THE MOMENT
"What about you, Tessa?" Marcus asked the newest and youngest member of the group. Four wizard trainees, including Tessa, sat around a desk surrounded by other small groups. The trainer gave each group a topic to present on, then left the room for a while. He knew he could play off the comment as trying to be inclusive; but, in reality, he wanted to put her on the spot. She looked more like a high school freshman than the rest of the college-aged class and obviously didn't belong there.
"Sorry, I was distracted," Tessa shook her head. "What about me?" Marcus sighed as the other two, Jenna and Robert, chuckled at Tessa.
"We're supposed to present what magical focus we think is best," Marcus explained as his eyes roamed over her. She was tan with a dark red streak running through her shoulder length dirty blonde hair. She wore a white blazer and slacks with a red top instead of the wizard robes the rest of the class wore. Her outfit was unusual; but, the colors were those of a healer not a wizard. "What do you use?" he asked when he didn't see one on her.
"Oh, I don't use one," Tessa shook her head and studied the rest of the group. "It slows me down. I see a staff, a wand, and a tome," she added as she gestured at each of their foci. "No cards or orbs?" she asked.
"WHAT?" Marcus was offended that she had the gall to joke about that. And, his voice couldn't hide it. No one could cast without a focus, but it seemed like he was the only one to care.
"There are some orbs in the class," Robert gestured at one of the nearby groups.
"Cards?" Jenna asked. "We can use cards?"
"Sure, there are a few decks Wizards can use," Tessa nodded.
"Wait wait wait wait," Marcus kept his voice down so as not to draw the attention of the rest of the class. "What do you mean 'it slows you down'?"
"Well, it's hard to channel through two at the same time; and, it's hard to focus when I'm only using one," Tessa shrugged. "So, it's easier not to use any."
"Oh wow," Jenna replied first. Marcus was too busy trying to order his words through growing annoyance.
"Hold on, you make it sound like you can cast more than one spell at the same time...," he said. Tessa nodded.
"Yeah, I'm a Furycaster, that's the whole gimmick," she said.
"What's a Furycaster?" Robert asked.
"NO," Marcus spoke firmly and shook his head. The instructor put him in charge of the group and he wasn't going to let her stories get out of hand. Claiming to cast without a focus is one thing; but, claiming to cast multiple spells was simply a bald-faced lie. "If you can do what you claim, prove it. Right here, right now," he said.
"'Kay," Tessa shrugged and held her hands out on the desk. "This is a fun combination," she said. Without an incantation, an lemon-sized ball of water gathered in her right hand and a minuature electric storm began pulsing in her left hand.
"That's impossible....," Marcus mumbled. "You're cheating somehow...,"
"I can do them with the same hand...," Tessa said. She closed her left hand and the ball of water began to crackle with electricity.
"Wow...," Jenna and Robert were both impressed; but, Jenna was the only one that voiced it. "What are you doing here? I think you're a little more advanced than we are...," she added.
"Because she's faking it," Marcus answered. "Don't you think it'd be bigger news if someone could cast two spells at the same time?"
"I won't be here long," Tessa ignored Marcus' comment and answered Jenna. "It's a quest I'm working on," she explained.
"How convenient," Marcus replied. "So, you'll just here long enough to spread some lies?"
"Yeah," Tessa nodded. "If I get the drop I'm looking for, my first day might be my last," she said.
"What are you looking for?" Jenna asked.
"We're supposed to be doing an assignment," Marcus reminded the group. "What do you think, Robert?" he asked.
"Staff," Robert said.
"Me too," Marcus added. "Nothing says 'power' like holding a big, thick staff between your hands. So, then let's talk about why Staff is the best," he said.
"Wait, what about cards?" Jenna asked. "How do those work?"
"Oh, I can show you," Tessa answered her. She made a quick flicking gesture with her wrist above the desk. Marcus was confused but Jenna's eyes opened wide.
"What's that!?" she asked. Tessa was looking at nothing in mid-air, then she looked up to Jenna. Her hand kept poking and prodding at invisible air.
"You can see my Slate?" she asked.
"I see a grey glass pane...," Jenna said.
"What's your favorite number?" she asked.
"20!" Jenna answered instantly even as Marcus was still processing the question.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Marcus asked.
"Oh, don't worry," Tessa smiled at him; it was pure condescension. "It doesn't mean anything to you," she said. But, she looked back at Jenna. "You're in for some major fun ahead," she grinned. "Once I'm done with this quest I'll get you to Mundo and get you started. In the mean time, this is what casting with a card looks like," she said. She raised her hand to show them both sides of a card. The front was white with red text and the back was red with a white scissor logo. The text was too small to read from where Marcus was; but, Tessa placed it on the table.
[Vampiric Aura] Jenna looked up suddenly when she heard the deep booming voice fill the class; but, she was the only one.
"Who said that?" she asked.
"No one said anything," Marcus replied. "And, more importantly, nothing is...," he cut this thoughts off when something happened. Tessa began to glow with a bright red aura. That shade and that full body glow was entirely unfamiliar to Marcus. He couldn't explain what was happening, nor why.
"That's the system voice," Tessa explained to Jenna. "They...," she gestured to the entire class, but lingered while pointing at Marcus. "...can't hear it. They can't see my Slate, they're not playing the game."
"What game?" Marcus asked. "What are you talking about?" We have a simple assignment, why are you confusing everyone??"
"It's called the AlterNet," Tessa met Marcus' eyes to answer his question. "Alternate universes networked together for people like Jenna and me to play in," she said. "I'm not a new student, I'm a player. And you're not even alive," she giggled at Marcus. "You're just an NPC."
"Are you serious about alternate universes?" Jenna asked. She already believed Tessa; but, she wanted to steer the conversation in that direction anyway. It was sounding like she was invited to travel and she was excited to do so.
"Of course not," Marcus chuckled. "If you could really go anywhere in other universes, what are you doing here learning about beginner magic?"
"I've got a better question," Tessa winked at him. "What did you have for dinner last night?"
"What? Another nonsense question?" Marcus laughed. "If you must know, I had...," his mind failed to find an answer.
"What about breakfast today?" Tessa asked.
"HOLD ON!" Marcus raised his voice. It was at that moment he had an important realization. "WWWAAAAAAITTT!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. And yet, not a single other student turned around to see what the commotion was. He couldn't remember dinner the previous night, nor breakfast that morning. He looked at Tessa, then looked down at his desk. He leaned forward and put his head down because he didn't have answer. He couldn't even remember what he did before class started.