fandomhigh | Fandom vs. The Real World- 2nd Period- Class #1

When the students got to class, they'd find a young woman, dressed in black, watching everyone as they took their seats as if assessing her assignment. Or maybe she was wondering what she'd gotten herself into. Either one.

"Welcome to class. This is Fandom vs. The Real World. If you are not supposed to be in this class, now would be the time to leave. No one probably knows your name yet to think badly of you.

"My name is Aeryn Sun," she introduced herself. "To give you a bit of background, I was one of the first students at this school, and therefore you will get no pity from me. We had to learn about bites and invasions and people getting possessed all on our own." They also had to walk two miles uphill in the snow. Each way. "And if any of you are feeling alarmed by anything I just said, oh, just wait. I should probably also tell you straight off that I am not human. I'm Sebacean, and till a few cycles back, was a member of the Peacekeeper military. I was here for two years before I graduated, and there was never a dull moment. This is both a blessing and a curse. Since graduating, I've been living in Cambridge with my family, and in case you're one of the people not from here originally, it's quite a bit different out there than it is in Fandom. I'm sure those of you from a 'normal' place have already noticed this.

"I don't know yet how many of you are brand new to Fandom, and if you've been around a while, bear with me while I explain a few things to the new students. You're probably figuring out by now that the things you've been hearing since Saturday is true. Most of it. I'm sure people slip at least one or two untrue things in. Regardless, this is a unique place, and since I'm assuming none of you have tried to run screaming yet, I'll take it for granted that you're here for a while, and hopefully we can make the transition a bit easier.

"On the other hand, when you're used to being from someplace where this sort of thing is normal, where you're used to different species wandering around, where portals don't faze you and you're perfectly at ease flying a ship when the locals don't drive anything that leaves the ground. At times, you will venture out into that world. There are field trips, or you may pay a visit to a friend's home, and at that point, the things that are perfectly normal here suddenly have nearly no basis there. We will cover that, too. Because going out into that with no knowledge is frelling hard. Wherever you come from, it's all right to find it abnormal, or maybe even a little scary at first. You're just going to have to get over it.

"Rather than barrage you with too much information, we're going to start with the continued introductions you'll be sick of by the end of the week," said Aeryn. "I want you each to tell me your name, where and when you're from, and the strangest thing you've heard or experienced since you've been here. You first."

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"We don't have spirits in my world," Karla said, only half understanding the concept. She just knew there weren't any. "We have all sorts of races, both human and non, but no ghosts or spirits or anything."

Azula blinked. "You don't have spirits but how can your world survived without them?"

She wasn't religious but a bender can't be a bender and not believe in spirits.

"Why would we need them in the first place?" Karla asked.

Magic came from Jewels. Everyone knew that.

"Because they embody the different aspects of life and nature," she said, as if it were obvious. "And that's where our bending spring from, Firebenders are fueled by the sun and the sun is the physical embodiment of Agni."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Karla said, shaking her head slowly. "What's bending? What's Agni? In my world the sun is simply the sun and nature is simply nature. Queens can heal and affect the land, of course--it is part of our very nature to do so--but that's because of what we are, not what the land is."

This was skewing Azula's world view a little.

"How very different," she remarked. "In my world everything is alive and most times, sentient. These entities are called spirits and one such spirit I can name would be the spirit of the sun, Agni."

The last time she talked about spirits this much was when she was a child reciting her Royal Fire Academy lessons. It also frustrated she needed to explain what bending was.

"And bending is the ability to control an element but its largely dependent on what nation you come from. I'm from the Fire Nation and because of this I can bend fire."

Karla just grinned a bit. "Mother Night. The fits some people threw when the rediscovered the kindred were bad enough--but making everything sentient would send people around the bend!"

The smirk Karla was wearing suggested that wouldn't entirely be a bad thing.

"So, you need spirits to control fire?" she asked, trying to understand. "Which you can do because of the land you live in? That's so odd." She called a small tongue of witchfire to her palm. "This is just basic Craft for us. Possible by any member of the Blood, no spirits necessary." She smiled again. "And if it were based by where one lived, I'd only be able to affect ice. In Glacia, my Territory, we get so much snow in the winters, we can't usually leave our homes."

"Sometimes people need to be sent round the bend," Azula said with an echoing smirk.

Azula studied the flame Karla conjured up. A good flame but it was still just an ordinary flame. "Yeah, Fire Nation kids could summon something basic like that but bending's complicated. No one really figured it out what's really behind it. Anyone has the potential to bend, but not everyone can bend. Bending is partly something you're born with, partly a spiritual thing and part training. The sun can help fuel or spark a Firebender's inner fire but you need to have the desire and will to bend fire. But anyone in the Fire Nation could bend it's something else to be a Master of Firebending."

Like say, her.

Karla tried to follow that as best she could, rephrasing some of the concepts into terms of Crafts. "So, ordinary fire is basic bending to your people, too, though still only open to people from the Fire Nation?" she asked, words coming out slowly. "And bending is somehow different then simply calling up and controlling fire? Is it some kind of magic fire, then, that you control?"

The part about everyone having the potential to bend was easy. "That makes sense. In Kaeleer, every member of the Blood has the potential to wear Jewels, but not everyone does. As you said, it depends on a lot of factors. So, I guess if we were talking about it in Kaeleeran terms, everyone in the Fire Nation is Blood and can do basic Craft, but it takes training, will, and discipline to wear Jewels and have access to caste powers."

Not quite the same, of course--the ability to wear Jewels wasn't really dependent on training--but Karla thought she understood. "Though I probably will need to see more of your Master of Firebending abilities to understand the difference, I think."

Yes, she was assuming Azula was a Master. It was...kind of obvious that she had some kind of power, anyway.

"Yes, you have it," Azula said, nodding.

Azula took it in stride when Karla concluded she was a Master Firebender. "I'd be happy to demonstrate some of the things I'm capable of doing."

"There are the Magic Reserves tomorrow," Karla suggested. "You can ~~handwavily~~ show me there."

"Agreed," Azula said, she was planning to observe anyway, now she had a legitimate reason to be there. "I'll ~~handwavily~~ demonstrate."

"I'll be glad to see you there," Karla said with a smile. "It's nice to see more people. And if there's another invasion, I can't see your abilities not being helpful."

Azula's smile was all teeth. It was a smile of a predator too long without prey.

"That's one aspect of the island I'm actually really looking forward to."

Fandom vs. The Real World- 2nd Period- Class #1

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