Evan Hartley felt the floor under his feet vanish like he had stepped off a cliff. The clinic hallway where he had been checking appointment notes melted into white space that pulsed with strange warmth. His clipboard slipped from his hand and the sound of it hitting the ground faded before it reached his ears. His chest tightened and a ring of dull pressure grew around his skull. He tried to inhale but even the air felt unreal like he was breathing through fabric.

He blinked slowly expecting to snap back to the fluorescent lights of the school building but instead found himself staring at a sky so bright blue it looked painted. Tall stone towers rose around him and long banners of deep red and silver flapped in the wind like restless birds. The air tasted like smoke and flowers at the same time. The scent was unfamiliar yet not unpleasant.

He whispered to himself trying to stabilize his mind I must be hallucinating but his own voice sounded clearer than normal as if the air sharpened his speech for him. He took another breath steadier this time and scanned the courtyard. People in long robes rushed between archways carrying books staffs jars and strangely shaped objects that glowed with dim light. Their faces were serious but their steps were hurried like they feared being late to something important.

A young boy maybe fifteen stood in the center of the courtyard. He had a wooden staff gripped tightly in his white knuckled hands. Sweat rolled down the boy’s cheek and his lips moved rapidly trying to push out a word that kept stumbling out of place.

“Fira toran vel…” the boy muttered but the last syllable collapsed into a mushy noise like someone chewing on hot bread.

A ball of fire fizzled at the tip of his staff and burst into a puff of harmless ash. The boy groaned and stomped his foot.

Evan watched the boy’s lips. The consonants were imprecise the tongue placement was off and the vowel length was unstable. He recognized it instantly the way he recognized every articulation error he had trained students out of for ten years. The boy was not speaking lazily he was speaking wrongly for what the spell demanded.

It hit him in the same instant that understanding hit his lungs
Magic here required spoken spells
And the spells required precise articulation

If the articulation was wrong the magic failed.

His brain processed that far before he even questioned why his legs were walking toward the boy on their own. Old habits did not die they simply marched forward and carried his body with them.

“Try again” Evan said gently.

The boy jumped like a frog thrown into ice water. “Wh who are you You cannot speak to me I am practicing under the supervision of the senior mage I must not be distracted”

“You are not distracted” Evan said quietly “you are mispronouncing the third syllable”

The boy blinked rapidly “What”

Evan pointed at the boy’s lips “The word you are trying to say needs a forward tongue posture your tongue is falling back which weakens the consonant shape and you are shortening the vowel too much your airflow is collapsing at the wrong moment”

The boy looked at him the way someone looks at a stranger who has just confessed to reading their thoughts.

“I do not understand half the words you said” the boy whispered “but I understand you saw everything I was doing wrong”

“I am a speech therapist” Evan said without thinking though he doubted anyone here knew what that meant “let me guide you Just once Try again but this time do exactly what I say”

The boy nodded almost too quickly his fear turning into raw hope.

“First breath” Evan said pointing to his chest “Steady in through the nose let your ribs expand Keep the breath pressure even”

The boy inhaled shakily but did his best.

“Now tongue forward almost touching the back of your teeth hold the vowel longer than you think you need to Keep it smooth keep it steady Keep the airflow open”

The boy raised his staff.

“Now say it” Evan said softly

The boy spoke “Fira toran velar”

The syllables came out clearer rounder sharper. Evan could hear the tightened vowel length the stable airflow the better tongue placement. It was not perfect but it was functional.

The courtyard exploded in orange light

A massive fireball launched forward like a shooting star slamming into a stone dummy twenty yards away and blasting it to dust.

The boy fell backward onto his butt staring at the aftermath with his mouth wide open. Evan felt his heart jump but his mind was surprisingly calm as if this result made more sense than the setting he had arrived in.

A dozen robed mages ran into the courtyard drawn by the explosion. Their eyes widened.

“The apprentice was chanting fire training spells How did he manifest advanced class magnitude”

Another mage whispered “He tripled the output How is this possible”

A tall woman with serious eyes stepped forward looking down at Evan “Stranger what did you do to the boy”

“I did not do anything” Evan said “I corrected his pronunciation”

The mages stared at him as if he had spoken a forbidden prophecy.

The tall woman crouched slightly to match his eye level “Your voice carries structure” she said slowly “Your tone is stable Your breath is controlled You understand spells in ways that even senior mages struggle to teach How Who are you”

“I told you” Evan said “I am a speech therapist from America I help people speak correctly for better communication and vocal performance I did not know magic was a thing but if it relies on spoken structure then articulation matters a lot”

The woman stood straight her eyes shining with a mix of shock and greedy curiosity “Follow me now The academy master will want to see you You may not realize it but what you just did is impossible”

Evan sighed faintly understanding sinking into him like cold water he was not hallucinating and he was not dreaming His skills had value here dangerous value Or useful value He was not sure which one scared him more.

He followed her into the stone archway breathing slow steady trying to keep his mind from collapsing into panic He had no idea what the academy master wanted or what this kingdom even was but one thought kept looping in his mind

If articulation affects magic then his entire profession could reshape this world