Gregory smiled when he woke up— he never grew tired of having his wives beside him. His smile faded a little when he thought about what the next two years would mean. A year of only seeing them occasionally, then a year of not seeing them at all… but we’ll have our magus posting together. Huh… which postings have three magus-tier magi gathered in the same place? That had him thinking for a few moments, until his wives stirred.
“Good morning, dear one,” Gregory murmured, kissing Yukiko’s head. “And to you as well, my heart,” he added, kissing Jenn’s head.
“Yes. Good morning,” Yukiko murmured back, kissing his chest. She reached across him to stroke Jenn’s hair. “And to you, our fierce fighter.”
“To you both, as well,” Jenn yawned as she woke up slowly.
“Magi Squares, meditation, and finally, breakfast,” Gregory said quietly as Yukiko got out of bed.
“Need to ask Rafiq about the books, too,” Jenn added as she followed her.
“Yeah. I’ll do that after Magi Squares,” Gregory exhaled and stretched.
The three of them dressed for the day, finishing just before the others showed up. Gregory let the other women into the room. “Good morning, ladies. I’ll be stepping out for a bit after Magi Squares to ask Rafiq about books.”
“Oh? We might get to read today, then,” Clover grinned.
“Are we going to ride in a single carriage all day again?” Mindie asked.
“For the first part of today, you, Jenn, and I will be in the second carriage,” Yukiko replied. “We have some questions for you.”
Mindie bowed her head. “I understand, Yuki.”
Jenn giggled and touched her shoulder. “It’s not bad. She asked me questions for months before we approached Greg. You only get a half-day. I think that’s pretty light.”
“We’ll all be pulled aside like this in the future?” Ling asked.
“Yes. It’s another part of what I want, so I can feel comfortable with where you stand,” Yukiko smiled.
“We understand, Yuki,” Roshana said.
“That means we get Greg for the first part of today,” Clover smiled.
Gregory blinked as he looked at the three smiling women, his cheeks heating as his mind supplied possible ideas of what they could all do.
Jenn giggled. “Dear one, are you thinking of things?”
Gregory covered his face with his hands. “Yes…”
“Not yet, our heart,” Yukiko snickered. “We have to do Magi Squares, first.”
Gregory was glad for that, but he still caught the glances and grins from the others. He tried to squash all the improper thoughts and was mostly successful, though he did take longer than normal to finish his Magi Squares.
When they were all done, he left the room while the others meditated. Shaking his head at his own thoughts from earlier, he went to Rafiq’s room and knocked.
Rafiq opened the door a minute later. “Please, come in. How may I assist you, Gregory?”
Stepping into the room and shutting the door, Gregory corrected Rafiq, “Greg, please? I consider you a friend. I have for some time now.”
“Very well, Greg.”
“Thanks. I had some questions about what books you might have, and if we could borrow them to read during the trip.”
“Ah, knowledge is good. Which books?”
“The one about the Resonant Mind was one of them.”
Rafiq smiled, showing off some of his teeth. “I thought you might ask after I spoke about it.”
“We also wondered if there was a text on hiding your power, like the sage did when we first met him. We had no idea he was even a magi.”
Rafiq’s smile grew wider, showing all of his teeth. “I happen to have that book with me. It is similar to how a magi can exude their power, but much harder to do. In fact, only those who touch the spirit path have managed it.”
“Might we borrow them to study and learn?”
Rafiq chuckled as he produced two slim books. “Just treat them well. These are copies, so do not worry about returning them to me quickly.”
Gregory accepted them, storing them in his ring. “I had an idle question… has there ever been any text on combining the mind and body paths?”
Rafiq’s smile couldn’t get any wider. “Never. There are older books that tried to understand why spirit was compatible with either, but why that pair weren’t with each other. I do not have any of those books on me.”
“So the emblem on Aether’s temples might be seen as an indicator?”
“So young and already seeing things that elders don’t see or just ignore… Yes. The lotus flower is between the brain and the arm, which could be seen to indicate that the spirit path could combine with either side.”
“But there are no books about combining all three paths?”
“Some believe that Aether was the only one who could. Some might see that as disrespectful to the emperor, so it isn’t discussed in today’s society, but if you continue to read Lighthand’s journals, you will see his thoughts on that. That, and other things that are not viewed well.”
“I will make sure to keep that in mind. Thank you, Rafiq.” Gregory bowed formally to the crocodilian eurtik.
Rafiq shook his head, bowing back. “It is the pleasure of an archivist to help a young mind flourish. Go study with your friends, and learn well. I will see you at breakfast.”
“Of course,” Gregory said, turning to the door. He paused before opening it. “We’ve stayed at eurtik-run or eurtik-friendly establishments the entire trip so far. Are you the only support staff who is eurtik?”
“No, but we are spread out among the clans.”
“But we only have you and Egil?”
“I was tasked with recording Magi-killer’s life, or as much as I can get him to tell me,” Rafiq replied. “He is one of the rare few who has become an armsmaster of multiple weapons. His thoughts on how armsmasters are treated and how he has managed to duel and kill magus-tier magi are worth preserving for posterity.”
“So you two share a carriage alone?”
“Yes, while the others are full or near full,” Rafiq chuckled. “I find no reason to change this arrangement.”
Gregory chuckled along with him. “I can see why. I’m surprised Magus Erichson hasn’t been by to spar with Egil, though.”
“Magus Erichson is teaching the tactics class since Magi-killer is here.”
“Who’s in charge of the Iron Hand, then?”
“Magus Klim. Magus Dunn is in charge of Shining Light, and Magus Harrison leads the Swift Wind clan on the trip. Magus Elkit handed his leadership duties to the clan inside the walls to Magus Barlz, so that he could be here for the Eternal Flame.”
Gregory nodded slowly as he took in the information. “So Elkit is the one we should worry about the most… The others are friendly-ish, at least.” He paused. “How do you know all that?”
“I am the archivist for the trip. I know everyone who is present,” Rafiq smiled.
“Huh… okay. Thank you again, Rafiq.” Gregory bowed formally once more.
“You are welcome, Greg,” Rafiq bowed back as the apprentice left the room.
~*~*~
Yukiko smiled when she found Gregory meditating beside her as the hour chimed. “What did Rafiq have to say, dear one?”
Gregory blinked as his meditation ended, then saw everyone focused on him. “He gave me the two books we hoped he’d have. Told me there’s no rush to return them, as they’re copies.”
“We’ll have a lot to learn over the next few days,” Jenn grinned.
“He also told me who’s in charge of each clan with us. I didn’t pay attention when we were leaving.” Seeing them all waiting, he continued, “Elkit, Klim, Dunn, and Harrison.”
“Not Erichson?” Roshana asked.
“He took over the class, since Egil is here.”
“Dunn has always been fair to us, and Harrison mellowed after he started speaking with Bishop,” Jenn said.
“Klim is friendly,” Clover smiled.
“While Elkit wants to see us all killed…” Ling said softly.
“Three friendly or not hostile is still much better than I thought it would be,” Yukiko said. “I noticed during our short march on the first day that not all of the apprentices came with us.”
“What?” Gregory asked.
“The Eternal Flame and Swift Wind groups were smaller than expected. It might be a limit agreed to by the academy and Buldoun, or they left some behind to try winning the tournament, since we’re all here.”
“Did you see who was with them?” Mindie asked.
“Nick, Jason, and Parks were the only three apprentices in the Eternal Flame group. I saw Hayworth, Vincent, and Oliver for the Swift Wind.”
“Vincent was the physical enhancement magi who was removed from the tournament,” Jenn murmured. “Oliver is their wind magi.”
“Since they each only brought three, do you think it’s limited to three per team?” Ling asked.
“Oh, but that still gives us the best team,” Clover smiled.
“Maybe,” Gregory chuckled. “Both would be hard fights. We shouldn’t be fighting each other, though.”
“In theory, but if we end up on the same field with them, we need to watch our backs,” Yukiko said. “Nick’s group would love an ‘accident’ to happen to us.”
“True,” Gregory admitted. “We have no idea what we’ll face until it’s time.”
“It’s time for breakfast,” Roshana said as she stood.
“Yes, it is,” Yukiko agreed.
They were down to the private dining room quickly, but still the last to arrive.
Lightshield waited for them to sit down, then cleared his throat. “Before we eat, there is something I need to address, not that it applies to our group. If or when you take the time to see any city or town we pause in, make sure to comport yourselves properly.”
“We would never tarnish the clan, sir,” Gregory said, wondering about why they were being told this.
“I have no doubt of that, but I was told to tell you by the overseer. This message is being relayed to all clans.”
“There was an incident?” Yukiko asked.
Lightshield’s lips twitched. “Two clans happened to bump into each other last night, shortly after the sage left dinner. He was there just after the incident.”
“Eternal Flame and who?” Jenn asked.
“Swift Wind,” Lightshield replied.
“Hayworth and Nick hate each other,” Gregory nodded.
“Injuries happened on both sides, along with a handful of innocent people,” Lightshield said. “Now that my task is done, we may eat, and then get on the road.”
