It was just as Wil remembered it. The second they stepped through the doors, all the hours spent studying, drinking, and messing around with friends hit him like a runaway train. There had been many places Wil and friends had spent their after school hours, but no place was as fun or prestigious as the Magical Madhouse.

The inside was a chaotic mess of colors, each corner of the main floor a different aesthetic entirely. One for each of the four corners of Calipan, with the southwest corner representing Manifee City. It was, naturally, the most prestigious corner, reserved for graduate students and visiting alumni. The corner was painted to look like a relaxed beach party, complete with an illusory sun overhead.

On the opposite corner, made intentionally grimy and depressing with a rain cloud overhead, was Cloverton. Although the two cities were thousands of miles apart, a portal connected them. The rivalry between major powers, so close and so far, grew by the year. The other two corners, naturally, represented Tellengren to the northwest and Manta Bay to the southeast. They had their own rivalry.

Chinis signaled the bartender at the island counter in the center of the room, who flipped a switch and all sound in the room ceased. All of the patrons, most of them fellow wizards, turn to look at the newcomers.

“Attention everybody!” Chinis called out, putting some strength into it. “We got a special guest today. Master Wilbur McKenzie, one of the greatest illusionists the academy has ever produced! He’s here to show his love and generosity.”

Wil groaned, heat flooding his cheeks. “You bastard.”

The bar erupted with cheers and thrown hats. The nearest wizards stood and gave him a hearty round of applause. Isom dropped into a crouch, ears flattened against his skull at the sudden sound. Syl, on the other hand, looked around in excitement.

“What? What did he do?” the faun asked, naked glee in his voice.

“He just told everyone the next round is on me,” said Wil with a long-suffering sigh. “What, it’s not bad enough I have to face a tribunal, you gotta kick me while I’m down?”

“Absolutely,” said Chinis, clapping his shoulder. “Tradition is tradition, McKenzie. But don’t worry, I’ll cover lunch.” He gave Wil a playful shove, throwing him into the throngs of students coming up to meet him.

Wil was assaulted with handshakes and pats on the back, from faces both new and old. Tybalt Granger, banned from every casino and betting house in the city for probability manipulation, slipped him a coin he promised was lucky. George Bjorn, nature wizard, introduced his newest girlfriend, Talia, to Wil, who talked about her own illusions, but Wil had no time to do much more than smile and shake hands before the next person came up to him.

Once upon a time, he’d been one of the students clamoring to congratulate and worship a former classmate who had gone on to do bigger and better things. That was the dream, after all. Learn how to harness world altering powers and then do just that; change the world. Now that he was in the position, he didn’t feel worthy. All he’d done was blunder his way into a new world.

A good dozen people crowded him, each giving a snippet of a conversation he couldn’t keep up with. Wil resigned himself to just saying, “good to see you,” and “that’s fantastic” whenever he couldn’t quite make out what was being said. Soon enough, each person who stopped by abandoned him for the free drink at the bar.

Want me to keep them away? Isom asked, sensing Wil’s growing distress. The wampus cat threw himself against Wil’s leg and bared his teeth, not yet growling.

Not necessary, Wil returned, reaching down to scratch behind his ears. At this time of day, between lunch and dinner crowds, it didn’t take too long for everyone to get their piece of him. But after they had their drinks (including Syl, who had one in each hand), they looked expectantly at him.

“Speech,” Chinis stage whispered. All around them, their fellow wizards joined in until it became a chant. “Speech! Speech! Speech!”

Wil cleared his throat and looked around. He had no clue what to say, so he just started talking.

“Hey everyone. The time at Saint Balthazar’s was one of the happiest of my life, but now I’m out and doing big things, I guess. And coming back to Manifee City after spending a while back on the farm…Well, it’s really great to see what direction we’re all going, and how proud I am that we’re all making Calipan’s future. When you graduate, try to remember that you have a special gift, and we have a responsibility to use it for the betterment of all of us. A rising tide lifts all ships.”

He got a bit of polite applause, but it wasn’t a common sentiment at the academy. Chinis shook his head, mumbling about idealists before a former classmate Wil knew by sight but not by name raised his hand.

“Um. Yes?” Wil pointed at him.

“Is it true you graduated top of your glass with a focus on illusions?” The wizard was a meek looking young man wearing clothes too big for him. “How did you manage that?”

“Well, partly because I also focused on earth magic,” said Wil, chuckling. “Illusions on their own can be potent, but they’re subtle and are more about manipulation than direct effect. That goes for more than just the spells, I mean the mindset behind them too. You have to be willing to work sideways and not apply direct force.”

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“Did you really beat Chinis, even?” Tybalt called out, looking pointedly at the mage.

Chinis adjusted his spectacles. “He did. Test scores don't mean much, though. I could take him in a fight, any day.”

A low oooh ran through the crowd of wizards.

“Do you think so?” Wil asked, understanding the real reason his friend brought him there. “Then I challenge you, Chinis, to the Zaz.”

Chinis grinned, showing even white teeth. “You’re on, McKenzie.”

The Magical Madhouse wasn’t just a silly name for a bar. The top floor was for drinks and food, but the basement was where the action happened. Chinis led the way down the stairs, pretty much all of the occupants coming after them. A short descent into darkness later and they came out into an impossibly large room.

A big square had been carved into the ground, about four feet deep. Glowing orbs of light hung around the ceiling, casting the basement in a dim, flickering glow. All around the arena was bleacher seating, and the crowd took their places, chattering excitedly about the coming display.

Syl followed Wil up to the edge before asking, “So, what’s the Zaz and what do I do?”

“You don’t have to do anything, Prince,” said Chinis, hopping down. “Just enjoy watching me embarrass McKenzie.”

“The Zaz is…well, it’s silly,” said Wil. “It’s short for pizzaz. It’s kind of like a fight, but not really. We’re not looking to hurt each other or anything, just look more impressive. It’s a bunch of ridiculous peacocking. You’re going to love it. And you,” he turned to Isom, “must understand that he’s going to attack me without hurting me, so you can’t hurt him.”

“Phooey,” said the wampus cat. He trotted off a short distance and flopped down in. His tail flicked violently behind him.

“Sounds good to me. Put on a good show, Wil. If you could destroy Grimnar for real, you can pretend to beat your friend, right?” Syl patted him and sat down next to Isom.

Hopping down into the arena, Wil took a few steadying breaths and thought about what he knew Chinis could do and how to counter it. It was more difficult than fighting an ogre, to be honest. It was about subtlety and panache more than raw power.

Chinis stared him down from thirty feet away, hand on the hilt of his sword. Wil immediately wished he had brought his staff out with them, but had assumed his superiors would want him separated from it until after he settled in Cloverton. Neither of them moved for several seconds, until the mage drew his sword.

Frost gathered around the blade as runes came to life in the metal. Chinis swung from low to high and the air flash froze, sending a wave of snowy powder at Wil. Wil spun and used the harmless attack’s momentum to throw it back at him. The snowflakes exploded harmlessly into brilliant blue butterflies. They fluttered above the fight as the crowd cheered.

Chinis nodded and channeled power through his sword. Wind buffeted Wil, making him take a step back, then another. Wil pushed forward with all of his might before clapping his hands together and raising the ground itself to shield him from the powerful gusts. Wil lobbed a glittering ball of energy up over the makeshift wall.

His opponent slashed with his sword and cut through it, detonating the illusion. It flashed bright white, and Wil poured more power in, holding onto that second of dazzling brilliance. The basement remained in the negative, the crowd a bunch of black voids in white light. Then it faded back to normal.

Chinis blinked violently, one hand coming up to rub his eyes. “That one hurt,” he called out.

“Then close your eyes!” Wil hurled another ball, and another. This time, Chinis didn’t try to cut them. The Zaz wasn’t just a contest, it was a dance, a show to put on for your friends and peers. When the balls landed they exploded into light, but Chinis had planted his sword in the ground.

Ice traveled from the blade, spreading across the floor and growing into massive crystalline diamonds. With another slash, they spun on their bases, reflecting the light flashing from Wil’s illusions. Faster and faster Wil threw the balls of light and darkness, until the basement strobed and no one could see for more than a split second before plunging into darkness once more.

Chinis changed it up, taking a deep breath and gathering enough power that Wil felt it surge from across the room. The space in between them warped, stretching in places and compressing in others. Wil met the new play with one of his own, changing each ball of light into a new color to be pulled around and snapped into place by the spatial distortion.

The crowd went wild, cheering and screaming at the light show. Syl stuck two fingers in his mouth and blew out a shrill whistle while Isom cowered at the onslaught of sensory input. Wil felt the strain of holding so many illusions while making more and more, but it was nothing compared to the raw power Chinis channeled for the sake of a good show.

All that remained was to end it before either of them faltered and ruined the illusion.

Wil breathed in, feeling the arena around him, the earth beneath it, the way the stone felt. Although he could not transmute the stone into anything softer, his connection with the earth was different. The earth wasn’t one solid mass, it was a collective, and all he had to do was reach for the individual parts and mold them.

He breathed out and the arena dipped and rose in a repeating wave. The space in the middle distorted even further as their spells met and turned the center of the room into a chaotic mess of flashing, swirling colors, and an almost liquid earth.

For ten long, agonizing, beautiful seconds they kept it up. When Wil had thrown his will and power against Skalet’s storm, it had felt like this. Power flowing through him and changing the world until it sapped at him and threatened to suck him dry. Chinis faltered first, and space returned to normal. Wil released the colors and the earth roiled once more before settling, more or less, where it had been.

Panting, Wil dropped to his knee. The edges of his vision went dark, and for one panicked second he wondered if he’d pushed too hard and would drop dead. As his heart hammered and he sucked down breath after greedy breath, he determined he would probably survive. Across the room, Chinis looked to be in about the same shape.

“Call it a draw then, McKenzie?” Chinis called out.

“Sounds good to me.” Wil grinned, and the crowd of wizards went wild.