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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 26, 2011 18:00:43 GMT -5
Maxim Horvath stood in the large room that served him as a library, having decided to use it for the first group lesson his new students would have. He and Anna had already cleared out all of the texts that he didn't want the newcomers to have access to- the books had been removed to his personal library and his workroom, which Anna would share with him for the time being, as hers was going to be given over to the other students.
Now he waited with his protege for the first of the sheep to arrive.
"Do you have any questions before they get here, apprentice?" he asked, idly straightening the requisite human skull on the table in front of the window.
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Post by Anna Stutler on Jan 26, 2011 18:07:17 GMT -5
Anna glanced around the room. "I don't think so," she said. "You want me to mostly kick back and watch this time? Or give them a little flare?"
She sat on the desk, her feet dangling. Like most practice sessions, she wore a pair of black ballet flats, so that the rubber soles of her shoes wouldn't dampen her connection to the electrical forces of the earth.
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 26, 2011 19:21:44 GMT -5
He considered this for a moment. "It depends," he replied. "What sort of flare would you like to give them?" Anna, at least, he could trust to come up with intelligent plans. She had a delightfully devious mind- that was part of what had drawn him to her. That and the sheer strength of her magic. Only a handful of sorcerers in a century had her potential power.
The mind behind that power, though, that was the important thing. Anna was clever and crafty, and very careful handling on his part had ensured that her craft was never directed against him. He'd been worried for a time when he first took her as an apprentice that she might one day turn on him. She was clever enough that she might actually get away with it if she tried. However, it had been surprisingly easy to win her affections and loyalty, and Anna, once she decided you were worthy of her allegiance, was more loyal than a mastiff.
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Post by Anna Stutler on Jan 26, 2011 19:42:15 GMT -5
Anna shrugged. "A few fireworks are always fun," she said. She chewed on her lip a little as she thought. "Maybe just some quick tricks--get their minds on the 'wow' of it, and they'll be begging to learn as quickly as possible, without asking questions."
The art of misdirection, after all, was a magician's greatest tool. If they dangled the pretty sparkles in front of the girls' eyes, they'd never suspect the real game.
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 26, 2011 19:59:10 GMT -5
The old sorcerer nodded. "Very good," he told his protege. "Yes, by all means, dazzle them. If we can steer them towards desiring petty and impractical spells, we can teach them to increase their power without them actually learning anything of much use. I'll let you decide how best to impress them tonight."
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Post by Anna Stutler on Jan 26, 2011 20:14:22 GMT -5
Anna grinned mischievously and rubbed her hands together. "Lucky me. Guess the rugrats'll be here soon?" She sent a few chairs over to sit in a semi-circle, so that the students would be able to sit around the seal in the floor.
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 26, 2011 21:04:36 GMT -5
"They should be." Horvath checked his watch. "In fact, they should be here any minute now." He planned to hold his new students to a high standard. They would attend their lessons- or they would find he was no longer willing to teach them.
His sharp ears caught the sound of someone knocking. "In fact, I believe our first victim- ah, student, that is- has arrived."
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Post by Rapunzel on Jan 26, 2011 22:43:48 GMT -5
Rapunzel's hands fisted in the pocket of her skirt, and a scaly little snout nuzzled into her palm. She'd had the dress specially made, with layers of skirts to conceal her chameleon friend, so that Pascal could accompany her wherever she went without arousing the suspicion of nobles or whoever else she might meet who was not as apt to be friendly with reptiles as she was. Pascal had been her best - and at times only - friend, and of course he'd had to come along to this, her first class!
She'd been in other classes, of course, but none quite so interesting as those in magic arts. There was a part of her that knew this might not be the safest of endeavors, and for that reason, she'd kept it secret from her parents, who believed she was going on a walk with Eugene (who she was treating wrongly twice, by using him in a lie, a lie he didn't know about, since he, too, did not react too favorably to magic after the whole Mother Gothel debacle). Since magic had been a part of her life as long as she could remember, it was only natural for her to take an interest in it, and it was, she believed, totally harmless, as long as she used it for good, or innocent endeavors.
Upon reaching the building to which she had been summoned - by a note, as promised - she knocked twice on the door before opening the door tentatively and glancing about the room. She had arrived to class pretty early, but she could see that she was not the first one there: there was another girl. She was pretty, in a different sort of way; her eyes were dark and kind of flinty, like Eugene's, and it was clear that she knew a lot. Was she a student, too? She gave the girl a smile before going up to her teacher. "Hello, Mr. Horvath," she greeted him cheerfully. "So lovely to see you again. I can't wait to start learning!"
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 27, 2011 0:41:57 GMT -5
"Hello Rapunzel," Horvath said, smiling in return. He gestured to the semi-circle of chairs arranged around the Seal etched into the floor. "Please take a seat. We are expecting up to four more students."
Nodding towards Anna, he added, "This is Anna Stutler, one of my other students. She's been studying magic for a some time now. If you have questions, feel free to talk to her. She'll point you in the right direction."
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Post by Anna Stutler on Jan 27, 2011 20:03:12 GMT -5
Anna was back to leaning on the desk, casually observing. She gave the girl a 'what's up' nod. "Hey," she greeted, her hands stuck in her back pockets.
Were all of their students going to be wide-eyed innocents? Not that she minded. After all, that was what Horvath had been going for. Still, she hoped that they wouldn't all be so...childish. Who came to class proclaiming that they couldn't wait to start learning? Even Dave had never been so nerdy.
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Post by Rapunzel on Jan 27, 2011 21:35:27 GMT -5
Sitting obediently in one of the chairs to which Mr. Horvath had gestured, Rapunzel bounced up and down a little in excitement. She had only had a few books in the tower, so any opportunity to learn was eagerly taken – and she was excited to see if she could grow her hair back.
The possibility of making new friends was, of course, a bonus. Most people in Corona were too afraid to talk to her, or too polite if they did talk to her – part of being a princess, she supposed. Mr. Horvath hadn’t called her ‘your highness’, so maybe that could be kept secret here, and she could just be another student. Normal.
She smiled at Anna again, and nodded a little, somewhat imitating her action and somewhat acknowledging what Horvath had said about talking to her. “Hi Anna,” she said. “What’s your favorite thing about magic?” She wasn’t sure if Anna wanted to talk to her, but it was worth a try, since they weren’t learning anything yet.
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Post by Bertie Moreland on Jan 27, 2011 22:30:34 GMT -5
Not far behind Rapunzel, Bertie walked up to the mansion, one hand on top of her hat to keep it down as she took in the sight. Arching her eyebrows a little, she glanced down at her hand where she had put on the focus ring given to her, and a shudder ran through her spine. She was sure that she had been seeing things, but Bertie could swear that the ring had been moving to different places in her small flat that she had rented while in this area. That was completely ridiculous, of course, but there was still the nagging sensation that something had been playing with the ring, as though trying to get her to use it.
Thankfully, she'd managed to resist...so far. For now, she would continue to ignore the draw of that king of power. Bertie had been given instructions concerning the ring, and from a very early age, she had been taught that all little girls were supposed to listen to their elders and do what they said. That didn't mean that the draw wasn't there, because it most certainly was. The one thing she wanted to do was to test out the focus ring, but Bertie was determined that, for now at least, she wouldn't do so.
Gritting her teeth and pulling off her hat with a shake of her short-cropped curls, Bertie raised a hand and knocked firmly on the door, waiting for it to be opened.
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 27, 2011 22:44:46 GMT -5
Horvath spared a brief glance for his apprentice, silently indicating that she should start to work on Rapunzel for the moment. For his own part, he gestured, using a spell to open the door and summon a witchlight to guide the next student to the large library they were gathering in.
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Post by Anna Stutler on Jan 27, 2011 22:47:15 GMT -5
Anna raised an eyebrow at the young woman. Really, she couldn't have been more than a couple of years younger than Anna, but she acted like a six year old on the first day of kindergarten. Her boss sure could pick 'em.
"Lots of things," she answered with a shrug. It was easier to be nonchalant--it kept her from getting too sarcastic. "When the others get here I'll give you guys a demonstration."
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Post by Bertie Moreland on Jan 27, 2011 22:51:17 GMT -5
Walking up into the room that the little witchlight led her to, Bertie blinked in surprise as she took in the other two young women who were standing there. One looked to be a few years younger than Bertie, with her dark hair cut rather sloppily so that it framed her face. The other was rather...interestingly dressed, to say the least, and her hair...
Bertie shook her head with an arched eyebrow before she curtsied to Mr. Horvath and smiled politely.
"A pleasure to meet you again, sir," she said, with only slight exaggeration. "And...Er...ladies," she added, as she had no idea what their names were.
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