Mark of the Fool

Chapter 352: The Origin of Affinities

Selinas class was all abuzz with excitement. They were hovering in front of her classroom door like eager bees over a flower fieldchattering to one another, giggling, and periodically adjusting hefty bookbags on their shoulders.

Seven of the eight students kept watching the door as if willing it to open, or staring at it long enough would make it fly open.

Selinathe eighth studentwasn'tso excited.

She felt like sprites were flying around inside her belly, some excited and some panicking. She was nervous, not knowing quite what to expect, so a part of her just wanted to go back home.

But, what good would that do?

You want to be a wizard, right? she thought. Alex and Baelin keep talking about how dangerous it is and She remembered the Games of Roal and demons. Demons who mindlessly attacked them, turning what was a fun day into a terrible, scary one full of sharp teeth and wild magic and red. how can I handle stuff like that if Im too scared to even go to class.

Frowning, her hand dropped to her belt instinctually. Of course, there was nothing there; she wasnt allowed to carry her birthday gift from the Lus in school, which bothered her. Having the knife wascomforting, in the same way holding figurines shed made when she was small used to be.

I wish Abela was here, she thought for the hundredth time since shed started learning magic theory with her other classmates who were rich in mana. Abela was her closest friendbut she didnt have enough mana to become a wizard.

Her friend didnt seem bothered by that fact in the slightest, but Selina still wished that she and her best friend were in all the same classes, especially ones that made her nervous.

Shed made friends with other kids in her magic classes, but it wasnt quite the same.

Im so excited, Mariama said from nearby, her dark plaits bouncing as she bobbed on the balls of her feet. Ive been trying to find out more about wind affinity, but my big sister hardly tells me anything. Ugh, youre so lucky, Selina.

Huh? Selina was dragged from her thoughts, turning to face Mariama and two other students who were watching her with a mix of curiosity and awe.

She fought the urge to make a face: most of the kids in her classes looked at her that way since her affinity was revealed. It wasnt their fault that she didnt like thinking about that day: they didnt know about what happened to her mother and father.

How am I lucky? She asked.

Your brother teaches you all kinds of extra stuff. Mariama pouted. My sister says that I cant learn anything unless our teachers teach it to us. Its so annoying.

Alex doesnt teach me all that much, Selina said. Just a little bit more about spell arrays. He tells me what they do and stuff.

But, thats what I mean! Mariama said. Id love to learn that stuff now. Instead, its all this boring history stuff. I want to know magic, not history!

Well, a lot of the spell array stuff iswell, Im not sure youd like it, Selina said. Its a lot of detail. Theres a lot of things I had to learn just to start understanding that stuff.

But youre starting. Its so unfair. You get a head start over the rest of us, the other girl rolled her eyes.

I think Selinas right, Chelios said.

The younger Roth sibling looked at the tall, tanned boy making his way over to them, a broad smile brightened his face. All the nuts and bolts of it isnt for everyone. My father started teaching me a little bit about magic arrays andI like it loadsbut I think most people would find it boring. Not me, though.

Oh yeah, its very cool! Selina said excitedly. Did he tell you how a Bohr Array Section works? How it controls how much a spell can spread? When you see a radius listed in a spell guide, you can change that radius if you change the Bohr Arrays configuration. Its tricky, but its a lot like changing the specs for a building. It's okay to do it as long as you know what each part of the structures for, and what changes could happen if you rearrange stuff.

Chelios stood frozen in front of her like a deer in the path of a charging dragon.

Uhwell, I mean yeah, he said, seeming to wither under her earnest gaze. I mean sureyeah. The Bohr Arrayyeah, I always thought that most peoplenot mewould think its the boring array!

Some of the other kids burst out laughing.

A shudder went through Selina.

Ugh, that was an Alex joke, she thought.

But seriously, you must be really excited, Chelios said. What with all those fire sprites and how they gathered around you on testing day. Mr. Powell said your fire affinity is super strong, right? You must be so excited!

Uh Selina said, a wave of discomfort going through her. Well

Click.

The door opened, revealing the smiling face of Miss Sutton. Well, well, its so good to see all of you so diligent this early in the morning. Hello everyone, come in! Come in!

Selina sighed with relief as the other students rushed into the room.

Their wizardry classroom was a hall of wonders. Glass terrariums and tanks held earth and water where small magical creatures lived. They were cared for by the students. Longoean ash spiders, scotiatic coffee lizards, and cobic shine-fish, crawled or swam behind the glass. Some paused what they were doing to watch the children as they ran into the classroom.

On the other side of the room a raised bed of rich brown soil was filled with dozens of plants. There was a butterfly bush thatwhen it was hungrywould periodically uproot itself to drink nectar from nearby flowers, then settle back into the soil when it was full. There were flowers that bloomed everyday at noon in shades of gold, like the sun. Others grew tiny berries that shed entire rainbows of colourful light. One plantSelinas favouritehad leaves that looked like salt crystals, each pulsing with inner electric lines.

They reminded her of Isoldes lightning bolts.

Miss Sutton took her place at the front of the class as the eight students found their seats. A minute of chattering passedthen a loud hem, hem brought everyones attention to the front of the room.

Very good, class, Miss Sutton said. Im glad to see so much excitement todayif only youd had such enthusiasm for our lesson on the History of Spell Arrays. She watched them from behind thick red framed bi-focals.

A bit of grumbling went through the class, as Chelios raised his hand.

Yes, Chelios? Miss Sutton asked.

I liked Spell Arrays, Miss Sutton, he said, his voice filled with pride and his chest puffed up.

The teacher smiled sweetly. Im very glad you did. But today, as you all know, we won't be talking about spell arrays, well be talking about affinities and their history. Just a bit of it, at least. This information will be on the final test, so, I suggest you take notes, pay attention to my handouts, andas always?

Do your homework, the class droned, with all the enthusiasm of children who had repeated those words dozens of times.

Exactly! Miss Sutton said in cheery tones.

She snapped her fingers.

Poof!

There was a burst of light and smokeas though shed set off a small fireworkand chalk appeared in her hand. On the board, she drew symbols; four of them in four directions: up, down, left and right.

Raging flame to represent the element of fire.

Flowing waves to represent the element of water.

Craggy stone to represent the element of earth.

Rushing wind to represent the element of air.

In the centre of the symbols she drew the symbol for mana.

Can any of you tell me what the primary elements are? she asked, facing the class. Yes, Milintica.

A boy with a long dark braid wrapped in leather ties raised his hand. Earth, Fire, Water and Airbut some say theres different elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

Thats correct: those are the elements that people in Tarim-Lung teach intheir systems of magic. They are also correct, Miss Sutton said, drawing a symbol of a tree and a symbol of a steel bar. In those lands, their mana vents are inhabited by powerful spirits of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. They drink in wild mana from the vents and release it as energy tied to their elements. So, for them, their system is more appropriate.However.

She tapped the four elements shed drawn. When it comes to elemental planes, the primary elements are the four you named first. All others, such as Ice and Magma are called Paraelemental planes, which form gateways between the four primary elemental planes. Now, when it comes to affinities, mortals are only born withif they have any affinity at allan affinity for one of the four primary elements. Do you have any idea why that is?

The children looked at each other, but no one raised their hand.

Well, that was actually a bit of a trick question. Miss Sutton smiled. So, there really is no fully right answer.

There isnt? Chelios asked.

No, Im afraid. We learn more about magic everyday. Knowledge is not a dead thing to look at once and never think about again. Knowledge lives. Knowledge grows. Knowledge changes. People agree and disagree about things we think we know. And until one is proven right beyond doubt, we must be open to the idea that things that we believe, can change.

Selina thought about fire.

Beforefire had shattered her family, she used to think it was beautiful. One of her very first memories was of fire. The way it danced. Its warmth. Its smell. Its light. But from the night her parents died, fire was shame. How could she love something that could do something so awful?

But when theyd left Alric...

Fire had nearly killed them in the Cave of the Travellerbut it had also saved their lives from the swarm of spiders. It had burnt the Hive-queen and let them escape. Shed seen fire magic used to fight those demons that tried to kill everyone.

And Shiani had told her about how her people saw fire so differently.

Selina had peeked at Vesuvius glowingflames in a mix of wonder and shame. Changes. Changes. Changes.

She tuned back into the lesson to find Miss Sutton moving on.

the most accepted theory as to why mortals are born with affinities for the elements is because, way, way, way back in history, many mortals worshipped elements. The teacher drew a pair of hands pressed together in prayer. Some of your families might worship deities and some might not, but a long time ago, people worshipped spirits, mighty monsters and even the elements themselves. Can you think of why that would be?

Selina remembered what Shiani had told her about how fire helped her people. Then she thought about the farmers around Alric and how they would pray for rain. Or how the fishermen would pray that the river would have lots of fish in the spring.

She raised her hand.

Yes, Selina?

Um, is it because the elements are so important in our lives?

Exactly! Miss Sutton praised her. And the farther back in time we go, the more they affected mortals lives. Before we figured out how to build shelter, we had to hide in caves or be at the mercy of the weather, and hostile tribes. Before magic and divinities came into the hands of mortals, fires were unstoppable in villages. So people worshipped and sought the good blessings of the elements.

She drew a line from the clasped hands to the symbols for mana. As we know, the elemental planes are powerful planes of magic, with elements being strong and powerful beings. Being around them can leave a mark on someones mana, one that can even reach out through time to touch their childrens childrens children. So if you have an affinity for an element, it might mean that your family had something to do with that element way back in time.

She pointed to a world map on the wall next to the obsidian stone she was drawing on. This is supported by the fact that there are far more people born with elemental affinities in the Rhinean Empire, where people still worship the elements to this day. And

She tapped an area on the board. most people in the Rhinean Empire born with elemental affinities are born near the Peaks of the Elements.

Selina paused, remembering the four peaks. Each mountain had been within sight of the portal theyd taken out of the Cave of the Traveller. Alex had blocked her from seeing the mountain of fire. Maybe there was a connection there? Mr. Lu once told her that her last nameRothused to mean red in the old Rhinean tongues. Fire was orange, but it could also be red. Was there a connection?

She swallowed.

Changes.

Other theories say that exposure to an element or elemental in childhood can give someone an affinity, but thats questionable since everyones exposed to wind, earth and water everyday, yet affinities are still quite rare, all things considered, Miss Sutton explained. So the theory about the worship of elementals in the past is the most accepted one we have today. Its called the Ancient Elementals theory.

She chuckled. There was also a theory that Mana and Elemental affinities were given to us by powerful beings from the starsthats called the Ancient Aliens theory, which is not accepted. So, please dont confuse the two if you read about it or hear it discussed. At a later date, well talk about which areas of the world have the greatest population of folks with elemental affinities. But for now, lets talk about what an affinity actually does, and how it affects your mana. You might be surprised at how you can use it.

At how you can use it

Selina remembered how Alex had used fire to fight fire.

The young girl leaned forward in her seat, paying close attention, opening her mind to the lesson.

And changes.