Extra Curriculars: Operation Elemental Surprise

Rionriv had been studying with everyone for hours, cramming as much information as she could think of into their minds for the upcoming magical midterms. And, as much as she hated to admit it, thanks to Ishara’s incessant and pestering inquiries, not only had she gotten a few more hours of attention from Sharzin and Aesandoral, but also numerous thought-provoking additions to her potential questions list. In fact, that was the only reason why, when the remainder of her triop headed out for dinner, Rionriv wasn’t upset with them. Even by her strict ruleset, they had done well and deserved a break, and she wasn't so cruel as not to understand that.

What was surprising was that even as the other two left, Ishara had chosen to stay and continue studying. Even with no skin in the game, he had dedicated himself to hitting the books as hard as Rionriv. This was also a surprise to her, given his firm stance for the triop to be degenerate dropouts.

So, with everyone gone, she glanced over at him, eyeing his deeply concentrated face as he read through one of the introductory divine spellcrafting books she had let him borrow.

At least someone will be able to use the divine magic in that book. Rionriv thought to herself, eyeing the boy and tome subtly. Holy magic is definitely not my strength.

Rionriv normally didn’t lend books, but it had been the least she could do, especially since he had provided the ‘cheat sheet’ to incantationless casting, which had made her daily spellcrafting that much easier. The scribbles and scrawls of the source material provided by Ishara, and by extension Phyllis, had been so easy to understand that it actually made Rionriv embarrassed that she hadn't thought of it sooner. And while it was a bit more intimate than traditional spellcraft, it simply made the art of casting that much more enjoyable for her.

Taking a break from studying spells that she could now cast instantly, Rionriv focused on Ishara's determined face as he deciphered the glyphs before him. Her gaze locked on his skinny yet muscular arms as they flexed with the flip of the page. He raised a hand, brushing back strands of white hair and allowing his ruby eyes to fixate on something between the pages. His tongue stuck out as she watched the cogs of his mind turning and a spark appear behind his eyes. 

Rionriv knew the look well. He had just learned some new magic and was excited to try it out. It was a look that she wore from time to time. One that Aesandoral always told her she had. But on him, it was new. It was different. It was—

Cute. She thought, as her heart began to race. No. No. No. Gah! Ew, he's a teenager, he's not cute. Ugh, I wish he would go away so he'd stop distracting me.

“You can leave,” Rionriv informed Ishara, lowering her gaze back to the notes she had been reviewing. “You don’t even need to be here for this. It's not like you're a student after all.”

“I promised that I’d help you all pass. That means I need to know all of this—complicated crap.” He whispered the last part, but Rionriv heard it all.

She smirked as she went back to her studying.

Another hour went by, then two. After a while, the magical sconces on the library walls came alight with a dim glow. Out of the corner of her eye, Rionriv watched them gradually warm brighter as the sun disappeared and night set in beyond the bay windows.

“Hey, Ri, let’s call it a night.” Ishara eventually said, closing his book with a yawn. “What do you say we unwind for a bit?”

Her heart raced, but she held it together.

“What are you saying, lecher?” Rionriv looked over at Ishara, who had gone bright red. “I’ve got at least another three hours of studying in me. I don't have time for whatever devious—”

“Sorry, you misunderstood—” He replied as he walked over and touched her book, lowering it.

Oh my Gods, is he... Rionriv thought as she attempted to control her racing heart. Is he going to—no, absolutely not. Why am I so flustered? Do I want to—? No. He's an annoying teen and is distracting me!

“You have five seconds to remove your hands.” She hissed in reply.

Ishara jumped away, his palms up in the air, making them a perfect rod for her lightning to strike. She smirked at the idea, deciding instead to let it slide, impressed by his notable efforts over the last few days.

“I meant nothing dirty.” He plead. “Promise. I meant, you’ve been studying magic from books all afternoon, so why not go somewhere that you can put it into practice? You know, really lock it in while it’s fresh.”

“Well, the volatile magic chambers require supervision from a professor to use, which we won’t get at this hour.” Rionriv closed her tome and leaned back in her chair. “But I’m going to guess that wasn’t what you had in mind.”

Then Ishara flashed his smile. The smile Rionriv watched win over her sister. Her heart fluttered before, instinctively, she hardened herself off. Locking her deathly stare with his, she watched as the smile faltered.

“I-I was thinking of sneaking us into the Elemental Waste Exoplane—”

“There is absolutely no way you know where that is!”

“Oh, you know of it?” He smirked again as she clenched her jaw and sighed.

Gods dammit, this kid.

“What do you want?”

“Whatever do you mean, Ri? This is just a place where you can safely release your full elemental energy. As I said, test out these new things you’re learning. Maybe tease out some of that incantationless casting.”

Rionriv thought it over for a while, not wanting to be too hasty and give away her definite interest in the proposition. While she didn’t yet fully trust Ishara, she was finding it hard to deny that he had been instrumental in both reeling in Sharzin and helping Aesandoral focus with something called a fidget spinner. And if he could do that to them, Rionriv did not doubt that she was also being directed or moulded in some way

But she did want to see the off-limits exoplane. 

"Fine," She eventually spoke, sighing heavily. "But if we get in trouble, I'm throwing you under the cart, got me?"

"Of course!" He exclaimed excitedly as he gathered up his things. "I take full responsibility. And if, for some reason, you're not happy with my results, you can withdraw from our arrangement."

Rionriv narrowed her eyes, trying to read the impossible boy. But after failing at that yet again, she sighed once more, packed up her things, and followed him from the library.

Together, they moved at a quick pace through the cool nighttime air. Racing down alleys, they made sure to avoid the vermin traps that they had become familiar with over the past few weeks of between-class training. Eventually, Ishara passed the threshold into the Arcanoartistic Duality campus and came to a sudden stop.

“What are you doing?” Rionriv asked, coming to a halt beside him.

“This is the entrance to the oooh-whee.”

“What? N-No one calls it that!”

"Some people do."

"No, they don't!"

Rionriv watched Ishara ignoring her as he reached into his bottomless bag. He rummaged around for a moment before withdrawing a palm-sized slab of stone with a sapphire set into it. The boy revealed a confident smile, and as he did, raised the object above his head. Approaching the triumphal portal that marked the edge of campus, he waved the slab around until, with a small tap, the air within the archway rippled like a translucent curtain in the wind.

Ishara turned to eye Rionriv with that smile of his before stepping through the veil and disappearing. She only had a moment to act as the portal had already begun to close. So, with a blast of wind, she propelled herself forward and through the curtain.

She emerged into a plane of chaos. Standing atop a floating island of roughly hewn basalt that drifted amongst an endless expanse of elements, she took in the absurdity of the realm. Everything was bathed in a pale orange glow, and the air was stale and warm. Before her, globules of earth erupted from the edge of the island towards the sky, turning into muddy spheres that collided with pools of fire, before transforming into clouds of electricity and dropping as flaming rain in the distance.

“Man, talk about a blursed lava lamp,” Ishara muttered to himself as he observed a pool of lava blowing out icy bubbles.

“Hey, how did you get that key?” Rionriv asked the boy as she marvelled at the space.

“Borrowed it from the faculty office and cut a copy at Phyll-Depot. Don’t worry. The original is back in place, and no one’s the wiser—” 

Ishara then tossed the key to Rionriv as he stepped behind her. Leaning against the boulder, he got himself into a comfortable position to observe before smiling and continuing.

“And it’s all yours. Now show me some of that O-P magic you go on about.”

Rionriv looked down at the key anxiously. On one hand, she had just gained access to a restricted exoplane designed to dampen the effects of Fourth-Year elemental magic. Being there would allow her to push the limits of her power, learning what she could and could not do, all without hurting others or damaging school property. Yet, on the other hand, she couldn’t help but feel as though she was accepting a deal with a devil by taking it.

“No contractual obligations by taking this?” She asked, turning and studying his face closely. "Not going to do something...heinous?"

“Heinous? Me? Who do you think I am!?" He replied, seemingly shocked by her accusation. "I just want you to be able to apply what you’ve learned in a place that doesn’t jeopardize life or school property. Probably the same reason why you’re thinking so hard about this.”

As it was, every time they talked about contracts, deals or long-term goals, Ishara’s face became unreadable. Rionriv hated it. But he wasn’t wrong, and for that reason alone, she would put a little trust in him—at least for the time being.

Turning away from Ishara, Rionriv raised her right hand to the heavens. She didn’t want to waste time on any of the normal spells she regularly cast, so, instead, she began to recite the experimental incantation of her most recently crafted magic. The sorceress had never cast the ritual before, fearful of the damage it could cause to the surrounding area if she had gotten it wrong. So before silently attempting it with her newfound incantationless casting, which she had noticed changed her spells ever so slightly, she figured she’d see how it functioned the academically taught way.

“Hear me," She began to chant. "O’Forgemaster and his burning Flame, I call upon you. Strike your mighty anvil and press upon thy glorious bellows! Give me the magic of the elements so that I may strike my foes with a glorious bolt. Twisted Lightning!”

Rionriv’s free hand had been drawing sigils into the air at the end of every sentence, and with a final notation, she brought her two palms together. A helix of electricity corkscrewed through the chaotic void, impacting a distant boulder before shattering it into a dozen obsidian pieces.

“You’re so freaking cool, Ri...” Ishara muttered from behind her as the thunder washed over them both.

But Rionriv wouldn’t respond, as she was too focused on the destructive power of her full attack. The power she had just experienced was unlike anything she had ever attempted before. More than a few additional words and a sigil or two could increase. She had acted on intuition, allowing the magic to flow through her body as though she were casting without words. But, pairing it with her already trained capabilities, the sorceress had called for something new. Something terrifying.

Turning, she looked over at Ishara and his dumb grin. She didn’t understand him, but one thing was for sure—if he was playing some game, as long as it allowed her and the rest of the triop to improve, it was worth it.