"All of you here," began Mistress Tatiana, "have been chosen to become greater mages. Can anyone tell me what that means?"

Once more, Svetlana raised her hand.

"Yes?" asked the mistress.

"It means we are to learn battle magic," she said, with a rather smug look.

"That is correct," the mistress continued, "but battle magic is all about inflicting damage on the enemy. Before you can master such skills, you must learn the rudiments of casting, only then can you advance to the more difficult spells. Up until your unleashing ceremony, you have been kept on magebane. What does that do?"

"Suppresses magical ability," offered Oksana.

"Good, now you've all studied the magical alphabet and can recite the letters without aid. The next step is to string them together in complex arrangements to unleash the power within you. Any questions so far?"

Katrin raised her hand, "What spell are we to learn first?"

"We will begin with calm water," replied Mistress Tatiana. "Here, you see a bowl of water, rather a simple thing overall. I shall stir the water with this stick, creating waves and currents, and then still it with a spell. Now, watch as I demonstrate. Afterwards, I'll explain what I did."

She picked up the silver stick, using it to stir the water and create small waves. Quickly placing it back on the pedestal, she held her hand over the bowl, palm down as the words of magic came to her lips, and then the water went glassy smooth.

"You just heard me recite the magical words," she explained, "but you must form the correct image in your mind as well. Why is this important?"

"You must link your gestures to the image," said Katrin, "or the spell will fail."

"That's correct," she replied. "Now, who would like to go first?"

When no one volunteered, the mistress picked a student at random. "Oksana, let's have you begin."

The young woman stepped forward, placing her hand above the bowl. Mistress Tatiana stirred the water, then nodded her head. Oksana mumbled the words, making them difficult for the others to hear, but the effects were soon felt. First, the air buzzed, as it did whenever a spell was cast, and then the surface of the water went smooth.

"Very good," said the mistress, "you have taken the first step in casting. Soon, we'll have you firing ice shards down the ranges. Now, who's going to go next?"

Each took their turn, with Natalia waiting until the end. When it was her turn, she stepped up to the bowl.

"I bet she messes it up," someone said, though she didn't recognize the voice.

"Quiet!" commanded the mistress. "Go ahead, Natalia."

Natalia raised her arms, holding her hands out over the water. Mistress Tatiana put the silver stick into the water, but when she stirred, nothing happened, as if the water was a ghost. The stick simply passed through, without creating even a ripple.