“So, uh…hi?”I play with my fingers, then shove my hands into my pockets.
“Professor Rodante wanted me to come speak to you all since…you know, you’re on your way to graduating high school.While some of you might go on to university, all of you will have your internships here at the Union, leading up to being full-fledged agents after a few years.That’s…pretty sick.”
They don’t reply.The kids don’t even blink.“So, um…who can tell me what the goal of sorcery protection is?”
“To protect sorcery,” one boy in the front mutters, and the kids all chuckle.
“Okay, but protect it from what?”I ask.
“From being exposed to or harming non-magical folk,” one kid says.
“Yes!”I clap my hands.“You all sound like experts already, haha!”My laugh sounds forced, even in my ears.
After putting my hands in my pockets, I gaze at my audience.One kid clears their throat, but otherwise, the silence is deafening.This is terrible.I turn around and look at the various scribbles on the chalkboard for inspiration.Perfect, their most recent lesson plan.
I turn back around.“Who can tell me what the difference between a jinx and a hex is?”
Thankfully, one girl in the front raises her hand promptly so I point to her.“Yes?”
“A jinx is general entropy, also known as ‘bad luck’, and lasts anywhere from a few seconds to several hours.Contrarily, a hex is a designed disruption of functioning, an alteration of reality.It can last anywhere from a few hours to a few months, and generally manifests in much more harmful ways.”She grins at me, and her African accent is musical.
“Great.Absolutely.”I clap my hands together.“It seems Professor Rodante is doing a great job training you all in magical theory.If you’re to graduate and become agents, you’ll be tasked with undoing hexes and overcoming jinxes.”
One kid on my left raises his hand.“Yes, a question?”
“Have you dealt with hexes in the field?”
“Mhm.”
“Why would someone cast a hex on you?”the blond kid asks in his American accent.“I thought you only fought monsters from the Other Side.”
I stand up straight.“Being an agent means taking on all magical threats.And unfortunately, sometimes they come from other wizards.”
The kids murmur in shock and interest.“You’ve had to fight and kill warlocks?”the girl in front asks.
My throat goes dry, and I ponder what’s the best way to describe the violent part of my job; they’re barely eighteen, it looks like, and I’m not trying to scar their minds.“It’s uh, classified.”
The kids chatter in interest, and hands dart up.“Um, you?”
“Why would wizards want to hurt anyone in the Union?We’re trying to protect the magical community from the mortals.”
“I bet it’s the witches,” a boy next to her says.“My dad says he’s not happy about letting them into the Union.”
“Hey, watch it.”I point at him.“We don’t slander witches in this house.Who can tell me the actual difference between the spellcasting of wizards and witches?”
The girl in front raises her hand, and I point at her.“Witches draw their power from the full moon; meanwhile, we wizards pull our power every day from the Sun.”
“Exactly.I was there when witches joined the Union.It’s an adjustment for sure, but we’re the Union of Mages.And what does the S in agents of SPELL stand for?”
The kids nod and murmur, “Sorcery,” out loud.
“Precisely.”I look directly at the unimpressed boy in the second row.“You may not be fans of it, but this is a new era.Witches and wizards are learning to work together.The mortals go to war and fight every day over arbitrary labels like religion, sexual orientation, and nationality.”I pace to my right and look at each of the students.“We don’t want to be like them.We welcome all mages who seek peace and prosperity.And how do we ensure that they’re using the geo arcanum appropriately?”
“The morality test,” one student replies.
I point at them and smile.“Right.Everyone in the Union goes through the competency exam and then the morality exam.This is to ensure no one is using our resources for nefarious purposes.Now, does anyone have any questions about what an agent does on a mission?”
“Do we have to like, kill monsters during every mission?”One bookish-looking kid seems squeamish as he continues, “We’ve practiced with the training dummies, but…”
