“Come on you slowpokes!” Li Na shouted from down the street. She had dragged her friends out of the Academy entrance and straight down the city’s main road. Their entire year spilled out of the campus grounds in a spread out group. The whole class had been gathering in the common room, but the first person walking out of the dorms acted as a trigger for everyone assembled, resulting in almost all of them leaving together.
Sven had joined them on the way out, and he and Li Na had had an animated discussion on where to go for breakfast. The matter seemed settled as they led the way for Yaric and Lauren. Very few people were about on the streets; city life started a little later than it did for those in farming villages.
It was a 20-minute walk to the little shop Li Na had chosen. The place had its own building on a side street directly off the main road. It was obviously a bakery, a fact that was made known as soon as the turned into the little street. The smell of baking was already drifting down the street, causing the foursome to speed up.
The building had it’s own balcony for customers, with tables and chairs spread throughout. One side had a counter with baked goods on display. They clearly catered to both shoppers and people dining in.
The setup was very different to the taverns Yaric had been in. The entire place was open out into the street, and there was a lot of different options to choose from. The whole experience was a lot closer to eating on the river boat than eating in a town.
All four settled themselves quickly and started going through the options. They enjoyed going through the variety, but finally had to place their orders as the smells wafting from the back drove them to make a choice.
Everything about the setting was different, and the conversation between the four friends switched to stories from home instead of subjects revolving around the Academy.
“My family has a business not far from here,” Lauren informed them. “My dad is a tailor and my mom is a seamstress, they make some of the more upmarket clothing in Lekton. My mom is always drawing ideas for new outfits.”
“That’s how I knew Lauren,” Li Na added. “Her father sometimes bought leather from us. My dad owns a tannery downriver.”
“My dad also makes clothing for activities like riding and hunting,” Lauren explained.
“So you two knew each other even before you joined the Academy? What were the chances that both of you turned out to be arcanists?”
“Not really,” Li Na answered. “Our parents kind of knew each other because of their trades. But we lived far from each other. I remembered seeing her a few of times, but we never spoke to each other or knew the other’s name. We still recognized each other when we joined the Academy though. Seeing a familiar face was a big deal when you’re eleven and surrounded by a large group of strangers.”
Sven leaned forward slightly to add, “There are just over 120 students in our year, and that’s after pulling arcanists our age from across the entire kingdom. The only reason there are enough Mages to handle our duties to society is due to our longevity. We tend to live long enough that our numbers continually increase slightly. Enough that we can keep up proportionally with the rest of population. The odds of two arcanists having parents that already know each other are extremely low. Them both being the same age and starting in the same year? They’re probably the only two in the entire Academy that can say that.”
Yaric nodded. “And you? Are you also from around here?”
“No, I’m from the capital, Malvec. My family have lands north of the capital, where we mostly raise horses. Our family supplies much of Malvec’s cavalry.” Sven nodded toward Li Na before he continued. “We also have our own cattle ranches and tanneries, we supply the saddles and tack as well.”
“Ohhh, I want a pony!”
Sven smiled at Li Na’s exuberance. “I’m afraid our horses are a little more than ‘ponies’.”
“So? Then I want a great big mare that can run all day and go anywhere. The best horse in the kingdom!”
“He’s not for sale.”
Yaric jumped at the voice that came from right behind him. The other three immediately stood as Yaric twisted in his chair to see who had managed to sneak up on them.
Lloyd was standing right behind Yaric, smirking as usual. He pulled up his own chair to join them.
“Jelly is the best horse in the kingdom, but he only listens to me. And I would never sell him.”
Sven and Lauren were taken aback at having someone, wearing Academy robes that identified them as a High Wizard, just pull up a chair and join them. Both, along with Li Na, were staring at Yaric as he not only stayed seated, but glared at Lloyd with an annoyed look on his face. Lauren’s eyes almost popped out of her head at Li Na’s reply.
“Well then I want his sister! Surely the great High Wizard Lloyd Chen can spare his horse’s sister for a poor horseless student.”
“Honorable High Wizard Chen,” Sven said quickly, inclining his head.
Lloyd waved his hand dismissively. “Not outside the Academy.” Then he turned back to Li Na to ask, “Have we met before?”
“When I was little. My mom and dad were having trouble with a gang in our neighborhood. You stayed at our house for 2 days to catch them. And you found out that one of the other tanneries was paying them.”
“Ah, I think I remember that. The Jakobs household? Jakobson!” he quickly corrected himself.
“Yes sir, those are my parents.”
“Then you must have been that little girl who was always playing with that magnificently sewn doll in the kitchen. A doll that, if I remember correctly, spent most of the day slaying hordes of goblins and riding dragons?”
Yaric had never seen Li Na turn so red. She was practically glowing as she stared at her food and mumbled inaudibly to herself. Lloyd seemed oblivious as he helped himself to food off Yaric’s plate. Yaric had no doubt that the wizard already had food on the way, but he just started eating faster. Lloyd threw him a look of mock disappointment.
“Seeing as I technically paid for this food, I would have thought you would have offered it to me. I heard my latest Prospect had his first ever weekend off, so of course I had to come see how he was doing! Out of deep concern for his wellbeing. But he won’t even let me take a bite of the food he paid for with money I give him. I’m wounded!”
Everyone laughed as Yaric joined Li Na in staring down at his plate.
“But never mind! Here comes my own order!”
Lloyd’s food was delivered, and everyone watched Lloyd eat in awkward silence. It didn’t take long for most of the food to disappear, and once Lloyd had finished he went back to picking off of Yaric’s plate.
“So did Yaric tell you how terrible he is at archery?” Lloyd laughed. Both girls leaned forward, listening intently, while Sven sat back and mirrored their smile. It was only 10 minutes later that everyone at the table was laughing and telling stories, the fact that Lloyd was a High Wizard seemingly forgotten. Many of the jokes were at Yaric’s expense, but he enjoyed himself anyway. Everyone had stories from their childhood, and stories about their family. By the time everyone got up to leave, Yaric realized that he’d learnt far more about his friends in one morning than everything he’d known after almost 5 months.
“Well I have to go back to being an extremely important High Wizard, so I will leave you here. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend off. And thank you all for looking after this fool. He ties with Rebekka for the worst arcanist I ever sponsored!” laughed Lloyd.
“I was meaning to ask, how many arcanists does each individual usually sponsor?” Sven asked curiously.
“Depends on the Mage or Wizard. Some have half a dozen at the Academy at any one time, some never sponsor anyone. I myself have only ever sponsored 2 arcanists. But I must go now, I have other places where I need to go be important and do important things. Have fun!” He waved as he started walking off.
“You didn’t tell me High Wizard Chen sponsored you!” Lauren accused as she punched Yaric’s shoulder.
“Would you have even known who he was? He helped Lina’s family, not yours!”
“Everyone knows who High Wizard Chen is! He’s one of the most powerful wizards in the Kingdom, and he’s not even an Arch Wizard yet!” Lauren paused for a moment, her eyes growing wide. "That's the Lloyd you told us about?!"
“Wait. How can you say he’s so powerful while also pointing out he isn’t an Arch Wizard?”
“That’s the point Yaric,” Sven interjected, “most people consider High Wizard Lloyd Chen to be one of the most powerful arcanists in the Kingdom, without him being an Arch Wizard. Yet! So everyone knows his power will be extraordinary one day, when he IS an Arch Wizard. He’s also exceptionally well connected. Being sponsored by him will open a lot of doors for you one day.”
“I’m sponsored by High Wizard Sandy Ivers,” Li Na added smugly, looking very proud of herself. “Council Head for Lekton Academy.”
“But she’s also only a High Wizard?”
“Only a High Wizard?” spluttered Sven. “Do you have any idea how few Wizards make the jump? And the only higher position is Arch Wizard. Those people don’t get involved in administration or management, they’ve got far more important research to do! High Wizard’s are the highest arcanist authority in any institution.”
“Ah, ok. I had no idea. I grew up in a small town near the border, remember?”
“She took me to the Academy personally, and went with me through the whole admission process,” Li Na continued, ignoring the change of subject completely.
“Was that before or after you had slain every goblin in the Kingdom?” Lauren teased.
“Shut up!”
“Who sponsored you guys then?” asked Yaric. They had made their way back onto the main road, and were now window shopping at the stores that had opened while they ate.
Sven and Lauren glanced at each for a moment before Sven answered for both of them. “We were sponsored by the Mages who conducted the aptitude tests in our areas. Same as most people.”
“You guys got aptitude tests? We only had Mages coming through for our crops. And sometimes healing. No one ever ran any tests.”
“Yaric, I’m sure they did,” Lauren replied gently. “The things you were telling us about probably meant you just never saw the tests being done.”
Sven looked between the two, realizing there was more not being said, but not interrupting to pry. Neither volunteered any further information, and Yaric withdrew a bit as he thought through the implications.
'I could have joined with everyone else. I would have been in my fourth year already, instead of just being in the fourth year class!'
“I bet Chris has nothing to boast about then,” Yaric said weakly. 'At least he can’t get an even bigger head by knowing someone important!'
“Actually,” Sven answered, “Chris was sponsored by someone on the Council as well. High Wizard Eli Collingwood. He is quite important.”
'Damn!'
“Hold on a sec! Eli Collingwood? He’s a very large wizard?”
“Don’t know, I’ve never met him.”
“I think he was the High Wizard who ran my test for the Council.”
Everyone turned to him, mouths open.
“A council member ran your admissions tests?” they all started asking together.
Yaric froze in panic. 'SHIT!' He went pale as he looked around at everyone’s faces, all of them waiting for him to answer. 'They will freak out if I tell them about the mind test thing!'
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
“No…” he stammered. “It was just an additional test. Because of how I joined,” he answered truthfully. He didn’t feel they needed to know what part of how he joined was the issue.
Li Na quickly covered for him, thinking he was upset about Den Virgo. “Well I got personal advice from High Wizard Ivers. She made sure I had everything I needed to be able to start well.”
The questions quickly turned into teasing comments directed at Li Na, and Yaric smiled gratefully. His stomach twisted slightly with guilt, and he decided then and there to let Li Na and Lauren know. If Eli Collingwood had sponsored Chris then it was only a matter of time before it became common knowledge. And he would rather they heard it from him. Besides, he didn’t want them to feel like he’d betrayed them after they quickly covered for his slip up, believing his problem to be something else.
The rest of the day was great. Different groups from their class would meet up with them occasionally, and over 20 students from their year joined them for lunch. Lauren and Li Na stopped window shopping and started going in to each store as they made their way around the city. Even Sven found a few stores that interested him, but Yaric found it rather odd that they tended to be stores specializing in furniture or woodwork. They practically dragged Sven out of a store selling a collection of wooden clocks.
It didn’t take much convincing to get everyone to follow him to the tailor Lloyd took him to when he joined, and he ordered new combat robes to replace the ones he’d grown out of. He hated choosing, so he just asked Jason for copies of his last robes, but resized. Not that it made things go any faster. Lauren insisted on getting new combat robes herself, and Li Na and Sven eventually did the same. It had been over a year, and he still didn’t know what they were actually for. All of their training was done in Academy issued clothing. He’d outgrown his last sets without ever wearing them beyond his first two days before he started classes.
The whole group was exhausted by late evening when they finally started back. There had been so much to do. Everyone had ideas for what to do the next day. They joined the groups meeting up in the common room and swapped stories, giving each other ideas for what to do the next day. It had been over 6 months since they’d last had weekend passes, so everyone was eager to make the most of it.
Not even a late night and early morning could dampen their spirits, and everyone left as early as they had the day before. There was less of a rush to get to specific places people wanted to see, so the whole day was spent just wandering around the city and exploring new areas. Yaric didn’t know any of it and was happy to be dragged around by Lauren and Li Na. Sven had joined a different group, so the three of them made their way around the city, stopping wherever they felt like.
It was late evening when they finally reached the tailor to pick up their new robes. Yaric just wrapped his up and paid, ready to go, but Lauren and Li Na insisted on trying theirs on. Jason was very happy to have his customers try on their purchases. He definitely enjoyed their compliments after they had put them on, and he joined the girls in convincing Yaric to wear one of his new sets. It was decided on his behalf that they would all wear one of their new combat robes for the evening.
The rest of their evening, including dinner, was great. Just two days had completely recharged everyone. No one really wanted to go back to their dorm rooms, but they had to go back to their normal routines the next morning, which meant they had to get to bed before too long. The weekend had been long, but it had definitely been too short as well, and they all looked forward to the next time they had one off.
----------------------------------------
Summer was in full swing by now. Every morning, the students went to breakfast with the sun already up. Most days were hot, with frequent water breaks between exercises. Other days were hot, with very few water breaks between exercises, so they could learn to adapt now, instead of trying to fight that way for the first time in a real battle.
Afternoons were still dedicated to sparring and unit tactics and maneuvers, but they were now usually done in the middle of the frequent afternoon thunderstorms. It hadn’t bothered Yaric the previous year, when he had been having one on one classes exclusively, but moving in a formation while in the middle of a storm made things exponentially worse. It could be almost impossible to communicate across the entire formation, and the visibility was sometimes so bad that Yaric couldn’t see further than 5 or 6 people down a line.
Hiawatha thought the training was great. Not only would they learn to maneuver in similar weather conditions, but the reduced visibility and increased noise simulated actual battle conditions far better than the open training fields.
A full month and half of training in these conditions did help to forge the entire year into better fighters, but everyone was sick of it. The Summer Solstice Tournament was the next day however, so Hiawatha relented slightly and skipped the sparring that afternoon. No one was fooled, everyone knew full well that Hiawatha just wanted to avoid the possibility of injuries that could prevent them from fighting the next day. But they also knew that no one had ever suffered an injury that bad before they started learning proper magic, so it really was a compromise.
The day of the tournament arrived, and Yaric struggled to eat. It was his first one, and he was still far behind most others in his year. Every student he could see seemed excited, and there was a buzz throughout the entire food hall. Even the students in his section, who, like Yaric, weren’t able to hold on to a meal ribbon, were having animated discussions and making predictions. He wasn’t able to finish his breakfast in the end, so he made his way back to his room without waiting for anyone else. Once he had his armor ready, he took a deep breath, and stepped out into the common room to wait for his friends.
Lauren and Li Na walked out of the corridor leading to their rooms just 2 minutes later, each carrying a full set of leather armor. Unlike Yaric, both would likely need theirs. They had obviously come back while Yaric was still in his room.
“You all set?” Lauren asked.
“As much as I can be. Let’s just get this over with.”
“Come on, it won’t be that bad,” she replied sympathetically.
“Yeah, it will be a learning experience,” Li Na added happily. She seemed to be very excited for the tournament and the chance to fight.
“You’re not the one fighting with one hand tied behind your back,” he snarked back.
“Neither are you. You’re just fighting with a stick up your ass. Get out of your own head!”
Yaric had to smile at that. And he knew she was right, this was really no different from the challenge matches he’d been forced to fight that year. It was even going to be 3 rounds as well, since there was very little chance of him winning one of the fights.
The trio made their way down to the arena with the rest of the Academy and found seats in the section for their year. Yaric watched the arena fields for any sign of the old announcer from the last tournament, eager for the tournament to start so he could get his fights out of the way. There was no sign of him.
His classmates were going leaning over each other in their seats, picking out others that they wanted to fight. Oscar Fannon, an elf he’d occasionally spoken to in the food hall, tapped his shoulder from behind.
“Are you ok to pair up? We each have to fight someone.”
“Sure, no problem. It’s all the same to me.”
Oscar smiled and nodded before turning back to his friends.
A gong sounded from seemingly everywhere at once.
“Welcome everyone! Welcome to this year’s Summer Solstice Tournament!”
'What the hell! I was watching for him. He was not there before that gong went off!'
The same old man from six months ago stood in the middle of the arena, beaming and turning slowly to survey all of the spectators. And competitors, considering that the vast majority were both.
“We now invite our second year class to make their way down, and prepare yourselves for your opening fights!”
Yaric was watching the same students he had seen when they were in their first year class. They organized themselves and the fights got underway, but this time there was no one who seemed nearly as impressive as the two second year kids in the Winter Solstice Tournament. They would both be in their third year now.
“Was our year like that back then?” he asked Lauren and Li Na.
“What do you mean?”
“They’re all just fighting in a big brawl, aren’t they?” Yaric asked, suddenly unsure of himself. It’s not like he was all that much better.
Lauren just laughed. “Yes, first and second years mostly fight exactly like that, it’s only really third years onward that really use what they’ve learnt. Our year had a few decent fighters though, so we had the bulk fighting like that while half a dozen others fought it out between each other for the top spot.”
“Between yourselves, you mean,” Li Na added, nudging Lauren. “Lauren was one of the golden girls right from the beginning. Sven was by far the best when we first started, but it’s been a toss up between them since the second year. And Lauren here is winning more and more often.”
Lauren looked away, embarrassed.
“I just hope I don’t look that bad in my fights.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t. I’ve fought you before, so I know you don’t look like a second year.” Yaric didn’t feel any better, since Li Na’s mischievous grin didn’t match her words. “You look more like someone who finished the second year, but got lost on his way to third year. Now you’re just wandering the campus at night, dazed and confused, Lekton’s only student in year two and a half!”
“And there it is!” Yaric grinned as Lauren smacked Li Na’s shoulder.
The second years continued their tournament, and eventually had their finals and their new winner. It was a repeat of the previous tournament when they were still the first-year class. Most fights took a few minutes to reveal a winner, and there were a lot more wins through pushing an opponent out of bounds. The top 8 names were called out, and after they had spoken with the referees’ the entire year made their way back to their seats.
The first years were called next, and they really were worse. Not that Yaric expected any better. The last tournament had been first years who had trained for a full year, about to move up to the second year. These kids were only 6 months in, and it showed. There were even a few who tried to continue fights after a referee had called the fight.
Yaric didn’t hold too much against them, the entire class were in their first ever tournament. None of them had ever even seen a match until the seconds years started the tournament just an hour ago.
The Summer Solstice Tournament actually featured a break after the chaos that was the first years. The old announcer reappeared on the field, seemingly materializing out of thin air despite Yaric’s best efforts.
“We will now have a 20 minute break before inviting the third years to come down and display their skills!” There wasn’t much of a reaction from the crowd, so Yaric assumed it was a regular occurrence.
“Where does that old guy come from anyway? I can never spot him walking onto the field.” He added in frustration.
Lauren almost choked. Li Na looked at Yaric like he was her hero. Yaric wasn’t sure which reaction made him more uncomfortable…
“That old guy?” Lauren finally spluttered. “You mean Arch Wizard Jaxxon Phelps? Are you trying to get us into trouble?”
Yaric was even more uncomfortable once he found out the old man was an Arch Wizard.
“Yaric, surely you know by now that you never, never, treat an old looking arcanist with anything but the highest respect? You know we don’t age once we’re adults right? Any arcanist who looks like he could have grandkids is very powerful!”
“How could I have known that?”
Both Lauren and Li Na looked incredulous.
“How many times do I have to remind you where I came from? I don’t know any of this stuff! You keep acting shocked every time I don’t know something,” he added, hurt by their reactions. It was starting to get really repetitive.
“That’s not fair,” Lauren replied gently. “We often help you with things like this. It’s just things like this are something even kids know. It has nothing to do with being at the Academy for longer than you. I can’t imagine how you don’t know this? It’s like not knowing what a dragon is.”
“Maybe because I was learning how to feed grain into a mill instead of hearing bedtime stories?”
Lauren was taken aback by Yaric’s reply. She sat thinking quietly for a few minutes, along with Li Na. Both of them looked like they'd been punched.
“Sorry Yaric,” she said softly when she finally looked back up. “You told us what happened to your family, and we know it was bad. But I never really thought about all the other affects it would have. It never occurred to me that you wouldn’t hear kids’ stories or things like that. I never meant… it's just that for us... uhhh... just, sorry.”
Yaric felt as guilty as Lauren. He really wasn’t that upset, mostly just annoyed. Sometimes it felt like they thought he was an idiot. And now he’d just proven them right. He sighed deeply.
“No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t really upset about that. I just thought you guys would have realized by now that I don’t know anything. It’s no big deal.”
Lauren didn’t look like she fully believed him, but she didn’t say anything more. She just looked at him in sympathy for a moment, before Li Na jumped in as usual.
“You will never catch Arch Wizard Phelps walking anywhere. He’s famous for appearing anywhere he’s actually seen. No one knows how he does it. That, or they won’t tell. But yeah, maybe don’t call him ‘that old guy’ again.”
“So why do Arch Wizards look old?”
“We don’t know. I asked in our first year, and Lina’s asked instructors as well. We were just told that we’d learn in our seventh year.”
“Huh, ok… You said Lloyd is as powerful as an Arch Wizard, he doesn’t look that old.”
“Yaric! You just called an Arch Wizard ‘that old guy’ and now you’re talking about High Wizard Chen like he’s just some guy you know. I know you always do that, but try using his title, just until the tournament is over!”
“Sorry, I’m just trying to understand what’s going on.”
“Fine. Well anyway, High Wizard Chen is as powerful as some Arch Wizards, but he is still a High Wizard. He looks like an Unconnected in his late 40’s, so you can tell that he’s ranked highly. But he’s not actually an Arch Wizard yet.”
“But why do you have to make yourself look old if you’re an Arch Wizard?”
“You don’t. It’s got something to do with taking the path of a Wizard instead of staying on the path of a Mage. You can’t choose. And you don’t look old, you become old. But don’t ask me how or why, that’s all I know.”
“OK, no problem. Thanks!”
Lauren smiled, and they went back to pointing out third year students that they thought might do well. The third years were getting ready now that the first years had been sorted out and herded back to their seats.
Arch Wizard Jaxxon Phelps was suddenly back on the field. Lauren, Li Na, and especially Yaric stiffened in shock. He seemed to be looking directly at them, smiling and shaking his head. The Arch Wizard lifted his wooded staff as he pulled his gaze back to the rest of the audience, and another gong rang out.
“The interlude is over, so I now ask our third years to please take their places. Good luck!”
The gong went off, and the fights began. This year was far better, much like the third years had been in the Winter Solstice Tournament. They had clearly started to come into their own since moving up from the second-year classes.
The fights were intense. Yaric found the early rounds to be a lot more exciting when watching with Li Na and Lauren. They were all cheering on the various matches, and they quickly started making friendly bets on the winners of different fights. Yaric recognized Simon amongst the rest of his classmates. He was even more dominant than he had been in the last tournament. All of his fights ended quickly, and the finals saw him facing the same rival. That was the only thing about the finals that were the same, as he completely dominated this time. It wasn’t even close.
“How is he so much better than the rest of his year? He won the last one as well, but not by this much.”
“He’s probably one of the students that found out about his magical abilities when he was very young. It happens sometimes. Their families arrange for them to be taught to fight long before they come to the Academy - if they can afford it anyway. That gives them an advantage for the first few years, and if they work hard they can use that advantage to keep pulling further ahead.”
“I still don’t like how that works. It seems to me that it defeats the point.”
“It kind of does,” Lauren sighed. “But no system is perfect. You also have to consider how his classmates are pushed harder with him there than if he wasn’t. So there is some sort of balance.”
The top 8 had been called out while they were talking, and the third years were already making their way back up into the stands. Yaric and the others started standing, ready to go down for their own fights. His stomach was twisted in knots, but his friends were right. This was no worse than the challenge matches. Maybe even a little better.
“I hope everyone enjoyed the third year’s fights. Next up we have our fourth years, so please join me as we watch them show us old guys how it’s done!”
A chill went down Yaric’s spine. There was no doubt about it. Arch Wizard Jaxxon Phelps was looking him right in the eye, the smile teasing at the corners of his lips visible even from up in the stands.
'Shit!'