Mephina breathed in through her nose, out through her mouth, her modest chest rising and falling. The candles of her Conjuration circle flared with the inhale, and dimmed with the exhale. Her pale brow was furrowed in concentration, a bead of sweat rolling down the bridge of her cute button nose. Clear your mind, and identify your intent, her teacher’s voice said in her head. Make a wish, and then enforce it upon the world. "I wish..." Mephina mumbled, her plush, full lips downturned in a

It would happen on Saturday. After Anise reformed (but before she was subjected to an incredibly thorough punishing for failing to perform her TA duties as ordered), she was informed that Lamitte and Heptalia had agreed upon Saturday for the proposed, er, "reenactment," and Lamitte wanted her to come too. She immediately said yes, of course. It had been two weeks, and the only mermaid she'd seen was the flash of a pink tail on the carriage ride up. She ran past the lake every morning on her dail

"Oh my godddd, why is Runic Language a required class?! I just know I bombed that test…""We'll be using runes for the rest of our lives. We should have at least some idea of what they mean.""At least you get to take it with Professor Isochor. He practically feeds the answers to you. We're stuck with Professor Venatrick! Seriously, who schedules a test on a Monday?""Hey at least it's over and you don't have to dread it all week.""Yeah instead I get to dread whenever his crusty old ass releases

The carriage ride from campus took a little less than an hour, and Anise's face was pressed to the window almost the whole ride. She was a simple country elf, from a farming village on Calentra's outskirts. Her first semester, she'd been so buried in her schoolwork that she'd scarcely had time to explore the city beyond the ancient stone walls and towers of the Mage's College. Not that she could have afforded to do much but look; even the carriage she now rode in seemed well out of her usual pri