Third bell woke Gregory from his dreamless sleep. Moving on auto-pilot, he got dressed and ready for the day. Opening the door, he met Yukiko, who was leaving her room at the same time. “Morning, Yuki,” he said with a soft smile on his lips, memories of the day before flooding his mind.
“Morning, Greg,” Yukiko beamed at him. Fidgeting, she asked the question that had plagued her all night, “You do mean it, yes?”
Gregory leaned in and kissed her cheek, “Yes. Or do you have second thou—”
Yukiko kissed him full on the lips, silencing him. She stepped back quickly, her cheeks burning. “Sorry. It doesn’t do for public displays of affection, especially not before the announcement.” She turned to the stairs, “It’s just been so difficult not accepting my feelings for the last five months. I want to experience everything now, now that I can.”
Gregory had fallen into step with her after a second of motionless shock. “Your father asked me to do what is right, Yuki. As much as I would love to spend the days secluded with you, we have goals to meet.”
“Yes. I’m doing my best, dea… Greg,” Yukiko coughed and corrected herself.
“Things will be easier after the tournament,” Gregory said. “Six days of fighting, then the normal day off. The first three days will be difficult; three fights a day to find out who will advance to the top eight spots, then a single fight each day to advance again.”
“Father will be meeting with Magus Han today, and Mother will be viewing the dormitory,” Yukiko said as they put on their outdoor shoes. “We have to be at the training hall by seventh bell to find out when our bouts are and against whom.”
“Morning, Novices,” Dia said as they left the dormitory. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re awake this early, but with the tournament, I thought you might take the morning off.”
“No reason to shift our usual routine,” Gregory said.
“My mother will be by after my bouts today,” Yukiko told Dia. “She is quite eager to see the rooms.”
Dia nodded, “I’ll be dealing with a number of visitors over the next few days. I look forward to meeting her. Not many have treated my staff as fairly as you have.”
“We’ll see you later, Keeper,” Gregory said, bowing his head to her.
“Good day, and good luck,” Dia replied, blowing a smoke ring.
“Did she seem happier than normal to you?” Gregory asked as they walked to the mess hall.
“A bit. Maybe it’s the thought of getting rid of so many novices.”
Gregory snorted, “Good point. The dormitory will be much quieter with most of the class gone off to the clans. I’m sure that will make her and the staff happier.”
Gregory and Yukiko smiled and waved back at the eurtiks who greeted them. “Morning, Novices. Today is a big day for you,” Ravol grinned.
“First day of the tournament,” Gregory agreed.
“I believe you’ll pass without trouble,” Zenim said.
“He has a few bets going that you’ll make it to the top eight,” Steva chuckled. “We all do, actually.”
“Oh? Did you get good odds?” Yukiko asked.
“Forty-to-one,” Steva grinned. “We have all our free coin on you two.”
Gregory frowned, “That’s a lot of responsibility.” His smile came back as he continued, “We’ll manage it, though.”
“We thank you,” Velma told him, touching his medallion as she always did, then handing him his bagged snack. “Winning these bets will let us help our families.”
“Quilet is betting on you, too,” Steva said, motioning to the otter waving from the cleaning area.
“We plan to finish with the top spots,” Yukiko said. “Once you have your winnings, use some of them, not all, to bet on us to manage that.”
“I will,” Velma said as she touched Yukiko’s medallion and gave her the bagged snack.
“We all will,” Steva added. “No other novices have shown your level of dedication this year or any other since I’ve been here.”
“We’ll do our best,” Gregory told them as he went to get some tea.
“You won’t be able to watch any of the bouts, will you?”
“No. We are here from second bell until twentieth bell,” Velma replied to Yukiko. “We will be getting updates about the novices we like and dislike the most, though.”
“We’ll do our best not to disappoint,” Yukiko said as she went to get her drink and join Gregory.
~*~*~
Rafiq greeted them when they entered the archive, “Morning to you both. The scrolls will be brought to your table. We weren’t sure if you would be in today or not.”
“That’s fine, thank you,” Gregory replied with a bow of his head.
“Are you both prepared for today?” Rafiq asked them.
“As much as we can be,” Yukiko replied.
“I see. Let me not delay you further,” Rafiq said. “I’ll have it brought right over.”
“Thank you,” they said in unison, heading for the back.
Once they had taken their seats, Yukiko pulled out some paper and charcoal pencils, “Father gave me these last night before we left. Want to try one?”
“Magi Squares?” Gregory asked, seeing them. “Yes, I’d like to try one.”
The two of them sat there working on the puzzles, not stopping when an archivist brought scrolls for them. Yukiko nodded a few minutes later as she set hers aside, wiping her hands on a cloth before she touched the scroll. Gregory finished a few minutes after that, frowning. He had guessed wrong three times during his and it bothered him. Wiping his hands off, he set aside the paper and picked up the scroll.
Sixth bell caused them both to stop reading. Gregory pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to relieve some of the tension building there. “This is harder to understand than anything else I’ve read in the archive. I know the words, but the meaning behind them is taking me longer to grasp.”
“It isn’t easy. The mind path will be hard,” Yukiko agreed as she picked up her answers. “We can use wax tablets to erase these, then exchange them tomorrow.”
“I’ll need to get a wax tablet, then,” Gregory said. “I never thought I would need one.”
“I’ll bring mine over tonight,” Yukiko said as she gathered her things. “We can work on a few more then.”
“Maybe I’ll improve,” Gregory said as he got his things put away. “Now, a stroll to the training hall to see what they have in store for us.”
“Unless we’re unlucky and have to face one of the better students right away, we should be fine for this round.”
“True,” Gregory smiled. “The fights don’t start until the eighth bell, so we’ll have some time before our bouts, even if we are in the first few.”
“Mother and Father should be here just after seventh bell,” Yukiko said. “We should greet them before the fights.”
“Yes, and if we end up in different arenas, they should watch you.”
“I’m sure they’ll send Lin to watch your fights, at the very least,” Yukiko said.
“Good day, Novices,” Rafiq smiled at them as they were leaving the archive, “and good luck with your bouts today.”
“Thank you,” they replied, bowing to him.
Rafiq watched them go and wished he had been one of those chosen to watch the tournament. He stiffened when he felt a cold breeze behind him, “Chief, did you require something?”
“Yes,” Sarinia replied. “I will be leaving shortly to sit with the others in the main arena. The archive is in your hands until I return. They are very studious, are they not?”
“Every day, without fail,” Rafiq nodded. “They were working on Magi Squares when their scrolls were delivered.”
“Yes, they have a thirst to learn,” Sarinia smiled. “I have hopes for them, but first to see if they can reach the top eight. I heard a rumor that they are being trained by Armsmaster Gin Watashi. I thought he had stopped taking students, but it seems he has ties to Novice Warlin.”
“That gives them a chance to make it, then,” Rafiq nodded. “Not many armsmasters not in the employ of the empire or the clans.”
“We shall see. Do make sure that any visitors are properly respectful to the archive. Throw them out if needed, and I shall deal with the repercussions.”
“As you require, Chief.”
~*~*~
While they walked to the training hall, they saw many other novices hurrying to the same place. “Need to hold your trump card until the final eight,” Gregory mentioned during a moment when no one else was nearby.
“I intend to,” Yukiko agreed. “Don’t discount anyone, even if they’ve lost every other fight. They might have a chip on their shoulder, or they might have been bribed to injure you badly enough to keep you out of the final eight.”
“I’ll stay on my toes.”
They arrived only a few minutes before the announcements would start and stayed toward the back of the crowd of novices. A large notice board had been set up outside the training hall, but nothing was hung on it. Gregory spotted Nick talking to Jason, Michelle, and his other associates. Hayworth and his friends were on the other side of the crowd, looking self-important.
“We took the long way,” Yukiko murmured.
“Wanted to avoid any needless conflicts and didn’t want to give Nick even more time to talk to us.”
Gregory returned Nick’s wave just as Magus Paul came out of the hall with four other cyan-robed magi behind him. Seventh bell chimed as the magi took up positions in front of the board.
“Novices, welcome to the mid-tournament. The next several days will set the ranking order of your class. Over the next three days, you will each face three of your peers in individual combat. The final eight will be chosen by the council if there are any ties in the standings. The match ups will be posted on a daily basis. On the fourth day, those who advanced to the final eight will be facing each other. The winners of those matches will go on to fight again the next day, with the two winners facing each other on the final day of the tournament. Outside of the bouts, your days are your own. If you fail to appear for your fight, you forfeit the match. The rules are simple: do your best not to kill your opponent, and no weapons are allowed. Any questions?”
“If we accidentally use too much aether or strike too hard and our classmate dies, what happens?” a random novice asked.
“They will be seen by the healer, and hopefully we can save them. We understand that when you are fighting, accidents sometimes happen. It is why each of you was told that not everyone graduates. You have two tournaments this year, plus any challenges you might face. The empire only wants the strongest of you. Make sure you are among that number.”
When no one else had any questions, Paul nodded and turned to the board. He posted five sheets of paper, each headed with the name of one of the arenas and showing the matches scheduled there for that day. “There you are. Find your places, and may Aether guide you to victory.”
Gregory and Yukiko hung back as the rest of the class pressed forward to see the board. Stepping back to give themselves room, Gregory spoke softly, “If it comes down to risking death or taking the loss—”
“The same goes for you,” Yukiko cut him off. “Can’t risk my heart now that I’ve found him.”
Gregory smiled, nearly falling into her cyan gaze before quickly looking away to see if anyone had noticed. “Have to be careful around you or I’ll give it away before the last day of the tournament.”
Yukiko’s lips turned up at the corners as she looked at the board, “Yes. It is difficult for me, too.”
Gregory and Yukiko edged forward as the crowd abated. “Greg, Yukiko,” Nick called to them, having been waiting for them. “Seems we won’t be facing each other the first day, though Jason and Michelle have to face off. Do your best; the Eternal Flame has a reputation to maintain.”
“We will win all our bouts today,” Gregory said. “I just have to find out where and when I fight.”
“See you later,” Nick said, going to Michelle and speaking quietly to her.
“Main arena, both of us,” Yukiko told him, studying the schedules. “The first fight in that arena at eighth bell is the two of us against each other.”
Gregory shook his head, “The universe seems to be laughing at us.”
“No holding back. We both need to fight to win,” Yukiko said seriously.
Gregory nodded, “Our second set of matches?”
“I fight Fureno after ninth bell, and you fight Clement at tenth bell. He’s one of Hayworth’s friends, part of the group that accosted me on our first day here. I fight Clement at eleventh bell, and at fourteenth bell, you’ll fight one of the undertrained novices who isn’t in our other classes.”
“Careful with Fureno. He’s been hanging onto Nick’s coattails, so he might have a trick or two up his sleeve.”
“The same goes for Clement,” Yukiko said as they headed toward the main arena.
“Meet your parents at the arena?” Gregory asked, changing the subject.
“That is what we agreed on. They should be there shortly, as the gates opened at seventh bell.”
