Twenty years ago
In the breakfast hall of Alderheim castle, four classmates were preparing for their Magick class; well, preparing the Alderheimian way. One, robed in yellow, was twirling his staff like a baton, pointing it at invisible enemies as he mentally revised the combinations for the most potent spells and the few Magicks that he knew. He was named Trivsel, and was easily the most brash and headstrong of the group. Another, garbed in blue and cramming from a textbook, was referred to as Blaogid. The newest student, even among the first years, he had arrived halfway through the year, and as such was perpetually behind in tasks and knowledge of spells. The third wizard, the only female, robed in green was Natugla, though everybody referred to her as Nat. She was a studious, no-nonsense figure, and above all else, pursued knowledge intensely. The fourth wizard, donning a scarlet robe was Lysandus, grudgingly agreed by his instructors and classmates to be the most talented in the practical uses of magic, primarily in combat.
If the group had a leader, it would have been him, as the wizard most experienced in vaporizing things would usually be. They all sat at a table discussing topics of magickal interest; well, Nat and Lysandus would be discussing, while Blaogid would be hard pressed to follow the conversation, and Trivsel simply could not be bothered. He had far too much on his plate at the moment; literally as the dish was piled sky high with sausages and cheese, whether melted, roasted, blue, cheddar, crispy, greasy, or all at the same time ( a benefit of magickal Alderheim cuisine), which held his attention far more efficiently than a conversation ever could.
Blaogid, on the other hand, was heavily interested in the conversation, but he had difficulty understanding many of the more complex terms used by the other first years, and there was little he could do to surprise his friends. His strength however, came from outside the magickal studies, in the form of charisma. Though not as advanced as his colleagues, he was by no means an idiot, and could talk just about anyone into taking actions they ordinarily would never consider. His talent turned him into Alderheims one-stop resource for settling arguments, bailing fellow students out of trouble, and occasionally convincing a teacher to lend Nat a magick tome. Considering his natural talents, Blaogid, had gone out of his way to learn the Charm magick, which he had been trying to understand for the last month, although he had gotten nowhere with it. It was this tome that he was poring over on the table at the moment, as the moose head pinned to the wall above the door began to grunt loudly signalling the end of breakfast and the beginning of classes. Trivsel, only halfway through his plate of sausages and cheese, decided to dispose of the food in a flaming manner, turning to ash in moments. The group collectively got off their seats, and left for their class. Some of the older students used Haste to get to their classes faster, but the four friends had yet to learn that magick. Instead, they conformed themselves with regular walking pace, and reached their class within a few minutes.
Their instructor was Vlad, the senior instructor of Alderheim, and teacher of wizard history; a pale, egotistical not-a-vampire that seemed to have been present at every major event in the past… well, no one knew how long. The timeline was not very well understood in Midgard, even by historians. Still, Vlad gave very detailed descriptions of many famous occurrences, from Alucarts attack on Elwenhus, to the defeat of Grimnir, even the awakening of Cthulhu. While certainly fascinating stories, they got old very quickly. " And so my dear students, is how Grimnir was defeated by a noble and ancient wizard of great power! And his one to four sidekicks." he explained in his deep drawl, " What?! No! I am not a vampire, I just spent my time as a student here studying, instead of going to parties and eating sausages" he explained.
" By Alder, when will it end" whined Trivsel just a bit too loudly.
Vlad's head snapped quickly in Trivsels direction, and noticing this Trivsel continued,
" Well it isn't very practical. We just hear the same stories all over again, with nothing new added, and nobody learns anything that could help us".
Vlad seemed to have been pushed over the edge this time. " Well tell me young one, if you happen to come across a dark wizard of Grimnirs order, what will you do? Would you try to destroy him with stones and lightning? Fire and ice? I am giving you valuable information about past events so that you do not repeat past mistakes! This luxury was unavailable to your predecessors, and many died because of it!"
Trivsel did not back down from the verbal joust, and began shouting himself,
" Except that we never learn that! The 'valuable information' you so like to talk about is the same that any two-crown storyweaver in a tavern can retell to anyone who asks, and in a much more interesting way!"
This was a low blow to Vlad, who prided himself on being the most interesting person in a room sat in silence for several seconds, which became minutes, and during that time, neither looked away from the other. Eventually, the moose grunted, and the class left for magical practice.
Vlad spoke dryly, "Class. Dismissed" and was left in a silent room where he meditated on his memories.