The room had grown loud with conversation, many students talking with those beside them. There were fourteen people in total, and Wilt was a bit surprised at the density of students. He idly noticed that his wardrobe was the most plain of the group, though he didn’t really care. After seeing one of the teachers wearing what had looked like farmer’s clothing, he decided that most people didn’t really care about the wardrobe of chanters. In fact, he suspected that he was one of the only people to pay so much attention to it. He would need to stop comparing himself to others, especially with his awkward position at the school.

As soon as the first teacher entered the room, the talking stopped. It was as if their presence had smothered the sound. Wilt wasn’t dumb and kept his mouth shut like all the others. Councilor Pali was famous for his militaristic style, and ruthless behavior on the battlefield. Ashley’s tone and behavior only strengthened the image that Wilt had maintained of the man. He wore a stiff military uniform, that matched perfectly with the one Ashley wore. His was adorned with several more badges though, and Wilt noticed that those were also covered in wards. He had a well-chiseled face, but Wilt also noticed some wrinkles around his eyes. That was impressive considering how long his life span was. Wilt wondered how old the man was, though that was apparently a well-guarded secret.

Another person entered the room after, and the students somehow grew quieter. He didn’t think it was possible, but he thought some people had held their breath. Councilor Janette walked in, and despite the friendly smile she gave the students, the tension in the room had risen. The councilors were powerful, and everyone knew that much. Seeing two, who were well known to be in opposite factions, in the same room was unsettling. Wilt wondered if the class would be divided, or if they would have to pick who would be their teacher. Either reality was worrying, and he felt his shoulder’s tense.

“Hello students. I am councilor Janette, and this is Councilor Pali. We will both be your teachers for this class. I will go over some basic information, before passing on the honor of teaching for the day, to Councilor Pali.”

The man in question nodded when his name was mentioned, and Janette’s friendly tone let Wilt relax a little. She had dismissed his worries at the moment, and she continued explaining some things about the class.

“This class will be fundamentally different from what you would normally experience. Your normal schedules are now irrelevant. This will be your only class, and you will attend it twice a day. When you leave, you will realize that this applies only to you, and that other students will still be able to take normal classes. However, if you wish to attend one of your other classes, you must receive permission from one of us. We encourage you to seek more relevant information but want to stop you from wasting your time and potential. Normally, we would let you discover that path. That no longer applies to you. I need you all to understand that this class will be challenging and will be geared towards getting you ready for battle.”

She paused taking a short breath, before glancing at the other councilor. The man only nodded before the chalk beside him started floating and writing things on the board behind him. Wilt’s eyes went wide as he realized that the man didn’t say anything. It just started happening. While the chalk was writing something, councilor Janette started giving them a lecture.

“I will give you the opportunity to leave today, but if you remain you must stick with this system for the remainder of the month. As per the announcement you have seen this morning, Larkin has decided to strengthen their war effort. We believe that they will begin a wholesale invasion within a few months. They have developed their soldiers through some nasty methods, and they are extremely dangerous. From what I have seen, a single one of their new soldiers would be able to kill a lesser chanter without worry.”

The councilor took a longer pause here, giving the students time to process the words that had been spoken. Wilt felt his own mind racing. He wasn’t a coward, but he wasn’t really a fighter either. She wasn’t done yet and continued.

“Most of you are probably frightened by this information, but I want you to consider what will happen if you run away. The chanters are the only ones who can fight Larkin, and those in this room are the most talented chanters we have ever seen. When I say that, I mean by a wide margin. We will need your aid in the coming battles.”

That last sentence felt like it was directed at Wilt. The councilor’s eyes seemed to linger on him, before moving back to the other students. Wilt considered what it would mean to agree to this. He would be expected to fight and kill, both things he was terrified of. However, he knew the councilor’s words were true. Larkin wouldn’t let chanters live, and their invasion would mean the deaths of thousands. He remembered his family, and his sister who had a small talent for chanting. It was minor when Janette had checked but it was there, and he doubted that the extent of the ability would matter to them. Even still, he wasn’t certain about joining.

“You have all learned the basic histories, and I will not remind you of what Larkin’s invasion would mean. With that in mind, I want to stress that we both will do everything in our power to ensure that you are ready, this will include whatever resources you may need to do so. However, none of what to come will be easy, especially not for those of you who want to walk this path. Those who choose to leave will not be stopped if you do so now.”

It was obvious that councilor Janette was being truthful, although no one rose from their seats. The expression councilor Pali had when Janette had been speaking, told everyone what he thought about those that would leave. Wilt remained seated, though he was terrified. He didn’t have any grand dreams of fighting and killing, though he didn’t think he had a choice in the matter. The councilors could say that he did, but with his power there wasn’t really another option. Larkin wouldn’t spare him or his sister, and he wanted to be able to fight against that at the very least.

“Good, that means you all understand what is at stake. Now, onto more practical matters. This class takes place twice every day, once at this time, and the other is two hours after lunch bell.”

The institute was famous for its bell tower, and the magical bell that would ring every hour. It had been made decades ago, and still worked without any additional Ein. The mystical sound it made was famous in the city, as it could be heard even from within his father's library. The city seemed designed to carry the noise throughout its streets.

“Furthermore, we will be covering every topic necessary to form chants in battle, as well as instructing you on wards and their functions. I will also be handing out basic equipment to all those in this class. I will leave this next part to councilor Pali.”

After she finished speaking, she merely stepped backwards, leaving the other councilor to take the center of the room. Wilt had expected her to leave the room, but she remained. He wondered what she was going to do but focused on councilor Pali as he spoke.

“None of you are in any of my classes yet, but we will be instating many of the policies from those classes here. The first of which is that we will be sharing the grades of the people here. By that I mean your grades as chanters, which is based on more than just Ein values. That is only one factor of the evaluation. Councilor Jannette has your evaluations, and you will receive them at the end of the class. For now, I will simply display your standing among your peers. I believe it is important to facilitate competition and it will show you how important you are. Remember that each of you was chosen for this class for a reason.”

The councilor sounded self-assured, and his tone was flat like his daughter, although it was significantly deeper. The ranking that the councilor spoke of was written on the board behind him, and Wilt couldn’t say that he was surprised to see himself at the top. Even if he lacked the experience of the other students, it was clear that he possessed an unprecedented amount of Ein. Wilt felt several gazes turn towards him, but he kept his face forward. He hoped that people couldn’t see his concern, but he wasn’t very good at hiding it.

“I know that you might want to argue with the rankings, instead, you should take this opportunity to motivate yourselves. Try and surpass one another through hard work and results. If you have any questions about the rankings, bring it to one of us privately, and we can answer your questions then. For now, let us move onto the main topic that I will be teaching.”

After the initial shock of the rankings, the councilor began explaining his class. It was structured around teaching them about shortening chants or making chants for each situation. They would go beyond that too, as everyone in the class had large amounts of Ein. Apparently, they could force chants to work with the amount of Ein they possessed. The proper way of doing chants didn’t apply to them as much. Once everyone had a foundation in forming chants that way, he would move onto more complex topics.

Wilt was surprised at some of what he was willing to share, as his ability to manipulate Ein was what made him so powerful. This only stressed how dangerous their situation really was. Finally, he would end the classes with practical lessons on how chanters fought, and what would be truly dangerous for them. Things to watch out for, and how to protect themselves in the middle of a fight. He also explained that there would be mandatory physical training at the end of every other class, and that he expected them to do some exercise on their own.

Wilt was not really the type for exercise, but he wasn’t horribly out of shape either. Hopefully, he could manage whatever the councilor had in mind. As for exercising on his own, he hoped that taking care of the terrasix would count.

Janette stepped up beside the councilor and explained what she would be doing for the classes as well. Her class would focus on operating wards, rather than making them. She would make sure that every student was well protected and had plenty of weapons to wield in tense situations. She would also make sure that they were prepared to use them. Furthermore, she would teach them on the habits and battle styles of those from Larkin. Also, on how to break their formations and dismantle their strategies.

Other than that, she would teach them of affinities and give them tools to speed up the process of gaining one if they wished to. Apparently, she had devices for such purposes. That information seemed to be new as several people gasped at that, and even councilor Pali turned to face her. It seemed to be something that even he did not know about. Wilt considered just how valuable those things must be. She would also test people to discover what affinities they would prefer, or those that suited them best. When she explained the process of the test, Wilt had to wonder how some of those things mattered. She had explained how things like a person’s favorite food could even affect it. Well, it seemed like Wilt’s next few weeks would be interesting at the very least.