The chandeliers above shook and a few books tumbled to the floor from the bookshelf next to Velaya and Ingrid. Casting a quick glance at one another, they both turned and ran out of their dormitory towards the commotion.

Gathered in front of the large communal building, a growing group of first-year students had formed a circle around something. Velaya and Ingrid joined up with others spilling out from their dorms to get a better look.

“What’s going on?” Velaya said, catching up to where Otto, Rose and the other Mages were.

“Some Sorcerer and Paladin are squaring off,” Rose said, craning her neck to look ahead.

There was another flash of light - this time a golden white, and Velaya’s mana thrashed inside of her. She could hear yelling ahead but couldn’t make out what was being said over the murmuring of the crowd around her. She started to squeeze her way further in to get a better look.

Another wave of magic erupted, sending the people standing ahead of her to the ground. Dirt, grass and debris from the blast rained down on them. When it cleared, Velaya, still on her feet, got a better view of the scene before her.

She recognized the Sorcerer with the scar and who was missing an ear from earlier. He was straddling another man, raining punches down on him. The other man had his arms raised over his head protecting his face from the fists. They were rolling around within a shallow crater, the grass was bent backwards, the tips singed black. The man on the bottom of the pile lurched forward suddenly in a flash of ivory Light, launching the Sorcerer backwards in another blast of magic.

Both men climbed quickly to their feet and Velaya watched stunned as the Paladin wiped the blood pouring from his nose on the back of his sleeve. The Sorcerer was panting deeply, his face sunken and full of loathing.

“Is that all you got, demon?” the Paladin spat. He was a broad man, with ragged walnut coloured hair, and wide, crazed eyes that were glowing amber.

“Fuck you,” the Sorcerer raised his arms out infront of him and a wave of black smoke shot from his hands towards the Paladin who was too slow to react and took the brunt of the magical blast to the chest. He doubled over and collapsed, convulsing on the ground, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Velaya and others in the crowd gasped and yelled in surprise.

There was another blast of white light. From behind the man writhing around on the ground, a figure with a larger build and short brown hair ran forward from the crowd to stand over him.

“Enough of this!” he yelled. Whatever magic he had cast towards the Sorcerer had broken the spell he’d had on the Paladin sprawled out on the grass.

The man on the ground rolled to his side and vomited beside Athone’s boots.

Velaya froze at the sight of Athone standing there with his arms outstretched, shielding his fellow classmate. His green eyes were locked on the Sorcerer, who had staggered backwards from the blow of his spell. He appeared larger than Velaya had ever thought of him, and she was sure the aura of power emitting from him wasn’t solely from his magic. What she wasn’t sure of, was if the sensation that had suddenly lurched in her stomach at the sight of him was entirely due to her mana stirring within.

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The Sorcerer’s hands began to darken again as a black pulsing cloud formed between them. Velaya’s legs acted on their own as she pushed forward towards the crater without thinking, just as the Sorcerer unleashed another blast of magic towards Athone.

The world froze. Quite literally. One moment Athone was standing there, a golden shield of light encompassing him and the fallen Paladin, the next he was surrounded by a fortress of solid ice that rose high into the air. The wave of ice spanned out from the edges of the crater in a wide half circle, completely cutting them off from the Sorcerer beyond.

Velaya broke into the clearing, her blue eyes still glowing, vaguely aware of the cries of shock from the crowd, and raced towards Athone.

The man on the ground had ceased his vomiting and had rolled into a seated position. He looked up, catching sight of the massive wall of ice and his eyes widened in astonishment. His nose was still leaking blood, his face pale, as Velaya approached.

“Here,” Athone said to the man, extending a hand to help him up but he ignored it as he continued to stare dumbfoundedly at Velaya.

That’s when she became aware of the silence that had descended on the crowd. She could feel the eyes of everyone focused on her. She tried to suppress the apprehension that crawled its way under her skin. As a future heir to a Kingdom she was used to people watching her, but this felt different. During those times in court the stares she received were of curiosity and respect. The faces now surrounding the edge of the clearing ranged from awe and reverent fascination to reproach and trepidation.

“Help me get him up,” Athone said quietly to her. His face remained impassive.

Together they looped the man’s arms around their shoulders and dragged him to his feet. His eyes were glazing over, and nearly all his weight was leaned up against the two of them.

“I don’t trust myself to fix his face and I’m not sure what curse that was,” Athone said. “We’ll have to get him to a healer.”

Velaya nodded quietly, determinedly keeping her focus on the man and not those gawking around them. They had started to whisper and murmur amongst each other.

“Come on Max, just up the hill here,” Athone said to the man whose feet were barely keeping himself upright.

Together Velaya and Athone half carried, half dragged Max towards the edge of the clearing. The students standing there parted without saying anything leaving a clear path for them to travel up towards the Tower.

When they had put a bit of distance from themselves and the rest of the first-year students, Velaya turned back to see that they had all clamoured together around the wall of ice that remained. Out of the corner of her eye she could see students from the second and third-years rushing over to see what was going on.

“And here I thought you didn’t want to draw attention to yourself,” Athone grunted, adjusting his grip on Max’s body.

“I didn’t. I just…” she looked over Max’s drooping head towards him. “What was that even about?”

“Just your standard Light versus Dark bullshit.”

“He looked like he wanted to kill you.”

“Not me but Max here? Well…” Athone said, shooting her a shrewd smile.

“This isn’t a joke Athone! Just look at him.”

Max took that moment to fall completely unconscious bringing an end to their conversation as they laboured their way up to the double-wide wooden doors of the Tower. Before they could push against them, they swung inward suddenly, revealing a female figure with flowing white hair, and periwinkle eyes shimmering with indignation.

“That didn’t take long,” Archmagus Ena said.