The second class of the day started in a similar manner to the first. With a question.
"Does anyone have any ideas as to how enchanting works?" The class was dead silent as before. This time there were many students that had been through the last class, and had an understanding of professor Keller's teaching style. Still, no one spoke up.
'This is an unfair question. Aren't we here to learn just that? If we knew coming in, why take the class? Or rather why force us to take this class?' Alex had long since stopped considering any of the courses as optional.
"How about I rephrase that question. Can someone guess, even a portion, of why enchanting does anything at all?" Keller asked with a coy smile. "I mean after all isn't enchanting really just writing or carving symbols on something? I can do that now?" As he said this, he walked in front of the podium and used his finger tip to carve words into the hard marble floor.
After a second he stood back up.
Clear to the whole class were two runes, carved into the floor. Keller presented them to the class with an out stretched hand. "Why is nothing happening?"
Red raised his hand. With a nod from professor Keller, he stood. "Is it because there is no triggering rune?"
"That is a strange thought isn't it?" Keller responded. It was clear to see that enchanting was his real passion. "So, you think if I add another mark into this stone floor something 'magical' will happen?" As he said magical, he wiggled his fingers in the air. "With the exception of enchantments, have you ever seen something like this happen? Something, 'magical'?" He made the gesture again.
This time it was a girl in the front rows turn to raise her hand. All Alex could see from his vantage point was curly auburn hair and a blue, slightly glowing, bird on her desk. "You mean like the abilities of Spirit Contractors?" She said with a quaver.
"Yes, exactly? And what powers their abilities?"
"Spirit Animals." Tom said as he stood quickly. A cock-sure grin on his face.
In response, he received a look from Keller that Alex later likened to, "the face someone would make if you took their dinner plate and handed them back a plate of horse apples."
"No, actually is has nothing to do at all with spirit animals. Otherwise how could normal people learn to enchant?" Keller replied in a considerate manner. Obvious care had been take to remove any sign of reproach or condescension from his voice.
"It is mana?" He tone conveying that it was a statement as much as a question.
"Exactly! Whether written in special ink or carved, runes have a unique ability to react with mana when properly put together." Keller once again had a large smile on his face.
"Does anyone know what language runes come from?"
This time it was Alex who stood. He had read up a little on enchanting. His mother was an enchanter after all. Sadly, not many books pertaining to enchanting were allowed to the public at large. This was due to the possibly dangerous nature of enchanting, when done wrong.
"No one knows. Some think it might not actually be a language in the traditional sense. In that it was never used to communicate ideas through written or spoken medium." Alex's tone made it clear to everyone that he was reciting from memory.
It was in fact from a book he had read recently. It was on rune theory. The book was decades old, and no where near the cutting edge of the field. It also contained no runes at all. That was the only reason that it was allowed out to the public.
"Very good Alexander. You are correct. While no one knows for sure, the structure and grammar of this runic language isn't structured to allow communication from one person to another." As he said this Keller panned the class, making sure he had everyone's undivided attention.
"In fact you could say that the language was made to 'instruct' mana." As he said this Keller was greeted by surprised faces.
"Then are you saying mana is alive and can be instructed?" Alex had never sat back down. This idea was thrumming through his mind.
"No." Keller immediately said, in a cold tone. His expression slowly lightened. "It is true that this was a theory for a time, but this doesn't seem to be the case. It is more like a game. One where we make up the rules as we go. Mana reacts to the shape of the runes. Each rune is like adding a new rule, or instruction, to the mana. In the end you get a result."
Keller gave the class a moment to digest then continued. "If your rules make sense you get a result. Though it may not be the intended one." He said with a smile and motioned once again to the runes carved in the floor. "But if your rules have a critical failure in them, then the mana can not 'make sense' of the rules, and nothing will happen." He said 'make sense' with air quotes.
Keller then walked over to the runes and between them placed another couple runes. "You see, I placed a triggering rune, followed by a target rune before. But I did not give any instructions as to what to 'do' once a person moved into the target. Now, I added an effect rune and a closing rune." He then walked back to where he had been standing previously and snapped his fingers.
A huge wave of wind and sound hit all of the students. They felt the sound of that snap deep in their chests. It was like standing near an explosion. That was all that Alex could compare it to.
Keller stepped away from the spot and went back to the runes. He drew a deep line through them all with his finger. Then returned to his spot once again, and snapped his fingers.
Nothing happened. The whole class was bracing waiting for that pressure to hit them again, but it never came. Just the dull hollow sound of a snap echoed in the room.
"If there is any fault, or change made that doesn't 'make sense', it will nullify the effect of the runes." Keller once again used air quotes here.
After spending a bit more time talking about some very basic grammatical structures for runes. He then passed out a list of runes to the students. This was for them to study from daily in their free time. Classes would consist of problems given by Keller and the students working together to solve them. This would range from acquiring a desired result in as few runes as possible, to being shown a faulty rune formation and being asked how to fix it.
After Keller outlined the structure of the class for the future, Alex was not alone in feeling that this course was going to be very difficult.