“Today’s class we’ll be discussing the fundamentals of general spellcasting that all wizards young and old must keep in mind. Every spell is built upon these foundations, even those from other classes that seem too abstract compared to our simple and quick-casting spells. We’ll specifically focus on how adjusting these variables can help shape…”

Luprix tried to keep up, but the word started to fade into scribbles as they fell into confusion. Everyone knows the fundamentals, we’ve been taught that since we said our first words, but this class was just an excuse for some muscle heads to feel smart. They sighed and closed the notebook.

The class continued repeating the same general phrases in different ways, only changing to talk about each of the variables that formed magic. Luprix was now reading their personal textbook on illusionary craft, ignoring the teacher completely and drawing the eyes of scornful students who felt the importance of such a class. Soon, a man stood up quietly and attempted to approach Luprix with his engraved wand in hand. As he got closer, more eyes from around the student body following him, the familiars stood up with an angry start.

The cat-like beasts jumped to either side of Luprix, one on their desk and one on the desk behind. The man fell back and shouted, startled. The beasts lept at their prey’s opening, the black beast on top and the white to the side. Luprix stood up shocked and knocked over their chair as the class stopped and all turned to stare.

“What are you doing you stupid cats!” Luprix yelled, kicking at them to move them off the terrified wizard.

“He came at you with a wand!” said Cascade, not taking his eyes off the man.

“A weak man who can’t even sense our presence doesn’t even deserve to be near us or our disgraceful master.” Kascade spoke in a cold tone directly at Luprix, turning the whole room into a cold hateful room.

Everyone began to mutter as they shuffled away from the beasts and Luprix. This wasn’t just a fear, it was terror. The absolute drop of emotions and knowing that one’s life is meaningless and helpless against another. A cold frozen feeling that washes over a room in seconds, almost like a spell. The crowd whispered, no one daring to move no faster than a snail.