"Okay everyone, you're doing just great... Just remember, breathe in...breathe out... Picture your sources burning deep down inside you, and don't forget to always keep yourselves tethered back to the real world. You don't wanna get lost down in there."

Krysta chuckled to herself softly, not wanting to disrupt the concentration of the silent students gathered around her. But really, she didn't have to worry about that. They were so far down in their own personal worlds at the moment that they could barely even register her words when she backed them with the special power of a registered teacher. A little chuckle would never get to them; that was how good they were doing. And that made her proud.

Class was going so much better than usual, which made her happy. Usually she had at least one of the "little ones" (who all in all weren't much littler than she was) who just didn't get it and had to be led through every single step with the gentle touch that she had developed over the years. Or a different student who was too advanced for the basic class for one reason or another, and was bored to tears by the slow pace that she set for the good of the others who hadn't had any training before. But this particular class was perfect. They were all at about the same level, except for one extremely bright girl who reminded Krysta of herself when she was young. And that girl was patient, waiting for the other students to catch up to her rather than making trouble for the teacher who couldn't help it that she just happened to be that much brighter than the rest of the class.

That girl could rise higher and higher, until she too achieved the status that Krysta had. It would just take a bit of polish, and the right teacher. It didn't necessarily have to be Krysta, though she had an advantage over the others who would be able to make the girl shine. She had once been like that girl, a bright little girl who just wanted to learn more about the things she could do that the other kids around her couldn't. A bright little girl who found the right teacher, and eventually rose to the heights, where she now rested nearly at the top, hoping to bring other little girls (and boys) up to join her.

Still, the little girl couldn't hope to rise to the top unless she learned the basics, which is why she sat in Krysta's class, learning to access her deep powers so that she could set up the defenses she would need to go farther. Without that ever so important (yet sufficiently complicated that most would-be mages were stopped at that stage and never got any further) skill behind her belt, she would never be able to continue in the training that she so obviously desired. And only the most respected of teachers, the most skilled and the must trustworthy, were permitted to instruct on this crucial piece of the mage's toolkit.

Which is where Krysta, one of the ten licensed instructors in the kingdom, came in... She chuckled again at this thought, and the possibility that maybe someday the little girl would remember her first teacher and return for the polishing that she would no doubt need to bring out her shine. And, as Krysta reflected upon her sweet little fantasy of producing the next her, the little girl came up out of her trance, exercise finished without a single mistake, and stared at her with clear eyes, unnoticed by the woman who had such hopes for her future.