When they arrived back at the clan hall, the three lovers were in high spirits. Dia watched them approach from where she was sitting on the porch smoking her pipe, the purple smoke trailing away from her.
“Dia,” Gregory greeted her with a smile. “We had a few questions, if you have the time.”
“Sit,” Dia said, motioning to the benches. “What did you wish to know?”
“First, what’s our schedule going to look like?” Gregory asked.
“Ah, a good question, and the answer to it is complicated,” Dia replied, exhaling a smoke ring away from them. “Tactics class starts at the sixth bell, so your morning schedule should be fine. However, depending on what is taught that day and whether or not you have a game, things will change drastically. Some days, the instruction will run into the late afternoon, and others, it will end by midday. If you have a game, well… as I said, you are there until it is over.”
“How do we train, then?” Yukiko asked.
“Around it, as we can,” Dia replied. “If class is out by midday, you will come back here and we will have Gin train you before your magic training. If class runs late, we’ll push dinner back so you can train both, but it does mean your meditation will need to be after dinner. When one or more of you have a game running, we’ll have one of the staff waiting for you to cook you a meal if it’s after dinnertime, but you will have to miss training that day.”
“Our games will be on different days?” Jenn asked.
“Possibly. The academy can run a dozen games at once, but that’s not even half of your class. All games to start are one-on-one. As the year progresses, they will run more complex campaigns with three or four players against each other, or even teams.”
“So we won’t be training together, like the end of last year,” Jenn sighed.
“For the first month, you will,” Dia said. “The first month is all instruction, most of which you’ll already know since you’ve been playing. You could challenge your instructor to a game and, if you win, you’d be excused for that month.”
“We can do that?” Gregory asked.
“Yes, but be warned— most instructors hate being challenged just so you can avoid the lectures,” Dia said, blowing out a large smoke ring before puffing a smaller one through it.
“Egil would be peeved,” Gregory nodded. “I don’t want to antagonize him.”
“The first month, we’ll train together. After that, we’ll do as much as we can together,” Yukiko said.
“Do we still get our days off?” Jenn asked.
“Not as such,” Dia smiled. “You will have five weeks off, set in one-week increments that are chosen by the instructors. How those will be decided is up to them and their assistants.”
“Hopefully, we have them off together,” Gregory said.
“Keep me informed about your friends,” Dia said, changing the topic. “I’m interested if they can keep their training in the face of the others.”
“Uh…” Gregory said with a hint of hesitation, “Daciana and Nessa are doing well, but there’s another with them now.”
“Oh? Would that be Victoria?” Dia asked with a small smile, getting surprised looks from the three. “Bishop told me about her. I would dare to go so far as to say that I know more about her than you do. If she’s joined your friends and is as intent on training and joining the clan as they are, then I will simply wait to hear news of three instead of two.”
“Yes, Dia,” Gregory said, bowing his head.
“Was there anything else?” Dia asked.
“Is Bishop inside?”
“She was, last I knew.”
“Thank you, Dia,” Gregory said, standing up.
“Gregory, we’re going to go check with Murium on the subjects we have questions on,” Yukiko said. “Meet us there after you speak with Bishop?”
“Yes. I shouldn’t be long.”
~*~*~
It took Gregory a bit to track Bishop down. I should’ve started with her room, he chided himself as he knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Bishop’s voice commanded from the other side.
Gregory opened the door. “Bishop, may I speak with you?”
Bishop looked over from her seat at the table. “Pettit, come over and sit.”
Gregory did as she suggested, but he felt out of place. Bishop was wearing casual clothing— a steel-gray shirt and black pants with no kimono or bright colors to be seen. He’d only ever seen her in her proctor armor, but then remembered she’d been wearing this same outfit at breakfast, though it hadn’t struck him then.
“What did you need?” Bishop asked, closing the book she’d been reading.
“It’s not a need. It’s a memory I had a question about.”
“Ah, walking the spirit path does tend to bring memories up,” Bishop said. “I’ve heard you’ve been using the Peaceful Fist to train?”
“Yes, Proctor.”
“Bishop, not proctor,” she chided him gently. “What memory?”
“When I was young— very young— my mother spoke with you during the age day ritual. I was across the square with my friends, waiting for the ritual to start, but it was very close to the day I’d told her that I was going to be a magi for the first time.”
Bishop’s eyes focused on a distant point. “Your mother? Strawberry-blonde hair, a serious expression?”
“She was smiling most of the time that I can recall… she was sad a few times, but when she spoke with you, she might have been serious.”
“I remember her now,” Bishop nodded. “I can see why your father would mourn her loss so much. She was a concerned mother, and beautiful. You have her eyes,” she added, looking him square in the eyes.
“Yes. I wanted to know what she spoke to you about.”
“She told me that her son would be a magi. At the time, I simply thought she was just being hopeful— many parents wish for their children to be magi. I didn’t think of it again until she died, and I’d again forgotten about it until I heard your father’s name after his indiscretion.” A smile touched her lips. “Then, a child told me flatly that he would be a magi… that he would grab his aether and make it see him.”
Gregory looked away from her, his cheeks heating. “Yeah, that was a bit strong, but I wasn’t wrong.”
“Not wrong at all,” Bishop agreed. “I still remember your first use of aether. Fighting a bane wolf shortly after you touched aether for the first time? Not a whelp, either, but a fully-grown bane wolf… and all you got for your troubles were scars and your friend that lost two fingers.”
I should look into what it would take for Gunnar to regrow those… Gregory thought to himself.
“When I got back here, what did I hear? That you nearly repeated being the champion, only to be defeated by your fellow clanmate. I also heard how my clan is all but embroiled in a feud with the Eternal Flame, all because the grandson of Shun was beaten by you and your wives repeatedly.”
“He’s a spoiled child who doesn’t know how to accept defeat,” Gregory snorted.
Bishop laughed and shrugged. “So many in power are. Ah, well, it does seem that my beloved clan will be climbing in prestige again. For that, you’ll have my thanks. You three have helped the clan’s name begin to spread again… long dismissed and nearly forgotten, but now, rising back to its rightful place. Tell me, why did you three choose this clan?”
Gregory hesitated as he considered his words. Bishop waited, watching him with interest. “Honestly, it was just Yuki and I, at first. We wanted a clan that would let us stay together even into our adept and magus years. Jenn joined us just before we joined the clan, and she became a friend, and then more. Now, we’re hoping all three of us can stay together.”
Bishop’s lips pursed and she looked into the distance. “That will be problematic. Very few postings have room for three adepts or magus-tier magi. Two is more doable, but even that is difficult.”
“We worry that will be the case.”
“It’s still years away, and Lightshield is wise,” Bishop said softly. “I’m sure if you tell him, he’ll try to do what he can. Especially for you.” She said the last word with weight as she stared at him.
He did his best to keep impassive, but he knew he failed.
“You brought two talented friends with you into the clan, one of which became a champion of the novice year, not to mention the three novices who are hard at work training to also join the clan. I do feel a little bad for Victoria,” Bishop said as if she’d meant nothing more.
“Why?” Gregory asked.
“Because the poor girl is distinctly interested in you, and here you are with two wives already. Ah, well, it’ll be good for her. She’ll learn early that life is painful, and anyone trying to tell you different has ulterior motives.”
“Oh? But I’ve barely spoken with her.”
“Hmm… maybe she has a soft spot for the injured ones?” Bishop shrugged. “Your wife, Jenn— how would you rate her fighting ability and her control over her magic?”
“She’s possibly the best fighter from our class,” Gregory said. “As for her magic, Master Chen would be able to speak to that better, but she was able to use her aether sparingly and in pieces when needed, not just flooding herself the entire time.”
Bishop smiled. “She’ll be a good student then. Good. Is there anything else, Pettit?”
“No, Bishop. I just wanted to ask about my mother.”
“I am sorry I can’t recall more of her,” Bishop said. “She would be proud of you. You did as she said and you wished. You’re a magi, even if your road is filled with hardships.”
“Hard paths make the best magi,” Gregory said as he rose to his feet. “A wise woman told me that, and I believe it. Now, to survive and become stronger.”
Bishop’s smile was real as she opened her book back up. “I’m glad you took the words to heart. Have a good evening.”
“Have a good evening, Bishop.”
