A couple of weeks passed. It got colder. Snow fell. Snow fell a lot actually. One day all of their classes were canceled as it was deemed too dangerous to even leave the dorms. Something about how they didn't want kids falling off cliffs. For his midday task, Nerluce found himself shoveling snow. Very frequently.

Nerluce had been doing poorly in both his academic and magical studies. But... he was trying. Taayir told him that was what was important and that everyone did things at their own pace but they recently did the candle test again and Nerluce was the only one who couldn't get his flame to even so much as flicker. It was almost enough to make him want to blow the thing out again.

But he didn't.

Nerluce had gritted his teeth and pulled at his hair and tried to figure it out but he just wasted his own time and nothing happened. Taayir had him stay after everyone else left. She did that frequently enough that it wasn't suspicious. Sometimes they spoke. Sometimes they didn't. Very rarely did they train. Or, at least, very rarely did they do anything that Nerluce recognized as training.

"Yer pool is expanding," Taayir said, that day she held him late after he failed miserably on the candle assignment.

"My... what?"

Taayir glanced up, frowning. "The pool of magic inside of all things. Yers in particular. The one that's expanding."

Nerluce looked at her blankly.

"Gods, drag whatever tutor yuh had before to the pits," Taayir said, pressing a hand to her temple. "So kid, yuh know that magic is inside of everything, right?"

"Y-yeah," Nerluce said. "That's- that's why we have different types of magic."

"Exactly," Taayir said, nodding. "The way magic settles is what we call magical pools. They, also exist inside of everything." She turned her head. "What makes humans so unique is that our pools are flexible. They can get bigger than they originally were. That is the reason that everyone can practice magic, despite not having been born with a pool as big as yer friend... Lyana's."

"My pool must be very small," Nerluce said.

"Not necessarily," Taayir said. "Yer pool... ah well, it's just a little..." She rubbed the back of her neck. Just like when he was told his affinity - which he already knew - Nerluce had a feeling deep within his stomach that she was keeping something from him. "Yer pool is... polluted and- and that isn't yer fault at all!"

How did she know that he was going to say that? Nerluce laughed a bit helplessly.

Taayir smirked at him and then continued speaking. "The problem is... since the pool is polluted yer magic has trouble flowing outwards. But yer pool is still expanding and through time, eventually, the fire magic that has entered you will overwhelm the... pollution." She smiled at him. "But... for now we might need to try a bit of a different approach."

"Different?" Nerluce echoed.

"Yeah, yuh ain't the only student who's having trouble with this," Taayir said. "Some people... well some people need a more physical approach."

"There's something like that?" Nerluce asked, perking up.

"Kid, I told yuh on the first day of class that there's an unlimited number of ways to learn magic," she said. "I'll get yuh signed up."

"Thank- thank you!"

"Don't worry about it, kid. Just stay out of trouble in the meantime."

Nerluce, who in no way excelled in any environment where he was meant to sit still and absorb information just by listening to someone talk was more than thrilled by the idea of a different way to learn magic. A way that would let him get to move and actually do things other than just sitting hopelessly, staring at a candle.

It would be this afternoon. Taayir had explained that it would take place once a week where he and a small group of others would train and see if this approach would be more effective. Nerluce had a good feeling about it, though, and was practically buzzing with excitement. So much that in the break between classes in the morning, the yellow-haired boy had turned around.

"Knock it off," he snapped. "Your fidgeting is distracting."

"I can't help it," Nerluce whined.

And he really couldn't. We wanted to be out there, doing things even now but he still had one more subject to suffer through and it was the worst of all of them. Magical history. Nerluce was bad enough at normal history but when magic was added into the mix he just became exponentially worse at it.

"Well you better start helping it," Lyana said. "That old man is drawn to movement. Like a bird. He'll call on you all class if you keep bouncing."

"That's not true," Nerluce said. "Jurine's his favorite."

"Because he gets sick of hearing wrong answers all day," Jurine grumbled.

Lyana nor Nerluce were able to come up with a retort in time as the teacher entered the room. Nerluce knew he had introduced himself on the first day but his memory was so filled with nonsense magical history that he couldn't remember it. He did look an awful lot like a bird, though. Thus, Nerluce dubbed him the Bird Teacher.

The Bird Teacher walked to the front of the class - or perhaps tottered would be a better word for how he moved. He seemed to be shaking violently with every step. He sat down at the desk in the front of the room, his eyes so freakishly wide they crept Nerluce out. The Bird Teacher crept a lot of people out with a combination of the way he walked, how he seemed to stare at everyone and everything, and...

"Today," the Bird Teacher said in a voice that sounded like someone opening an old door.

And how he spoke.

"Today," the Bird Teacher said again, only sounding like a slightly louder old door being opened. "We will be discussing..." He let his sentences hang for an eternity. Nerluce could already feel himself getting bored. He swore it was like the Bird Teacher died every other phrase and had to have the gods revive him so he could continue his lecture. "Magic's rise to prominence," he finally - finally - finished after an absurd length.

Nerluce went back to daydreaming.

That went extremely well for an extended period of time until - just as Lyana had predicted - the Bird Teacher called his name. Nerluce stood up, just happy to be moving about, and responded, "Sir?"

"I asked... what event... stopped the elemental wars from continuing for... another millennium?" the Bird Teacher said, raising his bushy eyebrows.

Nerluce paused, waited for a long time, just to make sure that the Bird Teacher had finished speaking before he paused for even longer as he thought the question over. Or pretended to, at least because he had no clue. "Was it... some peace treaty that they signed that made them allllll friends." Nerluce stretched the word in a mocking tone.

The Bird Teacher was not impressed, though someone in the back of the class covered their laugh with a cough. "No... it.. was.. not," the Bird Teacher said. "Jurine... would you like to... give the question... a go?"

"Sir," Jurine said, standing up as well. "The elemental wars probably would still be going on until this day if it wasn't for the rise of the heretic group who practiced the forbidden magic." Jurine had an impassive manner as he said this, but Nerluce's brow furrowed, suddenly much more interested. What were... forbidden magics? "The magicians of this world had to put aside their differences and unite in order to defeat this force, otherwise they would have conquered all of Ecekasuri."

"Excellent... job... Jurine," the Bird Teacher said. "Correct."

Jurine looked very pleased with herself while the boy with yellow hair clicked his tongue. However, Nerluce wasn't satisfied. "Sir, may I ask a question?" Nerluce said.

"Go... ahead."

"What are... forbidden magics?"

"Idiot," Jurine hissed under her breath but because the Bird Teacher couldn't hear for worth a damn he didn't get onto Jurine about her language. He just stared, owlishly wide eyes fixed on Nerluce. There was... something dark in his expression.

Then he started to speak. "There... are many ways for humans to express their magic." He hunched over his parchment, drawing a familiar symbol. "The four major elements... fire... water... air... earth... each of which has dozens of sub-elements such as metal... heat... and lightning."

The Bird Teacher lifted his parchment for the entire class to see. The four major elements connected by thick pillars. But... it wasn't exactly like how Nerluce was used to it. It seemed as though... this drawing had an extra element.

Was that... was that the forbidden magics?

"The forbidden..." the Bird Teacher said, pointing at the new symbol. "The forbidden is to use the magic inside other living things and turn it against them." His expression became very solemn. "It is... a dark thing... to rid a living creature... of its... free will."

"Well... controlling humans, of course, is bad and all but... what's wrong with controlling... animals or plants or non-human alive things?" Nerluce asked.

"They have souls... foolish child... they... are just like us... waiting to be reborn... as something better," the Bird Teacher said.

Nerluce had never been much for religion. He worshiped the gods, sure, he prayed to them on occasion, but... well souls and reincarnation were something else entirely. He didn't know if he believed in all of that. What he did know about religion, was that most of the stories had to do with the gods messing with mortals.

In a way, the gods stole mortals' free will.

"But- human life and animal and plant life surely aren't of the same value?"

"No... of course... not."

"Then why is controlling animals and plants wrong?"

At this, the Bird Teacher seemed to get genuinely upset. He slammed his fist against the desk, making Nerluce and a couple of others flinch. "You... are bordering on... heresy," the Bird Teacher snarled. "One more word... and I will have you... leave my... class."

"But-" Nerluce started, desperate for an answer.

"Leave," the Bird Teacher said. His glare left no room for discussion. Nerluce bit the inside of his cheek and bowed before doing as he was told and exiting the room. He toiled over the idea of forbidden magick, trying to figure out what about it made it so forbidden that it would get the Bird Teacher all worked up like that.

Whatever it was, Nerluce forgot about the incident and didn't feel at all ashamed that he'd been removed from the class. It had been boring anyway. Nerluce, beamed, finding himself with some unexpected free time. He hummed, feeling cheerful, despite the cold weather, and went to the dining hall to see if he could sweet-talk some apples out of whoever was doing their midday tasks there.

It would be a while before Nerluce thought of forbidden magics again, but he would think of them again.