Riley snaps his head to me as I enter the waiting room. “What the fuck was that all about Monhal?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” I say, genuinely perplexed.

“I mean, why did you lead the knight to the rest of the team?”

I shrug. “I needed space. My crossbows were able to hurt him, the others could not. It worked out. Killing him netted the team points equal to half the team surviving, plus the points for those who actually did. I don’t see what the problem is. It’s not like we could have kept everyone alive without killing him.”

“It’s a problem because you deliberately sacrificed your teammates with no immediate benefits. Did running past the spear bearers, who you knew had no chance of stopping him, result in killing him? No, the only thing that did was the heavy crossbow at the end, and it wasn’t ready during most of their deaths.”

“I thought that is why they’re here, to protect those who can win the fight.”

“Protect us? No! We’re supposed to be protecting them!” Riley shouts. “The entire point of this exercise was to see how well we could do that!”

I shake my head in confusion. “No, that doesn’t make sense. If we’re supposed to protect the mundanes, not the other way, then why bring them to the battlefield at all? What role would they even serve? They’d just be getting in the mage’s way and draining logistics as well.”

“We bring them for the logistics. We need them to carry supplies, fortify locations, and hold ground. In return for their labour, we protect them.”

“No, I’m pretty sure we bring them as targets to draw out the enemy mages.” At least that’s how the empire treated their soldiers in Caethlon.

His face goes red in rage. “Targets?!” he starts but is interrupted by one of the pages stepping forward.

“Hold, there’s no reason to fight. It’ll just drain our energy before the main events.” She says, calmly holding her arms out between us. “There are many schools of thought on this matter, and they won’t be resolved here.”

Riley grits his teeth but backs off. “Forgive me Ligryn. You are correct. I should not have let my anger flare. I just… In training I would hear about his views as a warning against dishonourable thinking. I’ve never encountered anyone who so brazenly held them before.”

“My thanks… Ligryn.” I say, grateful not to be discussing that anymore. It’s just so obvious and tedious to debate.

“I didn’t intervene for you. You got me killed, remember?” She glares at me, and I realize she was the page I sacrificed to reach the heavy crossbow at the very end.

“Ah, yes, forg… Well, not forgive, I don’t regret actions that led to victory.”

“Naturally.” She speaks with obvious irony.

“… I don’t think I caught your family name during introductions,” I say, trying to think back, but realizing she kept hers short and unmemorable.

“I didn’t give one,” she says coolly, her gaze unflinching.

“…Ligryn doesn’t sound like a commoner’s name, nor are your manners.”

“…I had reasons to ask the school to conceal my familial bounds. I’ll reveal them if we both get in.”

“Yes, I’m sure.” I know how ironic it is for me to be suspicious, since I doubt whatever circumstances she has are more malevolent than mine. Would it be less suspicious of me to be suspicious of her, or more?

“Don’t beat around the bush Monhal.” Addrian says, joining the conversation well after I stopped needing their help. “It’s not hard to deduce part of her reason. With a name like Ligryn she’s obviously Rohdami.”

I grit my teeth in annoyance. “Yes, I suppose I could have just said that.”

“You’re certain?” Riley asks, stepping in. “The name doesn’t sound like the Rohdami my family employs.

“Rohdami nobles have much more distinct names from their commoners than Arkothans do.” Addrian explains calmly.

“Is this true?” Riley turns to Ligryn.

She smiles, slightly strained, slightly resigned. “Yes. I didn’t mean to hide it, but you understand why I don’t want to draw attention either.”

“I don’t.” Terrance says, stepping. “I’m not from the empire, so I don’t understand what the problem is.”

“No problem,” Adrian says, “or there shouldn’t be. I only stated it outright because I thought it would be better for our teamwork if there wasn’t a mystery in the air. There are some people who lived through the Hyclion war that still blame them for it, but I don’t expect many of our generation have strong feelings about it.”

Riley speaks. “It’s not a matter of blame, but trust. Their loyalties are still divided.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Divided? What does that mean? The exam isn’t limited to those from the empire and their client states.”

“No, it’s true.” Ligryn says, slightly confrontational, but in a way hoping to put aside the issue rather than pursue it. “Everyone knows that we’ll have to pick a side in the next war. I’m here, while my brother is studying in Hyclion. One of us is an envoy, the other a retroactive spy, and nobody knows which is which – not even the ones who sent us. The same is true of every noble child sent to learn from our fair island.”

“I see… Thank you for explaining.” Terrance says and withdraws.

“Is this going to be a problem, Plimhal?” Adrian says to Riley.

“…No. There’s no reason to distrust her in context of the exam. I don’t trust her in general, but it’s not up to me to decide if her presence or admittance will be good for Arkothia, and I trust those who do.”

“Good, everything is decided then.” Adrian smiles.

“No, not everything.” Riley looks to me again. “Ligryn was correct to intervene when I objected to your actions on moral grounds, but we still need to come to an agreement on it for tactical reasons. It’ll be a hindrance if some of us are operating on a fundamentally different understanding of what strategy should be about. I do not ask for views to be changed, just for coordination. If the group decides that his thinking is the correct approach, then I will follow it, but a decision needs to be made.”

“…” Everyone turns to me, silently drowning out what I was about to say before I could even fully think it. Their gazes are clear: despite my victory, I’m the problem. I glance to my one likely ally. “Billy, what is your say in this? Should we keep you mundanes safe in the back or move you to the front to maximize your opportunity to fight.”

“Hold.” Riley Sneers. “You squirming worm. You’re the one who wanted him in the back in the first place. Don’t try to lure him to your side when you know he won’t get what he wants no matter which one of us wins.”

“Civility, please.” Ligryn half mutters.

“Forgive me.” Riley turns to her, then back to me. “You squirming snake.” He corrects.

Are snakes less insulting than worms in Arkothian culture? How odd. It’s the reverse in Caethlon. Snakes will kill you without eating – a wasteful death. Worms, however, not only won’t kill you, but will spread your nutrients to the earth. It’s still insulting, since it’s preferable to be eaten by birds to spread you to as much of the earth as possible. But that’s just a relative thing rather than something inherent to worms. They’re still preferable to being sealed in a box to be consumed by nothing.

I smile, pushing my confusion aside. “I’m hardly doing anything untoward. I didn’t mention giving him what he wants, I just asked what he thought. You said you would abide by the group, and he is part of the group. Shouldn’t we hear what he has to say? Besides, all things are negotiable. Isn’t that right Billy?” I turn questioningly to him.

“…I’ll just go where you tell me. It’s not like I’ve been much good at fighting anyways,” he says dejectedly.

I resist cursing at his constant uselessness. The least he can do is be consistent in his over eagerness.

“Nonsense Billy,” I say with a strained smile, “it’s true you didn’t last long against a knight, but neither did anyone else. No one expected you to kill him on your own, and you’ll be fighting other mundanes now.”

“…If you say so,” he mutters.

“I say not.” Riley says. “We both know that no matter how good he is with his hammer, he’ll be more effective reloading that absurdly overpowered crossbow. Unless you’re expecting me or Ser Terrance to reload for you, which would be completely backwards.”

I grimace and nod at his point. The others are still looking silently at me, pressuring me to accept tactics that I know nobody actually uses in the field…Or do I? My only experience is with partisan fighting, and perhaps their weird view of combat makes more sense in open warfare.

“…Very well. I won’t object to your placements. Not that it should matter too much on my end, since I’ll be staying back shooting either way.”

“Quite,” Riley says succinctly, then turns to discuss tactics and perceived weaknesses with the rest of the group.

I don’t even know why I pushed for my view. As I said, it won’t change what I’ll be doing, and it’s not like I object to the mundanes staying back with the archers. Riley made a big deal about protecting them, but they’ll still be protecting me when the enemy breaks through… Except I know they’re wrong. Tactically, while it’s useful to have a rear guard, it’s better to have a forward screen if you have to choose between them. Since it won’t change their ability to block the enemy, but it will block them farther away where they can intercept ranged attackers. Besides, it’s not like the enemy will have much chance of flanking us in the confined arena.

As much as he spoke about abiding to the group’s tactical decision, it’s clear that he and the rest of them decided based on ideals rather than what the best tactic is. In a way, I should be happy about that. The empire learned a lot in Caethlon, so it’s a good thing if there are social pressures that prevent them from fully using that knowledge. I just wish it didn’t have to pressure me too.

Shortly later a proctor comes and assigns us a location for the first round of the group tournament. Terrance walks beside me as we go.

“You were oddly quiet during the tactics discussion Ser Terrance. Surely someone experienced enough to become a knight would have something to contribute.”

He shrugs. “Not as much as you might think. I only ever fought in a group with other knights and a few mages. I don’t have experience fighting alongside mundanes. And please, no ‘ser’. Just call me Terry.”

“I didn’t realize there was a place that didn’t supplement their forces with mundanes… Terrance.” I compromise.

“Oh, I guess I’m from a pretty isolated place. Not enough population to spend it fighting.”

“I see, I guess that’s why you agree with Riley?”

He shrugs. “I see both of your perspectives as being valid, and I didn’t want to lend the weight of my title to either one. Really, I think the two schools of thoughts are mostly divided between knights and mages. After all, a knight doesn’t need a screen to be safe.”

“Neither does a mage, not fully. We have personal shields, and most can afford enchanted clothing that acts as armour. So, there is some sense in not sacrificing to keep us safe. However, even with that we’re not as safe as knights, and our increased protection is less than our increased effectiveness. It just makes sense to prioritize our safety.”

He nods. “Yeah, as I said, both sides make sense. I for one am happy you beat Galvin, even if it meant sacrificing others. So, since the others didn’t say it, I will: Good job.”

“…Thanks.”

“So, any other tricks you have in store?”

“…I can shoot people through walls.”

“Like, accurately?”

“Yeah.”

“…Glad you’re on our team then.”

“Yeah…”

We exit the hall tunnels and find the central chamber has been flooded with day-like light. Our proctor leads us to a much larger area than before, a wall of light flashing as each of us enters. The other team is waiting for us. Like us it seems to be two squires and two mages, plus pages and mundanes.

I instinctively look away with a groan as I recognize a girl in a blue dress among them.

The frightful youth immediately shouts upon recognizing the same person. “Oh my Tacyn! Is that Emily Salhal? The genius ice mage? My brother and I spent our savings buying her frozen cream. It was so good!”