Everyone’s eyes were on him, curious to see how the “prodigy” of their class would fare.
Isyd did not bother with any embellishment. He raised his hand and cast the [Ice Spells] one after the other, calmly, methodically, effortlessly. The five geometrical shapes materialized in front of him and he was done before his time had reached the halfway point.
“Impressive as always, Young Isyd. Your talent ceases not to amaze me! There we have it: Young Isyd and Young Jadwia have proved their mastery of Visualization and Concentration. The last task revolves around Balance. In this class, I demonstrated the [Ice Spear] and the Commands that compose it. But this was just one way of constructing an [Ice Spell]. The 3rd Law of the Arts teaches us that there are theoretically infinite ways to rearrange the Commands to achieve the same goal. Artysta must learn versatility and efficiency while exploring the different expressions of the Arts. Your last task, Young Jadwia and Young Isyd, is but a simple one: rearrange the [Ice Spear] so as to need only one Fire Essence instead of the original three.”
Jadwia paled next to Isyd. She rose a timid hand. “Can we… practice it before casting the [Spell]?”
“Definitely. In fact, I invite you to use the blackboard as much as you’d like to get a feel of the Balance of your [Spell] before casting it for real.”
She rushed to the blackboard, grab a piece of chalk in passing and began sketching the different Commands. Isyd watched her do, curious. Her movements were fast, almost frantic as she drew circles after circles, triangles after triangles, but in the end, she always ended up back to the original [Ice Spell] Tutor Milwyk had thought them.
Feeling Isyd’s gaze on her neck, Jadwia whirled in his direction.
“What? Are you waiting for me to give you the answer?” she snapped.
“No. I already found it,” Isyd said. “I’m just curious to see what you’re gonna come up with.”
Colour rose on Jadwia’s cheeks and Isyd realized belatedly that his words had come out as condescending.
“Just you wait…” she growled and she went back to her drawings.
Several minutes passed but, in the end, she couldn’t come up with another [Spell] that did not involve at least three Fire Essences. The Balance seemed to evade her and she was growing more frustrated as time passed.
“Time has passed, now it is time for your attempts, Young Jadwia, Young Isyd,” Tutor Milwyk finally called. “Even if it is not successful, I want you to know that I am incredibly glad of the progress done. Now, please proceed, Young Jadwia.”
Jadwia stepped forward and grimaced as she moved her wand and cast her [Spell].
“[Ice Spear]!”
A perfect spear appeared in her hand, similar in all points to the one Tutor Milwyk had used as a demonstration.
“Your [Ice Spell] is near flawless, Young Jadwia, but I’m afraid that you cast the same [Spell] as I did, with the three Fire Essences…”
“I’m sorry I couldn't come up with anything, Tutor…”
“No need to be sorry, Young Jadwia. Be proud of the progress you made so far and excited for the progress you will make in the future. Young Isyd, it is your turn to demonstrate.”
Isyd gathered Grace and began casting. He started the same way he would have done for the original [Ice Spell]: a large circle for the [STORE] and an inscribed triangle point down for the Water Essence. He then added the single Fire Essence as another triangle point up inside of the Water Essence. Around each of the points of the Fire Essence, he added the [SUBSTRACT] arcs to remove the heat and create the ice. The ice was then [SHAPED] from the tips of the Fire Triangle to the centre where it was [RELEASED] out of the [STORE] circle by intersecting with the vertexes of the Water Triangle.
“[Ice Spear],” Isyd whispered. The [SPELL] flashed and the weapon appeared in front of him.
The Pupils clapped and Tutor Milwyk gave him an appreciative nod. “It seems to me you are Blessed by the Grace, Young Isyd Wybrany. The Balance of your [Spell] speaks of a good understanding of the 3rd Law. I can only congratulate you!”
Jadwia raised a hand. “Were there flaws in the Balance of my [Spell], Tutor?”
“No, there weren’t. As I have said, it was near flawless.”
“So, doesn’t that mean I also succeed in terms of Balance?”
“Studying a [Spell] by heart does not mean that you understood the Balance behind it,” Isyd intervened.
Jadwia turned to face him. “How do we know that you didn’t your [Ice Spell] by heart as well?”
“I didn’t.”
“So you say, but you have no way of proving it. You may as well as I found that [Spell] in a book of the Library… It still doesn’t mean that you have a better understanding of the Balance than I do.”
“I do understand it better.”
Jadwia flushed red at Isyd’s matter-of-fact tone. Before she could retort, however, Isyd extended his hand and began drawing a [Ice Spell], slow enough so that she could see the Commands as they appeared. The Balance was different to Tutor Milwyk’s or the one he’d just cast; the two Essence Triangles were now facing each other and intersecting at their point. The [Spell] flashed once and a spear of ice appeared. Isyd let it clatter on the ground as he was busy writing another [Ice Spell].
Then another one.
And another one again. Wordlessly, staring straight at Jadwia, Isyd cast five [Ice Spells] one after the other, each different from the previous one in terms of Balance.
As the fifth [Ice Spear] fell on the floor, Isyd let down his arm. “I could continue, but I think I proved my point,” he said.
Silence had fallen on the classroom like a heavy veil.
“I… You…” Jadwia began, wide-eyed.
“You wonder why you should bother to learn more than one form of a [Spell]?” Isyd interrupted her. “Because it will make you a more complete Artyst, that is why. Artysta must learn to be versatile in their practice of the [Spells] instead of being restricted by them. The real world is so much harsher than the comfort of the classroom, but it is in the real world that you will have to practice the Arts.
“Know that in the Marshlands, the air is too damp to Concentrate enough of the Fire Essence to fuel three Fire Triangles, let alone one. What will you do then? Know that in the dry air of an ongoing wildfire, it is too hard to Concentrate any significant amount of the Water Essence. What will you do then? Know that in a life-or-death situation, the mind panics and often you will forget all the [Spells] you so carefully memorized. What will you do then?
“You will adapt! This is what you must learn to do. What makes an Artyst is so much more than the sums of the [Spells] they studied, the books they’ve read. It is their ability to use the Arts to their full capacity, with ease and flexibility. Do not simply study a [Spell], but the logic behind its Balance.”
Isyd let his voice fall. He had not meant to speak that much and so vehemently, but… well, the attitude of his classmates reminded him too much of what he’d seen at the beginning of the War. Artysta who were too proud and confident of their abilities, who refuse to learn or change their ways, have always been the first to die.
Tutor Milwyk cleared his throat. “Very well said, Young Isyd… I would not have said it differently. Please, remember that you are all here in the Academy to learn and improve in the Arts. Do not see today as a dooming defeat, but rather the first markings of the path you must now follow. Young Isyd here is already well on his way and I hope that you will all try to emulate him as much as possible.”
Several “Yes, Tutor!” came up in a mumbled noise as the 11th Hour bell chimed in, dismissing the class.
Isyd tried to meet Jadwia’s eyes, but she kept them downcast, chastised and face flushed. A part of him wanted to apologise to her, but he feared coming off even ruder than he already did.
In the end, Isyd decided to leave the classroom first, not meeting the eyes of his fellow classmates.
Thus, Isyd failed to notice Olav’s poisonous glare aimed in his direction.
As a reminder, here's what the Commands and Essences look like
As for the [Ice Spells], here are Tutor Miwyk's Spell as well as examples of Isyd's:
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