Wherein teaches the apprentices the fundamentals of Magic Theory.
Fiona awakens well before dawn the first day of class, excited, nervous, and a little bit scared all at the same time. Not only is this the first session with the new method of Hermetic Instruction, but she's been given the honour of having the first class...which means, quite possibly, dealing with children who may not be entirely awake yet. Plus, she will be the first impression the students have of their new academy. So...let's make it a memorable one, she thinks.
She goes to her teaching lab and makes sure that the tables are set up properly, that the new summae are set before each seat, and that there is plenty of palimpsest, quills, and ink pots to hand for the children, then makes sure that the window is open.
After she performs her Parma ritual, she casts Taking the Raven's Wing on herself[sup]1[/sup], using an Herbam casting requisite (which has no effect on the score) to transform her robes as well. She then finds a perch from which she can watch her door and count the students as they enter. Once all are inside, she gives them about five minutes to get comfortable and maybe a little antsy about whether they're in the right place and where their professor is.
She then flies in through the open window, and the students see a black raven with snow-white beak, legs, and feet alight on the teacher's desk and pace back and forth, fixing each student in turn with a golden eye.
After a couple of minutes, the raven hops to the front edge of the desk, and Fiona casts La Petite Masquerade on herself[sup]2[/sup], silently and without gestures (although she has it Mastered for Still Casting). The raven's body shifts, flows, and expands to become a young-looking Fiona leaning against the desk.
[color=blue]"Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Magia Theoria. I'm your professor, Fiona filia Marós Ex Miscellanea Kore tes Kirkes ab Mons Electi. You may call me Professor when you're in class, and either Maga or Fiona otherwise.
"Now. Who here knows magic?"
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[sup]1[/sup] CT is 28 without the Focus, since it doesn't apply on spells she casts on herself. Casting Score is 28 + Aura 4 + die roll of 6 = 38, vs. a Spell Level of 35. Penetration is 3 + Penetration (Transformation) 4 = 7. (This becomes relevant for the next spell, I think..)
[sup]2[/sup] CT is 34 – No Words 10 + Aura 4 + (die roll of 1, followed by a die roll of 6) 12 = 40, vs. a Spell Level of 15. Penetration is 25 + Penetration (Transformation) 4 = 29, easily overpowering the Raven's Wing.
"Sometimes I can see things," one of the young students says, his eyes wide at the demonstration that his professor has just made. "Things other people can't. I'm not sure if it's magic, but it might be. Some people call it witchsight. And I can see in the dark better'n most people."
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Alas, Second Sight won't help with Muto spells. 
A large boy (6' 250lb) sits at the bench looking excited. He gasps when the raven turns into Fiona but says nothing about magic.
A young girl with vibrant red hair and dressed in her simple apprentice's frock shyly raises her hand.
"I...I can turn into a bird too..." she says in halting Latin with a French accent. She puts her hand down and her hair falls across her face as she stares at the desk.
"Wow," says the first boy. "Turning into a bird is way better than being able to see things." Though he also speaks Latin, his accent is English.
[color=blue]"Very good," Fiona says as she turns and writes Intellego in large, elegant script on the blackboard. [color=blue]"What is your name?"
Fiona nods, turns and writes Muto, Corpus, and Animal on the blackboard as well. [color=blue]"And you?" she asks the girl.
[color=blue]"Sometimes. It depends on the situation. There are times when turning into a bird would be very useful, such as when you need to get somewhere fast, or want to observe something from the sky without being seen yourself. On the other hand, there may be times when you're looking for something that's hidden, and only your magical sight can find it."
She then turns and writes "Bonisagus" in letters larger than the others, and circles it. [color=blue]"A little over five hundred years ago, this man, Bonisagus, with help of the other twelve Founders, invented what is called the Hermetic Theory of Magic, or Magic Theory." She writes the latter words on the blackboard as well.
[color=blue]"With his revolutionary Theory of Magic, Bonisagus, the Founders, and those who have followed in their footsteps, have been able to take all the various forms of magic that exist in the world and find ways for almost anyone with enough knowledge of the appropriate Arts and the theories behind them to duplicate them. For example, your turning into a bird. That is something that comes naturally to you, correct? It was late in my apprenticeship before I could even change my facial features, and it was much longer before I could change my own form at will. My magic is more suited to changing others.
"These," she says as she points to the Arts she had written on the board, [color=blue]"are some of the arts that a magus might use to try to duplicate what you can do naturally. Intellego is the magic used to affect how, or whether, we perceive things. Muto, my personal favorite, allows us to change things. Corpus affects the human body, while Animal affects animals. The other professors will teach you these Arts over the next few years. My task is to teach you the theories behind all of that, and how to tie them all together. To help you understand how magic works, and by so understanding, know how to make it work better.
"Now, if you will all turn to page three of Principles of Magic, who wants to read first?"
In the back of the class is a boy with coal black hair. He's been sneering at the class the entire time. All of the apprentices know him as a bit of a troublemaker from the Latin year, something of a prankster, too. "You're the teacher, you're supposed to read."
Fiona knows him by reputation as Ambrose, grandson of a Tytalus maga from Novgorod. "My grandmother is paying a lot of vis to have me taught well, despite what her parens said, and what Pietro said before passing into Twilight."
None of his peers knew his lineages was from a member of the Order. Fiona knows that his grandmother is Anemone, a weather maga who lives in the Novgorod Tribunal. An Order of Hermes roll will reveal more about her to Fiona.
Babette stares straight ahead, almost not daring to turn and look at the impudent boy. She never liked him during all the Latin exercises. Always so smug and superior, always talking down to everyone, even the teacher! Inside Babette hoped that the real Magi would teach him some manners.
Imric raises one eyebrow when he hears the comments from the back of the room. Then he looks over at Fiona, looking to see how she handles an unruly student. This might set the tone for whole season.
((do each of the student's have a book or just the teacher?))
So, each student has a copy of the book at their seat.
((Int 1 + Order of Hermes Lore 3 + die roll of 9 = 13.))
Fiona looks directly at Ambrose, then walks over to stand directly before him. [color=blue]"Ah, yes. You would be Ambrose? Grandson of Anemone of Tytalus? From Novgorod." She smiles. [color=blue]"I can see why your grandmother was so anxious to have you taught so far away." She then turns, walks back to her desk, then turns to lean against it again, still smiling at Ambrose, although now her smile has turned from playful to predatory.
[color=blue]"And since you spoke up, you get the honour of reading first," she says sternly.
Amrbose reads from the book, he glances at a page for a few moments and then recites it, looking at the class in general and Professor Fiona more frequently. He gets almost all of the words exactly right, but he doesn't betray any of the concepts on the section he recites.
Fiona nods, impressed that he's apparently able to memorize the words.
[color=blue]"Very good," she says as she goes to the blackboard and erases what she wrote on there. She picks up the chalk and writes some snippets from the section that Ambrose just recited, sets the chalk back on the tray, and turns back to the class.
[color=blue]"Now, as Ambrose just told us, given that Techniques are the actions and Forms are the things upon which magic Acts, who can tell us what the implications are for someone who is more experienced with Techniques than the Forms? Anyone?" Fiona is looking directly at Ambrose as she asks the question.
Imric raises his hand when Fiona asks the question. He's ready to give a try at the answer, even though it'll probably be wrong. But that's the way they learned things, wasn't it?
((edited Fiona's post))
Julius blurts out an answer without raising his hand. They can do more with all the Forms?
[color=blue]"Very good, Julius. That is correct, but in the future, please raise your hand and wait for me to call on you before answering."
She then turns and lists the ten forms on the blackboard. [color=blue]"Let us take, for example, the technique of Creo. If one has an extensive knowledge of this Art, one could cast a wide variety of spells, even if their knowledge of any given Form is rudimentary. For example, with Animal, I could create a woolen cloak to keep warm. Aquam would allow me to fill a ewer with magically-created water. Auram, I could create a fresh breeze to air out a room if it gets too stuffy. Creo and Corpus allows me to staunch the bleeding until I can get to the infirmary. With Herbam, I can create a staff to see how deep that puddle is before I jump in it. Ignem allows me to start a fire. Imaginem can create the smell of fresh-baked bread. Creo Mentem would allow me to put my words in your mind. Terram, I can fill in a hole. And Vim...Vim is tricky, but with Creo Vim, I could disguise an item to magical investigation, make other magi think an item is magical when it's not, or vice versa.
"Now, everyone get out your wax tablet and a stylus, we're going to have a little exercise in creativity. We have briefly explained each Technique and Form, in very rudimentary terms. To demonstrate what one can do with any given combination of Arts, I want each of you to come up with one thing that someone could do with each Form when combined with, say...the Technique of Rego.
"Whoever comes up with the best ideas will earn a point. I will be keeping a tally of points earned in my class, and whoever has the most points at the end of the term earns a prize.
"You may ask me questions, but not each other, and you will not copy each others' answers.
"Are there any questions?
"Begin."
When Fiona gives out the assignment, Imric gets a thoughtful look on his face as he tries to think of what [i]he'd[/d] want magic to do. He thinks for several long minutes before getting a please look on his face. He immediately picks up his stylus and starts writing on the wax tablet.
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THE TABLET:
I could use Rego Terram to move all the dirt off of me so that I wouldn't need to take a bath after I play in the mud.