Their routine changed a little over the next month. They did Magi Squares with Nessa and Daciana every morning, then read through several books, including the laws of the other nations, how Buldoun treated their magi, and the book on foresight that Gregory had asked for.
Economics class became more complex, but they were able to keep up with the majority of what Marcia taught them and dissected the rest to make sense of it. Combat training was focused more on weapons, but they still had unarmed training to keep their skills honed.
Yukiko learned from Inda how to form shadows into more complex shapes, allowing her to have greater control over them. She was just starting to learn how to shadow jump without the use of the ring.
Jenn’s training with Master Chen was brutal, as the best way to teach physical enhancement was to show the student. She quickly mastered how to absorb an attack with her aether instead of her body— the more powerful the attack, the more aether was required to absorb it. Her ability to use aether in short bursts also improved quickly under his tutelage.
Gregory found he could do as Darkness had told him, seeing the aether threads weaving magic. He’d dabbled with the few seconds of foresight, as well, but used it sparingly and only during combat, as that was when it was best. The one time he’d tried to see further into the future, his head swam and he nearly passed out.
The time they spent learning Empire’s Gambit with Lon, Vexlin, and Cal was both educational and fun for them. They never came close to winning a single match, but they rarely lost twice in the same way.
~*~*~
When Gregory finished dressing and opened the door to his room, he had to take a quick step back as a hand flew at his face. “What the…?”
Jenn jerked her hand back. “Greg! I didn’t mean to—”
Snorting, Gregory shook his head. “Just bad timing. It’s fine. Morning to you.”
“It’s a good morning!” Jenn said excitedly. She pulled her medallion out, showing him that the first circle was lit up a sunflower-yellow. “I’m an apprentice now.”
“That’s very good,” Yukiko said, having left her room unnoticed by them. “We’ll have to send word to Alvis to make sure you get the same things we are.”
“Yeah,” Gregory nodded. “Need to keep her moving closer to our rank. Maybe ask if they can’t boost her a little more, too?”
“I intended to,” Yukiko smiled. “I’ve had a letter prepared and waiting for the last week. I’ll have whoever is on duty in the kitchen give it to Dia.”
~*~*~
Simon greeted them as they entered the archive. “Good morning, Novices. Did you require different books?”
“We’re good with the ones we’re currently reading,” Yukiko said.
“Very well. If you require anything, we’re here to help.”
Making their way to the tables in the back, they were surprised that Nessa and Daciana weren’t there, as the two women normally beat them to the archive. They took their seats and pulled out paper, preparing Magi Squares for the day.
By the time they finished preparations, the other two magi still hadn’t shown. Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn exchanged puzzled glances, wondering what might have happened.
“Maybe we should go check on them?” Yukiko asked.
“They might’ve just slept in,” Jenn suggested, but it was obvious she didn’t believe it.
“We should do our work, and if they haven’t appeared by the time we finish, we can go check,” Gregory said. “They might have just woken a little late, is all, and could still be eating breakfast.”
The other two agreed and went to work on their puzzles. Gregory hesitated a moment longer before joining them. All three of them worried for their younger friends.
Just as Yukiko was finishing her squares, Daciana and Nessa came toward them. “Sorry for the delay,” Daciana said, her lips twisted into an almost smile.
Nessa was beside Daciana, clearly waiting to help her friend, who was injured.
“What happened?” Gregory asked.
“A challenge,” Daciana said, taking a seat gingerly.
“She won, but she didn’t want to see the healer,” Nessa said.
“Who challenged you?” Jenn asked.
“I called for the challenge,” Daciana replied. “His name is Peter. He’s a loudmouthed braggart.”
“He was being unkind to me,” Nessa said. “Daciana challenged him for me.”
“You’re not used to fighting, yet,” Daciana said. “I did what was best for both of us.”
“Did you win?” Jenn asked.
“Yes. He has to leave us alone now,” Daciana winced.
“What’s injured?” Yukiko asked.
“My ribs, mostly.”
“I’ll take you to the healer,” Yukiko said, rising to her feet. “Jenn, come with me? Greg, will you help Nessa study until we get back?”
“I will. Nessa?”
“But… I should go. She fought for me.”
Daciana shook her head. “I fought for both of us, Nes. Stay and learn— you’re better at it than I am. You can help me with it later.”
“Okay…” Nessa said softly.
The other three left, leaving Nessa and Gregory alone. Gregory waited for them to be out of sight before he coughed to get Nessa’s attention. “They’ll be fine, Nessa. I have your Magi Squares ready for you. Sit and try to focus on it.”
“Yes, sir,” Nessa said, taking the seat Yukiko had been in a moment before.
“Greg, remember?” Gregory asked lightly.
“Sorry, Greg. I’m just worried about Daciana. She argued with me about the healers… it’s expensive for us to use them, since we’re not officially novices yet.”
“And she challenged Peter for you,” Gregory added.
“Yes. I haven’t had any training in fighting and have never been in a real fight before. Daciana had been in a lot of fights growing up… Even though she isn’t trained, she still knows what to do better than I do.”
“You can ask her to teach you.”
“I did. She said she doesn’t know how to teach.”
“Oh.”
Nessa went quiet as she started to work on her squares. Gregory watched her, thinking about the difficulties the younger novices faced.
~*~*~
“We’re back, Greg,” Yukiko said.
Both Gregory and Nessa looked up from their books.
“Everything okay?” Gregory asked.
“No,” Daciana said. “I owe her, and she’s refusing to let me pay her back.”
Gregory chuckled. “Get used to that, especially if you’re going to be around us. Yuki has a way of winning fights that revolve around vela.”
Yukiko shook her head. “I told her she should focus on herself for now. It was a gift for a friend.”
“Best to accept gifts from a friend,” Jenn said.
“Our normal study time is almost up,” Gregory said.
“Yes, but it was spent well,” Yukiko said. “Daciana, Nessa, we’ll see you tomorrow. Remember what I told you.”
“I will,” Daciana said. “Thank you again. I’ll accept the gift… as a friend.”
Yukiko’s smile grew wide. “Thank you.”
Saying their goodbyes, they left the other two to study.
Once they were outside the archive, Yukiko spoke up, “As much as I hate Nick and his friends, they might have done me a great service.”
“By stopping others from causing trouble?” Gregory asked.
“Yes. I spoke with the healer, Mindie. She, like myself, is part eurtik. Apparently, people of mixed parentage are bullied a lot. Hers was diminished because most don’t want to alienate a healer, but she was still bullied far more than we were.”
“I even had a good number of challenges before the tournament because of my heritage,” Jenn said.
“I was thinking…” Yukiko said. “I’m going to ask Gin if he’ll allow Indara to help train them a little. That way, they’ll have an advantage over those that want to hurt them.”
“But Indara is part of the clan,” Gregory said. “She can’t train them.”
“No, she’s registered as Gin’s mistress, not part of the clan,” Yukiko said. “She can train them without breaking the rules of the academy.”
“That’ll irritate some people,” Jenn added. “We should speak with Dia about it.”
“Agreed,” Gregory said. “We can let them decide. I agree with the concept, though. Nessa needs a lot of help when it comes to fighting. She isn’t a pacifist, but she isn’t aggressive, either.”
“We’ll talk to them tonight,” Yukiko said. “For now, we have other things to do.”
“Elsa will be waiting on us,” Jenn smiled.
“Hasn’t failed her lessons yet,” Gregory chuckled. “Motivated girl.”
~*~*~
Their time at Gin’s was over with quicker than anyone realized. Elsa was excited all day, as her child friends had accepted their help. Gregory was surprised to see a half dozen children doing various jobs around the home, but his chest felt warm and he wore a smile every time he saw one of them.
The group was discussing the happy news about the kids as they walked back to the clan hall. Splitting up for their baths, Gregory made it to the dinner table before the women.
Dia and Gin greeted him, and Gregory decided to broach the subject they’d thought of before; “Yuki, Jenn, and I had a question for the two of you and Indara. Our friends, who are going to be novices next year, are already being challenged by their contemporaries. One has never fought before, and the other has, but hasn’t had any training. We wanted to know if you’d be able to help them learn? Would it even be allowable by academy laws?”
Indara looked to Gin. “I’m fine with helping those who wish to follow.”
Gin nodded. “Indara is willing to do so. I will ask that she be compensated, however.”
“I’ll give her half of my stipend,” Gregory said.
“As will we,” Yukiko said, coming into the room.
“Yes,” Jenn agreed.
“Dia?” Gregory asked.
Dia looked from one of them to the next, looking pensive. “It doesn’t break the laws of the academy, but it’s in a gray area… I’ll allow it, but make sure they understand that the training can stop at any moment if a problem occurs.”
“Thank you,” they all said, bowing to Dia, Gin, and Indara.
“I will train them for two hours every morning after sixth bell. It’ll need to be at one of the training areas.”
“The first time, I’ll go with you so you know what would be the best to use,” Gin said. “After that, you’ll be able to get there without being seen.”
“Thank you,” Indara smiled at him.
“How did the challenge go?” Dia asked.
“Daciana won, but she had a broken rib and didn’t have the money to pay for the healer. The man she ended up challenging, Peter, had a broken nose, two black eyes, and a severely sprained wrist.”
“She challenged him?” Gin asked.
“She did,” Jenn said. “Peter had backed Nessa against a tree and was verbally abusing her. Knowing that Nessa couldn’t fight, Daciana did so on her behalf.”
“Protecting her friend. What did the challenge entail?”
“He isn’t allowed to speak to or approach them for a full year,” Yukiko said. “She’s lucky she won. Peter said if that was their condition, his was going to be that Daciana became his servant until the year began for them.”
Gin grunted. “Foolish. Indara, make sure she learns better. If she had lost, it would’ve been worse for both of them.”
“Yes,” Indara nodded. “He would have abused her and still gone after her friend.”
Gregory’s eye twitched. “I dislike this man and I haven’t even met him.”
“Dinner is ready,” Velma said.
