Aether's Guard

by Schinhofen, Daniel

  “I would expect that,” Yukiko said. “Is it written for their side?”

  “No. It’s actually an observational report from an adept posted on the border at the time.”

  “He can’t say too much outright, then,” Gregory said. “If he said it was the empire’s fault, he’d no doubt get in trouble for it.”

  “Agreed,” Jenn nodded, “and that explains the parts that really conflict with each other.”

  “We might be put in the same positions later,” Gregory said. “Border postings are almost exclusively adepts.” Gregory’s brow furrowed as he thought about that. “Wouldn’t it be better to have the higher-tiered magi there, though? It would be a deterrent, one would think, and allow for a better response if the other countries decided to start a conflict.”

  “Hmm,” Yukiko mused, “that makes it sound like the empire leaves itself intentionally weak to invite attacks.”

  “We should get going,” Jenn said suddenly.

  “Yeah,” Gregory coughed. “We got caught up talking.”

  Hurrying out of the archive, they said goodbye to Rafiq, and Gregory made a mental note to ask for a different book tomorrow.

  ~*~*~

  They’d only made it halfway to class when Petak appeared, coming the other way toward them. He paused on the small bridge over the stream. “Well, if it isn’t Pet-tit,” Petak snickered. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

  “Class. You’d know what that was if you hadn’t been thrown out of them,” Gregory replied, coming to a stop a few feet from the other novice.

  “Maybe today, you’ll be late,” Petak smirked. “Magus Han hates it when her students don’t show up on time.”

  “We won’t be unless you decide to physically stop us,” Gregory said, taking a step toward Petak.

  “Only way past is to knock me down,” Petak sneered. “I was on this bridge first, after all.”

  “And the way back is blocked, as well,” Jenn said, looking at where two clanless novices had come up behind them.

  “What a coincidence,” Petak snickered. “Since I don’t have history anymore, it’s not like I have to be somewhere. It’s why I was meeting with those two, who’re hoping to be invited into a clan. You just happened to get in the way of our meeting.”

  “Greg,” Yukiko said, “I can get past him. I’m not sure you two can.”

  Gregory eyed the distance behind Petak. “Jenn can, too. Go on. We’ll be right behind you.”

  “You really think you can just ignore us?” Petak laughed.

  Yukiko ducked down, Gregory’s shadow surging to swallow her. Jenn took the two steps Yukiko had given her and her legs burst with aether as she propelled herself up and over Petak.

  Petak and the other two stared in surprise at Jenn’s maneuver, not having expected her to manage what she did. When they looked back to Gregory, he smiled as he hoisted himself onto the railing of the bridge and walked past Petak, then jumped back down on the far side.

  “Looks like your trap failed,” Gregory said as he started walking away, Yukiko and Jenn falling in beside him.

  “This isn’t over, you beast-loving fringer!” Petak called after them. “You’ll get yours.”

  “What about us?” one of the clanless novices asked. “We did as you asked. You’ll talk to Nick for us, right?”

  Petak glared at the novice before he turned on his heel and stalked off.

  “Is that a no?” the novice called after him.

  ~*~*~

  “That was the start of it,” Yukiko said. “Small harassments; wear us down and make us miss class. We need to start altering our routes more. We didn’t last week, and this happened because of it.”

  “You’re right,” Gregory said. “We got complacent.”

  “What do you think they’ll do next?” Jenn asked.

  “A duel or two,” Yukiko said. “They know Greg doesn’t like eurtiks being insulted, so they’ll try to leverage that against him.”

  “And they’ll do the same to us,” Jenn nodded.

  “We just need to be the ones challenged,” Gregory said. “That gives us the advantage of picking the weapons, or even something else entirely. The archive is set up for doing treasure hunts as challenges. I wonder when they last did one?”

  “We can always ask Rafiq,” Yukiko said.

  “Not important for right now, but something to keep in mind.”

  “Do you think they’ll try to delay us again?” Jenn asked.

  “Probably,” Yukiko said. “It’s why we’ll be changing our routes every day again. Avoiding an unneeded conflict is better than engaging in one.”

  “Agreed,” Jenn said. “If we can’t, then decisive victory would be best.”

  “I wonder if Magus Han makes exceptions if the novices are ambushed on the way to class?” Gregory asked.

  “She doesn’t seem to care about the reason, only the results,” Jenn said.

  “That’s consistent for her clan. The result is all they care about, not the means,” Yukiko said.

  “I’m still going to ask. Best to know for certain,” Gregory said.

  When they reached the classroom, Magus Han was already there. She gave them a piercing look when they entered the room. “Not as early as usual.”

  “We were delayed by a former student who tried to make us late,” Gregory said. “Which prompted a question we had: what if the delay had worked and we were late? Would that be taken into consideration?”

  Marcia’s lips pursed. “I would need to know the specifics. For the most part, it wouldn’t sway me, but I can think of a few instances where I could be persuaded to make an allowance.”

  “Thank you, Magus,” Gregory replied, bowing from his seat.

  “Have you been challenged to a duel yet, Novice?” Marcia asked, staring at Gregory.

  “Not since joining the clan after the tournament.”

  “Hmm... it must be because you only attend a single class now. I’m sure they’ll begin soon. Between classes and during meals are usually the times that challenges are issued.”

  “That might be why, then,” Gregory replied.

  “Yes. You three have made it difficult to find you easily. However, I fear that’ll only make those who want to test you all the more eager to do so.”

  “Understood, Magus. Thank you,” Gregory said, bowing again.

  “Ah, here come the others,” Marcia said, looking past them.

  “Magus, I have a question,” one of the novices said when they entered the room. “We were harassed on our way to class by a couple of other novices. What if they make us late? None of us want to be late. We enjoy the class, and learning.”

  Marcia nodded. “I just answered that question. I’ll answer it again when the class arrives in full. Take your seats.”

  When the sixth bell chimed, Marica gestured and the door boomed shut. “It’s been brought to my attention that a few of you have been harassed on the way to class, and some of you asked if it will matter to me. It depends on the circumstances. This is one of the many challenges you face during your time here. Young magi hindering each other, allowing one to shine brighter, is a long-standing tradition of the academy. It’s the least of the challenges you will face. Only the truly strong will rise up to become a magus or something beyond. Your clan might help you, but other clans rarely will. Learn to overcome, but do it within the rules of the academy.”

  She paused for a long moment, and when no one spoke, she nodded. “Very good. Now, where had we been…?”

  Chapter Thirty

  Another week went by without incident for them, although the lone novice from the Wind Wing clan ended up being late to economics class. She explained that she had been held back by some Eternal Flame clan members, who refused to let her past them. Marcia tasked her with writing a five-thousand-word essay for being late, but didn’t chastise her further.

  They started their day off with breakfast, studying in the archive, and meditation using the Peaceful Fist at t
he closest park. Gregory exhaled slowly as he finished.

  “I saw it again!” Jenn said excitedly. “The cavern. That’s two days in a row.”

  “As we told you, it’ll start becoming more common,” Yukiko said. “It’ll go the other way soon— you’ll see the cavern more often than not.”

  Jenn smiled and gave Yukiko a hug. “Thank you, for everything.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “You, too, Greg,” Jenn said, stepping over to give him a brief hug.

  “We’re glad you’re beside us,” Gregory said. “Time to go see if Elsa has settled in.”

  “Yes,” both women said at the same time.

  As they walked away from the park, Yukiko broached another topic, “I was thinking... we can do the morning exercises just as easily at Gin’s. If the clans and novices are going to start pressuring and trying to injure others, we might want to meditate there rather than in a public space.”

  “If we go that far, we should vary when we return to the academy, as well,” Jenn suggested, “though I wonder if we aren’t being overly cautious at times.”

  “We might be,” Gregory said, “but that doesn’t make it wrong, especially if it doesn’t cost us anything.”

  “True,” Jenn said. “I just wonder if all of our steps to avoid potential confrontations are worth it… especially since we don’t know how many confrontations we’ve actually been avoiding.”

  “Do you want to wait for another moment like the bridge?” Yukiko asked.

  Jenn frowned. “I see your point. They might not be as easy to get around next time, or it might be something more than just them blocking our way.”

  “Exactly. I doubt they’ll directly assault us, considering how that’s viewed by the academy, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

  “Changing our paths is not a problem. We’ll ask Baylyss about using Gin’s for the morning workout. Cutting the day short to return to the academy is the only one I’m not sure of.”

  “The time that we come back is going to become known, if it isn’t already,” Yukiko said.

  “The first time they do something, it’ll be minor, to make sure they have the right information,” Jenn said. “We can change after that, if needed.”

  “I agree with that,” Gregory said. “The game instructors are paid for our next three days off. I’m not sure I should retain them much longer than that.”

  “I’m fairly certain we have the basics down,” Yukiko said. “We can find out how well we know them by then. If need be, we can engage them for a longer period.”

  “Three weeks from now, I should be good,” Jenn said. “I’m still a little shaky on a couple of the games right now.”

  “Okay,” Gregory said.

  Getting to the main road, they’d turned toward Gin’s when the sound of a whip cracking got Yukiko’s attention. Looking back, she saw a carriage rolling toward them and gaining speed. “Run!” she shouted as she took off running.

  Both Jenn and Gregory did as she said without questioning her. Gregory glanced behind them. The driver was snapping the reins while the man beside him cracked a whip, getting the four-horse team to go even faster.

  Reaching the next side street, the three novices took the right and flattened themselves against the wall. A few seconds later, the carriage went thundering past them, still going straight. The emblem of the Eternal Flame was emblazoned on the side of the carriage, and Nick’s sneering face stared at them as it went past.

  “He tried to run us down!” Jenn growled.

  “Of course he did,” Yukiko said, “but there’s no proof of that. He’d plead something about being in a hurry and not even knowing we were there. I’m sure his lackeys would back his story. I just hope that a guard sees the carriage and he has to pay a fine for his actions.”

  “Fine?” Gregory asked.

  “Inside the city, going above a walk is endangering the public. It’s a minor fine for his clan, but it would be something.”

  “Hmm,” Gregory murmured, thinking about how much he still had to learn. “Well, it’s over now. Let’s get moving again.”

  “Do you think it was chance?” Yukiko asked.

  “Yes. If it hadn’t been, we wouldn’t have known until it was too late,” Gregory said.

  “You were the one who knew first,” Jenn added. “You would know best if they were lying in wait or not.”

  Yukiko thought for a moment as they walked. “It was chance, but he saw us on that street, which means he’ll likely have someone watching for us next week. Nick is a petty man. He’ll not forget that we bested him and shamed his clan.”

  “You bested him,” Gregory said, “even though he tried to kill you.”

  Yukiko winced as the memory hit her. “He still wants to pay me back for his loss.”

  “And I want to pay him back for what he did to you,” Gregory said, his hand brushing hers for a moment.

  Yukiko’s pained face softened and she gave him a smile. “Thank you. I want to do the same to Jason, for you.”

  “Kind of glad I didn’t face either of them,” Jenn said. “Not sure I would have survived.”

  “You might not have, but we’ll be there to help for the next tournament,” Yukiko told her. “Our rings,” she said, touching the one she meant, “help dim the fire. It’s the only reason I didn’t lose my eye entirely.”

  Jenn grimaced. “Can I get one of those?”

  “They were expensive, but we can ask the man who had them. It never hurts to ask,” Yukiko said.

  “Next week?” Gregory asked. “We can stop by his place and have a meal at Stabled Hunger.”

  “Oh, that would be good. Jenn hasn’t been there yet,” Yukiko smiled.

  “Been where?” Jenn asked.

  “A wonderful little tavern,” Yukiko said. “They have food to rival what we get at the hall.”

  “Really?” Jenn asked, surprised. “I thought the cooks were very skilled.”

  “They are, but so is the cook at Stabled Hunger.”

  “We’ll plan on doing that next week,” Gregory said. “That way, we can let the instructors know they can be a little late that day.”

  “That’d be good,” Yukiko nodded.

  ~*~*~

  When they reached Gin’s, they smiled when Elsa answered the door for them. “Welcome back,” Elsa said in a formal tone, belied by her wide smile. “The room is ready, and your guests have already arrived. Let me show you the way.”

  “Oh, you’ve really been hard at work,” Yukiko said, stepping inside to change her shoes for slippers.

  “She has, indeed,” Baylyss said from the hallway. “She’s been a quick study. I’m very grateful for that.”

  “Once we have shown you the way, we’ll prepare the tea,” Elsa said, her formal tone breaking slightly in excitement.

  Baylyss coughed once and Elsa blushed, looking down as she tried to compose herself.

  “Thank you for the warm welcome,” Gregory said happily, a grin on his face. “We’re ready.”

  “Follow me, please,” Elsa said and led them down the hall.

  “Baylyss, would it be a bother if we showed up early and used the garden?” Yukiko asked.

  “Did something happen?” Baylyss asked.

  “We’re trying to stop any mishaps from happening before they do.”

  “A wise idea. What time should I expect you?”

  “It won’t be next week, but the week after,” Gregory cut in. “The time would be between sixth and seventh bell.”

  “Why not next week?”

  “We have other plans for early next week, and we’ll get here a little after midday. I’m going to let the instructors know that we’ll be late.”

  “Very well. I’ll make sure that we’re ready to receive you early after next week.”

  “Thank you,” Gregory said, echoed by the other two.

  “We’d also like to hear how Elsa is doing,” Jenn said.

  “I can arrange for updates on her s
tatus, as well,” Baylyss smiled slightly. Lowering her voice, she spoke softly enough that Elsa couldn’t hear her, “She’ll be doubly motivated to work hard if she knows you’re asking.”

  “Here you are,” Elsa said, opening the door and stepping aside for them. “I’ll make sure the tea is prepared and brought shortly.”