The fights went on for hours. Gregory and his wives watched each match intently, hoping they could recall them later. Hayworth won his, but he took a wound to his left calf before he did. The only thing of note was Buldoun’s shadow mage using the shadows to collect her thrown daggers.
Jason lost his match to a fire mage— he’d pushed through the fire and managed to hurt his opponent, but the second blast of flame had him writhing on the ground. Parks beat the earth mage, using his force walls to close the distance. The tournament was paused for longer than normal, as that poor mage had several broken ribs. They needed to bring a healer out to help him, as the damage was severe.
Kang was matched up against a water mage— the mage did their best, but he had no real chance. Kang didn’t crush the poor guy. Instead, he’d broken a single arm, then allowed the young mage to quit. The water mage took the offer, as his spiked whip never came close to hitting Kang.
Jenn got matched up against a mage from Wolf House who used a zweihander. He was her match as a physical enhancement magic user, but it became clear as the fight went on that Jenn had better control of her aether. Her level of control allowed her to outlast her foe and win. Yukiko had a mirror match-up to what Hayworth had, facing a spatial mage. She took some shuriken with her, then stayed at range and kept throwing and retrieving her weapons. She wore down her foe, who never knew when or where the next shuriken would hit her.
Binder lost against a fellow wind user. The mage was able to split their wind blades into multiple smaller parts. At the end of the fight, both were bleeding, but Binder was gashed all over and had resigned.
With all the matches done for the day, Gregory was amused. His clan had won every fight, but both Swift Wind and the Eternal Flame had lost some. That had the empire with seven wins against the two of Buldoun’s mages. Aether’s Guard and Swift Wind stayed in the waiting area, and the Eternal Flame had left.
Binder was the last fight of the day and, when he lost, Hayworth sighed. “He’s our weakest, but when we fight with him, he’ll do much better.”
“Most of the fights were evenly matched,” Jenn said.
“I’d agree with that,” Kang nodded. “My fight and Yukiko’s were not fair to them.”
Binder leaned against the wall beside the door. “Sorry, Hayworth.”
“You did your best,” Hayworth replied. “Could you do what he did?”
“I’m not sure. Never tried to split my wind blades.”
“What path are you on?” Gregory asked.
Hayworth was quick to answer before Binder, “Why?”
“We have a wind magi in the clan. Her teacher was saying that it takes a mind path magi to really split their magic like that.”
“I’m mind. I’ll work on it,” Binder said.
“What was that exercise you were doing before the fights?” Kang asked.
“The Peaceful Fist,” Yukiko smiled. “It was created by Lionel Lighthand. He said it would train either the spirit or body path of those who did it.”
“Which explains you three,” Hayworth said. “Jenn is obviously on the body path, but you two have confused me time and again. Spirit path would make some sense, but your Magi Squares…” Hayworth trailed off, lost in thought.
“We should be going,” Gregory said. “I’m sure Lightshield will want to speak with us.”
“I would say so. You’re the only clan to not lose a single fight,” Kang chuckled. “We’ll do better next time.”
“Depending on who we end up against,” Gregory nodded.
Rafiq stood up, collecting his things. “I’d say the empire was well represented today. A majority of our apprentices won.”
“Agreed,” Egil said. “Your decorum was better than others.”
“With some clans, that is a very low bar to clear,” Hayworth chuckled. “Good day, Armsmaster.”
“Good day.”
Gregory and his wives let Swift Wind file out first.
As they went to leave, Rafiq cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Gregory. How are the books doing for you?”
“We’re learning a lot,” Gregory said. “I could give you back—”
“Let your friends take them back to the archive,” Rafiq cut him off gently. “I’m sure they will visit when they return.”
“They will,” Yukiko agreed.
“Good day, Apprentices,” Rafiq bowed.
“Good day, Rafiq,” they replied, bowing just as formally back to him.
As they left the waiting area, they found Hemet and the rest of the clan, minus Lightshield, waiting for them. “Well done. You have shown the strength and honor of Aether’s Guard today. The rest of the day is yours. If you wish to go back to the tents first, you can walk with me.”
“We would like to, sir,” Gregory said.
“Then follow,” Hemet said with a smile.
As they joined their friends, Mindie asked if they were okay. They assured her that they were as they followed the grandmaster.
When they got back to the clan area, Hemet went to his shared tent with Lightshield. Gregory slowed his pace and looked at the tent, worry for the elder rising in his heart. Shaking his head, he hurried after the others going to his tent.
“Welcome home, Magi,” Elsa said brightly, giving them a curtsy. “I have everything in order, and will get dinner when you are ready.”
“We’d like to clean up first, Elsa,” Yukiko said, brushing at her kimono.
Elsa looked like she wanted to ask, but just nodded. “Give me a moment and I’ll fetch the water and get it heating.”
“I’ll go fill the tubs, Elsa,” Roshana said.
“I’ll get them heated,” Clover said, going with Roshana.
“We won, Elsa,” Jenn chuckled. “All three of us won our fights today.”
Elsa beamed at her. “I had no doubt.”
“I did,” Gregory grunted. “The guy I fought was fast, strong, and had more aether than we do. Jenn might outlast him with her control, but Yuki will have trouble with him.”
“I’m not looking forward to that fight,” Yukiko sighed. “I’ll do my best, but I will surrender before he breaks me. Shadow magi are not suited to fighting physical enhancement magi, especially one that is a tier above us.”
Elsa chewed her lip as she listened. “You’ll be safe, right?”
“We will,” Jenn said, shifting to give Elsa a hug. “After we clean up, we were thinking of going into the bazaar again. You should come with us. We’ll get dinner while we’re out.”
“I should stay and clean…” Elsa said softly. “I want to go, but I have a job to do, and I shouldn’t fail you.”
“You’ll have from the time we leave tomorrow until we get home to get work done,” Yukiko said gently. “We’ll be having dinner with my parents then. We’re balancing our desire to be with you against your need to learn the job and prove yourself.”
“Okay…” Elsa whispered, hugging Jenn back briefly. “How did you all win?”
“Well, my match wasn’t fun,” Gregory said. “You see…”
~*~*~
Once they’d finished bathing, the group headed into the tent city, or “bazaar,” as Roshana had called it. Elsa walked in the middle of the group, as she’d almost been separated from them a few times. The crowds were much thicker today, but everyone still gave room to the magi.
They didn’t have anything specific to buy, and were more just browsing and enjoying their time together. A few new merchants had popped up at the edges of the encampment— one of them had bane cores for sale, so Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn purchased a lot of them. They had enchantments that needed cores, so it seemed prudent to make sure they were ready to replenish their stock. Clover and Ling bought out the last of the cores, making the merchant delighted. He asked if they needed more, and then promised to bring some in two days, the earliest he could resupply.
Besides that, they found a vendor selling flowers. Yukiko pulled Elsa into the small tent, asking her to explain which she preferred and which she thought would be best for each of the group. The merchant laughed, thoroughly enjoying the child with so much knowledge of flowers. When Elsa finished, Yukiko led her out of the tent, praising her knowledge. Gregory slipped in and bought one flower of each kind that Elsa said was best for each person. The merchant gave him a smirk and wink, more than happy to help the young man maybe find a lucky night.
As they walked toward the next tent, Gregory caught up to them. “Ladies, a moment?”
They all turned toward him. Yukiko was smiling, as he’d caught her reasoning for asking Elsa. “Yes, dear one?”
“I have gifts for all of my friends,” Gregory said, handing each one of them their flower. “A very special person told me these would be perfect for you.”
Elsa’s eyes were wide, and a broad smile filled her face as she waited for him to reach her. When Gregory got to her, he knelt and threaded the stem into her braid.
“For a special friend,” Gregory said. “Are you hungry?”
“A little,” Elsa admitted. She wanted to hug him, but she knew she shouldn’t in public.
“Then let’s go find something new,” Gregory said. “Roshana, why don’t you pick the vendor?”
“Hmm, very well. I thought I smelled something familiar a short while ago,” Roshana said, taking the lead.
Jenn and Yukiko flanked Gregory as they went, both briefly taking his hand in theirs.
“Well done, dear one,” Jenn giggled. “They all loved it.”
“Yes. Elsa most of all. It proves how much you listen to what she says,” Yukiko smiled.
“I bet the others press theirs to keep them,” Jenn whispered to Gregory, the bustle of the crowd keeping her words from the others.
“Maybe,” Gregory smiled. “I’m fine with that. I know you both approve of them just like Darkness does. I’m working on doing the same now so, when the time comes, I’m less awkward.”
His wives were smiling happily as they trailed their friends.
