Please be in place in one hour! We have a lot to cover tonight, and this is a class of great importance! First real taste of magic tonight, with magical runic!

1262307
I'm here. Sorry for disappearing early on Monday. I had to go watch a movie with my family.

1262425
that sounds like fun what did you see?

1262433
Well, technically it was an hour long episode. It was last weeks episode of under the dome.

1262307 Hey professor!

I'm here and as usual for me nowadays multitasking way too much.

1262445
Good evening! Ready to work with exploding letters?

1262458 I can't wait!

1262458
Do we get something approaching some kind of protection for this lesson?

1262493 If you're so in love with things like being safe and keeping all your hooves, why do you even study magical volatile exploding calligraphy?

1262505
Maybe he already lost all his hooves.

1262546
1262493
Hey, Isador, how many hooves do you still have?

1262615
Let me count. 1, 2, 3, 4... 5. Hmm... That's not right. Let me go clean my glasses.

1262624
I counted eight. We might be dealing with Sleipnir here.

1262644
That could be a problem.

1262505
I still have all of mine and I'd like to keep it that way. That desire sometimes conflicts though with a love making things go boom or other 'go _______'.

*sneaks in, sits in back*

Sorry, I can't actually be here tonight - I have company. Sorry! I'll review the class later and do any homework, I promise.

1262651
I'll go get the mighty hammer Mjölnir.

*Walks in and sits down at his desk*
I assume that everyone had a hint of what was gonna happen at the end of the Everfree Rebellion?

1262670
Maybe he has fleas. Would a fine tooth comb help?

1262682
Only if you want to take the gentle approach. My vote is still for thunder hammer.

1262690
I guess....

Very well! Let us begin tonight's lesson, the introduction to magical runes and their proper use. By the end of class tonight, our aim is to have you prepared to write and cast simple invocations of your own! Now, who here can tell me the difference between Planar and Aetherial magic?

1262679
Yeah, I figured that Twilight and Tarantella had to live through it in some manner or other. I did my homework lol.

1262719
Aetherial magic is the magic of creation. Planar magic is the magic that already exists in the world after it was made?

1262730
Essentially, yes. Runes are like small portals into the Aether, and draw their magic from the magic inside. This means that spells cast with runes do not tax the energy of the physical world. Can someone tell me where that energy comes from?

1262740
The sort of "well of eternity" of magic from which all things that exist had to have sprung?

1262723
Us homework do didderers get a little bonus. I guess that's enough incentive.

1262723
I honestly wasn't surprised that Celestia was allowed to live. She'll probably get scorned later, but all evidence suggests that she's still alive and kicking in the Modern Era.

1262740
A ponies soul?

1262719
What happens if you don't have a horn, sir?

1262746
No. The energy used in Planar magic comes from within the spellcaster. You use your own energy to bend reality every time you cast a spell. Runes circumvent this. Can anyone tell me, then, why runes are not used exclusively?

1262753
Oooh! Do you get a bunch of untapped magic or is it exuded in more passive effects?

1262758
Dangerous?

1262753
1262760
That is a topic for another lesson, but the general consensus is that magic will flow through you, regardless of of whether or not you can actively channel it. The two most prominent examples are Earth pony magic, which flows from the earth into them and vice versa, and the magic inherent in the wings of Pegasi.

1262766
Yay! Another person who agrees that pegasi use magic to fly!

1262761
Correct. Runes are tricky to get right, and disastrous to get wrong. Not only this, they tend to channel the magic of the Aether without warning, which means that after a magical "phrase", the entire page must be sealed with the caster's own magic. The greater the spell, the more magic needed to contain it.

1262774
So what if a spell is made up of bunch of tiny spells? Do you have to seal each on individually or just work in the conditions and then seal as a whole? Also, do paladins get tons of work in this?

1262758
OH for a second I thought we were still talking about Aether magic. Runes sound dangerous and unstable if you aren't entirely sure what you're doing with them.

1262770
This is kind of a common thing in the fandom.

1262785
Shhh... I can remain oblivious. Your comment is already gone from my mind.

1262783
All four Schools use runes, but the two most prominent users of magic are Paladins and Mages. Paladins use them in seals, and Mages use them in self-sustaining enchantments. There are other uses, but those are the main two.
1262784
Correct. Most novice students sustain their first injuries working with either runes or crystals.

1262799 Alright, do we need special enchanted ink and paper to make magical runes, or will ordinary stuff suffice?

1262814
How would you enchant paper if you can't use runes to enchant paper?

1262829
Recursively defined enchanted enchanting paper that makes more enchanted paper. Checkmate.

1262814
Excellent question. This is what makes runes so dangerous. They can be carved, written, or sculpted with any material, so long as they are made by a magic-user with the knowledge to use them. Certain runes tend to respond better to certain materials. For example, the runes for destructive purposes tend to function better when engraved in a metal, whereas preservation runes do well on paper or wood. And of course, the proper application of will is what separates magic users from any common fellow with a knowledge of the alphabet. And this is why magic users are the only ones able to actually use the runes.

1262850
So planar magic will-powered magical letters that make (potentially unstable) editedmagical energy portals into the aether. Sounds safe.

1262799
So then clerics and mentalists use crystals more? And is it possible to combine crystals and runes?

1262876
No one ever said spellcraft was a particularly safe vocation. But it is rewarding and enjoyable work.

*realizes that this is the second week of term*
No midterm next week, no midterm next week, no midterm next week.