The Academy free porn video

The Academy By Morpheus When I woke up in the morning I climbed out of bed, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. I immediately looked at the calendar which hung beside my bed, even though there was no reason to do so. There was no doubt that today was the day. After all I'd been looking forward to it for weeks. "I can't believe I'm so excited about going to school," I muttered to myself with a faint shake of my head. "Of course this isn't any normal school..." My name is Galen Shierman and I am a 16-year-old boy, though I could hardly be called 'normal'. Or I should say that I was normal as far as my family is concerned, but that's not really saying much. I and my family are members of a people known as the Touched. In older times it was because people said we were touched by demons or touched by gods. The truth is, we are touched by magic. We are a people who are blessed with the proof that magic truly exists in the world and who's lives have been touched by it. For as long as the human race has existed, or at least as long as anyone knows, some people have been born with the ability to tap into another dimension and use its energies to alter the world around us in strange and miraculous ways. This is the magic which is told of in countless stories and legends throughout history. But those who are touched with magic in such a way have long been hunted and killed by normal humans out of fear and jealousy. They were called witches or demons and were beheaded, burned at the stake or worse. Most of those who were slaughtered this way were innocent normals, those without magic, though a great many Touched were killed as well. Those of the Touched who remained realized that they were doomed to extinction. The normals were rapidly increasing in number and it was becoming more increasingly difficult to hide from them. So eventually a plan was formed. The Touched not only went into hiding but actively worked to convince mankind that we didn't even exist. They tricked the normals into believing that magic was merely superstitious nonsense. After all people don't hunt what they don't even believe in. Ever since then the Touched have secretly lived among normals. We have hidden in their midst for centuries, carefully keeping our very existence from being discovered as we went about our own lives, which were for the most part not so different from their own. After a moment I shook my head to clear those thoughts from it. I had too much to do today to just sit around thinking about ancient history. So with another glance at my calendar, I rushed to the bathroom to shower and get ready. A short while later I was fully dressed and running down the stairs to the kitchen. My mom was sitting there with my dad and 3-year-old brother Neil, while there was no sign of my older sister Daria. She was probably still up in her room, though I didn't care enough to bother asking. "Morning," I called out as I sat down and poured myself a bowl of cereal. "Morning," my dad nodded to me, barely looking up from the newspaper he was reading. "Do you have everything packed yet?" my mom asked with concern. "Yeah," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I got everything packed and ready last night." My mom just nodded, "Good." I rolled my eyes again and went back to eating my breakfast. But I couldn't resist looking around at my family and shaking my head slightly, thinking about just how normal my family seemed at the moment and just how strange it would be to the guys I went to school with... or had gone to school with. My family is a good example of how perfectly the Touched fit into normal society. We had a big screen TV, a decent car in the garage and as my dad said, a hefty mortgage. As far as any outsider could tell, we were a perfectly ordinary family. But of course our family wasn't exactly ordinary by most standards. My mom was Touched, and so were Daria and myself. My dad on the other hand was a normal, and we didn't know which Neil would be, since you didn't know if you were Touched or not until you were 16. Being Touched was genetic, though it sometimes skipped a generation or two and could even appear in people who had no history of it in their family. "Hey Neil," my mom smiled at Neil, "do you want to see a neat trick..." "Yeah," Neil immediately grinned, knowing what was coming. "Not again," I groaned, rolling my eyes yet again. It was beginning to become a habit. When someone who's Touched turns 16, sometime between that birthday and the next one they become linked to the source of magic for the first time. At this time they gain the ability to tap into magic and officially become Touched. Most of the time, though, they are only able to tap into a small amount of magic, just enough to give them a single magic talent that's almost like a super power and is different for nearly every Touched. At the moment my mom was busy entertaining Neil with her special talent. My mom had the ability to use a small amount of water in order to manipulate a larger amount. She could take a small bowl of water from a swimming pool, bath tub or sink, use a spoon to stir the water in the bowl and magically cause the water in the pool, tub, or sink to start spinning around in the same way. If my mom wanted she could drown people or even sink ships. Fortunately she never used it for anything more than a party trick. "Again!" Neil laughed. "That trick never gets old," my dad commented with a smile, watching with fascination. "Sure it does," I muttered to myself, "after you've seen it a few hundred times..." Mom just smiled and ran her finger through a glass of water while the water in the sink splashed around in response. Neil just giggled, encouraging her to spin the water around a bit more. "You'd better make sure you have everything together and ready to go," my dad told me, "you and Daria leave in just a few hours." "I know," I grinned, feeling nervous at the thought. "I'm sure that Daria will show you the ropes," dad said. I groaned at that. Daria was only a year older than me, but my parents tended to treat her as though she was a lot older and more responsible than me. She was also pretty, popular and always had better grades than me, so of course I resented her. She walked on water...literally. Daria's magic talent was that she could make water act solid when she touched it, letting her walk on water or reach into it and pull out balls that seemed solid as long as they remained in her hand. I winced at the realization that I would be going to the same school as Daria again. My own magic talent had finally manifested just a few weeks ago, though the ability to boil water didn't seem all that ipressive when compared with Daria's. Still it meant that I was now Touched and that I could go to the Academy, the special school just for people like us. The Academy might seem like a plain and unspecified name, but that was intentional. Whenever anyone mentioned it, every Touched immediately knew exactly which academy they were referring to, while most normals were left completely in the dark. There were only a few such schools for the Touched in the entire world and this particular one served all of North America. "Galen," my mom suddenly said, "I was about to make some tea... If you wouldn't mind..." "Sure," I shrugged, looking at the glass of water in her hand and concentrating on it. A moment later the water started to boil. "Thank you dear," mom smiled at me as she went to find a tea bag. "What a lame power," Daria said as she stepped into the room, giving me a slight scowl. "I mean, anyone can boil water..." "Enough of that," mom warned her with one of those motherly looks that brooked no argument. I glared at Daria, but was smart enough not to say anything with mom and dad right there. At the moment I just accepted the small victory of having mom rebuking her. "I still don't understand why you all have talents based around water," dad mused, "I thought your gifts were supposed to be more random..." "They usually are," mom shrugged, "but sometimes similar talents run in families... My aunt Beatrice could look into a pool of water and see what would happen a day or two in the future." "Sounds pretty useful," dad grinned, "it would be handy knowing what the weather was going to be." "Yes," mom sighed with a sad shake of her head, "but one day she saw that she was going to die of a heart attack. She became so worked up over it that all the stress caused her to have the heart attack..." "Ugh," dad winced, "I suppose there are some downsides." "Well," mom turned to look at Daria and me, "you two had better finish up and get ready, because we'll be leaving in just a little while." "Show your brother around when you get there," dad told Daria, "and introduce him to some of your friends..." "Oh, I'll introduce him all right," Daria said, smirking slightly as she said it. Somehow I had a feeling that it would be best just to avoid Daria and her friends at school. Mom nodded, then mused, "I remember back when I went to school there..." Then she shook her head and said, "It's just a good thing that your gift appeared right before the new semester. It will be a lot easier for you starting off at the beginning of the semester rather than having to transfer in later." "Yeah yeah," I nodded, "I've got to go get my stuff..." With that I finished gulping down the last bit of my breakfast, stuck my tongue out at Daria, winked at Neil and rushed from the room. I might have had most of my stuff packed and ready to go, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to double check and maybe see if I had room to stuff anything more into my bags. A short while later Daria and I had our bags packed in the car and we were on the road. Fortunately, our immediate destination wasn't too far away and it only took us an hour to arrive there. "We're here," my dad announced, looking just a little uncomfortable. I looked at the small house where we had stopped, thinking that it didn't look all that impressive, though I knew otherwise. It was a safe house for Touched, though it was also far more. We all went up to the front door, where a middle aged woman greeted us. She stared at us suspiciously through a thick pair of glasses. Obviously, this was not only the woman who looked after the safe house but who guarded what was inside. "My kids are Galen and Daria Shierman," dad told her, handing her an envelope, "they're expected at the Academy." The woman opened the envelope and read the letter, nodding for a moment before gesturing us all inside. "Come on in," she smiled pleasantly, no longer looking suspicious. "I just had another student arrive a few hours ago. Still you never can be too careful." "I understand," dad smiled weakly. "Go bring in all of your bags," the woman smiled at us, "I'll get things ready for you..." Once Daria and I had all of our luggage in the woman's house, she pulled out a key and unlocked a pair of folding double doors to what looked like a closet. However I immediately knew that this was no closet, especially when she said, "Here it is..." My first impression was that this was indeed just an empty closet, though my eyes went to the large door frame. Once the folding doors were open and I could see the frame inside, I could tell that it was made of some sort of strange ceramic and that it had strange symbols carved all over it. None of this was visible with those doors closed. "I guess this is it," dad said as he stared at the doorway. This wasn't just a closet doorway, but a magical portal, a gate that any Touched could step through to suddenly find themselves at the Academy. But if any normal stepped through the gate they would only pass through to the other side, as though it were a normal doorway in a normal closet. There were maybe two or three dozen such gates scattered around North America for those who needed to go to the Academy, and we were quite fortunate that one of them was so close to our house. For a moment I just stood there and stared at the gate. I'd seen it before, when we had first taken Daria here last year. But this was going to be the first time that I'd go through it myself. "Way cooler than taking some magic train to school," I grinned at dad, "and quicker too." "Big deal," Daria frowned, acting as though she had done this so many times that it was now boring. However I knew that she was probably just as excited about going through as I was, only trying harder not to show it. "I'm really going to miss you two," dad told us, choking up a little. He gave a reassuring smile. "Make sure to take care of each other and don't forget to write." "Yeah, yeah," Daria responded, looking a little embarrassed by this. "We'll be looking forward to when you come home on vacation," dad grinned. Our good-byes took several more minutes before we were finally ready to go. Daria went first, grabbing her luggage, or at least what she could carry, and stepping into the closet. But as soon as she passed through the doorway she vanished. The woman put her hand to the side of the doorway and dad passed Daria's last two bags through, and they vanished as well. "I guess it's my turn," I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and stepping forward. I wasn't sure exactly what it was that I was expecting when I stepped through the doorway, perhaps a tearing at my very being as I was stretched between one place and another, or at the very least a powerful tingle. But to my surprise I didn't feel anything at all. I felt absolutely no different than if I'd just walked from one room to another. Then I opened my eyes and gasped, "Holy shit..." I was now standing in the middle of a huge white domed room. There were ceramic doorways set all the way around the outside walls, and I was standing right beside one of them. I turned just in time to see my last two bags pass come through the doorway, seemingly appearing right out of mid air. "Welcome to the Academy," Daria told me from a few feet away, smirking a little as she did so. "This is the hall of doors. Kind of a waste of space, but they need one door here for everyone that's out there..." "Cool," I responded, staring at everything around me. There were a couple other people in the room already, including a man coming towards us. "May I see your invitations," he asked, holding out his hand. Daria and I both handed him our invitations. He looked at them for a moment, "Daria and Galen Shierman... We've been expecting you." "Hi Mr. Eckles," Daria said rolling her eyes, apparently already knowing him. Mr. Eckles nodded and looked through a folder. Then he handed Daria and me each a folder, "Your room assignments. I'll show you two to your rooms..." "Same one I had before," Daria shrugged as she looked at hers, "I don't need you to show me..." Then she paused for a moment to grin, "But I could use some help carrying my bags..." "Make several trips," he told her with a faint smile. "Come Galen, I'll show you your room." I grimaced, shifted my grip on the bags in my hands and decided to come back for the other two when I could. Daria didn't seem concerned with hers and was already leaving them, so I figured that mine would be all right too. Mr. Eckles led me out of the building that was the hall of doors. There were a half dozen other buildings within view, most of them looking a bit odd. The hall of doors was just a big white dome, as was an even larger building in the distance that he called the hall of sorcerers. "The hall of sorcerers," I repeated, feeling a faint chill as I said it. When most Touched tapped into the source of magic, they were only able to draw just enough energy for a single magical ability. Sorcerers, on the other hand, were Touched who could draw on a large enough amount of raw magic that they could actually learn to do other things with it. They could learn to actually cast real spells and do a lot more than just their single ability. Only one Touched in ten could even draw enough magic for this, and then there was the training. "Sorcerers get trained here along with the regular students," Mr. Eckles explained. "It's much simpler since much of the schooling is the same. However the hall of sorcerers is reserved for them." Then he started walking again, gesturing for me to follow. "Come... You'll get the tour a little later." Mr. Eckles led me to another building that was a little more normal looking, with ivy covered stone walls that almost made it look like something from an ivy league school. This was the dormitory and I soon learned that I was going to be living on the third floor. To my surprise and relief I was given a room to myself, even though it was only about half the size of my old bedroom back home. It was small and cramped and I had to share a communal bathroom with all the other boys in that hall, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about some strange roommate. "Be in the courtyard in front of the dorm in an hour," Mr. Eckles told me, "you will be given a tour of the Academy and your class schedule." Then he turned and left, leaving me to go back and retrieve the rest of my luggage alone. An hour later I was standing in the courtyard along with a half dozen other new students who'd just come to the Academy like me. Like me all of them were 16, which was no surprise since the Touched didn't gain their powers and become eligible for the Academy until then. I just slowly looked at the others who were present, wondering exactly what magical gifts they all possessed. Nor could I resist wondering if any of them had a gift that was even more useless than mine. The ability to boil water might be useful in the kitchen, but it was hardly impressive. As Daria was fond of reminding me, anyone could do the same with a pot of water and a stove. "I don't know why I'm here," a tall lanky boy with blond hair muttered, almost to himself. "I almost didn't come at all, but my uncle Jack kept telling me about how great it was when he went here..." "I know what you mean," I told him, having briefly considered not coming to the academy myself. I hadn't really wanted to leave my old school and everything I knew, though I eventually decided that it would be worth it. There is absolutely no requirement that Touched teens go to the Academy. Most of the time we learn to control our limited magic abilities before we even step through the gates. However the purpose of the Academy wasn't really to teach us how to control our magic, but to give us a place where we could be among our own kind and not have to hide what we were. And of course it was one of the only places on Earth where we could get a proper education on how the world really works. "I'm Newton," the tall boy introduced himself, holding out his hand, "everyone just calls me Newt though." "Galen," I introduced myself. "I'm Misha," a pretty Asian girl introduced herself, "my talent is a rose petal storm..." With that she held out her hand and a mass of rose petals burst forth from nowhere and swirled around her, creating a cloud that obscured her from view. A moment later she lowered her hand and the petals stopped swirling and began to slowly drop to the ground. "Pretty cool," Newt grinned, "but look at this..." Newt took a deep breath and closed his eyes. There was a look of intense concentration on his face and a moment later the world around us went completely and totally silent. There was no sound from other students, even though I saw their mouths moving. I tried to say something, but not a single bit of sound escaped my lips. Then Newt opened his eyes and grinned, just as all sound suddenly returned around us. "Pretty cool..." "What the...?" I blinked. "You can make it quiet..." "More than that," News shrugged, holding out his hand which had some sort of bubble in the palm. "All the sound around us got absorbed into this. When I pop the bubble, all that sound comes back out..." Newt closed his fist, popping the bubble. A moment later I could hear all the sound that had been suppressed before. There was the sound of people talking, even though their mouths were closed. But once it had all played out, the extra sound vanished. "What about you?" Misha asked me. "I boil water," I sighed, giving a shrug. "I know... It's not very impressive." "It could be worse," Misha shrugged. "My mom has the power to turn gold into lead." "That's got to suck," Newt laughed. But Misha grinned, "Most of the time. But she was at a party once where this snotty woman kept showing off all her gold jewelry and insulting her... Well..." "Very nice," I grinned. Just then I noticed a woman coming towards us. She looked like she was in her thirties, though it was a bit hard to tell, since she had pure white hair and violet eyes that nearly glowed. Everyone immediately went silent as she approached. "I am Amylia," the woman stated calmly, slowly looking at each of us with a look of absolute confidence. "I am an instructor for the hall of sorcerers, but at the moment I am here to welcome you all to the Academy and help get you situated." Then she pulled out a binder and looked at it, "Now, please tell me your names..." "Are you really a sorceress?" one of the other new students asked her. "Of course," Amylia responded, as though he had just asked the stupidest question imaginable. Perhaps he had since she had just introduced herself as an instructor for the hall of sorcerers. "A number of your fellow classmates will be as well. Now your names..." Newt leaned over and whispered, "Just great. I heard sorcerers are all pretty stuck up. Now we're going to be going to school with a bunch of them." "Hey," Misha scowled, "I have a cousin who's a sorcerer and he's cool." Amylia didn't seem to notice that Newt and Misha were whispering, or if she did, she didn't give any sign of it. But once she'd collected everyone's names she wrote down something into her binder and announced, "We will now begin the tour of the Academy. Afterwards I will hand out your class assignments..." With that Amylia began the tour, starting off by pointing out the half dozen buildings which comprised the Academy and explaining their purposes. Then she began showing us the rest of the grounds while simultaneously giving us a history lesson on the Academy. The Academy was located on a small island just off of the coast of Oregon and had been established nearly 150 years ago as a secluded place for the Touched in America to learn and study. Even now the very existence of the island was still carefully hidden from the normal, which wasn't easy in these modern times. Fortunately powerful magic helped a lot. The island itself had two sides, one of them having all of the buildings and Academy facilities, while the other side was left completely undeveloped and natural. A large pond, nearly a small lake, was in the middle of the island and marked the place where the two sides met. According to Amylia there were currently more than fourhundred students attending the Academy, a few more than I would have expected. There were even several dozen sorcerers training at the school and taking classes along with everyone else. When I finally finished with the tour and orientation a few hours later I returned to my room with a lot to think about. After that introduction to the school I had no doubts that if nothing else, my time at the Academy was going to be interesting. *** It had been a full week since I'd come to the Academy and started school, and the one thing that surprised me more than anything else was just how normal most of the classes are. There were no classes in alchemy or spellcasting, only things like math, English and science. Of course there were some major differences. For history class I was learning more of the true history of the world, not the sugar coated fantasy that had been taught at my previous school. I was learning just how much the old stories that had been passed off as mere myth were truly based in fact. And I was learning the true place of magic and the Touched in history. I did have one class on magic theory, which sounded a little more impressive than it actually was. The class itself was part study hall and part excuse to show off our special gifts. Our teacher not only let us show off, but actually encouraged it and offered suggestions. The whole idea was that it would let us cut loose and discover the full range and potential of our rather limited abilities. It was actually kind of fun. Then there was science, the class that I was in at the moment. You might not think that a school of magic would teach science, that the two were completely contradictory, but I was beginning to learn otherwise. "Science and magic are not mutually exclusive," my science teacher, Mr. Gotsen, was explaining. "The truth is, magic is merely a field of science that has been unexplored by normal science... partly due to interference from some Touched. Modern science understands the universe to be dominated by gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. And for decades physicists have been trying to create a Unified Field Theory to understand how they relate. But what these physicists don't understand is that there is a fifth major force...what we call magic. This is the glue which ties the others... and the universe itself together." Mr. Gotsen continued lecturing on for some time, going on about how magic was both other-dimensional and quantum at the same time. This was all supposed to be just some sort of basic overview of how magic relates to more common science, but I think he was getting a little too in depth because most of it was over my head. As soon as the bell rang I bolted from my desk, as did half the class. The other half still had to be woken up before they could leave, which relieved me since I wasn't the only one who'd had a hard time with that lecture. "I hope the rest of the year isn't like this." Newt shook his head as he came up beside me. "Man, I couldn't understand a word he said..." "You losers wouldn't," a voice said from behind us. I turned to see Jace McChord standing there with a smirk. Jace was a sorcerer who had come to the Academy at the same time as me, so we shared a lot of our classes. I didn't know much about him, other than that he was a sorcerer and from a family that had a lot of sorcerers in it. Of course I knew that he was something of an arrogant prick as well, though I'd avoided him and hadn't talked to him until now. "I don't know why I was put in the same class as you two slackers," Jace shook his head, "I should be in advanced placement while you should obviously be in remedial..." "Watch it," Newt snapped, stepping towards Jace threateningly. "Or what?" Jace snorted, obviously not impressed. "You'll make me mute?" With that Jace pointed towards us and an icy cold wind started to push me back. I was shivering where I stood while Jace smirked, "Now this is a real magic talent..." "Enough of that boys," Mr. Gotsen said, coming towards us, "you don't want to be late for your next class..." Jace didn't even give us another look before he turned and walked off, acting as though it was entirely his own idea to stop and leave. Newt and I just stood there for a moment, both still feeling a bit chilly. "Damn," Newt shook his head, "that must be a nice power to have in the summer..." "Yeah," I nodded agreement, "I'd imagine." I walked to my next class along with Newt, quickly warming up. However I still felt a strange tingling through my body that didn't seem to go with the cold. I don't know why, but I'd been feeling that same tingling off and on over the last week. It had started shortly after I'd arrived at the Academy and I hadn't been able to go a day without it popping up for a while since. "You okay?" Newt asked, looking a little concerned. "You look kind of odd." Since Newt had been assigned to the room right across from my own and we most of our classes together, the two of us had spent a lot of time hanging out together and had even become friends. But I still hadn't mentioned the weird tingling to him yet and saw no reason to do so now. I figured that it was just stress or something. "I'm fine," I told him. "C'mon, we don't want to be late for our next class." By the time we arrived at magical theory the tingling sensations had begun to fade away and I was easily able to forget all about it. Instead my attention was on our teacher Candace 'Don't EVER call me Candy' Everwood. She was a middle aged woman with glasses and hair pair pulled back into a severe bun, giving her a librarian look. However there was no doubt that she had been quite a looker when she was younger and that she probably still could be if she'd give it some effort. "Gather around," Everwood called out, gesturing for the students to come closer. I stared at the teacher for a moment, absently wondering if she was married or not. She had never told us if she was Mrs. or Ms. Everwood, only that we were to address her by her last name. After all her last name seemed especially appropriate since her special talent was the ability to shape wood in her hands as though it were clay. "Today," Everwood announced, "we will start looking at ways your special gifts might be used for self-defense. Not every talent will have an immediate and obvious use for defense, so I want you to all think about it carefully." "Well," I told Newt, "I can always boil a pot of water and throw it at people..." Within a few minutes everyone had spread out around the room to play around with their abilities and see if they could figure out how to use them for self-defense. Some abilities were definitely easier to figure out than other's, especially for the girl who could throw fireballs or the guy who could make other people fall asleep. However it was a lot more difficult for people like Newt and myself. "I can always create a cloud of pedals to hide me while I run away," Misha said when she came over to check up on how Newt and I were doing. "Not much else I can do with my power." "More than I can do," I grinned at her. I carefully looked around the class to see what everyone else was doing. Everwood was going around, talking to one student after another and offering suggestions. She hadn't gotten to Newt and me yet, but it wouldn't be much longer. For some reason though the tingling feeling had come back with a vengeance. I didn't know why, or why it was getting worse with every passing minute. In fact it was far stronger than it had ever been before and it was driving me to distraction. "Are you okay?" Misha asked. "Fine," I lied, feeling extremely...strange. I couldn't place it, but the tingling was getting so intense that I couldn't really feel anything else. The tingling was just about the only thing I could feel. "I think..." I blinked, suddenly hit by a wave of dizziness as well. "Galen!" Newt gasped in shock as I lost my balance and toppled to the side. Fortunately, he and Misha caught me before I hit the ground. "What's wrong with you?" My body began jerking and twitching, then jumped to another level that I hadn't even realized was possible. I could feel my very flesh beginning to shift around and move. It felt as though my entire body had suddenly turned into clay and a giant pair of invisible hands was busy remolding me, inside and out. The sensations were extremely intense, nearly overwhelming though not quite painful. Still I did the only thing I could think of. I screamed. The whole class suddenly went dead silent and then burst into chaos as everyone rushed to see what was happening to me. Newt and Misha were trying to talk to me, but I barely even noticed their presence. Then Everwood appeared beside me, an intensely serious expression on her face. Fortunately the changes stopped and I collapsed to my knees, feeling exhausted but no longer overwhelmed. However there was no doubt that something about me was different, that my body had been drastically altered, though I had yet to realize how. "Galen!" Newt and Misha were crying my name, trying to get my attention and see if I was all right. Everwood shoved them and everyone else back, giving a warning glare that dared anyone to take another step towards me. Then she gently asked me, "Are you all right Galen? Are you in pain?" "N...no," I shook my head slowly, "I don't really hurt..." I grimaced and slowly stood up while Everwood supported me and kept me from losing my balance. "I just feel weird..." "What happened to him?" several students were demanding at once while every single one of them stared at me. "QUIET!" Everwood shouted, giving another glare around the room. "God," I groaned, shaking my head and trying to make sense of how I felt, "what happened to me?" Everwood just silently stared at me for a moment, looking as though she were studying me. Then she finally said, "It looks like you've been cursed." Her expression was grim, showing that she was not happy with that at all. "Cursed?" I gasped, suddenly looking down at myself for a better idea of what she meant and then gasping again at the sight of two round shapes pushing out from my chest. Newt exclaimed, "You look like a girl..." "Quiet," Misha snapped at him, giving me a strange look. I stared down at myself again, gulping at the sight of two protrusions from my chest. I held my hands up, noticing that they looked a little different, a little more feminine. And when I reached to my face I could feel some differences. Everwood gently gestured for me to sit down, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wooden carving of some sort. She stared at it for a moment, then whispered something. Suddenly the carving began to grow and expand, turning into a full sized mirror. For a moment I just stared at Everwood, realizing that she was a sorceress, then feeling embarrassed since I should have guessed it sooner. About half the teachers in the Academy were supposed to be sorcerers. Finally I turned my attention to the mirror that Everwood had just summoned and gasped at the sight. A single glance was enough to see that it was a girl staring back at me, but she looked sort of like a girl version of me and a lot like Daria. I'd always been pretty normal looking while Daria had been rather pretty. But now I was a little startled to realize that I might be even prettier than my sister. "This is weird," I gasped, touching my smooth face and running my fingers through my now long black hair. "Now you'd better be off to the infirmary," Everwood told me gently. "They should be able to remove this curse with little problem and return you to normal." Then she turned and glared at everyone in the class again, her expression going grim. "If I find that any of you had something to do with this..." "Can we go with him?" Misha asked, gesturing to Newt. Everwood hesitated a moment before nodding, "Very well. But come straight back to class." "I hope they can fix you up," Newt commented as we left the classroom. "Who do you think it was that cursed you like this?" "I don't know," Misha answered, "I mean, I don't think anyone in class has the ability to change people... It was probably a sorcerer." "Jace," Newt exclaimed with a scowl, "it's got to be him." Misha frowned thoughtfully, "Maybe, but I don't think he knows enough to do something like this yet." "I don't care who did it," I snapped in annoyance, poking at my chest before yanking my hand back as though I were poking a scorpion. "I just want to get back to normal." When we arrived at the infirmary, I was met by the school nurse, Mrs. Reveine, an old woman with white hair. She had me sit down and then immediately told Newt and Misha to leave us be. They didn't argue since they had to be getting back to class anyway. "I hope you're a guy again the next time I see you," Newt called out as he left. "Now let's see," Mrs. Reveine mused as she carefully looked me over. "We do have our fair share of curses and the like around here. Accidents can happen when you're not careful around magic, and there's always the occasional fight or prank." Mrs. Reveine examined me for about fifteen minutes, pulling out a strange blue crystal and staring at me through it and then using several other strange items. She frowned thoughtfully as he did so, muttering a little to herself but not loud or clear enough for me to make anything out. "Hold this." Mrs. Reveine handed me a clear crystal ball about the size of an orange. "I want you to concentrate on it." "Okay." I frowned, wondering what this had to do with breaking my curse. I focused my attention on the crystal ball as I was instructed and to my surprise it began to glow. It was faint at first, but it quickly grew brighter, especially as I concentrated on it even more. Within a minute the crystal ball was too bright to look at directly and I was forced to look away. "Enough," Mrs. Reveine said, snatching the crystal ball out of my hand. She set it down and tossed a towel over it to dim the light. "Very impressive." "Can you change me back now?" I asked a bit impatiently. "No," Mrs. Reveine frowned thoughtfully, "I can't change you back." "WHAT?" I gasped in shock, "I thought these transformation spells were supposed to be easy to break." "They are," she responded calmly, "but you're not under a transformation spell. In fact you're not under a spell at all." I stared at Mrs. Reveine in blank confusion. That didn't make any sense all. Of course I was under some kind of spell. It was obvious from the fact that I had suddenly been turned into a girl. "Your transformation wasn't caused by an outside source," Mrs. Reveine stated, "it's a side effect." "What?" I blinked, no more enlightened than before. Mrs. Reveine sighed, "It's a side effect of drawing too much magical energy. It's quite common for sorcerers to have them appear when they first start drawing that much magic." "But I'm not a sorcerer," I protested. "That's not what this says." Mrs. Reveine unveiled the crystal ball, which was still glowing a bit. "This is what's called a sorcerer's light, because it measures the amount of magic that a person can draw and glows accordingly. For normals it doesn't glow at all, and only a little for most Touched. From the way it responded to you, I would say that you can draw a good deal more magic than the average sorcerer." "You're kidding," I gasped in disbelief, stunned by the revelation that I might be able to become a sorcerer. Then I shook my head, remembering why I was in the infirmary in the first place. "But how do I change back?" I gestured down at myself and grimaced. "I don't want to be stuck like this." "I'm not at all certain you are," Mrs. Reveine told me. "Let me do a little more work..." I sat there for the next half hour while Mrs. Reveine poked and prodded me, looking at me through various crystals, mirrors and charms. She flipped through some books, made some thoughtful sounds and generally looked as though she was working hard at figuring out my situation, without actually giving me a clue as to what was going on. I just sat there, trying to be patient, which wasn't easy since I was extremely worried. "Just great," I grumbled impatiently when all of a sudden I felt it. "I'm changing again..." I stared down at myself, feeling my flesh beginning to shift and move again. This time though it was a lot less intense, less discomforting. Perhaps it was because I was just returning to my own form, or even that everything had been sort of loosened up during my first change. Either way my body was transforming faster and more easily than the first time. "You did it!" I exclaimed, grinning at Mrs. Reveine, "You changed me back." "I didn't do anything," she responded slowly, looking at me with a curious expression. "That might just be the answer." "What?" I asked, not liking the way she was being all vague again. I swear that the woman liked doing that just to keep her patients as clueless as possible. "The stronger a sorcerer's ability to draw magic," Mrs. Reveine told me, "the more likely they are to have a side effect from it. The side effects can vary greatly. Sometimes it's just a few permanent physical changes, such as Amylia's white hair and violet eyes or the pointed ears that one of our second year students possesses. Sometimes the side effects are a little stranger." "At least I'm back to normal," I grumbled, patting my flat chest in relief. Mrs. Reveine chuckled. "Normal can be a relative term for any Touched, especially a sorcerer." Then she paused, giving me a speculative look before continuing, "I believe your transformation is a result of, for lack of a better term, an allergic reaction." "An allergic reaction?" I blinked in surprise. "What kind of an allergy turns a guy into a girl?" Then I shook my head. "And what am I supposed to be allergic to anyway?" "Magic," Mrs. Reveine answered without hesitation. "You said that you've been having tingling sensations since coming to the Academy. You've been reacting to the large amounts of magic that are present, and having everyone using their magic around you at once during class simply pushed you over the limit." I stared at Mrs. Reveine again, hardly able to believe what I was hearing. "You mean that it'll happen again whenever I'm in magic theory like that?" "Actually," Mrs. Reveine responded slowly, making me groan at the way she said it, "since your allergy has manifested fully, I suspect that it will take even less magic to trigger a reaction from now on." "Oh shit," I gulped, not liking the sound of that in the least. "I'm sure it won't be so bad," Mrs. Reveine said, not sounding all that sympathetic. "I know one sorcerer whose side effect is that he's a werewolf. And as a matter of fact we had a boy through the Academy a few years back with a situation very similar to yours." I just snorted at that, "Yeah?" "He reacted to cold water though," Mrs. Reveine mused, "he'd turn female whenever exposed to it and would have to take a warm bath to change back. Unfortunately for him," she chuckled, "it soon became a fad for the students to carry those Super Soaker water guns." I just snorted at that, knowing at the same time that I'd be laughing if it weren't for the fact that I might have similar problems facing me before very long. I could just imagine Daria and her friends throwing magic around me all that they could to see if they could make me change. Mrs. Reveine put a hand on my shoulder and smiled. "I'm sure things will work out for you. Consider the fact that at your magic level you could become a powerful sorcerer." "Really?" I gasped in delight, realizing that I could finally outdo Daria at something. "Or sorceress," Mrs. Reveine mused, shattering my budding dreams of power and glory. "After all using that amount of magic would certainly trigger your condition." "Just great," I groaned, grimacing from having my hopes raised and then dashed like that. I could actually become a sorcerer, but to do so, I'd have to get used to my 'allergy' flaring up and turning me into a girl. I shook my head in disgust. I'd gained an annoying and embarrassing little problem but didn't really get anything useful in return. "Just my luck." "Well, you're in good health," Mrs. Reveine told me with a look of amusement, "so off with you. You've got a class to get to and I need the space for people who really are sick." I grumbled a bit as Mrs. Reveine shooed me out of the infirmary, but I was glad to be going at the same time. The problem was I didn't want to face any of the people who'd seen me transform in class, nor was I looking forward to all the questions that I knew were coming. When I arrived at class Newt and Misha both gave me looks of relief, while most of the other students chuckled or quickly started talking among themselves. Even the teacher gave me an odd look, probably having heard about my sudden transformation as the reason I hadn't been in class. I gulped, feeling extremely self-conscious as I made my way to my seat. I knew that everyone was watching me, which only made it worse, though I tried hard not to let it show. I quickly slipped into my seat and turned to my curious looking friends, quietly saying, "I'll tell you about it later." They were obviously both dying to ask me a bunch of questions, though they managed to keep from doing so. Class resumed a minute later, with the teacher continuing his lecture from where he'd been when I came in and interrupted. I just pretended to pay attention while I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that I was no longer the center of attention. At least not at the moment. Once class was over though I was almost immediately swarmed by students who wanted to know exactly what had happened earlier and just who it was I'd pissed off enough to curse me like that. Since I wasn't exactly in the mood to explain, I squeezed my way past everyone and gave them the slip, leaving my friends to catch up. "Safe at last," I exclaimed as I arrived in my dorm room and closed the door behind me. Within several minutes I heard the knocking on my door that I was expecting. I didn't say a word as I opened it and let Newt and Misha inside. "What the hell is going on?" Newt demanded, "Who put the curse on you?" "Tell us," Misha joked, beginning to tap into her magic, "or I'll spread rose petals all over your room. Trust me, they can be a real bitch to clean up." "Don't," I gasped, feeling the tingling beginning to run through my body. It wasn't strong and I didn't think that I was about to change again, but I didn't want to risk it. "Damn, I've got my own built in magic sensor." "What?" Misha blinked, giving me a blank look. I sighed, "You guys probably aren't going to believe this." "So, who cursed you?" Newt asked impatiently. "No one," I scowled, shaking my head. "The nurse said that I did it to myself." "What?" Newt and Misha both gasped at once. "It turns out that I've got some kind of weird allergy to magic," I explained, "when my allergies kick in, I turn into a girl. At least that's what Mrs. Reveine told me. She said it's a side effect of my actually being a potential sorcerer." "Holy shit," Newt exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding." "I wish," I rolled my eyes. "She said I draw enough magic to become a sorcerer, but if I draw that much magic I'll turn into a girl again." "Damn," Newt shook his head. "Weird," Misha said, staring at me in disbelief. Newt and Misha stared at me for a minute as if trying to decide if I was joking. Newt looked especially skeptical while Misha was more thoughtful. I didn't blame them in the least since I still wasn't completely sure about it all myself. After all Mrs. Reveine could have been wrong about all of it. And what if my turning into a girl was really just a one time thing? "Have you told your sister yet?" Misha asked. "Hell no," I responded, knowing that Daria would probably hear about my suddenly changing in class before long. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if she came around in a little while to tease me about it. "Well, I don't know about you guys," Newt suddenly exclaimed, "but I'm getting hungry. Let's head over to the cafeteria for dinner." "Sounds good to me," Misha grinned, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. I knew that she had a real fondness for chocolate so she was probably thinking about dessert, which had been posted on the bulletin board that morning as being chocolate mousse. I grinned with my friends, more than happy to change the subject. Besides I was getting kind of hungry too. "C'mon... Let's go..." When hurried out the door and down the hall, but I stopped when I suddenly felt the tingling return. This time it was hitting me hard, just as hard as it was right before my transformation in magical theory. I looked around, immediately spotting them ahead of me, three guys who were all playing around with their magic abilities. "Oh shit," I gasped as my flesh began to shift and move. This time the transformation was quick and easy, much as it had been when I reverted back to my normal self. I grimaced though as my chest swelled outward, as I felt my growing hair tickling my shoulders and my groin pulled inward. The same kind of changes were occurring throughout my entire body at once and I didn't have to look at them to know exactly what they all were. "HOLY SHIT!" Newt exclaimed as he stared at me in surprise. Misha didn't say anything, but she was staring at me just as hard as Newt. I just stood there, slowly looking down at myself with a scowl. As much as I hated it, I no longer had any choice but to accept that Mrs. Reveine had been right about my condition. With a shake of my head I grumbled, "Great. Just great." *** I slowly walked across the Academy courtyard, feeling a little nervous as I did so. My eyes kept darting around as I looked for any signs of people near me using their magic, careful to avoid them so that I wouldn't have my condition triggered. Avoiding magic in the Academy was not an easy thing to do and took some effort. It had been just over a week since my unexpected transformation in class and the discovery of my unusual allergy. Unfortunately I had stumbled into people using magic several times since then and had had transformed in front of them, sometimes at very inconvenient and embarrassing times, such as when I was in the middle of going to the bathroom. And since I had been seen changing on more than one occasion, word of my condition and speculation about it was beginning to spread around the school. During the past week I have discovered a few things about my condition. I can tolerate small amounts of magic without changing, so I can be near someone who's using their gifts and even use my own. It's only when several people are using their magic in a close space or a larger amount is directed at me that it triggers. So I've been careful to avoid those kinds of situations, at least as much as I can. When I saw a couple of sorcerers practicing some kind of spells on the other side of the courtyard, I sighed, feeling a bit jealous of them. It frustrated me to know that I had the ability to register for the sorcerer course myself, but that circumstances prevented me from do so. Watching them was almost like being teased with something I could almost have, but not quite. "At least there's no class today," I reminded myself, relieved that it was Sunday, the one day of the week where there were no classes of any sort. Then again I'd heard that sorcerers did have some class work on Sundays, so maybe it was a good thing that I wasn't one of them. I watched the sorcerers for a while longer, feeling only the faintest sense of tingling. They were far enough away that they weren't a threat to my condition, though they were still quite interesting to watch. I just wished that I could be out there doing that kind of thing too. Sorcerers were sort of the elite of the Touched, able to do magics that were far beyond most. And like most young Touched, I had always dreamed of being a sorcerer, so it seemed almost cruel to have it be so close yet so far away at the same time. "Sure, I could be a sorcerer," I snorted sarcastically, "if I wanted to walk around as a girl all the time." After another minute I finally turned and continued on my walk. I didn't really have any destination in mind at the moment, but that wasn't really the point. I just wanted to get out and stretch my legs, maybe even clear my head a bit. That's why I slipped out without telling Newt that I was going. I eventually found myself coming up on the small lake that marked the division of the island. It was calm and clear at the moment, creating a surface that reminded me of a mirror. The whole thing was soothing to look at, which was perfect since I was currently in a mood to be soothed. I was just about to go sit down at a bench that overlooked the lake, when I noticed that there was already someone sitting there. It was a middle aged woman I didn't recognize, which meant that she could have been some teacher I hadn't seen yet or possibly a visiting parent. She had long black hair that was streaked with gray and had a single lock of white in the front. Her features were quite striking, making it obvious that she must have been quite beautiful when she was younger, though she was still quite attractive for her age. "Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked, gesturing to the other side of the bench. "Go ahead," the woman responded, giving me a faint smile, "there's plenty of room." After I sat down and looked out across the lake, she mused, "I love coming here. It's so serene." "Yeah," I agreed, just staring out at the water. The two of us just sat there in silence for a while before the woman casually asked me, "May I know who it is that I am sharing this bench with?" "Galen," I told her, "Galen Shierman." "Galen Shierman," she mused, smiling faintly. "I've heard that name before. I believe that I've heard rumors of you being under a curse of some sort? That you keep changing gender..." Then she looked at me strangely for a moment before commenting, "I would think that such a talented faculty as the Academy possesses would have already broken such a curse. That sounds more like a sorcerer's mark to me." "A sorcerer's mark?" I repeated, "What's that?" "That's an older term," she answered thoughtfully, "I suppose nowadays they use something else. It's what we used to call it when a sorcerer's own magic changed them. It sort of marked them as being a sorcerer, hence the name." "Oh," I winced slightly, "yeah, that's what it is I guess." The woman nodded. "So how are you enjoying the sorcerer's training course?" "I'm not in it," I answered slowly, staring down at the ground, unable to meet her eyes. "I change like that whenever I get too much magic..." "And if you became a sorcerer," she finished for me with a look of understanding, "you would be turning into a young woman a lot more frequently." I nodded at that, blushing brightly. "It's really embarrassing..." "I quite understand," the woman told me with a knowing look. She was silent for a moment, looking rather thoughtful before musing, "Still it does seem a shame to ignore a great opportunity just because it might be embarrassing." "I guess," I mumbled, not sure what else I could say to that. After a few more minutes the woman stood up and announced, "It's time for me to be going. Perhaps we will meet again some day." It wasn't until after she left that I realized she'd never told me her name. When I got up to leave a short time later the woman's words seemed to echo in my ears. It did seem a shame to miss out on an opportunity like that. But I shook it off and started back towards my dorm, determined not to think about it. After all what did she know? I took my time going back, and once I got to the central courtyard, I stopped entirely. The two sorcerers who'd been playing around out there earlier were still there, but they were no longer using their magic. Instead someone else was out there showing off his abilities by creating the illusion of a dragon. It was an awesome sight to see, so it was no surprise that a lot of students were gathered around to watch. The illusion caster was Marcus Tamright, one of the most popular kids at the Academy. He was tall, athletic, and a few years older than me, with blonde hair and blue eyes. The fact that he was also a straight A student and a powerful sorcerer only made me even more jealous of him. Of course most of the boys at the Academy were jealous of him, while most of the girls just had a crush on him. "Isn't that something?" Daria exclaimed as she came up beside me, staring at Marcus with a look of near worship. "Yeah, it's pretty impressive," I admitted grudgingly. The dragon vanished after just a minute and Marcus pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He held it up and said something, then tossed the paper to the ground. Suddenly a pillar of fire erupted and shot at least fifty feet straight up before suddenly freezing and turning into ice. The ice pillar exploded and a moment later it was all coming back down as snow. After this Marcus bowed and turned to leave, obviously finished with the demonstration of his powers. There was a lot of cheering and clapping, especially from Daria. I was actually disappointed that I'd missed the rest of the show since it must have been pretty good. "So," Daria smirked, finally turning her attention to me, "I keep hearing about you having some kind of curse?" I blushed, having known that my sister would find out about my condition, though I'd really hoped it would have taken a bit longer. In fact I realized that I was pretty lucky that it had taken her this long to come to me about it. "So, who'd you piss off?" Daria laughed. "Was it Marcus? Maybe that Jace kid?" "It's nothing like that," I told her, "it's a sorcerer's mark." I decided to use the same term the mysterious woman had since it sounded a little more dignified than side effect. "It makes me change like that when I get exposed to too much magic." "Yeah, right," Daria snorted. "I've heard about sorcerer's marks, and to have one of those, you'd have to be a sorcerer." "I am," I said, then quickly corrected myself, "or at least I could be. I can draw enough magic for it." Daria just laughed disdainfully, "Bullshit. You don't even have a real magic ability, and you honestly think you could ever be a sorcerer? Get real." "I could be," I protested, glaring at my sister. Just then one of the students a few feet away from me used his special ability. I didn't see what he did with it, nor did I need to. Thanks to Marcus and his show the courtyard was filled with magical energy. I had been standing far enough back that it didn't trigger my condition, but this small amount of extra magic was enough to push me over the edge and begin my transformation. "What the fuck?" Daria gasped, instinctively stepping away from me though she continued to stare at me in disbelief. Then she suddenly burst out laughing. "It's not funny," I snapped in a girl's voice. "Sure it is," Daria snickered. Then she turned to walk away, calling back, "You're as much a sorcerer as I am a goldfish." I just stood where I was, glaring at Daria's back. It was then that I made my decision. Even if it meant spending a lot of time as a girl, I was going to become a sorcerer. I was going to make her eat those words, no matter what it took. --- "Damn!" I exclaimed as I stood in the middle of my small dorm room, glaring at my reflection in a mirror I'd recently hung from my wall. At the moment I was staring at a beautiful young brunette, one that I would have to get used to seeing in the mirror more often if I wanted to become a sorcerer. The big problem though was that I had an important appointment in less than half an hour, and now I was going to have to go to it as a girl. "Damn Daria," I cursed my sister, pissed that she and a couple of her friends had ambushed me a short while ago and intentionally blasted me with enough magic to make me transform. My condition...my sorcerer's mark had provided yet another way for Daria to have fun at my expense. This time her prank couldn't have come at a worse time for me. I had learned from experience that whenever I turned into a girl I was stuck like that for anywhere between one to three hours before I'd revert back. The length of time that I spent that way seemed random and without much relation to the amount of magic I was exposed to, but if I was exposed to more magic while transformed, it would only delay my return to normal that much longer. Unfortunately I knew that there was almost no chance of changing back before my appointment. "Stand still," Misha snapped as she came up beside me and began running a brush through my hair. "We need to get you presentable. Maybe we can get some makeup on you real quick..." "No way," I grimaced, not liking the idea of wearing makeup as a girl and absolutely shuddering at the thought of how much I'd be teased if I changed back into a guy while still wearing it. Daria would never let me live that down. Misha shrugged, "Your call." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, wishing that I could reschedule the appointment until I was a guy again but knowing that it wasn't an option. So instead I focused my attention on calming down, knowing that I wouldn't make a very good impression if I was all worked up like that. After I had made up my mind to apply for the sorcerer's course a few days ago, I done a little research. To my surprise there were more requirements than just being able to draw enough magic. One of the important requirements was an application review, which is what I was scheduled for. For the most part this was just a formality, but I still needed to make a good impression. Unfortunately there was one other major requirement which I was currently lacking, and it worried me a lot. "Well, you're as presentable as you're going to be," Misha told me with a frown, "if you had time to change your clothes and put on some makeup..." "Thanks," I cut her off, not wanting her continue with that line of thinking. The last thing I wanted at the moment was for some overzealous girl to think that I was some life sized Barbie doll that she could play dress up with. "I'm glad I could help out," Misha grinned. "And good luck." I left my room and made my way to the hall of sorcerers where I was led to the audience chamber. It was a fairly large room, larger than I would have thought necessary. The back of the room had a dozen empty chairs set out while the front had a raised platform with three people sitting behind a podium like judges at a trial. The person sitting in the middle was an old woman with white hair. This was Arita Roangard, the chairman of the Academy, which meant that she was our principal or headmaster. There was a rumor going around that Professor Roangard was over 300 years old, which wasn't hard to believe. Powerful sorcerers were able to slow their rate of aging and extend their life spans a great deal, and if they were powerful enough, they could even become virtually immortal. There were only a handful of these 'immortals' on the entire planet. Amylia, the sorceress who'd given me the tour when I first arrived, sat on one side of Professor Roangard, while an overweight man with a black beard sat on the other side of her. I didn't know who this was, other than that he was another instructor from the hall of sorcerers. "Galen Shierman?" Professor Roangard asked, adjusting her glasses and giving me a careful look. "Yes ma'am," I responded, looking down at the floor in embarrassment. Professor Roangard looked down at some papers in front of me and commented, "Your application mentions your mark, though frankly I would never have expected you to appear here in this form. Anyway, your paperwork appears to be in order." "Your transcripts show acceptable grades," the man with the beard commented, though he didn't look all that impressed either. Amylia gave me a steady look with her violet eyes before saying, "Claudia Reveine confirms that you can draw a high level of magic. She even estimates that you're between a class eight and a class ten." I didn't know what she meant by those class numbers, but she sounded fairly impressed. Even the man with the beard was nodding faintly. They made a few more comments and observations before they finally came to the question that I'd been dreading.