Sigma

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~ Changing the World ~ One Smile at a Time ~ ​

Tahlia smiled as a boy replied to her but before she could even begin to ponder how the proffesor was 'off', her attention was grabbed as the proffesor came in. She had to admit, she now understood perfectly what Keel had meant when he said they were 'off'. However she figured she'd best give him a chance first, he would certainly liven up the proceedings, that was for sure. Her smile remained as she listened to him though he did intimidate her and made her feel slightly uncomfortabe. What he actually said they'd be doing she was fine with, she didn't mind learning the theory before the action as it was important to understand what you were doing. She was relieved he hadn't got them fighting, that really wasn't her forte. But she couldn't help but wonder what this mysterious 'treat' was. She leaned forward slightly as she payed attention to him, not wanting to miss something important.
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••• Save the world, or die trying. •••​

Rita cut off an impatient sigh as the professor entered the class room, glaring coldly at them. His impression among her fellow classmates seemed to be immediate, as she could see out of the corner of her eye that some of them were tensing up slightly. She herself wasn't feeling so cocky as to answer back to him or ask him a question, perhaps it was the way he spoke to them? Or maybe the sense of massiveness and importance he gave off. Whatever it was, she wasn't fond of it, nor him, and if he was prepared to speak to them with no respect for them in his voice, then she was not willing to show him respect in return.


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Silently opening his eyes Drake watched as the man they were to call their teacher stepped into the classroom. At last it was time for class to start at once. From first glance this man let out an intimidating aura, but this did not faze Drake. For one who had battled in the field of war he could not get frightened by such a man. For now he only had to worry about fitting into a normal life. Surely a difficult task for him. For now things seemed to go well. Arms still crossed, Drake sat in the chair and proceeded to wait for his teacher's instructions

 

"No questions?" He asked, his tone sad. "Ah well... I suppose you'll all have questions during the lecture." He added, turning his back to the students. He took a deep breath and grabbed the chalk for the chalkboard. In swift and precise movements, he began drawing a diagram of something that was fairly complex. "The Nexus..." he began, his tone bored. "It is the source of all magic. Magic is drawn from the life of all things, therefore the Nexus is the life-force of all things. We live and we die, forever connected to the Nexus. Sometimes, the Nexus favors a select few and grants them great capacity of casting magic. This capacity is mental endurance. Casting spells will drain your mental stamina and may even have spiritual effects. The stronger the spell, the greater the risk... you could die from this." Faust explained mechanically.

"However, there are a few select schools of magic that defy the Laws of the Nexus. They are what we call the Great Taboos, and they are forbidden. It is the magic of the Gods. These taboos suck the very life-force from the Nexus and the planet... and even nearby celestial bodies. Because of this, there are scars upon the land. These scars appear as scorched earth and nothing can grow there. These are great wounds that can never regenerate. Now, who here can name me the Great Taboos of Magic?" He asked, turning to look at the class. If the students were to look at the board, they would see a great network of streams made up of difficult equations. The mathematical formulae was overtly complex and could only be deciphered by a genius... or a madman.

 

~ Sometimes you've just got to close your eyes and leap ~ ​

Tahlia grinned as he asked the question, she actually knew the answer to this. She didn't feel quite so intimidated as she actually knew something. He hand went up imediatly in a fluid, graceful motion and she held it elegantly in the air. Living in a war zone she'd heard many stories of the dark magics, and even seen people who had been affected by them though she was lucky enough to not have wittnessed them first hand. She hoped he would pick her, she wanted to prove herself. She may not be a fighter but she wasn't stupid and she just wanted to be accepted in this place.

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Faust looked to Tahlia and measured her. He smiled. "Yes, Miss," he said with a smile. "You may speak your answer. If you answer this correctly, and in order, you'll gain extra credit. However, if you do not list them in order, you'll have stay after class and list them in order one hundred times on the chalk board. However, I'll throw the ball into your court... I'll add a bonus question for redemption. What is the fundamental element of the Nexus?"

 

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~ Sometimes you've just got to close your eyes and leap ~ ​

Tahlia gluped, instantly regretting her decision, her grin vanishing. "There's an order?" She muttered, she'd learnt them from stories not out of any book, she hadn't even realised there was any order to them. The question wasn't any help either, she hadn't a clue about it. This stuff about the Nexus was new and fascinating to her. Either way she didn't have much choice now, she'd just have to say them and pray they were in the right order.

"Um, okay, well there is Sangromancy, which is blood magic." She took a deep breath, looking at the madman for any clue as to if she was right or not. Then there was the one she thought it sounded pompus despite how bad it was, she shut her eyes as she recalled it's name, "Umbramancy? I think it's called. I think that's shadows, it creates illusions." Her heart was pounding as under the pressure she tried desperatly to recall all the stories she had been told, her earlier confidence gone. "Then there's Pathomancy. Plagues and stuff. And finally..." She paused, she knew she should know this one. It was the obvious one, there was Sangromancy, Umbrancy, Pathomancy and ooh, what was it? "Necromancy!" She said a bit too loud as she recalled it's name, "Sorry. That's bringing the dead back to life." She smiled weakly having remembered the names of all the taboo's, she just prayed that was the right order. She'd never known they were in a particular order before, she'd just said them in the order she recalled them. "I'm sorry, I don't know the answer to that last question." She said looking down, ashamed. She was shaking, she was so nervous.

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~<>~The enemy is you. Hide yourself to protect the world.~<>~​

Of course, Zack knew the answer to the proffesor's first question, but hadn't raised his hand. He was hoping to get by this class while drawing as little attention to himself as possible. He watched as the Blonde smiling girl raised her hand confidently, and then falter as the proffesor asked his question. He was glad that he hadn't volunteered to answer, because the "redeemable" question was a very difficult type of question, and he didn't know wether or not he would be able to answer. He tried to think about it, he was really very curious about the Nexus, but he was distracted by the girl's answer. He felt sorry for her, why had the Proffesor asked such a difficult question? It almost made him angry.​

 

Faust smiled as the young woman answered the question, and smiled widely when she admitted she couldn't answer the other question. But that question was irrelevant... for now. "Well, well..." he said with amusement. "It appears you're not all hopeless. Normally I would have seven or a hundred students sitting in my classroom writing down the Taboos, in perfect order, until carpal tunnel set in. But it appears you answered my primary question flawlessly, if not a bit hesitantly. Nevertheless, you are spared from the arduous task of writing the laws. Please, everyone, congratulate her for sparing you the fate of wasting my time." Faust went on, glancing around. He took a heavy drag of his cigarette and blew out a large cloud of smoke. "As for my last question... I knew none of you could answer it. I only wanted to see if you were stupid enough to think you know the unknowable... well, not unknowable to me."

He took a short puff this time and sighed. "Now,the Nexus is also known as the 'Eternal Threads', for it is believed the Nexus existed since the dawn of Time and Space and will exist after the death of Time and Space. Since the Death of the Gods, man has relied solely on science and magic. It is unknown if the gods truly existed, but the cults you find will spread the words of the Dead Gods and the newer cults will shout that the New Gods have come and that the end is nigh. This is what happens when people forget the existence of the Nexus, a primordial essence that has been here since before the birth of the gods... they believe in a faith that is borderline blasphemy. Because of this, the priests are not attune to magic as you will all soon be... if one must be a powerful spellcaster, one must first understand the mechanics and fundamentals of the Nexus. Knowledge is power, and power on its own is an empty thing. Now... any questions before I continue?"

 

♥

●●●► It may be impossible to protect all the people in the world, but at least I can try. ◄●●●

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Alyss tilted her chin downwards, scribbling furiously on her notebook. She didn't want to miss anything, but mostly, she was distracting herself from the stench of his cigarette. Her eyebrows knitted together tightly in concentration as he dragged on and on, finally ending for questions. She took a deep breath, but she was still feeling claustrophobic. She really hated to be rude, and he was immensely intimidating. Tahlia had gotten on his good side with her answers, and Alyss would rather remain a neutral party than make an enemy out of herself. Still...

Her hand raised anxiously, fingertips trembling a bit. After a moment, she straightened her back. Her nose crinkled as the smell hit her again. She could usually tolerate it better, but being right here in front of him...and in a classroom. It was making her nauseous. "Excuse me, Professor," her voice was steady, though still lacking confidence. "Would you mind putting out the cigarette?"

She mumbled the last part. She didn't want to seem like a prude to the other students, but really. ​

 

~ Changing the World ~ One Smile at a Time ~ ​

Tahlia sighed in relief, she couldn't believe she'd acutally got it right. Her trademark smile slowly edged back onto her face, although not as big as it was before. However as soon as he started lecturing again, she listened intently to him, even taking notes. If the questions were that hard, she really did not want to miss a thing. Despite her earlier success, she'd made up her mind she was not going to answer any more questions, no matter how confident she was. She seemed to be on his good side currently but she expected that could change very quickly. As he asked for questions she remained quiet, she thought asking was less hazzardrous than answering but still she she didn't want to ask a stupid question, just in case. However as another student asked about the cigerette, her smile widened. She didn't like people smoking but she'd learnt to put up with it, she certainly wouldn't have the confidence to do what that girl just did. She watched him to gauge his reaction but either way she admired the girl for asking.

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~(*)~ If I have to get stronger to protect everyone, then so be it! it!~(*)~
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Keel just sat there and listen intently to everything that was being said. Considering that he didn't know that much about the subject himself, and all the trouble it's gotten him into back home. If was better if he did pay attention. Even Keel had to admit the smell of smoke was starting to get to him. He's never had to endure the smell of smoke for this long so he was some what glad when Alyss asked her question. He just had to wait on his reaction.

 

~<>~The enemy is you. Hide yourself to protect the world.~<>~​

Zac looked up and half-smiled when the girl asked the professor to put out the cigarette. She's got some spunk, he thought. Not very many people would have the guts to ask him to do that. He didn't really see the issue, he was used to cigarette smoke, having grown up with it for most of his life. But still, she had got up the nerve to ask, and that was what mattered.​

 

The professor raised a brow and half-smirked behind his hand as he took another drag. "Of course," Faust said sweetly, blowing out a large cloud of smoke. When he finished, he smiled wholeheartedly, though his eyes were cold and wicked. Wisps of excess tobacco smoke poured through his perfect white teeth. "But only if you are willing to fail the entire course and forever be expelled from SIGMA." Faust bargained, chuckling. He flicked his cigarette until the ashes broke away from the red-hot cherry. "Well? Are you willing to fail for the sake of your own desires?" He asked, his laughing becoming more maniacal.

 

♥

●●●► It may be impossible to protect all the people in the world, but at least I can try. ◄●●●

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Any confidence she had managed to muster up dissipated completely for a moment as she stared blankly at the professor before her. At first, she had almost assumed she had misheard him, but the confident gaze piercing through her told her otherwise. Her arm retreated, elbow resting against the tabletop as she blinked in confusion, tilting her head down a bit. Half of her wanted to retaliate, but most of her wanted nothing more than to melt into the seat below her. There's no way she wanted to fail the class just because some smoke bothered her; but when she lifted her eyes and gazed awkwardly and briefly around the classroom, she could tell that she wasn't the only one.

It was unrealistic of her to assume and hope that someone would defend her if she defended herself, but to be humiliated like this in front of everyone and to back down so quickly...the thought made her nauseous. She pressed her lips together softly, eyes meeting that of Faust's, before diverting again shyly. She could feel her cheeks and ears growing red as she attempted to find the courage to respond.

"U-um..." Her voice was frail and pathetic, but she at least she had managed to make a noise of some sort. "If that's what it takes, I-I suppose." She muttered, eyes casting down to her notebook. This situation was tremendously out of her comfort zone. ​

 

~<>~The enemy is you. Hide yourself to protect the world.~<>~​

Zac scowled down at the desk, he was getting mad. So what if the girl didn't want to breathe in the smoke from the proffesor's cigarette? There was no reason to fail her in the class for it. Before, Zac had thought the proffesor was a bit stern and not a very good teacher, now he just thought the guy was a jerk. The girl was stunned for a few moments and Zac thought she had backed down, but then she started to talk again. She was quiet, so he could barely hear her, but he listened as hard as he could. "If that's what it takes, I-I suppose." She was saying. Wait... She was still going to do it? Even after he had threatened to fail her for it? And expell her from SIGMA? She was crazy! He couldn't help but smile. He knew from the first moment that there was something different about her, and now he could see what it was.

But then an idea popped into his head... He didn't want to be here, in this class. The school, yes, but Magic 101 was not his idea of a good time, expecially with this proffesor. If he stood up for thi girl, granted, he would have to leave his comfort zone, but would he also be failed from the class? He didn't want to be expelled, but did the proffesor have the authority to go that far? Whatever he did was a gamble. He could either get out of the class and face expulsion, or be stuck in this black-hole and stay in the school. He couldn't decide. He waited, to see what would happen next. The proffesor's response would make up his mind.​

 

~ Sometimes you've just got to close your eyes and leap ~ ​

As Tahlia heard the terms she just shook her head, it was a nice try but his terms were rediculous. It looked like the girl would just have to put up with it. She wasn't actually suprised at the proffesor, it seemed like something he'd do and he was definatly making an impression on them. She sat back in her chair, waiting for the girl to decide against it and for the lesson to go on.

However when the girl did speak, Tahlia had to do a double take and check she wasn't hearing things. "Wait, what? Seriously? You'll give up your place for a little smoke?" Her mouth betrayed her, echoing her thoughts. She knew the brown-haired girl didn't like the smoke but she hadn't realised she hated it that much. She'd got a new found respect for them and didn't want them to leave so soon. She liked how they had the confidence to stand up to him, someone had to. She'd ask the professor if he was serious to but she got the impression he meant every word.

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Silently Drake merely watched the conversation that was taken place. Keeping his arms crossed he raised an eyebrow at the professor. To fail a student for merely standing up for her desires was quite strange. This professor is he truly testing this girl Drake thought to himself as he glanced over at the girl. Sure enough what surprised him was the fact that the girl accepted the punishment and prepared to leave. What was to happen next would be decided by the professor. If the professor said nothing then Drake would have to break his silence and speak for the girl. He could not just let her walk out unfairly

 

••• Save the world, or die trying. •••​

Rita lazily plopped down her red inked pen and glanced at what she had written, which honestly wasn't very much. She had only taken in certain things, mostly what she thought was important, but she knew for a fact that she wasn't trying as hard as some of the others in the class. She sighed and picked up her pen once again, thinking about what else she could add to her notes to make them seem as if she had put effort into listening to the professor drone on and on about the Nexus in his cold and unnerving tone.

Soon after she started scribbling away again, the brown haired girl near the back of the room spoke up, asking if he would do anything about the smoke, and she had to admit that she herself wouldn't have dared. Just the thought of upsetting this man sent a chill up her spine.

The professor's answer to the question was not what she had expected at all. In her mind she could imagine him going livid about it, explaining that he had the right to smoke if you wanted to, which to her would have made much more sense than him threatening to fail her. The fact that the girl was even prepared to be failed just because a bit of smoke puzzled her also, sure it was unpleasant but it's easy to deal with, and certainly not risking a fail over. Although, with this teacher, she might have taken this risk too if she could muster up the courage.
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~(*)~ If I have to get stronger to protect everyone, then so be it!~(*)~
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When the teacher gave his answer to the girls question, Keels facial expression turned to shock. Risk getting expelled from school all because of smoking and the fact that she agreed to the terms was crazy too. I knew that he was unordidox, but this is taking that to a whole new level.