“Conjuration is considered by many to be the first form of magic,” Amaurea said with her lilting voice, still casually sitting on her table, “before bonds with Espers were understood and binding rituals developed, humanity lived in a world of monsters and Titans – unable to access magic and, therefore, unable to defend themselves.

“The first would-be mages called out to the void in the hopes that something would respond,” she continued, voice growing quiet, “and something did.”

Her fiery gaze swept over the room, her silence stretching out for a few seconds until she had everyone’s attention. “Can anyone speculate as to what happened?”

A student across the room answered, “The first Esper was bonded?”

“No,” Amaurea responded, “Anyone else?”

Samorn raised her hand next. “They were devoured?”

Whoa, very dark Samorn.

Amaurea smiled, “That’s right. Mind, body and soul were devoured by the spirit drawn across the veil, which then went on a rampage for more delicious morsels. You see, in order to survive on this side of the Veil, a spirit needs a constant source of aether. The earliest mages learned that the greatest source of aether available in the material plane was the spiritual energy that resides in each living creature.”

Tension rose amongst the class as they considered the story.

“Good,” Amaurea nodded with a thin smile, “when you entered this building, most of you probably looked at the wards and the defensive measures and thought, ‘what overkill.’ I’m happy to see that replaced with a healthy dose of fear, especially since trained mages – with their magical muscles trained extensively – possess far more aether for spirits to feast upon.

“But, we’ve come a long way since then. Those initial mages eventually learned to formalize their rituals, summon spirits that better aligned with their own convictions, and then form bonds that turned those spirits into Espers.” Her smile widened as she spread her hands, “And here we are now, able to study magic with a scientific lens – or at least a formal one, for the more religious amongst you.

“Are there any questions before I continue?”

Shaya rose her hand and Amaurea nodded at her. “What happens when a soul is devoured? Can it be freed if that spirit is destroyed?”

The Professor tapped her bottom lip as she considered her response.

Probably filtering it through Imperial doctrine so she doesn’t offend people again, Shaya thought bitterly.

“That is an excellent question, but not one that is easily answered,” Amaurea began, “Let me simplify so it doesn’t derail today’s lecture: spirits and souls are never truly destroyed, at least in the popular theories of the Aetherium most scholars embrace. Similar to how your Spectrums may exert an influence upon you, the devoured soul becomes a part of the spirit and might exert an influence over them as well – assuming the Will of the soul was powerful enough.

“Some scholars also speculate that the spirit inherits some of the soul’s power, and that’s it’s common for spirits to consume one another in war. The threat always being that if a spirit consumes too much that differs from it too radically, its identity changes towards that which it warred against. This is the root of some beliefs in the material world that consuming your enemy or prey makes you stronger, popular amongst the golkah and the races that branched out from them, such as yourself.”

“That’s, uh, pretty horrifying,” Shaya said.

“Do not think on it overly in your first year,” Amaurea shrugged, then smiled at Shaya, “While I encourage you to keep asking such questions and considering the wider implications of what we study and what we’re capable of, let’s focus on the basics first.

“Now, before we dive into how to conjure otherworldly beings,” Amaurea said, “we need to discuss the basics of cosmology.”

The professor’s white tattoos glowed with soft light as she gestured dramatically, leaving behind an illusion of three globes.

“The beauty of magic is that anyone can access it, if they so choose,” she continued, “the source of magic has many different names across the different cultures of our world – and no doubt beyond - but they all reference an entirely magical plane of existence, full of spiritual beings. To some cultures, this world is made up of many planes, to others it is simply an overlap atop the material world, and to others still it is indescribable and alien.

“One thing that scholars have generally agreed upon, however, is that our world is separated from what we generally term the Aetherium by the Veil.“ With a gesture, her three globes resized and nested within one another. “The thoughts and beliefs of those in the material plane pass through the Veil and shape the Aetherium, which is reflected in the spirits a culture might interact with. The Espers and spirits you call upon in the Empire will look different than those we call upon in Vulkhad, for instance, but similarities in our cultural stories means that some aspects may still be relatable.”

Shaya frowned and raised her hand again. With another nod from the Professor, she spoke, “But stories can change over time. Is it possible for a plane, spirit or even Esper to change as the stories they’re linked to change as well?”

“Very astute,” Amaurea gave Shaya another gaunt smile, “yes, there are actually records of Espers changing radically. Imagine an Esper of a ruler that once lived, renown for their courage and empathy towards the people of their kingdom. Many revered them as a saint after their passing for the compassion they showed to the down-trodden. But, years later, atrocities come to light that showed the ruler murdered and disposed of peasants to make it seem like they had eliminated poverty in their kingdom. If enough people believed those atrocities to be true, that Esper may change entirely...but if beliefs were conflicted, two Espers might exist, both weakened because of the split beliefs of the people.”

Shaya’s hand flew over her notebook, practicing her short hand as she tried to capture all of this information. Her writing didn’t look legible, but she hoped she could piece it together later.

“Now we know that those who form a bond with an Esper can become mages, since that Esper can create channels within the mage that allows them to draw aether through the Veil and into our reality,” the professor’s eyes glowed red as her illusion shifted, a dot in the material globe connected by a line to a dot in the Aetherium’s globe, “this bond requires that the spirit and person align in their ideals and convictions, at least to a degree. But this is not a simple ordeal, for all spirits are in some way alien to us sapients – they do not perceive reality, time, emotions, and thoughts the way we do.”

Wait, Shaya squinted at the red glow in Amaurea’s eyes, is she casting illusions using Ruby aether?

“Samorn,” Shaya whispered, “can you cast illusions with Ruby magic?”

Samorn frowned, then looked up at Amaurea’s eyes. Her eyes widened. She turned back to Shaya, hand somehow still taking notes on what the professor was saying, “No, I didn’t think that possible. I thought illusions fell within my domain of Azurite.”

Very interesting.

“Scholars have tried to categorize spirits into three vague classes,” Amaurea continued, her illusion shifting again to instead show a ghostly human, an elemental of shifting flames, and a shifting mass of teeth and horns.

“Class One spirits are those closest to sapient thought - they are called shadows, ghosts, animal totems, kami, and much more. They tend to exhibit motivations and thoughts similar to that of most sapients. These are the animal totems, the fragments of ancestral spirits left behind to guide future generations, and the religious Saints held together by belief and worship.” The ghostly human floated to the fore, its shape shifting to match those Amaurea described. “Most of us draw from this class to use as our Espers, as their influence upon us rarely leaves us utterly alien to other people. In turn, however, these spirits tend to offer limited power.

“Class Two spirits care less for sapient thought and the material world, for they belong to the primal chaos of creation and destruction, of change and entropy,” the illusion changed, the ghost fading as the elemental took center stage and began shifting as Amaurea continued speaking, “Known as elementals, psychopomps, asuras, jinn or fae, these spirits share a few motivations and thoughts in common with sapients who would summon them. Deals with them are less predictable, and their influence inevitably changes practitioners to make them more alien to their own kind.

“But, these spirits offer a lot of power if they can be bonded and controlled. They tend to have more sympathetic implements for a mage to call upon, possess a wide understanding of Seeds, or can draw upon more than one Spectrum.”

But my mo- my Esper can draw upon more than one Spectrum, and she’s only class one, Shaya thought, then made a note in her question column: Are all Class Two spirits stronger than all Class One spirits?

“Last, but certainly not least, are Class Three spirits.” The ghost and elemental faded entirely, allowing the class to focus on the growing mass of gnashing teeth. “Known as outsiders, angels, devils, demons, proteans, and titans, their shapes, sizes, and portfolios vary wildly – as do their motivations.”

The professor’s tone became very serious, “We won’t speak of them further in this class, but note that you should never try to make contact with them. Plenty of examples exist in too many legends already – starring as villains or poor victims of their hubris.”

A wave of confusion spread through the class. Even Bri looked up from her notes, her brow furrowed with frustration and even a tinge anger. “Angels can’t be evil,” she whispered, “they’re beings of pure good.”

Gods, please don’t let this crazy professor get herself executed or expelled.

I have too many questions for her!