Chapter 3: A Violent Demonstration

Sometime later, Briar and her dorm mates, Ace and Deuce, arrive in front of the door of the headmage's office.

Deuce knocks on the door and calls out, "Headmage, may we come in?"

Then Ace opens the door, "How's it going, sir?"

Soon, everyone enters the room to see Crowley working at the desk.

Ah. Thank you all for coming. I'll get right to the point," Crowley says. "Now that the Heartslabyul incident is behind us…"

The group understands what he's referring to.

Then the headmage says, "I wanted to give you a proper debriefing on the matter. If you're to become mages, you need to fully understand the malady that befell Mr. Rosehearts."

"You mean when Riddle turned into some kind of Ink-like being?"" Briar asks..

Then Deuce asks, "You called it 'overblot,' right?"

"Yes, that is correct," The headmage answers.

Then Ace says, "My brother told me a little about that. He said that could happen to anyone who builds up too much blot. Sounds like Cater was pretty much on the nose with 'berserker mode.'"

Then Grim asks, "Yeah, but what is "blot," anyway?"

"It was really scary," Sereia adds.

"And it seems really dangerous," Briar adds.

Ah, indeed. For your dorm's sake, Briar, it would behoove us to start with the basics.

I shall teach you all you need to know. Charity, thy name is Crowley!"

He clears his throat and explains, "Now, 'blot' is a form of waste that is created as a byproduct of using magic. Just as cars run on gasoline, and in the process, expel dangerous gases as exhaust… Casting spells consumes magical energy, and in the process, expels blot.

"That doesn't sound very healthy," Tanzanite replies.

"Quite. Crowley answers, "Research into the nature of blot has been conducted since time immemorial. And yet, we still understand little about it. All we know for sure is that it is terrifically toxic, and excessive amounts can wreak havoc on a mage's mind and body.

I guess that's why Grandma was always naggin' me to not overdo it with the magic, huh? "Ace says, "Here I thought she just didn't want me to break stuff."

"Power and peril are two sides of the same coin. Even the greatest of mages cannot cast spell after spell without consequence," Crowley says.

Then Grim crosses his arms and replies, "So you're tellin' me I'm gonna get sick if I keep usin' magic whenever I want?!"

"Somehow I doubt that's how it works," Jasper replies.

"Not necessarily," Crewley answers.

Then says, "Hm. Perhaps a demonstration would prove more efficient than a mere explanation."

He then calls out, "Ghosts, assemble! I have a job for you!"

Just then, the three ghosts appear, shocking the students.

The first ghost says, "Huzzah! You summoned us, Headmage?"

"Not these guys again?!" Ace says, shocked.

Then Crowley turns to the ghosts, "Would you be so kind as to help me put these young students through their paces?"

This shocked the students, and they're starting to have a bad feeling about this.

"T-this seems like a bad idea," Deuce says, stunned.

"Yeah. I'm not liking this," Briar replies.

Then the second ghost says, "Yeah, okay. We'll go a round or two with 'em."

Then Crowley says, "Now, students, ready your magical pens. Prepare to receive a special lesson from your headmage!"

Briar and the others, including Ace and Deuce, quickly bring out their Mage Pens, in Grm's case, activate his magic from the gem around his neck. All of them begin to fire their magic. However, it becomes a problem that ghosts keep reappearing every time they use their magic. Everyone continues to use their magic from their mage pens, unknown to them that each of the gems on their pens are starting to seep out black ooze and are turning black themselves.