Chapter Eighteen: Apples and Affinities

  The students sat on stone benches arranged in a sweeping semicircle. Before them, a vast stone floor stretched out, smooth and cool under the shade of a grand oak tree that burst from the ground, its roots intertwining with the stone in a harmonious embrace. In the near distance, the gentle swoosh of waves lapping against the shore of a quiet lake could almost be heard. This setting, just off to the side of the stable sections of the campus, was a tribute to the Society of Poseidon, the Earth-Shaker and Lord of Horses.

  Open paths meandered away from the assembly area, leading deeper into the verdant expanse, surrounded by the gentle neighs and whinnies of the nearby equine. The students chatted idly, their conversations a low hum, as they waited for the class to begin. Jace, Dex, and Ell arrived just in time, sliding onto the front bench beside Alice.

  A hush fell as a centaur approached. Professor Orion Blackwood, Master of Affinities, stepped forward, his powerful legs grounding him with a strength that mirrored the oak tree beside him. He surveyed the students with a keen, evaluating gaze, the rustling leaves amplifying the tense silence.

  The students leaned forward in their seats, their anticipation palpable. Orion’s presence dominated the space, his mane flowing like a living part of the natural world. A dark leather satchel crossed his broad chest, and his bare torso revealed a physique of power and grace, muscles rippling under tanned skin. His emerald eyes glinted with ancient wisdom, and silver-streaked hair cascaded down, merging with his equine form.

  The students’ eyes were glued to Orion, who seemed unaware of the captivated silence.

  Blackwood reached into his satchel and grabbed an apple, taking a bite with a loud crunch. He surveyed the group with calm intensity.

  Dex leaned over to Jace, whispering dryly, “Is this where he tells us the apple symbolizes knowledge?”

  Without warning, Blackwood lobbed the apple straight at Dex’s face. It sailed through the air and struck him square on the cheek with a soft thud. Dex blinked, eyes wide, a startled yelp escaping his lips. The students gasped, then broke into laughter, only to fall silent as Blackwood raised his hand. Rubbing his face, Dex glared at the apple rolling away, a smear of juice glistening on his cheek.

  “Hey, what was that for?” Dex blurted out, but the centaur ignored him completely. Jace and Ell exchanged amused glances, visibly struggling to stifle their laughter as Dex glared daggers at them.

  “Affinities... Words...” he began, his gaze piercing as it swept across the students. “To be a Speaker in a world of silence is no minor thing.” The wind rustled through the grass, filling the silence between his sentences. “How does one measure a Speaker?” Orion asked, his voice challenging.

  Two people raised their hands - Alice and a satyr. The satyr had curly, auburn hair that framed her face, her bright, curious eyes wide and eager. Small horns peeked through her curls, and a light dusting of freckles danced across her nose.

  “Yes, Miss... let’s see.” He squinted, examining a prompt only he could see. “Miss Snugglebutter. Honestly, that’s the name you chose when you came here? Is this some kind of joke to you?” His surprise was evident, and his reaction was immediate.

  She flushed a bright pink. “I... I didn’t know it would be permanent. My friends said it would be funny if...”

  “Never mind that,” he interrupted, clearly regretting his initial reaction. His tone softened. “I apologize, Miss... Butter. Now, you were saying, how do we measure a Speaker?”

  She gathered her courage. “There are six tiers of Speaker, each with six Stars of Proficiency and six Scopes of Influence.”

  “That is correct. Very well done, Miss…,” he drifted off, choosing not to say her name again.

  “We have Tier, Proficiency, and Scope. Learning your first Word grants you the title of Speaker, having heard but a fragment of the universe’s ancient song. Tiers start at Bronze and work their way up through Silver, Gold, and eventually to higher levels, such as Celesteal and Divinium. Each new Affinity you gain advances you to the next level. A Bronze Speaker knows one Word, while a Silver knows two. Following so far?”

  The students nodded and made quiet noises of affirmation. He reached into his satchel and pulled out another apple. This time, he didn’t take a bite but moved it through his hands as he spoke. The class watching it closely.

  “And then there are the Proficiency rankings, or the Star System. As one’s proficiency increases, they are awarded stars to symbolize that growth. Who can tell me what each star indicates?”

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  The group was silent. He waited, allowing the pause to stretch just a moment longer than was comfortable.

  With a sudden burst of motion, Blackwood chucked the apple at a dragonborn man. Jace couldn’t help but wonder how he got that race option when all Jace had was human. The students gasped again, not having learned their lesson from before. Some were startled by the throw, others by the result.

  The apple didn’t hit its mark. Instead, it stopped a few feet from the dragonborn’s head and exploded in a burst of heat and light, spraying sticky apple pieces across the students. Apple chunks landed on Jace and Alice. The dragonborn looked as surprised as everyone else, blinking in confusion and wiping apple bit off his scales.

  The centaur continued with a smile. “The first Star marks you as a reactive user of your Word, like Master Armon, here. His affinity only works on a stimulus-response basis. Apple heads toward you, and your power activates. We call people at this rank Novice Reactionaires.”

  Orion’s eyes sparkled with the memory of countless adventures. “The next rank is that of Apprentice Perceptor. Your Affinity entwines with your senses and emotions. Abilities are activated by physical and emotional sensations, rather than logic. Perhaps the touch of a familiar object, the tune of a loved song, the memory of a kiss.”

  He plucked a falling leaf from the air, holding it aloft. “A Three-Star, the Logician Adept, commands their Words with purpose, shaping reality with thought and calculation. Imagine, if you will, bending this leaf with a mere mental command.” He blew and let the leave drift away.

  Orion’s voice grew softer. “At your fourth Star, you become a Master Artisan. Your Affinity flows through you as naturally as breath, an extension of your very being. This is the stage of the artist, the swordsman beyond all others, the prodigy. Sculpting your power with the grace of a poet crafting verse.”

  He stepped closer, leaning in. “At Bronze Five, your Affinity surpasses the material realm and touches something... more. As an Astral Sage, you Speak with the very essence of your soul.”

  “Great King Aegius is a Gold Five-Star Speaker. He commands three different Affinities, each at the Astral Sage Rank. He wields power that shapes kingdoms. A noble thing to aspire to, though many will never even reach Bronze One due to their inherent Aether limitations.”

  He paused, letting the gravity of his next words sink in. “And then there is the Sixth Star, that of the Divine Champion. A Speaker of the Sixth Star, even with only a single Affinity, would be ranked among the demigods of the world. But these are so rare as to be barely worth mentioning, if not as a warning.” Orion’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “The gods do not often like competition.”

  “Now,” he straightened, his voice returning to normal. “Stars and titles like Logician or Artisan mark your proficiency. Metals show your number of Affinities. You could say that your journey is a tapestry woven of Metal and Stars.”

  He raised his hands, the sunlight catching the glint in his eyes.

  Orion extended his hand, palm facing the ground. “”I am a Silver Star Logician. Meaning, I have two Affinities, their combined proficiency at the third Rank. The ability gap between Silver One and Silver Two is nearly the same between three ranks at Bronze.” He stomped a hoof into the ground, and instantly, the earth responded, forming a large, intricate sculpture of a tree rising from the soil. The students watched in amazement as the tiny tree swayed slightly, as if blown by an unseen wind, before collapsing back into the earth. “My first Affinity is Earth.”

  He closed his eyes. A profound silence enveloped the area, muting all sounds of the forest. The rustling leaves, the chirping birds, even the distant sea breeze - everything fell silent. The students looked around, their mouths opening and closing as they tried to speak, but no sound emerged. The air seemed thick, as if it absorbed their voices.

  The only sound that came was his voice. “My second is Silence.” Orion’s eyes opened, and with a slight gesture, he moved the silence around. Suddenly, Alice could speak again. “This is incredible,” she said, her voice the only sound in the eerie quiet.

  Orion moved the silence once again, allowing everyone to hear and speak except for Jace. Jace felt his very Aether being suppressed, as if an invisible weight pressed down on his soul, silencing not just his voice but his very essence. He released the silence, and the normal sounds of the forest resumed. The students exhaled collectively, the sudden return of noise almost overwhelming.

  “Consider the Scopes of Influence. There are six. And please, I hope you’re taking notes. I won’t be repeating this, so don’t come crying to me later. We’re almost done, and then you can get back to your existential crises or whatever it is you get up to between classes.”

  “Let’s take Fire as an example Affinity. There are six Scopes of Influence. First, we have Internal Effects - this means you can heat your own body, maybe even auto-immolation.”

  “Setting yourself on fire,” Alice whispered to Dex, Ell, and Jace.

  “Next are Touch Effects, where you can ignite anything you touch,” Orion continued. “Then there’s Distance Effects, allowing you to shoot flames from afar. Moving up, we have Aura Effects, where you influence everything within a certain radius around you, creating an aura of fire or granting fire immunity to allies.”

  “Then we have Domain Effects, where you control entire regions, like turning a forest into a blazing inferno or affecting all who can see or hear you. Finally, the top tier: World Effects, where you can alter the very fabric of existence itself.

  “When you gain an Affinity, you’ll start unlocking abilities tied to that Affinity. Each ability will have its own influence and power.”

  “Ranking up Tier, Scope, and Proficiency becomes harder as you advance, each level requiring about ten times the experience as the last. As you gain more power and learn to tap into the deeper meaning of your Affinities, you will need to deepen your well of Aether, increasing your ability to breathe power into your Words.”

  The field was silent. Orion’s gaze hardened, emphasizing his next words. “Now, how does one unlock their first Affinity, you might ask?” He let the question hang in the air, a silent challenge. “By being thrust into life. I’ll need a volunteer.” He looked around. No one met his gaze this time.

  “Jace,” Orion called out at last.