Today was a good day.
The previous night had gone by in a flash of elation and the rush to move in and prepare for the following day. Waking up, Trygg glanced through the window, offering a view of the east as the sun would be soon to rise. Donning his clothes, his hands brushed over the patchwork fixes he had applied to his coat, mending temporarily the burns and tears from the shades. That was a task to finish more fully and in the hands of those with more skill.
Remembering dean Tryn's words, he made sure to grab his spear before heading out to the 2nd hall, the location of the student's initial class. Glancing behind, he looked at the dormitory in the rays of the rising sun, its gray stone weathered from time and crowned with yellowish-golden shingles. Stepping along the cobbled path, he admired the beauty of the academy grounds, great trees with trunks thicker than a man lying down dotted the campus, providing shade and an atmosphere of age and respect. Soon, he approached the doors to the main building. Ten feet high, the wooden doors stood open, allowing the stream of students to pass beneath its grand entrance. The stones of the frame were engraved with scenes from the history of Kyrgard and the Academy. At the apex of the door was a representation of the founder of Kyrgard, Kyros the Mighty, dealing the finishing blow to a mighty behemoth. Supposedly, his sword had withstood the many years and rested with the Jarl's vaults, one of the great magical weapons of the kingdom.
As he stepped within the doors, he was bumped on his left. "Sorry about that!", an earnest and excited voice said. Trygg looked to the side and saw another student about his age, bright blond hair a mess and brilliant blue eyes peering just below.
"Hey, you were one of the new students as well!", he exclaimed, "I'm Sig, nice to meet you." He proffered his right hand as his left rested upon the pommel of a scabbard sword, buckled at his waist.
"I'm Trygg, good to meet you as well, the exam was very tiring yesterday wasn't it?", Trygg replied as he shook Sig's hand.
"Definitely! Of course I'm just excited to begin today. There's so much to do." Sig's exuberance was practically blinding.
Together, they made their way to the 2nd Hall, which had already begun to fill up with new arrivals. Taking seats about 2/3rds of the way back, they settled in and waited for the instructor to begin. Trygg set his spear resting against the table in front of him, its cold iron head gleaming in the light that passed through the tall windows set into the eastern wall.
As the runed tower tolled the watch, dean Tryn stepped onto to raised platform and with a brief gesture, brought the room to silence.
"Welcome once more to the Academy. I will be providing you with your instruction on magical fundamentals. By the end of this series, you will develop a firm grasp of the principles underlying our practice and master a balanced selection of beginner's spells." Looking around at the students, he nodded, and said, "Some of you have demonstrated mastery over a few spells, but this is no less vital as a proper foundation in your knowledge will grant you greater ease in your future learning. Further, the basic spells and their runes are often utilized in the more complex spells, to attempt the complex without the simple is an exercise in futility."
Clapping his hands, he stepped back and with a wave of his hand, activated the runes upon the large table in the center of the stage. As they began to glow, the light began to focus, forming several images above the table.
"At its most basic, we magicians use the power of runes as a method of changing reality. The runes and the intent behind them allow us to harness the energies and the processes we must enact to bring about a result."
Indicating the ephemeral images behind him, dean Tryn said, "These are some of the most basic runes. For instance, Fire," with that he held out his palm upwards, a single orange rune forming in the center, hanging for a moment before transforming into a dancing tip of flame. With a simple motion, he dismissed the flame as if it never existed, "Though alone these basic runes provide little strength to our magic, they form the direction of the spell. The one I just used focused magic from myself and some energies from around us to create fire."
"Now, through the addition of other runes, we transform our spells, either their scope or even their fundamental nature. For instance, when combined, the rune of fire and the rune of water create a burst of steam," as he spoke, he formed an orange and a blue rune. They spun around each for a moment, slowly fusing into a grayish orb that exploded into a burst of steam that dissipated into the air.
"It is important to note that we are not the gods, harnessing the powers of creation, we simply mold it. I did not call the water into existence, but instead gathered it with the rune and my magic. Be wary of your circumstances, attempting earth or fire runes in the water is notoriously difficult. There are many such adverse conditions, and if you stubbornly pursue such, you will drain yourself of magic and may injure yourself."
With that, dean Tryn began to demonstrate a number of the other basic runes before calling an end to class before the runed bells sounded the next watch.
"That will be enough for today, eat quickly and then head to the training grounds, you have a busy day ahead." with a slight smirk on his face, dean Tryn turned around, disappearing through the instructor's door.