“Please open the books on the title page,” Cacao said, and the students followed his request. “The title of this book is the Ugly History of Magic. In other words, we will cover the history of magic, which we would rather never talk about. Those are horrible things, which have happened in the past, and we will learn them, because as the proverb goes, those who don’t know history, are doomed to repeat it.”
Sage turned the page, and looked at the chapter list, then at Chervil, who looked back at her. Both girls had their textbooks open on the same page.
Cacao continued speaking, “please turn to the next page, where you’ll find the chapter list. As you can see, the book is divided into three sections: banned magic, corrupted magic, and dark magic. In the first section, we'll be learning about magic, which got banned due to its consequences. Banned magic is almost always a case of a new spell or a new charm, which appeared to be innocent in the beginning, but as time went on, it became more and more obvious that it had some very unwanted side-effects.”
Chervil secretly smiled to herself. She wouldn't have expected that her fifth year of History was going to be so interesting.
“In the second section, we’ll be learning about corrupted magic, which is a mix of magic with evil intentions. An example would be a magus, who uses magic to kill others. You have already learned the basic Laws of Magic, so you know that in some scenarios the magic doesn’t work, or at least it won’t work unless it gets corrupted. For kids, it is unlikely to use corrupted magic, but as you grow older, it won’t be that difficult, so the time is now that you learn how dangerous it is, to use corrupted magic.”
While the teacher was talking, Sage closed her textbook, moved it to the side, put her arms on the table, and put her head on her arms. She closed her eyes trying to sleep.
“Finally, in the third section, we'll be learning about dark magic, which simply speaking is the unknown magic. As you continue learning Theory of Magic, you’ll learn about spells and charms, which are possible in theory, but nobody has ever succeeded using them before. Maybe one of you will invent them, but when working with possibilities, there is another kind of danger lurking around...”
Maca stopped taking notes, and looked at the teacher, while he continued talking. She wanted to invent a new spell, ever since she was a kid. And hearing about dangers of new magic awoke in her a sense of curiosity and a feeling of unease.
“Inventions are a lot like a lottery," Cacao spoke to the students. "You’ll be researching and working on the idea, and maybe, if the conditions are right, you’ll acquire some results. However, you can never know what will happen in the end until it happens. This is where we enter into the world of dark magic. Sometimes, researchers and inventors end up hurt or dead, because of the unknown, which lies ahead of them. That’s why we call it the dark magic. It is called ‘dark’, because it is magic shrouded in mystery, like a footpath can be shrouded in the darkness of the night.”
Many students looked worried.
“I know how you feel,” Cacao empathized with them. “Until now, you weren’t aware that magic can be that dangerous, but it is no different with any other subject. Throughout the history of the world, there were chemists, who exploded together with their laboratories. There were biologists poisoned by plants. There were zoologists eaten by animals. There were physicists killed by gravity. There were electricians fried by electricity. So naturally, there were also magi slayed by magic, and wizards destroyed by their own magical items.”
He stroked his beard before he continued, “research isn’t always safe, and we don’t want to repeat the tragedies of the past, which is why this year we’ll cover all the past mistakes from the field of magic. It will be a difficult year for you, but I do hope that you’ll pay attention like never before.”
Cacao walked between the desks, and when he arrived near the desk with Sage, he snapped his fingers above her head. Her hair stood up and her head was pulled up and back by an invisible force. Without another comment, Cacao went back to the front of the classroom, and continued his speech, while Sage’s hair fell down due to gravity.
“This year, if you don’t plan to give me all your attention, don’t ever call me your teacher. Sooner or later, you’ll make a fool out of yourself, and I don’t teach fools,” he spoke in a very sad voice, almost as if he was recalling some of his past students, who became the above-mentioned fools, by repeating the mistakes of their predecessors.
Chervil began looking through the book, turning it page by page. But soon she realized something odd and raised her hand.
Cacao was surprised to see her hand, but pointed his palm at her and nodded, allowing her to speak up. She stood up and said, “professor, my book is empty.” She showed the white blank pages inside her book.
“Sit down,” Cacao commanded, and Chervil did. “Yes, your books are empty. I’ll unlock each page daily in the class. I don’t want you to read about this on your own, or to read too much at once. These are very difficult topics. Some are very hard to read, and some are very hard to forget. You may even have trouble sleeping, but for the sake of your future, the school cannot isolate you from reality.”
Once again, Cacao stroked his beard, then looked at the clock. “I guess we can finish the class early today. We’ll start covering the new textbook tomorrow. Also, please don’t try to unlock the book on your own. These books include defensive charms, which will attack you, if you try breaking in without my permission.”
Most students in the class would never try breaking in, but Cacao wasn’t talking to most of his students. He knew exactly, who were the two troublemakers.
Sage was massaging her hair, staring daggers at the teacher. She was clearly mad about the method, which he used to wake her up. Chervil, on the other hand, had her characteristic smirk of curiosity, and Cacao knew, that she was already thinking about ways to unlock the book.
“Tomorrow we'll start reviewing the first chapter. Your homework is to mentally prepare yourself. That's all for today. Goodbye students,” Cacao said in order to end the lesson early.
The students stood up and said their collective bye. As soon as the teacher stepped out of the classroom, many other students followed, pleased by the shortness of today’s lecture. Most of them quickly gathered in groups and talked about the textbook, trying to guess the future topics of their History class.
Ten minutes later, only two students were left in the classroom – Chervil, who still sat at her desk staring at the book, and Sage, who was standing next to her, with her textbook in her hand.
“Give it up,” Sage advised her. "He's using stronger charms every year. And last year, you blew up our bedroom.”
Whenever students studied in Hecate, they lived together in pairs in one cottage. For those students, who came to Hecate, already knowing with whom they would share the cottage, their pair could be acknowledged by the school and they would be allowed to stay together in one cottage for the next nine years. However, for those students, who came without a partner, their roommates were assigned by a lottery.
For all the teachers in Hecate, the fact that the two biggest troublemakers lived together, was like a mysterious action of Heavens. Many were worried, that they would further influence each other, and the troubles would only grow, but the opposite had happened.
Even though both girls were troublemakers separately. Together, Chervil and Sage were like a wildfire and a blizzard. Their ways of thinking, their plans, and their actions were so opposite, that almost all the time, they diminished each other’s presence and reduced each other’s influence on the environment.
“I’ll be more careful this time,” Chervil responded.
Sage pouted. “If you turn my bed to ashes again, I’ll turn you into a chicken and sell you to a farmer,” she threatened, before she quickly walked out of the classroom.
Chervil grimaced, unhappy that Sage cannot hear her response, but she said it anyway, “basic law of magic: you cannot use magic on humans.” Then she packed her stuff into her bag. Afterward, she stood up and an idea went through her mind. "Wait, was she threatening me with corrupted magic?” she asked herself, then ran outside trying to catch up to her roommate in order to confirm this assumption.
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