Afternoon Review

Oren walked into his empty classroom. Of course students were supposed to be in class five minutes before the teacher arrived to start class, but Oren was always in the habit of getting there early as well. It was just something that had been pressed into him from his candidate days so he was always there by the time students began arriving.

He set his messenger bag on the desk and began uploading the lesson data onto the network for the students to study at their leisure. While the computer was working, he reached up to tie back his hair. He tied it back neatly behind him, exposing his earring as he straightened his instructor's uniform and took a seat, waiting for the students to arrive.

Myghin looked around the classroom curiously since she wasn't actually in this course yet. Then she tiptoed in, and found a desk to sit in. It was the desk she always used, near the front. She took out a notebook, checked her pencil, and prepared herself to take notes. As she did so, other students began coming in, one by one.

Ailyn skidded into the classroom and plopped into her seat nearest the door. She set a small bag beside her. Breathing heavily, she turned on her study panel and started looking over some of the material that the instructor had uploaded. She then looked around and waved at Myghin.

He stood up as the last of the students filed in. He closed the door once the clock said 2:00.

"Alright, everybody, as you all know your exam on Guardian Forces is coming up. This is only going to be on the basics of the GF including usage and theory. If you pass the exam, you will be permitted to use Quezacotl and Shiva from your Study Panels during training and field exercises only. Now, before we get started, are there any questions? Do not be embarrassed, you're asking the question that everybody else is too afraid to ask."

A small face poked out from above a text book. She blinked a few times, as though realizing that class had started before hauling out a notebook and jotting down what the instructor said.

"Exactly how powerful are GFs? I know with para-magic, it can be difficult to reach damage levels that can be comparable to that of modern weapons; is it the same for GF usage?" Myghin's eyes were sharp as she questioned him, her pencil poised above the paper, ready to move.

Shawna's hands were already flying across the notepad, desperately trying to write what Myghin wrote before she forgot.

"A good question," Oren nodded. "Para-magic is very limited while casting it by yourself as a human. For example, if someone using solely para-magic casts Fire on someone, it's possible that the most it will do is maybe a burn from hot water or touching a stove for just a moment. This is dependent on the person's skill with para-magic, of course."

"Now then, when you combine your strength with a Guardian Force, you combine your power as a 'mundane' human with that of a magical being, greatly increasing your potential. This is possible because junctioning a GF to you let's you junction magic to your being and increase your abilities and limits. Therefore, giving the same situation, the same Fire spell cast by someone with a GF junctioned to him or her could allow for instantaneous boiling of water or heat easily rivaling a bonfire."

Ailyn's eyes lit up at the word 'fire' and began to take notes on her small pocket notebook that she pulled from her pocket. She nodded as the instructor continued.

Shawna frowned. "When you apply the GF's magic with your own, how come the new power does not overwhelm the caster?"

"The excess energy that would exceed the human's ability is sent to the GF. Since the GF is a magical being, their bodies can handle it with relative ease. Also, as you and your GF increase in strength and compatibility, the limit of your ability to control the 'excess' power will increase. "

"Thus allowing the GF to channel more energy and increase the damage of the spell further?" Myghin's hand was flying across her notebook as she considered this.

"That makes sense," Shawna nodded, "But what about if you have multiple GFs? Why doesn't junctioning with that many overwhelm? And when you use one to cast a spell, does the magic backwash to all of them or just the one used?"

"So with a GF, I could increase the power of Fire without having to use the stronger spell Fira?" Ailyn nearly giggled at the thought.

Shawna's hand stilled for a moment as she thought. "And what about if you have GFs with different abilities junctioned? I mean, abilities such as those who norminally have fire attributes as opposed to those with ice."

Oren nodded to Myghin, "That is correct, there is nearly limitless potential regarding magic and GFs."

He then turned to Shawna, "The are all attached to a portion of your mind, thus the term junctioning. As you grow with your GFs, your ability to utilize their power more will also grow. Your mind's limit also limits the GF's ability so as to not overwhelm you. Also, the magic does not backwash to the others. The spells themselves are stocked directly to your being."

Turning to Ailyn, "That is correct. In theory, a person trained with Fire magic while using a GF can be substantially more powerful than a person using the higher tier Fira in para-magic.

He moved back to Shawna again, not used to having to fire off all of these answers so quickly. "The different abilities remain, in majority, with the GF and do not conflict with or inhibit the caster."

Ailyn scratched notes down quickly as Instructor Sjet fired off answers to the many questions. "I've heard that junctioning GF's can lead to memory loss. Is this true?"

Oren smiled, he always gets this question.

"There is some speculation as to whether that's true or not...at least...I don't remember if it's true..." he said, suddenly getting a very blank look on his face. He quickly composed his face into a sarcastic smile. "Just kidding. There's no actual proof whether it does or not."

Myghin grinned back, enjoying the discussion very much. She couldn't wait to take the class that fall. "What about other GFs? Besides Quezacotl and Shiva and Ifrit? Are there others?"

"Oh yes," replied Oren. "There are several GFs in the world. I'm sure many have yet to be found. Shiva, Quezacotl and Ifrit are simply the most well-known in Balamb because SeeDs are required to obtain them before attaining their rank. That's why it is always a good idea to draw magic from every new encounter, you never know what you'll find."

"How exactly does stocking magic work anyway?" Ailyn scribbled more notes down as Instructor Sjet continued talking.

"Stocking magic is one of two desired effects that occur from drawing magic. You draw it out of your enemy and either bind--or junction--it to your being, or you can cast it directly back at your foe. You are able to stock a maximum of five usages of a single spell on your person. Keep in mind that directly casting it back will produce a weaker effect than if you were to stock it first. This is because the magic doesn't go off of your own strength and there is a lot of energy that is lost in between drawing it out and throwing it right back at the monster."

"Cool! So stocked magic is stronger than drawn to cast magic and having a GF equipped makes the stocked magic even stronger?"

"That's exactly correct," he nodded, smiling as he walked back to his desk. "Now, I've uploaded all of the information onto the Study Panels for everyone to go over to prepare for the exam. Now, we still have plenty of class time left if there are any more questions."

Myghin shook her head slowly. "I don't think so. But thank you." She smiled warmly.