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It’s mid way through the first week of my fourth quarter. I have some very interesting classes this time. Monday morning I had Linguistics with Mrs. Soulsby. You may remember that she is also my academic advisor, and a really nice lady. She says we will be learning some of the fundamental characteristics common in most languages. Knowing these paterns may make learning new languages easier. Based on these principles, some people are even able to pick up a new lanuage just by listening to someone speak it for a short time. I don’t think I’ll be able to do that in a matter of eleven weeks, but it sounds remarkable.

After that class, I go to the rec center gymnasium for P.T., physical training. Our “drill instructor”, as I like to think of her, Miss Kennzie, has such powerful strength, and yet her physical beauty is undeniable. From what I overheard, several of the boys in my class had noticed it as well. Dottie says she thinks they’re in for a rude awakening when Miss Kennzie starts kicking some butt. The course is mostly about getting our bodies into shape, but we will also be schooled in some basic combat skills. It’s true most gaiamancers who serve as soldiers, police officers or mercenaries rely mainly on their gaiamantic prowess in combat situations, but it helps to be prepared for any situation. Not only that, but even with the use of gaiamancy for defense, these jobs are physically demanding. Of course, not every gaiamancer uses his or her skills in anger. That is why only this novice level course is mandatory at the academy. The school offers higher level combat classes for those who wish to pursue such career paths, but I probably won’t get into that myself.

On Tuesday I started my Aethermetrics class with Dr. Krista Pasquale. In gaiamantics, aether is that special element that is not an element at all. Its energy fills the void between all other matter and energy, even in phase-shifted realities. Aether can be used for many different effects, such as light manifestation or playing around with gravity, but its most common application is in the field of healing. Sensei Jing has talked about this aspect a lot in our meditation sessions. We use it to center the body and clense it through relaxation techniques. But, what we will learn from Dr. Pasquale goes beyond that into curing specific ailments by directing life energy to a given spot in the body. Working with aether presents some difficulties because of its intangible nature, but it will be well worth the trouble, I'm sure.

Finally, I am enrolled in a class that has never been taught specifically at the academy before, Animal Gaiamancy. Most people are not aware of this, but many creatures have an inherrent ability to produce gaiamantic effects of their own. The snow yeti, for example, can use gaiamancy to materialize water in the form of snow and ice. But it doesn’t end there. Other animals, which do not naturally display such abilities, can be trained to do so. Some gaiamancers employ these trained animals for varrious functions. In this class we will be learning how to work with such animals. Mr. Sakoy, our instructor, says he wants to assign me a falcon to be my “partner”. Did I ever mention that I’m scared to death of large birds?