Page 32 of Drawn in Blood
“How long are we supposed to sit here,” Fen whispered, as he shifted on the pillow underneath him.
Ember sat cross legged next to him, laying her bag quietly on the floor beside her as she rolled her eyes. “I suppose until Professor Eid tells us otherwise?” she whispered in reply with a smirk.
Said Professor was in the middle of the round room, floating a foot off the floor with her legs crossed and both hands on her knees. Her eyes were closed in deep concentration. Rows of large, ornate pillows surrounded her on all sides, each with a student sitting quietly on top. The room was broken into four quadrants, each pillow representing one of the four elements in color and style. Tan and sage, sea green mixed with turquoise, white and silver, and red with orange. Incense burned in the center of the room on a small table beside the professor, and the whole room gave off a relaxing feeling that instantly settled any anxiety Ember might have had before she walked in.
“Might as well get a quick nap in,” Killian chimed, as he tossed his backpack to the ground and laid on the pillow, both hands behind his head.
“I believe you’re supposed to be meditating, Mr. Vargr,” Professor Eid said, her eyes still closed. “Sitting up please.”
“How do they do that?” Fen whispered, as he crossed his legs underneath one another. “It’s like having Mum at school. They can all see out of the back of their heads.”
Ember laughed as she shook her head, closing her eyes and sitting crisscross on the plush pillow underneath her. She took slow breaths, focusing on her breathing and the way the air filled her lungs slowly, inch by inch. She felt her magic sway and pull in her veins as she breathed, like the tide rippling under her skin. She centered her thoughts on class, focusing on the lesson Professor Eid had them prepare for the week before.
“I wonder why Elemental Magic doesn’t start until second year,” Killian whispered, as he tapped a finger on his bent knee.
“Do you remember what you were like last year?” Ember laughed quietly. “I can’t imagine any class involving controlling the elements would be good for a first year. I have doubts about the second years if we’re being honest.”
Killian huffed in reply but didn’t respond.
After five more minutes of quiet meditation, Professor Eid gracefully placed both feet on the ground and stood up. “Welcome, young ones,” she said softly, brushing her hijab off her shoulder. The deep purple of her robes matched with the silk draped intricately around her head, accented by the lavender details swirling down her sleeves. Her honey eyes sparkled in the dim candlelight shining from the sconces scattered across the circular wall, and a gentle smile played at the corners of her mouth. “We are focusing on one element per quarter,” Professor Eid said, as she began to pace up and down the room. “This quarter will be water.”
Fen’s hand quickly shot into the air. “Why water?” he asked. “Why not fire? Start the year out with a bang!”
Giggles erupted around the room, and Ember rolled her eyes.
“That’s a very good question, Mr. Kitt,” Professor Eid smiled. “Now tell me, when you go home this week and practice what you learned today, what are you going to do when you accidentally catch a curtain on fire? Or the garden? Or your little sister’s pigtails?”
Killian smirked. “I would grab the water hose.” He shrugged.
Professor Eid nodded thoughtfully as she held up her hand and produced a small flame that danced against her fingertips. She walked to Killian’s desk, and gently laid it against his paper.
It danced across the page, engulfing the parchment and turning it to ash in front of him. His eyes widened as the fire crept slowly in front of him, getting dangerously close to his freshly pressed white button down.
“And what would you do when you find that youcan’tput the flame out with the hose or a glass of water?” She nodded to the cup sitting beside him and motioned for him to pour.
He dumped the water onto the flame, but it seemed to have an invisible barrier around it, and it didn’t so much as sizzle. His eyes widened as he visibly swallowed and sank further into the pillow beneath him.
“Magically conjured fire canonlybe put out by magically conjuredwater.It is the first rule of elemental magic, and one of the most important.” She cocked an eyebrow at both boys, who had averted their eyes to their laps. “It is also the reason fire will be thefinalelemental we will be studying this year.” At that moment, a small bead of water formed in the palm of the professor's hand, and she let it fall onto the flame. No sooner than Ember could blink, it was gone, not even ash left where it was floating.
Ember shook her head with a small laugh as she leaned back on her pillow; the very last thing either of those boys needed was the ability to conjure fire, and she was very thankful they wouldn’t possess the knowledge to do so for quite a long time.
“But this year, you will not be conjuring anything,” Professor Eid said to the class. There was a collective grumble that sounded through the room, accompanied by some pouting from the boys. “Creating things without having the ability to control them is a dangerous game to play. It’s how wildfires and floods and dead gardens happen,” she eyed the boys who each let out a huff at the same time. “This year, you will learn to control each element, and only after you have complete control will you learn to conjure. Your magic is like building a house. You must have a strong foundation before you add the walls, or windows, or doors.”
Professor Eid walked back to the center of the room where she picked up a clay bowl filled with water and motioned for the class to come closer.
“Gather round up here,” she said whimsically.
The students all hurried to the middle of the room, standing on their tiptoes to get a decent view of what the professor was doing.
“Today, you will learn to control just some small waves,” she smiled. “You will break into pairs, and each group will have a bowl charmed with continuous waves. You will practice slowing the waves at first, then work on stopping them fully.”
Right on cue the water in the bowl began churning, like a small ocean contained inside the clay basin. Waves rose and fell, and Ember could’ve sworn she saw the tiny shadows of fish flitting beneath the surface.
“To slow the wave,” she said calmly, “you will hold your hand gently over the water and saymal.”
Ember’s eyes widened as the waves slowed, calming to a soft ripple on the top of the water. They pushed and pulled until finally slowing to a light ripple and stopping all together.
“That’s it?” Fen asked under his breath. “We just have to slow the water down? How hard can that be?”
