In the distance Danny could hear someone ringing a bell. It was dark, but his eyes had adjusted and he could make out the furniture in his room from the faint light coming from under the door to his dorm room. Danny bolted up as he realized where he was and what the bell ringing meant. Was that the first bell or second, he thought frantically. Grabbing clothes in the dark, he was glad his uniform consisted of the same thing every day. Maybe that was by design. He almost forgot his new book bag before running down the hallway.

Racing past the front desk Wizard Dawn wasn't at his desk. Danny didn't wait and started rushing to the dining hall. He saw a few others like himself, but there was enough older boys walking slower to make him realize this must be the first bell.

He grabbed breakfast, some sort of eggs and chili served in a bread bowl. He didn't want to be late so he ate at a steady pace before heading to class.

Danny hadn't been past the middle, or second as it heard it called, circles before and slowed to check it out. As he looked left and right, he was shocked to see walls blocking him on either side. A door was placed on the outsides of both walls to his left and right. Wishing he had time to explore, he figured he would have to wait to find out more.

In the predawn light Danny could see that the center, or inner, circle looked like a large version of the little parks thrown around the outer circle. Trees grew along the inner most wall, before thinning out to a grassy area littered with flowers. There was a paved area around the base of the tower came out about thirty meters and could probably hold a significant group of people, or a class, if needed. Maybe they would get to spend some of their lecture time out here.

The lobby area of the wizard’s tower took up the entire first floor. The ceiling was over seven meters tall and Danny noticed light crystals of different colors, hung from the ceiling. The light crystals he had seen so far had all been white, so he wondered what caused these to be different colors. There were sitting areas everywhere in the lobby, and in the center was a water feature. Small waterfalls crisscrossed in elaborate patterns. As he walked around it to the south side, he realized they made an image of a robed man holding a glowing orb in one hand.

Climbing the stairs to the second floor, one could see down the center of the tower at every floor. Murals lined the walls depicting different scenes of wizards casting or working. Danny couldn't help but feel like this place was older than the rest of the city. Finding room number seven, Danny entered to find himself one of the few early birds.

Wizard August was there, looking up he noted Danny and went back to whatever he had been studying on his desk. The room was set up like a mini amphitheater. Each row had a long wooden desk with small chairs spaced every so often. Danny stood there for a second, before deciding there wasn't going to be assigned seating. He picked a chair in the back on the aisle leading to the door. Placing his book bag on the desk he looked inside and found some supplies he had seen in there yesterday. The bag only had one large opening on the outside, but his mother had lined the inside with smaller pockets. Pulling out some parchment and a charcoal stick, he almost missed a book that had been hidden in a pocket. Pulling it out he found the second volume in the series of the alchemy books he had previous purchased the first volume of. He remembered his parents telling him the books becoming increasingly expensive. He made a mental note to thank them next holiday. He took the book out and began reading.

A loud banging on a desk brought his attention to the front of the class. Danny looked up to see everyone from last night scattered around the room. Peak and his group sat in the very middle, and they took a bit of time to settle down.

"Quiet down everyone. As I said last night, I am Wizard August. I am to be your instructor during your initiate level training. I hold the right to kick you out of my class for any reason. You all showed promising aptitude by accessing your mental sanctuaries on the first night. In light of this I shall be holding you to a higher standard than the other groups." August looked around the room as if expecting them to fail him right then somehow. "Before we can begin any practical applications on magic we must first understand its history and the history of our world. I will not bore you with too many specifics, but only cover those points I believe relevant. Who here has not read the note left by the Grand Magi, in their sanctuaries?"

When no one replied August continued, "After the events known as the Great Cataclysm, the great civilizations of the major races of the world were thrown down.

The elves that survived had hidden deep in their enchanted forest far to the north past the Great Forest. Elves are by nature inherently magical. They call their wizards druids. From birth they are gifted with magic and specialize in magics of water, earth, and nature. Though, it is important to note, we have encountered elves with affinity in each of the elements.

The dwarves resisted annihilation in their strongholds deep within the mountain, to the northwest, they call home. The dwarves originally only mined the mountains for precious stones and minerals, they have sense stayed hidden in their mountain to the northwest. While dwarves are not inherently magical, they have had great craftsmen that tap into their mana sources. The methods in which they do this is not understood as, unlike the elves, they are a secretive race. They are able to create enchanted weapons and armor of unparalleled strength. These enchanted items have only been gifted to the other races, as they refuse to sell them.

The beastmen survived through sheer numbers and their ability to survive the harshest climates, like the deserts to the southwest. Some recovered historical documents mention a joined beastman government ruled by a collection of elders from various tribes. While some tribes are rumored to have been annihilated, enough variations remain to fracture them in a never ending struggle for power. Beastmen affinities vary from tribe to tribe and not much is known about their shamans, as they are usually referred. Beastmen are savage and are known to attack our smaller villages and settlements without warning. Due to their fractured nature, negotiating with them has not proved fruitful.

Lastly, are the humans. Once at the pinnacle of magical achievement, even now we struggle to regain our lost heritage. After the Great Cataclysm, only a few remote villages remained untouched. With the Cataclysmic dead of natural causes, or by the hands of our allies, humans spread out to reclaim what we lost. Like the beastmen, we were a fractured people. Lost was our knowledge on accessing mana. Our peoples fought with purely martial means. Over a thousand years ago, a leader emerged to gather the various factions of humans together as one. Her family was renamed after the crown placed upon her head, Diadem. Our nation and capital where named after her and Diadem's success was owed to the discovery of the ancient keys.

As you know these keys were able to release the seal on a person’s mana. Unfortunately not everyone's seal is released during this process. At first Diadem chose to have everyone attempt to unlock their mana. The number of wizards grew but this was met with unforeseen consequence of weakening our people as a whole. In that first generation we were hit heavily by beastman raids, as they took notice of our weakness. The people rose up and declared Diadem unfit to rule. They demanded a council, not a single person, rule over them. Hearing their demands, Diadem choose to heed her people and sat equally on a council of twelve. The council knew that they couldn't do away with all mages, as the other races brought their own magics to bear on us frequently. We had to be able to fight back in kind. So the council gathered their husbands and proposed a plan. Their husbands agreed and the men used the ancient keys on their own sons as an example to their nation. So began the tradition of male only wizards in Diadem."

One of the students up front raised their hand. At August's nod the student asked, "How many of the original council’s sons became wizards?"

"One," August said as he looked around the room and brought his eyes back to the boy who asked the question.

"If there are not anymore questions I believe it is time to go and begin your training," August said as he headed for the door.

Danny had a ton of questions, but there was plenty of time to find out the answers to them later. He got up and followed behind the trail of students leaving the classroom. They left the tower and headed to the second circle. August lead them through one of the doors and down a flight of stairs. A long hallway stretched out into the distance and curved with the wall above. Light crystals hung from the ceiling at regular intervals. They came to a small foyer on the side with a wizard in black.

"Listen up, this is where you will come to train your magic, when I give you time to do so. If you are told to go and train that is what you will be doing. If I find out you are sneaking off to sleep or play, you will be punished," August warned.

After signing in with the wizard in black, August continued, "When coming in to train you will sign in with the healer in charge. They will be the ones to put you back together when you mess up. The group training rooms are intended for initiates. If you get injured in there, other initiates nearby can call for the healers help. Later, when I judge you are able to do so safely, you can choose to enter an individual room. In there you are on your own. I'm not your father and I will not be coming to check on you."

They continued down the hallway to a specific door and entered into a large room. It reminded Danny of an indoor shooting range. Each lane was separated by a two meter high wall and crossed by another one meter wall. This created a firing box to cast spells towards the far end of the room. Light crystals were placed in various spots. Some clear covering he did not recognize, protected them from damage.

Wizard August explained the purpose of the room as Danny expected. Then the Wizard took them to a corner where there was a small space with benches along the walls. Taking a piece of chalk out of his pocket, August wrote the runes for the five elements on the wall.

"With access to your mental sanctuary and your mana unsealed, you should now recognize at least one of these runes. I am going to have each of you take a lane and for the briefest of moments focusing on the rune that matches one you have in your sanctuary. If you cast for too long you will overexert yourself. This can have undesirable consequences. If you plan to cast using the fire rune, we have special gloves you can wear, until you learn to cast full spells. Now pick your lane," said Wizard August.

Many of the boys jumped up and ran to the nearest unoccupied lane. Peak and a few other initiates went with August to get gloves. Danny was suddenly relieved he had been too afraid of acquiring too much attention or burning his house down. Getting a pair of gloves from Wizard Augustus, Danny approached an empty lane and put on his gloves. Listening, Danny didn't hear anyone else cast any magic. Danny cautiously continued to wait feeling frustrated as he had yet to hear anyone casting magic. Just when his curiosity had him giving in and casting first, he herd Wizard August call out to them to return to the area on the side.

Once everyone had gathered, August said, "As you noticed, you were unable to cast any magic. This is because with the runes shown on the wall, you have only a piece of what is needed to cast a spell. When humans first discovered the ancient keys, they also discovered ancient spell books. These spell books detailed a list of runes used to cast spells. All spells are composed of a minimum of three components. The elemental rune, which you already have access too. The power rune, which specifies how much power the spell will use. The last rune that is required is the method rune, which details how the spell will be cast. The first spell I will teach you to cast is the lowest level ranged spell."

Wizard August turned and drew two runes on the wall. Thinking back to the parchment and charcoal Danny had taken out in the room, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Everything he saw or read, was permanently added to my memory. He wouldn't need to take notes ever again.

Wizard August finished drawing the runes and explained their functions, "This first rune, the power rune, gives the spell a tiny amount of power. This second rune, the method rune, casts the spell at distance once enough mana had entered the spell. Finally, this method rune shown on the wall allowed a user with a smaller amount of maximum mana in their body than what was needed for the spell, to still cast it. If the caster uses all their mana, this method rune requires them to wait until their natural mana regeneration eventually fills the spell.

Note, your rate of mana regeneration is half the rate that mana flows through and out of your body. Everyone’s mana is unlocked at different rates and this rate is permanent. Now continued practice of mana will increase the amount of mana stored in one’s body. If two people with large amounts of maximum mana cast a small spell, the one with the largest flow of mana through their body will be able to cast more of the same spell in the shortest amount of time.

Now, to use the three runes as a spell, one must overlay them on top of each other in their mind. Raise your hand and picture the runes at the target you want to cast at. The runes will pull the required mana into the spell in your hand. Once the required mana is reached the spell can be cast at the target. If the caster loses focus, the spell will be disrupted and the stored mana will rupture in your hand. Now let me give you an example of how the runes line up on each of the elements I have already drawn, then you can go back and try again.

Know this, if I catch you attacking another initiate, or causing them to disrupt their spell, I will make sure you are expelled from this academy."

Keeping his head down from the glare Wizard August sent everyone, Danny memorized all of the rune combinations. He specifically noted how the runes lined up with each other to create new and more complex figures.

Heading over to his spot his did as instructed. Before he even got there he could hear the magic of the other initiates racing down the lanes, splashing, whipping, burning, and crashing. He paused for a few moments and guessed this spell worked for healing magic as well.

A few cheers and whoops could be heard throughout the room. Danny raised his gloved hand and pictured the tiny fireball spell. It took but a few moments to fill and the spell shot off at where he was picturing. Through his glove he could feel heat coalesce before the spell was fired off. The necessity of the gloves immediately apparent. The animal the leather came from must be naturally fire proof or this could be made from the same animal he had made the girdle from. Though, the leather of the gloves felts softer and more pliable than his girdle had.

Danny got off a few dozen fireballs before pausing. There was commotion at one lane and Danny wondered if someone got distracted and hurt themselves. Walking over to the crowd, he noticed everyone seemed excited. He peered around to see Peak rapidly firing his spell, barely pausing between shots. Danny did note that the time between his shots was not consistent. Even so, how was this possible as he barely had any mana reserves? Using mana sight Danny realized what he was missing. Even with Danny's larger mana reserves, compared to most of the other initiates, his mana flow rate was abysmal.

Looking around there were a few initiates with mana lines as thin as his, but not many. Danny was pretty sure, that unlike theirs, his mana regeneration rate and flow rate would keep increasing. He wondered if his mana regeneration and flow rate would eventually outpace theirs. Maybe, his path was one with a better end goal. He also couldn't deny the fact that, unlike them, he could "freehand" these spells, shaping them how he wanted. He couldn't wait to get access to a private room and test out mana manipulation with fire affinity.

Danny started thinking back to all the video games he played in his past life. Intelligence usually affected mana regeneration or storage in some way.

Turning to Wizard August and getting his attention, Danny asked, “Does the sanctuary’s intelligence increase affect our mana?”

Wizard August looked annoyed to be distracted from initiate Peaks performance, “Intelligence affects one’s ability to absorb and process information. It has nothing to do with mana.”

“But, my increases in magic affinity, when unlocking my mana, increased my intelligence.”

Wizard August sighed, “Your affinity levels are representative of your comprehension of how they function within the use of mana. More intelligence will assist you with the ability to process and understand the affinities in greater detail.”

The two were interrupted as others in the class noticed them talking.

"Creek!"

"Hey Creek!

"Show us!"

"Creek, it's time to show us your three affinities you claim to have...," Peak said with a knowing look. His chest puffed out, filled with confidence from his performance with the fireballs.

Danny walked forward and the crowed parted to let him up next to Peak. Danny didn't bother looking at Peak. Raising a hand, he first cast fireball followed by a stone spike. Danny was surprised to see how fast the spike shot up from the ground where he pointed his hand. Last he cast wind blade. The silence in the air was palpable.

From the back of the crowd Wizard August could be heard clapping, "Well done, initiate Creek!"

If everyone was shocked before, Wizard August's praising Danny simply confused them.

"An initiate wizard with three affinities. This has not been seen in some time. I myself have three affinities and it took me years of studying the ways of air to unlock that affinity," praised August with a genuine smile on his face. Gone was the disdain he had shown Danny a minute ago.

Danny was surprised as well, but seeing an opportunity he didn't pass it up.

"Any advice or knowledge you could give me on my elements, from your vast experience, would be most appreciated, Wizard August," said Danny.

Pleased, August had them return to their individual lanes and kept them practicing until time for supper. Since the facility was closed, the healer up front would send an initiate to each room to notify them.

"Remember, the only way to increase your affinities is practice, practice, practice. Also, no magic outside the practice rooms! I will see you at dawn tomorrow," August dismissed them to supper.

Danny left with the rest of his class and headed to the dining hall at his own pace. He was surprised when he realized a few of his fellow initiates following him. Shrugging he went to supper and for the first time he didn't eat alone.