After coming back from tryouts and showering, Mallory and Emmett began pulling stuff out of their enchanted messenger bags and decorating their room. They threw up a few geeky posters on the walls and set up their gaming computers on the desks. They switched out the provided bedding with their own Marvel-themed comforter sets, hung up their clothes in the closet, and put socks and underwear in the nightstand drawers. After all six Monsters had finished unpacking and decorating their rooms, they spent the rest of the day hanging out in the Common Room and playing video games on the big TV. 

The next morning, students began attending their ‘boring’ faeless classes like Math, Science, and English. But after lunch is when the fun began. Mallory, Emmett, Selena, and Max made their way through the Atrium and up to a third floor corridor leading to the History of Arcana classroom. It was a spacious rectangular chamber with a vaulted ceiling and tall bookcases lining the long side walls. On the far wall was an enormous pointed-arch stained-glass window, which sat right above the teacher’s desk. Rows of smaller desks filled the center of the room. 

“Wow, it’s like a library in here!” Max exclaimed with wide eyes. 

“Guess these must be all the history books we’re going to learn about,” added Mallory. 

About 30 or so freshmen filed into the class over the next few minutes, each picking a desk and sitting down. Then, in walked what could only be described as a tree in the shape of a man. Most of his tall, muscular body was cloaked in bright green robes, but his face and hands were covered in a layer of dark brown wood that moved and flexed like living skin. His hair, brows, and long beard were wild and bushy and looked similar to gray-green moss. Two glowing emeralds sat in his eye sockets. 

“Welcome to History of Arcana!” he greeted the class in a deep, booming voice. “I am Chronicler Vaedo’eilima’ar, but you can just call me Mr. Vee for short! I hail from the Undying Forest deep within the Fae Realm, and as such, I do not age the same way you all do. I have been observing, chronicling, and teaching history for so long that I once even instructed classes at the Library of Alexandria in Ancient Egypt.”

He smiled at the shocked faces of the students, then continued. “In this semester, you will learn about the origins of magic and how mortals came to wield it. Some of you may have heard parts of this tale from your parents or older siblings, but I urge you to pay close attention regardless.”

Mr. Vee lifted up his hands and summoned three large orbs of light that floated in front of him. One was blue and green and took on the visage of the Earth. Another became a swirling mix of bright colors. The third had dark clouds of red, black, and purple churning like a violent storm. 

“These represent the Three Realms- The Mortal Realm, otherwise known as Earth; the Fae Realm, full of wonder and possibility; and the Demon Realm, where life’s darkest impulses hold sway. They are separate yet eternally bound together by the Soulstream, a web of invisible energy strands that thread and weave through the fabric of reality. When one creates magic, they are channeling Mana from the Soulstream through their body and manifesting it into the physical world. We use the terms arcana and Arcane Magic to distinguish magic that is learned and perfected in a strict academic setting. This often relies upon knowledge of the Arcane Tongue to better hone your spellcraft.

“Now, of course, there are other types of magic - Wild Magic, for example. That relies less on understanding of runes and incantations and more on a deep connection to nature and the Soulstream directly. In the past, users of Arcane Magic were often labeled wizards and sorcerers while practitioners of Wild Magic were called druids and warlocks. At present, we will focus on the history of the discovery and development of Arcane Magic within the Mortal Realm. This will give you a foundational understanding of the history of arcana and prepare you to branch out into other courses in later semesters.”

Mr. Vee launched into an explanation of how tribal shamans in ancient times first encountered Fae beings and began learning from them. Together, they had created the precursors to the unified Arcane Tongue. This was a runic language that was inscribed onto the Chromatic Moon, a huge sphere that floats above Nexus City in the Void Between Realms. When one makes use of runes or incantations in the Arcane Tongue while channeling Mana, the Chromatic Moon acts as a focus to manifest effects of greater complexity. 

Soon the lesson came to an end, and the students headed towards their next class - Enchantment.