It was Friday noon and the whole school, from the first years to the older batches were buzzing with excitement about the games. Classes were canceled from noon onwards to give students time to prepare for the games. For the first games it was only the first years playing as it was the “initiation” games as Auralius would put it. After these games we are then allowed to participate in bigger teams and against the older students.

Kassius and his group sat in the dining hall silent, and nervous. Their lunch had been laid out magically as it normally was but none of them could eat. Kassius looked over at other tables to see if others were as nervous as they were. He saw that most of the dining halls were filled with first years, and they too had troubles trying to calm down. He saw Hazel’s group furiously digging through books that they brought and he saw Peony tearing her hair out reading her books. He also saw other groups bringing their equipment to the dining hall, nearly filling their tables so much that they couldn’t eat properly with the stuff in the way.

Only a few groups were calm the whole time, Adonis’ group being one of them. Kassius tried not to turn his attention to their group, as they smugly looked at other groups and laughed at them from their table. Kassius turned back to his group and he still saw them barely eating. He wanted to say something but he didn’t know what. As if on cue, Evaline stood up from the table then grabbed Gwin’s hand.

“Come on.” she said looking at the group then dragging Gwin along, with Fenris and Kassius following behind.

They passed through the field gate and went into the forest, Kassius and Fenris kept following with no idea of where they were headed.

“Where are you taking us, Eva?” Gwin asked, confused and anxious.

Evaline didn’t say a word, Kassius only noticed the small smile on her face as she dragged them along the woods. Before they knew it they reached an open area in the woods with a beautiful lake in the middle. Evaline let go of Gwin’s hand and approached the shoreline.

“Everyone was so tense, I figured we should take the time we have to relax.” Evaline said. Kassius was entirely on board with the idea, along with Fenris, but Gwin remained tense. Evaline approached Gwin and held both of her hands.

“Relax, we need this. We’ve trained a lot, a little rest won’t hurt.” she said, smiling assuringly at Gwin.

Gwin’s tense expression broke into a small smile and they headed for the shore to skip stones. Kassius looked at his friends smiling, happy that they’re having fun. Evaline and Gwin teamed up against Kassius and Fenris in a splash off, with the girls winning against the boys. They spent the remainder of their free time skipping stones and playing by the lake, with the bright sun shining down on them. They completely forgot about the games until they heard a loud ding at the distance. It was the school bell, signaling the start of the games. The group ceased their fun and looked at each other. Kassius saw the fear and anxiety in their eyes, he could feel it inside him as well. The looks on his friends’ faces made his heart sting, he was waiting for one of them to burst into life as they usually would but none of them did.

As if under a trance, his body began to move and he pulled his friends into a huddle.

“You guys are the best team I could have ever asked for, we got this.” he said, without knowing what was coming out of his mouth but he didn’t stop himself.

“I don’t care what happens, I know we can do this, I have faith in all of you.” he continued with a smile on his face.

They stood there silently, Kassius hoping one of them would lighten up. Fenris then returned the hug as he put his arm around Kassius, giving him an encouraging smile, then Evaline and Gwin followed suit.

“You suck at speeches, good attempt though.” Fenris said jokingly, and the others laughed. With their spirits lifted, they headed back towards the castle bursting with confidence and excitement. They were greeted by Hazel and Peony just at the gates of the field, the pair looked out of breath.

“What’s wrong?” asked Kassius, as he waited for one of them to catch their breaths and answer. Peony stood straight and took a deep breath, while turning towards Kassius.

“W-we-we were looking for you guys.” she said, taking more deep and slow breaths after saying it. “Why are you looking for us? What’s the rush?” Fenris asked. Hazel shook his head as he stood straight.

“Not all of you, just Kassius. Sir Auralius was looking for you.” As if on cue, Aurelius appeared behind them calling Kassius’ name. “Kassius, I’ve been looking for you, boy.”Auralius said casually.

He had never spoken like this in front of the other students, while Kassius was unfazed he saw the others standing a little shocked.

“What is it, sir?” Kassius responded. “The games will soon be underway, I was hoping I might catch you before then.” Aurelius said becoming more serious.

“Why, sir?” Kassius asked, nearly concerned. “May I speak to you in private?” Aurelius asked politely. Kassius nodded and the group went away, giving them privacy.

“I heard about your interest in the Forgotten, boy.” Aurelius said, dropping the casual demeanor. Kassius felt anxious again after hearing this and his tone, a serious tone.

“Y-yes, sir” Kassius instinctively responded. “Calm yourself, boy, you’re not in trouble.” Aurelius said, bringing back some of the initial casual demeanor he had a while ago.

“A warning, Kassius.” He paused for a bit as he bent down to whisper. “Watch yourself, the more you dig around for them, you will find yourself coming face-to-face with them.” Aurelius whispered, giving Kassius an uneasy feeling.

Kassius barely had any time to process before the entire school came to the open field. Every student from the first years to the older students came, and suddenly all of the anxiety and nervousness that Kassius had felt came flooding back, and he was frozen.

"What was that about?" Fenris asked. Before Kassius could answer, Miss Irene's voice echoed throughout the field, grabbing the attention of the enormous crowd of students.

"Good Afternoon. Welcome to the start of this year's War Games." she said, earning a loud cheer from the crowd, mostly the older students.

"Just as in previous years, the first games will entirely be played by the first years, as their initiation game." she continued, encouraging more cheers.

"As their initiation games, these will allow these new students to show their talent and potential not only as combatants, but as intellects, and overall, as leaders."

"This year, our first games will be...." she paused in her speech for a moment, as she waved her hands to produce large flames above her. Flowing through the air, it began to take shape, forming the phrase "King of The Hill''.

"King of The Hill..." before she continued, a light illusion formed showing a map

"In this game there will be a flag placed in the middle of the game grounds. Each team will start at one end of the grounds and will work their way towards the flag, possibly encountering obstacles and other teams along the way. Whoever catches the flag, wins the games.'' As she finished explaining the instructions, a roar of excitement came from the crowd, while the first years remained silent.

"Remember, these initiation games will allow the first years to join one of the four teams of the school." Banners raised showing the insignias of each of the teams of the school.

"The team burning with determination and strength, the Crimson Drakes! '' With the introduction of the team, the banner burst into life with golden flames coming out of the dragons' mouth, and fire burning in its eyes.

"With a will a stubborn and immovable as stone, we have the Golems!'' As the team was introduced, the stone humanoid figure began to stomp and the team stomped along with it, with echoes of tremors reminiscent of an earthquake.

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"Flooding the battlefield with grace and beauty, winning with poise we have, the Rose Golds!'' As the name suggests, a rose gold flower bloomed in their banner and a colorful shower of petals went with the teams' presentation.

"And last, but certainly not the least, we have a team that excels in their cleverness and wit, the Ravens.” a dark silhouette of a giant bird emerged from the final banner, filling the atmosphere with dread.

Seeing all of these teams built Kassius’ anxiety even more, knowing that all these people would be watching him perform, a first year who just started getting used to this new world, and who just got used to combat. He felt a tap on his shoulder which startled him. He turned to see what or who it was, and saw that it was Fenris.

"Calm down, o fearless leader." Fenris said, smirking. "What?" Kassius said, confused at Fenris' comment. "We got this, remember your little speech?" Kassius felt his face heat up and stood speechless, embarrassed being reminded of what he said in the moment.

Gwin, close behind Evaline and Hazel's group, hit Fenris in the head and scolded him. "Don't stress him out even more. How insensitive could you be?" Fenris stroked his head on the spot where he had been hit and gave Gwin an angered look.

"What he meant to say Kassius, is that we'll be fine, we've got each other, and we believe in you." Evaline said with a bright smile, giving Kassius the reassurance he needed. Before he could say anything, Miss Irene continued her speech.

"This will mark the start of a great long year. These games are where you put your knowledge, strength, and perseverance to the test." "I wish the best of luck to our first years, and let each team choose their new members well, for these members may have a great future ahead."

As she finished her speech, the crowd applauded and cheered for the games to start. Kassius cheered alongside the other students and spotted Miss Irene looking in his direction, smiling. He wondered if it was really him she was looking at or was it just him. Miss Irene stepped back giving the center to Auralius.

"First years go to your groups and line up all in front of me." he said loudly, and each first year scrambled to their groups. Kassius' group quickly formed up behind him and the atmosphere became filled with excitement and anxiety. When the group finished forming, Auralius then stepped forward.

"As you all well know, you will be competing in a closed arena, however, it will be formed by magic, be warned that the arena may not be what you expect." This warning deepened the sense of fear in the first years.

"A team is eliminated when all members are knocked out, or one of the members forfeit after being the last one standing. You may still continue as the last person in your team, however, it will be difficult."

"Our school nurse, Miss Juniper and the rest of our staff are on standby to fetch the eliminated teams.” “Any animosities, any rivalries settle them in the arena.”

“On the sound of the school bell, you will be transported to the arena.” as he finished instructions and final reminders, the air was still and the whole field was quiet.

The tense atmosphere could be felt by everyone as they all waited for the games to finally begin. The field was silent, the sound of the wind blowing could be heard all over. Kassius could hear the sound of his heart rapidly beating. Unable to contain his immense emotion, he closed his eyes to try to contain himself. Feeling as if moments hadn’t even passed, the loud bell rang and a loud whoosh sound was heard.

When the air was still, Kassius opened his eyes and found himself deep in the woods. He looked around for his friends and he saw them standing a few feet from both his sides. Before he could say a word, he heard a loud bang over his head and saw a bright red light in the sky, signaling the start of the games.

A silence fell over the woods, Kassius could hear wings of the flies and rustle of the leaves around them. A sudden bang from a distance broke the silence and screams and shouts followed suit. The games had begun and the teams wasted no time to make their moves. “We better get moving.” Fenris said in a rushed tone. The group nodded in agreement and ran into the forest.

As they went through the forest, the other teams began fighting in other parts of the wood. Kassius and the others even encountered some of the team, but thankfully avoided a clash with them as other teams also popped up from all parts of the forest. Clashes of weapons echoed through the woods, sparks of magic lit the darkest and deepest parts of the forest. The group ran through the battles between other teams focusing on looking for the flag. They emerged from the forest to an open area with a boulder in the middle and regrouped from avoiding the fights.

“How are we supposed to find the flag in this chaos?” Fenris said, breathing desperately for air. Kassius and Gwin leaned on the rock to rest, while Eva stood vigilant watching all sides.

“They never actually said where the flag was didn’t they?” Gwin said.

“Didn’t she say that the flag would be in the middle of the game grounds?” Fenris answered Gwin, slightly brightening his expression before growing dim again, realizing that no one knew where the middle was.

“Company, guys.” Eva said quickly, as the group looked up to see two teams emerge from the forest preparing to attack them. Kassius and the others readied their weapons for a fight.

Before Kassius could think, one of the members of the team charged at them, immediately getting stopped by a spell from Fenris. Eva followed it with a response of two arrows, one aimed at each of the teams that emerged from the forest. Kassius remained defensive and did battle with a member from both teams, one wielding dual axes, and the other gauntlets. Fenris and Gwin kept their distance and suppressed the remaining of the teams from supporting those that were fighting Kassius and Eva.

Spells and arrows flew from one side of the open space to the other as three teams battled it out for a chance to win the games. Kassius and the others seemed to be winning as Kassius and Eva defeated their opponents in quick succession, while Fenris and Gwin succeeded in dividing the teams, allowing the other two to pick them off. The team was winning the fight but they knew that they had to go for the win and find the flag as quickly as possible.

“Guys we have to go!” Kassius yelled to his team. “Close your eyes!” Eva yelled, Kassius and the others did as she said without question.

As Kassius closed his eyes, he saw the dark that he saw slightly brightened, and not long after, he felt someone grab him. Kassius didn’t open his eyes for a while as he felt himself being pulled into one direction. When he opened them he found himself in the forest again with Gwin and Eva grabbing hold of him and Fenris, running. They stopped in the middle of a few trees and under a short drop, hiding from the rest of the teams.

“A little warning would’ve been nice.” Fenris said.

“Then it would’ve been less effective.” Eva gave a snarky response. Kassus and the others slowly started to catch their breaths as they tried to figure out what to do next.

“Where should we even start looking for the flag? It’s not like we have all day to do it.” Fenris said, seemingly holding in the tone of complaint.

“Maybe try thinking of something rather than pointing out what we can’t do.” Gwin said, slightly irritated.

“He does have a point. We don’t even know how to start, let alone where to start?” Eva said joining the discussion.

“Is there any way to know where we are?” Kassius asked. Everyone stood silent or shrugged as none of them knew, much to Kassius’ disappointment.

Silence fell between them for a moment, as they contemplated what to do next. Then, Gwin’s face began to brighten up, as if a lightbulb appeared above her head. “What?” Kassius asked. Gwin took a step out of cover and began to position her hands on her sides, and began chanting an incantation.

As she continued her spell, a glowing and sparkling substance flowed like water all around her and as soon as she finished her incantation, a shining path formed for them leading further in the forest. “What was that?” asked Fenris, shocked at the sight, with Kassius giving the same expression.

“I made it a point to have some runic dust on hand, just in case.” Gwin said. “How’d you know we’d need it?” Kassius asked, as Eva let out a small chuckle.

“It’s something slightly more……..interesting than that.” Eva said, trying to keep the laughter in. “Shut up, Eva!” Gwin said blushing intensely. Kassius and Fenris looked at each other confused at the situation.

“It’s okay to admit you get lost, Gwin. It’s normal to have a bad sense of direction.” Eva said grinning, while Gwin stood silent and blushing even more intensely.

Fenris then joined with laughter at the revelation that Gwin, arguably the most intelligent and most knowledgeable among all the students, has no sense of direction.

“Is that why you had that rune with you when we first met?” Kassius asked. Gwin didn’t answer due to the amount of humiliation she is already enduring.

After much laughter and teasing, Kassius then brought the attention of the group back to the games. “Are you sure we can find the flag this way?” Kassius asked Gwin, hoping for some reassurance.

“Yeah it might lead us to other teams or some useless tree.” Fenris said.

“It’s the best option we have at the moment.” Gwin said. “The rune is meant to lead us to wherever we desire, as long as there are traces of magic in the location.”

“Seeing as it gave us only one way to go, I’m hoping that’ll lead us to the flag.” Gwin said with a straight face. The rest of the group nodded, seemingly with reluctance as they were anxious of the uncertainty of the method.

“If we end up being led to a monster or something even more terrifying, you’re responsible for my funeral.” Fenris said, with a slight tremble in his voice. “We’d better get going then.” Kassius said as the group stood out of the cover and followed the shining trail.