Shonos Divergence Boarding School

Chapter 1

What in the…

Some fool fell in front of her almost making her trip. He was wearing strange clothes that seemed like some sort of costume. All black, a detached sleeve, and an open coat with nothing underneath showing his bare front and even a blindfold. This seemed far from what one would call appropriate school wear. Then again, everyone seemed to be in costumes. Some even had fake wings or were being wheeled around in water tanks as they pretended to be mermaids. Either there was already a special event going on despite it being the first day of school, or the renown the school held was a lie. The lack of decorations suggested the later rather than the former.

Jean herself was dressed in ordinary battle robes as was the common sense of Earth. The light cloth was woven to protect against arrows almost as good as chain mail with the under layer being effective against large shocks such as explosions. While wearing these the only thing that made her abnormal was her inability to use magic. Which made her getting an invitation to the school said to produce the best magicians possible with all fees paid very odd. It was even said that without an invitation that that there was no way in. there weren't many rumors about the school, but the ones there were suggested that not even money and connections could get someone in. furthermore, with the the majority of the few people in history that stood above the rest in magic being some of the rare students from this school, there seemed to be some backing to the rumors. Even the head commanders from both sides of the war were students in this school once. Which of course made the setting even more confusing.

The strangest thing though by far was the massive quantity of people here. Only a handful of people were ever known to be in this school at any given time and yet there were hundreds, no, thousands of people here. Although it wasn't entirely clear, most of them seemed to be students.

Soon after making here way around the idiot who had tripped in front of her she found herself sitting in a large circular stadium. She wondered when she had ended up there, but since everyone else was also there she figured that she must be in the right place. She noticed that next to her was another girl that other than her large white-feathered wings seemed to be normal. She decided to ask her if she knew what was going on. Right place or not the costumes still confused her after all.

"Excuse me, do you know why everyone is in costume?"

"I was actually just thinking of asking someone myself" the other girl replied despite the wings on her back.

"Then your wings?"

"Wait, did you think these were a costume piece? Could you possibly be from Middangeard?"

"Midde-wha?"

"Middangeard, you know, where the humans live"

"Well I am a human... but I'm from Earth. Where the heck are you from? And while I'm at it, what are you then? You look like a human wearing costume wings to me. Realistic yes, but last time I checked wings don't grow on people."

"I'm from Vangr of course. Were you not educated of Valkyrie? I thought that it was normal in Middangeard."

"Like I said, I'm from Earth. The country of Slevance to be more accurate, and I was taught that Valkyrie were a myth from our ancestors. Although I also heard that Earth was called as Midguard which sounds similar to what you said. Are you telling me that you're really a Valkyrie?"

"That's what I said earlier, isn-"

Their conversation was cut short when the huge floating frames that were colored so close to the blue of the sky that Jean hadn't noticed them before suddenly were suddenly filled with moving pictures. They seemed to be an enlarged version of the man who has at some point entered the middle of the arena floor. A man who seemed really familiar. In fact, he looked exactly like that idiot whom she had almost tripped over right after entering the school grounds.

"Ahem, Test 1, 2, 3. The human torch was denied a bank loan , scotch, i like scotch. Actually I don't like scotch but it makes a good mic test I hear. Anyw~" A loud feedback screech drowned him out until he reached up and switched off his headset. The headset seemed to be made of the same crystal as the floating frames but not many people really gave it much thought while trying to cover their ears.

"Sorry about that, let me see" he started typing on a keyboard that appeared in front of him, also floating, also sky-blue, and also crystal. The characters on the keys were ones that no one in the stadium besides him seemed to be familiar with.

"Okay, that should do it. Now then, I would like to welcome everyone to Shonos Divergence Boarding School. The school where you can do nothing for 100 years and still graduate. Of course your proof of schooling records will reflect that but hey, with several billion of you guys going to school here, it's not like I have time to force everyone to go to class. Just doing the paperwork for all of you is hard enough. Although I usually have the vice-principle do it anyways. It's not like she wasn't already a couple thousand years old before she came here. And those elves write some pretty long songs too, so she's probably used to it anyways. Just don't let her sing one of her songs for you since none of them take any less than two days to recite."

He fumbled in his pants for some note cards which promptly fell in a mess all over the ground. How he even planned to read those while wearing a blindfold was truly mystery. On closer inspection, even under the blindfold there were bandages wrapped so as to let no light to his eyes. Maybe his lack of sight was why he tripped earlier? That still didn't explain the cards though.

"Ummmm~" He held the 'm' sound awkwardly for a while before continuing. "I never liked that stiff stuff anyways. So I'll just get straight to the point. In your pockets you'll all find a marble. Yeah, even those who thought they didn't have pockets. That is your student ID. Without it you cannot enter or leave the school, bring up the school's inter-dimensional internet, or use any of the ID's convenient features that are listed in the single copy of the student handbook that is hanging from the board in the main entryway. Printing a bunch was too bothersome, so we just put one there. Oh and the universal translator is also built in to it so if you lose it in a place where no one else speaks your language then only others with one will understand you so be careful while in other dimensions yeah? If you want it surgically implanted to keep it safe then discuss that with one of the school doctors later."

after a short pause in which he counted off two fingers, paused for a bit, and then counted off a third finger which accompanied a look of realization on his face. He started speaking again.

"After this come to the principle's office to discuss what classes you'll be taking. With that, you're all dismissed. Save any other questions for when you get to the principle's office."

He started walking away but soon everyone lost sight of him. Almost as many people seemed as puzzled as Jean was. Billions of students? Internet? So many things were so confusing that she didn't know where to start. She decided that she better hurry to the principle's office before the line became long.

After only a few moments of walking the scenery had completely changed to that of a hall in the school. To her left was a door that had a sign hanging over it which read 'principle's office'. Although she was confused about how she got there she decided to knock on the door for now.

"Enter" a muffled voice said from inside.

She opened the door and cautiously entered only to almost trip for the second time that day. There sitting behind the desk tapping away at his keyboard complete with a smaller version of the frames from earlier was that same man she had almost tripped over before and who had also given the rather lacking opening speech earlier. She closed the door behind herself with hesitation and took a seat as he signed her to do with his hand.

"Now then Miss Jean, ah, no last names on Re-Earth, right."

"Re-Earth? Why did you add a re to the front of Earth?"

"It's the official inter-dimensional title for your home dimension. Your planet is just called Earth though. The only dimension able to be called just Earth is one of few with two official titles and is also my home dimension of Xynth. Since Xynth only applies to First Earth though most people are talking about Third Earth when they use that title. That's also where our readers all live."

"Readers?" she decided to take the rest as it was despite the lack of context and target the word she was most familiar with.

"Yeah, I have a sort of of indirect decedent, or more of inheritor? He documents certain parts of my life for me. He seems to think this all actually came from his imagination though so this will end up with the genres of fiction and fantasy attached to it. I doubt the readers will think of it as anything else either but that's fine."

This guy seemed to be insane. No, he was definitely insane. He might also be a bit dangerous.

"Anyways, being from Re-Earth I should explain a few things to you. First off we are no longer in the same dimension as the one that you are from. I think your scientists would call it a universe, but that's just because they don't feel like saying known-universe every single time. You should know about the multiverse theories, well all of them are true, but not always at the same time. The main one would be the pocket universes one and inside of those they have different rules which apply. This one is a custom made dimension for the school which applies the rules most convenient for each student. That is also why everyone probably looked strange to you, since they're all from various dimensions. And the way the rules apply to each student is why soon you'll see the merfolk swimming through the air, among other things, but try not to be too bothered by it okay?"

He pulled a folder out from a drawer in his desk.

"Let's see, you were the only one on your entire planet with no magic at all which was quite bothersome for you. Sorry but yes, you really were the only one. But don't worry, it's not your fault. It's actually your dad's fault. You see, he doesn't realize it but he is from another dimension. He always said how the way he used magic didn't seem to match the way everyone else did right? It's because his mana that he uses is very different from the mana everyone else uses. He uses the magic energy from his dimension which his body creates automatically. He was sent there as a baby by accident and whatnot but we're talking about you now, not him. As luck would have it, the energy that your dimension uses and the energy from his dimension are actually polar opposites and end up canceling each other out."

"I'm not really following everything you're saying, but basically, even after coming here I can't use magic right?"

The man who was apparently the principle started laughing as if she had just cracked the best joke he had ever heard. There were even tears in his eyes. Soon there were also tears in Jean's eyes but they were the disappointment kind instead. She had really thought that the famed Shonos Divergence would somehow make it so that she could use magic. The principle seemed to notice the tears and quickly stopped laughing.

"Sorry" he said with an expression that had suddenly turned serious. "I think you're misunderstanding the meaning of my laughter. There is no one who can't learn magic."

"Except me right?"

"No, even you can learn it."

Jean had to stop to process those last five words. She went over them several times in her head just to make sure, and even then sought confirmation from him with her eyes.

"You can learn magic. Any kind you want at that. Any of the countless magics from any of the dimensions. We add each new magic as it comes into existence, even to our past courses. So we even have magics that technically don't exist yet by inter-dimensional time standards. Even now by your standard we are actually more than five-thousand years in your past and this is actually the grand opening of the school. The people from your past who came here actually haven't even stepped foot on the grounds yet. That is because you are actually even more key to the universe on the whole than them. You have more potential than they ever had."

Jean shed tears again, but this time of joy. She was still partly in doubt, but these were the words she had always wanted to hear and even more still. The moment was quickly ruined when the principle fell out of his wheeled chair that happened to look really comfy. While he was getting up she noticed his name plaque and read the name Xarin Sliron.

2: Chapter 2 WARNING! Information Filled Chapter!

Chapter 2

WARNING! Information Filled Chapter!

 

it had only been a week, but she felt more comfortable here then she had ever felt in her home dimension. Although some things still shocked her. Like when she had discovered that all the school food was laced with magic to prevent aging so that people of any race or species really could be here for 1000 years just like Xarin had said in the opening speech. Therefor even people who seemed like kids may be much older despite the opening ceremony having only been a week ago due to how irrelevant time was in Shonos. From what she had been told, life here was almost too convenient with things like being late to class being impossible even if you missed a day and space warping to take you to your destination quickly just by thinking about it. Even the meeting with the principle had been arranged so that no one had to wait in line. Some of the students who had been here for a while had even tried to make formulas to calculate the time amount of time he had spent on the interviews but they only ever got transcendental numbers out of them. Some were even never before seen. Most had already given up and decided that time just didn't follow any rules that could be solved by anyone except theone who had designed the dimension to work this way.

 

Altough it was said that it was Xarin who had made the whole dimension, there were few amoung the new students who actually believed it. after all, every time someone saw Xarin he was always tripping over air, or messing up in some other way. Even basic math problems were screwed up by him. So no one ever relied on him. although the ones who had been here for a while had said to not be too quick to judge Jean still doubted his power.

 

After she finished off another delicious breakfast she decided to head to her first class. Since one didn't have to worry about time most students only took one class at a time with the occasional secondary non-magic classes to keep their mind fresh on the things taught in their own world. Since that kind of knowledge seemed to stick better for some reason when learned here though many were far ahead of their own world's education level and had to make sure to memorize the limits of what they were supposed to know.

 

She entered the class for advanced elementalism. She had never took the basic class, but Xarin had said that they were so different that they weren't actually connected. He had also mentioned that advanced elementalims was so hard that no student had actually mastered in yet, but also mentioned that even though even the basics were very difficult to get the hang of that they were also able to be much more effective than basic elementalism. Most people took the basic class since the dificulty level was so high, but he had suggested that she try the advanced course. Despite his faults he somehow seemed trustworthy at the time so she had taken his advice. At least the last week had shown that he probably wasn't actually crazy. She still hoped that her teacher would be more reliable though.

 

What she found when she entered the classroom was a very strange room. All around the edge of the room was a ditch filled to the brim with water. By the water's edge were torches of alternating hight with some being only up to her waist while others were up higher than her head by a couple feet and various sizes in between. The floor was also made of solid stone with perfectly circular holes spread thruout filled with various forms or earth such as gravel, dirt, and sand. They were apparently covered with glass though, since desks sat nicely on top of them. The metal and glass pits seemed to stand out though. The ceiling was also unusually high, but that wasn't actually unusual anymore since a lot of Shonos was like that. She had picked up calling the school's nickname Shonos from the various conversations she had unintentionally listened in on as well as the ones she had been a proper part of. She stuck with it since everyone seemed to use it.

 

She then realized that sitting at the teacher's desk was none other than Xarin himself. She hardly kept her jaw from dropping as she wondered at if he could really teach a class properly, let alone advanced elementalism if it was really as hard as he had said.

 

She took a seat at one of the desks as she thought about Xarin as a proper teacher when she suddenly realized class was starting. She should have remembered how time worked and that she would get there right on time, but it had slipped her mind once she saw Xarin.

 

“Now then kids, and yes you're all kids in comparison for me despite my young looks” now that he mentioned it he didn't look a day past 19. Before Jean had a rather ambiguous image of his age but she suddenly felt like she was seeing him more clearly. It was as if he had been shrouded in fog before or something, despite how little sense that made. “Let me introduce you to the basis of my own style of elementalism. I'm not the original creator, but as far as I'm aware, I am the only one to ever master it to this degree. And trust me, if I think I'm the only one, and then I probably really am. Seeing as I've even been to and understood dimensions that a 3 dimensional person like me shouldn't be able to comprehend I think I'm rather knowledgeable about what's what.” he suddenly appeared upside down and was walking between some of the desks.

 

“Elementalism is existence itself you could say. It's what makes up the physical world. I think of it as a science rather than magic thanks to my greater than normal understanding of it. One can divide it as such. First there is grey which is physical matter itself, the stuff you can touch and sense with your normal senses. I know some of you have a spiritual sense which elementalism doesn't fall into which you consider as a normal sense but please just try to follow along for now.

 

Grey splits into light and dark. These are known in basic elementalism as the advanced elements and I'll be using a lot of terms from basic elementalism so some of you who took basic first may already know some of what I'm talking about from here on. Light is the element that controls time as well as the logical and reasoning side of personalities. People that prefer such things usually have a higher amount of light energy or are made to better utilize it in some way. This of course does not apply to anything spiritual or otherwise arcane. Dark on the other hand controls space and the emotional side of personalities. Most instinctive animals have higher concentration of dark in them for example.

 

Those two elements each split into their own forms of the elements knows in many elemental systems as the basic four elements. These are fire, water, earth, and air. These elements can be further split and combined to create other elements. In truth though those are really just their names we use. Beyond that these elements also have their own inherent attributes. Fire is the element of energy and thus is also the element of things like electricity and magnetism. Water on the other hand is the element of solvent, meaning it is almost like the glue for all the elements. Earth is the element of substance the one that makes things really have presence. Lastly, air is the element of movement. Although it can be slightly confusing since fire is what makes things move, air is what makes things begin actions. This one is a bit more specific for its light and dark sides since on the light side it is the element of starting where on the dark side it is the element of area. Once again it seems to cross over sometimes such as the dark side since dark is space, but all of the basic elements are just parts of the advanced elements and all of them are required to make them whole.

 

Now with that out of the way, be ready for a bit of a shock in three, two, one.”

 

Xarin snapped and suddenly all of Jean's senses got cut off without even a trance of them remaining. The space around her took a bit to come into focus. Soon she way sensing flows that seemed to be on a higher dimensional plane than her own three dimensional body. It was very hard for her to understand since she was so used to the world as she saw it, but this didn't feel any less real. It didn't particularly feel more real either, but it did feel more certain. As if there were no tricks or gimmicks and even if there were that they would be apparent when viewed this way. There was no better way to describe it than to say her mind was blown. Well in truth there were, but she wasn’t worried about how to describe it yet since understanding it herself came first.

 

Then everything was back to normal with only a ghost like feel of that new sensation being able to be sensed. It was still active, but even when she focused as hard as she could it became no clearer.

 

“What I just did to all of you was activate a dormant part of you that senses the elements themselves. Rather than having a part of your brain that it sends signals to though it is rather part of your whole physical being. You are sensing the outer flows of the elements using your own elemental components. Of course thanks to how the bodies of everyone here work the brain is still required to comprehend it, but unless it receives some extraordinary stimuli it would usually stay dormant. This is actually the difference between basic and advanced elementalism. Where basic is the memorization of movements that take advantage of the kinds of flows that are present everywhere, advanced elementalism is about understanding and using the flows, as well as your own, in a more efficient and effective manner which means that the spells can be stronger and you'll run out of excess elemental energy in your body slower. Of course some is still lost, but unlike 3rd Earth's law of energy conservation, elemental energy constantly creates itself. It grows or produces more of its own type from the advanced level down with only grey not producing more of itself unless something makes it since it is actually quite complex and is sometimes unstable.”

 

Xarin was once again sitting at his desk.

 

“And that's all for today. Practice using your elemental sense so that I can teach you more about the advanced properties of elements next class. Or give up and come talk to me in my office about changing classes, which would be fine as well.”

 

With that he was gone, as if he had never been there. Either he had really given them everything they needed to know, or figuring out the rest was part of some test to see who could really be part of the advanced class. Jean hoped that whichever it was that she would be fine.