Vince looked around making sure there were no other uninvited guests in the library. Then he closely stared at his friends and at the box in her hands.

“So, I guessed right, it was a wizard!” he huffed. “What did he want from you?”

“Calm down. Surprisingly this in every way unpleasant man came only to talk to me,” Ragna answered thoughtfully looking at the little box in her hands.

“Indeed unpleasant…” muttered the boy. “What did he say about your safety? Sounded like he tried to threaten you.”

“Nah, not really. He suggested I try myself as a teacher in a school for magicians and promised to protect me if I agree.”

“A school?”

“Sure. Magic is a difficult art; you can’t learn it just like that. Wizards also go to schools.”

“Wow…I guess wizards are not as cool as I imagined,” Vince rubbed his messy hair. “It sounds like a dangerous idea, though. I wouldn’t trust this guy.”

“Oh, me neither. But he is a strong wizard and if he gives me an oath of honour, he won’t be able to break it.”

“You really consider this offer?”

“Well, he got it right, I need money. Being a librarian is not particularly profitable…” Ragna closed her eyes and sat on the floor crossing her legs. “I need to think properly.”

“You are an educated teacher, and you teach really well, though…” the boy pronounced thoughtfully sitting down next to his friend.

“Nice try to flatter me,” chuckled Ragna. “I made my bachelor in pedagogy but that doesn’t automatically mean that I will become a good teacher.”

“Well, I understand your explanations about English much better than everything our schoolteacher tells us…”

“Only because the topics you study are not that complicated.”

“Hmm, and healing is complicated?”

“Not for me,” Ragna proudly exclaimed.

“So, same as with English, you will be able to explain it properly,” shrugged the boy.

“Eh… Yes, I probably will but we can’t forget that wizards and I have different kinds of powers. They can’t do healing as easily as I do it. Teaching them would be a challenge and a huge responsibility.”

“Right, the two very things that you try to avoid at any costs,” laughed Vince. “But well, sorry to remind you, but you are an adult, you will have to deal with them. And besides, you do need money.”

“I know, Mr Reasonable… You are way too clever for a thirteen-year-old, sometimes it is annoying,” Ragna puffed her cheeks.

“You are welcome. Ask for some advice again whenever you want,” Vince proudly smiled. “So, right, in this case, you just need to think about your safety and if you can actually trust this guy.”

“I guess so…I really need some time to consider this all,” the girl closed her eyes again. “Meanwhile, did you bring the books back?”

“Ah, yes, wait for a second,” Vince hurried to take two thick books from his bag. “They were great. Do you have something else about ancient Egypt?”

“My dear, scientists don’t write books as fast as you read them,” laughed the girl.

“But there is definitely something on those new computers, right?”

“Clever move. You know the limits your parents have set; you have half an hour, not more,” the girl sighed. “I swear, one day you kids won’t even know how to breathe without those computers anymore…”

“Oh, don’t talk like an old granny,” Vince replied running to the computer hall.

Half an hour later Ragna reminded the boy that his time with the computer was over. She had to remind once again five minutes later and strongly insist five more minutes later. Vince finally turned off the huge, noisy machine and helped his friend to lock the library. The two walked home together still discussing the unexpected job offer. After listing all the potential advantages and disadvantages, they both agreed, that Ragna should see the school and its principal before making her final decision. The girl promised to tell Vince everything about the hidden city and the Academy later, so he cheerfully ran home, impatiently waiting for their meeting the next day.

Ragna couldn’t sleep properly that night. She woke up several times from having a horrible fever. At some point, she caught herself on a thought, that she wasn’t really sure whether she actually feared being among wizards or failing as a teacher. She cursed herself several times for choosing such a profession, that is full of risks and uncertainty. Then she cursed herself for being such a coward. Ragna remembered she had chosen pedagogy wishing to do something meaningful, something that could make this world better. An idealistic teenager back then, she knew very little about all the complexity of work with kids. Later at the university she had learnt about the consequences of bad teaching and being rather nervous and impressionable, she had never stopped imagining the worst scenarios ever since.

Early in the morning Ragna made herself a camomile tea and constructed the unhealthiest breakfast ever seen out of all possible sweets she had at home, hoping that it will help her to calm down. After that, the girl grabbed the wooden box and sat motionlessly with it for almost half an hour.

“I mean, in the end, maybe the principal won’t find me suitable for this job and I will simply go home…” mumbled the girl as she opened the box.

A bright flash of light made Ragna screw up her eyes and as the light finally scattered, she was already standing on a rocky hill in front of an immense mansion. The young woman felt how a chill ran through her body. Her heart was racing, and her legs didn’t want to move. The yard was full of children and teenagers in grey-black uniforms. Most of them were actively discussing something with their friends, practising or finishing their homework. Some of the students gazed at the strange white-haired girl with interest, pointing at her to others.

Ragna took a deep breath and swiftly walked towards the mansion, trying not to look at anybody and not to attract any unnecessary attention. She heard some whispers behind her back and felt how more and more eyes were following her. Some of the students gave her a predatory smile, but the girl tried not to show her fear.

As Ragna neared a wide, marble porch, a sickly thin boy in big, square glasses heavily fell on the ground right in front of the woman. The boy quickly grouped himself, expecting to be kicked.

“I wonder, Woodward, how do you parents feel about having such a weaker in their family?” haughtily asked one of the teens standing nearby.

“I’m pretty sure it's not something that should bother you. In fact, you better be bothered with your eating habits, my dear. I see, your stomach is destroyed by junk food, gastritis is already on its way,” Ragna said loudly stepping to the impudent boy.

“What? What are you talking about there?” he asked aggressively.

“Strange, I don’t see any problems with hearing…I guess, there must be something else preventing you from understanding me. Let me repeat myself in an easier way: step-step out of here, mind your own business,” Ragna replied with a kind smile.

The young man frowned. He glanced shortly at a group of his friends and clenched his fists, attempting to look more frighteningly.

“Don’t you dare to touch my brother! Get out of here! I swear with all my powers!” a loud, unexpected scream from behind made the guy back down.

A girl rushed to the boy, who was still sitting on the ground, helping him up. She ragefully stared at other students.

“Iris, come. Look at me. Are you okay?” she checked on her brother.

The boy nodded and embarrassedly gazed firstly at his sister and then at Ragna. The two kids were obviously twins. Even though the boy’s face was mostly hidden behind thick caramel-brown hair, one could still see that he shared exactly the same facial features with his sister. Same hazel eyes, pointy nose, and even the same gap between the front teeth.

“And who is that? Since when do we have a zoo in Occultikon?” the small girl huffed with displeasure.

“Hey, you all, calm down. Go to your classes. Hortensia, please, don’t be so rude,” a huge man in a strict but sophisticated suit approached the crowd. “And You must be the Caladrius I’ve heard about. Welcome to the Doctrina de Antiquis Academy, my name is Alastair Alsiende, the principal.”

Ragna had to turn her head up to see the face of this giant man. Professor Alsiende kindly smiled and held out his hand for a handshake. In comparison with his, the woman’s hand looked as tiny as a mouse’s paw, and it was still ice-cold from fear.

“I was told, You are looking for somebody who could teach healing…” squeezed out Ragna.

“That’s right. Felix told me about You, so I absolutely wanted to talk to see You myself,” Alastair nodded inviting his guest to enter the mansion.

“Felix?” the girl asked thoughtfully.

“Yes. The red-haired man with excessive tattoos” explained Professor.

“Oh, so this convergence of my hatred has a name…” mumbled Ragna.

“Right, I know, Felix is great at making a first impression. But he is not as bad as it may seem. He is a busy man in charge of Occultikon. Sometimes it is exhausting, so he can be slightly…unpleasant,” laughed the huge man. “Anyways, I am glad You came here. The potion You described to Felix was very impressive. I guess You know quite some things about healing?”

“Well, yes… I know potions, spells and how to direct life and death energies, how sickness look like physically and energetically… All the things you need to know as a Caladrius to stay alive longer.”

“I see…Do You often practice this all?”

“Pretty much. It would be easier and faster for me to use my kind’s powers, but You know, it can attract some problems,” the girl felt slightly awkward to complain about Academy’s students.

“I know. Most wizards still refuse to see magical creatures as equal beings…It is horrible, as for me…” Alastair answered quietly.

The two walked through long, marble corridors, filled with warm sunlight coming from big windows. Noisy students slowly left galleries, disappearing in school classes.  Silence and peace hung in the air. Now only thin, transparent curtains fluttered in the wind making some slight noise. Ragna looked around with interest. The walls of the mansion were decorated with ancient portrays of prominent magicians and golden and silver tapestries with patter that looked like constellations. The girl followed Professor Alsiende up a beautiful staircase made of white oak. For a moment, walking through this light and airy building she felt like she was in some sort of a temple.

“This is the main building of the Academy that is connected with the big glasshouse on the lake’s coast. From the northern side of the building, there is an exit to the park with some smaller glasshouses. Students’ dorms are also situated there. We also have some rooms for teachers, in case You would need one,” explained the principal.

“Oh, there is no need, I have a place in Basel not far from my university,” the girl smiled politely.

“What do You study?”

“Linguistic for my master’s. I also did pedagogy for my bachelor’s.”

“Oh really? That’s wonderful!” Alastair gladly exclaimed. “You know, I try to employ teachers who know how to work with kids. Being a good wizard is not enough for being a good teacher.”

The principal led the young woman inside his office. It was a spacious room, airy and stunningly white. It was obvious, Professor Alsiende put a lot of effort into the arrangement of this place. Ancient books were carefully stored in bookcases; here and there one could see stands with artefacts, hidden behind thick glass; walls were decorated with skilfully drawn portrayals in golden frames. For a moment Ragna wondered if Alastair used any cleaning spell in here as she couldn’t notice even a tiny dust crumb. The office was cleaner than most surgery rooms in human hospitals. Every single object was in its place.

“You know, we here still struggle with the consequences of previous principal’s policy…” the giant man lowered his eyes and shook his head shamefully. “Don’t tell Felix, but I also think Dorian’s work was far from flawless. His excessive eccentricity spoilt local wizards. Instead of discovering extraordinary minds, it gave rise to permissiveness and impunity. So, it is very important for me, that the teachers I employ actually know about at least basic pedagogic rules.”

“Oh well, I brought You my diploma. Four years of methodology for teaching a subject, childhood psychology and teaching approaches…I guess, I know a little bit of this stuff,” Ragna tried to sound confident and placed a bright red book on the principal’s desk.

“Impressive achievements, that’s right,” Alastair put on small round glasses and carefully examined the papers. “And have You ever worked with kids before?”

“I had my internship at school during my bachelor’s time and later before moving to Switzerland as well I did a little bit of tutoring. Mostly with primary school children though.”

“I see. You could have probably heard about The First Basic Princip of Magic before, right? Wizards get their magical powers from the connection with particular energy flows that are inaccessible for humans. However, even the strongest magicians are limited in this ability. We can’t connect as many flows as we want and take as much energy as we want. That is why most schools of magic allow students to choose their specialization,” Alastair pointed at six tapestries depicting star constellations in the night sky. “Here, at the Doctrina Academy, children from seven till twelve study general magic – our Véla students. Then with thirteen, they have to choose one of the magic specializations: Warrior Magic – Ophiúchus; Healing Magic – Ápus, Magic of Natural Elements – Pýxis; Magic of Empathy and Mind Mastering – Lýra and Magic of Future Prediction – Horológium. I would like You to give lessons of basic healing magic to our Véla students and if it works fine, You could also teach Ápus students as well later.”

“Basic healing… How basic should it be? I guess, as a Caladrius, I have a much stronger connection to healing energy. Basic for me can be not that basic for wizards…” Ragna sank into a soft armchair upholstered in cream-coloured velvet.

“Right. It should be something that doesn’t require a strong connection to life and death flows. We usually teach Vélas to detect such energies around us, to connect them and to see how they interact with us. Like seeing sicknesses or potential strengths of one’s body. And there is a list of basic spells and potions that they can master including things like Bruise lotion or Anti-headache spells.”

“Okay, I see. I guess, it is doable for me. As long as nobody here decides to cook a nice healing soup out of my breathless body...” the girl awkwardly smiled.

“Right, I am extremely sorry about that accident with our students. I assure You, the Academy will take action against violators. As per Your safety, Felix intended to protect You with his seal. I could invite him here later today…”

“Oh no. No need, I can tolerate this barbarian only in very limited doses. We can manage it later,” Ragna laughed and waved her hand. “Ah right, he studied Warrior Magic back at school, as he said…Explains a lot.”

“Ah yes, long ago. I wanted him to become a Pýxis student and teach him all that I know about elements, but he was always more of a fighter. Protective type…” the giant man smiled nostalgically.

“I would say rather a destructive type…” Ragna mumbled.

 Professor Alsiende slightly smiled and automatically carefully stacked books on his desk. He then walked to one of the bookcases and quickly grabbed two books. One was about the Academy’s history and another – about Healing Magic. The principal handed both books to his guest reassuring her once again, that she would be in complete safety in Occultikon.

Ragna still felt unsure about her teaching skills, but Alastair’s diplomatic approach and friendliness gave her some confidence. In the end, teaching basic healing definitely couldn’t be problematic for her, so the woman accepted the principal’s kind offer.

“Great, then I will prepare all the documents. You will sigh them, meet with Felix and then You can start next week,” cheerfully concluded the giant man.