Theo was caught by surprise when Beth jumped out at him as he exited the lift onto level seven. He shrieked in fright, quickly glancing around in embarrassment, before turning a glare Beth’s way. Thankfully, the hallway was mostly empty, though there were a few stragglers who glanced towards them with smirks.

  “Man, you almost sounded like Ned Flanders,” Beth laughed, punching him the arm. “Who knew you liked purple drapes that much.”

  “Fuck you Beth, and your little dog too.”

  “You leave Popcorn out of this!”

  Theo paused, turning to look at Beth who had continued walking passed him. “You named your dog Popcorn?” he said, hurrying to catch up.

  “What? No. You weirdo. Anyway, you ready for our Resonance class? It will be Cerberus, thermal aether that is, this fortnight,” Beth’s voice was half groan. “It’s like, one of my worst resonances.”

  Theo chuckled to himself. He had come to know Beth quite well over the past week. The harmless example of gaslighting was classic for her. Choosing to ignore it, he thought back to the sheet Pat had shown him of his own resonances. Thermal was one of his worst as well, not that that was going to make much of a difference. “I don’t even know why I have to come to these classes yet,” he complained. “I have barely got my meditation and breathing down pat, even with a week a Basics under my belt. How am I meant to learn simple skills without being able to channel aether?”

  “You can still learn the theory, I suppose. Just stay close to me, try not to let the others get to you.”

  Theo just nodded, deciding it was best to not dwell on what lay ahead. The first few weeks of classes was always going to be the hardest, and integration with the student population was never going to go smoothly given how he had been brought into the cohort.

  He was still a little shaken by the run in with Jason over the weekend, but he had had a pretty solid bitch session with Beth and Max after the event, and had felt better for it. Of course, that now meant that Max knew his story, and so he had decided to share it with his core group when they had caught up for games later that night. Not that he had gone into too much detail, he was not quite ready to dive into that emotional quagmire quite yet.

  The walk to the room ended up being quick. It was similar to the wooden dojo room that was used for Basics, though twice the size and with small tables on mats set in expanding half circles around a front platform. There were six rows, the inner half circle that was closest to the platform with four tables, and each row growing by two thereafter. Each of the tables held a small stone bowl, about the size of two cupped hands, filled with coal. He was pulled from his inspection by Beth, who rushed them to the far side of the room, grabbing two of the mats and tables in the second to last row.

  “I’ve been told you don’t want to sit near the front of this class,” she whispered to Theo as they sat. “Master Harris is short sighted, so he tends to focus on those who sit in the front two rows.”

  “How do you get this information?” Theo asked, bemused.

  “A girl has her ways.” Beth smirked. “Seriously though, low profile all the way.”

  Theo couldn’t agree more.

  The room filled quickly, the thirty plus students finding places without too much fuss. There were two teaching assistants positioned on either side of the room, third years by the look of their uniforms, chevrons having been sewn onto the sleeves to denote their status. They stood impassively, not responding to any of the questions thrown at them by the first-year cohort. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before Master Harris made his entrance.

  He was a tall man, thick rimmed glasses covering almost a third of his face. His dark hair was thinning, swept over and gelled tightly to his scalp. He wore dark slacks and a white t-shirt, the top button left open. His shoes clapped against the wooden floors, stilling the chatter until it was the only sound that remained.

  His gaze swept the room as he made his way to the teacher’s stage, his eyes comically enlarged through the thick lenses. Every blink was noticeable, giving him a startled owl-like appearance. He sat himself, cross legged, leaning forward onto the waist height wooden table, chin resting on his fists.

  “Welcome to Aetheric Resonance Studies everyone. My name is Master John Harris. Some of you will know what to expect for this class, your elder siblings having been taught by me already,” he nodded to a few of the known students. It was then that Theo realised that Jason was in his class and had taken a seat two rows in front of him and Beth. Great. That meant he was in their dorm section, and they would be in all the core subjects with the asshole.

  “This class is designed to help you better understand the seven aetheric resonances, give you some facility in their basic manipulation, and hopefully, some grounding in why it is important to develop a familiarity with all of them, rather than just your dominant resonance.” This earned a few titters in the room.

  “This may seem contrary to many of you, particularly to those whose families cultivate an elemental bloodline, but I assure you, this will be one of the most important and fundamental of your classes. It is one which you will refer back to countless times as you progress along your cultivation path. I hope for most of you; it is not one that you will refer back to with regret for not having paid enough attention.” His gaze sharpened then, honing in on some of the sniggers that were coming from a pair of girls in the second row on the left side of the room. The pair silenced quickly, heads dropping.

  “Told you,” Beth whispered from his right.

  “This is by and large a practical class, so come prepared each week to be actively working your aether for most of the session.” He paused then, once again scanning the room with his owl-like eyes. “I have been made aware that we have a newcomer to the class, a Mr Theo Rhodes,” he squinted, trying locate Theo.

  Groaning softly, Theo stood, bowing to the teacher. He saw Beth wince in sympathy from the corner of his eye. Quickly, he was waved back to sit, though the damage had already been done. Most of the class had turned around. Jason, he noted, was sneering though it was quickly masked by an oily smile when he noticed Theo looking. Theo struggled to hide his annoyance at being singled out. He understood the intent, but the last thing he needed was another public reminder.

  “For our newcomer’s benefit, we will quickly go over the very basics, though as you will have noted in your class schedules, this fortnight’s focus will be on the Thermal energies.’ He paused then, readjusting his glasses.

  “There are seven dominant resonances that aether assumes on the material planes, which in turn correspond to the Division’s you have been placed into. There is a loose correlation to the kinetic and potential energy types, though of course, as with all systems, there are many variances, and the boundaries are at times elastic.

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  “This is reflected in the mutability of our skills, though you will have more focus on active skills in your Division classes in the second semester. If we were to manipulate aether directly, say to produce heat as one example, thermal energies are your most commonly and easily accessed. However, heat can also be found in the radiant energies, and is also a by-product of nuclear energies at work. If you generate enough friction, mechanical energies can also generate heat.

  “I would encourage each of you to familiarise yourselves with the basics of physics and chemistry, though again, I shall leave that to your Division Instructors to teach. For now, we will simplify the process, focusing on the elemental qualities of our resonances.

  “Most of these will seem logical, such as the association between thermal energy and fire, mechanical and earth, radiant and light. It is this breakdown that helps us to better understand the nature of the skills that can arise from the manipulation of that aether type.

  “There are three polarised pairs, with those being water and fire, earth and air, light and dark. This is important to consider for the inherent strengths and weaknesses of aether. The seventh strand of aether is that of sound. Sound energy, the energy intrinsic to vibration, looks at the ways in which energy passes through different forms of matter. It is often misconstrued as the weakest energy type, but I much prefer to think of it as subtle rather than weak. It is commonly associated with skills that can affect the mind and the way we feel. Any questions so far?”

  He paused, waiting. Theo was rapt, fascinated by the interweaving of science into this new world. A quick glance showed most of his peers looking bored. When no questions were forthcoming, Master Harris stood with a soft grunt.

  A small ball of fire appeared above Harris’ hand, the red glow lighting up his face and reflecting eerily of his glasses. Slowly, it began to rotate in a small circle, joined soon after by a second, and then third ball of flame. For most of the class, this simple demonstration was mundane, with some of the students rolling their eyes or muttering to themselves. For Theo, it was magic. Pure and simple. He leaned forward, watching as his teacher deftly manipulated the three balls of flame.

  Without warning, the balls shot from the teacher’s hand, bouncing from bowl to bowl and lighting the coals on each of the student’s desks. The speed at which they flew caught the watching class by surprise, some of the students in the front two rows falling backwards in shock as the balls of flame bounced past them. Master Harris watched it all with a small smile on his face, clearly having enjoyed shocking the students back to attention. With a click of his fingers, the balls of flame winked out, each of the stone bowls having been lit.

  “Thermal energy. Heat that is generated by the movement of atoms or molecules. A simple manipulation of red aether,” he cleared his throat. “Simple that is, for those of us that know how. This class will teach you some of the practical skills that can come from the manipulation of aether in its most basic form. Thermal for fire,” his hand waved towards the now lit bowls on each of the student’s desks. “Chemical for clean, fresh water. Mechanical for the manipulation of earth, of mass and motion, essential for making shelter. Radiant for light when trapped in the dark. Whilst these may not seem much now, they may be the difference between life and death when on mission.”

  He paused for effect, letting the reminder of why they were training at the institute sink in.

  “When you have only the barest dregs of aether left in your core, a quick flick of thermal energy,” and again Master Harris snapped his fingers, a small spark of flame shooting free, “can become the difference between hypothermia and the loss of limbs for yourself or your team mates.”

  Theo nodded unconsciously, caught up in the teacher’s monologue. When Harris again clicked his fingers, he watched the spark of flame with a sense of longing. So fucking cool!

  “As each of you should now intimately know, we come to the cultivation world with our own strengths and weaknesses for the different elemental types. For those in Cerberus Division, the manipulation of fire and thermal energies should come naturally. For those weak in this area, you will find developing a resonance with this particular aether type, more of a challenge.

  “If you should learn anything from this class, let it be this.” He stepped off the platform then, the act lending weight to the words that came after. “Strengths can be cultivated, and weaknesses overcome. If you find your natural resonances inhibiting you, then find a way to cultivate them. Every second week, our classes will be held in the gardens on level eight, where we will focus on cultivating the specific aether type that is listed in your schedules.

  “The purpose of this class is not just to teach you the basic skills that can be utilised by each type, but to highlight the importance of developing all of your resonances. In fact, the simple act of engaging in the exercises I will be teaching you through the year should find you slowly increasing your attunements.” He paced the front row, eyes scanning across each row of students. The silence grew heavy, until at last he stood to one side, looking over them all.

  “At the end of each fortnight, you will be ranked based upon how well you do in manipulating the specific resonance we are focusing on. At the end of the first semester, your overall position will be tallied as an average of each fortnights ranking. The top three students will be allocated bonus contribution points that can be used in the contribution shop. For second semester, the top three students, as well as the overall most improved will be granted bonus points.”

  Suddenly, the students were all ears. There were no longer any mutterings from the class. Theo recalled the conversation they had had last week, so he knew it was an essential part of getting the resources needed for cultivation. He made a note to himself to re-read that section in his orientation manual – again - when he got back to his room.

  The next hour of the class was focused on the students cultivating their aether whilst focusing on the bowl of flames on their table. For Theo, it was an excruciating exercise in failure, though he did find the rhythm of his breathing settled further and had begun to feel more natural. He could feel bursts of heat coming from some of the tables around him, the other students having managed to focus their attention on the thermal energies, beginning to manipulate the flames directly. Beth he was happy to note spent as much time groaning in frustration as he did.

  He was pulled from his meditation by the sound of Master Harris’ voice.

  “Samantha and Jason, make your way to the front of the class please.” Theo watched as the named students stood, both of whom had been in the first two rows. He silently thanked Beth and her network of informants.

  Neither student looked particularly pleased to have been called out, Samantha fidgeting as she stood the Master’s left, Jason to his right. Theo found it difficult to look at Jason with anything but suspicion. The kid just screamed spoilt brat. Theo wondered if that was a skill, he certainly gave off the vibe.

  “Jason, I am aware you are from the Hydra division, with water being dominant, whilst Samantha, for you it is fire.” Harris spoke to the class, though nodded to each of the students as he named them. “Hydra types, those with a strength in water aether, are more commonly weak in the manipulation of fire. There are of course exceptions to the rule, though it is much more common for strength in polar affinities to require active development rather than it occurring naturally. I am certain, however, that Jason’s father would have drilled into him the importance of shoring up his weaknesses.”

  Theo couldn’t tell if the man was mocking the legacy kid or not. Jason was clearly unimpressed, his face immobile, his eyes tight with anger at having been called out. He was clearly not used to being put into such a position. He caught Theo watching, his scowl growing more pronounced, and his eyes narrowing even further.

  Theo turned away, leaning towards Beth and whispering, “Jason looks ready to bust.”

  “Doesn’t he just!”

  “Can anyone give me an example of a skill or profession that may benefit from someone with strengths in both fire and water?” There was a moment of silence across the hall as the students gathered their courage. Finally, someone from the front row raised their hand, getting a nod from the Master to speak.

  “Steam, mist, and fog based skills require both water and fire aether.”

  “Good, though mist and fog are a little more nuanced. Anything else?” Silence. “No? No one able to think outside the box today. While not an affinity as such, alchemists do particularly well when they have strengths in both fire and water. Not combat focused I’ll grant you, but still, a potent combination for someone more interested in crafting pursuits. It is something for you all to consider in your own time, seeing as though the curriculum is strongly geared towards combat.” He paused to look around the room, nodding to himself as if confirming his own point.

  “Right, back to the task at hand then. The challenge for this fortnights focus on thermal energies will be demonstrated by Samantha and Jason. I will place a ball of flame mid-way between the pair of you. The goal is to seize control of the flame, and pull it towards you. The person that manages to do so will be the winner. Next week, the second hour of class will be a round robin elimination which will be used to establish your initial rankings. Now let’s begin.”

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