The First Cultivator

Headmaster Rufus stared blankly as the magical link disconnected. He had one of his most trusted advisors attend Nicola's class and was observing through his eyes and ears. He would have attended himself, but he had an image to maintain. He wished he had. It had been truly remarkable. The kin had been adamant that they would reveal the secrets of this new power only during the classes. At first, he thought it was to ensure they weren't discarded after sharing the knowledge. He would never do that. Dageth kept its promises. Regardless, it was a wise precaution from the kin. They hadn't been treated well in Deepmere. He regretted Dageth's part in that escapade. Now he knew that wasn't the only reason.

"Cultivation," Rufus muttered as he leaned back in his chair. He steepled his fingers under his chin, deep in thought. This was big. No, it would change everything. Nicola and the Magebane had already proved that. It just hadn't sunk in before. That demonstration highlighted the significant power gap that existed between these cultivators and mages. There was only one conclusion. Mages would soon be a relic of the past. He could either fight the change and try to suppress the knowledge or accept it and move on. Suppressing it was a fool's errand. The Magebane was out there, and according to Nicola, there were more like him already.

That thought made him bolt upright as a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. That's right. There were more like the Magebane, and soon their numbers would grow even further. This was an arms race he was years late to. No, he wasn't even aware that the race existed till this moment. Worse still was that Dageth had antagonized the kin by allying with Deepmere and assisting with their idiotic plans. None of that included the long history of violence between the original races of this continent, the kin and dwarves, and the colonizing forces of the humans and elves. That had been over one hundred and fifty years ago, but he knew they didn't forget. What if the kin used this new power to retake territory?! It would be the Great Wars all over again, but this time the humans and elves would be on the losing side.

Rufus immediately began writing missives to elves and other human factions. If they were to have any chance, they needed an alliance and to strike before the kin cultivators could reach their full potential. He also needed to start training as many of his own cultivators as soon as possible. He might be late to this arms race, but Dageth would survive. It had too.

***

"That was incredible, Professor!" Abigail cheered after the last student left. "I always knew you were amazing, but I couldn't have imagined how powerful you are!"

"Thanks," Nicola said, rubbing his antlers awkwardly. He wasn't used to such adoration. "Do you think most will come back to learn?"

"Definitely," Abigail said instantly. "I expected even more would show up once word spreads. It was awe-inspiring, and you helped poor Beatrice, too. The girl kept crying once I took her off stage. She wanted to thank you more, but I shooed her home. You had a busy day and don't need more women fawning over you."

Nicola spluttered. "Women don't fawn over me."

"They will. The powerful are always desired," she said with a wink. Nicola lightly coughed, unable to find anything to say. Together, they made their way back to Nicola's mansion. The class had gone better than he expected. He had another week to prepare for his next class. Perhaps he could work on his attunement. His situation allowed for some interesting possibilities.

"He's not back yet," the elder's voice rang out from inside the manse just as Nicola opened the door. He sighed. The elder was in a foul mood, which seemed to be happening more and more lately. In the foyer, a man wearing formal attire stood like an unfeeling bulwark as the elder berated him.

"Ah, Professor Nicola, I have a message for you," the man said, bowing low.

"I said I could take it!" The elder snapped.

"My apologies, sir," the man said in a polite tone. Nicola had the feeling he was used to dealing with unreasonable people. "I am forbidden to deliver this message to anyone but the head of this household."

"That would be me!" The elder barked. "I lead the herd, not him!"

"Your herd… dynamics are your own business. As far as Dageth is concerned, the professor is the authority here. The rest of your herd is here because of him." The man turned from the elder whose blood pressure was so high his antlers might fly off like arrows.

"Professor, congratulations on your first class. The headmaster heard it was an overwhelming success. A grand gala will be held in two weeks in your honor in the South Grand Banquet Hall. There will be many influential people there. It will be an excellent opportunity to make connections. Naturally, if you go your… herd, may come along as well."

"IT'S MY HERD! AND OF COURSE WE'LL BE THERE!" The elder shouted. The man ignored him, waiting for Nicola's response.

"We'll attend," Nicola said.

"I'll convey your acceptance," the man said and slid past Abigail out the open door.

"Such a rude man," the elder said.

"The only rude one I see here is you," Abigail said. "He was just doing his job. You didn't…"

"You have no right to criticize me, girl," the elder snapped. "I lead the herd as is tradition. He and the rest of the mages should respect that."

"Are you a liquid cultivator?" Abigail asked sweetly. A loud silence filled the foyer. There it was, the reason for the elder's insecurity.

"By tradition, I lead the herd. I am the eldest here. My antlers are fully developed, while his are still growing. I'll be in charge until my time has come. This is the way of the herd."

"I can feel your mana. It is dense, but not overly so. Mages respect power. You have none." She turned to Nicola. "Goodbye professor, I'll see you tomorrow." Abigail dashed out before the elder could respond.

Nicola shut the door. It wouldn't do for anyone to overhear the shouting that he was sure would soon erupt.

***

"I have classes five days a week now?" Nicola asked as he headed toward his first official lecture. The class last week was an introduction to generate interest. He appeared to have exceeded expectations from the number of classes he would be teaching.

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"Yup!" Abigail said excitedly. "Your class was so popular that we divided the students up into five classes after the introduction. You can't be expected to teach that many at once effectively. You will have classes five days a week with between forty and fifty students. As promised, your teaching room will be outdoors. I reserved the best one for you." She proudly puffed out her chest, as if she had wrestled a bear and wanted praise.

Nicola chuckled. "Thanks, you're the best."

Abigail flushed suddenly, becoming reserved. "No, no problem. Just doing my job." She stammered.

The classroom, if you could call it that, was little more than a large gazebo with numerous chairs. Each was heavily cushioned and looked comfortable enough to sleep in. Dageth didn't skip on luxury. There was even a long table covered in snacks, platters of cheese, fresh vegetables, and meat skewers. The students were resting in chairs and snacking as they gossiped. He might have to arrive early next time to get some of the refreshments. It seemed more like a relaxed gathering than a lecture, which might have been the point.

Once the students spotted him, they immediately stood up, giving deep bows.

"Morning, Professor!" They cried in unison.

Nicola was momentarily frozen before he gave a small wave. "Morning class. Ready to start down the path of cultivation?"

"YES!" This came from everyone, including Abigail.

Nicola chuckled. "Alright, let's get started. In the words of the Magebane, 'It's time to fold laundry'". The confused stares he got were entirely expected.

***

Douglas had been pleased that he had managed to attend the first official lesson. Now, it might have been better to have others try first so he could pester them about it. This folding mana was proving far more difficult than he expected. He'd never tried to directly manipulate mana before, despite studying magic since he was ten. The spell constructs were connected to his mana pool and siphoned it directly. Interfering with that process could cause spell instability. If anything, he had been trained not to touch it. It was hard to overcome that natural response.

"I did it!" Beatrice cheered. Douglas suppressed a grimace. It was galling. A few days ago she had been a null. Worthless. Now she was finding success where he was failing?! Her father must have pulled some strings to get her enrolled immediately. Douglas could respect that. What good was power if you didn't flaunt it? But for her to succeed so easily…

"This is hard," Victoria complained. "No wonder no one bothered doing this before."

"I'm more annoyed that I won't be able to use magic for years," Jonathan said dejectedly. "I'm wondering if it's worth it."

"Of course it is," Douglas said. "You felt the professor's power. And there are others out there like him. If you don't adapt, you will go extinct."

"No reason to be so serious," Jonathan said. "I was just bitching. That is a time-honored tradition for students."

Victoria chuckled, then scowled. "You made me lose focus. I almost had it."

"Sure, you did," Jonathan said.

"I can't believe a young girl discovered this by folding laundry," Victoria said.

Douglas agreed. The humble origins of the mighty Magebane had surprised him when the professor clarified his cryptic remarks. Even more surprising was that such a young girl managed the discipline necessary for the task. Perhaps the Magebane is a monster in more than one way.

"Having trouble?" The professor said as he neared their group. Douglas wouldn't dare to admit that after Beatrice's success, but Victoria had no such reservations. It might be her kin fetish in play.

"Yes, Professor," Victoria said, fluttering her eyelashes. Douglas rolled his eyes. Jonathan turned a laugh into a cough. The pair ignored him.

Douglas watched intently. Perhaps he could glean some sort of secret. The kin closed his eyes, and a moment later, a small shimmering crystal was on his finger.

"Open your mouth." Victoria eagerly obeyed. Douglas wasn't sure what to expect. Perhaps a surge of power or something. Instead, he saw Victoria's astonished expression as her eyes went wide as the crystal entered her.

"Now watch and feel," the professor said. Douglas assumed he was doing something, although he couldn't imagine what.

"Now you try," the professor said. "Good. Now just keep doing that." The small crystal flew out of Victoria's mouth. Victoria didn't notice. Her face was scrunched in concentration.

"What was that?" Douglas asked. He might have seen him do something similar to Beatrice, but it was hard to tell at that distance.

"I placed a piece of my solid ki inside her and folded her mana for her as a demonstration."

Douglas's eyes widened. He had seized control of another person's mana. He didn't think that was possible, but then again, that was becoming the norm. The professor turned toward the class.

"This is not a race. Not succeeding today is not a problem. You will spend years cultivating before you are ready to advance. Taking a week or two to figure it out on your own isn't an issue. It could even be beneficial. There does seem to be some correlation between large mana pools and how long you will have to cultivate. Large mana pools will take longer to fill with dense mana. Back in Azure's Rest, we had a human, the Magebane's half-sister, and an elf, both of whom…"

The professor was interrupted as an elf shot to his feet. It was the same elf whom he'd met before kin's first lecture.

"An elf! A traitor is working with the Magebane!? Who is it?!"

"I don't recall his name. I wasn't associated with him. I only mention him because of his large mana pool. He was lagging behind the kin cultivators."

"You must tell me about him!" The elf insisted. "We take traitors very seriously."

The professor looked annoyed but relented. "I don't know much about him. He served under Ulvandia and fell in love with a kin. When the Magebane crippled her he came with us so he could stay with his love."

"Aww," Victoria cooed. Her hands were clasped together, a dreamy expression on her face.

"UIvandia…" The elf muttered. "There was a disturbed elf if I ever saw one. Good riddance. Her house was stripped of everything after she fell. May the name of House Arachne soon be lost.

"I'm sure," Nicola said disinterested. "Now let's return focus to…"

"Why did you leave?" Douglas suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"Why did you leave the rest of the kin," Douglas clarified. It had been bugging him. Wasn't this professor also a traitor?

"Ah," Nicola said hesitantly. "The herd, that is the rest of the deer-kin, didn't want to fight anymore. The Magebane wants power and wouldn't even consider making peace with the mages. We just want to live in peace."

"Bullshit," the elf said and everyone looked at him in disbelief. Nicola's expression became furious.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You're powerful. You mentioned earlier that you were one of only five who have achieved this power. That must have been a lot of work. No one works that hard for power and wants to live in peace."

The professor just stood there like he had been slapped. He didn't move for nearly ten seconds, processing those words.

"Let's just focus on the lesson," he said at last.

Douglas watched as the professor walked away to help others.

"I think the elf's comments got to him," Jonathan said. Douglas nodded, then focused on his mana. The kin may be lying to himself, but Douglas knew the truth. Some people want peace, while others seek power. The kin was the latter. Then again, so was he. Douglas focused everything he had and finally managed to fold his mana. Then did it again. He wouldn't stop until he was strong. That was the determination of those who seek power.

***

Nicola was distracted for the rest of the class. The elf's words were eating at him. He'd worked hard to achieve the power he had. He was happy in Azure's Rest. The feeling of growing strong was addictive. Then why did he leave? The answer was obvious. The elder had said so, and he obeyed. Where the elder goes, the herd follows. That's how it always was. For the first time, he questioned that tradition. Things were different now. He was different. Most of the others, besides Kelsa, followed the old ways. She had questioned their choices from the start. He should have listened. The others hadn't progressed much on the path of cultivation. They were happy following the elder around. They were followers, glad to leave the thinking to others.

Nicola pushed the troublesome thoughts aside. Today had been a good day. Most of the students had managed to fold their mana. Each student had a fiery passion. They burned with the desire to become like him. Most of the herd lack that drive. They lacked ambition, they were… prey. The thought struck him like lightning. He… he didn't want to be like that. He wanted more. Before he could dwell on the disturbing thoughts, Abigail saved him from his introspection. He had a job to do. It was best to focus on that for now. He could worry about the future when it arrived.