The 'Proving Grounds' - another place that Valeria had been looking forward to seeing again. In spite of the intimidating ambiance, it held a significant memory for her. It was where she had first learned to embrace the power she had been feared for possessing. There was no confusion as to why the wild, destructive nature of fire would instill fear in many, though, that was not what fire elementalists were. They were the ones who had an unexplainable bond with the element, who could bend it at will, and to be able to control such a ferocious force should not feel any less than wonderful.

Valeria strolled across the higher grounds, scanning the area through both her spectacles and the fire resistant goggles that went over them. She took in the events occurring all around her, enjoying the various elemental displays and finding a couple to be especially impressive. More than anything else, however, she was looking out for the flames. The other displays were fantastic, but naturally, she could only be comfortable with commenting on fire demonstrations. In addition, she was keen to find the students whom she could share her experiences in fire control with.

"Ay!!"

To say that Valeria was startled by a massive column of flames shooting up from one of the nearby pits would have been a major understatement. The single display had managed to capture both the magnificent beauty and raw destructive power that the element of fire was. If it had not only been there for just a second, she would have probably teared up gazing at the splendour of it all. Thoughts of concern for the student who had conjured up that flame pillar then quickly filled her mind as the display vanished, and she scrambled over to the hole to check on them. It was also to satisfy her curiosity about which first-year actually had the discipline and courage to perform such a feat.

She sighed in relief when she heard a voice coming from the pit, requesting for... new clothes? Waving away some of the residual steam, Valeria peered in to seeing a teenage girl clad in nothing but a red bikini. The loss of her clothing must have been a result of the earlier flames. Well, that could be worked on. The teacher then stepped down into the pit to meet her.

"Amazing..." Valeria muttered, inspecting the girl's exposed skin. Her bare flesh was unscathed, unaffected by the fire.

She then slipped off the lab coat she was wearing, throwing it around the student to cover her up before grabbing her by the shoulders.

"My dear girl, that was fantastic! How did that feel? Oh, and um, I can get your spare change of clothes if you'll tell me where you've kept them."

@Crusader Lord

@PyroDash888

"All the damn time with these blasted tunnels! You'd think that lumpy puddle would give out a map or something but NO! Fifty years later and we still aren't doing testing on the front lawn!"

A lot of older students claimed they could navigate the Academy with their eyes closed, such was their recollection of the establishment. To the aged mind of one Mr.Fitzgerald, every inch was new. Confusing. Disorientating. NAUSEATING.

"ANNOYING."

With a thump of his cane striking the smooth stonework at his feet, there was a brief but audible CRACK of stone breaking under its rather light touch. Being closer to 70 years of age wasn't helping his already fuzzy memory. His time at the Academy couldn't even be recalled with clarity let alone directions to that obscure spot they tested all the kids.
If his memory held up in at least one aspect it was remembering how he had always done. Poorly.
Fidgety, oblivious, a wanderer, in his youth he'd walked this very corridor in a neon pink coat without a care in the world. That much was still with him. Rein too, of course. Both of them had been inseparable. Two layabouts with barely a hundredth the strength of other students their age.

Likely not even now did he have the level of power these first years did.

Creativity was his weapon. Always had been. In his leather bound hand jingled tiny ceramic looking balls, clattering together as with every step the frustrated man took.
A flick of his fingers sent the bright yellow ball down the dark corridor. Adjusting his glasses, he slid the protective lenses down.

The ceramic marble hit the far end of the hall and lit up like the sun. Bright enough to blind the unwary, but enough to illuminate the hall with clarity for a bit.

Even though he could see the area now it still didn't make any sense!

"Forget it.."

Grumbling his dissent, Fizban shuffled his way down the halls hoping to find the right way. Eventually the way would show itself.

---

The tests had already started when Fizban finally graced the room. The commotion from outside was the only way to tell the path was correct or not. A shiver crawled its way across his skin at the thought of wandering the halls any longer. Without a doubt there would be a guided exit when this was said and done or there would be words had with the Headmaster. Likely polite but upset words.

"Which one of these holes is hers?"

Speaking more to himself than anyone else, he strolled across the open intersections between the sunken testing chamber. Now that invoked memories. BORING memories. Stuck in a dark hole with nothing to do and nothing to show! Things had changed, would continue to change, so long as the Master and Founder of-

She widened the focus and shot a drop towards Headmaster Kano, aiming at where she guessed his nose would be, then she narrowed that focus again.

SPLASH

Kano had already turned to inspect another student at the last moment, leaving the playful water to strike another unwitting target. Icy waters struck Fizban clear in the face, spooking him right off his feet and down onto a nearby rock. Spitting water and blowing his nose, he stood up in an outrage and marched to the edge of the sheer wall with a face bright red and wrinkled.

"YOu DURneD KID!" Emphasizing his outrage, the cane shook menacingly in Thoras direction. "Watch where you're pointing that pea shooter or I'll come down there and-"

Peashooter?

What was it that self righteous living stain had said? Kano had mentioned a rather unique student that shared similarities with a certain frazzled old man. A self made weapon, clearly a creative side, and an adaptable design. Fizban soaked in all the details with gusto, forgetting his dripping beard and wet clothes entirely.

"Your name wouldn't happen to be-"

Scrawled onto, no, INTO, the wall behind the gun toting girl was "THORA".

"Thora. Astounding! To think a prodigy would be unveiled again in my lifetime! Absolutely stupendous!"

From his coat a notebook and mechanical pen were hastily pulled out, his cane tucked into his armpit, and hastily scribbled notes and a crude detailing of the weapons appearance. A few drips fell on the pad before it was placed back in its designated spot. A few other items saw light for a half moment but only a portion. One looked like a leather holster of some kind.

"Heard you're deaf. Or mute. Something silly like that. Doesn't matter. Nod if you can understand me, and nod again if you built that piece of junk by your lonesome."

Apparently Thora missed. Well, she didn't so much miss as hit somebody else... Who was mad at her... at first. He looked weird, old even, using a cane as well. And he was dripping wet, from coat to beard.

It wouldn't have weirded her so much if the dude had just continued to yell at her about how he got splashed with her "peashooter".
Instead, he started to sputter some useless drivel in wordy words. Just the one thing she hated the most. Words that meant absolutely nothing used to show how smart and educated one was. And then he got a bit insulting as well... confusing deaf and mute...
So, in the end, the smart words were just pretense?

Whatever, Thora wasn't mute because her throat couldn't make sounds. It could, but she didn't talk. She wouldn't, not that she knows how to form many words, as she, even in her childhood, never really said anything except for the occasional word.
And now, it was just too much work for her to learn speaking. Why would you, if you could just as well communicate without words.
She was also sure that her throat, with the lack of use, might have actually atrophied a bit... she never had it tested, so, Thora didn't know nor did she particularly care.

She stood up, that action not particularly increasing her stature, and nodded at the stranger with narrowed eyes. She pointed at the name on the wall and then to herself, nodding once more.

@Feisty-Pants@Zelosse

That sword wasn't supposed to be hot. Zeke extended his hands toward it as the scary lady glared down at him, but he couldn't shake the instinctual feeling that it wasn't supposed to be burning. The sword would be better art cold, so that people could touch it. The heat coming off it was such that he couldn't get closer than about an inch to it without flinching. He wasn't like Icy, who'd probably freeze it, or Icy's boyfriend, who would probably just make the heat disappear. The heat which shouldn't be there. "Miss?" He called. But when he looked up, it wasn't the lady, but the dark, scary principal.

"If it is alright with you, could we postpone the king Arthur trial for a bit? I'd like to see Zeke show us what he can make." Zeke smiled, and began to draw around the sword. He knew the story of King Arthur, and so started to draw that. He couldn't reach high enough to have the figure be over the sword, so he drew the figure reaching for it, like he had been. When he finished one side, he walked around it and drew the other side. Then, carefully, the piece over the sword. The figure, when he left it, was almost three-dimensional.

Jideh's classes flew by that particular morning, especially given that their Gym class ended abruptly in a big argument of sorts. Although he hadn't been paying too much attention, as a rather lovely hydrangea bush was sprouting underneath the bleachers, and he was shocked into scampering away when Manny Loaf started shouting at the students to take a hike. That said, he'd still plucked a cutting of from the hydrangea and planted it in his growing collection of pots that filled his end of the dorm. It was only when Jideh heard the other first years rushing out of the building that he remembered with a pit in his stomach that this particular day was the day of the test. Somehow he'd managed to forget in the interim between his little contest with his roommate and waking up that morning.

Nevertheless, Jideh plucked up some seeds he'd had laying around, pocketed them and sheathed his trowel and gloves in his belt, and then dashed to the fridge. Throwing open the door hurriedly, he proceeded to stuff leftover sushi and other assorted asian cuisine in his mouth, hardly chewing and scarfing the contents down at speed. Jideh's eyes watered as he nearly choked several times, before deciding to just take the last box of granola bars with him to wherever they were going.

And so it was that Jideh had found himself staring up at the massive cavern system the students and faculty had led him into. He was dazzled by the echoing sounds of water, the ancient buildings, and the beams of light that cut through the darkness, but most of all he fawned over the endless varieties of plants and fungi that seemed to grow on everything in these caverns.

The headmaster's booming voice seemed to fill the whole space, and his words carried such a weight of importance behind them, that Jideh felt shivers of awe travel up and down his spine. The implications of the Headmaster's announcement fell on Jideh slowly as he watched all the other students begin walking towards their respective pits. Jideh felt his feet move of their own accord, and he focused on picking an ideal pit location. Unfortunately, all of the pits appeared to be identical, and so Jideh eventually resolved to take one of the last unoccupied pits as his proving ground. If Jideh was to make a show of his Connection to his element, then it wouldn't matter where he was located.

Now I need to show them all just how powerful my abilities truly are. I've got a full stomach, and snacks for later, so I might as well give it my best shot!

Jideh stood right in the middle of the pit, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and felt each seed between his fingers. He calmed his breathing and focused on recalling how much energy each seed needed to grow, and then to flourish. As though he were flipping through a compendium of flora, Jideh scrolled through all of his memories and knew that his connection to the earth, and to the life that teemed and seethed within it was strong. He just... Just needed to demonstrate that as best he could.

Preparation and contemplation complete, Jideh felt he knew what he needed to do. He clutched two fistfuls of seeds, pulled them from his pockets, and cast them about the floor of the pit. A sort of sixth sense he normally only used when touching a given plant unfolded itself from within him. He stretched it, what seemed like a painfully far distance, but he caught up every last seed in the relatively small area. It was as though they still lay clutched between his fingers, and he knew each and every one. He knew that from outside, he wouldn't look terribly impressive at all, but he wasn't done yet.

The stores of energy burning in Jideh frothed and surged out through the branches of this sixth sense he'd extended, diverting into channels and while not with all the precision that Jideh would have liked, it seemed to be rationed roughly according to each plant's needs. And while Jideh's face was scrunched and his eyes closed in concentration, keen onlookers would be able to just make out the faint tendrils of energy as a distorting of the air like that of air over flames, following paths from Jideh out to each seed.

The plants began to grow.

Amaryllis, Carnation, Dahlia, Hyacinth, Larkspur, Orchid, Quince, Snapdragon, Sunflower, Tulip, and Vibernum blossomed beautifully in a loose ring about Jideh, flourishing and blooming regardless of the season and environment. A few stray seeds of other plants too, a couple patches of grass and moss crawling along the ground, and even the beginnings of a sapling Oak tree which seemed to tower over the flowers at only a quarter of its fully grown height.

This proved to be a strain on Jideh, that the boy was having a hard time bearing. The last of his reserves were being funnelled hungrily into the Oak tree and his mouth went dry when he found that the outpouring of energy dipped into his muscles, a burning sensation which instantly weakened him. In a frightened panic, Jideh's sixth sense seemed to lurch, and then at a much more rapid rate the sensation of weakening reversed and he felt warmth flooding his limbs. Jideh opened his eyes and saw his garden wilting. Jideh cut the sixth sense instantly and fell to his knees, head bowed. He gently caressed a despondent spathe of Calla, and he felt the despair of failure crowd in around him like a thorned vine twisting about his neck.

"Damn it."

Once the teacher had bothered to turn his attention over to her, she rolled her eyes hard at the teacher's answer, he was telling her the exact same thing that she'd been told many times before and heard in almost every movie that she would see that had power or powers involved, if her kingdom grew each time someone said that line or a line similar to it, then her kingdom would've grown to be bigger than Antarctica or about it's size. When he asked why she destroyed her constructs, Kris raised her head to answer."They are just stepping stones to any task that gets in my."

She re-adjusted herself, spinning her legs around to sit on the frosty throne properly, she crossed one leg over the other and locked eyes with the teacher." I've been trained by some of the best Ice users one on one since I was a small child, constructing anything out of Ice isn't a problem." She informed him." When I was exiled here I was at least expecting something that would pose a challenge, but if this is what you are thinking is a challenge then my prior training would make me more than capable of handling anything that your academy could throw at me." She told him.

The Princess took her old position keeping her eyes locked onto the teacher then took a moment to examine her nails making sure all of them were perfect before putting her eyes back on him."What were you gonna tell me?" She asked."Take pride in the constructs you make? You should not so callously break something you worked so hard making?" She continued. If she had her bag she would've stared at her eyebrows or the scar that was left on her face.

"If so, why should I? I can always make more of them, I could always get more of them anytime I want." The princess informed the teacher, she didn't care if she would waste ice while in a fight, there would be more around her, water can be turned into ice and water is in the air unless the air is consumed by fire or there isn't enough air to freeze if she remembered correctly.

@Crusader Lord Interacting with - Diana Schwarzwald

With Dia gone, her ability and control requiring more personal tutoring, Felix was back to roam the hallways of this place during school hours with a look so sour it could curdle milk. Not that the girl was gone entirely but their schedule no longer overlapped. That meant this Academy and its strange way of testing students was now a solo issue. Something he dreaded.
Showing off his relatively weak connection wasn't exactly a 'fun' concept.

Rather than hang around and participate in some dark hole like an idiot there was time better spent watching other students.

One such individual was Diana. Vaguely recalling what little interaction they'd had at Manilows class earlier in the morning. There were stereotypes about each persons element that were starting to become apparent. One such trait was a tendency to be very over the top. The lessons had always stated that fire was created by the wielder rather than the others general reliance on the elements presence. So their displays tended to be... Substantial.

Diane proved no exception. If anything, it was more impressive than he could have expected or attempted. What started as a simple flame steadily became an inferno, expanding to a point where the pit itself was just a burning hell storm. Others backed away but Felix remained. Rather than resisting the flames she put out or backing up he was absorbing it, a tiny percentage but enough to minimize the burns that could have been.
When it was over, the flames fading away, Felix looked down on the strangest sight. The girls clothes had burned away to nothing but.. a bikini?

"Eh, could one of you bring me a new set of clothes before everyone else is done? Please?"

Hands in both pockets, Felix laughed. It was a rare sight for someone to lose their clothes.

"Ooooh. This is rich. I'm glad I get to appreciate it before everyone else."

One of the many teachers overlooking the situation was already assisting the girl with her wardrobe malfunction. In all, it had been an impressive display that he simply could not let go uncomplimented.

"Is the burning clothes expected for our displays? Don't think I'd be able to rock the bikini look quite as well."

---

"A mute then. Vocal atrophication, maybe?"

More a hunch than any medical experience. Thora was until further notice put in the 'untalkative thinker' category. Thoras ability to design and create her own brand of gadgets would be hindered greatly if only allowed to use the Academy's resources. The school grounds themselves were well stocked but a place to manufacture specific parts for the crafty ones on the grounds was.. limited.
Fizban and his cohort Rein had been responsible for the many new additions to the academy over the last 40 years. Systematically replacing outdated equipment and introducing modern convenience of the outside world. Electricity being a major start.

"I can work with the quiet. You just nod or shake when I ask you a question, got it? Good."

Not bothering to wait for a response, the notepad was back out in a flash with a pen firmly in hand.

"Parents. Engineers? Travelers?" Whatever she answered, a yes or no was scribbled next to a short version of the question. "Self taught? Focus on Water? If no, nod to the correct element; Fire, wind, light, earth, Aetherial?" Again her answers were scrawled out. The notebook was flipped shut and disappeared into his coat pocket.

"Final question; When this is over, should you pass. Would you like to be apprenticed to the head of the Academy grounds' School of Engineering and Advancement."

Jordan thought the speech Kano gave was alright. He could've been a bit more colourful, a bit more humourous, and maybe just a little more cheery. Of course, the Headmaster had gotten the essential information conveyed, and Manilow had a feeling that that would be Kano's only concern. Jordan sighed, and started walking among the pits. His job today, primarily, was to judge students who shared his elemental domain. Jordan normally didn't mind this sort of task, usually he even relished the chance to pick out individual strengths and weaknesses in students and help work through them. Today though, he'd already been emotionally strung out by the incident at the gym class. An incident he had neglected to tell Kano about in any detail, though he could probably expect a visit from the Headmaster when he finally heard about it. To take his mind off both the incident, and Kano's likely interest in the incident, Jordan started examining students and teachers in earnest.

Jordan spied Catherine up in the air with that young Kanako girl, the one with the overeager fluttering skirt, whom he'd recalled running into on the first day of the school year. Catherine didn't spare a glance in his direction, though he suspected that was because she was giving a lecture. Catherine had always been very singleminded when it came to giving lectures. A fact that had irritated Jordan to no end some days.

Turning his attention elsewhere, the strident voice of booming command that could be from none other than Jeanne d'Luc marked her efforts to coach students. She was currently raking some poor whelp of a boy over the coals for making some frankly impressive lightshows, and-

Was that a sword?!

Jordan shook his head and moved on, spying a few more students hard at work. One of them, the worse half of the problem children from before, was seated on a damned ice throne in a hall, seemingly waiting for her subjects to come and greet her. Jordan smirked. He'd prepared the pits himself, and his awareness of the pits was highly tuned. Below most every pit for example, a tributary from the large underground river flowed, a hidden reward for intrepid water students. That being said, it was child's play for Jordan to walk past the pit, innocent as you like, and nudge a gentle touch of his power in the Ice Princess' direction. The resulting spike of rock piercing up through the spine of the throne would knock the pretty girl off her pedestal quite handily without harming her dainty little hands.

Jordan noticed that Marshall was down there with her, and waved at him cheekily. If there was anything the boy had a right to appreciate, it was a little splash of drama. Turning away from that chilled pit of vanity and entitlement, Jordan finally caught sight of what appeared to be earth moving through the air! He rushed to the side of the pit, anticipation lit only to arrive just in time to hear the student's cry of anguish and see the sand fall to the floor. Here, thought Jordan, is a student I can help.

Gathering up some of the sand that had fallen outside of the pit, Jordan smoothly glided down an arm of the stuff to slide right onto the ground next to the student. Her name, if Jordan's scatter-brain could be relied upon, was Bhu Adamina. Something of her character seemed to evoke a resoluteness, even in defeat, that spoke to Jordan. It reminded him of basic training way back when... Still, he knew exactly what she needed to hear.

"Miss Adamina, I once had a student who came to this academy, and also had a specialization in sand, like myself, and like you, if that previous demonstration was of your strongest connection to earth. This student was only capable of controlling one tendril of sand, of this size and length." Jordan then briefly raised a thin tendril of sand that had the thickness of Jordan's own forearm and rose to maybe two and a half metres.

"I know what you're probably thinking. Are you serious? How weak! That student must've been a total pushover! His connection to his element must've been next to nothing. As a matter of fact, Miss Adamina, that student was the most proficient earth-user in that particular year. You see, he could toss rocks with sheer willpower, so he compounded his own strength with the sand itself, allowing him to double or even triple his own strength. He became proficient at manipulating the sand at such speed that it became almost invisible, but would do terrible things to any unprepared combatant who came at him unguarded. The things he could do with sand, Miss Adamina... This student's ingenuity, persistence, and sheer unwillingness to stop and decide he'd achieved everything he could with that one little tendril of sand made him stand out as the most competent and unstoppable students at the Academy at that time. I had already been teaching for several years by that point, but even I hadn't found some of the intricacies that he did, and I have no doubt that he likely hid some discoveries from everyone else, hoping to keep them for when he needed an upper hand that nobody could see coming. I've yet to see his equal come to our Academy since, in any elemental domain, in all my years at this school."

Jordan stretched languidly, and then raised himself back up on a tendril of sand and propelled himself around the circumference of the pit, letting his hand run along the sides of the wall lazily, the earth moulding under his fingers to leave a recessed ring in the wall as he passed it. As soon as the circle was completed, the excess earth that had been removed by Jordan's hands gathered in the middle of the pit. It formed a pillar of hard rock, well-formed, and hard as steel. Jordan touched back down on the pit's floor, and nodded to Bhu, before looking back at the pillar.

"The reason I bring up the story of this student to you, Miss Adamina, is because it highlights the value of limitations. Without boundaries, given a well of omnipotence to draw from, anybody in such a position would be paralyzed by indecision. If you can do everything, why do anything? If you've not worked for hours, and days, and weeks to master something, to push beyond a limit you never thought you'd break, then where's the value in being able to conjure a vast tornado of sand to blow your enemies away? Kano's three principles for the proving grounds are Connection, Control, and Capacity. He wants you to demonstrate your level of control over the element, as well as how forceful or kinetic you can be with the element, but that first one still bothers you does it not? How does one prove one's connection to their element? After all, we can all control one, and we each have different techniques, specialities, and weaknesses. I would put forth, that the only thing a student need do to prove their connection to their element, is to demonstrate an understanding of the limitations of their element, and of themselves. Because the greatest indication of a lack of connection, is to think one's power boundless."

After finishing his statement to Bhu, Jordan winked at her, and the pillar he'd constructed that seemed by all appearances to be constructed of hardest rock, collapsed as he poked it with his finger. The pillar dissolved and revealed itself to have been composed of many thousands upon thousands of grains of sand. Jordan staggered a little, and chuckled lightly.

"It took me a long time to get the hang of that little trick, believe you me, but it has its uses. Good luck Miss Adamina, I hope something of what I said had meaning to you."

Needless to say, Jordan took the stairs out of the pit this time.

---

An explosive noise, and the characteristic sound of rocks thudding into rock drew Jordan over to his next pupil. He saw a storm of rocks of impressive sizes flying about the boy before they were all propelled at speed into the wall of the pit. Jordan scratched pensively at his face. No lectures for this one, Jordan mused, the fact apparent from the way the boy seemed to slouch and stand as though he expected the sky to fall down on top of his head. A more recent joiner to the Academy, Jordan recalled his name as being Ethan, though his surname alluded the gym teacher. Walking around to where the steps into the pit were, Jordan raised a hand in greeting and called out, "Excellent work Ethan!"

As he approached the boy, Jordan, turned to the wall, yanked out several of the rock shards by hand, and then snapped them into a stone stool for him to sit down on, weary from showing off to his last student. He met Ethan's eyes and smiled widely, looking up at him from where he sat.

"I noticed that you waited until you had just enough rock to crest the upper limits of your strength, and then you let loose and gave an explosive burst of strength! That's a truly splendid way to demonstrate your connection to earth! It also employs principles of exercise when training that I can certainly appreciate. If you continue to do repetitions of that action, of reaching the peak of your strength, and then firing off with a little extra push past, allowing for natural breaks and rests of course, you'll find yourself extending beyond limits you never even knew you could reach! Keep up the good work, and make sure you're focused on tracking how you're doing at the physical level, because it will begin to take a lot out of you after a while."

Punctuating his comments with another cheeky smile, Jordan got up from his stool and promptly exited Ethan's pit. He had hopefully given the boy's ego a necessary boost, while also giving him goals to pursue to further his training, without making it feel like an oppressive authority looking down on him. The stool had been part of that, allowing him to look up at Ethan, so that the boy might feel that Jordan's advice came as just that, and not commands from some unreachable doom-bringing principle type. Back in the Cadets, Jordan had always hated that kind of drill sergeant, who drove the men hard not because he wanted better for them, but because he enjoyed their suffering.

Jordan also neglected to mention the baffling amount of strength that Ethan had displayed in performing that particular manoeuvre, guessing that while helping the boy's ego would be a net positive, informing him of the very real fact that he had the elemental force of a fourth or fifth year might do more harm than good.

---

Jordan's next stop was an odd one, as he came across a pit bursting with plants. He did a double-take at first, before realizing that the student was one of a very unique and rare specialization of earth elementalists, designated as Flora-wielders. As far as Jordan knew, Jideh Basrah was alone in the Academy as their sole Flora specialist, which even for somebody as knowledgeable as Jordan in the earth element, left the boy somewhat isolated in his own realm of experience. However, as Jordan watched from the rim of the pit, he could tell right away that the boy was most certainly battling with his limitations, and the plants reflected that. He watched as their forms surged and then bowed, as whatever energies the boy was summoning battled within his body.

The spectacle was so entrancing that Jordan felt a pang of sadness when he saw how it ended, and how Jideh fell down and bent over some of his flowers. Not wanting to disturb the boy, but still wanting to help somehow, Jordan pulled out a notebook, that he mostly used to keep track of Catherine's movements during the week, and scribbled something on a page. He then tore the page out, crumpled it into a ball, and then tossed it down to land next to the boy.

Jordan turned away from the lush pit full of life, and found himself sitting in the middle of the proving grounds, listening to the sounds of children trying to prove themselves before their elders, while the elders passed on what knowledge they could, and he of course sat in the middle of it all, massaging his shoulder, wondering if the choices he'd made in the past were worth what he'd gotten from them, and even if where he had ended up was what he deserved at all. Eyes closed, breathing calm, Jordan sat, and he hadn't the faintest clue what the right answer was.

Thora shrugged at first, then she repeatedly "answered" Fizban's questions. She nodded to her parents being engineers and travellers and to her focus being water.
Then, when the last question came, she tilted her head and almost mockingly pointed her index at the old man, whose name she still did not know, mouthing a you? at him.

Tired of having to crane her neck this far up, she jumped down from the rock she sat on and moved up the ramp back to the high ground, now being able to face the old man by standing in front of him. It would be then, that her diminutive stature would be at its most noticeable and though that might have, to some, made her seem weak and helpless, the jovial and taunting look in her eyes balanced that out quite nicely. That and the provocative way she stood in front of her soon to be teacher.

She reached out her hand to him, expecting wholeheartedly for him to shake it.

Jeanne d'Luc -- Temperance

@Regitnui

As she ascended the ladder away from the boy with the task she had given him, she suddenly found herself listening to another voice. One which made her pale just slightly in response: the headmaster. Simply nodding mutely at first, her fingertips remained clasped upon the ladder as she looked back down to the boy; who happily went about drawing a Knight of sorts trying to lift the stone.

She frowned.

While she found it to be aescetically pleasant, she found the practicality of such to be lacking. That, and she was displeased about how quickly she was overruled. Closing her eyes for a moment, she fought off her predisposition of displeasure and instead nodded to Zeke.

"I suppose that will suffice," she began with coldly, with the next following statement returning to her warm, sunny nature. "Welcome to Basic Light Theory. When I begin teaching you, I expect you up at the earliest hour as the sun rises. Ready and awake at the south fields, your new journey will begin there."

In a dazzling finish, the sword in stone shattered with her will, leaving a dazzling burst of wisps and white ethereal smoke swirling about him in the air. A moment later, it would dissipate entirely. Leaving only the ruin of what had once been solid granite in its place.

Deftly rising up the last of the ladder and resuming her stride towards Freya's pit, she let her hand run across the tall grass as she patiently watched, waited, and observed. In a magificent flourish, an eastern serpent rose into the air from Freya's pit, moving albeit a touch clumsily, but brilliantly all the same.

Mutely, Jeanne was impressed. She hadn't seen a first year with such prowess in a long time. Not since her own first trial.

@baraquiel

When the Dragon burst into nothingness, Jeanne applauded slowly from above. No matter what, she had to remain nonplussed, in spite of how much she wished to be jubilant. It was a nice challenge to have, a prodigal power and a refined artist of sorts in her classes. Both would require work, discipline, and humility.

"Commendable." She stated simply, not showing the least bit of surprise that the girl wasn't completely exhausted from her efforts. Neatly, the paladin's hands folded behind her back as sapphire eyes which burned with a holy conviction stared down at the girl. She would not offer encouragement or a pat on the back other than her own words.

"Welcome to Basic Light Theory." Jeanne added before shifting to walk away to inspect other students. "Your new adventures after the trials will begin soon, and I expect you awake at the earliest moment. The second the sun touches the horizon in the morning, at the south fields with your new classmates."

Walking away from Freya ever enigmatically just as Jax had done to her years ago, she continued her slow patrol, watching other elements with a faint interest; but more importantly, she was watching for more prospects of the light.

@Raptra

Never did it take long, either.

As she briskly made her way across the field, there was a faint shimmer from one pit, not of fire, but of light. Sharply turning towards it, Jeanne progressed rapidly across the field to stare down at a girl that had made a house of mirrors for herself. At least in most senses a simplified version.

It was peculiar, and it might not have sufficed in hers or Jax's eyes, but it would likely work quite well for the purposes and intentions of the headmaster. After all, not every student held the destination of a front-line soldier like herself.

"Interesting," she mused from above. Contemplating on how to further challenge the girl, how to push her limits and understanding of herself. From what it seemed she could create self images and profiles, but what of slightly more complex illusions? How hard could she be pushed? She had to remembers the words of Kano. Her zeal needed to be tempered.

Finally at long last, she had it.

"Your illusions are good, but is it truly your best?" The Paladin inquired, while she brushed an elegant strand of radiant gold hair aside. "Indulge my curiosity as your prospective teacher. Instead of just images of oneself, create literal mirrors of light both in front of you, and behind you. If you can create this illusion, I will deem you fit to join the ranks of my students."

It was a difficult task for a first year to be certain, but to one who displayed a variant of control like this girl did,.it shouldn't be impossible.

Standing stiffly, she waited for Vera to act. To try.

@Ennui
"And there it is," he said as Yelena tried again, this time holding steady. Her tactic was well chosen; of all the elements, water could be one of the most particular when it came to the wielder's emotional state. Before, she'd been nervous and even a little desperate. But now, having calmed herself, the contrast was amazing. "Keep at it, Ms Kasyanenko, and I'm sure you'll go far. Now then, best to vacate this spot, let someone else up to the plate, hmm?"

And with that, he'd gone off to continue observing.

-Later-

@Spriggs27
Ah, Marshall thought to himself, so she's one of these, is she? There always seemed to be one such student in every class, even back when he attended; impetuous, disdainful, withdrawn, and very often with a superiority complex to make Sun Wukong blush. But, he reminded himself, they could be brought around; in fact, the one he remembered most from his school days was now his fellow faculty. It just took the right teacher and a bit of effort. Ans so he found himself climbing down to her level, willing his own icy seat into existence- albeit a simple desk chair, rather than an elaborate throne.

"Actually," he responded to her dismissal of his question, "I was more wondering about the callousness. In fact, from where I'm sitting, it almost looked like contempt. Were they not to your liking when they assembled themselves? Or... was it perhaps something else? Something to do with those symbols etched onto them, perhaps?"

That was, of course, the thing about ice sculptures; no matter what face the elementalist put on when creating them, they always seemed to reflect the inner thoughts of the shaper. Even Claudia hadn't been able to fully deceive her ice, and she'd had decades to try. There was more to this than just thinking the trial was beneath her...

"But, if it's a challenge you're after, I can oblige you," he said, a smile never leaving his face. "Since you've proven you can make sculptures so easily, I'd like you to do it again. But this time... I'd like to see something specific. Why don't you tell me a story with them? I'll give you..."

He thought for a moment, then raised his right hand into the air with his index and middle fingers extended and rotated his wrist clockwsie so that the fingers made a swishing shape in the air. Six puddles of water appeared from beneath the earth between the two of them, pooling distinctly and evenly apart. "Six statues, one from each pool. Any tale you like, fictional or historical. And please, let them stick around for a bit this time. When you're ready, Ms Sterling-Silva."

He spread his legs apart and leaned forward slightly, and with another wave of his fingers the back of his chair melted away and reformed in front of him, reversing the chair without ever getting up, and he leaned forward onto it. "You've made it clear you have power. I'd like to see if you have finesse and vision to back it up."

@Regitnui@Feisty-pants

Miss D'Luc was a fine student, a passionate teacher, and unfortunately seemed to be the perfect candidate to follow in Jax's legacy. Kano briefly wondered if she was truly the right fit as a teacher of the softer first years, given that her method of teaching was aggression. Strength of will and arm. A radiance that promised pain yet danced in your eyes like silk through the air. Such was the concern for the other faculty for now, with multiple influences over the elements a student could easily choose to go for a more pacifist lesson plan. Zeke seemed to adopt the concept rather quickly.
His 'painting' if you could call it that was, as always, detailed. Lacking an artistic eye it was difficult for him to grasp if a a light-up King Arthur was truly a strong use of the element or a weak one. Such things were again best left to the other teachers.

For now though.

"Admirable work, Zeke. As always. But I want you to push farther than this. Until the energy in you runs dry you must keep up your work. Your limitations should define your connections beyond a doubt."

Minimal effort seemed to create above average illusion. What might his full concentration cause.

Kano glided off without another word and left the boy to focus. His new mural was either going to be breathtaking or uninspired. A passing grade thus far though.

---

@Stern Algorithm
The next student up was ShiZhen. Kano arriving at her testing cube as the demonstration began. Just a few short months ago the girl below had been afraid of herself, her strength, despite often coating herself in the very element she feared without even realizing. Self discovery was the name of success in her case and that newfound confidence had borne unexpected fruit. Many had the basic talent to bend water to will or move it without needed to strain, but rare was the student who could channel a living spirit of the waters in one form or another without guidance.
ShiZhen Fang displayed a level of aptitude over her conjured Elemental 'Kracko', as they called it, that surprised him a little more each day. The body was tiny at times which made it easier to sustain. Fifth years focused on creating far larger bodies for the inhabiting will of the elemental spirit pulled forth which required teamwork. An abundance of energy. Not to mention a willpower to control a potential hostile form.
No easy feat.

A glance at Kracko as it expanded well up towards the ceiling all but confirmed her status as a Genius. Hard work and persistence played their part of course. BLoating with moisture in the air it expanded outwards rapidly.
The crack of thunder was.. alarming. Ambient energy from the lightning students? He'd missed the play while studying the girls work. Stray bolts soon accompanied the clouds downpour, Kano willing the falling rain to return into the hole without drenching other students. It would likely pool up to her ankles but that wasn't much harm to her.
The stray bolts, however, might be. With his hand raised high as it stretched nearly to the cloud, each arcing thunderbolt surged down the appendage before detonating where his stomach was. A loud pop and a splash of hot water accompanied each burst, the Headmaster only feeling the slightest bit of discomfort. In moments the cloud had shrunk back to normal size and returned to its masters shoulder.

From his perch above, he called down.

"I fear you've exceeded rational expectation, young lady. With your level of control this must be relatively easy.."

His free hand rubbed where his chin would be underneath the shadowy hood obscuring his face. Thinking of the 'what next' wasn't always easy in cases like this. With her standing in water up to her knees it seemed the test would be concluded here and now for her.

"A passing grade, undoubtedly. I know its a tad wet but please try to regain your expended power while the others conclude their tests. Feel free to wander a bit but be ready for the next stage, please."

Turning for another student, he stopped and turned his gaze back to Fang. "You have come such a long way.. You should be very proud."

With what passed for a 'smile', Kano carried on.

---

@Arya10108909

BOOM.

Again from his perch a fascinating scene unfolded itself. This time in a bit more of a literal sense. Lacking the atunement to Aetherial energy he could not see exactly what Amelia had done to create her little display but Kano was versed enough in the element to know where Amelia at least stood. With the potential of every element in its raw form she had likely piled a great deal of it into one area and then.. released.
The resulting pop was enough to tear a sizable hole into the nearby wall and throw the young girl back. All that and still she could not remain conscious. When at last Amelia awoke, it was laying atop a bed of water yet she didn't sink into it or have it soak her clothes. It was almost like sitting on jello of some kind.

Towering over her was the hooded form of Kano, seemingly glaring down.

"You should be more careful. Unstable currents can often be life threatening to the wielder, but if you are willing to continue I'd like to see you do something besides a pop."

When the teacher hopped down into the pit, Kriss rose from her throne as the teacher that looked like a vagrant walked by looking into the pit. She crossed her arms when he asked about her "callousness" and said she had contempt for destroying them." They were and are stepping stones, why worry about them when I can always make more of them?" She glared at the teacher, she sighed before removing throne from the pit feeling like she knew where this was going to go.

The Ice Princess groaned as the teacher then offered her a challenge, but not the challenge she was expecting, small pools of water began to appear around the pit as the teacher began giving his challenge to her. They wanted her to make more sculptures using the pools of water around the both of them, but the water did not fill the pit. Kris groaned when she heard that she would need to make more constructs, then she moaned hearing that they would need some sort backstory to go with them. "This isn't the challenge I was asking for."

"Any child with the element of Ice can make a bunch of simple constructs, even ones that tell a story." She rolled her eyes.

Kris thought of what she could construct, she took a step back and created a construct of herself, it was a perfect copy of herself using her concentration she had the copy create a Chimera, then had it make a large fish, then it made a large Phoenix. Kris then had the ice copy stand still while she made a construct of the Teacher and then made one of the students she met earlier, unlike the teacher the student was bowing, thinking on it for a bit Kris formed a Halberd and cut it's head off." There, I didn't destroy it I just beheaded it."

The statue's head rolled over to the teacher's feet slowly with zero signs of damage despite hitting the floor and rolling through the water to get to him. Kris stabbed the halberd into the cracks of the floor and fixed it the right way, or right way to her, and leaned on it for a brief moment." Any other "Challenge" You want to give me? Or are you just going to keep asking me to make constructs all day?" She asked him growing bored of making things out of ice, as strange as it sounded, she soon stopped leaning on the halberd and looked at her nails for a moment.

@Spriggs27@Zelosse@Raptra

---

"Heh, thanks. It felt...well...it felt pretty amazing really," Diana said to the teacher, giving a hearty laugh and rubbing the back of her head for a moment whilst the teacher held her by the shoulders with excitement, "Eh, but i left a spare set back in my room on the bed. Though i'd maybe scorch them only a bit, woulda' brought my extras near here if i knew we'd be doing this for a first part of the test. But hell if it wasn't fun to put my training to use and go wild with fire for once!"

Diana was rather pleased in her performance, as brute strength as it was. But that was the logical and literal point of this part according to the headmaster: the brute and unrestrained use of one's element. It has been exhilarating to let go like that, as much damage as she had done to the actual hole itself along with the notable scare she' seemingly given to some of the others standing above. Heh. It was fun, though in part it also helped blow off any lingering remnants of steam from her earlier bout with a certain "ice queen". Speaking of which-

Hands in both pockets, Felix laughed. It was a rare sight for someone to lose their clothes.

"Ooooh. This is rich. I'm glad I get to appreciate it before everyone else."

One of the many teachers overlooking the situation was already assisting the girl with her wardrobe malfunction. In all, it had been an impressive display that he simply could not let go uncomplimented.

"Is the burning clothes expected for our displays? Don't think I'd be able to rock the bikini look quite as well."

Without skipping a beat, the redhead looked up at the other fire user boy with a wicked grin on her face. Oh, he had decided to go there, eh? Diana briefly struck a pose like she was some supermodel on a swimsuit magazine, before going back to normal and laughing again towards Felix. She had no hesitation about her self-image, but teasing the boy with that little pose was not something she could pass up at the moment.

"I guess i'm just too 'hot' to ignore, eh? Don't let your girlfriend think my charms are snatching you up now~," the redhead said, false-flirting in a joking manner, her grin a bit more of a playful and wry smirk now as she winked at Felix to further rub in her tease before she finally let up on the matter.

But more curious, she heard voices in one of the adjacent pits near herself, one of those voices being oddly familiar in its condescending tone and haughty weight thrown behind each word. Further, a familiar icy crackling sound of freezing water was all the fire user needed to get the idea. Ah, so she was nearby, was she?

Turning from Felix and the teacher for a moment, Diana hopped on up the back wall of her own pit, looking over to see the familiar sight of the "ice queen" from earlier. Or rather, said "ice princess" whom was standing there, icy halberd stuck in the floor to lean on whilst she checked her nails, several sculptures sitting there, and the head of one of said sculptures sitting in front of what Diana assumed was an ice teacher here. Heh. Not a bad job on the sculptures, and even the little prick had taken the time to add the touch of cutting off the head of one of them who seemed to resemble another student Diana had seen on the way in.

But she had been able to hear the last bit of what Kris had said, something about asking if any other "challenges" were there for her? Diana looked a bit closer at Kris' face to see if anything had happened to her hair earlier, though she could always prod for that information. But still, she could perhaps use that idea as fuel too, fufufu...

"Was the statue the only one to get a little of the top there, ice princess?" Diana exclaimed in a highly flirtatious and slightly sexy manner, her elbows resting on the top of the wall whilst her chin sat in her hands, an amused look on her face as her legs lightly kicked on the other side of the wall in an amused manner, the labcoat covering up her rear where, unfortunately or not, Felix could not see a thing of her bikini bottom, "You know, even if it did take anything off, i still think you look very cute when you get that bored look on your face. I could watch that all day long~"

How else to throw the other girl off than to flirt with her hard right here and now? Hilarious, and a way to vent those frustrations from before without going overboard this time. Even so, and Diana did not dare mention it, she found this little ice queen's appearance to be rather attractive. Sexy, even, now that she wasn't hoisting the girl up by her collar in a rage. If only she could just nab up that little cutie and see if she would melt in her arms in bed~

---

@Zelosse/Tachanka-shishou

4:15 P.M.

Academy Grounds; Underground

---

A test of raw power, a time to allow one's element to burst forwards with wanton abandon...well, perhaps not too much abandon. They didn't want to blow this place to hell and back because a few too many people "let loose" a bit too much.

And yet, the Darkness user felt a weight suddenly fall upon her as herself and the other students walked off to their various little "cubbies" that had their own sets of stairs. As fancy and interesting as this was, the previous charm of the cavern was soon lost in the sounds and glows of displays of power from the other students. A column of flame, colorful lights, a display of the power of water, the sound of an explosion from one of the places near herself, a cascade of lightning that shot into the ceiling like nature's might made manifest during a thunderstorm. All impressive displays, and yet....Leanne found herself hesitating at first to do a thing at all with her own element.

After what had happened earlier with Mr. Manilow, she did not know if anything would happen this time. She could be wrong about earlier, but...mmm, she felt there was something going on there. Except now, with a lot more people around then before, if anything happened to someone she didn't know what it would be. The teenage anxiety seeped into her mind like a parasite, prodding at her conscience and gently directing her train of thought towards some sort of "train wreck" as it were. Uncertainty lingered just underneath a facade of calm that was somewhat cracking, the pressure to perform and social anxieties of it all clashing with the notable trepidation to actually "let go" for the first time ever. For the first time in many years since....since that one time she had killed a man, the day she had discovered her powers and was knocked out by police even as she sat there scared against a wall at the time.

The terror of that day sank back into her gut as the memories came back into view, and it was almost impossible not to bit down on her lip again.

Did she deserve to be here?

Had she deserved the care her grandmother had given her?

Was she worth being born into this world, accursed and despicable as others and her parents felt she was?

How could someone like her be anything good in this world?

What use did she have, beyond bearing the burden of something that only brought ruin to all it-





The words of her grandmother suddenly came into her mind, bringing the internal chaos in her mind to a sort of sudden stop that left her momentarily reeling.



Ah.

How could she forget her grandmother's words so easily, so wantonly after the earlier incident? Heh. If her grandmother was here, she'd have gotten a small scolding and then be told to "go ham" with this test. She was an elementalist, connected to those forces that made the world whole and full of wonder. Something necessary even to the light, though it seemed to bear greats sins upon it all the same.

She need not forget who she was, never....never again.

As her breathing naturally calmed, a small smile came to Leanne's face, soon spreading into a large grin that seemed to dominate her features. She would do this. She would show what she was made of, and reveal that she deserved to exist in this world! She needed to know what she was capable of!

Controlling her breathing more, Leanne began to open up the mental barriers that she had put in place in years past. Peeling it back bit by bit, she could feel the initial rush of power into her body. It was like the small spark of a....fire, coming alight and announcing its presence to the world as well.

More and more she allowed it to build within her, to take the darkness into her from all around and allow her body to act as its conduit, the layers of her mind peeling back as if she was taking off iron-wrought shackles that held her chained to a wall. The shadows in the room began to grow and move towards her, bending, twisting, building around her, writhing like they were happy to be set loose. They continued to climb and climb, spread and reach out, to grasp onto the edges and places and nooks and all in their path to hold tight to life. To prove they too existed, moving with purpose yet without any sudden surges.

The soft inky blackness, the velvety and potentially gentle appearance that had graced that wall she had made earlier could be seen, the light being shut out in the room around her until only a small spot sat there with Leanne herself standing upon a small platform of shadows in the only lit area in the center of her room. Tendrils of night reached up toward the heavens, grasping, growing, dancing upon their various surfaces. To Leanne, it was like a rush, an intense euphoria that continued to build within her and grow exponentially as she "let loose" for the first time in her entire life.

But even the platform below the student began to rise along with the shadows in the room, swelling like a sea of comforting black and ebon that was like a new life entering into the world. The platform on its own raised her up and up, until she could look down and see herself held high above the top of her cubicle-like room. Between the tendrils she could also see the teacher, and some of the other students in their own places as well!

Though even amidst the emotion surging up in her like a geyser coming to erupt, she continued to hold that last layer of control in place. That...last line of defense should she need to "shut off" the wellspring of power coursing through her veins, through her very being out into the world around her.

But she was more than a little happy, and she was going to make her joy known whether it was wanted or not.

"Haha! I-I-I'm doing it! I'm doing it!! I CAN do it!!!" the teenage girl in a black, cat-ear hoodie said, bouncing a bit in place on her heels as the joy came bursting out in her voice, her face also coming alight with elation and a sheer sense of pride that......for the first time she had in her element, actually.

The shadows did not leap out, but rather had been unfolding like unto the manner of how night eventually replace the day. Bit by bit. Part by part. Growth by growth. It was a sight to see, though perhaps the teenager had allowed things to go a bit far in the process, though it was no hurting anyone it seemed.

And yet....

At first thought it was nothing. A headache of some kind, gone quick as it had arrived, that flickered across the mind. It was to be ignored, expected to be ignored. Treated like a bad idea that simply would not be dismissed. The words were harsh and jarring despite being so quiet.

You.. are.. broken.

The whispers echo at the back of your mind no matter how hard you try to forget. To dismiss the noise as insecurity.. yet each word seems to strike your very soul. A dull pain similar to the loss of a loved one. Again the sensation flees as quick as it had come.

You.. are.. infected.

The voice took a familiar tone. Mimicking the same wise tone as Leanne's grandmother.

The wind came right out of the girl's sails as her mind was assailed, jarred by the harsh whisper, followed by the dull, deep pain that seemed to echo something she had felt a time ago. It was like a pain that was brief in nature, flitting about like a leaf in the wind and being gone just as fast, and yet...hitting her where it hurt the most. Mocking her in a wizened tone like her grandmother, it was a terrible feeling that, even after it had left, put the Darkness user into very visible shock.

To the naked, eye, it would appear like someone had punched Leanne in the diaphragm in the span of a second, and then killed a puppy in front of her to boot.

Leanne had no idea what she had just heard in her head. But it...ah.....was this the sort of thing Mr. Manilow had gone through earlier? As much of a guess as it was, Leanne had no idea and didn't know. Did she want to know? Did she want to face the ramifications of......not knowing?

Sweat beads formed on Leanne's forehead, a slight panting being heard from coming from her mouth. This was not as a result of exhaustion and efforts, which many might think without a second thought, but instead came from just how much the sudden and deep this mental..."attack" had left an impression on her in that moment.

---

Freya, having heard what her future teacher said, gave her a weak thumbs up before falling to the ground as Jeanne left her to look out for the other Light practitioners. With Her arms and legs spread open, despite her chest rises and falls with each effort of catching her breath, she still can't believe she managed to impress that woman. She smiled, this was her first noticeable accomplishment in this academy and she wants to continue the momentum that she has so she can catch up on the past three months she wasn't able to attend to here.

For no reason at all she pointed a finger gun upwards and from it, she shot a sparkle bullet that exploded against the cavern's high ceiling, covering it with orange light. Thankfully her sparks and fireworks were all made up of just light. As the orange residue sparks shower on her, she happily thought about the day she pranked her friend's bullies with her powers. It involved lots of screaming, a dirty diaper, and a flying denture.

Once she breathed properly like she hadn't just finished a marathon, she stood up and continued to experiment with her power. If it wasn't for this experience, she never would known she had the energy to make her Light animals move. She thought for a while, then she shot a white sparkle bullet on the ground from her hand. A white rabbit was formed from the explosion and hopped around Freya, leaving behind a trail of white light as it moved. This time she used both hands and the rabbit was lifted up in the air and continued to hop around as if it were jumping on air.

Freya concentrated and the rabbit became a snake, this time glowing green. It twirled around as Freya willed it to, just lile what she did to the Eastern dragon a while ago, only this time she just stood in one place. It made her look like a conductor, her hands moving about as the snake was twirling and spinning to the music on her head.

Finally, she willed the green snake to become a red pig. It settled on the ground and calmly approached Freya, nuzzling her hand. She laughed delightedly, she always wanted a pet on her own but she couldn't because Frey's allergic to fur. Her little brother was bummed out when he also learned this but their parents used their powers to create different animals each made with the colors of the rainbow.

Satisfied with her current progress, she tapped the red pig's nose and it slowly dissipated. She sat on the ground cross-legged and juggled balls of multi-colored light as she waits for further instructions.

Vera's head snapped up sharply when she heard a crisp female voice address her from above. She did not recognize the older blonde, but from her words, it was clear that she was a new instructor for light students. The seemingly stern young woman had complimented her on her skill, but was pushing her to do more. Vera herself had not thought about how far she could take what she was doing, merely desiring enjoyment from it all. Create mirrors? That sounded interesting. She gave the teacher a pleasant smile and nodded.

"I'll do my very best, Ma'am."

Attempting to dismiss the fact that she was being watched like a hawk, she took a deep breath and began to concentrate. What she had done before had seemed like her reflections on the walls, though, she knew all too well that they were in fact projections thanks to the light she had been emitting. She had to go about this a different way. A mirror would be a flat panel that reflected light, which meant that she had to imagine a two-dimensional surface in midair where light would not be allowed to pass through. Vera could somewhat 'see' the general activity of the photons around her, directing the light to reflect off of the area she had decided on. The reflective surface grew into a neat rectangle, resembling a mirror.

Once she had figured it out, she did the same for an area behind her. She had somewhat completed the given task. However, if one squinted, they would see that the reflected images were slightly blurred, indicating that the surfaces were still rougher than those of actual mirrors. She strained for even better control over the light, and the images sharpened a little more. She would maintain that control until the teacher spoke again. Vera could only hope that she had shown her what she had wanted to see, but having had countless fulfilling moments ever since she had stepped into the academy, she should not be fearful of disappointment.

@Feisty-Pants


Valeria's eyes lit up as the girl spoke about her experience. "Excellent! I must say, not many embrace the gift of fire control like you at your age. You've clearly learnt to appreciate the strength and beauty of this magnificent force. I truly look forward to seeing what you do next."

Some laughter from above then caught the attentions of both redheads. A teenage boy had caught sight of the scene and was making fun of the girl. How horrible! However, to her pleasant surprise, the girl took it rather well. She played along, teasing the boy back. Valeria sighed in relief, thankful for the girl's sense of humor and the fact that she was not going to have a scuffle on her hands. She then pulled out the cohort list that she kept with her and searched for the girl's name. She could also find out which dorm she was assigned to from there.

"Ah, Schwarzwald. I'll be right back with something for you to wear."

Out of curiosity, she took another glance at the boy and checked for his particulars on the list as she walked up the stairs. Williams... and this one is a fire elementalist as well, interesting... Reaching the top of the stairs, she patted his shoulder as she passed him.

"I'd like to see what you can do too, my boy."

@Zelosse @Crusader Lord

@Spriggs27
"Any child with a pencil can write words on a page," Marshall retorted with a sterner voice than his countenance suggested he was capable of, "It takes a skilled author to create a best-selling novel."

He watched with interest as Kris set about making her ice once again. He had to admit, her skills at shaping the ice was impressive. Well above the level of most first years, in any case. But the way she made them was entirely listless, not to mention entirely devoid of any soul or thought. All he saw when he looked on her project was "Look at me and what I can do." Not to mention quite half-hearted; a well-crafted ice construct, when done properly, was layered several times over and could withstand multiple degrees of punishment. Well beyond a simple halberd swing, he noted, as she demonstrated just how fragile they were, particularly the one done up to be another student. And if that stunt was indicative of anything, she was, or was trying to seem like she was, vindictive and somewhat violent. But after seeing her actions up to then, Marshall very much doubted the validity of that.

Really, he thought to himself, what a puzzle this one was. She spoke and acted in an almost mocking manner that seemed tailored to goad others into confronting her, but as soon as she was imposed upon she turned aloof and disinterested. It was like a child demanding a new toy, but when told she could have it if she completed a household chore all interest in the toy was lost. And it showed in the way she shaped her ice; the images she made were all beautifully crafted, but with very little actual substance to them. All of it merely for show, to make a spectacle and pull attention, but nothing more. That would have to be the first thing to go.

"Well, they look quite nice," he said, "It's clear you've received some previous instruction in ice manipulation. Who was your instructor, if I may ask? What sort of things did he teach you?"

Jeanne d'Luc -- Mirrors

@Raptra

Meticulously as ever, the Paladin watched onward as Vera went about her work. Studying the girl's will, focus, and ability all simultaneously while she stood at the ready. Soon before long, the result rose to both her expectations and satisfaction as two mirrors, each portraying a perfect image of their opposite side, came into view.

It was very much akin to how Jax had ordered the same of her years ago. Just like her predecessor, she was watching for potential, and of the three she had seen, this girl's gifts were much like her own when she was under trial. Mirror-like illusions, that she had used for rampant mischief before she had entered the school.

"Well done." Came a neutral response to start as she slowly applauded the girl and her efforts. "Welcome to Basic Light Theory," She continued, walking between the mirrors to study them more closely than before. With her gauntlet laden hands still folded neatly behind her back, Jeanne continued forward until she took hold of a ladder rung.

One last glimpse over her shoulder subjected Vera to the burning sapphire of her gaze, and a few final words of advice. "The coming months will be among the most difficult tribulations you will ever face. Ready yourself. For it will be just as rewarding as it is miserable."

"Be at the southern fields upon the first light with bells on."

Sharply ascending the ladder once more, the young teacher dusted off her hands once at the top and glimpsed about. What more would this day hold? Three new students, new prospects of light. Each of them with unique potential no less, and each of them needing further sharpening and honing. Her father wasn't kidding when he told her that her work was cut out for her.

With a final sigh upon a deep breath, she glanced over to the ongoing trials and muttered a few words to herself aloud.

"So it begins."

As she waited for the teacher to give his opinion on the constructs, the girl from before was hanging around the rim of the pit, she almost seemed to appear out of nowhere and taunted the Ice Princess asking if her ice construct was the only thing to have. "A little off the top." Kris glared up at her." If like to know, you only slightly burned my eyebrows, nothing time and makeup can't fix." She crossed her arms turning away from her only to be surprised by the fire users next words, it was a stark compliment about how her face looked cute to the fire user.

Kris turned back to her with a pink blush on her pale cheeks she felt a fluttering in her chest before looking away from the fire elemental." It's not like I-I care or anything, h-hot head." She tried looking away from the girl, but she couldn't shake away the feeling she had in her chest and never felt this way for someone else like this, she then pointed at Diana."Trying to throw me off my game?!" She shrieked." It won't work, I'll get you back for ruining my perfect eyebrows you tart!" The Blush still bright on her cheeks despite yelling at Diana.

When the teacher finally spoke to her, she broke away from her yelling at Diana and focused on him, shaking her blush away and getting back to what was more important. The teacher countered what Kris said earlier, telling her that children can do the same with a pencil and paper then told her, that it takes a skilled author to make a masterpiece he took what felt like an eternity to examine her sculptures giving silent judgment before giving his final opinion. He told her that her the constructs were pretty good, but the Ice Princess didn't like his compliment." If these are all pretty good, then you or the school have a low opinion on good or low standards."

"The Phoniex and the Chimera." She pointed to them both." They both have more imperfections than I can feel and see, they also are hollow." She made both of the statues crumble into the water then pointed over to the statue of the teacher and the student." The teacher and student, on the other hand, are completely solid but they lack eyes." Kris, then she put a hand on her ice clone's shoulder." Unlike the other statues, my ice clone is the only thing that could be considered perfect amongst the others it has my clothes, my face, and my imperfections." She slowly looked back to Diana."Even the halberd is flawed."

Kris hit the staff of the halberd with the back of her fist breaking it down the middle."Alongside my brothers, I learned from the best Ice elementals in my land." She informed him."Many of them capable of great things that I could've learned, but due to my exile, I'm forced to attend the classes you have here and take in the limited information you have." She fixed her silvery hair and stared him down."Constructs aren't something I'm new too, I've been making them since I was five. I was expecting something more, but if you're going to ask me to make statues all day in this pit, then you are squandering my potential and wasting both our time."