Dr. Rath did not remain in the courtyard for long after being told of his experiment's approval. He was a wizard, and though he had many strange powers, he could not control time. And he had many things to do. Janna watched him muttering calculations under his breath, fringes dancing in uneasy gusts that were whipping around the courtyard. She was too restless to attempt to reign in their motion, and also lacked the conscious control. She was thankful that the winds maintained a directional path, rather than all sweeping towards her location, and prayed that they didn't change course. The winds responded to her suggestion, and converged on her, causing the remaining wizard to peer intently into the trees and shake his head in confusion.
However, after the one glance, the headmaster paid her no further attention. Instead he grimaced and settled onto the stone steps in a kneeling position. Janna watched intently as the wizard began to hum, and then chant. She had heard on the streets that the fastest way to kill sorcerer was a stab through the heart, but that the fastest way to incapacitate a sorcerer was to bind his mouth. Although sorcerers could channel their power in other ways, most chose to use chants to direct and shape the magic that they called upon. Janna could feel the power reverberate through the air, touching everything around her.
It was a song of strengthening, and although Janna did not know it, the most important duty of this sorcerer. It was more important that being an impartial judge between the warring nations on Runeterra, it was more important that his acting as a relay station for all the continent's news, and it was more important than his task of disciplining rogue magicians. For this song was a song of rejuvenation and cleansing, and his morning meditations impacted all of Runeterra. There were the local tasks: reminding the crumbling walls to remain solid and the courtyard to remain green, counteracting millennia of spell damage. If neglected the cobwebs from the magic of yesteryear would interact with each other. The results could be insignificant, like turning the grass into brambles, or they could be disastrous, like summoning a storm of magical vipers that still occasionally were found in Zaun's sewer system. But this chant was more than maintenance. In counteracting the natural magical entropy, this chant kept the pool of magic accessible and untainted.
Janna had never been educated in magical theory, but she felt the effect of the chant. The grass that she had trampled sprang back to life, in a more vibrant shade. Some of the rock she had displaced while kicking her way through the wall returned back to its original position, moving as a fine stream of dust. Some white tunics hanging on a clothes line shook off water in a glittering spray. And then, her barrel began to roll back under the downspout. The winds that had had protected her resisted, and Janna could hear the wood creak under the stress of being pushed in two different directions. The sorcerer's brow furrowed and he repeated the line which called for the order of all things, and the tension intensified. But after a moment he moved on, and Janna remained out of the way of the water. A few more lines, and the wall crackled with electricity, threatening any non-magical denizen of Zaun. Then it was silent.
The sorcerer rose to his feet painfully and surveyed the courtyard. "You may as well come out now." He said to her. "I know you're there."
Janna released a breath she hadn't known she had been holding. She climbed out of the barrel and approached the edge of the trees warily.
"Out where I can see you, please." The sorcerer said conversationally. "I've dealt with creatures far more wild than you."
The winds around her propelled her forward, displaying her proudly to the sorcerer. Janna was painfully aware of the vision she presented. A slender young woman, blond hair whipping in the breeze, completely naked. Janna stared at the sorcerers eyes intently, to see whether he would glance overly long at her full breasts, or linger on the curve of her hips, but the chocolate eyes did not wander. Instead of seeing her as a woman, he saw her as a concentration of power, beautiful in a different way. She seemed to glow with untapped potential.
"Please, take a robe." The sorcerer gestured to the line of apprentice robes hanging from the line. "You might be more comfortable clothed."
Janna moved to take a robe silently with feet barely touching the ground as she walked. She could feel the sorcerer watching her movements closely, as if she was being tested rather than being offered a gift. She brusquely reached for a robe, and was startled to find herself the recipient of a shock that knocked her to the ground. Her belief that it was a test confirmed, she extended her arm more slowly, warily, and winced away as she received a minor shock. The wheels in her mind turned, and she attempted a third time to retrieve the robe. Janna extended her arm imperiously, willing the robe to come. And a wind rushed out of the north, and blew the robe to her waiting hand.
"Most students just ask for help when they encounter a barrier." The sorcerer remarked mildly.
Janna had managed to get the robe caught over her head, and didn't hear a word he was saying. She was trapped, and trapped was dangerous. Gasping for breath she managed to force her head through the sleeve, and saw the sorcerer sigh. With a hum, he commanded the robe to arrange itself properly, and Janna forced herself to accept the rearrangement with as much grace as possible.
"Do you have a name?" He asked.
"Janna." She replied, accepting defeat.
"Well, Janna. I must confess that although I have suspicions about why you're here, I don't know how you got in." He paused, and noticed that the cords that held the robe closed in the front were tying themselves in intricate knots. "Are you doing that intentionally?"
"No."
"I thought not. You may have some control over your abilities, as evidenced by your retrieval of your apprentice robe. However you will need assistance in exploring them and developing your full potential." He looked her over and noted that despite her well developed curves, she was very slender, almost gaunt. "Did your parents ever have you tested for magic?"
"I've been on my own." Janna said.
"I suspected as much." The sorcerer said. "And if my suspicions are correct, your affiliation for the wind would not have showed up on a classical examination. However, I will still test you to determine if you have aptitude for academic subjects."
"Yes sir."
"But first we eat. Preserving and purifying Runeterra's magic takes a lot out of me, and you look fit to faint." For the first time, Janna smiled and approached willingly.