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Mr Jameson, a balding, plump teacher, stood by his chalkboard and absentmindedly swirled his fingers, causing the chalk to jump around on the tray.
“In these lessons, we will take the long journey of magick together. To understand the present and the future, we must first look to the past.” His eyes glistened as he spoke. Kat could see the passion in him. “In front of you are your textbooks. In it, you will take notes on what you learn here for your final exams.”
He walked through the center of the room, where their desks lined either side of the walkway, and handed out heavy books. Kat held her breath as he passed her; he smelled like faint mothballs covered by an overpowering cologne.
“Open your books to page one.”
Everyone opened their books. Kat squinted her eyes as she struggled to read the small text.
“Today we learn where magick came from and how we are here today. It’s fascinating.”
He smiled and fiddled with his red and white checked tie. “It was five hundred BC when our journey began.” He looked over the classroom and cleared his throat.
Kat took the hint. She grabbed her pen and started scrawling down notes.
“As I said,” he boomed. “It was five hundred BC when our journey began. Small villages of humans sought to understand the elemental forces: earth, air, fire, and water. They wanted to understand how the elemental forces influenced their lives. They fought for ways to obtain food and to survive the droughts and natural disasters that occurred. They sought to understand the ways of the animals and plants they ate for nourishment and the plants and herbs they used for healing.”
Kat scribbled her notes as quickly as she could but wished he would slow down. She caught Angie’s exasperated sigh next to her and realized she felt the same way.
“They wanted to understand the truth of nature—mountains, rocks, streams, and trees,” he continued. “These groups of people saw the world as one. When great disasters of nature occurred, these groups chose to be at one with nature, to understand it, and work with nature rather than against it. Many practiced the art of what they called magick.”
Dana’s hand shot up. “So they were the three founders?”
He shook his head. “No, no. They were the founders of the covens. I’ll be getting to that shortly, Miss Gorgonio.”
Dana rolled her eyes and sighed impatiently. “This class is stupid,” she whispered to her friend, Rayna Smith.
“Right?” Rayna scoffed.
“Miss Smith,” Mr Jameson said. “Something to share?”
She shook her head and looked back at her notes.
“Now, where was I?” He fumbled around with his own notes. “Ah, that’s right. So the more that these groups practiced the art, the more they could tap into the oneness of the world, and it was then that first witches and wizards were born—those who mastered the art and used it for good. They could wield, summon, embody, and influence the four elements of earth, turn metals into other substances, even control and communicate with animals. These groups of people later were known as secret cults.”
“Awesome,” some girl said at the back of the class.
Mr Jameson grinned. “Now, who can tell me who the three founders were?”
Hesitation swept the room, but Angie’s hand shot up first.
“Miss Dupree.”
“Sir.” She sucked in a deep breath. “They were Alamana Cramori of the White Moon Coven, Sienna Morwood of the Harvest Moon Coven, and Dragos Fascinare of the Blood Moon Coven.”
He smiled again, his cheeks bunching up. “Correct. They were at first known as the three powerful ones. Around one hundred fifty AD, the three powerful ones saw the power that their ancestors had kept hidden and how that power could be used if learned properly. As more witches and wizards were born of the ancestors of these cults, the three powerful ones knew they needed to keep peace and order, and split the wizards and witches into three covens. Those who drew their magick from the light, they were known as the White Moon Coven. Their magick was pure and not used to harm. The White Moon Coven are very proud witches and wizards.”
Dana scoffed. “And they think they know it all.”
“Those who drew their magick from both the light and dark were known as who, Miss Gorgonio?”
She smirked. “Our coven, Harvest Moon.”
“That is correct,” he said, and she grinned. “However, it does not excuse you speaking out of turn and putting down our allies.”
“More like their pets,” she muttered under her breath.
Kat understood it. From what she had heard, both covens had indeed been allies, but the White Moon Coven did have a habit of looking down on anyone who wasn’t their own.
Mr. Jameson continued. “Finally, those who drew their magick from the darkness were called the Blood Moon Coven. The three covens balanced the scale of magick on earth. All wizards and witches found themselves with different talents. Those who could master water were known as Sirentis, Ones of the Water.”
A giggle protruded through the classroom and Kat distinctively heard “the rejects” muttered from somewhere behind her.
“Those who could master earth were known as Lumunatariums, Children of the Earth. masters of air were called Ventaes, With the Wind, and masters of fire were called Ignitas—Fire Wielders.”
A small cheer occurred when Ignitas were mentioned. It was true that Ignitas were the most common of the four. Out of the one hundred new students, only nine had been Sirentis, fifteen Lumuntarium’s, seventeen Ventaes, and the rest had been Ignitas.
“A fifth group,” Mr Jameson said, “which is believed to have died out over the centuries, were known as Mornais. Theirs was a magick of the darkness and practiced usually by those in the Blood Moon Coven, but some were found in other covens too. They could summon the dead, use them, control them even.”
Gasps echoed throughout the classroom.
“They were dangerous and were hunted and killed after their magick grew too powerful and their armies of the dead threatened humankind in the Great War. Does anyone know when the Great War started?”
Kat’s hand shot up. She remembered May telling her outside the Sirenti building. “Eighteen seventy-two, sir.”
“Correct. Does anyone know how long it lasted?”
He was met with silence.
“It lasted nine years, almost destroying our covens. Armies of the deceased were used by the Blood Moon Coven to fight the White Moon and Harvest Moon covens as the witches and wizards of the Blood Moon Coven believed they should lead—that magick drawn from the darkness was more powerful as they lived without limitations on their power.”
Everyone leaned forward and stopped taking notes.
“The White and Harvest Moon Covens joined forces and fought. The Blood Moon Coven and its leader at the time, Jeremiah Fascinare, a famous Mornai, killed thousands of innocents in the supernatural war that lasted nine years. No matter what the covens did, they could not kill the undead, for they were immortal. That is until the ones of the water, Sirentis, decided it would be better to trap them than try to kill what couldn’t die.”
Kat smiled. She’d been told that Sirentis were the ones who won the war in the end.
“They used their powers to create a great wave that dragged the immortals into the depths of the ocean—the biggest prison of them all—and trapped them there for eternity.”
The bell rang out, putting an end to their lesson. “Next time, we will be learning about the Great War of 1872 in more depth. Don’t forget to bring your textbooks with you.”
Everyone packed away their things, and Angie joined Kat. “Creepy, huh?”
“What?” Kat asked.
“A whole undead army is trapped under the sea with their leader.”
“Yeah, creepy,” she agreed. “I think it’s cool that it was my people who trapped them there.”
Angie pursed her lips. “That’s how we do it now, huh? Your people.”
“You know what I mean.”
Dana walked past them and nudged Kat as she went.
Angie scowled after her. “She really has a problem with you.”
Kat shrugged. “I don’t care. We should go,” she said, looking up at the brass clock. “We have divination next.”