Gregory and Jenn took a little longer to get out of the waiting area, as the apprentice group from the Han clan wanted to talk with them. When they finally left, Yukiko and the others were waiting for them, along with the two squads of guards.
“Sorry. Some apprentices wanted to talk for a minute,” Gregory said.
Yukiko stepped forward and gave Jenn a brief hug. “I’ll honor our bet, Jenn.”
“I’m not sure I earned it,” Jenn admitted.
“My ribs say otherwise,” Gregory said.
“You forgot a lesson,” Gin said gravely. “We’ll work on that.”
“Yes, Sensei,” Gregory said, cupping his hand, but not bowing more than an inch.
“Save the bow until you heal,” Gin said.
“Oh, good. You’re all together,” Dia said, coming toward them. “Elder Lightshield wants you all to attend the feast. If you’re willing, that is?”
“Feast?” Adolphus asked.
“The clan is holding a feast for the novices who fought so hard. The elder will be distributing gifts to them, as well.”
Carmichael looked a little out of place. “I don’t have the best clothing for a feast.”
Dia gave him a kind smile. “We understand, sir. You don’t have to attend if you don’t feel comfortable, but we do ask you to consider it.”
“You should come,” Gregory told his father, “and meet those who are watching over me.”
“My son wants it, so I will,” Carmichael said.
“Good. Did anyone want to back out?” Dia asked. When no one spoke up, she smiled. “Excellent. We’ll go right after the awards are presented.”
~*~*~
The groups went back up to the boxes to see the fight between the Han apprentices and the Swift Wind apprentices. The fight was heavily weighted toward the Swift Wind just in numbers, but the Han clan held a distinct advantage in their teamwork.
The crowd was raucous as the fight went on, cheering and yelling through the whole thing. It was close, but the Swift Wind clan came out on top, with Jenga the last one standing out of all of the combatants. His physical magic had helped him wield the odachi he used with brutal efficiency.
“He’d be a tough one to beat,” Yukiko said. “I’m glad you fought him without magic. Though now that you can use yours, it might not matter.”
A knock on the box door revealed a single guard. “Excuse me, Novice Warlin? Everyone eliminated before today gets announced and gifted before the champion and runner-up, so if you could come with me?”
“Of course,” Yukiko said, rising to her feet.
The guard turned her eyes to Gregory. “Novice Pettit, your escort will take you down shortly.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Gregory replied.
The healers got the wounded up and moving in short order, and staff came out to arrange for the award ceremony. A handful of minutes passed before everything was ready.
All three council members suddenly appeared on the arena floor, giving the crowd a moment to adjust to their presence. Before anyone was escorted out, the guards outside the box knocked on the door and told Gregory it was time.
Gregory was a little confused that Jenn wasn’t being taken down at the same time, but figured she’d be following before too long. Reaching the waiting area, he was surprised to see the Han clan waiting there.
“Looks like neither of us repeated,” Gregory greeted them.
“That man is a monster,” the head of the Han apprentices sighed. “No one should be able to use an odachi like that. You lost, as well, to another physical enhancement magi.”
“Jenn. She’s a good fighter.”
“We were surprised. We thought for sure that with your foresight, it’d be easy for you. I guess the rumor about how to beat your magic is true.”
“Rumor?”
“Yes. If someone follows the spirit path, they can meditate and stop your magic from working. None of us had her pegged as the spirit path type, though, not with her magic.”
“Ah, I didn’t know that was being spread around,” Gregory said, not answering the implied question.
“Get ready,” a guard said stiffly from the stairway to the hall.
“After you,” Gregory told the apprentices. “You are my seniors, after all.”
Lining up, they followed the guards when they were told to. Exiting onto the arena floor, they were taken to where the others were standing and the council of the academy was waiting for them.
The elder of the council praised the Han clan and Gregory in turn, speaking of the aether-improvement items they’d be receiving for their efforts. When the elder stopped, the group stepped aside to join the others, and Gregory went to stand beside Yukiko, ignoring the hate-filled eyes boring into his back.
After a few moments, Jenn and the Swift Wind group were led out, much like Gregory and Yukiko had been after the first tournament. The crowd was the noisiest that Gregory could remember them being as the final participants reached the council.
When the noise dimmed, the elder spoke, “Novice Bean, your tenacity and grit helped you reach a point that few physical enhancement magi reach during their novice year. You are the crowned champion of the final novice tournament. We find it interesting that your clan managed to take the champion spot in both tournaments, and we look forward to what the three of you do next year. For being the champion, you will be given the very best alchemical aids that we can give one of your class.”
“Honored council,” Jenn said, once the crowd quieted down enough, “I wanted to prove myself to my clan and to my friends. It’s only with their help that I was able to reach this point. We’ll be striving to make our clan and the academy proud in the next year of training.”
The crowd again drowned out all attempts at regular communication, and Jenn moved to stand beside Gregory and Yukiko.
The elder spoke with the Swift Wind clan, praising them for their victory.
Jenga cleared his throat when it came time for the Swift Wind group to speak. “Honored council, we thank you for fostering a place of learning. Truly, though, we would not have been here if not for a single moment from the last tournament. My group went without my leadership because I made an error. A novice had to remind me that hubris leads to grave mistakes.” Jenga looked to Gregory. “Because of that, my clan and I pushed harder to reach this stage. We wish only to uphold the ideals of our clan and the empire.”
The elder paused while the crowd went wild once more. Once they calmed, she announced, “People of the empire and fellow magi, these are your champions. Celebrate their success, and know it is magi like this, striving for greatness, that will keep the empire safe and strong.” She stepped back from the groups, mirrored by the grandmasters. “Let the celebration begin and not end until tomorrow night!”
Once she was finished speaking, Grandmaster Yunlo removed the three of them from the arena floor.
The guards who had escorted the last group out spoke loudly, barely being heard over the crowd, “Follow us.”
~*~*~
Back at the clan hall, they were taken directly into the dining room. The table was covered in food and drinks. All members of the staff were standing by, greeting them as they entered. The seating arrangements put the parents on one side of the table, with their children across from them. Inda, Indara, and the staff all took seats, leaving just the one at the head of the table open.
Elder Lightshield entered the room, his cane making soft sounds on the floor. “Sorry for my slight delay,” he apologized. “I’m still getting used to being slower than I used to be. Everyone, please stay seated,” he said when he saw people starting to rise.
Easing himself into his seat, Lightshield set his cane aside. “This is a feast to celebrate our three novices all finishing in the top four. After the food, the clan will bestow gifts on them. Today, the name of the clan is again on the rise, while those opposing us are heading the other way just as sharply.”
Picking up the glass in front of him, Lightshield raised it. “To Bean, Pettit, and Warlin: your bright futures will surely guide the way for the clan, and perhaps even the empire. Together, you, and those that follow you, will show everyone how magi should comport themselves.”
The others cheered to the toast, and the feast began. The table held both aether-rich food and not, so everyone could enjoy themselves, and the drinks ranged from tea to very potent alcohol. Everyone was eating and drinking to their heart’s content.
Hao waited for everyone to be nearly done before he cleared his throat. “Elder, I do hope you don’t mind, but tomorrow is a momentous day.”
“Go ahead,” Lightshield said.
“Tomorrow, my daughter and her fiancé will marry,” Hao said. “You’ve all been invited to the marriage feast.”
Cheers went up from the table, and many kind words were said to the couple.
~*~*~
All eyes turned to Lightshield when the table was cleared of the feast remnants. “Ah yes, it’s time to bestow gifts. I will start with a gift to Yukiko Warlin. You fought well and hard, and I firmly believe that if you had faced Novice Parks, you would have taken third place. For you, there is this obi, made of the purest Leizu silk and enchanted with a pocket of storing. It also changes appearance based on what the wearer wishes it to look like, so it can always be worn.”
Yukiko accepted the gift, bowing to the elder. “I will treasure this. Thank you, Elder.”
“Next, for Gregory Pettit. I have an item you wanted.” Lightshield held out the boots from the auction house. “I do hope you have better luck figuring out their use than the grandmaster enchanter I had looking at them.”
Gregory took the boots with care. “I thank you, Elder.”
A number of puzzled looks were exchanged at the unremarkable boots and why Gregory seemed so happy with them.
“And last, but far from least— as she is the champion— Jenn Bean,” Elder Lightshield smiled. “This ring is said to have belonged to a woman held as a close associate of Aether. Now, that’s the legend my grandfather heard, so there’s no saying if it’s true or not. The ring is heavily enchanted. It will act as storage for you, but it can also store aether, much like your earrings, letting you use more aether as you fight and making you even more formidable.”
“Thank you, Elder,” Jenn said, accepting the ring and slipping it onto her finger.
“That ends the feast for tonight,” Lightshield said. “I look forward to the feast tomorrow.”
Everyone rose to their feet, and the party soon broke apart. Their parents headed out for the night and the novices retired to their rooms.
~*~*~
Going up the stairs after seeing their families off, all three novices felt weary. As they said good night, Gregory remembered the gift in his room.
“Yuki, since you gave me my present early, I’d like to do the same. It’s in my room.”
Jenn and Yukiko both raised their eyebrows, staring at him.
“Wait… no! That’s not—!” Gregory spluttered, realizing what it had sounded like.
Both women began to giggle at his panicked expression.
Yukiko was the one who was able to speak first, “Dear one, we know. Jenn’s allowed to see your gift, right?”
“Yes,” Gregory said, opening his door. “Come on in.”
Yukiko and Jenn moved to the table, taking seats and waiting for Gregory. Gregory sat across from them, wearing a hopeful but worried look on his face. “It’s not a gift like what you got me, Yuki… I was at a loss for a long time as to what you might want. I hope you like it,” Gregory said as he slid the cloth-wrapped item to her.
Yukiko accepted it and began untying the ribbon that held it closed. “It feels like a practical gift. I do prefer the practical over the ornamental. Did you ask my father about that?”
“No. He told me that after I had ordered this for you.”
“You did well, dear one. Even without asking, you knew that about me.”
With the ribbon undone, Yukiko began unfolding the cloth. When the book was revealed, Yukiko’s smile grew. “Very practical. This can help us immensely next year.”
“‘Commander Stratagems’,” Jenn read the cover, “‘Advanced Strategies for Empire’s Gambit’?”
“Yes,” Gregory said. “Since she’s been taking the role of the unit commander, it was something I felt she’d like.”
“You were right,” Yukiko said, leaning over the table and kissing him for a brief moment. “Foresight?” she asked.
“No,” Gregory said. “I tried, but I couldn’t get it to work. I went with what I thought you would prefer. I was happy when your father told me you like practical gifts.”
“I don’t recall you visiting a scrivener,” Jenn said.
“I slipped Steva a note, asking him to send for this book. It actually comes from the first real town near my home. The scrivener there once told me that if I needed more books, to remember him, so I felt it was only right to request this from him.”
“That explains what Quilet whispered to you the other night,” Yukiko nodded. “I’d wondered. He was smart to be vague about it.”
“I should get to bed,” Jenn said, starting to stand.
Yukiko rose with her. “I should go, too. If I’m left in here alone with him, I might fail… so close to the goal.”
“That’d be bad,” Gregory said. “Jenn, next time, I’ll win again.”
Jenn beamed at him. “Maybe, but my victory gives me hope. Good night to you both.” She quickly left the room.
Gregory was puzzled about her quick exit and her leaving the door open.
“She left it open so I wouldn’t be tempted to do things,” Yukiko sighed. “She’ll be good for us.”
“Huh?” Gregory said, turning back to Yukiko.
“After the wedding,” Yukiko said softly, touching his chest. “Please wait a little longer, dear one?”
“Yuki, why? You know I’d never tell you no when it’s something you want.”
“Because it’s something I want, but also something I don’t. It’s complicated and difficult. Just trust me, please? I’ll tell you, and you’ll be the one to decide.”
Gregory pulled her into his arms, the worry in her eyes making him want to comfort her. “I’ll wait. Tomorrow is our day. Marriage, feast, and then…” Taking a deep breath, he tried not to follow that train of thought.
“Yes. I’m nervous, too.”
The sound of footsteps got them to separate, both of them slightly flushed. When they looked at the door, they found Inda watching them.
“Inda?” Yukiko asked.
“I was asked to check in with you,” Inda said with a slight smile. “Do you need anything before you sleep?”
“No,” Yukiko said, stepping past Gregory and heading for the door. “We were just saying good night.”
“Yuki? Your gift?” Gregory asked, picking up the book.
“Oh, yes.” Yukiko took the book and gave him a strained smile. “Tomorrow…”
“Tomorrow,” Gregory replied.
Inda gave him a small sympathetic shrug as she shut the door.
Taking a deep breath, Gregory got ready for bed, his gaze settling on his clothing for tomorrow. When he climbed into his bedroll, Gregory’s mind ran off in a million directions and sleep seemed to be so far away.
A single thought made him frown, and his brain slowed down. Darkness never talked to me the other night after we ranked up… and why did it happen so much later than we had anticipated?
As if thinking her name was a charm, Gregory yawned, sleepiness hitting him like a runaway carriage. Eyes growing heavy, he tried to hold to the thought, but couldn’t.
