Upon the reaction to Keane's singed eyebrow, the nearly four-decades-old professor would laugh nostalgically. "That happened about a year ago today. I made the mistake of having my students practice too closely together, and placed my aeromancer next to my pyromancer. Oxygen fans flames, flames become harder to control, and I am left with several painful burns. At least the other ones aren't really visible. and yes. It hurt. Quite a bit, thank you very much."
At this time, the professor would start spinning an orb of water on the palm of his hand at a very high speed, to keep his subconscious mind occupied, and to keep it from it's task of flooding his mind with ideas and excess thoughts. "I certainly do hope it rains. I don't know how many more days I can wait before I get impatient about it and stop letting nature do the work."
With a wistful grin, he would begin speaking in glowing terms of his students. "Well, the first student I found was young Hideki Arata. He was the one responsible for my missing facial hair. Interestingly, he already had a very good aptitude for spells, and needed no help on that front. He wished me only to help him control his powers and himself. He was a pyromaniac, you see. Addicted to his own powers.
"Second came Ichiro Makoto, the aeromancer. He was a valued addition to the team, because his aloof mannerisms were a constant reminder to let small things go, and focus on the important things in life. He came to me with an innate sense for toxins on the air, but not much else. He is now excelling in wind magics, bubble magics, you name it. Quick learner that one.
"Third, Yori Katsuro. He was the most down-to-earth of any of us, no pun intended. He is a geomancer, you see. He has the peculiar feature of being unable to show any true emotions he might have. The four other students and I have a running pool to see when he finally snaps. Anyway, he wanted me to teach him abilities to alter the nature of earth, rather than just move it. He could have pulled off that mud trick back there without any water or really as much effort.
"Fourth came Taro Daichi. He was adept in the most recent kind of magic I've ever heard of. Not many people these days can claim to be a metallomancer. He came to me with both anger issues and a determination to make his spells a little less lethal. Not a good combination. You see, metallomancy tends to leave a lot of sharp edges, and accidents happen... However, he is progressing nicely.
"Lastly, Ryoichi Otonashi, the student I have most taken under my wing. He came to me with, wouldn't you know it, great proficiency in hydromancy. Not only that, but he knows how to manipulate ice, whereas I have a strict 32 degree limit. He has promised to teach me the secret when he figures it out. He has always been a little timid, that Ryo. However, he has gained enough confidence to be a reliable de facto leader for splinter teams when they occur. In fact, at the infamous day three battle, he was invaluable to efforts to keep the populace alive."
Upon mention of day three, the professor would fall silent for a moment and recall the battle. He was happy to relate the story, as always, but this one carried a bit of sadness to him. "So, I suppose that's my entire school. I have been unfortunate in the realm of newer recruits, but I have been given an offer by a rather powerful man to establish a training center here in Cizok if the current national strifes go a certain way... So here's hoping!"
The professor would look up once more at the clouds with an almost disapproving expression.
Last edited by Syntaphar on Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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