Magi's Path

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Gregory pulled out one of the blank Magi Squares pages and smiled. “I know we’ve thanked them over the last few weeks, but this really does give us more time to study. Maybe we can get them something in return?”

  “I asked Dia about it the other day while Velma was cooking,” Yukiko said. “She suggested simple things. I asked Mother, and she’s gathering the items for us.”

  “For all five of them?” Jenn asked.

  “Of course, though Velma’s will contain a few different things from the others.”

  “Makes sense,” Gregory nodded. “I don’t know any men who would find a use for the lip paint you use on occasion.”

  “There are some who would, but most would not,” Yukiko replied.

  “We made it in,” Daciana was excited as she rushed to the table, but her voice was low so she wouldn’t break the rules of the archive.

  “Yes,” Yukiko smiled. “We were told before we went to bed last night.”

  “I’m sure she already told you,” Nessa snickered as she approached them with Victoria. “Getting her to wind down after she found out was difficult.” Nessa was flushed red when she finished, looking like she’d said more than she’d meant to.

  Daciana was also red and deliberately not looking at anyone as she abruptly sat beside Jenn. Victoria was a little pink, though she wasn’t avoiding the eyes of the three apprentices.

  “Do you find out your match-ups like we did?” Victoria asked after a few seconds of awkwardness.

  “We should, but Elder Lightshield already informed us of our matches,” Yukiko said. “We are the first fight in the main arena, as well as the tenth and twelfth.”

  “I still say that was the worst they could do to us without it being outright blatant,” Jenn said. “Only a single fight to rest and heal between our second and third.”

  “It’s a good thing Gin trained us the way he did,” Gregory said. “We’ve done this before, and this time, it’ll be against other apprentices, at least.”

  “You aren’t worried?” Daciana asked, finally looking up.

  “I’m a little worried,” he admitted. “I won’t let that rule me, though. We trained as well as we could. Gin worked us hard every week we had off for moments like this.”

  “Our hardest opponents will likely won’t be who we fight today. They’ll want the majority of us to move onto tomorrow to make it better for the crowd. I don’t think they expect us to lose, but they surely want to hurt us,” Jenn said.

  “The major clans will want to avoid us today. They likely used their influence to make sure that happened. Of course, the smaller clans are probably being paid off to inflict as much damage on us as they can instead of winning,” Yukiko added.

  “Doesn’t matter if they are or aren’t. We’ll treat it as if they all intend to kill us,” Gregory said. “We won’t be caught napping.”

  “Good,” Victoria said. “We’ll be doing the same, this year and next.”

  “To uphold the name of the clan,” Nessa said after checking that no one was nearby.

  “We have work to do,” Yukiko said, sliding her Magi Squares to Jenn.

  “We do, indeed,” Jenn said, sliding hers to Gregory.

  “And I’m almost done,” Gregory said. He put the last number in and then passed his to Yukiko. “There.”

  “We need to get ours started,” Nessa said as she pulled out paper and ink.

  ~*~*~

  Gregory stretched as they ended the Peaceful Fist. “I feel good.”

  “I feel more at ease,” Jenn said. “I’m glad we went light, so we’re not sweaty.”

  “We need to be in the best condition for our first fight,” Yukiko said. “The lighter path made the most sense with that in mind.”

  “Everyone should start showing up soon. Should we slip out the far exit and circle around?” Gregory asked.

  “We might want to skip this tomorrow,” Jenn said, thinking back to the people who attacked them during the second tournament. “We never learned what they found out about the attack on us.”

  “The poisoned crossbows?” Gregory asked, getting a nod from Jenn. “I’m not surprised that we weren’t told, but they should have told Dia.”

  “Must have been something we couldn’t do anything about,” Yukiko said. “Dia would have mentioned something if there was.”

  “True,” Jenn agreed. “Out the back today, and we’ll skip tomorrow. We could just train at the clan hall tomorrow, then head down here?”

  “Yes, I think that’ll work out,” Gregory said, picking his bag up and slinging it over his shoulder. “Let’s go see who our opponents will be.”

  ~*~*~

  The circling took them a little longer than they thought it would, so the seventh bell was chiming by the time they reached the posting board. Being at the back of the pack, they could clearly see the different clans. Each clan had an arm’s length of space between them and the other clans, but there was a much larger space around Swift Wind, the Han Merchant Exchange, and the Eternal Flame.

  As they waited, it slowly struck Gregory that he was one of the tallest in their class. All of the other apprentices that matched him in height were twice as broad, built more like his father. Jenn was the smallest in height and build in the entire class, too. Side-by-side, they stood out easily. With Yukiko’s white-blonde hair added in, he knew they would be hard-pressed to blend in.

  “It’s too bad we won’t be fighting you today, Pettit,” Nick sneered. “If you somehow manage to make it to tomorrow, maybe we’ll end your suffering there.”

  “I doubt your clan wants to lose even more face,” Gregory replied simply. “If we both advance to tomorrow, I would expect your clan to keep you as far away from us as they can.”

  “Cocky Pettit, but we’ll see how you feel when we meet,” Jason said, his hand on Nick’s shoulder.

  “Keeping your boyfriend in line, Jason?” Jenn asked with a smirk. “Did his antics damage the clan name that much?”

  “You little—!” Michelle started.

  “Enough!” Jason snapped. “Save it for when we fight them, if they can even do well enough with just three of them.”

  Nick shrugged Jason’s hand off. “Eternal Flame, we’re leaving.”

  The group of nine magi moved off, following Nick. Gregory met the gazes of Petak, Fureno, and Parks as they glared at him. Jenn and Yukiko gave Michelle and Gina smiles when the two women gave them sneers.

  “They do hate you, which only makes me like you three more,” Hayworth started conversationally, then laughed. “We’ll likely see you tomorrow, and we’ll be watching your matches with interest.”

  “Main arena?” Gregory asked, turning toward Hayworth.

  “Us, them, and you, but none of us fight each other,” Hayworth replied. “If we do end up fighting, I look forward to how well your foresight can do against so many of us.”

  Gregory looked at the six people behind Hayworth. “I hope to not find out until the last day.”

  “I can honestly say I hope for the same,” Hayworth said. “Good luck to you three today.”

  “Luck to your clan, as well,” Gregory said. “Will all seven of you be taking the field?”

  “Wait and see,” Hayworth laughed, “though we know you’ll all be fighting every match, barring injury.”

  “Barring injury,” Gregory agreed.

  Hayworth walked away, and the other six fell into step behind him.

  “To your left,” Jenn said.

  Gregory looked left and gave Farin a nod as the Iron Hand group marched by. Farin dipped his head respectfully as he stayed in step with the other members of his clan.

  The other clans were already dispersing, so they went up to the board to see who their opponents were. As Lightshield had told them, they had the first, tenth, and twelfth fights. Their first match was against the Shining Light, and Gregory exhaled slowly, thinking about the trouble he had with Klein. Their second fight was against the White Eagle clan, and their third was
against the Saito clan.

  “Hoping on bad blood, I see,” Yukiko said. “We turned both of them down. I wonder if they took that badly?”

  “Possibly, but it’s our first fight that concerns me the most,” Gregory said. “I’m sure I can overcome Klein’s spirit path, but it’ll push me hard right at the start.”

  “Use your ring,” Jenn said. “The other two fights won’t be as bad, hopefully. If needed, you can run back to the clan hall to replenish it from the medallion.”

  “She’s got a good point,” Yukiko said.

  “We’ll find out shortly,” Gregory said.

  As they got closer to the arenas, he noticed something odd. “I don’t remember there being guards here last year.”

  “Neither do I,” Jenn said.

  “There weren’t,” Yukiko said. “Maybe they’re hoping to stop any of the occurrences of last year from repeating?”

  “That’s good and bad,” Gregory said as they got closer to the main arena. “It means they don’t want it to happen again, but it begs the question of if they ever caught the culprits to begin with.”

  Chapter Sixty-six

  Gregory, Jenn, and Yukiko stood in the tunnel, waiting for their match to begin. They were happy to see that the healer in the arena for the day was Mindie.

  “We know we’ll be in good hands,” Yukiko smiled.

  “And I’ll have an idea of what to be prepared for, having been there for all of your training,” Mindie smiled back. “I do hope you all have a good match.”

  “Is it just you here?” Jenn asked after they thanked her.

  “Magus Klim is in the other tunnel.”

  “Then we are in very good hands, indeed. The two of you are always exceptional,” Gregory said.

  Mindie looked down. She smiled and her cheeks lightly flushed. “Thank you. I just want to heal those who care for others.”

  “That’s Greg,” Yukiko said, but she eyed Mindie questioningly.

  “And you, and me,” Jenn added, also wondering about Mindie’s reaction.

  Gregory was about to say more, but Grandmaster Yunlo, the council member with spatial magic, was suddenly in the middle of the arena floor. The eighth bell began to chime a heartbeat after he appeared.

  When the bell stopped, he raised a glowing bronze disk to his mouth. “Magi and guests, welcome to the first bouts of the apprentice class. Before we begin, there is important news— the keeper of the academy has agreed to a request from the Buldoun royal family. The clans whose apprentices take the top three places will be going to a special event near the Buldoun border to face young magi of theirs.”

  Yunlo paused, as the crowd began to talk excitedly enough that it reached him. He gave them a minute before he coughed into the disk, and everyone quieted.

  “More than that, the apprentice class will be undergoing a tournament in their tactics class. The top three groupings there will also be going to the event, which means the second tournament this year will be a little less than it has been in the past. To counter that, the council has arranged for more magi to be here to give demonstrations.”

  “Well, that explains what Lightshield meant at breakfast,” Gregory said. “Wonder what they mean to do if a clan earns spots in both events?”

  “We’ll find out,” Jenn chuckled.

  “Yes, we will,” Yukiko grinned.

  Mindie watched them with amusement, staying silent.

  “Now, without further delay, let us begin the apprentice tournament matches,” Yunlo finished. “The first match features both champions from last year’s novice tournaments. Aether’s Guard will be facing off with Shining Light.”

  Gregory exhaled and went forward, his wives falling in behind him and a few paces to either side. As they exited the tunnel, Gregory put on his sparring mask. His eyes were focused on Klein and the two others with him. Spatial, wind, and enchanting... Gregory reminded himself. Klein is the dangerous one, followed by Gula and Floxin.

  “Greg?” Yukiko asked softly. “Shadow throw? Are you sure?”

  “Yes. We need to beat them quickly, and I don’t think they’ll be ready for it. Jenn?”

  “Bait. Got it,” Jenn said.

  They were silent by the time they reached Yunlo, and waited for Klein’s group.

  “Apprentices,” Yunlo addressed them when they were both a few feet away, “the rules are the same as last year. Try not to kill your opponents, but otherwise, do your best to win. Any injury that would kill if the weapons were metal knocks you out. When called out, raise your arm and head for the tunnels. If you wish to step out of the fight for any reason, raise your arm and head for the tunnels. Do not try to use this as a tactic to fool your opponents, as I will not be kind if you do. If you are knocked out, you will be sent to one of the healers. Questions?”

  When no one spoke, Yunlo nodded. “Very well. Bow to the boxes.”

  Gregory straightened up after bowing and focused on Klein. Triggering his aether sight, he waited for the signal to begin. Klein stood with his two thin swords at his sides. His enchanting friend was holding a su yari, and the wind magi held a large axe.

  The aether around Yunlo flared bright, and the magi was suddenly twenty feet away. “Fight!”

  Klein didn’t hesitate— his swords darted forward as two small tears opened in front of him. Neither of those attacks was directed at Gregory, instead aimed at his wives. Gregory trusted them to survive and rushed Klein, only to find a large swirl of aether growing between him and the spatial magi. Grimacing, he closed his eyes, dismissing aether sight and pushing aether into foresight.

  The confusion of uncertainty was there for Klein and Gula, the wind magi, but Gregory just fed his foresight more aether to break the block, as he had with Bishop months before. Gula’s block was broken first, and Gregory knew what he and the enchanter would be doing in the next minute. Pushing even more aether into foresight, he broke past Klein’s block and inhaled sharply, ducking as he ran into the harsh sand tornado in front of him.

  The wooden blade of Klein’s right-hand weapon passed an inch over Gregory’s back. Gregory tucked his naginata in close and went into a roll, making Klein miss with his left-hand blade, too. The wind-whipped sand scoured his exposed skin, and Gregory gritted his teeth as his skin was scraped away.

  “Did you get him?” Gula asked as he watched Jenn rush around the mini-tornado he had made.

  “No,” Klein said. “He’d call—!” Klein cut off with a grunt, a sharp pain hitting the back of his neck.

  “Armit, out,” Yunlo said.

  Raising his arm, Klein looked back to see the blood-stained wooden shuriken on the sand behind him. “We were not fast enough.”

  Gregory came out of the vortex, his skin red and raw and eyes still closed. He didn’t aim for Klein, going for the wind magi who had spun and thrown up a wall of wind behind him, saving him from the other shuriken that Yukiko had flung, leaving his back open to Gregory. The blade of his naginata hit the apprentice in the back of the head, and the wind magi dropped to his knees as his vision blurred.

  “Rodgers, out!” Yunlo called.

  “I surrender,” Floxin said, raising both arms a second before Jenn reached him.

  “Shining Light is defeated!” Yunlo announced.

  Jenn turned immediately to Gregory, who kept his eyes closed. “Goodness, that…”

  “It doesn’t feel good,” Gregory said with a pained grimace.

  “It doesn’t look good, either,” Jenn said.

  “We didn’t expect you to bring shurikens,” Klein said to Yukiko as he pushed a cloth against his bleeding neck. “We should have, in hindsight. If we face you again, we’ll be ready, but everyone you face next will be ready, too.”

  “We know,” Yukiko replied as she went past him, going to Gregory. “Gregory deemed you a threat worthy of us using it.”

  Klein looked at Gregory and bowed slightly. “We hadn’t thought you’d push through.”

  “Hold still,” Klim told Klein a
s she touched his shoulder.

  “Oh, please hold still,” Mindie told Gregory anxiously, staring at his abraded skin.

  “My eyes first, please?” Gregory asked.

  “Of course,” Mindie said.

  “Winner is Aether’s Guard!” Yunlo announced as the healers checked on the injured magi. “There will be a pause between fights.”

  The pain began to fade and Gregory sighed in relief. Blinking a few times, he got the grit out from the edges of his eyes. “Thank you. I had them closed tight, but it only mitigated it.”