They were all changed and waiting for Hemet when he arrived. “Very good. Before we go, there is a simple matter that I have to teach you all: the age day ritual. For all of you, it should be trivial. For those who haven’t progressed the body path, it can be painful to them. Do any of you recall the words?”
Roshana cleared her throat. “If I may?”
“Go ahead.”
“‘Child, you come before me on the verge of adulthood. Today is your age day, and you should rejoice. Today also marks the chance for you to join the ranks of the magi. Let us see if you have the spark of Aether inside of you. Aether, have you blessed this child with your grace?’” Roshana said the speech with reverence. She held her hand out in front of her, like she was touching someone’s head.
“Very well done, Roshana,” Hemet smiled fondly. “That is indeed what the proctors are taught when they go from village to village. Many use a variation of their own, as the only words that truly matter are the last line.”
“‘Aether, have you blessed this child with your grace?’” Clover asked to clarify.
“Correct. When you recite that, you push a spark of your aether through your hand and into the person kneeling before you. If they have no spark, it will cause them pain and they will collapse. Only hold it for a few heartbeats, as that is all it requires. If they are magi, they will feel the pain, but their aether will spark, igniting. It will coat them briefly and extinguish the pain.”
“Will we be administering the rite?” Ling asked.
“Those of you in the city will not. Not for the time you are there, at least. But if you are in a town or village, you may be asked by the resident magi to assist them. If you are on the fringe and the proctor is delayed, you will also have to administer the rite.”
“If we do administer the rite, then we have to pay for drinks afterward to celebrate the new adults or magi, right?” Gregory asked.
“Oh, Bishop…” Hemet chuckled. “No, that’s not a normal part of the duty. Bishop has always spent her own money to do so.”
“I had no idea…” Gregory murmured.
“Harrison didn’t pay for any drinks,” Yukiko said.
The others agreed that their age day came with no celebratory drinks, either.
“Now that I have discharged my…” Hemet coughed, his voice having gotten rough. “My last duty from Lightshield, it is time for the feast.” He looked at each of them in turn, then gave Elsa a soft smile. “I will bring them back tonight. Be prepared for your own parting tomorrow, little one. Remember that it isn’t goodbye. It’s merely farewell.”
Elsa swallowed, her head held high. “I know, Honored Magi. My duty here and now is done, but I have other duties to fulfill so my place is secured for me.”
Hemet’s smile faded again. “He saw them. Hold fast to your dreams. Aether will be watching.”
Elsa curtsied. “I am his scion, sir. He watches over me always.”
Hemet’s smile came back. “To be as free as a child again… ah, there are days I wish I was.” Shaking his head, he gave his clan a smile. “Do you have your preferred postings?”
“We do,” Gregory said, handing over the rewritten lists. This way, their handwriting matched their preferred locations.
“Very good,” Hemet smiled when he examined them. “I’m sure he will do his best for you. Now, follow me.”
There was a secured entrance into the arena not far from where they’d been staying. The empire guards let them pass without a problem, even drawing themselves up to honor the group passing them. Led out onto the arena floor, they found a grand pavilion set up with a dozen tables under it. The others were already there, mingling near the tables.
“There is no seating arrangement,” Hemet said as he led them, “so sit as you wish. Reminisce over the tournament and friendships you’ve made. After dinner, there will be speeches and rewards given out. When it ends, I will lead you back to where you are staying.”
“Hemet, where have you been staying since…?” Gregory trailed off.
“With the Iron Hand. Our allies have cared for me over the last few days.” With that, Hemet headed toward Klim, waving to her as he approached.
“Circulate first,” Yukiko said. “Cover ground in twos or threes. This is good training for later.”
“Ling, with me, please,” Jenn said.
“Clover, if you don’t mind?” Yukiko smiled.
“Roshana,” Mindie said, taking her hand briefly, “us and Gregory.”
Gregory blinked at how quickly they split apart before he turned to Roshana and Mindie. “Yuki said this might happen?”
“Yes. She thought it might end this way,” Roshana replied.
“Talked about it during the tournament?” Gregory asked.
“Before we split apart,” Mindie smiled. “Shall we start with those we didn’t befriend as much?”
“Stallo and Boar House, it is,” Gregory agreed.
~*~*~
The conversations had been pleasant. Gregory noticed that everyone seemed to be smiling and having a good time. He thought it was possible that the friendships they’d started would endure past this event.
Their chat with Stallo and his allies had been focused mostly on the fights before Empire’s Gambit. Before they separated, Stallo brought the topic to Egil. Gregory relayed some of what Egil had been known for over his lifetime, and Stallo nodded in appreciation.
Chatting with Adriana and Pavil was fun, but they both wanted to know what’d happened with Claudia. He gave them abridged editions of the events. Adriana asked to see the shadow ring, so he’d handed it to her briefly. She’d instantly used her shadow to appear behind Jessica, then flashed back to just behind Gregory. Gregory took his ring back, giving her an unamused look as he explained that she’d likely just drained it.
Adriana was contrite, even offering him bane cores in apology. When he explained it took pushing aether into it, she grabbed his hand and expended the majority of hers refilling it.
“That’s fine,” Gregory sighed. “We still have dinner to get through.”
“Sorry. I always wanted to feel the difference between a shadow leap and a spatial rift,” Adriana said. “Between the two, I prefer spatial.”
Jessica appeared behind her. “Because you lack the love of shadows.”
Adriana let out an aborted scream, spinning on Jessica. “I deserve that.”
“Since you did it to me, yes,” Jessica said. “Do you mind if I take Greg away for a bit?”
“Not at all,” Adriana said. “Come on, Pavil. I want to go speak to the Swift Wind clan.”
“Good. I wanted to ask Oliver about his progress with multiple wind blades,” Pavil said.
“Congratulations on your wedding,” Jessica said to Mindie.
“Thank you. It was different, but I will always treasure it.”
“You wanted to talk to us?” Roshana asked.
“Greg never got the chance to meet my sister,” Jessica said, leading them away from where they’d been.
A woman stood off to the side, wearing a Buldoun officer’s uniform. She was alone, eyeing the room with a hint of disdain. Jessica went right for her, and Gregory nodded, as the resemblance was easy to see.
“Brinda, this is Greg, Mindie, and Roshana,” Jessica said.
Brinda had two different features from her sister— she didn’t have a panther’s ears, but she did have the tail. Brinda turned to them, then bowed formally. “A pleasure to meet you. I’m Brinda Hofen, cadet of the officer college.”
“You were on the field against the town,” Roshana said.
Brinda grimaced. “I was. They should have listened to me.”
“Oh?” Gregory asked.
“I advised that we should have one of us three swing wide and go after your magi in the far towns. They said splitting our forces like that would only invite disaster. I told them that sieging an empire town guarded by magi was even more idiotic.”
“You were right,” Jessica snorted.
“Of course I was, but like you, I have to fight uphill.”
“Because of your heritage?” Mindie asked.
“And being one of the few women in the school,” Brinda snorted.
“If you had, you might’ve been able to cut off Clover and Ling. Stallo and Ivan could have caught them,” Roshana said.
“It wasn’t like you four were going to rush out to stop me. I tried to explain that, but no,” She exhaled roughly. “Idiots.”
“They’re everywhere,” Gregory agreed. “Your plan would’ve made the game different and given your side a real chance.”
“Doesn’t matter now. I have submitted my report. It will clash with the others, but I do not care. In two months, I will be in the field with men. They will follow me, not others. I will show them what someone dedicated can do.”
“I hope we never meet, then,” Gregory said, extending his hand to her. “I would hate to clash with someone who has such clarity and potential.”
Brinda stared at him, then smiled. “Agreed. I do not want to fight a foresight magi, either.”
The conversation slipped from the tournament to Brinda asking them how they felt her sister did. Brinda made it clear that she was the older sister by five minutes, making Jessica grumble about how that shouldn’t count.
~*~*~
Food was called for not long after, and the meal was a lavish feast with many foods from both countries. Gregory was amused to find himself at a table with Yukiko, Hemet, Laozi, Jessica, Brinda, Adrianna, and Aliminus.
When the feasting finally came to an end, both Laozi and Aliminus stood up. They waited for the noise to stop and for everyone to pay attention before Laozi motioned to Aliminus.
“Thank you,” Aliminus said before he looked over those present. “We arranged for this tournament to inspire friendly relationships between our nations. It has been noted that possible friendships have begun, and we celebrate this. Each side gave their very best effort during every moment. Some of us can improve, and a few were nearly peerless. Learn from what has happened, and grow.” Aliminus motioned to Laozi.
“Thank you, Archmage,” Laozi said. “Friendships came for many of you, some found rivalries to fuel them, and we almost had two disasters. Overall, this was a successful event. We will look to do similar again in the future. Let your losses push you to strive harder and your successes make you dig to become more powerful, as those you bested will try to best you next time. With this tournament concluded, there is just one last moment to address: some of you have distinguished yourselves, either in combat or with your tactics. We will take this moment to reward you.”
Aliminus cleared his throat. “Yes. We will each be selecting three students from the other nation to reward. These are based solely on our thoughts on which of you deserve this acknowledgement. Shall I begin, Sage Windfoot?”
“Be my guest.”
“For the planned tactic of using obscure rules to force a confrontation, it was devious and clearly favored you. Well done. Jenn Pettit, you have been awarded a full set of superior armor for your men. It will be delivered to them before you arrive.”
Jenn blinked, then bowed in her seat. “Thank you, sir.”
“I call out another who had the right tactics, but failed to follow them. They were the right choices— may your report be reviewed so others can learn from it,” Laozi said. “Brinda Hofen, you will be given a writ of release for you alone. If, at any time, you face the empire and are captured, you need only present it. You will be escorted to the nearest safe haven of your choice and released.”
Brinda blinked in surprise. “I will keep it safe, sir.”
“If the magi or commander fails to honor it, ask to speak with me. I will make sure that I am informed if you do. My words still have some weight.”
Brinda bowed to the sage. “Yes, sir.”
“Next, an opening ploy that baited Buldoun into starting a war,” Aliminus said, turning to Klein Armit. “Very astute, young magi. How did you know that the war had not been declared yet?”
Klein stood up, a detached look to his features. “Sir, there was no indication in the village that anything more than skirmishes had happened. I’m sure you know that my first two turns were establishing facts of what had transpired on the border over the last year. With that known, and knowing that young commanders are prone to wanting to prove themselves, I set my plan into motion.”
“Bullshit.” The word was soft, but a gust of wind seemed to amplify it.
Everyone turned to look at Petar. His eyes went wide and he’d started to stammer something out, but Aliminus made a cutting gesture and Petar was gone.
“I will not tolerate pettiness at the last step,” Aliminus said firmly. “As I had been saying, Magi Armit, you shall find the best weapons Buldoun can produce given to your men. That kind of planning is something the young commanders of my country can learn from.”
“Thank you, sir,” Klein said, his voice still detached as he bowed and sat down.
“For my second person to be rewarded,” Laozi smiled, “Adriana Locus. You might have felt like your efforts were not noticed, considering your august ally. That was not the case. I found you controlled, tactical, and able to adapt as needed. I shall make sure you have additives worthy of my own personage, diluted down to your rank, for the next year. I will also have a text of advanced spatial magic teachings sent to you.”
Adriana blinked, but quickly bowed. “Thank you, sir.”
“Which brings us to the last one for me to acknowledge,” Aliminus said. “It should come as no surprise as to who it is. Magi Gregory Pettit, you went undefeated in the fighting tournament, did not give any pushback when we asked you not to compete in the Empire’s Gambit tournament, and twice saved my apprentice, Claudia Firetongue. In addition to those feats, you forged friendships with numerous mages in multiple houses. You exemplified the heart of this tournament in many ways. I will be sending weapons and armor to your men, but on top of that, I will give you this.”
Aliminus approached Gregory, holding out a round metal disk etched with an asp on one side, and a staff and crown on the other. “This is a favor of the archmage. Only a few dozen have ever been handed out over the history of Buldoun. Present this to any person of power in Buldoun and they will assist you as if I had requested it from them personally. They will return the token to me after completing your request.”
Gregory accepted the coin, then stood to bow as a Buldoun native to the archmage. “I am honored, sir. I did as my clan and country would want. I hope that those present will continue to harbor the friendships that we started for years to come.”
Aliminus stepped back, then bowed slightly to him in return. “May the goodwill last for generations.”
Laozi waited before gliding forward. “I shall now present my last reward. I chose Jessica Hofen. You were a threat to all you personally faced, and you led your team with skill, cunning, and bravery. But even more, you knew when a fight should be stopped. I shall be having the best additives sent to you for your use while you attend college, along with a pair of daggers that favor a shadow mage, and a text of advanced shadow magic teachings. I hope they serve you well.”
Jessica bowed deeply. “Thank you, sir. I will treasure them.”
“That concludes the tournament,” Aliminus said. “You may stay to speak for as long as you wish.” He vanished a second later.
“Good evening to you all,” Laozi said, floating into the sky before floating away from the arena.
