After Uriel learned how to control the aura and before the real magic classes began, it was just a wonderful time. No work at all. The only drawback regarding the training was an inconvenient schedule. Instead of sitting through three lectures on the history of magic at one time, in the morning or in the evening, he had to interrupt each time, because the other students had classes at the same time on how to master their aura. So there were two gaps between lessons during which there was absolutely nothing to do. Neither sleep, nor rest properly. For just such cases, the sorcerer even began to carry with him a good book. It was an adventure novel in the best tradition of the genre. The mage could not believe that such an unremarkable fiction had been lying in the magical library of the academy. Such impracticality did not do justice to the reputation of magicians. The reputation of magicians somehow did not combine such impracticality. It would be nice to have а great classic, but this…
Uriel, on the other hand, was not worried about the lectures. There was no examination or any other test of knowledge. Unless attendance was compulsory, mages didn't tolerate indiscipline. The subject itself was also quite interesting. It encompassed many aspects, all of which related to history in one way or another. The great deeds of mages of the past, the history of the development of magic, the interaction of mages from different countries, the relationship of mages to their home state, and so on. The most dubious of the above was hearing about the mages of the past. Although there were many famous researchers among them, it was impossible to say that they were better than the current ones. And certainly in the area of personal skill today's mages were much stronger than the mages of the past. Magic was improving and right now was the peak of its development. What's the use of studying the deeds of those who are weaker than most of the sorcerers living today?
After talking to the upperclassmen, Uriel and his friends apparently learned something that very few people had ever guessed. A year ago and before, history had been taught that magicians are the same people, just with great opportunities, that everyone should do their own thing, wizards do magic, and humans are engaged in government, that wizards achieve the best results primarily with the help of the state. This year the facts and events that took place in the lectures were the same, but the coverage was noticeably different. Everything was about the tone of the Archimage's speech on the day the students were admitted. Apparently, it boded well for upheaval in the magical community, for before that there had been no antagonism between humans and mages. The reason was probably the weakness of mages of the past. Thousands of years ago, even a dozens of well-trained people could defeat strong mages under favorable circumstances. It was unimaginable now.
But all this was a matter for the future. Right now Uriel only cared about one thing: his first magic lesson. It was also held for all first-year students in the same classroom, since this knowledge and skills were necessary for every mage and there was no point in separating the students into groups. The room they were in was very large. Besides the desks arranged like in an amphitheater, there was a huge empty space inside the room. It is not difficult to assume that it was intended directly for practical magical training. This was also indicated by the many protective spells covering all the surfaces in the hall. The sorcerer did not yet know how to separate the attacking spells from the defensive ones, but wizards would not attack their own walls.
Their teacher entered the auditorium. His appearance was unremarkable; as was the robe he wore. Before getting to know the magical community, Uriel expected more originality from wizards, and at first his expectations were even justified. Archmage Crassus looked very unusual. But all the other magicians he met looked exactly like the people he knew. The newcomer had a fair face with rough, as if carved in stone features, short white hair and blue eyes. Such an appearance spoke of a northern origin. Probably, his close ancestors came from Nisfar, or maybe he himself.
- Hello students, my name is Alric and I will be teaching you the Fundamentals of Magic. As you have already understood, this course is common to all students, as it represents the knowledge base that every magician needs. Moreover, this course combines rather disparate knowledge. The reason is that a magician needs many skills from many different areas of magic, so in this course you will learn the basics of many areas of magic from creating spells to using the astral.
The introduction is over. Let's start with something without which it is basically impossible to conjure. Namely the extraction of mana from your aura. At this moment there are two types of energy in you. This is life mana, which is in your body as in any other living being, and raw or pure mana, which is in the reserve of your aura. This is not life mana that we are talking about right now, because it is not your mana; it is simply in your body. Managing it is a matter for the future. So let's turn our attention to managing the raw mana that's in your reserve. For now, you need to take a closer look at your own aura. Its outer layer, reflecting your level of fusion with the different elements, you've probably already discerned in great detail. The most courageous ones have probably even tried to control it. But without the necessary knowledge it is possible to control it, but you won't be able to get any useful properties out of it.
Try to penetrate under this outer layer, without the help of your eyes, but only with the sense of aura that you have recently acquired. When you are able to do this, and it is not a difficult action, you will see the second layer of your own aura. This is your reserve. Right now it should look like a light gray, metallic glow shell. This is the mana available for your free use. So I'll give you ten minutes to complete this task, then we'll continue.
Uriel did not immediately begin the task; he wanted to look at the other students. All of them had concentrated faces, many closing their eyes so that their vision would not interfere with their new senses. The outer shell of the auras of some of them wriggled and underwent violent metamorphosis. It didn't look like the right task; a mistake had been made somewhere. After watching his neighbors, he began his first attempt. The sorcerer did not close his eyes, because he decided that it was required only for those who could not concentrate enough on the necessary actions and sensations. Experienced wizards would not be able to do magic with their eyes closed. The mage first separated all other senses from the sensation of his aura. Since Uriel was not yet experienced it took him at least five minutes. Then he began to penetrate his consciousness inside his aura, bypassing the outer layer. It was quite strange and unaccustomed to experience this, because you could not, for example, immerse yourself in the sensations of your leg or ear. It was a little different with the aura. He abstracted from the world around him and concentrated completely on the process. Surprisingly it worked on the first try. The gray shell of his own reserve appeared before him. The appearance of this part of the aura was different from what he had seen before. In addition to the color, the consistency was also different. If the outer shell of the aura was like something between liquid and light, the reserve resembled mercury in its consistency. When he finished, the mage dived out into the world around him.
- The next step is to learn how to extract mana from the reserve. This skill is necessary both for creating the structure of spells and for filling them with energy. You need to extend the outer layer of your aura, thereby creating a channel inside it, then by an effort of your will release mana through the channel created in your aura. Proceed.
It was already more difficult to perform this step. Although the aura was completely subordinate to the mage's mind, it still had its limitations. Uriel tried to extend the aura at the level of his chest to form a channel several fingers wide. But it didn't work. And it didn't feel as if it was impossible at all, like trying to stop the flow of his own blood at will. Rather, it just didn't have enough power. It was not clear what kind of power: willpower, aura power, or something else, but something was missing. Even trying to reduce the size of the potential channel in his aura to the width of a finger, the sorcerer was unsuccessful. Even a hole the size of a hair could not be created.
Tactics had to be changed, obviously. Uriel, instead of immediately trying to create a path for the energy in his aura, decided to act gradually. Millimeter by millimeter he pushed his aura from the outer border to the inner one. Things got better. The magician managed to overcome a third of his aura before new difficulties arose. The further he progressed, the harder it was to keep that space free. It was like trying to do a difficult physical exercise. It got harder with each repeat until you couldn't keep going. When he reached the halfway point, the sorcerer realized that he could go no further, not even a little further. The channel was eroding, overgrowing in some places, clogging up, and that's even as the fatigue began to set in. It wasn't like physical or mental fatigue, but something entirely new. From the looks of it, that's what the aura felt like. Unable to go on, he let his aura come to its natural state.
Uriel decided to take a break and think of a new way to fulfill the teacher's request. Clouds of gray gaseous matter had already formed around some of the students. That seemed to be what raw mana looked like. So the most talented students had already accomplished their task. It was not good to lag behind, and the mage took his third attempt. Now he decided to start, from the other side. That is to move not from the outside of the aura but from the inside. The change of approach gave results at once. Raw mana quickly filled the created channel and kept it from collapsing. The effort was spent only on expanding the aura, but it was held by itself. It took him no more than thirty seconds to finish. As a result, the mana filled the entire space of the channel, but it did not want to pour out. It wasn't easy to push the energy out of the reserve either. The only thing that helped was the compression of the outer shell of the aura. Because of this, the mana had nowhere to go but to pass through the channel created and form a cloud in front of Uriel's chest. The task was completed, and the sorcerer was not the last to finish, though both of his friends, whom he occasionally glanced at, had done so much earlier.
- Now begins the most difficult part of today's training. You need to use the energy from your aura to form a thin line, which will steadily exist outside your aura. As all of you are just beginning magicians, a thin line for you is a line as thick as your little finger. It is already ridiculous to make it thicker, and only few can make it thinner, but if you manage to reduce its size, then go ahead. The length is one elbow. And of course it has to be straight and clear. The task is given for the rest of the time, the one who finishes early, tries to make it thinner. How to do the exercise should be clear to each of you, but for the not very smart ones, I will give a demonstration.
Alric deliberately slowly released a small amount of mana from his aura. Then with a rote motion, his aura formed a long, bright, straight thread. It was barely as thick as a hair, and about three meters long. Six times the size required. If he had done it at his usual speed, he would have finished it in a fraction of a second. Now it took him about five seconds, so that all the students could consider the correct sequence of actions.
- Proceed.
Uriel started by forming a mana cloud in front of him. This time it was even faster than last time. Such progress was a joy to behold. Trying to grab this mana, he awkwardly brushed it away, smearing it all over the space in front of him. Putting it all back together was no longer possible. Repeating the mana extraction, the sorcerer tried again to squeeze the mana into a line. Once again, nothing worked. Uriel reminded himself of a redneck they'd sat down to play the piano. His fingers were too thick, pressing several keys at once, and they were tangled together. Or the same thing as juggling five objects at once, having never done anything like that before. He was trying to do at least something to somehow try to organize not a line anymore, but at least a concentrated cloud of mana.
Failing time after time, Uriel was barely able to make the cloud more concentrated. But it was scary to even begin to form a line. He could barely concentrate the cloud as it was. Sorcerer didn't want to destroy this, even a small achievement. But you can't learn anything new without trial and error, so the mage continued his training. He thickened the mana cloud more and more, from which sometimes separate pieces flew off. They had to be immediately replaced with new portions of energy from the reserve. When he shrunk the cloud to the size of his fist, the wizard proceeded to the next step - making a line. And here he made a fatal mistake - he tried to create a line in the same way as the teacher. Apparently it was a joke, or Uriel's skills were too low. The method looked like pulling a wire through a die. But while Alric did it with ease, the student's laboriously concentrated mana was instantly dispersed across the room. It almost brought a stinging man's tear to his eyes. But his eyes were definitely wet with resentment. He'd been doing the clouds for at least twenty minutes. Twenty whole minutes of careful work, not tolerating unnecessary movements. There was still much work ahead of him that Uriel disliked so much...