Professor Hogrin took a deep breath as he let his gaze wash over the students and what they had chosen to transform their Mana interface into. Asd got the feeling that the dwarf was actually judging them, but then again it was hard to tell what his facial expressions were beneath all that facial hair on his face.
"The universe as a whole is in constant motion, till now it is still debated by many scholars, but the universe is in constant actual motion. The celestial bodies and beings of existence within it are moving, while it moves itself through the void of time and space and Chaotic Order.
The process of movements creates an ambient energy that permeates every single bloody thing in existence. From the hair on your stupid heads, to the core of a blazing star or the energy of a black hole.
This energy comes in many forms, but basically its forms are born from the four prime elements. Fire, Water, Earth and Air. The combination of these elements can bring about the mastery of other elements, or birth variations in the universe that can be attuned to any individual creating a unique mage, but that's a topic for another day.
This energy born from the constant motion of the universe is Mana, and the act of harnessing the energy to bring about reactions in Nature, The Cosmos, and The Supernatural is called magic. And the general term for people who use and manipulate Mana are mages.
Every Mage is attuned to an element or two or three. Now this is not a permanent thing. Lack of use and practice of a particular element can lead to the degradation and loss of it. And the study of an entirely new element can lead to at least a basic mastery of it after a few years. But there's no need to bite of more than you an chew as only Elements you're attuned to can be brought to it's full potential.
Some people are born with Variations in the four prime elements, but one rule that has remained unchanged is that said person or rather everyone must have a prime element that they're attuned to. So if you have Ice, Gravity, Lightning or the Mind element, there would always be a prime to go with it.
Now apart from Variable Elements there are times when the universe itself goes a bit wonky and an object, an ability, a class, a skill, an animal or an emotion would influence the Prime elements someone is born with. This would give them secondary elemental Effects, if not turning them into a whole new element of their own. This are known as Mutated Elements, and their effects are usually weird and varied.
I won't say much on that, self study had always been the best direction any aspiring mage can follow. Holding hands is not something we do at Monroe academy. We can teach and give directions but ultimately the path to understanding and power is left entirely up to you.
I have four spell books here; these a 0 circle spells that can be considered as simple cantrips. However no spells are weak or useless, there's always a scenario or situation that would require even 0 circle spells. Not to mention in the hands of an accomplished Mage, a 0 circle spells can wipe out an entire city.
Now these spell books are the Fire Element: Spark, Water Element: Dew, Earth Element: Shift and the Wind Element: Puff. Extremely basic and useless, but necessary foundations for the most well known and powerful 1st circle spells. Of course there are other spells to learn, but for now within the one week we have, I need all of you to have mastered one of the spells to the point of being able to cast it in your sleep.
Now before you begin you all must understand that Magic is brought about by the understanding the reaction of draconic runes to Mana. The dragons taught every living being in this world magic as they too were taught by the Gods who were in turn taught by the Primordials, who were in turn taught by the universe.
You must master the Dragon Runes, which is why there's also a book on basic dragon runes for you all to study. Master the Dragon Runes and learn it's variations. Then in time, you all would be able to create spells of your own. But for now the rest of the class is study hall, read and understand what has been placed in front of you. Tomorrow we'll continue from where we stopped and discuss the classes of a mage, so that you all can properly plan your future path."
Asd blinked his eyes, as he made sure to retain everything that has been taught to him by his Professor. At a glance Hogrin seemed like a bitter person and someone that hated the fact that he had to teach, but in the end he was meticulous with his job and made sure to explain everything properly and openly.
Asd let all of the other students go pick a spell, before he went and picked the three that coincided with his mutated prime elements, and the book of runes. He noticed that all of the other students had quickly dived into their spells, leaving the book on draconic runes aside. He furrowed his eyebrows but didn't say anything, he just shifted his focus to the book of runes as this was the true foundation required for magic.
The Draconic runes were the medium used in eliciting a reaction from the universe. The mage just had to create the spell module and feed it with energy to bring about that reaction. Mastery of the runes was important, without it a lot of mistakes can happen in the process of spell casting.
Asd felt that this was a test, but he wasn't exactly sure. The school was a lot more different from his time as a slave. He was used to being tested for the amusement of his masters, a test was hardly ever about his ability but more to make a fool out of him. But nevertheless in this case if there was one thing he knew about tests, it's that he had to try his best.