Somewhere Someplace

“W-what even…was that?! I have never seen magic like that!” so exclaimed the prodigy as the two made way down that hallway once again, the proctor no longer with them for he had cleanup and…explaining to do.

In the hand of the foreigner was her document, filled out to a degree, alongside it a different special card which exempted her from the affinity requirement on the grounds of having an ‘exotic affinity’ appertaining to ‘foreign’ and ‘alien’ magic. But she was still required to participate in this ‘spellcard assessment’ of theirs…to which she was already presuming her failure, which was…again…obvious in retrospect.

“It was…just the simple…ehm…the simple trick, I guess to say” the foreigner finally replied, cordially…but…vaguely. In retrospect, she perhaps had acted too impulsively and had exposed perhaps too much than she ought to have, but…she could not help but feel pleased and smug deep down on the inside in the shadows of her mind, even if she could not comprehend it.

“ ‘A simple trick’ you say…pfft. Wow you really turned out to be something… It just goes to show how…different magic across all the many lands can be… Makes me wonder what is…out there, waiting to be found, you know?” the prodigy remarked in reply, cheery. Her demeanor was no longer anxious, timid, or nervous; it was, in fact, more confident and comfortable, seemingly.

“Well…ehm…all I can say is that there are the many things beyond…your eyes…and even the many things beyond my eyes… and I will just leave it…at that” the foreigner replied, rather ominously but still cordially.

The foreigner, however, quickly glanced in a stare, leaning in closer and with rather the smiling charm, flustering the prodigy somewhat for she was not at all…expecting this sudden gesture. “Now…you…on the different hand, ‘prodigy’, you were seen to be quite the surprise too, no?” she said and remarked…redirecting the subject.

The prodigy froze so suddenly in place as stunned realization reentered her mind; having been reminded once again, her being turned white and became devoid of color, metaphorically.

“Rav—ahem—Trinity’s Father! You are absolutely right! I nearly forgot!” she exclaimed loudly, her breathing intensifying as her heart and stomach began to burn, her lungs heating up, as flustered tensions and emotional overcharge flowed within. She was at a total bewildered loss, as if her entire existence was simply undone. “…I was not expecting that at all, not at all!” she loudly said, before she began to walk again; “I was expecting to…uhm…barely pass I guess… or maybe at least have good shadow affinity, but I never expected…well…any of that!”

“It’s just all so… I don’t even know how to… how to…anything” she added, still bewildered in mind. Calming down somewhat, she looked to the foreigner, smiling a cordial smile; “Maybe your…weird words did…give me some luck… I just hope Fortune doesn’t come collecting” she said.

« Síc vidatùr » the foreigner replied cordially, “So it may seem”.

The two halted; the hallway seemed to split into two ends, left and right, two paths… A point of separation. The prodigy sighed; “Well…I guess uhm…we part ways now… but I hope…we can see each other again, it has been a pleasure…even if full of surprises… too many…surprises” she remarked cordially…yet somewhat timid, blushing a bit as her eyes averted away; there was an odd…soft lowliness…in her voice, as well.

The foreigner simply nodded; “The same is to you” she replied with a cordial charm.

They parted ways; the prodigy made way back to the center counter area, now more stuffed than before, while the foreigner made way to her next…assessment, having been told the exact path to take, which she had memorized rather instantly—to a point, at least. Though, this mage-stylized hallway was not…exactly the easiest to navigate… So many doors which seemed to exist for no apparent reason… Though, at the very least they were labeled and numbered.

-||-

The foreigner stepped into this moderately sized chamber of sorts, largely empty besides a large and long table at the end, behind which were several numbered doors. It was largely barren, besides these details; no chairs to sit on, nothing to gaze upon, it was a purely utilitarian arrangement.

The long table, despite having chairs and documents, was empty. The only persons present were other…denizens, who were silently waiting against the wall next to the entry-door. These denizens were here for the same reason as her, seemingly, waiting with…some…level of patience.

Seeing this, she promptly joined these few denizens, leaning her back against the wall as she too waited patiently. The denizens around glared at her, with apparent interest and curiosity, intrigued by her masquerade, yet also…indifferent to her presence. Eventually, most lost interest as she blended in, becoming defused and one among many in spite of her peculiar mask.

Time passed, denizens zoned-out, a few chatting among themselves, a few humming away, a few reading a book or two; she quickly lost track of time as everything transitioned seamlessly and rather swiftly.

Finally, entering from a different point of entry, were several new proctors, all rather…old and bearded, all generically ‘mage’ in appearance, the only difference being the color of their robes and pointy-hats, though one…appeared to have less of a robe and more of a ‘mage-cape’ of sorts. “Apologies for the delay… There was an…incident that required our attention...” so began to announce an old bearded proctor; “Now then, come come, let us get this underway with haste”.

Immediately, all the waiting denizens sprung up and became reanimated; they headed straight for the table and automatically, without much thinking at all, formed even lines with each proctor. The foreigner, perhaps slower to respond, picked…which ever line appeared shortest.

The chamber was now significantly louder, denizens chatting away among themselves as the line moved and progressed, despite having been so very silent during their wait. Always fascinating, it was, how different environmental contexts and the cultural expectations surrounding those contexts so seemed to affect social-behavioral outcomes.

Though, this abrupt surge in denizen…noises—all these voices and chatterings—was certainly getting to her quickly; it was all…becoming rather…irritating…deep down within.

Owing to the experience of these proctors, the line moved swiftly and quickly…thankfully, with denizens walking off with a special card of sorts, two of them; each thoroughly wrapped and sealed, covered completely, to be held always downfaced upon their palm with another hand covering it. These denizens then made way to one of the numbered doors behind the table and proctors.

In no time at all, the foreigner was standing behind the last denizen before her turn, voices and noises being made, before finally they too walked off; now it was her turn.

“Next! Step forward!” so ordained a rather indifferent proctor, the foreigner stepping up and halting before him. The proctor, seeing who was next, immediately groaned faintly; “…ah, you, yes… I have heard of you; you are the reason why we have one less affinity stone… We only have five of those, you know?” he remarked rather irritatedly.

“Four, now…more truly” the foreigner corrected in reply.

He sighed in slight groan; “Yes yes… Now then, document. Show it please and with haste, there are those behind… Oh and your ‘special alien exemption’ card…bah” he requested with some degree of apparent disdain.

The foreigner handed her document and card. The proctor promptly stamped the handed card before writing some…new details within her document, stamping it in kind. Afterwards, he took out, from a highly secured and reinforced container, two thoroughly wrapped and concealed cards, carefully placing them downfaced upon the table.

“I hope I do not need to explain to you what these are” he stated.

“No, you do not; I know already” she responded frankly. She knew exactly what those were and why many precautions were being taken; those were ‘spellcards’, the first and most primeval expression of ‘magic’ as a systemic enterprise… and were prone to being rather…volatile, even if also very convenient.

“Good. Now then, ‘exotic’ your alien art and talent may be, none of that matters to us unless you are able to utilize the most fundamental instrument of magic; there have been many ‘special exotics’ like you who demonstrated exceptional prowess only to be numb and immune to spellcards” the proctor remarked; “now then, you are to place carefully these two cards one-by-one—” he was in the middle of explaining, but the foreigner immediately began to act well before he could finish.

She dropped her handbag before she carefully slid, without even lifting, each card onto her palm, stacking the other on top, ensuring that the already covered and sealed face remained hidden behind her palm, before obscuring it all with her other hand.

“…” the proctor stared blankly and silently; on one hand, she had demonstrated a preexisting knowledge of the dangers of, and the necessary safety measures appertaining to, spellcards, yet it was also rather…disrespectful to initiate the procedure without instruction.

“Next time…please let me finish, even if you already understand and know—patience and adherence to instructions are necessary characteristics we look for in applicants” he stated strictly.

She looked down and away, somewhat embarrassed, ostensibly; “I give…the sorry; I moved…too quickly; I will do the better…next time” she apologized.

“Yes yes, now then, normally each card is to be of one’s affinity and the other of a random school, but considering that you have no established affinity with the recognized schools, you were given two random cards; for you, specifically, we are interested in your general ability to respond to any spellcard at least once and preferably twice, not the accuracy nor even the execution” he explained;

“Now, report to room five. You are not, at any point, to unseal the cards, nor place the cards, sealed or not, on their faceside, and most especially you are not to use these cards without first being explicitly instructed, failure to follow proper procedures will result in an instant failure regardless of results, is that clear?”

She nodded “Yes”.

“Good. Now get going…I will…hem…watch your bag until you return” he ordained, before picking up from under the table her…rather suspiciously weighty handbag… Though, ever a man—even if old—of these lands, he dared not to peek.

She quickly departed away, making way for the door behind labeled with the number ‘5’—these lands, quite conveniently, used ‘standard’ numerals…same as hers; thus, she could read them. She opened the door using her…elbow, for her hands were preoccupied—obviously—, before entering into the room.

It was a small room with only a few desk-like tables scattered about, evenly spaced and with a sort of…cube-like covering on each desk, or ‘dividers’. This was to deny anyone a potential ‘peek’ at the other’s spellcards, or at least from the front and left-right sides…not necessarily from the back of where one stood, though their body should obscure sufficiently.

There were only six desks to choose from, thus only two rows of three each. She looked around… staring…evaluating…and chose…the middle desk of the second row… It looked somewhat vaguely more…interesting…compared to the rest…even if she had not any the idea as to the hows and whys. She promptly arrived to it and carefully placed each card, evenly spaced out, on the desk, ensuring that by no means could anyone happen a peek.

Now, began the waiting game.