Chapter III

The young woman was breathing heavily, sweat covering her body from the intense physical exertion, but despite how worn out she was becoming, she knew she still had plenty of energy left to continue. She obviously couldn’t see her face, but she could imagine that her features were probably drawn tightly in concentration as she regarded her opponent across from her, and despite nearly thirty minutes straight of constant combat, the woman she was facing looked as if she’d merely gone for an afternoon stroll in the gardens. Her opponent stood up straight, her singular, thin rapier held at her side, not yet raised, as if taunting her opponents’ lackluster speed. She had still barely moved from the spot she started in, while the young women facing her had already been in every corner of the arena imaginable.

Damn it all. I guess today just isn’t our day. But I thought we’d at least hit her once!

“Liri? Anna? Why have you stopped? I did not give you permission to rest,” came the sharp call of their mother.

Ilirianna Iiji smirked bitterly, knowing that her mother had not said such a thing to taunt them, rather she was genuinely irritated that the two sisters had stopped for even a few seconds to catch their breath. The crown princess grit her teeth as she glanced off to her left where her younger sister, Anna-Piura Iiji, was crouched down and gazing back at her, awaiting her commands. Ilirianna made eye contact with her and nodded, then turned and shouted, “Proto!” Wind magic erupted from her feet, propelling the young woman from her spot on the far side of the royal arena, allowing her to cross the nearly fifty foot gap between her and her mother in just a matter of seconds and Piura was swift in following her lead.

Both sisters were armed with emerald-colored short swords in each hand, and as they rapidly closed the distance, the women were already imbuing their strikes with magic. Uttering two quick incantations under her breath, Ilirianna sent fire magic swirling around her left sword while her right was imbued with wind, and the second she reached her mother, she brought her flaming sword down in a swift and aggressive slash that, had it struck, would have exploded with fire mana and sent the woman soaring backwards. With Piura coming in from their mother’s opposite side, swords enhanced with the same elements as Ilirianna’s, she should have been certain that they would get at least a single hit in on her, but as had been common for that particular day, they somehow failed miserably.

Queen Toranei Iiji was the fastest person Ilirianna had ever met in her life, and she knew that meant something given the fact that she lived in the Ijirian Citadel—the place where the most powerful magic users in the Empire called home. Yet her mother was faster than all of them, and that was never more evident than when she dodged four consecutive attacks sent her way. Within just a couple of seconds, Toranei brought her rapier up and, having already enhanced it with rock magic, she was able to easily use its side to dodge Ilirianna’s first attack and deflect the second without breaking the needle-like blade. Having pushed her sword aside, her mother didn’t hesitate to jam her foot into her eldest daughter’s stomach, sending her flying backwards. Naturally, this gave Piura an opening, but without even turning around, Toranei dodged Piura’s first two strikes, moving with the grace of a dancer, and when the third came arcing down to slash at her chest, Piura was suddenly thrown backwards as well, almost certainly hit by “Condite”, the spell of invisible ropes.

But even as Ilirianna slammed into the arena walls, she didn’t relent, knowing her mother would be furious if she didn’t put more effort in. Ignoring the pain in her stomach and her back, she rolled to her feet and brought fire to the blades of both her swords, already charging her mother even before Piura had hit the ground. Proto took her across the gap again, and with the heat of her swords in both her face and her mother’s, Ilirianna sliced and slashed in coordinated attempts to break past Toranei’s defenses, but the strengthened rapier took each blow and deflected it. Ilirianna knew that even if she couldn’t break through, so long as she could keep her mother on the defensive until Piura recovered, then hopefully the two of them could get her together. But of course, Toranei knew this, and Ilirianna found herself getting yanked up into the air as invisible ropes tied around her body, and as she swung to slice them, she found herself already tossed across the arena before colliding with the chairs set up in the empty bleachers surrounding them.

The princess could taste metal in her mouth but she forced herself to spit the blood out and crawl back to her feet, even as she felt horrible pain in her back. And just as she stumbled back to a standing position, ignoring her pounding headache, her mother’s sharp command brought her to a halt.

“Enough!”

Toranei was still standing in the center of the green and gold arena, Piura floating in midair a few yards away from her as she struggled to get out of the ropes, her two swords laying out of reach on the ground below. Ilirianna scoffed in irritation and watched as her mother dropped Piura with a curt wave of her hand, allowing her second daughter to hit the ground, gasping for air.

“For the sake of your pride, I think we are done here for the day,” Toranei snapped, her anger not restrained in the slightest as she regarded the two women with her thin eyebrows raised.

Ilirianna clenched her fists, barely managing to keep herself from falling as she pushed her way through the many chairs in the stands before vaulting over the fence and back down into the bowl-like arena.

“I…could have gone longer,” she managed to protest, but her mother merely snorted.

“I’m sure you could have, Liri, but there is a difference between being able to go longer and being able to accomplish anything with that time.” Her mother shook her head. “I believe you could have done the first, I know you could not have done the second. Now, heal yourselves before you drop over. It would just be an added embarrassment if one of you collapsed.”

Feeling her cheeks turning red from their embarrassing display, Ilirianna tossed her swords onto the ground and raised her hands to her head, muttering, “Benedio” a few times under her breath. Nature magic surged through her arms and into her fingers, reaching her head and closing the many wounds she had suffered to her skull. She then moved her arms across the rest of her body, healing whatever else she had hurt, and it was only once she got most of the major wounds and felt better that she ceased her incantations. As she did so, Piura did the same, and when the both of them were finished, they stood side-by-side, their arms folded behind their backs, as they awaited their mother’s next words.

However, Toranei seemed perfectly content allowing them to wait as her scrutinizing dark blue eyes looked them over. She was a woman in her late forties, though just looking at both her features and her power, one could easily think she was under thirty. Her skin showed no sign of age and she was just as strong as she had always been, if not stronger. The queen was dressed in similar clothing to her two daughters, with a loose, green silk shirt and tighter pants that hugged the curves of her legs. They were all around the same height, though Piura was a few inches shorter than the other two, and all three had the same emerald-green hair, just in different styles. Toranei wore hers in her typical tight bun while Piura had her hair pulled back in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes during combat. Ilirianna, however, was content having her hair hanging freely, for she didn’t like having to tie it in any particular way.

“Now tell me,” their mother began after a while, her ever-moving eyes finally stopping on

Piura. “What is it that you think you did wrong, Anna?”

Having clearly hoped to avoid being called upon, Piura’s body tensed up, but since failing to answer the queen was far worse than being incorrect, Ilirianna’s little sister forced herself to come up with something.

“I was not fast enough, Mother,” she answered with as much confidence as she could clearly muster. “Nor could I predict your movements like I normally could. I was clearly unfocused and I promise that next time, I’ll do better.”

Toranei raised her eyebrow once again, and Ilirianna could already tell that Piura’s answer wasn’t what she sought. “Everything you just said was correct, but it was not the reason you failed today. No, the reason is that you spend too much time following your sister’s lead.”

“W-what do you mean?” Piura managed to ask, though she was clearly uncertain whether she should wait for the answer or figure it out herself.

“You are no more than a shadow of Liri,” their mother responded. “Everything she does, you do not a second later. If Liri uses fire magic, I know as an absolute fact that you will, too. You don’t take initiative. You wait for her to make the calls. You don’t have an original bone in your body and therefore, you are predictable. You need to stop being so meek and come up with a plan of your own for once.”

Piura flinched at their mother’s harsh words, and like always, Ilirianna wished she could jump to her little sister’s defense, but having confronted her mother in defense of her siblings once when she was small, the eldest princess had long since learned not to cross Toranei Iiji. So instead, she remained silent, her expression neutral, as Piura was criticized.

“B-but, Mother, I thought you told me last time to work with her better, so I—”

“And there is a very obvious difference between working with her and copying her, is there not, Anna?” Toranei interrupted.

“W-well, I suppose—”

“Yes, there is.” Folding her arms behind her back, the queen began to pace, though her sharp gaze never once wavered from Piura. “Working together does not mean doing everything she does and says. Working together means that if she attacks from the left, you come in from the right. If she uses fire magic, use wind magic. You’re supposed to be complimentary, yet you seem more interested in simply doubling down on her pathetic attempts to strike me.”

Pathetic? I get that I could have done better, but… Ilirianna then forced her anger back down into her, fearing what might happen if her mother caught even a glimpse of it. No, reign yourself in. Let her yammer on all she wants. She’ll talk herself out eventually.

“Do you understand me, Anna?” Toranei snapped, and Piura was quick to nod.

“I do, yes, Mother.”

“Good,” she said with a click of her tongue. “Then I want to see more of that in our next match. Now, Liri…”

And here we go…

“Yes, Mother?” she responded, straightening her body and looking the queen in the eyes, preparing herself for what was certain to be a rather harsh and unforgiving lecture. And exactly as Ilirianna expected, her mother’s features twisted in annoyance and when she spoke, her tone was sharp yet again.

“Did you think I couldn’t hear you chanting those incantations under your breath?” she demanded. “Do you think me a fool? Or perhaps you’ve simply decided that in my old age, I must be going deaf?”

“No, of course not, Mother.” Ilirianna was quick to answer, outwardly showing as much calm and confidence as she could, but in the privacy of her mind, the young woman was silently cursing herself for getting caught. “It’s just, well, today’s match was significantly harder than some of the previous ones and I needed to gain the upper hand somehow, so—”

Toranei clicked her tongue again, cutting Ilirianna off and informing her that her mother was already disapproving of her reasoning. “And how does any of that justify disobeying orders?”

“Well, I—”

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“It doesn’t,” the Queen spat. “Listen to me, Liri, as the future ruler of this country, it is imperative that you, especially, don't cut corners or make excuses. I ordered you to throw aside these bloody incantations, for they are nothing more than a crutch for the lazy and inexperienced sorcerers of this world to foolishly announce what it is they are about to do.” She stopped her pacing only a few feet in front of her eldest daughter, her eyes almost boring into Ilirianna’s skull as she lectured her. “Incantations may have enabled us to refine our abilities, but once the basics have been learned, they must be abandoned. The people of Ijiria have become too reliant on them, and I expect my daughter not to be like them. If you can cast without chanting then your opponents will never know how to react. Is that understood?”

Well, it’s easier said than done, Mother, Ilirianna retorted internally, but she held her tongue, knowing that making more excuses wouldn’t help the situation in the slightest. There’s a reason even the Masters use incantations. It’s ridiculously difficult to control the mana without focusing your mind on the chanting.

But of course, the great Queen Toranei Iiji wouldn’t want to hear what Ilirianna considered to be sound reasoning, for her mother had learned to abandon incantations when she was barely older than twenty. The inability to predict her actions was one of the reasons she almost never lost in combat, and Ilirianna could admit that the ability would be useful.

But at the same time, I’m already far more powerful than your average mage, so I don’t see why I need to abandon incantations.

But all of these thoughts were kept inside her head, and as she stared at her mother’s impatient features before her, Ilirianna merely bowed her head and said, “Understood, Mother. I will keep practicing and do better next time.”

“Yes, you will,” she said softly. “Both of you will.”

She then turned her gaze back toward Piura, who was silently standing just to the left. The younger woman tensed up at their mother’s stare, but before anything more could be said, Toranei’s eyes suddenly shifted away from Piura and toward something over Ilirianna’s shoulder. When the eldest daughter turned to see what had caught her attention, she internally smiled in relief.

Uncle Nakoma to rescue, she thought wryly.

Standing at the entrance to the arena at the top of the stands was a man with dark crimson hair and dressed mostly in robes of the same color. He was around the same age as her mother, though his clean-shaven face at least showed some signs of age with his few wrinkles. His hair was combed back and his eyes were just as red as the rest of him, and those eyes briefly shifted down to Ilirianna before giving her a quick wink, as if to tell her that he knew he had spared her of more tedious lectures. And as Ilirianna expected, Toranei’s terrible mood quickly vanished upon seeing Ijiria’s Master of Fire, just as it always did when he paid them visits.

“Yes?” the Queen called sharply up to him, though with far less venom than when she was speaking to her daughters. “Can we help you with something, Nakoma? As you can see, we are quite busy right now.”

Nakoma Taurus chuckled, stepping into the stands as he turned his attention toward Toranei. “Yes, I can see that, but unfortunately you’re going to have to call your sparring matches here, My Queen, for King Markreas has requested your presence in the Hall of Elders. He said something about the Cortes Proposition being challenged by the High Council and thought you’d like to have your say in the debate.”

The queen’s lip twitched upwards in a poorly restrained sneer, those brief few seconds of her pleasant mood already over. “And which of these damned elders is throwing a tantrum this time?”

Nakoma grinned wryly, and that amused expression was enough to tell all three of them exactly who it was causing problems. “Well you see, from what Markreas told me, it sounds like Council Member Glaus has taken issue with the proposition’s lack of benefits for the Council. He has made it quite known that he believes if the royalty is given control over military matters in the south then it will just be the first of many steps to undermining their influence, and he has been quite successful in convincing some of the other members and just how terrible that could be.”

Toranei scowled and, despite agreeing with her mother on this particular debate, Ilirianna couldn’t help but to internally laugh every time Kloras Glaus decided to butt heads with her, which seemed to happen whenever Toranei tried to do anything. The man was a very blatant Council supremacist, and her parents often complained that if given the chance, he wouldn’t hesitate to find some way to get rid of the government’s royal branch and give the High Council full control. There wasn’t a doubt in Ilirianna’s mind that, had Glaus not enjoyed the avid support of other members that he did, then Toranei would have long since gotten rid of him.

“Perhaps there wouldn’t be the need for such a measure if the Council would actually approve one of our solutions to fixing things down there,” Toranei growled. “The Noranians have gotten away with too many raids on our border and instead of acting, all the Council has done is bicker over what to do. If Markreas and I could just send one of you Masters to the south then this situation could be swiftly dealt with.”

Nakoma spread his hands out as he moved through the rows of seats before coming to stand just at the railing between the stands and the arena. “You don’t have to tell me, My Queen. I’m sure Kloras is just opposing you because it’s become his only goal in life, but the Elders have been called together and Markreas is already going down there to deal with them. And since this proposition was your idea, the king figured you’d want to attend.”

“Yes, I do,” she snapped. “Very well, Nakoma. Thank you.”

The queen spared a quick look at Ilirianna, as if to inform her that they would continue their discussion later, then excused herself and hurried up into the stands before departing the arena altogether. The moment her mother was gone, it felt like a weight had been lifted from Ilirianna’s shoulders, and judging by the smile on Piura’s face, she felt a similar way.

“I wouldn't be too happy with yourself,” Nakoma remarked, placing his hand on the railing and vaulting down into the arena to land just a few feet away from the princesses. “This just means that when she returns to deal with you, she’s just going to be in a sour mood.”

Ilirianna shrugged, returning the Master’s sly grin with one of her own. “She’s always in a sour mood. And at least this way, she can take some of that irritation out on Kloras. I know she quite enjoys ripping into him.”

“Well, there’s a lot to rip into,” Nakoma pointed out. “It truly is a marvel how that man ever got to the Council. Honestly, picking him wasn’t Orland’s finest moment. It only makes you wonder what disgrace was up against him that Orland thought he was the finer option.”

Piura stepped forward with a soft laugh and shrugged. “Father likes to say the opponent had to have been magicless. After all, there are few in all the known realms that could ever make him look like an attractive choice.”

“Yes, either a magicless or perhaps even a donkey,” the Master of Fire joked. “Though, I still might have chosen the donkey so that can’t be it.”

The three of them laughed and Ilirianna took some amusement at the thought of what Glaus’s face might look like if he heard the things they were saying about him. He was, after all, a very proud man whose pride could be wounded at the most minor of slights.

He’d probably go red as a tomato and start shouting about all the respect he deserves and all that, she mused. What an insufferable man, but I owe you one today, Kloras. Thank you for being such a pain in the ass that Mother had to leave.

“So, what were you being lectured about this time?” Nakoma inquired as he glanced around the royal arena. “Were you too slow, too fast, too sloppy… All of the above?”

Ilirianna rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest with a grimace. “She caught me using incantations during our fight. Apparently, she wasn’t as deaf as I’d hoped she’d be.”

“Ah, that.” The Master of Fire seemed to consider her words for a moment as he absently ran his fingers through his crimson hair, then he smiled and spread his hands in defeat. “Well, Liri, I’m not sure what to tell you on that one. I understand why Tora would want you to learn to silently cast, but at the same time, it’s not an easy feat to accomplish.”

“Which is probably why she wants me to,” the young woman grumbled. “If it’s nearly impossible to do then my mother will be damned if she doesn’t command me to do it. Honestly, it’s obnoxious, but if I tell her that, I’m sure she won’t be pleased.”

Nakoma chuckled. “No, she would not be. Back when I first met Tora, I tried my own hand at silently casting, but the spells had been too ingrained in my routine and my abilities started to slip, so I just decided to abandon it and fight normally.”

“Wish I could do the same,” Ilirianna grunted.

“Well, if you want any advice, the best thing I can give you is to find something else to lock your mind onto,” he explained. “At the end of the day, the incantations aren’t what cause the spell. It’s your body that does it, and the words are simply something for your mind to latch onto—to help associate with whatever you’re trying to do. With that being the case, if the word can’t be used then simply create another association altogether, whether that be thinking of something or perhaps even a hand motion. Does that make sense?”

The princess furrowed her brow in thought, taking in what Nakoma said as she considered how to implement that advice. So create another association? I guess I could try and overwrite the word with a motion, but then I’d have to make a motion for every single damn spell, and that’s not going to be simple…

“I’ll give it some thought,” she said after a moment. “Thanks, Nakoma.”

“Happy to help, Princess.” The Master of Fire then glanced past her to where Piura was standing quietly, listening attentively to their conversation. “And you, Piura? What was your issue this time?”

“I was following Liri’s lead too much,” she answered immediately. “Mother said I need to be better at complimenting her rather than copying her.”

“And she certainly could have said it with less condescension,” Ilirianna added sharply, still irritated by the disrespectful and harsh manner in which their mother tended to address Piura. “I, for one, think she was doing a fine job.”

Her little sister smiled shyly, as if in silent thanks, then turned back to Nakoma to await his advice. However, the Master of Fire simply chuckled and shrugged.

“Well, while I do wish Tora could be a little nicer in her teachings, I can’t disagree here,” he told the sisters. “Piura, you’re a brilliant and talented fighter, and I’m not just saying that cause I’m your friend. You could match your mother some day, but you lack confidence in yourself. Ilirianna is a great role model and you should follow her lead in certain circumstances, but you also need to take initiative of your own. Use your head, think the fight through, and perhaps even take charge yourself now and then.” As he spoke, Nakoma turned and approached Piura, then placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he smiled down at her. “Have confidence. Don’t let your talent be restrained, okay? Follow Liri, but make your own calls, too. Yes?”

Piura smiled back, a brief flicker of pride showing in her eyes as she nodded. “Yes, I understand, Master Taurus. Thank you.”

“Always.”

See, Mother. Perhaps you should take a page out of Nakoma’s book sometime. You don’t need to be an ass to get your point across.

In many ways, despite having rarely trained with him, she considered Nakoma Taurus to be more of her teacher than her mother, for he always spoke to them with respect and not only gave advice, but complimented them on what they did right. She couldn’t recall even one instance when her mother had pointed out their successes, for she was always too distracted by their failures.

“Now, I’m sure you both want to get out of here, but I do have to ask,” Nakoma began, turning his attention back toward Ilirianna. “With the Academy’s orientation taking place at the end of the week, have you given any thought to choosing your team, Liri?”

Immediately upon reminding her of orientation, the princess couldn’t help but barely repress her scowl. “Er, well, I’ve certainly looked over this year’s roster of new students, but I figured that without knowing who joins with who, then there wasn’t much of a point.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Nakoma replied. “I think it’s good to have an idea of who to keep an eye on during the fights. Most of the new students won’t be anything special, so it’s important to narrow down on a few so you don’t get overwhelmed at the matches.”

Ilirianna shrugged, kneeling down to pick up one of her dropped swords before fiddling with it. “Maybe, but I don't think it matters. Mother and Father have already made it quite clear who they want me to choose, and I’m not sure I’ll have much of a say in it.”

“Is that so?” the man murmured. “In that case, I imagine they’re championing the Noctalus kids?”

Swinging the sword around, Ilirianna scoffed. “Who else? I’m sure Master Noctis and Master Luz have been in their ears. The Academy’s getting two children of Masters in one year, and since they’ll almost certainly pair up, it creates the perfect situation to appease the Noctalus.”

Nakoma glanced over at Piura, who merely met his stare with a shrug, as if to say she had no opinion on the matter. The Master then chuckled and shook his head. “You talk like this is a bad thing. From what I’ve heard, young Nigreos is quite a talented sorcerer, and while Acostav has complained about the lackluster talents of his daughter, I’m sure she’s still impressive in her own right. Say what you will about the Noctalus, but the sorcerers they produce are always the best of the best.”

Ilirianna sighed, knowing that everything the man was saying was true. And yet, for some reason, she just didn’t want to pick Nigreos Noctis and Album Luz to work with her. She wasn’t sure if it was just a desire to rebel against her parents or if she just wanted to have the freedom to choose on her own, but either way, it annoyed her enough that she actually wanted to avoid selecting the Noctalus.

Ah whatever, I’ve still got time. With any luck, orientation will produce some up and coming mage I can justify picking instead. I don’t need to waste time thinking about it now.

With that internal dismissal, she turned on her heel and raised her sword toward the Master of Fire, grinning wryly. “Well, I feel recovered enough and I don’t want to go back to my room yet. What do you say to a quick one-on-one, Master?”

Nakoma cocked an eyebrow at her blatant change of subject, but seemed to conclude that it wasn’t his problem as fire erupted around his wrists.

“Very well,” he replied. “One quick match, Princesses.”

At that cue, Piura quickly picked up her swords while Ilirianna collected her second one, then both girls moved to the opposite end of the arena from Nakoma. And then, grateful to be able to take her mind off of her upcoming duties, their duel began.