Liv fell to her knees, cradling her broken arm against her chest. Her elbow felt at once unnaturally loose, and in agonizing pain. At a glance, her arm even looked fundamentally wrong, bent at an unnatural angle.
A distant, removed part of her mind catalogued the probable injuries. She could almost hear Master Cushing's voice, droning through the list: dislocated elbow, probably fractures, torn ligaments…
Wren tackled Merek Sherard to the ground while Gamel was still gaping in horror. The dark-haired huntress rolled on top of the boy, using her weight to keep him down while she held the blade of a hunting knife to his throat. Around them on the training ground, matches were just starting to come to a halt as the other students noticed what had happened.
“Healer!” Gamel shouted. “I need a healer!”
“Get off of me!” Merek spat at Wren, trying to twist out from underneath her. Gamel reached out a hand, took a hold of the huntress’ shoulder, and yanked her back, giving the boy room to scramble away. Liv was dimly aware of people rushing toward them, but her attention was fixated entirely on the person who’d hurt her.
“You rusting bastard,” Liv gasped, struggling back to her feet. All she’d wanted was to come to Coral Bay and learn. She’d dressed to be ignored, used a Lucanian name, tried to be pleasant to everyone she met. She’d done her best in every examination, even this one, which she knew wouldn’t be her best. And now this idiot, who Liv had never even met before, wanted to ruin everything. Well, she wasn’t going to let him.
Frost cracked across the packed earth of the training field, spidering out from Liv without any conscious thought, even before she could begin an incantation. A wave of cold air exploded out from her, and she could see puffs of frosted breath coming from the mouths of the people around when they exhaled.
With her left hand, Liv drew her wand and rotated the handle. Adamant ice coalesced along the edges of the bone wand, extending its length until she held a frozen blade in her hand. Wren was struggling with Gamel, who was easily twice her size, and Merek had only just gotten to his feet. Both practice swords were forgotten in the dust. Liv extended her blade and lunged forward –
Vertical panes of shining blue magic, striated with veins of gold, slammed into place all around her. They weren’t quite as clear as a glass window, but neither were they solid, and Liv could see that all four of them had been separated into boxes constructed from raw mana.
“What in the name of the trinity is going on here,” Master Jurian shouted, slamming his staff against the ground as he stormed over to the melee. Each of the four cubes of magical force pulled apart, creating distance between the people trapped inside, and Jurian stood in the center.
“She tried to kill me just now!” Merek Sherard accused. “Look, you can still see the sword in her hand!”
“Silence.” Jurian waved his hand, and a thick bar of blue magic appeared in Merek’s open mouth, like the bit between a horse’s teeth. “Journeyman Gamel, explain. Now.”
Gamel took a breath, but his eyes flicked over to Wren warily as he spoke. “I had just called the match; Sherard had disarmed Brodbeck, and caught her in an armbar. Then he deliberately finished the move with a break. That woman –” he motioned to Wren – "tackled him with a knife to his throat, and I called for a healer while trying to get her off.”
“Who is this?” Jurian said, rounding on Wren.
“My bodyguard,” Liv said, through gritted teeth. She didn’t even want to look at her elbow.
Jurian nodded, then turned to Merek. The magical bit in his mouth faded out of existence, and he gasped for air. “You can’t do this to me,” the blonde nobleman said. “Do you know who I am? They tried to kill me!”
“Did you break her arm, boy?” Jurian demanded.
“She hadn’t submitted, so I kept fighting,” Merek whined. “If she can’t take the pain, she shouldn’t be on the field.”
“This journeyman called the match,” Jurian said, thrusting a finger at Gamel. “Your opponent was defeated. And you kept fighting. Why?”
“...I didn’t hear him,” Merek claimed, lamely.
“That’s a pile of rusting shit!” Liv shouted.
“Did you hear me when I said these were sparring matches, or are your ears completely useless?” Jurian shouted. His voice carried easily across the field, and he spun in place to look over the crowd of students, all of whom were now silent, watching the chaos.
“Yes, Professor,” Merek said.
“Yes, your ears are completely useless, or yes you heard me?” Jurian pressed him.
“I heard you, Master Jurian.”
“Then you’re only an idiot.” Merek opened his mouth to protest, but the professor didn’t let him get a word out. “Because if you’re not an idiot, the alternative is that you deliberately broke a fellow student’s arm. And if that’s the case, Sherard, I’ll have you drummed out of this college before sunset.”
“You can’t,” Merek protested. “It was an accident. And my uncle–”
“I don’t give a pile of rust who your family is,” Jurian shouted. “Gamel, get him out of here. The Archmagus can deal with him. Sherard, you just failed both your combat examinations. If you’re still here tomorrow, you’re in remedial classes until you can learn what an appropriate level of force is. Get out of my sight.”
The magical cubes around Gamel and Merek Sherard vanished, and the big journeyman roughly grabbed the blonde boy by his shoulder and pulled him off the field. Sherard only looked back once, directly at Liv, with hateful eyes.
“Bodyguard,” Jurian said, turning to Wren. “You were doing your job, and I don’t find you at fault for any of this. While your charge is in my training yard, her safety is my responsibility. If anything, I should thank you for not slitting that idiot’s throat immediately. Remarkable show of restraint, and it makes my life easier. See me after the examinations.” The walls around Wren faded out of existence, leaving only Liv.
When Jurian turned to her, she thought that she could see the faintest trace of a smile on his lips. “Are you left handed, or right handed, Apprentice Brodbeck?”
“Right handed,” Liv gasped. Somehow, her arm was only hurting more as time went on, not less. The cube around her disappeared.
“I want you all to look at this,” Jurian declared. “Her strong arm is ruined, but does she give up? No! She’s still ready to fight.” He waved at the blade of ice extending from Liv’s wand. “You don’t need that, apprentice. Put it away and let the healers see you. Everyone else, back to your matches! If you don’t finish by evening meal, you won’t eat tonight!”
Liv used the waste heat she’d been automatically holding onto to melt away the sword. Now that it was clear she wasn’t in danger, the rage that had kept her upright faded, and she felt wrung out. She staggered, and Wren was there to lean on, with an arm around Liv’s waist.
“Come along,” Jurian murmured, moving in on her other side. “Let’s get you off the field.” Despite the fact there were ten matches happening on the field – actually, she realized, nine, with Gamel gone – Liv still felt like everyone was watching her. She did her best to stay upright and walk by herself, even if she would have rathered someone carry her. Her father, perhaps.
“Come over here and sit down,” Professor Annora said. She was waiting by the bleachers, a thin wand of pale wood already in her hand. To Liv’s surprise, Arjun had made his way over to them, as well. “Who’s this, then?” the professor asked. Once Liv was seated, she began to run her fingers along the injured arm, probing and feeling for breaks.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Arjun Iyuz,” he introduced himself. “My jati teaches both Cost and Cail, Professor. I thought I might be able to help.”
“That you may,” Annora murmured, then turned to address Jurian. “She's done for the day. I want to take her to the infirmary; once we’ve got her set right, she needs to be in a plaster cast for at least two weeks.”
Jurian frowned, but before he could speak, Liv interrupted. “No,” she said. “Just pop it back in and wrap me up. I want to do the magical examination.”
“Absolutely not,” Professor Annora said. “I won’t have an injured student putting herself in more danger. You’ll just have to work your way up from the remedial class. It isn’t the end of the world.”
Wren barked out a short laugh. “She’s tougher than you think. Let her fight.”
“I thought you were her bodyguard,” Annora scolded, turning to Wren with a frown.
“I am,” Wren said. “And if the big boy hadn’t pulled me off, I would’ve already killed the one who did this to her. But she can still fight. I’ve seen her do it.”
“This is what I came for,” Liv said, turning to beg Master Jurian. “Don’t tell me I can’t do this. Let me show you what I’ve learned.”
“Jurian–” Annora began, but he interrupted her.
“Brodbeck is my personal apprentice,” he said. “I’m approving her request to continue. Fix her up as best you can while we finish the armed matches, but she stays.”
“I want my objections noted with the Archmagus,” Annora grumbled.
“Fine. But it’s my training yard, and my decision.” Jurian began to walk away, then paused, and turned back to Liv. “Don’t make me regret giving you this chance.” He disappeared into the crowd.
“Perhaps you’ll change your mind when you see how much this is going to hurt,” Annora chided Liv. “Alright boy - Arjun? Show me what you know. Help me pop the bones back into the joint.”
Liv screamed again, when they moved the bones. Wren helped hold her down, though three people seemed a bit ridiculous, for how small Liv was, and she couldn’t help but giggle at it. Then, they set to work on the fractures and ligaments.
“Is that willow?” Arjun asked, watching the professor move her wand over Liv’s arm.
Annora nodded. “It resonates with healing words,” she explained. “You know the bark has pain-killing properties, of course.” Arjun nodded. “With the right enchantments, those properties can be layered onto any spell cast using the wand. She should be starting to feel it right about now. Good for bringing a fever down, too.”
And indeed, Liv was able to breathe a bit easier. Whether it was having the bones back in place, or the effect of the wand, the pain was no longer quite so overwhelming. While Annora and Arjun wrapped a wooden splint tight to her arm with strips of clean linen, she watched the last match of the armed examination.
It came down to a boy Liv didn’t recognize against a strikingly beautiful girl with very short dark hair - even shorter than many of the boys. She moved like a prowling cat, clad in tight breeches and a linen shirt, with a kind of dangerous grace that Liv found absolutely fascinating. She clearly knew how to fight – in a few quick moves, the girl disarmed her opponent, broke down his leg, and bore him to the ground, pinning him helplessly.
“Winner,” Jurian declared, “Lady Rosamund Lowry. Congratulations.” He offered the girl his hand. Rosamund accepted, and got back to her feet with a grin, then strolled back over to the stands. Liv felt her eyes drawn to the way the girl’s hips rolled, and actually felt a bit jealous. Worse, Rosamund noticed her looking, grinned, and gave Liv a wink. She blushed and looked away.
Once the final two students were both seated, Jurian addressed the assembled students again. “The magical examinations work somewhat differently,” he explained. “Half of you aren’t ready to duel yet, and half of those don’t even have a word of power. The students who can duel won’t have enough mana to get through more than one fight today. Therefore, we will not have a finalized ranking before dinner.”
There was a chorus of groans from the students in the stands.
“Only those who voluntarily put themselves forward will duel today,” Jurian continued, pacing back and forth. “Everyone who chooses not to duel, will be placed in the remedial class. Everyone who steps forward will be guaranteed a place in the basic magical combat course. As before, there are a small number of spots reserved in my advanced course, and those are the spots you are competing for. Now, volunteers!”
Liv yanked her arm out of the professor’s grasp, and stood up. “Good enough,” she said, and walked out onto the packed earth of the training yard before anyone could stop her. She did her best to ignore the murmuring of the other students, but some of the voices carried too loudly for her to ignore.
“She’s mad,” one of the girls said. Liv turned around when she reached Master Jurian, and stood there, facing the stands, waiting for someone else to step forward. She drew her wand in her left hand again, and only then realized that her set of bracelet and rings was still packed away in Thora’s care. No matter; she could get through one duel without that.
“Are there no other volunteers?” Master Jurian asked the students.
“I’m not fighting a girl who’s already got a broken arm,” Jasper Teller called out.
“Are you certain it isn’t because I’ve already beat you once?” Liv shouted back. Still, no one in the crowd moved to stand, and it was with a feeling of desperation that Liv wondered what would happen if they all refused to fight her.
“Rust it,” a woman’s voice broke over the training field. Liv was surprised by the tenor of it: low and a bit hoarse. “If she’s got the stones to fight, I’ll give her a match.” Rosamund Lowry stood up and walked quickly across the field to join Liv and Jurian. She carried neither a wand, nor a staff.
“Have you both dueled before?” Professor Jurian asked, and each girl nodded in turn. “Good,” he said. “My name is Master Jurian, Professor of Combat at this college, and I will be overseeing this duel. Duelists, present any object that is enchanted, or any mana-stone you are carrying, for inspection.”
Liv held out her left arm. “I bring an enchanted wand made from the bone of a mana-beast,” she declared. “Set with a mana stone in the pommel. I have another in my guild ring. My armor keeps my body warm, and helps to stop open wounds from bleeding.”
“I bring nothing,” Rosamund said.
“Those items are acceptable,” Jurian declared. “This duel will proceed to first blood, surrender, unconsciousness, or my count of ten without response. If either party leaves the circle, they will be considered to have surrendered. When I call the duel as ended, you will both cease casting immediately. We will have no more incidents like the one before, is that clear?” Both girls nodded.
“Back to back.” At Jurian’s command, Liv turned around, and pressed her body against Rosamund’s. She could feel the other girl was a few inches taller than her, and Liv caught a faint whiff of soap that smelled like woodsmoke. “Fifteen paces!” Jurian declared, and Liv began to walk. At the count of fifteen, she turned around, and waited calmly while the professor conjured the dueling circle of blue light to surround them.
Across the training yard, Liv locked eyes with Rosamund Lowry.
“Begin!” Master Jurian shouted.
“Cemet Ceua o'Mae!” Rosamund called, her invocation confident. Just in front of her, the ground swelled up and rolled forward in a great wave of earth, spraying dirt in every direction, which surged toward Liv.
Liv clicked the third button on her wand and drew it in a horizontal line in front of her. The movement was just a little awkward, with her left hand, but a wall of adamant ice sprang up in front of her just the same, clear enough for her to see through. By the time the roiling crest of earth broke on her barrier, Liv was already chanting.
“Celent’he Aiveh Encve Manim ’o’Kveis,” she finished, and five soldiers of ice budded from the surface of the wall that faced Rosamund. Three carried swords, while the final two wielded spears sharpened of Liv’s intent. As one, the five frost soldiers charged across the yard, weapons raised.
“Cemet Aiveh Thigva,” Rosamund called. She started to back away, then looked behind and saw that she had no room against the blue light of the dueling circle. A great ditch in the earth fell out from under the feet of two of Liv’s charging soldiers, the pair at the front, and they tumbled down into the collapsing ground. Liv paused the other three at the edge of the trench. Ranged attacks, it would have to be, then. Rather than drop the wall, Liv decided to continue using it.
“Celent’he Aiveh Dvo Scelim’o’Kveis!” At her command, two shards of ice formed from the wall, hung parallel to the ground for a moment, extended like the spears of a rank of soldiers, then shot forward. Liv aimed for Rosamund’s legs, rather than her torso, because she didn’t want to accidentally kill the other girl. She was surprised to find herself grinning, in spite of the pain she still felt from her arm.
Rosamund Lowry threw herself to the side, rolling across the ground, and yelled out: “I yield! I’m out of mana.”
Liv couldn’t help but sigh, disappointed the duel was over so quickly. She used the waste heat from her spells to melt the wall of ice away, and then turned to glance at the crowd. She was surprised to see that the students were absolutely silent, many of them staring at her with wide eyes.
Thora leapt to her feet and began to clap enthusiastically.