Ambrose knows how to pull your strings Master Fabricus and I think he delights in getting you to yell. It is a kind of victory for him. You will have to decide how you want to handle that. I would suggest not yelling at him for a start. I think he gave you a good clue as to what might pull his strings. His detentions should be made to learn your craft. Be it carving or forge work. Make him help you with a project. Either he will learn it and be a small benefit to you or will hate it and not want to anger you again so as have to do it.
"I can only speak for my own class," Catrina adds. "But I'll echo that while Ambrose has been precocious and even a bit arrogant in his belief that he knows what I'm teaching him already, he hasn't been a disciplinary problem with me. Though he does have trouble following instructions when they don't suit him. I told him to sit out one practical experiment and he proceeded to try it anyway. And when I gave him an assignment to take the place of that practical experiment, he ignored my instructions again and instead began reading ahead in his text books. Minor stuff at this point. But it does show a tendency for him to think that he knows better than his instructors."
"There is danger in that, more than just to my ego." Fabricus says. "They are all too young and too inexperienced to try advanced spells except under strict observation and conditions. Certainly we must expect this to happen, I know I had my share of foolish mistakes." Fabricus shrugs. "Or maybe we need to let them fail and see the consequences? Especially Ambrose, maybe a taste of failure on his own part will show his real qualities?"
Ambrose is one of the easier ones to predict because we know he is coming from a Tytalus background. He will always push himself. If he does not feel challenged then he will challenge himself and us. We will have to learn about the others.
[color=blue]"Well, in my class, he's seemed a little bit arrogant and quick to name-drop his grandmother, but I've not seen him so combative as he was at dinner tonight.
"This is, it seems, an unexpected problem: what do we do when one student is so ahead of the others in one area or another? I'm not limiting it to simply Ambrose, although he is the most obvious at this point. But what happens if, say, Margerethe is leaps and bounds ahead of the others in Corpus or lags far behind in Imaginem?"
Each student must have a competence in all of the Forms and Techniques. I will be administering a written test at the end of the 3rd term for the Techniques. Failure to show the basic knowledge of the techniques will be noted. I plan to have a talk to any student that does and suggest extra study. Failing after the second year and I will talk to the Headmistresses about releasing the student. Clement pauses to take a drink. We can not afford to produce a magus who is deficient in any Art this early in the school's existence.
"I'll be continuing Auram studies then Aquam, saving Ignem for last. We have covered Terram so far and begun Auram. I'll make sure the applications tie in with their studies on the Techniques and their progress thus far."
Upon the return to class there are several apparati in the classroom; all relating to different aspects of air and weather. There is a simple bellows as well as weather vanes and windmills, some full size and others small but working replicas.
"Come in students sit down. We are continuing our Auram studies and applications. Today we will exercise your Arts in Creo and Auram to show the fickle and often unpredictable nature of Auram. We will be trying to make breezes and weather phenomena, do not try to exceed the parameters of the exercise. If I ask you to raise a breeze, do not strive for a gale. If I ask for a pop of thunder, do not strive for a stroke of lightning. The elementa can be dangerous, Auram and Ignem some of the most." he picks up the bellows and walks over to a miniaturized windmill and weather vane.
"You will try to move the mill thusly." he pumps the bellows at the windmill causing its blades to spin with increasing speed. It makes a clicking noise which reaches in intensity until it rings a bell from the speed and then he stops pumping. "That bell indicates the strength of the wind I would like you to try for. If you can go stronger I will have you wait and will increase the resistance on the mill. This is done for safety. Again, do not exceed the test, I will be impressed enough if you can make the bell ring." Fabricus does not single any person out as he gives the instructions. "Who would like to go first?"
((Nothing magical about the mill, just a simple replica with alternating resistance. I figure it requires a base of 1 point higher than enough to create a gentle breeze, and he can increase or decrease it possibly still more.))
With the elemental forms not her strong suit, it's clear that Vanadís looks a touch nervous. She chews a lip, then asks, "Sir? Can we use magic to pump the bellow, too?"
[With bellows being mainly leather and some wood, I assume it would be a ReAn(He) effort. Base is level 3 ("manipulate an item made of animal products" is 1, but "control an amount of wood" is 3), +1 for Eye range, +1 for Concentration adds up to 5.]
Fabricus regards her with a critical stare. "This test, disciplus is your ability to create a breeze with Creo and Auram, not using a tool and manipulating it with Rego and Herbam with an Animal requisite." he says pointing to the bellows and the differing materials. "That would be for a different class. The bellows though shows a breeze that can be accurately and predictably reproduced, it is why smiths use them to stoke their fires, but it still requires some precision." he puts the bellows down. "Would you care to try it as I've instructed?"
With a quick breathe-in, breathe-out Vanadís steps forward and addresses the windmill. "You better turn or you're tinder, you understand?" She grins though, and focuses her mind for a moment as she gathers her meager mastery over the air.
[Casting total is Sta -1 + Mu 1 + Au 1 + Aura 4 + die roll of 1d10=7 is 12, halved for Spontaneous means 6. Creating a controlled breeze would be base 1, +1 eye range, +1 concentration duration, +1 complexity so she can nudge up the force of it slightly if the resistance increases. Total difficulty 4, which she succeeds at.]
A neat little breeze starts to push at the windmill as she gets a focused look in her eyes. Slowly, the force of it increases until the windmill's arms start to move.
With the construct behaving as told, Vanadís looks just about puffed up with happiness and claps her hands, smiling. Promptly, her concentration over the spell falters and she sighs. Looking at Fabricus, she asks, "It did work for a bit, right?"
((The +1 eye range is making eye contact with your target. For the range of eyesight (i.e. as far as you can see) is a +2. But Voice range is +1 so no harm.))
Base 2 (create a wind), R:Touch, D: Momentary T:Ind, and +2 for Unnatural Effect results results in a proper effect level of 5.
One could go with R:Sight and avoid the unnatural effect, but it would take time for the wind to be created in the upper atmosphere and blow into the classroom.
Muto isn't a good fit here, because it involves transforming air into something else, another type of air.
[Thank you for the corrections. The Muto was actually a typo from a prior sentence I only partially erased, but the rest were mistakes on my part. I did figure "breeze" was the way to go, since the professor warned not to overdo it, and "wind" seemed pretty blustery indoors. Do you want me to repost with the corrections?]
Ambose makes his way up to the front, all swagger, because this is what he's been born to do.
He quickly and calmly utters a spontaneous incantation and creates a wind. The punk doesn't even look all that winded from the effort[sup]1[/sup].
[hr][/hr]
[sup]1[/sup] Cr 1 + Auram 3 + Sta 3 + Aura 4 +Focus 1 - Size 2=10 + Die of 8[sup]2[/sup] for a total of 18/2=9.
[sup]2[/sup] It explodes follows with a 4.
Fabricus observes the spell casting with a hawkish stare and walks carefully around the display as the wind gets called up and the mill begins to turn. It takes a few more seconds but the clicking of the toy soon produces a tinkling bell. Fabricus nods. "Success. You may sit down, write down the feeling, the experience of magic as you called upon it and let it flow through you. Becoming conscious of that feeling, whether a success or not can help you reproduce results and improve. Who is next?"
((For the follow up assignment, it's basically designed to get the students introduced to perhaps their Virtues and Flaws regarding magic as well as their Sigils))
He will have Stamina of 3 as an adult (15 years old). Note, I included his age modifier (called it size modifier). I actually took too much, since he has the childhood virtue that reduces the penalties to stamina by half.