The next week came and went as quickly as some of the others. Jenn was thanked several times by some of the other novices, who were looking forward to having someone else fight for them. The new novices for next year’s class had started to trickle into the academy— they wore novice white, but with red armbands so everyone would know at a glance they were not with the last class.
Leaving the archive, the trio was engaged in conversation about the books they were reading. The Empire’s Gambit book had been given up, since they were all reading it and learning the game together at the clan hall.
“I’m almost done with the rules and regulations for troops, Greg,” Yukiko told him.
“I’ll be glad to set the law books down,” Gregory said. “I’ve stuck with it because I want to see the first laws of the empire, but some of them are hard to parse.”
“The tea ceremonies are interesting,” Jenn said. “I had no idea that a single clan controlled everything about them.”
“Yes, it was interesting in a few ways,” Yukiko nodded. “I’m going to start reading about import and export items for each country next. I think I know them, but it never hurts to make sure.”
“I was thinking about looking into my grandfather’s history,” Jenn said. “I’ve never delved into dwarven lore before.”
“I did with the eurtik,” Yukiko said. “Some of it was quite surprising.”
“Excuse me… can I speak with you, honored novices?”
All three of them stopped, surprised by the young woman behind them. Her eurtik blood was strong; enlarged canines, wolf ears, bright yellow eyes, and a slowly wagging tail told them of her heritage.
“How might we help you?” Yukiko asked, noticing the red armband on her white kimono.
“You are Warlin and Pettit, right?”
“I am Yukiko, he is Gregory, and she is Jenn, but yes, we’re the ones you think we are.”
Tail wagging faster, she smiled widely. “Oh, I was hoping I could speak with you. I’m sorry, where are my manners? I am Daciana Lyall. You’ve spoken with my father, Gufta, at Stabled Hunger before.”
“Yes. How is your father?” Yukiko asked.
“Father is good. He was beside himself when I tested as a magi.”
“I remember him. He said that you’d be joining Aether’s Guard when you can,” Gregory said. “You don’t need to do th—”
“I will!” Daciana said forcefully, cutting Gregory off. “I’ve heard that those of eurtik blood are accepted in your clan. Not merely allowed, but welcomed as equals.”
“That’s true,” Yukiko said. “I would caution you to not tell others what clan you hope to join. We’ve made some powerful enemies, and I don’t think they’d worry about squashing you before you’ve even had a chance to learn.”
Daciana nodded. “I will heed your words, Yukiko. I wanted to know what’s required to join Aether’s Guard.”
“I’m not sure,” Yukiko said.
“Dia never said anything,” Gregory added.
“Nothing that we can think of, but being strong in your chosen magic is a powerful first step. What magic did you test with at the Blade?” Jenn asked.
“Earth. The master said it appeared to be strong.”
“Then you shouldn’t have any problems.” Jenn smiled. “It’s going to be several months before you can officially join the clan. You might have better offers by then, or change your mind. If you don’t, though, I’m sure that you’d be welcomed.”
Daciana shook her head. “No other clan could offer me enough to change my mind. I have my sights set already, and I do not waver once I have my goal in sight.”
“One needs to have strong conviction to make it,” Yukiko smiled. “Hold to your goal, but be prepared for a bitter road. We do have somewhere to be, so if you’ll excuse us?”
“I didn’t mean to delay you,” Daciana said, bowing formally to them. “Thank you for your time. Will I be able to converse with you again?”
“Probably,” Yukiko said. “We’d need to check what’s allowed for magi of different years.”
“I understand,” Daciana said. “Have a good day.”
They said goodbye to Daciana and continued toward the postern gate.
“That was odd,” Gregory said.
“Not as odd as you might think,” Yukiko said. “She isn’t wrong about eurtiks and other clans. Some of the newer and smaller clans aren’t as prejudiced. If her magic is strong, then some of them will be very interested in her. Her father likely made a strong impression on her, though.”
“He did seem very excited about the idea,” Gregory said slowly. “She might change her mind by the end of the first tournament, but we should still let Dia know about her.”
“Dia can look into it more, but right now, I’m looking forward to actually playing Empire’s Gambit today,” Jenn said, changing the topic.
“Yes,” Gregory nodded. “I need to stop by the courier’s office, too.”
“You still haven’t said why,” Yukiko smiled.
Gregory grinned. “Surprises.”
Jenn shook her head. “I don’t think we’re going to get more out of him.”
“You’re probably right,” Yukiko said. “We can split after we leave. You can take a rickshaw to the office and we’ll go to Gin’s.”
“I’ll see you there,” Gregory said.
~*~*~
When he arrived at Gin’s home, Gregory thanked Baylyss for letting him in. “Are they in the garden?”
“With Elsa,” Baylyss replied. “She was nearly fanatical wanting to learn this week.”
“Rewards are great motivators,” Gregory chuckled. “We’ll see how she feels after a week or two.”
“Yes. Achieving for the short term is easier than staying motivated over an extended period.”
Entering the inner courtyard garden, Gregory watched Jenn and Yukiko moving through the slow, controlled movements in unison. He saw Elsa staring at the two women, doing her best to copy them.
“The first time or two, concentrating on the motions is good, but you’ll eventually reach the point where you can meditate while doing it,” Gregory told her. “Do you think you understand the basics?”
Elsa’s balance wavered, and she had to take an extra step to not fall over. “Not yet, but I will.”
“I won’t meditate today,” Gregory said, moving closer to her. “I’ll walk you through the first kata until you have it memorized. Ready?”
Elsa took the stance that the Peaceful Fist started with. “Yes, sir!”
“Okay. First, we go to the back foot, and extend the left hand,” Gregory explained softly, putting motion to his words.
~*~*~
“Your guests have arrived,” Baylyss announced.
“Good, we were just finishing,” Gregory said. “Good work, Elsa. You have the first two katas down flawlessly.”
Elsa beamed. “Thank you, sir!”
“Sensei might be a better title when he’s teaching you,” Yukiko said, her own meditation ending about a minute prior.
“Thank you, Sensei,” Elsa said, bowing formally to him.
“Your training time is done for today,” Baylyss said kindly. “We must make the tea for them now.”
“Yes,” Elsa said as she walked toward Baylyss with hurried steps. “Baylyss, can I practice every day?”
“Only if you finish all your other work and your learning tasks are completed.”
“Yes,” Elsa said happily as she stepped around Baylyss. “I’ll go start the tea.”
When she left, Baylyss turned to the three novices. “As I was telling Gregory earlier, she is fanatical with her learning because of this being her reward, but I worry how long it will last.”
“Time will tell,” Yukiko said, “but I don’t think she’ll lapse.”
“No. She’s as motivated as I was to spend time in the forge,” Jenn said. “She’ll only fail if people discourage her. Since that isn’t likely to happen, I don’t think she’ll fail.”
“Very well. Let me escort you to your guests,” Baylyss said. “They brought quite a few things with them today.”
“It’s for Empire’s Gambit,” Gregory said.
“Oh, that’s a complicated one. Dia talked about it some when we were younger.”
“It is complicated,” Gregory agreed. “We started reading about it last week. Today, we’ll be getting hands-on experience.”
“From what I recall, don’t get discouraged the first few times you attempt it,” Baylyss said. “It can be quite rough if your opponents are skilled and you’re not.”
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Yukiko said.
“Ah, there they are,” Lon said when the group entered the room. “We’re still setting it up, but come on over and get a look.”
They looked at the tables the instructors had pushed together so they could arrange the game board. Several unit figures stood on each side of the game board. The playing area depicted grasslands with some light woods near the center.
“We’re going with the easiest tileset to start with,” Lon said. “Plains doesn’t have any negative modifiers, though the woods will hinder cavalry movement. We’ll discuss the basics first.”
“We’ve been reading about the game,” Gregory said. “We understand the very basic premise, but not how it all ties together.”
“Okay,” Lon grinned. “We’ll be splitting into teams; us against you. Each of us will have a unit to control, but you have to appoint one of you to be the general in charge of finances.”
“Yuki,” Jenn said without hesitation.
“Agreed,” Gregory nodded.
Yukiko nodded. “Very well.”
“We’ll be playing an even match. We’ll all control a light foot unit, with a magus in command. We’ll match your selection on magus type.”
“Physical,” Jenn said.
“Fire,” Yukiko said.
“Earth,” Gregory added.
“Very well. Pick your side of the board,” Lon said.
“Your markers,” Vexlin said, handing them each a banner for their unit. “It represents the magus in charge of your units.”
“We start with the same supplies and vela,” Cal said. “I’m the leader for our side. That’s important because it means my unit has the pay chest, just like Yukiko’s does.”
“In order to win, all three opposing units need to have fallen, surrendered, or have fled.”
“Understood,” Yukiko said.
“Here are the starting stats for your units,” Vexlin said, handing over plaques with the pertinent information, “and your list of supplies and vela.”
“We start by placing our units on the board within two hexagons of the edge,” Lon said. “Good luck. If you have questions, ask as we go.”
Gregory nodded as he set his unit on the map. “We will. The easiest way to learn is to ask.”
~*~*~
Baylyss was showing them to the door hours later. “You appeared to be having fun, but I’m not certain.”
“It was frustrating,” Jenn said, “but fun at the same time. I never thought learning was this fun until I joined with Greg and Yuki.”
“Fun and frustrating is accurate,” Yukiko said. “The minutiae of the game is where an experienced player can dominate. I look forward to next week.”
“Thank you, Baylyss. This is only possible because of you doing everything you do,” Gregory said. “We’ll be meeting with them for the next few months, which is far longer than my original proposition.”
“It’s fine,” Baylyss said. “I was asked to make things as easy as possible for you.”
“Where’s Elsa?” Gregory asked, noticing she was missing.
“She passed out an hour ago,” Baylyss chuckled. “I’m letting her nap until you go. This is the first time she’s run out of steam before bed.”
“The Peaceful Fist is surprisingly taxing if you aren’t used to it,” Jenn said. “She’ll be able to handle it soon, though.”
“I’m sure she will. Good evening to you all. We’ll be looking forward to your return next week.”
Saying goodbye to Baylyss, the friends started the jog back to the academy.
