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Eric ran down the hall in a panic. In honesty, he probably should have taken up running. He had an exercise regimen that kept him in good shape, and also rewarded him with a toned muscular structure, which permitted him to achieve feats of strength not common to his classmates. However, his ability to arrive at the particular class to which he ran was, in the words of his professor, “not exactly spectacular.”

The arrangement, however, was not entirely fair. He ended one class on one side, in the upstairs observatory of the academy, and had not more than five minutes to arrive at the next class, located on the first floor, and opposite corner of the outer building. From there, the professor would sometimes hold class outside.

Wherever it was didn't matter, it was a bit far for Eric to even think of walking. Unfortunately, the first part of his journey was usually through students, professors, and assistants using the halls in between classes. The first precious minute of time covered such a small amount of distance that it tormented Eric. For a moment, he did not think of the abilities he did not possess, that the other students did; he simply tried to find the straightest, fastest path downstairs and across the building. In spite of the campus ban since the accidentally dropped student, Eric would have levitated down if he could have done so.

Eric could run, however. He left a breeze in his wake once he got a good pace.

The academy building itself was a gray stone structure, having an inner “castle” and outer “wall” structure. Moss and ivy, traditional stonework greenery, grew up the walls, giving a decorative effect. The inner building was not much more than a four story square, approximately one hundred yards on each side, and had a pointed slate roof. At the front and rear of the building were large oak double doors; the wood was braced in brass. The sides had smaller wooden doors. Rows of windows lined each level of the building. The primary function was to house administrative offices and meeting halls (the halls were in the basement), as well as the students. There were no classrooms, since the real estate here was premium for student housing.

The outer building was three stories high, but twice as long on each of its sides, as the sides of the inner building; this allowed for a large interior court. A pointed slate roof traveled along the top of the building as it circled the campus. At the front of the building, a large metal drop gate formed the first barrier to entry into the court, and provided a decorative effect for the entrance. A second large oak double door closed the court completely to the outside. Each corner of the outer building had a tower that rose three stories above the building itself. The outer building housed classrooms and student meeting rooms. The building was mostly empty, even when school was in session, so some instructors had apartments there, either as a part time or full time basis.

Three enclosed bridges connected the buildings to each other at the sides and rear of the administrative building. They arched above the courtyard at the middle of the two buildings and the courtyard, joining the third stories of each of the buildings. Each bridge had stone flooring, wooden sides, and a thatched roof. They provided shelter in inclement weather, for students to travel between their housing and classes.

The outer court consisted essentially of grass, with trees planted in strategic rows for aesthetic appeal. Concrete walkways led around the main building, and around the inside of the outer building. On each side of the building, another path crossed perpendicularly between the inner and outer paths, linking them. The path at the front of the buildings was three times as wide as the other paths.

Facing the front of the outer building, the tower that housed the observatory from which Eric frantically ran, was on the rear left corner of the building. The class following this, was located in the front right hand corner.

Eric had discovered a while back that he could cut his time substantially if he crossed through the courtyard in between buildings. His challenge remained the first set of spiral steps leading from the top of the observatory, to the top floor of the outer building. After that, the staircases were wider to accommodate more students. Nevertheless, he never seemed to get to them in time.

Reaching the ground floor, Eric found the inner exit leading to the courtyard at the corner below the observatory and burst through the door into the open courtyard. No time to lose, Eric bolted at full speed through the yard, around the building, and aimed for the door at the inner corner of the building, opposite of where he had emerged. Once again, he barreled through the opening at the corner of the building, and sprinted to the open door of his classroom. The bell signaling students to class began to ring, and Eric dove, flying through the door as the bell rang. He landed with a harsh thump, and the sixteen year old grunted as his body connected to the cold stones of the floor, and the bell stopped.

He was on time.

Eric's instructor saw the landing, and regarded him impassively, raising an eyebrow. “Take your seat, Mr. Nuleben.”

Eric went to his seat, to the tittering of his classmates, as the instructor closed the door. A woman sat in the front corner of the room, opposite of the door. She seemed young, had blond hair, almost white, and was wearing a very light blue dress. She, too, looked at Eric, following him to his seat, with a look that seemed as though she were trying to read him.

Eric sat down and rubbed his rib. He had not landed well. Nonetheless, he noticed nothing broken, which was somewhat surprising given that he had come to an abrupt halt against the floor. When Eric landed, he did not even slide. Eric looked at the woman in the corner. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she had turned her attention back to the instructor.

The classroom itself was about thirty feet on each side. The classroom door was at the front of the room, on the left hand side. Twenty feet of the front wall was occupied by a three foot high blackboard, hung so the lower part was raised about three feet off the floor. At the center of the room, five feet away from the wall, stood a dark wooden lectern. At the right hand side of the room, the instructor's desk sat a short distance away from the wall, angled so he could easily see the class at a glance from the desk. An empty chair was at the side of the desk, and the woman sat in a chair in front of the desk. On the right hand side of the classroom were several tall windows, allowing light into the room.

The instructor closed the classroom door and approached the lectern. The top of his head fell about four inches short of the top of the blackboard, and he was slightly, but noticeably, round figured. The top of his head was bald, and short hair grew around the sides. He grasped the sides of the lectern. “Yesterday, if you remember, we were discussing the different abilities, properties, and tendencies of different mages. To that end, I have invited someone here to demonstrate a few things.

Eric's attention was diverted as one of his neighbors surreptitiously passed a note to him. He took it, folded his arms, and waited a few moments. He had learned not to be too eager to open these notes; fortunately, the lessons were at the expense of those classmates that were not too careful and too eager to read notes passed around. Careless, he thought. He turned his attention back to the instructor.

“... and since I have an interest in each of your abilities, I have asked her to stop by and let me know what talents she perceives you have, and in what direction you're headed. To do that, she will pass by, simply read your energies. She will then let me know if everyone is on the right path. Miss Winters, please proceed.”

Eric stifled a shout, but his sharp intake of breath, and open mouth, were noticed by the instructor.

“Is there something wrong, Mr. Nuleben,” he asked dryly.

“Sorry, professor, no professor, I must have bruised something when I landed and just noticed.”

“I see.” The instructor looked at Eric a few moments, nodded, looked at the room, and moved back to his desk. The way he moved sometimes unnerved the class. He would work his way backward, then turn sideways toward his desk, and angle his head, so that he always had an eye on the class while he walked towards the desk. On reaching it, he would sit, eyes still on the class, not looking down until he was satisfied that he was seated and the class was not preparing to commit heinous academic crimes. The man simply applied the advice of not turning your back on the enemy, to the classroom.

As the woman went through the class, she walked gracefully between the students and their desks, occasionally stopping. Eric watched her move through the class, and noticed that a sheer white gown accented the pale blue dress. She was relatively petite, and though not too thin, seemed both soft and fragile.

Before Eric realized, she was at his desk. Eric looked at her, and she looked at him with piercing hazel eyes, again trying to read him. She seemed to concentrate more strongly, then finally closed her eyes and moved to the next student.

The class remained silent while she went around, and finally she came back to the instructor's desk, took some papers, held them against her mouth so the class could not hear or make out her words, and spoke with the instructor. He looked at Eric's friends, then at Eric, and nodded.

From his desk, the instructor announced, “As I had expected, this has taken up our usable class time. We will dismiss for today.” The bell sounding class end rang. As everyone rose, the instructor called out, “There are three people I need to see. Mr. Nuleben, Mr. Olaston, and Mr. Merdeton. Please see me after class briefly.”

While the class filed out, Eric and his friends Lucius and Decius approached the desk. The instructor rose.

“Gentlemen, while Ms. Winters was going around the class, she had an interesting read on you. It is her judgment to not go into any further detail as to what you are doing. However, she has asked me to advise you, as your instructor, that you are meddling in something which you ought not. I am certain that you know the behavior or practice of which she speaks. For my part, at this point, it is my own judgment that I do not care to know. You know what you are doing, and you know you ought not. At this point, I should hope that you gentlemen would practice some sound judgment yourselves, and take the advice of myself and Ms. Winters, and not engage any further. That is all. You may go.”

Eric and his friends started out.

“Except for Mr. Nuleben. Mr. Nuleben, I need to have some further words with you. I would be happy if you had some time right now.

Eric nodded at his friends. “I'll see you later.” Turning to the instructor and trying to hide his nerves, he responded. “Yes, professor, I do have some time right now.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Eric ran down the hall in a panic. In honesty, he probably should have taken up running. He had an exercise regimen that kept him in good shape, and also rewarded him with a toned muscular structure, which permitted him to achieve feats of strength not common to his classmates. However, his ability to arrive at the particular class to which he ran was, in the words of his professor, “not exactly spectacular.”

The arrangement, however, was not entirely fair. He ended one class on one side, in the upstairs observatory of the academy, and had not more than five minutes to arrive at the next class, located on the first floor, and opposite corner of the outer building. From there, the professor would sometimes hold class outside.

Wherever it was didn't matter, it was a bit far for Eric to even think of walking. Unfortunately, the first part of his journey was usually through students, professors, and assistants using the halls in between classes. The first precious minute of time covered such a small amount of distance that it tormented Eric. For a moment, he did not think of the abilities he did not possess, that the other students did; he simply tried to find the straightest, fastest path downstairs and across the building. In spite of the campus ban since the accidentally dropped student, Eric would have levitated down if he could have done so.

Eric could run, however. He left a breeze in his wake once he got a good pace.

The academy building itself was a gray stone structure, having an inner “castle” and outer “wall” structure. Moss and ivy, traditional stonework greenery, grew up the walls, giving a decorative effect. The inner building was not much more than a four story square, approximately one hundred yards on each side, and had a pointed slate roof. At the front and rear of the building were large oak double doors; the wood was braced in brass. The sides had smaller wooden doors. Rows of windows lined each level of the building. The primary function was to house administrative offices and meeting halls (the halls were in the basement), as well as the students. There were no classrooms, since the real estate here was premium for student housing.

The outer building was three stories high, but twice as long on each of its sides, as the sides of the inner building; this allowed for a large interior court. A pointed slate roof traveled along the top of the building as it circled the campus. At the front of the building, a large metal drop gate formed the first barrier to entry into the court, and provided a decorative effect for the entrance. A second large oak double door closed the court completely to the outside. Each corner of the outer building had a tower that rose three stories above the building itself. The outer building housed classrooms and student meeting rooms. The building was mostly empty, even when school was in session, so some instructors had apartments there, either as a part time or full time basis.

Three enclosed bridges connected the buildings to each other at the sides and rear of the administrative building. They arched above the courtyard at the middle of the two buildings and the courtyard, joining the third stories of each of the buildings. Each bridge had stone flooring, wooden sides, and a thatched roof. They provided shelter in inclement weather, for students to travel between their housing and classes.

The outer court consisted essentially of grass, with trees planted in strategic rows for aesthetic appeal. Concrete walkways led around the main building, and around the inside of the outer building. On each side of the building, another path crossed perpendicularly between the inner and outer paths, linking them. The path at the front of the buildings was three times as wide as the other paths.

Facing the front of the outer building, the tower that housed the observatory from which Eric frantically ran, was on the rear left corner of the building. The class following this, was located in the front right hand corner.

Eric had discovered a while back that he could cut his time substantially if he crossed through the courtyard in between buildings. His challenge remained the first set of spiral steps leading from the top of the observatory, to the top floor of the outer building. After that, the staircases were wider to accommodate more students. Nevertheless, he never seemed to get to them in time.

Reaching the ground floor, Eric found the inner exit leading to the courtyard at the corner below the observatory and burst through the door into the open courtyard. No time to lose, Eric bolted at full speed through the yard, around the building, and aimed for the door at the inner corner of the building, opposite of where he had emerged. Once again, he barreled through the opening at the corner of the building, and sprinted to the open door of his classroom. The bell signaling students to class began to ring, and Eric dove, flying through the door as the bell rang. He landed with a harsh thump, and the sixteen year old grunted as his body connected to the cold stones of the floor, and the bell stopped.

He was on time.

Eric's instructor saw the landing, and regarded him impassively, raising an eyebrow. “Take your seat, Mr. Nuleben.”

Eric went to his seat, to the tittering of his classmates, as the instructor closed the door. A woman sat in the front corner of the room, opposite of the door. She seemed young, had blond hair, almost white, and was wearing a very light blue dress. She, too, looked at Eric, following him to his seat, with a look that seemed as though she were trying to read him.

Eric sat down and rubbed his rib. He had not landed well. Nonetheless, he noticed nothing broken, which was somewhat surprising given that he had come to an abrupt halt against the floor. When Eric landed, he did not even slide. Eric looked at the woman in the corner. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she had turned her attention back to the instructor.

The classroom itself was about thirty feet on each side. The classroom door was at the front of the room, on the left hand side. Twenty feet of the front wall was occupied by a three foot high blackboard, hung so the lower part was raised about three feet off the floor. At the center of the room, five feet away from the wall, stood a dark wooden lectern. At the right hand side of the room, the instructor's desk sat a short distance away from the wall, angled so he could easily see the class at a glance from the desk. An empty chair was at the side of the desk, and the woman sat in a chair in front of the desk. On the right hand side of the classroom were several tall windows, allowing light into the room.

The instructor closed the classroom door and approached the lectern. The top of his head fell about four inches short of the top of the blackboard, and he was slightly, but noticeably, round figured. The top of his head was bald, and short hair grew around the sides. He grasped the sides of the lectern. “Yesterday, if you remember, we were discussing the different abilities, properties, and tendencies of different mages. To that end, I have invited someone here to demonstrate a few things.

Eric's attention was diverted as one of his neighbors surreptitiously passed a note to him. He took it, folded his arms, and waited a few moments. He had learned not to be too eager to open these notes; fortunately, the lessons were at the expense of those classmates that were not too careful and too eager to read notes passed around. Careless, he thought. He turned his attention back to the instructor.

“... and since I have an interest in each of your abilities, I have asked her to stop by and let me know what talents she perceives you have, and in what direction you're headed. To do that, she will pass by, simply read your energies. She will then let me know if everyone is on the right path. Miss Winters, please proceed.”

Eric stifled a shout, but his sharp intake of breath, and open mouth, were noticed by the instructor.

“Is there something wrong, Mr. Nuleben,” he asked dryly.

“Sorry, professor, no professor, I must have bruised something when I landed and just noticed.”

“I see.” The instructor looked at Eric a few moments, nodded, looked at the room, and moved back to his desk. The way he moved sometimes unnerved the class. He would work his way backward, then turn sideways toward his desk, and angle his head, so that he always had an eye on the class while he walked towards the desk. On reaching it, he would sit, eyes still on the class, not looking down until he was satisfied that he was seated and the class was not preparing to commit heinous academic crimes. The man simply applied the advice of not turning your back on the enemy, to the classroom.

As the woman went through the class, she walked gracefully between the students and their desks, occasionally stopping. Eric watched her move through the class, and noticed that a sheer white gown accented the pale blue dress. She was relatively petite, and though not too thin, seemed both soft and fragile.

Before Eric realized, she was at his desk. Eric looked at her, and she looked at him with piercing hazel eyes, again trying to read him. She seemed to concentrate more strongly, then finally closed her eyes and moved to the next student.

The class remained silent while she went around, and finally she came back to the instructor's desk, took some papers, held them against her mouth so the class could not hear or make out her words, and spoke with the instructor. He looked at Eric's friends, then at Eric, and nodded.

From his desk, the instructor announced, “As I had expected, this has taken up our usable class time. We will dismiss for today.” The bell sounding class end rang. As everyone rose, the instructor called out, “There are three people I need to see. Mr. Nuleben, Mr. Olaston, and Mr. Merdeton. Please see me after class briefly.”

While the class filed out, Eric and his friends Lucius and Decius approached the desk. The instructor rose.

“Gentlemen, while Ms. Winters was going around the class, she had an interesting read on you. It is her judgment to not go into any further detail as to what you are doing. However, she has asked me to advise you, as your instructor, that you are meddling in something which you ought not. I am certain that you know the behavior or practice of which she speaks. For my part, at this point, it is my own judgment that I do not care to know. You know what you are doing, and you know you ought not. At this point, I should hope that you gentlemen would practice some sound judgment yourselves, and take the advice of myself and Ms. Winters, and not engage any further. That is all. You may go.”

Eric and his friends started out.

“Except for Mr. Nuleben. Mr. Nuleben, I need to have some further words with you. I would be happy if you had some time right now.

Eric nodded at his friends. “I'll see you later.” Turning to the instructor and trying to hide his nerves, he responded. “Yes, professor, I do have some time right now.