Chereads / House of the Celestials: Crown of Stars Rewrite / Chapter 23 - Twenty-Two: Arcane art

Chapter 23 - Twenty-Two: Arcane art

Yesh Academy

Luna Gaea Solar system

Milky Way Galaxy, Charlie Quadrant

Neutral free Zone

January 30th 2019

 The idea of being a teacher was something Emily never thought she would explore, not once in her life. She had been a student, being the one who received lessons, and now she was about to impact the lives of people with her knowledge, a knowledge that could shape the essence of their lives. She was outside the door, the class of the first year. Although she was getting used to the idea of teaching since she had been here in the academy for over a year now, Emily had only taught the upperclassmen. They were already knowledgeable when it came to the Arcane arts, and all she did for them was to help polish their skills. This time she was going to mold them from the beginning. Emily was a warrior, a reaper of life, and yet she found herself nurturing a generation of people who didn't even belong to the same race as her. Damn you, Leon. This is all your fault. She sighed as she opened the door to the classroom. It was a square-shaped room with enough space to fit a lot of people, but there were only fifteen students in the class. Emily noticed among the students, six of them were humans while the rest were Demi humans. Emily wondered if any of them would have the mindset to be able to learn the arcane art. Unlike the Mystical art, Arcane art was a lot harder and required more discipline to learn. Unless you belong to a race like the Fae or Elven or were an Ascendant Mystic like Emily, the Arcane art was difficult to learn. She's not here yet. Emily had found out that Samantha Sinclair would also be attending her class. She was looking forward to it. As Emily was about to say something, a noise from the door distracted her. She turned to see it opened, and two people fighting to get through.

-

After the debacle that had seen Sam and Leon transported to an unknown place, the rest of the combat training had gone pretty smoothly, with time resuming like nothing had happened. Leon said nothing, continuing his classes without once glancing at Sam. And while Sam had returned with a new sense of vigor, her performance had pissed Trynr for some reason. After the combat training, Sam had a free period as there weren't that many courses that she had. The Academy offered mostly four courses for the first years as the second years and third years were when each student began their specialization courses. Sam decided to use her free period to meditate and evaluate the phenomenon that had happened to her. The only conclusion she had ended up on was that for some reason there was a connection between her and the goddess, Asha. That was what Phoebe had called her. Sam bore the Celestial seal of the goddess, and for some reason, the goddess summoned her to some weird place to impart some knowledge to her. That was the only thing she could come to. After meditating, Sam took a shower to freshen up and then got ready for her next course. Arcane Practicum. A course where one learned to wield the Arcanic forces of the universe. She finally got to wear the uniform of Yesh Academy, a red blazer dress with a white shirt with a symbol of a rising sun signifying the dawn with two swords crossing an x-on the chest pocket, and a black skirt and black leggings. Sam was still getting used to going from one place to another, so even though she had a map on her Zodiak, she still managed to get lost.

"Are you lost dear," A voice said behind her. Sam had gotten to the eastern building, but she was having a hard time finding where she was supposed to be. She wondered if her face was so easily read as she spun around to see who spoke to her. Her eyes rose as she saw Professor Cessian from her college. He was dressed in a green robe, and his curly brown hair was a mess, but he had a warm smile on his face. He was her Music performance teacher and the only professor she had liked from her Freshman year.

"Professor Cessian, It's you," Sam said.

"Yes, Samantha, it's me. And yes, I'm a Mystical human." He said. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Sam thought. Callum and Rosa, two people she knew at Yesh University had been connected to this place. Was it shocking to find that her professor was also involved? "Are you searching for a class,"

"Uh!... Yes, I'm trying to find the Arcane practicum class," Sam said. He gave me a knowing smile as he pointed to her left side.

"Turn to the right corner, then go straight, it should be at the end of the line," Professor Cessian said. "It was nice to see you again," He walked away without saying much. Sam watched him leave before taking the route he had described him. On her way to turn right, she bumped into someone. 

"Ow! Ow! Ow!' Trynr said as she nearly tumbled down. Sam was quick to catch her. The fox-ear girl shoved her hand away from Sam, glaring at her.

"Where are you going," Sam said.

"My next class...not that it's any of your business," Trynr said.

"Is it Arcane practicum," Sam asked.

"Yeah," Trynr said.

"You're going the wrong way," Sam said. "It's this way," Sam pointed to the end of the hallway that Professor Cessian had described. Trynr blushed, her face turning red, as she turned behind to the direction she was walking away from.

"I know that," Trynr spat out. She humphed and began walking beside Sam. Sam stared at the Demi-human girl. Since she met her, Trynr had some kind of vendetta against her. Sam had also noticed that Trynr was one of the few who didn't seem enchanted by Leon's good looks back in combat training. Does she have some kind of issue with Pleiadians? Or was it Ascendants? Wait...why was she lost? She had been close to the classroom, and yet she had gone the opposite of it.

"Trynr, are you one of those characters with no sense of direction" Sam asked.

"Shut up," Trynr said. Sam couldn't help but smile at it. She secretly loved characters like that. She got rid of the smile as Trynr glared at her. They finally arrived at the door to their class. Sam's hand went for the knob at the same time as Trynr. They stared at each other, with Trynr frowning at her. That was all she did. Scowl! Sam's hand touched the knob but Trynr tried pushing Sam out of the way. The old Sam would have let her get away with it but since her fight with those Golems...no since her awakening, something within her had changed. As Trynr opened the door, Sam elbowed her out of the way. Trynr snarled, revealing deadly fangs.

"Are you guys going to just stand there," Emily said. Sam and Trynr jumped up in fright at Emily's cold voice. Sam entered the room followed by Trynr. Emily raised an eyebrow as she examined Sam. She had just awakened not long ago, yet her Mana flowed smoothly for a Novice...No...Emily was shocked to see that she was above a Novice. She hadn't paid much attention to Sam when she first met her, but now she had her eyes on her. Emily could sense the amount of Mana she had as a reserve which was more than the average awakened Mystic. Sam sat down beside Henry who was also attending the class as the fox-eared girl also sat in the front but a couple of seats away from them. Henry was glad to see Sam. It had been a while since he saw her and all the weird things that had happened. The only reason he was here was for Sam. He knew he was lucky to be able to be close to her, even with all the weird shit that had happened since she broke up with him.

"Alright class, now that everyone is here.." Emily's eyes fell on Sam and Trynr before she continued. "Welcome to Arcane practicum. I'm Emily Legens, your interim instruc-" Trynr shot her hand up in the air, glaring at Emily. "What is it," Emily could already sense the hostility coming from the Demihuman. She already knew the question the girl had.

"Why do we have a Pleiadian, an Offworlder of all things, teaching us our kind of magic," Trynr said. Wow! Maybe I was right. She doesn't like Pleiadians. Sam could feel the anger Trynr was exuding, and it was directed towards both Sam and Emily. Emily felt it too but she ignored it. A part of her understood where the Demi-human was coming from.

"You're a half Reginhard," Emily said. 

"What of it," Trynr said.

"Nothing. I'm here because your High Guardian requested my assistance." Emily said. "As for the type of Magic used by you Terrans," Emily raised a finger and began to make some kind of weird gestures. As she did that, a line of light formed around the finger creating a geometric arrangement of symbols. These symbols...no...runes woven together into the geometric shape glowed with power. A ball of blue flames snapped into existence above Emily's palm. Sam's eyes widened at it. She had concentrated on Emily's Mana flow and had sensed nothing of it. She didn't seem to have infused Mana and instead accessed some sort of different power. The flames disappeared when Emily squeezed her fist. "In the end, Magic is Magic. The only difference between me and all of you is that we use a different Magic system. My kind uses the Arcane Star system while you Terrans rely on the Magic Circle system. Am I right, Miss Fairborn," Emily said to the Demihuman girl. With a scowl still on her face, Trynr was forced to nod.

"Good! So how many of you are inheritors," Emily said. Three people in the class out of the seventeen raised their hands. Emily wasn't surprised to see that. In the Hidden World of Terran, Nine families had the ultimate power. Four out of those nine serve as the ruling faction of each of the explored areas of the Hidden World. Their factions were known as the seasonal courts. And then the remaining five families were the ones who formed the first generation of the Golden Dawn organization. Three of these families were still in power as it was believed that the remaining two had died out long ago due to their loss of Mystical power. The three families that were in charge of Golden Dawn were of the human race while the ruling clan of the seasonal courts were part of the eight race. Emily was surprised to see Trynr's hand among the three people.

"You're an Inheritor Miss Fairborn," Emily said.

"Yes, I am," Trynr said. "Though I'm the second child of my family, I inherited the crest of my Father's bloodline from my sister after she..." Trynr turned red, her fox ear perking up, then she kept quiet raising her hair down. Sam felt a crushing rush of pain that Trynr was trying to keep in check, and she was surprised at how well Trynr kept her pain from showing in her face. From the moment that Sam had met the fox girl, she had shown great hostility to Sam, and usually, Sam would have done everything in her power to avoid the Fox girl as she did back in high school. But this time Sam couldn't help but be curious as to why Trynr despised her.

"What is an Inheritor," Henry asked. 

"Hmm! An Inheritor is a concept humans use regarding those who inherited a Bloodline Magic," Emily said. "When a Magical family gives birth, the eldest child is given the right to inherit the Family's Magic. This is done by passing down what is known as Magic Crest to the Inheritor. Miss Fairborn, can you show us your Magic crest? You don't have to if you don't want to." Trynr proudly stood up, raising down her right arm sleeves. She concentrated on channeling her Magical energy through the Magic circuits in her body, and into the Crest that her Father had engraved into her body. A pattern of light formed from her elbow to her wrist and an array of runes were etched on Trynr's arm. Sam could feel that the essence of the markings on Trynr was the same as the Magic circles Emily had shown when casting her spell. After a second of everyone gasping at Trynr's Crest, she turned it off and sat right back down.

"Magic crest. The crystallization of a Wizard's magical capabilities. It serves as an archive of all the knowledge, experience, and power a Wizard obtains in their lifetime. Long ago, the five Great Magical Family of Terra formed this system of using Magic. They did so because the Mystic abilities one gained from Mana were not enough to make them equal against the Fae and Elven races who were superior when it came to Magic. The five great magical families pass on their crest to the eldest child, who in return updates and strengthens the Magic crest, and then passes it on to their child. On and on it goes, to the point that the magic crest reaches a singularity point."

"A singularity point," Henry said.

"Yes, a mutational change that occurs in one's body that allows them to wield Magic on the same level as the Faes and Elvens," Emily said. To be honest, she found that part to be ridiculous. The Faes and Elvens were creatures of nature as such it only made sense that their kind was more sensitive to the natural energy of the planet. According to the doctrine of Annunaki, each of the nine races was created with a purpose...or a function...Yeah, a function would be the right word. The Faes and Elvens were the gardeners of a planet, the Giants were the builders, the Daemons were the watchers, the Beastkins were the hunters, the Dvergar were the craftsmen, the Automatons were the Operators and the Pleiadians were the Protectors. The only race that was not included was the humans. Emily had no idea why. Even though she was well-versed in the mythos of the Annunaki religion, she didn't understand that part. In the end, Emily didn't see how the Magic crest could alter the nature of humans to become like the Faes and Elves. Thousands of years had passed since the gods abandoned Terra and the Magic crest was developed, and yet no mutational change. "Anyway for an Inheritor to use magic, they have to use the Magic circuits that power the Magic crest. This makes it easy for them to master Magic. For the rest of you that lack a Magic crest, well, it's gonna be difficult learning the Arcane art." Hmm. Sam wondered if she was going to have to form her own Magic crest. Emily came over to Sam with a book in her arm.

"Since you're an Ascendant, Magic crest doesn't apply to you," Emily said to Sam like she had read Sam's mind. "This is one of my own personal Grimoire. It should help you " Sam took the book, her eyes wide open at Emily's action. Emily barely knew her so why would she...

"Thanks,' Sam said. A beginner's guide to Magic. So generic. But Sam was grateful to her for her kindness. 

"OK, guys," Emily said. She moved to a shelf and opened it, white steam coming out of the shelf. "These are transmutational potions, which will help convert some of your Mana Node pathways into some Magic circuit. Henry, this will also help open up your Mana node and allow your mana to begin flowing. But you must keep in mind that there might be unforeseen consequences."

"I'm good. If it means learning about Magic," Henry said. The other students stared in surprise at Henry's words. Even Sam was surprised. If Sam was honest with herself, she was not ok with Henry being here. She knew there was nothing she could do about it since Henry was a grown-up and he could make his own choices, but she couldn't help feeling guilty.

"After your Magic circuit is formed, we will begin the next phase in the Magic circle system," Emily said. Sam opened the book and began reading it. 

First channel Odic energy into one's Soul core. Revolving one's core will convert it to Magical energy also known as Mana. To revolve one's core, one must use Mental force- the power of the mind- Hmm! Sam already knew how to absorb the ambient energy and cycle her core to convert Od into mana. She watched as the rest of the class began drinking the potion Emily had given them. Henry sniffed his own, his face frowning in disgust. He then gulped it down, and she waited to see if anything would happen. A second passed and then nothing happened- Henry gasped, grabbing his chest as the veins around his head began to bulge. The others began to do the same as they all fell on the floor gasping in pain.

"Henry..." Sam tried helping Henry but Emily stopped her.

"They'll be okay," Emily said. There were no concern or emotions in her cold eyes. "You should focus more on your task." Sam didn't want to do as she said but her eyes held no room for argument. Sam turned to the book, sighing as she tried her best to concentrate. She could feel her Od within her core and then using her internal sense, she began cycling her core to convert the Odic essence into mana. Like before, she felt herself falling into a deep abyss but this time she could feel the presence of her Mana rushing throughout her body, along with her consciousness. When she opened her eyes she was back in that sea of darkness underneath the plain purple sky, alongside her soul. This was her soul realm. It still felt weird being able to see her soul. The light from her soul was very bright, almost like a sun though it wasn't bright enough that Sam could see through the sea's surface. Gathering in the sky was a mass of energy that Sam had brought with her. She had converted her Od into mana like the book had instructed. So now what? Sam thought. What was she supposed to do with the mass of energy? She had channeled her mana into her mind. What was the next step? Unlike her body which had a system for channeling mana, Sam had no idea how to wield this mass of energy in her mind. Maybe if she concentrated...She tried focusing on the energy, tried drawing it toward her but all it did was wobble, like jelly. And then nothing happened. This isn't turning out the way she thought it would. Sam returned to the real world. Some of the other students were still on the floor, while some of them had recovered. Henry was of the latter, no sign of pain or injury was on him. Instead what Sam saw was a halo of light around Henry's head.

"I have to say I'm impressed Henry," Emily said. "You were able to finish the prerequisite to use the Magic Circle system. How did you do it?"

"I don't know...After the pain began to fade, I felt this rush of energy enter my body," Henry said. "It inspired me....gave me the urge to paint. I've never felt an inspiration like that before. I didn't want to put it to waste but I didn't have any utensils to use."

"So you used your Odic force," Emily said.

"Odic Force," Henry said.

"It's the power that allows you to project part of your consciousness as Internal sense," Emily said. "Odic force is the power behind the calculative and deductive ability of the mind." Emily had felt the formation of the Magic circle within Henry's soul. The newly formed Magic circuit had allowed him to channel the flow of his mana into his Soul Realm where his soul was located. With his Odic force, he had been able to use the Mana to paint a Magic circle within his soul. As a human, Henry's soul core was dormant, so he had no issue forming a circle within his soul. The Magic circle then began to process the mana in his soul realm, stabilizing it. There was no doubt that as a human, his artistic nature made him possess an affinity towards Magic. Was Phoebe aware of that?

"Yes, something like that," Henry said. Some of the students began getting up, though none of them had succeeded in forming a magic circle like Henry. Even Sam had no idea what to do with the mass of mana within her core. She turned to the book to see if there was any explanation.

After the Mana has settled within the Soul core, begin to form a Mana star to stabilize the Mana and prevent it from reverting to its original form- Wait! Prevent it from reverting to its original form. She had left the mass of energy in her core without doing anything to. Sam quickly perceived her core, and she sensed that the mass of mana had reversed into Odic energy, settling within it. Damn it. This was harder than she thought. Wait a moment...The system. She could just rely on it, right? She summoned the status window and her stats showed up like before-

Status:

Name: Samantha Sinclair

Rank: Beginning stage Adept Realm [Tier 1]

Stats - Strength: 59 Agility: 56 Endurance:60 Stamina: 63 Charm: 100 Intelligence: 100 Magic power: 40 combat power: 85

Combat arts: Adamantium fist martial art- Five-star rank(Early minor realm of mastery)

Bloodline Ability factor: ???:

Unique technique: ???: ???, ???, ???, Música Conductor

Música conductor: A unique technique that allows one to be able to peer into the soul's frequency and wavelength.

Sam focused on the Magic power which was the lowest of all her stats. Fuck it. So she sucked at the Arcane art. Even though she had summoned the status window, Sam had no idea how to communicate with the system. She knew that somewhere within the system was a collection of knowledge locked away. If only she could access it. The status window just glowed, nothing else appeared. Sam sighed swiping it away. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy.

"For the rest of the class, take your time to try and form your Mana circle. Hopefully, by the time we meet again, you will have already achieved the 1st Circle. That's it for today," Emily said. Sam watched as all the students left the classroom, Trynr was the first one out while Henry tried to wait for Sam. "Samantha, can you stay behind for a moment," Sam nodded, heading over to where Emily was seating. It was hard to read her expression nor was there any sign of emotions which made Sam even more nervous. She didn't know Emily but from the small interaction she had gotten from her, Sam could tell that Emily was a kind person.

"How's your day been so far," Emily said.

"Weird. Well, my life has been weird for the most part," Sam said. "You would think I would get used to it,"

"I guess being summoned into an Echo field again can be overwhelming," Emily said.

"Leon told you about it," Sam said in surprise. She hadn't even told Emanu about it yet.

"No he didn't," Emily said. She got up from her seat, a look of concern on her face. Emily had found it difficult to believe what she had seen from Sam's mind. Yet, when Sam had entered the class, Emily had also felt something different about her. "As a practitioner of the Arcane arts, my sensitivity to one's mental energy is greater than most Mystic. Especially when one's mind is open for anyone to access." Sam was surprised at the revelation.

"You can read my mind," Sam said.

"Yes, Telepathy is one of my specialization," Emily said. "I heard you're an Empath."

"Yes. I...I can feel the emotions of others, like it's a part of my own," Sam said. "I've always been able to."

"Huh, interesting. I heard about it but I didn't want to think it was true." Emily said. Emily knew that Sam's core had been sealed shut, which was why she hadn't Awakened at the normal age of ten like most, but to think even with her core sealed, her Odic force was powerful enough that she could still perceive the psyche of others. There was only one explanation for it. "Would you want me to help you learn how to ward your mind,"

"Ward my mind," Sam said.

"Keep others from reading your mind or emotions," Emily said. "When you concentrate like you did before, you left your mind open for those with strong Internal senses like me to read it like an open book. That's not good, especially when it comes to combat."

"You...You would do that for me," Sam said. "But why...You don't know me. You don't owe me anything," Sam thought about the book Emily had given her. Why was this girl being so nice to her-

"I find you kind of interesting," Emily said. She said it with a deadpan expression making it hard for Sam to believe her. 

"What about me is interesting," Sam said. Emily's hand went to Sam's right hand. Her finger brushed against the Ankh seal on the back of the right hand.

"Your connection to a pagan goddess," Emily said.

"You mean Asha," Sam said. 

"Asha, one of the nine pagan gods of Terra," Emily said. She didn't know much about the gods of Terra even though Emily had tried to research them while here in the Academy. But there was no text, no book on them. The only source of knowledge about these pagan gods was oral stories about them that the members of the Hidden World passed down. If there were books on them in Golden Dawn, they must be kept locked away somewhere that Emily couldn't get her hands on. The only thing Emily knew about them was that there were nine of them. And that they originated from Terra.

"It's strange that a Heretical goddess would choose someone from the Sinclair family" Emily said.

"Why is she a Heretic?" Sam asked.

"Because they aren't included in the Annunaki pantheons of gods," Emily said. "Starlight doesn't recognize any gods outside the established religion of the Federation," Emily looked at Sam's arm where the strange Celestial seal was. "It's a good thing Phoebe didn't recommend you to Starlight. As a Pleiadian, with an unknown Celestial seal, Starlight will see it as a Stigmata. A Heretic's mark."

"Is that a bad thing," Sam said.

"Yes. Very bad. Starlight doesn't tolerate the existence of Heretics" Emily said. Sam gulped. There goes her desire to visit the Federation. "So, what do you say? I'll help you with controlling your Internal senses,"

"Yes, of course. I would appreciate it," Sam said. I was right, she's a kind person.