For anyone, the first day of school can be nerve-wracking. Lulu's was certainly no exception. Neela helped her get dressed after Lulu tried to put her robe on backwards, then rushed her off to the dining hall for breakfast. After the prayers, Neela led Lulu back to their room. 
"Grab your coat and your boots. This is one of those outside classes." Neela bent down to grab her own clothes, and also paused to pick up a set of silver daggers.  Lulu cocked her head and pointed to the blades in Neela's hands.
"What're those?" Neela glanced down. 
"Oh, these? They're my weapons." She noticed the look of confusion on Lulu's face, so she continued, "Everybody has to learn to use a weapon, because not even a mage can use magic all the time. You need to be able to defend yourself in a battle, so we have to learn to fight." Neela straightened and tapped her finger against her teeth, scanning the room.
"Hmm… What can you use for a weapon? You're too small to wield anything heavy at this point…" She snapped her fingers and dashed to Lulu's pallet, picking up her moogle doll from where Lulu had left it the day before.
"This'll work great! But we gotta go, or the High Priest is gonna have a fit!" Once more, Lulu found herself being dragged along behind Neela as she sprinted through the temple and out the door.
 
High Priest Oneron had his arms folded across his chest as he tapped his foot, looking perturbed. Neela and Lulu skidded to a stop in front of him, and he frowned.
"So kind of you two to join us. Dare I ask what your excuse is this time?" Neela bowed, panting.
"Our apologies, High Priest… but Lulu… didn't have a weapon…" Oneron nodded.
"Understood. Did you find something suitable, then?" Neela straightened up and gently pulled the moogle doll from Lulu's arms, holding it out to the priest.
"I didn't think, Sir, that Lulu would have the strength to wield any type of blade or club at her age, so I thought that you might be able to cast a spell on her doll. After all, the primary focus of a Black mage's weapon is to suppress their power, right?" Oneron smiled approvingly.
"Excellent thinking, Neela." He took the moogle doll and knelt down, smiling at Lulu.
"Lulu, starting today, this doll is going to be your weapon in battle. I will enchant it so that you can attack your enemies with it, and it will also channel your magical energy. Now, I need you to put your hand here…" Oneron placed Lulu's hand on the doll, then placed his own on top of it, and closed his eyes. Lulu's arm went numb, then, a prickly sensation made its way from the palm of her hand all the way to her elbow. Then the sensation was gone, and Oneron smiled at her. 
"There." He set the doll on the ground in front of her, and Lulu watched, astounded, as the doll stood on its own, then toddled over to her and bowed. 
"Wow! Thank you!" Lulu held her arms out and the doll obediently jumped into them. Neela came up behind Lulu and grinned.
"That's one cool doll, Lulu." The High Priest stood and picked up his staff.
"Alright ladies, are we all ready? This is going to be another combat lesson, so I hope you all have your equipment." He started to lead the girls into the woods, then paused and looked back at Lulu.
"Lulu, you've never fought before, so I want you to stay close to Neela and just watch for today." They resumed their march into the woods, with Neela and Lulu towards the end of the line. Lulu reached up and tugged on Neela's sleeve, trying to get her attention.
"What is it?" Lulu looked around nervously at the ice-laden trees that closed in on them.
"There aren't any really, really big monsters around here, are there?" Neela shook her head reassuringly.
"Nah. The monsters around here are actually pretty small compared to the ones you'll find in other places." Lulu sighed in relief.
"Whew. I don't like big monsters." Neela chuckled.
"Not many people do." Their heads snapped up as they heard shouting from further ahead.
"They found something! Let's go, Lulu!" The both of them sprinted to catch up with the rest of the group, sliding to a stop as they met up with the others. The entire class had formed a circle around several Snow flans, with Oneron and an older girl facing the monsters. The older girl lifted her weapon, a heavy iron mace, and charged at one of the flans, delivering a crushing blow. The flan hissed and body-slammed its attacker, sending the girl stumbling back. Oneron shouted for Neela over his shoulder, and Neela pulled Lulu with her. 
Oneron glanced down at Neela and ordered, "Get out there and take care of those things! None of the other girls' weapons will have any effect!" Neela nodded and drew her daggers. Holding one in each hand, she dropped into her fighting stance, with one arm held up, in front of her chest, and the other dangling loosely behind her back.
"Should I kill all of them, or leave one for the others?" Oneron shook his head.
"Go ahead and kill them. You know how to deal with these." Neela smirked and glanced down at Lulu momentarily.
"Watch this." With that, she sprinted straight towards the closest flan. Once she was within reach, she slashed a gaping wound in the thing's side, then jumped back. The flan howled as its soft, blue flesh began to take on a grayish tinge. The gray spread out from the wound, covering the flan's entire body, then the flan's skin became rough and gravelly. As the thing continued to shriek, cracks began to spread over its entire body, until the whole thing shattered into tiny chunks of stone. The other two flans watched their brother's demise in shocked silence, then began screeching. There was a flash of blue light, and Neela crossed her daggers in front of her and cast NulFrost. Moments later, the Blizzard spell hit, releasing crackling bolts of energy as it was cancelled out. As soon as the fallout subsided, Neela dropped her defense and darted in again, stabbing both flans at once. Once more, Lulu watched as one of the flans turned to stone, then crumbled. She turned her gaze to the other one, and frowned. Something different was happening to this one. This flan's flesh was stained a sickly green, instead of gray, and the skin around its wound was beginning to bubble. Neela watched her handiwork from a safe distance, wrinkling her nose as noxious fumes permeated the air. Finally, the flan dissolved completely, its remains melting through the snow and leaving a burn mark on the ground. Oneron gave a nod of approval as Neela bent down to wash the slime off her daggers. Lulu ran over and clapped her hands excitedly. 
"That was so cool! Will I be able to fight like that someday?" Neela gave a soft chuckle, sheathed her daggers, and stood back up, taking a moment to ruffle Lulu's hair.
"Someday, you'll be even better than me." The group began to move on, and Neela and Lulu followed along behind.
"So, you like this class?" Lulu nodded.
"Yep. It's super cool." Neela laughed. 
"I can't wait until you start learning to use your magic. You're really gonna be something." Lulu cocked her head.
"You really think so?" Neela shook her head.
"Nope. I know so." They walked in silence for a few seconds, until Lulu asked another question.
"Neela, why did those monsters turn into rocks and melt? What'd you do to them?" Neela pulled out her daggers and held them up to the light. 
"Well, these are special weapons. They're enchanted to inflict more damage than any regular weapon. See this one?" Neela held up one of the daggers, and Lulu noticed that it had a black sheen, so it looked darker than regular silver, and that the handle was inlaid with obsidian, the same stone that was in her bracelet. 
"This one will turn anything it cuts into stone. And this one…" Neela held the second dagger out, indicating the ivory that decorated it.
"This will poison whatever it cuts. The Al Bhed are really good at making weapons like these. They can make weapons with all sorts of special abilities. Their weapons can burn your enemies, paralyze them, even put them to sleep." Lulu's mouth hung open in awe.
"Wow. I want one of those." Neela shook her head. 
"You don't need them. Your magic is far more powerful than any weapon." Silence descended on them again, and the only sound was the crunching of snow. But Lulu's curiosity was without limits.
"Neela, what did you mean when you said that a Black mage's weapon is s'posed to suppress their power?" Neela didn't glance down.
"Well, the kind of magic you use is dangerous. It's a huge amount of destructive energy that's all released at once, and it's not really predictable. If that energy isn't contained, all that power will go out of control. When something like that happens, then not even the person who's casting the magic is safe." Neela paused and gently poked the doll that dangled in Lulu's arms.
"That's what this is for, so don't ever let go of it. The moment you put that doll down, all the power you have will break loose, and anyone or anything near you will be in serious danger." Lulu visibly paled.
"So even if I don't mean to, I could hurt somebody?" Neela nodded gravely.
"You might even hurt yourself." 
She flashed a quick smile and added, "But don't worry. As long as you keep that doll, nothing bad will happen." Lulu nodded, as if to say she understood.
"What about your weapons? Do they weaken your magic too?" Neela shook her head.
"Actually, my weapons do the opposite. Since White magic is meant to heal and not destroy, it's got to be really strong. So a White mage's weapon will channel their magical energy and strengthen it, to make sure that it's effective." Lulu nodded again.
"So, if I used your weapons, my magic would get really strong?" Neela stopped walking and knelt down in front of Lulu.
"No, Lu. That's not what would happen. If you were to pick up a White mage's weapon, your Black magic would do more than go out of control. It will destroy everything around you, and I mean everything. And you're almost guaranteed to die. A Black mage picking up a White mage's weapon is buying a direct ticket to the Farplane. So never, ever do that." 
"Neela! Lulu!" Both girls flinched and looked behind them, cringing under High Priest Oneron's death glare.
"Either you stay with the group, or you stay at the temple. Let's get moving."