Brandi followed me up to the crystal. I went first and poked my finger with the needle just as I had in the tent. For a moment there was nothing and a few of the students behind me snickered and mumbled insults about me amongst themselves. I just felt a bit of relief at the idea that it wouldn’t be a big show, but then the air of the room seemed to get pulled around the crystal and created a faint breeze that ruffled jackets and skirts.

A blue flame, the same size as in the tent, ignited above the crystal. It didn’t stop there. It grew to be twice its size and larger than any other mage’s, the flames dancing about and threatening to engulf me. It grew again, a roaring fire that started to spin, pulling more air from the room into it and its flames danced and darted about, growing with each passing second.

Then, just as suddenly as it started Mr Rastle came over and put it out by touching the crystal. He had sweat on his brow and upper lip and his head was pointed down toward the crystal as he let out a breath. He gave me a nervous glance and then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to dab his forehead.

“Ah, best we don’t let that get out of hand, huh? Do you have any options on your MBD?”

I nodded and tapped the piece of metal at my temple. The MBD blinked into existance over my eyes. I spent a moment watching Mr. Rastle as he looked at me like an animal that may attack at any seccond. It seemed he didn’t expect the reaction the crystal gave.

There were a new group of eight icons in my vision. Beside them were descriptions of each skill and at the bottom of each icon was a number and my current amount of points.

There were more options than I expected. I could only afford three new skills if I stayed away from the more expensive one. After a few minutes of debating, I made my choices.

I needed a heal and had a couple of options that showed up. The cheapest of the bunch was one named heal. It repeaired most damage, but couldn’t do anything if it was beyond cuts and scratches.

There was a new skill that would display a map of a place as I explored it, which seemed like a good idea as it also increased the distance I could track witches.

My last skill was the one that I debated the most over. I read its description a few times to make sure I understood it, but it still felt wrong to take. To be more virile meant easier seeding of magic which I could use, but Brandi already complained about almost choking. I took it because in the end it would make things easier on me. Selfish, maybe, but if I needed to build a coven then the better I could statisfy my witches, the easier it would be to take care of each new witch.

Brandi stepped up after I finished and while her flame was far smaller, it seemed to burn just as bright. Once again, Mr. Rastle looked haggard and put the flame out after only a few seconds. He sent a glare my way, but I didn’t ackownledge it as I was too interested in the new window that popped up in my MBD. It showed Brandi’s vision and it was a little strange to see.

‘You seeing my stuff?’ she asked through the mental link we shared as she scrolled her list. Most of it was greyed out.

‘I see it. Didn’t expect to, though. Makes sense, I guess, but a warning would have been nice.’ I moved to stand beside her and pulled her a step back from the crystal and Mr. Rastle. ‘What are you able to get?’

‘Looks like either two normal spells or one seeded spell. The seeded spell could prove useful.’ She scrolled to it and tapped on the icon.

Unequal Exchange (Saturate)

Using the saturate's natural ability to alter the inner workings of magic, those caught in the black cloud of Unequal Exchange lose health and one (1) charge of a seeded magic at random. That one charge is carried back to the caster to a random seeded magic that does not have a charge other than Unequal Exchange. If all other magic is seeded the point is expended in damage to the caster.

‘You weren’t kidding. That downside could catch us off guard if we’re not careful, though.’

‘It’s not something we would have to really worry about, I don’t think. I could go with the two other spells though,’ she said and tapped on each in turn so they displayed side by side. ‘I can probably learn Unequal Exchange at some other point, these spells aren’t ones that I can learn through reading or teaching.’

'Wind Displacement'

Create a whipping razor wind around the caster that makes attacking dangerous as well as distorts the image of the caster.

'Living Link'

Create a link between the caster and another. This creates a two way link where healing and damage are shared between the target and caster.

‘You had better choices than I did,’ I said and looked over the options once more. ‘Its your decision, so what are you thinking?’

‘I want the seeded magic. I want to know how its gonna change with your power.’ She frowned a little and turned to me. ‘I’ll defer to you, though. You’re the one that is going to have to make battle plans around what skills I have.’

I nodded. ‘More options are usually better.’

The frown deepened and dimpled her cheeks. ‘I’ll let you choose then, that way if I’m not happy I can blame you.’

I chuckled. ‘Fine, go with the seeded magic. I’m curious too on how it might change.’

She rocked on her heels a few times as she made her selection. Her WBD flickered and the new spell appeared in an open slot next to her other seeded magic. With that done we both took our places with the others that finished. They were leaning against the back wall and talking amongst themselves about their choices. Brandi and I stayed toward the corner as none of them would want to talk to us. Then Shawn came over.

“Hey…,” he said. His plump witch behind him looked on with concern. “You two get anything good?”

“Uh…” I started and looked to Brandi in hopes that she could make sense of why he was talking us. She didn’t say anything and I turned back. “Somewhat. I got a few support spells. Brandi choose a seeded magic.”

“You could afford a seeded magic?” said the plump witch.

“This is Tabitha,” Shawn said with a quick gesture.

“Yeah, we won some witch skill points in the duel we had with the professor,” Brandi said and a pained expression passed over Shawn.

“About that—”

“No worries,” I said before he could continue and he closed his mouth. “Nothing to think about. It worked out for us in the end.”

“You sure?” he asked. He looked between us. A pained expression came over his face, as if not being able to appologize hurt him. I nodded and looked to Tabitha.

“What did you choose?” I asked and she gave me a excited smile once she got past the surprise of being asked. She looked very cute when she smiled.

We fell into converstation while the testing continuned. I had forgotten how nice it was to just talk with others. It was the first time I actually felt accepted and it was a feeling I didn’t want to lose. I knew it wouldn’t last through the next day as I would be meeting my new delver group. I had no doubt that their opinion of me would be lower than my classmates, if not more so.