When Mahon opened the door of the house, all his other roommates were already here except for Jorik. He collapsed on the big sofa as soon as he was within reach and sighed loudly with relief. They all laughed at the scene and Zac asked him.

“Hard day, right? How were your lessons?”

“I just got the very same instructor we had this morning for two of my lessons...”

“Ew! Instructor Slander thrice in a day??!” Allen exclaimed.

“Slander? That’s his name?”

Zac laughed while explaining.

“No, it’s Allen who came up with it while we were talking about him. And it just stuck.”

“It suits him...” Allen shrugged innocently.

The silence lasted a few seconds before they all bursted laughing. Zac was on the same sofa as Mahon while Allen, Kali and Wyrran were sitting on another one across the room. It was only the five of them, and they swiftly shared the same complicity as at lunch. Mahon was tired, but the lively atmosphere cheered him up as they were joyfully discussing their day.

“Just imagine how many hours you will need to be able to sculpt that clay Amentiae from memory…”

“Oh, no, please don’t mention the figurine!” Allen interrupted Wyrran.

“Hahahaha, didn’t like it?”

“Professor Yordar just ruined my enthusiasm about Amentiae.”

“Is that even possible?” Zac joked.

“Hilarious, Zac. I mean seriously, why did he have to say so much and so little at the same time? It lasted hours, but it was only basics, it’s so frustrating!”

“Basics are the sturdiest foundations to build knowledge.”

“Oh Mahon, stop it, you sound just like him! I don’t want to be bored to death before even fighting! I want to learn about Amentiae generals, military campaigns and tactics!”

“But he did talk about that!” Mahon intervened again in the professor’s favor.

“He did?” Allen made a gesture with his hands like he was quoting the professor’s next words, “Attack Amentiae on the flank, it is very wise”. He changed his voice to sound like professor Yordar, mimicking his slow pacing and all the roommates burst out laughing.

The animated discussion alternated between laughter and serious topics for a while before they were hungry enough to eat dinner. Prepared meals were available in the kitchen, as well as some raw ingredients if they preferred to cook themselves.

The timid Kali showed its talents by putting random crudities together and somehow created a simple but delicious salad for the five of them.

“Aaahhhh… feels good to be full. Thanks for the meal, Kali!” Allen voiced what everyone thought as they went back to the sofas.

Zac had grabbed some stuff from his belongings and pulled out music sheets and a sitar.

“Do you guys mind if I play a bit?”

“Oh no, please do!” Allen sat next to him and observed with attention Zac tuning his instrument.

Kali, Wyrran and Mahon sat on the sofa opposite to them and the conversation resumed with some calm music in the background. Zac was talented enough to let his hands reflexively create their own melody while he discussed with the others.

“Can’t wait to tell my little sister about everything here. She’ll be so jealous!”

“You will go home for the break day then, Allen?”

“Yes, all my family was excited to drop me there yesterday. Oh Fada, was it just yesterday?? Feels like a whole week at least! Anyway, I have to tell them as soon as possible! What’s your plan?”

Zac used one hand to move around some of his music sheets while the other nonchalantly pinched the cords.

“Same here. I’m the first of my family that managed to be accepted there. They want to know how it is!”

The door of the house opened, and their last roommate, Jorik, appeared. But between Zac’s sitar and the loud conversation, nobody noticed he came home. The noble stepped into the living room and stopped at the scene in front of him. It was Allen who spotted him first.

“Jorik!” He stood up and walked to the noble. “Come and join us!”

But Jorik took a quick step back when Allen tried to pat him on the shoulder.

“Don’t touch me.”

The sentence was not loud, but it killed the mood nonetheless. Zac stopped his music, and the others turned around to figure out what was happening. Jorik looked at them one by one. His eyes were a calm, deep electric blue that contrasted heavily with his stern and severe expression.

“Listen carefully, you bunch of clowns. I’m not here to have fun nor to make friends.” He gestured to their location as if they were guilty of this very specific behavior. “I want nothing to do with you. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to eat with you. I don’t want to listen to you. I don’t even want to stay with you.”

The five men were taken aback at the aggressive stance and at first none of them thought of saying something. Jorik continued, unconcerned.

“Circumstances being what they are, I still have to stay here a bit longer. In the meantime, do whatever you want while I’m not around. I don’t care. But once we are under the same roof, I will ask you to be silent and let the people truly interested in learning rest.”

Stolen story; please report.

“Or what?” Wyrran stood up angrily, ready to fight.

But Zac grabbed his roommate’s arm and gestured to him to calm down. Jorik watched the scene without batting an eye.

“Don’t try me. Even if you trained hard to be there, you mean nothing to me.”

Jorik glared at them once more before moving to the dormitory.

“Who does he think he is? Why did you stop me, Zac?” Wyrran was visibly mad at the noble.

“What an arrogant man! He’s just a First Red, let’s go beat him Wyrran.” Allen had just recovered from the shock and was now furious too.

“Wait a minute, guys. Don’t you know him? At all?” Wyrran, Allen, Kali and Mahon all shook their heads at Zac.

He sighed in response and began to explain.

“You do know the Theodred family, right?” Except for Mahon, they all nodded this time. Zac threw him a weird look, but he explained. “It’s the most prominent noble family in all of Ratho. Anyway, we were wondering why there is a Last Green badge available this year. It’s because Ravatoris Theodred, the only child and heir of the Theodred family entered the school.”

“What?! Really? So they made a special badge for him?”

“Yeah, I think so. I was not sure at first but I have seen the man before and when I saw him during the training session, I recognized him without doubt. It’s really him, guys.”

“Wow… Some are more privileged than others...”

“But what does this have to do with Jorik?” Wyrran impatiently intervened.

“Well, Jorik is a bastard.”

“What? But that’s exactly what we told you from the very beginning!”

“Now, I mean, he is a real bastard. From the Theodred family. But there is only one direct offspring because Elauthin, the wife of the actual leader of the family, Ralojyre, has a troubled past and she can’t really have…” Zac stopped when he realized the others were starting to run out of patience as he was digressing.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. The thing that does, however, is that Ralojyre, the leader of the Theodred family, is treating Jorik as his own son. Jorik is incredibly talented and worked so hard that Ralojyre suggested adopting him.”

Zac paused for a short time while he wondered how to best say what he wanted.

“From Jorik’s point of view, it’s the best he could hope for. He had always been treated as a Theodred, but in reality he is not. He has no real power and only because of his determination did he manage to reach his position. Contrary to his brother, he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, instead he had to fight harder than anyone for everything. But he did it. And now he is just a step away from succeeding and having everyone recognize who he is and what he is capable of.”

“But why is he with the First Red nobles in that case?”

“I’m not sure but I think it’s because officially he is still a low rank noble even though he comes from the Theodred family.”

“Or maybe it’s because his brother doesn't want him to succeed either and made the task harder for him?” Kali suggested.

“Whatever it is, Jorik should not be taken lightly. Not only is he much stronger than us, but his unofficial backing is too. He is used to fighting both verbally and physically in a whole different category than ours. We don’t stand a chance against him. And even if we did, the retaliation would be worse for our family should we hurt him.”

“I see…” Wyrran sat back on the sofa, dejected.

“How do you know all this, Zac? You know some high nobles?” Allen asked.

“I don’t hear much about high nobility myself, but my father owns a tavern and so he happens to know a lot about this kind of gossip.”

Although Mahon had followed the conversation, he was not sure he understood all the implications of what it meant. But he trusted Zac's judgment on how to best handle nobility, so he listened and said nothing.

“So what do we do now?” Allen questioned with a lower voice than his usual one.

“We should go to sleep. Jorik may be arrogant but he is right. We should focus on training and learning.”

Strangely enough, it had been Wyrran that answered. It seemed Jorik made him think about his own situation. He stood up and walked to the dormitory without waiting for another to speak.

The remaining roommates exchanged a look and shrugged at Wyrran’s reaction, but they followed him nonetheless. Mahon helped Zac collect his music sheets while the man stored his sitar in its case. They spoke in low voice while packing Zac’s stuff.

“Hey, by the way, do you want another no-dream pill for tonight?”

“No, I will pass.” Mahon smiled bitterly as he remembered the horrible night he had been through.

“You sure? You’re not used to it yet but if you keep taking it a few times, it will be better.”

“You’re probably right, but I will try another time. I’m used to Nightmare and to better go through the next months of training I think it will be easier if I keep to what I know.”

“Yeah, no problem. Come see me if you need it though.” As always, Zac was the most supportive and Mahon thanked him for the offer.

They finished cleaning the living room and went to sleep. A minute later, Mahon was back in his familiar place. From the spawning point, he ignored the few people trying to sleep in Nightmare while he began the long walk to his meditation spot.

Upon arriving, he sat down on his usual flat rock and let his mind wander. The day had been rich with activities and full of surprises. Mahon mentally reviewed what he went through and analyzed where he could have done better.

He still had much to learn about nobles and their behaviors. And he had to find his place among this group of people. Mahon was kind of used to being alone. Constantly losing friends, only to find them back as if nothing had happened, tended to drive people crazy. It was like someone was living through the same period forever, without being able to change anything. As if stuck in a never ending time loop.

In order to survive this, Mahon had learned to distance himself from the persons he had known. He then had become a legend because of his feats during the long war and that had pulled him further apart from the common soldiers.

He had been a lone wolf. The Lone Wolf. He had climbed up the ranks on his own. When he had been with people, it was to give orders, training or teaching. There was no fun or exchanges. It only went one way.

Then Margot had come and the longer she had survived Nightmare, the more she had cracked his carapace. He had started to change, to open itself a bit more. Alas, she was dead now. In the two months that had passed since then, Mahon had instinctively gone back to his previous behavior. He had trained by himself, following his own personal objectives.

However, he had realized that the situation was very different from the one he was used to. He had been the best warrior by far and everyone knew who he was and followed his commands. And now in Ratho, it was totally reversed. He was weak and nobody knew him.

But somehow it felt refreshing to follow rather than lead and to learn rather than teach. In under a day, he had felt closer to his roommates than people with whom he had spent months with. Leaving Nightmare and the influence of the war had changed him more than he thought.

Another reason to end this conflict that broke people.

Mahon sighed and went to perform his sequences of stances. When he ended the 12 steps of the Lance, he resumed his cross-legged resting posture. This time, he didn’t immerse himself in his memory of that fight. He had never succeeded in attaining the weird, powerful state. But even if he had, what would that change? No Amentiae had been spotted in Nightmare for more than two months.

Mahon meant what he had said to Zac. Once he would be back to his usual strength, he would say goodbye to this land and take no-dream pills for the rest of his life. Or until they killed the Amentiae responsible for the Nightmare witchcraft.