Surely 22 wasn’t that old to be at university. I just supposed that the mages were fast learners. All the newcomers were to learn all the elementary aspects of the university such as the motto:

Power of truth,

Power of knowledge,

both more powerful than magic can be.

and other miscellaneous information regarding meal times and the ground rules. Then there was the welcoming ceremony. I felt so bored, I could have scratched my eyes out. We then learned about the 5 main areas of the university. Each devoted to a particular type of power. There was: fire, wind, earth (the type I was diligent in), weather and water/healing.

It was all very tedious. I was itching to try out my powers. I thought it would be easy, a snap of the fingers and that would be it. I was wrong. I spent the next 2 years learning complex symbols and tongue twisting incantations. Even the most simple of all spells, perhaps one to light a fire, were full of long, strange sounding words. The easiest spell was the most useful though. It was a spell to light a room. It was simple a circle drawn in the air with a finger and then you had to say ‘fortay ishmail tooshk’ and the room would spring into light.

I returned to my room after a long, hard day. "Fortay ishmail tooshk” I flopped down onto my bed, exhausted. Everyone has to have an enemy, I was no exemption. Grendel Durgess, he thought he owned the place. He was the best fire student at the university and one of the best in the world. His cockiness showed up like a sore thumb. He would walk down the hallway and singe anyone who got in his way. He just really grated on me. Today he had really crossed the line. He had cut in the dinner queue, as per usual, and got his lunch. I finally got to the front of the queue, got my food and went to sit at a table. As I walked past he stuck a foot out. I tripped and the food went everywhere. I was seething with anger. I gathered all the power I had and let it fly straight into his chest. He flew across the room and was pinned against the wall. He had enough movement to be able to cause a ring of fire around me. I simply drew the floor up and over the flames and they were extinguished. I sauntered over to the other side of the hall. His face had gone a bright crimson. He looked as if he was going to burst with hatred. I let him down after half an hour. He just slumped to the floor. He had been held up by his arms which now hung limply by his sides.

"Let that be a lesson to you. Never, ever, cross me or you will suffer the consequences.” Then I simply walked off, leaving most of the hall gaping at the power I had just wielded. They had all been wise enough to let the matter be resolved by itself. Most of them were no friend of Grendel’s anyway. I had been really lucky. If, given the chance, Grendel could have set me alight. I fell asleep emotionally and physically drained. I woke up to see the face of Sir Galten.

"Huh? What’s wrong? Is there an emergency?”

"In some sense, yes my friend. Grendel plans to kill you. He’s not going to play fair either. He plans to burn this tower down. Gather your possessions and prepare to leave immediately.” I was awake after that. I picked up all my stuff and shoved it into my suitcase. I followed my tutor down the stairs and we were barely out of the tower before it exploded. We were thrown into the air by the blast. I landed on hard pavement and the breath was knocked out of me. I looked to my left to see if Galten was alright. It was a gristly sight. He had a wooden beam plunged into the back of his head. It was in deep. Amazingly, he was still breathing. There was no better time to try out my skills. I had to act quickly as there was little time before he would die of blood loss. My hands were trembling as I worked. I probed with my mind, his injuries had been minimal as the beam hand entered his head and gone down into the side of his neck. Slowly, I removed the piece of wood. I ripped a strip of material from my shirt and wound it tightly around his head. Now I had to remember back to training. I began to move my hands over his head, left, right. Getting increasingly swift with my movements as I moved through the incantation. A light blue aura began to glow around him. I then made my final movements and the aura flashed brightly and then disappeared completely. I removed the rough bandage and watched as the last of the tissue knitted together. I was satisfied with my handiwork and picked up Galten. I hurried to the medical area of the university. Luckily it was next door to the earthen area and I arrived within minutes. I pounded on the door of the nearest room. It happened to be the head tutor’s room. He opened the door, dressed in a robe.

"What is the meaning of this?” He looked down at the limp form of Galten. "Come in right away.” He opened the door wide and let me in. I laid Galten on the coffee table and the tutor leapt into action. His fingers moved quickly and felt for any broken bones or major haemorrhages. He turned to talk to me, "There is nothing I can do for him, you have done it all! I would be glad to accept you into our area of the university. It seems your talents don’t lie only in one area. Who did this?”

"It was Grendel. He planned to kill me by blowing up the tower, but Galten came and roused me.”

"Well take my word for Grendel will be punished severely.”

"I wish to do so myself. I will challenge him to a battle of magic.” The tutor, his name was Frengal nodded his approval. He cast a painkilling spell and gave Galten a sleeping draught to make sure he didn’t wake.

"Now come over here and show me something.” We sat down and he put a candle on the table in front of us. He extinguished the light in the room. We sat in inky black darkness.

"Before you do this, close your eyes. Now concentrate on what the wick of the candle. I know you can’t see it but, see it in your mind and remember. Now think of the very end of the wick becoming hot, so hot that it bursts into flames. Now open your eyes.” I opened my eyes to see light. It was coming from the candle. I had managed to set it alight.

"This proves you have power in fire magic. Now to extinguish the flame. Can you feel the air moving in this room?” I shook my head.

"Reach up with one hand and imagine you are grabbing hold of this air. But it is trying to escape from your hand. Before it does, mould it into a cloud shape. Once you have done that, hold it over the candle.” Before my very eyes water fell from a patch in the air. This drenched the candle and the light immediately vanished. I was astounded. I could control earth, water, fire and weather. I wondered if I could use wind. I hoped I could, that would show Grendel. Frengal spoke again.

"This is amazing. No sorcerer has been able to wield more than 2 types of magic yet you easily use 4. There is a disadvantage to using earth magic. They all need complex gestures to work. Where as all the others just require you to imagine what you want to happen and it does so. Now for wind. Fortay ishmail tooshk.” We could see again.

"I want that book over there on page 28. Hold the wind and push it at the pages until they move.” I imagined the air as a solid. I literally picked some up and threw it at the book. I saw the pages flick over until they fell onto page 30. A bead of sweat made its way down my brow as I caught more of the air. This time I released the air piece by piece so the page blew up a little at a time while not moving the other pages. Slowly, painfully the page fell and stopped at page 28. I looked to Frengal for approval. He was holding onto the side of the table. "Y-y-y-y-ou are t-t-t-the o-o-one.”

"What? I am the one? What does that mean?”

"It is prophesied that there will be a great warrior that will handle all forms of magic with the same ease as the other. They also said that he would be a mere mortal when first discovered. It must be you. We must go talk to chairman of the university at once. If your are though…… all our troubles are over. We have no need to send many men to fight the Ickar. They will tremble and fall from your might.” I fell back into a chair. This was just too much to take in at once. How could I, just a normal person, or well I was, defeat the evil force of the Ickar?

"No, No, you must be wrong. I can’t be all that. All I know is that I can do magic. Even then not well. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING.” With that I fled the room.

I saw Grendel walking down the corridor. His face was shocked beyond all belief. The moment I set my eyes on him my blood began to boil. I grouped together all my powers, across the whole spectrum, and let loose. He was blown through a wall. I looked through the hole in the wall to see Grendel flat on his back. His face was a grisly sight. It was caved in on one side and all his skin was scorched. His limbs were all askew and broken in many places. Even as I looked on in amazement his head lifted up.

"You have just made yourself an enemy of the Fenswar Cult. They will take your life and extinguish it between their fingers like that of an ant.” With that his head fell back and he breathed no more. Finally I regained my senses and retched, then emptied my stomach over the corridor floor. But who were the Fenswar Cult and what had Grendel had to do with them? After all the activities of the night I finally collapsed with exhaustion and I remembered no more.