"Season of the Winds. Book One. Academy of Magic" by Maria Danilova, summary

This book is a fantasy story about growing up and mastering the magical arts, published in 2018. The protagonist hides her elementalist gift to legally study classical witchcraft. It opens the "Season of Winds" series. This novel is considered the first book in the series and lays a solid foundation for the long-running conflict between the forces of light and dark.

Arrival in Dillane

The prologue transports the reader to a mystical field of lilac flowers. Aurora Bellamy, known to her friends as Rory, encounters a wounded stranger with pistols. His name is Kane. The girl demonstrates to him the magic of flight using the element of wind. The heroes part ways. Two years later, Aurora arrives at the Dillane Academy of Magic. She is accompanied by her older cousin, Winston Bell. Winston is known throughout the magical community as a great hunter of evil spirits. His past is full of secrets and disciplinary actions dating back to his own training within these walls.

Aurora occupies room forty-two in the girls’ dorm. At a freshman assembly, Vice Principal Brianna Silberton announces a strict code of conduct. Students are strictly forbidden from leaving campus after sunset. At night, the perimeter is patrolled by the hellhound Barghest. Using death spells is punishable by immediate expulsion and trial.

New acquaintances

Before the gala banquet, Aurora accidentally encounters a boy named Kai. She uses her secret power of air to remove blood stains from his clothes. During the Dance Club’s welcoming performance, an unexpected malfunction occurs. The Fire Warriors, formed by the seniors for the show, fall to their knees before Kai. The creatures call the freshman "Overlord" and prophesy his dominion over the armies of Darkness. Kai is dismayed, and Rory supports his new friend. The young man reveals a curse mark on his forehead, left by a vengeful witch. Aurora removes the curse with the element of wind.

School days

The arduous academic routine begins. Professor McGinley teaches the nuances of cultivating magical ingredients. Students study the rare flower, the querelia. The aristocratic Rin behaves dismissively, irritating his classmates. Professor Shan tasks the students with physically cleaning the filthy attic instead of the expected lecture on energy management. Rin refuses to mop the floors and leaves. For his disobedience, the young man is punished: his portrait is hung on a special wall of shame.

In Professor Lillian Livantal’s class, first-year students are mastering the "Demon Trap" spell. Aurora struggles with it, fearing she might accidentally trigger a natural hurricane. She invites Kai to practice in the forest. There, Rory loses control of the air and creates a gigantic tornado tens of meters high. At the moment of maximum tension, she unlocks her inner reserve. She emits white mana — pure Light energy. The flash is incredibly bright. Because of the radiation, Mr. Range, the Academy caretaker, falls from a stepladder on the other side of campus. Lillian warns her student not to perform magic outdoors anymore.

Kai also shares a heavy secret. Blue and forbidden red mana coexist within him. The young man confesses: he once had to kill his uncle, a warlock. The relative sacrificed human souls and tried to take Kai’s life. Since then, the red energy has become firmly fused with his aura. Kai asks his friend to cast a deadly spell if the warriors’ prophecy comes true. Aurora flatly refuses to believe he has turned to the side of evil.

High Magic Club

The friends discover a secret room on the building’s top floor. The room is filled with occult artifacts, skulls, and books on demonology. Aurora and Kai suspect illegal rituals. Meanwhile, the hellhound Barghest begins to exhibit strange aggression. Student Sabrina spots the guardian during the day at the edge of the forest. Later, the giant dog wanders around the girls’ dormitory at night, frightening the students.

The girls from the elite organization "Magistre" — Fraya, Kitty, and Esti — invite Aurora and Kai to join their ranks. The organization gathers the most gifted wizards. During the initiation ritual, newcomers contribute a fraction of their energy to a shared vessel. Jozabel Bane also joins the club. This blind first-year student was promoted directly to the second year. She possesses black mana and a rare talent as a medium. She can see other people’s auras. Jozabel loudly proclaims Kai’s red mana, sending the young man into a panic. Later, Aurora talks with the blind student. It turns out that Jozabel was simply trying to awkwardly strike up a friendship. The trio forms a strong camaraderie.

Deception and trap

A quiet Magistre member named Melinda reports finding a location for a natural ritual. She calls Aurora, Freya, Kitty, and Esty to join her. The girls leave the Academy’s protective perimeter. An icy wind persistently whispers danger to Aurora. The heroines ignore the natural signs and continue on their way.

In a remote clearing, Melinda asks the sorceresses to donate their mana to form a basic circle. Once the spell is activated, Melinda locks Freya, Kitty, Esty, and Aurora in a magical cage. It turns out that the quiet student has long been fascinated by the occult. She is outraged by the current laws and seeks to overturn the Council’s authority over wizards. Melinda uses the prisoners’ combined energy to rip apart the fabric of space. A gigantic portal opens, unleashing terrifying demons into the human dimension.

Battle for life

Aurora uses white mana and breaks through the magical barrier. The girls engage in battle with the creatures of the underworld. Kitty loses her composure and transforms into a supernatural form with coal-black eyes. She inflicts terrible damage on her enemies, burning the monsters’ flesh with acidic symbols. However, Kitty’s strength quickly fades. A flying demon snatches the girl up and carries her skyward.

The sorceresses rescue their friend. The monsters surround the heroines. Kai, Jozabel, Ani, and a boy named Lance arrive to help. In the midst of the bloody carnage, the mysterious Kane appears. The same man from Aurora’s visions shoots the demons with a gun. Rory forms a dazzling sun from white mana, distracting the monsters. Together, the students reverse the portal’s polarity, whisking the demons back into the void.

Kane approaches Aurora. He asks her not to ask anything, quietly whispers, "In the next life," and disappears into the darkness. Melinda comes to and attacks Kai with scarlet magic. The young man takes a powerful blow and falls unconscious.

A ferocious roar shakes the earth. A Barghest appears out of nowhere. The Academy Guardian throws Melinda back several meters with a swipe of its paw. The students scatter, screaming. The hound catches up with Aurora and Kai. Instead of a bloody massacre, the hellhound suddenly bows its head before the young man. The monster expresses complete respect to its future Overlord.

Conflict resolution

The Barghest reacts to the distant noise and rushes after the others. The friends run to the saving classroom building. Melinda tries to attack again. Headmaster Haygarth suddenly arrives and binds the criminal with a steel spell. "Uncle Miles" — that’s how Aurora addresses the headmaster, as he is an old friend of her cousin’s.

Haygarth demands that the injured Kitty be taken immediately to the infirmary. The director places the frantic Melinda in custody. The first-year students are disciplined for their late-night stroll. For the next few weeks, the offenders will be forced to scrub floors and sort library cards.

Late at night, Miles visits Aurora. The headmaster advises the girl to listen to the voice of the wind and allows her to secretly develop her elementalist skills. Haygarth explains that prophecies reveal only one of many possible futures. The choice between Light and Darkness always remains with the individual. Working together during the cleanup finally unites the punished students. They become a reliable team.