Dyani wandered through the conservatory, watching the Snizits and Frizits dance in the air. It was a beautiful sight, especially since she started learning about the various plants and flowers that resided there. It was a well-needed break after the stressful few months that was Dalition. The weather was cold and the leaves had fallen from the trees. In here, though, she could revel in the warmth of the sun and the flora. Sitting on one of the benches, Dyani stretched her legs and leaned back her head. The sunbeams danced across her face and all she could do was smile. She got this blessing every night if she wished to visit. Some nights she slept, but most she spent in the beauty of the Goddess' domain.

  "I'm pleased that you are enjoying yourself."

  Dyani lifted her head to smile at the beautiful Goddess. The chain rattled as the woman glided to the bench to join Dyani. A few Snizits dropped down to give the Goddess some love before taking flight. A Frizit sat on Dyani's shoulder with a touch of cold. She shivered at the temperature change, especially when a soft head butted against her cheek. Even with the chill, Dyani couldn't help the smile that bloomed at the smaller bird's trust. Her eyes followed the small thing when it joined the others on a branch near where they sat.

  "I think that you know why I am here," Dyani stated.

  The Goddess was quiet for some time, not acknowledging the statement. The conservatory was filled with the chatter of wildlife and warmth. Enough that Dyani wanted to doze off in the comfort it brought. The Goddess stood from the bench and startled Dyani.

  "Come. It's time to get to work."

  Without another word, the Goddess strolled away towards the tall glass building. Dyani longed to remain outside but knew that there was a purpose for her being here. The Goddess had brought her here this time around rather than her finding her way there. The journey through the building was a quiet one and Dyani couldn't help herself as she marveled at the beautiful architecture once more. No matter how many times she walked through this place, it would always catch her breath.

  The room that they stepped into was one that Dyani had not seen before. A multitude of round rings were drawn into the floor with markings throughout each. On another side was a wall filled with weapons and training material. The Goddess stopped in front of the section that contained targets.

  "I brought you here for a reason, Dyani. Do you know why?"

  She thought that it had been to learn and study but this new room had thrown that idea out of the mix. Dyani shook her head slightly. The Goddess sighed and sat down on a chair that she conjured up.

  "I brought you here because there is much that you have to learn. That includes things that are outside of that school's purview."

  A frown marred Dyani's face. The Goddess noticed right away and sighed.

  "You have much to learn and I am not going to sit back while your talent is wasted away. Especially with a school that is so heavily biased that the information is becoming skewed. No. I will teach you from now on. Every night you will join me in this room or in the study. I will teach you the history of our people as it happened, good and bad. You will learn control and incidents like what happened with that child in the Marketplace will not occur again. Am I clear?"

  This was the side of the Goddess that Dyani had not seen and hoped she would not see. In fact, Dyani wished that it didn't come to that. It had been her hope that she could do this on her own with Britt's help but even she needed a good kick in the ass. Reality was a bitch.

  "Yes."

  Lips quirked in amusement, "Don't fret so much. I will teach you everything that my People learn and more, including how to appease the Light humans who've trapped you. You will be ready for the end of the school year if I have anything to say of it. My priority is your safety and your education. You cannot stay in that place for much longer. Therefore, your studying must be enhanced through your dreams here. Let's move to the study, I have some things that I want you to go through."

  The chair was dismissed with a wave of a hand, fading out of existence where it came from. The view of the stairwell was a familiar one and the smell of the library was even more so. Dyani smiled at the scrolls and tomes neatly organized on the towering shelves. On one of the tables, there was a small stack of papers. Dyani was guided over to the desk where she took a spot. There were pencils and blank sheets beside another, taller stack. This stack looked very similar to the placement test and Dyani looked at the Goddess in confusion.

  "I need to know where your education currently stands. Right now, you were tested into multiple areas of differing levels. We need to get you caught up in the lagging areas so that your learning can be even throughout. This test will change and continue as you write. The more that you know and understand, the more the test will give you. When your answers begin to go from understanding to acknowledging only the simple truths, will the test be done."

  "They already tested me at the beginning of the year."

  "They have not tested you properly. This is the very test that is used to get into a more elite school. We need you to pass this test. If you can get through this and score higher, then you will be ready to graduate the High Levels from Dalition."

  Dyani groaned and dropped her head to the desk. The papers shifted at the sudden movement but kept their place. A gentle hand rested on her shoulder.

  "I only wish the best of you Dyani, but that doesn't mean that I will be going easy. If anything, I will push you harder than any other will. I know your potential for getting information and moving through it to advanced levels. You've proven that time and time again with Dalition. I just want you to succeed so that you won't have to be under the thumb of that woman. Or the government for that matter. I've heard things. Things that would make you panic so we'll leave it at that. Needless to say, I will be getting you through this even if that means dragging you screaming."

  The Goddess picked up a pencil and held it out to the girl.

  "Start with the Middle Levels and make your way through there. I've got another parchment that shows me exactly where you are lacking," she pointed to another desk that was a bit more luxurious than the one Dyani sat at. "I will begin working through your new learning packets and materials as it reveals the results."

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  "Dyani groaned. This will take days."

  "Yes," the Goddess' voice softened. "This will not be fun for you or for me, but it's the best that I can offer you. At least until you find the other place at the school."

  Dyani perked up at the newest bit of information, "Other place?"

  The Goddess chuckled and waved away the question. With that in mind, Dyani got to work. At least she hoped the Goddess would tell her more about this place. Anything would be better than studying in the school's library.

  Dyani woke with a groan, the tiredness already set in despite having slept for at least eight hours. With a good few hours of testing already done for that night, Dyani felt as if her brain was going to melt into a puddle of goo. At least she could skive out of classes for the day if that happened. She chuckled at the thought and sat up in bed. The others were stirring awake and Dyani watched as Mari rolled out of bed with a curse. The girl saw that she was being observed and made a rude gesture. Dyani cracked up and dashed into the bathroom to get ready for the long day ahead.

  When they got down to the dining hall, the others of the group were also dragging their feet. For a brief second, Dyani entertained the idea that the others were having to undergo rigorous testing by the very Goddess of Magic. She snorted in amusement which caused her to choke as the orange juice seared her nose. The others broke out into loud laughter and that was how the morning began for them. Dyani wouldn't want it to be any other way.

  The first class of the day was Transmutation and it was going to be an interesting lesson. They had moved away from the theoretical and were about to move into the practical portion of the class. Dyani sat at the back of the room in her regular spot, waiting for the older Professor to join them. It was usual that he was running late with his papers scattered in his arms. Dyani swore up and down that he not only dressed the part of the old white scholar stereotype but acted like it as well. The door shut and she pulled out of her head to watch in excitement as the man prepared for the class.

  "Good Morning. I hope that you enjoyed your weekend."

  There was a smattering of returned greetings, but most anxiously bounced in their seat for the lesson. Seeing this, Professor Sertak chuckled.

  "All right, I see that I won't be getting much out of you until we begin class. Did everyone do the requested amount of reading?"

  There were nods and some even confirmed that with a smile. This class was going to focus on conjuring things that were smaller in mass before they worked their way up to larger massed items. Nothing inanimate, but that would come in due time.

  "Good," he clapped and gave them a grin. "Then you will not mind a pop quiz."

  Dyani groaned and dropped her head down onto the desk in exasperation. "Not another damned test."

  There was an odd look from the person sitting next to her but she ignored them. It wouldn't do either of them good to elaborate. Professor Sertak raised his hands and papers flew off the top of his teaching desk and settled down in front of each person. Dyani dug out a pencil and got to work before the man could encourage them. At least this was one page and would not shift questions when she was finished with one.

  The quiz went faster than she expected and she spent most of the time staring in boredom while the others in the room finished. It had not escaped her notice that she finished long before the others and the questions were a bit too simple. Maybe there was some merit to studying under the Goddess.

  Working with no foci was a bit of a task since she still was learning how to manipulate her magic. It required more focus and concentration to get the same results, which led to her often fleeting desire to have a focus of her own, but it turned out decent in the end. Each person was working on conjuring a small object of a single composition. For example, a piece of wood or metal. Although, Professor Sertak had warned them that metals would be hard to conjure due to their composition being more complex than that of wood or stone. Most of her classmates had gone the route of doing something familiar to them. They were tasked with reading the chapter the past weekend, which had gone over the different compositions of timbers and woods. This way, they were prepared to do a stronger conjuration when the practical came around.

  Dyani decided to go with the metal. For a good reason, she mentally reassured herself. Since she had spent many years having to do hard science classes, even in high school, the composition of different metals was more straightforward for her to remember than wood. The theory was sound in how it worked. It was conjuring up the metal, but it was transmuting the particles within the air into a new compound. From there, it was changing the composition that was created and transmuting that into the desired compound that made up the chosen material. Thus, yielding the desired results. If only it was as easy as the theory stated. Learning to shift the air molecules and particles into a whole new component was something that caught her off guard.

  The class was spent doing just this exercise. Halfway through it, Dyani took the time to mentally gather the process and slowly work through it. Each step was envisioned in her head, from the particles changing to the base form of the metal. This meant knowing exactly how the metal is formed within natural means. Dyani thanked up and down that she had been forced to sit through all of those science classes. It made it that much easier for her to grasp.

  It took all of a minute to notice that the room had gone silent. Dyani opened her eyes and looked down at the beautiful piece of gold that sat in front of her. Gold was the easiest that she could think of, considering that it was malleable and it also was a good conductor of energy. Wasn't that far of a reach that it would be easier to conjure, though Dyani agreed that it was easier transmuting than conjuring from nothing. Some rules of physics had to apply. At least, she hoped that they were still applicable. That was a question to ask Britt another day.

  "Miss Dyani, may I?" Sertak stood in front of her, his bright red sweater distracting. She nodded and picked up the piece of gold, which had taken the form of a smooth ball. "Goddess. This is impressive. How did you manage this? You were supposed to be working with wood."

  Dyani shrugged as eyes turned to her, "I spent years learning compositions of different things in the science classes. It's not hard to know metals and other materials when you study them for years. I just went through the process that they naturally undertake and used the theory you taught to turn it into gold."

  There was a moment before the class burst into a flurry of voices. Most of it, Dyani could not understand. Sertak turned and waved, silencing the bunch.

  "Get back to work. I hope that you can show that you are working on your own project with results by the end of class or there will be homework."

  There were groans of disappointment before eyes were turned away from her. Dyani sagged into her chair. Couldn't she go to one class without having something happen?

  "This is quite impressive, Miss Dyani. I believe full marks are in order. Could you try to do a wooden ball for me? I would like to know that you are able to achieve that portion of the assignment."

  "Of course, sir." Dyani held out her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. This time, the process was much easier due to the fact that wood was a bit less complicated than metal. In fact, it required different aspects to build it than it did gold. She watched the transformation happen in front of her eyes. This time, instead of a ball of gold, there was a ball of beautiful white yew. The wood surprised her but it also was not a surprise. The mythology behind the very tree and how it was a tree of death, it was no shock that her near death would align her to that particular tree.

  "Well done. You have shown the aptitude for the assignment and then some. I will award you extra credit. Now, please read the next few chapters as I am sure that you will find the information just a basic overview of what you've achieved today. After that, please read chapter eight. It is the next stage in working with more advanced transmutations."

  The rest of the class was spent doing various forms of transmutation with different materials. From wood to metal and even trying her hand at glass, a more complex form due to the process of making glass. It was one of those times that she was thankful for the previous classes that she was forced to study in the nonmagical world. Otherwise, she would have been much further behind and potentially failed the lesson. It was the small blessings.

  When the bell rang signaling the end of the class, Dyani sighed in relief. It was already a long day and the knowledge that it would continue even when she was asleep made her feel the impending exhaustion.