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“Some, in fact, most people believe Magyk is tame and down to a science. Mostly it is. However, there is still a lot we don’t know about it. Like why anyone can learn how to do Magyk, but only a few have a natural talent for it. Some of those Talented have found ways past casting time or needing spell components. Those who are able to do this Metacasting say it’s easier. There is a price though. Metacasting can change aspects of the spell. It can increase or decrease the power, duration, or any of the variable aspects of a spell. There is a second price. The Wyld Magik Burst. A random burst of Magyk. The effects can be anywhere from harmless and comical to downright lethal. Now that we covered Metacasting and its effects, are there any questions? Yes, Kyrsten.”
“Are there any classes dealing more with Wyld Magyk?”
“No. Several Wyld Magi have attempted to teach what they do. But without success. Each Wyld Magi is different, so their methods are unique to them.” The professor looked around the room at the thirtyfive students sitting at the tables. He realized how much he hated this short lecture. Mostly because each year there were always those students who thought that they were Talented. They would then attempt to Metacast. If the student was lucky, they weren’t Talented, and nothing would happen. But there was occasionally one. And the price paid for their curiosity tended to be pretty steep. He could always tell which of his pupils would be the one to attempt each endeavor. The more questions asked the sooner the attempt would be made. For this reason, he had the healers always listen in to this portion. That way they knew who would be visiting them soon. His thoughts turned to Kyrsten’s studies. She was very talented in most Magyk types. It would be a shame if she were unable to continue due to her curiosity.
Kirsten, on the other hand was thinking, Only those with natural talent can do it. Hmm. It can't be taught, so maybe I'll have to give it a shot. Her next class for the day would be necromancy. Then that would be it for the weekend. As she got up, she sensed a small object coming toward her. As an after thought, she cast a feather-fall spell on the object, then proceeded to grab it out of the air. Hiding her own surprise at the action, she looked at the makeshift missile. A small glass bottle filled with a thick, sticky bright red substance was in her hand. Uncorking the vial, she took a quick smell of a sweet, orange, strawberry mix. Before looking around she exclaimed, “Very funny. I will NOT be chained to the privy for the next few hours!” She looked in the direction the vial had come from, to see a group of students standing and staring with disbelief.
"But you had your back turned!" one of them exclaimed "How did you know it was coming?"
Not really knowing herself, she bluffed, "Haven't you ever heard of contingency spells?"
Flabbergasted one of them replied, "But aren't those really hard?"
"Not for me." and with that being said, she turned and left the classroom. As she walked, Kyrsten thought about what had just happened, and how similar things had happened on many occasions. Could my heightened Magyk sense be part of being a Talent? So many branches of Magyk come easy for me. Except Illusion. She strolled down the halls of Raven's Nest, wondering how she could find out more about Wyld Magyk. As she neared her necromancy class, her thoughts turned to today's subject, healing. In fact, she remembered that the assignment would be a practical exam. Use a few lower level curative spells on willing recipients. With that thought, her mind started racing over the different spells and their uses. She knew that if she could successfully cure two different injuries, she would pass the test and be able to start with more complex spells in that field. Up and down stairs, through plain and highly decorated hallways she walked, all the time thinking and preparing. After several minutes of walking, Kyrsten reached her destination. A circular courtyard, open to the sky, with dark runes along the walls. Grass covered the ground except for a patch in the center, about 10 feet in diameter. The total diameter of the area being 100 feet. Students were gathering to one side. Robes of all different colors were to be seen. After a few minutes, a black robed individual with an exceptionally long black beard entered. All the talking immediately died down. Kirsten didn’t recognize the individual, but knew that he would be testing them. Following him in were all sorts of people. Just by looking at them, student Dliw could tell that they were the tests. Some had head wounds and missing extremities. Others had lesions, mold, disease, and pretty much every possible thing wrong that she could think of, and then some. In as fast as she looked, Kirsten calculated that given the number of students, each student would have chance to go several times. The black robed figure walked directly to the center of the room. All the subjects gathered behind while the students moved to the area in front of the instructor.
“My name”, he began, “is Tilnoh Beck. I will be grading you. Students in one line, cripples another. Students, as you finish one, go back to the end of the line. We will continue in this way until either one, all are healed, or two, you do not have enough energy to cast another spell. The minimum is one cure. Form the lines now, and say your name before entering the circle. Begin as soon as you are ready”. He turned around and stepped out of the sandy area. Kirsted had managed to get herself to where she could go first. The other 20 students all filed off behind her. She looked across the circle to see what her tem would be. A young man limped in to the circle.”Kirsten Geam Dliw.” She entered. As she addressed him the young man took off his shirt to show lesions on his chest, turned his head to expose a fairly bad head wound. The young man showed several injuries. Dliw decided to fix the limp. She started drawing in the mana she would need for the spell. As she focused, on the young man and began the spell, her mind drifted and she wished she could help more. Suddenly, she realized that she was still drawing in mana, more than she had ever drawn, or even thought she could draw. She also knew what the price would be if she didn’t use all of it. Quickly, she started several spells at once. Each spell finished, and yet her power still had not abated. She cast one last spell in a desperate attempt to use the mana drawn. Even as she cast, she knew she would end up with a headache and probably a bloody nose from the mana burn. Her final spell complete, she braced herself. And heard an audible gasp, as if someone had stuck a knife in his own chest. She looked up and saw that the young man was healed, as well as all of the other cripples. Upon further inspection, nothing was even remotely wrong with anyone. In fact, she felt extremely refreshed. Quickly Dliw went over the spells she used, several to cure warts, one to heal legs injuries, several others to close and heal wounds, and the last one to heal any broken bones. As she thought, someone else started yelling and making a racket. Kirsten refocused her attention to the room, and noticed that flowers of all shapes and sizes had appeared everywhere. Not only on the grass, but in the sand and on the stone walls. Quite a commotion was being raised by the students and test subjects alike. The students were upset because they would have to wait for new test subjects, and the cripples were happy and screaming for joy that they had regained full health. Throughout all the confusion only two people actually stood still. Dliw trying to figure out what she did, and the black robed instructor who was merely smiling with a lopsided grin. He motioned her to him, and then made as if to open an invisible door. As she outlined the door with his hands, a portal appeared through which he and Kirsten both left. “So, you have natural talent.” Kirsten Geam Dliw jumped as a voice behind her spoke. The room that the inspector took her to was fairly small. Furnished with only a desk, some bookshelves full of arcane knowledge, and no windows or doors to be seen. The man who spoke, another instructor introduced himself. “Welcome to my study. I am Leigh Tabal.”
“Before you ask, you are here to be tested. What you just did was very smart, but dangerous. You’re lucky no one was injured by that wild burst.”