The ensuing fight had them both bloodied, bruised, and panting. Victoria gave everything she had, but Daciana had more training, and it showed as the fight wore on. Separating again, they stared at each other.
“You fought well,” Daciana said, spitting some blood to the side.
“You, too,” Victoria admitted, wiping at the blood dripping from her nose.
“I win, though,” Daciana grinned, her bloody teeth giving it a grim cast to it.
“Not until you knock me out.”
“Okay.”
Yunlo watched the two of them, glad they were pushing as they were. Friends could end up going soft on each other, which always irritated him. The crowd had enjoyed the brutal fight, cheering louder and louder as it went on. He knew the end was coming soon. Both of them were breathing hard and had taken damage from each other.
Daciana managed to catch Victoria’s arm and, using it as the pivot, she pulled the other woman in to slam her to the ground. Victoria wheezed when she fell, her breath nearly knocked out of her. Daciana straddled her and pounded her face, forcing Victoria to cover herself with both arms.
Daciana didn’t want to brutalize her friend, but Victoria was refusing to give up. “Just surrender!” Daciana grunted as she continued to hammer at her friend.
Victoria grimaced and, with a heavy heart, she turned her head to free a hand and tap the ground.
“Break! Healers!” Yunlo’s voice cut over the crowd.
Klim and Mindie rushed out to help them.
Chapter Seventy-three
With the last fight of the day over, the crowd dispersed in bits and pieces, but others stayed to watch the remaining demonstrations. Dia wished them a good day, choosing to stay with Bishop, Gin, and the others. Hao led his family out away from the arena and found a place to wait for the novices and their families.
“That was a brutal fight,” Gregory said.
“Yes. Nessa was surprisingly vicious in her win,” Jenn agreed.
“I had no idea an air magi could do that,” Yukiko said. “It’s something to keep in mind for when we fight them.”
“It requires allowing yourself to be in melee range,” Jenn said. “I don’t think anyone at our level or higher wants to let that happen.”
“Only for our tier,” Yukiko countered. “Bishop said she’d seen the same thing done at a distance. Otherwise, we’d still be trying to figure out what happened.”
“She’s right,” Gregory said. “I wonder how Vicky is taking her loss?”
“She didn’t seem upset when she left the arena,” Jenn said.
“But they were walking away from us, as the other side is closer to the boxes,” Yukiko pointed out.
“She seems like a levelheaded woman,” Yoo-jin said. “I’m sure she’s disappointed, but I doubt she’s upset with Daciana.”
“No, they get along well,” Umbrose smiled. “It reminds me of Ulga.” Seeing Yoo-jin’s questioning look, she went on, “Ulga is my best friend. She’s never had a child, so she always helped me care for Jenn. Though...” Umbrose looked over at Jenn before her cheeks reddened. “You’ll have more family when I get home.”
“What?” Jenn asked, clearly caught off guard.
“Well, your father and I were talking, and he and Ulga have always gotten along well,” Umbrose said. “I’d always hoped she would find a good man to give her a child, and when we agreed to your wish, I asked Adolphus if he’d consider something similar.”
Jenn blinked at her mother, shocked at what she was hearing.
“It’s one of the reasons I came with the Warlins. I’m letting them have some time to get used to being together.”
“Aunt Ulga?” Jenn asked, clearly trying to grasp what she was hearing.
“We’ve always had you call her that, but she isn’t related to either of us. She’ll just be Mother Ulga now.”
Yukiko giggled and gently nudged Jenn. “Not like we can cast stones, dear.”
Jenn shook her head. “I… no… but…!”
Umbrose looked worried and glanced at Yoo-jin for help.
Taking a deep breath, Jenn exhaled slowly. “It’s fine, Mother. It’s just… unexpected. You know I like Aun… Ulga. If you all agree, I’d be a hypocrite to say anything against it, even if I was against it, which I’m not.”
Umbrose exhaled and pulled her daughter in for a hug. “Oh, thank goodness... I was so worried. Your father was, too, but I told him you’d agree. Your brother and sister have been okay with it, but he worried about you.”
Yukiko leaned against Gregory, smiling, glad that their wife had been okay with this news. Gregory watched them and felt a small twang of sadness that his own mother couldn’t hug his wives. Looking away, he was the first to spot the novices and their families coming their way.
“They’re coming,” he said.
“Ah, good. We can go to dinner,” Hao said.
“Excuse us,” Nessa said as they got closer, “the three of us wanted to go check on Frederica before we go. Do we have time to do so?”
“Of course,” Hao said. “They’re holding the room until we show. The rest of us can go to the Golden Boar and wait for you there.”
“Thank you,” Nessa said, bowing to him. “We won’t be long. I just want to check on her.”
“Take your time,” Yukiko said. “You’re doing a good thing.”
“We’ll be waiting for you, but don’t rush yourself,” Hao said.
~*~*~
They were making small talk in the private dining room when the novices arrived.
“Sorry for the delay,” Nessa said as she led the others into the room.
“How is she?” Gregory asked.
“Fine now,” Nessa said. “I did significant damage, but the healers had her fixed up. She’ll have to rest for a few days, and the instructors have been informed.”
“She took it well,” Victoria said. “Didn’t say a word against Nessa. She just congratulated her and told her to beat Daciana so she could have third place.”
“She asked if we’d decided on our clans yet,” Daciana said. “We told her we’d have one after the tournament. She’s been approached by the Iron Hand, Hardened Fist, and Yamato Shipping, but hasn’t agreed to any of them.”
“She’d be a good ally,” Jenn said, “but if she isn’t a believer, then she’d not enjoy being in our clan.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Victoria nodded.
“Shall we have dinner?” Hao asked as the novices took their seats. “After dinner, we’ll head back to Stabled Hunger. This will be our last meal all together until the… hmm, I was going to say the next tournament, but that won’t be the case.”
“Because we’ll be at the Buldoun event,” Yukiko nodded.
“Well, then, let us enjoy this meal with each other, though I’m sure that some of you will have many more together,” Hao said, glancing from the novices to the apprentices. “I was meaning to ask... Vana, would it be okay to have dinner brought to Stabled Hunger tomorrow? I had my men find a place that will cater it. I figured you should celebrate the tournament in your home.”
“Yes, that’s fine. Thank you,” Vana said, bowing in her seat.
“No thanks are needed,” Hao chuckled. “Our families will be friends for many years with our offspring growing up as magi together.” He pulled the rope near his seat to inform the staff they were ready. “In fact, let’s celebrate that and the potential of Aether’s Guard taking first place in both sides of the tournament.”
~*~*~
Dinner was good and their conversations revolved around the fights. Their parents were asking questions to better understand what happened, and the apprentices explained when the novices couldn’t.
When they arrived at Stabled Hunger, Gregory caught Jenn’s sleeve and had her hold back. The novices followed Hao, not thinking about being dropped off in the front instead of the back like they had been most days.
“What?” Jenn asked.
“Just give t
hem a minute,” Gregory said. “They deserve their moment.”
Cheers, whistles, and applause erupted inside the tavern, and Gregory smiled. After a minute, he nodded and motioned his wives ahead of him. Yukiko shook her head and started inside. Jenn followed her with Gregory bringing up the rear.
More cheers and whistles erupted when Yukiko entered the room, and they didn’t diminish when the others came in after her. Like the last two tournaments, the room was mostly eurtik, with Warlin guards scattered throughout.
Ramon was thanking everyone and promising drinks on the house, which only caused more cheers. A few of the patrons stopped the novices to talk with them, or Gregory and his wives. It took them a bit before they left the main room behind. Their parents stayed in the main room to chat with the patrons, allowing the six magi to have time alone in the private dining room.
“Vicky, how are you?” Gregory asked when he shut the door behind them.
“Upset with myself,” Victoria answered truthfully. “I feel like I should have done more, even though I know I had nothing more to give. I could have struggled on, but that would only have meant Daciana would have had to hurt me more. If I had to lose, at least it was to her.”
Daciana smiled at her. “I would’ve felt the same. You had me worried when my aether was used up and we had to fight hand-to-hand.”
“You’re still my superior in that, but I will at least equal you before the next tournament.”
“Good,” Daciana smiled.
“And tomorrow, I’ll beat Daciana,” Nessa said with quivering lips, trying to keep the smile off her face.
Daciana barked a laugh. “Nope. Tomorrow, I’ll win again. I know your tricks.”
“Just as long as no one has any hard feelings,” Yukiko said. “Pushing each other to succeed is fine, but grudges aren’t.”
“Even if she wins,” Daciana said, motioning to Nessa, “I won’t feel bad because all of us have proven we’re worthy of the clan.”
“Of the clan, yes,” Yukiko nodded. “Time will tell about the rest of it.”
“We have our own fights to get through tomorrow,” Jenn said quickly. “Swift Wind and the Eternal Flame... I doubt they will find a challenge before us.”
“There are so many of them, and half of them haven’t done anything,” Victoria said. “Do you have a plan?”
“I have a few ideas,” Gregory smiled. “We’ll be heading out soon, because we’ll need the clan hall to make sure no one is listening in on us.”
Daciana looked around. “Who could listen to you here?”
“Shadows,” Yukiko said. “Would they normally? No. But Nick might have footed the expense to have the Whispering Darkness clan listen to us tonight. Doing so inside a clan hall is a huge breach of etiquette, as we are not officially in conflict with them.”
“Caution is warranted,” Nessa nodded.
“Dia and Bishop will be putting on displays of their magic tomorrow,” Gregory told them, “either before or between the fights. There will only be fights and the best demonstrations at the main arena, though the other arenas will still have some demonstrations.”
“We’ll be in the boxes all day,” Victoria said.
“You and the guards,” Yukiko said. “There will likely be guards waiting for you at the dormitory tomorrow morning to make sure that you’re safe for the final fight.”
“Oh... I had no idea,” Nessa said.
They explained why to the novices, then chatted for a bit longer before excusing themselves and going back to the clan hall to prepare for tomorrow.
Chapter Seventy-four
“Apprentices, good morning to you,” Lightshield greeted them as they came down for breakfast. “It is best if you skip seeing your fights posted. You are the first fight at the thirteenth bell. There will be some demonstrations after that, then the other apprentices’ fight. More demonstrations will follow, including our own clan magi. Your friends will finish out their tournament, with even more demonstrations after them. At sixteenth bell, the third-place fight will take place. This normally does not happen, but the academy needs to know who is third to go to the event.”
“Hopefully it’ll be Swift Wind,” Gregory said.
Lightshield’s lips twitched. “Confident. Good. After that fight, there will be a challenge... Something to look forward to. When that is over, the championship for the apprentices will begin.”
“We’ll take that spot, Elder,” Jenn said.
“I am sure you will strive with everything you have,” Lightshield replied. “Facing the Eternal Flame takes planning and determination.”
“We have plans in place, sir,” Yukiko said.
“Then I am sure you will do wonderfully. After the tournament, the celebration feast will be held here with your families present.”
“We hope to make it a celebration of a championship, sir,” Gregory said.
“That would add an extra reason to celebrate,” Lightshield smiled. “Make sure to say goodbye to your families then, as the following night we will be welcoming the new clan members. It will start at high sun and continue through the evening.”
“Yes, sir,” they all said.
“Good. I will be leaving the academy again after the tournament. There are things to get in order before next year. Bishop will be taking over as the leader of the clan inside the walls of the academy, but Dia will still be in charge of the clan hall. Meet us here at seventh bell. We will be going as a group to get seats again. Are there any questions?”
“Would you like breakfast now?” Zenim asked.
When no one else spoke, Lightshield nodded. “Yes, let us begin the day.”
~*~*~
“Good morning to you, Apprentices,” Rafiq greeted them. “I wish you luck in your fights today.”
“Thank you,” they each replied.
“Is there anything we can do for you?”
“Has the academy had events with Buldoun or the other nations before?” Yukiko asked.
“A few times, but not in many years,” Rafiq replied. “I believe the last was with Limaz. It ended up being a simple culture exchange at the border. The academy sent five apprentices and three novices. Limaz had a fair so they could see and experience their culture… It ended badly.”
“May I see some accounts of that and the other events?” Yukiko asked.
“Of course,” Rafiq nodded.
“Do you have anything on the magi of Buldoun?” Jenn asked.
“That would be the second floor. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you,” Jenn said.
“What about you, Gregory?” Rafiq asked.
“I’m fine with my current book, Rafiq. Thank you.”
“Very well. I will make sure the books are ready for you on the second floor when you get there.”
They thanked him again and headed for the table in the back. They hadn’t made it before Daciana caught them.
“Today is going to be a good day,” she said with a wide grin.
Gregory chuckled. “What if Nessa wins?”
“I’ll celebrate her and beat her next time,” Daciana said.
“And I will do the same,” Nessa said, having to walk quickly to catch up to them.
“I’m already planning how to beat both of them next time,” Victoria added, “and I will do it unless they can keep up with me.” She gave her friends a smirk, as if daring them.
“Big talk for the one who lost,” Daciana replied. “If anyone will be trying to keep up, it’ll be you as I go running ahead.”
“Says second place after today,” Nessa giggled.
The friends all choked on their laughter as they took their seats.
“Okay, ladies, enough,” Yukiko said. “Your friendship makes me happy. No hard feelings, and you’re pushing each other to do more... That’s the way we improve. When you and the apprentices join us, remember to treat them the same way.”
“We will,” Nessa said. “Friends of yours will be friends of ours.
We’ll do our best to treat them like you treat us.”
“I like Clover,” Daciana grinned. “She’s fun.”
“Ling is calmer and a little more intellectual,” Victoria said. “I think she’ll get along with us very well.”
“What about your fights today?” Daciana asked suddenly. “Do you have plans now?”
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