Khronicles of K'aamil

Shining Beacon

Shizo Academy was perhaps the most eye-catching compound in Newcastle and was, for all intents and purposes, the only official school found in K'aamil. Constructed under the watch of the six Founding Families of Newcastle. It was originally built as a centre for general knowledge in order to allow Trolls, Elves, Demons and humans alike to come together in one place to learn and further themselves, as well as shared collected information. However, over time, the academy began putting more and more roadblocks in place to filter what kind of persons could even attend. First there was an age restriction: an entrance age of 10 right up to 17, the age at which most attendees graduated. Following this, there was also an entrance exam put in place, followed by a ridiculously high tuition fee. Essentially, the institute was slowly moulded over time in order to keep the rich nobility educated and in power while leaving the poorer districts of the country as beneath them.

Lisa supposed that was why she should have considered herself invaluably lucky. Ever since she could remember, after her parents mailed her off to live with a friend in Newcastle, Lisa had worked herself to the bone, studying hours upon hours every day for several years, just for a chance at passing the academy's entrance exam. Despite her work, she knew that even if she passed, there was no chance for her to attend. She was from a very rural town deep in the heart of the Western Region. Her parents tried to assure her that money would not be an issue but she knew otherwise. They were by far not the strongest people around, so they likely would not be able to take up any of the higher paying guild jobs. And any other occupation at their disposal like farming barely netted them enough to get by, let alone pay her tuition. Even up to the day she took the exam, she had no hope. The odds were stacked completely against her, and it left her with little to no ambition for attending.

Then the day of the results came. More incredible than simply passing, she managed to score the highest of all other applicants: a perfect score. This was unforeseen and almost never heard of, even among the likes of the Nobles. This garnered her some very interesting attention as all eyes were suddenly turned on this girl with incredible potential. The most notable of this attention was none other than that of the Royal Family themselves. By some miracle, she was given a full scholarship by them, offered an essentially free education to further her studies, an opportunity no other attendee was ever given the chance of receiving. It was completely unbelievable, and would have been the happiest day of her life, and a memory she would have shared with her parents for years to come. That was, if....

....

Anyway, she should have considered herself incredibly lucky, and she did. However, as she sat in class with her eyes glazing over, she couldn't help but feel like her enthusiasm for learning was being forcefully sucked out of her by this professor. Less than two years left until graduation at the round-bellied Elf was going over information that should have been basic knowledge at this point.

"Mana. The lifeforce of many, if not all creatures on K'aamil. Its properties are still being examined and experimented with to this day. However, we have identified it as being able to do extraordinary things!"

How boring. She rolled her eyes and looked out the window to gaze at the sunset, only half listening to what he said. Most other students seemed to be showing the same levels of interest.

"While existing as a raw and volatile energy, it is what causes many of the natural life on our planet to be so dangerous from plants to even animals. It has given them adaptations that make them far more powerful than their less mana-rich counterparts. For example..." he pushed up his glasses and pressed a button on a silver remote he held. The large screen at the head of the class flared to life and on it were two images. On the left was an image of a simple grey wolf. On the right was the unmistakable visage of a Shadow Wolf. Again, Lisa rolled her eyes as he continued. "...these two sets of creatures are part of the same family. However, the Shadow Wolf has adapted to mana, allowing it to gain unique abilities such as phasing into and out of darkness, a feature of its entire species."

"We are different however," the screen flickered and a new image appeared. It portrayed dozens of citizens of all species and races in a small crowd. "We as Celtians, that being Demons, Humans and Elves with the exclusion of Trolls of course, all possess a special resonance with mana. As you may all be aware, between the ages of five and twelve, most of us tend to develop a unique manifestation of mana..."

The professor raised his finger and from his fingertip, several multicolour bubbles began rising from his fingertip. "These are known as Abilities."

The already disinterested Lisa suddenly grew far more annoyed, and the corners of her mouth tugged into more of a frown than she usually wore.

"There are two methods from which our Abilities can manifest. Roughly 60% of Abilities are gained as a byproduct of one or both of the parents' Abilities. However, the other 40% are far more randomly generated, tending to be a representation of some aspect of the user's personality or likeness."

A few seats in front of Lisa, a plucky hand shot up, instantly gaining the professor's excited attention. "Yes, Tyson!"

A brown haired Demon boy fumbled with his own glasses and hurriedly looked down at his notes. "So...I should assume the same doesn't go for Passive Skills?"

"Ah, excellent question!" the professor smiled proudly. "Passive Skills do function similarly to Abilities, as in they cause some kind of supernatural effect either on the user or their surroundings as a result of manipulating mana. However, where I believe you may be confused is their source. Like I said, with the exception of Trolls, most Celtians are able to manifest an Ability by the time they enter puberty. Passive Skills on the other hand are only available to Humans and tend to be a result of intense training or labour."

"Mhm..." the demon scribbled everything the professor said into the notebook. "And you kept specifying that everyone but Trolls could get Abilities. Why's that?"

Lisa groaned quietly and rolled her eyes. This was information most people knew by the time they were toddlers. The professor however still took great joy in talking about it.

"Well most Celtian species were made with special vessels within our body, running parallel to our blood vessels in a way. These vessels, dubbed mana veins, are what allow a person's mana to circulate their body and grant them access to the energy for usage. We still aren't sure if mana is housed in a central location, akin to a type of heart, but we do know that any mana used is replenished overtime naturally."

The professor continued. "Trolls are special in the fact that they do not bear any mana veins whatsoever, making it impossible to conduct or use mana at all."

Tyson kept nodding eagerly and finished scribbling notes. "Alright, thank you!"

The professor smiled and glanced at the rest of the class. "Well, judging from everyone's exhausted looks, I'd say we've exhausted all our time for today," he joked. "We'll pick back up here tomorrow. Have a good evening students."

He received a few half hearted mumbles in response but it was drowned out by the sound of all the students getting up and shifting in unison, Lisa included. Her plan to just make a straight beeline for the door was stopped in its tracks by none other than Tyson racing to catch up with her. "Hey Lisa! Got plans for tonight?"

"You know damn well I do," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Seriously?" He looked out the window. "Tonight? It's already getting pretty late."

"And?" Her patience was wearing thin.

"Don't overwork yourself," he responded with a slightly concerned look.

"Overwork? Don't even know the meaning of the word," she flashed him a fake smile and trudged her way out of the classroom door.