Chapter 5: Chapter 4 (part 1 of 2) – Practical Knowledge

I walked to my next class, excited to learn more. Kids swirled around me as they went to theirs. I watched them walking in groups trying to get to the next destination. Some I knew from my last life, and I eyed them trying to spot what might be different. I wasn't paying too much attention to those in front of me, so I was surprised when another boy blocked me. He was holding a pink envelope with little hearts on it. He was a bit taller and more confident as he handed me the confession letter. He looked me in the eyes and said, “let me know if you’d like to go to the concert” before going into the room next to where he stopped me.

I stuffed the letter into my backpack and walked to my choir class. It was known as harmonic spell casting in this world. Our teacher was a woman named Miss Phillips, a low-level water mage. She was only five’ four and one of the few teachers that was small like me, so I instantly liked her. I was getting tired of looking up at everybody. Unlike me, she was small in every area. Her breasts were ‘A’s, her butt was slim and if it wasn’t for her glasses, wrinkles, and hairstyle, she’d fit in with the students.

It was just like any other choir class. The only difference was that it taught you how to harmonize with other Mages to combine spells for bigger projects. But like a band, you had to be in harmony with each other. The more people the harder it was because it wasn’t just the sound you were producing but the vision and will behind it had to be the same. Any deviation from that picture-perfect end goal, even one person, and the spell would fail. Due to that fact, most spell teams were made up of five or less people. It was a fun class even though I couldn’t help much.

Only the main singer had to have the spell being cast. Everybody else used their innate magic to strengthen the spell by harmonizing with them. This body held magic and because of that, it was the one class Stephanie had been able to use her magic. It was just that she could never be more than a backup singer since she couldn't cast anything. As for me, I found it novel to have such an ethereal singing voice. I sang in my little group of five and marveled at the difference between old voice that sounded like a dying crow and this one that sounded as if it should be coming out of a radio.

I finished choir and moved on to my next class ‘How Different Earth Elements Influence Magic’, that I knew as geology. Mr. Stagnik was already in the class when I sat down in the seat, I normally sat in. I was hoping that it would be okay. I didn't have any of my friends in this class to guide me. Whether I picked the right seat or not, nobody said anything. I might have been because that as soon as the bell rang to start class Mr. Stagnik took us outside for a demonstration, so I still wasn't sure I had picked the right one. He took us to a space below the baseball field where he had set up three rings of stones. One ring was twelve simple red bricks, another was dozens of small river stones, and the last one was three fist sized gray rocks that had white speckles all over them.

Once we got there, he stepped into the closest circle and began speaking in his deep voice, “Ok students, as you can see these are ordinary red bricks. As I’ve discussed in class, the earth around you influences how your magic works. While my class focuses on the materials in the ground you should be aware that every form of magic is affected by this law. Today. I am going to use these materials to demonstrate it.” He moved his arms, so they were pointing out to both sides, palms down and began to cast. His fingers made a few gestures and intoned a simple “Rise Earth and protect me.” The earth around us shook a little. From his finger patterns and words, I realized I knew the spell name even before the tiny wall rose out of the ground. What appeared was a mud wall about a foot high that didn’t look very stable. “As you can see, due to the porous nature of the bricks and the air trapped inside, my wall is a bit… flimsy. Because air is a natural counter to earth magic, this makes the spell less efficient and you’d need double the magic, to get half the results.”

He stepped out of the ring of bricks and into the river stone ring. “Now let’s see what happens when we use regular everyday stones." He repeated the process. This time the ground shook more and a two-foot high, three-foot-long wall, you might see around homes, grew out of the ground. “As you can see, the wall is more stable and more to what I envisioned. This is due to the less foreign elements and density of the stones. While there are imperfections within them, they are still mostly made of the materials needed for earth magic.”

He stepped out of the ring of river stones and into the area with just three rocks. “Now that isn’t to say imperfections are always bad. Take these Gabbros for example. They are rich in magnesium, Iron and Calcium. They are one of the densest rocks on earth and as you will see, they amplify most earth magic when used.” He cast again but this time the earth rumbled, and a five-foot-high wall appeared. It gleamed in the sun and looked as if you’d need a tank to break it. Mr. Stagnik walked around it to continue talking. “I used the same amount of power each time I cast.” He waved his hands and the walls settled back into the earth as if they were never there. “Now divide into groups of six, each group pick a ring, line up, and take turns try one of your spells in each of the rings. We’ll switch so everybody will get a chance to try each ring once. Afterward, I will answer any questions you might have.”

My class quickly divided into their groups, showing they’ve done it multiple times before. I was left standing there but went to the group with only five in it. I was debating on whether I should cast or not. Sooner or later, I was going to have to. But, once I did the school, my friends, and maybe even my mom would expect me to cast more and more. Short of sleeping around, I didn’t have an easy source to get magical spells. I finally decided that I needed to know a better way get more before going public. Plus, while sex felt GREAT, I couldn't overcome my prior thought that I should be sleeping with women. Even after dreaming about two men, I still didn't think I should do it again. It also wasn’t my body so even if I wanted to test the waters, what if I switched back and left Stephanie holding the bag? I wouldn’t be happy if she tested my body out with men, so I was reluctant to put her in that situation.

Our line moved as I thought about my sexual orientation and when it came to my turn, I just passed. We moved over to the next, until each group tested the rocks with their spell of choice. Most cast the spell 'Stone Skin' because it was extremely easy and was taught to every earth magic user in their freshman year. But a few used more advanced spells trying to show off.

“Any questions?” Mr. Stagnik asked after we all finished.

A girl with braided hair and freckles raised her hand and when he nodded asked, “you said every form of magic was affected by the elements around them but what about body magic? They use what’s inside them so how can they be affected?”

“Good Question, the answer is that any foreign element introduced into the body effects the strength of internal magic to some degree. Because of this most professional body magicians have strict diets, no tattoos, and get regular treatments to filter out any miscellaneous chemicals that may be mixed into the food and air. If you check, all our sports teams have a no tattoo policy. That’s the reason.”

I raised my hand, and asked, “You said that the quality of the materials affect the spell but what about the quantity?”

“It’s based off what you're trying to affect. The more area you want, the more resources you'll need. For example, if you were going to cast on just yourself, just a few of these would do.” He pointed to the river stones. “But if you wanted to affect the city even that entire mountain wouldn’t be enough.”

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