His body still ached from the thrashing and training he had gone through the day prior and yet he had to wake up and clothe himself. His arms yelled at him when he put on his shirt, so much so that he did not even think about doing the same with the jacket. Tucking it under his arm, he prepared to go to the training grounds. Alone this time, as Gavin had the same class in a different time today. It seemed that the different casts were trained together. So, Cormac being a minor noble wouldn’t train with Gavin unless he ascended to lord status, or Gavin dropped to his. But with the way Gavin enjoyed every single meal of his cast, the chance that he wouldn’t take training seriously was slim.

As he entered the common room, Cormac's nose was assaulted with a fragrant aroma, one very similar to flowers. That's why he wasn't surprised to see Aviana walking out of their shared bathroom. Her long hair, still semi-wet took on an even deeper tone of red. The sight of her bare long legs and only a towel wrapped around her body awakened something in Cormac he wasn’t aware of. Nor was he aware that he was staring long enough for Aviana to notice.

She shot him a glare of disdain, similar to the ones his mother greeted him with, and he quickly averted his eyes. His cheeks flushed red and he quickened his step.

"Sorry!" was all he could muster, before he left.

A creep, that's what he was. A creep. That's all he'll ever be. At least that's what the still embarrassed Cormac could think about, other than…well…Aviana.

Whenever his thoughts stilled enough, there she was, standing in all the beauty she had to offer. Aviana. It was the first time he had ever met her since the two weeks he had arrived, if you don’t count the first day of training. It was a very entrancing image, her in a towel. So entrancing he had to backtrack, since he missed the arena entirely. Still even while walking back and feeling like an idiot, Cormac felt the slight smile tug on the corners of his mouth.

The sand tasted like it always did, like sand. Cormac had to spit out the grains he involuntarily got into his mouth, when the hulking mass of a man sent him flying. Now he was on all fours, coughing like a cat ready to drop a furball. Before he could cough up the rest of what he almost swallowed, he felt a sense of danger and thrown himself to his side. An arm made out of pure muscle swished through the air where he was a moment ago.

Cormac quickly got on his legs and ran in a direction away from the brute. He ran away far enough to get his bearings in order again. Though he could hear him running after him. Afraid to go into close quarter battles again, Cormac just ran, though he felt his stamina depleting, he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for too long.

"Good. Enough for now." Master Norman said as he came closer to the students. "Carl, you have a lot of strength, enough to make you a beast on a battlefield, but you lack speed and you lack decisiveness and a head in the battle. You could have finished Cormac when you had him pinned down, or you could have thrown him beyond the bounds of the arena, but you only swatted him away like a fly. Cormac was then able to realize your weakness and ran circles around you. That’s why you couldn’t win." The giant brute took the criticism in stride, nodding at the masters words. Then the master turned to Cormac.

"Cormac, you lack strength and stamina, don’t think I haven't noticed you panting near the end of the fight. If I let it go on, Carl would have gotten you just with his endurance. Your speed isn't bad, but you can only rely on it if you fight against people like Carl, which won't be very often. Your only redeeming quality is your quick thinking and your agility. But those are both things that will keep you alive, not something you can use to win. You need to work harder on the basics." Master Norman kept looking at Cormac, expecting something.

"Yes, sir." Cormac was unsure of what he was supposed to do. So he focused on the sweat running down his nose.

"I mean it Cormac, if you don’t start carrying your weight, you would need a miracle to pass."

"Yes, sir." Cormac replied weakly.

After a few long seconds Master Norman nodded and dismissed them both. They walked over to the bench in silence, then they began watching another fight take place.

The fighter on the left was a boy Cormac did not know the name of. He had long brown hair and a scar across his forehead. He stood prepared in a stance that Cormac did not recognize. But Cormac much rather watched his opponent.

Aviana stood on the other side of the arena, her hair made into a bun, in very much the same way she had it every time she fought. Her stance low and eyes ready for the battle.

The other students went quiet, all looking forward what today's fight would bring. Aviana's nickname was 'unbeatable', which she earned in the exact way anyone would expect.

"Fight" roared Master Norman, anticipation clear even in his voice.

She bolted out of her corner, running full speed against her opponent. Though for the first time in one of her battles, he was there first. He ran up to her, swinging at her head. Aviana dodged with a pirouette, kicking his leg under him with her heel. Following with another kick aimed at his head.

He fell to one knee, but managed to catch her leg with his arms, twisting it and making her fall head first into the ground. Before she made contact, she put her hands on the ground and released her leg with a kick from the other. Her opponent fell on his back with her push, but managed to scramble back on his feet, as did she.

Now the two fighters, both relying on their agility traded a blow for blow. Each sending the other just a few inches to the side, both dodging nigh perfectly. Then the guy jumped a little further, creating a moment of respite for the two fighters.

"You are good. Want to go to lunch after?" he asked. Then he ran after her, swinging wildly. His punches connected with nothing but clear air, as Aviana dodged from their way. Somewhere along the flurry of blows, her hair came undone from the bun and started flaying wildly around.

The guy took a few steps back and ran a hand through his hair.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"I am Rodrick by the by." he said putting his hands in his pocket. "We should grab a meal sometime."

They circled each other, like two lions, waiting for the right moment to attack. The lioness seemed to find it earlier.

She broke the unease treaty, running from where she stood close to the ground. She tackled her opponent before he had the time to realize what was coming to him. He hit the ground with an audible thumb, as air escaped his lungs. She held his jacket in one hand raised the other, balling it to a fist above him, preparing to strike.

"Good! Aviana is the victor of this bout." shouted Master Norman.

Aviana let go of his jacket and walked out to her side of the arena, then to the seats above. Rodrick just watched her go for a moment.

"Rodrick, less ogling the girl more walking out of the field." After hearing what Master Norman had to say, Rodrick turned and left for the stands too.

"I hate that guy." Cormac heard himself say.

"Yeah, I don’t really like him either to be honest." said Carl, surprising Cormac even more "He knows how to move his body though, that’s for sure."

"He did manage to go toe to toe with Aviana for some time. That is impressive." Cormac agreed.

"I'd like to see what they would do with weapons." said Carl, looking into the arena thoughtfully.

"You think it would make much of a difference?"

"Probably, I think. Either Aviana would win even harder, or Rodrick would have the upper hand. It is very rare for two fighters to have the same odds with fists as with weapons of their choice."

"But some fighters need no weapons huh?" joked Cormac, hitting Carl with his shoulder. "If you wanted you could have thrown me over the Academy walls."

"Well…" Carl laughed a little, then mellowed out. "I don’t know about that, but it's true that I should have thrown you out when I had the chance. Did not think of it. Then you turned all slippery and I couldn’t catch you till Master called the fight."

"Would have gotten me if he didn’t, I was panting my lugs out at the end."

"You think I didn’t?" they shared a laugh.

The new duo of fighters wasn’t that interesting, they paired together once before and the fight would probably end the same way.

"Still, I don’t think Aviana was even trying her best."

"I guess, but neither did Rodrick. He has something up his sleeve, I am sure."

"Why?"

"Call it a gut feeling."

"Good." shouted the Master Norman at the duo of fighters. Then he turned to the rest of the class. "Now, who needs power training can go there, the rest will do laps today."

Cormac bid Carl goodbye and walked over to the weights.

His body was so sore that he paid zero attention in the economy class today. It took his all just to not fall asleep during it. Now, walking back to his lounge, he felt like giving up and sleeping right there in the hallway.

A group of around five guys rounded the corner, walking against Cormac. To make space for them, Cormac leaned against the hallway wall, waiting for them to pass. But they didn’t.

Only this up close did he realize who the person in front of them was. Rodrick.

"Hey, we have classes together. You are that twerp that got sent by Carl right?" a bad feeling overtook Cormac.

"Well I uh…yeah." he blurted out. He started to feel worm, his jacket started to feel itchy and his shirt felt like it restrained him from breathing properly.

"Don’t you share a lounge with that Aviana? What a babe right?"

"I do."

"Yeah. I see us as friends you know. Going to the same class." Rodrick said as he came closer, putting his hand on Cormac's shoulder. "And friends should help one another right? I really want to be in that lounge twerp. What do you say we switch? No Aviana, but it is closer. And Jackie here is there too." Rodrick pointed at one of the guys behind him.

"No, I don’t think I want to."

"You have something against Jackie? C'mon man, he can seem a little weird, but he is a good guy."

"I don’t want to trade it. Thank you." Cormac replied looking straight into Rodrick's eyes.

"Ok. Do you know who I am little twerp? What is my family? I wager you don’t. I wager, that you are some nobody from a city, who got here based on his merit." Rodrick said the last part mockingly. Gavin appeared in Cormac's mind and his fear started to grow into anger. "I am from the Pervin family, bumpkin. My family name means something."

Cormac almost wanted to laugh at that but kept it to himself. Yes, that means that your family is a servant of ours. He thought. He was used to getting intimated by his family or his betters, of what they could have done to him, but Rodrick was not his better.

"Here, it doesn’t mean anything." he replied simply and brushed his hand from his shoulder. "Now I will go to my raven lounge, if you please. There might be someone waiting there for me. Someone you might know." Cormac of course meant Gavin, but he allowed himself to leave that information out.

A storm ran across Rodrick's face, confusion turned to anger and anger to a smile. Cormac felt the sense of danger flare again, much brighter than earlier today.

"Of course. Right after we talk a bit more."

The night was calm and everybody in her lounge was already asleep. The young wizard has been awake for longer than usual today, pacing around the common room. Then he shouted a few curses and disappeared into his room. It was a bit annoying to lose a part of the only time she had saved for herself, but she had to adapt.

Wearing only casual clothes, she lighted a candle and sat on one of the armchairs. She didn’t trust them at first, they seemed rigid and uninviting, but they were extremely comfortable once she got used to them. As was true for the whole lounge she supposed. It might have seemed a tad depressing the first time she looked around, but now the theme seemed pleasant. She even started to like the ravens themselves because of it.

She put her legs on another armchair and sank into the book she took from the library. A guide to spot a ruler. It was mostly a comedic book, though the various ways they supposedly used were so incredibly versatile, some might have actually worked.

She was just in the middle of reading about a soup made from a giants toe, bear claws and butterfly wings, that for reason had to be blue, when she heard a slight knock on the door.

She wasn’t sure if she didn’t just imagine it, so she closed the book and listened on. After a while she heard another knock, followed with a strained breathing. She jumped up and walked over to the door. She unlocked the door and opened the handle.

Only for the guy from the morning to fall into her arms.