Frost 69th
Nuraku roused herself from a tenuous sleep, her body a fitful mess. She spent much of the morning meandering, stopping by the cafeteria to eat--mages often ate three or more full meals here at Nardothis, a necessity given the corruption. What followed was more lounging, and more napping before the dull, deep ring of a clock striking the end of the hour roused her once again. It had been three days since the professor gave her and the rest of the students a break from practicing Animus, and she spent much of that time simply eating and sleeping in. Magery was exactly that, sometimes. It really was.
Meandering over to the study hall, she found Aeraku as usual, buried in several books related to his own interests. Nuraku lazily hopped from the floor to a chair, to the surface of the large table, trotting over and laying her head upon his textbook. “The Strain has been torture,” said Nuraku as Aeraku looked up to her. “And yet, I must still learn ever-more-complex techniques. Today we are learning something dangerous.”
“It sounds as if you should be careful,” said Aeraku with the faintest hint of worry. Adjusting his spectacles, he peered down upon her. “Have you been eating correctly? That’s very important for a mage.”
Nuraku shrugged. “Yes. Thrice daily.”
“Eat even more,” recommended Aeraku. “And drink more often, between classes. You want every ounce of corruption to leave your body.”
“Do you think I’m good to push myself today? I don’t know if I can, and class is very soon…” sighed the peacock-tailed, white ermine.
Aeraku tapped his chin. “Well, you’ve had three days to rest. That should be enough. I expect you’ll be ill for another three days at this rate.”
Nuraku sighed with intensity. “Come on, I hate this. I don’t want to feel like this for the rest of the season.” Her tail wicked the table, nearly knocking over a candle. Aeraku hesitated before moving it aside with a single finger.
Aeraku laid it out simply for her. “Do you wish to resolve your curse, or does the way you feel matter more to you?”
Nuraku’s eyes lidded, the grown woman groaning like a child. “You’re… right,” she huffed. “I’ll do it. I’ll get through this.”
“We should keep studying for that Gentevarese test,” said Aeraku. “We don’t want to take the class over again if we fail.”
Nuraku sat up and nodded, letting Aeraku pull out the proper textbook and flip over to the current pages they were working on. “Silent letters,” said Aeraku, scrawling some words onto a piece of paper and passing it over to Nuraku, who gazed down upon the lines of decently neat writing.
“Manger,” uttered Nuraku, repeating from the first word.
”Manger,” said Aeraku back to her. “To eat. The ‘R’ is silent. Many of the words in Gentevarese end in silent letters,” he explained, “meaning you do not pronounce them.”
Nuraku nodded. “That seems… simple enough. So the rest of these, I don’t pronounce the letter at the end?”
“Correct,” said Aeraku. “Verbs such as Manger ending with the letters ‘R’ have a silent ‘R’ while most words have the ‘R’ pronounced.”
Tracing her paw down the fresh ink, Nuraku smeared it, though she cared little. “Hum. So, what about these then?”
“The final letters are usually pronounced in the case of C, R, F, or L are usually pronounced. B, K, and Q also have their final letter pronounced, but the book claims these words are rare,” said Aeraku.
“Le club,” said Nuraku.
“Le club,” replied Aeraku.
“Un steak.”
“Un steak.”
“Cinq.”
“Cinq.”
The pair continued studying words for some time, before a quick glance up at the clock confirmed it was time for both of them to head to class. “Well, it’s that time again,” said Nuraku wearily. “Wish me luck.”
“Consider your luck ‘wished for’” said Aeraku with a smile. “No matter how it feels, I believe your professors will not push you to the point of permanent injury. They are seeking to push you beyond your comfort zone, however.”
Nuraku nodded. “I need to get used to the Strain. If I have a proper feel for it, I can better gauge when to overuse my power.”
Aeraku returned the nod, collecting his textbooks. “Well then, you should get to class.”
Nuraku lingered for a scarce moment before nodding, turning tail and heading away. “Thank you, Aeraku,” she said as she hopped down.
---
Arriving at the study hall, Nuraku could tell immediately that many of the other elegantly robed Daravinian students were similarly haggard. Many faces hung sullen beneath the low light, eyes drooping, struggling to stay awake in the morning that came too soon. Perhaps a few standouts such as Nuraku had at least some life to them as the class gathered around their glowing-by-comparison Animus professor.
The bearded, burly man had fair skin and a gaunt jaw-line, though he wore merely straps for clothing, with an undulating pattern of red and black upon the kilt around his muscular legs. It was an outfit far, far less than your typical Daravin mage. They must have thought of him as a barbarian, Nuraku thought. Perhaps the man’s foreign appearance was why she and him got along so well.
Stroking his beard, the man observed which students appeared mostly dead, and brought them forward by name. “Nuraku,” he beckoned with the other names. Each of them were brought to the front of the class. “Today we will be learning about Vectoring. This is a technique that is fairly advanced. It can expend considerable aether, or very little in the case of Vectoring an electric eel. None-the-less, it is a potent, useful ability where the small, complex structures of emissions-based abilities can be replicated accurately at a cost. From the noble Icewing Eagle of the north, to the lowly electric eel of the depths, this will allow you to utilize their abilities as a form of wild magic. There is no element, nor spell out of reach of the animus mage, provided it can be found in nature. Rarity of the animal is the main concern, as every Imprinted template with such an ability is a closely guarded secret among Animus mages seeking not to be outdone.”
Reaching out with his hand, he stuffed it down a sack, revealing a tied-up bundle of soft fur which kicked and squeaked, its long ears anchored back. The rabbit swung as the instructor stood tall and affixed it to a hook upon the ceiling. “Your task today is to electrocute these rabbits. To death.”
Nuraku had no qualms hunting, but this felt a little bit different considering the animal was already captive. Other students felt the same way, but they dare not say it.
“Unfortunately, the test animal of choice is rather adorable. I attempted to procure rats, but they had been recently culled for a Necromancy experiment,” explained the instructor. “Their lives are somewhat similar, even if the rabbit may be of greater order, but you must get used to making such sacrifices for the good of Daravin and her people.”
“Yes, sir,” said Nuraku. “So how do we Vector?”
Smirking, the professor pointed to the three mages from his flock who looked capable, Nuraku and a couple elves. “Only you three will be able to manifest Vectoring, if at all. As I said, the technique is advanced. The rest of you risk Overstepping by merely attempting anyway.”
There was a frustrated sigh from the group of students behind them, each hungering for the culmination of their studies--Vectoring was the first real power after such a long road of study, and now they were being denied its study. The professor looked to them. “The rest of you, please observe this practical lecture. Practice in your own time once you have mastered the other abilities. You are close to reaching this ability, but you have much to learn. It helps to know what we are doing so that you may learn in your own time within the coming months.”
“Nuraku,” said the professor. “Close your eyes, and feel, imagine your Electric Eel Template. Knowing where the glands for electricity are located, imagine their structure, their nerves, their anatomy.” Nuraku did so, breathing in deeply. The professor resumed speaking, saying to “unlike Integrate, you need to sense the presence of the Emission, and then draw upon it. For the eel, this is a biological gland, but for other animals, it may be more invisible akin to aetheric channels weaving invisibly through the body.”
Following along at the professor’s behest, Nuraku imagined the glands present in the eel, translating the feeling of the Emission to her teeth, spreading it across her jaw. As she did, her face began to feel numb, tingling with aether as her gums began to bleed. A drip of red trickled out from the corner of her lips, and she tasted the iron with her small tongue.
Raising her head, she swallowed against the aching tide, a nausea spreading through her. “I’ve... I think I’ve done it,” she said. The professor lowered the rabbit for her, and she stared through half-lidded eyes at the struggling creature. With a growl of determination, she lunged with her back feet, hopping up a foot off the ground and colliding with the rabbit. She wrapped her paws around its neck and bit down upon its breast.
As the critter writhed in her claws, Nuraku wrenched her jaws aside as if on instinct, feeling the shocking organs now present in her teeth flex, discharging a powerful shock through the animal. The crackling tick-tick-tick of each jolt she squeezed out of her teeth made the rabbit convulse violently, its heart overwhelmed in an instant as more than six hundred volts coursed through its body.
When it became limp, dead, Nuraku let go to the floor, leaving behind a blood streak--mostly from her gums, since she hadn’t broken the rabbits skin. Breathing heavily, she turned from the class. “I need to rest after that,” she said simply.
“You may be excused. I will again see you in three days,” said the professor as he turned to the next student and had them perform much the same activity. Nuraku meandered off towards the dormitories, washing off her face and crawling into bed.
