The university required all first-year students to take two classes, Introduction to Magical Theory 1 and Self Defense 1, and they recommended we take five or six classes total. They strongly recommended a class in mana manipulation but they did not require it.
I decided to look at the required classes first.
MAG 101 INTRODUCTION TO MAGICAL THEORY 1
Credits: 3 Prerequisites: None
This is the foundational course in magical theory for first year students. Topics covered include mana theory, affinity theory, safe potion and enchanted item use, and aura identification. This is primarily a theory course, but it does have a practical component.
Sterling (MW 10-11:20); Sterling (MW 1-2:20); Adebayo (MW 4-5:20); Bianchi (TR 10-11:20); Bianchi (TR 1-2:20); Adebayo (F 8:30-11:10)
DEF 101 SELF DEFENSE 1
Credits: 3 Prerequisites: None
This course teaches students how to defend themselves from magical threats and to defend themselves with magic. Additionally, the course trains students to integrate nonmagical defensive techniques with magical ones.
Reyes (MW 11:30a-12:50p); Park (MW 2:30p-3:50p); Reyes (MW 4p-5:20p); Krieger (TR 8:30a-9:50a); Krieger (TR 11:30a-12:50p); Park (TR 2:30p-3:50p)
"Crystal," I hollered in the direction of her room. "Let's take the required classes together."
"Hell yeah," she hollered back.
Looking at the course catalog again, I called out, "You know which professors are good?"
"No."
"Think we can check Rate My Professor?"
A pillow launched itself out of Crystal's room and struck me in the head. Tansy looked on from the top of her cat tree and I felt a surge of what I can only describe as amusement. "Traitor," I thought at the cat.
"So that's a no?" I asked, as Crystal emerged from her room with her course catalog.
"Let's look through the course catalog first and then find some other students to ask which professors are good."
"Done," I said. Crystal joined me in the common room and we read the course catalog side by side. I decided to check the recommended mana manipulation class next.
MAG 121 INTRODUCTION TO MANA MANIPULATION 1
Credits: 3 Prerequisites: None
Improving one's mana manipulation improves the precision of one's spells. This course introduces students to mana manipulation theory and guides students through exercises to improve one's dexterity and precision when using mana.
Singh (MW 10a-11:20p); Singh (MW 2:30p-3:50p); Martinez (MW 4p-5:20p); Johnson (TR 10a-11:20p); Martinez (TR 11:30a-12:50p); Johnson (F 8:30a-11:10a)
"They recommend mana manipulation. Do we take it?" I asked Crystal.
"Mom and Dad," she called into her room, where her parents were still unpacking her things. "Should I take mana manipulation?"
"Yes," both called back.
Mr. Wu emerged from her room to explain. "Better control of mana manipulation helps you have better control over your spells. If you are trying to create an illusion, for example, with greater mana control you will have finer control over its appearance and movements. Also, with orange auras, your magical prowess is respectable for your age. Still, you won't be able to perform the more impressive types of magic just yet. Better mana control brings you more bang for your buck, so to speak. You can have more impact with less mana.
"Sold," I said. I circled the class. Mr. Wu returned to Crystal's room to continue unpacking.
With that, I flipped to the table of contents to see my other options:
Departments and Programs
Dimensional Magic..............1
Divination............................4
Elemental Magic..................6
Enchanting........................10
Fitness..............................12
Healing.............................14
Herbology.........................16
Light.................................18
Magical Care of Creatures..22
Magical Theory...................24
Potions..............................27
Self Defense.......................31
Transfiguration...................35
I flipped to herbology and quickly realized the intro course was a prerequisite for everything else. Intro it is, then. The professors teaching Intro to Herbology 1 were named Flores and Bloom. The course was nearly three hours long, meeting once per week.
I checked the table of contents again, and then flipped to see the potions classes. Again, intro was a prerequisite for every other class. The same was true for magical care of creatures. Well, I suppose that makes it easy to decide which classes to take. For potions, I had a choice between taking it with Foster, Kapoor, or Wiggins and for Magical Care of Creatures, the choice was between Vogel and Loeb.
Right at that moment, Crystal looked up. "What are you taking?" I asked her.
"In addition to the required classes and mana manipulation? Two introductory divination classes, one on scrying, and another on developing your intuition. And maybe a fitness class. Did you see they have kung fu?"
"No, I didn't check the fitness classes. Do they have any dance classes?"
"No," she said.
"And they don't have a performing arts department. Damn, that would have been cool. Imagine the special effects you could have in a play if the performers can literally do magic!"
"Maybe you can do it as an extracurricular?" she suggested. "Let's go see if we can find anyone to dish about the professors. Mom, Dad, we're heading out to look around. Is that OK?"
We made sure we had our keys, then walked back into the courtyard. We continued along the sidewalk until we came to an open door. Two young women were inside. I knocked on their open door.
Both of them looked up. "Hi," I introduced myself. "I'm Angelica, and this is Crystal. We're your neighbors."
The black-haired woman spoke first. "I'm Marisol and this is Miriam. Nice to meet you. Where are you from?"
"Wisconsin," Crystal answered. "You?"
"Arizona," said Marisol. This time, her brown-haired suitemate Miriam spoke for herself. "New Jersey," she said.
"Hey, do you know much about this place yet?" I asked. "We just got in. We were hoping to find other students who could help us."
Marisol and Miriam invited us into their suite, identical to ours but already decorated with posters, and we sat down.
"We were trying to pick out our classes and we realized we don't know anything about the professors," Crystal explained. "Have you heard anything about who's good?"
Both women looked at each other like they were trying to keep from giggling. "Sterling," Miriam said, blushing slightly. "For magical theory."
I was missing something.
"What about self-defense or mana manipulation?" asked Crystal, ignoring their suppressed giggles.
"I haven't heard about any of those professors, have you?" Marisol said to Miriam.
Miriam shook her head. "We're water mages, so we mostly know about the elementalist professors. Sorry. Was there anything else?"
I was about to say no and then thought better of it. "Yeah, do you know your way around Tourmaline yet?"
"The beach or the dorm?" Miriam said. "Yes to both. I came a week early to surf. But you mean the dorm, right?"
I nodded and she continued.
"All of the suites around this courtyard are freshmen. The other classes have 3 of the other courtyards. The remaining courtyards hold training rooms, study rooms, a few kitchens, and laundry. Oh, and our RA is at the end of the hall. She's a senior and her name is Aria. Her room's that way."
We thanked her and started to head out. As we did, Marisol called after us, "Hey, what are you doing for dinner?"
We looked at each other. "No plans yet," I said.
"A bunch of us are going to Baja Betty's for Taco Tuesday. Want to join us?"
We agreed to meet at their room later that evening and then we met Mr. and Mrs. Wu back in our suite to make a plan for the rest of the day. Crystal and I would take a moment to finish making decisions about our classes, then all four humans would walk back to Agate so we could register for classes because it was on the way to the car.
From there, we would hit People's Food Co-op and Ranch 99 for groceries, then Mr. and Mrs. Wu would drop us back on campus and head to their hotel in Old Town. We'd do more unpacking and then join Miriam and Marisol for fish tacos.
Sitting on our couch, I filled out my schedule.
Mon/Wed 10am-11:20am - Magical Theory with Sterling
Mon/Wed 1pm-2:20pm - Potions with Foster
Tue/Thu 8:30am-9:50am - Self Defense with Krieger
Tue/Thu 11:30am-12:50 - Mana Manipulation with Martinez
Tue/Thu 2:30pm-3:50pm - Magical Care of Creatures with Vogel
Fri 10am-12:40pm - Herbology with Bloom
All five of us left the suite together. Tansy wanted to explore the area (and probably the rodent population) around the dorm, so she hung back while the rest of us went to Agate to finish registering.
