Pheonix cringed at the imagery, silently sending her condolences to the dead student. It wasn't something that occurred regularly, but it certainly wasn't unheard of. Witch hunts only happened once every year in winter, and since there were so many schools to cover, the officials would only test those who were prospective witches. Those with weak powers were recommended to stay at their current school and home and just take an extra course in magic, while those with medium ranked abilities were given the option of staying and taking extra courses or to go to the specialized academy renowned for training witches across the country. They knew that the student Nicholas would probably get no say in the matter and would simply be shipped out to the Aradia Academy. She paused in thought for but a moment, “Isn't he about our age? Maybe a year older? Seventeen or eighteen?�

Akeldama nodded vigorously, “Yeah, he's even been tested for magic a few times but they thought it was too weak to really be of any use.�

Magic usually manifests between the ages of 13 to 15, though there had been exceptions that came earlier or later. Most students who found they could sense and even start using the elements usually went to a teacher who set them into a magic course until that year's witch hunt for an official evaluation came around. Their school was relatively average in size with just under 1000 students attending. They usually found about ten witches each year of varying ages, usually of medium strength. Magic seemed more predominate in females with a seven to three ratio, of which politicians took advantage of in order to give women a slight advantage in respect.

Thin glass globes began drifting down the hallways, the torches wavering as the globes passed by. Pheonix sighed as one passed by them and settled at a corner, “Looks like an announcement, probably to tell us to go to our classes.�

The timed globes dissolved all at once, and the trapped vibrations within were released with the magic wind to reveal the voice of the principal, “All students are to return to their homeroom classes immediately. Students of the class 3A are to join students in the class 3B due to an incident this morning, and teachers are to prepare for a school wide witch hunt.�