Portal B5C2

"Oh, you're all a bunch of idiots," the Mage snarled. "Let me explain. Miss Goodwitch is going to open a portal to the destination location; one capable of transporting potentially five hundred people. That kind of power is all but impossible for one Mage to have, however. That's where an array comes in. She's going to use my power, and that of everyone else's, and add it to her own."

Ah, that made sense. Sort of. If portals were an easy thing to do then we'd have been using them all the time, not only for Quests but for trade as well. That also explained the large amount of Mages that had been present during our own initiation.

"And you're exciting about being drained like this?" Yang asked sceptically.

"Yes! Well, no… it's not that. The fact that I'll be drained isn't what has me so excited; it's the chance for me to experience an array with someone so skilled at the lead. Miss Goodwitch is going to take control of our magic and shape it to what she needs. Even if I'm not in control I'll be able to feel what she does and how she does it." She paused, waiting for our excitement, but sighed when none came. She gave up and waved one hand. "It's like swimming. She'll be taking my arms and moving them to show me how to swim."

"Oooh…" everyone said at once, finally understanding.

"So, you'll know how to make portals after this?" I asked.

"I'll know the theory, and a have some experience in the practical, but I won't be prepared for long-range portals for some time. There is a raft of things that can go wrong with experimenting, especially when I might open a portal under the ocean or into a mountain. And, of course, I wouldn't have the power required for a long-distance portal."

"What good is it, then?" Ruby asked.

"It's valuable experience!" Weiss yelled, practically offended. "It's knowledge, power, a chance to do something I've never done before." She glared at us and rolled her eyes when it was obvious we were none the wiser. "Ugh, plebeians. If any of you used magic you'd understand."

[...]

I joined with the rest of the Guild once more, bar Weiss, of course, who knelt to the side concentrating with numerous other Mage-types. Pyrrha winked at me and then nodded to the side, rolling her eyes at the attention she and her Class was receiving. I laughed nervously back but kept it quiet, not wanting to be heard over Miss Goodwitch's instructions to the assembled throng.

The portal flickered and flared to life. It wasn't the first I'd seen, nor the second, but the sudden shock of salty air washing over me was still enough to make me gasp.

[...]

All in all, not much had happened since the Quest began. It had been going on for an hour now and apart from a few Grimm that wandered too close, there wasn't much excitement to be had.

[...]

The three of us were the last to come through the portal back into Beacon, and true to Glynda's warning it was to a school in absolute chaos. The new students milled around and yelled at the top of their lungs. I imagined they'd been talking at one point but the sheer volume made that impossible. Now it was just a mob of frightened children.

I saw Ruby, Pyrrha and the others surrounding them, basically forming a loose wall to keep the students stuck in the gardens and prevent them getting lost. Having no idea what we were to do, Blake and I stood awkwardly on either side of Miss Goodwitch as she descended from the portal down onto the grass. She waved her hand and the portal slowly faded behind her, the Mages – Weiss included – breathing sighs of relief as the drain on their power was cut.