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The owner of this piece is Icurthus.\n\nPrompt: \"You teach at a magic school, but you do not teach any magic. In fact, you’re not even a mage. Yet your classes are among the few that every student has to take, no matter what kind of magic they are studying.\"\n\nLinks: https://www.sofurry.com/view/2202739 (SoFurry), https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58923566/ (FurAffinity)", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Writer's Crossing Monthly Prompt entry for November 2024. The owner of this piece is Icurthus.

Prompt: "You teach at a magic school, but you do not teach any magic. In fact, you’re not even a mage. Yet your classes are among the few that every student has to take, no matter what kind of magic they are studying."

Links: https://www.sofurry.com/view/2202739 (SoFurry), https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58923566/ (FurAffinity)", "writing": "[center][b]Scientia potestas est[/b][/center]\n\nI stood by the window, looking at the surrealistic scene of my new reality. Of all the things I have left behind on Earth, I did not think the first thing I would miss would be the sun. Instead of a distant horizon and a bright blue sky, an eerie purple mist with swirls of lighter and darker clouds now filled my vision. In the distance, one of the larger islands drifted lazily by, spinning slowly about its vertical axis as it passed. I watched the floating cone of rock disappear from view as it pulled a few smaller satellite islands along with it, failing to recall the name of the dormitory that took up most of the available space on its upper surface before it was gone.\n\nNewton's second law of motion states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force applied to it, and inversely proportional to the object's mass. In layman's terms, the heavier an object is, the harder you must push to get it moving. And since gravity was constant between any two bodies with mass, lighter islands were pushed along at faster speeds while the heavier islands seemed to move more sluggishly. At the centre of it all, the main college building that occupied the largest island acted like a sun in this weird analogy of a starless solar system.\n\nEven in this irrational realm, detached from any universe or dimension, the natural laws of physics hold sway.\n\n``Yeah, but what is it about exactly?'' a high-pitched female voice from the corridor cut through my thoughts. ``I've never heard of such a Tenet, nor can I imagine a Discipline that sounds even remotely like it will fit in.''\n\nThere was a click as the door opened and it took all my willpower not to turn around and see my new class file into the room. I already found the list of exotic species on my roll call bewildering and feared seeing them in the flesh would overwhelm me. Given the school's main focus of study, I was already at a disadvantage and if my students' first impression of me was someone gawking at them like a fool, it would be impossible to earn enough of their respect to teach them anything. So I remained quiet, standing by the window and pretending to look at the Grand Hall as it passed. Still, I could not help but sneak a peek at the largest of the toys I brought along with me, using the polished metal dome of the machine as a makeshift mirror to spy on the door unseen.\n\nThe first student to enter was a sleek, anthropomorphic unicorn. She complained to her friend about the strange new subject that had unexpectedly become part of their curriculum this semester. She stopped in the middle of her sentence when she saw me and stared at me in disbelief. Instinct kicked in and she turned to flee, but it was blocked off by the feral gryphon she had been talking to, the large creature also having stopped in its tracks.\n\n``Is that... a real human?'' someone behind the gryphon asked. The question was quickly repeated down the ranks of students, the news of their unexpected new teacher spreading like wildfire.\n\nWell, it seems like we were off to a predictable start.\n\n``Come inside, class,'' I said, leaning heavily on my experience as a teacher to convey the necessary authority needed to get these students moving. ``We do not have all day, and Grandmaster Revearne will not be very pleased if this class is to fall behind schedule after the first day.'' Normally, I tried to refrain from dropping names like this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It worked and the students stepped into the classroom, dutifully taking their seats all while keeping an uncertain eye on me.\n\nWhen the last sound of scraping chairs and shuffling feathers died down, I turned to my desk at the front of the room. I retrieved a wand specially adapted so that I could use it and started to write a simple phrase. A whitish mist flowed like ink from the sharp tip, coalescing into wisps of fluffy letters that hovered in mid-air.\n\n[center][b]Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.\nIntroduction to Natural Sciences[/b][/center]\n\nFinally, I could not delay the inevitable any longer. I turned around to face my students for the first time, clutching a little too tightly at the wand in a desperate attempt not to fidget with the hem of my jacket. Before me was a vast array of unicorns and gryphons and fairies and gnomes and gnolls and elves and a few other species I could not rightly recall the correct name of. Various shapes and sizes, from the small bipedal kobold dressed in a simple shaman garb, to the imposing feral dragon with black scales who occupied a large section of the back wall.\n\n``Good afternoon, class. I am Mr. Mordant and I will be teaching you An Introduction to Natural Sciences.'' I hated the way my voice squeaked when I gave my name. I took a calming breath, hoping it was not too obvious. ``Any questions before we begin?''\n\nThe room exploded in a cacophony of questions and accusations and comments about how this class should not be mandatory, everyone talking over one another. I had to whistle through my teeth before enough calm returned for me to make myself heard.\n\n``Yes, I am human. Yes, I am a teacher here despite my lack of magical abilities. And no, this is not a mistake. Natural Science is from now on a core subject for this semester and it will count quite a fair bit towards your final overall grade.'' I turned to the unicorn who had entered the classroom first. ``I recall you had a more worthy question when you first arrived, Mrs Ellistmere?''\n\nI hope I had the name correct. And that I did not butcher the pronunciation as much as I feared. My worries seemed to pale next to hers, for she whimpered as soon as I addressed her and tried to hide behind her gryphon friend. I let her be for the time being until she seemed more at ease. According to the Grandmaster, she was one of the top performers of this year's attendees and I had high hopes that she would excel at the material. I would not want to ruin her chances just because I insisted everyone recognises my authority as a teacher. There was a time and place for everything after all.\n\n``The question was: What exactly is Natural Sciences about?'' I repeated, turning my attention to the rest of the class instead. It was not exactly how I had planned the first lesson to kick off, but it was a natural starting point and I grabbed the opportunity to gain as much of the students' interest as possible early on. ``The simple answer is that it is the study of how the world works, without the influence of magic. This semester, we will focus on a broad overview of the subject. From next year on, you will be expected to specialise in one or two of its sub-disciplines: Physics, Chemistry or Biology. Your subject will depend on the Tenet of magic you will be majoring in, of course.''\n\n``This is a school of magic,'' the dragon at the back pointed out. His tail flicked back and forth like an annoyed cat?s and he glared at me with a look that made my skin prickle. ``Why do we need to learn about something that purposefully excludes magic?''\n\nGrandmaster Revearne had taken the time to single this student out when he showed me around during my orientation. The rumour was that when the dragon came of age, a sage from his home universe had prophesied that Napaxu would be the first draconic Grandmaster of the school in more than twenty-four centuries. A promise that was easy to believe, for the black dragon was considered the most talented student to have walked these halls in the past decade. In the first semester of his studies, he had shown amazing skill in various magical Tenets. He understood the theory of magic almost intuitively and excelled at every project requested of him. On top of his raw talent, he was smart, charismatic and had obvious leadership skills. But he lacked the temperament of a good leader. The other students may look up to him and follow his lead eagerly, yet the dragon used the reverence he received to better himself and offered his fans barely anything in return.\n\nHis self-centred goals aside, the Grandmaster agreed that he was the key to my eventual success or failure in this school. If I could impress Napaxu and convince him this subject was important, the rest of the class would follow. So I remained silent momentarily, pretending to consider my response with the needed respect even though I had expected this question and came with a prepared reply.\n\n``How much magic would you say humans like me possess?''\n\n``Is that an honest question?'' The dragon growled lowly, tapping the claws on his front paw in a rhythmic sequence on the tiled floor.\n\n``Humor me.''\n\n``How much aerial manoeuvrability do pigs have?''\n\n``And yet, unlike the other magically inept worlds, Earth held its own in the Merger Wars.''\n\nThe tapping of the dragon's talons stilled, and I had to fight not to smirk in victory. So, round one goes to science.\n\n``That was something I never understood, sir,'' one of the elves admitted. ``Everywhere across the multiverse, magical abilities define the social standing of the caster. Humans are the only exception to this rule.'' \n\nUsing my wand like a pointer, I indicated the quote I had written down and only realised it was a mistake when it was too late. The magic reacted to a stray desire of mine to draw attention to the letters, causing the phrase to pulse and sparkle like a neon sign. It took only a moment before I managed to get the fireworks to stop, but by then the damage had been done. The pupils erupted in laughter and I had to resort to another whistle to regain control of the class. A very unimpressed growl from Napaxu finally calmed everyone down and I feared I had lost my advantage.\n\nScience blunders and round two goes to magic.\n\n``That is what this class is all about,'' I backtracked to the elf's comment after an awkward thanks to my rival at the back of the room. ``If we understand how the world works in its natural state, we will know how it can be manipulated to get a desired effect. It doesn't matter if you use natural processes or magical techniques. For instance, the use of magic to give a semblance of life to clay figurines is well documented. But where you have golems, we have androids that achieve the same thing without any magic involved.''\n\n``Yes, but you cannot deny that your technology is limited to what the laws of nature dictate. For instance, can your science reanimate the dead?'' Napaxu folded his paws and grinned at a gnoll next to him. When he received an approving fist bump to his shoulder, the dragon turned his glare back to me, allowing a small tendril of smoke to curl from one nostril. ``How can we take science seriously if magic is obviously superior?''\n\n``Humans have managed to make the dead twitch and we will be looking at it in Biology, but it is nowhere near the full animation that magic has already proven itself capable of.'' If my lessons were to stand a chance of being taken seriously, I had to find a good counterargument. Yet, I could not recall a gadget that outperformed its magical counterpart. In the end, the best I could do was damage control.\n\n``There are a lot of examples where science has to catch up with magic,'' I conceded the point, much to the dragon's delight. ``But a lack of knowledge does not imply something is impossible. For instance, do you know of a spell that allows the caster to manipulate time?''\n\n``No.'' Napaxu flicked the smoke away with a toss of his head. ``We do not understand the flow of time enough to manipulate it.''\n\n``So we agree that knowledge underpins all ability. That is why the school's governing body has decided to include Natural Sciences in the curriculum from now on.'' \n\nNapaxu snorted another plume of smoke, thicker this time. He did not respond though. It was a narrow round, but magic had taken the initiative and now held the advantage.\n\n``What exactly is the difference between... Biology and... and... the other two?'' the kobold at the front of the class asked. I turned and was surprised to see the genuine interest in his eyes. Even though I have not won the big scary dragon over yet, a decent percentage of the students were interested in the answer. Maybe the lead magic enjoyed was not as big as I had feared.\n\n``Well, Biology is the study of life,'' I said, abandoning my debate with Napaxu for the moment. ``It teaches us things like the structure and function of organs, or the interaction between organisms in a shared environment. For example, it explains the conditions needed to revive a patient whose heart has stopped. Those who plan to specialise in the Tenets of Natural Magic, such as Healing or Druidology will go deeper into this branch of science.\n\n``Then there is Chemistry, which is the study of the building blocks of the cosmos. It teaches us how everything is put together and how different elements can interact. For instance, did you know that there is a metal that will always start burning when it comes in contact with water?''\n\n``But isn't that just Alchemy?'' another student asked. I had hoped that the description of a metal that starts burning spontaneously would have sparked some interest. Instead, magic struck again and extended its lead.\n\n``Chemistry did evolve from Alchemy, but it is not the same thing,'' I pondered a moment on how true Alchemy differed from Earth's own. ``Remember that Alchemy focuses on the magical influences of different materials while Chemistry considers the mundane characteristics of those same materials. For instance, Alchemy tells us that Silver is a devastating weapon against undead, while Chemistry describes Silver as inhabiting bacterial and fungal growth because the metal's ions are highly reactive to cell membranes. So if you plan on specialising in the Tenets of Alterations, such as Alchemy, Enchantments or Potion Making, you will be expected to have a good understanding of Chemistry.''\n\nSlowly but surely, science clawed away at the lead magic enjoyed as I demonstrated to the class how all knowledge was intertwined, magical or otherwise. My descriptions of the various fields of science were being received better than I had feared, and I hoped the playing field was back to even. I may pull this one off without the approval of the school's star student.\n\n``And the final subject is Physics.''\n\nMy gaze drifted back to the dragon at the far end of the room as I introduced the branch of science that was his future. ``It is the study of the underlying rules by which the cosmos functions. It teaches us why the dormitories and labs outside revolve around the main School building while the recreational centres, in turn, revolve around the dormitories, or why all the floating islands have to spin on their axes.'' I stopped for a moment, looking at the students with a confident smirk before dropping a hint I hoped would be too enticing to ignore: ''It also describes how a bolt of lightning is produced.''\n\n``So, are you saying you can teach us how to cast lightning?'' Napaxu said, stepping into my trap without thinking twice. He was sitting more erect now, with his ears raised like an eager dog and I knew I had his interest. I had hoped to demonstrate the power of science with a little, visually stimulating experiment and had come prepared. It was time to play my trump card and win this game of wit once and for all.\n\n``No, I don't teach magic,'' I said as I turned to the selection of toys I had brought with me for this very occasion. Since the hint for a chemistry demonstration had not roused any interest, I left the bottle with potassium alone and instead picked up the large contraption with the shiny dome. I should have brought along a dissected frog leg and some electrodes, but I honestly did not expect Necromancy to be mentioned in class today.\n\n``I teach how nature creates lightning, and how we can manipulate that process to create lightning ourselves.'' I placed the domed object on the counter where everyone could see what I was doing. I allowed a moment to bask in my victory when I noticed I had the complete attention of the entire class, for the ability to cast lightning was a skill few mages could manage safely.\n\n``This is called a Van de Graaff Generator,'' I explained as I started to crank the hand lever at the base of the modified device. ``It is not the most powerful lightning generator on Earth, so it will only make a small spark. But it does serve the purpose of explaining what lightning is and how it works.'' I cranked the handle a while longer as the students whispered among themselves until I was satisfied that I had built up enough voltage on the large dome. ``As you have seen, no magic was involved with what I did. And yet...''\n\nAfter asking for silence, I brought the grounding rod with its metal ball closer to the main dome, letting the electric potential difference discharge with a sharp pop. The little spark had not even been an inch long, but the reaction was exactly what I had hoped for. The class erupted in an excited squabble as they tried to ask questions or explain to their peers how a magically inept species could replicate one of the most elite spells. It was in the end a deep growl from Napaxu that finally stilled the commotion once more.\n\n``How did you do that?'' the dragon demanded. He was leaning forward to eye the generator suspiciously and I knew that the future of this class was now secure. After a tough game of wit, it seems Matchpoint belonged to Science.\n\n``I'll tell you, later in the semester,'' I replied, satisfied that I had won the dragon over as well.\n\n``Humor me,'' the dragon challenged me instead.\n\nI was on such a high after the successful demonstration that I did not even think twice before making a serious mistake.\n\n``I'm not going to go too deep into the theory,'' I started to teach, ``but in a nutshell, Chemistry describes how everything in the world is made up of small particles called atoms, from the air we breathe to the metal of this generator's dome. Physics, in turn, describes these atoms as having a heavy centre that consists of a kind of energy we call, for the lack of a better term, a positive charge...''\n\nI gave the class a quick overview of how the generator separated the different atomic charges through simple friction, collecting a positive charge on the dome and how equalising that potential difference led to a flow of electrical energy called lightning. I was about to stress how dangerous electricity can be when a simple comment from Napaxu froze me to my core.\n\n``Wow, I can feel it!''\n\nI looked up from the generator to see the dragon sitting on his haunches, his face alight with excitement as he stared down at his forepaws. He was pressing his palms together and a pale light already flickering from between the slender fingers.\n\n``Napaxu, stop what you are doing!'' My focus was now solely on the dragon, my mind racing with warnings of the destructive power of lightning and possibilities of how to diffuse the situation.\n\n``Why?'' He looked up from what he was doing to sneer victoriously at me. ``Are you a little jealous that you need a machine to do what I can achieve with my bare hands? Magic is obviously superior.''\n\n``This is not a contest, Electricity is extremely dangerous and unpredictable,'' I stepped towards the dragon before remembering not to get too close to the troublesome student. My body would be a new variable to his immediate environment and my mere presence could accidentally discharge the energy he had gathered.\n\n``Calm down, human, I got this.'' Napaxu returned his focus to his forepaws again and the light, which had dimmed when he addressed me, returned to its earlier brilliance. He ignored my pleas to stop and added more charge to the significant Potential Difference he had undoubtedly built up already.\n\n``Hey, check my fur,'' the gnoll beside him said, giggling in delight as she held one hand closer to the dragon. The shaggy fur around her paw were already standing on end, confirming my worst fears.\n\n``Don't touch him!'' I shouted, throwing all dignity to the wind. ``Don't even get near him!''\n\nThe urgency in my voice as I called the closest students to safety finally broke through the dragon's confidence, and the light between his paws flickered out as he watched how I directed one student the long way around to safety.\n\n``Is this really necessary?'' he asked. \n\n``Don't move!'' I replied instead when I saw the tension in his shoulders relax. ``Whatever you do, don't separate your paws - and keep that charge you have as stable as possible. Any wrong move by you, by anyone close to you even, can kill one of us.''\n\nTruthfully, I had no way of knowing what voltage the dragon had managed to generate with his little display, but I was not going to take any chances. Given his large frame, I guessed it would take quite a lot to cause him serious harm, yet I could confidently say the same was not true of the smaller creatures like the gnomes and fairies amongst the students.\n\n``What should I do?'' Napaxu asked, his bravado evaporating in the face of the danger he had put his fellow students in.\n\nWhat should he do? That was a good question. Normally, to discharge static electricity one merely had to allow it to dissipate into the ground. Like I did with the generator by touching the Grounding Rod to the dome. Only this time, the dome was a much more vulnerable, living creature. And I had no idea how magic influenced the electromagnetic charges of atoms, nor what a mage would feel or should do once they have separated said charges.\n\n``The tension you are feeling will try to resolve itself,'' I said, choosing my words carefully. ``It will either want to dissipate into the ground, or the two opposite charges will try to snap back towards each other. Whatever you do, don't let that happen all at once. Instead, try to...''\n\nI did not finish my suggestion.\n\nFor whatever reason, his forepaws separated ever so slightly and he lost what little control of the charge he had. The clap of a static discharge much larger than the one I demonstrated minutes ago thundered from between his palms. Napaxu had no time to roar out in surprise or pain as he convulsed and collapsed to the ground. I was by his side within moments, pressing my hand to his cheek as I knelt beside him. He groaned, much to my relief, and curled in on himself as he cradled his forepaws protectively to his chest.\n\n``Here, let me see,'' I said softly but sternly, leaving no room for doubt that the large creature was to obey me without question. He weakly tried to pull his paws out of my hands, yet I held him firmly and carefully pried his fingers open. The wound in the centre of his palm was not as bad as I had feared. Other than a cracked scale, one could hardly see anything. Still, his breathing was shallow and when I touched the soft scales of his neck, I could feel his pulse was fast and erratic.\n\n``We need to get you to the Clerics' Office. Can you get up and walk?''\n\n``I don't know,'' Napaxu managed to squeak out.\n\n``I've got some training as a healer,'' the unicorn, who had been so terrified of me at the start of the class, suddenly spoke up. I turned and was surprised to find her next to me, her hands already glowing a pale blue as she tried to soothe the pain.\n\n``Thank you, dear, but this is beyond the skills of a first-year student,'' I said softly. I tried to keep my voice calm for the sake of the worried students, but I didn't feel very convincing. ``I need to have him checked out thoroughly. Who knows what damage he may have done to his organs.''\n\n``Damage?'' Napaxu asked with a pained groan. The unicorn's healing helped him to sit up again, but it was clear he was still in a lot of pain.\n\n``Yes,'' I replied sternly. ``You are lucky you didn't stop your own heart!'' The dragon did not try to argue back this time. Instead, he recoiled from me like a scolded dog and I immediately felt horrible. He was in obvious pain and I didn't need to make his humiliation worse, even if one could argue that it was for his own good. ``Come, let's get you checked out,'' I said in a more gentle tone, encouraging him to stand up with a pat on the shoulder.\n\n``If there is one thing I need you to learn today,'' I told the class as we reached the door, ``it is that science describes the fundamental laws of the cosmos. We can try to understand them, and often we improve our surroundings by learning how to manipulate them to our advantage. But we can never break them. Those that try it, do so at their peril. Class dismissed.''\n\nIn the end, it seemed that it was always going to be a win for Science.", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
Scientia potestas est


I stood by the window, looking at the surrealistic scene of my new reality. Of all the things I have left behind on Earth, I did not think the first thing I would miss would be the sun. Instead of a distant horizon and a bright blue sky, an eerie purple mist with swirls of lighter and darker clouds now filled my vision. In the distance, one of the larger islands drifted lazily by, spinning slowly about its vertical axis as it passed. I watched the floating cone of rock disappear from view as it pulled a few smaller satellite islands along with it, failing to recall the name of the dormitory that took up most of the available space on its upper surface before it was gone.

Newton's second law of motion states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force applied to it, and inversely proportional to the object's mass. In layman's terms, the heavier an object is, the harder you must push to get it moving. And since gravity was constant between any two bodies with mass, lighter islands were pushed along at faster speeds while the heavier islands seemed to move more sluggishly. At the centre of it all, the main college building that occupied the largest island acted like a sun in this weird analogy of a starless solar system.

Even in this irrational realm, detached from any universe or dimension, the natural laws of physics hold sway.

``Yeah, but what is it about exactly?'' a high-pitched female voice from the corridor cut through my thoughts. ``I've never heard of such a Tenet, nor can I imagine a Discipline that sounds even remotely like it will fit in.''

There was a click as the door opened and it took all my willpower not to turn around and see my new class file into the room. I already found the list of exotic species on my roll call bewildering and feared seeing them in the flesh would overwhelm me. Given the school's main focus of study, I was already at a disadvantage and if my students' first impression of me was someone gawking at them like a fool, it would be impossible to earn enough of their respect to teach them anything. So I remained quiet, standing by the window and pretending to look at the Grand Hall as it passed. Still, I could not help but sneak a peek at the largest of the toys I brought along with me, using the polished metal dome of the machine as a makeshift mirror to spy on the door unseen.

The first student to enter was a sleek, anthropomorphic unicorn. She complained to her friend about the strange new subject that had unexpectedly become part of their curriculum this semester. She stopped in the middle of her sentence when she saw me and stared at me in disbelief. Instinct kicked in and she turned to flee, but it was blocked off by the feral gryphon she had been talking to, the large creature also having stopped in its tracks.

``Is that... a real human?'' someone behind the gryphon asked. The question was quickly repeated down the ranks of students, the news of their unexpected new teacher spreading like wildfire.

Well, it seems like we were off to a predictable start.

``Come inside, class,'' I said, leaning heavily on my experience as a teacher to convey the necessary authority needed to get these students moving. ``We do not have all day, and Grandmaster Revearne will not be very pleased if this class is to fall behind schedule after the first day.'' Normally, I tried to refrain from dropping names like this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It worked and the students stepped into the classroom, dutifully taking their seats all while keeping an uncertain eye on me.

When the last sound of scraping chairs and shuffling feathers died down, I turned to my desk at the front of the room. I retrieved a wand specially adapted so that I could use it and started to write a simple phrase. A whitish mist flowed like ink from the sharp tip, coalescing into wisps of fluffy letters that hovered in mid-air.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Introduction to Natural Sciences


Finally, I could not delay the inevitable any longer. I turned around to face my students for the first time, clutching a little too tightly at the wand in a desperate attempt not to fidget with the hem of my jacket. Before me was a vast array of unicorns and gryphons and fairies and gnomes and gnolls and elves and a few other species I could not rightly recall the correct name of. Various shapes and sizes, from the small bipedal kobold dressed in a simple shaman garb, to the imposing feral dragon with black scales who occupied a large section of the back wall.

``Good afternoon, class. I am Mr. Mordant and I will be teaching you An Introduction to Natural Sciences.'' I hated the way my voice squeaked when I gave my name. I took a calming breath, hoping it was not too obvious. ``Any questions before we begin?''

The room exploded in a cacophony of questions and accusations and comments about how this class should not be mandatory, everyone talking over one another. I had to whistle through my teeth before enough calm returned for me to make myself heard.

``Yes, I am human. Yes, I am a teacher here despite my lack of magical abilities. And no, this is not a mistake. Natural Science is from now on a core subject for this semester and it will count quite a fair bit towards your final overall grade.'' I turned to the unicorn who had entered the classroom first. ``I recall you had a more worthy question when you first arrived, Mrs Ellistmere?''

I hope I had the name correct. And that I did not butcher the pronunciation as much as I feared. My worries seemed to pale next to hers, for she whimpered as soon as I addressed her and tried to hide behind her gryphon friend. I let her be for the time being until she seemed more at ease. According to the Grandmaster, she was one of the top performers of this year's attendees and I had high hopes that she would excel at the material. I would not want to ruin her chances just because I insisted everyone recognises my authority as a teacher. There was a time and place for everything after all.

``The question was: What exactly is Natural Sciences about?'' I repeated, turning my attention to the rest of the class instead. It was not exactly how I had planned the first lesson to kick off, but it was a natural starting point and I grabbed the opportunity to gain as much of the students' interest as possible early on. ``The simple answer is that it is the study of how the world works, without the influence of magic. This semester, we will focus on a broad overview of the subject. From next year on, you will be expected to specialise in one or two of its sub-disciplines: Physics, Chemistry or Biology. Your subject will depend on the Tenet of magic you will be majoring in, of course.''

``This is a school of magic,'' the dragon at the back pointed out. His tail flicked back and forth like an annoyed cat?s and he glared at me with a look that made my skin prickle. ``Why do we need to learn about something that purposefully excludes magic?''

Grandmaster Revearne had taken the time to single this student out when he showed me around during my orientation. The rumour was that when the dragon came of age, a sage from his home universe had prophesied that Napaxu would be the first draconic Grandmaster of the school in more than twenty-four centuries. A promise that was easy to believe, for the black dragon was considered the most talented student to have walked these halls in the past decade. In the first semester of his studies, he had shown amazing skill in various magical Tenets. He understood the theory of magic almost intuitively and excelled at every project requested of him. On top of his raw talent, he was smart, charismatic and had obvious leadership skills. But he lacked the temperament of a good leader. The other students may look up to him and follow his lead eagerly, yet the dragon used the reverence he received to better himself and offered his fans barely anything in return.

His self-centred goals aside, the Grandmaster agreed that he was the key to my eventual success or failure in this school. If I could impress Napaxu and convince him this subject was important, the rest of the class would follow. So I remained silent momentarily, pretending to consider my response with the needed respect even though I had expected this question and came with a prepared reply.

``How much magic would you say humans like me possess?''

``Is that an honest question?'' The dragon growled lowly, tapping the claws on his front paw in a rhythmic sequence on the tiled floor.

``Humor me.''

``How much aerial manoeuvrability do pigs have?''

``And yet, unlike the other magically inept worlds, Earth held its own in the Merger Wars.''

The tapping of the dragon's talons stilled, and I had to fight not to smirk in victory. So, round one goes to science.

``That was something I never understood, sir,'' one of the elves admitted. ``Everywhere across the multiverse, magical abilities define the social standing of the caster. Humans are the only exception to this rule.''

Using my wand like a pointer, I indicated the quote I had written down and only realised it was a mistake when it was too late. The magic reacted to a stray desire of mine to draw attention to the letters, causing the phrase to pulse and sparkle like a neon sign. It took only a moment before I managed to get the fireworks to stop, but by then the damage had been done. The pupils erupted in laughter and I had to resort to another whistle to regain control of the class. A very unimpressed growl from Napaxu finally calmed everyone down and I feared I had lost my advantage.

Science blunders and round two goes to magic.

``That is what this class is all about,'' I backtracked to the elf's comment after an awkward thanks to my rival at the back of the room. ``If we understand how the world works in its natural state, we will know how it can be manipulated to get a desired effect. It doesn't matter if you use natural processes or magical techniques. For instance, the use of magic to give a semblance of life to clay figurines is well documented. But where you have golems, we have androids that achieve the same thing without any magic involved.''

``Yes, but you cannot deny that your technology is limited to what the laws of nature dictate. For instance, can your science reanimate the dead?'' Napaxu folded his paws and grinned at a gnoll next to him. When he received an approving fist bump to his shoulder, the dragon turned his glare back to me, allowing a small tendril of smoke to curl from one nostril. ``How can we take science seriously if magic is obviously superior?''

``Humans have managed to make the dead twitch and we will be looking at it in Biology, but it is nowhere near the full animation that magic has already proven itself capable of.'' If my lessons were to stand a chance of being taken seriously, I had to find a good counterargument. Yet, I could not recall a gadget that outperformed its magical counterpart. In the end, the best I could do was damage control.

``There are a lot of examples where science has to catch up with magic,'' I conceded the point, much to the dragon's delight. ``But a lack of knowledge does not imply something is impossible. For instance, do you know of a spell that allows the caster to manipulate time?''

``No.'' Napaxu flicked the smoke away with a toss of his head. ``We do not understand the flow of time enough to manipulate it.''

``So we agree that knowledge underpins all ability. That is why the school's governing body has decided to include Natural Sciences in the curriculum from now on.''

Napaxu snorted another plume of smoke, thicker this time. He did not respond though. It was a narrow round, but magic had taken the initiative and now held the advantage.

``What exactly is the difference between... Biology and... and... the other two?'' the kobold at the front of the class asked. I turned and was surprised to see the genuine interest in his eyes. Even though I have not won the big scary dragon over yet, a decent percentage of the students were interested in the answer. Maybe the lead magic enjoyed was not as big as I had feared.

``Well, Biology is the study of life,'' I said, abandoning my debate with Napaxu for the moment. ``It teaches us things like the structure and function of organs, or the interaction between organisms in a shared environment. For example, it explains the conditions needed to revive a patient whose heart has stopped. Those who plan to specialise in the Tenets of Natural Magic, such as Healing or Druidology will go deeper into this branch of science.

``Then there is Chemistry, which is the study of the building blocks of the cosmos. It teaches us how everything is put together and how different elements can interact. For instance, did you know that there is a metal that will always start burning when it comes in contact with water?''

``But isn't that just Alchemy?'' another student asked. I had hoped that the description of a metal that starts burning spontaneously would have sparked some interest. Instead, magic struck again and extended its lead.

``Chemistry did evolve from Alchemy, but it is not the same thing,'' I pondered a moment on how true Alchemy differed from Earth's own. ``Remember that Alchemy focuses on the magical influences of different materials while Chemistry considers the mundane characteristics of those same materials. For instance, Alchemy tells us that Silver is a devastating weapon against undead, while Chemistry describes Silver as inhabiting bacterial and fungal growth because the metal's ions are highly reactive to cell membranes. So if you plan on specialising in the Tenets of Alterations, such as Alchemy, Enchantments or Potion Making, you will be expected to have a good understanding of Chemistry.''

Slowly but surely, science clawed away at the lead magic enjoyed as I demonstrated to the class how all knowledge was intertwined, magical or otherwise. My descriptions of the various fields of science were being received better than I had feared, and I hoped the playing field was back to even. I may pull this one off without the approval of the school's star student.

``And the final subject is Physics.''

My gaze drifted back to the dragon at the far end of the room as I introduced the branch of science that was his future. ``It is the study of the underlying rules by which the cosmos functions. It teaches us why the dormitories and labs outside revolve around the main School building while the recreational centres, in turn, revolve around the dormitories, or why all the floating islands have to spin on their axes.'' I stopped for a moment, looking at the students with a confident smirk before dropping a hint I hoped would be too enticing to ignore: ''It also describes how a bolt of lightning is produced.''

``So, are you saying you can teach us how to cast lightning?'' Napaxu said, stepping into my trap without thinking twice. He was sitting more erect now, with his ears raised like an eager dog and I knew I had his interest. I had hoped to demonstrate the power of science with a little, visually stimulating experiment and had come prepared. It was time to play my trump card and win this game of wit once and for all.

``No, I don't teach magic,'' I said as I turned to the selection of toys I had brought with me for this very occasion. Since the hint for a chemistry demonstration had not roused any interest, I left the bottle with potassium alone and instead picked up the large contraption with the shiny dome. I should have brought along a dissected frog leg and some electrodes, but I honestly did not expect Necromancy to be mentioned in class today.

``I teach how nature creates lightning, and how we can manipulate that process to create lightning ourselves.'' I placed the domed object on the counter where everyone could see what I was doing. I allowed a moment to bask in my victory when I noticed I had the complete attention of the entire class, for the ability to cast lightning was a skill few mages could manage safely.

``This is called a Van de Graaff Generator,'' I explained as I started to crank the hand lever at the base of the modified device. ``It is not the most powerful lightning generator on Earth, so it will only make a small spark. But it does serve the purpose of explaining what lightning is and how it works.'' I cranked the handle a while longer as the students whispered among themselves until I was satisfied that I had built up enough voltage on the large dome. ``As you have seen, no magic was involved with what I did. And yet...''

After asking for silence, I brought the grounding rod with its metal ball closer to the main dome, letting the electric potential difference discharge with a sharp pop. The little spark had not even been an inch long, but the reaction was exactly what I had hoped for. The class erupted in an excited squabble as they tried to ask questions or explain to their peers how a magically inept species could replicate one of the most elite spells. It was in the end a deep growl from Napaxu that finally stilled the commotion once more.

``How did you do that?'' the dragon demanded. He was leaning forward to eye the generator suspiciously and I knew that the future of this class was now secure. After a tough game of wit, it seems Matchpoint belonged to Science.

``I'll tell you, later in the semester,'' I replied, satisfied that I had won the dragon over as well.

``Humor me,'' the dragon challenged me instead.

I was on such a high after the successful demonstration that I did not even think twice before making a serious mistake.

``I'm not going to go too deep into the theory,'' I started to teach, ``but in a nutshell, Chemistry describes how everything in the world is made up of small particles called atoms, from the air we breathe to the metal of this generator's dome. Physics, in turn, describes these atoms as having a heavy centre that consists of a kind of energy we call, for the lack of a better term, a positive charge...''

I gave the class a quick overview of how the generator separated the different atomic charges through simple friction, collecting a positive charge on the dome and how equalising that potential difference led to a flow of electrical energy called lightning. I was about to stress how dangerous electricity can be when a simple comment from Napaxu froze me to my core.

``Wow, I can feel it!''

I looked up from the generator to see the dragon sitting on his haunches, his face alight with excitement as he stared down at his forepaws. He was pressing his palms together and a pale light already flickering from between the slender fingers.

``Napaxu, stop what you are doing!'' My focus was now solely on the dragon, my mind racing with warnings of the destructive power of lightning and possibilities of how to diffuse the situation.

``Why?'' He looked up from what he was doing to sneer victoriously at me. ``Are you a little jealous that you need a machine to do what I can achieve with my bare hands? Magic is obviously superior.''

``This is not a contest, Electricity is extremely dangerous and unpredictable,'' I stepped towards the dragon before remembering not to get too close to the troublesome student. My body would be a new variable to his immediate environment and my mere presence could accidentally discharge the energy he had gathered.

``Calm down, human, I got this.'' Napaxu returned his focus to his forepaws again and the light, which had dimmed when he addressed me, returned to its earlier brilliance. He ignored my pleas to stop and added more charge to the significant Potential Difference he had undoubtedly built up already.

``Hey, check my fur,'' the gnoll beside him said, giggling in delight as she held one hand closer to the dragon. The shaggy fur around her paw were already standing on end, confirming my worst fears.

``Don't touch him!'' I shouted, throwing all dignity to the wind. ``Don't even get near him!''

The urgency in my voice as I called the closest students to safety finally broke through the dragon's confidence, and the light between his paws flickered out as he watched how I directed one student the long way around to safety.

``Is this really necessary?'' he asked.

``Don't move!'' I replied instead when I saw the tension in his shoulders relax. ``Whatever you do, don't separate your paws - and keep that charge you have as stable as possible. Any wrong move by you, by anyone close to you even, can kill one of us.''

Truthfully, I had no way of knowing what voltage the dragon had managed to generate with his little display, but I was not going to take any chances. Given his large frame, I guessed it would take quite a lot to cause him serious harm, yet I could confidently say the same was not true of the smaller creatures like the gnomes and fairies amongst the students.

``What should I do?'' Napaxu asked, his bravado evaporating in the face of the danger he had put his fellow students in.

What should he do? That was a good question. Normally, to discharge static electricity one merely had to allow it to dissipate into the ground. Like I did with the generator by touching the Grounding Rod to the dome. Only this time, the dome was a much more vulnerable, living creature. And I had no idea how magic influenced the electromagnetic charges of atoms, nor what a mage would feel or should do once they have separated said charges.

``The tension you are feeling will try to resolve itself,'' I said, choosing my words carefully. ``It will either want to dissipate into the ground, or the two opposite charges will try to snap back towards each other. Whatever you do, don't let that happen all at once. Instead, try to...''

I did not finish my suggestion.

For whatever reason, his forepaws separated ever so slightly and he lost what little control of the charge he had. The clap of a static discharge much larger than the one I demonstrated minutes ago thundered from between his palms. Napaxu had no time to roar out in surprise or pain as he convulsed and collapsed to the ground. I was by his side within moments, pressing my hand to his cheek as I knelt beside him. He groaned, much to my relief, and curled in on himself as he cradled his forepaws protectively to his chest.

``Here, let me see,'' I said softly but sternly, leaving no room for doubt that the large creature was to obey me without question. He weakly tried to pull his paws out of my hands, yet I held him firmly and carefully pried his fingers open. The wound in the centre of his palm was not as bad as I had feared. Other than a cracked scale, one could hardly see anything. Still, his breathing was shallow and when I touched the soft scales of his neck, I could feel his pulse was fast and erratic.

``We need to get you to the Clerics' Office. Can you get up and walk?''

``I don't know,'' Napaxu managed to squeak out.

``I've got some training as a healer,'' the unicorn, who had been so terrified of me at the start of the class, suddenly spoke up. I turned and was surprised to find her next to me, her hands already glowing a pale blue as she tried to soothe the pain.

``Thank you, dear, but this is beyond the skills of a first-year student,'' I said softly. I tried to keep my voice calm for the sake of the worried students, but I didn't feel very convincing. ``I need to have him checked out thoroughly. Who knows what damage he may have done to his organs.''

``Damage?'' Napaxu asked with a pained groan. The unicorn's healing helped him to sit up again, but it was clear he was still in a lot of pain.

``Yes,'' I replied sternly. ``You are lucky you didn't stop your own heart!'' The dragon did not try to argue back this time. Instead, he recoiled from me like a scolded dog and I immediately felt horrible. He was in obvious pain and I didn't need to make his humiliation worse, even if one could argue that it was for his own good. ``Come, let's get you checked out,'' I said in a more gentle tone, encouraging him to stand up with a pat on the shoulder.

``If there is one thing I need you to learn today,'' I told the class as we reached the door, ``it is that science describes the fundamental laws of the cosmos. We can try to understand them, and often we improve our surroundings by learning how to manipulate them to our advantage. But we can never break them. Those that try it, do so at their peril. Class dismissed.''

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