Yaric had been expecting the celebration to continue for the entire week, but things quickly wound down. So much excitement over such a short period weighed on everyone.
Each of them received passes to leave campus, just like everyone in their year. The lunch with their sponsors was followed by an afternoon out in the city, including an evening spent with other groups from their year. The next day was much the same, though some 5th-year students joined them that evening, including Simon and some of his friends.
But no one had the energy to do much after that. They still went out into the city, spending time walking around and snacking on street food. Most of the time though, they busied themselves with quieter activities.
All four were eager to have more riding lessons. Sven looked like he was born on a horse, but he was very eager to join in the lessons just for the chance to ride again. By the end of the first lesson, Lauren was already riding better than she had been after their lessons the year before. Yaric enjoyed their little races through the obstacles, even if he never managed to hold the lead for long. Li Na had picked the biggest horse they had and cantered around while grinning ear to ear, stopping frequently to stroke her horse's neck.
The evenings were also quieter after their second night out. Many others were also back by late afternoon, so groups were always around to play games with.
Yaric was playing around with Lauren's gift from the previous year, trying to get the little dot into the center of the 3D puzzle, the second most difficult of the three, when Cormac came over with Chelsea. Lauren brought the games out almost every night, and all four of them took turns, competing to see who could last the longest. No one else had ever expressed much interest in trying though, even as Yaric and the others got skilled enough to move into three-dimensional games.
Cormac gave the beginner game a try and struggled his first time. Unfortunately, Chelsea had laughed at him before trying herself and ended up losing a few seconds quicker, starting a challenge between them. Others started joining in, creating a queue for the beginner's game while the other four kept pushing each other on the more advanced version.
The biggest difference that Yaric noted was the mixture of groups though. While almost everyone was friendly, many people started spending time with other groups of friends. Kayden joined Yaric and the others frequently, as did several other members of Team Shadow. Cormac and Chelsea joined them every evening from then on, competing with each other and anyone else who joined their group.
Sven resumed the tabletop games whenever he wasn't busy with Lauren's crystal tablets. He seemed almost dedicated to the games, often spending hours each evening and pushing people to keep going longer. Those that beat him were challenged between games, lining up opponents for a long time into the future. Some opponents, like Lauren, were very close in tactical skill. She edged him out in sheer knowledge of the game, however, and often stymied him by using movements or abilities that Sven had not known were possible. The only person he refused to play was Li Na, who was still virtually undefeated through nothing but sheer dumb luck. Sven found it incredibly frustrating to have her backed into a corner, only for her breakout with some ridiculous strategy that should have had no chance of working but for how the dice rolls just went her way.
Lloyd had also kept his word. A message was brought late on the fourth evening, telling them to meet him outside the supply building after breakfast. They arrived early, with the sun still not completely over the horizon, but they only had to wait 5 minutes for Lloyd to arrive. There wasn't much time for greetings before he was leading them through the campus, taking a very direct route that still took almost an hour to complete. It was another entirely new part of the campus that they'd never seen. Despite Lloyd's assurances that there would be no problem, it turned out that it was only their new ID cards that gave them access, as the area was restricted to Novices and above.
"Early morning is the best time to see the creatures we have on campus," Lloyd explained. "Evenings can be interesting too, and you really do need to come back sometime at midnight for the nocturnal creatures, but nothing beats the early morning feedings."
Lloyd seemed uncharacteristically excited for something that involved acting as a tour guide. He didn't even specialize in animals or monsters as far as Yaric knew, but he kept pushing them to walk faster up the hill, surrounded by wide-open parks but with no sign of any unusual creatures.
Then they crested the hill, and Lauren gasped. Spread out before them were wide open fields, corrals, and large enclosures. But most impressively, running almost perfectly from east to west, was a large, deep gash through the earth. It was at least 50 meters wide, even at the narrowest parts of the jagged edge, but it was impossible to see the bottom from where they stood. Even more impressively, it extended for around 2 kilometers before turning sharply, after which they couldn't tell exactly how much further it extended as trees growing along the top obscured their view.
Every time they ventured further into the campus grounds Yaric was amazed by just how much land it covered.
"Come on, they will have already started feeding some of the animals, and I'm sure you will all want to go down into the Cut."
"The Cut?" Yaric asked unnecessarily, but still wanting to hear proper confirmation.
"I'll give you one guess…"
Lloyd didn't have to keep pushing them anymore. They all rushed down the path, making their way toward a wide building that stood directly over the trail. Yaric did find it odd that there was no fence to seal off the area from the rest of the Academy, however.
"Good morning, Nils," Lloyd greeted cheerfully when they walked in. The extremely overweight elf behind the counter looked excited to see them.
"Lloyd! You've brought citizens for a private tour?" he asked, looking very eager.
"Ha! No, these four are students here. They're all interested in the wildlife around the kingdom, and the student I sponsored is considering a career in hunting or wildlife management."
"Your sponsored student? Am I to take it that one of these four is Not Rebekka?" he asked teasingly.
"Everyone here is not Rebekka," Yaric muttered quietly.
It had been almost 2 years since he'd last seen her, but there didn't seem to be a single person who hadn't heard of her and her affinities. While there were seldom any overt comments, there did seem to be a lot of expectations for Yaric to have similar unique talents. Unfortunately, he did, but it wasn't something he wanted to have people talking about.
"The grumpy one."
"Ah, I'd have thought the tall one, or one of the young ladies. So what makes this one so special that you would sponsor him?"
Yaric tensed slightly, waiting for the inevitable discussion of the shield on his mind.
"Nothing. Other than his sponsor, of course."
That was somehow worse, and Yaric glared at the side of Lloyd's head.
"Fine, keep your secrets then," Nils said. "I'll get you some open passes so you don't need a guide, give me a minute."
Nils went through the door behind the counter, shaking his head in amusement as he went. Li Na meanwhile started walking toward the displays that lined the right-hand side of the room. There was a large map of the entire area, including labels on the enclosures. Displays scattered throughout the floor created a winding path, each showing images and information on some of the creatures kept within. The walls featured actual items such as horns, pelts, and fangs.
It was far more interesting than the left-hand side, which just had two dozen desks facing a large board against the wall.
"Those are for the school trips and open days when the unconnected are allowed to visit," Nils said, already coming back in. "You should see how busy we are then!"
"They get lessons?" Lauren asked, indicating the desks on the other side.
"No, those are for all of you. Some of your lessons require practical experience, but we're too far from anywhere if you also need to use your textbooks."
Nils held up some bright red cards hanging from lanyards. "Wear these while you're inside, and don't take them off."
"He's serious," Lloyd admonished. "You don't want to set off the alarms."
"That's true. Our security will be very unhappy if they respond to a false alarm. If anything living moves outside the enclosures and more than 10 meters from a pass like yours, a small army will be summoned to your location. And keep to the paths. The magical security walls aren't physical, you won't even see them."
"Those you can set off," Lloyd retorted, earning himself a disapproving glare.
Still, Nils didn't seem too annoyed. "Yes, well, set those off if you dare. But don't complain when your friends give you new nicknames!" he hurriedly added, seeing the look on Li Na's face in response to his dare. A look that was now turned on Yaric, as Li Na sized him up and tried to think of a way to get him off the paths.
"Come," Lloyd said, ushering them all through a door between the counter and public displays. "Thanks Nils, we'll see you later."
The campus grounds were wide open on the other side of the building. Almost immediately the path split off into multiple directions, with small symbols carved into stones at the foot of each.
"We'll start on this side and work our way toward the cut," Lloyd said, already moving toward the path on the far right. Yaric was excited to see what strange and exotic creatures they would see first.
"Horses!" Li Na exclaimed, running ahead of them to reach the corral first. And that's exactly what they were, regular horses peacefully eating from troughs and walking calmly around behind their fences on either side of the path. Several turned and made their way over to Li Na when she approached the fence, prompting her to smile widely.
The others joined her, stroking their necks while the horses pushed their muzzles into the students. Lloyd reappeared carrying several carrots, with no one having noticed that he'd walked off to a nearby bin. He quickly handed them out for the students to feed the eager horses.
"I wasn't expecting horses to be here," Yaric commented.
"Where do you think I got Jelly from? Jelly was born here. Gave everyone a fright, but I adopted the dumb animal and helped nurse him to health."
Yaric wasn't even remotely fooled; he knew just how much Lloyd cared for his horse.
"Why would anyone be frightened of Jelly?"
"They weren't frightened of him; they were afraid for him. Horses are supposed to be able to stand within the first hour after being born, Jelly took more than four. That's where he got his name from. Everyone was calling him 'Jelly Legs'.
"But Jelly is so big! And so strong too."
"I know," Lloyd said proudly.
"I still haven't met Jelly," came a sulky comment from behind them.
"You four can come to his stables sometime, I'll introduce you. Though he doesn't often let others ride him." Lloyd eyed Li Na up and down as if he was evaluating her. "Actually, he'd probably let you ride him."
Li Na was beaming while she nudged Sven and Lauren beside her.
"I'm sure you are all interested in the more exotic animals here, let's get a move on."
Lloyd led them further up the path. Many of the larger enclosures were sunk into the earth, with what they had thought were the enclosures simply being the entrance to the stairs leading down. Snakes of all kinds filled several pits, all accessed from the same set of stairs.
Spiders had their own section of the bestiary. There were no mundane spiders kept on campus, however, with every single species being some kind of magical variety. Lloyd pointed out the Fengári Spiders in one enclosure, filled with thick ferns and shrouded in darkness. The only thing that moved at first was the silk-like drapes of white webs that seemed like moonlight in the gloom of the enclosure, shifting in an unseen breeze. Then a shadow moved, large enough to be a wolf.
"I recently had to fight my way through an infestation of these," Lloyd announced, smiling at the impressed looks on the faces of the students. "An entire forest was plagued by the spiders. I found a small room hidden deep inside, just like the one you four found during the expedition."
"The one I found," Li Na corrected.
"There've been more of those rooms?" Sven asked, frowning in concern.
"It's being handled," Lloyd said in a dismissive tone.
"Also known as the 'spiders of the moon', Fengari Spiders are typically found in tropical rain forests and usually prefer mountainous terrain," Lauren said, reading the plaque embedded in the stone wall. "These spiders are native to the forests in the northeast of the continent, and they usually dominate any ecosystem that they inhabit. They eat almost any physical, living prey that they can overwhelm. There are only two natural predators for the spider.
"The first is the Alicanto, a large, flightless bird with powerful legs and a strong beak. The Alicanto's metallic feathers make it impervious to the spiders' bite, while it is capable of powering its way through any web. Moreover, the Alicanto is famous for the metallic glow of its feathers, where the copper and gold light are seen as a symbol of the sun, and therefore a direct counter to the moon-like glow of the Fengari Spiders webs. They are considered the reason for the spiders' preference for mountainous habitats, as the Alicanto prefers lower altitudes and flatter terrain.
"The only other natural predator for the Fengari Spiders is the Owl Wasp. Named for their silent flight, Owl Wasps are typically two to three centimeters long, but are often able to land on Fengari Spiders without being noticed. Once they do, they lay a single large egg, just behind the head of the spider. Once hatched, the larva burrows into the head of the spider, feasting for much of its life cycle and only emerging again once it is a fully grown and fully developed adult. The spiders often survive a single egg, but they frequently have multiple parasites at various stages infecting them at the same time, usually with lethal results. Their thick sheets of web are known to make it difficult for the small wasps to find them, as they create long mazes in a very small area."
"How do we have them here if their natural habitat is so far away?" Yaric asked.
"I just told you, I recently found an infestation nearby," Lloyd smirked.
Moving on, they took the time to look at the Breton, a horse that looked like any other but could run over water. There were also fire and water elementals, kept in the same enclosure but oddly without any conflict. Roosting among them were large Anzu, birds capable of breathing fire and water.
There were far more creatures to see than what they had time for, particularly since Lloyd wanted to go into the Cut before feeding time ended. They rushed through the bestiary, skipping most of the trails and moving directly toward the Cut on the other side.
It was breathtaking. Around 150 meters deep, it was lined with crags, ledges and caves. Small trees clung to the sides, and far below a shallow stream made its way along the bottom. Now that they were closer Yaric could see that the canyon occasionally narrowed significantly. There were multiple areas cordoned off as well, each with different creatures.
"We have things that prefer habitats like this, but much of what you will see down there are things that no one felt comfortable having at ground level. Most of the more dangerous creatures are down here. Stay close to the side, you don't want to fall."
"Wouldn't you be able to catch us?" Yaric asked, looking confused. Lloyd was a High Wizard after all.
"Sure I can," he replied with a shrug. "But if you're going to be careless, I'm going to let you fall most of the way first. Maybe you'll learn something, maybe I won't time it right. Either way, you won't do it again."
Yaric squinted at the back of Lloyd's head as they descended, despite knowing that he wasn't being serious. Descending as fast as was safe, they still took 10 minutes to get to the ground. Or at least, the platform that was 15 meters off the ground.
The first areas had no way for them to get down, though Yaric could see why. He quickly recognized the pack of crocotta below them, large hyena-like wolves. The very next enclosure had what looked like regular dogs, only very large and pitch black in color. Until one of them spat flames.
"Houdou," Lloyd said. "They've already been fed, look."
Yaric followed Lloyd's finger and spotted a large pile of glowing coal.
"They eat burning coal?" Sven asked.
"Actually, they eat regular meat, they just need to eat fire as well to stay healthy. And I do mean fire, they eat the literal flames. It always helps to remember that these are magical creatures, just go with it."
The next enclosure appeared to be empty, though it was lined with multiple caves.
"If I remember right this is where the catsith are kept. You'll need to come at night to see them. Come on, the next one is the best."
Lauren gasped, though the other three recognized it a moment later themselves. Despite the conflicting stories Yaric had heard as a child, the basilisk was not at all a tiny snake. At least 20 meters long, the snake was a bright green that somehow looked venomous on its own, even though it was just a color. The eyes were open and glowed like amber, while on top of its head, shaped like the blade of a shovel, was a bright white diadem, sitting like a crown.
"Just stay calm if it looks at us," Lloyd instructed, and not a moment too soon. The basilisk sunning itself below did not look up, but a second one emerged from a hole in the cliff just a second later, immediately raising its head and casting its gaze upon the students above.
"Uhgg…" Sven grunted, staggering back a step. Both Li Na and Lauren had turned white. Even Lloyd stepped back, leaving Yaric to look about himself in confusion.
"What?"
Li Na stepped behind Sven, holding his arm, while Lauren backed up to the wall and inched toward Yaric.
"It's a mental attack," Lloyd said, blasting raw arcana over them to disrupt the effect. "It can't kill anything with its gaze, unlike what legends would have you believe. But it can scare away potential predators with its mind magic, and I believe its prey will sometimes be frozen in fear as well."
"That was horrible," Lauren whispered.
"It's also why I come here," Lloyd replied. "An attack like that affects anyone, no matter how powerful you are. Well, almost anyone," he acknowledged, nodding to Yaric. "It's one of the most dangerous kinds of attacks there is."
"Because you feel like you're about to die?" Lauren asked, confused.
"You felt like you were going to die?" Yaric looked between the other three in alarm. They had simply stepped back; he'd had no idea what they were going through.
"It's fine," Lauren replied with a weak smile.
"And it's good training. You four should already know that there is no known way to prevent an arcanist from channeling. The ability is intrinsic to our very being. But you should also know by now just how hard it can be to form a proper spell. Tell me which of you could have formed a single spell component while under the basilisk's gaze? Or even channel arcana into one of those lighting stones you seem to enjoy using as weapons? Even if you were able to try, get offensive magic wrong and you'll likely injure yourself."
Lloyd led them on while he talked, moving them beyond the line of sight from the giant snakes and over the next enclosure. Below them were what Yaric at first thought were large, green, shaggy-haired cows, but he quickly realized that they were some kind of dog or wolf.
"Is that why they're called Mage Killers?" Lauren asked, still shaken by the experience.
"Anything can kill us," Lloyd reminded her gently. "An arrow, a knife, a bad fall. Our abilities just make that very unlikely. But yes, most arcanists would struggle to form any kind of spell when confronted by a basilisk's gaze. The same goes for any species with mind magic. Depending on the creature, they can completely neutralize our most powerful weapon – magic."
"I hope these dogs are friendlier."
"These are cù-sìthe. They usually live in boggy grasslands, but they also have their own form of mind magic." The other three immediately stepped back from the edge. "There's no reason to be afraid, cù-sìthe project their magic sonically. There's a shield over the whole enclosure that prevents their bark from reaching us."
Lauren didn't look entirely reassured, but Li Na immediately skipped up to the guard rail. "Woof woof!" she shouted, laughing when one of them silently cocked its head.
Yaric walked further ahead to try and see around one of the rocks they were attempting to hide behind. He'd only just stopped when Li Na joined him.
"So… Lauren didn't look like she enjoyed that attack."
"She does look a little pale."
"Why didn't you use your mind shield thingy to shield her too?"
"It doesn't work like that," Yaric retorted, hurt by the implication.
"I just mean that you could have stood between them."
Yaric paused for a moment, unsure. Maybe it could have worked.
"I don't know if it would have done anything. I didn't think of it though."
"Well, she could probably do with a hug you know."
"Then why did you come here? Ow!" Li Na had jabbed her elbow into his ribs. "What was that for?!"
"You're just a…" Li Na gasped, turning to look out over the enclosure. Appearing out of nowhere was the most majestic beast Yaric had ever seen. He recognized it immediately, but no description or drawing had ever done it justice. Its full wingspan was far larger than its body, holding it aloft as it glided down to a rocky ledge jutting out over the water.
Landing gently, the griffon shook its body and started preening, almost blending in with the rock it sat on. Muscular and powerful, it completely ignored the cù-sìthe, none of which dared to approach. The physical embodiment of both the king of beasts and the king of the sky, the griffon was utterly unconcerned. It extended its wings while it preened, holding them upward at a deceptive angle that hid the true length.
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"I didn't know griffons were so amazing," Yaric whispered, watching while the creature gazed at its reflection in the water for a moment, before going back to its preening.
"Did you see how that griffon just appeared in the sky?" Lauren asked, joining them along with Sven, while Lloyd trailed closely behind. "It was incredible!" Lauren's face had much more color now, and she stared excitedly at the griffon.
"Yeah, Yaric just said how amazing it is."
"It is, isn't it?"
"The best we've seen so far," Yaric agreed.
They continued to watch it for several minutes. Every time it stood still it almost seemed to become one with the rock, almost perfectly matching the color.
Then the feeding started. Large chunks of meat were tossed from high above, smacking wetly on the rocks below. Not one of the oversized dogs moved from their hiding places. The griffon looked up from its preening, staring at the meat, then up at the edge of the canyon high above, studying it for a moment. Satisfied, the griffon began walking unhurriedly to the waiting meal and started to dig in.
It ate a large portion of the meat, taking its time, and then slowly made its way back to the ledge to sun itself. The cù-sìthe crept out from behind their hiding places, cautiously making their way to the remaining pile of food. Once there, they hesitatingly picked up chunks of meat before turning and running back to their rocks and crevices.
"Feeding time is always the best to watch these creatures, but griffons can ruin it," Lloyd explained. "They land wherever they feel like and cause the other creatures to hide. The keepers will bring more food later to replace what the griffon ate."
"We learned about griffons during our expedition. Why weren't we told that they could go invisible?" Li Na asked, making Lloyd laugh.
"Because they can't. Our griffons are free to travel wherever they want, they only come here for food. But imagine the city's reaction if griffons were flying overhead all the time. Our griffons all have collars under their fur. The collars are triggered whenever they cross the boundary and turn off if they leave or drop below a certain altitude. That way they're visible anytime they're low enough to interact with people, but invisible when traveling here."
"That has to be expensive to maintain," Sven mused.
"Actually, they're designed to absorb some of the arcana the griffon's channel while flying. What? You didn't think they could fly without magic, did you?" Lloyd asked, laughing at their shocked expressions.
"Must be fun to fit those collars," Li Na pointed out.
"A newly collared griffon is the best. You'd need to be able to cast a specific spell that lets you see them when they're invisible, but it's hilarious. They take off and fly away, only to turn invisible for the first time and see their limbs disappear. It's only funny the day of their collaring because they learn so quickly, but you've got to come and watch when you have the ability. After that they become a nuisance, using their invisibility to appear over staff while diving at full speed. They enjoy trying to scare us."
'I thought they couldn't get any cooler…'
There was a lot to talk about on the way back. So many of the creatures they'd seen were entirely new to them, making all four realize just how much there still was to learn. Despite all of the amazing things they had seen, Li Na still kept coming back to the horses near the entrance. Sven was most impressed by the elementals, particularly since the elementals in the bestiary were amongst the smallest of their kind. Only Lauren understood that the griffon was the king.
Lloyd walked them back to the student food hall before saying his goodbyes. They grabbed a quick snack before making their way back to the dorm, where they found the first interruption to their vacation.
"…know it's taken a while, but I've finally been able to make a list with all of your names. You can see the rotation up here and posted outside my door," Andrew was saying as they entered. "There's no particular order, this list is random, and you can see when your name will come up long in advance. I would advise you to make arrangements before your turn.
"You're Tracy Mayor, right?" Andrew asked, pointing to Tracy sitting behind some of her friends. Andrew's tone made it sound like he was doing her a favor. Tracy looked uncertainly at everyone around her before nodding to confirm. "Right, you're first up. We'll have our challenge match tomorrow morning, followed by Gerrick in the afternoon."
Andrew started looking around toward the end of his sentence, searching the room. "Ah, there you are! You'll remember how this works, I'm sure. You can explain things to Tracy if she isn't sure. The next turn will be…"
"Turn for what?" Sven asked, walking forward from where he'd stopped just inside the doorway and interrupting Andrew. He already knew exactly what Andrew was doing, but he still tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Ever since Andrew had moved into their dorm, he'd hardly ever been seen. He always left early and came back late, spending the entire day in the city with the passes.
Andrew scowled. "I've set up a rotation for ribbon challengers. It's only fair that no one goes without for longer than someone else."
"But not you, of course?" Sven asked, getting a derisive snort in return. "The only fair way to do this is to just enjoy your meals. There's no reason to take someone else's ribbon in the first place."
"If you don't know what you're talking about, rather stay quiet. The system is set up for the strongest to get special privileges. If you don't like having no ribbon, challenge someone who you can beat."
"I just might," Sven said, though the warning seemed lost on Andrew. "What do you think it says about you that you'd take their ribbons?" Sven was pushing the line, and he knew it, but he couldn't just stand by. Tracy's eyes were still wide as she watched the back and forth. Lauren nudged Sven in the back in warning.
"You should listen to your girlfriend," Andrew laughed, making Lauren's face turn red and Li Na even redder, her eyes wide as she glanced between them much like Tracy.
"We're not dating, and you have nothing to do with what she's reminding me about."
"See?" Andrew asked, looking around at the rest of the students gathered in the common room. "This is what I was talking about. I've gone out of my way to be as fair as possible. I don't have to. But there's always someone who tries…"
"I challenge you," Sven stated firmly, cutting Andrew's speech off.
"Well you'll just have to wait," Andrew replied coldly, "I already have my challenges lined up. If you're so eager to…"
"No, I challenge you. Tomorrow morning. You pick the weapons."
"Are you even listening, I just…"
"You never challenged anyone. I was listening, and you simply informed people about when you wanted to fight them. You never issued a single challenge. Now. I. Challenge. You. Are you listening?"
A buzz started in the common room, with many calling out that Sven was right, and some openly laughing about Andrew's chances.
"Have you forgotten how I knocked you out in the competition, even when you were cheating? If you try and mess up my rotation, I'm going to make sure you…"
"There are no takebacks, there's no rescinding a challenge. The challenge is issued and must be accepted," Sven said, cutting Andrew off yet again and causing a vein to start throbbing on his strawberry-red face.
"Fine!" Andrew snarled, losing his temper. "We'll fight with swords in the first round. ONLY swords. Bludgeoning weapons second."
"Good," Sven simply replied, turning on his heel and striding back out, obviously on his way to book the field. Andrew was forced to run after him, making him furious. Artur and John followed closely behind, laughing at Sven and leveling threats. Sven and the others said nothing, ignoring them as they led the way down to the fields.
Unfortunately, there were no fields available. An argument immediately erupted, with Andrew accusing Sven of having planned everything to mess up the schedule, and Li Na just drowning out his words every time he spoke by shouting 'ME, ME, ME'.
"What is going on here?" Hiawatha's booming voice called out, his large figure striding toward them in the midday sun. Everyone answered at once.
"We're trying to set up a challenge match, but the fields are all booked for tomorrow morning, Instructor."
"These cheats are just being spiteful; they're trying to mess up my challenge schedule."
"Andrew is scared of Sven," Li Na said teasingly.
"What?!"
The arguing continued, even with Hiawatha right there. Instead of interrupting them, Hiawatha went to check the bookings himself.
"Enough!" he ordered, silencing everyone. "There is a field free this evening. I will referee. I expect you both here at 18:15. Now take your noise somewhere else."
Andrew strode away angrily without another word.
"Are you sure you can beat him?" Lauren asked in concern. "I doubt he will only be aiming to win."
Sven shrugged. "Probably. I think. It doesn't matter, he can't just bully people weaker than him. I have as good a chance as any."
"You have a better chance than any, and you'll kick his ass," Li Na replied, talking like Sven had just denied that the summer was hot.
It didn't take long for the whole year to find out about the challenge that evening. People were hounding Sven, calling on him to beat Andrew in increasingly creative and sometimes brutal ways. Sven just smiled and brushed them off, insisting that it was a challenge match like any other. Two hundred students disagreed.
Yaric, Lauren, and Li Na accompanied Sven down to the arena that evening. It was packed.
Somehow, word had gotten out to the 7th-year class, all of whom had been in Andrew's class the year before. Each of them had once been on Andrew's rotation, and they'd all learned about Sven's challenge. Not only that, but the 5th years had found out as well. After spending the last few days of the competition in an alliance with Andrew, only to be beaten by Sven, they were all eager to see how this fight went down.
The stands around the field where Hiawatha stood waiting were filled with over five hundred students. Andrew was waiting as well, fully kitted out in his armor, and holding an unsheathed great sword. Yaric helped Sven to check his own armor, making sure everything was tight and securely fastened.
"Ready?" he asked.
"What time could be better?" Sven went across to the weapon rack and selected a long sword, not having any training with a great sword. He did have some experience facing one, however, and he felt far more comfortable with his more familiar weapon.
Yaric quickly jogged over to where Lauren was sitting by herself on one of the bottom rows.
"Where's Lina?"
Lauren pointed down the row, where Li Na was skipping up and down the different sections of the stands. Soon Sven's name was being chanted in some sections, quickly being taken up by the rest. Andrew looked furious.
"I think a demonstration is in order," he snarled when he faced off against Sven in the middle of the field.
"Raise your weapons!" Hiawatha shouted.
Sven raised his in a salute, while Andrew halfheartedly raised his great sword by the bare minimum, sneering mockingly while he did.
"Begin!"
Sven and Andrew both advanced toward each other. Using his longer reach, Andrew struck first, thrusting his sword out at Sven's midsection, which Sven narrowly deflected, and then immediately pulling the great sword straight back. Andrew dropped his hands just before they reached his body, putting the blade above the handle and allowing the momentum of the withdrawal to raise his sword back into a guard position.
Sven hadn't been idle, however. He had followed the sword as closely as he could, and now he was in range as well. Sven attacked the knee, forcing Andrew to move his sword from a raised guard to below his waist to defend. From there on, Sven kept his sword in contact, attempting to thrust past Andrew's guard and use his shorter blade to push against the longer one, giving him a leverage advantage.
Andrew backpedaled furiously, trying to disengage, but Sven kept their blades in contact and relentlessly attacked from inside Andrew's comfort zone. The result was disappointing.
Realizing that the edge of the field was right behind him, Andrew suddenly came to a halt. Sven had been aware of the possibility, but Andrew counterattacked furiously. Only Sven's advantage in leverage kept him in the fight, long enough for him to reverse his strategy.
Deflecting Andrew's sword to his left, Sven used the base of his blade, in contact near the tip of Andrew's sword to shove it away from his body, then stepped forward with a slash to Andrew's throat. Andrew leaped back reflexively, dodging the slashing blade.
"Match!" Hiawatha called. "Out of bounds!"
Andrew had landed squarely over the boundary line. His displeasure was clear, and it was not directed at himself.
Li Na came running over when Sven went to put back the shield. She was carrying a mace. While Yaric had received a bow, Lauren her game set, and Sven his crafting kit, Sandy had gifted Li Na with an exceptionally well-crafted mace, made of a metal that he didn't recognize. It didn't have any flanges, nor any spikes, but was made up of multiple irregular polygons, creating multiple flat sides with sharp ridges. The head of the mace reminded Sven of one of his 20-sided dice.
Most impressive of all though was the built-in enchantments. Traditionally these gifts weren't supposed to have anything like that, but it wasn't an actual rule, so Sandy had quietly informed Li Na when no one was around to overhear. There was a pair of runes that could be used to lengthen the handle, and a pair to change the weight, simply by channeling arcana into the rune for 'more' or 'less'. Li Na had insisted that he use it in his match.
Sven took the mace with a smile and made his way back onto the field, the adjustments that he'd wanted already made. Andrew was standing outside the boundary line, already armed with a spiked mace, but making a big show of stretching and getting used to the weapon. Everyone else thought he was just stalling for time.
Li Na ran back to the stands, moving up and down the sections and waving her hands to quieten everyone down. Once the chants of 'Sven' had died down, Li Na tried to start them back up again, only this time shouting 'me'. Most of the students were confused, but those who knew the origin began chanting enthusiastically and quickly started whispering in the ears of the others to explain.
By the time Andrew was back on the field, not only was the entire crowd chanting 'me' in a continual chorus, but Li Na had managed to get them to follow her directions. Every time she pointed at a section of the stands, that section and only that section would chant 'me', followed by the section she pointed to next. The shifting chant created an amazing effect.
Yaric was shocked to realize that the crowd had grown, attracted by the large number of people already watching the spectacle and the festive atmosphere.
Andrew was trembling in rage. He knew he was being mocked, and the large number of people only made it worse. Unfortunately, many of them had either been in the same year in the past or were now, and those students had a very strong desire to see him beaten. The rest just enjoyed being part of the crowd.
Facing each other once again, Sven raised Li Na's mace in a salute and took his guard, his gesture now completely ignored.
"Begin!"
Andrew attacked immediately. Whether due to his anger, the manner of his earlier defeat, or simply the offensive nature of his weapon, Andrew pushed forward, unrelenting in his attack. Sven had trained in many weapons, including clubs and maces, but he'd spent far more time with swords and spears, and it showed. Where before he'd had the edge in skill, the reverse was now true. And Andrew took full advantage.
Mindful of his earlier victory, Sven retreated at an angle, moving in a large circle while he furiously blocked and evaded. Andrew fell into a constantly shifting rhythm, making it impossible to anticipate his next move. At the same time, he also kept the momentum of the heavy weapon going.
Starting with the mace over his right shoulder, Andrew swung down and diagonally, bringing it down and across his body so the head of the mace went past his left knee, back and up over his left shoulder, then diagonally down again, moving past his right knee and into his starting position.
Sven was forced to keep Li Na's mace close to his body, with one hand high on the haft. He needed to be able to quickly shift the weapon to block from any angle, and he was forced to absorb much of the impact as well.
No matter how Sven tried to block, Andrew kept the momentum going and used it to bring his weapon back for another strike, all while constantly varying the angle. It would only take one mistake from Sven, and they both knew it. Sven also knew that nothing he'd learned would be able to help him here, he was simply outmatched. So he would have to do something different.
'What stupid thing would Yaric pull from nowhere?'
Seizing on an idea, Sven deflected another swing, only barely, but this time he allowed the mace to be knocked further out, swinging it wide. Andrew's mace swung around and back in, his eyes wide in triumph.
CLANG!
Mace head struck mace head as Sven deliberately targeted the other weapon, striking it with as much force as he could. With his momentum broken, Andrew pulled his mace in awkwardly from above, desperate to push his advantage.
CLANG!
Sven struck the other mace head-on once again, this time knocking the heavy weapon far out to the side while he continued the momentum of his own strike. Holding his elbows over his head, Li Na's mace swung around horizontally until it was almost behind Sven's head, at which point he started redirecting the movement up and over.
The mace bore down on Andrew, caught off balance from arresting the movement of his mace and with his guard wide open. Andrew backpedaled and leaned back. Sven lunged forward.
A shimmering mage shield caught the mace just above Andrew's sternum in what would have been a devastating strike to the torso.
"Match!"
Andrew was furious, especially when the crowd switched back to chanting Sven's name, but he was also trapped. With no other choice, he handed over his ID card to Hiawatha. Sven did the same.
Hiawatha raised his eyebrows when he saw Sven's card, but he dutifully removed Andrew's ribbon without a word. Handing them back, Hiawatha looked sternly between them.
"What prompted all of this?" he asked, gesturing to the still chanting crowd that was only now starting to move from their seats.
"Prospect Andrew is trying to set up a rotation where he takes our classmates' ribbons," Sven answered.
"Ha! So you are trying to mess up my list! You admit it!"
"I never denied it. You're just mistaken in thinking that the point is messing up your list. I don't care about you or your list. I just don't want my friends targeted just because someone thinks they're stronger."
"Grow up, that's how the world works. Just ask the Battle Mage. My rotation is an attempt to be fair, to help those weaker than me."
"No, that's only how those who are stronger justify their actions to themselves. You're not being a bully, you're not abusing your friends, you're simply taking what you deserve, doing what's expected. But those are nothing but excuses to justify taking from others. No different from a common thief. And there is nothing 'fair' about your list when you can simply not challenge anyone at all. Even that would just be considered common decency."
"I want to lodge an official complaint!" Andrew spat, turning to Hiawatha. "This Prospect just leveled unfounded accusations! You hear him accuse me of being a thief. I've never stolen anything in my life!"
"Unfounded accusations?" Hiawatha asked calmly. "He simply gave his opinion. That's hardly against any rule. Perhaps if you listened to him, you wouldn't have a whole crowd of people cheering your loss."
Li Na skipped up just then to take back her mace. "First time losing?" she asked with mock concern. "Shame. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
Sven stepped between them instinctively when he saw the look that crossed Andrew's face, but Andrew marched right past them and straight to the rest of his class, still seated in the stands and having animated discussions about the fight. He started shouting as soon as he was close enough.
"Right, so some of you seem to think my generosity is a joke. I put a lot of effort into being reasonable, but you all want to throw it back in my face. Fine! From now on, I'll just challenge everyone. Every time I lose a ribbon to Sven, another one of you will have to replace it. Make sure you thank Sven afterward as well, he did this."
"No," Yaric retorted loudly, "you're doing this! No one has to replace your ribbon; you're choosing to take it. You aren't forced to do anything; you just enjoy forcing others to give you things simply because you can."
"Don't whine! The strong take what they can, and the weak suffer what they must. That's the way the world works. I was going to challenge everyone in order, but since you have such a big mouth…"
"I challenge you!" Lauren's shout rang out clearly across the arena, making everyone go quiet.
Andrew bit back his retort, having just gone through the same thing with Sven. Sizing her up, it only took him a moment to reply. "Unarmed combat then!"
Lauren was much shorter than Andrew, at just over 5'8. Andrew was close to Sven in height at 6'3. He was likely close to double Lauren's weight.
"Good!" Hiawatha shouted. "We have our next fight already."
Lauren looked slightly alarmed, not having meant for their fight to start immediately, and she quickly gestured to her combat robes.
"I am well aware that you are not in your armor, Prospect. However, since you are so keen to challenge another, you clearly won't have any problems fighting without."
Andrew almost doubled over laughing, joined by John and Artur.
"And since Prospect Neilson finds the situation so amusing, he can remove his armor as well."
He most certainly did not find that amusing, but he had no choice. With his armor removed, Andrew made his way onto the field with a fierce scowl.
"You've got this," Yaric said, shaking her shoulder in encouragement. Lauren smiled weakly, much like she had after seeing the basilisk. Despite her nerves, she quickly moved to face Andrew.
"Unarmed combat, to clear defeat or submission. You both know the rules… Begin!"
Andrew began aggressively, just as Lauren had anticipated. She retreated while defending herself before suddenly stopping dead and lunging forward, striking at Andrew's throat with one of her favored techniques.
Andrew swatted her strike aside contemptuously and drove his fist into her solar plexus. Yaric jumped to his feet as Lauren staggered back. If Hiawatha hadn't been watching, Yaric would have sworn that Andrew had augmented himself with that strike.
Lauren hadn't been prepared to take the hit, and she was still struggling to stand up straight when Andrew jumped forward, ready to deliver a finishing blow before Lauren could recover. Recognizing her position and knowing she had to fight at least one more round, Lauren quickly and deliberately dropped to one knee. There was no need to take a pointless beating part way through a fight just to avoid acknowledging a defeat.
"Match!"
Andrew had already twisted violently at the hip, striking forward with his fist despite Lauren's obvious submission. Hiawatha's shout just after he'd started the strike didn't stop him, but the Battle Mage's spell did.
"The match was called, Prospect."
"I had already attacked when you made the call," Andrew protested.
"At which point you are required to stop your attack, as you well know. I will not tolerate an attack on a defeated opponent."
Andrew said nothing but moved back into position, disappointed in his failure to secure a bigger advantage for the next round, while Lauren took a moment to step back and get her breath back. She moved forward again as soon as she was able to stand up straight.
"Begin!"
Lauren repeated her same defense, this time not attempting to turn Andrew's momentum against him. Instead, she risked slowing her blocks down. Instead of meeting Andrew's forearms, Lauren allowed each strike to get slightly closer, so she could make contact with his elbow. Of course, 'allowing' his strikes to get closer was a generous description, because Lauren took several hits and the punches she did block were passing extremely close by. Redirecting his strikes upward whenever she could, Lauren started battering at the joints, deflecting each attack while adding more and more damage.
Andrew for his part grew more and more frustrated, even catching Lauren by surprise when he paused for a moment to shake his wrists. He was back on the attack before Lauren could capitalize, but she started watching for a repeat opportunity.
The fight had only gone on for 20 seconds when Andrew had had enough. He lunged forward with impossible speed, powering through Lauren's attempted block and catching her on the shoulder.
"Match!" Hiawatha screamed, furious. Lights were flashing around the edge of the field.
"Approach, both of you!"
Andrew walked toward Hiawatha with a victorious grin. Lauren was clutching her shoulder in pain.
"Did you really think you could get away with an augmentation spell?" Hiawatha asked, his voice quiet but cold as ice. It was magnified magically as well, causing the constant noise from the watching crowd to instantly fall away. Lauren hadn't even noticed the cheering until it died away.
Andrew looked slightly afraid. "Sorry Instructor, it was a reflex, I…"
"Stop! I don't want to hear it. Try something like that again and you can expect disciplinary action."
"Yes sir," he replied, looking relieved.
Everyone watching had begun a steady chorus of boos, all of them directed at Andrew. Hiwatha healed Lauren's shoulder and sent them back.
"One defeat each. The next match will determine the winner…"
The crowd started chanting again, once again led by Li Na.
"Lauren has the brains, Andrew hasss… his shirt, when this match is over, Andrew will eat dirt!"
Lauren couldn't hold back a smile at the long drawn out 'has', as if Li Na had needed to think really hard about what Andrew had. Andrew made a point of focusing entirely on her.
"Begin!"
Andrew attacked again, but this time he tried to strike down Lauren's centerline, even moving across occasionally. With his left fist striking across their bodies at Lauren's left shoulder, Lauren had little chance of forcing Andrews punch upward, the angle was just too awkward. At the same time, blocking inward was now much easier than up. But striking the outer bend of Andrew's elbow did little if anything at all, and Lauren found her strategy completely neutralized.
Sven had had a moment to give her a brief rundown of his fight, and she knew she was in the same position as he had been in. She also knew how he had won.
'What stupid rope net idea would Yaric think of for this?'
Andrew was landing multiple punches already, mostly clipping Lauren's shoulders, but already bruising the muscle enough that her arms felt heavy when she kept her guard up. Twisting her hips when she blocked helped, but the fight was almost over.
Then she remembered the first time Yaric had ever landed a blow against her.
Andrew had been adding low punches and kicks, trying to push for a quicker win, and he'd landed more than one, but at that moment he switched back to punching for her shoulders. His right fist crossed over toward Lauren's right, aiming to strike just outside her sternum.
Twisting, Lauren moved her left hand inward and pushed the punch even further to the right, clearing her shoulder as it twisted back. But this time, she kept pushing further. When Andrew's left fist came in return, now at her exposed left shoulder, Lauren twisted violently back, again using her left arm and this time catching the outside of Andrew's other arm and pulling it back with her. At the same time, Lauren stepped forward past his elbow and brought her right arm down on his elbow.
Andrew found himself facing where Lauren had just been standing, his left arm extended. Lauren was next to him, facing his side and gripping his wrist with her left hand while pushing his whole arm down with her right. Andrew jerked his arm back, pulling it up into a panicked guard as he did, while Lauren followed, her left hand rising under his guard to strike his jaw with her palm.
His head snapped sharply back and up. Andrew staggered backward, only to be knocked back once again when Lauren's thrust kick made contact with his abdomen, causing Andrew to double over. He looked up to see Lauren step forward with her right fist held high, ready to be brought down on his head. Andrew couldn't straighten up, but he did manage to bring his arms up over his head to block the telegraphed strike.
Lauren's left knee was not telegraphed, catching Andrew in the teeth and knocking his head up to the perfect angle for the telegraphed strike to impact his forehead. Forced upright, Andrew's eyes had just regained their focus when Lauren landed her favorite strike. With her thumb and forefinger open in a half circle and her other three fingers curled into a fist below, Lauren grabbed his throat, jabbing her lower knuckles into the soft flesh and gripping tightly with her thumb and forefinger, all while stepping closer and bending her elbow.
Andrew grabbed her arm with both hands, choking and desperate to break her grip, but Lauren shoved him back by straightening her bent arm, forcing him to backpedal once again. This time her thrust kick took him in the sternum, and with Andrew already bent over backward and trying to keep his feet under him. He fell back and over the edge of the field, landing flat on his back and even sliding a couple of centimeters, raising a dramatic-looking cloud of dust while clutching his throat.
"Match!"
Lauren had the briefest moment to realize that everything had gone silent when the stands erupted.
Looking around awkwardly, Lauren was left inside the field while Hiawatha went to heal Andrew and help him up. Andrew tried to leave the instant he'd been healed, but Hiawatha gripped him firmly by the elbow and led him back to Lauren.
"There is no ribbon to award, as Prospect Neilson doesn't have one to lose, but you will both acknowledge each other before the challenge can be considered over."
Andrew looked like he had his own mage shield over his face as he quickly swallowed his pride and silently inclined his head to Lauren, hiding his bright red face from view. Lauren had barely nodded back when Andrew turned and started striding for the exit, walking as quickly as he could without actually running.
"Careful, Prospect," Hiawatha said quietly. "You two didn't just beat him today, you did it publicly."
"We didn't call these people," Lauren whispered urgently, watching as Yaric and the others ran toward her.
"I didn't say that you did. I've only pointed out that it happened."
Li Na raced past the others, sprinting as fast as she could. She raised her hand for a high five as she drew closer but didn't slow down in the slightest. Lauren raised her hand as well, and Li Na jumped as she sprinted past, making contact with a loud crack. Looking back, Lauren saw Li Na continue her flat-out sprint toward the exit, raising both hands to her mouth as she did.
"Wait! Andrew! I have a list as well! It's a list of all the ways you failed! Is falling and standing back up what you call a rotation?! Tracy wants to know if her fight is still on tomorrow!"
Li Na's voice trailed off as she moved closer to the exit, where she finally slowed down and came to a complete stop. Yaric and Sven arrived just as Li Na turned back, being the first to congratulate Lauren. For some reason their entire year was treating the fight like an exhibition match, and once the others arrived Lauren found herself lifted onto their shoulders, Sven's whitewash victory forgotten in the wake of Lauren's desperately close, and far more dramatic win.
Yaric and Sven were soon standing side by side with Li Na on their shoulders as well so Li Na could congratulate Lauren herself. Just a few days after the competition celebrations, and only two days before lessons resumed, the entire class was out in the city once again.
Yet another tavern was filled with students, and yet more drinks were poured. And once again locals were left confused. Only this time, everyone had a different question on their minds.
"Why in the abyss would anyone agree to eat dirt?"