Black Magus

After a few minutes of sitting and contemplating my duel, the time finally came for the mass of students to migrate toward the door. Despite my eagerness, however, I held back for a few minutes to let the crowd die down before skipping around the hub to Zeff’s classroom. Only to skip back to Doyle’s classroom after Zakira reminded me of the roll call.

Frankly speaking, it was a system I wasn’t used to. When I was growing up in old America, our homeroom teacher was our first teacher of the day. But that was just an empty title. The secretaries in the main office made announcements over the intercom and every teacher took their own roll call. We were free to roam about campus in between classes and be tardy on our own accord. And there was no class leader. University was much the same no matter where I went. Only, the teachers treated us like adults.

Some of them, at least.

Here, though, we were to meet with the same teacher in the same spot every day, regardless of what classes we were having. Our teacher would take attendance for the day before releasing us to our studies. A wildly inefficient practice, I felt. But I wasn’t the one in charge so I just ran with it. Besides, the classrooms were in close proximity to one another. So I supposed it wasn’t all bad. But it would surely take some getting used to.

“Good morning, everyone!” Zeff greeted us with a wave once we entered his classroom. Which was more along the lines of what I expected. There were no paintings or windows to serve as potential distractions. Only bookshelves and blackboards were found outside of his ostentatiously pristine desk.

Ours, on the other hand, were both constructed and arranged similarly to Doyle’s. Only, they were larger, padded, and reclined. They even had cup holders. Giving me the strong impression that our Magical Theory teacher was quite the talker. Which was like music to my ears. So I happily sauntered forward to plant myself in the first row.

Zeff was a curious man. He seemed like a mix between dwarf and halfling, but also neither. He had no beard or facial hair other than some black scruff occasionally lining his square face. He seemed as rugged and well-built as Doyle, yet was dressed in fine silks and leathers and had his lavender-black hair combed to have a prominent part running down the right side.

“Welcome to your class in the Theory of Magic.” He beamed with a flourishing bow. “Here, we will explore all things mystic and arcane, mighty and martial. I, Zeff Yurich, will share with you all I know about these things. All that I’ve learned of spells. All that I understand of magic. All you need to do is listen. And put this knowledge to practice in the classroom of my peer.”

After a short pause, he bounced on his feet with a loud and thunderous clap. Shaking almost half the class in their seats for no reason at all. “Now then.” He continued with an amiable smile. “The syllabus is as follows. On this day, our course will start with a history lesson. After lunch, our lessons will continue with the first part of a lecture on mana. That lecture will conclude in our next class, where we will go through a short lecture on Class Evolution. Next week will mark the start of this quarter’s focus. 'The Basics of Mana Molding and Spell Casting.' The intermediate level of the same course will be the focus in the following quarter. And each one after will be focused on spell development.

“Now then! On to our lecture.” He clapped again, trigging a similar response from a shallower pool of students. “Across the explored realms of Nonus and Maru, there is little knowledge regarding the state of Maru prior to year zero. However, we have since come to learn that sentient species from across the Mortal Plane had little to no existence of one another prior to the opening of the portals. You all know of the four realms!” He said with a thrust of his arms towards the ceiling. Then watched all of our eyes bulge at the sight of a colorized and, for the most part, highly detailed map of the Mortal Plane appearing on the ceiling.

In his long pause, I took a quick study of the puny group of islands that represented Maru, disconnected from the other realms by a foggy ocean of mind-boggling proportions.

“Within each realm exists a different Tree of Life.” Zeff continued. “Each Tree is unique and birthed the progenitors of the creatures that dwell within their realms. By spreading, evolving, and mutating, these creatures have changed over time to an almost infinite degree. But several species across the Mortal Plane have remained unchanged since time immemorial. Today, they have become synonymous with the different realms. The demons and vampires of Vagua. The dragons and Dragonborne of Nonus. The orcs and goblinoids of Betrarth. The Humanoids from Maru. The Fae of Youtera. And from beyond the White Wall, Giants.

"Back then, most of these species had little-to-no knowledge of the other's existence. The Fae, demons, dragons, and giants were the only exceptions. But when the portals opened, everyone became aware. On that fateful day!” He clapped again. “Rifts in space spontaneously appeared in the most densely populated regions across the realms. In Maru, those regions were concentrated on a continent called Ulai.” He slapped the small dots above with a long pointer stick. “Perhaps as a result of both the portals and the influx of mana resulting from them, the generations of Maruleans that followed were born with gifts that allowed them to use higher forms of magic. What we today call affinity cores. But the price which we paid for them was conflict.

“Blood!” He clapped. “Within only a century, the Marulean continent of Ulai was lost. Deemed a dead zone by those who inhabited it. That marked the start of a long war that persisted for well over a thousand years. A conflict waged against both Maruleans and those they deemed ‘monsters.’ Yet, pioneers looked past that and began to explore the other realms shortly after they became open, intending to construct settlements within them. In the following centuries, Maru saw much progress and many losses.” He paced to the other side of his desk with a heavy sigh. “In the year one-twenty-five, an organization was formed to enable those with great martial or magical ability to band together and explore as militias with little-to-no ties to any existing nations. But that is not to say these individuals were mercenaries. They were pioneers. Adventurers. Protectors of Maru.

“This is the organization that would come to be known as the Marulean Guild Association. After its formation, they directed the guilds in retaking their lost lands and fortifying the lands they left in their wake. A tradition each guild upholds to this day.” He beamed with pride. “By the turn of the fifth century, the Marulean continents had been stabilized. New Dawn, Maru’s largest guild, paved most of the way and pushed through the portals to make settlements on the other sides. Nonus was settled first, in four-twelve, followed by Vagua some four years later; although the settlement was abandoned just two years after that. A similar fate met those who ventured beyond the White Wall, although a permanent settlement in Betrarth was declared three years later, in four-twenty-one. And... every attempt at Youtera was... unsuccessful. Thus it was quickly deemed a lost cause.

“As the century came to an end, however, all of their settlements were abandoned in favor of the one in Nonus.” He pointed to the sole peninsula jutting out from Nonus’ side of the oceanic ring separating Maru from everything else. “In the year four-eighty-six, all guilds associated with New Dawn relocated to Nonus, giving rise to the Polaris Empire. And they have been expanding on Nonus ever since. It didn’t take long for them to venture to this here peninsula, however.” He grinned wide. “Here, they found Headmaster Knagh and came to an agreement to build a bridge of light to Maru and create a place where Maruleans, the Children of Polaris, and denizens from the realms beyond could come to learn what was lost to Maru: Class Evolution. An ability that lies dormant in all things. The agreement was made in the year four-eighty-eight. And in the year four-ninety-one, the Bodhi Tree saw its first class of students.

“As the years passed, the Polaris Empire continued forming peace in Nonus while conflict persisted in Maru. With the powerhouse that was New Dawn out of the picture, other guilds took the opportunity to rise to power and seize control of the other portals. Conflicts arose over the course of decades until the year five-thirty-five when the Guild Wars officially commenced.” He declared. “Such a war wouldn’t see its end until seven-eighty-two when much of what existed in Ulai and the other continents had been destroyed. But as always.” He smiled. “Maru reconstructed and came upon a period of peace by the ninth century. During that time there was little conflict between the existing nations. There was only the ongoing battle against the creatures pouring in through the portals.

“From then on, history remained uneventful until the turn of the millennium. When every realm saw their portals to Youtera vanish before their eyes.” He said in a dramatically airy tone. “It was clear they had unearthed the secret behind manipulating the portals. Yet they shared it with no one. They kept it to themselves until the year twelve-thirty-two. When the renowned Magus’, Jamettus Deapou and Everandus Cole discovered them on what is now known as Deapou Island, in Maru.” He slapped his stick atop my homeland with a glance toward me. “For their tact in making contact with the elves when none could; of being the first to learn from them and sharing that learned knowledge with the Bodhi Tree and the Guild Association, the two were promoted to the rank of Magus, sealing their names in history as the Iron Magus and the Necro King.”

‘So more or less that checks out.’ I rocked back in amusement. In Grandpa Lich's words, the elves came to them when they arrived. At the same time, however, what Zeff said was true. Those two surely had the power to keep the knowledge for themselves. That spoke volumes. But what was truly curious was the fact that I’d never even considered him keeping it to himself. I supposed it was because I knew his character well enough to know that he wouldn’t. But it was still a curiosity, to say the least.

“As many of you know.” Zeff continued. “The knowledge humanity gained was invaluable, as it was this knowledge that allowed the humans born without affinity cores to gain their own. But the core awakening ceremony is but a fraction of the knowledge those two legendary men bestowed upon us. Mana Well Assimilation and Divine Aphids are uncommonly known, but invaluable pieces of knowledge for humanity.” He paused to lean forward and give us a charming smile. “But I will explain both concepts in due time.

"Now!” He clapped. “Like many times throughout history, this new knowledge brought great changes to Maru. But not without challenges. First, Maru was no longer the only home to humanoids. And in the coming years, an individual by the name of James Epeth sealed the entire continent of Ulai behind a barrier, making his name known as a Magus. The result was the liberation of the Marulean realm from the invaders that plagued them for so long. They were, for the first time since the portals opened, in a state of peace. But the price was the loss of a continent and the loss of contact with every nation that settled beyond the portals.

‘Tch. Liberation my ass.’ I scoffed inside.

“While Marulean recorded history has always been tumultuous.” He continued. “The Bodhi Tree’s mission has always been to train Pages and encourage them to travel across the realms and reconnect with those scattered pockets of humanity and give them the knowledge given to us by those great men. But.” He sighed. “The only portals that have been found in Nonus thus far lead to Betrarth and, of course, Maru. And few make the venture to the former."

“And with that, my lecture is complete.” He let out a weary sigh before snapping his neck back to us. “Any questions?

“How was it so easy for the colonizers to secure the portal in Nonus?” Slate asked.

“An excellent question!” Zeff beamed. “The ambient levels of the other worlds; particularly of Maru, were far too low for the majority of Nonusian inhabitants. As such, they simply had no interest in journeying to the other side. That said, it was hardly easy. Reginald Morningstar, New Dawn’s guild master and the first Emperor of Polaris had to slay a dragon to secure it.”

“Understood. Thank you.” He curtly nodded. Meanwhile, I heard a contemptuous snort come from the dragonborne across the way.

“Of course.” Zeff nodded, then looked around at the rest of the class. “Anyone else?”

“Very well!” He clapped again. “We’ll continue with our lecture on mana after lunch. Dismissed!”