by Gene Curtis
Chapter 11
Classes Begin
Do what you can, prepare for what you must.
Do what you must, prepare for what you can.
Mark was well rested for the start of his first class at The Seventh Mountain. He, along with Jamal, Nick, and Chenoa, walked into Mr. Diefenderfer’s lecture hall. It was large enough to accommodate the entire group of freshmen. There were twelve large, oval tables mostly surrounded by couches, all arranged in a semi-circle and facing the blackboard. Each couch was separated from the other couches with enough space to easily walk through. The blackboard was set above the low stage that Mr. Diefenderfer stood on. There was a group of people standing beside him. They were all dressed in black tunics and black hooded cloaks. They had the hoods over their heads, which effectively hid their faces. It looked to Mark like everyone had made it to class on time when Mr. Diefenderfer spoke.
“Ah… it is time to begin. Close the door please. It will be most beneficial… for new students… to be seated in groups… with their own tribe. Take the time now… to affirm… that this is so.”
No one moved from their seats. The marble tables were in tribe colors. Each student had chosen to sit at the proper table in the first place.
“Very well. This is a mandate… to be performed… whenever you begin a new page… in your notebooks. You will write… at the top of each page… words… to this effect… ‘The Magi’s power is derived from… the secret acts of kindness… shown to… another individual.’ This will be done… when the page is turned. It will not be… pre-inscribed… on any page. Fail to do this… and you will… fail this class.”
Mark already had his notebook open. He wrote the words on the top of the page.
“We will study… in this hour… at great length… and depth… this year… the meaning of those words. Everything… that you will learn this year… will relate back to this one precept. With that firmly in mind… I will now… set you upon a path… that will guide you… to the understanding of the why’s… and how’s… that you do things. We will study… motivation… and methodology. This one study… will have… many profound… and practical benefits.”
The people who had been standing beside Mr. Diefenderfer were instructors. There were two per tribe. Their function was to help individual students who had questions or were having trouble. Occasionally they would stop Mr. Diefenderfer in his lecture so that they could help a student.
The second hour was devoted to the history of Magi skills and powers. The third hour began the first lesson in developing the first skill that they would learn, Aaron’s Grasp.
Aaron’s Grasp, the ability to carry things invisibly, was supposed to be the easiest skill to learn. Freshmen typically had a hard time with it because it was so different from everyday experience and, as with all Magi skills, was a closely guarded secret. It wasn’t something that your parents were likely to teach you unless they were both Magi. Magi kept the fact that they were Magi secret as well, even from their spouse, if that spouse wasn’t a Magi too. The one standard exception was that the non-Magi spouse would be told if they had a child who was called to be a Magi.
After class, Tim met the group toward the end of lunch. “You will want to wear work tunics to your next class. I imagine that you will do a lot of perspiring. And the trick is to lean into the corner. You will understand what I mean when you get to class.”
Chenoa said, “Well, I guess that we had better hurry if we want to change and get to class on time.”
Tim said, “Yeah, I guess you should.”
Mark said, “Thanks, Tim. Is combat class hard?”
“Well, yes and no. For the first few weeks you are going to think that what Ms. Vanmie asks you to do is impossible. That is normal. Once you start to realize what you have already accomplished, things start to seem easier. You start to enjoy the challenge.”
“What are some of the things that we have to do?”
“Sorry, I cannot tell you that. Ms. Vanmie insists that each new student comes to class with no knowledge of what lies before them. I might have told you too much already. Well, I need to go and talk to my other students now.” Tim turned and walked off.
Nick leaned toward Mark. “What on earth do you think she is going to make us do?”
Mark shrugged. “Don’t know.”
Jamal added, “Whatever it is, it is possible to do and you don’t get killed.”
Nick perked up. “That’s right, my brother, Ivan, said that I would love combat class but he couldn’t tell me anything about it, it’s against the rules. He made it through all right. He used to be a wimp.”
* * *
The first formidable undertaking was presented when they arrived for class. Joramina Vanmie was there with a group of instructors waiting for them. When the time came she made the announcement that set the first task.
Ms. Vanmie waved her arm at the wall. “Before you, you see an inside wall corner. Inset into this corner are stones protruding two inches and eight inches thick.” She stepped up and touched the stones.
“You will notice that the protruding stones on opposite walls alternate. This forms a type of ladder or stairs.” She walked up a few stones, stopped and jumped back down.
“You will use this to get into class.” To demonstrate, she walked all the way up the wall corner with seeming ease. She walked back down just as easily.
“There are seven other corners here. This corner is for freshmen. The next corner is for sophomores, level one. The corner after that is for sophomores, level two and so forth.” She walked to each corner and pointed as she spoke.
“You will notice that the protruding stones get progressively smaller as you go. The eighth and final corner has smooth walls. You are free to use any corner at or above your year level.” She walked back up to the first corner.
“For those of you that are counting the stones, the walls are forty feet high. There are thirty protruding stones in each wall, sixty total. For the next class, I expect each and every one of you to be in class, on time. If it takes two hours for you to get up the wall, then I expect you to skip lunch. Whatever it takes, however you do it, I expect you in class, on time.”
She turned and nodded to the instructors. She started to walk off but paused. “One other thing. Gravity works just fine here and you will notice that there are no rubber mats on the floor.”
She started walking again and stopped at the last corner. She walked up the absolutely smooth corner just as quickly and just as easily as she had the first corner.
One of the instructors said, “It’s easier in bare feet. You might want to take your sandals off… Now, who wants to go first?”
There was a long pause while everyone removed their sandals. No one volunteered. The instructor was about to pick someone when Mark said, “I’ll try it.”
Mark turned to Jamal. “Will you hold the staff for me?” It was the first time that Mark had ever considered relinquishing the staff.
Jamal had a sense of how important this was to Mark. He took the staff and said, “I’ll keep it safe.”
Mark smiled. “I know you will.”
Mark stepped up to the corner. He placed his right foot on the lowest protruding stone. He stepped up and put his left foot on the next stone. He stepped up again and his body started leaning backwards. He started to lose his balance and kicked off of the wall so that he would land on his feet.
He went straight back to the wall and started again. This time he stepped in closer to the corner. This made it so that he would be leaning into the corner like Tim had said. He used his hands to brace himself against the wall. Climbing the corner was relatively easy after that. It was like walking up a strange stone ladder.
At the top he saw the classroom. It was a huge platform. Students were paired up and practicing sword fighting. In each pair, one student had a sword and the other had a riotous. The sword wie
lder defended against the baton wielder.
Mark heard the instructor call up to him. “Come on back down.”
He crawled backwards up to the ledge and let his feet dangle over the edge. His right foot found one of the protruding stones. He slowly eased his weight onto his right leg. He made a conscious effort to keep leaning into the corner while he made his way down.
He stepped onto the floor and the instructor said, “When you’ve done this two more times then you can leave. If you want to, you can try the second or third year corners.”
Mark looked at the instructor. “Thanks.” He used his sleeve to wipe his face. The task hadn’t seemed that strenuous, but he was perspiring anyway.
Jamal handed his staff back to him. “That was pretty good. Was it as hard as it looks?”
“No, not really. Just do like Tim said, lean into the corner.” Mark leaned his back against the corridor wall. He slid down and sat on the floor. He noticed that his legs were throbbing and started rubbing his calves.
An instructor came over to him. “That’s normal. It should pass in a few minutes. If it doesn’t, then let an instructor know. We have some stuff that will relax your muscles.”
“Thanks, I will.” Mark continued to massage his muscles.
He watched as other students made their attempts. Slone Voif was the next to try. He walked up the wall with seeming ease. Jamal tried next. It was obvious that it took a little effort but he made it up and down the wall on his first try. Chenoa climbed up and down the wall like it was nothing. Nick was the only one of the group who had any trouble at all. It took him a little bit to find his foothold when he was starting to come back down. Ralph Lawrence was a complete failure. He couldn’t make it more than five steps, in half a dozen attempts, up the wall, before he fell off backwards.
The group completed their next two climbs on the second year’s corner. The stones there protruded only about an inch. It didn’t feel like there was enough of the stone protruding to get a good purchase. Mark looked at the third year’s corner. The stones there stuck out about a half of an inch. That was only enough to put his toes on.
He decided to try the third year’s corner. He found that he couldn’t support his weight with his toes alone. He tried bending his toes up and resting the ball of his foot on the little ledge. He was able to step up and put his other foot on the next ledge. That’s when the cramp hit him. He dropped to the floor and grabbed his foot. He rolled onto his back only to find himself looking up at an instructor.
“Looks like you got yourself a cramp. Let me rub some of this on it.” He showed Mark a small bottle.
The instructor bent down and Mark moved his hands. The instructor tinked out a single drop of liquid from the small bottle onto each of Mark’s ankles. He rubbed it in and the pain was instantly gone.
“You’re using muscles in ways that you never have before. You’re going to get cramps until your muscles get used to it. The best advice that I can give you is to not overdo it. For the first few weeks, don’t do more than the instructors tell you to.”
Mark stood and bounced to test his muscles. “Thanks, I’ll remember that.”
Chenoa came up to Mark. “We’d better hurry or we’ll be late for practice.”
The instructor said, “She’s right. You’ve got about fifteen minutes. You can make it if you hurry.”
Flags practice was easy on Mondays. It consisted of learning about strategy. Krisa drew diagrams on a chalkboard and explained the concepts. Wednesdays were for riding technique lessons and practice. Fridays were for actual practice games. The group also learned that everyone who had tried out for the Emerald Tribe Team, and didn’t make it, was allowed to participate as corral workers and guards. The benefit of that was that they were used as alternates and replacements when needed. They were at practice as well.
Tuesday mornings brought the extremely boring, Ancient Languages class with Mrs. Julia Diefenbuacher. Not simply Mrs. Diefenbuacher, but she insisted, Mrs. Julia Diefenbuacher. An hour each of ancient Hebrew, ancient Greek, and ancient Egyptian, first thing in the morning, was enough to put anyone back to sleep.
Tuesday afternoons were for the once a week class with Harmonious Thorpe, Algebra and Numeric Logic. His voice reverberated through the classroom.
“Mark Young, tell me what the Pythagorean Theorem is used for.”
Mark was glad that he had taken Tim’s advice and read the first two chapters in his textbook. Mark stood up. “Sir, it’s used to calculate the length of the longest side on a right triangle, given that the other two sides are known.”
“Then, you’re telling me that if I know the longest side, the hypotenuse, and one other side that I can’t use it to calculate the remaining unknown side?”
“Well, yes sir. I mean no, sir. You can use it to calculate the unknown side in that case.”
“Well then, how about calculating the diagonal in a rectangle.”
Mark thought for a moment. “Yes sir. I believe you can.”
“What do you mean, you believe? Either you know or you don’t. Explain yourself.”
“Well sir, the diagonal of a rectangle forms two right triangles. The diagonal is actually the hypotenuse of either or both of the resulting right triangles.”
“That’s correct. Sit down. I want a paper from you describing and explaining the common uses of the Pythagorean Theorem. That will be a minimum of ten pages, diagrams not included.”
Chenoa leaned into Mark. “Wow, I think he is still mad about what happened on the balcony.”
Mr. Thorpe rounded and pointed at Chenoa. “Young lady, there will be no talking in this class unless I authorize it. You come sit up here. You there,” He pointed at a boy sitting at the Ruby table, about as far away from Mark as was possible. “You go sit where she was sitting.”
The two exchanged seats. Mr. Thorpe pointed at Chenoa again. “You will see me after class.”
Chenoa nodded her head slowly. “Yes sir.”
Nick wrote in his notebook and showed it to Mark. I’m glad this class is only once a week.
Mark looked at Nick and barely nodded his head yes. Mark glanced around the classroom. There was one student smiling at the Ruby table, Slone Voif.
Chenoa served three hours of detention sitting at the table and not saying a word. It was extremely boring and difficult to do. She couldn’t even talk to herself and wasn’t allowed to do anything but just sit there.
Mark completed his assignment before Mr. Thorpe’s next class, ten pages exactly, of text talking about the uses of the Pythagorean Theorem in everyday life and with ample diagrams to illustrate his points. He wrote about everything from using it to make sure a structure is built absolutely square by using the simple three, four, five triangle to making charts to be used in measuring distances that couldn’t be measured directly. Mr. Thorpe thumbed through it quickly, wrote “75” in red ink on it and handed it back to him.
Mr. Thorpe was secretly disgusted with having to do that, but it had been Mrs. Shadowitz’s punishment for him, to compensate for the wrong that he had done to Mark. He never gave extra credit assignments to anyone, ever.
Mark didn’t realize it at the time, but he had just earned seventy-five points that no one else had. Classes were passed or failed based on the total number of points accumulated, not on the average of tests and assignments. One thousand points were needed to pass a class; fourteen hundred was a perfect score. Generally, one hundred point tests were given in every class, every two weeks, fourteen tests in all, including midterms and finals.