Catalyst stood before a massive group of Humans. Literally every single Human was there, having just returned from Long Wind's daily lesson on speaking Velensovth. Today was the first day of personal tutoring and apparently the Humans took the offer of watching the tutoring very seriously. The offer of personal one-on-one tutoring from the Arch Magister herself may have played a small part in their exuberance. Catalyst had made the announcement to hide the fact that she had become so involved with memorizing the Humans' Noun and Verb link patterns, she had completely neglected to form a tutoring list, an oversight which left her feeling horribly guilty.

The Arch Magister had her volunteers clear out the first floor of Town Hall for practice. The other Unicorn volunteers were all gathered around the perimeter of the eight Fathom diameter circle in the center of the first floor. The Humans were gathered in every direction around the circle and the volunteers politely kept them back. Catalyst stood in the center of the circle looking outward. She looked around the room at all the Humans, 'Well not ALL the Humans.' she thought with a mild smirk, 'Chris is being tutored by Princess Luna and that other Human I heard is in Ponyville for some reason.'

The Arch Magister nervously checked the protective ward spells on the floor for the ninth time. She had to be absolutely certain that they were in place. An improperly carved ward could fail with catastrophic results. She cast her Third Eye spell and began tracing the lines and circles that formed the ward. She slowly trotted around the perimeter of the wards, comparing what she saw against her memory. She had dedicated hundreds of hours to attain her rote mastery of protective ward spells and circles. She felt a temptation to spill a drop of her blood on the wards to bolster their strength, but the temptation passed quickly. She knew about the dangerous arts of Blood Magic, but she had never broken the law and used them, 'Knowledge is meant to be used, but some knowledge is just too dangerous for casual use.' she scolded herself for the temptation, 'Remember your oath. Never use Blood Magic unless to save many and even then, do not let others see.' Content that her wards were strong enough, Catalyst opened her eyes and faced the crowd with a warm smile.

"Welcome to our first class of Practical Application Of Magic. Since this is our first class, I will require a volunteer, somebody who is eager to learn about their magic and practice with it." Catalyst offered to the group, "After this class we will develop a roster of participants so that every one of you will have the chance to obtain the personal tutoring needed to learn about your magic and teach you how to use it. Now, do I have any volunteers?"

Dozens upon dozens of hands shot upward, waving around, hoping to be chosen. Some people yelled, trying to get her attention and some jumped up and down flailing their arms animatedly. Catalyst looked around the group, carefully studying each person that caught her eye. One individual stood out from the rest, a youngish dark colored male, if she gauged correctly. Neither of his hands were raised, instead he simply stood in place, arms crossed over his chest, watching Catalyst with an intense and interested gaze, 'He should be perfect. This way I can show them that I'm not one to play favorites. I want to make sure they know that every one of them will have an equal chance.'

Catalyst lifted her hoof and pointed to the Human,
"You there." the other Humans lowered their hands and quieted down, "Would you be willing to go first?"

The young man startled and dropped his hands to his sides,
"Me?" he asked pointing to himself.

Catalyst nodded,
"Yes, you. Please come forward. Step into the circle."

The young man looked around, nervously wringing his hands in front of him. Catalyst was glad that Humans and Ponies seemed to have such similar facial expressions and bodily expressions, even if the Humans were hard to read, 'Their ears don't move at all. A Pegasus is hard enough to talk to, but these Humans, you have to almost take them solely at their word. It's like talking to a Pony who was born with . . . what was the Human word for it? . . . Ah yes, Autism.' Catalyst had been working hard to pick up some American words, she had been able to get the hang of some of the unusual ones. The pitch black Unicorn motioned politely with her right fore hoof for the young man to enter the circle. The young man swallowed hard but he did step forward tentatively.

Catalyst smiled and trotted up to him,
"I know I've already heard your name before but I seem to have forgotten it. What is your name again?"

The young man took a moment to comprehend the black Unicorn's words in Velensovth,
"Morris Almond."

Catalyst blinked,
"Of course, the blacksmith, I apologize. Now, do you remember your magic?"

Morris looked around at the silent, staring crowd nervously, his Velensovth was slow and halting but clear,
"Y-yes . . . Create of three, . . . Comprehend of one, . . . Change of one, . . . Sustain of one, . . . blind to Control . . . and Repair. Blind to all . . . Nouns except for . . . Earth-four, Magic-one, and Time . . . " he looked around nervously before mumbling, "Time of . . . seven."

Catalyst nodded, as Morris related everything to her, she remembered his impressive Nouns,
"Alright, do you remember how to open your Screfula?"

Morris scratched his chin in an embarrassed manner,
"Um, not really."

Catalyst nodded, silently thankful she had spent enough time to compare Human Physiology with that of Kavim,
"Thank you for being honest. Do not feel bad, this is all new to you. Now, to open your Screfula, tighten your stomach muscles and clench your . . . pelvic floor muscles."

Morris nodded his head,
"Yeah, that sounds familiar." he said in American, "Uh, alright I remember now." he corrected himself in Velensovth.

Morris closed his eyes and concentrated on tightening the appropriate muscles. A sort of empowering energy began coursing through his body, leaving him feeling invigorated and energetic. The experience was easy to feel and it was amazing. Morris opened his eyes and immediately his muscles began to relax. Catching on to the fact that his Screfula was closing and thus closing off his magic, Morris focused his attention on re-tightening his muscles. It was difficult and it took no small amount of concentration to maintain, but maintain it, he did.

Once he forced himself settle into the feeling, Morris opened his eyes,
"Alright. I am ready." he couldn't help but to notice his hands were dimly glowing a rich caramel color.

Catalyst gave him a small smile,
"Very well done. Now, hold out your right . . . hand. Keep your fingers in a . . . fist."

Morris held out his right fist stiffly,
"Careful now," Catalyst cautioned, "Magic is cast using muscles and your will to direct the effects of the spells. Now, slowly extend your . . . " Catalyst struggled to remember the proper names of the fingers, "Extend your pinkie finger and index finger in a . . . claw like posture and concentrate on sustaining your time. Think and feel being eternal, imagine yourself staying young forever, as lasting as diamond. Now focus your will and make your will a reality. Once you have that image and that feeling, draw your hand back to your chest and thrust your hand out quickly. Be sure to keep all the muscles in your arm and hand tensed very tightly, but release all the muscles when your hand is all the way out. When you are ready, give your will that final push and imagine your will, your focus, traveling down your arm and pushing the magic out through your hand. Take your time and when you are ready, do it."

Catalyst stepped back and watched. Morris closed his eyes and took ten slow, deep breaths. His face registered focused concentration as he slowly drew his hand back to his chest. He held his hand there for several long moments, then in a flash of movement, he flung out his hand. In his unpracticed state, he curled up every one of his fingers as he thrust out his closed fist.

Nothing happened, but Morris could feel some of the magical energy drain from him. He held his hand up in front of his face looking at it puzzled.

Catalyst stepped up to the young man,
"Your spell surged and changed when you clenched all your fingers, but it didn't match your will. It combined all of your Nouns and Verbs, but your will was not behind the elements utilized and the spell, as we say 'fizzled'. It is a wonderful safety mechanism that the Latent Magic of this world has in place." the black Unicorn mare smiled, "Now, try again when you are ready."

Morris gazed down at his hand,
"I don't know . . . if I want to. That was really . . . embarrassing." he chewed his lower lip nervously.

Catalyst placed a gentle hoof on his thigh,
"It is safe to make mistakes here. We would rather you make mistakes here than someplace else. The wards protect everypony, in case something goes catastrophically wrong." she casually bumped his leg with her muzzle for encouragement, "You need to learn control, this is important. Come on, try again when you are ready."

Morris nodded and the Arch Magister stepped back. Morris closed his eyes and began tensing his muscles. Within moments, his hands began glowing with the familiar caramel aura. He balled his fist tightly and curled his index and pinkie fingers. He drew in his hand for a few moments then thrust out his hand.

Morris' body glowed with a caramel aura for a few seconds then the spell dimmed and the aura winked out. Morris opened his eyes and looked down at his hand then he looked to the black Unicorn with a questioning expression.

Catalyst smiled hugely and stepped up to him,
"Congratulations. You just performed one of the spells that I use every morning. That particular spell keeps your body from aging for a single day, granted your power behind the spell likely only made the effect last for a few moments, but the duration will come with practice, if you chose to practice it. Powerful Unicorns use that spell to keep from aging for eons at a time. Do not practice it by yourself yet, you need to be able to successfully cast the spell one hundred times repetitively, without a mistake before I'll clear you to cast it by yourself."

Morris looked back at his hand and flexed his fingers,
"Wow." he whispered.

Catalyst nodded,
"Now, onto the next spell . . . " 'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.' she thought.

Next Chapter: Chapter 10: Fine Points Of Manipulation Estimated time remaining: 21 Hours, 56 Minutes