Gregory explained to Yukiko what Paul had told him on their way to the arena. Yukiko nodded, “We can always use my father’s guards, if needed. I’ll let him know. We’ll need to find out how many troops we’ll need.”
“We can ask Dia or Rafiq. I’m sure one of them knows,” Gregory suggested.
“Yes, they would likely know.”
When they arrived at the arena, they were taken to a box where Yoo-jin was seated. They were surprised to see Hao sitting there with her.
“Father, you are feeling better?”
“Good enough to come watch my daughter put Shun’s grandson in his place,” Hao replied. “Also, these are for you, Gregory.” Hao pulled the gloves from the belt pouch he wore. “Hemet gave up on them. All he could determine is that they have threads of Ryuite woven into them. He apologized and suggested getting a grandmaster, elder, or sage enchanter to look at them.”
Gregory quickly slipped the gloves on, “Thank you for trying.”
“He didn’t charge since he wasn’t able to learn about them,” Hao replied. “On a good note, he said he knows someone who would pay the vela to purchase the box from me. He’ll be in town the night after the tournament ends.”
“Thank Aether,” Gregory exhaled. “I’m glad, and hope they purchase it.”
“We’ll find out, but first, you have fights to focus on.”
Gregory looked down at the arena, finally paying attention to the apprentices on the sands. Two groups were facing off, and Gregory began to understand what Paul had told him.
“Father,” Yukiko said, reminded about the information Gregory had shared with her, “if we don’t find a clan, we’ll need some guards to act as troops for our third and fourth years, and possibly beyond.”
“What?” Hao asked, leaning back.
Yukiko explained what they had been told. Hao nodded, but Lin looked a little grim.
“Sir, we don’t have the numbers.”
“Which is why she is telling me now,” Hao said. “I’ll need to know by the end of this year’s study. Finding and training enough people in a year will be difficult.” Looking at the apprentices below, his eyes unfocused, as he was clearly thinking about what was going to be needed.
Gregory watched the fight with growing trepidation, thinking of himself and Yukiko facing off against Nick and all of his friends. That was another reason to join a clan, above and beyond the other reasons.
Yukiko and Gregory watched the other fights while they waited for their matches. At high sun, they pulled out their snacks and ate them, knowing they would need every bit of aether they could get. Yukiko remembered to tell her father how many people to expect for the party the following night.
~*~*~
Gregory breathed deeply as he left the waiting area and stepped onto the sands of the arena floor. The same grandmaster from the day before stood in the center of the arena, waiting for him. The crowd was mixed in its reaction— almost equally cheers and boos. Some of those watching were clearly still unhappy with the way he had fought last. Once he reached the middle, Jason stepped out of the tunnel on the other side of the arena. The reaction of the crowd to Jason’s appearance was far more favorable. Jason smiled and waved at the stands as he crossed the arena.
When Jason reached the middle, he gave Gregory a small shrug, as if apologizing for the spectators. The voice of the grandmaster that had intervened on his behalf with Skippy’s father filled the arena.
“Ladies and gentlemen, guests and fellow magi, we have come to the final four of the novice tournament. Let us take a moment to celebrate the four finalists and cheer them on to do the best they can today. Novices, thank the crowd for coming out to see you fight.”
The crowd erupted in cheers, whistles, and applause. Gregory was slower than Jason, who had immediately begun to wave to the crowd again. Instead of copying Jason, Gregory instead turned to the four cardinal directions and bowed to each.
“The winners of today’s fights will face off tomorrow as our tournament week concludes,” the voice continued once the cheering had died away. “The council thanks you for coming and sharing this time with us as we celebrate our novices and apprentices.”
The crowd erupted again, and the grandmaster on the sands waited another minute before he spoke to the novices. “You know the rules,” he stated bluntly. “Face the boxes and bow.”
Jason’s easy-going demeanor fell away, his face serious as he faced the boxes and bowed. Gregory noticed the shift, and knew he was going to face everything Jason had to throw at him.
Gregory felt a sense of peace as he bowed to the magi and finally, to Jason. This was his chance to prove that it did not matter if a great clan backed you; a fringer could still rise up and be the strongest novice.
“Fight!”
Jason did not hesitate, conjuring and throwing a ball of fire as soon as the word left the grandmaster’s lips. Gregory was glad he had expected that as he came out of his roll, but when he turned back to face Jason, his eyes went wide at the next fireball already coming at him.
The shield came up, stopping the fire inches from him. His ring quenched the flames, but not as quickly as Gregory would have liked. The intense heat from the fire made his kimono smolder and his eyes dry out. He staggered back, glad when the fire winked out a moment later. Blinking, trying to get moisture back in his eyes, Gregory was shocked to see that neither of his hands were blistered. Jason was suddenly next to him, raining a flurry of punches and kicks down on Gregory with a fury he was unprepared for.
“Go down and it’ll be over,” Jason hissed at him. “Don’t make this worse than it needs to be.”
The strikes that Gregory managed to block with his hands and arms felt light, while every other strike hit with bruising force. The crowd was cheering and chanting Jason’s name as he continued to bludgeon Gregory. Unable to get a moment’s respite, Gregory knew this was not going to end well unless he could do something.
Gregory was able to get his balance back, but it took the last bit of charge in the barrier bracelet. Jason stepped back, shaking his fist after hitting the wall. Gregory spat blood and took a deep breath, meeting Jason’s gaze.
“I knew I wasn’t the only one with a trick or two,” Jason said, flexing his hands to make sure he had not broken anything. “Surprised you survived the fire. Not sure how you managed to extinguish it. The barrier is surprising, but it can’t have much left, can it?”
Gregory breathed deeply, aware that his other ring had been fully depleted so he would not be able to heal any further. “Care to find out?”
“Oh, I will,” Jason chuckled darkly. “I hoped you would go down quickly, but since you didn’t, well, don’t blame me for what happens to you now.”
Gregory did not like the sound of that, and he liked the sight of blue flames covering Jason’s hands even less. “Physical enhancement? Didn’t expect that,” he admitted.
“You’re the first one who’s made me use it, so, hey, there’s that,” Jason smirked. “I’ll end this quickly.”
Gregory barely had a moment to prepare before Jason rushed him. Gregory fully expected his blocks to be overpowered by Jason’s brute strength. They were both surprised when Gregory was able to deflect the four strikes.
Jason’s eyes went wide, shocked that Gregory was able to stop him, and his attack faltered. Gregory was surprised as well, but instead of stopping, he countered. His fist connected with Jason’s chin, staggering Jason back.
“What?” Jason asked in bewilderment. “You have physical enhancement? No, they know which gem lights up for that.”
Gregory did not reply. His own mind raced as he tried to figure out what had happened. He knew he was not using aether like Jason was, but he had stopped the empowered attacks without strain or stress.
The grandmaster was able to conceal his amazement, keeping his face calm. The crowd was still cheering, expecting the fight to end soon. In the main box, the academy council and heads stared at the fight, at a loss to understand how Gregory had managed to stop the aether-fueled attacks. Yukiko’s heart jumped into her throat when Jason’s arms lit up with aether, but when Gregory blocked them, she beamed and her pride in him soared even higher.
“It doesn’t matter… it must have been a trick,” Jason spat. “Fine, I’ll end it now. Accidents happen, after all.”
The hair on Gregory’s neck stood up and time seemed to slow as Jason reached for his left arm. Thick bands of aether formed around that arm, Jason glaring at Gregory. Gregory inhaled sharply as the next few seconds played out before his mind’s eye.
Gregory threw himself to the right and rolled. He came up facing a different direction and threw himself to the left, then rolled twice more without slowing, coming back to his feet yards away from Jason, who was slack-jawed. Flames burned on the sand where Gregory had been.
The crowd was silent, in awe as large balls of fire formed and were thrown in the span of seconds. Novices could not wield the aether required to fuel those attacks, but Jason had thrown three of them in rapid succession. Gregory’s erratic dodging had allowed him to avoid all three of them.
“Stop!” the grandmaster yelled. “Those were killing attempts, Novice.”
Jason shook his head, “No, Grandmaster. The intensity of the flame was lower than normal and covered a bigger area.” The blue flames on his arm winked out, “They would have burned him, but not been enough to kill.”
The grandmaster considered, then nodded. “Very well. Since they missed him, I will let the match continue. Do not use them again.”
“I couldn’t if I wanted to,” Jason muttered. “The stored aether is gone.”
“Novice Pettit, do you wish to continue knowing the danger you face?” The grandmaster asked. “You can withdraw from the match.”
Gregory shook his head, “I will not withdraw. I will win.”
Those words enraged Jason, “Over my dead body!”
“No, just over your broken body,” Gregory stated as he waited for the match to continue. He felt his aether working to help him heal. It was not as fast as the ring, but better than no healing at all. “Your loss to me will bring shame to the Eternal Flame.”
“Fight,” the grandmaster said an instant before Jason rushed at Gregory.
This time, Jason’s whole body was covered in aether and he blurred as he came at Gregory. Gregory knew that waiting was going to be a bad idea, so he stepped forward to meet the attack.
When the two separated, Gregory was gritting his teeth in pain. He could feel the cracked ribs with each breath, and his left leg was barely holding him up. The aether covering Jason’s body dimmed, then retreated to just his hands as he glared at Gregory.
“Why won’t you just fall down?”
“Because I promised to meet someone in the next round,” Gregory managed to hiss the words.
Jason laughed, “You think the half-blood will beat Nick? Are you a fool? He knows about her shadow leap trick. He’ll never lose to that or her shadow trip thing.”
“We’ll see after we’re done,” Gregory gritted out. “You done talking yet? She’s waiting for me.”
Jason’s aether-covered hands burned a little brighter. “Fine. I’ll do what the last fighter should have done to you,” he sneered
Gregory extended his left hand, silently beckoning Jason. This is it. You have to find a way here, or it’s over and Yuki will fight Nick and then Jason.
Jason charged at him again, intent on crushing Gregory. His anger was easy to see, that the novice with no magic had forced him to use all of his trump cards and was still standing.
Jason’s first punch was deflected to the right, forcing Gregory to put more weight on his injured leg. The pain surged, but he kept his balance as the follow up strike came. Gregory moved by instinct, his block forcing Jason’s arm out and allowing his right hand to dart forward.
Jason staggered back a step, his left hand going to his throat, surprised that Gregory had managed to hurt him. The realization that his aether was all but spent flooded his mind; he had been so focused on the fight that he had not been paying it any attention.
The flames on Jason’s hands dimmed and went out when he grabbed his neck. Gregory was glad to see that the other novice was out of aether. He stepped in to attack, his left leg supporting him just long enough to allow him to strike Jason under the sternum, driving out what little air Jason had left.
Both of them fell, Jason from the strike and Gregory as his leg finally buckled. The pain almost made him pass out, but Gregory gritted his teeth and climbed on top of Jason, intent on ending the fight. Jason was unable to defend himself.
Seconds ticked by as Gregory hammered the unresisting man, barely able to breathe himself, before the grandmaster finally called him off. Pushing off Jason, Gregory rolled to the side, hissing in pain as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up at the blue sky above him, which was slowly darkening as the pain in his chest grew.
“Healer!” the grandmaster commanded. “They both need your attention, now!”
