Various other students raise their hands and say their affinity: Ice, Nature, Water, Air, Stone...Fire.

Katherine flinches. She doesn't raise her hand.

She isn't the only one; about half the class don't know yet, mostly the boys but at least a quarter of the girls. 

The teacher assures them that they'll all find out before the end of the day. She goes back to talking about the structure of the elements and how they're arranged in a spectrum, not a circle or a square or a pentagram like the ancients thought. 

She draws a diagram on the blackboard, a horizontal line with the elements arranged along it. Fire is on the far left, followed by Air, Water, Ice, Stone, and lastly Nature. The elements next to each other are more similar, and most mages should be able to work with the two on either side of their affinity by the time they graduate.

This is useful because the elements can do different types of magic. Does anyone know what their element is used for?

Temperance glances at Katherine when Fire is called, but doesn't comment.

Also, she knows Very Well what the Ice element is used for. Does the teacher want examples of famous works and edge cases, Temperance knows many.

With some varyingly enthusiastic contributions from the rest of the class, the following picture emerges:

Fire magic, Katherine's affinity, deals with fire, emotions, and energy transfer. Professions this is useful for include firefighters and therapists; energy transference is mostly the realm of theorists at the moment but researchers are claiming it's going to replace steam power. The ethics of using emotion magic in warfare are hotly debated. 

Air magic deals with air, minds, and communication. Air-based communicative telepathy is used to let groups of people talk to each other without speaking out loud or even being in the same room, and illusions are a favoured tool of entertainers. The use of mind magic in warfare is very unethical and very very illegal. 

Water magic deals with water, divination, and far-seeing. Past-watchers can be hired by someone investigating a crime; future-seers help to prevent crimes or disasters before they occur. Far-seeing can stretch much further than telepathy and is used for long-distance communication across continents, but it can't convey sound.

Ice magic, Temperance's affinity, deals with ice, defence, and time manipulation. It is used for preserving food or corpses, firefighting, combat, and security.

Stone magic deals with earth, metal, transmutation, and magic items. Stone mages tend to be either combat mages or manufacturers. 

Nature magic deals with living things: plants, animals, and healing. Accordingly, it is used for farming and medicine. Some monarchs hire nature mages to keep them young and stop them dying of illness or accidents. 

There is also Aether, which is not so much an element as a category of non-element based magic. This type of magic is all about magic itself. One example is magesight, which can be used to tell whether someone is a mage and how much mana they have.

Temperance will gladly write everything down. She highlights the bits about Fire and Ice.

Katherine takes half-hearted notes on everything but Fire. She goes into a little more detail for Nature, seeming particularly interested in the healing aspects, but this does not appear to cheer her up.

The teacher goes on to talk about how the ancient Greeks thought there were only four elements, plus Aether: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. It wasn't until the seventeenth century that people started to notice the differences between Stone and Nature, Water and Ice. And now they're thinking about splitting Stone again, into Stone and Metal!

If-slash-when it's okay to ask questions Temperance wants to know if Metal is going to stay in the Ice-side of Stone or the Nature-side of Stone? And what this means for Ice users that want to enchant objects.

It is definitely okay to ask questions! This teacher doesn't know many details about these issues, since it isn't really her area. She's an Aether mage, not a Stone mage. She thinks Metal will be on the Ice-side, but doesn't know whether it will cover transmutation or enchantment. 

However, since this is just a theoretical division representing a better understanding of existing concepts, it won't make any difference to how easily an Ice mage can use Stone magic. Nothing about the magic is changing, only the way they talk about it and teach it. Excellent question, Miss Greenshore. 

Does she have any other queries?

Nothing specific to the topic, thank you, Professor.

There are a couple of questions from other students, mostly clarifications of aspects that were mentioned but not really explained.

And then it is time for lunch. The first-years have their own dining hall shared with the second-years, and supervised by a couple of bored-looking journeymen. The food is bland-looking and cheap, and several people are heard complaining about the lack of vegetables. 

The friendship groups and cliques look to be forming already: here a group of elegant second-year girls have invited a few lucky first-years to join them; there an older-looking second-year boy is holding court with a circle of impressed firsties around him; over in the corner a mixed group seem to be starting on their homework already...

Where would Temperance and Meghan like to sit? 

Temperance bounces over every group not sure which to pick... she tries the elegant second-year girls.

...Meghan tries for that one as well. After she acquires food.

Katherine is not invited to join the popular group, or any other.

She sits by herself in one corner, eating quietly and mechanically.

One of the girls, who seems to be the centre of the little gathering, greets first Temperance and then Meghan with the same self-composed grace and utter confidence in her own superiority. 

"I'm Millicent Bulmer," she announces proudly, as if she expects them to know exactly who that is. "And you are...?"

"Temperance Greenshore!"

(It does not occur to Temperance to consider the possibility that the girl's family name would be of greater significance besides "can pay her child to go to magic school".)

"Meghan Graywood, pleased to meet you Ms. Bulmer," Meghan says far more composedly than Temperance.

(She totally got that this girl expects her family to be treated as important and is acting accordingly.)

"Likewise, Ms. Graywood." She inclines her head with the grace of a queen.

"Do come and sit here," she says, gesturing to the space next to her. A disgruntled girl, who Meghan might recognise from History of Magic, shuffles her chair along to make room for Meghan. "And you may call me Millicent."

Further down the table, a couple of other girls grudgingly make room for Temperance.

"Thank you," Meghan sits politely like a lady.

Temperance goes over where the girls made room for her and asks their names and their affinities and what they plan to-

The other girls are a little nonplussed but quickly warm up to Temperance once they realise she genuinely is that friendly and isn't just fishing for information.

 "So, Ms. Graywood - may I call you Meghan? - how are you liking the Academy so far?" Millicent asks.

Temperance is genuinely friendly! Also, major magic nerd.

"I'm enjoying it, so far has lived up to the reputation of a good place of learning."

"Oh, it's the best in the country, if not in Europe," Millicent assures her.

With perfect complacency, she states, "My parents wouldn't have sent me here otherwise."

"I believe. I must say the presence of children from good families is reassuring."

She smiles.

"I can just tell we're going to get along marvellously, Meghan."

Meghan is invited to sit with Millicent and her entourage again at dinner, if she would like. But for now, it's time to get to afternoon classes.