The day passed with Gregory working hard on everything he’d learned about handling a horse. When dinner came, he addressed his men, explaining to all of them what they should prepare for. Gregory missed having any of his wives beside him when he went to bed. He was unsure if they’d let Mindie spend the night with Jenn, or if they’d allow her to be with him after her.
Breakfast was done, and a squire came up to Gregory, advising him of the hour he needed to be mounted and ready to be taken for his test. Since he had most of the day, he trained with his men. The Peaceful Fist and weapons practice took up most of the morning for Gregory. He was able to march with his men a couple of times before he had to get ready for his test.
When the time came, he was met by Willof, who nodded to him. “Pettit, follow me. Do not talk with anyone else during the ride.”
“Yes, sir,” Gregory said, mounting the gelding. “Ready, boy?”
Willof chuckled. “I’m curious if you can live up to riding him.”
“I don’t think me having a horse named ‘Legacy’ will be a problem, sir.”
“Let’s find out,” Willof chuckled. “Come on, Peace.” He nudged the mare into a walk.
The ride took them around the outside of the campgrounds. Gregory caught sight of some old faces, including Jason Argon, which made him wonder about Nick Shun. Pushing the thought aside, he took a slow breath, trying to focus on what was in front of him.
Gregory wondered why they paused outside an arena. There was clearly a gate to lead them in, but it was closed. “The test is inside?”
“It is. I can tell you now that your test is set specifically for you. It isn’t the same for everyone. An earth magi would handle combat differently than a fire or water magi. The first part is a simple riding test to see if they should even let you attempt combat. I trust you not to fail.”
“I will not fail, sir.”
“Good.”
After a minute, a horse eurtik opened the doors for them, bowing them to enter. Gregory’s lips twitched down at how subservient the eurtik acted, but he followed Willof inside. They were in a waiting area; the bars straight across from them were just lowering after Jenn rode out of the space.
“We wait for her to finish,” Willof said as he dismounted. “It’ll be a while, if you want to stretch your legs.” He handed his reins to the eurtik. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sir,” the man replied as he led the mare to the side.
“Might as well,” Gregory said, dismounting and letting the groom take Legacy from him.
Walking over to the bars leading to the arena area, Gregory watched Jenn to better understand what he would be doing.
The first part of the test was simple: Jenn had to ride her mount at different speeds around, over, and under obstacles. Gregory exhaled slowly when one of the posts she went under dropped another couple of inches right before she reached it. Jenn was able to avoid being knocked off, but she clearly took the surprise badly, as her eyes had narrowed.
“The judges are watching from directly above us,” Willof said softly.
“I should expect a trick or two, obviously,” Gregory said a little stiffly.
“War’s all about adjusting to the unexpected.”
“Treat it like war?” Gregory asked.
“I would.”
“Very well, Captain.”
Willof’s brow furrowed as Gregory kept his gaze locked on Jenn.
A whistle blew and Jenn trotted toward the bars. She gave Gregory a smile before looking above the archway.
“You are a physical enhancement user, so your second test will be adjusted accordingly. You are to kill all the black figures. You will be penalized for harming any blue ones. The only rule is staying on your mount. Do you understand?”
“I do, General,” Jenn replied.
“It will take a few minutes to set up the arena. You may talk with your spouse.”
“Thank you, sir.” Jenn bowed in the saddle, then nudged her stallion a little closer to the bars. “Greg, watch carefully. I saw Yuki do this, and she had to not just kill some, but rescue two, as well. There’s no saying what they’ll do for yours.”
“I doubt they’ve ever tested foresight,” Gregory replied softly. “They might overcompensate based on reports of what I can do.” He gave her a smile. “I believe in you, my heart. Show them what you can do.”
Jenn gave him a wink. “I will, but more importantly, I’ll show you what I can do.”
“How did Yuki’s test go?”
“I think she did wonderfully, but they didn’t say anything. She had the two rescued in a single minute, riding around sight-obstructing barriers to find them. Then, she slaughtered her foes with shadow blades; she never drew her sword.”
“A wakizashi is at a disadvantage on horseback,” Willof said.
Jenn gave a small nod, but didn’t speak.
Gregory grinned at her. She was wearing her sword, not a training blade. “They don’t know, do they?”
“I never used it in front of Ella,” Jenn smirked back. “So no, it’s doubtful that they do.”
“What?” Willof asked.
“Just watch,” Gregory chuckled. “My wife is full of surprises.”
It took some time, but eventually, Jenn was called. She gave Gregory one last long look before she turned her stallion to face the arena. A few seconds later, a whistle blew and she kicked her horse into a run.
Fifteen-foot-tall barriers blocked line of sight to parts of the arena, but the wooden dummies were painted so it was easy to tell friend from foe. Gregory could also see the pivots on some of them; when Jenn hit those, they would spin, swinging a weapon around at her. Those could’ve been a problem with a wakizashi, but as Jenn took off, her sword became an odachi. Blue flames coated her arm and the enlarged sword, so each effortless swing cleaved through the dummies with ease.
Jenn could’ve done it faster on foot, but she was just as flawless on horseback. She came trotting back to the judges when a whistle blew. Letting her sword shrink back down, she sheathed it as she watched the men in the stands.
“Your sword has a rare enchantment,” Ironhand said. “Who made it?”
“It was crafted at Shieldbreaker’s Armory, sir.”
“That dwarf did you a favor. Thank him the next time you see him.”
“I will, sir.”
“You are done. Exit through the far gate. Your advisor will meet you there.”
“Yes, sir.” Jenn bowed to them before she turned to ride away.
Gregory caught her proud smile, giving her a wink as she turned away.
“Her sword made that far easier,” Willof chuckled. “She just bested their best estimate for her, I do not doubt.”
“Will that hinder her?” Gregory asked.
“No. They set the parameters on what they know. If an initiate has an unknown advantage, well… that’s war.”
“I wish I had something as special,” Gregory sighed as he accepted the horse from the groom. “Thank you, sir.”
The eurtik bowed low to Gregory. “It is my honor to serve, Magi. Best of luck.”
“Aether willing,” Gregory said as he climbed up into the saddle.
“I will see you at the end,” Willof said, extending his hand to Gregory. “Best of luck, Pettit.”
Gregory clasped hands with Willof. “Thank you, sir. I won’t beat Jenn, but I’ll do my very best.”
A minute later, the bars began to rise, and Gregory took a deep breath. Pushing his worry out of his mind, he let resonance encompass him. As he rode out of the waiting area, he could feel the three powerful men above him. None of them felt false, but none of them felt solid to him, letting Gregory know that this test would be fair.
The first part was just like Jenn’s had been. He rode with foresight up, so the three surprises they had for him were easily dealt with. When he was called to the judges, he watched them carefully.
“Did you use foresight, magi?” Ruzi asked.
“Knowing there would be problems to overcome, yes. I was told to treat this as war, sir.”
Zhu’s lips ticked briefly up. “You are only an initiate. You can’t keep your foresight up forever.”
“I don’t need forever, sir. I just need it during the tests.”
“You know what comes next, Pettit,” Ironhand said. “We have a problem with you, though. Foresight magic is basically unknown. Your elder never disclosed what he could do with his magic to anyone. All we have are the notes you gave to Master Damon, which means our test for you is truly unique.”
Gregory felt a chill travel up his spine. “I am ready, sir.”
“The arena will be reconfigured for the test,” Ruzi said. “You must kill the blue dummies which will be scattered about. While you accomplish that task, you will have to avoid crossbow bolts.”
Gregory looked to the sides where several armed men were setting up to fire into the arena.
“The bolts are padded much like the arrows in the academy tournament,” Zhu told him, “but you must still act accordingly if struck by one.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Rest while the arena is set. When we call for you again, it will be time,” Ruzi said.
“Yes, sir.”
Gregory turned Legacy around, then backed him up to get the shade on them. He stroked the gelding’s neck, whispering encouragement to the horse. He summoned his naginata, removing the sheath from the blade. The eurtik slave staff rushed around the arena, setting the walls and dummies up.
Allowing his resonance to fold around him, Gregory got ready to let his foresight mix with it. More of what he could do would be known after today, but he would use his aether before tapping into his ring. This way, he could be tired at the end, helping hide what he could really do.
In time, Ruzi called out to him. Gregory had Legacy walk forward until he could be seen, his back to the judges. A few seconds later, the whistle came, and Gregory booted the gelding into a run. Holding his naginata in one hand, he kept the shaft going up and over his forearm, giving it more stability. Aether flooded his foresight when he got moving, his resonance folding around it effortlessly.
The next handful of minutes were fluid chaos to those watching. It was clear that the crossbowmen had been ordered to shoot Gregory, not the horse, which is the only reason Gregory wasn’t forced to abandon Legacy. As it was, he was quickly gripping the naginata in both hands and guiding Legacy with his legs; he needed both hands to spin the weapon to strike down dummies and deflect some bolts.
When the last dummy fell, he bent backward to avoid the last bolt, which just passed over him. Coming back up, his weapon slapped another from the air. Gregory spun to deflect another bolt that came just before the whistle. When no more bolts came flying, Gregory dropped foresight, then walked Legacy back to the judges.
The trio were having a hushed conversation until he got closer. Ruzi sat forward, eyeing him intently. “Tired?”
“I am, sir. Running foresight far enough ahead to stop the bolts from reaching me took more than melee combat does.”
“You can’t do more?” Ironhand asked.
“If pressed, sir, I would do my best.”
“Excellent,” Ruzi smiled. “We decided to test one more thing about your magic. What if you had been unhorsed?”
“I would have continued on foot, sir.”
“And if a skilled opponent stood before you?”
“Fought them, sir.”
“Dismount, hand your horse to the groom, and be ready.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gregory did as they said. By the time he looked back up, the judges weren’t there. A minute later, the three judges came out of the same waiting area where the groom had taken his horse. Gregory summoned the sheath for his naginata, then tied it in place.
“Peace binding?” Ruzi asked.
“I assume you are all going to fight me,” Gregory said. “If that’s the case, I’d prefer to use my weapon than a training blade, as this one cannot be broken. I’m certain that at least one of the magi with you is physical enhancement, and they would shatter any training blade.”
“He’s not wrong,” Zhu said. “Both Ironhand and myself are physical enhancement, but he has another trick through his mother’s blood, however.”
“Which is of no use in an arena,” Ironhand said. “Both of us will temper ourselves to magus-levels of aether. You will fight each of us in single combat.”
“I will go first,” Ruzi said, holding a training naginata. “Egil is an old friend, and he is my equal with this weapon. I know he trained you for a week. Let us see if you learned anything.”
Gregory bowed formally, then went back into a more open space. “As you command, General.”
“Your healer wife is on standby, just in case,” Zhu said, glancing back.
Mindie stepped forward, giving Gregory a warm smile. “I’m here. You can fight freely, my heart.”
If the judges wished to fight him, so be it— Mindie would handle any accident. Gregory exhaled as the last vestiges of his worry faded.
