The next day we had a class on magical monsters. It was taught by Victoria, our basic magic teacher.

  “Magical monsters, often just called monsters, or magical creatures, are animals who have a core big enough to use it.” Victoria said. “Any creature has some capacity for magic but just like with people, a lot of them don’t have a big enough core to get any practical use out of it. The way a creature uses their magic can be different. On the low end we simply have body reinforcement and maybe some inherited abilities. On the high end there are monsters capable of archmage level spells.”

  While I was listening intently I noticed some bored faces. Not everyone seemed to be excited about the topic.

  “Magical creatures have a lot of value. As you have learned in the past, the magical reinforcement often alters them. It can change their skin, making it more useful for crafting. Magical equipment tends to use parts of monsters. They are also essential for a lot of alchemy. But monsters are dangerous. Part of the army’s job is to keep them contained. While many see the army as a tool of war, we are responsible for keeping the peace.”

  Victoria stared at Archibald, who was yawning. He paled and sat up straighter. It seemed he had not forgotten his first lesson. Victoria smiled and continued.

  “As mages it is one of your duties to deal with monsters. You have already experienced some of that during your training. But besides your skill in battle, you will also need knowledge. Next year you will learn more details about certain monsters, how to defeat them and you will even face them during training. But what makes monsters such a threat?”

  Since nobody raised their hand she just picked someone.

  “Archibald, what do you think?”

  He snorted. “Clearly they are no match for our magic. Nethena is stronger than any monster.”

  “With our combined might we are certainly stronger than any single monster. But an ancient lich could raise an army and wage a war against us. But those big threats are not the only issue. Smaller monsters could destroy our fields, for example. They could sink ships, destroy caravans,... It’s not just about defeating monsters, it’s stopping them from destroying our economy, or food supply.” Victoria explained.

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  Jack raised his hand.

  “Jack.”

  “Why don’t we just exterminate them?” He asked.

  “There are a number of reasons for that. First, they are needed for the economy. As I mentioned earlier, we want them for materials. Second, finding and killing all of them would take a lot of effort, and money. Third, new ones would emerge in time. Monsters are an evolution from animals. Magic is inherited to some extent but non mages can have a child with a large core. Normal wolves could give birth to a dire wolf. Also, some animals can evolve over time. What happens when you get older?”

  I raised my hand.

  “Koyuki.”

  “Our core grows.” I replied

  “Yes! Animals are the same. While most remain animals for their entire lives, it is possible that some evolve and become monsters. Besides the natural core growth there have been other phenomena too. The Everfrost Peaks are rich in water mana and produce a high amount of frost monsters. They also produce quite a few undead but we are unsure of the source. Another source of monsters is the Korrah Forest, as you have experienced yourself.”

  I saw Archibald wince. Maybe he remembered the wounds he had sustained there.

  “The Korrah Forest has a lot of earth mana. It leads not only to monsters but monstrous plants. It also provides our nation with excellent lumber. It is a great source of wealth but has to be managed carefully. What makes monsters stronger?” Victoria asked.

  Shin raised his hand.

  “Shin.”

  “Mana?” He said, sounding uncertain.

  “Yes. But what makes their core grow? Time! It can be natural growth, it can be by consuming other creatures, or many other ways. But magical creatures grow stronger with time, just like mages. And magical creatures tend to have very long life spans due to their body reinforcement. If you do not manage the monster population correctly, you might be facing a monster surge at some point. Once a creature grows strong enough it often becomes more intelligent. And while it might not be sapient, an ancient forest spider leading a swarm can devour quite a few villages before the army can stop it. On the other hand, strong magical creatures have strong offspring. An ancient forest spider, if contained, will ensure that there are plenty of smaller forest spiders to hunt.”

  I raised my hand.

  “Koyuki.”

  “What happens to people who live in a mana rich area? Do people become stronger near the Korrah Forest?” I wondered.

  “That is an excellent question many have asked before. There have been a lot of experiments which tried to empower people. Short term exposure seems to do nothing. Long term experiments face a lot of trouble. Such areas are dangerous. And results have been mixed. Children often have mutations, or do not survive at all. Some claim that other races, like beastkin, are simply mutations from humans. But there is no actual proof of that. Other theories suggest they come from mixing with monsters. We do know that some ancient dragons can change their form and produce offspring with humans. And some bloodlines claim to have been empowered by elementals, through certain pacts, in the past.” Victoria explained.

  It was a very interesting topic, sadly it did not answer the questions about my own past.