“I’ll explain it if no one can properly answer this but can anyone tell me what magic actually is?” Mr Silva asked the class, beginning the lesson.

  “...” the class was silent, no one seemed to want to answer the question, or perhaps they weren’t completely sure of their answer.

  Mr Silva: “Anyone?” he asked again

  The boy next to Xarus, the green haired boy that just came in, Axel, sighed and raised his hand

  Mr Silva: “Yes Axel?”

  Axel: “Magic is… well you know, it’s magic, it’s casting spells that do a bunch of stuff, like shooting beams and finding things”

  Mr Silva stroked his chin “that's the simplest answer, sure, Anyone else have a answer?” he asked the class.

  Someone else, a auburn haired girl with freckles sitting in the front row raised her hand.

  Mr Silva: “Selena?”

  Selena: “Magic is a form of energy that is used by sorcerers to perform supernatural acts such as enhancing one’s body and projecting magic, although the magic is dependent on the individual it can range from increasing the growth of plant or as Axel said “shooting beams””

  Mr Silva nodded and said: “good answer but some of that is wrong” Mr silva didn't seem to notice but she looked disappointed by that response.

  The next to raise their hand was Sarah.

  Mr Silva: “Go ahead” he said while nodding his head

  Sarah: “Building off what she just said, Magic is unique to individuals, although a sorcerer can have similar magic to another sorcerer, their magic shouldn’t be exactly the same, Magic can be inherited and passed down thorough bloodlines but it doesn't always happen.

  Xarus: -Not a bad answer, and none of it seems wrong- he thought

  Mr Silva: “good answer” he said “but there are still details missing, can anyone fill in the gaps or do I need to explain it?”

  Upon thinking about it, Xarus did think their explanations were lacking and wrong in some aspects and he started adding and correcting their answer in his head.

  Somehow Mr Silva seemed to pick up on this as he suddenly addressed him.

  Mr Silva: “Xarus? You have an idea?”

  He was surprised to be called by name considering they only just met.

  Xarus: -Am I being called out because I was late?-

  Xarus: “u-uh no?” he stuttered

  Mr Silva: “Oh? You looked like you were thinking about something though?

  Xarus: “I mean… I was thinking that what the others said wasn’t wrong, but it also wasn’t right

  Mr Silva: “How so?”

  Xarus: “Well firstly” He paused for a moment to recall their names “Axel and Selena kinda just explained the final product and then Sarah explained that magic is more or less unique to an individual ”

  Mr Silva: “Yes, that is what they said”

  Xarus: “But that’s not what Magic is, right? That’s technically just aspects of it”

  Mr Silva nodded his head and asked “So then what do you think magic is?”

  Xarus: “well when Selena mentioned that Magic was energy.. That was wrong” Selena looked at him in surprise and then her expression changed to one of annoyance, he hastily corrected himself “Well somewhat wrong anyway, Magic is not energy, it’s a product of energy, mana is energy, and we use mana to create magic whether it’s personal magic, enhancement, transference or another kind”

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  Mr Silva: “that’s true, but… electricity is a product of energy but that is still considered energy, so why can’t the same be said for magic?”

  Choosing his words Carefully Xarus responded “magic does not follow natural rules, you use scientific and mathematical equations to boost, create and use magic but you can’t use it to explain magic, or at least not yet, magic can not be used as an energy source because it is not energy, if someone had magic related to lightning or electricity then yes, they would be able to power something but that is after it’s been processed and it is separate to magic at that point”.

  Mr Silva: “and how is it separate from magic by that point?” He asked intrigued by his explanation

  Xarus: -this is getting harder to explain- he thought rubbing his head “well, mana is produced in the body, and magic is basically the condensed form of mana, so after the mana has been condensed into magic it is then expelled from the body in whatever form the sorcerer chooses, unless it’s enhancement in which case they would expel it throughout their body”

  Xarus: “When magic is expelled, although technically it’s magic by definition it actually becomes something else, for example if someone shoots a fireball it becomes fire upon expulsion and is no longer magic”

  Xarus: “Magic can be used to heal, or kill, or build, and also lots of other things, the easiest way to explain magic is… is to consider it as a process of creation” he paused for a moment before adding “well I mean that’s how I understand it anyway”

  Mr Silva was silent for a brief time before saying “That is a very good answer, I don’t think I could have explained that so well… well now I can since I’ll be yoinking that explanation" he laughed aloud at his own joke

  Xarus blushed a deep red from the unexpected praise, he could feel the gazes from around the class staring at him so he tried to make himself smaller by slumping in his chair but it just made him look a bit silly.

  Following up from what Xarus said, Mr silva explained that mana is produced in the hollow, which is essentially an organ that everyone has but it doesn't have a physical form, in other words it’s similar in concept to a soul, after the mana has been produced it is then transported throughout the body through mana veins, which functions similarly to blood veins but for mana.

  Xarus was still slumped in his chair, the students had long since stopped paying attention to him and was listening intently to Mr Silva but the embarrassment did not fade, it kept him so distracted that he didn’t even notice the boy on his right leaning towards him until he tapped him on the shoulder.

  Axel: “Dude… who told you all that?”

  Xarus: “What?” he asked in surprise

  Axel: “Who taught you about magic?” he asked curiously

  Xarus: “Um... Nobody really?” he explained

  Axel: “So that's just… your own interpretation?”

  Xarus: “Well, it’s what makes sense” he said confidently

  Sarah: “but that was seriously amazing!”

  Xarus: “Woah!” he squealed, surprised by her sudden intrusion before realising what she said and once again turning red at her compliment.

  Sarah: “Not that I was wrong or anything, But I don’t think I could have come up with an answer like yours”

  Axel: “yea it was better than mine for sure, I need to remember that so I can use it in the exams”

  Ranni: “I-I liked your answer Axel” she stuttered, for some reason her face was tinted red, although not to the same extent as Xarus, and she was staring at Axel’s desk instead of his face,

  Axel: “hah! Thanks Ranni, although it was pretty bad so you don’t need to say that” he joked

  Ranni: “N-no not at all!” Xarus stared at her, confused by her bizarre attitude, she noticed his staring and gave him a dangerous look before promptly turning away from him.

  With the conversation coming to a close they all paid attention to Mr Silva who was still explaining Magic to the class, Most students here would already know what magic is of course, but they wouldn't necessarily know the specific details that Mr Silva was explaining, and the reason behind that would be because when they were younger they would only have needed to know enough to control their magic, they would of been taught to use their magic for more practical uses, such as basic combat, defense and healing during grades 7-10 but they aren’t taught how to use magic for advanced combat until Grade 11, which is what their current grade is, and thus in order for the students to safely perform magic and develop their personal magic they will need to learn the fundamentals of magic to an extent greater that what they have been taught in the past. Mr Silva wrapped up his explanation of Magic and then started explaining the basics of magic which included simple defensive and offensive spells. Of course this was stuff that everyone knew but he wanted to reaffirm their importance.

  Right after he finished explaining everything the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson.

  “Brrrinngggg!”

  Mr Silva: “Ah, I finished just in time!” he said aloud “and that's morning break!” Alright everyone enjoy the rest of your day, although I’ll be teaching you in the last period for history, so I’ll see you then” he told the class as they began packing up their belongings.

  Xarus finished packing his bag and left the classroom quickly, he was warned to get to the cafeteria as soon as possible as it gets busy quick, he was hungry but he didn’t think he needed to eat, but skipping a meal wasn’t allowed or his mum would get furious with him, even if he didn’t tell her she would find out and he didn’t want to face her fury, he was shivering just picturing the sight.

  Fortunately during his search for the classroom this morning he had walked past the cafeteria so he knew where it was, arriving at the cafeteria he was surprised to see a line about 12 people long, he jumped in before it got longer and luckily it progressed fast so he only ended up waiting a few minutes, purchasing a blueberry muffin he left the cafeteria counter to locate a seat, the line was much longer now, up to about 26 people so he was glad he hurried over here. He chose an empty table for five, which was the smallest table that wasn’t taken, and sat down and began eating his muffin while scrolling through various websites on his phone.