In the mage's dormitory tower, Cecilia sat with her closest supporters discussing the upcoming exam.

"If we want to leave a mark at this school, we need to do something extraordinary. I know the Headmaster recommended that we form balanced parties, but an all-mage party clearing the labyrinth on its first attempt would be unprecedented. And it would show that arrogant hothead Lenard that muscle-brained morons like him should just keep quiet and obey their betters."

At this, Karen looked up sharply. "Cecilia, if you dislike Lenard so much, why are you cooperating with him so fully on the shaman issue?"

"I'm not," Cecilia responded indignantly. "My response to Thomas' insult just happened to be very similar to Lenard's, much as I hate to admit it."

"I still think that this has gone on for too long, considering that his 'insult' as you put it was just a natural difference between mage and shaman spells."

"If that were the case, I would agree with you. But that is not it. Thomas has a remarkable ability to use elemental spells. I'll admit he even has better control than me, much to my distaste. But his worst insult is that he spends so much of his time out with the blockheads on the training grounds instead of in the Tower learning how to make the most of his talents," Cecilia shook her head sadly. "Can you imagine how much damage he could inflict while standing with us? I know he doesn't have as much in the way of Area-of-Effect spells, but his single target damage is absolutely devastating. With him eliminating the large targets, and the rest of us clearing the mobs, this exam would be a pleasure stroll. But instead, he spends his days bashing his head against a block wall, just like all the other warrior course morons. Such a waste."

"Then why don't we invite him to take the exam with us?" Karen suggested. "We have an open slot."

"We don't have enough time. For that to work, we would need to teach him a whole new skillset in only a week. I don't care how naturally talented he is, that's not enough time. Besides, we only have one open slot. We would need two to get Thomas to join us, or have you forgotten that he and paladin Alex are practically joined at the hip?" Cecilia shook her head. "Truth be told, Thomas is one of the reasons I want to clear the exam with an all-mage party. When we take the top spot, Thomas will have to reevaluate his studies. Then, once he joins us in the tower, we will welcome him with open arms and show him our full support."

"Support him?" came a shocked gasp from one of the others.

"Just like we would aid any other magic user who was struggling," Cecilia stated firmly. "We have refrained from helping him so far because he rejected our course. Magic classes should stay together, and as long as he remains with the warriors, we won't share our help."

"Has anyone told Thomas about this?" Karen asked speculatively. "I know most of the other magic course first-years think we're just following Lenard's plan. How is Thomas supposed to see what we're doing when it's mixed up in Lenard's slop?"

Cecilia thought for a moment. "I see your point. We'll have to spread the word to the rest of the first-years. From now on, there will be no consequences for interacting with Thomas. In fact, we may be able to turn this oversight to our advantage. Since the warriors are still treating Thomas like he's the plague, we should have an open run to befriend him and bring him around to our side. As for Alex, he will be more than welcome. After all, he's the one that put all this bullying into perspective with the public correction he gave that priestess."

The next day at lunch, Cecilia and Karen deliberately waited until they were among the last students to enter the dining hall. After getting their food, they made their way directly to the table occupied by Thomas, Alex, and Sara. The shocked gasps that arose when the two passed the table where seats had been saved for them alerted almost the whole hall that something unusual was happening.

"Pardon me, Mr. Walker, I hope you don't mind me joining you?" at Thomas headshake, Cecilia placed her tray down next to Alex's, across from and one seat to the left from Thomas. "I wanted to apologize on behalf of the magic course students for how we've been treating you this year. The blatant ignoring and occasional bullying by the magic course students have been largely the result of me not being very precise when I was voicing my discontent about some of your actions. My original comments were meant to have the magic students encourage you to devote more of your time to developing the magic side of your abilities over the physical side. However, given the actions of Lenard and the warrior class, the message was misread to the point that the magic students thought I was encouraging them to comply with Lenard's program."

Thomas shared a skeptical glance with Alex. "I apricate the sentiment, and I am holding no ill will towards anyone from the magic course. However, I cannot accept a blanket apology on behalf of the whole class. No matter who delivers it. If anyone wants to apologize, I am willing to forgive them individually, but each member of a group is responsible for their own actions."

"I understand. I know our actions were disgraceful, and I am ashamed of the part I played. I apologize," said Karen bowing her head.

"Apology accepted, Karen," replied Thomas graciously.

"On a different topic," resumed Karen from her seat next to Cecilia, "I have a question. Why do you spend so much time with the warrior course, when your abilities are so magickly focused? I would be spending that time with the mages, if I was you."

Karen missed the sharp look Cecilia sent her way. Apparently, Cecilia wanted to be the one to breach that topic. "As would I," affirmed Cecilia. "Power such as yours needs to be cultivated, not left fallow while you train your arms instead."

At this, Alex let out a chuckle. "You have obviously never watched Thomas and me spar. Nearly every strike Thomas makes is enhanced with some spell or another. And that's not even mentioning all the different dolls he drops to confuse everyone. I still remember the look of shock that Avoline, one of the hunters who uses Spirit Bow, had on her face when her arrow struck the doll instead of Thomas as she intended."

"What!" exclaimed Cecilia in shock. "You can control another's spell. That is unheard of."

"Yes and no. The totem in question will attract any distance cast spell that was not cast by the totem's maker," Thomas explained. "That includes any spell cast that enters its sphere of influence, no matter who cast it, friend or foe. That makes it great for solo combat or parties that don't have magic support, but it is all but unusable otherwise. And the totem will likely be destroyed when the spell hits, ending its effect."

"Still, with careful use, it could be a very effective tool," Karen stated. Her eyes were starting to glaze as she imagined several ways to make use of such an item.

Cecilia returned to the main thread of the conversation. "But you haven't answered Karen's question. Why haven't you joined us in the tower?"

Thomas leaned back as he formulated his response. After a moment, he responded cautiously, "I've been doing quite a bit of research on Shamans since I joined their ranks. Several books and conversations I've had with veterans of the war have divided the shamans into three sub-classes. These sub-classes are not as firmly delineated as those in the Mage class, where they are based on elemental affinity. The Shaman sub-classes are based on training and personal preference. Basically, I am training as an Enhancement Shaman, which focuses on short range combat by enhancing melee attacks and casting short range spells. Before I was a classed as a Shaman, I was a Warrior. So, my initial training as a Shaman led me naturally to the short-ranged combat choice. In fact, I was not aware of the other sub-classes until well after I was earning results as an Enhancement Shaman."

"What are the other sub-classes?" asked Karen. It was apparent that she was acutely interested in the potential of a shaman.

"The other two are Elemental Shamanism, and Restorative Shamanism. Elementalist apparently acted as long-range attackers, similar to mages. Restoration Shamans were basically healers."

"Then Why!? Why didn't you choose to join the tower? Is it too late to change?" the questions energetically flew from Cecilia's mouth. Then she barreled on, "Yes! You should immediately switch your focus and train with us in the tower! I'll talk to Ms. Nightfrost and make all the arrangements. And don't worry about the rest of the first-years. I'll make sure they welcome you with open arms! And then for the exam…"

"Whoa! Calm down Cecilia," Thomas said with a chuckle. "I've already explained that I chose," Thomas placed a distinct emphasis on the word, "the Enhancement route. One of the major reasons was that there is no one who remembers the how the path runs. There hasn't been anything close to a melee-combat magic user since the fall."

"That's not true!" cried Cecilia indignantly while half rising from her seat. This outburst immediately silenced the murmured discussion that had been going on since Cecilia had made her apology. "My father's guild, The Sparking Sword, specializes in exactly that type of action. They are highly sought after as vanguards against physically resistant monsters."

As Cecilia finished the background murmur resumed, exceeding its previous volume. The first-years were dumbfounded by Cecilia openly talking to Thomas. And she was sitting and eating with him as well. What had changed to create such a deviation to the accepted norm that had been pushed by Cecilia herself? However, her outburst had caught the attention of the upper grades as well. Many were speculating about what Thomas could have said to have Cecilia so forcefully defending her father's guild.

Thomas sheepishly glanced around the dining hall, embarrassed by the outburst and the attention it drew. Alex found herself amused by the sight. "It looks like Thomas is more comfortable being ignored than being the center of attention," she thought to herself.

"I understand what you mean, Cecilia. But you're misunderstanding me, and your father's guild. As I understand it, the Sparking Swords use enchanted weapons on their commissions. Most of those weapons are over two hundred years old. Some are truly ancient. Enhancement style shamanism is not like that. I can enhance my weapons, body, and cast spells simultaneously without the need for high quality weapons or long chants. That allows me much more flexibility on the field. But almost all knowledge of those spells was lost during the Shaman War. The Elementalist spells are very similar to the Elemental Mage's spells. If I had chosen to follow that path, it would have probably been easier, but I would not have learned as much about being a shaman."