Exiting the dormitory the next morning, Gregory and Yukiko were in good spirits. “Good morning, Keeper,” they greeted Dia, who was exhaling a smoke ring.
“Good morning to you both. Good luck in your fights today. I have been informed that twenty of the staff, plus ten spouses, would like to attend your event. More would have accepted, but I need to keep some here to help run things. If you need it to be less—”
“That’ll be fine,” Yukiko said quickly. “The more friendly faces, the better.”
“Very well. I told them to let me make sure it was okay for that many of them first. Are you going to return here before this evening?”
“No, we aren’t planning on it.”
“Very well. I will tell the clan representatives who show up to see you so they don’t continue to take up a room,” Dia said, drawing deeply from her pipe and blowing out a column of smoke rings.
They said their goodbyes and headed off to the mess hall.
“Do you think your parents are going to be okay with so many people showing up?” Gregory asked curiously.
“Yes. Gin’s place can easily accommodate over a hundred, and Father will be able to make sure the food and drinks are ready.”
“Is it usual for the betrothal party to be large?”
“This will be a small event compared to the last,” Yukiko said, a little distant as she was thinking of her first betrothal.
“Huh. We didn’t have betrothal parties. It’s just the two interested parties telling their parents that they’re courting.”
“That would be nice,” Yukiko smiled. “It would have been much simpler for us, too.”
“True,” Gregory admitted thoughtfully. “Not sure I would have admitted that I was so interested in you, though, especially since you were already promised to another. We might have ended up in the same place.”
“No, it would have been easier for me to admit to you, my parents, and myself. Courting isn’t quite the same as a betrothal, though. To most of society, a betrothal is a very serious thing, and breaking one is an insult. I’m sure Father will have made them sorry for doing so, which makes me happy. The one I was betrothed to was… like Nick and Hayworth.”
“An arrogant ass?”
Yukiko giggled, “Roughly speaking and crudely said, but honest. It’s one of the things I like about you. We might want to work on your tact a little to make it easier when we have to deal with people in powerful positions.”
The eurtiks serving in the mess hall greeted them noisily. “There you are! We heard your match was very close,” Ravol said to Gregory.
“Hers wasn’t. We laughed for a long time over how you tricked your opponent into slamming into the wall,” Zenim grinned at Yukiko.
“We are glad to hear you won’t be facing each other until the final,” Velma cut in.
“Having to face the two forerunners of the Eternal Flame today will be rough,” Steva added.
“It’ll be rough, but we’ll do our best,” Yukiko smiled. “The fights today are after high sun, so can we get snacks today as well, please?”
“Yes, I’ll put them together while you eat breakfast,” Velma said, quickly handing over Yukiko’s plate and touching her medallion.
“Thanks. We’ll need all the help we can get today,” Gregory added as he took his plate, tucking his medallion back into his kimono.
“Before we go, my family is holding a party tomorrow night. I’ve been asked to invite my friends. Would you five,” she glanced at Quilet in the washing area, “like to attend?”
“That would be difficult… we don’t stop working until—”
“It’ll be fine if you need to arrive late. Your wives and husbands are welcome to attend, as well,” Yukiko cut off Velma. “It’ll run late, as these things usually do. We’re likely to miss breakfast the next morning, ourselves.”
Gregory blinked, not having expected that, but accepted it. “We aren’t friends with the other novices. You have all been welcoming and friendly to us, so we’d like you to come.”
The four cooks exchanged a look and Ravol spoke up. “Are you sure? We’re slaves, and—”
“That doesn’t matter,” Gregory cut in. “The only thing that matters is if you would like to come.”
“Please,” Velma said first, bowing low to them.
The others voiced their agreement and bowed. Yukiko looked over to see Quilet bowing to them from his station.
“I shall let my parents know that you five will be there a little late, and that your spouses will be there, too,” Yukiko smiled. “We look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning for breakfast and for the party.”
“We will look forward to it,” Ravol said, echoed by the others.
“Oh, I need to get your snacks ready,” Velma said, rushing off to do that.
~*~*~
“Good morning,” Rafiq greeted them when they entered the archive.
“Good morning,” Gregory and Yukiko said in unison.
“Working on Magi Squares again today?”
“Yes. We have a question to ask you. Would you like to attend a party my family is having tomorrow night?”
Rafiq leaned back a little, “An unusual request. Truthfully, I would like to accept, but I must decline. The rules of the archive forbid us socializing with those attending the academy.”
“All archivists?” Gregory asked.
“Yes, everyone who works in these halls. I believe it was one of the reasons Master Damon left us to become the keeper of the blade.”
“Oh, we apologize. We didn’t know,” Yukiko replied, bowing to him.
“No, it is fine. As I said, I would accept if not for the rules. I’ve never seen novices as studious as you. It makes me happy that at least some of the young are willing to accept our knowledge instead of just relying on the clans.”
“We’ll be in the back until just before the ninth bell,” Gregory said. “Have a good day.”
“You as well, and good luck to you both in your bouts today.”
They smiled, bowing to him, before heading off to train the mind path.
~*~*~
Gregory and Yukiko shared a smile as they wiped off the sweat from training the body and spirit paths together. They knew they were making progress, even if it was not easily apparent from day to day. Afterward, they decided to use the bathrooms attached to the training hall. They split up to shower and refresh themselves before heading to the arena.
Gregory paused at the entrance of the bathing room, seeing that Magus Paul was currently using the facility. The plethora of scars that lined the older man’s back and arms were disconcerting to Gregory. Shaking his head, he moved over to the bench and began to clean.
“Novice? Did you train this morning?” Paul asked when he noticed he was no longer alone.
“Every morning, sir,” Gregory replied.
“Even though you’re fighting in a couple of hours?”
“Because of that. It is only through training that we can improve. I’ll be replenishing the little bit of aether I lost and be ready for the fight.”
Paul grunted, “Unusual. I believe the other novices are relaxing before they show up to the arena.”
“No, sir. Yukiko is currently bathing, as well.”
“She would be,” Paul nodded. “The two of you are always together. It’ll make it harder for you when the clans pull you apart.”
“It would be, sir, if we were going to different clans.”
“A single clan is getting both of you?” Paul asked with surprise. “It must be one of the five great clans, then. None of the others would be able to entice both of you. If it’s the Eternal Flame, they will outstrip the other four great clans within a dozen years.”
“It isn’t the Eternal Flame, sir.”
“I know it isn’t my clan— you both visited it briefly months ago.”
“The Iron Hand is a different sort of clan, sir. The fact it has completely dedicated itself to the empire made me seriously consider them.”
“A pity. With your rapid improvement in fighting, you would have been welcomed,” Paul shrugged as he stood up, moving to the tub. “Hopefully, whatever clan you choose is worthy of the martial talent you have.” Sinking into the tub, Paul asked the next question with seeming indifference, “It isn’t the Hardened Fist, is it?”
“No, sir. If I was going to join a strictly martial clan, it would have been yours.”
Nodding, Paul leaned his head back against the edge of the tub, “Good. I would hate to have to face you across the battlefield before you could truly grow.”
“Your clans clash, sir?”
“All the time. Other countries hire mercenaries from the Hardened Fist when they end up in conflict with the empire to help blunt our attacks. It’s maddening, but the emperor allows it, so we only clash instead of wiping that clan from the empire.”
“That is good to know. Thank you, sir, for teaching me on a day off.”
“Every day is a day to learn, if one listens. Few novices seem to take the time to understand the words, though many apprentices quickly learn the folly of that.”
“Why is that, sir?”
Paul cracked an eye open as Gregory got into the tub. “You don’t know what next year brings?”
“No, sir. I come from Alturis. It’s a village out on the fringe.”
Paul grunted, “You don’t fight like a fringer. Next year, you’ll be learning how to fight in a group of your clan members. When you become an initiate, you will learn to fight commanding troops. As an adept, you will be given tasks to complete with those troops. If that all goes as it should, you will be deemed a magi and your clan will post you to a position that the empire has need of a magi at. That could be diplomatic, part of the border patrol, or even as a clerk, depending on your classes this year and what your clan deems you able to handle.”
Gregory sat there, absorbing the new information. A minute later, he asked, “Are two magi of the same clan ever posted to the same place?”
Paul’s lips twitched into a smile and he chuckled. “Thinking of your friend, are you? The answer is, it’s almost as rare as hen’s teeth.”
“I hadn’t thought to hear that saying here, sir.”
“You’re not the only magi from the fringe. We are not common, but we do happen.”
“I never would have guessed, sir.”
“I worked hard to make it that way. Fringers are given more shit than those who might be favored. I made it to the final eight in both my novice tournaments… never made it to the final. That year was hell, but it got me noticed by the Iron Hand. The next couple of years let me excel. You see, the common soldier respects a man who has done work in his life, more than they do some silk-clad dandy. Keep that in mind. The respect of your troops in the coming years can make all the difference.”
“I have one other question, sir,” Gregory asked slowly. “What if an initiate doesn’t have a clan?”
“The academy will make sure they have troops, but it only happens once every twenty years or so. They get the troublemakers and normally meet a bad end before they finish the adept tier.”
“I see. I will remember, sir. Thank you.”
“Now be quiet and let us enjoy the hot water until the bell chimes,” Paul said, brushing off the thanks.
Gregory did not reply, but did as he was told. His mind kept turning over what he had learned, and how it might impact him and Yukiko.
