The projectile slammed into a target, sending up a burst of whirling winds as the mana was released. I raised a hand, shielding my eyes from the cloud of smoke and debris blown up from the attack, and when it cleared, I spotted a fist-sized hole just to the right of the bullseye. A low, drawn-out whistle came from beside me, and I looked over to see Amelia slowly shaking her head.

"Remind me never to get on his bad side," she muttered under her breath, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Was that ever a possibility?" I whispered back, glancing at her.

Shooting me a grin, she half-shrugged, replying, "Can't be too careful."

Holding back a chuckle, I turned to Leon, saying, "Impressive, sir. Very impressive."

He lowered the bow, dark blue bracers on each arm still glowing teal with mana, and gave me a massive smile.

"Fun, right? They're called Astral Armaments. These bracers condense and shape my mana into whatever I want, forming projectiles made of pure energy. As you can probably tell, they hit a hell of a lot harder than my normal arrows. The nice part is that the enchantment is so efficient, I can still make a dozen of them, even with my... let's say 'issues' with mana volume." he explained, snapping them off his forearms and handing them to me.

I slipped them on, opening and closing my hands and pushing a small bit of mana into the left one. The runes flared deep green, and a wispy shape similar to a sword formed in the air above one of my hands. Narrowing my eyes, I focused, and the creation morphed, becoming a spear and then an arrow in quick succession. Like Leon said, the loss in mana from my body and the bracers was minimal, reflecting a very high-quality enchantment.

"Maybe Simon could help improve them by adding some sort of storage system for excess mana? That would certainly help improve your stamina in a fight." I advised, removing and handing them back to Leon before turning to Simon, who looked up at me for a moment before shrugging.

"I-maybe I could ask my father?" he half-muttered, mustering a forced smile.

An uncomfortable silence fell for several seconds in the room, and Leon decided to break it, turning to his sister.

"Your turn, Sophia."

She sighed, reaching into her pack and removing a rolled-up scroll, which appeared scorched and burnt. I sensed energy pulsing from it and recognized it as potent lightning mana.

"I chose this spell as my prize. It's called 'Storm Armor,' though I will likely change that name to something a bit less...silly." she said with a frown.

"Interesting. May I ask what it does?" I said, smiling at her.

"You wrap lightning mana around your body and work to compress the energy, similar to a Mana Shield. The result is a defensive shell of mana that can also injure anyone foolish enough to approach too close. There are several other improvements possible as my mastery increases, but the primary purpose is defense."

So, it was a more powerful, lightning mana version of my own Mana Shell? Not impressive on its own, but I suspected she was downplaying just how potent the spell was, or hiding the full contents of the scroll. Maybe I should stick around Ferris longer than I thought, and see if I could learn more from her own magic.

Simon stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck.

"My prize is boring. Honestly, I grabbed an old tome on alchemy that I thought my father might find useful. Nothing special." he explained, keeping his eyes downturned and his posture uncertain. I stared at him, noting that his feet kept shuffling, and he had the faintest bit of sweat on his forehead, telltale signs that he was lying.

I stored that observation away as Amelia stepped forward, reaching behind her back and retrieving a bright white staff.

"Meet the Staff of Frost. It should be obvious enough, but it makes and controls ice magic. I can pump out blasts of ice, clouds of fog, or turn an entire area fifty feet across into a snow-covered wonderland. The best part of all is that it works just as nicely as my old staff for hitting people and channeling my mana." she explained, twirling the weapon in her hands with a somewhat disturbing twinkle in her eyes.

Something about the look she gave me told me that she hoped to use it against me during sparring, sooner or later.

Turning and meeting each of our eyes in turn, he gave a bright smile before continuing, "I want us to form a more permanent alliance, as a team from here on out. To that end, I'd like for the two of you to join us on our estate for the next few months. We can continue our training and improvements there, and prepare for the next year."

Amelia raised an eyebrow, and Simon looked up briefly before turning his eyes back down.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"That sounds appealing, but you sure your father would allow it? No offense, but I doubt any lord would be so accommodating to two random apprentices he has never met," she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"It will not be a problem when I tell him we only placed so high because of your help. Once he hears that we got all the way up to seventh, he will gladly allow anything to help us do even better next year." Leon insisted, his smile infectious.

Amelia took several seconds to reply, before shrugging.

"My mother always has been nagging me to make friends outside of the capital. I doubt she'll have any issues with it, especially once she hears it'll be at the famed Estton estate."

Simon looked up to Leon, his feet again shuffling as he responded, "I'll-I'll need to ask my father. I'm his assistant with a lot of his work, and I'm not sure how well he would take me being away from home for months."

Leon chuckled, replying, "Show him that book first and then ask him. I bet when he sees it and hears how well we did, he'll consider it."

The slight flinch in his eyes told me Simon did not feel so great about the tournament, but Leon did not notice, too focused on continuing his speech.

"All right, I'd say that's enough of that. We all earned ourselves a night of relaxation, and I took the liberty of renting out the main room of an inn down in the Upper District. Tomorrow night, there's going to be a big party there. Feel free to invite your friends, and I expect you all to be there to celebrate." he said, turning to Sophia and meeting her eyes. She rolled her eyes, giving him a grudging smile.

We spent a few more minutes discussing some details about Leon's impromptu party, mostly attire and what time to meet, before calling an end to the night. Simon hung back as the others left, and I remembered Amelia's warning to let him come to me, summarily discarding the idea.

Placing my hand on his shoulder, I jerked my head to the end of the hallway, and he raised an eyebrow before following me.

"Simon, I know that you might not feel comfortable talking to me, but are you okay? You have not been yourself since the...the end of the tournament." I asked, unsure how best to describe his injury.

"Of course I am, Vayne. Why wouldn't I be?" he answered almost as soon as I finished speaking, a smile that did not reach his eyes on his face.

"I know it can be difficult talking about these sorts of things. I- the first semester of our training, I was injured pretty severely by thieves. It was a long time ago now, but it left an impression on me, and I know it can be challenging to just move on." I said, placing my hand on his shoulder again.

His eyes fell down to the ground, and he did not immediately respond, prompting me to continue.

"If you want to talk, let me know. Okay?" I finished, taking a step back and staring at him.

I did not know what reaction to expect, but a venomous glare was not one of them.

"I'll be fine, Vayne. I don't need protection." he snapped before turning and walking away. I followed him, caught too off guard by his response to reply in time. Maybe I did make a mistake asking so soon after the tournament?

Walking through the hallways by myself, I decided that I would need to tell Girem his training was flawed if I ever got the chance. I could handle complex economic sanctions and political meetings, but comforting a friend was beyond my skills. The next time something like this happened, I would default to whatever Amelia suggested.

Putting aside my relatively trivial social woes to one side, I sped my pace, knowing I still had something to finish tonight. Someone or something was messing with my mind, and I needed to fix it. And luckily for me, I had a centuries-old ally with telepathic abilities that might be able to help.

Fortuna was sleeping on the couch when I walked into my room, opening his eyes and standing after a moment. He gave me a wide yawn, before licking one paw, staring at me with amber eyes.

You won?

"We placed seventh, which is well enough, and I earned myself a new prize. However, I have something more important to discuss than our performance. I think something is wrong with me. More specifically, something is wrong with my mind." I said, feeling a stabbing pain between my eyes again.

Elaborate

"My actions during the tournament were uncharacteristic, too bold and upfront for my plans and personality. And more concerning, the challenges we faced seemed tailored to me specifically, as if wanting me to stand out. Every time I-I think about these things, my head begins to hu-urt, and I have trouble focusing-ing." I gasped, wincing, and grabbing the side of my head.

His eyes narrowed, and a minute passed before he finally replied.

What about that friend of yours, Julian? He is a skilled mind mage. He would be the better choice to check over your head.

"I doubt he did this to me, but I cannot take the risk. As far as I know, there are only a few people in the Academy who could be responsible, and he is on that list. I cannot be sure he is trustworthy."

And I am? What makes you think that?

"Nothing. But I cannot rightfully continue on with an altered mind, now can I?" I growled, laying down on the carpeted floor as my head continued to spin. I let my thoughts wander from the question and felt the pain decrease just the smallest fraction. So, this pain was linked to intent somehow?

After a second, I thought of something, looking over at Fortuna, who was still staring at me, unmoving.

"Can I ask you something? Why are you helping me? I know you said you are the guardian of Cortos' legacy, but why wait around so long?"

You've never asked me this before. Why now?

I gave a humorless chuckle, replying, "It seems an appropriate time considering you are about to root around in my mind. Humor me."

I made a promise to a friend. I owed him everything, and I will do anything in my power to repay that debt.

"So, loyalty to a friend?" I said, thinking about the Esttons, Simon, and Amelia. Were they my friends? I lied to them, manipulated them, and actively planned to abandon them, more for my own gain than anything else. Still, I was closer to them than likely anyone else in my life. Was it going to be worth it, in the end?

There are few things as strong, in my experience, as the bonds between people. Cortos had...trouble understanding that at times, and it was not one of his best traits, but we can discuss this another time. Close your eyes and try to relax. I am not a deft hand at this, and unfortunately, it will be unpleasant.

That was the last thing I heard before my head exploded into agony, and the world fell away into nothingness.