This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

REMEDIAL MAGIC: SNAKES IN THE GRASS

First edition. June 1, 2022.

Copyright © 2022 Nathan Gregg.

Written by Nathan Gregg.

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Table of Contents

Copyright Page

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Epilogue

Afterword

Chapter 1

DESPITE MANY ATTEMPTS over the last several months, Aldric knew he wouldn’t weasel out of this.

He’d let Nadrina and Lilianna sit outside of his office for almost five minutes now, allowing them to believe that they were sneaking up on him. Even their whispering could be heard as they decided on the best plan of attack. He’d also allowed them to believe that he hadn’t noticed them following him around campus, in the dining hall, or out on the streets of Nevis. Now it was getting tiresome. Not only because they were unrelenting, and borderline creepy, but because he’d been the one to allow it to get to this point.

Aldric sighed in defeat. He knew he couldn’t keep doing this. He’d made a promise and wasn’t the type of person to break those easily. This was a bigger step for him than either of these girls realized, however, and it wasn’t like he could go into detail about why. Teaching them more of what he knew about magic only increased the risk he brought on to himself and them. Especially them.

But, if he was really being honest with himself, it was exhausting keeping all these secrets from two extremely intelligent young women. The day would come eventually. It was only a matter of time before they broke down his defenses.

Deciding that hiding in his room like a child wasn’t the answer, he raised his voice just loud enough to carry through the closed door of his office.

“You know, if you want to hang around, I have perfectly good chairs in here.”

The whispers suddenly dropped off into silence. No one said anything further for several moments until the girls finally realized that yes, the jig was up. More whispering followed, sounding more like arguing now, before Lilianna came through the door first. She was clearly trying very hard not to look like someone caught red-handed. She combed a pale hand through her even paler snow-white hair in a way that was probably meant to be casual while she fixed her cerulean eyes directly on Aldric’s. Everything about her posture radiated confidence and poise. Noble upbringing had clearly left its mark on her ability to adapt.

Her partner in crime, however, sulked behind her best friend with shoulders hunched and bangs angled over her face as her head drooped. Even then, Aldric could imagine Nadrina’s dark blue eyes as wide as a scared rabbit’s. Nervous fingers flitted through her long black hair, something they often did when they weren’t tinkering with some new enchantment or rune engraving. Almost half a year of schooling and this girl still lacked the confidence Aldric thought she deserved to have.

“Good evening, Professor,” Lilianna started, putting on a practiced smile. “What a coincidence meeting you here.”

“Yes, a coincidence. To meet me in my office. During office hours,” Aldric replied, struggling to keep the amusement off his face.

As experienced in courtly matters as Lilianna was, she was still young, and Aldric had spent years before this job surrounded by snakes and vultures in the empress’ court. He could see the barest of flinches in her right eyelid that happened whenever she was irritated. Her neutral expression was otherwise impeccable. She probably wasn’t even aware of her tell.

Not that Aldric would tell her yet. It came in handy.

“Yes. Well.” Lilianna took a moment to collect herself again before continuing gracefully. “I was—That is, we were wondering if you recalled a discussion between the three of us several months ago, regarding—?”

“Will you teach us that extra special magic now?” Nadrina suddenly blurted out. “You promised you’d think about it, and we’ve been really patient. We’ve told no one about the Vildim Wilds or the bandits or the empress, either. Well, we kind of had to say some things to everyone in class or they’d keep asking what happened, but nothing big or scandalous! You don’t know how hard it is, holding onto information this interesting and not spilling all of it! I’m terrible at keeping secrets!”

“You don’t say?” Aldric asked dryly, as Lilianna looked to her friend in exasperation. Nadrina noticed and turned a little pink, but she was still bouncing on her heels with excitement. She never could contain herself when there was something new and fascinating to learn.

Lilianna turned back to Aldric and gave him a small shrug, as if conceding to Nadrina’s question. Aldric didn’t immediately answer. It was true; he had promised to. So, now that a pair of teenagers had backed him into a corner, what was he going to do about it?

Aldric looked at both girls steadily as he weighed his response. They returned his silent gaze with their own, nervous but adamant. After an eternal moment, Aldric finally closed his eyes and sighed.

“You’re right, I promised. It’s just... I haven’t really had time to think about it all that much. I’ve been busy trying to put together regular class exercises and—”

“Didn’t Professor Glory offer several times to teach your class if you needed extra time to put lesson plans together?” Lilianna interrupted. Aldric just blinked at her. Apparently, there had been several times when he hadn’t noticed these girls had been tailing him. He really was getting rusty.

“W-Well, yeah, but—”

“And didn’t Headmaster Elmaris offer to extend your class hours so you could teach regular and extracurricular lessons on the same day?”

Aldric frowned at Lilianna in annoyance, but she just stared right back at him, unfazed. She’d found her opening and was dead set on exploiting it. What was more annoying, however, was that she was right. He was conjuring lame excuses, and Aldric knew it. His mouth worked back and forth soundlessly for a few seconds before he sighed again, his head collapsing onto his desk in defeat.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry. I’m just... I don’t know.” He meant to say more, but drifted off into silence instead. What could he say? Certainly not the truth.

“Um, Professor?” Nadrina asked quietly, interrupting whatever followup jab Lilianna was going to deliver next. “I’m sorry if we’re being pushy. I don’t want to make you do something you’re not comfortable with. If you really can’t teach us, then I understand. We’d just like a concrete reason. We were really looking forward to learning. Can you please help us understand?”

Lilianna looked like she didn’t fully agree with that, but she said nothing further. Aldric considered both students and his thoughts carefully. He’d told himself that he’d make these kids the best mages the empire had seen in generations. He’d even convinced himself that it would keep them safer if they knew more to defend themselves with.

Living with these secrets for so long had left its mark on Aldric’s soul, however. It was an almost instinctual response at this point to flat out reject trusting anyone. But didn’t he say he didn’t want to be that person anymore? That he was going to learn to be better? As the two girls in front of him continued to silently plead with their puppy dog eyes, Aldric felt his selfish reticence slowly crumbling into nothingness.

“... be honest with me, how much have you told your classmates?” he asked suddenly.

Lilianna suddenly wore a blank face again. Unfortunately, she still had Nadrina with her. The young sorcerer’s gaze flitted nervously to the office door, then back again. Aldric caught the look and immediately realized what it meant, his eyes rolling up to the heavens.

“Alright, everybody in here, now!”

Nothing happened at first, and Aldric was about to get angry. Then, one by one, the other four members of their small class crowded into his office. Codrin, Cira, Alek, and Volmar all wore similar expressions, like children caught with hands in the cookie jar. Codrin was the only one who was trying to look casual, but he wasn’t nearly as well practiced as Lilianna.

Aldric held up a finger to cut off Nadrina’s incoming excuses. Addressing the newcomers, he asked, “How much do you all know already?”

Predictably, it was Codrin who elected himself their spokesperson. He stood with his chin held high and hands on hips, like he was about to pass judgment on Aldric. His blonde hair and brown eyes so resembled his noble father's that Aldric had to fight against a flinch. As infuriating as he could be sometimes, Codrin wasn’t a tenth of the brat his father was.

“We know enough! You have secret magic and have been holding out on us, like we’re not good enough or something. Why did you only tell these two and not us?”

“Codrin, that’s not what we said,” Lilianna protested. “It’s... there’s a lot more to it we can’t explain.”

“It’s what it sounded like,” Codrin grumbled. “What makes you two so special?”

Before a full-blown argument could break out, Aldric held up his hand to interrupt them. “If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. I’m the one who told them not to talk about it. Even if they have loose lips.” Aldric directed a frown at the two blushing girls before continuing. “But they came here to advocate for teaching all of you, not just them. And they’re right, there are good reasons for not telling you. To put it mildly, it’s complicated.”

“So un-complicate it,” Cira snapped. Her dark eyes and brown hair pulled back in a severe knot made her look like a scolding mother. It always felt to Aldric like she was several years older than she was. “Isn’t this academy supposed to be founded on the principle of open education for all? Even if it’s dangerous, isn’t that what you’re here for? To make sure we learn it right? Or do you just not trust us?”

“For the record, I’m fine just coasting by,” Alek said. “Teach me whatever you want. If there’s not too much homework, I’ll do whatever you say.”

He leaned up against the wall with a detached air, like this whole discussion was beneath his interest. His unruly mop of brown hair and disheveled school robes only further asserted his appearance as a delinquent. By now, Aldric knew better. Alek could be stubborn and resilient if he found something to learn he thought was worth his time. The fact he'd been hiding with them proved it.

Codrin and Cira both turned in unison to glare at Alek like they were his disappointed parents, but the looks just slid off the boy like grease. Volmar, however, got his attention when he clapped him on the back and nearly knocked the wind out of him.

“Aww c’mon! How are we supposed to keep up if we don’t learn more? Can’t have them getting ahead of the rest of us. And I know for a fact that you’re happy to be in this class.” He turned to the rest of them. “Just the other day, he said he’d probably miss everyone when we grad—”

Alek quickly slapped his hands over Volmar’s mouth with the speed of an enforcer mage, blushing furiously. “Shut up, idiot! That’s not what I said!”

Volmar looked genuinely confused. He was a kind soul, but he could be slow sometimes. With his muscular frame, sandy blonde hair and energetic demeanor, he was a walking stereotype of what people thought enforcers were; loud, bold meatheads without a single interest beyond fighting. Most would never realize what a gentle and carefree person he was, as evidenced by him somehow being closest to the prickly Alek.

By this point, the room had descended into a free for all. Cira and Codrin voiced their dissatisfaction with being kept out of the loop, while Lilianna and Nadrina did their best to defend their professor and Alek and Volmar argued with each other. Aldric rubbed at his temples as the clamor continued to rise.

“Alright!” he finally shouted, bringing everyone back to silence again. Now that he could think straight, Aldric gathered what little courage he had and finally committed. “I’ll come up with the new curriculum. You all will probably work double time to cover your regular classes and these new lessons, so I don’t want to hear any complaints from any of you. You asked for it, so now you’re going to get it.”

All of them nodded dutifully, though none of them could hide their pleased smiles. Alek just sighed in resignation.

“And like Lilly and Drina said,” Aldric continued, “all of this is to stay between us. And no, I won’t tell you why. Trust me, it’s better that way. You want extra lessons, that’s the deal.”

Everyone had just finished voicing their agreement when the door opening suddenly interrupted them.

“Oh, is this a bad time?” a familiar voice said from the doorway. Kedrin stood there, looking at the gathered class with confusion. Codrin immediately answered the headmaster.

“We’re going to be getting extra lessons!” he crowed victoriously. Cira aimed a sharp elbow into his ribcage and sent him into a coughing fit.

“What did Professor Aldric just say, Caffaret? It hasn’t even been five seconds and you’re already blabbing.”

“Extra lessons, you say?” Kedrin said, giving Aldric a knowing smirk. Aldric averted his gaze and scratched at the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Well, that actually works out rather well. I was just about to inform your professor of the upcoming event the academy has planned. Some extra training will soon come in handy. With everyone here, it makes delivering the news easier.”

Kedrin tried to enter and address the entire class, but the tiny office was close to bursting at this point. Instead, he ended up awkwardly mashed against the side wall as he made his announcement. Aldric had to wonder once again if his office was originally a storage closet. He was going to have to ask Kedrin about an upgrade after this.

“As we near the end of our first semester, it is now time for our annual interscholastic competition hosted by the city of Nevis,” Kedrin continued. All the nobles in the class perked up at the news, faces bright with recognition. Nadrina and Alek, the only two commoners, looked clueless. “Students take part in a tournament that includes all the surrounding magic academies in Rhagia. Traditionally, it is a combat-based tournament, and the winning student and associated school are greatly awarded for their achievement. It is often said that this competition is how an aspiring mage can secure the best positions offered once graduated. The schools also typically restrict participation to second and third year students only.”

Every one of them deflated at that last bit of news, but Aldric noticed Kedrin’s words had hinted at an upcoming “but”.

“However, given the excellent performance of some of our first-year students, we’ve waved that requirement for this year. If any of you wish to take part, we would be—”

The class immediately bombarded Kedrin with a deluge of eager agreements as everyone spoke up at once. Kedrin gracefully weathered the onslaught until they had settled down. “I’ll take that as your general acceptance, then.”

“What do we get when we win?” Codrin asked, as if winning was a foregone conclusion in his mind.

“That will only be revealed at the end of the tournament. I can at least promise that the rewards are worthwhile. Besides that, we give students that are participating time off from study to focus on preparations for the two months before the event. If you are truly getting extra tutoring from Professor Aldric, this would be the perfect opportunity for you all.”

That statement had Aldric narrowing his eyes at Kedrin. That timing seemed a little too convenient. Aldric had told Zasia that he was going to teach them more magic months ago. Had they made sure his class could take part to force his hand in case he reneged?

“We’ve also taken into consideration the fact that your class has been a bit... different. Other students have been rotating classes and professors all year, while all of you have been only learning from Professor Aldric. While you would be hard pressed to find a better sorcery professor, conjuration and enforcement are not his primary schools of magic. In the interest of fairness, Professor Glory and Instructor Balrus will assist with your training as well.”

Yep, they’d planned this. As Aldric’s class grew increasingly more excited, Kedrin shot Aldric a wink that the kids wouldn’t notice. Once again, Aldric’s friends knew his thoughts better than he did, and knew when to give him a gentle but firm shove in the right direction.

“So... I won’t be participating then?” Nadrina suddenly asked timidly. Everyone else looked at her in confusion. “It’s a combat competition. So I won’t be able to take part.”

Realization dawned in Kedrin’s eyes as he hurried to reassure her. “Well, not the tournament, no. But you will, of course, still take part in training! There’s no reason for you to be left behind by your classmates. I’m sure Professor Aldric will come up with a training regimen just for you!”

“I already have ideas for you, Drina,” Aldric said. “Don’t worry. No one’s going to leave you out.”

The rest of the class were quick to offer their assurances as well. Nadrina just smiled and thanked all of them, but something felt off to Aldric. Normally, she’d lose it just to hear that she was getting in-depth sorcery training over several months. He’d expected her to be more excited.

“When do we start?” Alek asked eagerly. It surprised Aldric that the young man was so excited to get to work. Then he remembered Kedrin had just promised him two months without schoolwork. Typical.

“Normally, you would all need to first fill out paperwork for each of you participating.” He brought out a sheaf of paper from within his headmaster’s robes. They looked already filled out. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of filling them out for you ahead of time. I assumed you’d be up for the competition, and I know how dreadful your professor is with paperwork.”

The students all laughed knowingly while Aldric shot Kedrin a death glare. It harmlessly bounced off the man’s ever present good cheer.

“Besides that, we will need to get an accurate measurement of your magic capacity to submit to the tournament officials. It will partly determine your initial tournament placement. I assume you all remember when glycite was used to measure your magic abilities at the beginning of the year?”

“Yeah, we use it all the time to measure our progress,” Cira said. “Doesn’t the professor use yours to do that? He said he borrowed it from you.”

Kedrin’s face went blank as he processed that statement, obviously not expecting it. After a long and uncomfortable pause, his eyes suddenly lit up with realization as he desperately back tracked. “Ah, yes, of course! Silly me! Of course he did. Aldric, would you mind fetching that for me? I believe you haven’t returned it yet. The glycite, I mean. It’s quite valuable, so I hope you’ve taken good care of it. Not like those things grow on trees, after all!”

With a herculean effort, Aldric managed not to face-palm as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out the small, clear crystal. It didn't really matter anymore if the kids knew he made the thing himself. He wasn’t sure they’d believe that, anyway. He tossed the crystal to Alek, who caught it reflexively and immediately began imbuing it. The kids could do this in their sleep by this point.

The now familiar burnt orange of Alek’s mana filled the glycite to slightly more than half capacity. With his progress in his training, Alek’s mana easily coalesced and stabilized in a matter of moments. The speed of the imbuing and the deep, opaque color of his mana signified his dramatically increased mana control.

Kedrin congratulated the young enforcer on his excellent growth, causing Alek to look boastfully towards a put out Codrin. Because of that, he missed the astonished look Kedrin shot towards Aldric. Zasia had probably told Kedrin about their progress in her weekly checkups, but seeing was believing. They had all made incredible progress in just a few months.

One by one, each of Aldric’s students showed their impressive progress as they imbued the glycite. Kedrin’s jaw just about hit the floor when Lilianna’s massive two-tone mana pool nearly filled the crystal to the brim in an eye blink. He even insisted that Nadrina do it as well, just so he could see her progress for himself. When her pitch-black sorcerer’s mana had filled the crystal three-quarters full near instantly, it left Kedrin grinning from ear to ear.

“Outstanding progress, every one of you!” he exclaimed. “I see your time with Professor Aldric wasn’t wasted. I’m more eager than ever to see you all perform! Be sure to prepare to leave in the next few days. We already have a training area set up for you, and I believe it will be quite the pleasant surprise for one of you. You leave at dawn tomorrow!”

The kids weren’t about to let him off that easily. They immediately bombarded Kedrin with questions about the training, the tournament, and what Zasia and Balrus would teach them when they got there. Kedrin tried to answer one at a time, but was losing control of the conversation quickly. Feeling another headache coming on, Aldric took the glycite that Nadrina had given back to him and raised it above his head, giving it a quick and heavy imbuing. The crystal flashed brilliantly for an instant under the intense and sudden mana pressure, blinding everyone in the room and cutting through the chaos. As Aldric had expected, the glycite wasn’t even a quarter full, but it had been showy enough to get their attention.

“You heard the man,” he told his students. “Get your stuff packed. The sooner you get ready, the quicker you get answers to your questions.” He tossed the glycite to Kedrin, who juggled it a bit before he caught it. “There’s your glycite, headmaster. Sorry it took me so long to return it.”

Kedrin had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Yes, well, think nothing of it. Come along, class. I’m sure your professor needs to prepare as well. I did sort of ambush him with this. Come along.”

As the class filed out of Aldric’s office, talking animatedly the whole time, it left Aldric alone to prepare for the journey. At least, he should have been alone. When Aldric’s door closed, Nadrina was still standing where she had been, looking like she wanted to say something.

Aldric waited patiently. He’d quickly learned that it was best to let Nadrina get her thoughts in order first before she buried you under an avalanche of questions.

“So... what will I be doing while everyone else prepares for the tournament?” she asked. Aldric blinked in confusion.

“You’ll be training as well. I already told you, I’ve prepared exercises for you as well. Just think of them as a surprise. Can’t have you getting ahead of everybody.”

“And during the tournament?”

“I don’t know. Whatever you want, I suppose. I imagine Lilly could use your support. You might make enchantments to help with her training again. It could even be more training for you, too. Isn’t that what you usually do for her?”

“Oh, right. Ok,” she mumbled, falling off into silence. Aldric could tell that wasn’t really what she’d wanted to ask, but it was all he was going to get out of her. With a final smile, she trotted off after the rest of the class.

Well, that was weird. When had Nadrina ever not asked a question she had? It was a little worrying, but if she didn’t want to say, then Aldric wouldn’t make her. If it was important, she’d tell him.

Turning his mind towards the future, Aldric contemplated what he would be teaching. As meddling as his friends were being with his lessons, it would undoubtedly be easier if he had Zasia and Balrus there helping him. They already knew most of his magic theories already. He’d even taught them the ones he hadn’t been able to take advantage of as a sorcerer. The way he saw it, they were just as credible for the development of these new magical techniques as he was.

He looked out his solitary window towards the setting sun and sighed. So, he was really going to do it. A million questions rose in his mind without prompting. Would they be able to do it? Was he revealing too much? Would anyone recognize these techniques during the tournament and put two and two together? Aldric didn’t have a suitable answer to any of these questions, and that only fed his anxiety.

The attack on the academy several months ago had already been swept under the rug by Kedrin, and the only thing students had managed to notice was possibly some odd noises in the middle of the night. Earth conjurers had restored the courtyard from the massive crater Zasia had dug out. Any bodies left over were now feeding the newly grown plants there. As far as most were concerned, nothing had happened, and life could proceed as normal. Aldric’s paranoia didn’t agree.

Aldric's class hadn’t said anything about it, but they hadn’t been there for it. Their own questions mainly focused on what the hell had happened in the Vildim Wilds during their impromptu field trip. So far, they only knew about some bandits that had been easily dealt with, rather than a massive attack on the Empress of Rhagia. Aldric couldn’t even begin to fathom how he was going to explain that bit of the story, or how it directly related to him.

Without trying to, memories of Rainer came to Aldric. Where was the bastard? It would be far too convenient to think him dead. No one had ever found his body, after all. But who had taken him, then? And why? Who did he work for? What were they trying to hide?

Aldric just shook his head in irritation. There wasn’t anything he could currently do about any of this. Dueling with shadows was pointless and exhausting. Zasia always said overthinking things was a bad habit of his.

Aldric looked over to the ever-present wooden case in the corner of his office. Even with it currently closed and locked up tight, he could imagine the immaculate black and white staff in his mind’s eye with perfect clarity. Its former owner was even easier to recall.

“I’m losing it, Miraea,” Aldric mused aloud. He did his best to ignore the spike of pain in his heart that even speaking her name aloud caused. “I’m fighting enemies I can’t even see. I said I'd protect them, but from what? I feel like my enemies are moving invisibly around me, and all I can do about it is react to whatever they do. You know me. I hate waiting around when something needs doing. But what do I do? And how?”

The empty room didn’t answer, obviously. But the image in his mind did. The silver haired woman who still dominated Aldric’s thoughts gave him her trademark quiet smile that melted away his fears. Then Aldric was surprised to suddenly find three more figures appear as well; Kedrin, Zasia, and Balrus. Six more in the shape of Aldric’s students crowded in, and suddenly his thoughts were filled with reassuring and smiling faces.

It was so unlike his normal thoughts that Aldric suddenly snapped out of his musing, like he’d caught himself nodding off. He blankly stared at the case, blinking in confusion. Wow, he really was losing it if he was hallucinating like that. Sighing, he stood up and stuffed what he’d been working on into his desk drawer. He’d call it early today.

~~~

KEDRIN WAS WALKING back to his office, trying to figure out how he was going to discreetly return this glycite to Aldric. It felt wrong to take this just to cover up Kedrin’s earlier blunder, but it wasn’t like Aldric couldn’t just make dozens more. But even if his friend could churn out usable glycite crystals without a care, they still required rare materials to construct and were exorbitantly expensive. Kedrin briefly wondered how ridiculously rich Aldric would be if he put his mind to building a business around this. Not that he would ever have the discipline to keep with it. That man’s mind wandered from one interest to the next without ever pausing.

Or at least, it had. Aldric was still as flighty as ever about most things, but his recent hyper focus on his students still warmed Kedrin’s heart every time he thought about it. He’d, of course, hoped that Aldric working at this academy would help break him out of his funk, but he hadn’t dared dream it would be this effective. The last time Kedrin had seen Aldric this dedicated to anything was their guild, the Golden Workshop. The relief Kedrin felt knowing that one of his oldest friends was making true, healthy progress in his life was almost enough to bring him to his knees with joy. It was about time life dealt Aldric a good hand.

Kedrin’s rosy thoughts halted when he noticed something. A fine hairline crack snaked across the translucent face of the glycite in his hands. That was odd. It wasn’t like Aldric to make a glycite with imperfections, and Kedrin could have sworn that the crack hadn’t been there before.

He ran a single finger over the offending line, thinking it might be one of Aldric’s long stray hairs, then recoiled in horror when the entire crystal broke out in a spiderweb of cracks. The glycite fell apart into jagged pieces, leaving Kedrin stunned.

What the hell had caused that? Glycite didn’t just shatter randomly. Aldric built it to be flooded with mana repeatedly, so they needed to be sturdy. Even master mages with gigantic mana pools couldn’t hope to shatter one completely like this. It wasn’t like Kedrin had been rough with it, either. Aldric’s class had said that they used it a lot, so maybe it weakened over time? Kedrin had a hard time believing that Aldric wouldn’t think of that and just repair it himself, if not outright replace it. It had been working just fine, even taking a full imbuing from Aldric when he’d used it to get the class’s attention...

Kedrin’s brain stumbled to a stop when a possibility occurred to him. No, surely not. It was silly. Preposterous. Even so, if anyone could...

Kedrin knew his friend had a pitifully sized mana pool. It had made Aldric the object of ridicule and scorn in his younger days. A mage was stuck with whatever mana pool they were born with. To be born with such a small one was an irredeemable failure in most people’s eyes. Even Aldric’s own father had thought the same. Regardless of how stupid Kedrin knew that assumption to be, it meant that there was no way Aldric’s mana pool was enough to overwhelm a glycite with sheer mana volume.

But volume was not the only thing a glycite crystal measured.

Kedrin slowly shook his head in wonder. Most mages who discovered their negligible mana pools despaired and resigned themselves to mediocrity. Aldric had never been one to roll over and accept his fate, however. Kedrin knew he’d put himself through rigorous training and had invented countless work-arounds to make up for his handicap. And if Aldric couldn’t increase his capacity, then he would strive to increase his control over what little he had.

Just what had Aldric put himself through to attain a level of mana control that would rival Empress Rhagia herself?

Chapter 2

TEMWICK, ALEK’S HOME village, was apparently to be the site of Aldric’s class training. It was also a week’s journey away in the tallest mountain range on the continent. No one in the class, not even Alek, was ecstatic about this news.

It was the latter half of the journey that ended up being the hardest. Several of Aldric’s students, especially Codrin, had been talking a big game on the wagon ride to a border town just outside the border between Rhagia and Osakar, their northeastern neighbor. So far, the most hardship they’d experienced on this trip was a sore butt from being in a wagon for so long and staying at local inns had mitigated that problem. They thought that Alek’s description of the journey was exaggerated. It wasn’t until they actually saw the mountain range they would need to climb towering before them that reality set in, much to Alek’s endless amusement.

What followed was a journey filled with sore feet and more than a little complaining.

Some unfortunate soul, probably an earth conjurer, had been given the task of beating out a path through the mountains to cross the border many years ago. That very little grew or lived up on these ranges meant all supplies needed to be hauled up with you. Calling the rough path they were following a “road” was too generous, but it cut down what would have otherwise taken weeks into two days. They’d seen the first signs of snowfall for the year as they got higher. Come winter, this place would become impassable.

Aldric made a mental note to make these spoiled city kids get out more. It was a hard journey even for him, but the constant whining was really getting to him. Codrin, especially, had made sure that everyone knew of his displeasure. The young man was now heaving and gasping as he half walked, half stumbled up the mountain path.

“Who... the hell... puts... a village... on a damn... mountain...” Codrin gasped. He flung himself to the dirt like a rag doll and lay there moaning next to the rest of the class.

“Oh c’mon, Caffaret,” Alek said, his tone full of delighted condescension. He wasn’t even breathing hard. “The village is just over that rise. You pass out now, and some mountain wolves are going to get you. I’ve even heard stories of wyverns around these parts. Folk disappear only to have their bones discovered weeks later.”

“Wyverns?” Codrin asked, sounding mildly panicked. He looked up at the sky, as if expecting to find one of the flying lizard creatures descending on them right then. “Shut up! Those are just rumors!” He looked at Aldric, not looking as confident as he was trying to sound. “Those are just rumors, right?”

“Nope,” Aldric answered simply, causing Codrin to go pale. “They’re real, just rare. And they really like mountains.”

“They also like lazy rich kids who can’t handle a simple climb and get left behind,” Alek added, walking on with the rest of the class as they left Codrin in the dirt. He’d performed this theatrical protest enough times that they all ignored him now. Codrin flipped the bird to Alek’s retreating back, but he did quickly get up and dust himself off before following the others, eyes carefully scanning the sky every so often.

In Codrin’s defense, he wasn’t the only one having a hard time. Cira and Lilianna hadn’t complained the entire trip, but after lagging for a bit, they got a ride from Balrus. The handsome blonde knight had Lilianna affixed to his back and Cira in his arms, princess style. He might as well have been carrying two feathers for all the effort it took him.

All three of the enforcers in their party had barely broken a sweat this whole time. Alek had led the way while Balrus and Volmar were chatting amiably almost the entire time, Volmar no doubt milking the world-famous knight for any advice he could give him. The knight had happily complied, never one to pass up an opportunity to discuss his personal training regimen. Their jovial air in the face of all this hardship was almost as annoying to Aldric as the complaining.

Even the prim and proper Zasia was looking a little ragged. Anyone who knew her would have realized she was putting on her poker face to hide her extreme discomfort. She was an outstanding mage and even more impressive politician and socialite, but she was most at home in a noble court or a ballroom. Instead of the intricate waves and curls she typically wore her golden blonde hair in, she had pulled it straight back into a bun to keep it out of her face. A traveling tunic and tight pants with leather boots had replaced her usual fancy dress. She still looked lovelier than any woman in her situation had any right to, but the flat expression in her emerald green eyes spoke volumes of her exhaustion and discomfort.

“You all best get used to this pace,” Aldric said, addressing all of them. “When training starts, it’s only going to get harder. The air up here is thinner than usual and makes breathing harder. You’ll tire more quickly than you’re used to.”

“Which makes this the perfect environment for training in!” Balrus suddenly cut in with far too much excitement. “You can’t always count on being in top shape when you have to fight. Sometimes you must do so while exhausted and wounded. Other times you have others with you to protect, and therefore don’t have room to go all out. Training for every scenario possible is the surest way to success.” He turned to Aldric and Zasia with a knowing smile on his face. “You remember hunting down that hydra in the Mydria swamps, after tracking it for days in the heat?”

Aldric and Zasia groaned as one. Balrus only laughed. “Ah, those were the days! It’s so hard to find suitable adventures like that anymore.”

Volmar and Codrin immediately bombarded Balrus with requests for more stories, while Alek pretended to not be listening in. Aldric chuckled until Nadrina suddenly spoke up.

“Professor, why were you hunting a hydra? Are they dangerous? How many places have you been before? Have you been in the mountains before?”

Nadrina had made a good effort, but she’d been slowly lagging behind everyone else. Balrus didn’t have room for more passengers, and Nadrina had been too shy to ask Alek or Volmar for a ride since they were the same age. Seeing her plight, Aldric had just wordlessly scooped her up and put her on his back. She’d blushed tomato red but hadn’t protested.

However, Aldric soon remembered Nadrina was an endless fountain of questions, and being on his back gave her an excuse to ask him about anything and everything. It was around the ten-minute mark that Aldric regretted his kindness.

“We were hunting the hydra as part of a request for our guild,” Aldric answered tiredly. His answers had gotten shorter and terser the more she asked. “Yes, they are extremely dangerous and an absolute pain to kill, much less track down. And yes, I’ve been to the mountains before. I used to help patrol the borders back when I was... ‘employed’ by Rhagia.”

Thankfully, Nadrina quickly realized he meant Rhagia the empress, not the country. The rest of the class knew by this point that Aldric had been in the military and later part of the Golden Workshop, though he left out the part about him being the guildmaster. He was still keeping it a secret that he had been the empress’ bodyguard, however. That was harder to explain and came with a lot of baggage that Aldric didn’t want to discuss.

“Oh, right. Sorry, shouldn’t have pried,” Nadrina apologized. Aldric nodded and continued walking up the path, but not even a full minute had passed before she was at it again. “Is that why you don’t look exhausted? You carried me almost the entire way. I thought you’d ask for a break or something by now.” She suddenly gasped loudly in excitement. “Is it one of those new magics? Do you have a way of restoring your vitality? Is it something close to healing, or more like enforcement? What runes did you use?”

Gods above, she really couldn’t help herself, could she?

~~~

IT WASN’T LONG AFTER that when they found the village. Or rather, nearly tripped over it. Alek had led them through a winding path of rocks and craggy outcroppings until a small village suddenly appeared before them.

It was a predictably simple looking place. Nearly everything was made of brick from the mountain, giving it a washed out and dull appearance. Despite that, a good forty or fifty people milled around, going about their daily tasks or talking amiably as they worked on chores. Every one of them froze up like startled deer when they saw the group of newcomers. When they spotted Alek at the front of their entourage, their surprised faces melted into delighted smiles.

Within seconds, their group was surrounded by welcoming faces and excited words of greeting. Aldric suspected a place this remote didn’t get travelers very often. They either didn’t notice that there were nobles present or didn’t care. The men openly stared at Zasia in wonder while the women giggled behind Balrus’s back, but both gracefully ignored the gawkers. Several singled Aldric out and gave him their thanks for taking care of Alek this whole time, as if they already knew who he was.

The students didn’t seem to know what to do with themselves. Nadrina was polite enough, and Alek accepted everyone’s welcome with a surprisingly sincere smile on his face, but the noble kids were completely out of their element. They mostly shook hands and nodded to whatever these villagers said to them, looking a little wide eyed.

Everyone’s heads whipped around when a cacophony of high-pitched screams rang out.

“Ah, crap,” Aldric heard Alek grumble, just before a tidal wave of small, giddy children slammed into the young enforcer. He used his magic to stay upright, but that only let them climb all over him while chattering excitedly.

“Big bro Alek!” they all squealed in chorus. All of them vaguely resembled Alek, so they must have been his siblings. Aldric had known Alek had several, but... wow. There had to be at least eight of the little monsters swarming around their older brother like ants, the oldest being eight and the youngest only three.

That youngest, a little girl that shared her brother’s unruly brown hair, had somehow claimed a spot on top of Alek’s head. “You got big!” she cried out in wonder. Then she looked over at the rest of the class. “You brought more big people? Are they nice?”

“Now, now,” came another voice. “That’s no way to greet guests.”

An elderly man with a balding head and sunken eyes approached their group with a friendly smile. Despite the excitement in the air, everyone immediately quieted. Contrary to his advanced age and stooped back, there was a wiry sort of strength to him as he walked unaided. Aldric imagined a heartier constitution was one of the few benefits of living high in the mountains your entire life.

“Elder Furdis,” Alek said in greeting, bowing low to the older man. Aldric just about fell over in shock from the abundant respect in the young man’s voice.

“Greetings, young Alek. Welcome home. And a warm welcome to your friends, as well. I am Furdis, the elder of this village. Per Headmaster Elmaris’ request, your lodgings have already been arranged. I imagine you are all quite tired from your long journey, so I will take you there now.” He cut off the crowd’s disappointed groans with a polite but stern tone. “None of that, now. They will be here for an entire month. You have plenty of time to get to know them after they’ve rested. We don’t want people thinking Temwick is home to the rude and selfish.”

They all grumbled but went back to their daily tasks. Each of Alek’s siblings grabbed one of their group’s hands and hauled them after the elder, still chittering excitedly. They were bombarded with questions the entire way there about whatever the kids could think of. The little girl that had been on Alek’s head earlier had now somehow perched herself on Aldric’s shoulder, and he could not for the life of him remember how she’d gotten there.

She clung to him like a spider as she proved herself even more curious than Nadrina. What was the academy like? Was Nevis big? Did he know magic? Could he show her? Aldric decided it was just his curse for curious children to hound him with questions all day long.

They finally arrived at the far end of the village. The largest brick building Aldric had seen so far was there. Furdis dropped them off there, saying this would be where they slept for the rest of their stay, and the children hurriedly ushered the group inside before the elder said anything more.

The entire bottom floor of the house was one continuous room. The middle of it was dominated by a large pit, where a massive slab of stone was placed on the floor like a table. Simple cushions surrounded the table on all sides. Directly across from the entrance was a kitchen area complete with firepit, used both for cooking and heating during the winter months Aldric imagined. Other than that, the place was quite spartan, but it had a very homey and lived in feeling to it.

“Oh goodness! You’re early!”

From the kitchen area came a bubbly and brightly smiling woman that shared Alek’s dark brown hair and brown eyes. She immediately swept Alek up in a bone-crushing hug as she squealed in obvious joy.

“Maaaaa!” Alek groaned. “Not right now!”

“Oh, it’s so good to see you, pumpkin! It’s been almost half a year now. Have you been eating alright? You’ve certainly filled out some. Big and strong, just like your father was!” She thrust him out at arm’s length to get a better look at him. “He would be so proud of you.”

She finally released her son long enough to take in the rest of the group and squeal some more. “Oh, and these must be your new friends! And there are so many! Imagine that, Little Al with his very own group of friends!”

She bounced around the group and greeted each of them with equal enthusiasm while her son stood with his face in his hands. She couldn’t have been much older than Aldric, but she radiated an overwhelming amount of life and energy that swept everyone up into her own pace. When she caught sight of Aldric, realization lit up her face even more, if that was possible.

“Ah, you must be Professor Aldric!” she enthused, clasping both of his hands in hers. “I can’t even begin to thank you for all you’ve done for my little Al. He’s been making such wonderful progress, and all of his letters sing your praises.”

“Maaaaaa, seriously,” Alek protested weakly.

Alek’s mother stepped closer to Aldric, maybe a bit more than was strictly necessary, as her radiant smile nearly blinded him. “Although, he failed to mention how handsome you are. He said you were frumpy and disheveled, but you’re so tall and fit—-”

“Gods above, Ma! Stop!” Alek cried out desperately, looking like he wanted to die. Aldric looked over at Zasia and Balrus, a helpless look on his face. Both saw it and turned away in unison, faces carefully blank. Traitors.

“Oops, forgot my manners. I’m Alek’s mother, Laira,” the woman continued, ignoring her son’s protests. Aldric looked from the practically sparkling woman to the thorny teenager and then back again.

“... are you sure?” he asked, completely sincere in his confusion.

Laira only laughed, a musical sound that filled the entire room. “We seem nothing alike, I know. But don’t worry. My little Al has a heart of gold inside. There’s never been a more caring young boy in the entire world. He gets misunderstood so often because he can be so prickly, but it’s only because he’s shy.”

“He’s nice, and he plays with us, and when we ask, he always reads us stories at night!” the little girl still on Aldric’s shoulder pitched in. The rest of Alek’s siblings all added their flowery opinions of their brother as well.

“Can we please just have dinner now?” Alek grumbled, his face burning. Aldric mentally filed all this juicy info away for later torturing if Alek started to act up again.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Laira dashed off to the kitchen while telling everyone that it would be just a bit longer and to make themselves at home. The children led everyone over to the gigantic stone table. Aldric tried not to laugh while the noble kids stared at the unfamiliar floor cushions in confused fascination. When they finally seated themselves, Codrin and Cira grouped up to merrily and relentlessly mock Alek for being a “secret softy”. Alek couldn’t say anything back with his siblings around, so he just sulked in silence with a thunderous frown, his cheeks still red. Nadrina and Lilianna were busy trying to distract Volmar from the tantalizing smells wafting their way from the kitchen. Zasia and Balrus had sat next to Aldric, discussing the coming training schedule.

The little girl Aldric had unwittingly carried here, who Alek had called Lida, sat herself in his lap like it was her gods given right to do so. Lida gnawed on a small piece of bread that she’d grabbed from the kitchen at some point while her sparkling eyes scanned the room with all these new strangers. Zasia especially entranced her, the little girl gawking at the woman like she was seeing a queen for the first time. She suddenly straightened her posture and took on an imperious look that was so close to Zasia’s that Aldric nearly choked from laughter. Zasia frowned in disapproval at him, then smiled and winked at the little girl, much to her delight.

Balrus was busy fending off a flood of questions from the older boys. He wasn’t kitted out in full armor for the journey, of course, but he still had his longsword belted at his hip, and it was enough to fascinate the kids. Aldric took a bit of pride in that. He’d made it for Balrus, after all. The boys’ questions ranged from how heavy his sword was to how many princesses he’d saved, and the knight indulged them as much as he could, unable to disappoint them.

It amazed Aldric how easy it was to make oneself at home in a place like this. It wasn’t something he was used to. Aldric was a bundle of paranoid nerves most of the time. A lack of distractions or something to work on made it easy for bad thoughts to crop up. Even now, he had a persistent thought that this wasn’t the place for him, that it was wrong for him to be here. Aldric tried to smother the thought, but it persisted and grew.

He remembered his own home life, from what felt like several lifetimes ago. Dinner back then had been a means to an end, to refuel on food and be on your way. He usually had the entire dining table to himself, so it wasn’t like conversation would keep him around. Better that than his father actually showing up. That always guaranteed a screaming match. Or worse.

Aldric looked around the room again and suddenly felt like he was looking at an idyllic painting, one that he wasn’t a part of. He wanted to be, but he couldn’t. Shouldn’t.

Happy faces all around, and here Aldric was, having an emotional crisis. Damn it. Leave it to Aldric to make lemons out of lemonade.

“Don’t be sad,” Lida suddenly said from her place in his lap. Aldric looked down to see her staring up at him with big, concerned eyes. She looked around herself, found only her piece of bread, then held it up to his face in offering. “You can have! If you eat, you not be sad?”

It was only then that Aldric felt the tear running down his face. He scrubbed at it roughly with his shirt sleeve, looking around to make sure no one had seen that. Unfortunately, he found Zasia looking at him with the same expression as the little girl. Her look had more understanding in it, however. Gods damn it.

“Haven’t gotten used to the altitude yet, I guess. Does weird things to your body,” he answered weakly. He patted the little girl on the head, which she seemed to enjoy immensely. “I’m good, kiddo. Dig in.”

Laira thankfully saved Aldric from an awkward conversation with Zasia by declaring that dinner was ready. The meal was simple fair, meat with potatoes and bread, but it was well prepared and just right for weary travelers. The bread was common enough, but game was scarce in a place like this. Since this village was so remote, and Alek’s mother had so many mouths to feed, even this simple meal would cut into their family’s stores quite a bit. Aldric watched as his students all tore into the meal with a will, manners forgotten. He’d need to make sure they appreciated Laira was giving them her best simply because they were her son’s friends.

Laira, gods bless her, was still taking care of everyone and refilling plates even before she’d finished her own. As she was taking Volmar’s plate for his fourth round of food, she started to get to her feet, but stumbled and fell to her knees. Alek was next to her in an eye blink, so fast that Aldric hadn’t even registered the movement.

“Mom, I told you not to push yourself,” he chided her gently, looking genuinely worried. Laira’s face had suddenly gone pale and frail, like she hadn’t eaten in days. It was such a sudden and stark contrast to her earlier sunny demeanor that the entire room was shocked into silence.

“Oh, don’t worry dear. I’m... I’m just tired, is all.”

Alek obviously didn’t believe her as he stooped down to help her to her feet, treating her like she was made of glass. Balrus and Volmar hurried to assist as they carried the poor woman upstairs, presumably to bed. In the anxious silence that followed, Zasia leaned in close to Aldric’s side to whisper in his ear.

“Laira has been weak and easily worn out for many years now. They call it Temwick’s disease, since it seems to be limited to inhabitants of this village. As far as anyone knows, people never recover from it and may eventually die. Kedrin had found out about a commoner boy in Temwick who exhibited traits common to a juvenile mage and tried to enroll him, but Kedrin had to promise to investigate Laira’s condition before Alek would ever agree to joining the academy.”

Aldric looked at her in surprise. “Even Kedrin hasn’t figured it out yet?”

“It’s difficult without actually being able to see her in person,” Zasia explained. “He doesn’t have the time to make the trip here, and she isn’t in a state to travel long distances. Part of why we’re here is to gather information on her condition so that he can further research it.” Aldric nodded. That made sense.

Then Aldric paused. A sudden thought occurred to him, and he voiced it without really thinking about it. Whispering, he asked, “Is that the only reason we’re all the way out here? I get that we’re checking in on Laira, but they could have sent someone else for that. And why train all the way out here, on the north- eastern fringes of the empire?”

Zasia looked taken aback by the sudden question. Then she sobered, looking like she was considering what all she should tell him. She checked to make sure no one was listening, and then whispered back.

“According to Balrus, King Thagrius has been... dissatisfied with Balrus’ progress in locating the Demon’s legacy and is pushing for more definitive information. His prime suspect for the moment is me, and I’m easier to get to than Kedrin is. Me and Balrus being here is a cover of sorts, to make Thagrius think Balrus is keeping an eye on me. If Thagrius has any spies in the academy, which is certainly possible, they won’t know Balrus is lying or making excuses.”

“And I’m here too because...?”

“Because you’re new. The rumors surrounding the odd magic during your duel with Rainer started shortly after you became a professor. Thagrius probably thinks it’s a coincidence, but it never hurts to affirm what he already thinks.”

“Thagrius is a lot of things, but he’s not stupid,” Aldric said. “These diversionary tactics won’t work forever. If Balrus doesn’t give him something juicy, he’ll either push even harder or do something himself.”

“I would remind you I have been embroiled in politics for much longer than you, Aldric,” Zasia replied, almost haughtily. “We are aware and are working on new strategies. Fear not. Your friends will take care of it.”

Aldric’s reply was interrupted when the three enforcers came back downstairs. Alek quickly waved away everyone’s concerned questions.

“She’s fine, just needs to rest. Happens sometimes. Don’t let it bother you. As for you all,” he said, addressing his siblings, “Bedtime was an hour ago. Get moving.”

Alek weathered the collective groans and pleas for “just five more minutes” with obvious experience, herding all of them upstairs to bed after only a few minutes. Aldric realized this must be routine for Alek, being the caregiver for everyone in his family. Motherly pride or not, Laira obviously hadn’t been lying when she praised her son. Lida gave Aldric a surprise hug and a quick “G’night, beard man!” before she scampered off as well.

Aldric noticed that his other students hadn’t missed Alek’s heavy responsibilities, either. By the time Alek had come back and joined them at the table, Cira and Codrin had ceased their incessant teasing of him while Volmar had given him an extra firm and friendly pat on the back.

“So,” Alek asked once his wheezing from Volmar’s smack had died down, “What kind of magic are we learning tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Why would we start tomorrow? I’m exhausted!” Codrin whined. No one answered him, though they looked like they wondered the same. Aldric seized the opportunity to redirect the conversation away from heavier topics.

“We’ll still be going over general training like usual, but both conjurers and enforcers will learn new techniques designed by yours truly.”

All his students gave him curious and even dubious looks. Cira spoke for all of them by saying, “But... you’re a sorcerer?”

“That’s what these two are here for,” Aldric answered while pointing to Balrus and Zasia. “They’ve already taken the concepts I came up with and mastered them. They’re more than qualified to teach them on their own.”

“Wait, you came up with magic techniques for other mage classes?” Cira asked. “How is that possible?”

“Your professor is rather brilliant, as odd as that may sound,” Zasia commented, earning a glare from Aldric that merely bounced off her. “There was a time in his life where all he did was experiment with new magics, regardless of mage class. What you will start learning tomorrow is only the tip of the iceberg. If you pick it up fast enough, who knows what else we can teach you in the remaining time? Minus the long journey here and our inevitable return, you have an entire month left before we leave. Be sure not to waste it.”

“I will teach the enforcers,” Balrus added, “While Professor Glory will teach the conjurers. Professor Aldric will teach Nadrina. While we have this time together, we will do our utmost to ensure your growth as mages. All we ask is that you put forth the same level of dedication.”

Everyone still looked tired, but there was a light of determination behind their eyes now. Codrin’s complaining ceased when he learned who his instructor was to be. He was surely thinking of learning Zasia’s white fire spell. Volmar looked about ready to scream with excitement as he bounced up and down on his seat cushion.

“Gods, two legends are giving us personal training,” he enthused. “This is the best damn class ever!”

“Right?” Codrin agreed. “The King’s Sword and the Demon Slayer. And both former members of the Golden Workshop.”

“I can understand the King’s Sword,” Nadrina interrupted, pointing to Balrus. “But why Demon Slayer?”

“Oh, that’s right. You probably wouldn’t know living in a small village,” Codrin said.

“I know bits and pieces, but even I don’t know the complete story,” Cira said, looking at Alek, who shook his head in denial. “It’s kind of become more of a legend over time, even though it’s only been about ten or fifteen years. I’m sure half the things I’ve heard were exaggerated.”

All eyes went to Zasia, who looked extremely uncomfortable suddenly. “Oh, I don’t know,” she hedged. “Some things they say are rather silly. It’s been a while since then, so I can’t recall everything—”

“Fantastic!” Codrin cried, getting up quickly and sitting at the head of the stone table. He looked like an eager bard who had just found a curious audience. “Then I’ll just tell the version I always heard!”

Zasia quickly opened her mouth to stop him, but Aldric put a hand on her shoulder. Her face looked shocked that he would stop her. Balrus was carefully eyeing them both, seemingly waiting for one of them to speak up. Aldric just shook his head and put a finger to his lips. Calling attention to it would only make it worse.

“Many years ago,” Codrin began, “There was a city named Vultath in Osakar, the country to our northeast. They had the largest reserves of mana steel in the world and had built most of Osakar’s wealth from refining and exporting it.”

“Isn’t mana steel the stuff they make enchanted weapons out of?” Nadrina asked. “I think it’s supposed to be a metal ore infused with ambient mana, right?”

“Only the best enchanted weapons,” Volmar corrected. “The kind of resource that countries have gone to war for. It’s supposedly hard to dig up and is usually found in small batches across the continent, but Vultath had hordes of the stuff sitting right underneath their city. They’d also developed a secret method of excavating it in large batches. As soon as they discovered the mines below them, Vultath’s economy exploded in a matter of months.”

“It was an immeasurable source of wealth for Vultath,” Codrin continued. “And it gave them a stranglehold on the mana steel market for decades while also making Osakar’s military one of the strongest on the continent. Vultath attracted people from all over the world, and it became the country’s cultural hub. It was said you could find just about anything in Vultath if you knew where to look.” Codrin paused his story telling, looking around the table to gauge everyone’s reactions. He was clearly building up the suspense.

“So? Where did it go?” Alek finally asked, taking the bait. “I know I live out in the middle of nowhere, but even I would have heard of a place like that with our village so close to Osakar’s border.”

“That’s just it,” Codrin agreed, grinning. “It doesn’t exist. Not anymore, anyway. The whole place was wiped out over ten years ago. Only ruins remain of the once grandest city in the world. The government was dismantled, and everyone was killed in an invasion attempt.”

“Not everyone died, moron,” Cira interrupted. “If they had, we wouldn’t know what had happened. Most of the people in the city made it out, though there were still casualties. It was mostly the government that was destroyed. Nothing even remains of the Archduke’s old residence.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Nadrina said, confused. “Why would the city be destroyed? What happened?”

“It was a demon,” Lilianna answered seriously. “Allegedly.”

The room plunged into icy silence. Demon summoning was not very common, but it was extremely frowned upon. Summoners born with a demonic attribute were either closely scrutinized by their government or hunted down and killed. Demons tended to be the ficklest of summons, often turning on their contracted summoner the moment they had the chance to do so. There were legends of evil demonic summoners as well, usually ending with entire societies being upended or destroyed.

“Th-That’s impossible,” Nadrina stammered, looking frightened. “There hasn’t been a demon summoner in over a hundred years, right? That was back during the fall of the first empire, the one that ruled the entire continent. I know I read about it somewhere...”

“They called it the Hundred Handed Demon,” Codrin continued, looking annoyed that someone else had stolen the big reveal. “Like the name suggests, it had a hundred muscular limbs the size and length of buildings, all bristling around a giant maw filled with sword-sized teeth. They say you could hear the thing roaring from miles away when it attacked. Some nearby villages swear they felt the earth tremble when it was summoned.”

Codrin flailed his arms about his head wildly while gnashing his teeth together, trying to show the monstrosity of the beast. If this was any other story, Aldric would have laughed. Instead, he kept what he hoped was a blank expression glued to his face.

“Most assumed the Empire of Rhagia summoned the demon as part of an invasion plot,” Volmar was saying. “This was back when the war had just started and was much fiercer. Taking out the largest profiting city would make sense to soften them up, as well as neglect them of their mana steel for arms and armaments.”

“That was never proven, though,” Lilianna interjected. “They only thought that because our two countries were at war and the empress is a summoner. But she’s a celestial summoner. Demons aren’t something she could call on.”

“The empress is a summoner?” Nadrina asked, fascinated.

“The most skilled in the world,” Cira answered. “It’s partly because of her skill that she is still empress to this day, despite her age.”

“Regardless,” Codrin interrupted once more, again trying to take back control of his story, “Even if Vultath was already destroyed, Osakar still wanted their mines back. Unfortunately for them, the demon hadn’t disappeared after being summoned. It had made its new home in the very mines Osakar sought to reclaim, and it wasn’t about to give up a such a plentiful food supply.”

Alek and Nadrina looked confused at that, and Cira had to explain. “They believe the demon didn’t disappear because of the huge concentration of mana in the mana steel mines. With that much latent mana, it could feed itself with all the power it required without the need of a summoner to keep it bound to our plane.”

“They sent whole platoons of troops to slay the beast,” Volmar continued, “only to have them decimated every time. With enough failed attempts and casualties mounting, they turned to one of the most famous mages of our time.” He sent a meaningful look towards Zasia, who was wearing her practiced expressionless face again. “A Rhagian noblewoman assisting with a national crisis in Osakar is part of the reason the war died down for a time.”

“With the demon slain,” Codrin quickly interjected before he could be interrupted again, “Osakar moved in to claim their mines again, only to find that the demon’s presence had corrupted the place. Men would go mad or keel over dead just from setting foot in there. People said that the demon had cursed the mine in its last struggle, just to spite those who came to destroy it. To this day, no one dares set foot anywhere near the city ruins for fear of incurring the demon’s curse.”

When it became obvious that Codrin was done spinning his tale, Alek spoke up. “What, that’s it? No climax? No embellished details? No epic final showdown? You told a story about a demon slayer and skipped the demon slaying part.”

“W-Well, that part isn’t really known,” Codrin hedged. “No one went down with Professor Glory into the mines, so no one has any details about what happened.”

Zasia suddenly had everyone’s full attention. When she didn’t immediately explain, Nadrina asked, “Professor? Can you tell us what happened?”

“I bet it was amazing!” Volmar enthused. “Like, Professor Glory’s white fire clashing with black demon fire, incinerating everything in an underground inferno as the demon tries to defend its lair and—!”

“I didn’t say it spit fire, stupid. It had a hundred arms! What the hell would it need fire for? A hundred arms are way cooler!”

“Demons aren’t ‘cool’ Caffaret,” Cira chided. “They’re monsters. Terrifying monsters.”

“That’s the cool part!” Codrin said, and Volmar quickly agreed while Cira sighed in exasperation.

“Unfortunately,” Zasia interrupted, gaining everyone’s attention again, “I am not at liberty to discuss most of the details. Much of what took place down there all those years ago is classified by Osakar and Rhagia. All I can really divulge is that the demon is gone and the mine empty, though it is true that strange anomalies still take place there.”

“Like what?” Nadrina asked, clearly intrigued. Of course she would be more interested in odd magic than she was in giant, multi-limbed demons.

“Apparently, people go mad, or start attacking anyone in sight, or just go dumb and live the rest of their lives in a waking coma. Some even say that you turn into a demon yourself!” Codrin had clearly been trying to scare Nadrina, but was disappointed when she just nodded in fascination.

“What actually happens is that you get arrested,” Lilianna added. “That territory is off limits. No one has been there in years.”

“But what was the demon? Where did it come from? Was it summoned by the empress? And if not, then by whom?”

“No one knows,” Cira answered. “Osakar is more than a little paranoid about a possible demon summoner running about, but no one ever found them or heard of them ever again. Last I heard, they’d assumed the summoner was killed during the attack. Easy to believe, given how common it is for demons to get out of control.”

“Whoever they were, they’re an idiot,” Alek said. “What the hell happened that they felt the need to slaughter hundreds of people and destroy their homes? And they ended up killing themselves? Who would ever be so stupid as to—?”

Aldric abruptly stood up, his legs making the choice without consulting his brain. He was left standing over everyone else while they stared at him, surprised. Zasia and Balrus looked at him like he was an agitated horse, ready to kick. The looks from those two, more than anything, calmed Aldric down as shame came crashing down on him.

“Let that be a lesson, then,” Aldric said quietly, lacking anything else to say. “Magic isn’t to be underestimated. Neither is the foolishness of people.” He looked at Alek with what he hoped was a convincingly detached expression. “I’m going to turn in early. Unlike some of you, I had to carry people all the way up that mountain. Where am I sleeping?”

Everyone noticed his sudden change of subject and departure, but thankfully no one called him on it. Alek directed Aldric to a shed out back that the boys would sleep in for the night, while the girls would take rooms inside. Zasia tried to stop him from leaving, but Balrus stopped her before she could. Aldric was grateful for that.

“Shed” was perhaps an unfair name, as the simple building was actually quite roomy and comfortable. Laira had left cheap straw mattresses out for everyone, but they might as well have been magical clouds after a hard week’s travel and sleeping in a wagon. They were well into fall by now, and the high altitude made it even colder than normal, but the inside was surprisingly warm.

Despite this, and despite the hard road behind him and the warm meal in his belly, Aldric didn’t sleep. He was still up when the rest of the boys turned in for the night an hour later. Several hours after that, when he could hear gentle snoring filling the shed, he was still wide awake and staring at the ceiling.

For the first time in months, Aldric feared the dreams that would come to find him that night.

Chapter 3

NADRINA SQUIRMED IN her seat while trying to rally her inner courage for what she’d planned.

She’d been thinking about this ever since the headmaster had announced the tournament to their class. She’d also been thinking about it every day that they’d been travelling and in the few days since they’d arrived. Yet she still hadn’t broached the topic. Every time she tried, her nerves failed her. It was a silly idea, but her heart begged her to do it.

The conjurers and enforcers were practicing in an open bit of flat land a short distance from the village. Nadrina and Professor Aldric were on the sidelines, watching. Professor Aldric had said he wanted to make sure the others were progressing in their training before he and Nadrina got started on her personalized training. The professor had a collection of snacks that Alek’s mother had prepared for everyone and was digging into them fervently. He’d offered some to Nadrina, but she was too nervous to eat right now.

Nadrina remembered the professor’s odd behavior the night before, but he seemed over whatever it was that had caused it. Or he was really good at hiding it. Nadrina would have pondered it more if she hadn’t been so nervous.

“Now then,” Instructor Balrus was saying, speaking to both Alek and Volmar. “The secret to the ghost step is in understanding your body and how it moves you. I believe Aldric has already instructed you on this idea and applied it to striking or pushing.”

The knight snapped his fist out a few times in demonstration. The first two attacks looked like normal punches, but the last flew out so fast that the air cracked from the sudden displacement. If Nadrina had blinked, she would have missed it.

“Focusing on the muscle groups in your body and channeling mana to only those specific parts needed, just like you two have been doing, is already an advanced technique,” the instructor continued. “Ghost step, however, takes this to the next level. Your leg movements are leagues more complex than your arm movements, and that doesn’t even consider things like balance or changing direction. You could say it is almost a full-body workout just to take a few normal steps, but the sequence of muscle movements is the key. Watch.”

Instructor Balrus’ lower back and abs suddenly started glowing brightly with mana, bright enough to shine through his clothes. “It starts in your core muscles,” he explained, then slowly adjusted his imbuing to run down the rest of his body. He pointed out his glutes, quadriceps, calves, feet and toes in order as the magical light traced a line down his legs, explaining the importance of each. Nadrina knew that the seemingly effortless display of luminous body enhancement was something that took years of fine mana control to achieve.

“Put it all together, and it looks something like this.”

Instructor Balrus suddenly disappeared. There wasn’t a single noise or sign to show he’d ever been there at all. Instead, he instantly materialized right behind the two young men, as if he’d always been there. The technique took less time than Nadrina could even follow. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have said he teleported.

“As your mana activates each muscle, in that specific order, it is important to feed them only exactly enough mana,” the instructor was saying to his two wide-eyed pupils. “You two possess the musculature and skeletons of enforcers, but it is still very easy to overburden your body and injure yourself if you exceed your body’s capacity or use the wrong order. This is a technique that requires repeated and grueling practice just to use safely, much less master.”

Volmar was nodding as he followed along intently, but Alek was looking at his legs with a look of fierce concentration. With an almighty crack, he was suddenly and violently flung forward, like a god had just yanked on a string tied to his waist. The move sent him spinning and tumbling through the air for twenty meters, landing face first and digging out an impressively long trench as he painfully ground to a stop.

“I should also mention,” Instructor Balrus began, clearly trying not to laugh while Volmar stared open-mouthed at the groaning Alek, “that stopping this technique is just as difficult as starting it. Such an incredible amount of momentum doesn’t just disappear, after all.”

“Right, like you didn’t go flying ass over teakettle when I first pitched the concept to you,” Professor Aldric suddenly spoke up from next to Nadrina. Instructor Balrus didn’t respond, but his smile was now an embarrassed frown. Alek got back up, dusted himself off and marched back to his group, red faced and annoyed. Thankfully, his pride was more injured than anything else.

Codrin, still with his own group of conjurers a way’s off being lectured by Professor Glory, was laughing uproariously. Lilianna and Cira were more composed, though they were both biting their trembling lips rather hard. Professor Glory suddenly flicked Codrin hard on the forehead, gaining his immediate attention.

“Mr. Caffaret,” she said, looking at him disapprovingly, “I hope you weren’t ignoring me just now. Surely you can answer my last question?”

“Um... uh...” Codrin answered intelligently, clearly lost. Professor Glory sighed and tried again.

“Where does mana go after we spend it?” Professor Glory asked again, enunciating each word like she was talking to an imbecile. Codrin flared up a bit at her tone but still answered her question. It was remarkable restraint, coming from him.

“The air, I guess?” Codrin answered with zero confidence.

“Close enough, for now. And what happens to the mana you used?”

“It disappears, of course,” Codrin replied, sounding surer this time.

“Does it? When you use mana for a spell, does that mana cease to exist? Are you saying that every spell burns up its fuel source permanently? If you were to use all the ambient mana in the world, over generations, would all of it be gone forever? Wouldn’t the practice of magic have died out by now if that were true?”

Codrin simply frowned in thought, not answering. That was a surprise. Nadrina noticed he was much more patient with Professor Glory than Professor Aldric. She suspected the woman being gorgeous and world famous had something to do with that. Or he was still hoping to learn how her white flames worked.

“I would argue,” Professor Glory continued, “that the mana is, in fact, still there. It returns to the ambient mana around us shortly after the spell concludes, but it does not simply disappear. Normally, ambient mana is something a mage passively absorbs throughout their day, depending on how full their mana pool already is. This method I’m going to show you, however, allows direct utilization of ambient mana without pulling on your reserves. In a sense, at least.”

Professor Glory wordlessly cast a simple fireball at the ground a dozen feet away from herself. The ball immediately ignited, scorched the dirt ground for a short while, then dissipated. Then it was suddenly back, burning for a bit longer before disappearing. This continued several more times, the only difference being the flames grew slightly smaller each time. When the flame was only slightly larger than a candle flame, it ceased to appear again.

“As you can see, you eventually hit a point of diminishing returns, but all of that just now was using mana that had already been spent. The key is to grab onto the mana in the spell that still has your ‘signature’, so to speak. It’s hard to explain, but you should be able to feel a sense of ownership over most of the left-over mana from the spell. You might want to try feeding the old spell just a sliver of mana to help get it going when you’re starting out practicing. It’s better for all of you to just try it and see.”

Codrin, Cira, and Lilianna all began flinging various elemental spells at the dirt with varying degrees of success. Codrin and Cira both ended up with a lot of scorched or muddy dirt, though they got the hang of it after several tries. Predictably, the two started competing to see who could keep one spell going the longest. Lilianna managed far better than both of them, however. She even began experimenting with her dual affinity, converting her ice mana into water, then using wind to turn it back into ice, all with only one initial spell.

Nadrina watched her friend with admiration, but also more than a little frustration. Lilianna was amazing at anything she tried her hand at, usually almost instantly. It was inspiring and intimidating in equal measure. Using the daughter of one of the largest and most prestigious noble houses in the empire as a meter stick was probably unfair, but Nadrina couldn’t help herself. Maybe her idea really was silly.

“Did you really invent these magic techniques?” Nadrina suddenly asked Professor Aldric, making him flinch in surprise.

“Kind of,” he answered through a mouthful of snacks. “Those two took the concepts and perfected them. I’m just the idea guy. Not like I could ever use them, but that they work at all suggests we could use them in enchantments. We’ll go over that later today once they all finish up.”

For some reason, that answer immediately galvanized Nadrina. That a sorcerer could devise magic for other mage classes, and maybe invent new enchantments, emboldened her. If she had the potential to do that, why not other things? How would she ever know if she didn’t try? How could she forgive herself if she gave up now?

Nadrina latched on to that frustration and let it fuel her bravery, or what little of it she’d stockpiled. She suddenly felt her legs stand her up from the flat boulder she and Professor Aldric had been sitting on. The abrupt and jerky motion caught everyone’s eye, and Nadrina found herself at the center of everyone’s confused attention.

She was half tempted to sit back down in embarrassment, but she powered through. Marching over to Volmar with what she hoped looked like confidence, she looked him dead in the eyes and said, “Please duel me!”

Only after she asked did she realize she’d said it entirely too loudly. Nerves and fear had made her practically throw the question at Volmar’s face, startling everyone. After Nadrina’s words stopped echoing across the mountainside, stunned silence was all that was left.

Poor Volmar was clearly the most at a loss. Nadrina’s sudden challenge caught the normally affable young man flatfooted. After a fit of confused blinking, all he could muster was, “What?”

“I want to take part in the tournament!” Nadrina declared, her words tumbling out of her mouth in a rushed panic. “If I can fairly duel you and defeat you, I would ask that I take your position in the tournament!”

Again with the heavy silence. Nadrina could feel the heat rising in her face. She could imagine everyone’s gazes burning into the back of her head, particularly Professor Aldric’s. But it was too late now to be embarrassed and give up. Time to ride this out-of-control wagon until the wheels fell off.

“... um, can you fight?” Volmar finally managed to ask. It was a fair question, and it made Nadrina realize that she’d done things out of order. Cursing herself, she blundered on.

“Right, sorry! I mean, after I’m trained, I would ask you to duel me for your tournament position.” She whirled around back to Professor Aldric and bowed formally. Or tried to. She was a commoner, so this wasn’t something she did often. “Professor Aldric, I want you to train me to fight the way you do!”

Nadrina really, really wished someone would say something right now. Even if it was a “no”, anything was better than the choking silence. She was glad that her bow meant she was staring at the ground. She wasn’t brave enough to look anyone in the eyes right now.

“Um, Drina, I don’t know if that would be best,” Lilianna spoke up. “I know you want to learn more, but that sounds rather dangerous. Sorcerers aren’t meant to fight. I’m not sure that—”

“Lilly,” Nadrina interrupted. “Please. Let me do this. I... I need to do this.”

Nadrina had expected doubts from everyone, but Lilianna’s hurt the most. She knew her friend was trying to look out for her and keep her safe, but it wasn’t what Nadrina wanted. She didn’t want to hide behind anyone. If there was ever a threat to her life ever again, Nadrina wanted to be able to do something about it herself.

More importantly, though, she wanted to catch up to her friend. Even if it was only a little.

“It’s silly, I know. I’m being selfish, and I’m sorry for that. But I can’t sit here and watch all of you giving it your best and do nothing myself,” Nadrina continued, speaking to everyone now. “I might be a sorcerer, but I’m still a mage. If the professor has taught us anything this year, it’s that everything we thought we knew of magic is fit to be questioned. So, I’m now questioning whether a sorcerer can fight. If I can beat one of the strongest enforcers in our year, I’ll have proven my worth.” She lifted her head and looked Professor Aldric in the eyes. “Please.”

“Drina...” Lilianna looked shocked, but didn’t argue any further. Volmar and Professor Aldric still hadn’t answered her, and Nadrina began to fear that they never would. Just before Nadrina thought the pervading quiet would crush her spirits, Professor Aldric spoke up.

“Are you sure you know what you’re asking for?” he asked. His face was emotionless, but his grey eyes had an intensity to them that told her lying was a bad idea. He’d see right through it if she tried.

“I probably don’t,” she answered honestly. “But I know I can do it. That I want to do it. If I never at least try, I’ll...” Her voice trailed off as her gaze quickly flickered to Lilianna and back again. “I’ll never forgive myself.”

Professor Aldric’s stare was penetrating as he continued to look at her. Nadrina did her best to keep eye contact. She wanted to convey just how serious she was.

“I’m warning you now, I’m not a kind trainer when it comes to combat,” the professor said. “You get exactly one chance to prove to me you really want this. You’d better take it seriously, or I’m just going to drop you. And you’ll never get a chance to ask again.”

“Understood!” Nadrina replied, hoping her voice conveyed her determination well enough. Professor Aldric continued to stare into her soul for a few more moments as he measured her words. Finally, he sighed.

“Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. As for your duel with Volmar, that’s between you two.” He gave her a half grin. “Also, it’s customary to offer something up for if you lose. In case you forgot.”

Unbridled joy had briefly filled Nadrina. Then it all flooded out of her as she realized what the professor had meant. She’d been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t offered Volmar anything if she lost.

Mortified, she quickly turned to Volmar to apologize, but the giant young man was already letting out a booming laugh. He heartily smacked her on the shoulder, nearly sending her tumbling off her feet.

“That’s the spirit, Flemming!” Volmar declared, giving her his trademark boyish grin. “Of course I accept! Fair warning, though, I still want to participate in the tournament, too. I’m not holding anything back, so you’d better not either. As for what I want...”

He looked closely at her, suddenly deadly serious. He pointed a finger at her with a no nonsense look on his face.

“I want all of your snacks for the rest of the training camp. And I mean everything. If you try to hide any, I’ll know!”

Nadrina blinked, smiled, and then nodded her head. “Deal.”

“ALRIGHT!” Volmar cried out, turning back to instructor Balrus with a fire burning in his eyes. “Show me that move one more time, instructor. Alek, you’re helping me too!”

Nadrina couldn’t help but laugh. This was part of why she’d challenged Volmar out of everyone else. He was the most likely to go along with her selfish request, if only because he thought it sounded fun. She’d have to come up with something else to thank him with later. She could do better than just snacks.

Professor Aldric stood and started walking away from the group. He stopped short after a few steps and turned to look at Nadrina. “Well? What are you doing? Let’s go!”

“Oh. We’re... starting right now?”

“I told you, I’m not a kind teacher. Should have had some food while you had the chance. Hope you last till dinner tonight, cause I’m going to make sure you having nothing left in you by the end of today.”

He started walking again, unconcerned if she was following or not. Groaning internally but still beside herself with excitement, Nadrina chased after him.

~~~

“FEET APART! BACK STRAIGHT! Don’t get sloppy and drop your hands like that! Stop watching my face! That doesn’t tell you what I’m about to do. Focus on my torso and predict my movements from there. Pretty sure I just told you to keep that back straight, Flemming!”

Nadrina was desperately trying to register the professor’s instructions while simultaneously getting pummeled with his training staff. Anything he perceived as even the slightest of errors was immediately and painfully pointed out with a quick and brutal thwack. Feet out of alignment? Thwack! Reflexes too slow? Thwack! Getting hit too much? Thwack, thwack, thwack!

Professor Aldric continued to bang out a violent drum beat on Nadrina’s legs, arms and torso that rang out through the clearing they’d occupied. Only occasionally was she able to get her staff in the way, but then the thwacks would come from the other angle with a vengeance. He never took it too far or tried to injure her, but he made sure she knew she’d gotten the moves wrong.

Nadrina had at first been disappointed that they weren’t immediately starting with new magic, but Professor Aldric had pointed out that she’d asked to learn how to fight. Magic was only one aspect of that. The first thing she would need to do was build up physical conditioning and muscle memory. The way the professor put it, she could know everything there was to know about combat and read every martial manual in existence, but if her body couldn’t keep up, it was pointless.

Apparently, that was a long way of saying that he was going to hit her with a stick until he determined she was ready to continue. Nadrina had never been so acutely aware of how out of shape she was until she’d started sparring with a trained fighter. Muscles she didn’t even know she had were screaming in protest, but the continued assault from the professor denied them the rest they demanded.

While Nadrina’s focus wandered, Professor Aldric suddenly performed a maneuver that smacked both of her hands one after the other, causing her to drop her staff. Before she could do anything about it, the head of his staff had already kicked up her right heel and laid her out on the ground. The entire assault took less than a second, and Nadrina could only blink in bewilderment while staring at the staff head pointed at her nose.

“A wandering mind will kill you, Drina,” the professor said seriously as he retracted his staff. After considering her for a moment, he sighed. “Fine. We’ll take a quick break.”

Nadrina attempted to express her thanks, but lacked the air to do so. She instead simply laid there, panting hard. She knew she was supposed to assume a resting stance after sparring, but her arms and legs were rebelling over her mistreatment of them and didn’t listen to her. Professor Aldric sat down next to her, his staff casually poised over his shoulder. The jerk didn’t even look winded as he grinned at her.

“I’ll assume you’re done for the day?” he asked. This was a trick question, and Nadrina knew it. The first time he’d asked her that, she’d been relieved and agreed, making sure to express her gratitude. At which point the professor decided that if she had enough energy for long-winded thanks, then she wasn’t done.

Seeing that she wasn’t falling for the bait, he laughed and tossed her one of their water skins. Nadrina felt like she had boulders strapped to her arms as she tried to raise it to her lips. He sat down next to her and drank from his own, waiting for her to collect herself.

“...it’s... it’s not fair,” Nadrina huffed through labored breaths. “You have so much more experience at this than me, but you never pull your punches. I’d have better luck trying to fight the mountain we’re standing on.”

“First, I absolutely am pulling my punches,” the professor explained. “Second, fights aren’t usually fair. I told you this at the beginning, didn’t I? You can forget about that storybook crap of fighting for honor and glory. No one’s going to remember how honorable you were while someone snuck up and stabbed you in a dark alley. All-out fights are brutal and ugly struggles to not die, nothing more.”

“They don’t seem to have problems with their training,” Nadrina whined, indicating the other students at the far end of the clearing. They’d all made remarkable progress in only three days, while Nadrina mostly just had bruises.

“Yeah, because their nobles, with Alek being the exception. They’ve had these truths drilled into them since birth, and Alek grew up in a rough place to start with. You’ve only had these three days. Of course they’re better than you at combat, at least for now. If anything, you’re hanging in there better than I thought you would. I was convinced you’d quit after the first day.”

Honestly, she almost had. That had been an eye-opening experience for Nadrina. True to his word, Professor Aldric was not a kind combat instructor. He’d relentlessly drilled her from sunup to sundown, only giving her enough of a break to make sure she didn’t permanently injure herself. It had left her in such a state that Lilianna had tried to convince her to quit, but seeing how far the noble girl had already come only hardened Nadrina’s resolve. She’d never known she was such a poor loser, but she’d use whatever motivation she needed to succeed.

“So, I never asked because I figured you’d tell me eventually, but I find myself too curious now. Where’d this sudden fire of yours come from?” Professor Aldric suddenly asked, looking down at her. “I didn’t really figure you the type to pursue this course. I get wanting to compete, but I assume there’s more to it than that, yeah?”

Nadrina didn’t have an immediate answer to that, though, as usual, he’d hit the nail on the head. He didn’t hurry her for an answer, instead sipping from his water skin while he watched the other students training so Nadrina could gather her thoughts. It was one thing she most appreciated about their professor. For someone who seemed to carry great disdain for propriety and manners, he could be surprisingly patient in his teaching.

Nadrina tried to think of some sort of excuse, or maybe just give him a cookie-cutter answer. Eventually, she gave up and went with honesty. Honesty went a long way with Professor Aldric. Besides, maybe Nadrina was just bad at it, but he was almost impossible to lie to.

“... I’m frustrated,” she finally admitted.

“About?”

“I feel... too weak lately.” Nadrina couldn’t word her thoughts any better than that. It wasn’t the full reason, but it was all she could say. Professor Aldric stared at her for a few moments, contemplative. Nadrina felt like he was peeling her brain apart with his eyes alone.

“This wouldn’t have started because of the tournament,” he mused aloud. “It’s deeper than that. Nothing happened at the school, so...” The light of realization dawned in his eyes as he reached a conclusion. “Right, the bandit attack in the wilds. That was your first proper fight, wasn’t it? One where your life was on the line.”

Nadrina ducked her head. She knew, intellectually, that the stories and legends around battle and warfare were romanticized. War resulted from hatred and violence. It was not glorious, nor was it something to aspire to. It was a truly terrible thing that was the bloody byproduct of both sides failing to understand each other or compromise.

But those stories had left a lot out. They never really talked about the heart-clenching fear one felt in a battle, enough fear to root your body in place. They never talked about the screaming coming from seemingly every direction, so loud that your ears would ring. They never mentioned the bile that rose in your throat at the smell of blood and other... things being spilled in the dirt.

Slipping back into that moment was shockingly easy for Nadrina to do. She’d done it for several nights afterwards, and sometimes still did. In that moment, when she’d been kneeling helplessly in front of that bandit, watching the woman’s blade get closer and closer to her face, Nadrina had known with a horrible clarity just how weak she was. So weak, in fact, that her best friend in the world, so full of talent and promise, had almost taken Nadrina’s place in death.

In a word, it was humiliating.

Nadrina’s downward mental spiral cut off when she felt Professor Aldric’s hand on top of her head. She turned to find him wearing a bitter but knowing smile.

“It’s humiliating, isn’t it?” he asked, cutting right through to Nadrina’s own thoughts. “To have your life at someone else’s mercy, and all you can do is watch and pray. That powerlessness sticks with you for a long time. I would know.”

His expression turned serious and regretful. “I’m sorry, Drina. I should have thought to talk with you about what happened. Lilly was handling it fine, and I assumed you would be the same, but that was unfair of me. Her upbringing would have prepared her for the darker parts of humanity. I should have asked you about it. That’s not something you should have to deal with on your own.”

“No, it’s alright,” Nadrina assured him. “I’m already over the event itself.”

“But not the feeling.” It wasn’t a question. Nadrina couldn’t respond, so she just nodded.

“That’s completely normal, Drina. Frankly, I’d be more worried if you watched a bunch of people fight to the death and felt nothing. That feeling of wanting to protect yourself, to make sure no one can put you in that position ever again, is also normal. Hell, I think it’s healthy. Most people your age would just shove the feeling down and ignore it, or they’d make excuses for their weakness. You saw something in yourself you didn’t like, owned it, and decided to do something about it. I’d say that speaks to a high level of maturity.”

Nadrina eyed him carefully through her bangs. “Really?”

“Absolutely,” he answered firmly. “If you were asking for combat training just because you were jealous of the others taking part in the tournament, I would have turned you down. And yes, I know that was part of it,” he said when Nadrina blushed, “but not all of it. If it makes you more motivated, I’m fine with you being a little competitive.”

Nadrina blinked at that. No one had ever told her that before. The idea of being more competitive was an odd one, but maybe it wasn’t a bad thing to have a goal to strive for. Wasn’t that what she had been seeking in asking for this training?

A sudden thought struck Nadrina, and she voiced her question without considering it first. “Why did you want to be strong, professor?”

Professor Aldric looked taken aback by the question. Surprise morphed into contemplation as he stared out at the rest of the class, not saying anything. The silence went on for so long that Nadrina feared she’d once again asked something she shouldn’t. She was in the process of formulating an apology when he suddenly spoke again.

“Well, I guess I have been beating the hell out of you with a stick for the past three days and you still haven’t quit yet. Guess I owe you a reward, huh?” He paused for another beat, then continued. “You remember the glycite, right? When I filled it with my mana?”

Nadrina nodded quickly, excited to be hearing more about this. “Yes! Your mana pool was tiny. It barely filled even a quarter of it.”

“Not the politest way to put it,” Professor Aldric muttered as he made a face, but he held up a hand to forestall her apology. “You’re not wrong, though. I’ve always had a pathetically small mana pool. It’s caused me no small amount of grief ever since I was a kid. It’s also part of why I got kicked out of the academy in Redan. That’s our empire’s capital, if you didn’t know.”

Nadrina’s jaw dropped. “You got expelled from your magic academy? Wait, you went to school in the capital? Isn’t that supposed to be the top academy in the empire? Not even Nevis academy can compare to it!”

The professor waved away her surprise. “That story’s complicated and not part of what I’m trying to say. Point is, the younger me always had a chip on his shoulder about how everyone underestimated him. I joined the military when I was sixteen solely to make a name for myself. That’s usually the most straightforward way to gain prestige, by the way. Wait for war to break out and then get a few good battles under your belt so that people recognize you.”

“But you were sixteen,” Nadrina interrupted. “The enlistment age is eighteen, isn’t it?”

Professor Aldric actually looked embarrassed. “Yeah, so, I had to lie about my age and real name. I thought I was being really clever, since I always looked older than I was. Of course, I only learned later that the military rarely cares enough to double check your age. I could have just used my real name and gotten away with it. As it was, because I was under a fake name, no one realized it was me that was accomplishing anything. The military doesn’t care if you’re too young, but they do care if you’re using a false identity.” He gave her a chagrined look. “Younger me didn’t think things through often. Well, less often than current me, anyway.”

Nadrina’s attention was riveted on the professor. This was the most he’d shared about himself since she’d met him. Damn it, where was her notebook when she needed it?

“Regardless, I ended up making a name for myself, even if that name was fake. That was how Gran found out about me, but that’s a story for a different time. Long story short, I ended up becoming bodyguard for the Empress of Rhagia. I had excelled far beyond anyone’s expectations of me and reached a position of prestige that few could ever rival, not to mention having the direct ear of the empress.”

He paused in his story to smile bitterly. “And not a single person gave a damn. Zasia was happy for me, of course. I hadn’t met Kedrin or Balrus yet, by the way. And what I’d gained was worthy of bragging about. Problem was, none of my tormenters from earlier in my life knew who I really was. Hell, I’m not even sure they remembered me. I sure as hell forgot most of their names by that point, and my family... well, that’s a whole topic I’m just going to skip, but they wouldn’t have cared either. I’d finally proven them all wrong, and no one was there for me to rub their faces in it. That was the point I realized I’d been living for them, and not myself.”

His bitter smile slowly became more genuine. “So, I quit. I started a guild in Osakar, mostly to get away from the overbearing drama of Rhagia’s court. Zasia and... one other joined me.” His smile turned fond for just the briefest of moments. “Zasia, that silly woman. She gave up an extremely prestigious position just to follow my stupid hide, just because she ‘didn’t trust me to wander off without her’. Anyway, we had a guild dedicated solely to the purpose of pursuing our own interests, exclusive of anyone else’s expectations. It wasn’t like we were short on funds. Being a friend of the empress has its perks, I must admit. We were geared to dedicate the rest of our lives to pursuing magical knowledge, just for knowledge’s sake. And I was infinitely happier at that point in time than any other in my life.”

He suddenly shook himself, like he was snapping out of a trance. “Ah, geez, I’m rambling now. Moral of the story, though, is that strength alone isn’t worth much if you’ve got nothing worth protecting. Turns out, what I really wanted was freedom to pursue my own interests without people bothering me. And people around me who could appreciate that.”

Nadrina stared off into the distance wistfully, trying to imagine what that would be like. “It sounds like a dream come true. No obligations, no worries. Just a pure, uninterrupted passion for magic. Gods, I’ve only heard some of what the Golden Workshop accomplished, but I imagine there’s even more that would blow my mind. What I wouldn’t give to have a life like that!”

Quick as a flash, Professor Aldric’s smile suddenly vanished. “You’d think that. It’s important to remember, however, that mages, especially sorcerers, don’t create in a vacuum. No matter what you make, regardless of its purpose, you, as the creator, bear a great deal of responsibility for what you bring into the world. Our guild learned the hard way how irresponsible it is to simply create with abandon and not consider the consequences.”

Nadrina wasn’t sure what he was getting at. It must have shown on her face, because Professor Aldric sighed and gave it some thought. After a few moments, he turned and gave Nadrina the most serious look she’d ever seen on his face.

“If you can take away only one lesson during your time at the academy, let it be this one: power is amoral, but it is never neutral. Power cannot exist without influencing everything near it. People will want it, fear it, steal it, destroy it, or whatever else their morals, friends, gods, or desires tell them to do. But no matter how they decide to act on it, they will act. Consider it inevitable. I lost everything I held dear for failing to learn this in time.”

He placed his hand on her shoulder and drew in close. “You have great potential, Nadrina, and that’s why I’m more than a little scarred to teach you the things I know. I need you to promise me you’ll keep this truth in mind, even after you leave the academy.”

The graveness in his voice surprised Nadrina. His grey eyes bore into her in the ensuing silence, and Nadrina realized that he really was waiting for a promise from her. She swallowed past the nervous lump in her throat and nodded.

“I will, Professor.”

He nodded to her, only now seeming to realize how intense he was being. “Good. That’s... that’s good. Sorry to unload on you like that.” An awkward silence passed between them as they watched the rest of the class practicing in the distance. “I guess, if you promise to keep working at our exercises, I can give you an idea of the magic you’ll be learning. If you’re not too tired?”

Nadrina’s contemplation and recent exhaustion were suddenly swept away into nothingness, replaced by the fire of unquenchable curiosity. “Yes, please! I promise. What are we learning?” Laughing at her obvious enthusiasm, Professor Aldric began his explanation.

Chapter 4

LILIANNA HAD EXPECTED her class to attend Nadrina’s duel with Volmar, of course. They were all looking forward to the progress both students had made over the past month. What she hadn’t expected was for the entire village to attend as well.

To be fair, this was probably the most exciting thing these people had seen in years, if not ever. It was understandable that they wanted to make an event out of it. They’d even asked for them to hold off the event until the afternoon so that everyone would be free from daily chores to come watch. They had all grabbed whatever sturdy surfaces were available and made a sort of bench seating on the sidelines. Lilianna was sure she also saw quite a bit of betting going on as well.

Nadrina was still on the sidelines with Lilianna and Professor Aldric. Volmar had already taken to the field, a makeshift dueling arena marked off by stakes in the ground, and was putting on a show for everyone, showing off with feats of strength and riling the entire audience up into a frenzy. Volmar had never been a vain person, but he got awfully excited anytime he competed in anything. Nadrina watched her soon to be opponent with a close gaze, seeming to memorize every movement he made. The meter-long and hollow metal staff she’d been carrying with her for a month now was in her hands. Lilianna could see the markings of rune engravings all along the length of it, and had to wonder just what they were for.

“Remember,” Professor Aldric was telling her. “You’re fighting an enforcer. Trying to keep up with them in pure hand to hand is suicide. You’re a sorcerer, so you need to fight like one. Volmar’s going to use his body, so you need to use your head.”

Nadrina nodded, her gaze still locked on Volmar. Lilianna didn’t know if it was determination or nerves, but it made her worried either way. It wasn’t like Volmar had been slacking off in his own training, and he’d been a formidable enforcer before this trip. Lilianna hadn’t been able to learn too much about whatever training the professor had put her through, but she wasn’t sure anything would level the playing field between the two in only a month.

“Drina, are you really sure you want to do this?” Lilianna asked for probably the tenth time. She kept hoping it might spur her friend into conceding the match, but it only seemed to make her more determined each time she asked.

“Yes, Lilly, I’m sure. I need to do this.”

Lilianna was going to argue further, but stopped when she caught Professor Aldric’s subtle head shake. She wanted to be mad at him for allowing Nadrina to do this in the first place, but she held her tongue. It wasn’t her choice to make, and she didn’t need to distract Nadrina before her big match. At least she knew Volmar wouldn’t be too brutal. Unless he got too excited.

“If I may have everyone’s attention, please!” Professor Glory approached the center of the arena while shooing off Volmar to his side of the field. The crowd instantly died down at the sound of her firm voice. “If both participants are ready, we can now begin.”

“Go get him,” Professor Aldric said, shoving Nadrina forward. The girl merely nodded and walked onto the field. Both she and Volmar stepped up next to Professor Glory and faced each other. They gave each other friendly greetings, but the sparks flying between them were obvious. Lilianna had never seen Nadrina so worked up before.

The crowd of villagers called out their encouragement as the beginning of the match loomed over them. Lilianna’s class clearly didn’t know who to root for, but gave general exclamations of encouragement to both contestants, anyway. Lilianna didn’t join them on the benches. She kept her eyes riveted to Nadrina while staying next to the professor.

“Ye of little faith,” he suddenly said to her, causing her to jump a bit. “Just watch. There are at least some things I know how to teach well.”

Professor Glory continued before Lilianna could ask what he meant.

“The duel will be to submission, out of bounds, or until I judge the fight finished. As is traditional, I must ask if either party wishes to step down now?” Professor Glory asked them both.

“Hell no! I’ve been looking forward to this for way too long!” Volmar replied, looking like he could barely contain himself. Nadrina simply shook her head in answer, all her focus already on the fight ahead.

“Very well. In the light of the day, before the gods and your ancestors, be honorable and brave. Begin!”

Volmar didn’t give Nadrina any time to prepare. He immediately used his new ghost step technique, appearing only a foot away from her in an eye blink. It was clear he’d made outstanding progress in his training to use it so quickly and easily. His massive fist was already on his way to her face. Since they had started at opposite ends of the arena, he was most likely trying to knock her out of bounds and win immediately.

Nadrina didn’t hesitate. It was like she’d expected this opener.

Volmar’s fist collided with a translucent barrier created by a shield talisman Nadrina had hastily tossed to the ground. It was a cheap, one-off sort of talisman that only required a quick imbuing, but it got the job done. The barrier shattered from the punch, but it left Volmar surprised and off balance.

Nadrina quickly thwacked Volmar in the nose with her staff. It probably did barely any damage, but Volmar went cross-eyed as his hands instinctively went up to shield his face. While he was distracted, Nadrina ducked and slapped a slip of spell paper to Volmar’s boot. She must have had it in her hand to imbue it since the beginning. Volmar’s foot was suddenly encased in a tomb of earth that pinned him to the ground. His enforced strength would have been enough to break out of the trap, but he was too surprised to react properly. He quickly stooped down to deal with Nadrina, but caught her staff with the side of his head instead.

The staff couldn’t have weighed any more than a few pounds at most, but Volmar went flying like a horse had kicked him. The glowing purple earth runes along the staff told Lilianna all she needed to know. Earth magic obviously controlled earth, but there were other variants besides that. For instance, it could grant a mage a temporary control of weight. That was normally an advanced technique, but Nadrina had only needed to imbue the runes for the instant it contacted Volmar’s head. That alone took a great deal of magical control.

To Volmar’s credit, he still righted himself with only a few tumbles. He came back up again, already on his feet, looking dazed but with a wide stance and ready for whatever Nadrina had planned next. He clearly hadn’t expected to be on the back foot this early and was hanging back to assess the situation. Nadrina didn’t give him the chance, however.

She twisted off the top third of her staff and hurled it, the rune engraved metal glinting as it sped towards Volmar. Lilianna hadn’t even known the staff was built in pieces. Volmar, now wise to Nadrina’s tricks, performed another ghost step to avoid the flying projectile. This time, he appeared in Nadrina’s blind spot directly behind her.

Again, Volmar showed his progress with the ghost step by circling around to his opponent’s back with only a single use of the skill. It was something the young enforcer couldn’t have hoped to do when he first started training, but now he had a fist pulled back and aimed at the back of Nadrina’s head for the victory punch. True to his word, he wouldn’t hold back, and Lilianna had a spark of panic for her friend’s safety.

“Checkmate,” Professor Aldric suddenly declared.

Yet again, Nadrina reacted as if she had completely expected the maneuver. Even before Volmar’s fist was fully cocked, Nadrina poised the butt end of her staff just under his chin without her ever needing to turn around. The thrown piece of Nadrina’s staff was still sitting on the ground where Volmar had been standing, inert and harmless. Nadrina had tricked him.

With a shout of effort from Nadrina, a fist-sized ball of air shot out of the end of her staff. It slammed into Volmar’s face and sent him tumbling backwards. He didn’t go very far, but Nadrina had never moved from her starting position, so the boundary of the arena was directly behind her. Volmar only needed to roll a few feet before he was suddenly out of bounds.

“Volmar has been disqualified through ring out!” Professor Glory declared. “This duel’s victor is Nadrina Flemming!”

Silence. That was all that followed the sudden pronouncement. Lilianna wasn’t any different. That “duel” had lasted no longer than ten seconds. Gods, Nadrina hadn’t even moved from her starting position! Even after that display, Nadrina looked almost as surprised as the rest, like she hadn’t just done something incredible. It left poor Volmar sitting on his butt, blinking in stunned confusion.

Then the cheers began. Before Nadrina knew what was happening, she was swept up in a crowd of admirers and classmates as their congratulations echoed out across the mountainside. Lilianna and Professor Aldric were the only ones who hung back, one out of shock and the other out of smug assurance. The professor finally gave Lilianna a light shove and a quick, “Go on.” In a bit of a daze, Lilianna went to give Nadrina a congratulatory hug that was enthusiastically returned.

“I did it!” Nadrina kept saying, like she didn’t really believe it. “Lilly, I did it!”

“Hell yeah you did!” Volmar suddenly said. He’d made his way over to the crowd of well-wishers. “That was incredible! It was like you knew everything I was going to do before I even did it! How’d you do that? Aw man, you got to teach me that sometime!”

Nadrina had a stupid grin plastered on her face that didn’t seem to want to go away. Even the overwhelming amount of attention and strangers speaking to her all at once didn’t faze the normally shy girl at all. Lilianna was, of course, proud of her, but something felt weird. Some nagging thought in the back of her head at the sight she’d just seen. She couldn’t place it, but even among all the merry faces, it made her uncomfortable and took away some of her enthusiasm.

Elder Furdis interrupted her emotional turmoil. For such an old man, his voice could certainly carry.

“Congratulations to you both on a duel well fought. As is proper, this is an occasion to be celebrated. Our guests have been working hard this past month and deserve to be sent off with honors. Is not such an accomplishment deserving of the best feast we can offer as a proper sendoff? What say you all?”

Based on the even louder chorus that followed, the villagers whole-heartedly agreed.

~~~

ALDRIC HAD KNOWN THAT the mountain folk had little to offer, but they did happily offer whatever they had. Laira oversaw the cooking, and if their meals under her care were any judge, it was going to be fantastic. The kindhearted and motherly woman was surprisingly fierce in running her kitchen of volunteers, and soon, incredible smells were wafting across the village square. In the meantime, some villagers had already broken out the mead and gotten the revelry going in earnest. Others had started a great enormous bonfire in the center of the village square, where everyone was singing, dancing, and generally being merry.

It had been more than a little while since Aldric had been to a party like this, and he found it vastly preferable to the snooty balls and galas of the nobility. What was the point of a party if you couldn’t have fun? Aldric was pleased to see even the nobles in his class joining right along with the villagers in celebrating. They’d been reticent at first, obviously not used to the informality. They could also clearly tell that the villagers had gone all out, likely using food stock that would be extremely difficult for a remote village to resupply.

“Take what you’re offered,” Aldric had instructed them when they’d expressed guilt over it. “If they’re giving it to you, it’s because they want to. They know far better than you what that stuff is worth, so they don’t need your pity. Simply accept and return their enthusiasm with your own, and that will be enough for them. They’ll feel bad if you get all self-conscious and uncomfortable.”

Not even seconds after he’d said that, a group of villagers had hauled his students off to join in the fun as the guests of honor. They’d mellowed out since then, and even the stuck up Codrin was enjoying himself now. He’d somehow coaxed the stern Cira into dancing with him. Both were now happily making fools of themselves around the bonfire, pretending to know all the steps to local folk dances.

Lilianna and Alek were with his siblings. The kids were recounting the “epic duel” with obvious excitement, as if those two hadn’t seen the whole thing. Lilianna was humoring them all, but she kept sneaking glances over to Nadrina with an odd look on her face.

The only one not with Alek’s siblings was Lida, who had quickly hunted Aldric down and assumed her rightful spot on her throne, namely his shoulders. Aldric had a hard time telling her no, so he’d complied. That was probably why she’d quickly latched onto him this past month.

Nadrina and Volmar were with another group of villagers, Volmar coaching the crowd with highlights from the duel while the villagers followed along awkwardly with some fighting moves. He included Nadrina as well, who looked out of her element but was still smiling happily. Aldric was pleased to see that Nadrina wasn’t just hanging off to the side and was joining in on the celebrations. It was partly her victory feast, after all.

Speaking of hanging off to the side, Zasia had parked herself on a nearby stone bench, simply observing everything. Aldric knew Zasia had never been very good at these informal sorts of things. Put her in a ballroom meant for kings and queens and she was right at home, but the average village get together was beyond her. Balrus sat with her, partly to keep her company and partly because he could sometimes be just as stuffy as Zasia.

“You’re both so lame sometimes, you know that?” Aldric joked as he sat down next to them. Lida was still perched on his shoulders, surveying from her new vantage point with fascination. “How weird is it that I’m better prepared for a party than you two?”

Zasia sniffed with humorous disdain. “Yes, congratulations. You are more adept at cavorting and getting drunk than I. Would you like a trophy, perhaps?”

“Why, you offering?” Aldric asked in mock interest. “Is it shiny? C’mon, you’re rich. You’ve got the money.”

“What surprises me the most,” Balrus interrupted, before the two of them could really get going, “is how comfortable you are tonight. Even if it’s not a formal party, you haven’t been eager to take part socially in many long years.”

He was teasing him, but there was a note of actual concern there. Zasia added nothing else, but she looked like she wanted him to answer.

They had a point. Aldric couldn’t even remember the last time he’d let loose and partied with anyone for any reason. He hadn’t been in a celebratory mood for the years he’d been recovering under Zasia’s care. Getting up in the morning had been hard enough.

If he was being completely honest, he still wasn’t in the mood. Hence why he was hanging out on the sidelines with these two. But he was also tired of being a bummer and wanted to live again. Having something to make him get up in the morning had been incredibly helpful in achieving that. He cast a glance over at his students still celebrating. Maybe any other group of kids would have helped him just as much, but Aldric doubted it.

“Let’s not dig all that up again,” Aldric said. “All of you, Kedrin included, know I’ve been doing a lot better since the start of the school year.” He looked at Zasia and gave her a smirk. “You were right, all right? Maybe I should give you a trophy? What is it now, like, ten million to one of you being right?”

Zasia smiled triumphantly. “How generous of you to give yourself any points at all. But no trophy needed. That statement alone is enough to needle you with in the future. You heard that, right Balrus?”

Balrus took on a solemn look, hand over his heart like he was giving his testimony in court. “Let it be known that Aldric, the stubborn genius, attested to Lady Glory’s superior wisdom on this day! May he always remember this feeling of inferiority! I have witnessed it!”

“Witnessed it!” Lida chimed in innocently. Zasia and Balrus laughed while Aldric sulked.

“In all seriousness, though,” Zasia said, “you should be proud of how far your students have come. They wouldn’t be doing nearly as well without your influence. This recent training only proves that.”

“Why? You two did most of it. I just trained with Nadrina for most of it.”

“We only taught them methods you developed yourself,” Balrus argued. “And it wouldn’t have meant anything if they didn’t have a solid foundation already. Nadrina didn’t even know how to use magic at the beginning of the year, yet she just trounced a skilled enforcer that I trained like it was nothing. Alek wasn’t much better, Lilianna had no experience combining her affinities, Cira and Codrin were too set in their ways to learn anything new, and Volmar... well, he’s pretty much just Volmar. At least you’ve been able to steer that abundant enthusiasm of his in the right direction.”

“He’s right,” Zasia added. “They owe a lot of their progress to you. Your original four were all given up on as lost causes or too much to teach, and yet the least experienced professor in the whole academy has them hanging on his every word. Even if some of them wouldn’t admit it, namely Codrin and Alek, you’ve given them the chance they needed to show what they can do and affected their lives for the better.”

Both of his friends gave him bright smiles. Aldric was suddenly very self-conscious. He was at a loss for what to say when faced with such genuine praise.

“Good job!” Lida pitched in as she patted Aldric on the head, not knowing what they were talking about but clearly getting the gist of it. Not knowing what to do with himself, Aldric defaulted to his usual snark to cover his embarrassment.

“Well, thanks mom and dad. We’re already talking about the sappy stuff, and we’re not even drunk yet.”

Balrus laughed at Aldric’s obvious discomfort. “True enough. I’ll be right back. It’s been too long since I’ve really cut loose. It’s a party, after all!” He leaped up from his seat, probably intent on finding as much liquor as he could feasibly carry. Being an enforcer, that was a lot.

“Water for me, please,” Aldric called after him. He gently unwrapped Lida’s legs from around his shoulders. “And take the little one with you. I’m sure she’s bored with the grown-up talk.”

“Nooo!” Lida protested. It took quite a bit of cajoling and persuasion before the little girl finally let go, despondent. Even then, she refused to leave until she had Aldric’s solemn word that she could ride his shoulders again later. Balrus quickly put her on his own shoulders and had her smiling and laughing again in no time as he wandered off.

Zasia casually bumped his shoulder with hers. “Big softie,” she accused.

“Yeah, well... shut up,” Aldric answered weakly, which only made her laugh again.

They were both interrupted by a woman making her way over to them. Specifically, over to Aldric. With big brown eyes and light blonde hair, she was pretty in that girl next door sort of way. Based on the unabashed bedroom eyes she was sending his way, Aldric could guess at her intentions. It was a party, after all.

“Evening,” she said demurely, standing just a bit closer to Aldric than was strictly necessary. She was leaning down to speak to him in a way that gave Aldric a fantastic view down her shirt collar. Probably on purpose.

“Fancy a dance? Or do you big city folk not know the proper steps?” Now she really did get in his space, nearly whispering in his ear. “I’d be more than happy to show you.”

Damn. Village girls didn’t mess around, did they? She was probably just bored with the male offerings of the village and wanted to explore her options. It was odd that he hadn’t noticed her until now. Pretty girls usually stood out in small villages like this. From the lingering looks on some of the nearby men, Aldric knew they’d definitely noticed her. So had Zasia. She gave her a disapproving frown as the girl continued to pretend like the noblewoman didn’t exist.

Aldric was about to reply when he felt it. Something... uncomfortable touched on Aldric’s senses, like a cold tentacle slipping down his spine. He went from relaxed to tense as a bowstring in a heartbeat. He was instantly on alert, but there didn’t seem to be any threat nearby. Confused, Aldric realized he hadn’t spoken yet and stumbled for an answer.

“Sorry,” he told the girl, pointing to Zasia. “I’ve already got a date. Uh, not that I’m not flattered. I’m sure you could get any of these boys to dance with you. No need to waste your time on an old man like me.”

The girl looked at him and blinked, clearly not expecting him to turn her down. She looked oddly stunned, but she rallied quickly. “I wouldn’t say old. More... experienced.” The implications of that hung in the air between them for a few beats before she continued. “Well, let me know if you change your mind. The night is young.” She gave him one last smirk before she sauntered off, making a show of her hips swaying as she did.

“Floozy,” Zasia muttered irritably. Then she frowned self-consciously, looking embarrassed with herself. “Sorry, that was uncalled for. You didn’t need to do that. I appreciate the gesture, but you’re allowed to have fun without me. I know I’m a stick in the mud at these things. Don’t let me ruin the night.”

“Uh, no, it’s fine,” Aldric replied, his mind still spinning. “Couldn’t deprive you of my delightful company, could I?”

Zasia didn’t laugh. Her eagle eyes had picked up on his distress and looked at him with concern. “Aldric? What’s—?”

“Really?” came Alek’s voice as he walked up to them. He stopped a few feet away with hands on hips, glaring at Aldric. “Professor Glory’s not enough for you? Have to have every pretty girl here for yourself, huh?”

Aldric laughed weakly. He was only half listening. Whatever that weird feeling was had disappeared, but he couldn’t seem to let it go.

“Looks like you struck out, anyway. Did you get her name at least? I haven’t seen her around before.”

That comment brought Aldric up short. Why wouldn’t Alek know her? This village had barely fifty people, yet Alek had never seen her before. It wasn’t like Temwick was a tourist trap. Where would she have come from? And why had she seemed to single out Aldric?

Aldric was already up and moving before he had formulated any kind of plan. Ignoring Alek and Zasia’s confused questions, his only goal was to track down that girl. It didn’t take long. She stood out even in the small crowd of villagers. He was nearly upon her when she spun around and noticed his approach. She must have seen something in his expression. The look of panic she gave him was all the evidence Aldric needed. Before he could do anything further, however, she reached into a pocket and pulled out a familiar metal carving.

It was cruder than the one Rainer had pulled on Aldric during their duel several months ago, but the resemblance was unmistakable. A snake eating its own tail. And it was glowing.

People began screaming as a concussive wave of mana thick enough to see ripped through the atmosphere. It confused Aldric when he saw the screams coming from the girl and two others, all with similar snake tokens. Immediately after that, he felt the mana in their vicinity simply... vacate. It was as if all the ambient mana surrounding the three imposters vanished into nothing, leaving a gaping hole in the world behind. Aldric could even feel his own mana slowly leaking out of his body, like he’d suddenly sprung a leak.

He turned to shout a warning to Zasia, but the girl yanked away all his attention as she viciously charged at him. A short sword that had apparently been up her dress came within mere inches of Aldric’s face as he bent backwards in a desperate dodge. His daggers came into his hands out of instinct and parried another wicked slash across his middle. He reflexively tried to imbue some mana into the enchantments of his daggers, but nothing happened. The mana simply left his body and disintegrated into nothing.

The village girl turned assassin used Aldric’s moment of stunned shock against him, shoulder checking him with insane strength. It sent Aldric flying into a wooden cart hard enough to go through it, wood splinters flying everywhere as he tumbled back to his feet. The villagers were aware by now that something terrible was happening, all of them fleeing in various directions and screaming the whole while. Aldric had to weave through them to make sure they didn’t get caught up in the action, and he just barely got out of the way in time to block the assassin’s short sword with his daggers again.

With the amount of strength she put into each strike, Aldric had assumed she was an enforcer, but he couldn’t feel the slightest bit of magic flowing through this woman like an enforcer’s self-imbuement. What he could feel was all the nearby ambient mana in the air tumbling into the void. Aldric couldn’t tell if the mana was being destroyed outright or if this woman was absorbing all of it, but he’d never find out if she killed him.

Aldric traded blows with the woman, his arms and wrists aching every time their blades came together. He dimly registered the screams and shouts of nearby civilians but didn’t have the time or ability to do anything for them right now. He also heard his students and prayed to every god he could think of that they stayed out of this. Aldric had to assume that the two other assassins he’d seen had the same strange abilities that seemed to be designed solely for killing mages. As a test, Aldric created some distance away from her bizarre field of effect and tossed one dagger, imbuing it to explode on contact. Instead, the blade bounced harmlessly off the woman’s sword as she closed the gap between them again. Great, so long-range spells wouldn’t work either.

Aldric just managed to bind the attacker’s sword with his two daggers. She tried to wrench her blade free with almost enough force to pull Aldric’s arms free of their sockets. Giving up on the daggers, he suddenly released her sword. The sudden loss of force put her off balance as he dashed in to wrap up her sword arm with his own and put her in a front headlock. She bucked like an angry bull, but he held on with sheer determination.

Aldric managed a glance towards his surroundings and found Balrus locked in combat with the other two assailants. Without mana enforcement, his master level swordsmanship was the only thing currently keeping him alive. Zasia, gods bless her, had rounded up the villagers and students to move them away from the village square, but little Lida was still cowering behind Balrus. He couldn’t move away without putting her in danger.

Realizing he couldn’t hold the assassin like this, Aldric worked in a knee to the woman’s face while she continued to struggle. He might as well have tickled her for all the effect it had. With a screech, the woman grabbed the one leg still holding Aldric up, causing them both to tumble to the ground. Her dress flipped up over them both, and she’d lost her sword at some point, but she was also on top of Aldric. He still had her head in a lock under his arm, and he pounded on her exposed side with his free hand over and over. It felt like he was punching steel wrapped in leather. Growling in irritation, he managed to bring out a fourth dagger and plunged it into her torso. The damn thing actually skittered off her skin like he’d struck a stone. What the hell was this woman made from? Was she even human?

Aldric’s efforts to pummel her stopped as the assassin actually stood back up, taking Aldric with her like he was a toddler. He was so surprised by the ridiculous display of strength that he didn’t maintain his grip on her neck. She grabbed him by the legs, spun in a circle, and hurled him off her, straight at a nearby house. Aldric thankfully sailed through the open window rather than slamming into the stone wall, but he still crashed onto a smattering of furniture inside. He lay on his back, groaning on top of a broken heap of chairs and a table, as the woman leaped through the window after him. Her expression as she loomed over him was dead and expressionless, like she was in a trance.

Aldric needed a plan. He couldn’t fight her hand to hand, and he couldn’t use magic on her. His friends were too busy to help, and this woman didn’t look like she was in the mood to negotiate. It was time to get creative.

His brain defaulted to the one tactic that had so far never failed him: cheat.

Aldric suddenly looked behind the woman, over her shoulder. “Balrus, now!” he shouted. The woman immediately spun around to address the new threat but found no one there. Before she realized he’d tricked her, Aldric wrapped one foot around her ankle and kicked the other into the back of her knee as hard as he could. Despite her strength, her body was still built like a human. Her leg buckled, and she fell hard on her face. Aldric scrambled to his feet and leaped out the window, barely dodging her hand as she tried to grab his boot.

Now back outside, Aldric desperately searched around himself for something to use. His eyes snapped to the bonfire still raging in the center of the village. An idiotic plan formed in his mind, but idiotic was better than nothing, and he could already hear the woman clambering through the window after him. Aldric decided and broke out into a dead sprint towards the bonfire.

Even at his top speed, Aldric still heard the assassin less than a meter behind him, her footfalls pounding on the rocky ground as she chased him down. When he was just within a few meters of the bonfire, however, he did the last thing she expected. With no warning, Aldric collapsed to the ground like a sack of flour, his body going boneless as he flopped and rolled.

His attacker wasn’t ready for her prey to suddenly turn himself into an obstacle. She had been moving at an unnaturally fast speed, and so wasn’t able to react in time before she tripped over him. Her own momentum sent her flying gloriously through the air before she tumbled like a runaway barrel in the dirt. She annoyingly got back to her feet with cat-like grace, but she quickly found Aldric’s shoulder meeting her chin as he full-body tackled her. Even if she was stronger than him, he still weighed more.

Both fell on top of the flaming pyre, Aldric on top and using the woman’s body as a shield against the flames. She struggled to overtake him even as her skin blistered and the smell of burnt hair and flesh filled the air. Despite all that, she didn’t let out a single scream of pain as the fire cooked her alive. In fact, she had started to overpower him as she scrabbled to get her feet under her.

It forced Aldric to push her head further into the flames. His coat sleeve caught fire and his skin roasted, but he paid them no mind as he struggled to fry this demon woman’s brains. After the longest ten seconds of Aldric’s life, she finally slowed in her struggles until she went still underneath him.

Aldric hurriedly jumped back before any more of himself was cooked. Kedrin would need to take care of these burns, as well as Aldric’s cracked ribs. Maybe he could help with his shattered pride as well. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d come that close to dying.

First Rainer, and now this villager imposter. He’d need to recover the body after this for study. Whatever the hell had happened to this girl was something he’d need to prepare for in the future.

The clashing of steel reminded Aldric that the fight wasn’t over yet. He turned and found Balrus still dealing with one remaining assassin. The other lay on the ground, his decapitated head lying a few feet away. With the both of them working together, they should be able to finish the last one.

The crunching of burnt wood behind him was Aldric’s only warning. In hindsight, he should have seen the trick for what it was. He’d even used it himself before. But his mind had been so scrambled by the sudden ambush that he forgot one of his rules; always confirm your kills.

Even as a charred lump of meat and limbs, the assassin woman who’d been playing dead still had the strength to leap on top of Aldric and take him to the ground. She’d apparently found herself a sharp stake of wood from the bonfire and drove it into him with all the force she could muster. Aldric was practically nailed to the ground as the foot long stake pierced through his chest and out his back. The shock of the blow stopped him from screaming, but she wasn’t done. She drove the improvised weapon in two more times and was about to go for a third when Aldric finally managed to feebly redirect her blow. The stake shattered against the hard ground into useless splinters. The woman screamed in rage as she grabbed Aldric by the throat, squeezing with inhuman power.

Aldric could hear a wordless female scream in the distance. It sounded vaguely like Zasia, but he couldn’t be sure. All the surrounding sounds seemed miles away as the world slowly shrank down to a single point in his vision. Aldric realized that this snarling monster woman might be the last thing he ever saw. Damn it. She wasn’t even nice to look at anymore.

Crap. This was a lame way to go. All those years of looking over his shoulder and planning for the worst, and now he was going to be killed in the back end of nowhere by a random village girl. How glorious. Not really the legacy he’d wanted, but maybe the one he deserved. As spots of blackness filled his vision, Aldric’s only thought was that he hoped his students would learn life lessons faster than he had. Assuming they didn’t get killed in a few minutes.

That random thought somehow ripped Aldric’s flagging mind back from the abyss. Like hell some creepy, inhuman, half-roasted she-devil was going to kill his students right in front of him. Not while he still had some trickle of life left in him.

Aldric found a plentiful supply of blood on his ravaged chest, and the exposed wounds of the screaming corpse on top of him would help cement the connection he needed for this to work. A large nearby bonfire didn’t hurt his spell’s chances, either. Even as he was being strangled, Aldric traced out a script of runes in his own blood on the woman’s exposed chest, allowing it to mingle with her own fluids and solidify the enchantment’s connection. She was busy murdering him and didn’t even notice his efforts. When he finished, he weakly flicked the remaining blood on his finger into the nearby bonfire.

Now came the bad part. He’d solemnly sworn to Zasia and Kedrin that he’d never rely on this again, but he figured moments before his death was an appropriate time to break that promise. So long as his friends and students made it, he didn’t care. Slapping his hand to the runes on the woman’s breastbone, he pulled on that strange part within his mana pool, the part that had never left him no matter how much he wished it would.

The fabric of the world warped.

It wasn’t a simple imbuing. It was more like a fresh wound had been opened in the world, right above Aldric’s runes, and mana was filling it up like blood. The ambient mana of the world filled Aldric’s enchantment and fueled it, all at no mana cost to himself and faster than the woman’s strange ability could funnel it away. Aldric could feel his mind slipping from the effort, but he kept awareness just long enough to complete it.

The runes glowed with a multicolored light as they were activated, then started smoking as the blood connection to the bonfire kicked in. Within moments, the woman’s screams of rage became howls of pure agony as every drop of blood left in her battered body ignited in white-hot flames. A normal imbuing would have only wounded her severely. This special method, however, immolated her in mere moments. Her wails abruptly cut off, leaving only ash and dust where her body had once been.

Blissful silence filled the air before more shouting rang out, but nothing said translated right in Aldric’s mind. He could see humanoid shapes above him, could feel hands on his chest beating out the lingering flames, but his mind was already slipping away. His awareness flickered like a dying candle as several hands lifted him, but now his eyes and ears had stopped working entirely. He felt strangely cold and unbelievably tired, sinking slowly and gently into darkness.

Shortly after that, he felt nothing.

Chapter 5

ALDRIC COULDN’T TELL where he was. Every time he opened his eyes, he was lying on his back in a different place at a different time. First the mountains, then at the foot of the mountain, then along open plains, and then through some villages and towns. All of it seemed to take place from the back of a cart, if the horribly bumpy ride was anything to go by. Occasionally, Zasia or Balrus or one of his students would briefly wander into his view, give him a nervous look or worried smile, and then Aldric’s consciousness would fade out again. He was aware of a terrible aching all over his body, particularly his neck and chest, but his arms didn’t listen to him when he tried to assess any injuries. With nothing else to do, Aldric mostly spent the time phasing in and out of his dream state.

It finally ended when he opened his eyes for the last time. He was in a familiar white room lined with beds. The sunlight coming in from a nearby window showed it was mid to late morning. A chair was pulled up to the side of his bed, and in it sat Kedrin with a happy but exhausted look on his face.

“Welcome back to the world of the living, Aldric.” Aldric tried to sit up, then immediately laid back down in regret. Every fiber of his being was lit up like the sun with pain. He tried to tilt his head down to see why, but that only brought on new agony in his neck. Collapsing in defeat, Aldric wracked his addled mind for memories of how he’d gotten into the healing ward at the academy. Again. He really needed to stop waking up here.

“Why do I feel like I fell out the back of a speeding wagon?” Aldric croaked, then immediately started hacking from his dry throat. Kedrin immediately handed him a cup of water, and Aldric greedily gulped it down.

“It was a bit more serious than that, I’m afraid,” Kedrin replied, tone cheery despite the situation. “Crushed trachea, perforated heart and left lung, and severe burns on the abdomen and right hand. Massive amounts of blood loss and a weeklong journey to make it back to me with only simple mending talismans didn’t help matters. To be frank, you should be dead. Every local healer Zasia and Balrus brought you to along the way thought the same, though their temporary treatments probably saved your life.”

“I certainly feel like I died,” Aldric muttered as he gingerly wiped at his face with his hand. He pulled it away to reveal unblemished skin all the way up his arm. It was the same arm that had forced that woman’s head into the bonfire and should resemble jerky by now.

“You’re lucky the worst of your injuries were localized to your chest and neck,” Kedrin said, his light tone vanishing suddenly. Aldric slowly turned his aching neck and found Kedrin giving him a meaningful stare. “If the other healers that saw you had tried to heal the burns to your limbs, they may have noticed something rather peculiar. Like how the flesh of your arms and legs wouldn’t heal.”

Even through the pain, Aldric’s body reflexively tensed as he stared at Kedrin wide eyed, wanting to ask but unable to speak. Kedrin noticed and shook his head gently.

“No, they didn’t notice. Zasia mostly covered for you. Setting aside your... different anatomy, any normal human would have died within minutes with that much blood loss. Your unique body is the only reason you’re not a corpse. You really cut it close this time, Aldric.”

Despite the reassurances, Aldric found it hard to calm down. He’d been that close to getting found out, and with his students there, of all people. His breathing quickened as he thought of what they would have said. Or even what Balrus would have said. Aldric looked at Kedrin again, and the healer read the expression there immediately.

“No, Balrus doesn’t know either. You, me and Zasia are the only people who do.” He looked at Aldric some more, his expression sad. “I still don’t understand your reason for that. It’s Balrus, after all. I’m sure he’d understand—”

“No,” Aldric answered sharply, more intensely than he’d intended. In a more normal voice, he continued. “The fewer people that know, the better for everyone. It’s not safe.”

That wasn’t the real reason, and both of them knew it, but Kedrin blessedly let it go. For now. To break the uncomfortable silence, Aldric asked, “Was anyone else hurt? How are the kids?”

“No, miraculously, but knowing all the facts about what happened makes it easier to understand why.” Aldric raised a questioning eyebrow, but Kedrin just shook his head and smiled grimly. “We should probably wait before answering all of your questions. I noticed you stirring earlier and predicted you would wake up soon. I sent a runner to tell Zasia about it a few minutes ago, so I imagine we’re about to be interrupted any mo—”

The door suddenly crashed open, slamming hard enough into the wall behind it to bounce back and slam shut once more. It quickly opened again, marginally more controlled this time, as Zasia burst into the room.

“Is he awake?” Zasia asked Kedrin, then seemed to notice that Aldric was conscious and staring at her in surprise. He’d never seen the woman so out of sorts.

“If he wasn’t before, he is now,” Kedrin answered dryly, but Zasia was already ignoring him. She hurried over to Aldric’s bedside and took a hold of his face, turning it to give him a critical once over from every possible angle. “How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere? Why is he still in bed? Can he not walk yet? Kedrin, have you already—?”

“Yes, I do still hurt,” Aldric interrupted her, annoyed, “particularly my neck. Probably because someone is jerking my head back and forth.”

“Oh!” Zasia immediately released him and stepped back a bit. “Sorry, I was just... you hadn’t woken in several days, so I... um...” Her hands fiddled together in front of her stomach, like they were torn between grabbing him or comforting herself. She looked at Aldric with a face of such genuine worry and desperation that Aldric’s annoyance withered up and died on the spot.

“Yeah, Zee,” he answered gently, using his old nickname for her without realizing it. “I’m fine. Sorry to make you worry.” He offered her his hand, and she eagerly accepted it in both of hers. Then she practically crushed it in a sudden, murderous fury.

“You used it again, didn’t you? That... that thing! That dark magic!” Aldric didn’t answer, and Zasia’s anger reached new heights. “I told you not to do that again! You promised me you wouldn’t! You swore on your life not to! Didn’t he?” She directed the last part to Kedrin, who looked around the room at anything that wasn’t the livid noblewoman.

“It was an emergency, and I thought I was dead already,” Aldric argued lamely. He should’ve just shut up. It only added fuel to the inferno.

“So you did one more stupid thing, just to make sure you finished yourself off!” Zasia was shouting so loudly that Aldric was worried she’d be heard through the stone walls. “The last time you used that magic, you were a barely conscious shell of a person for ten years, Aldric! It’s only by the grace of the gods that you didn’t stay that way!”

“Um,” Kedrin interjected, then withered under Zasia’s glare. “Technically, he also used it to cast summoning magic earlier in the year. He recovered then, so...”

Aldric just wordlessly gaped at Kedrin. Why the hell did the fool feel the need to bring that up now? Did he think he was helping?

The anger in Zasia was undiminished as she turned back to Aldric. “So help me, if I ever catch you trying that again, the gods themselves won’t be enough to save you from me! I’ll have Balrus chain you up and throw you in a closet, so I know you can’t get into trouble! I’ll lecture you day and night until your ears burst and make Kedrin heal them just to do it again! I’ll...*hic*... I’ll...!”

Zasia suddenly swooped in and hugged him as tightly as she could without hurting him further. The switch from hot to cold was so fast that Aldric didn’t know how to respond. Instead, he just laid there and allowed himself to be hugged while he shared a look a surprise with Kedrin.

After a while, something wet touched Aldric’s neck as Zasia’s shoulders shook. He realized with a jolt that she was crying. Neither the furious noblewoman nor the prim and elegant lady were to be seen now. It suddenly reminded Aldric of Zasia as a little girl; the crybaby who’d worried over Aldric more than his own family ever had. He felt like the scum of the earth in that moment.

“When we found you, you wouldn’t move or twitch or... or anything,” Zasia whispered into his neck, her fingers digging into his shirt like she was afraid he was going to disappear. “You had a pulse, but it was so faint, and there was so much blood... We brought you down the mountain on a cart, and you were waking up for small moments, but every time you closed your eyes again, I was so scared that...that you’d never...” She weakly beat on his shoulder with a balled-up fist. “Damn you, Aldric. Don’t do that to me.”

“I’m sorry, Zee,” Aldric said again, angry that he had nothing better to say. He let her cry while quietly hating himself. Aldric had resolved not to do this to her again, and yet here they were. He wasn’t sure what he could’ve done differently, but the least he could do now was let her be mad at him.

Zasia mastered herself after several more minutes. Without warning, she suddenly sat straight up and grabbed a nearby chair, parking herself close to Aldric’s bedside.

“So, how is he?” she asked Kedrin, her tone under tight control again. Her slightly runny makeup ruined her attempt to look like a proper lady, but neither of the men were stupid enough to point it out. Aldric wondered if she’d forgiven him yet, but at least she had a possessive grip on his hand. That was a good sign, right?

“He’ll be fine,” Kedrin answered, smiling warmly at them both. “Though he will be a bit out of sorts for a while. I’ve done all I can, but that weeklong journey caused issues that took extra effort to fix. I’d recommend you try taking it easy for now, Aldric. Your chest, heart and lungs in particular might cause you problems if you’re too physical too soon.”

Zasia’s eyes instantly swung over to lock on Aldric like a hawk, her gaze practically daring him to say otherwise. Not even Aldric was that stubborn.

“Right, I get it,” he answered, trying to avoid Zasia’s intense stare. “But you still haven’t answered my question about what happened. How we were lucky enough to have no injuries? Besides mine, obviously.”

“We believe that wasn’t their goal,” a voice said from the doorway. Balrus stepped in, a grim look on his face. He moved to stand on Aldric’s other bedside next to Kedrin and gave Aldric a heart wrenching look of shame. “And I am sorry. I have failed you, Aldric. I have failed all of you.”

“Um, what?” Aldric blurted, genuinely confused. “Don’t remember you being the one to stab me. How the hell do you figure that?” Balrus looked down and to the side, unable to answer.

“Balrus believes this is all a result of his own inaction in his king’s investigation,” Kedrin explained while rolling his eyes. “He believes Thagrius sent both the assassins from several months ago and the assassins at Temwick, and through some leap of logic that only he understands, he has assumed responsibility for your injuries.”

Balrus stared at the floor while looking miserable. “I should have seen it,” he muttered dejectedly. “I knew Thagrius was pushing for more information, that if I didn’t give him just enough, he’d try something himself. Apparently, I have lost the faith of my king. Knowing that, there isn’t too much I can do to protect all of you from him.”

Aldric was pretty sure he’d said something similar to Zasia a month ago, but decided not to mention it. Balrus needed no more material to flagellate himself with. He had a bad habit of being his own worst critic.

“Are you sure it was Thagrius?” Aldric asked.

“He’s the only one who would have known to find you all there, and it’s exactly his style to stab first and ask questions later,” Kedrin answered. “Either there is a significant leak in my information network that I somehow haven’t noticed, or it had to be someone who already knew to find you there.”

“It gets worse, unfortunately,” Zasia added, looking grim. “The metal workings they all carried, the snake eating its tail, match what Rainer used during you duel several months ago. It’s safe to say the two events are related, and you were involved in both. We also found a bewitching charm on one of them, the woman you killed. They were likely ordered to capture, not kill, but were found out and panicked.” Zasia shivered unconsciously. “I don’t know what they did to themselves with those talismans, and I’m honestly fine with never finding out. It’s also safe to assume that their backer is the same as Rainer’s.”

“So, they were trying to capture all of us?” Aldric asked. “And then I went and ruined it?”

All three of them looked at each other before Zasia answered. “We don’t believe they were after all of us. Balrus says the only reason he could hold off the two other assassins was because they weren’t trying to kill him.” She gave him a stern look as she continued. “They were trying to get around him. To you.”

Aldric didn’t have a response for that. He just blinked stupidly as his mind raced. Kedrin saw it and hurried to reassure him.

“That doesn’t mean he knows who you are! Just that he thinks you have something to do with the Demon’s legacy!” It was a weak argument, and they all knew it, but Kedrin continued. “If he really knew who you were, he wouldn’t have stopped at those three. He would have sent an entire army to Temwick if he really thought you weren’t dead. He knows what you’re capable of.”

“How flattering,” Aldric quipped, but his voice lacked any humor. “So either he knows who I am and we’re all in deep trouble, or he merely suspects and will kill just from that. Forgive me, but I don’t know what could be worse than that.”

“For now,” Kedrin said gently, “we circle the wagons and wait. It’s not like we can accuse Thagrius of anything, but we can ask Gran for help, at least. She can’t help us openly, as that would only confirm Thagrius’s suspicions, but we’ll see what we can do. In the meantime, it’s best to keep you as close to the rest of us as possible. We’re already hard at work on it. You can rest assured.”

Aldric merely nodded. He still wasn’t totally convinced, but that would have to be enough for him for now.

“I don’t... I don’t even know why I do this anymore,” Balrus suddenly said, sounding angry. “To work with that man while knowing what he’s plotting, the years of selfish nonsense I’ve had to put up with. And now...!” Balrus clenched his fist so tight that his knuckles popped. “Now he attacks my friends. He sends assassins on a mere hunch, so paranoid that he’d rather murder than take the time to think! That... murdering psychopath!”

No one said anything to that. They were all staring at the knight, faces full of open shock. Balrus wasn’t the type of person to give in to anger like this. Aldric was a little flattered that the usually cheery Balrus was this angry on his behalf, but it was still unnerving to watch him lose his composure. Balrus seemed to realize he’d made a scene, because his face looked ashamed again.

“I apologize. This is just years of pent-up irritation with my monarch. I’m in one of the highest positions in the kingdom of Verona, and yet I have no use to him other than as a battering ram to throw at his enemies, or maybe occasionally a shiny set piece at court. I really thought I could do some good at the top. Now I’m only complicit in the bad.”

“I’m sure things would be far worse without you,” Zasia interrupted, looking concerned. “But you know, Gran would take you as her own knight in a heartbeat if you asked. You don’t need to work for him anymore.” Kedrin nodded his eager agreement. Aldric thought it sounded like these three had had this conversation many times before today. Balrus shook his head, but his face looked pained.

“I... I will consider it. Loath as I am to keep working for that maniac, I am equally hesitant to simply give up. I will think about it.”

Aldric saw Balrus didn’t want to discuss this further, so he swerved their conversation back to the key problem in front of them. “So, all I have to do is lie low and stay the hell away from Thagrius. Should be easy enough. He’s got his own country up there to rule.”

Instead of the expected agreements, all he got from the three of them was uncomfortable silence. Some invisible conversation that Aldric wasn’t privy to took place between them as they stared meaningfully at each other. Aldric realized that they still hadn’t told him everything and sighed. “Alright, what? What do I not know?”

They all traded looks again, and Aldric was on the verge of getting angry, but Kedrin finally sighed and spoke up. “There’s been a change of plans. The upcoming tournament has suddenly become much more complicated.” He started to say something else, paused, then shook his head. “It’s probably better if I just show you.”

He fished around in his headmaster’s robes for a few moments before producing a sealed letter. Aldric immediately recognized the insignia before Kedrin had even handed it to him; a tiled field of red and black, with a white tower in the middle and an enormous dragon coiling around it. The insignia of the Rhagian empire. This had to have come straight from the empress’ court.

Aldric took the letter and immediately infused the sealing runes on the back of the letter in their proper order. He’d need to talk to Gran about changing those. She was still using the same security enchantment that he’d made for her over a decade ago.

Opening the contents revealed a letter written in a near-perfect hand, most likely by one of the empress’ scribes. The words certainly had the expected air of pretentiousness to them. The other three crowded in around Aldric’s bed while he read aloud.

To the Headmaster of the Magic Academy of Nevis, Master Healer Kedrin Elmaris,

Her Majesty, The Empress Minerva Julianna Rhagia, crown Empress of the Empire of Rhagia, has seen fit to inform you of a change in the scheduled events of your academy pertaining to the annual Scholastic Tournament intended to be held in the city of Nevis. By Her Majesty’s decree, the aforementioned event will not be held with the traditional attendance of the magic academies across our fine empire. Instead, Her Majesty, in her wisdom, has seen fit to host a multi-national competition comprising representative schools of Rhagia, Osakar, and Verona. It is Her Majesty’s wish that this event be used as an opportunity to come together in peace and harmony, as well as to serve as an example to the world of what three dignified governmental powers can achieve together.

In the spirit of Her Majesty’s noble goals, you are hereby instructed to begin preparations for such an international event to take place. We would also remind you that the royal families of all three countries will be attending and are to be taken into consideration when making preparations. Any and all expenses, resources or materials needed to accomplish this will be generously supplied by our gracious sovereign. All concerns or questions should be addressed to the office of the treasury in our fine capital city of Redan.

Her Majesty looks forward to you bringing her wishes to fruition.

Signed in trust by the Chief of the Office of Domestic Affairs, Sir Wyndin Asimov

Aldric would normally have made a snarky comment about the flowery language, but his mind was busy reeling. What the hell was Gran thinking? Bringing in three different nations that were all at war with each other into one place, under the guise of diplomacy? Did she really think something like that would work?

Aldric was about to voice his rather negative opinions when he noticed a second piece of paper had tumbled from the envelope on his lap. He picked it up and inspected it. This was also written with careful attention to penmanship, but it was obviously less formal and contained considerably less fluff than the first letter.

My Dearest Ones,

I apologize for including that first letter, as I’m sure it is only confusing and likely infuriating. I’d hoped to better explain myself here, as my scribes insist that a personal letter to you is inappropriate for one of my “station”. Well, if my prestige is so lofty as all that, I suppose that means I can do whatever I damn well please, doesn’t it?

I owe all of you an explanation, though you may find it lacking. As to why I would do such a thing, I unfortunately cannot say too much, even in a magically encoded missive. What I can say is that no, I have not gone insane, and yes, there is a deeper purpose behind what I am doing. I have enemies both outside and in, and this is my latest attempt to root them out. It is a bit of a desperate plan, I’ll admit, but there is a plan. The less I say about that, the better.

And Aldric, if you’re reading this (I’m sure you skimmed through the inflated nonsense of the first letter, so please at least read this part), I most especially need to apologize to you for what I am most likely about to put you through. I want you to know that I thought very long and hard on alternatives to this idea, and I know I am inviting in company that could put you in danger, not to mention how unpleasant it must be for you on a personal level. Such a plan never would have occurred if I believed I had any alternatives at all. I will not apologize for doing my duty as empress, but I will ask your forgiveness for my inability to protect you, and I must selfishly ask that you keep any impulses on a short leash and not do anything overly rash. I can no longer give you orders, but I will selfishly ask you for this favor; please believe in me, as I always have in you.

All of you will need to keep your wits about you. I am creating a political stage on top of your academy, and I am not so naïve as to think that there will be zero repercussions. It was hard enough convincing my advisors of such an idea in the first place, and I haven’t even told them all I have learned just yet. I promise to be more forthcoming once this is all over. I may even need your assistance, depending on how well, or how poorly, my plan plays out. Regardless, I hope you are all understanding enough to forgive me.

And Kedrin, when Chairman Asimov said that you were to rely on us for resources, he meant it. You have full access to the national treasury to do what you decide you must, no questions asked. It may be wise to secure funds for “extra assurances”, as well. I will leave the interpretation of what I mean by that up to you.

And Aldric, while I understand the tournament preparations have kept you busy, I recall telling you during our last meeting to keep in contact. Yet here we are months later, and not a single letter or magical communication from you has crossed my desk. My guard captain is ready and able to carry out my previous threat if need be. Be a dear and write to me before I send him to kidnap you.

And Zasia, be sure to punish Balrus appropriately for failing to inform me he was visiting. When he does get around to greeting me properly, I’ll have a stern lecture waiting for him.

I look forward to seeing the four of you again. It has been far too long.

With all my love,

Gran

“Oh, right,” Zasia suddenly said, leaning over and flicking Balrus hard on the tip of his nose. The enforcer barely felt it, but he still scrunched up his face in reflex.

“I wasn’t avoiding her,” the knight protested weakly. “Just busy. I have a liege of my own, you know.”

“Yes, yes,” Kedrin replied lightly. “Try telling her that when she arrives next week. See how well she accepts excuses.”

Aldric’s mood was less jovial than that of his friends. Gran wouldn’t have known about this most recent attack, but now Thagrius was suddenly a much more serious concern than Aldric had thought possible.

There was also the matter of Osakar’s king. A man Aldric somehow wanted to meet even less than Thagrius.

The others noticed Aldric’s mood and sobered. Zasia squeezed his hand in comfort and placed it protectively in her lap.

“It will be alright. As long as we’re aware of it, we can take measures to be prepared for it. Kedrin apparently has a blank check from the empire, so we can shore up defenses and fill out the city guard. The governor of Nevis is already an ally of ours, so we have every weakness covered. As for Thagrius himself, there will need to be a formal dining event with so much royalty coming to visit, but beyond that, you will mostly stay out of the way. We can work around that.”

“What about when my students win the tournament?” Aldric asked, trying very hard not to groan at the idea of a formal dinner. “Not like I can avoid attention, then. People will want to learn who taught them what they know. Doubly so once they see what those kids can do now.”

Zasia raised an eyebrow at him. “So sure of their victory already? I’ll have you know that there are many other students besides yours at this academy. Your class has mostly kept to themselves because of their unique class size, but they are not the only exceptional talent we have here.”

Aldric gave her a doubtful look. “If you weren’t such a proper lady, I’d make you wager with me on that.”

“You wouldn’t be good for the money, anyway,” Zasia shot back, but she smirked while she said it.

“We’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it,” Kedrin cut in, interrupting Aldric’s next witty comeback. Balrus took that moment to bring up security preparations for the coming event, and he and Kedrin were lost in a discussion of their own.  Zasia listened in, a pensive look on her face.

Aldric was left to brood over his own anxieties. He felt like the situation was flying out of his control. He’d gone to great lengths to put his head down and not be noticed these past several months, and yet it had accomplished little. His friends were once again claiming they would handle it, but Aldric was starting to suspect that this wasn’t going to blow over if they waited long enough. It might be time to do something proactive, rather than reactive. At the very least, Aldric didn’t want his students to be placed in such a situation again if he could help it.

Aldric turned back to Zasia to say as much, but he found her looking at him with an intense gaze. When he started to get uncomfortable, he blurted out, “What?”

“Perhaps,” Zasia answered, sounding like she was just thinking aloud, “a makeover is in over.”

Kedrin and Balrus had apparently heard that part. They looked as confused as Aldric felt.

“I beg your pardon?” Aldric spluttered.

“Yes,” Zasia said, her voice firming up as she smiled in satisfaction. “It will be much harder to recognize you with a complete redo of your style. Besides, I’ve wanted to get rid of that ridiculous hair and beard for a while now. You really do have a handsome face under all that gruff when you try. No better time for a change in look than an upcoming formal event, wouldn’t you say?”

“No, I would not say,” Aldric asserted firmly. He looked to Kedrin and Balrus for backup, but to his horror, found them nodding along.

“I suppose that might help,” Kedrin agreed. “It couldn’t hurt, at least.” Aldric very much disagreed with that statement.

“Are you taking suggestions?” Balrus asked, sounding far too enthusiastic. “Do you have magic for changing hair color? That would go a long way as a disguise, and I’ve always wanted to know what he’d look like blonde.”

Traitors, the both of them!

“Oh, I hadn’t even thought of that!” Zasia replied, looking the most excited Aldric had seen her in years. “Maybe even more of a dirty blonde or strawberry? Though that wouldn’t really match his eyes. Kedrin, do you have any anatomical spells for changing eye color?”

And with that, Aldric’s “friends” began planning his involuntary makeover.

Chapter 6

ALDRIC WAS DEAD CERTAIN that whoever had invented men’s formal clothing had never actually had to wear them. No one in their right mind would ever consider such things real clothing.

He tried surreptitiously to adjust his bowtie so that he could actually breathe again. Aldric’s bruises to his throat had thankfully healed in the past week, but the jacket and vest squeezing his torso made his remaining chest wounds ache. If Zasia didn’t look so excited to have a human dress up doll, he’d have thought this was some ploy to strangle him slowly. She caught his movements and came over to slap his hands away so she could “fix” his attire.

“Stop fussing,” she berated him as she adjusted the tie back to throat-crushing levels. “I swear, there will be children at this dinner event that are better behaved than you. Will I have to follow you around all evening?”

“Not if you’d just let me skip this,” Aldric replied. He hoped his tone sounded reasonable instead of pleading.

“You know you can’t, so stop asking. We already missed the first twenty minutes of it, anyway. Besides...” She took a step back and gave a satisfied nod. “I want to show off my efforts. I must say, I’ve even impressed myself. Now, stop being a baby and let’s go.”

Kedrin, Zasia and Balrus had decided that it was best if Aldric wasn’t there for the welcoming party at the very beginning. The rulers and nobles attending would give long-winded, disingenuous speeches about what an honor it was to be here, how marvelous the academy looked, blah blah blah. Even with his new look, it was in their best interest to keep Aldric as far away from those people, namely Thagrius, as possible.

Aldric felt incredibly out of place. Gran’s parties could sometimes be rather ostentatious, but they had mostly expected him to just hang out in the background the whole evening. He felt almost naked without his shoulder length hair and beard, now fully shaved and with close-cropped hair that Zasia insisted was more in line with the latest fashions. At least she and Balrus had relented at his repeated requests not to dye his hair blonde, compromising on a dark brown that was close enough to his original black.

Zasia, predictably, looked resplendent in a green and white dress that did wonders for bringing out her eyes. Her blonde hair was done up in such a complicated array of braids that Aldric got dizzy if he looked at it for too long. Almost every inch of her glittered with jewelry. Nothing garish or obnoxious, but still very fine pieces. Even Aldric’s light blue waistcoat, white leggings, and black knee-high boots looked like drab burlap next to her.

The servants at the door to the academy’s dining hall bowed and opened the double doors as soon as they saw the pair approaching. Aldric was pretty sure the academy had never had servants, so these must be new hires specifically for tonight. Zasia put her arm through Aldric’s and half escorted, half dragged him through the portal to Aldric’s personal hell.

The place was filled with people, nobles and students alike, all dressed in varying degrees of extravagance. Aldric had been impressed with the dining hall before, but this was something else. They had replaced the typical dining tables with small serving tables scattered about, covered in expensive looking tablecloths and full to bursting with decadent foods and wines. Servants flitted back and forth around the room with heavily laden trays, and a small orchestra was playing music from a stage at the far end of the hall with magical instruments Aldric didn’t recognize. Several gigantic chandeliers of crystal imbued with mana illuminated the entire space with an almost ethereal light.

Damn. A royal budget went a long way.

“Lady Zasia Glory and her escort!” the servants declared just before shutting the door behind them. The room filled with polite applause as every other guest swept their eyes over to the two of them.

“Wow, an escort,” Aldric muttered quietly enough to not be overheard. “I’m moving up in the world, huh?”

“We thought using your name and professor title might garner too much attention,” Zasia explained as she fastened a practiced smile to her lips.

“I think it backfired,” Aldric replied, trying not to make eye contact with the sea of curious gazes aimed his way. “Now they really want to know who I am.”

He could see Kedrin surrounded by guests, doing his best to greet each of them and ignoring no one. Gran was close by and gave Aldric a wink when she noticed him. Balrus was also there, flocked by noblewomen, both young and old, as they hung dreamily on his every word. He noticed the two of them enter and waved cheerily, which unfortunately made every woman around him swing their gazes over as well. Aldric didn’t like how much they were staring at him.

Just next to Balrus was his charge. King Thagrius was a weasel of a man, with tiny dark eyes rimmed by curly black hair and a long, pointed nose. He was, of course, dressed resplendently in clothes befitting a royal, but their grandiose and garish style didn’t fit his thin and sharp appearance. He’d looked to the door at the announcement, took them both in with a glance, hovered his gaze for a bit on Zasia, and then thankfully dismissed them entirely. Aldric did his best to keep his heartbeat at a reasonable speed. He hadn’t been recognized yet, but the night was only starting.

“Good evening, Professor Glory,” a voice said to Aldric’s right, and he and Zasia turned to find Lilianna approaching them. Nadrina wasn’t far behind her, looking like a lost puppy amongst all this extravagance. Lilianna’s dress was a complimentary blue to Nadrina’s white, and clearly Nadrina had gotten the fine outfit from her friend. Aldric imagined this was the most dressed up the village girl had ever been in her life.

“Good evening, girls,” Zasia replied. “Is the rest of the class already here?”

“Yes, they’re all here,” Lilianna answered. “We were only waiting for the professor to arrive. Several of my family’s acquaintances have already asked after who my teachers have been this year. I was running out of excuses for them.”

Lilianna said it lightly, but Aldric could see the exasperation in her eyes. Of course nobles would flock to her in a setting like this. Without her family’s direct backing, this was their opportunity to make their possible “assistance” known. Aldric had a memory of Rainer and bit back a flare of irritation. Wherever that asshole was, Aldric hoped he was still alive so he could deck him one more time.

“Everything here tonight is so... fantastical,” Nadrina muttered, looking at their surroundings with a mix of awe and fear. “I’m not even sure what to do with myself. A-Am I supposed to do something with my hands? Do we all just stand with our hands at our sides? Should I cross them?” She experimented with a few awkward gestures, then looked at Lilianna with a desperate plea on her face. Lilianna and Zasia were trying very hard not to laugh at the poor girl.

“Just do what you normally do,” Aldric told her. “It’s not like anyone here is bold enough to call you out on it, and you’ll probably never see most of them ever again, anyway. Who cares if you end up looking silly?”

He expected Lilianna to back him up on that. Instead, she gawked at him in complete shock, eyes wide as dinner plates. Nadrina wore the same face next to her. Aldric looked at Zasia in confusion, thinking maybe he said something weird. He found her looking at him with a self-satisfied smirk.

“Professor!” Lilianna finally said, far too loudly. Aldric winced as everyone within a few meters turned to look at them in indignation. Lilianna didn’t even seem to notice. “You...you’re... you look... different.” she stammered.

“Yes, I really outdid myself this time, didn’t I?” Zasia said with an infuriatingly smug chuckle. “Turns out he can look rather civilized when he really wants to. I’m still curious about making him blonde, but we can try that later. Brown is just so dull. What do you ladies think?”

Both girls continued their mute staring until Aldric started to become embarrassed. They finally both looked away and focused their gazes on anything but him.

“He looks very... nice,” Lilianna said, hiding her face behind her drink glass as she tried not to smile. Nadrina’s gaze briefly flicked back to Aldric before dancing away, her cheeks pink.

What the hell? Gods, did he really look that stupid? Zasia looked absurdly proud of their reaction as she smiled at him with perfectly white teeth. If this was some sort of joke, he was going to tear her a new one, audience or no. Before he could, however, his other students showed up.

“Hey, you two find him yet?” Alek asked. Despite the dress clothes provided to him by the academy, he still walked around with a casual and dismissive air to the goings on around him. He looked like he’d thrown his jacket, pants and boots on at the last second. Volmar stood next to him similarly, except that his clothes looked like they didn’t quite fit his broad frame. A plate filled a foot high with various foods balanced on his hand as he stuffed them down his gullet. Only Codrin and Cira appeared to have any sense of decorum, though Codrin eyed Volmar’s food pile longingly.

A group of adults followed along after them, looking expectant. Aldric felt himself straighten involuntarily when he laid eyes on Dylas Caffaret. He was practically an older clone of his son, Codrin. Even if that hadn’t been true, however, Aldric would have recognized him. He was a hard man to forget, no matter how much Aldric wanted to.

Laira, of course, wouldn’t have been healthy enough for travel, so the others would be Cira and Volmar’s parents, then. All of them exchanged polite greetings with Zasia and Aldric, looking expectant.

Well, crap.

“Where’s the professor?” Codrin asked. He glanced at his father, who had his steely blue eyes on Zasia. Codrin looked uncomfortable as he explained, “Our parents wanted to meet him.”

Aldric was hopeful for one blessed moment that they wouldn’t recognize him, and he’d get out of this. Then Nadrina ruined it.

“He’s right there. Isn’t it amazing? He looks completely different!”

She pointed at him like he was a strange animal she’d just discovered and was excited to share. Codrin, Cira, Volmar and Alek all had the same stunned looks on their faces, but Dylas walked up to Aldric before they had a chance to say anything. He stood in front of Aldric, ramrod straight and face stern, like a drill instructor.

“So,” he said, voice clipped and to the point. “You’re the one Codrin won’t stop talking about.”

He said it almost like an accusation, and Aldric had to fight the urge to snap back at him. Stuffing down years of resentment for this man, Aldric settled for a simple head nod, unsure if his voice would be memorable. Dylas looked him up and down, clearly unimpressed. Dismissing Aldric from his mind entirely, he turned to Zasia. Aldric tried not to let his shoulders sag in relief. Zasia did good work, it seemed.

“Lady Glory,” Dylas said in way of a greeting, though a brief one. “I would hope you are also lending your talents to my—to Codrin?”

Zasia gave him a practiced fake smile. “Good evening, Lord Caffaret. As a professor of Nevis academy, it is my honor and privilege to offer whatever wisdom I can to all my students. Codrin has shown exemplary progress since the beginning of this semester and has even been permitted to take part in the coming tournament, though I’m sure you would know that. Your son is a testament to the lineage of House Caffaret.”

That emphasis on Codrin’s familial title had been deftly subtle, but Aldric was sure Dylas caught it. Aldric was thankful she’d beaten him to it, because he’d have said something far less polite. He looked over to Codrin, who was staring at the ground with a dejected look on his face. The other three kids had noticed and were glaring holes into the back of Dylas’ head. The sight of the normally proud young man wilting in the background only made it harder not to speak up.

Dylas snorted and nodded, then walked off without another word. It was incredibly rude, but Aldric was honestly glad to see him gone. Zasia, ever the proper noblewoman, recovered smoothly. “And all of you must be their parents as well, yes?”

Aldric’s anger was quickly forgotten as all the other parents crowded in, wanting to see him for themselves. Several minutes of polite greetings and answering questions as casually as he could followed thereafter. Zasia, gods bless her, wrapped them all up in conversation after they exchanged only simple pleasantries, sparing Aldric from most of it. Not even half an hour had passed, and he was already exhausted.

As he delicately extricated himself from all the talking, he found Lilianna standing off by herself, a long gaze cast towards the other end of the hall. Aldric followed it to find another group of people chatting. He’d never had personal dealings with the Asimov family, but even he could pick out the two silver-haired nobles from the crowd. It must have been her parents.

Lilianna only stared at them from a distance, and neither of them looked at her at all. In fact, they seemed to position themselves so as not to even have a chance of seeing her. Aldric remembered the Asimov house’s unique tradition of cutting off their leading heirs from the family until their maturity. They would come for the tournament and for the opportunity to mingle amongst other noble houses, but they wouldn’t even deign to acknowledge their own daughter’s existence.

Lilianna suddenly realized he had caught her staring and smiled at Aldric to cover it up. It looked heart-achingly hollow to him.

What was it about the Four Great Houses of Rhagia and shitty parenting?

~~~

WHEN DINNER WAS FINALLY announced, Aldric, Zasia and Balrus had a table together, along with Aldric’s students. Kedrin was at Gran’s table, since he still had to schmooze as the headmaster of the academy. Balrus was here under the guise of monitoring Zasia, leaving Thagrius to his guard detail.

“I’m glad we finally got away from our families,” Codrin said through a mouthful of potatoes, his noble upbringing apparently forgotten. “Can you imagine if they’d tried to sit at the same table as us? It felt like I was being interrogated by my father. The bastard grilled me for ten minutes before telling me to behave myself and walking off. Not even a greeting or goodbye!”

“At least yours didn’t embarrass you openly,” Cira muttered, stabbing at her vegetables like they’d wronged her somehow. “Mine tried to marry me off to House Caffaret just because we’re in the same class. As if that would work.” She turned and glared at Codrin. “You didn’t have to laugh quite that hard when they asked you about it. Now they’re going to think I’ve made a fool of myself during my time here.”

“Well, my future wife would certainly have to be the loving and elegant sort,” Codrin said, glaring right back. “Not some shrieking harpy who complains about every little failing I have.”

“Pity for whoever that is, then. You have so many to choose from. How will she ever decide?” Cira shot back.

“Come on, you guys!” Volmar interrupted before they got too loud. It was hard to hear him behind the mountain of empty plates he’d already finished off. “It’s a nice dinner. Can’t we go one night without you two bickering?”

“Yeah,” Alek added, smiling wickedly at them. “You should be more like when you first found Cira, Codrin. Remember? When you started flirting with her cause you didn’t recognize her from behind? To be fair, she’s actually wearing a dress for once. Threw me for a loop, too.”

Cira and Codrin both blushed beet red and stubbornly stared down at their plates. “Never happened,” they both chorused together, like it was a solemn pact between the two of them.

“Aww,” Nadrina said. “I think you two would be cute together.”

The rest of the class stared blankly at her until Nadrina turned as bright a red as Codrin and Cira. “D-Did I say that out loud?” She looked to Lilianna for help, but the other girl was drinking from her glass to stop herself from laughing.

Aldric was only half-present for the table conversation. The food served was as lavish as one would expect, but right now, Aldric only saw it all as an obstacle to be overcome. Zasia’s disguise for him had worked so far, but every moment he spent in this place was another moment risked. The faster he ate, the faster he could leave.

“Could you not inhale your food like that?” Zasia whispered into his ear from her seat next to him. “People are going to stare.”

“They already are,” Aldric shot back. That he was the illustrious Zasia Glory’s escort for the evening and yet unrecognizable had to have piqued everyone’s curiosity. Balrus sitting with them and not at his king’s side was even more odd.

“You’re as jittery as a scared rabbit right now,” Zasia hissed, putting a hand on his bouncing leg. How long had it been doing that? “Just relax. Look around. No one is looking at us.” She gave him a reassuring smile as she indicated the rest of the room with a head tilt.

Aldric took her advice, but this time he actually looked. Not with the eyes of someone who expected a dagger in the back, but just as someone enjoying an evening meal. She was right. They weren’t looking. Everyone was so caught up in their own agendas for the evening that no one spared them a glance. Had he really been imagining that? He was more of a mess than he’d realized.

“Everything will be alright,” Zasia said gently, her hand still on his leg in comfort. “We only have to wait for the meal to be over, then we can leave. Hold on just a bit—”

Zasia’s face suddenly went blank, the same careful blank that she wore when she was caught off guard. She wasn’t looking at him anymore, but past him. Aldric’s moment of peace vanished as he followed her gaze as casually as he could manage. He’d almost managed to forget that this man might show up tonight.

If one could personify the word “average”, it would have looked a lot like this man. He was alright looking, at least as far as Aldric could tell these things, but he also didn’t stand out too much. Brown hair, medium build, normal stature, and middle-aged. He was dressed conservatively in a simple waistcoat with minimal frills. Anyone who looked close enough, however, would recognize that they were of the finest make and materials. Aldric could see the smallest glow of mana in between the threads, a pointless extravagance for nobles but showing absurd levels of wealth. If it hadn’t been for the outfit, a layperson might completely forget his face once they were done speaking to him.

It was his eyes that gave him away, however. Deep brown eyes that glistened with endless depths of intelligence, like they were peeling you apart layer by layer and there was nothing you could do to stop them. They were the eyes of a master plotter, and ones Aldric recognized. His nightmares for the past decade had frequently featured them.

The snake disguised as a man raised a wine glass congenially to the group at the table, whose attention he had immediately captured. “Pardon my interruption, good people. I realize it may be rather bold of me, but I was perhaps wondering if you might have an extra space at your table this evening? I’m ashamed to admit it, but the conversation at my own has been rather dull and predictable. All of you here strike me as much better dinner companions.”

Without really waiting for a response, he walked over to the nearest table and began politely speaking to one occupant. That person immediately paled after only a few exchanged words, then quickly stood up and offered their chair enthusiastically. The man politely thanked them and took the offered chair, bringing it back over and seating himself next to Aldric.

Several people near their table that Aldric hadn’t noticed suddenly turned away and took up positions in a circle around them. All of them were studiously surveying the room while trying not to make it obvious. Now that Aldric knew to look for it, the air around these people screamed bodyguards. As far as he could tell, no one else in the dining hall had noticed the shift in atmosphere.

Or maybe they just wanted nothing to do with it.

The newcomer waved to everyone at the table dismissively. “Oh, don’t mind me. I didn’t come here to interrupt your conversations. As I said, all the drivel I’ve been hearing tonight is the same I’ve heard almost every night for most of my life. It’s sad that I must go to such lengths to keep myself entertained, but I simply detest boredom.”

Balrus was the brave soul that was the first to speak. “Beg pardon, but while we would be delighted to entertain you, at the risk of sounding rude, what could we possibly offer in terms of conversation to the King of Osakar, your majesty?”

Every one of Aldric’s students reacted as if lightning had been shot down their spines. King Rebran Umell leveled an amiable smile at all of them, blatantly ignoring the obvious increase in tension.

“Ah, Sir Balrus, I’m sure you know very well the tedium that comes with court life, particularly a royal one. Perhaps I shouldn’t say so in the open, but if one more petty noble presents himself before me with a list of never ending, foppish accolades that is longer than his actual reason for bothering me, I might just hand the throne over to him in exasperation.” He looked around their table with an expression of obvious distaste. “I find events such as this to be rather similar. Fools grasping at my coattails all night, no matter how hard I try to shake them off. It seems I’m doomed to boredom no matter where I go. Hence, this change in company!”

He took a long pull of his wineglass before plunking it down onto the table jovially. He looked every part the friendly, enthusiastic dinner guest. Aldric felt his bile rise at the sight of it.

“Enough about boring old me, however. It is truly a delight to see you again, Lady Glory. I trust you’ve been astounding wherever you ended up in recent years.”

Zasia’s lips were a thin, hollow representation of a smile as she answered, “I have been well, thank you. I have spent my time furthering the interests of the Rhagian empire and House Glory, as is my duty.” It was an unusually simple and terse response coming from her. Rebran wouldn’t let her get away that easily, however.

“Nonsense, no need to be so humble. Securing a position as a personal tutor to Lord Meltisse’s oldest son is no simple matter. One can never have too many good relations with the Four Great Houses of Rhagia, or so I’m told.” He leaned across Aldric’s lap to whisper conspiratorially to Zasia, as if Aldric wasn’t even there. “Though, if I’m being honest, I think you traded up. Being a professor at one of the most prestigious academies in the world may not pay as well, but it has a much nicer ring to it, doesn’t it? I’m sure the headmaster being a close friend of yours was only a coincidence.”

Zasia’s fake smile was now as sharp as broken glass. “If you say so, your majesty. I must say, you are surprisingly well informed.”

“Well, what kind of king would I be if I weren’t? I do occasionally have to do my job, right?” he answered lightly, putting his attention to Balrus now. “And Sir Balrus, I have heard nothing of you since your victory in the tournament in Verona. If Thagrius ever stops forcing you to run errands outside his own country, my own knight, Sir Telis, is looking forward to a rematch with you.”

Balrus was having a harder time masking his displeasure, but he answered simply, “Sir Telis is welcome to try, your majesty.” It almost sounded like a threat.

Rebran laughed like Balrus had just told a joke, despite the table’s atmosphere. “Now, there is the attitude of a proper enforcer! It’s almost odd to find you doing something as unheroic as teaching, though I’m sure you excel at even that. Four months with the finest enforcer our continent has ever seen is an enviable boon for these students.”

Balrus only kept his stony mask without replying, though his eye twitched a bit at the king’s stunning accuracy. Rebran missed it, since he was now staring at Aldric, an expectant smile on his face. Aldric forgot how to breathe as he stared back, unable to speak.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” he asked of Zasia, while keeping his intense stare on Aldric. Zasia’s eyes flicked to Aldric before she spoke.

“Your majesty,” Zasia began haltingly. “May I introduce Professor Aldric, my coworker at this academy. Professor, this is—”

“Oh, none of that,” the king interrupted, waving a dismissive hand. “No need to stand on formalities. Please, just call me Rebran. We’re all guests to the same party. No need for one of us to be above the other. After all, if I don’t miss my guess, I am the only one at this table without the ability to use magic. Rather shameful for a king, wouldn’t you say?” he laughed at his own jibe as he merrily patted Aldric on the shoulder. Aldric had to fight the urge to smack it away. King Umell looked like he expected an answer, so Aldric spoke through tight lips.

“Indeed,” was all he said, not trusting himself to say more. If Rebran noticed his rudeness, he didn’t show it.

“Honestly, I find some of the things you mages can do to be simply fascinating. Being in the company of such renowned experts is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And you three are so young as well! Conjurers, enforcers and sorcerers everywhere must be green with envy.”

Aldric’s heart nearly seized up. No one had said that he was a sorcerer.

“It reminds me of this one mage many years ago,” Rebran mused aloud. “He consistently surprised me no matter how many times anyone asked the impossible of him. Honestly, much of my country’s prosperity could be attributed to the things he made. Unfortunately, he passed away in an accident several years ago. You’ve probably heard of him. He was quite the famous adventurer and was even a bodyguard to royalty before that.”

Rebran casually continued his tale, but Zasia and Balrus looked ready to jump up from the table and run. The kids had by now noticed that something was very wrong as they kept casting nervous glances towards Aldric. So much for keeping his bodyguard history a secret, but he honestly barely cared now. His entire focus was on the enemy before him.

“Spectacular, isn’t it?” Rebran asked directly of Aldric. “The disgraced heir to a broken noble house rising to such prominence in such a short time! Him and that... oh, that other one. What was her name? I seem to have forgotten, which is silly, since she was nearly just as famous. From the Meltisse house, I believe. Her end was tragic as well...” He snapped his fingers in the air, making a show of trying to summon the right words. “Oh, drat, what was it? Mir... something. Mira? Miranda? Mirae—?”

King Umell was cut off by the sound of Aldric’s wine glass shattering between his fingers. The disguised bodyguards around the table tensed as glass shards scattered over the table. Blood mixed with water pooled underneath Aldric’s hand and stained the fine tablecloth, but he did nothing to stop it. He took in a sharp breath to try and master himself. It didn’t work.

“How did you know?” he asked directly, in as neutral a tone as he could presently manage. Rebran had the gall to give Aldric a smile full of teeth, like a taunting wolf.

“Whatever do you mean, my good man? Know what?”

Aldric was going to kill him. He should kill him, needed to kill him. It would be easy. There were plenty of sharp utensils within easy reach. One swift movement and this man would bleed out on the ground like the pig he was. Aldric’s hand twitched at the thought, but he stopped himself. The moment he killed the king, Rebran’s guards would kill everyone at this table, his friends and students included.

While Aldric grappled with the urge to murder, Rebran let his smile drop and sighed dramatically, like a disappointed father. “Don’t you see, Aldric? This has always been the root of your problems. You don’t know how to play the game. For all your many talents, you never had the patience to sit and wait for the right opportunity. If you had learned this lesson sooner, you could have saved yourself so much trouble and heartache.” He leaned forward, his face the picture of concern. “Did no one ever tell you that the candle that burns twice as bright can only burn half as long?”

“How. Did. You. Know.” Aldric’s tone grew less controlled the longer this cretin talked.

“Goodness, did you ever really think you were hiding?” Rebran asked, looking genuinely puzzled. “Did you not think I would keep tabs on you? That I didn’t suspect your lifelong friend of sheltering you? That I would fall for such an obvious lie? As if someone of your capability would go off and die in a cave somewhere!” Rebran made a face like he’d bit into a lemon. “No, Aldric. I, unlike many of my compatriots, am not that stupid. They all believed your accomplishments exaggerated, if only to protect their fragile egos from shattering. But I knew better. Your death would take nothing less than the direct intervention of the gods themselves. You always were exceptionally clever. In fact, I imagine your students are learning that for themselves this year.”

He turned a predator’s gaze on the kids, causing some of them to flinch back. Their fearful faces made the last of Aldric’s patience snap like cheap twine. Rebran’s head was suddenly shoved down onto the table, Aldric’s steak knife pushed up under his jugular. The bodyguards around the table immediately made to rush him, but stopped when Aldric snarled, “Move and he dies!”

The guards were torn as they looked between Aldric and their liege. No one else in the dining hall had noticed them yet, but that would soon change if things stayed as they were. Balrus and Zasia had already stood up. As a knight, Balrus had been permitted to carry a sword, but it was a decorative piece of plain steel rather than the enchanted one. He still put a hand on its hilt as he glared a challenge at the guards. Aldric was certain that half a dozen rune formations were already being formed in Zasia’s mind, ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice.

The air was thick with suspense and coalescing mana as everyone warily watched everyone else. Aldric’s students could only look on at the budding conflict, wide eyed with shock and fear. Everyone at or near this table dangled from a miniscule thread over a yawning chasm of quick and decisive violence.

Rebran didn’t even look surprised. After a brief hand gesture to his guards that caused them to go back to shielding the table from outside eyes, he continued to talk to the kids as if his head wasn’t currently being shoved into a salad. “I truly envy you all, you know. You are being taught by one of the foremost experts on magic in our time. I’m sure you’ve already taken away many new and enticing lessons from him. It’s why I kept him alive, despite what he may think. He’s just so damn fascinating. I can’t help myself!” He gestured with his hands to the tense bodies around them. “Even with his penchant for stirring up trouble.”

His eyes turned up to Aldric, as if just now noticing what he was doing. “Oh, please. You can all stop with the threats of violence. We both know you won’t do anything to me here, in front of all these witnesses and your own students. And if I wanted you dead, I would have done it decades ago. As I said, your existence is a never-ending source of amusement to me. It’s why my agents at Temwick were told to only capture you, though you managed to make even that complicated. I simply came here to issue a warning, nothing more.” He grinned and shrugged guiltily, like this was all just a game to him. “Well, that and see the looks on all of your faces when you realized I knew.”

“Speak,” Aldric growled, already more than done with this. Rebran coughed politely while indicating the knife that was mere moments from ripping his throat open. After a herculean effort of will, Aldric pulled his makeshift weapon away and resumed his seat. He still held onto the knife, however. Rebran made a show of brushing lettuce leaves from his hair as he stood up from the table.

“This event is going to be a pivotal moment for the entire continent, though I’m sure you and Rhagia have guessed as much by now. There are forces at work in the background that are beyond your control, Aldric. Despite this, they are still a direct threat to you and yours. While I personally believe you will manage fine on your own, I cannot promise the same for those around you.” He pointedly looked to the students as he said this. “There will be little I can do about what happens next, though I wait with bated breath to learn how you will choose to handle it. Do try your best to be entertaining.”

With only a simple smile and a bow to the rest of the table, he left as abruptly as he had arrived. His guards all filed in behind him, leaving Aldric and company alone at their table once more.

Aldric was painfully aware of the expectant stares of his students, but he really didn’t have time for their questions right now. In fact, he didn’t even have to time to stay here. Coming to a decision, he suddenly got up from his seat and marched away.

“Aldric?” Zasia called out, obviously panicked at his sudden departure.

“Busy,” Aldric replied grimly, not bothering to turn back around. He had many, many preparations to make.

Chapter 7

LILIANNA HAD TO ADMIT, the city of Nevis had gone all out for this event.

It was the morning of the first rounds of the tournament, and they were to be held in the Nevis Arena. The arena was a relic of a much darker past for the city, back when the empire still condoned blood sports between mages and mundanes alike. Later, it was preserved as a historical site after being shut down by the current Empress Rhagia when she first came to power. It was likely the only grand enough venue that Nevis could provide for a tournament of this scale and political importance on such short notice. Lilianna felt it was a bit tasteless to reopen such a dark and troubled place, but she had to admit, it was an imposing building that would suit their purposes perfectly.

Even though it had been constructed over a hundred years ago, the place still housed enough seating for most of the city to attend. And attend, they did. Lilianna had felt fairly confident about her chances, but such a massive crowd cheering out their excitement would make anyone nervous. She could barely hear herself over the noise, and the tournament hadn’t even officially started yet.

She was standing off to the side of the giant octagonal platform at the center of the arena, waiting for the announcement that would begin the first match of the day. Her match, in fact. Lilianna didn’t know how she could have such rotten luck. Being first meant not knowing anything about your opponent going in, and everyone knowing what to expect from you later on in the competition. Nadrina was standing nearby, likely to give Lilianna a final pep talk before the bout. The rest of her class was still in the stands in the front row, reserved for participants.

Professor Aldric was still nowhere to be seen. In fact, none of her classmates had seen him ever since that terrifying welcoming dinner.

Lilianna bit her lip in worry. After hearing what King Umell had said, she wondered just how safe the professor was even inside the academy. She remembered the professor telling her and Nadrina that he had dangerous secrets to keep, and she’d believed him, but having a reigning monarch openly threaten him in front of others was above and beyond anything she could have imagined. He’d even sent those assassins in Temwick village, all just to get to their professor.

“I still haven’t seen him either,” Nadrina suddenly said, correctly interpreting Lilianna’s wandering gaze. “Professor Glory said not to worry, but it’s hard not to. I feel like... like this might be partly our fault for asking too much. Do you think that’s how the professor got found out? Is it because of what he was teaching us?”

Lilianna didn’t have a comforting answer to give her friend. Instead, she simply said, “We’ll do what we can, Drina. If it really is our fault, then it’s our job to fix it, isn’t it? The best we can do now is to be there for him when he needs it.” She didn’t add that she hadn’t a clue how they were supposed to help. What would two teenage girls do to protect him that he couldn’t do himself?

Nadrina nodded and lightly slapped her hands to her cheeks, psyching herself up. “Right, of course. Sorry, I shouldn’t be dumping this on you right before a match. You’ll do great, I’m sure of it!” She gave Lilianna an adorably brilliant smile, full of confidence. It managed to lighten Lilianna’s spirits a bit. For whatever reason, she was more nervous than she would have expected herself to feel. Maybe it was the presence of royalty that had her on edge.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” came a booming voice from overhead. Lilianna guessed the announcer of the tournament was using an enchantment to increase his speaking volume. “Without further ado, we will begin the first round of our first ever Multinational Scholastic Tournament!”

The audience met the proclamation with thunderous applause, and nearly a full minute passed before the announcer could speak again.

“Before we begin, however, we must first pay our respects to the figures that have made this event possible. Please join me in thanking and welcoming King Thagrius of Verona, King Umell of Osakar, and our very own Empress Rhagia of the Rhagian Empire!”

More cheers ensued as the three royals stood up in their shared viewing box and smiled amicably at the crowd. They were positioned just high up enough to be seen by everyone, while close enough to have the best seat in the house. All three were dressed resplendently in the colors of their country; red and black for Rhagia, black and gold for Verona, and grey and blue for Osakar. They gave courteous waves to everyone gathered before returning to their seats. When the tumult had finally subsided again, the announcer made a few more mentions for the academy, as well as Headmaster Elmaris, who was seated with Professor Glory at a place just behind Empress Rhagia’s own chair. That seemed odd to Lilianna, but then again, her own professor knew the empress personally. Why not those two?

Finally, the moment Lilianna had been waiting for arrived.

“Now, with all of that out of the way, it is time to begin what you all have come here for! Please join me in welcoming our first two contestants; Lilianna Asimov and Clement Historia, both of the Rhagian Empire!”

The following roar of the crowd threatened to burst Lilianna’s ears as she made her way to the arena stage. Nadrina gave her one last smile before turning to return to the stands.

Another student, a young man also wearing the uniform of the Nevis Academy, stood ten meters across from her on the other end of the stage. This was probably Clement. A thin man in decorated purple robes that Lilianna assumed was the referee for the tournament made his way to the very center, standing between the two participants. The announcer was still hyping up the crowd, but Lilianna wasn’t paying him any mind anymore. Her focus was solely on the match in front of her.

“This bout is until submission, ring out, or incapacitation. All instructions given by me are to be obeyed immediately and completely. Upon violating the rules, you will receive a single warning. Failure to adhere to the rules of the tournament after that will result in expulsion from the event, at the very least. The match will begin on my signal. Are you both ready?”

Clement stood across from Lilianna and nodded at the same time she did, though he looked incredibly nervous. He wouldn’t even look her in the eye. Well, fine then. If he was rude enough to refuse to look at her, it would make it easier to beat him.

Seeing both of their acknowledgements, the referee nodded and stepped back out of their way. “In the light of the day, before the gods and your ancestors, be honorable and brave. Begin!”

Per Professor Aldric’s teachings, Lilianna didn’t give her opponent an opportunity to set the pace. As soon as the match started, she wordlessly conjured a ball of air that rocketed towards her opponent’s head. To his credit, Clement didn’t hesitate, either. He immediately began glowing with the telltale signs of enforcement magic and raised his arms up defensively, the orb of air slamming into him but not having any noticeable effect. He then ran towards Lilianna, looking to quickly close the distance and take away her greatest advantage.

Lilianna, again without an incantation, conjured up a sheet of ice on the ground between her and her opponent. He reacted as one naturally would; he slid, panicked, and stopped dead in his tracks to prevent himself from falling. While he was busy maintaining his balance, Lilianna grabbed hold of the mana still left in the dissipating ball of air and pulled on it with her new mana recycling technique.

Multiple blades of air came flying back towards them, and Clement had just enough time to turn and block again before they bit into him. Again, his enforcement saved him from serious injury, but his arms bore heavy cuts that bled openly. The tournament clothes the officials had given them would block out the worst of any spells, but it wouldn’t stop them fully.

Lilianna was about to follow up with an attack to her opponent’s now exposed back, but again, he reacted faster than she expected. With an almighty stomp, Lilianna’s slab of ice shattered into useless fragments. Clement dashed in again, this time too close for Lilianna to throw out a useful attack. Instead, she relied on the second technique she’d learned during her training.

“Venti fira!”

A pocket of wind formed under Lilianna’s feet and flew her several meters out of harm’s way. True flight for a wind conjurer was a legend to most, but temporarily gliding still had its uses, even if Lilianna still needed to speak the incantation for it to work. She doubted Clement would even recognize the spell.

Sure enough, Lilianna’s opponent went a little bug eyed as he watched her glide from one end of the arena to the other, now much too far away for him to do anything about it. The audience cheered their approval as Lilianna quickly glided around Clement and put his back against the arena's boundary. Upon landing again, she started to prepare one of her larger spells when her opponent suddenly spoke up.

“Lady Asimov, may we please not do this?”

Against her better judgment, Lilianna hesitated. “What?” she asked, thinking he couldn’t possibly be surrendering already. A minute had barely passed.

Clement approached cautiously and spoke only loud enough to be heard over the cheering crowd. “I have no wish to hurt you, Lady Asimov. It would be rather, er, politically ill advised to do so. May we end this here? I'll make sure you can put on a good show. I am sure your family would be proud of that.”

Lilianna’s mood rapidly shifted from confused to indignant. Did he really think that would work? That she would end it here just because he asked? And what the hell did her family have to do with anything? This was a match between the two of them, and no one else. Enough of his mind games!

In answer to his question, she sent out more wind blades, closely followed by spears of ice for good measure. There were enough of them flying through the air that the boy wouldn’t be able to dodge, nor could he simply brace himself like before and take it without injury.

Or so Lilianna had thought.

Much, much faster than before, Clement suddenly bounded forward through the storm of spells. He expertly dodged wind blades and battered aside icicle spears as if they were mere sticks. Lilianna found herself once again rapidly running out of room. In a panic, she erected a wall of ice, but Clement just barreled through the several feet thick barrier. At the last possible moment, before he tackled her in a bullrush, Lilianna threw up a wind wall. It was canted at an angle, so that instead of just blasting through this one as well, Clement’s charge was redirected to her left. He almost flew out of bounds of the arena but halted his momentum with a heavy stomp that made cracks form in the ground.

Within a heartbeat, he was back again, and Lilianna found herself entirely on the defensive. It was all she could do to hastily erect barriers of wind and ice as he smashed through them, one after the other. The boy mercilessly tore through anything Lilianna had to throw at him, giving her no openings to do anything else. If it hadn’t been for her mana recycling technique, she wouldn’t have the speed necessary to keep up. But just keeping up wasn’t how you won a match. She needed to turn this around or it would soon be all over after only one match.

Lilianna glided backwards again several meters and put up as many wind and ice barriers as possible. The arena resembled a graveyard of random elemental tombstones jutting out of the ground between her and her opponent. He began systematically tearing through them one by one to get to her, but it bought her precious seconds. She began conjuring the largest icicle spear she could muster above her head, one that was at least six meters long and as thick as a tree trunk with a wicked point at the end. She hurled it with a yell of effort, sending it hurtling towards her opponent. It tore through her own barriers like paper as it made a deadly beeline for Clement. With no time to dodge, it forced him to take the massive projectile head on. The audience roared their appreciation as it knocked him backwards from the impact.

And then he stopped. It had only pushed him back a few meters. Lilianna realized at the same time the audience did what had happened. He’d caught the damn thing.

The spear point was just under his left armpit as he kept both arms wrapped around it to support the weight. Then he firmly set his feet in place and hoisted the icicle high into the air. Lilianna was suddenly facing the world’s largest ice hammer that was mere moments from smashing down on her.

She was so surprised that she forgot she could use mana recycling to break down the icicle. Instead, she panicked and threw up a wind barrier. With a roar, her opponent swung down with all the strength his enforced body possessed. Her pitiful wind barrier warped and then blew apart under the force of it. It had taken just enough momentum off the blow to not crush her to death, but it still flattened her to the ground as a flood of shattered ice swept her away.

Through luck alone, the tsunami of debris didn’t sweep her out of the arena. By the time she stopped seeing stars, Lilianna could hear the crowd cheering for her opponent to finish the fight. He kneeled above her prone form, his hand loosely over her throat with his other ready to strike a finishing blow. The referee stood a few meters away, clearly ready to call the fight.

“Please yield, Lady Asimov,” Clement said. The consequence of noncompliance was obvious.

Lilianna was only half listening while she struggled to suck air back into her lungs. A random and stupid thought bubbled up from her addled brain in that moment. No one had ever injured her before. Sure, sparring accumulated scrapes and bruises, but nothing like what a real hit would do to you. She’d at least never been laid out like this before, or so easily. Not even by her tutors.

All it had taken was a single genuine attack to bring her down. Maybe this boy had been right not to take her seriously. She hadn’t had a chance the entire time, and she was the only one who hadn’t known it.

That realization turned Lilianna’s frustration into a roiling, seething fury in her chest, angrier than she’d ever been in her entire life. With a shriek of outrage, she gathered as much mana as she could feasibly hold and blindly hurled it at her opponent.

It was completely lacking in any sort of grace or technique, but he’d thought he’d already won and hadn’t been expecting it. The attack sent Clement hurtling clean out of the arena from a blow of pure mana and energy, flying like a leaf caught in a tornado before slamming hard into the magic barrier separating the stands from the tournament field. He then flopped onto the ground several meters below and lay there, unmoving.

Thunderous applause erupted from everyone in the stadium. Healers were already making their way over to the downed boy as the referee made his announcement.

“In this first bout of the Multinational Scholastic Tournament, the victor by ring out is Lilianna Asimov of the Rhagian Empire!”

The cheers doubled in volume, particularly from Rhagia’s portion of the stands, but Lilianna wasn’t listening. She was busy fighting off a wave of sudden vertigo. She took a moment to check her mana pool and saw that it was nearly empty. Nothing she’d done during that fight compared to the mana cost of that last attack. How embarrassing.

The rest of her class were already making their way from their seats onto the arena platform, with Nadrina at the head of the pack.

“Damn, Lilly!” Alek was the first to say. “Remind me never to piss you off.”

“Did you see how far he went flying? I think he might’ve cracked the arena barrier.” Volmar actually went to go check, but the referee shooed him away. The announcer was introducing the next contestants and the next match was already underway. Lilianna accepted more congratulations and a hug from Nadrina before they were all escorted off the arena platform to go back to their seats.

Outwardly, Lilianna accepted the praise with grace. Inside, however, she was a mess. It was a good thing that double or triple matches in one day hadn’t yet started. She didn’t think she could do anything more than pass out on the nearest available bench at this point.

That had been utterly stupid. Pure mana was something a toddler would use when they were first learning magic and had yet to discover their element. It was incredibly wasteful and impractical, and Lilianna’s old tutors would have rightly torn her to pieces for using it in a tournament, of all places. Professor Aldric had always emphasized control over one’s magic, to know it intimately and to use only as much as was needed. What Lilianna had done was effectively throw a tantrum, balling up her mana and hurling it at her foe without thought or care. She’d underestimated her opponent, lost herself to her emotions, and then bet everything on a foolish and rather dangerous attack.

Maybe it was a good thing Professor Aldric wasn’t here right now. That had been a pathetic display. She quietly hoped her parents hadn’t come today either. She didn’t want them to have even less faith in her.

The announcer was already starting the next match, but Lilianna was too busy brooding to watch. Nadrina must have noticed her friend’s distress, because she never left her side after the group sat back down in the front row.

“You still won, right?” Nadrina asked, apparently already knowing Lilianna’s inner thoughts. “That’s what’s important. If you don’t like how it went, then you can always learn from it and bounce back, right?”

Lilianna wanted to argue or to snap at her, but she was right. Lilianna gave her best friend a weak smile and nodded. “I suppose you’re right. Sorry. I’m being a brat, brooding over a match that I technically won.”

Nadrina shook her head emphatically. “I only ever learned that because of my training with Professor Aldric. Believe me, you get used to repeated failure when that man is your tutor. He’s a wonderful teacher, but it’s like he always thinks you could do it better. I swear, I still have some phantom aches and pains when I think back on it.”

Despite her words, Nadrina looked cheerful, even proud of herself. She should be. Lilianna thought back to Nadrina being attacked by bandits and the stark difference in her combat ability in her duel with Volmar. She once again envied Nadrina’s spirit. Despite how awkward she could sometimes be, Lilianna had never met a more passionate and determined individual. She had hoped she could learn from that. So far, it only highlighted her own shortcomings.

“And the winner of the second bout, by ring out, is Delrin of Osakar!”

Both girls looked up, startled by the sudden announcement. Hadn’t the match just started? How was there a winner already?

Lilianna saw a lone boy standing in the ring, his opponent lying out of bounds in a pit of smoldering earth. The boy in the ring didn’t seem to have even left his starting position, simply standing there with a proud smirk on his face. The audience had been very impressed with whatever had happened and wouldn’t stop cheering the young man’s name.

When he noticed Lilianna was looking at him, the boy’s obsidian eyes locked onto hers as his smirk grew larger. He casually ran his hands through his dark red hair in a show of confidence that Lilianna was unfortunately familiar with in young nobles. He stopped underneath their seats as he made his way to the arena exit, not even once looking back at his critically injured opponent.

“That is how a noble conjurer fights, Lady Asimov. Quickly, decisively, and powerfully.” His voice was annoyingly reedy, but it didn’t take away from the overbearing arrogance dripping from his words. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Delrin, of the Kingdom of Osakar. My apologies if I stole the moment, but I figured I’d compensate the audience for that earlier... lackluster display earlier.”

Lilianna could practically feel her class bristle at the obvious insult. Even Nadrina looked like she was about to shout something back, but Lilianna put a hand on her leg to calm her. This Delrin hadn’t announced his family’s house. Either he didn’t have one, which she doubted, or it was assumed in his introduction.

Delrin of the Kingdom of Osakar. In short, he was claiming to belong to the royal house of Osakar. He was not someone a commoner like Nadrina could afford to antagonize. Or even Lilianna.

Thankfully, Delrin didn’t stick around for further trash talk. Apparently satisfied with their aggravated silence, he turned on his heel and began walking to the exit. The announcer called for a brief break while the healers rushed to tend to the still smoking student.

“What a prick,” Alek blurted. “Hope I’m up soon so I can punch him.”

“Um, Alek?” Usually the first to volunteer for a good fight, Volmar looked uncharacteristically reticent. “You might want to watch what you say so loudly. I’m pretty sure he’s a part of Osakar’s original royal family.”

Alek looked at Volmar, surprised, then back to Delrin’s retreating figure. “Even better,” he said, grinning wickedly. Cira face-palmed.

“The original royal family?” Nadrina asked. “They have two? How would they decide succession? Wouldn’t that cause conflict among candidates for royalty?”

“It doesn’t,” Codrin answered. “It has to do with how the current king came to power. He wasn’t originally a part of the noble family. He attained the throne several decades ago through what most believe to be shady politics and backroom deals. The civil war in Osakar at the time surely helped him. The original royal family is now considered a branch family to his. That is the family that Delrin is from. They have most of the rights and privileges of the new royal family, just no claim to the throne.”

“And you can just do that?” Nadrina asked, still looking confused. “Usurp a royal family and then keep them on retainer? Isn’t that... I don’t know, risky?”

“You can if you’re King Rebran Umell,” Cira answered ominously. “Based on what I’ve heard, that man has a terrifying amount of power over just about everyone. Some even say our own Empress isn’t immune to his influence. After having met him last night, I’m inclined to believe the rumors. How else would a mundane put himself above other nobles and get away with it?”

Lilianna saw a mixture of complicated expressions from everyone at the memory of yesterday’s dinner party. They hadn’t talked about it yet, but Lilianna decided to be the first to bring it up.

“Has anyone seen the professor today?” Lilianna asked, the worry she felt bleeding into her question. Five heads all shook in the negative, looking equally concerned.

“Whatever,” Codrin suddenly said, standing up straighter. “He’ll be fine. No way our professor would just give in to someone like that. He can worry about whatever business he has with the king. All we need to do today is win! Helping him can come after that. How are we ever going to face him again if we lost because we were worried about him?”

Everyone stared at Codrin, dumbfounded, until he asked irritably, “What?”

“That was... actually a somewhat uplifting little speech,” Cira answered. “You go that from a book or something, didn’t you? How long have you been sitting on that and waiting for the perfect moment?”

“Oh, shut up!” Codrin snapped. “I don’t see you saying anything helpful.”

“What the hell? I was complimenting you!”

“Didn’t sound like it!”

“If I may have your attention once again, we are about to resume the tournament!” the announcer suddenly declared. Both of Lilianna’s classmates ceased their budding argument to listen. “Please welcome for the next bout Codrin Caffaret and Cira Barclay, both of the Rhagian Empire!”

“Whoa, wait,” Alek said as the crowd cheered. He looked on the verge of laughing. “I knew you guys had a round today, but you’re up against each other?”

Codrin and Cira looked at each other with equally shocked faces, at which point Alek finally started laughing for real. Determination quickly replaced their surprise as they marched side by side down to the arena platform, bickering the entire way.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more appropriate match up,” Lilianna mused aloud. Alek only laughed harder, while Volmar looked excited and Nadrina looked mildly worried. They all watched as Cira and Codrin stood face to face in the arena, eyes only on each other. The referee went over the rules again and asked both parties if they were ready. Neither of them even glanced his way, only nodding solemnly. The crowd could by now feel the tension between the two opponents and had quieted down to watch with barely contained excitement.

Neither did anything as soon as the referee began the match. They simply stared each other down, watching and waiting, but not moving from their starting positions. The tension that had quieted the audience to a dull murmur had now rendered them almost silent. It was strangely enthralling. Lilianna wondered if Codrin and Cira were just going to decide the match through a staring contest.

“Damn, but I’ve been waiting for this,” Codrin suddenly said into the quiet. The smile on his face was bright with anticipation. “You ready, Barclay? This is the match to finally settle who’s the best!”

“After you, Caffaret,” Cira replied with a savage smile of her own. “I’ll try not to end this too quickly. Don’t want to bore our audience.”

“I can’t tell if these two are best friends or bitter enemies,” Nadrina muttered to herself.

As if her words had been some sort of signal, the match suddenly began. Codrin threw out a fireball, almost casually. It was a probing attack to test her defenses, and Cira knew it. She easily conjured a ball of water to meet the ball of fire just a few feet before it hit her. Cira almost looked offended.

Suddenly, the fireball was back and much bigger than before, still only feet away from Cira. She jumped in surprise and hastily conjured up a globe of water surrounding herself just before the massive fireball made contact and exploded. A wave of fire, heat, and light swept through the entire arena, causing the crowd to go wild.

It was exactly the bombastic display that Codrin would make, and Lilianna was trying to figure out how he’d done it. He’d clearly used mana recycling to re-conjure the extinguished fireball, but had somehow grabbed the remaining latent mana and then infused even more from a distance at the same time. Lilianna hadn’t even known that was possible, let alone tried it herself.

The clearing smoke revealed Cira still in her water bubble, with a smaller bubble conjured around her head for air. More than that, though, were eight long tentacles weaving around her in all directions. Codrin had a moment to look mildly horrified before the tentacles were on him, lashing out and chasing him about the arena. To his credit, he was nimble for a conjurer as he dove away and under the watery limbs. Lilianna would have expected him to be caught by now.

“Ha! I told him that would come in handy,” Volmar suddenly called out as the audience egged the two opponents on. “All that talk about enforcers being stupid brutes, but it looks like he took my advice on improving his physical endurance. Doesn’t matter how big your spells are if you can’t keep up with your opponent.”

Cira appeared to be tiring from her complicated spell faster than Codrin was from running. Maintaining an orb of water for defense, a smaller orb to breathe, and water tentacles, all simultaneously and without incantations, was extremely impressive but incredibly taxing. Cira obviously hadn’t been slacking during her training, either.

Both she and Codrin were showing skill that was far beyond what a first-year academy student would normally be capable of, noble heritage or no. Before this, Lilianna never would’ve considered physical conditioning important for a conjurer. She briefly remembered that Nadrina had gone through similar training with the professor. Clearly, that was another gap in Lilianna’s training that she needed to rectify.

Cira’s water tentacles suddenly broke off from her orb, rapidly slithering on the ground like massive transparent snakes towards Codrin. Codrin tried to burn them away into steam but was quickly overwhelmed. They converged around him and formed another water orb, trapping Codrin inside without a way to breathe. The audience roared their approval, clearly thinking that Cira had just finished the match. There should be no way for a fire conjurer to break out of something like that.

Codrin floated in the middle of the orb, not even looking panicked. His eyes were closed as he drifted there, unmoving, and Lilianna was worried he might have already passed out. Then his eyes shot open, and a blinding flash of light forced Lilianna to slam her eyes shut and look away quickly. She could still see the white flash behind her eyelids as the entire audience gave varied cries of surprise and pain.

When Lilianna had her eyes working again, Codrin was on his feet in the arena again. A heavy cloud of steam was all that remained of the water orb he’d been trapped in moments before. However, that was the least interesting thing Lilianna saw.

Codrin was on fire. Or rather, he was made of fire. He resembled a flaming ghost as he stood there, radiating heat so intense that it was melting the stone floor beneath him. The audience was silent in dumbfounded astonishment, and Lilianna was right there with them.

“What is... when did... how?” Nadrina stammered as she stared slack jawed at the flaming Codrin. Lilianna didn’t have the words to express her surprise. She’d only heard rumors of conjurers altering their own bodies with their elements. Even then, it was only for those that had been training for most of their lives, masters at their craft. Professor Glory had vaguely hinted at the idea when Codrin had asked her about it during their month-long training. Had he figured it out all on his own?

Codrin began moving, albeit only at a slow walk. It seemed whatever he’d done wasn’t fully under his control yet, as his form wobbled and shifted loosely with every step. Cira snapped out of her stunned look of wonder and began hurling water balls and water whips at him. All of them evaporated into puffs of steam on contact with his flaming body while he inexorably made his way towards her at an agonizingly slow pace. Cira must have realized he couldn’t move too quickly as she continued to backpedal across the arena and pelt him with spells to slow him down while Codrin slowly chased her. The audience was cheering madly the whole while.

Lilianna knew this would come down to whoever ran out of mana first. Cira was using a lot of spells and already spent much of her mana on her earlier attacks, but Codrin was literally burning through his own. The rabid cheering of the crowd only grew louder and louder as the stalemate went on.

It was to be Codrin who ran out first. In one last flare of power that blinded everyone in the stadium, his fire form finally went out. When Lilianna could see again, she saw Codrin sprinting towards a still blinded Cira, a small ball of fire in his hands. His last-ditch effort to seize victory.

He planted his feet only a few meters away from Cira, wound up, and hurled the fireball with all his remaining might. Cira had only just recovered her eyesight and noticed the attack headed her way, already too close for her to dodge. Time seemed to slow as Lilianna watched the flaming projectile get closer and closer to its target.

And then the ball of fire passed straight through Cira.

If Lilianna had blinked, she would have missed it. Apparently, Codrin wasn’t the only one who had learned how to fuse with his element. The moment the fireball had touched Cira’s torso, her form shifted and became transparent just long enough for the attack to pass right through her now liquid chest. The water hissed a bit from the heat as Cira screwed her face up in a grimace, but Cira was otherwise unharmed. Lilianna, Codrin and the audience all went dead silent in disbelief.

Then the spell of silence was broken by an earth-splitting roar as the crowd went absolutely crazy.

Cira was preparing another water ball, this time having to resort to a verbal incantation, but Codrin suddenly put his hands up.

“I yield,” he shouted, sounding beyond exhausted. “That’s all I’ve got. You win this one, Barclay.”

The audience somehow redoubled their cheering as the referee called the match. “The winner of this bout, by submission, is Cira Barclay!”

The applause continued long after both Codrin and Cira had shaken hands and exited the arena to rejoin their class. Lilianna saw that both, amazingly, had gigantic grins on their faces.

“Well, that was fun!” Codrin said, looking rather jovial for someone who had just been knocked out of the tournament during his first bout. “Damn, haven’t felt that pushed in ages. Not bad, Barclay. We should do it again sometime.”

Cira looked like she was about to throw out her typical snarky response, but visibly bit back on it and smiled instead. “Yeah, sure. That was kind of fun, huh?”

“That was our last bout today, right? Can we go eat? All this crazy fighting made me hungry,” Volmar said. The irony that he hadn’t even taken part today yet was still hungry wasn’t lost on anyone, but they all agreed a celebration was in order. At the very least, Lilianna and Cira would be advancing.

Before they could leave, however, Codrin suddenly spun around. He stalked over to the bench with the students from Osakar and shouted, “Hey, Delrin!”

Everyone nearby, including Delrin, turned in confusion to Codrin as he grinned victoriously.

“That’s how a noble conjurer fights!” he declared with as much biting sarcasm as he could muster. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder back at Cira and continued. “And watch out for that one! If she can beat the likes of me, gods above only know what she’ll do to your pompous ass!”

Delrin’s face went purple with suppressed fury. While the rest of the gathered students did their best not to laugh, Delrin glared at Codrin like he was trying to kill him with his eyes. Codrin had already turned around and left, however, not even bothering to wait for a reply.

“I... think that was supposed to be a compliment?” Nadrina whispered to Cira.

“Whatever. He’s just being an idiot. Again.” Cira tried to sound reproachful, but her words had none of her usual biting tone. Lilianna could have sworn she blushed a bit. “Codrin, you just pissed off a member of the royal family. What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

“Kick his ass, obviously!” Codrin replied easily. “Just make sure you leave some for me.”

While the class got ready to leave and the two of them continued to bicker, Lilianna was still trapped in her own thoughts. She was obviously proud of both of her classmates. Their shining success only highlighted just how poorly she herself had done, however. She could do better, should have done better. It was unbecoming of an Asimov to be so thoroughly bested, even if she had won in the end.

What really stuck with her, though, were the looks of supreme satisfaction on Codrin and Cira’s faces when they’d finished. That was clearly the most fun they’d had in a while. Lilianna thought back to their second day of classes all those months ago, when she’d truly connected with her elements for the first time in her life and had blended them together. That had been a heady feeling of discovery, but she had felt nothing like that since.

When was the last time she’d had fun with magic? Should she, even? Or had she just imagined that moment?

Lilianna dismissed those fanciful thoughts. She needed to master the basics before she started dreaming for more. She would need to rely on her previous upbringing, to keep in mind the lessons taught to her all those years ago and get her head back on straight. They’d carried her this far, after all.

Planting a smile on her face as the rest of the class argued about the upcoming matches and who would face off against who, Lilianna quietly promised herself that she would not embarrass herself like that again.

No matter what.

Chapter 8

ALDRIC SIGHED AS HE put the finishing touches on his latest enchantment, using a nearby lamppost as the base for the rune array. These lamps were enchanted to absorb ambient mana during the day and burn it to emit light at night. Since it was already enchanted, it served as a decent mana feeder for Aldric’s own enchantment that he’d put on top of it. The pole of the lamp was now illuminated with a complicated series of runes running up and down its length. Hopefully, passerby would just assume it was a particularly fancy magical lamppost and ignore it.

Aldric pocketed his inscription tools as he flexed his aching hands that had been working for hours on end, looking up at the night sky. One half of the city down, the other half to go.

He’d been at this for the entire day, and as a result, had missed his class’s first bouts. He had every confidence that they would sail through with flying colors, but it still sucked not to be there. Unfortunately, this task couldn’t wait. The dinner yesterday had activated every paranoid bone in Aldric’s body. And Aldric had a lot of those.

Thankfully, that the whole town had been watching the tournament in the day at least allowed Aldric to do his task without anyone pestering him. He imagined a man wandering around town and scribbling runes into random surfaces while muttering to himself was probably cause for alarm on most days. At night, he had the added benefit of everyone being stumbling drunk from all the celebrating going on, but there were still more people wandering the streets now. He still had to ward some of the more public areas, and loitering around while waiting for celebrators to move on and let him work in peace was becoming a common roadblock.

What he was doing wasn’t strictly illegal, per se, but the city watch might frown upon it. Kedrin and Zasia had insisted that they would take care of the city’s defenses themselves. Aldric believed them. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t add some measures of his own, however.

Aldric watched one couple in particular meander through the alleyway he was currently in, both of them clearly more than a few bottles in already. They staggered back and forth while trying to use each other for support, giggling to each other the whole while. One of them finally lost their footing and stumbled, coincidentally tumbling into Aldric.

“Whoa!” the girl said, still giggling uncontrollably. “Sorry! Didn’t... didn’t see you... oh, gods... uh oh...”

Seeing the moment coming, Aldric quickly leapt aside just before a fountain of vomit erupted from the woman’s mouth. She bent over double and heaved while her companion did his best to comfort her, looking like he was going to hurl himself. Aldric took advantage of the distraction and got the hell out of there. He had to force himself to put away the dagger he’d reflexively pulled out when the woman touched him.

The defensive reaction surprised Aldric. He hadn’t felt this jumpy since his days serving as Gran’s bodyguard. All this revelry seemed almost out of place to him. It was easy to forget amongst all the ceremony and public enjoyment that this was currently an incredibly tense political situation. Three warring countries were coming together under the flimsy excuse of “unity”, and no one seemed to think that they should be worried.

Or maybe they were. Maybe celebrating was easier than sitting and waiting for the other boot to drop. It figured that Aldric’s mind would default to the worst-case scenario. He wasn’t sure if that made him wise or a pessimist. Maybe both.

Aldric had only just turned the corner when he ran smack into all six of his students. They were all clustered into a group and had been sweeping their eyes across the street, clearly looking for someone. Probably him. All of them stared at him wide eyed, clearly just as surprised as he was to be meeting here.

“There you are!” Codrin shouted, and Aldric winced at all the attention the exclamation had claimed from passersby. “We’ve been looking all over for you. Where the hell have you been? You missed my incredible match!”

“Yeah, sorry. Some stuff came up last second,” Aldric answered lamely. “You don’t all look dejected and depressed, so I assume everyone did well?”

“Me and Barclay went against each other,” Codrin said. “Even if she won, I think I might have given her pause more than once.” Cira rolled her eyes but didn’t deny it.

“That’s some bad luck,” Aldric said. “But good job, both of you.”

“Lilly passed too!” Nadrina added.

“Of course she did,” Aldric replied flippantly, then realized that he might’ve sounded rude. “Uh, sorry Lilly. You did good as well, as expected.”

“Um,” Lilianna sputtered, purposely looking away from Aldric. “Y-Yes. Thank you.”

Damn it. Now he’d gone and made her mad. He just genuinely wasn’t surprised that she’d won. She still deserved proper praise for it, however. This tournament was pitting three countries worth of talented students against each other. A sizeable portion of them would have already been eliminated after today. To still be in it was impressive.

He opened his mouth to articulate that, but Lilianna abruptly changed the subject. “You still didn’t answer our question, though. Where have you been? We were a little worried after... well, you know...”

Seeing the uncomfortable looks on everyone’s faces, Aldric had to check an exasperated sigh. Not with them, but with himself. Of course they’d be worried. After a rather ominous dinner meeting, Aldric had gone off and done his own thing without telling them anything.

Part of him wanted to say that it was for their safety that he kept them in the dark. The other part of him recognized that for the excuse that it was. He’d been dreading this conversation and had run away from it like a child.

Aldric was being an ass. Again. Zasia had always said he was terrible at being open with others. Now he’d gone and made his kids worry about him. What an awful professor he was.

“Yeah, sorry,” Aldric answered. “Guess I owe you all an explanation. I just...”

He floundered when he couldn’t think of what to explain. Or how much he even could explain. How much was safe? How much had they already figured out themselves? He just... he really wasn’t ready to talk about this yet. But he shouldn’t tell them nothing, either.

Nadrina spoke up in the awkward silence. “You were making preparations, right Professor? To keep the city safe. That’s what you said last night, right?”

Aldric just nodded in response. Codrin groaned irritably as he glared at his professor.

“Is that all? Geez, you should have said so. We could’ve helped! I mean, probably not a lot, but we could surely do something.”

“Do you need anything for your work?” Lilianna suddenly asked. “My family might not help directly, but their name still carries a lot of weight. There are plenty of nobles here for the tournament who owe my family favors, so I’m sure I could get their assistance with whatever you might need.”

“Oh, great idea!” Cira chipped in. “My parents should be somewhere in town. I should ask them the same. We have a bunch of trading networks open with Nevis, so we could get you practically any materials, as long as they have it in stock.”

Aldric just stood there stupidly while more suggestions followed. Nadrina offered to help with inscriptions, though she wouldn’t be able to imbue everything. Codrin said he could get help from some of the other noble students, saying that it would be “good practice for when I’m in charge of them all in the future.” Volmar volunteered himself and Alek for any manual labor, so long as Aldric promised to feed them afterwards. Alek even begrudgingly went along with the idea, though he demanded double than usual food portions.

As the discussion grew more enthusiastic, Aldric couldn’t help but blurt out, “You won’t ask? You’re not even curious?”

“Of course we are,” Nadrina answered, unfazed by his sudden question. “But you don’t want to say, right? You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. We trust you.”

“We know enough to realize that something bad is coming,” Lilianna continued. “And we want to help. Even if we all come from different parts of the empire, this is our home, too.”

“Yeah. We’re all a weird sort of family now anyway,” Volmar added. “That includes you. Family doesn’t leave family on their own, right?” Everyone else nodded like this was obvious.

Aldric still couldn’t quite believe it. Who had gone and made these kids so mature? Because it sure as hell hadn’t been him.

A bolt of clarity suddenly struck Aldric numb. Why the hell was he out here by himself? Yes, he was laying down preparations for the worst, but why was he the only one doing it? He hadn’t even shared what he was going to put in place with Kedrin or Zasia. They surely trusted him to do what he thought he needed to, but it would have benefited all of them for him to be more open about what he was doing. Why did he feel the need to do everything on his own?

Aldric couldn’t help but feel this current situation was his own fault. But why? He wasn’t responsible for the three countries of this continent being at war. It had been Gran’s idea to bring them all together like this, something he still didn’t understand. Rebran had even said that these coming events weren’t directly related to Aldric himself. If he could take anything that snake said for truth, then this wasn’t really about him. So why did he feel like only he could fix it?

The answer appeared the moment Aldric asked himself the question. He was scared. No, terrified was probably closer, but still didn’t do the feeling justice. Terrified of being caught off guard again. Of losing things he cared about. Of his friends paying for his mistakes. There was so much happening, and Aldric desperately wanted to make everything alright, to make things safe again. He just didn’t know if he could.

If that was the case, though, shouldn’t he be asking for help?

As his students all looked at him expectantly, there was a lot he wanted to say in response. That they shouldn’t bother, that it was his problem, and he’d deal with it. He wanted to just laugh the whole thing off and tell them they didn’t need to be so worried about it. That the grownups would take care of it.

They weren’t stupid, however. Aldric knew that firsthand by now. If they wanted to step up and help, it wasn’t his right to deny them. And honestly, the thought that he had someone fully on his side made that tight ball of anxiety in his chest loosen up. Just a bit.

So instead, all he managed was a weak, “... thanks.” They all gave him cheerful smiles in return.

Nadrina had only been half right about Aldric trying to protect the city. The only things Aldric currently gave a damn about were Kedrin, Zasia, Balrus, Gran, and these kids. This moment only proved why.

~~~

“... AND THAT’S THE GIST of it.”

Aldric finished inscribing the last of the runes in the proper rune array on a nearby brick wall before addressing his class. “This section of runes alerts me to any sudden increases in mana fluctuations, like when someone attacks with a spell. This section links this rune array to all the others I’ve planted around the city. These runes here make it indistinguishable from the brick wall should I desire it, just to discourage any would be saboteurs. My blood that forms the base of the pattern ensures I can tap into this array whenever I need to, though that effect tapers off the further away I am. I’ve got a tool that makes that easier, but I have yet to craft it. Each array has a smaller array built into it that can passively absorb latent mana to fuel itself. It’d be rather embarrassing if this whole thing failed because it ran out of juice, right?”

Aldric took a step back and admired his handiwork. It was a rush job, but he’d done pretty well. “All in all, the overall array is thinner than I’d like, but it should do for such short notice.”

His students had been listening quietly as he put this rune array together. In fact, they were still quiet. Aldric turned to look at them all, concerned he might have gone over their heads with his explanations. He’d been accused multiple times in the past of getting too into his descriptions when the topic was something he found interesting.

The entire class was staring openmouthed at the wall, obviously astounded. Damn it. He’d definitely confused them.

“Professor,” Lilianna began slowly, sounding trepidatious. “Putting aside how incredibly complex this array is, did you just... did you just say you can trigger it from a distance?”

Aldric blinked at her. “Well, yeah. It’s not very useful if I can’t trigger it from where I am, and the entire array is blanketing the city. Well, most of it anyway. I’m only one guy. How else am I supposed to use it?”

Lilianna got a far-off look in her eye, like she was imagining the scope of what Aldric was claiming. Her face noticeably paled. “Right, um, of course. But that’s... that’s possible?”

The question confused Aldric. Anything was theoretically possible in sorcery, given enough time and mana. Yeah, it was a big array, but with the smaller arrays fueling it, any sorcerer worth their salt could activate at least part of it. Aldric admitted that the scale was probably not something they were used to, but it wasn’t that crazy, was it?

“She means you can access an enchantment remotely,” Nadrina suddenly interrupted. She had taken out her own enchanting tools to help him, but now her hands were visibly shaking as she stared at him wide-eyed. Aldric had learned by now that this meant she was incredibly excited about something. “Professor, you can trigger an enchantment without physically touching it?”

... oh.

Aldric had gotten used to talking to his friends about these things. They were all used to him whipping out insane claims and fresh developments out of nowhere. It only now occurred to him he hadn’t gone over this with anyone, not even Nadrina. If she wasn’t so excited right now, she’d probably be screaming at him for not sharing.

“Well, sort of. See, I technically am touching it. I’ve infused my blood into the rune array in every one of these individual patterns, and obviously the same blood is in my body. I’ve just linked the two with sympathetic magic. No idea if other bodily substances would work, but from my testing—”

“That’s genius!” Nadrina suddenly shouted. “Do you not realize how this completely revolutionizes sorcery? No, this might change magic in general!” She suddenly produced a notebook from out of nowhere and began furiously scribbling. “Blood is the strongest bonding agent for infusing mana into an enchantment, so is this just the same as using blood in any enchantment? No, that can’t be. Can it?”

“I mean... sure?” Aldric said hesitantly. “Hell, I learned this by accident years ago. I’m honestly surprised that no one has thought to try something like this.” Aldric thought about that, then shook his head. “No, someone would have tried it by now, but gave up when they couldn’t get it to work. You’d still need higher mana control abilities than most, and I use a custom pattern to make it easier.”

“So you really can do this, and across the entire city?” Nadrina asked in awe. Aldric didn’t like the almost reverent look on her face, so he changed the subject.

“We can go over the theory later if you want to. Just be careful. Remember that using your blood this way means you have a permanent link to your spell. If anything bad happened to this rune array, I would get feedback from it. I wouldn’t die or anything, but trust me when I say it’s not a fun time.”

Aldric could practically hear six sets of gears spinning up in his students’ brains, all thinking of ways this could apply to their own spells. He’d have to reign in their enthusiasm a bit before they all started bleeding themselves in the name of research. Alek spoke up before Aldric could say anything, however.

“So, whatever’s supposed to be coming... it’s that serious?”

Everyone immediately sobered at that. Alek looked at everyone and frowned. “What? If he went to all this effort, there’s a reason, right? This is the sort of defensive array you’d find in the capital or a military fort.”

“Yes, it is,” Aldric answered seriously. “I think it’s fair to say that it will soon turn the world on its head. Rebran is a masterful liar, but he doesn’t make empty threats. If he says this is going to be world changing, it’s because it will be.” He hesitated before continuing. “And you won’t like this, but it’s extremely likely that noble families in each country are caught up in this. That would include your own families, as well.

“... how do you mean?” Cira asked, obviously wary of the answer.

“Political machinations of this magnitude are difficult to go entirely unnoticed.” Aldric wavered for a moment, then decided to be honest. “It’s not impossible that they would be involved.”

“No,” Cira immediately denied. “My parents tell me everything. If something like this was going down, they wouldn’t just leave me in the middle of it without warning.” Volmar said much the same thing. Aldric wanted to believe that. Lilianna simply said nothing, a look of consternation on her face. She didn’t acknowledge his claim, but she couldn’t argue with it either.

“I’m sure you’re right.”

Codrin’s sudden affirmation shut everyone up. They were all equally surprised that the proudest noble here would so readily admit that.

“That sounds exactly like something my father would do,” Codrin explained. “He’ll do anything if it gets him one step closer to power. Hell, he’d probably use me to do it if he thought I could. He always said the pursuit of power was supposed to be a bloody one. Evil bastard should probably be locked up just for half of the things he’s done to get as far as he has.”

“You really shouldn’t say that about your own father,” Cira told him, looking uncomfortable.

“Why? It’s true. Everyone knows it, too. No one talks about it because he has dirt on everyone. I imagine your family isn’t immune to that, either.”

Cira looked like he’d slapped her. She opened her mouth, probably to scream a string of curses at him, but nothing came out. Instead, she just folded her arms and glared at the ground.

Aldric had already heard from Kedrin that Codrin hated his father, but he’d chalked it up to the brash and proud youth rebelling against authority simply for the sake of it. Codrin often became frustrated or annoyed, but the loathing in Codrin’s voice just now couldn’t be faked. Aldric could relate.

A thought suddenly occurred to Aldric that forced him to speak.

“Codrin, I’m sorry.”

The sudden apology understandably surprised Codrin. Then he looked annoyed. “Huh? What for? I don’t need pity or anything!”

“For treating you like your father. When we first met, I tried to blame the things your father had done to me on you. You’re not your dad, and you don’t owe me anything for what he did. If I ever made you uncomfortable at all for that, I’m sorry.”

Codrin just shrugged uncomfortably while looking to the side, no doubt thinking back on a version of his professor that Aldric wasn’t proud of. “Whatever. Not like you knew me then. And I was... um... a bit of a brat.”

“Was?” Cira mouthed silently, but thankfully Codrin didn’t notice.

“No, I didn’t know you. But I know quite a lot about bad dads.”

That statement shocked everybody. “Really?” Codrin asked.

“Yeah. If you ever want to talk about it, I’ll listen.”

Codrin looked like he was going to reflexively decline, too proud to ask for help. Then he simply nodded while staring at the ground. An awkward silence enveloped the group until Alek finally broke it.

“So, that’s touching and all, but I want to see more magic. What else you got?”

Aldric rolled his eyes, but the tension broke when everyone chuckled. “Greedy bunch, aren’t you? Fine, I still have some work to do, anyway. Come on.”

Aldric turned and started off towards the outer rim of the city, his students close behind. After a few minutes of walking, he looked back and saw everyone talking amongst themselves and comparing notes about what they’d seen. Codrin and Cira had hung back behind everyone, quietly talking. Cira had at some point taken Codrin’s hand in her hers, looking like a reassuring gesture. Aldric blinked in surprise but decided not to address it. Would wonders never cease?

When they’d reached the southernmost gate of the city wall, Aldric drew to a stop. The place was nearly deserted, with only small utility buildings and a guard barracks next to the gate, so this would be the perfect place to set up the next array. He was about to quiz Nadrina on what surface work would best for rune scripts when he heard voices.

“Damn it, will you just sit there and listen to me for once? Is that so beyond you? I’m trying to warn you! Do you really think I would go to all the trouble to set this up just to stab you in the back? Not everything is about you and your paranoid delusions, Aingar!”

If the speaker hadn’t yelled, Aldric wouldn’t have heard it. Even then, he probably would have ignored it. The only thing that stopped him in his tracks was the unmistakable sound of Gran’s voice. Aldric quickly cast about, trying to find the source of the sound. His students stopped behind him when he did, looking perplexed.

“Paranoid? Is this clandestine meeting of ours not exactly the reason I should be paranoid?” yelled a male voice that had to be King Thagrius. “If you are looking for trust, Minerva, I suggest you hold meetings like this in the day. I knew coming was a terrible idea, but I never dreamed you would have a such a ludicrous story cooked up for me! You threw a nationwide tournament just to get me here and try to sell me on this garbage?”

Aldric motioned for his class to wait where they were as he tiptoed to a cluster of nearby buildings surrounding what looked to be a small, cleared patch of dirt. Likely the stables used by the city garrison. Gran and Thagrius had ceased yelling, so it was even harder to find them, but he eventually homed in on a small barn. Two men were posted up just outside the only door leading inside. Their alert posture, flitting eyes, and full plate armor marked them as royal guards, except they were each wearing different regalia. Aldric recognized the guard captain he’d seen in the Vildim wilds after the “bandit” attack on Gran.

Aldric had approached from the side, so they hadn’t noticed him yet. Crouching down and sneaking to just within listening range behind a water trough, Aldric strained his ears and just caught the tail end of Gran’s latest comment.

“...to check every servant, every bodyguard, every person in your direct employ. You can’t be sure who is and isn’t a part of—”

“You are going to have to try a lot harder than that. First you blackmail me into this ludicrous tournament, then try to feed me a story about some vaguely defined secret organization, and yet you refuse to tell me more than that? Have you grown senile in your old age? Or do you truly think I’m that stupid? I’m not sure whether to be outraged or laugh!”

“Are those ears on your thick skull just for show? I don’t know who is and isn’t involved! They want you to distrust me, for all of us to distrust each other. Hell, Rebran didn’t even come tonight for probably that exact reason. The only reason there is any animosity between us is because they want there to be!”

“How very convenient for you. To heap all the blame for the last several decades on an invisible scape goat. Am I just supposed to take your word for it? To nod along to your little game and wait for you to—?”

Aldric heard the snap of a twig from behind him and reacted on instinct. He spun, dagger already in hand, crouched and ready to pounce on the intruder. Instead of someone sneaking up behind him, he found six heads lined up in a row, peering over at him from behind a nearby fence.

Aldric wanted to scream at his students to go away, but he couldn’t make any sound right now. He settled for shooting them a death glare before returning his attention to the conversation. Unfortunately, it seemed to be wrapping up already.

“—had enough of this nonsense. You’re lucky I can’t just pack up and go home tonight without looking stupid. The next time you wish to speak to me, it had better be in an audience chamber, and it had better be about your unconditional surrender!”

Aldric ducked down lower as the door to the barn burst wide open, some of the sleeping horses inside whinnying in alarm at the ruckus. A man in dark robes, probably Thagrius, snapped his fingers at one of the men by the door, who instantly jumped to attention and followed his king. Gran wasn’t far behind, her face in the moonlight looking furious. She practically stomped off into the night, her own bodyguard right on her heels.

When they left, Aldric’s students made to join them, but Aldric hissed at them to remain where they were. It was a rookie mistake to come out of hiding too early.

Sure enough, several seconds later, a third figure appeared from the shadows of an empty shed and slinked off into the night. Aldric had no way of knowing if they were with either royal or if they were on their own, but he couldn’t chase them down while leaving the kids here.

It was now official that the tournament was a front for something else entirely, unsurprisingly. But this “organization” they’d mentioned had Aldric’s hair standing on end. If it was enough to make Gran seek out Thagrius and even Rebran to warn them, then they were doubtless an immense problem.

Was it really necessary to host a tournament as an excuse, though? What was the point of getting all three rulers in the same place? To control all the variables, maybe? Gran had made it sound like their courts had already been infiltrated, so maybe this was the only way they could effectively communicate.

“... Professor?”

Nadrina’s quiet voice shook Aldric from his thoughts. He hadn’t noticed them approach him. One look was enough to confirm that they knew exactly who they’d just been eavesdropping on. If they hadn’t believed in the situation's seriousness before, they certainly did now.

Aldric felt his mind churning, detailing everything else he would need to have ready for... whatever the hell was going to happen next.

“All of you go back to the dorms. Don’t go anywhere else tonight and stay in a group. You’re to go to the arena for your bouts and nowhere else for the rest of the tournament.”

They all nodded, faces still grim. Aldric, unfortunately, had nothing to add that might make them feel better. He wanted to reassure them, to convince them he had everything under control, and it would all be alright. When Aldric went to speak, however, he found only lies and empty promises he felt he couldn’t speak. Instead, he rounded them up and herded them back to the academy dorms.

Finishing his defensive measures had just become Aldric’s most important task again.

Chapter 9

NADRINA WAS HAVING a hard time remembering why she’d wanted to do this.

She was standing next to the arena platform while the crowd went wild over the last match that had been announced for that afternoon. A week had passed since the start of the tournament, so most of the preliminary rounds were over. Except Nadrina’s, of course.

She didn’t know whether to count herself lucky or cursed. Having the last preliminary match meant that she had the benefit of first watching every other contestant that she had the potential to fight later. She already had stacks of notes detailing every participant for this competition, just to make sure she had information on whoever her bouts would be against. Most of those notes deeply intimidated her. This tournament had brought together the finest talents from across the continent, and now Nadrina had to fight them. Great.

The drawback of going so late was that she had to sit in the stands as a quivering pile of nerves as she anxiously awaited her first bout. Now that the moment was finally here, Nadrina felt everything she’d learned in the last half a year vacating her brain like smoke. Her opponent was standing across from her, looking infuriatingly confident in his chances. Nadrina had forgotten his name but knew that he was a wind conjurer from Osakar. Everything about him, from his perfectly coifed black hair to the obnoxiously handsome face, labeled him a well-off noble. It made Nadrina suddenly conscious of her rather plain appearance and background.

Nadrina only listened with half an ear as the announcer introduced the coming fight. Too many questions were bouncing around in her head. Chief among them was, What the hell am I doing here?

Nadrina was a sorcerer. She liked to think she was a rather good one, but she was still a sorcerer. Her opponent was a conjurer. Every textbook Nadrina had ever read, and she’d read quite a few, told her that this wasn’t a fight so much as a one-sided slaughter. Sure, she’d sparred with her conjurer classmates a few times, even once with Professor Glory, but they hadn’t been taking her seriously. She was in a real fight right now. It was a tournament, yes, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get hurt.

If Nadrina was being honest, however, those were only surface level concerns. She’d resolved months ago to do her best here, regardless of the outcome. Lurking underneath all those worries and continuously feeding them was what they’d all recently learned.

Something going on that had even empresses and kings worried was miles above what Nadrina could handle. That anxiety of knowing that catastrophe was coming, but being wholly unequipped to do anything about it, was bleeding over into her confidence. The more she tried to ignore the feeling, the more she ended up thinking about it. The more she thought about it, the more nervous she became. It was why she had gotten almost no sleep last night.

“... the sorcerer, Nadrina Flemming!” Nadrina jolted when she heard the announcer call her name, and she hurried to clamber up onto the arena platform and take her place across from her opponent. He sounded surprised by his own words. The crowd’s polite cheering suddenly changed to exclamations of confusion. Murmurs and scandalized voices started making their way through the stands, and Nadrina only felt her anxiety growing. Even the mundane townsfolk knew she shouldn’t be here.

“Nervous?” her opponent suddenly asked. He had the smug grin of someone who had already won. “You can still back out, you know. I’d hate to do anything truly terrible to you just because you’d forgotten your place. You can just go back to tinkering with magic toys like a good little sorcerer.”

Nadrina was so angry with herself. Despite everything that she’d overcome, his words still struck a chord within herself. She knew she belonged here. She knew she had a right to participate. And yet, being in this arena, with her opponent in front of her, the crowd surrounding her and clearly doubting her ability... it was all too much for her. Nadrina’s breathing sped up without her asking it to. Everything was suddenly and uncomfortably real in this moment, and Nadrina could feel her weak heart faltering. Again.

“Drina!”

Professor Aldric’s voice cut through the noise and shocked Nadrina back into reality. She looked over to find him leaning on the enchanted barrier separating the crowd from the match. He couldn’t have looked more relaxed as he leaned on the translucent wall with bored nonchalance. Her class sat in their seats just behind him, still cheering for her. Professor Aldric gave her a lazy smirk, then pointed to the late afternoon sun above them.

“This is supposed to be the last match today, so make this a quick one, alright? We’re all going to get dinner in town to celebrate your win! My treat!”

All at once, as if they’d never been, Nadrina’s doubts vanished. Of course she could do this. The finest mage Nadrina had ever met fully believed in her. Self-doubt was for the old Nadrina. New Nadrina knew better.

“Are you serious?” her opponent asked the referee, looking exasperated. “Can we just put an end to this farce? There must be a rule or something against this, right? A sorcerer can’t just—!”

“Hey, pretty boy!” Professor Aldric interrupted. The boy turned to find the professor’s steely, grey-eyed stare waiting for him. The boy suddenly and audibly snapped his mouth shut.

“My apprentice is about to teach you a few things, so be sure to thank her afterwards! Now, how about you shut up and pay attention? Any more protests, and people are going to think you’re afraid of her or something!”

The boy’s reaction was impressive. His face went white in shock, then red with embarrassment, and then purple with fury. His mouth opened to respond, closed, then opened again without a word being spoken. The parts of the audience that had been near enough to hear the professor’s words started laughing as he spluttered stupidly. With a vein bulging in his forehead, the boy turned back to Nadrina and looked like he was trying to set her on fire with his intense stare. When the referee asked if they were ready, he only gave a terse nod as a reply. Now smiling, Nadrina followed suit.

“Then in the light of the day, before the gods and your ancestors, be honorable and brave. Begin!”

The referee had only just barely finished his sentence when Nadrina’s infuriated opponent screamed out, “Venti kopis!” An immense mass of razor-sharp wind blades appeared from nowhere and raced towards Nadrina without mercy. He was apparently aiming to finish this as soon as possible.

Without waiting around, Nadrina immediately reached into her sleeve and produced a hollow metal tube half a foot long. She spiked it into the arena floor, imbued the earth rune on it with mana, and watched as a solid slab of stone rose from the ground to shield her. The wind blades collided with the wall and carved off large chunks of it, but it held long enough to shield her from all of them.

Professor Aldric had been right. Using spoken casting in a fight was stupid. It let your opponent know what was coming and gave them time to prepare a countermeasure.

Her opponent then did something that Professor Aldric had drilled her never to do; he stopped and stared. From his perspective, it might have appeared as if Nadrina, a sorcerer, had just conjured an earth wall using magic she shouldn’t be able to. The cries of shock from the crowd echoed his surprise. But Nadrina had learned from the professor that conjuration, even advanced conjuration, still required runes. The only actual difference between the two schools of magic was the manner of casting.

And sorcerers had no elemental limitations.

Nadrina capitalized on her opponent’s distraction, turning the metal tube the other way around and imbuing a fire rune on the other end. A small fireball shot out of the tube and rocketed towards the boy. In his stupefied state, the most he could do was raise his arms by reflex to defend himself.

The fireball wasn’t really meant to harm him, being as tiny as it was. Its only purpose was to be a distraction, and it did a wonderful job of that. According to Professor Aldric, fire had a way of making people panic, particularly when that fire was flying at their face. The boy’s sleeves briefly flared up when his arms intercepted the flames but were quickly put out as he frantically flapped his arms.

Meanwhile, Nadrina tugged on two more tubes up her sleeve. She activated the runes on all three, causing them to line up and snap together into her new and improved staff. Sprinting over to her distracted opponent, Nadrina lined up the pole like a spear aimed for his forehead. She imbued a wind rune at the butt end, causing a jet of air to fly out the back with a high-pitched keening sound. The pole rocketed forward, dragging Nadrina with it and slamming point first into the boy’s forehead with a resounding thunk.

The boy tumbled back and rolled a few times, finally coming to rest on his butt with a look of dazed confusion. Nadrina noted the perfectly imprinted circle embedded in his forehead. The boy managed to gather his wits and reflexively threw out a ball of wind. It forced Nadrina to roll to the side to avoid it. Some innate instinct ordered her to put up another wall of earth, and she slammed her staff into the ground to do so just before a storm of spells slammed into it.

“Uppity little witch!” the boy was screaming as he continued to rain spells down on her wall. “No one makes a fool of me! No one!”

Her opponent was panic casting, sending every wind spell he knew at her to gain more space. Most of the boy’s spells didn’t even hit Nadrina’s wall, either colliding with the floor or flying off into the barrier protecting the stands. Meanwhile, his mana pool was growing smaller and smaller the more he cast. He was probably hoping to overwhelm her with how many spells he could fire off, but he couldn’t hold a candle to Professor Glory. This much wasn’t enough to make Nadrina lose her composure, not after the hellish training she’d been through.

Keeping calm as the boy slowly whittled her earth wall down, Nadrina began preparing. She broke her staff back into six pieces and fit each one between the knuckles of her fingers. She resembled a child pretending to have claws and might have looked silly, but it wouldn’t feel silly.

The instant her opponent stopped hurling spells, Nadrina dashed out from behind cover and made a beeline for the boy. He was busy gasping for breath as he tried to compose himself and had only just spoken the beginnings of another spell when Nadrina’s claw hand impacted his sternum. At the moment of impact, Nadrina imbued the earth runes engraved on all three tubes, simple ones that would momentarily increase an object’s weight.

The resulting blow to his solar plexus had more weight behind it than the boy and Nadrina combined. Nadrina heard the air violently leave his lungs as he flew backwards for several meters, coming to a stop just before the end of the arena platform. Nadrina winced at the pain that shot up her right arm. She still needed to work out the kinks in that attack. Even if it was just for a moment, the sudden increase in weight combined with the force of her punch sent some of the force back to her.

Instead of following up with the same attack, Nadrina imbued the wind runes in the tubes. Meter-long claws made of wind sprung out of each, sharp as a razor and keening with condensed wind mana. The professor had told her that this was a rather terrifying image to behold when she’d shown it to him, and the boy must have agreed. He looked at Nadrina like she’d just turned into a demon as he rapidly backpedaled, but Nadrina wouldn’t give him space to recover. She dashed after him, wind claws flying in deadly arcs. The boy had clearly exhausted himself with his earlier tantrum of spells, and Nadrina easily dodged any feeble attempts to counter her.

The tournament clothing protected the boy from the worst of the attacks. Otherwise, he would have been shredded to ribbons. As it was, he was still bleeding profusely and panting hard when Nadrina’s enchantment fell apart less than ten seconds later. The nature of holding condensed wind mana sharpened to a blade made the entire rune array incredibly unstable. If she held it any longer, she’d risk either an explosion or slicing herself to pieces.

Her opponent was barely staying on his feet now. Nadrina was lightly winded, but still more than ready to continue. The boy had a wild-eyed look to him, like he was fighting for his life, and the crowd had clearly gotten over whatever biases they had against Nadrina as they cheered her on. The boy noticed and visibly grew furious. He opened his mouth and rasped out another spell from his bruised and battered abdomen.

“Venti manas conflagus!”

It was a spell Nadrina didn’t immediately recognize, but the effect soon became obvious. A large tornado of wind whipped up and surrounded Nadrina. Heavy winds that threatened to hurl her into the sky buffeted Nadrina from every direction. This had to be costing the boy whatever he had left in his mana pool in an all-or-nothing attack. Even if he couldn’t bring her down, he could still try to throw her from the ring.

Nadrina immediately planted both of her feet solidly on the arena floor, imbuing her boots. The earth runes engraved there held her solidly to the ground like they’d been glued there, but she couldn’t win if she stayed like this. She had no way of reaching her opponent, and the tornado was stealing her oxygen. Nadrina wasn’t sure what would happen first; if the boy ran out of mana, or she ran out of air. She still had the backup plan she’d prepared earlier in the match, but she would have to get close to her opponent and was limited in what she could do in this windstorm.

A lesson from Professor Aldric popped into her mind. One about appearing strong when weak, and weak when strong. About only showing your opponent what they expected to see. Nadrina raised her right hand and bit into her pointer finger, drawing blood. She’d originally meant this as a backup plan, but if she could pull it off, it would be immensely satisfying.

Right around the time Nadrina got worried, the tornado finally dissipated. Nadrina collapsed onto her hands and knees, releasing the runes in her boots. She made a show of panting laboriously as the surrounding stadium became clear once again. Both the crowd and her opponent expressed shock at not finding her flung to some far-off corner of the world by the tornado. The boy quickly noticed her bedraggled state, however, and his expression changed from surprise to smug confidence.

The crowd went wild with anticipation as her opponent slowly but surely made his way to her, basking in the audience's adoration. Nadrina was still on the ground and leaning on her staff in a display of weakness. The boy made sure she could see the infuriating look on his face. He also looked like he was moments from passing out, but he clearly wouldn’t show it. He even took a moment to slowly spin around with his arms raised, hyping up the crowd. Nadrina used that distraction to finish the bloody rune she’d traced on the ground in front of herself and quickly imbue it, muttering the spell under her breath.

“I’ll admit, little commoner,” the boy finally said, as he stood imperiously before Nadrina. “You made me work for it, but it was all inevitable. Gracefully accept your defeat and remember your plac—”

Quick as a snake, Nadrina instantly sprung up to her feet and slapped her bloody hand on the boy’s forehead. With another quick imbuing, she shouted, “Tera manas!”

Nadrina quickly jumped back just before it happened. The boy, still with a confused look on his face, was suddenly and violently yanked face first towards the ground, his legs whipping up into the air behind him from the speed of the movement. His head slammed into the arena floor with a brutal CRACK. The rest of the boy’s body crumpled to the ground in an inert heap, clearly knocked unconscious.

No one moved. The entire arena was dead silent. It left Nadrina standing awkwardly next to her opponent’s prone form. No one seemed to know what to make of this latest development.

Except for one. Professor Aldric was laughing uproariously from his seat in the front row.

The referee seemed just as taken aback as the crowd. He turned to Nadrina and asked in a quavering voice, “W-What did you just do? Explain yourself, contestant!”

Nadrina panicked a bit at seeing the angry official. She was confident she had broken no rules, however. “Um, I created an attraction between two runes, specifically between the one on the ground and the one on his forehead.”

“On his forehead? How did...? Release your spell, now!”

Nadrina did as she was instructed, and the referee ran over to roll the boy over and examine him. Sure enough, Nadrina’s bloody rune was still on the ground where she’d drawn it. And embedded right in the middle of the boy’s forehead was a circular earth rune. One that had been left there when Nadrina had jabbed him with her staff at the start of the match.

To be honest, Nadrina had discovered this on a whim. She assumed that since human blood made for the best inscription material for sorcery runes, human skin might have a similar property. The effect was temporary, since flesh would eventually go back to its original shape, but the concept was sound. She hadn’t been able to think of a practical use for such an inscription, but this little surprise she’d prepared felt appropriately humiliating for the smug noble.

The referee looked like he didn’t quite believe what he was looking at. He looked over both runes for several moments before he finally nodded to himself, standing up and facing the audience. “Fascinating,” Nadrina heard him mutter under his breath in the silent stadium.

“By way of knockout, the victor of this bout is Nadrina Flemming of Rhagia!”

Nadrina had expected something... well, more. Maybe the crowd would cheer, or maybe some of them would be angry that a sorcerer had defeated a conjurer. Either way, there should have been a lot more noise. What she hadn’t expected was the thick silence that encompassed the entire arena. Every face Nadrina could make out looked shocked. Even the royals in their own box looked taken aback.

Nadrina just stood in the center of the arena, fidgeting. Was she just supposed to walk off now, or were they expecting her to do something? She looked to the referee for guidance, but he was still staring hard at her opponent’s prone form with a look of wonder. None of the other mages assisting with the tournament running seemed to know what to make of her, either. The healers hadn’t even jumped in to take care of her opponent yet. Nadrina was moments from running off and finding somewhere to hide when she heard clapping.

Looking up to the source of the sound, she found Empress Rhagia looking back down at her. She had stood from her seat and was clapping, gracing Nadrina with a proud smile. Her clapping cut through the silence of the audience, sounding oddly loud in the quiet. Professor Glory and Headmaster Elmaris, seated behind her, joined in as well. The other two royals eventually got to their feet and did the same. King Thagrius had a blank look on his face, but King Umell was smiling from ear to ear in a way that made Nadrina uncomfortable.

Seeing their leaders express their support, the rest of the audience joined in. It started quiet at first, building around the whole of the arena stands until everyone was clapping. Then it got a lot louder. The crescendo kept building until everyone was on their feet, cheering loud enough to make Nadrina’s ears ring.

She just stood there, uncomprehending. This was an all-new feeling to her. She looked over to her class to find them cheering as well, much more loudly than the rest. Professor Aldric only looked on calmly with a grin, as if this had been the only potential outcome. He gestured to her and then to the crowd, pointing to her staff meaningfully. Finally realizing what he was asking, she mutely raised her staff in the air in a sort of victory pose.

Then everyone in the stands went ballistic.

~~~

LILIANNA WATCHED HER best friend receive the adoration of the crowd. Based on her dazed expression, Nadrina didn’t truly understand just what an incredible thing she’d done. Lilianna was having a hard time herself. She’d been there for Nadrina’s duel with Volmar, but this was entirely different. Her friend had just beaten a noble conjurer with nothing but simple sorcery and her own wits. She’d even mimicked other schools of magic, like conjuration and enforcement. More than that, however, she’d made it look easy.

Poor Nadrina was looking around with rounded eyes, clearly not knowing what to do with herself, but with a small smile forming on her lips. She gave the crowd a shy wave, causing the volume of their cheering to increase once again. The announcer sounded just as excited as he declared her the winner, making sure they were all eating the spectacle up.

“She really did it,” Lilianna said aloud, more to herself than anyone else.

“I keep telling her she’s better than she thinks she is,” Professor Aldric said next to Lilianna, though she could barely hear him over their class cheering. “Maybe now she’ll actually believe me. I might have to steal that sectional staff idea from her, though. Wish I’d thought of it.” Lilianna looked over at him in surprise. She’d assumed Nadrina had learned that from him.

Of course, Lilianna was happy for Nadrina. She’d just done something amazing in her very first bout of the tournament. Unfortunately, it had the awful side effect of reminding Lilianna what a fool she had made of herself in her own first bout. That it was Nadrina, of all people, that had outdone her made her doubt herself even more.

Lilianna knew that the professor had shared magic with her that other conjurers would kill to learn. But others could learn it. There was nothing stopping them other than a lack of someone to show them how, and there was nothing special about Lilianna that allowed her to learn them.

Nadrina, however, had exceeded that. She had taken the very concept of sorcery and turned it on its head to use it for combat. There was nothing special about any of the enchantments she had used, except those terrifying wind claws. Most were beginner level and were being used by a sorcerer who hadn’t even been practicing magic for a full year yet. And yet it worked splendidly.

Not a single sorcerer worth their salt wouldn’t be able to pull off what Nadrina had done. Yet, how many would have even thought to fight like that? Or even tried to?

She’s like a younger version of the professor, Lilianna told herself. The sudden thought gave her that strange feeling in her chest again.

Nadrina had finally made it back to their seats and was immediately showered with more congratulations from everyone. Lilianna gave hers as well, and Nadrina lit up like the sun at all the attention. Since Alek had won his fight the previous day, all of their class except Codrin would go on to the semi-finals.

“Alright, everyone, gather up!” Professor Aldric called out. “I already have the place for dinner picked out, so let’s—”

“If I may have your attention, please!” the announcer suddenly spoke up. Everyone in the audience had been preparing to leave after the final round for today, so they all began murmuring in confusion. “There has been a bit of a change considering the latest match! We would like to congratulate the contestant Nadrina Flemming on a record-breaking round time at just under seven minutes!”

There was another smattering of applause for Nadrina at that, but the announcer wasn’t done.

“Because of this, we still have a full half hour left on the docket for today! After consulting with the officials, we believe it prudent to make sure that you all receive the maximum experience that the city of Nevis can provide! As such, we will shift tomorrow’s matches up a space and begin the first of the semi-final matches in just a few minutes. To close out the exciting action for today, we will see a bout between Lilianna Asimov of Rhagia and Delrin of Osakar! Does that sound good to all of you?”

The roar of approval was answer enough as everyone immediately made to take their seats again. Lilianna was caught off guard. She hadn’t been prepared for a match today at all.

“They can’t do that!” Codrin protested angrily. “You can’t just move up someone’s match for the sake of saving time. That’s not fair to Lilly!”

“It’s not fair to Delrin, either, so they’re even,” Professor Aldric replied, sounding annoyed. “This tournament is foremost a publicity stunt. They’re going to milk it for all it’s worth, and it’s not like this wouldn’t have happened tomorrow, anyway.”

While the rest of the class argued over how unfair the announcement was, Lilianna looked at the professor. He seemed strangely bitter as he glared at no one in particular. He caught Lilianna looking at him, flicked a glance over to Nadrina, and then leaned in to whisper in Lilianna’s ear.

“Nobles,” he explained simply. “They don’t want the high point of the first tournament round to end on one of their own getting trounced by a commoner sorcerer.”

No. That couldn’t... could it? Were they really that petty? Lilianna immediately answered her own question the moment she thought of it. Of course they were. Nadrina had wounded their pride by making someone of noble upbringing look like a fool in front of the masses. They wanted to preserve their dignity in front of the lower class by pitting two skilled and well-bred noble children against each other in a display of superiority.

Lilianna’s first reaction was to be outraged. How dare they try to take this away from her friend? Nadrina had worked harder than anyone else here, and they had the gall to sweep that under the rug? The more she thought about it, however, the more she considered this a chance for something. There wasn’t anything she could do about the nobles’ political maneuvering, but she could at least win and make their class look even better than it already did.

Not to mention, she would have another chance to make up for her terrible first round.

Lilianna was taken from her dark thoughts by Cira pulling on her sleeve to get her attention.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready? You’re going to be against that Delrin jerk, so you’ll need to be careful.”

“Aww, Lilianna gets to fight him?” Alek asked. “Damn it, I wanted to cave his head in. Give him a good walloping for me, yeah?”

“Please, like she’d ever to lose that idiot,” Codrin said lightly. “It’s Lilianna, after all. Show him the power of the Four Great Houses of Rhagia!”

Lilianna was about to brush off Codrin’s praise when she saw the looks on her classmates’ faces. Every one of them believed she would easily achieve victory.

It reminded Lilianna of growing up in House Asimov. Those were the same looks her family and teachers always gave her, like success was guaranteed and fully expected. She lived her whole life trying to meet those expectations. For the first time in her life, however, she felt doubt nestling into her heart.

Her parents had given her that look more than anyone. Were they here today? Would they even bother to stay and watch her? Or was that against the stupid “family rules”?

“Thank you. I’m off, then.” Lilianna hoped she didn’t sound as stiff as she felt.

“Lilly.”

She’d only made it a few steps before Professor Aldric called to her. She turned and saw him examining her closely, his face searching hers. Several moments passed before he just grinned. “Sorry, never mind. Knock him dead. Well, not literally, but... well, maybe... ugh, whatever, you know what I mean.”

“Of course.” Lilianna returned his smile and turned to resume her walk to the arena entrance, not noticing the Professor’s gaze lingering on her as she left.

~~~

THIS HAD TO BE THE proudest moment of Nadrina’s entire life. Admittedly, she’d only had one match so far, so it wasn’t like she’d won the whole tournament or anything. It still felt incredible, though.

She wasn’t often the center of attention, but she found it wasn’t all that bad. Even Codrin was singing her praises, though he was probably doing it more to show off their class than just for Nadrina’s benefit. Best of all had been Lilianna. To be acknowledged by the friend she’d looked up to for so long had been the height of her entire school year.

Nadrina’s focus returned to the arena. Lilianna had just stepped up onto the main platform, and Delrin was already waiting there with the referee. It aggravated Nadrina that she hadn’t brought her notebook for this extra match today. There was a lot she could learn from watching Lilianna’s bout. She’d never seen two skilled conjurers really go at it before. Delrin was a jerk, but he was a talented jerk from how Codrin and Cira described him. Apparently, he even had a dual affinity for fire and wind. As if he wasn’t already blessed enough.

As had already been shown in Codrin and Cira’s match, Lilianna’s water element gave her an edge over Delrin’s fire. That wasn’t a guarantee, but Lilianna was still better with her wind element than any conjurer her age, as far as Nadrina knew. She had every confidence Lilianna would win. The real question that got her excited was how.

The referee broke Nadrina out of her thoughts as he began the match. When both combatants indicated they were ready, he spoke the by now familiar words.

“In the light of the day, before the gods and your ancestors, be honorable and brave. Begin!”

The duel had started the moment the referee finished speaking. Delrin shot a ball of fire toward Lilianna, then quickly shot a gust of wind behind that. The wind sped up the fireball to blistering speeds, and Lilianna only just barely put up a wind barrier in time to deflect it. Before she’d even had time to recover, Delrin was already rushing her. His wind magic propelled him forward faster than a sprint, his hands now both wreathed in flames.

“Igni venti manas conflagus!”

He thrust out his hands right in front of Lilianna’s face and triggered his spell. Lilianna had only just dodged out of the way when twin explosions ripped through where her head had just been. Even though he’d missed, the shock wave was enough to send Lilianna tumbling through the air. The only thing that saved her from falling out of the ring was her wind gliding spell, as it gently set her down on the edge of the arena. Her hair looked a bit singed, but she was otherwise unharmed. Delrin looked miffed, like he’d expected that to finish everything.

On a logical level, it impressed Nadrina. Delrin’s last spell used wind mana to compress and violently explode fire mana at close range. It was an unorthodox technique for a conjurer, a typically long-range fighter. It also showed a great deal of mastery over two elements.

Nadrina hadn’t seen the like from anyone else but Lilianna. No matter how much she disliked Delrin, he was extremely talented. He’d come from an influential family that had trained him since birth, just as Lilianna had.

Pressing his advantage, Delrin started throwing every wordless spell he could to knock Lilianna from the platform. Lilianna was keeping pace with his silent incantations, but Delrin was pushing her hard right from the outset. Anytime Lilianna was pushed to the edge of the platform, she would simply glide out of harm’s way. It wasn’t a ring out if she didn’t touch the ground, after all. Lilianna couldn’t use that spell indefinitely, however, and she couldn’t do anything else while using it.

Delrin unfortunately caught on to this.

“Igni venti volmus conflagus!”

Taking in a huge gulp of air, he exhaled a massive inferno from his mouth. He looked like a dragon straight out of the oldest of mythologies. The moment before she landed and when she was most vulnerable, Lilianna was engulfed in a river of hungry fire that blanketed the arena platform and impacted against the far side of the magic barrier. Even through the protective barrier over the audience, Nadrina could feel the heat from the spell stinging her face. The audience went crazy at the intense pyrotechnical display.

The spell ended when Delrin finally ran out of breath. When the smoke had cleared enough, Nadrina let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Lilianna stood in a crater of melted and charred stone floor, fully encased in a sphere of ice. Water ran freely from it under the intense heat, but it still held.

“Gods above,” Cira said in a daze. “He might have an even deeper mana pool than Lilianna.”

“How is that even allowed?” Codrin protested. “That level of magic would kill Lilianna without her tournament gear. It still could have even then!”

Nadrina had turned to ask the professor about Delrin’s latest spell when she paused. He had a surprised look on his face as he surveyed the damage caused to the surroundings by the dragon fire. He noticed Nadrina looking at him and spoke only briefly. “I’ll be back.”

Without further warning, he got up from his seat and started speed walking away. Everyone called out to him in question, but he ignored them completely. Nadrina tried to track where he was heading, but the match was already continuing and stole her attention away again.

Lilianna had finally begun her counterattack. The orb of ice surrounding her suddenly shattered into millions of pieces, every sliver of ice hanging in the air with wicked points turned to Delrin. Lilianna had to voice her spell as Delrin’s eyes grew wide.

“Durna venti kopis volmus!”

The storm of ice knives raced forward, keening loudly as they cut through the air.

“Igni venti conflagus cirna!”

A tornado of fire, not unlike the tornado of wind summoned by Nadrina’s last opponent, billowed into life around Delrin. The shards of ice stood no chance against the massive conflagration, and once again Nadrina had to turn her face away from the intense flames.

This match had only been going a few minutes and already the arena was getting torn to pieces. The referee seemed to have thought better of staying in the arena and had moved outside of it, a wind barrier erected around himself as he continued to watch the fight. This must have been the power of two prestigious conjurers. Nadrina now understood why people held them in such high regard. The crowd was certainly loving all of this as they roared their approval.

As quickly as the tornado of fire appeared, however, it suddenly changed. A sudden heavy gust threw all the fire in a wide arc, blanketing the arena in flames while revealing Delrin with a brightly glowing ball of fire in his hands. The mana in it was so densely packed that Nadrina could see it wafting into the air. With a roar, he threw it towards Lilianna with all his might.

“Igni conflagus!”

Nadrina lost sight of the entire arena as an explosion of light and fire engulfed the stadium. The protective barrier over the stands seemed to bend slightly before snapping back into place again. If it hadn’t been there, more than one person could have been seriously injured.

That was the point that Nadrina began to seriously worry. This match was uncomfortably violent right from the beginning. What would happen if they kept ratcheting the intensity up at this pace?

When Nadrina finally blinked away the stars in her vision, it was only to find Lilianna standing behind a transparent wall of ice several stories tall. The audience actually stopped their mad cheering to gawk at the frozen colossus glistening in the afternoon sun. It was like the ice orb but far larger and sturdier. Its only blemish was the giant melted crater in the center of it.

Lilianna was breathing hard from effort and coughing on lingering smoke, but was otherwise healthy. She stood with her hands in the air, a look of fierce determination on her face as she glared at an equally panting Delrin. When nothing immediately happened, the crowd got anxious again as they called for more violence. Eventually, someone looked up at what Lilianna’s hands were pointed towards.

“Look! Up in the sky!” someone called out. Everyone reflexively looked up.

They found a massive ice boulder almost as big as the castle wall Lilianna had conjured, hovering above the entire arena. Nadrina could hardly believe it. The amount of mana it took to conjure two massive constructs like this in a row was overwhelming.

The wild look in Lilianna’s eyes made Nadrina nervous. She’d never seen her friend this worked up before and knew that she was giving it everything she had. Even as the audience continued their cheering, Nadrina couldn’t help but feel this match was really getting out of hand. Why hadn’t the referee said anything yet?

The ice boulder would have been enough to crush a building on its own, but Lilianna’s spell wasn’t done. It was slowly growing and shaping itself into a point at the bottom. When it finally resembled a gigantic chisel, Lilianna dropped her arms and shouted, “Durna venti jorum prask!”

With alarming speed, the colossal ice pick descended towards Delrin like a sword from the heavens. To Delrin’s credit, he only briefly stared in astonishment before reciting his own spell in a frantic voice.

“Igni volmus conflagus!”

Another stream of dragon fire erupted from his mouth at the falling ice chisel. He managed to reduce it from building sized to carriage sized before being forced to dive out of the way. An almighty crash resounded throughout the stadium as the arena platform was neatly bisected like soft bread, kicking up dust and debris everywhere.

Delrin was looking to retaliate as soon as he got his feet under him again, but Lilianna wasn’t done. The castle wall of ice she’d made suddenly became liquid water and flooded the arena like a tsunami. It was mana recycling on a level that Nadrina didn’t even know was possible. It forced Delrin to a make a wind magic assisted leap to dodge the waves of water threatening to shove him out of bounds.

Nadrina wasn’t sure if there was even an arena left or where “out of bounds” would actually start. The referee was gliding several meters in the air as he ran out of standing room. Even through the massive flood, however, Lilianna stayed in a safe sphere of air as she screamed out another spell.

“Durna venti!”

As quickly as the flood had appeared, it suddenly halted as every inch froze over in an instant. The surrounding air crystalized from the drastic drop in temperature. The only place it didn’t freeze was directly beneath Lilianna in her air bubble.

It rooted Delrin to the floor up to his knees in ice. He roared in defiance and managed to melt the ice around his legs, but his fire magic wasn’t coming as easily anymore. After all those massive spells, his mana pool must have finally neared its limit. He started half walking, half staggering towards Lilianna, struggling to get his legs through the melted slush he was creating. Lilianna was still bent over double and heaving for air, watching as Delrin came close and closer. When he was only a few meters away and preparing his finishing spell, Lilianna let out a labored scream.

“DURNA VENTI!”

Twin icicles both a meter long sprouted from the ice and penetrated through both of Delrin’s feet. He let out a strangled scream as he collapsed onto his back, his feet still firmly nailed to the ground. Even with the protective tournament clothing dampening pain, his legs still couldn’t support him. He flopped about uselessly while trying to free himself before twin manacles of ice rose from the ground and wrapped tightly around both of his wrists. Bound and unable to focus on runes through the pain, he was left with no spells to cast.

While Delrin screamed and snarled uselessly on the ground, Lilianna took several moments to catch her breath. The audience was beside themselves with fervor as they demanded Lilianna finish the job. The arena platform looked like the remnants of a war zone, with the ground melted and then frozen over and a giant ice chisel still sticking up from the ground. Slowly floating down to the earth, the referee caught himself before slipping on the ice and then stared at the contestants in expectation. Nadrina let out a sigh of relief. At least the wild match was finally over.

Lilianna had slowly made her way over to Delrin, the ice melting before her to make a safe path. She was still panting hard, but was the only one left standing.

“Yield,” she gasped out between heaving breaths.

Through all the cheering of the crowd and excitement of her classmates, Nadrina could see the absolute loathing and malice in the glare that Delrin leveled at Lilianna. That he would be upset was obvious, but there was more in that look that made Nadrina pause. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that he was still going to try and fight.

Unfortunately, she was right.

With a wordless scream of fury, a tower of flames suddenly engulfed Delrin’s body. It couldn’t have been a spell. The pain he was in would have broken his concentration. This was wild, out-of-control magic that seemed to burn everything within several meters. Including Delrin.

Lilianna had leapt back from the flames after taking the initial blast. Some of her lovely hair had been burned away in an instant and her pale face was singed red with flash burns. She looked at Delrin in wide-eyed disbelief, too stunned to stop whatever it was he was doing to himself. Not even the referee acted, staring right along with her.

“I’ll KILL you!”

That blast of flames had melted Delrin’s restraints. It had also melted parts of his face, but he didn’t even seem to notice. Another tornado of fire, leagues larger than the first, engulfed the entire arena stage and both contestants. It was already flying out of control, expanding rapidly to fill the space allowed by the magic barrier over the stands. Even that was starting to show strain as rune scripts lit up along the length of the ward, the shield forced to draw in more and more mana to sustain itself. It was in danger of failing.

The crowd seemed to realize that this wasn’t a sporting duel anymore. Most were already running for the exits for fear of being consumed in an inferno, and the royal viewing box was being hastily evacuated. Nadrina and her class were all on their feet and rushing to the arena as fast as they could. Even if they couldn’t see Lilianna and Delrin through the flames, they could hear the desperate fighting that was taking place.

“That lunatic’s actually going to kill her!” Alek shouted above the panicking crowd.

“No! He isn’t!” Nadrina yelled defiantly, shoving past panicking spectators as she kept her gaze locked on the lower arena entrance.

Thankfully, the flaming tornado had gone out before they got to the ground floor. If it had looked like a war zone before, it resembled a hellscape now. The entire earth had been scorched black. Small barriers of ice and grooves cut into the ground by wind blades marked the desperate struggle that Lilianna had put up. The referee and the team of healers were cowering in a corner behind a wind barrier, clearly too overwhelmed to help anyone right now.

The class’ mad dash for the arena halted as they all laid eyes on the scene before them. Gazing beyond the chaos and destruction to the remnants of the arena platform, they found three people: a raving Delrin, an unconscious Lilianna, and Professor Aldric.

The professor was standing protectively in front of Lilianna’s prone form, facing away from the class. Delrin was across from him and had ceased burning, though his skin and hair were a smoldering mess that gave off a nauseating stench even this far away. The smattering of icicle spears sticking out of his body and openly bleeding cuts from wind blades only added to his horrifying state.

Nadrina shook off her shock and darted for Lilianna, heedless of the obvious danger around her. She bent over her friend and looked her over critically. She was clearly burned in several places and had a knot on her head that was slowly growing, but she was breathing. Nadrina gasped out a quick prayer of thanks for that.

“Who the hell are you?” Delrin screamed in outrage. “Get out of the way! She’s mine!”

He was screaming at Professor Aldric, who didn’t bother to answer. Delrin shrieked a wordless cry of fury as he lit up in flames again, charging towards the professor. He was only harming himself further, but he either didn’t feel it anymore or was beyond caring.

The professor still didn’t move. He calmly watched as a giant ball of fire and hatred rocketed towards him, riding a gust of wind magic. Nadrina was floored that Delrin could even still do that much. It looked like he intended to full body tackle the professor, and the man still hadn’t moved from his spot. Was he trying to shield their class? He was going to get killed!

At the last possible moment, Professor Aldric’s hand shot out and grabbed Delrin firmly by the face. Delrin suddenly stopped dead, like he’d hit a brick wall. It was such an abrupt stop that Delrin’s legs and torso kept going forward while his head stayed in place, swinging the lower half of his body up into the air. In the moment that Delrin was airborne, the professor shoved down hard and slammed the boy’s head into the ground with an echoing crack! The flames around Delrin’s body spluttered out and died as the impact instantly rendered him unconscious.

The entire “fight” couldn’t have lasted over three seconds, if that. It was so jarring an end that Nadrina thought she must have blinked and missed something important. How had he just stood there and absorbed Delrin’s charge like that?

The only sounds left were the panicking audience fleeing the stands and the hissing and crackling of the destroyed arena platform. Professor Aldric ignored all of it and didn’t even give Delrin a second glance. He whipped around and bent over to check on Lilianna. He took out what looked like a mending charm, stuck it to her chest, and then gathered the unconscious girl into his arms in a princess carry. His face was hard and his eyes steely as he made his way to the exit, wordlessly jerking his head at the rest of the class to follow him out.

“H-Hey! You there! S-Stop... I said stop!”

The referee of the match had stopped whimpering in the corner and had approached them from behind, his face a mixture of anger and unbridled panic. It startled Nadrina to realize that she didn’t recognize him. She’d thought the same referee had presided over all the matches, but she’d never seen this man before now. He’d only been there for Lilianna’s match.

“What do you think you’re doing? That girl needs to see professional healers. You are interfering with a royally sanctioned match and have just assaulted a member of the Osakar royal family! I should have your entire school disqualified for—”

Professor Aldric turned to look at the man as he approached. Whatever the referee saw on the professor’s face made him stumble to a stop, his face going white with sudden fear. Nadrina imagined the professor’s expression looked like the one he’d shown the bandits in the Vildim wilds; pitiless, with a promise of death.

“How much did they pay you?”

He didn’t shout or yell, but there was a deadly steel to the professor’s tone that gave even Nadrina chills. The referee looked like he’d just about pissed himself, but he managed to stammer out a reply.

“I b-beg your pardon? W-What are you implying?”

“Either you’re terrible at your job and needed me to do it for you, or someone paid you to be terrible on purpose.” Professor Aldric jabbed a finger towards the ruined wasteland around them. “At what point did you think maybe you should halt the match? Was it when Delrin started throwing out lethal spells back-to-back? Or was it after he forced Lilianna to fight to her fullest, just to stay alive? I’m sure Headmaster Elmaris and the governor of Nevis will be very interested in your reasoning behind allowing this death match to go this far.”

Without waiting for an answer, Professor Aldric turned back around and marched off to the arena exit, the rest of the class right on his heels. The tournament healers had started to intercept them but suddenly and quickly veered off course when they got a look at the professor’s expression, deciding that they could start with Delrin instead.

Nadrina looked back at the still frozen referee, his mouth agape as he watched them leave. Was he really bribed? Was that why the referees had been switched out? Memories of the welcoming dinner several days ago came back to Nadrina’s mind, with one particular statement from King Umell at the forefront of her mind.

“... they are still a direct threat to you and yours, Aldric.”

Chapter 10

ALDRIC WAS RELIEVED to find Kedrin in one of the healing tents set up for the tournament participants, since he’d didn’t know how to find the man after the chaos in the arena. His friend had always been quick on the uptake, though. If Aldric couldn’t trust the tournament officials, he sure as hell wouldn’t trust a bunch of nameless healers. Kedrin was already at work the moment Aldric had gently placed Lilianna on the cot. More than likely, she was just unconscious and would be fine, and Kedrin could easily take care of burns and cuts.

Even knowing that, there was still a lot of indignant fury built up inside of Aldric. Letting it out here wouldn’t help anyone, however. Instead, he parked himself on a bedside stool and looked over to the rest of the class. They were all staring at Lilianna’s prone form with mixed expressions of worry and anger.

“This is bullshit!” Codrin snarled. “That idiot should be kicked out of the tournament, if not outright arrested. Why didn’t anyone else do anything?”

“Are the tournament officials really in on this?” Volmar asked. “They can’t just ignore this. What would Verona and Osakar think? Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“Not really,” Aldric muttered darkly. He might as well be honest. They’d seen everything play out for themselves. “Delrin is a member of the royal branch family of Osakar. Even if it’s only a minor familial connection, it could still bring scandal to the royal family. Rhagia and Verona won’t have any say in the matter, and Rhagia can’t insist on punishment since he only injured Lilianna instead of killing her. Tournament participants are ‘accidentally’ injured all the time. At most, Osakar will pay a small penance of gold or platinum pieces and that’ll be the end of it. Bigger scandals than this have been swept under the rug for less. Won’t be the first or last time.”

“How is that even possible? Everyone out there saw what happened!” Alek protested. “That entire audience was witness to it. They won’t be silent about it, right?”

He looked to everyone else for confirmation, but they were looking away and hanging their heads. All the noble kids knew the truth to Aldric’s words. Aldric gave Alek a sad smile as he answered, “They’ll believe what the nobles say is true. Today will just be an unusual day at the tournament for them. Maybe they’ll talk for a few weeks, but if the nobles say nothing more about it, the people will just forget it and move on. It’s not their fault. It’s just human nature. And the nobility isn’t above using that.”

Alek looked like he didn’t want to believe that, but no one spoke against Aldric’s logic.

“... damn it!” Alek yelled. He kicked a nearby stool in anger and sent it flying under his enforced strength before storming out of the tent.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Volmar said, chasing the young man out. Codrin and Cira were right behind him. Nadrina ignored everyone, only having eyes for Lilianna.

“No need for the sad eyes, Drina,” Aldric told her. “She’s being treated by the most skilled healer in the empire. She’ll be right as rain.”

“While I’m rather confident she’ll be alright, I think ‘the most skilled’ might be a bit generous...” Kedrin muttered as he focused on his task. Aldric rolled his eyes. Despite Kedrin’s words, Lilianna’s blistered and torn skin was rapidly knitting itself together right in front of them.

“Ignore him,” he told Nadrina. “He’s being too humble. She’ll be fine.”

Nadrina nodded, the ghost of a smile touching her lips. “Thank you, Headmaster. And thank you, Professor.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“For saving my friend’s life, obviously. That monster would have killed her if you hadn’t been there. I still don’t know how you did that, but I also don’t really care right now. Thank you.”

Aldric blinked, then looked away and scratched at the back of his neck impulsively. “Yeah, whatever. You all would have done something if I hadn’t. Just doing my job.”

“Now who’s being humble?” Kedrin asked, smirking.

“Shut up.”

Nadrina giggled softly before the three of them lapsed into quiet. Lilianna saved them from the awkward silence by waking up just then. Her cerulean blue eyes slowly blinked open and took in her surroundings as her vision refocused. Nadrina practically materialized next to her friend the moment she woke, and Lilianna’s eyes snapped up to her.

“I lost, didn’t I?” she rasped weakly.

“Well, um...” Nadrina hesitated, clearly not sure how to put things.

“Delrin took it too far and tried to kill you. We haven’t figured out yet what the final verdict will be,” Aldric answered in her place.

Lilianna’s brow furrowed slightly at his words. She tried sitting up but clearly was having difficulty. “He’s a member of the royal family. He can’t be disqualified, so at best, they’ll call it a draw.”

The hollow tone of acceptance in her voice left Aldric a little sad. Leave it to an Asimov to already have a handle on the political situation.

“I will discuss this with the tournament board and Empress Rhagia,” Kedrin said, easing Lilianna back down onto the cot once again. “For now, you must rest. I took care of the worst bits, but it’s better to let your body do the rest of the healing on its own. I’ll be back later to check on you.” With that, he gave a nod to Aldric and exited the tent, most likely to go assist dealing with the chaos outside.

“The professor stepped in and saved you from Delrin,” Nadrina was explaining to Lilianna. “I think Delrin will be out of the fight for a while as well. Whatever fire spell he used burned him to a crisp. Even at the end there, you really did a number on him with those icicle spears of yours. He looked like a piece of jerky someone was using for a pincushion.”

She tried to laugh, but it was obviously forced. Lilianna didn’t respond to the joke or even change her blank expression.

“The professor... again...” Lilianna murmured.

At Nadrina’s confused look, Lilianna just shook her head and smiled. It was just as fake as Nadrina’s laugh. “Never mind. Thank you, Professor.”

Aldric just nodded, but Lilianna wasn’t looking him in the eyes.

“Don’t worry, Lilly!” Nadrina suddenly exclaimed. “No matter what happens with the tournament, I’ll make sure Delrin pays for this. Even if I have to duel him myself!”

Lilianna was already shaking her head before Nadrina even finished. “It’s ok, Drina. I lost. It happens. There’s nothing to do about it now, so don’t get yourself in trouble on my account.”

Nadrina seemed to pick up on Lilianna’s mood. She looked anxiously at Aldric, who just shrugged, then back to her friend. “I’ll... leave you to rest now. But I’ll be back in just a bit, ok?”

Lilianna nodded mutely. Nadrina was obviously concerned, but she nodded and walked to the open tent flap, looking back one more time before exiting.

Aldric stayed sitting where he was. Lilianna stared at the roof of the tent and still wouldn’t look at him.

“You don’t have to stay either, Professor. I’m supposed to rest, right? You should go.”

Aldric still didn’t move or speak.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m already feeling better. The headmaster really is amazing, isn’t he? I’ll be fine.”

Still, Aldric stayed where he was.

Lilianna scoffed lightly. “Did you want to talk about my performance? I guess I can understand that. It was rather dreary. I even thought I had him pinned for a moment there. That’ll teach me to assume victory in the future. You even taught us that, didn’t you? To assume nothing in a fight.”

She continued when he still didn’t answer. It sounded like she was talking to herself now. “I feel so silly. I could barely keep up with him in the beginning, thinking I was being so clever. But he sure showed me, huh? I’ll need to put in more hours of training later. Maybe Professor Glory can show me how to blend my elements together better. I noticed I don’t use water magic as often as I should. It’s my weaker element, but I should try to—”

“Lilly.”

Lilianna shut her mouth tight at Aldric’s gentle interruption, still staring at the ceiling. He could see the muscles in her face and jaw jumping with suppressed effort. He leaned in close over her bed, his face a foot from hers even as she continued to not look at him. He took her hand gently and smiled at her.

“It’s okay, Lilly.”

Her face was putting up a valiant effort. He could see it in the micro expressions that slipped through her brave front. It couldn’t last forever, however. After only a few moments, her mask shattered and the dam burst. Tears cascaded from her eyes down into her pillow, while her lips trembled with emotion.

“... why?” she croaked, and the ache in her voice stabbed at Aldric’s heart. “Why am I so irritated? I lost. So what? Why would that make me so angry? Why do I feel like I haven’t changed at all since coming here? I tired so damn hard, and I lost.”

Every question was a bitter accusation against herself, and she broke a little more with each one. Aldric just sat quietly and let her spill everything. Even he knew better than to interrupt.

“I’m being such a child,” she continued. “I’m sitting here crying in defeat and frustration like a toddler throwing a tantrum. It’s unbecoming of an Asimov. I know better. But it hurts. I’ve never felt so frustrated and defeated. Am I really that petulant? I lost once, and I feel like a failure! Why am I like this? Why do I—?”

Lilianna choked on her last sentence before shouting it out in a rush. “Why do I want Nadrina to lose to Delrin? So I can feel validated? To feel like I’m not falling behind her? So that I can be the arrogant noble people always think I am? What is wrong with me? I’m awful! I’m the worst friend in the whole damn world!”

Her cries increased in volume with every nail she drove into her own heart. To Aldric, it didn’t sound like this was the first time she was having these thoughts about herself. Lilianna was full on weeping by the end of her tirade as Aldric continued to sit in silence, simply being there and holding her hand. Several healers came to investigate and see what the commotion was about, but quickly fled before Aldric’s piercing glare. Many long minutes passed as her crying eventually burned down to occasional hiccups while she continued to stare at the celling of the tent.

“... awful people rarely despair over how awful they are,” Aldric finally said into the quiet. “But if you still don’t know why you feel that way, I have a theory.”

Lilianna snorted in a very unladylike way. “Whatever.” She sounded more like a teenager in that moment than she ever had. Sadness had now given way to anger, it seemed. Despite her harsh tone, however, she hadn’t let go of his hand yet. Aldric waited a few beats to make sure she was actually listening, then continued.

“I think you’ve never been allowed to fail.” Aldric said plainly. “I think your whole life, you’ve had it beaten into your brain that failure is equivalent to death, or at least something close to it. Any misstep in any way would reflect negatively on House Asimov, something that your family would never tolerate.”

Aldric waited for a response, but none was forthcoming. Was that good? Damn it, Aldric had never been good at these things. He could be making everything worse for all he knew, but he fumbled on regardless. He had to say something, right?

“I also think,” he continued, “that you were surrounded by others who didn’t understand just how talented you really were. Or if they did, they lacked the ability to teach you anything you wouldn’t immediately grasp. You’ve never been given any sort of challenge or goal to strive for. You breezed through every test your family tutors ever gave you, which only reaffirmed your mentality that success was always a certainty. I think this is the first time in your life that magic has actually challenged you.”

“So, I’m a spoiled little girl who doesn’t like failure because she thinks she’s perfect?” Lilianna snapped.

“You’re a young woman who just found something that she wants for herself. Not for her family or for her house’s reputation, but just for the sake of achieving it. Now that you’ve found this important thing, you fear losing it. You want it so badly that I regularly need to tell you to pace yourself for fear that you’re going to burn out and become discouraged... sort of like right now. And when you don’t get the thing you’re striving for, you get frustrated. Not being allowed to fail, coupled with exceptional talent, means you’ve never really had to deal with failure before now. Of course you’re bad at handling it. You never got to practice.”

Lilianna scrunched up her face in consternation, likely pitting his words against her already held beliefs. She looked dubious, but it was the most reaction he’d gotten out of her so far.

“So, what, I’m failing to fail properly?”

“You failed to fail with proper failure after your family failed to teach you of failure,” Aldric said lightly, giving her a grin. He managed to pull the smallest of smiles out of her, but it faded quickly. Both sat in companionable silence while she mulled over his theory. When she finally spoke again, her tone was less self-condemning.

“Honestly, I envy Drina,” she finally said. “She just takes everything thrown at her, good and bad, and makes it into something she can use. Never mind the fact that she’s brilliant in just about everything she puts her mind to. She has this amazing drive that I find fascinating, like an insatiable hunger. It makes me wish I could be like her. Compared to her, I’m just going through the motions and getting by on my family’s name. She had none of the advantages I did growing up, but I’m sure that if we’d started on the same level, she would have outpaced me easily. She’s the one who everyone should know by name, not me.”

Aldric couldn’t help it. He laughed. The irony of her words was just too funny to him. Lilianna’s head whipped around and shot him a withering glare. “What, you don’t think so? You should know better than anyone! Nadrina is the finest sorcerer in this entire academy. I’d stake my life on it!”

Aldric quickly schooled himself and raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry! Not why I’m laughing. I just remembered having a very similar conversation with Drina about you. I swear, you girls are a little too alike.”

Lilianna narrowed her eyes in obvious disbelief, and Aldric wavered on just how much to divulge of his private talk with Nadrina at Alek’s village. Then he decided that these two were best friends, anyway. It might help them both to put their issues into perspective.

“I assume you remember the bandits in the Vildim Wilds?” When Lilianna nodded in affirmation, Aldric went on. “Drina had a hard time dealing with it emotionally afterwards. That was the first time she’d seen people die. I figured you were made of sterner stuff, thanks to your upbringing, but I forgot to consider how a young, naïve village girl would handle things.”

At Lilianna’s slowly dawning expression of mortified panic, Aldric waved her off. “Before you try to jump out of bed and sprint off to her, she’s fine. I might not be good at pep talks, but I’ve talked more than one soldier through their first fight. She’s alright now. Mostly, she just didn’t like how weak she felt in that moment.”

Lilianna looked like she still wanted to go find her friend and comfort her, but she gradually relaxed back onto the cot. Then she digested what Aldric had said and turned an incredulous look his way.

“But she was remarkable!” Lilianna argued defensively. “She jumped into the middle of a fight that she could have easily escaped just because she wanted to save someone. She’s usually so timid, but the moment someone needed her help, she didn’t even hesitate. It was so brave.” She bit her lip in consternation and looked back to the ceiling again. “And I wanted to take her and leave. It was the practical thing to do. I’m sure my family would have applauded my callousness.”

“Right until you jumped in with her. You were ready to trade your life for hers, the way Drina tells it.”

“Only because she did it first. I was only following her example. And we still almost died, anyway. I didn’t save anyone. I only sat there until you saved me. Again.”

Aldric wanted to disagree, but he could see her sliding back into her self-loathing again, so he brought them back on topic. “Do you want to know why she joined this tournament in the first place?” he asked.

Lilianna still looked unsure, but her curiosity won out and she nodded.

“She wanted to catch up to you. She thought she was holding you back and made you jump into a dangerous situation with her because of her own weakness. Nadrina wants to become strong so she can stand beside you as an equal, so that the next time she can protect you instead. You’re the mage that she looks up to as her ideal, and that desire to catch up to you galvanized her into participating.”

Aldric imagined it didn’t happen often that Lilianna completely lost her composure. Her face was hilarious when she was flabbergasted. She tried and failed several times to voice her feelings, but in the end just sat in stunned silence.

“How ironic that both of you consider the other superior. Maybe it would be best for both of you to just improve together, without all the inferiority complexes or self-doubt. Maybe you can just be friends without trying to keep score and enjoy the benefits that come with having someone to grow with.”

“...m-maybe...” Lilianna muttered, blushing furiously. Aldric just smiled at her. He couldn’t judge her. He was only parroting the same advice that Kedrin had given him all those years ago. Miraea had been quite the intimidating rival, after all.

“And you’re allowed to fail, Lilly,” Aldric continued. “Failure is the opportunity to do something better the next time. It’s not the end of the world.”

“I know that, obviously,” Lilianna muttered, still blushing. “It’s just... hard to internalize.”

“Don’t I know it?” Aldric sighed wistfully. “Good news is, the more you fail, the easier it gets.”

Lilianna wore a small smile as she looked at Aldric. He assumed he’d said something right, at least. “Does that mean you’ll give me a break if I fail any future assignments?”

“Hell no,” Aldric answered immediately. “You were basically carrying the class average. You start doing poorly, and the school will throw me out on my ass.” At Lilianna’s look of alarm, Aldric rolled his eyes. “That was a joke, Lilly. Geez, we really do need to get you to lighten up.”

“Oh,” was all Lilianna said as she turned twice as red. Aldric laughed and stood up.

“I’ll go see how the mess outside is going. I’ll be back to check on you in a bit, so behave and get some rest.”

When Lilianna nodded, he turned to leave, only to be yanked backwards by Lilianna’s hand, still holding his. Even as he turned back, she kept pulling on him until she had him in a tight hug.

“Thank you, Professor,” she murmured into his ear. “I think you should take your own advice and stop doubting yourself. You always say you’re bad at your job, but you’re a wonderful professor.”

The honest confidence in her words made Aldric’s eyes sting in a way he didn’t want to think about right now, so he immediately deflected with sarcasm. “Wow, you hit your head harder than I thought. Do I need to go get Kedrin?”

Lilianna just giggled as she released him, smiling fondly at him. “We’ll convince you, some day.”

Aldric could only mumble an excuse and quickly retreat. He did his best to look dignified when he left. In reality, however, he fled like a coward from a teenager so that she couldn’t make him blush any more than he already was.

~~~

NADRINA WAS AN IDIOT. A gods damn idiot. Why hadn’t she noticed? She’d thought that Lilianna had seemed a bit out of it lately. She’d been oddly tense and bull headed about their training, to where the others had to make her take breaks. Nadrina foolishly believed that it was just part of what made Lilianna so talented. Surely a genius like her wouldn’t need any support. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Nadrina had been returning to the healer’s tent to ask the professor for some advice about her brewing plans for Delrin. She was upset enough with the brat that she wanted to make sure that she wasn’t just being reactionary. She needed an adult’s advice before she wound up doing something stupid and impulsive.

That was when she’d overheard Lilianna venting her frustrations. About how much expectation had been placed on her, and how distressed she was that she might not be living up to the best she could be.

And about how Lilianna actually looked up to Nadrina, of all people.

And now Nadrina was standing in the arena again three days later, as part of the semifinals. The entire class, except Codrin, had passed the qualifying rounds, but none of them were in a celebratory mood. Lilianna’s match had been declared a draw, with both participants advancing onwards. Which was ridiculous.

Everyone who had seen the match knew what nonsense this all was, but no one could say anything about it. The crowds had all discussed the event at length, but looking at them now, they were far more excited by the prospect of more matches than something that had already happened. Even now, Nadrina could see Delrin’s pompous little face amongst those in the front rows.

Annoyingly, the healers had rid him of any scars that his suicide spell likely would have left. If his prior match against an enforcer the day before this was any sign, he had almost no ill effects left over from his fight with Lilianna. More than likely, they had given him every available resource under the sun for his recovery just because of who his family was.

Nadrina had been planning to ask the Professor if her plan for Delrin was foolish or unnecessary, but now she found herself not caring. Delrin needed to be knocked down a peg. Or ten.

Her opponent was from Verona, and the only thing Nadrina had learned about him was that he was supposedly a skilled water conjurer. Normally, she would have spent the several days before today thinking up strategies to best compliment her opponent and secure the easiest victory. Right now, however, there was only one thing about this young man Nadrina cared about; he was in her way.

Nadrina nodded to the referee when asked if she was ready. Thankfully, the one from Lilianna’s match was long gone, though that still bothered Nadrina. Even if he’d deserved it, he’d only been fired and nothing else. More than that, the people behind him had never been identified, cutting him loose the moment he’d become inconvenient to them. No one else but the referee had been reprimanded. The injustice of it all only stoked the fire in her heart more.

The young man across from her also nodded to the official, looking at Nadrina with obvious disdain. Good. That would make this simple.

“Then in the light of the day, before the gods and your ancestors, be honorable and brave. Begin!”

The boy was prepping for a large-scale water spell, most likely to end the match as soon as it started. Unfortunately for him, Nadrina had the same idea. She’d already taken out her collapsible staff and was aiming the point at her opponent. She activated the runes on the bottom of her boots and slowly began imbuing her planned enchantment. It was a big one and would take a while. Her opponent didn’t even seem to notice she’d done anything, too absorbed in his own spell.

By the time he’d finished mumbling all the runes, he was surrounded by an orb of water. Attached to the orb were two tentacles wildly whipping about. It looked a lot like what Cira had used in her own match, though a lot less impressive. Despite that, the boy looked immensely pleased with himself. Perhaps he expected Nadrina to yield right then and there. If he did, he was horribly mistaken.

“Venti manas prask!” Nadrina shouted, putting every ounce of mana she could spare into the enchantment in her staff.

Calling what happened next an explosion would be underselling it.

An almighty roar of compressed air ripped through the entire arena from both ends of her staff with enough force to make Nadrina’s ears pop. The rear most blast went careening into the protective barrier over the crowd while the front most blast made an alarmingly fast beeline for Nadrina’s opponent. He had just enough time to widen his eyes ever so slightly before the horse sized block of air ripped through his water orb like it wasn’t even there and sent him flying.

He didn’t even get out a scream in time. His rag-doll body slammed into the protective barrier hard enough to momentarily bend it. The boy flopped like a dead fish onto the ground with a satisfying thud, his head bouncing a bit from the impact. Nadrina predicted the healers would have their work cut out for them with that many broken bones.

From start to finish, the match had lasted less than ten seconds. The entire arena was blanketed in dust clouds and dead silence.

Nadrina shook out her arms as she undid the enchantment on her boots. She’d miscalculated a bit on her enchantment’s force and had nearly blown up her staff, but it had worked regardless. Professor Aldric had always said it wasn’t stupid if it worked.

It was too bad she could only do that once. She’d pay good money to see Delrin fly like a feather caught in a hurricane. She had better plans for him, though.

Nadrina suddenly realized that the referee still hadn’t ended the match, looking just as flabbergasted as the audience did. Instead of waiting for him to pick his jaw up off the floor, Nadrina seized the initiative. The silence of the crowd only served her plan better.

Without waiting for anyone’s permission, she marched to the center of the arena, faced the royal viewing box, and bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle. Thank the gods Lilianna had insisted she practice proper etiquette.

“Your majesties, I profusely apologize for the lackluster display of this match. I did not intend to waste your precious time on such a farce. I accept complete responsibility and would like to offer my sincere apologies to the audience that took time out of their day today to attend what should have been an entertaining spectacle. Because of this, I must selfishly ask a favor of you all in order to rectify my blunder.”

Nadrina was glad she couldn’t see anyone’s faces from her bowing position. Making eye contact would only make her already galloping heart burst from the stress. A part of her mind railed against the idea of speaking so abruptly to royalty unprompted, but she’d already taken it this far.

“I must ask that you allow me to compensate you all by allowing me to fight my next match immediately. Specifically, my match with Delrin of Osakar.”

The crowd had finally broken out of their silent trance and were muttering amongst themselves in confusion. A commoner was requesting a personal boon of three royals as some sort of apology? This was surely not what they had expected to see today.

No answer was immediately forthcoming. It made sense. It was a rather ridiculous and audacious thing to ask. Nadrina hoped her shaking legs weren’t obvious as she stewed in the silence of the royals. When it finally ended, the response she received was about what one would expect.

“You would make a mockery of my countryman and then complain that it was not challenging enough for you?” King Thagrius boomed out in an irritated voice. The entire arena had quieted instantly at the sound of his voice. “Your audacity does you no credit, girl. We are not here to grant petty requests because you find yourself bored with the competition.”

“I believe she said that it was for the sake of the audience,” Empress Rhagia interrupted. “And her victory was rather abrupt. Perhaps her idea has merit. I, for one, am eager to see what else she offers us after such a grandiose display of sorcery.”

“We cannot interrupt the proceedings of this tournament on merely your own whim, Empress,” Thagrius argued. “Besides, there’s no telling if her next opponent would be this Delrin, anyway. Her personal grudges do not alter the rankings of the tournament.”

“... actually, your majesties,” Nadrina interjected, half expecting someone to strike her down in a hail of spells for interrupting a king. “According to the math I’ve done, statistically speaking, it is most likely for Delrin to be my next opponent based on the performance of the other remaining contestants.”

This was more of an educated guess, but it was likely. Based on the patterns Nadrina had already observed about the match-ups, Delrin was due an easier match than what he’d been up against soon. Who better for that than a sorcerer?

“Is this true?” Empress Rhagia asked of a nearby tournament official. The official paled at the sudden attention of three royals and hastily consulted a clipboard. After a moment, they spoke. “While not necessarily a guarantee, your majesty, it is certainly one of the likely match-ups being considered.”

Empress Rhagia looked over to King Thagrius in victory. “There you have it.”

Thagrius was fuming now. “Your sorcerer has showed enough of her talent today. I would think we have thoroughly sated her ego. It is now time for others to shine.” He gestured to the nearby tournament announcer, apparently deciding that was the end of the discussion. “Please begin the next—!”

“I like this idea,” King Umell suddenly spoke up. “I’m in favor of it. The spirit of a young mage is something that I can appreciate. If anything, I believe she is putting herself at a disadvantage by not taking a break. I can’t imagine her earlier spell was a cheap one. If the girl wishes to entertain us, I say let her. Is that not what these good people came here for today?”

The murmurs in the audience changed into agreement, some outright cheering to allow Nadrina’s next match. King Thagrius looked displeased, but he did not immediately disagree. King Umell had neatly aligned the people’s expectations against Thagrius with a single statement. As much as Nadrina didn’t like the man, she had to respect his ability to move people to his will.

That didn’t stop her from being surprised, however. Why would he, of all people, speak up for her? It reeked of a trap of some sort, but she couldn’t figure out what he could have planned. This had been her idea, after all. It wasn’t like he knew she would do this... right?

“Your majesties,” Delrin suddenly shouted over the crowd from his place in the front row with the other students of Osakar. He was bent over at the waist while facing the royal box. “I have already had my match for today. As confident as I may be, I am still recovering from my previous fights and a prior serious injury several days ago. As much as I hate to disappoint your expectations, I believe that—”

“Delrin?” King Umell suddenly interrupted. The question was spoken casually, like a polite interjection, but there was also a strange weight behind it that made goosebumps rise on Nadrina’s skin. It was a weight that asked the listener to consider their response with the utmost care.

Delrin must have heard it as well. Nadrina could practically imagine the loud snap of the young man’s jaw quickly shutting. King Umell spoke into the sudden silence, and Nadrina was sure this time that she heard that looming force in his voice.

“You will fight another bout today,” King Umell spoke with unquestionable certainty.

Delrin may have been a brat, but he wasn’t an idiot. He mutely nodded to his king, face looking a little white.

“And there you have it!” King Umell announced to the gathered audience, who were paying rapt attention. That odd tone he’d used was nowhere to be found any longer.

“I’m sure everyone here today appreciates the efforts of these two young mages. Please, would you show them your appreciation? They are about to give you one hell of a show!”

Apparently, he didn’t need the tournament organizer’s permission. The audience answered immediately and enthusiastically with cheers of approval. Nadrina could hardly believe it. King Umell was not her ally of choice, but she’d take what she could get.

She’d gotten her wish. Now she just had to make it count.

Chapter 11

ALDRIC HAD A HARD TIME keeping the surprise from his face.

He’d known Nadrina long enough to learn that she could be remarkably stubborn when she wanted to be. Particularly, anything involving learning something new about magic would earn her undivided, ruthless attention until she learned everything she could about it. Even though she could often appear weak willed, Aldric had met very few people in his life that were as passionate about magic as Nadrina.

That being said, if someone had tried to tell him that Nadrina would start a conversation with three royals just so she could have a shot at revenge, Aldric would have bet his meager life savings against those odds. And apparently, he’d be left broke.

He’d seen Nadrina frustrated, stubborn, irritable and reckless before, but this was the first time he’d seen her genuinely angry. He took the briefest of moments to feel slightly sorry for Delrin. That boy had no idea how deep the pile he’d just stepped in was.

Aldric turned his attention to the girl sitting next to him in the audience, who was most likely the inspiration for this sudden change in character. She looked more surprised than he did.

“Did she really just...?” Lilianna asked, her question fading into the background as the arena continued to cheer for the next match.

“Um, I’m glad Nadrina is feeling fired up,” Volmar said, “but is she going to be okay? I mean, this is Delrin we’re talking about. She’s really come far, but this is a bit...” The rest of the class seemed to share his hesitation as they looked on with worry.

“Hang on,” Codrin finally said, hastily getting to his feet. “I’ll go see if we can stop this. Surely there’s a rule against this somewhere in the—”

Lilianna suddenly grabbed Codrin by the arm and yanked him back down into his chair. Codrin looked at her in shock, but she had her eyes glued to the arena where Nadrina now stood readying for her match.

“She’ll be fine,” Lilianna said, with steel in her voice. “No, more than that. She’ll win. Just sit and watch.”

The class all looked at Aldric with pleas on their faces, but he just shrugged at them. “You heard the lady. She’ll win.”

Aldric genuinely believed in his pupil, but something was still nagging at him. Rebran had allowed this fight far too easily. Aldric couldn’t tell if it was a whim or a scheme, but either seemed bad. He’d need to keep an extra careful watch on this fight.

“Then in the light of the day, before the gods and your ancestors, be honorable and brave. Begin!”

Aldric snapped back to reality when he heard Delrin shout, “Igni volmus conflagus!” A massive gout of fire burst forth from his mouth and blanketed the arena in an instant. The crowd reacted to the sudden attack with alarm. It was the same opening spell Delrin had used against Lilianna, and Aldric had to try not to grind his teeth. This spell was just within the bounds of being called non-lethal, but Delrin was already pushing the rules again.

When the flames and smoke cleared, Nadrina stood exactly where she had been, in exactly the same state of health. The only difference was that she was holding an amulet out in front of her. As the audience exclaimed their surprise, she dropped it to the ground in front of her. The white-hot enchanted jewelry was hissing and spitting angrily on the ground as it melted, having absorbed the heat from Delrin’s magic.

It was typical he would try the same trick again. He had a habit of taking the match to a full sprint right from the outset, hoping to overwhelm his opponent and outlast them with his larger mana pool. It wasn’t the worst tactic, but he’d proven himself a one-trick pony in every match of his so far. Of course Nadrina would predict it and have a plan ready to go. Underestimating her would be this young man’s undoing.

Delrin was either stubborn or a slow learner. He immediately followed up his attack with the same spell. Once again, all that resulted was another smoldering amulet. Aldric was willing to bet Nadrina had loaded her pockets with all manner of enchanted odds and ends. Delrin would run out of mana before Nadrina ran out of countermeasures. He wouldn’t win this with overwhelming force alone.

Apparently deciding that she’d given him enough of a head start, Nadrina finally made her move. She reached into her clothes and pulled out a fistful of... something. It wasn’t easy to tell what they were from the stands, but she tossed them across the floor of the arena as she dashed forward. Strangely, she had her eyes closed when she did it. That was enough of a hint to Aldric for him to snap his eyes shut as well.

A series of loud bangs followed by the cries of pain from the audience and his class made Aldric grin a bit. When he opened his eyes again, Delrin was stumbling in place while deaf and blind. Nadrina had perfected the enchantment that she’d used in the Vildim Wilds during the bandit attack. Delrin looked like he couldn’t decide whether to hold his eyes or his ears in pain.

Meanwhile, a pissed off teenager was barreling towards the defenseless young man. Delrin was throwing out gouts of fire and wind in a panic, but Nadrina side stepped all of them easily. She didn’t give the poor fool any mercy as she two handed her staff like a battle axe, reeled back, and walloped Delrin across the side of his head with a crack.

The blow sent Delrin rolling like a runaway wagon wheel across the length of the arena, finally coming to a stop in a heap of flailing limbs. Aldric had seen the telltale glow of earth enchantments granting the staff extra heft as Nadrina struck Delrin. Aldric was quickly learning that it was a favorite of hers.

Impressively, Delrin had held on to enough of his wits to throw up a wall of wind to catch himself before he tumbled out of bounds. His obvious concern was that Nadrina would follow up and knock him out of the ring. Instead, when he finally got back on his shaky legs, he found Nadrina standing in a ready stance. She hadn’t moved, and she wore the fiercest look Aldric had ever seen on the young woman.

Apparently, a ring out victory wasn’t acceptable to her. Delrin’s beatings were to continue until Nadrina was satisfied.

Delrin roared out another spell with indignant fury. “Venti kopis raga gigantas!”

Long tendrils of pure air formed around Delrin’s arm and stretched out for ten meters each, resembling a massive cat of nine tails whip. With a snap of his arm, the tendrils shot forward with a deafening snap. Nadrina had only moments to dive out of the way before the area she’d been standing in was savaged by razor-sharp blades of wind. They carved deep grooves into the ground, resembling the claw marks of some massive beast. Nadrina rolled to her feet, then stumbled a bit on her left leg as blood trickled down her calf. Apparently, she hadn’t made it through the attack completely unscathed.

Aldric recognized the spell. It had been designed to kill large flying creatures like wyverns. It was also unarguably designed to be lethal.

Aldric was already on his feet, but the referee beat him to it. He blew hard into an enchanted whistle that broke through all the commotion in the stadium. “Foul! Deadly spells are not permitted in this tournament! Do that again and you will be disqualified!”

Delrin sent a seething glare towards the referee, but said nothing as he stalked back to the center of the arena. The referee quickly checked on Nadrina’s leg and asked if she wanted to continue. When she nodded in confirmation, the official looked at her bleeding leg with open worry, but walked her back to the starting position. The crowd made their displeasure at the interruption known as boos.

Aldric slowly sat back down again. At least they were doing their jobs this time. Kedrin had told him that every contestant got a single warning per match. Even the assholes, unfortunately.

When the referee started the match for a second time, Nadrina was the first to move. Breaking her staff down into two segments, she aimed both ends at Delrin and activated a chain of runes along the side. Geysers of water shot towards Delrin. Delrin dismissively summoned a wall of fire, and the water hissed and evaporated before the heat.

Despite this, Nadrina didn’t let up. She continued spraying water, slowly advancing as she did, until it became hard to see anything from the stands. She finally stopped when a giant cloud of steam blanketed most of the arena platform. Then she quickly assembled her staff together and slammed the butt end of it into the ground.

“Durna venti!”

Within seconds, the steam in the air turned into ice crystals. What looked like a pile of snow collapsed in a heap to the ground and covered Delrin up to his shoulders. The boy immediately started shivering from the intense drop in temperature. Lilianna audibly gasped next to Aldric, and he found her staring in disbelief. She apparently hadn’t known Nadrina could copy her magic.

Delrin hastily summoned a gust of wind to excavate himself, but Nadrina was already coming his way at full speed. He put his hands up and shouted out a spell just before Nadrina was in range.

“Igni conflagus!”

No fire spell came forth, however.

It left Delrin standing stupidly with his hands in the air just before taking another swing from Nadrina’s earth imbued staff, this time right under his chin. The force of the blow caused Delrin to sail out of the snow pile, performing a half backflip before landing painfully on the back of his neck and shoulders. Nadrina followed up with a downward strike, but Delrin used a gust of air to slide himself out of harm’s way. Instead, the staff left an ominous spider web of cracks on the stone floor.

Delrin released a burst of wind mana that propelled dust and snow across the stadium. It forced Nadrina to back off while Delrin hid behind a wall of air. He’d apparently bitten his tongue when Nadrina had hit him, because he was bleeding buckets of blood from his mouth.

“And that’s checkmate,” Aldric muttered, just loud enough for his students to hear. “That was her goal from the beginning, the clever girl.”

“Why didn’t his spell work?” Codrin asked. Based on the confusion on everyone else’s faces, the rest of Aldric’s class had the same question.

“The ambient temperature,” Aldric answered, earning everyone’s attention. “Delrin being hosed with water and then blanketed with frost lowered his body temperature, even if just a bit. That, combined with the air taking a dive in temperature, suddenly made it hard for him to conjure fire. It wouldn’t normally be that big of a problem, but Nadrina caught him while he was panicking, so he couldn’t focus through it. Now Delrin is heavily battered and has a damaged mouth. Casting out loud will be difficult for him now, and bigger spells are basically impossible. His primary strategy, and the only type of attack Nadrina couldn’t handle, is no longer an option.”

Everyone looked at Aldric like they had trouble believing that. The only one who nodded in understanding was Lilianna.

“Damn. She’s kind of scary when she’s mad,” Alek commented absently. “Did she plan everything out from the beginning? Not that I doubt her, but that just seems impossible.”

Aldric looked at all of them with a knowing smirk. “I’d bet you anything that she did.” He turned to Lilianna. “You didn’t teach her how to use ice magic, did you?”

Lilianna shook her head, awestruck. “She’d been trying to convert how I make ice into runes that she could use, but they were all too complicated for her to imbue quickly. I guess... I guess she figured it out somehow.”

“And where did she learn about canceling out fire magic with water?” Aldric asked, while looking at Codrin and Cira. Codrin suddenly perked up in realization.

“I mentioned it right after my fight with Cira. About how being drenched in water made it hard to make fire.”

“No way,” Cira said. “She couldn’t have just adapted that on the fly. That’s just...” she trailed off, unable to voice her disbelief.

“I’m the one who taught her how to fight hand to hand,” Aldric said. “But I never told her to make that staff. That was entirely her own idea that she adopted from my own daggers and use of spell paper. She adds runes to it every time she thinks up a new combination that can be imbued quickly.”

His smirk persisted while they all mulled that over. “Some people are scary because of their natural talent, others because of their unwavering determination and commitment. Nadrina is a terrifying combination of the two. If you give her time to study your movements and make plans to counter them, you’ve already lost.”

The class looked back to Nadrina’s match with looks of newfound respect. Aldric was happy to find something else in their gazes as well: determination. They wouldn’t let Nadrina get ahead of them that easily.

Meanwhile, Delrin had been cowering in his air bubble shield while building up air and fire mana in a torrent around himself. If Delrin didn’t pass out from blood loss or yield, the official would keep the fight going even through serious injury. Aldric wasn’t sure Delrin possessed the mental faculties to make rational choices like surrendering, however. The death glare he shot Nadrina, coupled with his blood-smeared face, reminded Aldric of a wounded and wild animal.

The spell he was casting was still building, since his ruined mouth meant he would have to take the time to cast it silently. Nadrina, thankfully, realized this. She darted forward, determined not to give Delrin the time he needed, but her leg was clearly giving her problems. She wasn’t as fast as before, and Delrin could toss simple spells to keep her at bay. Nadrina dodged all of them, but Delrin kept her moving and didn’t leave her any chance to pull more tricks. Before Nadrina could take back the pace again, Delrin finished forming his spell. He gave her a bloody smile as he extended both hands towards her.

The flaming tornado spell ignited around Nadrina. It formed slower than normal and was much smaller than the one he used in Lilianna’s match, but was no less devastating. The audience soon lost sight of Nadrina as the massive conflagration consumed her figure with hungry crimson flames. The audience was roaring at the spectacle, but Aldric’s class had gone deadly quiet.

Aldric knew those fire absorbing talismans Nadrina had used were hard to make. Hopefully, she’d prepared enough of them. Lilianna’s knuckles were white as she clenched the arms of her chair in fear.

The tornado lingered for less than ten seconds before dissipating this time. Delrin was either having a hard time with silently casting it or was running low on mana. When the flames and smoke cleared, there was... nothing. For one horrible moment, Aldric imagined Nadrina being burned to ashes and scattered to the winds. Then he noticed the large hole in the middle of the arena platform.

Even Delrin looked bewildered as he found empty space where he’d expected to find his defeated opponent. The crowd got restless, denied their climactic conclusion. Where had Nadrina gone? The referee looked like he didn’t know whether to consider this Delrin’s victory.

Aldric suddenly realized Nadrina’s plan and laughed. The class looked at him in concern, but he just pointed to the arena. They’d soon see.

Delrin had encased himself in a full bubble air shield that wrapped completely around him. It was an advanced air spell and one Delrin should have been proud of casting wordlessly, but it had a critical flaw. The shield itself was impressive, but too many air mages forgot it couldn’t cover every angle.

Within a few seconds, a hole suddenly started to form in the floor behind Delrin within the confines of his air shield. The audience all exclaimed in excitement when they saw it, and Delrin quickly whipped around to see the unexpected sand pit. He simply stared at it, clearly uncomprehending.

Then, a familiar staff jutted out from the hole and pointed directly at Delrin’s head. He had exactly enough time to slur a surprised “Wha—!” before a concentrated geyser of fire erupted straight into his face. Delrin immediately started screaming and flailing as his head lit up in flames, wildly flailing his arms to put it out.

Nadrina now fully erupted from the sandpit, covered head to toe in dirt and wearing a ferocious grin. She mercilessly gave the panicking Delrin a heavy kick to his sternum, cutting off his screams in a whoosh and sending him sprawling backwards. The air shield had long since disintegrated into nothing as Delrin lost his focus, so nothing was stopping him as he tumbled into the first hole that Nadrina had dug. Nadrina must have used her earth imbued boots for such a hefty kick.

The audience roared with laughter at the sight of Delrin’s bottom half sticking out of the hole straight up in the air, legs flailing for all they were worth. Aldric was a little worried that Codrin and Alek would stop breathing from their hysterical fits of laughter. Even Gran, Kedrin and Zasia up in the royal viewing box were having a hard time keeping composed. By the time Delrin extricated himself from the pitfall, he was ruby red with fury. Or maybe from the blood rushing to his head.

Delrin let out a bestial scream that reverberated throughout the entire arena and cut through the mass of laughter. Out of nowhere, the fire tornado that should have been gone was back again. It was thinner and weaker, but no less dangerous. Aldric realized with a start that Delrin knew mana recycling, or at least something close to it. The two elements of wind and fire swirled faster and faster as they circled both combatants and hemmed them in. Delrin was likely using every last bit of mana he had left in his pool to do this. Aldric was half convinced the stupid boy was about to kill himself just for the sake of his pride.

“Igni durna venti tera jorum pleidas!”

As soon as Nadrina finished speaking her oddly long incantation, Delrin’s body suddenly spasmed violently. A crack and a plume of smoke were all that happened before Delrin fell boneless to the ground in a heap. The tornado, already weak, dissipated into nothing once again.

No one spoke. No one moved. The whole thing was so sudden and confusing that nobody really knew what to do. Aldric analyzed what he could from the stands as the referee checked on Delrin.

If it hadn’t been Nadrina, he wouldn’t have believed his own ears. The incantation she had used was the bare bones basics of Zasia’s lightning spell. That required the merging of four elements in tandem. Aldric was pretty sure that only Zasia knew how to do that. DId she teach it to Nadrina?

Aldric looked over to Zasia in the royal viewing box, only to find the normally composed noblewoman’s jaw practically touching the floor. Okay, so she hadn’t taught Nadrina that. Talented as she may be, there wasn’t any way Nadrina had figured that out on her own, was there?

Nadrina’s sudden insight into lightning magic wasn’t the biggest surprise, however. As the referee rolled the unconscious Delrin over, Aldric saw the slip of spell paper stuck to his stomach. It had probably been on the bottom of Nadrina’s boot and planted there when she’d kicked him.

All at once, it clicked. Nadrina had infused the enchantment with blood. Nadrina had figured out remote enchantment activation entirely on her own, Aldric’s own technique, that he was certain he hadn’t had the time to teach her yet. It was admittedly rough and only a simple shock spell, but it was more than most could ever hope to achieve with proper training, much less on their own. It was a hell of a lot better than Aldric’s first attempt had been, at least.

“Damn. I’ve created a monster,” Aldric muttered, chuckling despite himself.

“The winner of this bout, decided by knockout, is Nadrina Flemming!”

No one reacted to the referee’s announcement. Not even Aldric’s class said anything. Everyone just stared in disbelief at the young sorcerer who had done the impossible. Nadrina seemed to snap out of whatever battle mode she’d been stuck in. Without an opponent to take her frustrations out on, she seemed to suddenly realize where she was. She looked comically confused, like she couldn’t understand everyone’s surprise.

“DRINA!”

Aldric’s ears rang a bit from Lilianna’s sudden yell. The young noblewoman was standing up in her chair while waving her arms frantically in the air. The biggest smile Aldric had ever seen her wear was firmly planted on her face.

“I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!”

Lilianna’s shout seemed to break the spell of silence over the audience. The entire arena erupted with booming shouts and applause, but none of them were louder than Lilianna and the rest of the class. Cheers hammered Nadrina from every angle as the crowd heaped praises down onto her, but the young woman only had eyes for Lilianna as she beamed with pride at her friend.

The applause went on for so long that the announcer eventually had to step in to calm everyone down. This wasn’t even the last match of the day, but it was likely the only match the city would talk about for days to come. Aldric took a smug satisfaction in knowing that the nobles that had tried to undermine Nadrina’s earlier victory were now getting their comeuppance. Let them try to top that.

He looked over at the royal viewing box. Thagrius had a scowl on his face, but Rebran was nowhere to be seen. Aldric hoped that meant he was off sulking in shame somewhere. Kedrin and Zasia were openly ecstatic, and Gran had a bemused smirk on her face as she raised her still clapping hands in Aldric’s direction as well. Aldric made a show of shrugging and pointing back to Nadrina. He couldn’t take credit for all of that, but Gran’s smile only became brighter at his gesture.

Aldric almost screamed out loud when a bolt of intense pain shot through his brain. He bent over double and gripped Lilianna’s seat as he fought off an intense wave of vertigo. Lilianna and the rest of the class were saying something to him, but it was lost in Aldric’s sudden panic. A portion of the wards he’d set up had just reacted to a massive spell being cast in the city. Aldric looked back up at Gran. Her smile was gone as she stared at him in concern.

Movement. A glint of something metallic. A fluttering in the shadows.

It was like someone had flipped a switch in Aldric’s brain. Instantly, all his old instincts came to the fore as he became hyperaware of everything around him. Gran was looking towards him while seated in her chair. Thagrius was equally ignorant, still focused on Nadrina standing in the middle of the arena. Balrus, Thagrius’ ever-present bodyguard since he’d arrived in Nevis, was somehow absent. Kedrin and Zasia were standing a few feet in front of Gran as they gave Nadrina a standing ovation, leaning over the front window of the viewing box.

Everything moved in slow motion from Aldric’s perspective. Everyone in the arena was looking towards Nadrina, which meant no one saw the blurry figure standing at the back of the royal viewing box. Some automated part of Aldric’s mind immediately identified the cloaking enchantment commonly used by assassins. Very well-paid assassins.

Aldric’s mind rapidly shifted from observer to guardian. Even as his mind took in all the information in front of him, his body was already deciding and acting upon a plan of attack. Aldric slipped a dagger from his sleeve and took careful aim. Instinct told him the distance was at least fifty meters from his current position to the viewing box. That was a distance a normal man would have difficulty even reaching, not even mentioning staying on target.

Rhagia’s Guardian Demon was no mere man, however.

With a strength Aldric’s body shouldn’t possess, he hurled the dagger end over end towards the viewing box. The weapon sailed with breakneck speed in an unerring arc towards the figure in the back, who was moments from reaching Gran.

Unfortunately, the throw was long enough that the intended target saw the projectile coming. At the last possible moment, the assassin backed off and ducked under the flying blade, letting it plant itself firmly in the rearmost wall of the viewing box. Realizing they’d been made, the assassin dropped their cloaking and dashed towards Gran, all pretense of stealth forgotten.

The sound of the dagger slamming home into wood had gotten everyone’s attention as they turned around in time to see the assailant rushing Gran. Everyone else was too far away to act in time, and Gran wasn’t quick enough to defend herself. Aldric’s mind projected the terrible outcome that was bound to arrive... and then stubbornly rejected it.

Aldric yet again broke his promise. The strange power dwelling inside him activated as he tapped into magic he shouldn’t have. Clouds of darkness billowed up and rapidly consumed him, only to clear mere moments later. Aldric and his dagger had suddenly switched places; the dagger clattered into Aldric’s seat in the stands as Aldric appeared in the viewing box at the far wall.

A second dagger was already leaving Aldric’s hand as he materialized from the shadows, embedding itself to the hilt in the assassin’s skull. They didn’t even have time to make a noise as they dropped to the floor, instantly dead.

Aldric only waited long enough to confirm that the target was down before he immediately scanned his surroundings again. He found everyone in the viewing box staring at him in complete shock, but he ignored them all. Time was of the essence.

“We need to leave. Now.”

It was only then that Aldric heard the screams coming from the audience.

Chapter 12

THE REST OF GRAN’S and Thagrius’ guards immediately burst into the viewing box, swords pointed at Aldric, but he wasn’t paying them any mind. The sea of skeletons erupting from the earth outside in the arena already had his full attention. Civilians screamed in horror as a flood of undead swarmed the stands and attacked anything that moved. People were shoving and sprinting away as fast as they could manage through the crowd, heedless of those that were trampled in the chaos.

All of that on its own would have been bad enough, but most of the undead were in the arena pit. Even more were crawling their way out of the dirt as they locked their empty eyes on Nadrina and the referee. Some carried rusted weapons and armor while others simply had sharpened claws in place of fingers, but summoned skeletons were still deadly and nearly impossible to kill. Two people against a small army of the things wouldn’t hold out long.

It was in that moment that Aldric remembered the bloody past of this arena. Whoever was doing this would have plenty of warrior skeletons to draw from.

Cursing vehemently, Aldric turned to Kedrin. “I need to find where their necromancer is hiding. Do your best to get everyone out of here as quickly as possible. Zasia, do not leave Gran’s side.” He took out a small stone and tossed it to Zasia, who thankfully didn’t fumble it. “If things get bad, use that.”

Aldric kicked himself mentally for not yet explaining to them the countermeasures he’d put in place in the city. He’d been working constantly with his students to build them before the end of the tournament and had only just finished last night. Now he was out of time. They’d have to figure it out on their own.

Aldric turned to sprint for the arena, but a firm hand gripped his arm and pulled him back. Aldric found King Thagrius’ face inches from his.

“You! You used House Meltisse’s shadow magic! There was only one person in recent history that could do that!” Aldric tensed as Thagrius squinted at him, dreading what came next. The king’s eyes suddenly surged open wide as his jaw went slack with recognition. “You were alive! I knew it! You’re Aldric Dengarius, aren’t you? Is all this your doing? You and this hag are in on this together, aren’t you? How long has her Demon been-?”

Aldric took a moment to do something he’d wanted to do for years. He reeled back and punched the King of Verona square in the mouth. Thagrius’ head whipped violently to the side as his eyes rolled up in his head just before he collapsed into a pile of limbs on the ground. Aldric didn’t even take the time to check on him. He grabbed the useless man and hurled him towards the closest Veronian guard, who’d already stepped in to cut Aldric down for his insolence. It forced the guard to drop his sword for fear of stabbing his king as he caught the unconscious projectile.

“Take that one too, I guess,” Aldric snarled. Without another word to anyone, Aldric sprinted and leapt out of the viewing box’s window to the stands below.

~~~

LILIANNA LEANED BACK sharply as a skeleton’s bleached white fangs snapped closed inches from her nose. She threw an orb of wind to blow it backwards over the row of seats, then knocked two more out of the air as they leapt for her. Codrin and Cira were back-to-back and throwing out their own spells while Volmar and Alek were taking turns pummeling any grounded skeletons to dust.

All around them was total and complete chaos. Screaming civilians, nobles and mages from the academy trying to fight off the horde, and clambering undead was all Lilianna could make out. None of that mattered to her right now, however. She’d seen Nadrina and the referee struggling alone in the arena pit against their own horde of beasts. Lilianna’s singular goal right now was to save her friend.

Something whistled past Lilianna’s head so fast it only registered to her brain as a grey blur. She whipped her head around and found another skeleton just behind her, a familiar-looking dagger sprouting out of its cracked skull. The creature actually hissed in fury as it lunged for Lilianna again, but a second dagger came in even harder, knocking the skull clean off. The rest of the creature stumbled back blindly and lost its footing, tumbling over the bleachers.

So, they still needed their heads to see. Good to know.

Lilianna turned to the source of the dagger to find Professor Aldric racing towards them. He was already covered in grey bone dust and sported several tears in his robe.

“All of you need to get back to the academy, now!” he shouted over the tumult.

“Nadrina is still down there!” Lilianna shouted back.

“I know, that’s where I’m going, but I can’t keep an eye on all of you at once! Get back to—”

Everyone stopped and turned when a gout of pure white fire roared into the sky from somewhere far off. It looked a lot like Professor Glory’s white fire, and more skeletons were swarming towards whatever commotion she was caught up in. Professor Aldric let off a string of venomous curses as he shifted his gaze from the fire, to the class, to Nadrina down in the arena. He was the picture of a man torn.

“Go, Professor! We’ll go help Nadrina!” Lilianna said, deciding for him. “As soon as we get her back, we’ll head back to the academy, I promise!”

The professor looked like he wanted to argue, but Alek beat him to it.

“Just go already! You’re the only one who can help Professor Glory!” He quickly punted a skeleton warrior so hard that it flew into the barrier over the arena and smashed to pieces. “We’re not the same weak kids we used to be. We’ll be fine, so get going!”

Lilianna had to agree. They’d come a long way in sixth months. That none of them had fled and had instead chosen to stand and fight made Lilianna proud of her class. The professor’s dislike of the situation was obvious, but thankfully, he knew Alek was right.

“You all still have your talismans, right?”

After the ominous dinner with King Umell and later Lilianna’s near-death experience, Professor Aldric had crafted all of them enchanted talismans he’d told them to always keep on their person during the tournament. Lilianna only knew they were for protection, but anything the professor had made was sure to be of top quality. Everyone nodded, and Professor Aldric finally dashed off towards yet another column of white fire.

Lilianna and company didn’t wait around. They ran towards the arena entrance, plowing through the creatures that were in the way and ignoring the rest. She knew they would have to come back this way later and fight their way out, but that was a problem that could wait until later.

When they got to the ground floor, they saw Nadrina and the referee standing up on the arena platform while hemmed in on all sides by clattering skeletons. Delrin’s unconscious form was just behind them. Anytime a skeleton made it up onto the platform, either Nadrina or the referee would knock it back down into its brethren. They were only two people, however, and time was not on their side.

Just then, Lilianna watched as a stray skeleton leapt over the others and took a swipe at Nadrina. It managed to leave an ugly gash down her right arm, causing Nadrina to cry out and drop her staff. The sound of her friend’s agony was like nails scraping against Lilianna’s ears. Her vision turned red as she screamed an incantation.

“Durna venti volmus jorum!”

A literal river of water suddenly divided the mob of undead all the way from Lilianna to the arena platform. The force of the rapids washed away anything caught in it. Even the survivors were suddenly encased in ice as the river abruptly froze over, creating a clear path for the class to come running to the rescue, spells already blazing.

Even with such an overwhelming spell, the dead knew no fear. Codrin fended off attacks from their left flank while Cira took their right. Alek and Volmar worked together to stop more creatures from filling the gap. Lilianna wanted to help more, but she still hadn’t fully recovered from her match with Delrin. Just that one spell had made her want to hurl from the dizziness.

Thankfully, the referee wasn’t one to sit and wait for rescue. He must have been an earth conjurer, because the ground beneath the army of monsters suddenly shook violently, knocking them to the ground and into each other. Waiting no longer, the referee grabbed an exhausted Nadrina in one arm and an unconscious Delrin in the other as he sprinted across the frozen river towards their party. Lilianna was half tempted to leave Delrin to his fate, but she was better than that. It would cause problems if anyone found out later, anyway.

“Don’t stop, just keep moving to the exit!” the referee yelled. The class didn’t need to be told twice. They were here to get them out, not fight an army of undead to the death. Everyone turned and bolted for the entrance they had just come from, as the horde rapidly closed in behind them. The referee caused walls of earth to rise from the ground to impede their progress, but the damn things were persistent. They heedlessly trampled their fellows to scale the walls, just to get one step closer to their prey. Lilianna wasn’t sure how skeletons could hiss, but the cacophony they caused only made her run faster.

Even with all the noise, however, an incessant screaming made itself known to Lilianna’s ears. She risked turning around and saw that it was Delrin. He apparently wasn’t as unconscious as they’d thought.

She at first thought he was screaming in terror, understandably. Then she saw his eyes rolled back into his skull and the blood dripping from his nose. He flailed madly against the referee’s grip, and the man struggled to keep him upright as he ran.

It was such a bizarre sight that Lilianna momentarily forgot that they were being hunted by monsters as she continued to stare. A necklace that she hadn’t noticed Delrin wearing before bounced around on his neck from the referee’s heavy footfalls. It started glowing brightly, and Delrin desperately clawed at the thing like it was burning him.

Despite the obvious danger they were all in, something about the necklace immediately caught Lilianna’s attention. It almost looked like a snake eating its own tail. Why did that look so familiar?

A flash of brilliant light and a mighty boom suddenly consumed her senses. Lilianna was ripped off her feet by a concussive force and thrown bodily through the air. Her entire existence was blinding white, a ringing noise in her ears, and pain as she rolled like a kicked stone along the ground.

When she finally came to a stop, the most she could do was lie on the ground and moan. Blearily blinking away spots in her vision, she saw she’d been tossed at least twenty meters away. She saw the others in her class had suffered much the same fate. They were struggling back to their feet, but the referee and Delrin were simply gone.

Lilianna felt something wet misting her hands and face and looked down. Her hands were smeared crimson with a warm liquid that could have only been blood. As it continued to rain down from the sky, Lilianna realized what must have happened to the two missing members.

A cloud of dust and debris stood where they’d been previously. The skeletons that had been near them had been vaporized, and those that had survived the blast were... running away? As the ringing in her ears subsided and her double vision dissipated, Lilianna climbed back up onto wobbly legs. What in blazes had just happened?

Then the dust cloud cleared, and she caught sight of Delrin. Or rather, what used to be Delrin. The thing’s warped face vaguely resembled the young noble, but that was where any similarities ended.

A hulking, five-meter-tall behemoth of rippling muscle, foot long talons and razor-sharp teeth stood hunched over on all fours like a wild animal. The body was grotesque, oozing black blood from gaping wounds all over its dusky hide that slowly closed as Lilianna watched. Black hair grew in patches from the top of its head and down the length of its spine.

It seemed to be partway through some sort of transformation. Its right arm snapped into the shoulder joint with a horrible cracking noise, and the wail of pain it let out sounded utterly inhuman and nightmarish. Several more pops and cracks sounded as the creature stretched onto its hind legs like an oversized bear.

It bellowed a sound that tore at Lilianna’s psyche. Her inner animal instinctively wanted to run and hide in a tree somewhere far away from here, but she locked up when the creature’s dinner plate sized eyes locked onto her with a terrifying intensity. The pitch-black pools were utterly lacking in sanity. Only wild, indiscriminate fury burned within them.

Then, the ground at its feet was shredded by its claws as the mad beast charged straight for her.

~~~

ALDRIC AND COMPANY had only just exited the stadium into the city streets when the explosion roared from behind them. He turned and saw a dust cloud floating over what would have been the middle of the arena. Right where his kids currently were.

Aldric cursed and looked back at the group he was escorting. Kedrin and Zasia were with Gran, while the guards from the viewing box were carrying Thagrius’ unconscious body between them. Gran’s guards, including her guard captain, were fanned out around them as a shield against the chaos. From all around and further beyond them were the sounds of battle, most likely the city guard engaging whoever was behind this. Random civilians all ran aimlessly through the streets, too panicked to do anything else.

Aldric knew he couldn’t be everywhere at once, but there were too many crises all happening simultaneously. This whole thing had been perfectly planned, and he was having a hard time deciding his priorities. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he focused on his connection to the talismans he’d given all his students. All of them reported his students were still alive and still in the arena, but didn’t give him any more information than that. Aldric suspected that could change quickly.

While Aldric waffled over what to do, however, the enemy chose for him.

“There! Get the royals!”

A group of black cloaked mages suddenly rounded the street corner and darted towards their group. The royal guards of Rhagia and Verona immediately ran forward to engage them, and deadly spells were flying back and forth in mere moments. One particularly clever enforcer managed to get around the guards and make a beeline for Gran, but he met Aldric partway.

The attacker swung a sword at Aldric that seemed to appear from thin air, but Aldric caught it between two of his daggers. The attacker immediately released his weapon before Aldric could follow up, leaping back and producing two more swords from nothing. Aldric noticed all but three of the man’s fingers wore rings and concluded that they must have been enchanted to form weapons on command. These attackers had a rich backer, it seemed.

One sword was hurled at Aldric with blistering speed while the attacker followed close behind it. With surprising speed and grace, Aldric caught the flying sword in midair and swung it at the man who’d thrown it, taking him completely off guard. He blocked Aldric’s sword swing, but the follow-up dagger thrust caught him just above the waist. The man hissed in pain but didn’t even attempt to retreat as he summoned another weapon, this time a hand axe that he swung at Aldric’s exposed side. Having run out of hands, Aldric was forced to back up but didn’t even make it two steps before he suddenly had to bat away a spear that was thrust at his head, losing his new sword in the process.

Having thoroughly lost all patience for this, Aldric dodged the next spear thrust and caught the weapon’s shaft under his armpit. He turned sharply and broke the haft of the weapon, rendering it useless, then used his dagger to knock aside the hand axe sweeping in once more. Before the attacker retreated again, Aldric threw the dagger from a few feet away into the man’s exposed thigh. The attacker’s wail of pain was cut off as Aldric’s newly gained spear head was jammed into the man’s throat soon after.

Leaving the dying man gurgling on the floor, Aldric turned and found many more assailants than had been there previously. They must have had some way to communicate with each other, because a small army of black-robed mages that hadn’t been there earlier was slowly pushing back the royal guards. Zasia was attempting to assist them while Kedrin dragged away the wounded, but it was a losing battle.

Normally Aldric might be able to do something, but he hadn’t fully recovered yet from his fight in Alek’s village. Even now, the wound in his chest was aching something fierce from only basic combat, and that earlier shadow magic had taken a lot out of him. He knew they couldn’t stay here. They were too exposed on the open streets like this. Thankfully, Zasia read his mind.

“Aldric, take Gran and Thagrius and go! We’ll hold them off here!” she screamed while she immolated another mage that had gotten too close. “They’re the ones they want!”

Nodding his agreement, Aldric grabbed Gran by the wrist and Thagrius by the back of his collar and hauled them off in the opposite direction of the horde of mages. Some of the enemy tried to pursue but were quickly cut off. Thankfully, Gran was still spry enough to keep up with him, and the most resistance Thagrius put up was to flop around uselessly as Aldric dragged him along the cobblestones.

Aldric needed to find somewhere they could go to ground and barricade Gran and Thagrius, then return to find his students. Until then, the class would need to hold off as long as they could manage. Hopefully, they’d learned a thing or two this year.

~~~

LILIANNA HAD FORGOTTEN everything she’d learned in the face of oncoming death. A massive, disfigured monster straight out of a nightmare barreling towards you did that to a person. Right before it reduced her to paste, however, Alek suddenly showed up, snagged her shirt collar, and hauled her out of the way. The beast lumbered past and slammed headfirst into the arena pit wall. Alek was already charging the creature before Lilianna had even gotten her bearings back.

“I’ve been waiting to do this since I first met you, Delrin!” he shouted. Delrin dislodged himself from the wall and turned around in time to catch Alek’s enforced fist to his jaw. His head snapped sideways with a crack, the head dangling limply from the shoulders as the creature let out a strangled cry. Alek only had time to smirk in victory before a side swipe from the monster caught him off guard. The boy nimbly dove backwards at the last moment, but Delrin’s claws managed to scrape against his torso.

Alek continued retreating until he was next to Lilianna again. “Guess that was too much to hope for,” he muttered darkly as he clutched at his chest. It was bleeding openly but didn’t look immediately life threatening. “Damn thing’s stupid, but it hits hard and fast.”

A horrible crunching noise drew their attention back to Delrin. They watched with disgusted horror as the dislocated head of the creature spun back around and snapped into place. Delrin’s eyes glowed with malice as he stared down at the two of them and roared again.

“Oh, come on, that’s cheating!” was all Alek had time to say before he grabbed Lilianna and dodged another bull rush from Delrin. Seeing he had missed, the beast planted its long claws in the dirt and quickly pivoted in place, realigning on target without losing speed. It caught Alek flat footed and unable to dodge again as Delrin roared in victory.

“Durna venti jorum!”

Lilianna threw out a wall of ice just before impact. The beast’s hulking form smashed through it like children’s blocks and sprayed ice shards over the two of them, but it halted the charge. Delrin bellowed out another roar of fury, but a ball of fire suddenly appeared from nowhere and flew down his open maw. The roar changed into a choking screech as Delrin’s throat was set aflame. He clawed at his own neck and chest as he continued to burn, tearing himself to ribbons as he did.

“Ha! Burn, you bastard!” Codrin cheered from his place next to Cira. Nadrina and Volmar were coming up behind them. Thankfully, the remaining skeletons had already all fled at the sight of Delrin. “See, Alek? That’s how you do... it?”

Codrin’s boasting broke off as they all watched Delrin’s throat and chest grow new skin and muscle. It was like watching an animal being butchered in reverse and caused Lilianna’s bile to rise into her throat. As awful as Delrin had been, no one deserved to be turned into this monster. Who would do something like this, and how?

They couldn’t wound Delrin and didn’t have enough power between the six of them to take him out in one go. Their best option was escaping, but there was no guarantee Delrin wouldn’t just chase them down again. The only way out was through the exit to the stands, since the safety barrier was still up. Even though she could see the exit from where they were standing, Lilianna didn’t feel like betting their lives on the chance they could outrun this creature.

“I have an idea!” Nadrina suddenly called out.

“Thank gods, because I sure don’t!” Cira answered back, then flinched backwards as Delrin rounded on her and snarled. Codrin called out from Delrin’s other side and got his attention, and the monster whirled to growl at him instead. Cira and Codrin began taking turns throwing minor spells at the monster, while Alek and Volmar dashed around it in a confusing blur. It seemed to be distracting enough for now, but their friends had only bought Nadrina a few moments at most.

Nadrina was already on the ground and tracing something out in the dirt. “I’ll need you all to buy me some time. Just keep his attention long enough for me to finish here. Once I do, I’ll let you know what else to do.”

A chorus of agreement rang out from the class, and Nadrina looked shocked for a moment. Perhaps she hadn’t expected all of them to just follow her lead so readily. But if Nadrina had a plan, they knew it was worth listening to.

Delrin suddenly made up his mind and charged Cira, and Volmar just barely grabbed her and dashed out of the way with ghost step before the ground where Cira had been standing was savaged by the monster. Codrin’s follow up fireball splashed flames uselessly against his flank, completely ignored. Delrin only had eyes for Cira and Volmar now. Lilianna followed up with several spears of ice, but only one of the four icicles pierced Delrin’s hide a scant few inches.

An icy fear seized Lilianna. Was Derlin getting stronger the more he healed?

Volmar rushed in to give the monster a swift kick to the knee. The joint cracked and bent the wrong way, causing Delrin to collapse to one side while howling in rage. Volmar caught one of Delrin’s leg claws to his chest as the beast flailed about, sending the boy tumbling backwards. Cira conjured a water whip to drag Volmar away while Lilianna and Codrin kept raining long range spells down on Delrin.

The creature’s leg had already healed again. Lilianna shot two icicles up from the ground through his feet to spear him in place, but Delrin barely noticed. He tore himself free of the spikes, heedless of the damage he was doing to his own body as he half dragged himself towards Lilianna with his clawed arms.

It forced Lilianna to glide out of the way before she was trampled. This only enraged Delrin even more as he lunged up towards her, looking like a cat trying to swat an annoying fly. Delrin came close enough with his last attempt that one of his claws brushed briefly against Lilianna’s nose. The only thing that saved her was a ghost step empowered full body tackle by Alek.

Both crashed back to the earth, but Alek was caught underneath the hulking creature when they landed. He let out a howl of pain as an awful snap emanated from his lower body. Delrin heard his shout and turned on him, grabbing the boy by his head and hoisting him into the air.

Lilianna hurriedly fired off more icicles, but they were much smaller now with her depleted mana and merely bounced off Delrin. Cira tried throwing a whip of water to grab Alek, but Delrin caught it and yanked hard. Cira screamed as she hurtled through the air and landed on her head just before Delrin’s feet, instantly knocked out.

Lilianna rushed to cast another spell but fell to her knees and wailed when her head felt like it was being split open. Irritated, she mentally yanked on her mana pool and commanded it to give her everything it had left, whatever it could spare. All that came of it was a sense of vertigo and the urge to vomit. She’d completely spent her mana pool. Any more would only kill her. Lilianna was left to helplessly watch as Delrin hoisted Cira in his other hand, looking at both of his captives with almost smug cruelty.

A scream of absolute fury from Codrin got the monster’s attention. He sprinted towards Delrin, heedless of the danger, as he roared an incantation that Lilianna had never heard him use before.

“Igni conflagus volmus gigantas!”

An enormous pillar of white fire erupted from Codrin and plowed straight into Delrin’s chest. Delrin’s two captives were tossed aside as the column of flame ripped through the monster like a hot wire through wax, passing straight through and slamming into the arena barrier behind Delrin. The magic shield put up a brief fight before it too was shattered under the powerful magic, the white flame shooting off into the sky and out of sight.

Codrin immediately fell face first onto the ground, unmoving. Volmar thankfully grabbed Codrin, Cira and Alek before the rampaging Delrin crushed them in his agony-fueled flailing. His right arm and half of his face were burned away, but Lilianna could see the skin and muscle tissue slowly forming again. Even an all or nothing spell from Codrin hadn’t been enough to kill this damn thing.

Volmar hurriedly moved over to where Lilianna was still hunched over on all fours. He gently placed his three passengers on the ground, and Lilianna saw Codrin was still barely conscious. He somehow managed to look smug even through his exhaustion.

“I didn’t know you could do that!” Volmar exclaimed to Codrin after he’d checked on the other two to make sure they were alive and breathing.

“Neither did I,” Codrin panted. “Who says you need to be a quadra elemental conjurer to use white fire? You just need to make the fire stupidly hot. Professor Glory’s going to have to get a new signature move now.” He coughed roughly and went still again, his eyes clearly pained. “Don’t count on a second one, though. I’m spent. Tall, dark and ugly looks like he’s healing, too.”

“Drina!” Lilianna called out to Nadrina, who stood several meters away from the rest of them, still crouched in the dirt. “Time’s up! Please tell me whatever you’re planning is—”

“Ready!” Nadrina suddenly yelled, not a moment too soon. She took out her collapsible staff and pointed it at Delrin, who had just finished regrowing his arm. A small fireball shot out of the staff and hit Delrin square in the face. It did zero damage, but it did piss the creature off. With a manic howl, Delrin bull rushed Nadrina while she simply crouched where she was and waited. Delrin wasn’t moving at full speed, but it was plenty fast enough to mow down the young sorcerer.

“DRINA!” Lilianna could only cry out uselessly as a monster charged her best friend. She had no plan and no more mana to draw on. She staggered to her feet and began jogging forward, knowing the futility of her actions but needing to try.

She needn’t have bothered.

The moment Delrin’s clawed feet contacted the rune Nadrina had been tracing, a massive sink hole suddenly opened in the ground. The beast didn’t even have time to look surprised before it sucked him into a whirlpool of sand. He desperately scrabbled for purchase with his claws, but the vortex continued relentlessly, spinning him clockwise and pulling him under. He squirmed and howled for all he was worth, but there was nothing for him to do with the sandpit above his shoulders.

And then the sink hole disappeared. It had buried Delrin up to his neck in the ground, but he sank no further.

“Damn it!” Nadrina yelled in frustration. She was bent over double and breathing in ragged gasps. She’d managed to replicate earth conjuring with sorcery runes, but it had taken everything left out of her.

Bound as their opponent currently was, Delrin had no way to attack them, but he was slowly wriggling his way out. The surrounding earth cracked as he struggled against his prison, roaring in defiance. Lilianna looked around her for something, anything, to use. What she found was a group of exhausted and wounded teenagers. Gods above, would nothing go their way today?

Lilianna looked to Volmar, as he was the least injured out of all of them. He bled from the slash to his side from Delrin’s foot claw, but he was the only one among them that could stand without aid. An absurd, harebrained scheme suddenly popped into Lilianna’s delirious and desperate mind. It was probably suicide, but it was the only idea she had.

“Volmar, do you think you can hold his head still while I try something?” she asked.

Volmar looked over to the snarling and howling Delrin. When he looked back, his face was not as confident as Lilianna would have liked. “Maybe. But not for very long.”

“Please, just try. I think I can do this,” Lilianna said, trying to force bravery into her words. Volmar just stared at her for several moments before finally nodding his head. He swung his arms around and slammed his fists together in a show of psyching himself up.

“Alright! Time to save the day!”

Per Lilianna’s instructions, Volmar scooped her up onto his back and dashed over to Delrin. The monster’s head alone was the size of a boulder and filled with gnashing fangs, but Volmar didn’t hesitate as he lunged for the back of his neck. Showing the strength and resilience only an enforcer could, he clung on long enough to the thrashing creature to hold it steady. From her place on his back, Lilianna could feel Volmar’s muscles bulging with effort as his boots dug deep grooves into the dirt.

“Whatever you’re going to do, do it now,” Volmar grunted through gritted teeth. Delrin was still screaming and struggling, but they weren’t in immediate danger of being bitten in half.

Doing her best to ignore the furious howls and Volmar’s labored grunts, Lilianna closed her eyes and focused inward on her mana pool. She found only dregs of mana left for her to work with, but she’d take what she could get. Praying that this idea would work, she tried to focus on feeling the mana inside herself, to understand its intent and what it naturally wanted to do. She mentally recalled the feeling she had experienced when she’d first done this in class all those months ago, and did her best to feel the same thing now.

The professor had said that mana wanted to be used, to be released, and act upon the world. All she needed to do was supply it with intent and the fuel to do its work. Lilianna was already full of the intent to kill this monster, and if her idea worked, her spell would have all the fuel it could ever want. Sensing this from her, her wind and water attributes glowed in her mind’s eye and set to work.

Mana of both elements coalesced and intertwined as it traveled from Lilianna’s body into Delrin’s through the hand Lilianna had on the beast’s grotesque head. The reaction was severely weakened from Lilianna’s depleted state, but she could still feel the playful spirit of wind and the unrelenting stubbornness of water coursing through her.

What Lilianna called ice mana seemed to be a combination of both natures, something that gleefully expanded endlessly until it ran out of resources. Not finding that resource within the drained Lilianna, it instead looked to its current container. What it found was a massive beast filled with what all living creatures innately possessed in high amounts: water.

Delrin’s roaring slowly morphed into wailing over the course of a full minute. The more Lilianna’s spell made progress, the easier it became for Volmar to hold the creature still. The wailing gave way to screeching as the spell’s effect gained momentum. Delrin’s agony made sense. Lilianna couldn’t imagine that having the water in your blood, muscles and organs slowly freeze over would feel pleasant.

Delrin’s ashy grey complexion turned blue as his body temperature rapidly plummeted. A thin layer of frost blanketed his head as his neck muscles spasmed with unconscious shivers. Even Volmar’s teeth started chattering as he continued to hold on.

After several more pain-staking minutes, the monster that had once been Delrin let out a pitiful mewling noise before finally going still. Lilianna guessed the fluid in his brain had finally frozen.

“Try healing that,” she managed to gasp out at the dead monster.

With her spell done and her mana pool likely bone dry, Lilianna lost her grip on Volmar’s back and slumped to the ground. She stared up at the evening sky above them as she fought against a sudden and intense drowsiness. It was already this late? How long had it been? Hours? Days?

Volmar and Nadrina were standing over her while saying something, but Lilianna was having a hard time getting her brain to decipher the words for her. She couldn’t even see their faces that well through the blurry haze that seemed to surround her. With eyelids as heavy as sandbags, Lilianna’s entire world was slowly but surely encompassed by a blanket of darkness. She only had one last silly thought as the void took her.

I really hope... I didn’t just kill myself...

Chapter 13

ZASIA HAD BEEN SEEING less and less black robed mages coming for them ever since Aldric had hauled off Thagrius and Gran. Less didn’t mean none, however. These damn assassins were practically crawling out of the ground and from every shadowy corner of the city. Zasia was never one to shy away from a fight, but her mana pool was reaching concerning levels.

She and Kedrin had made their way back to the academy, hoping they could establish it as a shelter of sorts. Most likely, it was where Aldric would go as well. There were a multitude of magical barriers and protections in place around the entire campus, and they had hoped that they could start evacuating civilians there. When they went to find some, however, they realized the true scale of this attack.

"Attack” wasn’t really the right word. “Invasion” was more accurate. Everywhere they looked, mages fought in every street across the city. The city guard and the academy had teamed up to drive off the enemy forces, but they were being overwhelmed at almost every turn. Most of the guard weren’t even mages. Even the local adventuring guilds had provided help, but not all of them were geared towards combat. Worse, these black-robed mages didn’t seem to have any universal goal or purpose, only a desire for chaos. Corpses from all sides were lining the streets, and most of the buildings and other structures were destroyed or burning. Only half of the contingent of royal guards that had been with Zasia and Kedrin at the beginning were left, and that was only because of Kedrin healing who he could.

As Zasia fought on beside the royal knights, hopelessness welled up in her chest. Whoever had planned this had done so perfectly, when everyone was the most distracted by the tournament. Some of the city guard had already informed them that groups of guardsmen that had been patrolling the city before the attack were nowhere to be found or hadn’t been heard from in a while. They were either too busy with the invasion, or they were already dead.

It was unlikely any outside help would ever hear of what was happening until much too late. Any runners sent to fetch that help wouldn’t be able to make it out before being slain by the invaders. More than likely, they had already surrounded the city to prevent just such an occurrence.

The worst problem by far, however, was that there was no organization to Nevis’ defense. City officials should have come together to arrange rescue and suppression efforts, but none of that was currently happening. The city guard was simply engaging enemies as they saw them while their communications between each other progressively broke down. No unified front was being erected against the enemy, which made Zasia fear that something had happened to the governor.

She felt blind. She couldn’t be sure of who the enemy even was, much less their plans. The rulers of the continent had all brought their own security with them. Nevis should have been armed to the teeth and ready to deal with anything, but they had never expected something of this scale to happen.

Or maybe... maybe that had been the point. All three representatives of the three continental countries were in Nevis right now. It still bothered her they hadn’t yet located King Umell, and that he’d been missing from the arena at the time of the attack. Zasia thought back to the night of the welcoming dinner and unconsciously clenched her fists. It had to be him. He had warned them and had still ripped the rug out from under them. Was he trying to take out both Rhagia and Verona at once?

All of Zasia’s thoughts ceased when yet another group of black-robed mages erupted from a nearby alleyway. One of them caught Zasia unprepared and grazed the side of her face with a fireball, burning her face and setting her hair aflame. She immediately used water magic to put it out, but she could already feel the side of her face stinging and blistering. The offending fire conjurer threw another fireball, only to have it suddenly get caught in Zasia’s wind magic and flung back at himself. He screamed as his own magic detonated on his chest and engulfed him in fire, then stopped screaming when the royal guards finally engaged and blasted him with their own spells.

Zasia felt a sharp pain in her side as a wind blade tore through her abdomen. Even while wounded, she quickly opened a pit in the earth beneath her attacker, but he got off another wind blade before falling into it. It ripped into Zasia’s right thigh and brought her to her knees, gasping in pain. Her attacker attempted to climb out of the pit, but Zasia slammed it shut and crushed him from the waist down. A guardsman’s spear tearing through his neck cut off his wail of agony.

Zasia hissed as every breath caused her a flare of pain. Her robes and dress had been ruined ages ago, so she could clearly see dark red blood running freely down her leg and stomach. Black spots entered her vision as blood loss rapidly set in and threatened to knock her out cold.

Then the pain was suddenly gone. Zasia felt Kedrin’s healing magic knitting her skin back together for the umpteenth time that day. Even the burn on her face seemed to disappear entirely. Zasia shakily got to her feet and nodded her thanks to Kedrin, but he was already busy hauling away more wounded guardsmen.

Kedrin’s healing was the only reason they’d been able to last this long against so many enemies. Unfortunately, the enemy had noticed that too.

“There he is! Over there! Get the headmaster first!”

Alarm shot through Zasia. Had they been looking for Kedrin? Was their plan to take out important figures and then take over the city? Zasia tried to battle her way over to Kedrin and assist, but her assailants knew better. They hemmed her in from all sides and harried her with spells. None of them could defeat her in a standup fight, but they could delay her.

Several guards around Kedrin tried to intercept the incoming mob, but they had all been recently healed by him and weren’t in the best of shape. The enemy easily took most of them down, even as Kedrin continued to heal them. Healing at a distance was exceptionally difficult for a healer, much less so many at once. As more guards fell, Kedrin was soon surrounded and without further options.

Zasia didn’t fear for his life, however. She only feared how her friend would feel after what he was going to do next.

A fireball, a wind blade, a water whip, and several bladed weapons all descended on Kedrin simultaneously. Kedrin took all of it without moving. His clothes and body were all horribly mangled or run through, blood pouring from every injury. A roar of victory went up from the black-robed mages, clearly believing that they had just killed the legendary healer.

The cheering cut off when every person who had moved in to attack Kedrin suddenly lost their heads. Literally.

The sudden carnage was so abrupt that everyone nearby, invaders and guards alike, stopped what they were doing and stared in openmouthed horror. As the headless bodies collapsed in a ring around Kedrin, Zasia could see Kedrin’s mutilated body rapidly stitching back together. It was a little nauseating to watch, and more than one guard gagged or vomited. Within seconds, however, Kedrin was whole and healthy again. His clothing was ruined, but he was otherwise unmarred.

The only notable difference in his appearance was the meter long claws that had grown from his fingernails, still dripping with enemy blood. The improvised weapons slowly retracted back into his hands, making an awful squelching noise as they did.

“Very well. It seems I can put this off no longer,” Kedrin said, his voice uncharacteristically dark and empty. “You’ve ruined my city and endangered my students and staff, so I suppose I should step up. I honestly might enjoy this a bit. Sorry.”

One enemy enforcer, either heroically brave or tragically stupid, dashed up to Kedrin and raised his massive claymore above his head, clearly intending to bisect Kedrin down the middle. Kedrin only leaned slightly to the right in response. The enforcer brought his sword down and caught Kedrin on his shoulder, cleaving his entire arm free from his body in a fountain of blood.

Kedrin didn’t even so much as wince. The swordsman was clearly confused at Kedrin’s lack of reaction, and instead of running like he should have, spent several precious seconds staring in bewilderment at Kedrin’s bloody, empty shoulder socket.

Then his eyes went wide when white bone suddenly sprouted from the stump and formed a skeletal arm and hand. Twisting vines of muscle and sinew followed, along with rapidly growing skin, and in seconds, Kedrin had a fully working arm again. The dumbfounded enforcer was still staring when Kedrin grabbed his face.

Both men were enveloped in a brilliant green light as Kedrin activated his magic. The attacker started screaming in agony as he dropped his sword and desperately yanked at Kedrin’s grip. What should have been a simple escape for an enforcer proved impossible as his arms grew weak and slow, then shriveled. His entire body shrank and withered like a sundried tomato. Kedrin then dropped him with dismissive coldness. The body that now resembled a long buried and decayed corpse broke apart into dust as it struck the ground.

The smarter mages had already turned on their heels and fled in terror at this point. The spectacle distracted several of the mages Zasia had been engaged with and made them easy targets for her spells. All the remaining guardsmen, gods bless them, didn’t need any further prompting. Within minutes, they had rallied against the ambush and either killed or pushed back any remaining attackers. Kedrin was right there with them, once again sporting wicked claws and cutting through black robes like paper.

When the fight was finally won, there were a few dead guards and many dead enemies littered about the street. Zasia organized the guards to account for their dead and establish a perimeter to make sure there were no more enemies nearby. They couldn’t afford to be attacked like this repeatedly.

When she went to look for Kedrin, she found him standing in the middle of a sea of corpses. He was drenched in blood and looked like he’d been chewed up by a basilisk, but all his injuries were slowly closing as he absently healed himself. His eyes were blank as he took in the carnage he’d wrought. Zasia carefully walked up to his side and put her hand on his arm, ignoring how his skin was still crawling around as it mended itself.

“Are you going to be alright?” she asked gently.

Kedrin didn’t immediately reply, just stared at the results of his work. When he finally turned to look at her, the remorse on his face tore at Zasia’s heart.

Kedrin was an incredibly gifted healer. His research had resulted in revolutionary changes to medicine throughout the empire and beyond. Using his skills offensively was inspired and spoke volumes of his immense talent. But Kedrin was still a healer. The idea of using his gifts to hurt people, even those that might deserve it, was anathema to him. The last time he’d done so had been to interrogate the agent that had tried to kill him and steal the Demon’s Legacy, and even then, he’d been ashamed of himself for days afterwards. He of course knew why he needed to do it again today, but Zasia telling him that wouldn’t make him feel any better about it.

“I’ll be fine,” Kedrin finally answered quietly. His voice lacked confidence. “Maybe not now, but eventually. We have too much to do to be worried about me.” He gestured to the rushing people around them. Zasia nodded. She squeezed his arm once for reassurance and then turned back to give more instructions to the guards.

Zasia’s heart still churned with sorrow and fury every time she found another of theirs lying in a pool of their own blood, but thankfully, the black-robed mages had been busy trying to fight their group and ignored most of the civilians in this area. It made her feel like she was actually doing something helpful, despite how useless she felt right now. She was in the middle of giving more orders when a guardsman she didn’t recognize dashed down the street towards their group.

“The headmaster! Where is the headmaster of Nevis Academy?”

Zasia immediately rounded on the man and conjured flames in her hands, prepared for another ambush. The young man stumbled backwards and fell onto his butt at the lethal-looking woman. Kedrin quickly ran up and put his hands on Zasia, getting her to put out her flames. “I’m the headmaster. What is it?”

The watchman never looked away from Zasia, but answered haltingly. “T-The captain of the guard wanted to know what your plans are for the civilians. He’s trying to organize an evacuation and thought your academy would make a safe shelter. If you already have an escape route planned, I’m to note it down and take it back to the captain.”

Kedrin furrowed his brows in confusion. “Yes, we were already planning on doing so, though I don’t have a concrete plan as yet. That being said, why would you bring this to me? Surely the governor would be a better—”

“The governor betrayed us,” the guardsman said, his voice showing anger instead of nervousness for the first time. “He helped these bastards surround and attack the city. When we went to find him and ask what to do, we found letters in his empty office. He’s been corresponding with these people for a long time. Since we couldn’t find any other city officials, they are likely also traitors or already dead or captured. The captain said that you were the last person in this city with any sort of authority besides the Empress, and since no one has found her yet, we should defer to you.”

Zasia’s usual dignity and poise fled from her as she snarled a string of vitriolic curses. That made too much sense. It would explain why this attack had happened so quickly and overwhelmingly. The enemy had attacked them from within. Kedrin had gone over every defensive measure put in place with the governor before the tournament started, rendering them useless once he’d betrayed them. That she hadn’t seen the man since the tournament started, nor had any guardsmen heard from him, only confirmed his guilt.

Kedrin just looked at the young watchman, blinking, until he finally mastered himself and firmed his expression.

“Fine. Where in the city are the most survivors?” he asked, his words suddenly sharp with authority. The young guard immediately snapped to attention at the sound of it.

“Sir! As most people in the city were at the tournament before all of this, only a few of them have made it very far away from this area. The enemy has already occupied most districts bordering where the tournament took place and have us mostly surrounded. The captain’s proposed plan was to make a hole in their forces to the academy and escort civilians through there.”

“That’s not a terrible plan,” Kedrin muttered, frowning. “But it would be extremely difficult to funnel all the survivors through that break between enemy forces without putting them in danger. We can’t hold off a small army and keep citizens safe at the same time. There’s just too many of them.”

Kedrin started pacing back and forth, his face drawn in fierce concentration. Zasia wasn’t sure what to add. She didn’t have any better ideas, and the longer they waited, the more established the enemy position would be. Zasia was a capable fighter, but she was already exhausted. She’d never been to war, either. Tactics and strategy weren’t her or Kedrin’s forte.

She briefly wished their other friends were here. She was trying very hard not to think about why they still hadn’t been able to find Balrus. Hopefully, he was off being a hero somewhere, as per usual. Maybe Aldric had found him by now. Both of their military experiences would come in great handy right about now.

There was another reason, but Zasia was a bit embarrassed to admit it. She just felt safer when Aldric was around. Even though he’d been a mess for years, he’d recently been going to back to the way she’d known him for most of her life. That man had an answer for almost anything, no matter the situation. They’d been inseparable since they were children, so it wasn’t until he wasn’t around that Zasia realized how much comfort she took in that.

Thoughts of Aldric suddenly reminded Zasia of the enchanted object he had tossed to her just before they’d fled the arena. Thankfully, she hadn’t lost it during all the fighting. She quickly pulled it out of an inner pocket in her dress and studied it closely.

It was oddly simple, just a palm sized glass bead that looked to be inscribed with runes. The runes were finely etched and wrapped around the sphere in a seemingly never-ending string. In the center was a dark red substance that Zasia suspected might be blood. There was no noticeable mechanism or way of using this thing, and Zasia’s moment of hope turned to despair when she didn’t immediately know what it was or what it did.

Left with no other ideas, Zasia simply started imbuing it with mana and hoped it didn’t suddenly blow up in her hand. It didn’t explode, but it did start greedily guzzling up any remaining mana Zasia had. She felt herself go weak in the knees as the world around her tilted in vertigo. Thankfully, Kedrin noticed her plight and caught her before she could fall over.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, quickly checking her over for any injuries he had missed. Zasia was saved from answering when the enchanted bead in her hand began vibrating and radiating a clear blue light. The light quickly shrank down to a dull glow, but Zasia wasn’t looking at the orb anymore. She was busy ogling the gigantic wall of mana that had just popped up in front of their group.

The wall towered over the surrounding buildings and seemed to run for at least a mile east and west. When Zasia craned her head to take in the massive barrier, she saw several other identical walls far off in the distance. It was as if the entire city of Nevis had just been blocked off into sectors.

A long line of blue light ran from the bottom of the wall in front of them, along the ground, and over to a nearby lamppost that was somehow completely undamaged from the fighting. It was also radiating blue light from a functioning rune script that had must have been added after the fact along its length. Another line of blue light ran from the lamppost across the ground and turned onto a nearby street and out of sight.

Everyone present, Zasia included, simply gaped at the spectacle. Kedrin was the first to recover.

“Well, if that does what I think it does, we won’t have to worry about the enemy moving freely throughout the city. Though I don’t know how we are supposed to move.”

With the bead temporarily satiated with mana, Zasia regained her footing and walked up to the colossal mana wall in front of them. As soon as she was within a few meters of it, the barrier opened a small hole big enough for a group of people to fit through.

That was all the explanation Kedrin needed. “You!” he directed to the young guardsman. “You’re coming with us. Take us to your captain. We can lead survivors back to the academy!”

As everyone around her snapped into action, Zasia could feel a hopeful smile pull at her lips. Aldric, predictably, had outdone himself yet again. Gods above, she loved that man. That aggravating, paranoid, brilliant man.

~~~

ALDRIC’S DAGGER SLAMMED home into another robed mage’s chest as he hurled it. Without even waiting to confirm if the man was dead, he grabbed Gran and hauled her through the main city plaza and market square. The academy was positioned north of the plaza, literally bordering it. Aldric could even see some civilians standing in front of the academy’s front gate, all desperately trying to get inside as school staff tried to calm them down.

He guided Gran through the corpses of their pursuers while readjusting Thagrius’ limp body on his back. Their attackers hadn’t let up the whole way here, though they seemed to thin out the closer they got to the academy grounds. He felt like he was back in his military training and running the obstacle course again, except this time, he had an aged empress and a useless potato sack of a king to babysit.

“Aldric, what’s wrong?” Gran suddenly asked. That the old woman could actually tug on Aldric’s arm and stop him spoke volumes of how exhausted he was. He had a hard time responding through his rough breathing.

“Nothing. We’re... we’re right there, so let’s keep going,” he gasped.

“Kedrin and Zasia told me you’d been seriously injured. Are you going to be alright? You’re as white as a sheet.”

Of course they had told her. Damn it. He put on his best smile and tried not to make the agony he felt in his chest obvious. “Course I’m fine. I’ve pulled you out of rougher places than this, Gran. Don’t worry about it.”

“Say that when you can stand fully upright,” Gran argued as Aldric gasped for air, hands on knees. “How are you more exhausted than me? I knew it, your injury is—!”

“GRAN!” Aldric shouted, louder than he meant to, and the woman went silent. Aldric struggled to reign in his frayed nerves. As soon as he dropped off his two charges, Aldric fully intended to go back out and find his students. The longer this took, the more danger he put those kids in.

“I made a vow ages ago that I would die before I ever allowed you to,” Aldric continued in a more reasonable tone. Gran opened her mouth to argue, but Aldric cut her off. “I don’t care if I’m not your bodyguard anymore. The vow still stands.”

He grabbed her shoulder and brought her closer, partly to convey his seriousness and partly to prop himself upright. “Minerva, I love you to death, but just this once, shut up and do as I say.”

Gran didn’t look like she wanted to give in, but what happened next saved Aldric another argument. A series of blue walls of mana began cropping up all over the city, one after the other. Aldric immediately recognized them. Grabbing Gran and hauling her by the wrist, Aldric dashed through the main plaza at a sprint. They were nearly across the threshold to the academy courtyard when a blue mana wall sprouted up and cut them off. Aldric rebounded off the wall as he came to a sudden stop, cursing.

“What is all this?” Gran asked. She had to crane her neck back to see the top of the massive barrier.

“I made it,” Aldric explained briefly. “I gave the activator to Zasia. She must have used it.”

Aldric had designed the enchantment to only block off certain areas as needed. It wasn’t like his tiny mana pool could sustain blocking off every district for any amount of time. Zasia’s could, however, and she didn’t know how to properly focus the enchantment. Aldric again took a moment to kick himself for not having the time to explain this to her and Kedrin.

“I assumed you were responsible,” Gran answered. She apparently wasn’t even surprised that Aldric had made something this huge and complex. “My real question is, how do we get past it?”

Aldric had been hoping to get here before this happened. Without the enchanted tool he’d given Zasia, he wasn’t able to pass this barrier. He could break through it given enough time, but how much did he have, exactly? Meanwhile, he wouldn’t be able to keep Gran safe. The old lady was a hell of a summoner, but summoners weren’t meant to fight by themselves. Even if Thagrius was conscious, he was a barely passable conjurer as far as Aldric was aware.

Aldric had to believe that there were attackers stuck somewhere in the market district with them. Their numbers would be limited, but with few places for them to go, it wouldn’t take them long before they wound up here. Aldric wasn’t entirely sure he had it in him to fight off yet another mob of invaders. The pain in his chest throbbed with agreement.

Aldric was still weighing his options when a man’s voice spoke up from behind them.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that.”

Aldric didn’t even think. Dropping Thagrius onto the ground like dead weight, he had two daggers in his hand as he whirled around and lashed out at the speaker. The man caught his arm mere inches before the blade sliced through his face. Aldric was already following up with his second dagger when he suddenly recognized the man.

“Balrus!” Aldric gazed into the face of the blonde knight and wilted in exhaustion and relief. “Gods, you scared the hell out of me!”

Balrus gave him his trademark brilliant smile. “Sorry, it took longer to find one of you than I thought it would. His majesty had sent me off on an errand, so I wasn’t there for the attack.” He nonchalantly wiped at the blood on his mana steel armor. “I got busy on the way here. I figured you would make for the academy first. May I ask why my liege is unconscious on the ground right now?”

“Uh,” Aldric spluttered. “He’s fine, just unconscious. He, uh, tripped.”

“... uh-huh.” Balrus gave Aldric a disbelieving look, but let the lie go. He briefly checked over Thagrius’ unconscious form before lifting the man onto his shoulders and nodding to Aldric. “Understood. At least you’re safe, Gran. How wonderful to see you again, by the way. I wish the circumstances of our reunion were better.”

“Likewise, dearest,” Gran answered. “Are you hurt? What can you tell us about the rest of the city?”

“I can’t tell you too much, I’m afraid. I only came straight here for you, Aldric, and Thagrius. The two of you probably know more than me at this point. I’m only killing black-robed mages when they try to kill me.”

Gran sighed. “Fair enough. Come, we’ll need to give Aldric space for a while. You know how he gets when he’s... well, I suppose ‘focused’ is the polite term.”

Aldric tuned them both out as he stared at the mana wall again. As long as Balrus was there, he wouldn’t need to worry about Gran’s safety and could work in peace. He’d need a good thirty to forty minutes of time, maybe even a bit of scrounging around the nearby market stalls for needed materials. Time was still of the essence, however. Despite Balrus’ reassuring presence, Aldric still needed to get back to his kids.

As Aldric procured and laid out everything he would need, there was a sudden, nagging thought at the back of his mind that he couldn’t identify. He tried to ignore it and resume his task, but the feeling got stronger the more he tried to push it away. A question slowly formed in his mind, one that he thought trivial until he had enough time to really ponder it. Something was wrong.

Aldric still wanted to ignore this bad feeling rising in his gut. It was stupid. Ridiculous. Not even worth mentioning. But some innate instinct ingrained into Aldric after years of surviving near-death experiences demanded his attention, regardless of how he felt about it.

Balrus had just told them he’d headed straight here for Gran, Aldric and Thagrius after assuming they’d be heading towards the academy. He’d even said that he’d gone straight here, making no detours. But why hadn’t he expected to find Kedrin and Zasia with them? He hadn’t even been looking for them if he came straight here. Moreover, why hadn’t he even asked about them? And if Balrus had been close enough to show up less than a minute after Aldric and Gran had stopped moving, why hadn’t Aldric seen or heard him? Why hadn’t Balrus helped them?

Without really thinking about it, Aldric stood up to head over to where Gran and Balrus had walked off to, Gran still gathering information and Balrus gently placing Thagrius down on the ground. Aldric would just ask quickly and clear up the confusion—

Aldric was just in time to see Balrus crush Thagrius’ head under his mana steel boot.

Gore violently erupted in every direction as the King of Verona’s lifeblood rapidly drained out onto the pavement. Gran didn’t even have time to say anything, simply staring at the scene, uncomprehending. Aldric was the same. He felt like his mind was breaking in half. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

The worst part, despite the shocking and sudden murder, was Balrus’ face. Rather than his usual jovial and friendly persona, he wore an expressionless mask as he looked down at the body of his liege lord. An eternity seemed to pass in the span of an eye-blink. No one moved or spoke.

Then, saying nothing at all, Balrus hauled Gran up and onto his shoulders and dashed off.

Aldric’s body took over for his stunned brain. He threw two daggers simultaneously at Balrus, making sure to miss Gran. The knight immediately drew his enchanted sword and knocked both daggers out of the air as easily as one would swat at flies. He had to stop running to do it, however, and Aldric was already sprinting forward.

Knowing he couldn’t beat Balrus in pure strength, Aldric threw an enchanted metal cylinder on the ground that flashed with a blinding light and a loud bang. Nadrina had generously shared her design with Aldric, and Balrus reflexively shielded his eyes and let out a cry. Gran fared little better, but Aldric grabbed her while Balrus was distracted and hoisted the old woman over and across his shoulders in a graceless but efficient carry.

He didn’t even make it three steps before Balrus suddenly appeared in front of them out of thin air. There wasn’t anywhere they could run when there was an enforcer who could use ghost step. Aldric’s chest protested its treatment, causing Aldric to cough from a sudden spasm of pain, but he was already in full panic mode. His mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening, and his body was running solely on instinct. He needed to get Gran out of here, now. He didn’t have time to deal with his reeling emotions.

Instead of acting, however, Balrus simply stood where he was. His sword was drawn, and he was clearly ready to chase them down, but he only stared mournfully at the two of them.

The regret plainly written on the knight’s face forced Aldric to confront what was currently happening. His friend had just murdered his sovereign and was about to do the same to Gran. The thought just refused to cycle through Aldric’s brain properly. It was insane!

“I truly am sorry,” Balrus suddenly said. “But I must ask that you hand over Empress Rhagia to me, Aldric.”

Chapter 14

THE SOUNDS OF FIGHTING in the city, his burning need to get Gran to safety and find his students, his overwhelming exhaustion, and the agony in his chest all took a back seat in Aldric’s mind as he stared in dumbfounded shock at his friend. This was Balrus. Balrus. The man that had stuck at Aldric’s side through hell and high water for years. The man that preached how justice and integrity were the highest values a knight could and should hold themselves to. The man that would lay down his life for a random stranger, with no expectation of reward or even gratitude.

That same man was now standing in the way of their safety, the very sword Aldric had enchanted for Balrus drawn and pointed at his face. Aldric’s chaotic thoughts finally settled into a cohesive question. It was simple and obvious, but it neatly summed up his feelings.

“Balrus, why?”

In Aldric’s disbelief, he half expected the knight to smile, or laugh, or explain how this was all some elaborate joke. Maybe Aldric would suddenly wake up from this nightmare, and they’d have a good laugh about it as he recounted it later. Instead, Balrus’ stance didn’t change.

“I truly am sorry, Aldric, Gran,” he repeated. “If there was another way, I would take it, but I have thought this over for many years now. This is only the beginning of what is required for the sake of the world.”

“And what the hell does that mean?” Aldric snapped, his shock quickly morphing into anger. “I don’t want apologies, damn it! I want an explanation!”

Balrus had opened his mouth to respond when another group of black-robed mages stumbled out from behind a cluster of market stalls.

They immediately noticed the three of them in the middle of the market square and looked like they were about to attack, but suddenly stopped short. When Aldric realized the mages were looking towards Balrus, he glanced over at the knight to find him slowly shaking his head and waving them off. Amazingly, the enemy mages complied as they slinked back into their alleyway.

“You’re with these bastards?” Aldric snarled, his blood boiling even hotter. He’d seen these people murdering fellow mages and guards in the streets, and Balrus was on their side?

“I am not with them!” Balrus snapped back “They are an evil I must tolerate for the time being. It is something I have grown horribly used to, ever since becoming the bodyguard of that... thing!” Balrus pointed to the corpse of Thagrius. “If you knew what that monster has done to keep his precious throne, not even mentioning his attempts to murder my friends...!”

Balrus had a wild-eyed look as he glared at the dead king. It was so unlike him that Aldric seriously wondered if he was talking to an imposter.

“Balrus, none of what you’re saying is making any sense,” Gran interjected, sounding a lot calmer than Aldric felt the situation demanded. “Please, help us understand. We’ll listen. There must be a reason that you would do such a thing. I refuse to believe that you would condone any of this without a very good reason.”

Turning now to Gran, the guilt on Balrus’ face redoubled. “I can only say that while I may have killed Thagrius, I do not intend to harm you. This is necessary, however unpleasant, for the future of all our countries, not just your empire.”

“And who is it that is making you do this?” Gran asked.

“No one is making me do anything, your majesty,” Balrus answered. “I am with an organization that seeks to upheave the current status quo and grant freedom to those who have been oppressed and stamped down in the pursuit of selfish gain.”

“Oppressed?” Aldric asked, still outraged. He pointed a finger towards the sounds of fighting emanating from the districts behind them. “How is that not oppression? What part of this nightmare is better than before?”

“It... I promise it is,” Balrus answered weakly, sounding miserable. “I cannot rightly ask you to take my word for it, and I’m aware of how awful this looks. If there was another way, I would’ve taken it.” Balrus seemed to hesitate to say his next words, like they physically hurt him to admit. “But... I cannot say that this is unnecessary. Corruption must be dug up from its roots. The suffering to come will build a foundation for a better future. One that is free from the oppressive society that the magical nobility have built at the expense of all others.”

Aldric was breathing deeply to control his rage. Balrus sounded like a brainwashed fool. This was not something Aldric had ever thought the knight would be capable of even saying, much less doing. Gran’s firm hand on Aldric’s shoulder was the only thing that stopped him from shouting back something venomous.

“Is that why you killed Thagrius?” she asked Balrus. “This group of yours is staging a coup of all three countries? Is Rebran dead as well?”

That was maybe the one bright spot to all of this. If Rebran was dead, the world was far better for it. Was that what Balrus was talking about? Why was this invasion necessary to achieve that, though?

“Yes, we are staging a coup, with the goal of destabilizing governments enough to move our own people in. The only way that happens is by causing chaos and panic.” Balrus answered Gran with what seemed to be total honesty. Aldric would have assumed that all of this would be a secret. “We will then spin this incident as the result of you and Thagrius trying to attack each other and dying in the process. Part of my agreement in working with these people is that no harm will come to the citizens or to you, your majesty. I... I know some casualties are unavoidable, but it’s the best I can do. You will be taken care of while our plans proceed.”

Balrus suddenly stopped talking and looked at Aldric, hesitation clear on his face. It gave Aldric a horrible feeling.

Haltingly, Balrus continued speaking to Gran while looking at Aldric. “And... Rebran... Rebran is not dead. He is... a member of our organization. While you are our prisoner, he will fill the void left by you and Thagrius.”

Aldric was done listening. He charged at Balrus. The knight seemed to have been waiting for that. He immediately brought up his sword to catch both of Aldric’s daggers. With a roar of fury, Aldric shoved against Balrus’ guard, actually staggering the surprised enforcer before tackling his legs. Both of them fell to the ground in a heap. Aldric straddled Balrus’ chest and readied his daggers again.

“I knew that little shit was part of this!” Aldric screamed. “If you’re working together, then I don’t need to hear anything else!”

Despite initially catching him by surprise, Aldric wasn’t a physical match for Balrus. The knight bucked his hips hard, sending Aldric toppling over him. Aldric immediately tried to charge him again but caught a mana steel boot to the chest. His chest erupted with pain, but he didn’t care. He rolled back to his feet and prepared to rush Balrus again when Gran screamed at them both.

“ENOUGH! Stop this at once, both of you!”

The royal authority in her voice managed to cut through Aldric’s fury long enough to stop his single-minded attack. Balrus hadn’t even moved from his spot. He simply stood at the ready with his sword raised and a forlorn look on his face. The expression only pissed Aldric off even more.

“You’re telling me that Rebran was behind this from the beginning?” Gran asked, incredulous. “But he was attacked just like I was. I have first-hand accounts of it. Him and Thagrius.”

“No, your majesty, you had spies who gave you first-hand accounts,” Balrus answered. “Spies that are no longer yours. They haven’t been for a while, ever since Rebran got to them.”

While a stunned Gran mulled over that news, Balrus turned back to Aldric.

“I had hoped that you, of all people, would have understood our intentions, Aldric.”

“How the hell do you figure that?” Aldric shot back, still far beyond furious.

“You were the greatest mind of our generation, and yet you had to claw and scrape just to stand shoulder to shoulder with mages and nobles that had never worked a hard day in their lives. You were forced to live in paranoia and fear from backstabbers and opportunists, simply because you wanted to better the world. Even leaving Rhagia’s court didn’t save you. Both you and Miraea—”

Balrus reflexively dodged the dagger that had been thrown at his face.

“You don’t get to say her name!” Aldric snarled. Balrus looked deeply hurt, but Aldric didn’t care. “I didn’t ask you to destroy a city and start a war for my sake, Balrus! This still isn’t any better than what they did to us! You’re taking power simply because you're strong enough to take it, just like the people you despise!”

“We are reestablishing what responsible rule looks like,” Balrus argued. “Look at it all, Aldric! A tournament held to honor mages and nobles. They paint it as something to be admired, an event for the masses. They tell them they’re being done a favor for being allowed to watch. Not a single damn is given about anyone in that crowd. Only that they keep cheering on their own oppressors. That the arena is even still standing is an insult! Do you know what they used to do in that place? The commoners that used to be slaughtered by the hundreds for the amusement of the city elite? And when the people asked for it to be torn down, the nobles protested it was ‘part of their heritage’ and worth preserving!”

“You... sound as if you’ve thought this for a while,” Gran said quietly.

“My whole life,” Balrus snarled. “I saw my family put down their people while I was told to watch and learn from them. Every noble I met praised me for my upbringing, for my talent in magic, like I’d earned what I had through effort alone.”

Balrus looked back to Aldric, and Aldric was shocked to find the man openly weeping. “Then I joined the Golden Workshop. The arrogance and hypocrisy that had hounded me from birth were finally gone. I was surrounded by people who saw me as just a man, who saw my accomplishments as a person rather than as a noble. I had a proper family, one that cared what kind of person I was, the values that I stood for, that shared them even!”

Balrus’ face suddenly screwed up in fury as he looked to the sky, like he was accusing the gods themselves. “And then they took it from me. They tore down my home and my family because they were jealous, because they were afraid, because their precious pride was at risk! Nothing I said or did could convince them otherwise. Now, I am done waiting for change. I am through giving those who do not deserve it second chances. If change will not come from them, then we will force their hand! I will make them change!”

An awful silence blanketed the three of them, only broken occasionally by the sounds of combat emanating from the distance. Aldric’s prior rage cooled considerably when he didn’t find an immediate comeback to offer. It wasn’t like what Balrus said was wrong, but Aldric just couldn’t convince himself that destroying Nevis and starting a war was necessary.

That being said, what was the answer? Balrus was correct. Waiting hadn’t worked.

“Balrus, I’m not... I’m not saying you’re wrong,” Aldric carefully began. “But this... whatever you think this is, this is wrong.” He gestured expansively to the deserted and devastated city blocks around them. “You know as well as I that anything Rebran says is only a twisted version of the truth at best. However virtuous you think this organization of yours is, anyone who’s willing to let him join their cause is not to be trusted.”

“I do not relish his company,” Balrus admitted, his brows furrowing. “But though he is many awful things, he is also terribly effective at moving people, willingly or not. We need people like that in the coming days, loath as I am to admit that. I don’t have any intention of letting him take charge of everything, however. Once all three countries have come under our control, we will put new systems in place to better represent the people. Rebran will not be allowed to rule as a despot forever.”

“That is incredibly optimistic of you, Balrus,” Gran said. “Men in power seek only more power and are reluctant to relinquish any of it.”

“I suppose you would know best of such things, your majesty,” Balrus said simply. Gran stumbled backwards like the knight had just slapped her.

“While you have done more than most ever would have for those beneath you, it is far from enough. You have spent your entire life on the Rhagian throne, but even all these years later, so many systemic problems persist. I do not need to tell you about how your own people and advisors are just as corrupt and self-serving, despite all your efforts to root them out. Such people in power only lead to even more like them. Your way of solving the problem has borne no fruit, so we will try a new way.”

“It is not as simple as decreeing a change in a country’s culture, Balrus!” Gran argued. “Those in power are just as beholden to the people serving them as the people are to their ruler. I cannot simply uproot centuries of strife by possessing power, and neither can you nor this organization of yours. Time is required to make these things happen, no matter how impatient we all feel!”

“Perhaps you are right,” Balrus answered, bowing formally. “If all of our efforts fail, then I will do everything in my power to reinstate you as the sovereign empress of Rhagia while presenting my head for execution.”

“Your head will mean very little in the face of thousands of deaths in a war!” Gran yelled. “This is not the time for rash action and emotional decision making. Please, Balrus! You cannot undue your actions after today. Stop this madness! It is not too late!”

Now Gran was the one crying. Balrus looked at her, and Aldric could easily see the war within him. He was telling the truth; he didn’t enjoy doing this, but he genuinely thought he needed to. And Balrus had always been a man who would willingly sacrifice himself for what he thought was right. His face went stony as he gave his ultimate answer.

“You have had your chance, Empress. The time to try something more radical has come, and my patience was gone years and years ago.” Ignoring the devastated Gran, he turned back to Aldric. “And I hoped to not have to do this alone.”

Aldric just blinked at him. “You can’t be serious?” he asked.

“Think about it, Aldric,” Balrus implored him. “So many people on this continent share stories like yours. Imagine the things you could do for them, the suffering you could save them from. No one would need to endure the things you did ever again! If you are still hesitant, then you can come with me. See for yourself what our goal is and the value of our plan!” Balrus solemnly put his hand over his heart as he looked Aldric in the eyes. “I swear, on my honor and house, that the moment you decide they cannot be trusted, we will leave. Right then and there, no questions asked. I will leave it entirely up to you. Let my vow be witnessed this day.”

Balrus had just given his knightly word that his beliefs were real and genuine. Balrus would not make a vow like that lightly. It spoke to an unwavering conviction in what he was doing.

Aldric wanted to believe in him. He really did. To trust that his friend wouldn’t ally with someone that wasn’t just. But everything around them called that faith into question.

Balrus further drove the knife into Aldric’s heart. “I’m not asking you to believe in Rebran or the people behind us or anyone else. All I ask is that you believe in me, as I always have in you.”

It would be so easy. To just go with him and find out what all of this was about. This philosophy of just flipping the table over and starting from zero was crazy, but it wasn’t like anyone had offered anything better so far. Aldric had spent years trying to prove to others he was worth something, only to later realize that none of them ever cared. The Golden Workshop had been his crowning achievement in this life, and he’d lost it and the most important person in his life to the very nobles who’d profited the most from the Workshop’s efforts. Aldric would be lying if he said he was over that.

And besides all of that, this was Balrus. Balrus. If Aldric couldn’t trust Balrus, then who could he trust?

Thoughts of Zasia and Kedrin popped up in Aldric’s mind. What would they do? Surely, they would trust Balrus, right? They’d been side by side for decades. It wasn’t like Balrus was going to kill Gran, either. They could finally, truly be safe.

Gods, when had they last felt that way? They could stop running and watching every shadowy corner with fear and uncertainty. They could finally live, really live, and Aldric wouldn’t be racked with fear and worry about those he cared for most. Maybe he could bring his students with them. Their families might not like that, but it might be the safest—

His students.

Suddenly remembering the kids, Aldric looked inwardly at the enchantment that should still be linked with them. What he found made his heart go from a fast jog to an all-out sprint.

They were alive, thank gods, but barely. All their mana pools were severely depleted, and he could feel they were injured through the link. Worse, they were close by, but still not in the academy. That meant they were stuck out in the open and trapped in the enchanted walls. Had Kedrin or Zasia found them yet? Were they still fighting on their own?

The enchantment offered little more information than that, but it was enough to snap Aldric out of his idealistic thoughts. Now was not the time for philosophical and moral discussion. He needed to get Gran to the academy and find those kids. Coping with whatever Balrus was doing could be done later.

Besides, anyone that put Aldric’s kids in danger, even self-proclaimed heroes, permanently earned a place on Aldric’s shit list.

“Step aside, Balrus,” Aldric ordered, his voice firming up as his convictions filled him.

Balrus looked at Aldric with a look of such shock and hurt that Aldric could practically feel his old friend’s pain. Then the knight’s face hardened into an unreadable mask.

“... I see. It was too much to ask you to believe in me up front, I suppose. I apologize in advance, but I will be taking the both of you, conscious or not.”

“Unlikely,” Gran said, stepping up next to Aldric. “I’m not so old that I can’t still thoroughly tan your backside and drag you back home with us. You cannot fight both of us, Balrus.”

Balrus smiled a hollow smile. “I’m sure the both of you would be more than a handful to deal with. Aldric is plenty enough challenge for me, but I haven’t forgotten what an accomplished summoner the Empress of Rhagia is. That’s why we had precautions put in place.”

Balrus then produced a small, spherical stone from within his armor. It glinted like a ruby as the light of the setting sun hit it, and Aldric immediately knew what it was. He dashed forward, but it was too late. With a quick infusion of Balrus’s mana, the signaling enchantment suddenly rocketed into the sky with a loud keening noise. It hung high above the surrounding buildings before it detonated, showering bright orange sparks that could be seen for miles.

Silence held for several heavy moments as Aldric prepared to fight off a wave of enemy reinforcements. When nothing happened for ten whole seconds, Aldric wondered if that had been a poorly timed bluff.

Then the explosion of light happened.

It came from several districts over, but it was as blinding as if Aldric had been standing right in front of it. The orange sky was lit a stark white from the massive flash, then returned to normal almost instantly. It was so fast that Aldric thought he might have imagined it until a thunderous roar rang out throughout the city, loud enough to shake the earth and painfully vibrate Aldric’s chest.

The thing making the sound rose to its full height and roared again. It towered over the city like a god, massive skeletal wings stretching for what could have been a mile from a huge, exposed rib cage that would have dwarfed the castle in the empire’s capital. A long, bony tail from behind the monster lashed out and tore through a cluster of buildings like a negligent child knocking over toy blocks. It only stopped when it contacted Aldric’s enchanted walls, at which point Aldric screamed in pain from the backlash. The beast began laying waste to everything around it with tail, claw and teeth as it trumpeted its fury once more.

Aldric knew what it was, of course. Even as a resurrected skeleton, there was no mistaking its form. That didn’t make coming to terms with the reality any easier.

The city was already being invaded, and now they had to deal with a gods damn dragon attack.

Where the hell had they found a dragon’s skeleton, a race of creatures believed extinct for centuries? Whatever necromancer had summoned the skeletons in the arena must control this thing now, but Aldric couldn’t even imagine how much power that would require. It wasn’t something they could have easily concealed, either. How had something like that been snuck into the city?

“Your majesty, I would ask that you spend your energy doing something about that,” Balrus said, yanking Aldric’s and Gran’s attention back to him. “If that thing is allowed to rampage through the city, thousands will die.”

“You’ve gone mad!” Gran shouted, the panic in her voice obvious. “You would go to such lengths and still claim to be in the right?”

“Of course,” Balrus answered easily. “We have already evacuated that district of any citizens, just in case I wasn’t able to capture you, but guards and mages remain there. I doubt our people’s ability to keep that creature in one place, but I know you will let nothing happen to your citizens while you can do something about it. I suggest you hurry, however. Dragons are not known for their patience. Or their mercy.”

A vein throbbed furiously in Gran’s temple. She looked like she couldn’t decide between attacking the dragon or attacking Balrus. Aldric decided for her and squared off with the knight, daggers at the ready.

“Gran, do it. We don’t have a choice.” He turned and gave her the best confident smile he could muster under these circumstances. “Just like old times, huh? You getting all the credit, and me watching out for your royal hide. Just make sure it doesn’t hit the magic walls again.”

Gran looked like she wanted to argue, but thankfully didn’t. While Aldric stared down Balrus, he felt an overwhelming amount of mana pouring out of the woman behind him as she cast her summoning magic. Another blinding light appeared in the sky above the skeletal dragon, this one much brighter and larger. Yet another mythical dragon descended from a tear in the sky as if falling from the heavens, issuing its own roar of challenge.

Gran’s strongest summon, a celestial dragon that perfectly matched the regalia of the Rhagian Empire, resembled a mile-long serpent of brilliant white scales. This was only the second time Aldric had seen the majestic creature, but it still took his breath away as much as the first. It almost seemed to swim like an eel through the air as it snaked towards the skeletal dragon.

The celestial dragon opened its maw and spewed forth golden flames that hurt Aldric’s eyes to look at directly, drenching its foe in furious heavenly fire. The skeletal dragon screamed in agony before lunging for the celestial dragon, catching the long white tail in its massive jaws and dragging the other beast down to the earth. Aldric lost sight of them both as they tumbled to the ground, massive clouds of debris thrown up in the chaos of the thrashing mythical monsters.

Aldric forcibly tore his eyes away from the spectacle as he realigned his gaze to Balrus. The knight already had his sword poised, seemingly waiting for Aldric to be ready. The out-of-place display of chivalry only angered Aldric further.

Fine. If Aldric’s friend had gone mad, he would just have to beat the madness out of him. Somehow.

Chapter 15

ALDRIC IMMEDIATELY dashed forward, leading his charge with two thrown daggers. His goal was to take the attention off Gran as quickly as possible. Balrus’ sword came up to deflect both daggers midair, the blades tumbling out of the air and lodging point first into the ground. Aldric was right behind them, one more blade ready to catch Balrus’ next incoming sword stroke.

Aldric’s wrist screamed in protest as it endured the enforcer’s blow. Ignoring the pain, he thrust out his right palm and landed a solid hit on Balrus’ breastplate. Balrus seemed confused by the ineffectual hit until he saw Aldric’s hand glow from imbuing a hidden slip of spell paper under his palm. Balrus leapt back on instinct, but the paper was already stuck to his chest. With a loud hiss, the spell paper exploded in a ball of fire and smoke.

That wouldn’t be enough to do the knight in, but it bought Aldric time. He quickly took out a stack of thin metal discs no bigger than a gold coin and tossed them straight up in the air, watching as they landed in a haphazard scatter. Only moments later, Balrus suddenly appeared from a ghost step. Aldric barely had time to put his guard up before receiving a front kick to the stomach. It violently expelled all the air in his lungs as he flew backwards, tumbling for several meters before rolling to a stop.

He didn’t bother getting back up, knowing that Balrus would already have ghost stepped over to him, ready to deliver the knockout blow. Through the blood enchantment etched into one of the metal disks that Balrus was unwittingly standing on, Aldric activated the trap. A sudden, powerful force suddenly crushed Balrus and Aldric into the earth.

The earth spell engraved on the disk multiplied the force of gravity on them both, but only Aldric had been ready for it. Already on the ground, the effect on Aldric was minimal, but the standing knight suddenly face planted to the ground like someone had dropped a boulder on his shoulders. Fighting against the invisible giant hand that was trying to crush him flat, Aldric dropped an entire scroll of spell paper on the ground before rolling out of the meter long circumference of the enchantment’s range of effect. Balrus, caught in the very center of the spell, could only watch in horror as Aldric activated the blood enchantment on the scroll.

The fiery explosion this time was magnitudes more impressive. Even after having cleared the gravity trap, it still hurled Aldric like a rag doll from the shock wave of the blast. He tucked and rolled instinctively, only coming to a stop when he collided with a market stall and smashed it to pieces. All Aldric could do for several moments was lay there groaning, waiting for his ears to stop ringing. When his vertigo had subsided, he shakily got to his feet and witnessed his handiwork.

There was now a smoldering crater five meters wide where Balrus had been. Aldric already had another dagger out and ready. Despite the intensity of the blast, Aldric knew with certainty that it still wasn’t enough.

“I’ll never understand where on your person you fit all those contraptions of yours,” Balrus commented lightly, exiting the dust cloud of the crater while brushing off his still intact armor. “I’ll admit, I forgot for a moment who it was I was fighting. You can be sure I’ll take this a bit more seriously now. Sorry, but you’ll want to brace yourself.”

Balrus had suddenly teleported in front of Aldric again, sword poised to slash straight down. The enchanted sword glowed brightly before being engulfed in billowing flames, tracing a vermillion arc in the air as Balrus whipped the blade downward.

Aldric barely had time to dodge out of the way, but the flames still scorched him as he moved. Aldric frantically beat at his burning robes to snuff out the lingering flames, but he needn’t have bothered. A wall of water followed another sword stroke from Balrus, and the sudden tidal wave swept Aldric off his feet. Lost in the current, Aldric could do nothing but flail as he was swept away like a drowned rat.

When he finally got his feet under him again, Aldric didn’t wait around. He quickly rolled to the side just in time to avoid a bar of wind that plowed through where Aldric had just been laying. The force of it was still enough to kick up stone shrapnel and send it flying into Aldric’s face. Bruised, battered, and blinded, Aldric couldn’t react in time to the second wave of fire from Balrus’ sword. Aldric just managed to curl up and cover his face before the inferno descended.

Apparently, taking Aldric back beaten and charred was acceptable to Balrus.

Aldric could feel his body burning as he frantically dug around in his robe pockets. When he finally found what he was looking for, he held the amulet aloft and activated it. The flames remained, but any heat they contained disappeared. When the fire finally cooled and died out, Aldric quickly released the now white-hot piece of metal and got back on his feet as quickly as he could.

He was just in time to find Balrus next to him, sword poised over his shoulder for a massive swing. The blade had suddenly developed a rocky casing that extended the blade to twice its length. It wouldn’t be cutting much in that state, but that hardly mattered when Balrus was the one swinging it.

Aldric dropped to the ground as the pillar of rock sailed just over his head. The wind from the blow alone nearly knocked Aldric onto his butt. Balrus was already coming back in for a downward swing, but Aldric activated another gravity trap at the last moment. Balrus fell backwards onto his back as the enchantment brought him off balance, sword tumbling from his grasp and shaking the earth when it struck the ground.  This trick wouldn’t work twice with Balrus, however. He was already channeling mana to his limbs and escaping the effective range of the spell.

That was when Aldric triggered the enchantment still on the first two daggers Balrus had deflected. Aldric’s seemingly random dodging and rolling had purposely led them right back to where the two blades were still sticking up in the ground. The earth beneath the daggers suddenly disintegrated into sand as a large sink hole opened underneath Balrus and began dragging him down.

Aldric quickly cut into his thumb with a dagger, traced runes on the blade, and hurled the weapon toward Balrus. The knight’s sword arm was still stuck in the sand pit, so he simply snagged the dagger out of the air with his free hand, but that had been the point. When Aldric activated the blood enchantment on the dagger, vines suddenly burst from the surrounding cobblestones and rapidly converged on the dagger, wrapping around Balrus’ arm and holding him fast. Surprised, Balrus tried tearing free of the plants, but they only stretched and grew thicker to hold him in place. Worse, Balrus’ poor footing meant he didn’t have the right leverage to put all his strength into it.

While Balrus struggled to untangle himself, Aldric snatched another dagger and threw it, well wide of Balrus The dagger swung around behind Balrus and looped back again, wrapping Balrus even more in a thin metal wire that had been tied to the blade’s handle. Aldric quickly tied off the wire to another dagger, spiked it into the ground, and took out a slip of spell paper while imbuing it.

Once done, he slapped it to the dagger. An arc of electricity shot from the paper down the wire towards Balrus, wreathing the knight in sparking, hissing bolts of electricity. The wires Aldric wrapped him in only amplified the effect, as did his metal armor. Balrus’ face contorted in pain as his entire body spasmed, unable to break free while his muscles were being hijacked. It didn’t matter how strong you were; no man could resist lightning filling their nervous system.

Aldric had forgotten, however, that Balrus was no normal man.

The knight’s roar of rage and defiance shook the marketplace as Balrus released a torrent of pure mana. Physically manifesting an enforcer’s mana was absurdly difficult and often dangerous to the user. Doing it while being electrocuted and in intense pain without blowing up his own body spoke volumes of Balrus’ skill and power. The wires and vines were vaporized as a raw, unfiltered wave of magic ripped through space. It sent Aldric and nearby market stalls tumbling like leaves.

When Aldric got back to his feet, Balrus was already climbing out of the sand pit and heading towards him. He looked haggard and his armor had scorch marks from the super-heated wire he’d been wrapped in, but he looked otherwise fine. Besides the fact that he looked pissed.

Balrus suddenly ghost stepped in front of Aldric, closing the distance in an instant. Aldric had expected it and attacked the moment the knight reappeared, but Balrus immediately ghost stepped again to the side, and then a third time to Aldric’s back before Aldric even registered the movement. Aldric took Balrus’ boot to his back before he could do anything about it. It sent him flying, only to run into Balrus’ fist as the knight ghost stepped a fourth time to meet him mid-flight. Aldric’s momentum coupled with Balrus’ absurd strength created an earth-shattering punch to Aldric’s sternum.

Aldric could have sworn he felt his breastbone touch his spine as his torso was crushed under the force and blown backwards. He didn’t see what he ran into, but he sure as hell felt it when it his body passed through it and shattered it to smithereens. He finally came to a stop after slamming into the side of a nearby building, the stone walls forming a spiderweb of cracks from the impact.

Aldric’s entire world was pain and suffering. If his chest had hurt before, now it felt like someone had stuffed it full of smoldering coals. Balrus had likely aimed for it on purpose.

“Aldric!” Gran shouted from far off, still unable to help him while maintaining her summoning. The two dragons in the distance were still roaring and snarling as they struggled. While Gran was distracted, the skeletal dragon clamped its jaws down on one of the celestial dragon’s smaller forelegs and tore it clean off. The heavenly beast screeched in pain and outrage as golden blood poured down on the city like a waterfall. Gran winced as she received backlash from the damage, forcing her to put all her attention back on her own fight.

Aldric tried to order his scattered thoughts while lying on his back and staring blearily at the sky. His already pathetic mana pool was dwindling after rapidly imbuing several times in a row. Normally this wouldn’t have become a problem, but Balrus was a tough enough opponent that Aldric couldn’t take the time to be efficient in his casting. Any protracted fight was to the knight’s benefit, and that didn’t even consider Aldric’s prior injury or their mad dash to get here.

Mirroring Aldric’s thoughts, Balrus spoke as he calmly made his way over to Aldric. “You’re going to need to do better than that, my friend. The longer you drag this out, the more it’s going to hurt you. Give up now. It will be better for everyone that way, I promise.”

Aldric slowly and painfully crawled back to his feet, ignoring how his legs wobbled under his weight. He gave himself a once over and noted he looked like crap. His professor’s robes were torn, battered, and burned beyond recognition. Realizing the rags were only getting in his way, he roughly tore at the remaining fabric and ripped it off, dismayed to see that his ruined undershirt went with it.

A lot of his enchantments and tools were in those robes, but most of them wouldn’t do anything serious to Balrus. Aldric squared off with the knight again, now only wearing pants and boots. Balrus, by contrast, wore lightly scorched and dented armor that would still give Aldric a hell of a hard time.

Aldric wasn’t stupid. He knew the only reason he hadn’t already lost was because Balrus wasn’t trying to outright kill him. If he was going to make it out of this, and more importantly, get Gran out of this, he would need to take the gloves off. Balrus had a bigger mana pool than Aldric, but it wasn’t bottomless, and Aldric had already forced him to spend maybe a sixth. Time to put everything on the table.

Aldric took in a deep breath to center himself for his next move, happy to take whatever time Balrus was willing to give him. He usually only used this spell in short bursts to preserve his body, but he didn’t have the luxury of holding back right now. Kedrin was going to have his work cut out for him when this was done.

Taking one final breath, Aldric channeled his mana while his body glowed a light blue.

“Fine,” he finally said to Balrus. He quickly took out a healing charm he’d prepared for emergencies and activated it. It wouldn’t fix much, but it made him mobile again. “I can do better than that, sure. But be careful what you ask for, Balrus. You might just get it.”

~~~

NADRINA AND HER CLASS had been achingly close to the academy, close enough to physically see it, when these strange blue walls suddenly popped up out of nowhere. Despite her and Volmar’s best efforts, there didn’t seem to be any way to bypass them. Trapped, they had huddled up in a nearby abandoned building that looked to have been an herbalist’s shop of some sort before all this chaos had descended on the city.

The second floor led to empty living quarters, which provided convenient beds for them to rest in, as well as some food and herbs used in healing. It hadn’t been until that moment that Nadrina had realized just how starved she was. Fighting for your life gave you an appetite, it seemed.

They had luckily not been accosted by those black-robed mages at all on their way here, mostly sticking to alleys and side streets and avoiding the worst looking districts of the city. They’d made good progress, all things considered, but not good enough. The only thing left for them to do now was sit and wait for conditions to improve while staying out of sight.

Blessedly, Lilianna, Cira, and Alek seemed to be recovering but were still unfit to fight. Alek had a nasty break in his leg that was going to require some serious healing, but the crude splint he now sported would have to do for now. Codrin had briefly regained consciousness long enough to drag some of his classmates to this building before promptly passing out again.

All four injured were currently taking up the beds while Nadrina and Volmar kept watch. Volmar himself didn’t look too great, but he kept insisting he’d be fine. The long gashes to his chest had stopped bleeding after Nadrina applied bandages, but there was still the chance he could open them up again if he moved too much. The gash on Nadrina’s arm was much the same.

Had it been hours? Days? Nadrina honestly couldn’t tell. The moments all blended together while hell on earth played out in the streets. She could hardly believe that until recently her only worry had been placing well in the tournament. A tournament that was no doubt never going to be continued. Now, she was stuck in this building waiting for... something. It was hard to plan when you couldn’t grasp what exactly was going on. Lacking anything else to do, she’d moved over to one of the bedroom windows with Volmar while trying to sift through her chaotic thoughts.

That was when she’d seen them. Professor Aldric, Empress Rhagia, Sir Balrus, and an unconscious King Thagrius were loitering in the nearby square that the class’ current hiding spot bordered. They appeared to be trying to get past the mysterious magical walls as well.

Instant, overwhelming relief flooded Nadrina at the sight of the professor. He was alright, and now they would be alright. If anyone could get them out of this, it was him.

“He’s here!” she’d said to Volmar, shaking him urgently and pointing. “There! In the square!”

Volmar had immediately spotted the group and beamed. “Wow, can’t get luckier than that, can we?”

Nadrina had just taken in breath to call out to the professor before the sound of Sir Balrus’ boot crushing the King of Verona’s head stopped her.

Nadrina’s breath had frozen in her lungs. Even as the following events quickly unfolded, she couldn’t speak or move. Nadrina’s mind refused to accept what was playing out in front of her and spiraled uselessly while the fighting continued. Not even the twin dragons dueling far off in the distance, something she could have only dreamed of ever seeing, could tear her eyes away from the fight that was now happening.

“What the hell is going on?” Volmar asked in a quavering voice. He’d been just as speechless this whole time as Nadrina. “Why is this happening?”

“Are you all seeing this, or am I still dreaming?” Cira’s voice called out from the next room over that she shared with Codrin.

“We see it!” Lilianna suddenly answered. Nadrina turned to find her friend looking out her own window next to her bed, eyes wide with fascinated horror. “We need to do something! Anything!”

“Like what?” Alek asked. He’d hobbled over from his bed and was staring out Lilianna’s window with her. “You really think we can insert ourselves into a fight like that?”

A loud explosion caused all of them to turn back to the fight. Sir Balrus was using his enchanted sword to terrifying effect, throwing out one element after another faster than the professor could react. Nadrina was just amazed that the professor wasn’t dead yet. Keeping pace with a master enforcer was more than impressive. Still, that couldn’t last forever. Even now, the professor was slowly but surely accumulating injuries while the knight took every blow on his armor.

Nadrina felt an overwhelming sense of frustration building up inside her. Were they just supposed to sit here and watch this unfold?

Sir Balrus had been using the ghost step before, but now he was using it several times in succession, knocking the professor around like a kickball and nailing one last heavy blow into his injured chest. It launched the professor through several market stalls and impacted the very building the class was staying in.

He didn’t immediately get back up. He didn’t even move.

Nadrina made to sprint for the stairs but was suddenly tackled from behind. She and her assailant went crashing to the ground, and to her surprise, she heard Cira on top of her grunt in pain from the fall.

“Let go!” Nadrina shouted, struggling to pry Cira’s arms off her.

“So you can do what?” Cira shot back. “You can’t do anything in a fight like that! You’ll just get yourself killed!”

“We can’t just—!”

“I’m not saying we don’t help!” Cira continued. “I’m just saying we need a plan. Otherwise, we’ll just be a liability for the professor.”

Nadrina’s panicking mind didn’t like how reasonable that sounded, but she was right. When Nadrina had calmed down, Cira let her get up and then pulled on Nadrina’s offered hand into a standing position.

“Now,” Cira said as she walked to the window and stood next to Volmar. “We have to consider our situation and what we have at our disposal. That’s what we learned while camping in the Vildim Wilds, right?”

Nadrina searched her many pockets for anything that she might use, but nothing she could come up with would do anything in a fight between master mages. A quick glance at Lilianna and Volmar showed they didn’t have any immediate ideas, either.

“What the actual hell...?” Alek breathed as he continued to stare out the window. Everyone else followed his gaze and immediately saw what he meant.

Professor Aldric had lost his robes at some point and was now standing shirtless, facing Sir Balrus with his back to the class. Horrible, deep looking scars crisscrossed almost every inch of the professor’s body. The marks on his arms and back rippled as the muscle underneath them moved with the professor’s motions. They didn’t seem random, however. They traced along the professor’s arms, across and down his back, and further down his torso, underneath his remaining clothes. There was an unmistakable pattern to them that told Nadrina they’d been put there intentionally. When they started glowing with an ethereal blue light, it made what they were even more obvious.

They weren’t just scars. They were runes.

Nadrina wasn’t sure if she was fascinated or disgusted. The idea of inscribing and imbuing one’s own body had never even occurred to her, mostly because she didn’t think it could be done. The more she thought about it, however, the more it made sense. One’s own blood was the ideal material to work with for sorcery, and Professor Aldric had already shown his advanced sorcery using the blood bonding he’d invented.

That being said, one look at those nasty-looking scars was enough to make Nadrina think it wasn’t worth it. They couldn’t have just been on the skin. People’s skin would eventually shed, regrow and change shape, which would affect the rune diagram. They had to have been extremely deep, maybe deep enough to hit bone. He might have even had to reapply them over time. Just the idea of carving that complex rune diagram into herself over and over was enough to make Nadrina feel faint.

As soon as the runes of his body were all lit, Professor Aldric simply disappeared. When he reappeared an instant later, he was directly behind his opponent. Sir Balrus had barely begun to turn around when the professor’s kick caught him squarely in the side. The knight’s body bent around the heavy blow just before he rocketed off into a nearby building, wood and stone scattering in all directions as Sir Balrus burst straight through the wall and out of sight.

“That... that was ghost step,” Volmar breathed, sounding like he didn’t quite believe his own words. Alek’s expression was the same. “Those runes are impersonating the magic of an enforcer.”

Clarity suddenly struck Nadrina. All those times the professor had moved faster than possible or exhibited strength he shouldn’t have. He’d been using these runes engraved onto his own flesh.

It suddenly made sense to her why the professor was so cagey about some of the magic he’d developed. If anyone found out about this artificial enforcement magic method, it would change... well, everything. Nadrina remembered the summoning ritual the professor had performed against the void beasts all those months ago. Was there no limit to what was possible to recreate with sorcery?

Instructor Balrus quickly excavated himself from the ruined building he was in and flashed over to the professor. The sword swing he threw out passed through only air as the professor ghost stepped again, forcing the knight to do the same. What followed was a blur of motion as both combatants practically teleported around the city square, only briefly meeting to slam attacks into each other. Each blow seemed to be met with equal force. Professor Aldric, a sorcerer, was keeping pace with the best enforcer on the continent.

Maybe the professor wouldn’t need their help after all. Hope had bloomed in Nadrina before Alek’s words brought her spirits crashing down again.

“He won’t be able to do that forever,” he said. “Runes or not, he doesn’t have the physiology of an enforcer. His body won’t be able to take the strain for too long. I think his injury is still bothering him, too.”

True to Alek’s words, the professor was already slowing down enough for Nadrina to make out details of the fight. Every kick was still ringing out like a gong on the knight’s armor, and he was bearing more than a few dagger cuts, but Sir Balrus didn’t seem to be seriously injured. In fact, he was repeatedly aiming for their teacher’s chest injury. Every hit landed caused Professor Aldric to freeze up in pain long enough for Sir Balrus to get a free shot in. Their professor was going to lose if this fight dragged on any longer.

Nadrina once again wracked her brains, hoping a brilliant idea might tumble out. If they were going to do something, it needed to be soon. Looking around herself, Nadrina finally remembered what kind of shop they were in.

It wasn’t quite sorcery, but herbalism was probably similar, right?

~~~

ALDRIC WAS RUNNING out of tricks. Resorting to his counterfeit enforcement magic was something he only did when he was out of options. Gran was still off to the side as the dragon fight raged on. It didn’t look like either monster was tiring, but Gran certainly was. She was on her knees on the ground with sweat dripping down her face. Aldric knew she wouldn’t let that skeletal dragon harm anyone as long as she had the mana to fight, but he didn’t know how much longer that would be for.

As Aldric crawled from the wreckage of a now ruined home after a hard hit from Balrus, he saw the knight already heading his way. He was breathing hard and favoring his left leg, but it didn’t slow him down enough to really matter. His mana steel armor, despite being of the highest quality make, was a dented, scared, and scorched ruin of its former self. A rather nasty and jagged cut was just over his right eye and the blood running down was forcing him to shut it.

It was gratifying to see that the once handsome and illustriously armored enforcer now looked like someone had dipped him in lava right before throwing him down a rocky cliff. At least Aldric had been making him work for it.

Despite that, Aldric wasn’t much better. In fact, if he was being honest, he was far worse off. Despite the rune array implanted into him, his body was becoming less and less responsive the longer this fight went on. The runes were now moving his exhausted body for him, rather than just empowering it. As Aldric gradually climbed to his feet, he had to try not to show just how thoroughly thrashed he was.

Aldric had been hoping to somehow subdue Balrus long enough for Kedrin and Zasia to find them and grant passage through the magic walls, but there was still no sign of them. He’d somehow forgotten what a gods damn monster Balrus could be when he really went at it. If this fight continued any longer, Balrus could easily take Gran and escape. And just because Balrus intended to spare her didn’t mean the people behind him would.

It had been a long time since Aldric had his back against the wall like this. Balrus wasn’t a foe Aldric could handle by himself, and the knight knew that. As if to punctuate the thought, Balrus lazily twirled his sword in a complex pattern as he calmly sized Aldric up from a distance.

Aldric cursed his own talent. If he’d known Balrus was going to use that sword against him one day, he wouldn’t have spent so much time making it practically indestructible. The blade’s enchanted edge was still as sharp as ever as it whistled through the air, the runes along its length beginning to light up again as Balrus prepared his next attack.

Seeing the runes, a plan formed in Aldric’s mind. It was a really bad one, one where he had maybe a fifty-fifty chance of not outright dying, and he was reluctant to rely on that strange power of his again so soon after using it earlier in the arena. As he weighed his limited options, Aldric did the only thing he could while he plotted out his next move: he monologued.

“You look like crap, Balrus,” he said in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone. His attempt to look casual was ruined by his jaw not opening and closing as cleanly as it should.

Balrus huffed a humorless chuckle. “Likewise,” he answered, as the glowing runes on his sword died down again. “I hope you saying this means you’ve realized the futility of this fight?”

“Oh, I don’t know. You kind of look like something a dog would gnaw on. Maybe all the stories about you are exaggerated. I’ll never know if I don’t try, right?” Aldric eyed the knight’s sword carefully. He’d only get one shot at this.

“Aldric, I can’t express enough how much I don’t want to do this with you. Every moment we spend fighting against each other is a moment we could spend ending this conflict. As soon as I have secured the empress, the forces in this city will leave. If you would only see reason—”

Aldric quickly drew his second to last dagger and threw it at Balrus while he was still speaking. It was a cheap tactic that had served Aldric well over the years, and Balrus loved to talk. Unfortunately, the enforcer’s reflexes proved up to the task as he caught the flying weapon midair. He was still so surprised by the sudden attack, however, that he didn’t notice the near invisible metal filament that was tied to the dagger’s handle.

Empowering the runes in his arm, Aldric pulled on the line and yanked himself forward in a blur. It wasn’t as fast as ghost step, but he couldn’t do anymore of those. He could hear a tearing sound coming from his shoulder, but he ignored it. Final dagger already in his other hand, Aldric rapidly closed the distance until the blade was inches from Balrus’ stunned face.

Balrus hadn’t expected the tug and had stumbled forward, off balance. Seeing certain death coming for him, the knight did the sensible thing and swung his sword in a simple diagonal arc to intercept his attacker, exactly as Aldric had wanted him to.

Without hesitation, Aldric immediately dropped the dagger and grabbed the sword by the middle of its blade. It bit deeply into the flesh of his hand, nearly severing it in half. Balrus tried to yank the blade free, but Aldric’s incoming body knocked him to the ground, with Aldric straddling his chest. Then Balrus made his second mistake that Aldric had been counting on; he infused mana into the blade to blast Aldric’s hand free.

Committing to his ludicrous plan, Aldric mentally pulled on that hidden power of his and felt the fluctuations of Balrus’ mana through the blade as it tried to infuse all the runes inscribed there. With a mental effort that almost made Aldric pass out on the spot, he gripped Balrus’ mana with his own and manhandled it, stuffing it into a single fire rune. Aldric hadn’t designed the rune to hold such a huge amount of mana all at once. With Aldric bottling up all the mana, there was nothing else for the sword to do but overload itself.

A monumental explosion of magical energy tore through the market square as the enchantment in the blade failed violently. The force of it launched Aldric off Balrus and into something solid that knocked him out cold. When he came to, he dimly noted that only a few seconds seemed to have passed. An incessant ringing noise was all he could hear as he lay in a heap on a pile of rubble. The world around him shifted and spun in confusing patterns for a full minute while Aldric’s body tried to figure out where it was in space. When his eyes finally stopped rolling drunkenly in their sockets, he was able to weakly lift his head and take in the surrounding carnage.

A crater the size of a noble’s mansion was now prominently displayed in the middle of the market square. Anything that hadn’t been immediately vaporized by the blast was left in shattered pieces that blanketed every inch of the surrounding pavement. Balrus was nowhere to be seen. Aldric quickly looked over to Gran, fearing she may have been caught in the blast, but she was already on her feet and rushing over to him.

“Are you alright?” she asked pointlessly as she crouched down next to him, shoving the larger bits of debris off his broken body.

“...do I... do I look alright?” Aldric answered, his words coming out slurred. Gran ignored his glib reply and tore off the hem of her dress to press against Aldric’s abdomen. The burgundy fabric turned a much darker red color alarmingly quickly. Aldric realized he hadn’t imagined the sensation of shrapnel ripping through him earlier.

“—until Kedrin can get here,” Gran was saying, and Aldric realized he hadn’t heard whatever she’d said before then. He seemed to be passing in and out of consciousness. His eyelids felt like they were made of lead as he struggled to keep his eyes focused on Gran’s face.

“I’m hoping... that you... took care of the... the dragon?”

A roar in the distance was answer enough, but Gran replied, “It’s contained, for the moment. That’s all I can do at present.”

The strain in her voice made it obvious that she was still maintaining her summon even now. Aldric had to wonder what necromancer could go toe to toe with Gran and manage to give her a hard time. That did not bode well for any future conflict they would have with these people.

Then he remembered that, given his condition, he might not be around still to worry about things like that.

“Gran... you need to go,” Aldric spluttered. A hot, thick liquid fell from his lips when he tried to talk. That probably wasn’t good.

“Hush,” Gran snapped, continuing to try and stem the river of blood from his torso. She might as well have tried to stop a colander from leaking.

“Gran, go,” Aldric repeated, pushing strength into his voice. “I might have put him down for a bit, but he’ll still—”

“I’ll admit, Aldric,” a voice suddenly called out, and Aldric shut his eyes tight in irritation. “I have no idea how you pulled that off. And damn if it didn’t almost work, too.”

Balrus was making his way out of the crater, looking like hell, but still standing. Whatever parts of his armor hadn’t been shredded were melted beyond recognition, and a good deal of his hair and eyebrows had been singed off. He hobbled quite a bit as he climbed over the lip of the crater, his sword arm cradled against his sign in obvious pain, but he was still making his way towards them at a deliberate pace.

Gran shifted protectively in front of Aldric as she stared down Balrus. Aldric wanted to scream at her to run but couldn’t muster the strength for it. Balrus stopped just shy of the two, clearly wary of any more tricks Aldric had up his sleeve. Not that he had any left. Just for the hell of it, Aldric tried pulling on his mana pool and found it dry as a desert. Great, if the blood loss didn’t kill him, mana withdrawal eventually would.

“Now then,” Balrus sighed. “I hope this means we’re done?” Despite his reasonable tone, it was obvious he was on his last legs. Not that a critically wounded sorcerer and exhausted summoner could stop him. “May I please take Gran and you to safety and put an end to all of this, or do you want to injure yourself further? We have healers that can save you, but only if you come with me now. We can end all of this right now and spare what is left of Nevis.”

When Gran didn’t answer, Balrus sighed and pulled out another signaling enchantment that somehow hadn’t been devastated in the blast. It fired off into the air and burst into a ball of light. Moments later, Aldric could feel the massive release of mana from far off in the distance, like a large summon suddenly being dismissed.

“Better?” Balrus asked. Gran stared at him for a moment longer before Aldric felt the same sensation again, this time accompanied by a blinding flash of light over the horizon. Gran’s shoulders visibly sagged in relief as she released her spell.

“...you will heal him?” Gran asked Balrus hesitantly. Aldric tried to scream in protest, but only gurgling coughs came out. “If he dies, I will personally make sure that you and your entire organization will follow right behind him. Don’t test me on that, Balrus.”

“I wouldn’t dare to, your majesty,” Balrus answered genuinely. “Neither of us wishes to see him die, or any more suffering be brought onto the people of this city. Please, let us end this.”

Aldric tried to plead with her with only his eyes, but he saw the resignation in her gaze.

“Please forgive your worthless grandmother, Aldric,” she muttered miserably. “We have already lost. If I cannot save my empire, I can at least save you.”

Balrus took that as a surrender and stepped forward, helping Gran to her feet before reaching down and carefully picking up Aldric. Even with his obvious injuries, the enforcer had no problem with the task. Aldric squirmed in futile resistance, then stopped when he realized it was pointless. They really had failed. He had failed.

“I see by now that you’ve made up your mind, but humor an old woman one last time, Balrus,” Gran said, just as Balrus had turned to leave with her. “I have been empress for an awfully long time. I have made many poor choices during those long years, so I believe I have the authority to lecture you on them.”

She sent a soft gaze towards Balrus, one full of grandmotherly worry and sorrow. “Every choice bears a consequence, both seen and unseen. While we fervently believe in our choices when first making them, we cannot know the outcome until it is too late to change them. I truly hope this choice of yours does not snuff out such a brilliant ray of hope.”

“Come now, your majesty,” Balrus said while wearing a forced smile. “Calling the empire a ray of hope is a bit overdramatic—”

“I meant you, my dear,” Gran answered gently, giving him a sad smile.

Balrus’ mouth snapped shut as he stared at Gran. Anger, fear, regret, sadness, and dejection all warred for a place on his face as the knight clearly attempted to come to terms with that statement. Then his face gave way to resolve and changed no further.

“As do I,” he said simply, turning to leave.

He stopped when an icicle suddenly sprang up from the ground and nearly bisected him. Balrus immediately leapt backwards and stood at the ready, head darting side to side to address this newest threat.

What he found was Lilianna, standing with Cira and Codrin as all three prepared their next spells. Several more icicles popped up, one after the other, while balls of fire and water whips joined in as well.

“Now!” Codrin screamed as he unleashed another fireball at Balrus. Balrus was so busy dodging the surprise attacks that he didn’t have time to react to Volmar, who suddenly grabbed Aldric right out of the knight’s hands. Nadrina was right behind him with Alek straddled on her back. While she grabbed Gran’s arm and ran, Alek turned and hurled what looked like a bottle of black liquid to the ground. Instantly, the area was filled with black, acrid smoke.

Within seconds, Aldric couldn’t even see two feet in front of him as the noxious cloud blocked out all light. Aldric reflexively tried not to breathe in the smoke. That turned out to be a good idea. He could already hear Gran and Balrus coughing violently on whatever this concoction was. When they cleared the area of effect and Aldric could see again, he saw Nadrina wearing a cloth on her face and pulling frantically on Gran’s arm as she dragged them after Volmar and Aldric. The other three were just charging out of the cloud, the same strips of cloth held protectively over their faces.

“Do we do it now?” Cira yelled through her makeshift mask.

“Not yet!” Nadrina called back, still sprinting forward. “A little further!”

Aldric could see Balrus slowly making his way out of the black cloud behind them, hacking and gagging while desperately wiping at his face. He had no idea what that stuff was, but it wouldn’t put someone like Balrus down for long. Aldric wanted to yell at them, to tell his students to all get away while they could, that this wasn’t an opponent they could handle.

As it turned out, there was more to the kids’ plan.

“Now!” Nadrina yelled. Codrin, without even looking back, hurled a casual fireball behind his shoulder towards the black cloud. Aldric quickly regretted following the fireball’s trajectory with his eyes. The moment it contacted the gas, it instantly and violently combusted into bright violet flames with an almighty WHOOSH.

Aldric shut his eyes tight against the glare and intense waves of heat that tore through the town square. Even through the impressive explosion, he could hear Balrus screaming. Nadrina had timed the trap perfectly; any earlier, and they wouldn’t have escaped the blast.

“Hurry, everybody!” Volmar called over his shoulder as he led the pack with Aldric still in his arms. He was making a beeline for the nearest alleyway, probably to lose Balrus in a maze of side streets.

“We’re not as fast as you! Just keep going, we’ll catch—!”

Balrus suddenly appeared in front of Volmar. The boy didn’t have time to react to the sudden obstacle and slammed into the knight face first. He bounced off Balrus like he’d hit a brick wall, dropping Aldric painfully to the ground. Volmar came back up in a flash and lunged for Aldric again, but was sent flying by a kick from Balrus. The young man disappeared behind a pile of rubble and market stall scraps with a loud crash.

If Balrus had looked like crap before, now he looked like overcooked crap. His hair and eyebrows were completely gone, his face flaming red and blistered. His eyes were screwed half shut from the intense heat while tears continually poured down his face. Despite all his injuries, however, he was still somehow standing.

Cira quickly conjured a water whip and latched it onto Aldric’s leg, dragging him away from Balrus and back towards their group. Nadrina put Gran behind her and stood protectively, her staff held out in front of her. Alek had dropped from her shoulders onto the ground nearby. His leg looked to be in a splint, but he seemed ready to launch himself at Balrus the moment the man moved.

“You are all precious to Aldric, so I can promise to at least not kill you,” Balrus said. “But I will have to hurt you if you persist with this futile resistance. I’m running out of time, so I will only give you all one chance. Let me take care of them both. We will not harm them.”

The class’ response was to not respond, only glaring at the knight in stubborn denial. Aldric didn’t know whether to be proud of them or smack them. HIs voice still wasn’t working as he tried to call out for them to flee and leave him behind. None of them stood a chance against Balrus, and they had to know that. It looked like the flaming cloud was the only ace they’d had up their sleeves.

Balrus sighed, his ruined face twisting into a look that resembled disappointment. “So be it, then. You all will come with me as well. Perhaps that will motivate your professor to behave himself while he stays with us.”

“Balrus, that’s unnecessary,” Gran protested, trying to push her way past Nadrina. “Leave the children alone! They aren’t a part of this!”

Codrin was the first to move. He hurled a fireball at Balrus’ burned face. The knight swatted the attack clean out of the sky with a single hand swipe. Lilianna tried to throw an icicle spear, but it wasn’t any bigger than a steak knife and bounced harmlessly off Balrus’ armor. Alek yelled and dove for Balrus, trying to trip him up, but Balrus just continued walking forwards unimpeded while Alek yanked uselessly on the knight’s legs.

The others seemed to realize that this was a forgone defeat as they visibly hesitated, unsure what to do next. They were exhausted, injured, and depleted of mana against a man whose name was legendary on this continent. They were all kittens trying to take down a lion.

“Do not resist,” Balrus ordered calmly. “I do not want to cause any of you undue harm. For however brief, you were also my own students.”

No! No, dammit! Aldric railed at his useless body, demanded that it get up and move, fight, flee — anything! It didn’t so much as twitch at his commands as he lay on the cobblestones, limp and useless. Panic suffused his every thought as he mentally shrieked in outrage.

It was happening again. He was going to lose everything, everyone. It was all going to be taken from him again, and he would once again be helpless to stop it. This was worse, though. This was right in front of him. He would watch it all happen right here, and what could he do about it? Nothing. The injustice of it all tore at Aldric’s sanity until he felt he might go mad.

Aldric’s flailing mind searched desperately for something to stop this. To protect what he’d found his peace in, what he cared for, what he loved, what he would gladly die for.

For his home.

It was happening again. It was happening again. It was happening AGAIN!

Aldric once more felt the void in his spirit, that dark thing that lurked inside of him. It had always been there, ever since the fall of Vultath all those years ago. It poked and prodded at his mind, constantly seeking to either cajole him into its power or overthrow his will entirely. Aldric had spent over ten years caging off that monster inside of him, only pulling from it when he felt he needed to.

That need was now greater than it ever had been.

The monster was not benevolent, however. If he called on it now, it would use this chance to forever swallow him whole.

But his kids would be safe. Gran would be safe. Kedrin and Zasia would be safe. The city would be safe. For a time, anyway. All he had to do was pull on that darkness, and his family would be safe.

In the space of a heartbeat that seemed to last ages, Aldric took in all his students’ faces, likely for the last time. He prayed to whatever gods still bothered to watch over his sorry soul that they would remember him for things other than what he was about to do.

With a mental goodbye, Aldric pulled on that darkness and felt his mind shatter.

Chapter 16

BALRUS INWARDLY CHASTISED himself. He‘d somehow forgotten what a gods damn monster Aldric could be when he really went at it. Despite the circumstances, Balrus had been a bit over eager. He’d wanted to test himself against his friend for years but had never had an excuse to have a no holds barred match. Now he was regretting it. If Balrus didn’t still have mana remaining, he wouldn’t be standing. It made the knight wonder just how dangerous Aldric could be when he wasn’t already injured and exhausted.

Aldric’s students, brave souls all, still wouldn’t give up as Balrus stared them down. He truly didn’t want any harm to come to these kids, but he was running out of options. He was close to empty on mana, and if he didn’t return with Aldric and the empress soon, he couldn’t stop the destruction of Nevis. Those fools might harm civilians at this rate. He felt frustration flare up inside of him for a moment before he quickly tamped it back down again. Just like he’d been doing for years now.

Balrus was about to give the students one last chance to surrender when he suddenly felt it.

Something was wrong with the air. Or... no, not the air. The latent mana in the air. It almost seemed to quiver from some massive yet subtle force that blanketed the entire area. Balrus no longer heard fighting in the city, no longer saw the students in front of him, no longer even contemplated his mission. He heard nothing but the heavy thumping of his own heart as an indescribable dread seized him.

Then he heard the scream.

This was not a man’s scream. No human possessed the ability to create such an unholy sound. This was the cry of a mad and starving beast that had just smelled the first hints of blood in the air. An apex predator, furious and vengeful. Balrus was confident that the entire city had heard the scream and shuddered in fear.

Every fiber of his being shrieked warnings at him, begging him to flee like a frightened cat. He might have even done just that if it weren’t for the fist that suddenly collided with his face.

Balrus was suddenly flung backwards faster than his eyes could keep up with, the air cracking from the sudden displacement. The world was a momentary blur before it snapped violently back into focus as his body collided with the blue walls that had surrounded the square. The powerful enchantment bent from the force of the impact before sling shotting him forward again. Balrus tucked into a roll at the last moment and came up onto his feet, ready to fend off whatever monster had just attacked him.

Balrus’ brain was still reeling from that first blow, so his rattled eyes couldn’t quite make out who he was fighting. A creature in the vague shape of a man was already rushing towards him with incredible speed. Balrus got his arm up in time to block a wild punch and was startled when the attack almost blew right through his defense. It was like he’d just tried to block a punch from a fully grown troll.

Balrus tried to dash away, but instead of the expected follow up attack, the monster screeched loud enough to set Balrus’ ears ringing. A sudden and explosive spray of blood from both of the creature’s arms revealed shiny, metallic strands in place of limbs. Hundreds of long, needlelike appendages, nearly as thin as hair, whipped around the beast like two furious, multi-headed serpents. Then it was on him again as the metal strands quickly latched onto Balrus’ arm and bit into his flesh.

These metal limbs tore through the finest mana steel armor money could buy like Balrus wasn’t even wearing it. He would have lost his left arm right then and there if he hadn’t kicked the manic thing away as hard as he could. The metal strands ripped through his flesh like a fruit peeler as they were forcibly torn away, leaving his arm in a bloody mess but thankfully still whole.

The monster let out another heart clenching scream of frustration as it lunged at Balrus again. This time, however, the knight was ready for it. The creature’s movements were wild but single-minded and predictable. Balrus met it halfway through its crazed charge and tackled it to the ground, grabbing the strands where they connected at the shoulders and attempting to tear them off.

It wasn’t until then that Balrus got a good look at his attacker. The jarring sight made Balrus hesitate for a crucial moment.

Aldric, or what had once been Aldric, snarled up at Balrus with a voice not his own. His normally grey eyes had now turned a bizarre iridescent color and were filled with bloodthirsty madness. That was all the detail Balrus had time to take in before Aldric’s snake like appendages all suddenly wrapped around themselves, forming perfect replicas of two metal arms with Balrus’ hands still stuck inside them. With his arms trapped, the knight couldn’t stop Aldric from grabbing at his face, his fingers tipped with razor sharp spikes resembling claws. They dug painfully into Balrus’ face as the metal arms started glowing familiarly. Apparently, Aldric could still use his enforcement runes in this state.

As the metal claws attempted to crush Balrus’ skull like a melon, Balrus quickly got his feet under him, stood up abruptly, and hoisted Aldric’s flailing body into the air with him. Then he slammed the monster back down again, shaking the earth and cracking the ground under the heavy blow.

Aldric acted like he hadn’t even felt it as he continued to tear at Balrus’ face, but it got the knight’s arms free again. Balrus quickly grabbed Aldric’s hands and hurled the man away from himself like Aldric was a feral cat. With grace and speed that caught even Balrus off guard, Aldric twisted his body unnaturally while in the air and landed effortlessly on all fours, then sprang at Balrus again. His metallic right arm morphed again mid charge, this time forming a wicked-looking drill tip aimed right for Balrus’ sternum.

The knight immediately slapped the oncoming death spike away, only just managing to push it out of the way in time. The massive spike punctured the ground behind Balrus and sank halfway down into the earth, trapping Aldric for a moment. Balrus again tried to grab hold of the arm spear and tear it off, but the other arm split into threads again and wrapped around the knight’s body tightly.

They held Balrus fast as Aldric brought his face inches away, his jaw distending open unnaturally. A metal cylinder suddenly popped out of the sorcerer’s throat, pointed straight at Balrus. A blue light blinded him as runes inscribed in the metal suddenly lit up like the sun. Balrus had no time to react or defend himself before pure white flames erupted from the tube and slammed point blank into the knight’s face.

If Balrus hadn’t enforced his head, those flames would have melted straight through his skull. Even then, he still felt the awful sensation of his skin and eyes melting before he shoved Aldric’s head away. He desperately lashed out with a kick aimed at Aldric’s knee, surprised when the blow actually hurt his foot. The joint creaked as it was bent back on itself, but Aldric didn’t even grunt in pain. He did lose his balance, however, and Balrus seized his chance. He slammed Aldric to the ground a second time, this time using his entire body weight to strengthen the blow. Again, the earth shook under the impact, and again, Aldric completely ignored it. Balrus straddled Aldric’s chest and pulled fiercely at the man’s arm spike with his only free hand while the metal strands still wrapped around Balrus’ body tried to squeeze him to death.

The limb finally ripped free with the loud pinging noise of metal shearing, followed by a geyser of blood. Aldric howled but kept up his squeezing. As Balrus dropped the appendage and tried to peel the remaining metal limbs off himself, his brain was in full panic mode. Whatever had happened to Aldric, he wasn’t in his right mind and was frighteningly deadly. Just how much of Aldric’s body was changed? Had he done this to himself? And how was he using such bizarre methods of conjuration magic?

In his haste to get himself free, Balrus had lost control of Aldric’s head. It proved a dire mistake. Aldric’s throat cylinder glowed again, this time firing off a spear of ice at Balrus’ face again. The knight just barely managed to lean back and dodge the wicked point, but not before it carved a jagged gash into his forehead. Blood poured from the wound into Balrus’ already damaged eyes, blinding him. He groped desperately for Aldric’s head and shoved it back down again, feeling the heat as the sorcerer fired off another gout of fire.

Balrus needed to get away. If he’d been fully healed and fresh for combat, he might have stood a chance, maybe. As he was now, this could only end one way. With a momentous effort and a roar of desperation, Balrus finally extricated himself from the net of deadly wires. They tore off pieces of his armor and scored his flesh as they pulled free, but Balrus was beyond caring. He abruptly turned to make his retreat, preparing a ghost step. He forced all the mana in his dwindling mana pool to flow through the muscles of his back, thighs, calves and feet to jolt his body forward in a singular burst of movement.

Then Balrus’ technique suddenly shriveled up and died. The spell failed and Balrus fell clumsily onto his face, stunned. What the hell had just happened? He tried the technique again, but this time he didn’t even get to the forming stages before his mana simply stopped moving entirely.

Balrus wasn’t out of mana. It was still there inside him. It simply refused to heed his call. Balrus looked over at Aldric, instinctively knowing that he was responsible but completely ignorant of how. What kind of monster could control mana in someone else’s body?

Aldric’s arm spike suddenly quivered from where it still lay on the ground and began rolling back to its owner, splitting into wires again and reattaching itself. The newly reformed metal arm slammed into Balrus’ head, sending him flying. Balrus didn’t even have the wherewithal to land properly as he tumbled across the ground.

Then Aldric’s arms began morphing into what looked like globs of liquid metal. They undulated and squirmed unnaturally, then parted back into thin wires again. Except now, each wire had a dagger hanging from its end. Even as Balrus watched in fascinated horror, the wires were carving runes into each dagger blade.

Well, Balrus now knew where Aldric got all those daggers from.

With another bone chilling shriek, Aldric’s metal tendrils flung a hailstorm of daggers towards Balrus. Not trusting his mana, Balrus channeled every ounce of his fighting prowess and combat experience to the front of his mind. He desperately bobbed and weaved through the deadly blades, most of them only missing him by inches. One dug a bloody line across his cheek while another embedded itself in his thigh, but he kept moving. One mistake, one wrong move, and he’d be dead.

When the rain of daggers didn’t cease, Balrus realized Aldric was simply making more of them. Balrus was breathing heavily while ducking, rolling, and diving for his life. Without mana to enforce his movements, and with already heavy injuries, his endurance was limited.

Seconds turned to minutes. Then ten. Then twenty. For the first time today, Balrus genuinely felt defeat creeping up on him to take his life.

And then the storm stopped. It was so abrupt that Balrus kept moving long after the projectiles had ceased. As soon as he realized it, he doubled over as he desperately sucked in air, surrounded by a sea of knives jutting up from the earth. Now was his only chance to escape. Gran and the students were nowhere to be seen, thank the gods, so he wouldn’t need to worry about them. He just needed to create an opening and get out of—

Balrus’ eyes widened when he felt the heavy fluctuations of mana in the air. Every dagger Aldric had thrown lit up with blue light as their enchantments all activated simultaneously. Balrus abandoned whatever stupid plan he’d been conjuring and blindly sprinted for salvation, desperate to get away. He only got a few meters before the entire world went white.

Balrus neither heard nor felt anything. He couldn’t even move or feel his own body. His entire existence was endless white. Balrus briefly wondered if this was what dying felt like. It wasn’t exactly the afterlife he’d been promised if it was. Infinite nothingness for eternity seemed rather dreary. Then he was abruptly and painfully brought back to reality as his eyes snapped back into focus.

The first thing he noticed was the pain. The all-encompassing, unfathomable pain. Balrus couldn’t so much as twitch without inviting agony as he lay on his back, blearily staring at the night sky through his damaged eyes. A ringing in his ears was slowly ebbing away, but only on one side. The other ear heard nothing. Knowing that he couldn’t be sure that he was safe, Balrus pushed through his pain and forced himself to slowly take a seated position. It felt harder and took longer than it should, and when he finally got there, he realized why.

The right arm he’d been trying to prop himself upright with was gone from the elbow down, leaving a charred stump in its place. The rest of his body wasn’t much better. Any exposed skin was horribly burned or even melted. Even with a healer, a lot of this wouldn’t be fixable. At the very least, he was going to have scars. The remaining armor that hadn’t been torn off or shattered was warped and fused together, making it hard to move his joints.

Balrus looked around himself and realized with a start that he was in one of the academy’s courtyards. He was lying in a trench carved into the dirt. The trench stretched out in front of Balrus for at least a hundred meters in a straight line. At the end of it, beyond the obliterated academy gates, was the decimated ruin that had once been the market square. Balrus and Aldric had already not been kind to that place during their fight, but now it was simply gone. Even the surrounding buildings hadn’t been spared and were piled up on the edge of a massive crater like spent kindling. Balrus prayed that the kids and Gran had been nowhere near that explosion.

The shattered remains of the enchanted wall that had been locking them out of the academy were still crumbling to pieces and dissipating into ambient mana. Balrus hadn’t even been confident that he could break that magical wall at full strength, but his body must have struck it with enough force to plow right through. Balrus had a hard time understanding why he hadn’t died from the impact.

He didn’t even have time to get his bearings before an explosion of debris flew into the air from the edge of the gigantic crater. A figure dragged themselves out of the rubble and took in the sight of the ruined district around them. Apparently, Aldric had been caught up in the blast of his own attack. Based on how his multicolored eyes suddenly swiveled to face Balrus, he was still looking to fight.

Balrus was out of options. His legs refused to cooperate with him, and his mana pool was near empty. He dully looked at his legs and found one of Aldric’s daggers embedded there. Out of instinct and a lack of anything else he could do, he reached down and yanked it free from his thigh. That he couldn’t feel any sensation from it didn’t bode well.

He dully stared at the knife in his hands and wondered for the hundredth time in only a few minutes just what had happened to Aldric. Never in a million years would he have foreseen this outcome. Balrus was by now used to Aldric surprising him, but this was just insane.

Balrus’ fatalistic thoughts ceased when the dagger in his hand suddenly vanished in a puff of black smoke. Aldric was suddenly standing right next to Balrus, icy eyes staring down at him. That hadn’t been ghost step. Aldric hadn’t even made a sound, not a gust of wind or a disturbed grain of dirt. He’d simply appeared like he’d always been there, and even now there were still thin tendrils of smoke coming off his body as he stood stock still next to Balrus.

Despite everything he’d seen so far, Balrus found this spell of Aldric’s to be the most unbelievable thing that had happened tonight. He knew this magic, of course. It had just been so long since he’d last seen it. Only one conjurer had been born in recent years with the proper elemental affinities for it. As brilliant a sorcerer as Aldric was, there was no way he could recreate a bloodline trait ability so easily.

How the hell was Aldric using Miraea’s Dark Domain spell?

~~~

THE BEAST CLAWED ITS way out of the rubble, seething in irritation. The explosion didn’t hurt, of course. Nothing could hurt the beast, but it still took several moments before its injuries could fix themselves, flesh returning to a scorched pit that had been dug out of its chest from the blast. Its legs now resembled its arms, shiny metal that was exposed upon losing the layer of fake skin and blood. They’d been heavily damaged but were now slowly morphing back into the proper form with only a simple thought.

Still, this took a lot of mana to fix. The beast needed more mana, more sustenance. That single, maddening drive was the only thought that existed in its mind as it searched for its prey. The prey was far away, injured, but not dead. This was displeasing. Death made the devouring easier. There was no other way to expand its own mana capacity beyond what this pitiful shell offered.

Annoyed, the beast drew in the latent mana in the air as easily as a lesser being might breathe in air. Light and matter seemed to bend and warp from the sudden lacking in the world, like a hole was torn in the fabric of reality. It joined countless others that still floated around the area, looking like battle scars in the universe. The prey hadn’t even seemed to notice the damage the beast was doing. It must have been too weak to see them. Pathetic creature.

Despite the world’s instability, however, the beast cared little. It only hungered for more. The mana it had just taken in was already depleting rapidly. The mana pool of its current body couldn’t handle the forces being placed on it, shriveling and ripping apart as the hunger incessantly pulled out everything it had. More, more mana. It needed more.

It went to move, but its legs were still fixing themselves. Indignant rage filled the beast at the denial of its meal. At least this form’s torso was still flesh and blood and healed quickly. The damnable limbs took longer to reform.

Reaching out with its senses, it immediately locked on to something that seemed to resonate with it. A dagger embedded in its prey. It immediately latched onto that connection, attempting to yank on it. But the connection stayed far away, like a held breath that couldn’t exhale. There was something missing still.

Furious, the beast tore at its own mind to find the answer it needed. It felt memories, thoughts, and emotions being yanked free and tossed into the void but felt nothing for their loss. It finally found the things, the “runes”, that it needed, but they needed to be carved somewhere. Lacking such material, the beast impatiently carved the runes into existence itself, using its own will as the knife.

It shredded reality as runes took form directly in front of the beast. Latent mana filled the scar in the world like a muddy boot print filling with water, fueling the spell and bringing it into being instantly. The world suddenly shifted. Instead of the beast moving, the world moved itself out of the way. The laws of reality were ignored as the beast traded places with the now unnecessary weapon.

Now it was time to feast on what was rightfully earned through strength. Staring down at its wounded and defenseless prey, the beast felt its facial muscles bending and contracting oddly. A rogue memory from somewhere in the chaotic soup of the beast’s mind called it a smile. What a pointless action. It already knew it was satisfied. Why would it need to express that to others? There was only the need to feed, and feed, and FEED...

The beast shook itself. There was no need to be lost to the maddening hunger. The prey was already dead, even as it still breathed. The prey seemed to know this as well. It sat in a useless heap, staring up with big, round eyes without a trace of resistance or struggle.

Weak. This creature was weak. That was why it was prey. And prey existed only to feed the hunger.

The beast’s arm changed its form again, becoming a nest of needle-sharp appendages. The beast didn’t understand why it was formed this way, nor did it care to. It welcomed anything that aided in sating the hunger. The needles were achingly close to the prey, moments from skewering it and feasting on its delicious life force, before it was suddenly interrupted.

More prey. Another prey had stepped in the way and blocked the beast. The beast wasn’t sure whether to be angry at the interruption or overjoyed by this new meal. The thought of prolonging the first prey’s life was bothersome, but the beast was too hungry for any sort of patience. It grabbed the newly offered prey instead, starting its feasting on the surface level mana.

It was immediately obvious how much weaker this prey was. The creature’s mana pool was reduced to almost nothing in only a few moments. It drained too quickly to fully satisfy, but it would stave off the hunger long enough for now. The prey squirmed in pain but didn’t fight back. It only made annoying mewling noises, like a pitiful animal. The beast ignored the prey’s cries as it feasted, enjoying the sounds dimming with the creature’s slowly creeping exhaustion.

“Prof... Professor...”

Some foreign force seized the beast’s body, locking it in place. This supposed attack instantly enraged the beast beyond thought. Who would dare to pretend dominance over a creature as strong as itself? A shock wave of mana tore through the air as the beast cast about, feeling for even the slightest disturbance in the world that would identify its next opponent to be conquered.

It found nothing immediately threatening, but other beings were near, so near that the beast was surprised for once. Each clasped onto one of its limbs, its back, and its neck. They were no threat to the beast, but they were still in the way. When the beast decided to remove them, however, nothing happened.

Why hadn’t it acted on them yet? What was causing this hesitation? The beast had no need for such a useless impulse! Why would it? If things didn’t go the way it wanted, the beast would simply tear and rend and kill until they did! Power was all that it needed to sate the hunger!

“Professor... please...”

Again, that freezing sensation as its body refused orders. Rather than the overwhelming anger, however, the beast only felt genuine confusion. It could only conclude that this hesitation was coming from itself.

It had never experienced such a thing before. It almost forgot the prey in its grasp until it started its pathetic whimpering again, now joined by the others. The only difference was the noises made some semblance of sense now.

“... stop... what... doing...”

“... come... back...”

“... don’t... please...”

It could only pick out pieces, but the beast was suddenly fixated on these noises. Some tiny part of its mind felt a familiarity with them. Suddenly desperate to understand, the beast looked at the prey in its metallic grasp. Really looked at it. No... at her. Looked at her. This was a girl. A young girl. A familiar girl.

Black hair, blue eyes, and a small build. Why were these important? Why did these things stir something in the beast’s chest? The eyes were the most arresting. They were wide and terrified, as was appropriate for prey. But that didn’t seem right. The fear was not for herself. It seemed like it was for him.

... him? Yes, him. He was a man, not a beast. Even with these metallic limbs and warped body, he was a man. Or had been born as one, at least. Memories that felt like they belonged to someone else flooded his mind until his head felt like it was filled beyond capacity. When he looked at the girl again, he saw his own reflection staring back at him in her wide, clear eyes. The moment he saw it, he hated it.

He hated it because it was his. It was the monster he always feared he was, deep inside. It was Aldric, in all his demonic glory.

~~~

“... DR... DRINA?” ALDRIC muttered, his words feeling like someone else was saying them. Nadrina’s terrified face instantly gave way to intense relief as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Oh, thank the gods!” she sobbed. “Professor, it’s okay now! You’re okay!”

Aldric looked around himself and found all his students there. Alek and Volmar had each grabbed a leg while Codrin and Cira were double teaming Aldric’s left arm. Lilianna was wrapped around his neck from behind, sniffling into his ear as her hot tears dripped down his neck. They’d clearly been trying to stop whatever he’d been doing, and all of them now mirrored Nadrina’s look of relief as they saw the sanity return to him.

Aldric looked at his still free right arm and recoiled at the sight of it. He immediately released Nadrina like she was hot to the touch, mortified that he’d been so close to crippling or killing her. The tangle of wiry limbs wouldn’t immediately cooperate with him, and he struggled for several seconds before he remembered.

Despite the many years that had passed, he’d still been the one to design them. He knew how they worked. Even if he’d been a raving madman when he’d made them.

The limbs all twitched and shifted as Aldric reigned in his panicking mind. Eventually, his arm resembled something human again, albeit made of glimmering mana steel. Aldric dimly noted that he’d need to get Kedrin to make more of that fake skin and blood for him.

Looking down, he finally noticed Balrus in a wide-eyed stupor. He looked like someone had beaten him for months straight with a flaming wheat thresher. The memories of what had led up to this point were slowly returning, but Aldric was barely keeping a hold of his sanity. He wanted to scream in frustration, fear, and sorrow in equal measure, but desperately held onto his wits like a drowning man would a raft.

“All of you need to go,” he said, realizing the true cause of his distress. They’d seen everything. There was no way he could keep his secrets now that they’d seen this much. His life here was over. He’d have to leave again soon. His students immediately protested, speaking over each other in a way that felt like claws raking against Aldric’s nerves.

“ENOUGH! Just do as I say!” he roared, sounding more frantic and scared than he wanted to. All of his students flinched at his volume but stayed where they were, faces tight with worry. Aldric wouldn’t stop being a mess until they went far, far away from him. They couldn’t see him like this. He couldn’t handle their stares.

“All of you, come with me,” Gran suddenly spoke up, causing Aldric to nearly jump out of whatever remaining skin he had left. He hadn’t noticed the old woman nearby, looking at him like someone might watch a skittish bull.

“Everyone in the city will have noticed that earlier explosion. We need to get inside the academy before more enemies arrive.” When the students still didn’t move, Gran adopted her royal tone of voice. “Now, children! That’s an order from your empress!”

That was finally enough to convince them, though they stared at Aldric the whole time Gran led them away to the closest classroom building. Aldric pointedly stared at the ground and avoided their gazes. When the last of them had gone, Aldric turned his eyes back to the still silent Balrus before him.

A myriad of emotions cropped up inside his chest at seeing his friend like this. He didn’t even know where to begin. Should he scream at him? Plead with him? Hit him again? What was the proper protocol when your lifelong friend betrayed you?

Balrus saved him from choosing.

“What the hell happened to you?” the knight asked, words thick through what appeared to be a broken jaw and several missing teeth. Aldric didn’t immediately answer. He looked down at himself and found that all four of his prosthetic metal limbs were openly exposed. He flexed one of his hands, the magical connection to his nerves making the movement feel completely natural.

“This... is an object lesson, I guess,” Aldric said finally. He held his arms out and presented his mana steel body to Balrus in all its terrible glory. “Look long and hard, Balrus. This is what vengeance against injustice gets you.”

Balrus shook his head. “I don’t understand. When did you become like this? Did you do this to yourself? Why?”

“Same reason you did all of this today,” Aldric answered, gesturing weakly to the surrounding city that was still burning. “I felt I had no choice.”

What was the point of hiding it anymore? Hell, maybe Balrus could learn something. Aldric’s arms morphed into spider limbs again at his command, making him look like some sort of demented metallic angel in the moonlight. “I know you remember hearing about Vultath. But we didn’t tell you everything.”

Aldric saw the moment of realization as Balrus put the pieces together. The destruction of Vultath. Aldric’s sudden disappearance and years in rehabilitation. The fact that Aldric had lost his mind moments ago.

And, of course, the metallic limbs on either side of Aldric, resembling hundreds of needle-thin arms.

Balrus shook his head in disbelief, but his words confirmed it, anyway. “... you didn’t summon the Hundred Handed Demon. You... you are the demon! I knew you had destroyed the city because of what happened to Miraea, but... the reason they had given the city up as a lost cause was because of the failed military campaigns to take it back. The demon was supposed to still be there. Did you... did you kill those thousands of men as well? How? Why?”

Aldric didn’t answer. He didn’t speak up in his defense, nor did he try to explain his actions. There wasn’t anything he could say that could make what he did right. Because it was exactly as Balrus had said: he’d murdered thousands of people, both citizens of Vultath and soldiers that believed they were fighting for their home. Not even an almost entirely new body could cleanse Aldric of those bloodstains.

“That was why Zasia never talked about the demon,” Balrus continued, his brain now rapidly putting the rest of the puzzle together. “She didn’t slay the demon. She saved it. Saved you. Her and Kedrin both. And none of you ever told me?”

“Would you ever readily admit to such a thing?” Aldric interrupted. “Do you see now what vengeance gets you? You’re not the first person to kill in the name of righteousness. It’s a simple thing to say and to rally people behind. It’s so damn appealing to just tear it all down and start over from the beginning. But you forget how many lives you’re upending to justify your own goals.”

Aldric stared deep into Balrus’ eyes, mentally pleading with him to understand. “This, all of this today, is not justice, Balrus. It’s vengeance. You’re railing against those you hate, uncaring for those that are hurt in the process. It’s claiming to fight for the little guy while simultaneously using him as a steppingstone to go after your actual goal. Do you think that Thagrius’ death and Gran’s disappearance will suddenly right this sinking ship? That simple answers accomplish grand goals? In trying to fight against those you hate, you’ve now become them.”

“Bullshit!” Balrus screamed, struggling to get to his feet as his anger fueled his broken body. “We are not responsible for the festering swamps that nobles have turned our countries into! What else is there for us to try? We’ve been so patient for so long. Every moment we wait is another life destroyed, Aldric! It is better to act now than to slowly wait for the yoke to tighten around our necks. You should know this better than anyone!”

“I know that hatred begets hatred!” Aldric shouted back. “I know that your little uprising isn’t the first and won’t be the last! What you call progress is what someone else will inevitably call evil. There will come a day when the people you think you’re ‘saving’ will see you as their new oppressors. Adopting the methods of the people you decry as evil and corrupt is not the solution!”

“THEN TELL ME!” Balrus roared, and the plea in his voice brought Aldric up short. “Tell me, Aldric! What is the answer? I’ve spent my whole life looking for one, and I’m blind to it. If you have a better answer, I beg you to show it to me. Tell me I don’t have to do these things anymore, that there’s something I’ve overlooked! Please, TELL ME!”

Aldric didn’t respond. He couldn’t. Complex problems didn’t have simple answers. Believing that change came without sacrifice was beyond foolish. You could only gain something at the cost of something else. Helping one person often meant not helping another. Those left behind often had a hard time seeing the “justice” in such an action.

“... I don’t know,” Aldric answered quietly. He and Balrus stared at each other for what felt like ages, punctuated only by the sound of fighting in the city streets far away. “I really don’t know. Maybe there isn’t one. Maybe humanity is destined to flux back and forth endlessly between differing bad choices, with no one ever getting what they want for very long. All I know is that I’ve seen the end of the path you’re walking on, Balrus. It’s not a happy ending, and you don’t get what you want. I know I didn’t.”

Both men simply stood in silence while Balrus digested that. Balrus’ face drifted through a sea of emotions, none of which Aldric could decipher. Aldric distracted himself from his inner turmoil by focusing on staying upright. He was well and truly spent, his earlier episode having left him entirely empty. His body was miraculously healed but he was beyond exhausted, and his mana pool had been ravaged by his crazed episode. It was a battle just to remain conscious right now. If Balrus attacked him again, Aldric could only stand there and watch it happen.

Finally, Balrus slowly shook his head, a sad smile splitting his busted lips.

“I’m sorry, Aldric. I wish I was as optimistic as you.” He looked to the academy building Gran and the students had just entered, seeming to war with a decision, before he shook his head again. “I’ve lost today. I’ll leave you all in peace. But I’m not giving up on you, my friend. Knowing the truth of your story has only galvanized me further. I will continue to endeavor to ensure that there will be no more like you made to suffer. And I will convince you, one way or another.”

“Balrus, don’t,” Aldric begged.

“Goodbye for now, Aldric. I look forward to the day I can show you the fruits of our sacrifices.”

“Balrus!” Aldric called out, even as the knight turned and started hobbling away. “Balrus, stop!” Aldric made to go after him but collapsed into a heap. None of his magically crafted limbs were responding correctly with his mana pool depleted.

“BALRUS!” Aldric screamed into the dirt, his head too weak to move. There was no response except for the sound of another enchanted signal firing off into the sky. The sounds of fighting ringing out over the city slowly changed to shouts of victory as the invaders retreated. Ever the chivalrous knight, Balrus was keeping his promise.

But the damage was already done. They had savaged the city. Homes and lives had already been ruined. And a war that would consume the entire continent was now primed and ready to ruin many, many more.

Aldric didn’t even have the power to watch Balrus as he left, stuck staring at the ground while bitter tears ran down his face and muddied the dirt. He was unsure how long he lay there, unable to move, and honestly didn‘t care. He didn’t want to care about anything right now.

At the last moment, before his consciousness faded, Aldric saw a broken sword hilt sticking up in the earth nearby. It was Balrus’ sword, or what was left of it. One Aldric had crafted for Balrus himself, now shattered beyond repair. Aldric actually laughed at the sight of it, but it was hollow and humorless.

Aldric could do nothing but pass out in the dirt as one of his oldest and closest friends walked off into the early night, doomed to repeat Aldric’s greatest mistake.

Epilogue

THE COMFORTING DARKNESS blanketing Aldric was giving way to the real world again. Aldric almost fought against it. It was much better in this place, where nothing could challenge him or hurt him. Where he could forget everything for one small, blessed moment.

But it wasn’t to be. Aldric’s eyes slowly peeled open to reveal a plain white room. The first thing he noticed was that this place was infuriatingly familiar. He was in the medical ward of the academy again, though he seemed to be in a smaller, private room this time. At the rate Aldric kept suddenly regaining consciousness here, maybe they should just make this his own personal room.

The second thing he noticed was that he wasn’t alone. A warm, heavy weight was pressing down on his right side. Slowly creaking his head down a few degrees to look revealed a beautiful woman lying next to him.

Zasia was curled up against his side, with her head resting on his shoulder. She looked like she’d been wearing the same dress for days now, torn and dirtied. Her normally illustrious hair was a rat’s nest and singed in places. Aldric couldn’t remember the last time Zasia had looked so worn down. She sported a few bandages and scrapes, but her eyes were closed and her breathing steady as she slept. Were they running out of beds or something?

That thought brought Aldric’s mind slamming back into the present with painful clarity. What had happened? Where were his students and Gran? Was the city still under attack? Aldric tried to get up but found his body unresponsive. He wasn’t in a lot of pain, but he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. That was when he noticed his arms had skin again. They looked like any other appendage as he weakly flexed them, watching the tendons, or what should have been tendons, bouncing underneath the artificial flesh. He would bet his legs were similarly restored.

“Don’t go undoing all of my hard work now,” a familiar voice spoke from a corner of the room. Kedrin was propped up in a chair, leaned up against the only door. He looked little better than Zasia did. A haze of exhaustion seemed to cover his every feature and aged him at least a decade.

“Let Zasia sleep, at least. She hasn’t left your side since we found you, and she spent all her time before that escorting refugees to the academy. She was terrified that you might have... relapsed.”

Aldric opened his mouth to speak, coughed pitifully instead, and then tried again. In a voice thick with disuse, he asked, “What happened?”

Kedrin let out a deep and weary sigh that did nothing to ease Aldric’s worries. “Do you want the long or the short version?”

Aldric pointedly looked at his own inert body, then back at Kedrin. It wasn’t like he had places to be right now.

“Right, fair enough. I might have to leave soon myself, though. Truth is, right now is one of my rare breaks lately. There’s a lot of... well, I’m going to be busy for quite some time still. As both a healer and a city official.” Seeing the confusion in Aldric’s raised eyebrow, Kedrin continued, “It’s a title given based on need rather than merit. Or rather, because I was the only one left to step in. We’re without a governor at present.”

“He’s dead?”

“Long version it is, then. The governor, as far as we know, is not dead. Which is unfortunate.”

The venom in his voice was very unlike the kindhearted healer. Kedrin took off his glasses and wiped his hands down his face in an obvious sign of being overwhelmed. “We have it on good authority from the captain of the city guard the governor allowed the invasion to take place. That he’s missing at such a crucial point in time only affirms that suspicion.”

Aldric simply nodded. Of course. It would explain how they’d been totally unprepared and caught with their pants down. Not to mention how the chaos had spread so quickly. There wasn’t a leader to unite everyone until Kedrin had stepped in. Aldric would have been angrier if he didn’t feel so defeated right now.

When Aldric didn’t comment, Kedrin continued. “The enemy withdrew two days ago, right after we found you unconscious outside the academy. We’re currently trying to rally together what remains of the city government and organizing rescue operations. We’re working to preserve as much of the city as possible, but I know of several districts that have been lost or destroyed. I have spent most of my own time here in the academy. There just aren’t any other suitable places still standing to set up medical care. The casualties are not as lethal as we’d feared, but there are plenty of wounded. It seems chaos and destruction were the only goals of these people. And they succeeded with flying colors.”

Kedrin rattled off all the relevant information with a detached tone, like he was trying not to think too much about it. Aldric still said nothing, but he could understand the desire to ignore one’s feelings. He wanted to sink into this bed and forget the world existed for a day. Or a year.

“Gran is busy dealing with the political fallout,” Kedrin was saying. “She is still operating within Nevis, despite her guards’ insistence that she return to the capital. She said she wanted to make sure the situation here was already handled, as well as make sure the enemy was truly gone and not just waiting in ambush for her as soon as she left the city walls. Between you and me, I think she’s lying. I’m pretty sure it was because you had yet to wake up. I’m sure it will take an enormous burden off her shoulders to hear you’re alright?”

He’d phrased the last part as a question, like he was asking if Aldric was indeed alright. Aldric just nodded, his expression remaining blank. He didn’t want to get into his feelings right now. Not until he could piece them all together in his shattered heart.

Kedrin’s tone grew increasingly concerned as Aldric remained silent. “Verona is already in an uproar over what happened. Apparently, around the time of the attack, any heirs Thagrius had were all assassinated. Verona has been left with no one to rule, and their current working theory is that we, the empire, had planned this from the start. Rebran has only been too eager to reaffirm that belief. Spies made us aware yesterday that his army is already marching on Verona. He is likely trying to fill the power vacuum to then later turn both countries on us. The present government there won’t put up much of a fight as it is. As the king who escaped the coup that killed their leader, and with their government and systems falling to pieces around them, the citizens there will probably flock to him out of desperation.”

Still, Aldric stayed silent while staring at the ceiling. He knew this was bad, that he should probably care more than he did, but he was having a hard time feeling anything right now. Aldric’s life was already falling apart. The rest of the world might as well crumble along with it. Kedrin let the silence hang longer this time before he cleared his throat loudly. His next words were slow and methodical, like he was trying to navigate thin ice.

“Your students are fine. Bruised and battered, and more than a little exhausted, but fine. They’ve been inquiring about you every day, though I’ve mostly kept them busy assisting in the recovery efforts.”

Another longer pause.

“Alek is, of course, worried about his home village. It’s so close to Osakar’s border, but we have heard no news from that part of the empire yet. Gran tried to get in contact with the Caffaret house, since they are the liege lords of the northern border area, but we have yet to hear from them. Codrin believes he might have a way to get in contact with his father directly, but we are still waiting to see if that works out. Lilianna also has reached out to her family. They are, predictably, waiting to see what happens before they make their move. They wouldn’t go against the empire, but they would prioritize their own survival and likely try to use this opportunity as a political springboard. The Meltisse and Leorda families seem much the same. Leave it to the Four Great Houses to see opportunity within a crisis.”

Kedrin was babbling to fill the uncomfortable silence. When he finally ran out of things to say, he quietly voiced the topic Aldric least wanted to discuss. “The children... they let us know what had happened to you. Between... between you and Balrus. Gran filled in what they couldn’t. I... I don’t... I don’t really know what to think of it. Did he... did he really...?”

Kedrin looked at Aldric with pleading eyes, silently begging Aldric to tell him he was wrong. Not even Gran’s testimony had convinced him, it seemed. He probably wouldn’t believe it unless he heard it from Aldric’s own mouth. Kedrin was giving Aldric the job of breaking his heart.

“Yes,” Aldric answered flatly. He couldn’t think of a less painful way to say it.

Kedrin didn’t move or speak. He just stared at Aldric in silence, whatever tiny hope he’d been holding onto crumbling to dust behind his watery eyes. He eventually turned away, wiping at his face again. Minutes of silence passed while the two men quietly lamented the fate of their friend and what they would probably have to do to him in the future.

“It’s not your fault, Aldric,” Kedrin suddenly said. Aldric didn’t answer.

“I know you don’t believe me, but you need to hear it. You are not responsible for Balrus’ choices. And you did everything you could to stop him. You kept the empress safe and forced Balrus and his people to retreat. Your enchantment over the city is the only reason we could keep most of our people alive, not to mention that skeletal dragon. You did very well, Aldric. Better than anyone else could have in your situation.”

Aldric’s guts churned at Kedrin’s words. He didn’t deserve them. He’d been a hair’s breadth away from murdering his own student in a fit of madness, then left himself in such a state that he couldn’t stop Balrus from leaving. A pyrrhic victory at best.

Kedrin sighed when a response wasn’t forthcoming. His next words cut to the heart of the matter. “I... I haven’t told them anything. I wasn’t sure how you wanted to handle it. They’re rather intelligent students. I don’t think they’ll believe me if I try to lie. The more I put it off, the more suspicious they become.”

Kedrin took a large breath, clearly building up to something. When he finally spoke, it came out in almost a whisper. “Aldric, I think... I think you should tell them. There is not a single more empathetic audience for you in this world, short of Zasia and me. I really think they’ll understand. After all the progress you’ve made, I don’t want you to just shut yourself off again and go back to square one. If you can’t, then... at the least, we’ll have to find something else for you to do instead of teaching. I’m sorry, Aldric. If you can’t trust them, then we can’t risk their safety and keep them in the dark. We’ll need to leave.”

Aldric’s heart clenched painfully. Kedrin was right. They’d start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Without context, it wouldn’t be their fault if they drew some pretty awful conclusions about him. Not to mention that they now knew Aldric could be a danger to them. He’d nearly killed Nadrina in front of them.

But even with context, Aldric didn’t know if that was any better. Volmar had called them a weird sort of family. Aldric hoped that was true. Anything short of family would have a hard time forgiving him.

Kedrin was asking Aldric to place his trust in someone again. His mind wandered to Balrus without him wanting it to. Aldric had trusted him more than he’d trusted his own judgement. And where had that gotten him?

Not even a full ten seconds passed before Kedrin was already walking back his suggestion. “N-Not that you must do it right now! This probably isn’t the time to be making rash decisions, anyway. Take your time. I just want you to consider that the longer you wait, the harder it will—”

“They should know,” Aldric suddenly said. Kedrin’s jaw dropped to the floor on hearing that. It surprised Aldric himself. He hadn’t really meant to say that, but when he looked inside himself, he realized it was what he wanted. At the very least, he didn’t want to lose his students just because he was afraid to trust them.

“R-Really?” Kedrin was asking, looking suddenly excited. “Everything? Are you sure? I don’t want it to seem like I’m forcing you to, I just—”

“Could... could you... tell them?” Aldric asked quietly. He cursed himself as a coward for even asking such a thing, but he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t handle how they would look at him. If they looked at him any differently than as their crass and flippant professor, Aldric would break.

To Aldric’s surprise, Kedrin nodded his head enthusiastically, his face beaming through all his exhaustion. He looked like he’d been wanting to hear those words for ages. “Of course I can, Aldric. Leave it to me!” He stood up from his chair with a renewed energy and vigor.

“Wait, you’re going to do it now?” Aldric asked, panicked.

Kedrin froze and turned back to him, looking disappointed. “I can’t?”

“I mean... yeah, sure,” Aldric muttered, surrendering to the inevitable. This might as well happen now.

That was all the permission Kedrin needed. He quickly hauled open the door, then stopped and turned back as he was halfway through it. He gave Aldric a wide, honest smile. Then he was gone, the door closing behind him.

Aldric was left in silence, contemplating if he was doing the right thing. He probably wouldn’t know until after the fact, so thinking about it now was useless. Better to just let it go for now.

Easy to say, hard to do.

“I’m proud of you, Aldric,” came a voice from Aldric’s shoulder. Zasia was awake and hugging him tightly, tears in her eyes as she smiled at him. She’d apparently heard everything. “It’ll be alright. I promise.”

She nuzzled into his neck, saying nothing after that and simply holding him. Aldric couldn’t return the gesture in his state, so he simply put his chin on her head and closed his eyes. Zasia had never led him wrong before. He’d have to take her word for it and go on faith, for once.

~~~

LILIANNA FELT LIKE she was supposed to be doing something. Sitting here and waiting for updates seemed pointless. No one would tell them anything at all, no matter how many times they asked. Everyone else had effectively locked their entire class out of whatever decision making was going on.

Logically, it made sense. Even with her family connections, Lilianna and her classmates were teenagers. A major conflict was looming over the horizon, so of course no one had time for them. Unfortunately, Lilianna’s anxious mind wasn’t feeling particularly logical lately. They hadn’t even heard anything about the professor yet. It had been two days with no sign of him waking up. Even the headmaster’s healing hadn’t been enough to bring him back to wakefulness.

Now, Lilianna and her class were simply loitering around their classroom with nothing to do. Classes had obviously been canceled. Several of the noble students, including Cira and Volmar, had been instructed by their families to return home with them. Both of her classmates had stubbornly refused, but most of the academy students had already left. The school’s halls now more closely resembled a government building than a place of education, with older men and women bustling back and forth with messages or important looking documents. With the city so devastated, the academy was now the most suitable government building available.

Lilianna’s own family had told her to stay put until they could further assess what was happening. Not surprising, knowing her parents. They were slow to commit to an action when they lacked information. They hadn’t even stayed in the city long enough to say so in person, merely leaving a letter for her with one of the teaching staff.

Curiously, Codrin had received no message. His father had disappeared without a trace or a single word to his son. Codrin had to send his own magical communication, an expensive and limited item that would record a message and send it to its twin enchantment that Codrin’s father should have had. No response had yet come.

Codrin just grumbled a lot and told everyone that he had expected nothing anyway, but Lilianna could tell that it bothered him. The Caffaret house was one of the Four Great Houses, yet it was the only one no one seemed to currently know anything about.

Lilianna was watching Nadrina fiddle with one of the many mana locks the professor had given her, opening and closing the enchantment repeatedly with casual ease while she stared at it pensively. Codrin, Alek, Cira and Volmar were all playing cards, having shoved all their desks together to make a game table. Cira and Alek were soundly beating everyone, probably because they kept cheating. Lilianna could see them trading cards with each other under the table. Codrin was too angry to notice and Volmar too good-natured to care.

They were here more out of boredom than anything else. With Nevis torn apart, it wasn’t like there was anywhere else for them to go for entertainment, and none of the adults were letting them help. The guard and the local adventurer guilds had even taken over simple cleanup duty.

Yet, even with classes suspended for the foreseeable future, it felt... wrong not to come here. They’d spent every day here for over half a year. Lilianna knew it was probably the best half a year of her recent life and suspected everyone else felt the same. Even now, they were reluctant to give that up.

Even with all of them in such a small room, however, it felt empty without Professor Aldric present. Lilianna knew they were all worried, but no one wanted to be the first to say so. They all treated the topic like fragile glass, as if the first mention of it might cause their hopes to crack.

All of them jumped when the entrance doors flew open. Headmaster Elmaris made his way into the room, looking very pleased with himself.

“Hah! I knew I’d find you all here. Your professor just woke up. He still needs bed rest, but he should be fine from now on.”

All at once, a collective weight seemed to be lifted from the class as held breaths and tense shoulders were suddenly released. All of them spoke up at once, likely to ask the same thing, but the headmaster beat them to it.

“I’m sorry, but no, you can’t see him right now. He’s in a fragile state now. He may have recovered physically, but emotionally... well, he just fought one of his oldest friends while all of you got to see your professor in the worst light possible. Understandably, he’s worried about how you might react.”

Lilianna wanted to protest. So did the others, if their frustrated faces were anything to go by. No one argued, though. That was the other thing no one wanted to address. That madness that had seized Professor Aldric and torn through the market square on a killing spree. It was hard to forget the violence incarnate they’d seen.

Headmaster Elmaris nodded knowingly at their conflicted expressions. “I know. It’s a lot to take in. I imagine Aldric previously mentioned that he had a history that he didn’t want to divulge. Now you know why.”

Silence covered the room as they all took that in. Lilianna had known that the professor’s life was complicated, but this had exceeded her expectations and then some. Maybe she was just selfish, but that only made her want to know more. It wasn’t like they hated him or anything. Did he not trust them?

“Headmaster,” she started, standing up from her desk to address the man. “I know it’s not our business, but—”

“Like hell it’s not our business!” Codrin suddenly interrupted, startling all of them. “Professor Aldric is one of us. If there’s something going on with him, we want to know. What do we need to do? I’m sick of sitting around and waiting to be useful!”

“I mean, yeah, he was scary,” Cira added, “but he’s still our teacher. It doesn’t change anything. We just want to know he’s going to be okay.”

“Exactly,” Nadrina said. “He can... he doesn’t need to... he can trust us! We’re here for him, like he’s always been there for us. That’s what—” She cut off as her gaze fell to her feet, her face bright red. “That’s what family’s for, right?”

Everyone looked surprised, but no one disagreed. Volmar even started laughing.

“That’s right, family! What the hell are we all doing sitting around, doing nothing? We should be looking after Professor Aldric. Oh, Alek, you know where I stashed all those snacks in our dorm, right? Go fetch some. We can have a party in the professor’s sick room!”

“Did you not hear what the headmaster just said?” Alek asked, exasperated. “He needs to rest. We can’t just go barging into—”

“Perfect!” Codrin interrupted. “That’s just what he needs. We have far too much work to do for him to lie around feeling sorry for himself. Carlisle, the dining hall should be open as well, so grab some things from there too. Cira, let’s go steal some tables from an empty classroom and...”

“... aaaand they’re not listening,” Alek sighed. He got up and headed towards the door, probably to do as they had asked, but the headmaster gently stopped him. He didn’t look upset or angry at the sudden outburst. Quite the contrary. He looked on the verge of tears as he smiled at them all.

“You... you all could not possibly imagine how happy I am that Aldric met all of you,” he said with deep, genuine gratitude. “You may not know why, but I owe all six of you a debt I cannot ever hope to repay. Thank you.”

No one seemed to know how to react to such a declaration, but the headmaster continued before they could ask anything else. He took a seat in one of the empty chairs and sat himself down in the middle of their group, staring at each of them.

“But I must ask you to help him one more time, in a way that I cannot. Your professor has led a... complicated life, to say the least. For most of it, it was not a happy one. He made mistakes, he was wronged time and time again, and he lost people and things he held dear to him. I believe that is why he has insisted on not telling you anything so far. He is afraid to lose all of you as well. That you might see him differently.”

He held up a hand before the chorus of protests could interrupt him. “I know your convictions, but it is what he believes. To be fair, his anxiousness is not unreasonable. Aldric was not always the man you see today. And as I said, he made many mistakes. There are many who would judge him harshly for some of his actions. I wouldn’t even be able to argue with them, despite my faith in him. But I can promise you, the world is more fortunate than it knows for having Aldric in it. And Aldric is more fortunate than he knows to have all of you in his life.”

The headmaster sent a look of grave seriousness to each pair of eyes his own met as he continued speaking. “I want you to understand and appreciate what it is Aldric has asked me to do today. You are about to hear a story that exactly two people in the world know of in its entirety. There are legends, of course, but they only focus on the deeds, not the man behind them. And it is important to Aldric that you, his newest family members, understand who he is and where he has come from.”

Lilianna could hardly believe it. Were they really about to learn everything? Such an easy and straightforward answer would almost disappoint her if she wasn’t so excited about learning it. Everyone in the class was leaning in, listening with rapt attention.

“I will happily share that story with all of you,” the headmaster continued, “but you must swear to me, right here and now, that you will keep an open mind and remember that no one, no matter how talented or brave or wise, is without fault. If you cannot promise that, now is the time to leave.”

Silence was the class’ only reply as they all met Kedrin’s gaze with equal levels of seriousness. Kedrin let the silence linger for several moments longer before his smile finally returned.

“Very well. And thank you.” He stood up, flipped his chair around backwards, and sat himself again with his arms leaning on the back of the chair. He gazed up at the ceiling, as if trying to pull out the right memories and get them in order.

“Get comfortable. This is a long and difficult story.”

Afterword

DANG IT! YOU DID IT again! I wanted more!

I know, I know, I’m sorry. Every good book must end sometime. But if it makes you feel better, I’m already working on book 3 as I speak... write... whatever, you get it. Tentative window for that release is currently around late August / early September, so keep an eye out.

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Thanks again, and see you in Remedial Magic 3!

-Nathan