Magiana Imperial Academy - Volume 1: Path to Greatness
Chapter 5: September: Thorns in the Side

Breakfast the following day was even more lively than it had been the previous day. Now that the first-years have seen their magic classes, that was all they had on their minds. Some of the upperclassmen satisfied their curiosity by telling them stories of their previous years.

Phillip himself didn’t ask anyone, but he did overhear some things. Like how his father and Luna’s accidentally made a bomb, many of the stories were about failures, many of which humorous.

A second-year student was in Caster Magic, trying to power a light bulb. Everyone else in their class had done it perfectly, but they were having trouble, only getting brief flashes. Professor Windsor tried to console them and tell them it was fine if they wanted to stop for the day, but they kept trying. They actually made the light bulb shatter, and the loud sound made Professor Windsor leap and scream in a tone rather high for his usual deep and energetic voice.

One day while working on an invisibility potion, a third-year who sat in the back of the class dozed off. When they woke up, everyone else was hard at work. Panicking, they threw anything they could into their cauldron. When it came time to test their potions, they essentially became a human magnet, with several cauldrons zooming over to them. While Professor Black sometimes coated the cauldrons in something to make them lighter, these cauldrons were untouched. They were drenched in their classmate’s potions, and buried under the cauldrons. Even after they were freed, no one could see them for several hours.

In Magical Animal Husbandry, the class was taking care of young griffins. A student accidentally dropped a piece of jewelry, and the young creature refused to let them have it, as if it were something for them to guard and the owner was actually a thief. Professor Greenwald and an older griffin explained the situation to young one, and it finally left the accessory alone.

One of the most interesting stories came from Isaiah. Some classes were mixed, with students from multiple years in them. Last year, during Ritual Magic a seventh-year, who had since graduated, was trying to reanimate a comatose rat. They did, but they did something wrong. Instead of the rat acting like a rat, it got up on two legs and starting singing (or squeaking) and dancing. Everyone found the event hysterical, and Professor Wilson waited until everyone had their fill of the little show before correcting the mistake. To many, the aspect of reviving something seemed interesting, but how it could cause the behavioral change interested others.

When it was finally time for breakfast to end, many thought it came much too soon. Before they were dismissed, the Headmaster Goude stood at the staff table.

“Good morning, everyone!” He said. “I have a very important announcement to make. This year, Magiana Imperial Academy turns one thousand years old!”

Everyone cheered. The first-years joined in after seeing everyone else do it.

“Everyone one hundred years, our school holds a special competition between the houses. You might have seen some trophies in your houses; some of them are there because of these anniversary competitions, if you read the engravings. Throughout the year, your actions will either earn or lose your house points. By doing things expected of your house - that is, showing your kindness as a Crowlin or your ingenuity as a Bryne - you will earn points. You also earn points by answering some questions correctly in your classes. The only way to lose points is to break the rules. I very much hope that there will be no need for points to be subtracted from a house. Occasionally, we will hold Sports Days on the weekend. On these days, you cannot lose points, only gain them. That is all I have to say, children. Best of luck to you all!”

Phillip left the dining hall, excited like the others. His first class was his Caster Magic Class, so he was on his way to the third floor. Miles caught up to him as he climbed the stairs.

“Hey there, Phil. Excited for this competition?”

“It sounds like it’ll be fun. It’s a team effort, but we should try our hardest even if some of the others are slacking.”

The two entered class and sat down at neighboring desks. The class quickly filled, the last person to come in being Professor Windsor himself. Looking around, Phillip saw that about half of the class wore an armband with the Crowlin eagle on it. He swore he saw Dominique among them, but her hair was different than how it was at breakfast; it was tied in pigtails instead of a ponytail.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!” He said, closing the door. “I told you all yesterday, but I’ll say it again.” He stood in the wide space at the room’s center. “I’m Arthur Windsor, the Caster Magic professor. It’s an honor to be here before you all today.” He walked over to his desk and sat on it instead of in his chair. “Now, you all know what Caster Magic is already - I don’t know if it’d be possible to live for over a decade on this planet and not know - but could someone please tell the class what this kind of magic is?”

A few hands shot up, but none more quickly than the blonde girl who answered Professor Pyke’s question the day before. Some of the Sloanes groaned; the Crowlins had no idea what they were doing.

“Yes...” He picked a stack of papers off of his desk and looked at it. “Victoria Wallace. What’s your answer?”

“All around our world is Mana, the substance that allows us to use magic. All forms of magic utilize it somehow. Caster Magic, as well as Mass Casting, both have the caster imagine a certain thing. The mana around them will then do it. Yesterday when you blew up the apple, professor, you imagined that fireball in that certain area of the room and the apple just happened to be in that spot when it formed. Or you imagined the apple exploding. Either one should have worked.”

“Very good, Victoria! The method I used was the former. Can you tell me why timing is important in Caster Magic and why when I threw the apple was important?”

“In the case of the fireball, it had to be focused on a single point. If you threw the apple too early or too late, there was a good chance that it would’ve missed and the just hit the ground. If the point you focused on was the apple, it would have hit it wherever it went.”

“Perfect once again!” He began to address the rest of the class. “There are spells to cover a wider range, of course. We’ll be getting to them, sooner or later; we have to take our time with Caster Magic. For answering both questions perfectly, twenty points to House Sloane!”

There were some cheers coming from the people in said house. He told the class to take out their school-provided books and open them. While they were doing so Victoria, like yesterday, continued to talk even though there was no need for her to.

“I know that Professor Windsor said that a lot of people know about Caster Magic, which I’m sure is true, but I doubt there are many of us who knew about how important timing was. I read about it in our book over the summer. Just goes to show how useful it can be to get ahead of the crowd.”

“You think that she’d going to be like this all year?” Miles whispered, leaning towards Phillip.

“I hope not. We have to deal with her for the next seven years. If this is how she is…” He groaned.

The rest of the class passed with the students taking notes. Victoria was quiet for most of it, with the infrequent comment. All of her words were met with either eye rolls or hushed insults. When the bell rang, signalling the end of class, many people groaned, knowing that the rest of the day would be like any other school day.

When lunch came, Miles threw his bag onto the ground before he sat. Phillip sat right next to him.

“Geez, this school is crazy, and not just because of the magic!”

“I wouldn’t have expected for the material to be as hard as it was.”

“Hey, guys!” Lloyd joined them and Trevor was with him. The latter didn’t say anything; he just nodded.

“Hey, Lloyd, Trev.” Miles said lazily. “How’ve things been for you?”

“Pretty darned good. I’m having high hopes for potions. How about it, Trevor?”

“Yeah.” He said shortly.

He was resting his right hand on the table, and Phillip saw that he was wearing three rings. One was black, another light blue, and the final was shaped like a wolf’s head.

“I’d like to say the same about Caster Magic,” Began Phillip, resting his head on his palm. “But there’s a problem there.”

Like it’s been up until then, some staff members placed large plates of food and beverages on the tables for the students to take as they please.

“And that problem is…?”

Miles gestured in the direction of Victoria. He could tell where he was because he heard her voice; she was being louder than a lot of the people around them.

“Oh. I’ve heard people complaining about her in the hall. Is she really that bad? I mean, it’s only the first day.”

“It looks like she’s going to be that bad.” Phillip said. “I can only hope that won’t be the case, though.”

Phillip was concerned about how much Victoria would get on his nerves, but it appeared that she was the least of his worries. For the first few days of the year, gym class consisted of the students being measured for their gym uniforms. By Friday, everyone had finally gotten their clothes. It was then that Phillip learned of someone would would be as bad, if not worse than Victoria, but not because they were annoying.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, prince!”

A blonde boy with chestnut colored eyes, who was just a few inches shorter than Miles, was standing in front of Phillip, a smug smile on his face.

Everyone was wearing black gym shorts with blue stripes down the side and black gym shirt with the school’s emblem on the left breast. Many of them were scattered about the field. Miles, Dominique, Trevor and Luna happened to be standing near Phillip and the boy.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Phillip said, confused by the boy’s tone.

“I hope that all of the pampering you got in Ferenicia didn’t turn you into a couch potato. It’d be awful embarrassing if you got thrashed in soccer or something, wouldn’t it?” He said with a sneer.

Phillip forced a smile while Miles narrowed his gaze. “Yeah, it would be embarrassing. Thanks for being worried. I don’t believe we’ve met.” Phillip extended a hand.

“Reginald Ultire.” Instead of shaking Phillip’s hand, he slapped it, almost like an improvised high five.

“Alright, gather ’round, folks!” The gym teacher, Coach Frazier, called for the class, and they hurried to his side. “We’re starting the year off with a classic; we’re playing soccer!”

There was a chorus of cheers from the students.

“Alright, alright, calm down!” He shouted. He looked around, clearly thinking about something. “Ultire… Lyell… Welshire… Magis! You four are captains; get over here!”

They took their place next to him and he assigned the remaining twenty-four to them, forming teams of seven. He had Reginald and Phillip’s team take the field first. Luna grabbed Phillip’s sleeve before he was gone.

“Don’t let Regi get to you, okay?”

“I’ll try.” He said grudgingly. “Just let me show this guy that I wasn’t pampered.”

“First team to get a goal stays on!” Yelled Coach Frazier, bringing a ball over. “I want a clean game, understand?”

Phillip and Reginald took their place at the center.

“Of course, coach.” Phillip said, scowling at Reginald.

“Sure thing.” Reginald seemed confident. “What’s the matter, prince? You seem a little angry.”

“I’m fine, really.”

Coach Frazier walked off of the field and blew his whistle, starting the game. Reginald got the ball, and that was the beginning of a series of victory for him. Even though the teams were chosen randomly, it seemed that the coach inadvertently gave everyone good at soccer to Reginald. He himself proved to be good at the sport, keeping possession of the ball at most times and scoring about half of his team’s goals.

There were a few times that they lost and were forced to take a break, but it wasn’t often. Some games were short while others lasted much, much longer. The longest game went on for twenty-five minutes, nearly half of the class. Reginald was ruthless with those in House Sloane, but was much more lenient with those in his own house.

At the end of class, Coach Frazier blew one final whistle and asked for the ball.

“I’m very impressed with the performance of your team, Ultire. You all did fantastic, of course.” He looked between Phillip and Reginald. “You two were really going at it.” He said, smiling. “I’m sure that this is going to make for a lot in interesting games.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Reginald said.

“Alright, everyone, go on and get changed; take a shower, whatever you need!”

“The coach said it looked like me and the prince would be pretty even,” Reginald said once they were inside the locker room. “But if the rest of the year is anything like today, you’re going to be trying to catch up to me the entire time!” He began laughing, and several others did. Some Sloanes joined in while some Lychesters remained quiet.

“Hey, Phil, he a noble too?” Miles asked.

“I think I’ve heard his name somewhere. I doubt he’s nobility though. I’ve had met him sooner than this if he was. Probably just really rich.”

“Explains the ego.” Miles said sourly.

Miles went towards the showers, which were separated just like the ones in the shower room.

“Whoops!” The cry, which Phillip recognized as Reginald’s, was followed by a loud thud. Looking over, he saw Trevor on the ground. “Sorry about that, I was having some trouble opening my water.”

He held up a water bottle, it’s uncapped top looking very reminiscent of a screw. He was apologizing, but he was smiling and trying not to laugh. Some of the others were as well. Trevor got up and acted as if nothing happened.

“I’d be careful when opening your water bottle if I were you. You might anger the wrong person.” He went into the showers, and Reginald looked a bit upset at the outcome of his little trick.

The first week was yet to end, but Phillip had already found two people that would make his school year interesting, and not in a good way. After putting on his uniform he left, deciding to take a shower once he got back to the house.