- 6th August 2138, Morning, GCA Campus Practice Hall -
Ms. Blume had divided us into groups of varying amounts. She'd assigned people with those of similar affinity. I was currently sitting in a circle with 2 other people, perusing a list of varying Spark-based techniques to practice.
Cordially, I introduced myself to the two students.
"I'm Erik, nice to work with you," I uttered quickly, hoping to get these obligatory introductions out of the way.
"Call me Toni." One of them said, in a rather unladylike way.
Toni was wearing her uniform in a rather unkempt fashion, her top button not done up, tie loose around her neck. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she had a smudge of dirt on her cheek.
She looked as if she was ready for a day of scaling trees and exploring. Childish as it seemed. A typical tomboy. Her pale skin not plastered with even a morsel of make-up.
The other spoke, staring at me with strange eyes "Name's Stephen, just call me Steve."
Instead of being rather brutish and ungroomed, Steve seemed rather basic in comparison. His uniform was perfect with no deviations from the standard dress code.
With red hair of a rather basic shaggy cut that many men seemed to have in this day and age. One thing of note was his eyes, one azure like a tropical ocean and the other crimson like the fires of eternal damnation...
Could this be a singularity at work? I'll try and find out.
"Either of you got singularities?" I inquired, scheming to myself.
This would be a way to identify the singularities of either person, without arousing suspicion. Even if they deny holding one I'd still be able to show mine without question.
In that case would be like a game or test of wits, trying to identify the true identity of another person's singularity without revealing one's own. Quite difficult, but also fun.
Toni shook her head assuredly, though rather dispassionately. Typical of a girl with her sensibilities. Oddly enough I trusted her. Steve on the other hand...
"I do not," Steve replied, bluntly.
"Really? Your eyes would suggest otherwise," I retorted with an impish grin plastering my face.
"They do?" Steve said looking at his reflection in the glossy linoleum flooring. "I didn't even notice!"
Outwardly it seemed Steve was unphased by my statements, but I knew he was hiding something. I played along with him, as I summoned the age-old aura at my iris, my eye shifting to a pale yellow.
================
[Name: Stephan Embritz]
[Age: 16]
[Mood]: Amused
[Singularities]:
-[Duality of Air]
[Attribution]: Conjury
-[Rank]: A
-[Affinity]: Spark
[E-Signature]: 118S
================
Duality of Air? Sounded like something strong. My best guess would have to be something about hot and cold temperatures, judging by the color of his eyes.
"Let me guess, something about air?" I asked, in a mischievous way.
Steve lost his composure for a moment before smiling rather weakly.
"You got me!" He admitted, hands up as if to surrender.
"It can be used to both control and create temperatures. It takes fair amount practice to mastereven simple applications of it, sadly." Steve explained, chuckling to himself in a dire way.
Thermokinesis was known as one of the strongest powers in the old-age. Having a singularity of a similar vein could make him a very tough combatant. People capable of manipulating hot and cold at the same time had a history fo whipping up fercoious storms, completely destroying enemy encampments. It was a force to be reckoned with, for sure.
"Sounds like a very powerful ability," I said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Steve nodded, a more serious expression on his face.
"It is. Not many people in my family have the ability to use both the hot and cold sides of their power. I am one of the few. " Steve said, in a more serious tone.
I was about to ask more about his powers when the teacher came in, stopping our conversation.
I'd completely forgotten, we were supposed to be finding a technique to study. Scrambling to find the directory of techniques, I set my eyes upon Toni. Arm outstretched with palm open she chanted {Storm's Arsenal: Schwert}
A single double-edged violet blade constructed entirely of crackling electrical energy appeared in her hand. It wasn't entirely stable, as it seemed to lose form occasionally though it looked good enough for her first try, Toni then threw it at the wall, purple blade zipping through the air in a blur of sparking purple. Impaling itself in the wall, dissipating into the air with a small hole being left behind.
Ms. Blume's eyes had been transfixed upon the blade as it propagated across the room. It was easy to tell she was a fanatic for techniques like this. After watching the blade disappear into the wall, the other students began to clap.
"Great Job Spark group. I'll be going now."
In awe myself at the majesty of such a technique I looked up at Toni.
"You're amazing, thanks," I said, a genuine smile on my face.
"Uncool. Don't thank me. I just did what I had to do." She replied, face flushed with hints of red.
With confidence, I attempted to manipulate the energies in my body as I began to chant the technique. Instead of allowing my energy to run wild, I tried directing it in a more stable manner. Akin to the stable orbit of a celestial body orbiting a star, not flying out of the system under its momentum.
{Storm's Arsenal: Schwert} I chanted. Feeling a the familar rush of energy all applications of Casting imparted.
Instead of the more entropic version of the sword that Toni had manifested, I managed to summon what looked like a purple crackling replica of an old-age German Zweihänder greatsword.
Using two hands to throw the surprisingly weightless blade in a spinning motion. Zipping just faster than Toni's blade had, like a lightning strike upon the wall a loud crash emanated through the room as my blade dissipated, leaving a gaping gash in the wall.
Honestly. That had even impressed me, and I was the one who performed it. Goes to show the effectiveness of the technique I'd been training.
"Alright. Good job." Toni said, looking at the gash with a hint of admiration."How did you manage to create a more stable Construct?"
"Yeah, how?" Steve asked.
Over an amount of time best left up to guesswork... I explained how I manipulated the flow of energy during the chanting of the technique to form a more stable blade.
Both Toni and Steve only seemed to have half understood my explanation. With Steve miscasting it, forming a small dagger-like object.
On the contrary, Toni managed to form a blade of lesser size. Though it looked more like a katana than a greatsword.
A solitary strong blade forming the edge of the weapon, leaving a thin but deep cut in the wall upon being deployed.
An improvement over the previous attempt, but still quite lacking in comparison to the appearance of my weapon.
With Toni able to cast the technique, we decided to try and figure out how to from different weapons with our energy.
After a few minutes of experimenting and brainstorming, we all seemed to have grasped the basic concept and were now capable of forming various weapons out of lightning. Unfortunately, such weapons were of varying stability and dissipated after a few seconds.
The number of ways such a simple spell could be developed was interesting.
"Hmm. Seems like you're onto something there." Toni noted, looking at the cut with a thoughtful expression.
With a set of loud claps, the teacher caught the class's attention.
"You've more than proven yourselves today. Go take a break" With that, the class was dismissed. Ms. Blume declared that tomorrow would be a training day yet again. With the exams coming in 2 months.
From what I'd heard, proper lessons were to start next week. With the rather lax schedule of the past week being to ease us, students, into our new lifestyle.
The other students in the class slowly began to trickle out. Some congratulated Toni and I on our developments, others in their little worlds. Toni and I were the last two to leave the room, and as we walked out into the hallway she turned to me.
"You know, you're pretty good yourself. I wouldn't have been able to do that without you."
I was surprised by her words, and even more so by the fact that she seemed to be sincere. Presenting me her InfoComm ID, for communicating.
"Thanks, Toni. I'm just glad I could help." I replied, honestly.
"You're not so bad yourself." Toni grinned, walking off towards the dorms.
I walked back to my room in a daze, wondering what had just happened. I realized that I'd had made another friend, and it felt weird.
Making friends was all good, but I needed to make sure I had enough time to train...