Shalise canceled the spell. Her vision went dark and she could barely hear the professor talking. No, it didn’t go dark. Her brain just needed a reboot and adjust to unenhanced senses.
It depressed her somewhat. The red of Professor Baxter’s tie became less red. The black of her suit turned almost gray. The colors around the room changed as well. Outside the window had the most depressing change.
She had almost been able to see the crystals of the snow as flakes poured down on the Infinite Courtyard. Part of it might have been her imagination. Her vision couldn’t become that good.
Shalise sighed.
“Miss Ward, are you listening?” The professor’s stern voice carried a slight tone of danger.
“Sorry professor.” Shalise snapped her head to face her instructor. She’d been kind enough to give her extra lessons, and now Shalise wasn’t even paying attention. “I just shut off the spell.”
“Of course.” Professor Baxter said with an understanding nod. “You’ll get used to the abrupt change over time, though the change gets more drastic as you improve.
“As I was saying, most students can accurately read the bottom line by the end of year exams. You’re about on the mark, if not ahead by a few letters.”
Shalise sat ramrod straight as she listened to the air mage talk.
Professor Baxter lectured about how other students did and how Shalise was right where she needed to be. If there were any shortcomings, they were minor and completely understandable given the events earlier in the year.
It wasn’t the lesson Shalise had been hoping for. None of the lecture helped her pitiful sparks turn into lightning bolts. Her light breeze of air wasn’t strengthening into a gale.
She hadn’t even tried proper telekinesis yet. That was supposedly extremely advanced as it incorporated order magic.
Shalise sighed again. There was probably a reason elemental magic took up four years of classes with an optional two years of element specific learning.
“How long did it take you to cast a proper lightning bolt?” Shalise asked during a pause in Professor Baxter’s lecture.
“Half way through my second year, though I was by no means an average air mage.” She pointed at a frame hanging off her office wall. “You don’t get to be a class one air mage at age twenty-two by being average.”
“Then when do average students usually start casting lightning bolts?”
“By the end of the third year, for most. Some earlier if they’re dedicated or talented.” She took a seat on the edge of her desk, crossing one leg over the other. “I wouldn’t fret if I were you. The first year is almost entirely familiarizing yourself with magic. How it feels, how it moves, and how to harness it in simple capacity.”
Shalise rolled her wand between her fingers. Two and a half years. “That is such a long time. What am I supposed to do in the mage-knight class until then?”
Professor Baxter pursed her lips into a half-smile. “All elemental magic is difficult to use in combat, at least at early levels. You’ve probably noticed other first years being ineffective against even second years.”
“Juliana isn’t.”
“Miss Rivas is an outlier. Not to make light of her talent–of which she has much–but I suspect she has been training in magic since her fingers could grip a wand. I know her mother personally and it is just the thing she would do.”
“Why aren’t others taught so early?”
“Practicality, for the most part. Would you entrust even an eight year old with the ability to light a fire at any time?”
Shalise blinked. The thought of some of her siblings–Cody especially–having the ability to conjure flames at will sent an involuntary shiver up her spine. Shalise shook her head.
“I thought not. Sometimes I think we shouldn’t teach teenagers to do so.” Professor Baxter chuckled lightly. “And that isn’t even taking into consideration the toll that magic takes on younger bodies. It can be very dangerous to health and development. I’m sure Genoa kept a close eye on her daughter as she taught magic. It helped that earth is a very stable element.”
Shalise drooped down and put her chin onto the desk. “That’s very interesting,” Shalise half-lied, “but it doesn’t help me now.”
“I suppose not.” Professor Baxter pulled out her thin, silver dagger. “Is a bolt the only thing you think you can do with lightning?”
Her dagger crackled with yellow light. Thin arcs of electricity danced around the blade.
“Touch this to someone and they’re sure to feel it. There are no distances involved and no worrying about the lightning arcing off to the ground before your target.”
The thin arcs moved to the tip of her dagger. They collected into a small ball of light.
“This might be more difficult, but still easier to control than a bolt.”
With a flick of her wrist, she sent the ball flying against one wall. The ball shattered. Snakes of electricity crawled over the wall before dissipating.
