Seris Calder did not like disruptions.
She had learned early that attention was a currency, and discipline was how you earned it. That was why she trained before others woke, why her fire obeyed her even when it burned hot, why professors trusted her without needing proof.
So when a boy raised his hand and questioned Professor Draven Veyr on his very first day, Seris noticed.
She noticed the timing.
She noticed the lack of fear.
She noticed the way the hall froze.
Troublemaker, she decided almost instantly.
She had seen his type before. Boys who mistook boldness for intelligence. Boys who thought speaking out made them special. He didn't look impressive either. His clothes were plain, his posture loose, his eyes restless like he belonged anywhere but here.
When Draven answered and dismissed the class, Seris stopped thinking about him. But then that clown decided to disrupt her fight with Rothern. But she decided to ignore his existence the second time too.
Some people burned bright.
Some people burned out.
Most weren't worth remembering.
The next day, the Grand Hall filled again.
This time, the tension felt different. Less ceremonial. More expectant.
Elio stood with Mirel, Thane, and Orena, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He still wasn't used to waking up surrounded by stone instead of fields. The bells rang once, then stopped.
Professor Kael Ardyn stepped forward.
"Today," he said calmly, "you learn what you are training for."
A ripple of attention spread through the room.
"Magic," Kael continued, "is not a single force. It is shaped by alignment. Each of you will awaken differently."
With a flick of his wrist, light bloomed in the air.
Red first.
"Fire-aligned power," Kael said, "allows manipulation of flame. But fire does not answer calm thoughts alone. It responds to emotion."
The red light flared.
"Anger strengthens it. Grief alters it, sometimes cooling it into dangerous states. Love, strangely enough, can turn fire into protection."
A murmur moved through the students.
"The danger," Kael added, voice firm, "is loss of control. Lose emotional balance, and you lose fire itself."
The red vanished. Pink replaced it.
"Teleportation and Mind-aligned power grants awareness and movement. Thought-reading. Distance-crossing. Teleportation works best when emotion anchors the destination. You move where you have felt."
Elio's shoulders tensed.
"But minds are not empty," Kael said. "They are memories. Walk too deeply into another's past, and you may forget which thoughts belong to you."
The glow shifted again, becoming sky-blue.
"Water-aligned power governs rain, currents, and storms," Kael said. "But more importantly, it governs oaths."
Thunder echoed faintly.
"Any promise spoken beneath summoned rain binds itself. Break it, and consequences follow. Storms remember."
Mirel swallowed hard.
Deep blue came next, sharp and thin.
"Air-aligned power controls movement and sound. Voices may be carried. Silence may be enforced."
The light thinned further.
"A skilled wielder can steal words before they reach ears," Kael said. "Or make sure whispers travel farther than screams."
Thane stopped smiling.
Yellow light bloomed last, steady and warm.
"Earth-aligned power governs soil and life," Kael said. "Growth and decay are choices, not opposites."
The glow shifted between flourishing green and brittle dust.
"Land responds to care. Or neglect."
Elio's chest tightened. He thought of home.
The lights vanished.
"Power alone is useless," Kael said. "That is why we bind it."
With a slow motion, he formed the image of a pendant in the air.
"These are called Astrae," he said. "Singular: Astra. Plural: Astrae."
The image split into several forms.
"An Astra does not give you power," Kael explained. "It limits it. Focuses it. Keeps you alive."
Another image appeared, brighter.
"The most powerful among them is called Astra Primus."
The hall grew very quiet.
"It is exceedingly rare," Kael continued. "Once, it passed naturally through the king's bloodline."
Elio leaned forward slightly.
"But over time," Kael said, "the bloodline weakened. Generation after generation passed without an Astra Primus appearing."
A pause.
"The last time one manifested was two decades ago."
Students shifted.
"It chose a man whose name is prohibited within this institution," Kael said evenly. "A traitor. Three hundred years after the last holder."
A chill moved through the hall.
"He did not do justice to the power."
The image faded.
"Today," Kael said briskly, "we begin shared training. Levitation."
Relief rippled through the students.
"Proceed to the Grand Fields. Classes will begin shortly."
As they moved, Elio leaned toward Thane. "That forbidden one," he whispered. "The powerful magician. Who was he?"
Thane shrugged. "Don't talk about him here man."
Orena slowed beside them, voice barely audible. "Tharion Veyr," she whispered. "He's dead."
As they moved with the rest of the students, Elio stayed quiet for a moment.
"Tharion Veyr," he repeated under his breath.
The name felt strange, but not heavy. More like an unfinished sentence.
"Yes, dead," Mirel said, shrugging. "Whoever he was, he messed up badly enough to be erased. End of story."
Elio nodded slowly, then let it go.
There were too many new things crowding his head to chase a ghost from the past. Power systems. Training. Levitation classes. The simple fact that he was actually here.
One thing at a time, he told himself.
He glanced ahead, where the Grand Fields opened wide under the sky, already filling with students and instructors. Open space. Air. Movement.
That, at least, felt promising.
With that thought, Elio quickened his pace, curiosity tucked away for later, and followed the others into the field.