Studying more of these subjects did not decide a Wizard/ Witch or a Mage/Sorcerer's future. These subjects were like skills to magicians that gave them a deeper understanding of the working of Concepts and Laws. One can be proficient in every field of magic, but one won't be able to progress in their path if one cannot form a connection with the Web of Concepts.
"Everyone, now open your Meditation book," the teacher ordered.
"From today onwards, you all must spend as long as possible practicing the meditation technique."
"And when you practice the meditation technique for more than a week to a month, given all of your talents, you should be able to sense the Threads of Concepts around you."
Meditations techniques are the sets of chants and mantras written in the 'Language of World' or language driver from the World language. The chants and mantras have a natural power to them. Whenever a person recites these chants, they would cause the energies within them and Concepts in the surroundings to resonate, making people to easier to sense them.
Aiane listened carefully and printed everything in mind. Sensing the Thread of Concepts depended on one's talent. The people with better talent could sense them easily within a little time, but if one had bad talent, they could take years to sense the Threads of Concepts and then years to further advance to the first level of Weaver.
Talents in wizard and Sorcerer World were graded from 'Grade One' talent to 'Grade Five.' The person with 'Grade One' talent had a natural connection with the Web of Concepts. They only needed to stimulate that connection before successfully sensing the Web of Concepts. The person with 'Grade Two' talent was also quite lucky they did not have a natural connection with the Web of Concepts but sensing the Threads of Concepts was extremely easy for them. Down the line, as the grade of the talent decreases, the chances of sensing the Threads also become lower to the point where with 'Grade Five' talent person can take up to five years just sensing a single Thread of Concept before they could even be able to weave their first spell.
Aiane's mother was a pure and powerful witch with a 'Grade One' talent. Aiane inherited her mother's talent, but because her mother died in the early years of her life, she missed her chance to attend magic school from an early age. The only reason she could even attend the school was that her connection with the Web of Concepts became stronger as she reached the age of fifteen and unconsciously caused accidents on multiple occasions.
People with 'Grade One' talent were extremely rare to find in the world, and this was the one reason school did not kill or assault her when they found Aiane trying to escape. The academy higher-ups had other plans for her, and they still hoped they could brainwash her and make her completely submissive in the next three years. But only time will tell if they were successful.
The teacher calmly explained everything to the students. However, from time to time, she would throw daggers from her eyes at Aiane, making her distracted and lowering her head in fear. Soon the classes ended with the meditation explanation, and students started to move out of the classroom to their rooms. Because today was the first day of the third year, the students only had one class to attend, and from tomorrow, they will be attending the selected classes.
Aiane stood up from her seat when everybody left the class. She was extremely scared of bullying and confronting someone. She slowly made her way to her room.
After changing her school dress, she moved to her study table and removed the meditation book from her bag. She felt a little excited when she held the book with the meditation technique in her hand. She opened the book eagerly and started to read written lines inside her head. The words inside were weird shapes and made a strange sound when pronounced. Every time Aiane read a line, she felt her head become light, and her consciousness in head vibrate a little. This effect was due to her having Grade 1 talent and having her spirit naturally connected with the Web of Concepts. Experiencing her conscious resonate, Aiane eyes sparkled like stars, and excitement rose in her heart.
The book had a few more pages explaining how to sit in a meditation position, how to recognize the threads by color, and what to do when you feel the threads of concepts in your surroundings. The book went over several topics important before starting the meditation.
The meditation technique was only of a few lines, which Aiane had memorized with her intelligence in no time. She stood up and went over to her bed, sat in the lotus position with her eyes closed, and started to chant the whole mantra in her head.
It was strictly forbidden to chant World language or derived language as it could cause people to die if they didn't have enough spirit energy while chanting or speaking. Naturally, spoken words would suck the energy out of a person's soul if they can't provide the required energy.
With her closed eyes, Aiane recited the Word one by one, she again felt the feeling of her surroundings change and her body became light. The threads in Web of Concepts were nebulous for Aiane, except for the different colors passing through each in the dark background. She found it hard to distinguish between them. Even though nothing could be seen clearly, Aiane continued to recite the mantra. With time the threads started to turn clear and come into shape. And the background also started to become darker.
Next, Aiane found herself floating in endless dark space. However, the threads that had become clearer suddenly started to distort and transform into hungry faces. The contorted threads moved toward Aiane and tried to bite her Astral spirit, and when it happened, Aiane's body outside started to convulse extremely.
Suddenly her eyes went wide open, and Aiane screamed in horror. She tried to calm her troubled mind and body. Unable to hold her body anymore, drenched in a cold sweat, she collapsed on the bed. The unforgettable night she had experienced two months ago had become her mental trauma and had taken a deep root in her mind. Covering her head in a bedsheet, Aiane started to cry. If she had known that 'World Language' could be used in other ways, she would have used it by now.
To be able to use magic, first, one must use meditation techniques and sense the Threads of Concepts related to their Soul Affinity. Sensing the thread would grant the user a little control over the magic stored in their body and Sea of Conscious. And the user would be able to perform some minor spells.
Aiane was only required to knot her first thread before progressing to Stage 1 Weaver. She never needed to sense the threads of Concepts. Because of her Grade 1 talent, she could already sense most of the Web of Concepts, not just one thread out of infinity.
---
In Ravenwood Academy's headmaster's office sat a middle-aged man on a chair behind a big desk filled with paper and stuff. His hands constantly moved to write something on paper on the table. The middle-aged man had long white hair, his face was filled with wrinkles, and he wore a wizard robe. He looked in his eighties, but his spirit was strong as iron, and he had eyes that put fear in people's minds and hearts just by looking at them.
"Knock! Knock!" suddenly, someone knocked on the office door.
"Come in," the headmaster spoke in a clear voice without looking up. Two men and a woman teacher entered the room and walked to the headmaster's desk.
"Headmaster Ross," three of them bowed while speaking together.
"How was her behavior in today's class, Bertha." Ross's voice was devoid of any emotions, and he asked the women in three.
"Headmaster, she sat alone at back quietly. I think the incident has left a deep mark in her mind; she did not even raise her head the whole class," teacher Berta described Aiane's class situation.
Hearing Bertha's words, headmaster Ross's lips curled up in an evil smile, and he responded, "Good! Good! Put extra pressure on her in class until she breaks completely."
"Witter keeps an extra eye if she tries to do something to herself. The entire plan depends on her." Ross lifted his head and looked at Professor Witter Bone before speaking seriously.
"Headmaster! Is she that important to plan?" Witten asked, still somewhat confused.
"Do you think finding people with Grade 1 talent is easy? In my two hundred years of life, I have seen no more than ten of them, all of whom were powerful users of magic. If not for her mother giving up her part of the spirit sense, harming herself for her. How many chances can there be, she would; a person born from a mortal and a witch could be born with such talent." Ross explained
"You should know after how much difficulty we were able to find a person with this talent, and if you fail in your job, remember you don't have to show me your face the next day." Ross's voice became colder, and he gave Witter a stern warning with narrow eyes.
"You three can go now. Don't waste my time here" Ross sent them out of the office hastily and went back to writing again.
---
After failing once, Aiane did not try to meditate again. The third-year students had a little relaxed schedule, so she slept for the rest of the day. The Sun and Moon changed positions and the next day started with three bells. Aiane woke up from her sleep. Rubbing her eyes, she stood up from the bed and walked toward the washroom to wash her face. The dark circles under her eyes were less visible now, and her complexion improved daily. If everything stays okay for the next two-three months, she will be able to gain her previous body weight. Aiane followed the bell and finished her various routines, from studying to breakfast.
Finishing her breakfast, she made her way to her first classroom, where the Alchemy class was taught.
Soon Aiane found the Alchemy classroom, the classroom door was open, and students were walking inside one by one. Aiane entered the classroom. The Alchemy room had a big blackboard on the front wall and fifteen desks with a washbasin attached to each desk. Each desk had a few test tubes and glass flasks, and a burner on them to do experiments. And attached to the back and side of classroom walls were huge closets that contained ingredients and potions for experiments.
Lowering her head, Aiane walked to a desk in a corner at the back of the class, where no one would be able to notice her, and she sat silently. She placed her bag at the side and looked curiously at the instruments but did not dare to touch them without the teacher's order.
Even after going through so much ordeal, her spirit of magic was still strong, and even now, she still felt curious about magic.
After fifteen minutes of waiting, a woman in her late thirties entered the classroom. She carried a briefcase in her right hand and a thick book in her left. She wore a purple robe and a pointy hat on her head that displayed her status as a witch.
"Good morning, teacher" all the students stood up and bowed to greet the teacher.
The Alchemy teacher was none other than Bertha. Her eyes darted around the class and finally stopped on Aiane, sitting with her head down at the back of the class. Sitting quietly at the back, Aiane suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, which caused her to shiver involuntarily. After glancing at everyone's faces, Bertha sat on her chair at the front and opened the thick book she was carrying in her hands on the table. The Alchemy class only had thirteen students, eight boys and five girls, all coming from rich families.
"I will be your teacher for Alchemy for the next two years, where I will be teaching you how to mix and transform different ingredients and substances to get something useful. The class will be held once a week, so the rest of the time, you all have more time to learn and do different experiments." After settling on the table, Bertha spoke, looking at all the students in class,
After finishing her speech, Bertha stood up, walked to a closet at the side, and started to unlock all of them. She called to one student at the front and instructed him to distribute Alchemy books to the rest of the students and ingredients on her table.
"Remember, every time you ask for an extra ingredient, the price will be deducted from your academy card, so try to follow the instruction as accurately as possible given in the book not to waste your money." After walking back to the desk, Bertha reminded every student.
P.S
1. The meditation technique inside Aiane's book was not in a true World's language. It was in one of the derived languages. Only the world language that Milan thought Haze with the language potion was pure and true World's Language.
2. The Web of Concepts and Thread of Concepts are two things. The web contains all the threads, and a thread is a single concept.