Excitement was growing. After the Winter Solstice Tournament, most of the class would officially become Novices, along with all the privileges that come with the title. Chief amongst them would be the opportunity to learn magic – real magic!
But there was also a more immediate event. Graduating to the next year and getting promoted to Novice was not a simple ceremony. It marked a major change in their lives, and a major change in the lives of their families. Once they became Novices, they would all be able to visit family, and their families would likewise be able to visit them.
As such, the Winter Solstice Tournament would not be their last day as Prospects. The very next day would see a special tournament held just for the soon-to-be 7th years, with all family members invited to watch. Many anxious parents would not have seen their children for years, much like the boarding schools so popular with nobles. Sponsors would usually come to see their students get accepted as full members of the Academy as well.
The entire event would be one big celebration.
It was also an opportunity for the Academy to make a public display for the rest of the populace. One they never failed to capitalize on, featuring events tailored for the spectators as much as the students. With tearful parents wanting to see how their children had grown and developed at the Academy, no expense was spared.
Family members would have travel arranged by the Academy if necessary, along with accommodation. Graduation day would feature the usual pomp and ceremony, but there would also be entertainment and feasts. On top of that, the visiting family members would all get to witness a special display - their children showing off some of what they had learned.
A second, smaller, and more informal tournament would be held. There were no finals, nor were there any rankings or prizes, but parents would get to watch their children display some of their skills. There were also some demonstrations planned; physical feats, archery, weapons skills, and exhibition matches.
More than anything else, students were looking forward to the demonstrations. Most were eager to show how much weight they could lift when augmented, or how they could move through an obstacle course by jumping impossible gaps and climbing near vertical walls. Others were eager to show off their skills.
The greatest excitement lay with the exhibition matches. Dozens of students were running around looking for people to sign up with them, usually in unusual arrangements. Some were simply looking to get two friends to fight them at once, others were looking for three, and yet others wanted to have impressive-looking combinations of weapons.
Yaric initially chose to forego the exhibition matches and only take part in the archery contest, but his friends all chose to sit and brainstorm exhibition ideas. Their enthusiasm pushed him to create his own exhibition, as did their literal push for him to fill in an idea. It wasn’t a big deal for Yaric. There wasn’t going to be any family coming to watch after all, but the idea had the others so excited that he couldn’t just sit it out. That would just put a dampener on everyone else’s events.
With no one to try and impress, Yaric managed to get three of his classmates to agree to fight him together, unarmed. Archery and the obstacle course would round out his participation, which he felt was more than enough. Especially as he’d also agreed to help someone else with their exhibition match, joining forces with Gerrick to fight with axes in a two-on-one.
Lauren arranged to fight three-on-one with spears, as well as two-on-one with swords. She would also be doing the obstacle course and displaying several forms.
Sven decided to go all out and arrange for a four-on-one fight. He had no chance of winning, but that wasn’t the point. Everyone knew how impressive it would be if he could just hold for a few moments against such odds. Yaric suspected that he might even do slightly better than that. Combined with the obstacle course and a great sword demonstration, he was almost set. Lauren had other ideas, however, and arranged for twelve others to help Sven demonstrate his command of a small squad, which included Yaric, Li Na, and herself.
Li Na was the only one of the four who mixed things up. She would of course be armed with her mace and shield, but the three opponents she arranged were free to pick whatever they liked, so long as two were melee and one was ranged. She wouldn’t be fighting for long. Li Na’s inclusion in the obstacle course ensured that they would all be racing together, while she would also be performing several displays of her augmentation abilities.
All three of them would have their families in the stands, leaving them both nervous and excited. Their performances clearly meant a lot to them.
Despite the nerves and building anticipation, classes continued as normal. Well, as normal as they could be when every lesson had long since been concluded, instead of going back for more in-depth studies and in some cases, moving on to more advanced topics than 6th years usually studied.
“Who can tell me about the different categories of undead?” Lorelle, their instructor, asked, looking around the class. The further they strayed from the usual subjects, the more excited she seemed to become. So long as no one asked about the dragons’ ambassadors.
Lauren put up her hand, immediately getting the instructor's attention. “Yes, Prospect?” she asked, smiling. Apparently, she also didn’t hold any of those questions against anyone.
“There are those that only have magical form, those with physical forms that do not grow, and those that are born and develop the same as the rest of us.”
“Well reasoned. I can tell that you have done some research on the matter, but not entirely correct. I do like your categorization by form, however. That is how many of us choose to categorize the undead, and that is the method I intend to use today.
“The first category, as Prospect Silver indicated, is the insubstantial undead. Or as she put it, those with magical form only. That is an important distinction, because that is exactly what they are. They are most accurately described as a spell form given some measure of sentience, along with a method of keeping themselves powered. This might seem contradictory, but undead that fall into the insubstantial category make up the majority of undead capable of directly channeling arcana. The contradiction should become apparent shortly.
“Within this category, we have creatures such as the wraith, preta, and banshee. For many people, insubstantial, or non-corporeal undead are the quintessential examples of their kind.
“The second category is the animated undead. These undead have a physical form, and indeed, they require them, yet they have no biological function. Creatures such as the ghoul, revenant, and even the broader category of abominations are all categorized as animated undead. They are very similar to non-corporeal undead, in that they are effectively just a spell form, however, they need physical bodies to anchor their spell form.
“The last category that Prospect Silver mentioned has many names. This category tends to have the most intelligent undead. They are also the most similar to living creatures, in that they reproduce, and have offspring that grow and mature into adults over time. They have many names, ranging from birthed, to sapient undead. The important difference, however, is that they have biological functions just as we do.
“If you need to defend yourself from something like a wraith, you will need to be able to damage the matrix of arcana that forms their being, meaning you would need offensive spells or a magical weapon. This is the best way to defeat an animated undead as well, however, they are physically anchored in a very similar way to elementals, providing some protection. You also have the option of breaking down the physical body such that it is too damaged to house the matrix. But killing a birthed undead is essentially the same as killing any living creature. Taking off its head is usually more than enough, just as removing any vital organ would be.
“So tell me, what makes these creatures, ‘undead’? Why are the fext considered sapient undead, and not simply another living creature?”
This time no hands were going up, and no one made any guesses.
“Simply put, they must all consume life in order to continue to exist. It is as simple as that, though the detail is complex.”
“But we consume life as well,” Cormac protested.
“If you are referring to the food that we eat, yes, many times we do. However, I would point out that meat or cooked vegetables will no longer be alive when we consume them. The difference here is that we eat our food for the nutrients within, not the life force of the plant or animal. When I refer to consuming life, I mean that literally.
“Each of us, and every living thing, generates our own ‘life energy’. It is poorly understood, but the simplest comparison I know of is a flame. Once something is alive, it continues to generate more in a self-sustaining reaction. If that reaction is cut off, it will never again restart. Another example is a mountain spring, with water surging out in an unceasing flow. For the undead, they are more like a bucket. They need to keep refilling their bucket as they consume the life force they have previously collected.
“Unfortunately, the only way they can do so is to consume the life of living things. Something like a wraith is almost entirely fueled by arcana, thus it doesn’t require much life force at all. They can go years without a meal. A revenant, however, must feed regularly. Many animated undead are limited from the moment they are created or come into being. Their bodies simply degenerate over time and cannot be repaired, but they must still feed to keep their life force sustained.
“Sapient undead feed in the same way that we do. They need nutrients just like any living creature. However, they also need to absorb the life force of the living to fuel their own lives. Many arcanists who study the subject consider them to be parasites.
“Now, there is one particularly unfortunate side effect from this need to consume the life of others. Tell me, what major difference do you see between a rat, a chicken, and a horse?”
“Size,” Kayden offered.
“Yes,” Lorelle smiled. “But think in terms of life.”
“Bigger animals live longer,” Kayden said, trying again.
“There is some truth to that. However, the answer I’m looking for is ‘complexity’. More complex living things also tend to live longer. Humans, elves, and dwarves are all smaller than a horse, but we live longer than they do. In general, the more complex a living thing is the greater the average lifespan. Though size does also seem to play a role,” Lorelle added, inclining her head toward Kayden.
“Perhaps you’ve seen the problem already? Compared to almost any other living thing, the people of this city would make a far superior meal to almost any creature living out in the wild. That is why so many sapient undead are driven to prey on us. Rats could sustain a fext or vampire, but they would need to feed on one every few minutes. Something like a horse would likely buy them a day or so. But for a full, proper meal, nothing compares to people. And they are good at hunting us too.
“We seldom discover the presence of undead until they have been around for months, and by then they have often moved on. Unconnected tend to fear incorporeal undead most of all. That is not surprising. They would have no way to defend themselves from something that requires magic to harm. But it is the sapient undead that skillfully and intelligently prey on elves, humans, and dwarves. They are by far the greater threat.
“Something else I touched on makes the undead difficult to deal with too. They all involve magic in one way or another. That means that all undead have some kind of magic available to them as well. Often instinctual, and most frequently involving some kind of regeneration, immunity, or ability to ignore injury without consequence, the undead can make for challenging opponents.
“Animated undead are unique in that they can be created by arcanists who master the spell form that makes up the true self of these creatures. But they have another, rather nasty ability. Most animated undead have the unfortunate habit of copying their own spell forms into a suitable anchor, allowing them to rapidly multiply. True, it halves their store of life force and results in two weaker creatures, but both are temporary if they find the opportunity to feed.
“Here again the sapient undead are particularly dangerous. They are always limited, never forget that. No draugr or lich could ever perform the range of spells we could, but specialization does not make one less dangerous.
“We usually define a spell type by what kind of affinity can naturally strengthen it. For the undead, those same spell types entirely define the magic they can perform. Shadow and ice are particularly common, and many sapient undead have mind magic at their disposal. Force magic is also more common amongst the undead than it is amongst arcanists. They truly are well-adapted to killing people.
“Which is why they are so instinctually feared. A horse can defend itself when attacked by a wolf, but make no mistake, the wolf is the predator, and the horse is its prey. In the same way, a fext or vampire are our predators. We can fight them, we can hunt them, and we can develop skills that allow us to exterminate them as a profession. But we will always be their food. Just like a horse being harassed by a wolf, we will always feel that deep, instinctual dread of prey coming face-to-face with its predator. It is built into the very fiber of our beings.
“And then, just like a horse… we’ll kick it in the face. You are all training to become mages or wizards. Without magic, most undead can only be defeated at great cost. Some cannot be defeated at all. Therefore, it falls to us, the arcanists of Lekton. If you want to have any hope of success, you will study every undead creature in detail. They have a vast range of unique powers, special abilities, and sometimes even immunities or vulnerabilities. To counter a foe that is specially adapted to hunt you, you need to fully understand your enemy. Your lives could one day depend on it, along with the lives of those you are trying to protect.
“So, turn to the section on undead in your textbook. From today we will begin with next year’s work. This extra time can be used to equip you with greater and more in-depth knowledge of your potential foe. If we can cover the three main categories fast enough, we might even have time to cover the niche categories as well.”
The more horrifying a subject, the more fascinating it seemed to be. Flora, Fauna, and Fiends was fast becoming one of the most popular subjects for their class, along with their magic lessons.
The change in the structure of their magic lessons was also affecting other classes. Many physics and chemistry lessons now included questions on how to achieve certain effects, or looking into the feasibility of ideas that stemmed from the problems they had to solve during the magic lessons. More and more, magic was becoming inextricably linked to their science classes.
Anticipation was building. The graduation celebration was just around the corner, and it would soon be followed by learning their first spells as true members of their academy. Flurries of snow did nothing to dampen the excitement in the air as the 6th years ran between classes. Everything was just going so well.
----------------------------------------
“High Wizard Chen, thank you for coming on such short notice.”
Lloyd looked up at Sandy, sitting solemnly in her seat at the head of the table in the Council Chamber. More effort than usual had gone into brightening up the room, in stark contrast to the overcast light coming from outside, partially blocked by a light buildup of snow and frost on the windows.
“Council Head,” Lloyd acknowledged, inclining his head slightly. “I was led to believe that the matter is urgent. If ill-timed.”
“Yes, new developments would have to occur while you were away. Still, there is no immediate action required, so nothing has yet been lost. However, preparations will need to be made, and the Council requires you to be kept up to date on everything that has happened. We may have an urgent need for your services in the very near future.”
Sandy paused, waiting for Lloyd’s response. Lloyd didn’t look overly concerned, but then again, he still didn’t know anything. Raising his eyebrows, Lloyd looked back inquisitively.
“The first thing you need to know about is the new developments with the refugees. We are still receiving a growing influx of people over the eastern border. The Kingdom is managing, but Malvec may soon have a serious problem on our hands if the refugees take too long to settle. Feeding and housing everyone is not a simple matter, so getting them all setup and productive is a priority. The King himself seems quite pleased by the people choosing to settle in Malvec, but the rate cannot be allowed to grow out of control.”
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“I don’t understand. How could I help with refugees or immigration policy?”
“You are not here for the refugees themselves. Many of the refugees have traveled here due to panic. It may be hard to believe, but many seem to have assumed there is great danger coming simply because so many other communities were packing up their things and leaving. Some had no choice because nearby towns or villages that they depended on also left. Large numbers of refugees have given themselves to wild speculation and rumor, making it difficult to determine the true cause. As crazy as it sounds, most have left their homes under mistaken beliefs. But we have finally received reliable information regarding the spark that started all of this.
“Mass infestations. Just like those discovered in Malvec. Our diplomatic overtures were rejected, which wasted a lot of time, but scouts and spies were sent anyway. They have confirmed the rumors. There are large swathes of wilderness areas that have been overrun by vermin species. Two of the teams even managed to find the transportation circles, hidden in a room that is nearly identical to those found in Malvec.”
“So this is a coordinated assault? To what end? And how does Orane or Dreterra plan to handle these outbreaks?”
“Slow down. There are a few more things you need to know, but be aware that we are still in the early stages of intelligence gathering. Many of our conclusions are educated guesses or unconfirmed hypotheses. Keep your mind open to new evidence.
“First, both nations are responding identically. We believe that they are coordinating their responses. They are sending most of the standing armies to their borders, hoping to deter any possible invasions, while the rest of their soldiers' secure towns and main travel routes. Their academies are handling the infestations. And not with regular hunting teams either. Wizards and mages are being sent in large numbers to clear the infestations with overwhelming force, and likely to send a message to their local populace. People are scared. The response might be disproportionate, but both nations were caught unaware, and they’ve both suffered tremendous losses that are only now coming to light. Thankfully the biggest loss is financial.
“For the second part, you need an update on the war in Brackburn.”
“Don’t tell me that Novak surrendered!”
“No, King Novak did not surrender… he escaped.”
“Novak managed to slip out of the city? Is he coming here?”
“His city slipped out of the city. Their capital has been captured as it was mostly abandoned.”
“But, how? How could he get his entire population through the siege?”
“Surely someone sponsoring a student like yours can guess?” Sandy asked, smiling for the first time since Lloyd had arrived.
“He built a tunnel? For the whole city? That shouldn’t be possible.”
“He’s had years to dig the tunnel, and his entire surviving force of arcanists to help. Accurate information is very hard to come by, but it would appear that they dug fifty kilometers of tunnels, complete with storage rooms, way stations, and staging points. The population rested near the exits and left with the prepositioned provisions. They’re all gone.”
“Wherever this information came from, it needs to be checked again. Novak is no fool. Leaving his city simply leaves him surrounded by an invading army, with no fortifications and large quantities of civilians to protect. Getting himself out to keep his line alive and free is one thing, dooming his entire capital is another.”
“They are attempting to escape Wedal completely. We have multiple reports indicating that they are moving toward the border.”
“They will be cut down or captured. Wedal itself lies to the east, the ocean to the south, and they have to travel almost four hundred kilometers to get to their western border. Four hundred kilometers of terrain controlled by the invading army that has already routed Novak’s forces.”
Sandy just stared at Lloyd, waiting for him to come to the obvious conclusion, but the leap was apparently too much for him.
“The tunnels exited to the north of the city, in the direction of their closest border and the fewest invading soldiers.”
…
“But the Abyssal Fields form their northern border. No convoy of civilians would have any hope of survival. Regular armies would be decimated.”
“And yet, they have chosen to make the attempt. Our best guess right now is that they are attempting to move too far into the fields for anyone to pursue, after which they will move west, so they can enter into Slibia from the north. It would allow them to bypass Wedal’s armies.”
“The Abyssal Fields are far more dangerous than Wedal.”
“Only if they run into something their arcanists can’t handle. It’s a gamble, for sure, but it does have the possibility for success. Marching through the invaders has none, and they are well aware that no one is coming to their rescue.”
“It’s insanity.”
“I thought it was rather brave. Facing certain death or capture, they’re risking it all to escape and continue the fight.”
“Brackburn will no longer exist if they fail.”
“As I said, they are risking it all. And we believe that the Slibia Confederation is in just as much danger. Blackburn’s dramatic collapse shocked everyone. We all expected a long and drawn-out war. With the war over so soon, Wedal is likely to immediately move on to Slibia.”
“You still hold to the conquest theory?”
“I do. Wedal has invaded and conquered eight nations in less than six hundred years. They start a new war almost as soon as they recover from their previous conflict. At some point, we all need to acknowledge the pattern. I’m surprised that you aren’t one of the most vocal supporters of the theory.”
“It’s missing motive. And vision,” Lloyd quickly added. “The big picture makes sense, but the smaller picture doesn’t. It would need rulers to spend their entire reign building up the army and resources needed for conquest, knowing that only their successors would ever see the results of their work. Then yet more rulers would spend their reigns recovering and consolidating the gains, followed by more buildup. It’s hard to see such a consistent vision across so many generations of rulers. Or motive.”
“They are a very insular and isolated nation; they have been for as long as anyone can remember. You know how nations like that usually turn out, historically they form their own pattern.”
“I need more than that before I get behind any particular theory.”
“Well, our king didn’t. He’s convinced that Wedal is most likely looking to conquer the continent in the long term, and he’s decided that Slibia will be the test. Wedal will have the benefit of the doubt, but if they invade Slibia next, he will throw his support behind Wedal’s defeat.”
“Malvec will go to war?”
“Not quite.” Sandy exhaled loudly, looking tired. “The King wants more evidence before he takes such an action. If Slibia is attacked, he will send a powerful group to assist, acting as mercenaries, along with material aid. At the same time, the Kingdom will begin preparations for a major conflict. He wants to be ready. However, that brings me back to the infestations.
“So far, only nations with the means, capability, and will to support Brackburn have had their internal trade and populations targeted by these infestations. If the war had been the long war of attrition that everyone had expected, those infestations would have played a significant role.”
“Seems rather flimsy. I’m not saying it’s wrong,” Lloyd hurriedly added upon seeing Sandy about to argue her point. “It’s entirely possible. The conclusion just makes many assumptions. Too many to comfortably consider the theory as fact. And the possible risks if you’re wrong can’t be ignored either.”
“On that, we agree. But it is also the only working theory, even if it is more of a conspiracy right now. If everything is going well, Wedals invasion is the biggest topic and our greatest threat. It isn’t hard to get behind a friendly nation suffering under an unjust invasion. But if we have significant problems at home, in our own backyard, the impression of the populace changes.
“The danger posed by Wedal is unchanged, if anything, it’s greater, but with trade routes in danger and population centers under attack, that isn’t how most people will see it. Ironically it isn’t even a separate threat. If we’re right, Wedal is the cause of those issues as well. But it will be impossible to mobilize the nation to defend a distant ally when kobolds, goblins, and spiders are killing people at home. One of the transporters we found in Orane was in a region that had seen four separate wyvern attacks. Maybe it wasn’t Wedal, but it is near certain that another nation is behind these terror attacks, and only Wedal has a discernible motive.”
“What does the Council request of me?”
“Only that you keep up to date with what is happening. From now on, you are required to sit in on Council meetings in an advisory capacity. Should King Novak need assistance, or the Slibia Confederation be invaded, you will be called upon to aid our efforts. We will determine our strategic goals, and I want you to assist with the operational plans to achieve them. We both know you will likely form part of a strike team if necessary.”
“We both know I will likely be the strike team,” Lloyd corrected, smirking. He didn’t look entirely unconcerned, however.
“You will receive a copy of the official report sent to the King, along with the official response. Make sure you catch up properly. Now, did your trip involve any official business?”
“It wasn’t intended to, no. I did uncover some new information, however. Nothing significant, but it does answer some questions surrounding Virgo and the change in his patterns near the end of his life. There are also some implications for my student.”
Lloyd began explaining what he had discovered. Many of those on the council looked uncomfortable, some even looked disgusted. Jonathon looked guilty. The only one who had no real reaction was Eli, whose face remained expressionless throughout.
“And you are sure that the boy doesn’t know?”
“I have no reason to believe that he does.”
“He must be told.”
“I’m aware. My current plan is to involve the healer he sees regularly, Faruk Bell. I will follow his advice.”
“Our failures made all this possible. If there is anything the Academy can provide, let us know.”
“Thank you, I will. But I suspect that it’s his friends that he will need, not his teachers. Only he can deal with this. We can’t do anything more than support him.”
…
Sandy stared at Lloyd in surprise for a moment before she started to smile. “Well, it might have taken centuries, but I guess we all grow eventually.”
----------------------------------------
The Winter Solstice Tournament had an entirely different feel after missing the last two years. It also seemed different when they knew that they would be back the very next day for their promotion to Novice.
Everyone was huddled under blankets, shielding each other from the cold wind. Li Na insisted on sitting between Sven and Yaric, using the height of the blanket stretched between their shoulders as a makeshift tent. She’d somehow snuck in a smaller blanket without anyone noticing, which was now tightly wrapped around her.
Lauren had also brought a smaller blanket as well, though she had stretched it over the larger one, covering the legs for both herself and Yaric with a thick extra layer. They weren’t looking forward to leaving the comfortable warmth when their turn came.
The 2nd years looked to be worse than ever, despite Yaric’s understanding that he was simply getting better over time. They fumbled their way through the rounds, eventually finding a winner. The 1st years followed, then the 3rd, while small flakes of snow occasionally built up on their blankets and clothes. Lauren had her white cloak on, with the hood pulled up, but the long black hair framing her face and running down the front highlighted the snow even more.
There was a brief pause after the 3rd year fights to give some attendants time to make their way up and down the stands. They all carried trays with steaming mugs to hand out, or shuffled up and down the stairs to fetch more when their trays were empty.
Gloves came off to nurse the warm mugs of hot chocolate, then the fights continued once again. The 4th years seemed to be okay, but not by much. Yaric’s standards had clearly improved.
Li Na groaned when the blankets were removed. With the 4th years finished, it was their turn. Yaric followed Lauren down, with Li Na and Sven trailing behind. This would be his first ever Tournament where he could augment himself. While they weren’t technically Novice’s yet, the other years had officially moved up. That meant that the previous 7th-year class had just moved up to the 8th year, and Yaric and his whole class would still be treated like they were now Novices.
And it soon became apparent why. Students were missing.
“What happened to everyone?” Yaric asked, looking around. There were still a lot of students donning their armor, but he’d gotten very used to seeing two hundred people, and there was no doubt that many were not present.
Lauren froze. “The Capture the Flag competition starts today. I think we’ve already lost people.”
“We can confirm with an instructor after,” Sven suggested. “They will be able to tell us.”
“Makes sense,” Li Na added. “They can pack up and move while we’re all here, without everyone staring at them.”
“Lina, there’s nothing wrong with staying back a year,” Lauren scolded.
“Don’t see you staying back.”
“I don’t need the extra lessons. The people that do would struggle if they moved forward with us, now they get to cover the things they struggle with.”
Sven saw the argument about to break out and quickly interrupted. “Mersha mentioned that the class that just moved to 5th year was larger than usual. We shouldn’t be affected too badly.” Yaric didn’t miss that he was still referring to her by her first name.
“So?” Li Na asked.
“So the 6th year class will lose whatever number of students are needed to bring the 5th years to two hundred, and we will lose the same number to bring them back to two hundred as well. A bigger 5th-year class means the 7th-year class loses less classmates. I’d never thought of it like that,” Yaric mused.
Lauren poked his shoulder. “You do now. Detective.”
Yaric blushed and quickly finished tightening his armor. He picked up a sword and shield and made his way onto a field.
Kayden grinned as he faced Yaric, his body covered by a large shield with his short thrusting spear held low instead of over his shoulder.
“Begin!”
Yaric had barely moved when Kayden leaped forward, landing close enough for his spear to be in range. He took up a weird position, practically squatting where he landed and covering his whole body with the shield while stabbing upward, still holding the spear low. It covered him very well, but it made him practically immobile. Besides, covering yourself with a shield didn't mean you had a good defense.
A quick deflection with his own shield cleared the way for Yaric to lunge forward himself, only instead of striking down with his sword, Yaric chose to stomp down on Kayden instead. The kick sent Kayden sprawling, and Yaric was quick to capitalize. He stepped forward onto Kayden's upper leg, pinning him on the ground while stabbing down with his sword.
"Match!"
Kayden was still grinning when he limped off, having been thoroughly stomped.
Round after round went the same way. It turned out that being able to augment yourself during the Tournament was not that big of a deal. They had all been doing exactly that during both competitions, where they fought far more realistically.
Vanno took his turn as well, using a large, two handed spear. Yaric expected him to stand his ground and try to force him back with aggresive advances, but his strategy was the complete opposite to Kayden's. Yaric had never seen a dwarf fly before. Leaping spectacularly, Vanno flew down at Yaric in an impressive looking yet tactically terrible attack. With everyone choosing to have fun instead of fight seriously, Yaric decided to do the same. At least partly.
Yaric rotated his torso, bringing his left arm and shield across his body as he stepped to the left, easily deflecting the telegraphed thrust to his right as he did. The momentum allowed him to continue his spin, bringing his sword all the way around to strike the back of Vanno's neck just as he landed. Vanno thought the fight was hilarious.
Li Na’s ability to augment took her further than usual, until she found herself smirking up at Sven. Yaric wasn’t sure if she’d been expecting Sven to go easy on her, but if she had, her hopes were dashed almost immediately. Instead of blocking, Sven stepped back to dodge the first swing of her mace, then leaped forward, getting inside the weapon's range while Li Na’s arm was still extended, pinning her elbow against her body. His follow-up stab was almost an execution.
Yaric faced Gerrick and Anton in quick succession, the two friends no doubt targeting him. Fighting against a great axe was a challenge, but one that Yaric found himself equal to. Gerrick came at him with his large battle axe, chopping down almost vertically. He set up a rhythm, chopping from over his right shoulder in an arc that brought the axe head past his left ankle, at which point he used the momentum to bring it up behind him and over his left shoulder, only to chop down toward his right ankle in a continual figure eight. His style had always been about keeping the momentum of his heavy axe, but he'd never fought so predictably before. Most of Yaric's opponents were messing around, and most were the same people he expected to fight the next day, so Yaric used the fight to practice.
Stepping forward, Yaric deflected the first strike, only to find that the force of the blow still sent a shock through his arm, even at the sharp angle. Worse, if he hadn't had a steel faced shield the axe could possible have bitten in, and Yaric didn't want to think of what would happen if the axe was ripped down while strapped to his arm. Choosing to evade, Yaric stepped to the right, toward the strike, knowing that Gerrick couldn't make the angle fully vertical or he would strike himself in the downswing.
He followed as Gerrick stepped back and attacked from the other side, but Yaric had already moved left, clearing the trajectory by an even larger margin and jumping forward. Gerrick was completely helpless to reply, able to do nothing but retreat while his axe continued the arc up and over his head. It was too late. Yaric lunged forward again and stretched slightly, scoring a thrust right to Gerrick's heart.
"Match!"
The matching sword and shield didn’t fare much better. Not when Anton just charged recklessly. It was blatently obvious that Anton intended to bash Yaric back, even if he had to bash through a counter attack. So Yaric didn't counter attack. He simply jumped to the side and slightly forward just before contact, twisting to avoid the shield bash and temporarily showing his back as he turned. Hiawatha would have his head, even though he was on Anton's shield side. Continuing the turn, Yaric repeated the swing he had used against Vanno, bringing his sword to the back of Anton's neck as if he was cutting of the head.
'At least Hiawatha will be mad at everyone. The whole class is messing around.'
Then Sven faced off against him, followed by Lauren, both of them leaving bruises. Sven trapped his sword outside the center and kicked the shield, opening him up to a sword thrust. Yaric still somehow managed to twist enough to dodge the sword, but the follow up punch with the shield was so quick Yaric barely moved at all.
Lauren focused on attacking his sword arm, using her spear to switch from attacking low to attacking high, shifting so quickly that he struggled to lift and drop the blade in time. Sometimes she interupted her own attack to strike his sword arm with the shaft of her spear instead. The tip of her long spear could move and change directions far more quickly than his arm, leaving Yaric on the defensive. He'd only just realized that he was in the wrong frame of mind, and should be responding and advancing far more aggressively, when Lauren's spear head found his throat.
"Match!"
The semi-finals meant that Yaric was paired with Sven once again, and even though he managed to knock Sven off balance, twice, Sven still emerged victorious. His more aggressive attacks seemed to work for him, and certainly caught Sven off guard, but Sven was able to keep his feet under himself through two consecutive shield bashes, and once he made enough space to reset, Yaric found himself on the defensive once again, with Sven holding the intiative until Yaric inevitably made a mistake.
It was a fun way to finish the year. And the rewards they received for their results were just bonuses.
Back under their blankets, the four friends grinned at each other. Li Na was peaking over the edge of the blanket, Lauren had her oversized hood covering her whole head, and Sven unrolled a thick beanie, pulling it low over his ears.
“Stupid mountain puppy,” Li Na laughed.
“Mountain puppy?” Lauren asked, giggling.
“Yeah, like those big dogs that look like wolves?”
“What? Those aren’t called mountain dogs,” Yaric protested. “And I’m not from any mountains.”
“You’re close enough, snow boy. And I didn’t say ‘mountain dog’, I said mountain puppy. Sitting in the snow like it’s summer. Weirdo.”
“I am cold! I just don’t have anything I can use.”
“Just like a lost puppy. Lucky for you those mountain puppies don’t just have stupid-looking, drooling faces, they live in the snow. You’ll be fine.”
“I’m freezing!”
Lauren pulled off the smaller blanket that she had draped over their legs and tucked it under the larger one. It took a bit of maneuvering, but she managed to lean against Yaric and wrap it around Yaric and herself. Then she somehow pulled the larger outer blanket higher up, leaving it just below her eyes. Yaric huddled lower to get as much of his face below the blanket as he could.
Li Na sat with a satisfied smirk during the whole process.
“Stupid lost puppy.”