A petite, and young looking lady, 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall walked into the room with a scary looking expression that didn’t match her overall appearance. Age was difficult to judge based on appearance alone, as a high level aetherian rank meant that a person would age slower. Thus, the quicker one rose in their rank, the more their age would be preserved.
However, this lady looked too young even by those standards. If Nero had to guess on his own, he’d say she was barely fifteen years old if he really pushed his guess.
The young lady waved her hand aggressively, and a pink ripple swept through the entire room, suddenly reinvigorating everyone’s mind, and even taking away much of their physical fatigue? What kind of ability was that? Or was that a card?
"Alright, let’s get this over with," the woman said in a clearly irritated tone. "My name is Isabella Bellucci. You all will refer to me as ’Madame Isabella’ only . I became a Neophyte on my fifth birthday, an Initiate six months later and a Mystic by the time I was fifteen, holding the record for the youngest freaking Mystic in the history of mankind, basically making me unmarriable for the past few decades, and many more decades to come.
"By the way, I am 51, so don’t bother thinking you can hit on me. I won’t tolerate any jokes about my appearance either, so if any of you find yourselves unable to control yourselves, hold out your necks now so I can cut them off and save us all some time."
The classroom was deadly silent, devoid even of the sounds of breathing, as everyone stared blankly at the little girl who was giving off the aura of an Ascendant! If she weren’t so scary and angry, Nero would have felt sorry for her. While it was no doubt a great privilege to be able to grow so fast, it must also be a huge burden if romantic or familial thoughts were something she valued.
After all, with her excessively young appearance, no decent man would find her attractive, and those who did probably weren’t the kind of people one would want to start a family with. Nero could... understand her plight, even if he couldn’t relate to it. He would have literally killed to become a Mystic by the age of fifteen, but he hadn’t even become a Neophyte at that point!
"By the way, Morphius has tried to persuade me into Sagehood on three different occasions, but I keep refusing him because I’ll be stuck like this forever. The point of telling you that is so that you understand that I know what I’m talking about and you focus on that only . I swear to Kolar if I receive a single love letter this semester, I’m going to castrate your whole damn class - men and women!"
So it was basically safe to say that Madame Isabella had had prior experiences with her cadets that she found... distasteful.
"I will be your Aetheric studies professor, but I am also the Dean of Academics here at the academy, so if you have any issues with your classes - such as feeling you are already familiar with the syllabus we will cover - you may come to my office during your free time. If your reasons or concerns are valid, we can accelerate your progression, skipping the unnecessary classes."
Seeing that none of the cadets had anything to say, and that they were decently cowed by her introduction, Isabella nodded before continuing.
"Your syllabus for each of your subjects, as well as the corresponding subject will be provided to you shortly by the assistant professors. In the meantime, allow me to introduce you to those subjects.
"Aetheric studies is at the core of your progression. Most Initiates never become an Arcanist, and no matter how spectacular your grades or your performance in the field, without a sufficient Aetherian rank, your promotion will be limited.
"A better, deeper understanding of aether and aetheric control is not only central to becoming an Arcanist, without it you can never hope to become a Mystic. As officers, you cannot assume the core roles and responsibilities of the army without becoming a Mystic, so basically everything before that can be considered as just training.
"In this class, you will learn that your basic understanding of aether is actually entirely outdated. What is taught in schools and highschool can, at most, be considered foundational knowledge. That is the basic, common knowledge that all six countries have inherited from the ancient Velariya empire.
"Since then, each of the six countries have developed their own, deeper understanding of aether, thus explaining why each of the countries have developed so differently. At a glance, you may learn that the laws of aether you learn here contradict the laws of aether as applied by other countries. Yet both laws seem to work just fine within their systems.
"The how and why of that are far beyond your current levels. All you need to know for now is how we, in Kolar, apply aether, and how it can help you progress through your aetherian ranks."
Seeing the serious and attentive expressions of her cadets, Isabella felt satisfied, though she did not let it show on her face.
"Then comes military geography. This is straightforward, and is basic, foundational knowledge you will be expected to master. You need to have a detailed understanding of the terrain of all six countries, and what kind of strategic value they hold. Having an understanding of how to fight and defend in any environment is a basic requirement of all officers.
"Military & general sciences is also to help you build an understanding of this world. For most of you, this will be enough, but those of you selected for the roles of Technical Officers may need to take higher level classes later on.
"World affairs, similarly, will cover the current relationships and operations of all entities in the world. As officers, you do not only need to know how to fight - you need to be aware of what is happening in the world to correctly assess the interests of Kolar. Military movements, alliances and feuds, the actual hidden secrets behind the scenes... it is imperative not only for you to learn these, but to attain the skills to be able to decipher the likely truth behind any event that happens.
"You will be required to discern the true and hidden motives behind every action and reaction of an enemy state. As an officer, you will be required to make critical decisions, even at lower ranks. Without an in-depth understanding of the world, you may make many mistakes.
"Finally, General Military Studies is also a foundational course which is mandatory. It will allow you to become intimately familiar with the Kolar army and how it functions at every level. From military officer ranks, to line, battalions, brigades, divisions, corps, you will learn about all of them and how they operate. You will learn about service times, missions, merits, and so on. This is a class you cannot skip regardless of how well you may or may not know the army, and it only has two outcomes: a pass or a fail."
Seeing that all the cadets were still on their best behavior, the anger and irritation bothering Isabella cooled down a bit. It seemed like this batch of cadets was much better than the previous one.
"Alright, if you have any questions, ask them now. Otherwise, I will get on with the first class," said Isabella, not actually anticipating any questions. Her angry face and tone usually had that effect on new cadets - something she had to put considerable effort into as her natural voice was quite sweet and immature.
Yet, to her surprise, a bluehaired cadet in the first row immediately raised his hand, as if he had been waiting for this.
"Yes? Report your name and state your question," she said.
Nero did not hesitate at all, for this question had been bothering him for too long.
"Madame Isabella, my name is Nero Grant. How can I apply for the Valkan Legion?"
The question surprised Isabella, who looked through her bag and quickly found a file on Nero.
"And who told you about the Valkan Legion, Grant?" she asked as she opened his file to get a better understanding of this cadet.
"My father, Madame," Nero answered promptly.
Isabella’s eyes searched through his file until she found details about his father, causing her expression to stiffen.
"Your father... the pharmacist?" she repeated, clearly confused.
"Yes Madame," Nero answered.
Isabella looked at Nero, and then back at the file. She picked up the page and...
"Ah, Whisper Guard. Yes, that makes more sense," she said, finally spotting that tiny note, written as if in an afterthought. "Well, Grant, you cannot apply for the Valkan Legion. You get nominated for it, if you are worthy, and if your nomination is accepted, you will be informed duly.
"Put the thoughts of the Valkan Legion out of your mind - even if you do get accepted into it, it will take at least a year. Besides, they only choose one cadet for it every few years, and there’s an annoying brat who will most likely get it anyway."
Nero was taken aback by the answer, but he quickly understood who Isabella was talking about.
"You mean Vilhem, Madame?" he couldn’t help but ask.
Isabella nodded angrily.
"Yes. Him . Tell you what? If you think you’re all that, go beat him in a Crucible challenge twice and I’ll nominate you myself."