At that, Connor sent a smirk to his cousin, and Alex bit back another smile when Mel responded by pulling a face at him.
“At this point it’s worth mentioning that some scholars believe every human being has a potential gift inside of them, but not all of us are able to connect with or access these personalised giftings,” continued Doc. “For those of us who can, we have a responsibility to nurture the supernatural abilities within us. That means we must learn to develop them, to control them, just as Mr. O’Malley said. Tell me though, have any of you ever wondered why Akarnae—a ‘school for the gifted’—only has one class dedicated to actively developing your abilities?”
Alex frowned at the question, mentally adding it to the list of things she should have considered long before now.
“After all,” Doc continued when no one answered, “Professor Marmaduke’s Core Skills class is the only time you have scheduled to learn control. Would you agree?”
Alex nodded her head along with everyone else, even if in the back of her mind a small voice scoffed at the very idea of the Core Skills class which had, for as long as she’d taken it, taught her next to nothing.
“Does anyone perhaps have another opinion?”
Silent shuffles and fidgeting hands met his question.
“Tell me this, then,” Doc said. “Archery, Combat, Equestrian Skills… These are demanding classes—physically and mentally—which is beneficial for your overall fitness, but they are also hundreds of years after their time. What need have we, in this advanced day and age, to learn the art of duelling with blades? Why send arrows into moving targets? What point is there in straddling an animal intended as a means for transportation when we have access to near instant teleportation? What possible reason could there be for us to teach these classes?”
Hearing her own questions come from his mouth, Alex was hit with a sudden realisation and she spoke without thinking. “It’s not about the classes.”
Doc raised his eyebrows. “Do continue, Miss Jennings.”
Feeling the weight of everyone’s eyes on her, Alex tried to rally her thoughts. “It’s just—I wonder if perhaps we’re looking at this wrong. We’re not learning Combat or Archery—I mean, we are, but that’s not all we’re learning in those classes.”
With an encouraging look, Doc said, “Would you care to extrapolate?”
Trying to be as articulate as possible, Alex replied, “Core Skills is dedicated to us learning how to control our gifts, yes?” At Doc’s nod, she continued. “Well, what if our other classes, particularly Combat, Archery and Equestrian Skills, are also about control? More than control—they’re about discipline. We’re not learning how to fight each other or ride a horse or whatever else to use those skills in the world outside Akarnae, but rather, by taking these classes, we’re growing our characters. That kind of strenuous training requires strength, patience, endurance, fortitude and a range of other traits that can only improve us as human beings. And…”
“And…?” Doc pressed.
“And,” Alex continued, “as you said earlier, sir, people with gifts have a responsibility to nurture them, but more than that, I’d like to think we have a responsibility to develop ourselves as human beings as well. That’s what these classes offer us. They provide us with the building blocks of discipline and control—both of which, in turn, help us to develop and utilise our giftings.”
A smile spread across Doc’s face and he raised his hands to applaud her, much to Alex’s embarrassment.
“Bravo, Miss Jennings,” he said. “You are indeed correct— our curriculum isn’t in place on the off-chance that you’ll be transported back in time and have to survive a swordfight on horseback followed by an archery tournament. Rather, it is to prepare your character for the future and to assist in the learning of control and discipline in every aspect of your lives— including, perhaps especially, your giftings. Once you graduate and leave these walls, it will be up to you what you do with your abilities. You may enter the workplace in a field where you can use your gifts, knowing that people such as yourselves are highly sought after, or you may decide to put aside your ability and live a normal life. The choice is yours. We can only offer you the chance to make that choice, being well-informed based on what we teach you and how we teach it to you.
“All that said,” Doc continued, deep in teaching mode now, “there is still some modern day relevance for what we learn here, which is especially helpful should you decide to embark into a future where your gift becomes nothing more than an accessory. Equestrian Skills, for example, teaches you how to respect beings much larger, stronger and arguably smarter than yourselves, and if you ever happen upon a situation where you find another creature of mountable size, you’ll have some idea of how to gain control over it. As for Combat and Archery—if after leaving the academy you desire to enter into military service or seek beyond that to become a Warden, your fighting and targeting skills will be required on a daily basis. While more advanced technology is available to those of higher ranks, swords will always be the most accessible means to end a physically aggressive dispute. Or start one, as the case may be. And while bows and arrows aren’t common accoutrements for humans outside of the academy’s walls, none can argue that, if you can hit a moving target from two hundred feet, you can likely shoot any firearm—or simply throw a stone—with above par accuracy.”
Wandering back to the front of the room, Doc finished by saying, “The curriculum at Akarnae may seem dated, but as we have just outlined, its traditions are timeless. It’s all a matter of perspective.”
With plenty to think about, Alex listened as Doc completed the rest of his class by going over some of the points already raised and expanding on others. She felt better having had some of her questions answered, but there was still one thing she was curious about. Not knowing if it was the kind of enquiry she should make to a class full of students when it might be general knowledge to all Medorans, Alex decided to wait until the end of the day before she sought out the one person who she had a feeling would be able to answer her better than anyone else.
“You’re a hard guy to track down,” Alex said to Kaiden, having finally found him in the stables after asking what felt like every single person on campus for his location.
“Alex,” he said, looking at her in question over the back of the horse he was brushing down. “What’s up?”