Chaos in Motion

The first rays of dawn crept through the dormitory windows and Melch stirred awake, feeling the familiar weight of anticipation. He glanced over to see Leif sprawled out across his bed from last night's late return, still having one arm dangling off the side and mouth slightly ajar. The peaceful scene brought a small smile to Melch's face.

"Leif." Melch called pulling on his boots. "Wake up. We've got our first day in the academy classroom."

Leif groaned, burying his face into his pillow. "Five more minutes… Let me dream about skipping this day."

"Dreams won't save you from Ian Magrith's training." Melch said as he threw a pillow at him.

Leif finally sat up ruffling his hair into a wild mess. "Ian who? Sounds like someone who's going to make me regret waking up."

"You'll see soon enough." Melch replied with a knowing smirk.

They had a quick breakfast in the dining hall before making their way to Theoder Academy's massive grounds. They were still in awe of the place's grandeur, the gleaming spires, the old stone arches and the buzz of students from all walks of life. They found themselves in the large outdoor training ground and a stern-looking man with sharp eyes and arms crossed like steel greeted them.

Ian Magrith didn't have to yell to get attention. His presence was enough. "First years." he barked, his voice slicing through the chatter like a knife. "Today is about discipline. No magic, no shortcuts. You run. You don't stop. You don't complain."

Leif leaned over to Melch whispering "Great. I signed up for magic and potions, not a knight's boot camp again after Galen's."

"You might want to keep your voice down" Melch whispered back. "He doesn't look like the forgiving type."

True to Melch's warning, Ian's piercing gaze found them and the group was promptly assigned to run an extra lap before the session even began. "Congratulations" Ian said dryly. "First day and you've already earned my attention. Now, move forward."

The training was unrelenting. Under Ian's watchful eye, the students ran laps around the vast field while the sun blasted down on them. An extra lap was given for any indication of lagging or talking. As was to be expected, Leif was having difficulty remaining silent.

"Why are we even doing this?" Leif hardly kept up, huffing in between breaths. "We're here to learn teleportation, not… this."

Melch, controlling his own fatigue, gave him a sidelong glance. "Perhaps they are attempting to eliminate those who are incapable of even enduring a jog. If you can't run, how will you dodge a fireball?"

Leif groaned. "Dodge a fireball? If I see a fireball, I'm lying down and playing dead. Much easier."

Despite the intense training, breaks now and then allowed Melch to glance at his fellow trainees. Most looked as tired as he felt except for a few like Edwin being one of them, who seemed to have a breeze with the exercise. To her credit, Elissa did not show any signs of faltering either, much to Leif's despair.

"She's not even sweating." Leif muttered, watching her sprint ahead. "What is she, a machine to have changed that much?"

"She's just better focused" Melch replied. "You could be like that too if you spent less time talking and more time running."

"Not worth the effort." Leif said, dramatically clutching his chest. "I'll just stay mediocre, thank you very much."

After the morning's physical training finally ended, the first years were dismissed for lunch. Melch felt like collapsing but Leif dragged him toward the dining hall already dreaming aloud about the food.

"You think they serve energy potions instead of water?" Leif joked stretching his sore limbs. "I'd pay anything for one right now."

Melch shook his head. "We're learning how to make them this afternoon. Maybe you will finally get to drink something you made."

Leif grinned. "I'm sure my potion is going to taste like victory or poison. Well, it could go either way."

The afternoon session brought the students to the medicine department's classroom, where Professor Josephine greeted them. Her warm smile was a stark contrast to Ian's stern demeanor. However, it didn't escape Melch's notice that her eyes saw the class, noting their weary postures with a touch of amusement.

"Good afternoon, everyone." she began, her voice calm but commanding. "Since you've had a physically demanding morning, let's balance it out. Today, we'll learn to make a simple energy potion."

The students perked up at her words. Professor Josephine demonstrated the process with practiced ease, explaining the ingredients and their significance. "Pair up into groups of four." she instructed "and work together to create your potion."

Melch and Leif teamed up with two students whom they had met earlier; Eric and Matt, both of whom had shared in the morning's running ordeal.

As they gathered their ingredients, Eric turned his attention to Melch: "You seem like the serious one. Should we let you handle this?"

Leif clapped a hand on Melch's shoulder. "Oh, absolutely. Melch is practically a potion prodigy. We'll just sit back and let him work his magic."

Melch rolled his eyes but didn't protest. He carefully measured and combined the herbs, ensuring each step was precise. Meanwhile, Leif and the others watched with varying degrees of interest.

"Is it supposed to bubble like that?" Matt asked, leaning closer.

"It's fine" Melch replied without looking up.

Leif smirked. "And if it explodes, at least we'll know who to blame."

When the potion was complete, its light blue color shimmered in the sunlight streaming through the windows. They presented it to Professor Josephine, who inspected it with a nod of approval. "Well done." she said. "You may test it now."

Melch took a cautious sip, feeling a wave of energy wash over him. "It works." he confirmed passing the vial to the others.

Leif, ever curious, decided it was his turn to try making a potion. "Alright, stand back everyone. I'm about to revolutionize potion-making."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Should we be worried?"

"Yes." Melch answered immediately.

Undeterred, Leif started throwing herbs in the cauldron with glee. "That one smells nice. I will add a little more of it in."

"That's enough." Melch warned.

"That's nothing" Leif argued. "You can never have too much of a good thing."

The potion turned a deep purple, giving off a faint ominous glow. Leif proudly held it up for inspection by Professor Josephine.

She took one glance at it and shook her head. "This isn't an energy potion. This is a disaster waiting to be used."

Leif pretended offense. "I call it 'Leif's Miracle Elixir.' Guaranteed to do something probably."

Professor Josephine confiscated the potion with a sigh. "Do everyone a favor and follow the instructions next time."

Eric and Matt, who had almost tasted Leif's creation looked at him suspiciously. "You were seriously going to let us drink that?" Eric asked.

Leif shrugged. "It builds character."

Under Melch's tutelage, the team successfully produced a second batch of proper energy potions though Leif continued to bemoan his failed experiment.

"How come mine turned purple?" Leif asked as they cleaned up. "I sort of followed the steps."

"Sort of being the key phrase." Melch replied.

As the session ended, the group left the classroom laughing about the day's events. Despite the exhaustion, Melch felt a sense of accomplishment and more importantly, a sense of belonging.

Leif being ever the optimist one threw an arm around Melch's shoulder. "If every day is going to be like this, we're in for one wild ride."

Melch smiled. "Let's just hope you don't blow anything up along the way." His thoughts was focused on something else that was even before drinking the energy potion, he felt that his fatigue was very minimal that was unheard of so even though he could have not drank the potion and not acted like he was still weak. He decided it was better to do that for keeping a close eye on what was happening to him.