by Gage Lee
“I don't want any trouble from you, Auris,” the knight said. “And you'll probably beat me bloody if we come to blows. But with all that I've learned here at the Celestial Academy, there's a chance, a very small one, that I might not lose. How would that look for the crown prince? Beaten by a human would be a very dark mark on your record.”
The gold's sneer faded, just a little, and he marched past Taun, smashing his shoulder into the knight as he went. “You will never defeat me, man-thing. It is not possible.”
“Keep pushing it and we'll find out,” Taun said with a smile.
“You're going to get us all killed,” Kam whispered after the golds had gone on their way. “But I think I like it.”
Sutari let out a dark chuckle at that. She shook her head. “You certainly breathe a lot of fire for such a small thing, Taun. Come on, we'll be late if we don't hurry.”
The Broken Blades caught up to Moglan and Lira at the classroom door, and the five of them headed to their usual table near the front of the classroom. From there, they could easily hear the professor's words and didn't have to look at the smirks and dark glares some other dragons directed at Taun. Seconds after the lodge's members had settled in their seats, the bell rang. A few seconds after that, the professor ambled into the room, a basket filled with baubles dangling from his right wrist.
“Good morning,” he called out. “My apologies for my tardiness, but the cold is playing havoc with my knee.”
The class returned the professor's greeting, and the big red dragon made a circuit around the room. He deposited an item in front of each student, though Taun couldn't see what it was from his position. The professor went all the way around the room before he came to the front table. He placed an engraved and polished stone in front of Sutari, a dragon figurine carved from some exotic wood in front of Lira, a phial filled with deep blue liquid for Moglan, and a matching pair of heavy, white metal ingots in front of Kam and Taun.
“I have given each of you another item to add to your hoard,” the professor announced. “I’m sure some of you have already noticed that as your hoard grows, and your bond with it strengthens naturally over time, your dragon sign becomes more prominent. Warriors develop deadly claws. Scouts have their defensive scales. Shamans the wings that gather pneuma for them to use with their servants. Occultists the breath that gives life to their incantations and rituals. And, of course, servants, who find their heart’s fire growing to give them the strength and endurance they need to perform their duties. The items in front of you will greatly amplify the power of your hoard. But only if you can transport them to it without leaving this classroom.”
The professor gave the students a wolfish grin as they all puzzled over what he'd meant. He watched them examine the items he'd given to them, then returned to his lectern. It groaned and creaked under his ponderous weight when he leaned on it, but the professor didn't seem to notice. “As we've discussed, a hoard is tied to its dragon,” the professor began. “In many ways, your treasure hoard is part of you, its power yours to command. You can even break down items from your hoard and absorb their energy at a distance.
“And you can also do the reverse. By bonding with an item, you can transfer it from your current location to the hoard. The process is difficult for those without advanced cores, which makes this a worthy challenge. Think back on all we've learned. You know how to do this, but you don't know you know. The first among you to add the item to your hoard wins twenty Glory, ten for second, five for third. The rest of you will have to be content with what you add to your hoard today. If anything. I will collect all the items that remain in this room when the dismissal bell rings.”
With the rules laid out, the professor limped over to his desk and took a seat in a chair that looked ready to give up the ghost at any minute. The furniture held his weight, though, and Taun turned his attention to the lump of metal in front of him.
“I got an Inpharisa Stone,” Sutari said, her voice low and reverent. “This holds the memories of a great swordsman. If I can bond with it, there's no telling what techniques it will unlock for me.”
Moglan peered at the phial in front of him and shrugged. “I think this is ghost water,” he mused. “Very useful in calling spirits.”
“We got soul steel,” Kam said, his eyes wide. He adjusted his spectacles and shook his head. “This stuff is priceless. They say anything you make out of it becomes a part of its owner. Where did the professor get all this?”
Lira smirked at Kam's question. “From those the dragons have conquered,” she said. “Their wars aren't just against monsters. Some worlds have people on them. The dragons take what they want from those they've defeated.”
“Then why give it to us?” Sutari asked, seeming confused by the generosity. “Soldiers would get more use from these things.”
“What do you think they're making of us?” Lira said softly. She fiddled with the figurine the professor had given her, then pushed it away as if it was a toy she no longer wanted.
Taun felt the conversation spinning into dangerous territory and pulled it back to the task at hand. The other lodges were already hard at work on the problem of moving their items to their hoards without physically transporting them. If his team wanted to win, they had to get to work.
“How do we do this, Kam?” Taun asked. “You're the occultist. Occult this.”
The bespectacled dragon coughed nervously and cleared his throat. “Well, yes, this does seem like something I should understand. The theory, I suppose, is just the inverse of the hoard transfer that draws power from the bonded treasure to the dragon's core. We should be able to transfer power from our core to the hoard.”
Sutari frowned at that. “But that would require getting the items into our cores. I can't just will this stone inside me.”
The rest of them got a chuckle out of that. Then they settled in to gnaw on the problem and figure out how to do this. Taun considered the soul steel, which felt heavier than gold in his hand and was cold as the icicles that had formed on the eaves of the Academy's buildings as winter tightened its grip on the mountains. He turned it over in his palm, trying to understand it on a level much deeper than its physicality. He sensed metal in it, of course, but also fire, and, to his surprise, water. It was a strange fusion of different elements that gave the metal its unique properties. And the longer Taun studied it, the more he understood about how it was constructed.
The elemental powers were braided together in a series of complex patterns that outlined the object's physical structure. The thickest cords of pneuma described the material borders of the metal chunk. More intricate patterns of pure pneuma within the framework identified its properties and unique structure. Taun saw all this with his spirit, not his eyes, which made it hard for him to comprehend everything that poured into his mind. The lines of elemental pneuma were like script in a language he only barely understood.
But maybe he didn't have to understand it.
You know if you win this challenge, the golds will not let it rest.
“It's not like they're letting it go, anyway,” Taun muttered.
What right did the dragon have to push him and his lodge around, anyway? They were all here for the same reason—to learn from the best the dragon empire had to offer. And it wasn't as if Auris and his noble friends needed to win the Glory Chase. Not like Taun did. Victory might be the best chance his family had to reverse their declining fortunes and hold off the impending eldwyr attack. Taun wouldn't allow anyone to push him away from that goal.
“I think I understand this,” Taun whispered to his friends. “The elemental pneuma gives the items their form. It's like...I don't know. A plan or a schematic. It's a container for the pure pneuma, which gives the item its unique nature.”
Kam blinked from behind his thick spectacles. He nodded slowly as Taun's words sank in. “That makes sense. I think. If you're very careful you can extract the two types of pneuma from the item without damaging their structure.”
“And then you can move it into your core and from there, into your hoard,” Moglan finished, forcing his voice down to a whispery squeak. “That can work.”
Sutari and Lira looked confused, but they nodded supportively. “If you three think that will work, then we'll try. But most of that went right over my head,” Sutari said.
“Maybe it's best if we watch, and the three of you can guide us after you win the challenge,” Lira said.
Taun had already gone to work on his soul steel. The time he'd spent at the forge, learning how to craft items with little more than the power of his mind, stood him in good stead here. It was all so clear to him, now. He carefully pulled away the soul steel's elemental pneuma and absorbed it into his core. He was surprised at how simple it was now that he understood the fundamentals. The soul steel's blueprint floated into his core, and from there Taun guided it to his hoard.
Careful. Without its form, the pure pneuma can slip away.
Taun silently thanked the dragon for the warning and turned his attention to the mystic energy that remained. It had warped and stretched without the elemental pneuma to bind it, but the strands and all the precious information they contained were still intact. The knight pulled them into his core with exaggerated care. At the end of his long, steady breath, the soul steel was gone. A moment later, he felt the weight of something dropping into his hoard, and a wave of pressure washed into the space the soul steel had just vacated with an audible pop.
He'd done it. The soul steel had moved into his personal vault back at the lodge.
“It appears we have our first winner,” the professor said. “Congratulations, Taun. That's quite an achievement.”
Before the knight could accept the congratulations, though, another loud pop echoed through the room. A loud cheer went up from the back of the lecture hall, and a dragon's roar erupted.
“I won!” Auris roared. “My item moved to my hoard before that human's did.”
Taun shot up from his seat, his hands clenched into fists. The knight stared up at the rows of study tables rising from the lecture hall's floor toward the back of the room. Auris stood at a table surrounded by other golds, his clenched fist raised. The two young men glared at one another.
Ludicrous. Do not let this affront stand.
“I transferred an item to my hoard long before the prince,” Taun said to the professor. He did his best to remain calm and collected, but there was no way to keep the anger burning inside him from heating his words. “I'm the winner professor. Not Auris.”
“He's right,” Kam said. “You can't take this away from him.”
The professor put his hand on Taun's shoulder and guided him away from the table. The massive red dragon looked down into Taun's eyes and he spoke in a low, gravelly tone. “Listen to me, Taun. You completed the task far more quickly than I would have guessed. But you did not win the Challenge. Auris did. Do you understand?”
There was something dark and foreboding in the professor's eyes as they burned into Taun's. That stare dredged up a storm of conflicting emotions in Taun's core. Rage at being cheated. Worry that there was something deeper at play here than the knight could handle on his own. Disappointment that too many authority figures seemed complicit in this madness.
Taun was bright enough to put the pieces together. The professor knew the truth, as did the other students. But in a world where power and gold made the rules, that wasn't enough. The simple truth wasn't that Taun couldn't win a challenge, it was that—
—Auris is not allowed to lose any challenges.
Chapter 17
TAUN, KAM, AND MOGLAN helped Sutari and Lira get the hang of moving items to their hoard. The act of showing someone else how to solve a problem took the edge off the knight's anger, but didn't come anywhere near blunting it. He was furious that Auris was untouchable. Taun had thought the professors were honorable custodians of knowledge. Finding out that they were beholden to higher powers and would bend the rules to suit their masters disgusted Taun. It cheapened the instructors in his mind.
This is the way of the world, man-child. Powerful people do not remain powerful if they do not hold tight to the reins. Rest assured that I find this as distasteful as you do. We must come up with some plan that does not involve directly confronting that dragon to have any hope of winning the Glory Chase.
Taun did not like Axaranth’s sudden desire to avoid conflict when he’d previously been so eager to smite his foes. The young knight chewed on that problem as he left class with his lodge members. The knight didn't say a word until after he and his friends had returned to their quarters for lunch. While the Broken Blades gathered in the kitchen to wait for the enchanted cookware to prepare a delicious meal of honey-seared beef with snow peas and fried peppers drizzled with shinkasa pepper oil, Taun let his frustration out.
"We can't compete with Auris," he said, angrily biting off each word. "No matter what we do, he always wins his challenges. Even when he doesn't."
Moglan pulled bowls down from the cabinet beside the sink and forks from the drawer under the counter. He handed a bowl and utensil to each member of the lodge, then ladled big scoops of food onto their plates from the enchanted skillet. "Eat. An empty stomach leads to a bitter mind."
Taun couldn't help but chuckle at the shaman's words. It was true. His mood improved several notches after his first bite of the savory and sweet meal. His brothers would lose their minds when they heard how well he'd been eating. If they ever got a taste of this, Taun would have to drag them back home kicking and screaming.
"There's no shame in second place," Lira said. She pulled drinking mugs off the rack over the sink and filled them from an enchanted spigot that released steaming hot, room temperature, or icy cold water as needed. She handed each of the lodge members a drink, saving Taun for last. She didn't release his mug, even after he'd taken hold of its carved and polished wooden handle. "Winning is nice, but there's no point in beating our heads against the walls of power that protect Auris. We've already proven we're contenders. Let's use our Glory to move up to an even better lodge. Or we could spend the points on improving our lot for next year. Maybe Auris will get bored and go back home before then."
Sutari pointed her fork at the scout and nodded in vigorous agreement. "You know if I'm agreeing with Lira that she's making sense."
They all laughed at that. Lira snorted and shook her head. "Listen to the silver. She knows wisdom when she hears it."
Taun took his bowl to the table in the common area, motioning for the others to follow him. He put his words in order as he walked, knowing that he had to make a sensible case for why they needed to win the Glory Chase without sounding like a privileged brat. That was easier said than done, since his entire reason for wanting to win was to save his family's estate from ruin and protect his people from destruction at the hands of eldwyr. It sounded selfish, even in his thoughts.
Dragons understand selfish. Do not underestimate their desire for self-preservation. It will sway them, if you present it properly.
The knight considered Axaranth's words while his lodge members took their seats. Moglan and Kam dropped into the left and rights seats beside Taun, leaving Sutari and Lira to sit beside one another. It did Taun's heart good to see the two of them eating peacefully instead of sniping at each other, but he didn't know how long it would last. The friction between the dragons was bound up in the social structure of their kind. Taun didn't fully understand it, but he knew it wasn't something Lira and Sutari could disentangle themselves from easily. They were trying, though, and that impressed him.
When everyone had taken a seat, Taun hunched over his bowl and stirred the contents with his fork. Finally he sighed and looked at his friends. "I need to win the Glory Chase. Coming in second doesn't work for me."
"That's the fighting spirit I know will get me killed one day," Kam said brightly. "I've been learning about potions in my occultist path class. Maybe I could brew up something to send Auris home. In a box."
Sutari and Moglan looked at the occultist like he'd just told them he planned to set the building on fire with them in it. Lira didn't even try to hide her devilish grin.
The silver warrior blew out a sigh that gusted her bangs out of her eyes. She fixed Taun with a steady stare. "Don't let your pride blind you to reality. How will you beat Auris in the Glory Chase if he can't lose?"
"I'm agreeing with the warrior twice in one day," Lira said. "Listen to her before the crown prince strikes out at you. Or us."
"It's not that simple," Taun said. "I'm here for Axaranth, but also for my family. Something is moving on the frontier. The wyld is pushing in on the Ruby Blade Keep. The crops fail. Our landsmen have dwindled to half their usual number. If I win the Glory Chase, my people get the help they need. But if I don't..."
Taun let the gloomy prospect hang in the air while he looked at his friends. He knew his request put them in danger. Auris would not take losing lightly, and his temper was not discriminating. They would all suffer for standing against him.
"Even if we push our way to the top, how do you beat Auris if he can't lose?" Kam peered at Taun over the top of his glasses. "You're the most determined person I've ever seen, Taun, but stubbornness might not be enough."
The knight took another bite from his bowl and considered the problem. They’d lose any challenge that included Auris before they started. But the only class Auris was in with the Broken Blades was hoard mastery. He had warrior path class with Sutari. That was unfortunate, because the silver dragon was strong enough to win her path class challenges, otherwise. But it also gave them four classes where they didn't have to deal with Auris and the cheating that guaranteed him a win.
"We can't beat him, but we can still win challenges he's not taking part in," Taun mused. "If we all win our challenges, except for Sutari in the warrior's path class and the rest of us in Hoard Mastery, that gives us an edge. Most other lodges don't have such a diverse group of members."