“ - This led to the division of magic into three separate categories: basic, advanced, and royal. Basic magic can be performed safely by students who have attended the mage school for a minimum of one week. Advanced magic can be performed by anyone who graduates from the school and achieves a status of mage or higher. Royal magic is limited only to the immediate royal family.”

Zach tried not to let Kingsley’s voice turn into background noise even as he repeated the most basic of information to students who were close to graduating. As annoying as it was, Kingsley would fail him for not paying attention.

To be fair Kingsley didn’t dislike Zach specifically. Kingsley hated anyone with a connection to the royal line for a very specific reason: Kingsley wanted to use royal magic to find his wife. The king had denied him access, and Kingsley was - well - petty. And he took his revenge by being overly strict with students. Particularly those with any connection to the royal line.

“If you graduate from your senior year here at the mage school, you will all be considered mages. You will be considered skilled enough to use your magic for advanced purposes, such as fighting monsters and demons or taking quests, and many of you will fail. Know your limits and maybe you’ll survive.”

Zach raised his hand on the off chance Kingsley might change course on his repetitive lecture. When Kingsley called on him (with one eyebrow raised skeptically), Zach asked: “You said we might fail using our magic for advanced purposes, yet you’ve said before that magic always does something when we call it. How do we figure out what happened when a spell doesn’t have the expected result?”

Kingsley raised an eyebrow. “A fair question, and a surprising connection to a prior class. However I didn’t say you would fail at using magic. I said you would fail. Period. Even if you call upon magic and the spell does as intended, if you cannot use the right spell in the right situation you put yourselves and others at risk. Remember there is no safety net in the outside world and your instructors won’t be there to shield you.

“As for determining the result of a fizzled spell, that depends largely on the type of magic worked and the amount of magic used. Those calculations are far too advanced for this level of education. If you’re interested in such topics I recommend continuing your education at a specialist academy after graduation.”

Zach felt his interest in the course die once more. Kingsley was always this way: anything not explicitly listed on the syllabus was ‘too advanced’ for students. He wouldn’t even discuss it.

Gruff, sitting in the desk next to Zach, tapped his binder as Kingsley droned on. When he was sure the instructor wouldn’t fuss at him for it, Zach looked at the page. Everything okay? Gruff had written the note on the corner of the prior page, away from his class notes.

Zach wrote a response in the margins of his own paper. I’m fine. Just bored.

Ari nodded, erasing the extra note from the page. Zach tried to keep his thoughts from drifting, but the dull lecture truly bored him. Between slow, meticulous notes he wished for something that could keep his attention.