jaw but remained quiet. She was right, he hadn’t been taking this seriously enough. He must seem like a failure to her, he must seem that way to everyone here, he thought. The weird goblin, a freak amongst the class. He was used to the treatment. The cold familiar feeling of apathy wrapped around him like a snug cloak. He sighed and walked away.