Class One, Year One

Walking into the class, Caesar’s eyes wandered around for a moment. The classroom was simple but also rather elegant, with tall ceilings, large windows on one side, and two boards that looked somewhat like whiteboards.

Standing there with Aria, he looked over the rest of the class—eight others were there. He looked at each of them sitting at their small tables, two by two, as if to back up what Aria had said about partners being so vastly important in this world.

Glancing at them, his eyes started at the front, seeing the skinny, scared-looking boy sitting next to a woman with wild blonde hair that had streaks of pink in it. Her figure was a bit stronger than most females he had ever seen, but there was still very much a feminine presence to her beneath the tough look.

To their right was a pair who looked like they meshed well—a young man, elegant, with short stylized brown hair that looked perfectly in place, even the slight curl in the front clearly by purpose and design. The woman with her shoulder-length hair looked similarly presented as someone who knew exactly what they wanted and who they were. Each looked very much the role of ideal students, both wearing glasses that seemed to fit their style to a T.

Over on the far end of the front group were two others that stood out. One was a young man with long flowing locks that draped randomly over his shoulder. His outfit was present but messy and unkempt to the highest degree within reason. He leaned back in his chair, hands crossed in front of him, looking like he was there only because he had to be. The girl next to him was the opposite—bubbly, her fittingly pink hair done up into twin tails that bounced when she moved. Her soft nature and slender, smaller figure seemed to match her appearance rather well.

Sitting down, as he looked over to the right, arranging the few things he had on his desk, he saw the last group.

The boy sitting closer wore a look of absolute indignation. He seemed not to care. As Caesar looked at him, he had that brooding look Caesar had seen rarely but enough to pick out of a group. His short black hair was pulled back with some type of gel. Next to him sat a young woman who seemed very focused. Leaning forward, she had oddly light green hair tied into one long braid behind her and a laser-like focus in her also light green eyes.

“This is a heck of a class,” Caesar mumbled under his breath as he looked over at Aria, taking it all in.

She nodded in reply as she looked to the door, motioning for him to remain quiet, for the moment. The teacher walked in—a man who was older, wearing an impressive outfit, one that looked like something from one of those old-time black-and-white movies. It was simple in that it had long light gray pants and a button-up light gray shirt, but the fancy light gray and bronze vest worn over it gave it a generally elegant look that grabbed attention. The older man stood in front, his hair neatly combed to the side, his blue eyes sharp—almost eagle-like.

“Alright, now, class, welcome our newest member,” the man said with the emotion of a rock, his eyes looking over them. “Caesar Alexander, welcome. I am your professor, Alias Plutarch. I would say to introduce yourself, but we have limited time here,” he declared. “We have been waiting for your arrival—or someone like you—for some time, as we now have enough people to work in pairs. It would seem that, luckily, your appearance has been met with the approval of the princess over there,” he commented before pulling out his notes.

“Okay, today, we are going to work on the basic elements and develop your skills. As I recall, this class has two fire types, one lightning, one wind, two water, one holy, one darkness, one ice, and one heart magic user,” he reasoned, looking at the collars of the students. “A fair mix. Now, to get you working together, you’re going to have to move around. The two water users will work together today, but since they are already in a partnership, they can remain where they are. The two fire users shall work together. Caesar, if you haven’t learned yet, the collar is the giveaway. Atticus up here is the other fire user. Granted, two people who use the same element can fight in vastly different ways, but I think he should be able to help you.”

Caesar nodded his head, grateful, as he knew nothing about magic at all. He looked over at the nervous-looking kid he’d seen earlier. He still looked just as nervous as ever, fidgety as he nodded in agreement.

“Okay, now Aria—princess—you shall work with Maria,” the professor continued. As soon as he said the team, the pink-haired girl smiled happily in front. “Lightning and heart don’t go horribly together and should give you both a chance to work.”

“Now, holy and darkness shall work together too—another team already set up,” he continued, looking at the last group. “Now, you two left—wind and ice—Isaac and Izzie,” he declared, looking at the strong-looking girl and the lazy-looking boy who sat on the opposite side of the front row. “You two, good luck. I expect work done,” he said firmly.

“Each of you shall work in one of your elemental training grounds behind this building, or you can pick either of your specializations if your group has two different ones,” he added. “Now make this happen!”

Nodding, Caesar looked over at Aria, still amazed by the fact that she was a princess. He was a count’s son, so he guessed that everyone here was of the royal class. It was a smaller class than he thought it would be, with only ten students. He would have to ask about that later.“Good luck with your training,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. “I can’t wait to see how this all works!” he added with a determined tone.

“Oh, don’t worry, I got this. Magic training is something that comes naturally to me, and Maria is always so supportive it shouldn’t be hard at all,” she said, motioning for Maria to follow her as she took her leave. He saw the pink-haired girl follow quickly behind. Looking at the dynamics, he guessed they were friends on some level.

Walking over to the table where the timid-looking kid was, along with the strong female who stood almost like a guard for him, Caesar noticed her measuring him up.

Looking at her, he smiled. “It’s a pleasure. I look forward to working with someone on magic,” he said, looking at the wiry, curly black-haired young man who seemed unsure. “I’m sure I’m going to learn a lot from you,” he said, offering a hand to shake. “You as well. You’re really strong, and I bet super tough too.”

The strong woman blinked for a moment, then nodded. “Well, I hope you pay attention—and you better be respectful of Donovan,” she said firmly.

“Well, I will,” Caesar replied as she took her leave. Donovan nodded. “I’ll show you the way. Um, how much do you know about fire magic?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all,” Caesar said, causing Donovan’s eyes to widen and his mouth to open in shock for a moment.

“Oh… okay, then let’s work on the basics today,” he said with a nod of his head.

“Donovan, question—why are there only ten people in our class?” Caesar asked curiously.

“Because we’re Class One of Year One. There are four classes in Year One, each with ten students. The higher the number, the higher the expectations.”

“Gotcha,” Caesar replied with a nod as he followed the wiry, curly-haired male out of the room, heading to the fire magic training area. Walking, he couldn't help but feel a jolt of excitement and anticipation for what was going to happen next.