Alturus Lorian Turtledove et al Sol

  2510.01.10

  Sol 0

  Stellar Stratum

  Leaf Arm of Vista Stellarium Lecture Hall 345b

  "This school is the central focus for the Arm of Vista." The professor of the fundamentals of Magic began. "This entire branch of the Stella Stratum is dedicated to housing the people who support your education. This is important to understand. As it is critical for you all to comprehend the sacrifices of those out there."

  The old woman pointed a wrinkled finger out and over the water.

  "Now." She continued. "I would like to hear from a few of you on why you think you all are brought all the way here from your home worlds."

  With a huff, she picked a student at random as no one in the class raised their hand.

  "I think." The chosen girl began, but she was cut off by the professor.

  "Now, now." The professor chided. " You must state your name and title when called upon." She looked around the room at the students.

  "We are all new here. There aren't too many of us in this class, so it would be easier if we knew each other by name, claim title, and rank title. However, until I explain the full meaning behind the fundamentals of Magic," the professor tapped out each word of the course's title. "You will just use your name and title. For instance, I am your new Professor, Elizabeth Tortelli, Mage of Thaumaturges. You will address me as Professor Tortelli. Now, Viktra, can you continue?"

  The girl who had been speaking before stood up this time and awkwardly looked around the room before continuing.

  "Yes, yes of course. I am Viktra Mekono, Child of King." Viktra said. She projected her voice across the class of fifty students. "I believe that we are here to further our familial line and learn how to wield magics so we can effectively rule."

  Viktra gave one last glance over the class before triumphantly sitting back in her seat. A prideful smile cast an arrogant light over the room.

  "Anyone else?" Professor Tortelli asked. Although the silence in the room meant it was definitely not a question, but a warning for more volunteers. She pointed to a boy who had been sitting in the second-to-last row of the room.

  "I. I am Henry Vorbilt, Child of King. My thought is that we are here to learn how to use magic to benefit humanity. It is a gift that is to uplift everyone," He quickly stammered out. Before the teacher could pick another student. Elaine raised her hand.

  "Yes?" Professor Tortelli asked hopefully.

  "Elaine Caroline Deus et Alterra, Child of King," Elaine said in a bored monotone. She took a deep sigh before continuing. "Are we not here to control our powers? It was my impression that we do not have control over our abilities yet, and this can make us dangerous. And that is why at the age of fifteen, we were put aboard the ark in stasis."

  "My, my," Professor Tortelli said. "As expected of a princess of Earth. For the most part, you have the most correct of the answers. However, Henry and Viktra both have very good answers, too. You all have been brought here for all of those things.

  "You remember the Arche magus explaining that you can not fail. This is the reason why. No matter what happens, you will graduate from this school in a decade. And at the minimum, you will be able to control your ability. At least in the sense that you will not harm others without control.

  "Now on to the lecture for todays class. Did any of you notice I gave a rank title with my name?" She said, pausing for a second to take in the class. "Mage of Thaumaturges. These words may sound haphazard now, but you will know in due time that there is a pattern. You see, there are ten ranks you will attain while studying at this academy. They are as follows:

  "Arcanist, this is what you all are right now. You are all fledglings that, while having the ability to use magic and other arts, lack the full capacity to utilize any of it. Over the course of the next few months or this year, each of you shall progress to the next stage. As of now, your rank titles are Arcanist of Mages. The first word refers to your ability rank, and the second to the class year you are in. You will be referred to as mages and not Arcanists when I'm referring to your impact on society. However, within the bounds of this school and for the sake of the criteria, you will be held to the subtitle that corresponds to your class.

  "I am a Thaumaturge. Meaning that my class year was called Thaumaturges. However, I am at the Mage level, so that is appended to my title as a special case. I will go into this more later. The next rank up for each of you will be Caster. Once you can cast basic routine magics and spells, you will be able to append this title to your class name. After that, there are Warlocks, Conjurers, Thaumaturges, Archwarlocks, Wizards, Sorcerers, Mages, and Archimages.

  "You will meet people of various rank titles; however, you will rarely cross someone who is below Conjurer. Each step signifies a critical step necessary to master your abilities. An Archimage is someone who has completely mastered their abilities and their body and soul. However, this is a discussion saved for the end of this decade as you all have a long road ahead of you.

  "For today's class, we will discuss the basics of quantum aetherial manipulation. It sounds complicated, but in short order, you will understand the underlying principles of magic. Does anyone know what those principles are?"

  She paused for a second. Her question met with blank stares. Alturus felt as if he had a grasp based on his studies in his family library. And so, with an imperceptible movement, his hand rose into the air.

  "Ah, yes." Professor Tortelli said with relief. She gestured for him to stand. As he rose, the gazes around the room fixed on him. Looks of judgement were passed between his classmates.

  "I'm Alturus Lorain Turtledove et al Sol, Child of God?" Alturus said more asking than stating a simple fact. "I didn’t know magic was even a thing until a week ago."

  With those words, the entire class slumped in their seat,s disappointed that he of all people was just as lost as they were. Even the professor seemed to shrink back a second, her mouth parting as if she would simply answer her own question. Alturus met Elaine's gaze; she nodded a reaffirmation for him to continue.

  "However," He continued, voice still wavering. "I have had tutors all the way through the basic sciences and mathematics, as well as in-depth conversations in philosophy. So, I have a theory on how magic might work."

  Everyone quieted down, and Professor Tortelli leaned forward with mild anticipation.

  "Everything in the universe is made of three things. Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons. These particles are the sole creators of everything we see around us. However, these particles are actually, themselves, collections of other particles. These even smaller particles all operate in conjunction to create everything around us. Including the light we see," Alturus paused for a second, taking a moment to collect his train of thought. By this point, everyone was silent and listening with intent.

  "These quantum particles are all basically different energy frequencies. At the baseline, they operate on a base substrate layer. This is a grid of infinite triangular prisms. These are the base layer of the universe. Like ripples on a pond, each point oscillates within multi-dimensional space-time to produce the world around us. That means at any point within the known universe, anything has the ability to exist. If you have a force strong enough to create a specific frequency of oscillation, you can create anything at this point, and any phenomenon. You just need to know the specific pattern and the number of substructural points to coalesce.”

  An audible silence filled the small auditorium. He heard a paper hit the ground as each student thought on the words spoken. Alturus stole a glance towards Elaine, who responded with a surprisingly non-blank expression.

  “That was an interesting explanation, Alturus.” Professor Tortelli said. She chewed her words; her mouth had been dry for how long it stood open. After a minute, she continued. “That is a very summarizing answer. I did not honestly expect any of you to be so close to the truth.”

  Alturus slowly sat back down, his ears reddening from the apparent chastising from his teacher. As if she noticed his embarrassment, the professor continued.

  “Not that what you said was in any way incorrect. You were actually right in your response. The scientific principles are all there, as you all will learn within your applied physics curriculum later this week, there is a practical baseline for the fundamentals of magic. That does not involve, well, magic. You will be surprised to know that it is theoretically possible for a society to exist out there in the universe to have never touched upon the foundations of the occult as we all have taken for granted.”

  The classroom shifted several students murmuring and sharing glances of horror and gossip.

  “I know its hard to imagine. As without our benevolent celestial.” She looked around the room, her eyes falling on Alturus as she continued.

  “We would be so much farther behind. The luxuries we hold close ties to wouldn't exist without the magic we rely upon. We would still be roasting food over large fires, instead of the ovens we enjoy to this day. And the small devices you constantly blabber on all day wouldn't exist likewise. Those mirror gizmos that allow you to connect to anything and everything rely heavily on the principles we have discovered over the many millennia of this academy.

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  “Now, can anyone tell me what ser Turtledove forgot?” She finally paused her lecture once more. Her eyes focused on the students, who all shrank from her gaze. After several moments of no reply, she focused her attention on the class at large.

  “I will tell you, don't fear volunteering for answers, but I doubt any of you know what exactly the answer should be; not yet, at least. For the most part, ser Alturus’s answer was spot on. He was, however, slightly too vague. There are a few points of interest. What, by chance, is a pattern? What is this mysterious thing that allows a random series of oscillations to pass from one set of universal substrata to the next? What exactly are these substrata? And finally, what is the force necessary to make them take the shape and form of the patterns? All of these questions will be answered within this course. The fundamentals of magic.

  “Now this class also serves another function. Out of the entire Sol system, there are four thousand three hundred and eighty-two Mages this year. You will find out soon enough that several arms of this academy are dedicated to each rank and class. We are in the Arm of Vista, as you know, but there are nine other arms also dedicated to the arts and sciences of magical theory. In each tier, you will take coursework in said arm. At some point, you each may move from this arm to another instead of relying on the transportation services to commute from branch to branch. This is not a typical school. You do not progress by year or by time. You are simply given an objective, master yourself.”

  She took this time to look at each student. Her eyes lingered on Elaine, Alturus, and Titanus.

  “Soon, many of you might even be leaving our group. There are a few each year who outpace their current class and move into higher ranks. We dictate your rank of study based on the criteria you meet. This class serves as the testing of that criterion. At the arcanist level, your task is to progress to the caster rank by casting at least five unique spells on your own without assistance. If that takes you five weeks or five years, you move up when you can face this task. This class serves as your home room. While you are within this arm of the Stellarium. Do we have any questions so far?” she asked. Waiting a few moments while the students digested her words. Elaine slowly raised her hand.

  “Yes, ser Elaine.” Professor Tortelli called.

  “So it's possible to finish the entire school within six months?” She asked. Her expression of mirth sank as the professor began laughing.

  “Oh dear. Of course not. While this year is the easiest, it is recommended that you complete all coursework before I give you your final assessment. There have been rare cases of those who pushed forward, but there are certain roadblocks and hurdles that simply cannot be overcome within a short span of time. Especially without proper study.”

  Another girl raised her hand.

  “Yes Viktra.”

  “What's the fastest anyone has completed it?”

  “That would be the headmaster, Adrian Stellis et al Stellarium. He completed the entire curriculum in six and a half years.”

  As the entire class seemed to squish into their seats, Alturus thought to himself. Had it been six years? He would be here for so long? He wondered why this thought made him have a sinking itch of dread. A sudden urgency filled his existence for a small second. Six years and some change didn’t seem like it would be fast enough. He took a deep breath.

  “Now, now, children.” The Professor said, clearing her throat. “It sounds daunting, I know. We get asked this at some point. Theoretically, it would be possible for someone to finish faster if they were able to overcome all said hurdles. However, the biggest barrier is the seventh year. You will find that as you move up through the ranks, you aren't the only class that occupies these glass walls. There are centuries of students, you heard me right, centuries of students who walk this academy. Many of those who have been stuck at one bottleneck or another. You will find that once you reach the rank of warlock, you will have much more time on your hands than you were ever made aware.

  “That being said. The wizard rank is what holds up the most of our academic group. It is a time of hardship for many students. Many chose to leave the academy in their tenth year regardless of progressing past this stage. Now that is all for this lecture. I have given each of you access to your crystal partitions. They will have your relevant course schedules.”

  The crowd of students filled the room with their conversations as they completed their first lecture of what felt like a lifetime. Elaine and Titanus remained behind with Alturus so they could discuss the lecture.

  “That was incredible. Or well, I think it was incredible.” Titanus said. “I didn't quite understand that whole speech you made. But Professor Tortelli definitely did. I wonder why she didnt break down your explanation. I-”

  “Can you give the other two of us time to speak?” Elaine said, cutting the ramblings of their friend off. “She didn't go into it because it wasn't necessary. That info dump was a lot of information as it was, and Alturus definitely did not help in this case. Besides, from the cloudy looks of the rest of the class, it did not need any further elaboration. For Sol's sake, aren't we all children of noble birth?”

  “It was a bit embarrassing,” Alturus stated.

  “You were so cool!” Titanus said. “For a second, I thought you were gonna be the professor in disguise or something.”

  “Would you grow up?” Elaine chided. “Him the professor? We are fifteen.”

  “Hey! At least I’m acting MY age. I’m not acting like I'm some ancient princess from the past.” Titanus said.

  “I beg your pardon?” Elaine said.

  “I pardon you. Or whatever.” Titanus replied. Alturus began to walk towards the door, their arguing filling the medium-sized room behind him.

  “Hey dont you just walk away!” They both said in unison before pausing, they looked at each other, and then both stormed after Alturus out into the large atrium of the building. The group proceeded down through the massive room into a small corridor that was lined with an impossible-to-count number of doors.

  “Where are we going?” Alturus asked.

  “I don't know,” Titanus replied. He pulled out his mirror and began swiping through menus until he found something. I think it says biography? What does that mean?”

  Elain sighed as she waved her mirror towards the two boys. “Biology! It says biology. You know the study of life.”

  “Where are you guys finding this at?” Alturus replied. “All I see is my face.”

  His two friends stop walking for a moment. Midstride, they stared at him in disbelief.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Alturus said, giving a worried expression.

  “How on earth do you not know how to use a mirror. Even a peasant boy over here knows how to work one.” Elaine said. Titanus nodded enthusiastically before catching on to her words and giving her a sharp glare.

  “I had one of those since I was a kid. They arent that difficult to find. Just what do you think of me?” Titanus chimed. Elaine ignored him and continued talking.

  “How could you speak perfect Quanta but do not know how to work a simple mirror? How did you learn all of that without the internet?” Her monotonous voice was absent for the third time today.

  “Books,” Alturus said with a shrug.

  “Books?” Titanus and Elaine exclaimed together.

  “You're telling me, you learned all of that through books? The rarest thing to find on the planet? Duplication charms only go so far.” Elaine said her voice rising into a pitch the other two hadn't heard so far.

  “I had my family's library building and a few librarians to help me,” Alturus said. Titanus and Elaine shared a look, Titanus mouthing the words library building in silent question.

  “You had an entire building dedicated to a library?” Elaine asked. “I'm the child of a king, and we don't even have that. There is a library that my dad uses as a study, but it's only the size of the auditorium we were just in. The entire building seems like a waste of space with crystal partitions existing.”

  “What partitions?” Titanus asked. His eyes bore into his mirror in a weird quisical way. Elaine gave a heavy sigh.

  “Partitions are segments of storage crystals that store large amounts of data." Alturus began before Elaine could chastise him anymore. "I know they exist, but we didn't have any at home. I've seen others use the mirrors, but I thought we were just supposed to look at ourselves or something. I was a bit confused when I stared at mine this morning, and nothing happened. Does it take a minute for it to go into effect?”

  They made their way to their next class and sat down. Students nearby stared at the trio as Elaine and Titanus roared with laughter.

  “And then he thought that they were telepathic,” Elaine said to a girl a row in front of them. Tears rolling down her cheeks. “Boy, did I pick the best room to walk into the other day.”

  The girl slowly slid a few seats down, giving the group a wide berth. Elaine didn't notice as she turned to Alturus.

  “You get it now? Just swipe through the menu, select partition, and enter your full title. It'll come up to the crystal partition you were assigned and have all the relevant information for coursework. For being from the most prominent family, you were sure kept in the dark.” Elaine said.

  “I never noticed. The entire estate was free reign and I was too busy in the library or outside exploring to really get into all this.” Alturus said.

  “I only used it because it was a family heirloom passed down for generations. My parents said they wouldn’t have time to use it, so it was basically mine.” Titanus said.

  “Well, I wasnt so lucky. I only got mine a year before I was scheduled to go into the Ark. So I did everything in my power to learn all I could before then. I did not want to be entirely clueless. Still, if you have any questions, just ask, and I will help you.” Elain said. Alturus’s mirror chimed, and he could suddenly see Elaine's face appear where his should be.

  “How did you do that?” Alturus asked.

  “I’ll show you after class.” She replied.

  “Oh, there you all are!” A girl called as she entered the large theater and made her way to them. “How was your Fundamentals of Magic. I got Professor Loctis, who was boring beyond belief.”

  “We got Professor Tortelli,” Elaine said.

  “Wait, the Tortelli?” Dasia asked.

  “Shes special?” Titanus asked. “She seemed ancient to me.” The two girls balked at his response.

  “Not only special,” Daisa said. “Shes our grand aunt.”

  “Our favorite grand aunt. And we have a lot.” Elaine said.

  “Didn't seem like it to me. You didn't even hug her,” Titanus said.

  “We’re royalty, Titanus. While certain decorum is traded down at this academy, certain social rules are not entirely removed.” Elaine said. “Besides, today we shared some heartfelt glances, and she came to see me last night for tea.”

  “What makes Professor Loctis so bad?” Alturus asked. “He seems cool.” Dasia's eyes opened wide.

  “What. Do. You. Mean. Seems.” Dasia said. “When did you-” She went silent as an expression of dread came across her face. Standing at a podium on the massive stage was a tall, lanky man with tan wrinkly skin. His face was so scrunched that his eyebrows seemed to replace his eyes. Behind him floated the words Professor Locrian Loctis et al Io, Mage of Conjurers.

  “Good evening, class.” The most boring monotone voice echoed throughout the room. A voice so tiring it made the attempts at boredom Elaine put on seem like pure happiness.

  “Welcome to biology 101. I am your professor for your time within the Arm of Vistas. And, if you are lucky enough to make it through to rank Thaumaturge, I will be your professor for Biology 401. You should have been told in your last lecture…”

  Before the professor had finished his opening remarks, Alturus had already fallen asleep.