‘Mona wait up!’

The voice of a little boy dressed in a dark blue uniform, and gray slacks was calling after a girl of similar age. The two of them stood out amongst the other children rushing around the courtyard, as they were the only children with large ears that came to a point at the tip.

‘Well would you hurry Z? If you were any slower the snails would outrun you!’

The little girl called Mona was in a rush to get herself, and her brother, to a lecture on spirits; a vital lesson, especially for Elves.

The two came bursting forth from a crowd of similarly dressed children, all wearing the uniform of their university.

These kids were the nation's finest, having the rarest affinities within the country, and being specially selected to serve with the same respect and care as nobles.

This was a common theme throughout the world’s nations, and Teodora was no different.

‘Oh thank the gods, we made it!’

‘No thanks to you…’

Mona gave a vicious look to her counterpart, but the boy couldn’t care less. His eyes had lit up upon seeing the lecture room that was decorated with knowledge from around the world.

‘Psst. Mona, Z, you two are late.’

The whispering girl hailing the two was the voice of their worried friend Neveah.

‘Has the lecture started yet?’

‘No, you two made it just in time.’

‘Did you hear Arthur today, his paper was sooo…’

As the two trailed off into their own conversations, Z started to move around the room; maps and books were casually tossed on tables and shelves, and large artifacts had been cased in glassed with inscriptions explaining their origins.

Z was enthralled with one in particular, an enchanted bow forged from his homeland; and when he thought of his home, tears welled in the boys eyes.

‘Okay class, find your seats; today we’ll be discussing the spirits.’

Spirits were an important force of nature for all living beings. They bless each child with an affinity at their moment of birth, and create the cycles of the world; like how the rivers empty into the sea, and how the seas flow back into the rivers.

Finding his own seat beside his sister Mona, the trio listened intently to their lecturer; a middle aged Elf who looked unhappy to be here until noticing the children of his race within the lecture hall.

‘Okay kids, the first thing to remember about the spirits is that each of you will one day become your own spirit.’

With that, the lecturer turned to draw a great owl on the blackboard behind him.

‘As most of you will know, this is a depiction of Artemis, the ferrier of spirits.’

Artemis himself had never been seen by mortals, but he was always depicted as owl to represent knowledge and wisdom; it was the same insignia used by Teodora, and their wise king.

‘All around you, right as we speak, is the realm of spirits. A plane of existence that’s layered over our own. Even now as we speak, your ancestors are watching over you.’

That wasn’t exactly true. No one knew if spirits retained the memories of their lives, or if they only blessed the members in their lineage; it was a nice thought though, and the ambiguous truth was labeled too complex for the young audience.

‘Now each and every one of you have been blessed with a certain affinity, some of which only appear once in a century!’

A hand is raised in the crowd, that hand belonging to Z.

‘Erm… do you have a question?’

‘Yeah, I thought the Elves were always blessed with two affinities!’

Z was speaking of the Elvish inheritance; the unique, racial affinity for magic.

‘That comes from your bloodline, it isn’t a blessing from the spirits.’

‘Oh I see.’

Most children may have been flustered at being incorrect, but Z was genuinely intrigued by the answer and felt no shame for being incorrect.

‘To continue if there are no other questions, a person affinity is not a measure of their skill or ability. Affinity is the aptitude for an aspect of life; think of it as measurable talent.’

The same hand is raised again, but this time it’s ignored.

‘Now when your affinity is tested, your blessing is categorized and a suggested area of study is given to your parents. Some of you were very fortunate to be given affinities which are vital to our kingdom.’

Z’s hand remains raised, and his eyes start to burn a hole in the head of the instructor. No longer capable of ignoring the curious boy, the instructor took the bait.

‘You again? What questions do you have this time?’

‘If an affinity is not a measure of skill, does that mean anyone can do the things we do?’

It was a reasonable question, but it had annoyed the lecturer as he was just getting to that part before being interrupted.

‘Yes and no. Anyone can become a court physician or knight; but only you, the talented children of our great kingdom, can truly excel in your fields of study.’

An affinity was, inpart, talent just as the instructor said. If one had no talent for being a knight, then they would be a bad knight and vice versa.

An affinity of knowledge or magic was truly just a talent for those specific aspects.

The kid raised his hand once more, seemingly unhappy with the answer given.

‘Excuse me, but what is your name young man?’

Fed up with interruptions of his lecture, a method of giving a one -sided lesson, the instructor had intended to mark the boys name down and ask him to leave.

‘Zion Ishtal, sir.’

ZION ISHTAL?!?!?!

The instructor had made a miscalculation; a bad call. Zion was not to be trifled with, and had been given special privileges by the wise king of Teodora himself.

At the given name the gasp of the classroom was audible, leaving Mona and Neveah outwardly embarrassed.

Zion was a name well recognized, but apparently his appearance was still unknown to the children of his class.

Slapping a new attitude over the old one, the instructor began anew.

‘Please ask away, I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have Sir Zion haha…’

Unaware of the tension Zion had caused in the room, his eyes sparkled with the invitation to ask questions, and began to go down his list of curiosities.

It was a long day at the university.

Intermission End