The Iconar Collective (OUTDATED)

[Channelknight Fadran]

18 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

Slightly off topic, but: If King Aridith (from The Fellowship) were to invade Sunken Deep, what challenges would he face?

Demons are relentless and won't stop fighting until they've all died. Also the time frame you're thinking of takes place a long time after what I'm writing right now, so the situation has drastically changed.

[xinoehp512]

4 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Demons are relentless and won't stop fighting until they've all died. Also the time frame you're thinking of takes place a long time after what I'm writing right now, so the situation has drastically changed.

Do you think it is likely that demons would be resistant to mind control by the holed?

[Channelknight Fadran]

Just now, xinoehp512 said:

Do you think it is likely that demons would be resistant to mind control by the holed?

Resistant? If only out of stubborness. Immune? Some of them, but definitely not all.

[xinoehp512]

4 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Resistant? If only out of stubborness. Immune? Some of them, but definitely not all.

I see.

I ask because Aridith is planning an invasion through the portal that the Fellowship used to enter Universe Hexagon.

[Channelknight Fadran]

2 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

I see.

I ask because Aridith is planning an invasion through the portal that the Fellowship used to enter Universe Hexagon.

Yeah, I... sorta figured that out.

[xinoehp512]

10 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Resistant? If only out of stubborness. Immune? Some of them, but definitely not all.

How is the power dynamic between the ones who could be enthralled and the ones that could not? That is to say, if the holed were to turn them against the rest of the demons, how would they fare?

[Channelknight Fadran]

15 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

How is the power dynamic between the ones who could be enthralled and the ones that could not? That is to say, if the holed were to turn them against the rest of the demons, how would they fare?

The ones more likely to be enthralled are also less likely to be capable of defeating those who couldn't. Stubborness is kind of directly correlated to battle prowess in Sunken Deep.

[xinoehp512]

Just now, Channelknight Fadran said:

The ones more likely to be enthralled are also less likely to be capable of defeating those who couldn't. Stubborness is kind of directly correlated to battle prowess in Sunken Deep.

As I expected. Is there a line between ordinary stubbornness and magically-enhanced mental defense?

[Channelknight Fadran]

1 minute ago, xinoehp512 said:

As I expected. Is there a line between ordinary stubbornness and magically-enhanced mental defense?

Yes, but... it's really complicated and also SPOILERS.

[Bearer of all agonies]

Me waiting for Fadran’s  book to come out. 
 

Spoiler

I’m just kidding. Fadran, don’t rush. 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Bearer of all agonies

[DramaQueen]

On 7/10/2020 at 5:51 PM, Channelknight Fadran said:

Beneath her soft words was a seething anger, though.

This. I like this. Good job. 

For some reason, I didn't realize that I hadn't read that chapter until just now, so I read it. It was probably my favorite so far, so...yeah.

[Bearer of all agonies]

Someday, we are all going to be on Fadran’s fan site, the Seventh Arcanum, and we are going to be doing whatever we do now on the shard. 

[Frustration]

25 minutes ago, Bearer of all agonies said:

Someday, we are all going to be on Fadran’s fan site, the Seventh Arcanum, and we are going to be doing whatever we do now on the shard. 

Read Brandon's preview chapters for Stormlight, which he will post there.

[Bearer of all agonies]

Ok. But still, my prediction will be correct. 

[xinoehp512]

On 8/30/2020 at 6:58 PM, Channelknight Fadran said:

Yes, but... it's really complicated and also SPOILERS.

Really, the question is "would an invasion work?"

[Frustration]

Not to rush but Fadran I'm kind of missing your presence here/on writing right.

*Plays lonely music*

[DramaQueen]

1 hour ago, Frustration said:

Not to rush but Fadran I'm kind of missing your presence here/on writing right.

*Plays lonely music*

*Agreeing Queen noises*

[Channelknight Fadran]

10 hours ago, Frustration said:

Not to rush but Fadran I'm kind of missing your presence here/on writing right.

*Plays lonely music*

9 hours ago, DramaQueen said:

*Agreeing Queen noises*

Queen, you can't complain. I sent you a chapter.

Also, guys, I am working on it. Once I'm done Chapter XII, I can post XI and get working on XVI.

[Experience]

Just now, Channelknight Fadran said:

Queen, you can't complain. I sent you a chapter.

WHAT!?!?!?!

Edited September 28, 2020 by Experience

[Channelknight Fadran]

Just now, Experience said:

WHAT!?!?!?!

I can explain! I can explain!

...or, rather, I don't need to. When I post it, you'll know why I sent it to her rather than post it right away.

[Experience]

Just now, Channelknight Fadran said:

I can explain! I can explain!

...or, rather, I don't need to. When I post it, you'll know why I sent it to her rather than post it right away.

Does she have a cameo or something like that? That's all I can think up.

[Channelknight Fadran]

1 minute ago, Experience said:

Does she have a cameo or something like that? That's all I can think up.

More or less.

[Experience]

3 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

More or less.

Fine. I will allow you to explain by posting the chapter. 

[Channelknight Fadran]

1 hour ago, Experience said:

Fine. I will allow you to explain by posting the chapter. 

Okay! I just finished XII, so here you go!

Spoiler

Chapter XI - Earth Arcana

Second Earthlight | The Arcane Academy

“So… you wanna go to earth next?” Lacy asked.

Aurora nodded, brushing her hair out of her face. “Yep. A little Geniora would be nice after all that.”

They had attended air Arcana classes after fire, and the teacher had decided to instruct by demonstration. Aurora had actually attempted to do up her hair this morning, and the gusts of wind that the teacher had thrown into her face had completely ruined that.

“Honestly, I think you look better as an unkempt homeless person.” Lacy said.

“You didn’t mention that when we were… y’know… unkempt homeless people.”

“I don’t think two days on the streets really counts as homeless. More like… lost. And alone, on the streets, without a home.”

“Isn’t that the definition of homeless?”

“Oh hey look, it’s Minshyl!” Lacy replied, changing the subject abruptly. She waved. “Hi!”

“Oh, hey guys!” Minshyl waved back, a little awkwardly. “Um… never actually caught your names.”

“Oh, uh… I’m Lacy.” Lacy held out her hand. Aurora frowned a little as Minshyl shook it awkwardly. “And this is Aurora.” Lacy gestured to Aurora, who waved politely at him.

“So… where are you two headed next?”

“Earth Arcana,” Lacy replied, “with Geniora.”

“Well, then, you’re going the wrong way.” Minshyl hiked up a satchel at his side. “I’m actually going that way now, so I can take you guys there.”

“That would be great.” Lacy smiled.

“Right. So, uh…” He awkwardly pushed through the two of them. “This way.”

They followed Minshyl through a series of hallways, as well as through a small broom closet that he claimed was a “secret passage.” After pushing their way through a crowd of older students in the hallway—an uncomfortable callback to the crowds at Midway—they found themselves at Geniora’s door.

“Here you are!” He declared, pushing the door open for them. “And, uh… here I am, too. Have a… delivery to make.” He entered the room, standing close to the wall as he moved towards the front of the class.

Aurora and Lacy took a seat—closer to the front than they had been the last couple classes. Geniora was talking to another student: a girl younger than Aurora, who wore the same black Apprentice Mage robes as Minshyl, as well a pale blue beret. She looked to be asking the professor a question, nodding when Geniora explained something to her. The girl turned around to see Minshyl, jumping slightly.

“Oh. Hi, Minshyl!” She said, smiling.

Minshyl awkwardly handed something from his satchel to Geniora, and while it was difficult to tell from a distance, Aurora could’ve sworn he was blushing.

“Hey, Quille,” he replied quietly, before quickly backing out and making for the exit.

Lacy snorted. “That was smooth.”

Quille smiled to herself as she took a seat, pulling a book from her bag and cracking it open. Beside Aurora, Lacy shot the girl a sly glance.

At the front of the class, Geniora cleared her throat.    “Alright, everyone. Siddown and pay attention!”

Aurora took her eyes off Quille, looking at Geniora instead. Beside her, Lacy did the same.

“Welcome to earth Arcana class. Who’s ready to learn how to bully a rock into punching somebody in the face?”

There was scattered laughter through the classroom, not unlike what happened in Professor Eldon’s class. Geniora smiled herself, then waved for silence. “Yes, quite amusing. However, we won’t be doing that today. Today, you learn about the mindset of an earth Arcana mage.

“An earth mage is patient and assertive. You must be able to wait for the right moment to strike, and push with all your might when that moment comes.” She turned around, facing her other side to the students. “That is, of course, what you’d do if you were in the army, like I was. To use a practical example, imagine a staring contest, but cheating is allowed.”

A couple snickers emanated from the back row.

“By which I mean, of course, you’re allowed to break someone else’s concentration, or jumpscare them into blinking. You’re only allowed to do this once, though.” She sits down. “Why don’t you all give it a try? Staring contest with the person next to you; one clap only. Go!”

Aurora turned to Lacy, looking into the other girl’s eyes. Lacy clapped near immediately, but Aurora held her gaze—she had expected Lacy to try and get her quickly.

Earth Arcana requires waiting for the right moment. Aurora remembered. So… just pick the right time to get her.

Around her, a few other claps sounded. A few students either slumped from failure or expressed their excitement of winning in a variety of fashions.

Aurora thought for a second, then glanced over Lacy’s shoulder and feigned surprise. Lacy turned around, looking to wherever it was Aurora was so surprised at, but found nothing. The moment she turned around, however, Aurora clapped her hand in front of Lacy’s face, and the younger girl blinked in surprise.

“Hah!” Aurora said. “I win.”

Lacy blinked a couple more times, then finally said, “well… darn. Nicely done, though.”

“No protests?” Aurora asked. “No ‘you cheated’ or excuses?”

“I don’t give excuses for things!” Lacy replied, annoyed.

Aurora raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t give excuses for everything.” Lacy corrected.

Aurora chuckled, then quited herself as Geniora waved for everyone’s attention. 

“Alright, everyone. Reign it in—I don’t want anybody going to the infirmary on the first day because they dry their eyes out. Alright, raise your hand if you lost.”

Half the people in the classroom—including Lacy—raised their hands.

“Shame. You ought to teach your eyes to do better next time.”

Aurora snickered, and Lacy shot her an exaggerated glare. The younger girl seemed just as amused as Aurora was, though.

“Alright, then. How many of you won?”

The other half of the classroom and Aurora raised their hands.

“Nice. And, uh… drop those hands if you won without clapping.”

Most of the hands dropped, but Aurora’s and a few others stayed up in the air. Geniora glanced around at those who still had their hands raised, then pointed at Aurora. “You. Aurora. What did you do to win against… Lacy, wasn’t it?”

“You basically dragged me through Midway, and you’ve already forgotten my name?” Lacy shook her head. “And you call yourself my teacher.”

Aurora cleared her throat. “Well… I distracted her first, then… well, I waited for the ‘perfect moment,’ like you said.”

Geniora smiled. “Good. You can all put your hands down, now.” She waited for a second for everyone to drop their hands. “So you all heard what she said: patience is key. That, of course, and assertion. For those of you who won without clapping, then the reason the other person lost is because they were unable to hold their eyes open while you could. This is the other side of earth Arcana: assertion. You need to be able to show such strength that you can, in theory, win anything through sheer stubbornness.

“Unlike some other Arcane arts, there is no balance required to control earth. Water requires balance, lest one end overflow and the other be emptied. Fire requires balance, lest you put out your flame or burn yourself. With earth, though, all you need is to wait for the right moment to push with all your might, like Aurora did.

“I have a guest with me today; one of my more talented apprentices. Quille, care to demonstrate the concept to everyone?”

Quille glanced up, then pocketed her book and got to her feet. She walked up to the front of the class, looking not a little awkward as she began to speak to everyone.

“Hi, everyone.” She said quietly, then cleared her throat and stood up straighter. “Hello. Um… I’m going to need a volunteer.”

No hands raised, until someone asked, “what for?”

“Well, you learn from experience, right?” Quille pulled her satchel off over her head, putting it down. “I’m testing to see if you guys can assert yourselves over a more experienced earth mage.”

“In that case…” Lacy stood up, cracking her knuckles.

Quille smiled at Lacy. “Come on up.”

Lacy did, standing beside Quille when she had reached her. “So what do I do?”

“Push me over.” Quille replied, hands clasped behind her back.

Lacy frowned. “That’s it?”

“Yep.”

Lacy shrugged. “Okay, then.”

Lacy backed up a step, then started pushing on Quille’s shoulders, not straining too hard. When this didn’t work, Lacy began to push harder, but to no avail. She transitioned to pushing against Quille shoulder-first, leaning the entirety of her weight against the apprentice mage. Quille still did not move, though, barely straining against Lacy’s push. She did not move, that is, until she decided to push back, knocking Lacy to the floor without so much as a grunt.

Lacy yelled involuntarily, awkwardly catching herself with her elbow. Standing above her, Quille shrugged. “Nice try. Who’s next?”

A few of the boys standing by the wall behind Aurora snickered to themselves as Lacy picked herself up off the ground and sad down back by Aurora. One of them cracked his own knuckles—quite loudly—and strutted down the aisle towards Quille.

Lacy massaged her elbow, then whispered “I was going easy on her.”

“And you say you don’t make excuses.” Aurora replied, to which Lacy both sighed and smiled in spite of herself.

The boy who had decided to go next was a muscular one, and also a good head and a half taller than Quille. Quille, however, seemed undeterred by his stature, and gestured for him to try and push her over.

And try he did, but ultimately without success. He didn’t bother to test Quille’s strength against his own, instead pushing with all his might from the beginning. Quille began to strain a little, but she shifted her feet, and all of a sudden she was in control again. The boy, muscular as he was, began to grunt as he attempted to push her over. Quille held out for a few seconds, then finally decided to push back and knock him over. He collapsed with an annoyed yell.

“You cheated!” He protested. “You braced yourself with earth Arcana!”

To this, Quille frowned. “First of all, I never said I couldn’t use Arcana. Second of all, why are you complaining? A rock won’t take excuses. A rock won’t care if you say it cheated, or listen to you complain about fairness! Now go sit down and let the next person come up—we only have an hour of class time and I won’t have you hogging it with all your whining.”

The boy seemed to consider talking back, but ultimately decided against it, grumbling to himself as he returned to his cronies in the back. Quille brushed something off her shoulder, then returned to her model posture. “Who’s next?”

No one volunteered. Quille sniffed a little at the lack of reaction, casting her eyes over the room. “Anyone?”

“You should go up.” Lacy whispered to Aurora. “Avenge me.”

Aurora blinked in confusion. “Avenge you?”

“Yeah! You said you’d do it.”

“If someone, like… killed you, or something. She pushed you over; and you basically signed up for it!”

“Just go up there, dang it.”

Aurora sighed, but got to her feet and made her way to the front of the class. Despite the fact that Quille stood shorter than her, Aurora couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated by the girl’s near-perfect posture.

Quille gestured for Aurora to begin, then proceeded to remain standing upright while Aurora pushed against her. With a grunt, Aurora pushed her shoulder against Quille, but to no avail. The other girl seemed completely undeterred by Aurora’s efforts, even going so far as to yawn; though Aurora couldn’t be sure if it was intentional or not.

“Come on!” Quille chastised. “Show me some grit!”

Aurora grunted, still pushing. For a moment, she could’ve sworn that she had gotten some leeway; but those thoughts were dashed away when Quille didn’t move. There was a quiet grumble from the ground, though—could that be Quille using earth Arcana to stabilize herself? Was that a sign that she was doing well?

Without warning, Quille began pushing back. Aurora nearly fell over onto her back like the others had, but she pushed her foot behind her and stabilized herself—if only temporarily.

“Get her, Amy!” Lacy called.

“I really don’t like that name,” Aurora grunted, to which Quille chuckled.

Then Quille gave one final shove, and Aurora fell over onto her back with an involuntary oof! Quille brushed off her hands, looking all the more intimidating as she stood above Aurora’s fallen form.

“Not bad,” Quille admitted, “but still pretty shabby.”

“I did better than the others, though, right?” Aurora asked, probably to Lacy’s chagrin.

“You did, but that doesn’t matter. You can only win or lose when it comes to moving rocks—there isn’t any sort-of win stuff going on.” Quille cast her eyes about the room. “Anyone else want to give it a shot?”

No one replied, to which Quille nodded. “Okay, then. Great; I can get back to my reading.” She walked off from in front of the class, sitting herself back down on her desk and cracking open her book again.

Aurora got to her feet, heading down the aisle and taking a seat by Lacy.

“Did better than the others?” Lacy quietly demanded.

“Yep.” Aurora replied. “Come on, Lace, you can’t be great at every element. Maybe you get fire, and I get earth.”

“I guess.” Lacy replied.

“Oh, cheer up.” Aurora said. “You’ve already learned how to make fireballs, for Icona’s sake! I can’t move a pebble without touching it.”

Lacy shrugged. She began rubbing her fingers together, then brought them apart to summon a small spark and a puff of smoke. Lacy frowned at the underwhelming results, but had no more time to consider it before Geniora stood up before the class.

“So there you go, everyone. Earth Arcana in its finest: immovable, steadfast, and assertive.”

“Aren’t those synonyms?” Lacy whispered to Aurora.

“There isn’t much else to learn today. Take the rest of class studying, or reading, or… whatever.” Geniora waved her hand dismissively. “Go. Do your own thing.”

The class didn’t end for another half an hour, but certainly nothing quite as interesting as a fourteen-year-old girl outbrawling a nearly-grown, muscular young man happened during that time.

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by Channelknight Fadran

[Mat]

16 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

Okay! I just finished XII, so here you go!

  Hide contents

Chapter XI - Earth Arcana

Second Earthlight | The Arcane Academy

“So… you wanna go to earth next?” Lacy asked.

Aurora nodded, brushing her hair out of her face. “Yep. A little Geniora would be nice after all that.”

They had attended air Arcana classes after fire, and the teacher had decided to instruct by demonstration. Aurora had actually attempted to do up her hair this morning, and the gusts of wind that the teacher had thrown into her face had completely ruined that.

“Honestly, I think you look better as an unkempt homeless person.” Lacy said.

“You didn’t mention that when we were… y’know… unkempt homeless people.”

“I don’t think two days on the streets really counts as homeless. More like… lost. And alone, on the streets, without a home.”

“Isn’t that the definition of homeless?”

“Oh hey look, it’s Minshyl!” Lacy replied, changing the subject abruptly. She waved. “Hi!”

“Oh, hey guys!” Minshyl waved back, a little awkwardly. “Um… never actually caught your names.”

“Oh, uh… I’m Lacy.” Lacy held out her hand. Aurora frowned a little as Minshyl shook it awkwardly. “And this is Aurora.” Lacy gestured to Aurora, who waved politely at him.

“So… where are you two headed next?”

“Earth Arcana,” Lacy replied, “with Geniora.”

“Well, then, you’re going the wrong way.” Minshyl hiked up a satchel at his side. “I’m actually going that way now, so I can take you guys there.”

“That would be great.” Lacy smiled.

“Right. So, uh…” He awkwardly pushed through the two of them. “This way.”

They followed Minshyl through a series of hallways, as well as through a small broom closet that he claimed was a “secret passage.” After pushing their way through a crowd of older students in the hallway—an uncomfortable callback to the crowds at Midway—they found themselves at Geniora’s door.

“Here you are!” He declared, pushing the door open for them. “And, uh… here I am, too. Have a… delivery to make.” He entered the room, standing close to the wall as he moved towards the front of the class.

Aurora and Lacy took a seat—closer to the front than they had been the last couple classes. Geniora was talking to another student: a girl younger than Aurora, who wore the same black Apprentice Mage robes as Minshyl, as well a pale blue beret. She looked to be asking the professor a question, nodding when Geniora explained something to her. The girl turned around to see Minshyl, jumping slightly.

“Oh. Hi, Minshyl!” She said, smiling.

Minshyl awkwardly handed something from his satchel to Geniora, and while it was difficult to tell from a distance, Aurora could’ve sworn he was blushing.

“Hey, Quille,” he replied quietly, before quickly backing out and making for the exit.

Lacy snorted. “That was smooth.”

Quille smiled to herself as she took a seat, pulling a book from her bag and cracking it open. Beside Aurora, Lacy shot the girl a sly glance.

At the front of the class, Geniora cleared her throat.    “Alright, everyone. Siddown and pay attention!”

Aurora took her eyes off Quille, looking at Geniora instead. Beside her, Lacy did the same.

“Welcome to earth Arcana class. Who’s ready to learn how to bully a rock into punching somebody in the face?”

There was scattered laughter through the classroom, not unlike what happened in Professor Eldon’s class. Geniora smiled herself, then waved for silence. “Yes, quite amusing. However, we won’t be doing that today. Today, you learn about the mindset of an earth Arcana mage.

“An earth mage is patient and assertive. You must be able to wait for the right moment to strike, and push with all your might when that moment comes.” She turned around, facing her other side to the students. “That is, of course, what you’d do if you were in the army, like I was. To use a practical example, imagine a staring contest, but cheating is allowed.”

A couple snickers emanated from the back row.

“By which I mean, of course, you’re allowed to break someone else’s concentration, or jumpscare them into blinking. You’re only allowed to do this once, though.” She sits down. “Why don’t you all give it a try? Staring contest with the person next to you; one clap only. Go!”

Aurora turned to Lacy, looking into the other girl’s eyes. Lacy clapped near immediately, but Aurora held her gaze—she had expected Lacy to try and get her quickly.

Earth Arcana requires waiting for the right moment. Aurora remembered. So… just pick the right time to get her.

Around her, a few other claps sounded. A few students either slumped from failure or expressed their excitement of winning in a variety of fashions.

Aurora thought for a second, then glanced over Lacy’s shoulder and feigned surprise. Lacy turned around, looking to wherever it was Aurora was so surprised at, but found nothing. The moment she turned around, however, Aurora clapped her hand in front of Lacy’s face, and the younger girl blinked in surprise.

“Hah!” Aurora said. “I win.”

Lacy blinked a couple more times, then finally said, “well… darn. Nicely done, though.”

“No protests?” Aurora asked. “No ‘you cheated’ or excuses?”

“I don’t give excuses for things!” Lacy replied, annoyed.

Aurora raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t give excuses for everything.” Lacy corrected.

Aurora chuckled, then quited herself as Geniora waved for everyone’s attention. 

“Alright, everyone. Reign it in—I don’t want anybody going to the infirmary on the first day because they dry their eyes out. Alright, raise your hand if you lost.”

Half the people in the classroom—including Lacy—raised their hands.

“Shame. You ought to teach your eyes to do better next time.”

Aurora snickered, and Lacy shot her an exaggerated glare. The younger girl seemed just as amused as Aurora was, though.

“Alright, then. How many of you won?”

The other half of the classroom and Aurora raised their hands.

“Nice. And, uh… drop those hands if you won without clapping.”

Most of the hands dropped, but Aurora’s and a few others stayed up in the air. Geniora glanced around at those who still had their hands raised, then pointed at Aurora. “You. Aurora. What did you do to win against… Lacy, wasn’t it?”

“You basically dragged me through Midway, and you’ve already forgotten my name?” Lacy shook her head. “And you call yourself my teacher.”

Aurora cleared her throat. “Well… I distracted her first, then… well, I waited for the ‘perfect moment,’ like you said.”

Geniora smiled. “Good. You can all put your hands down, now.” She waited for a second for everyone to drop their hands. “So you all heard what she said: patience is key. That, of course, and assertion. For those of you who won without clapping, then the reason the other person lost is because they were unable to hold their eyes open while you could. This is the other side of earth Arcana: assertion. You need to be able to show such strength that you can, in theory, win anything through sheer stubbornness.

“Unlike some other Arcane arts, there is no balance required to control earth. Water requires balance, lest one end overflow and the other be emptied. Fire requires balance, lest you put out your flame or burn yourself. With earth, though, all you need is to wait for the right moment to push with all your might, like Aurora did.

“I have a guest with me today; one of my more talented apprentices. Quille, care to demonstrate the concept to everyone?”

Quille glanced up, then pocketed her book and got to her feet. She walked up to the front of the class, looking not a little awkward as she began to speak to everyone.

“Hi, everyone.” She said quietly, then cleared her throat and stood up straighter. “Hello. Um… I’m going to need a volunteer.”

No hands raised, until someone asked, “what for?”

“Well, you learn from experience, right?” Quille pulled her satchel off over her head, putting it down. “I’m testing to see if you guys can assert yourselves over a more experienced earth mage.”

“In that case…” Lacy stood up, cracking her knuckles.

Quille smiled at Lacy. “Come on up.”

Lacy did, standing beside Quill when she had reached her. “So what do I do?”

“Push me over.” Quill replied, hands clasped behind her back.

Lacy frowned. “That’s it?”

“Yep.”

Lacy shrugged. “Okay, then.”

Lacy backed up a step, then started pushing on Quille’s shoulders, not straining too hard. When this didn’t work, Lacy began to push harder, but to no avail. She transitioned to pushing against Quille shoulder-first, leaning the entirety of her weight against the apprentice mage. Quille still did not move, though, barely straining against Lacy’s push. She did not move, that is, until she decided to push back, knocking Lacy to the floor without so much as a grunt.

Lacy yelled involuntarily, awkwardly catching herself with her elbow. Standing above her, Quille shrugged. “Nice try. Who’s next?”

A few of the boys standing by the wall behind Aurora snickered to themselves as Lacy picked herself up off the ground and sad down back by Aurora. One of them cracked his own knuckles—quite loudly—and strutted down the aisle towards Quille.

Lacy massaged her elbow, then whispered “I was going easy on her.”

“And you say you don’t make excuses.” Aurora replied, to which Lacy both sighed and smiled in spite of herself.

The boy who had decided to go next was a muscular one, and also a good head and a half taller than Quille. Quille, however, seemed undeterred by his stature, and gestured for him to try and push her over.

And try he did, but ultimately without success. He didn’t bother to test Quille’s strength against his own, instead pushing with all his might from the beginning. Quille began to strain a little, but she shifted her feet, and all of a sudden she was in control again. The boy, muscular as he was, began to grunt as he attempted to push her over. Quille held out for a few seconds, then finally decided to push back and knock him over. He collapsed with an annoyed yell.

“You cheated!” He protested. “You braced yourself with earth Arcana!”

To this, Quille frowned. “First of all, I never said I couldn’t use Arcana. Second of all, why are you complaining? A rock won’t take excuses. A rock won’t care if you say it cheated, or listen to you complain about fairness! Now go sit down and let the next person come up—we only have an hour of class time and I won’t have you hogging it with all your whining.”

The boy seemed to consider talking back, but ultimately decided against it, grumbling to himself as he returned to his cronies in the back. Quille brushed something off her shoulder, then returned to her model posture. “Who’s next?”

No one volunteered. Quille sniffed a little at the lack of reaction, casting her eyes over the room. “Anyone?”

“You should go up.” Lacy whispered to Aurora. “Avenge me.”

Aurora blinked in confusion. “Avenge you?”

“Yeah! You said you’d do it.”

“If someone, like… killed you, or something. She pushed you over; and you basically signed up for it!”

“Just go up there, dang it.”

Aurora sighed, but got to her feet and made her way to the front of the class. Despite the fact that Quille stood shorter than her, Aurora couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated by the girl’s near-perfect posture.

Quille gestured for Aurora to begin, then proceeded to remain standing upright while Aurora pushed against her. With a grunt, Aurora pushed her shoulder against Quille, but to no avail. The other girl seemed completely undeterred by Aurora’s efforts, even going so far as to yawn; though Aurora couldn’t be sure if it was intentional or not.

“Come on!” Quille chastised. “Show me some grit!”

Aurora grunted, still pushing. For a moment, she could’ve sworn that she had gotten some leeway; but those thoughts were dashed away when Quille didn’t move. There was a quiet grumble from the ground, though—could that be Quille using earth Arcana to stabilize herself? Was that a sign that she was doing well?

Without warning, Quille began pushing back. Aurora nearly fell over onto her back like the others had, but she pushed her foot behind her and stabilized herself—if only temporarily.

“Get her, Amy!” Lacy called.

“I really don’t like that name,” Aurora grunted, to which Quille chuckled.

Then Quille gave one final shove, and Aurora fell over onto her back with an involuntary oof! Quille brushed off her hands, looking all the more intimidating as she stood above Aurora’s fallen form.

“Not bad,” Quille admitted, “but still pretty shabby.”

“I did better than the others, though, right?” Aurora asked, probably to Lacy’s chagrin.

“You did, but that doesn’t matter. You can only win or lose when it comes to moving rocks—there isn’t any sort-of win stuff going on.” Quille cast her eyes about the room. “Anyone else want to give it a shot?”

No one replied, to which Quille nodded. “Okay, then. Great; I can get back to my reading.” She walked off from in front of the class, sitting herself back down on her desk and cracking open her book again.

Aurora got to her feet, heading down the aisle and taking a seat by Lacy.

“Did better than the others?” Lacy quietly demanded.

“Yep.” Aurora replied. “Come on, Lace, you can’t be great at every element. Maybe you get fire, and I get earth.”

“I guess.” Lacy replied.

“Oh, cheer up.” Aurora said. “You’ve already learned how to make fireballs, for Icona’s sake! I can’t move a pebble without touching it.”

Lacy shrugged. She began rubbing her fingers together, then brought them apart to summon a small spark and a puff of smoke. Lacy frowned at the underwhelming results, but had no more time to consider it before Geniora stood up before the class.

“So there you go, everyone. Earth Arcana in its finest: immovable, steadfast, and assertive.”

“Aren’t those synonyms?” Lacy whispered to Aurora.

“There isn’t much else to learn today. Take the rest of class studying, or reading, or… whatever.” Geniora waved her hand dismissively. “Go. Do your own thing.”

The class didn’t end for another half an hour, but certainly nothing quite as interesting as a fourteen-year-old girl outbrawling a nearly-grown, muscular young man happened during that time.

 

Excellent!

And I proofread it:

Quote

Lacy did, standing beside Quill when she had reached her. “So what do I do?”

“Push me over.” Quill replied, hands clasped behind her back.

Quill instead of Quille?