Chapter 49 Pre-Academy Annuals

"Mia, I am not planning to start a dungeon delving team," I said with conviction while making eye contact.

"But Gareth said you two had a sponsor with deep pockets to sponsor a dungeon delving team," she said plaintively.

That was an interesting concept. I could probably sponsor a dungeon delving team in secret. My wandering thoughts returned to Mia, "No, Gareth is just voicing his dreams. He may delve into dungeons one day, but I have no plans to do so." Best to end this rumor here and now. Mia was quiet and turned to watch the grounds far below our railing. It was a few minutes before she spoke again.

"What are your plans, Storme? You are a talented mage, and Master Aethon says you are going to be an exceptional artificer." I laughed internally. I was terrible at manipulating the enchanting wire into runes with a stylus. I had gotten so frustrated that I had been using my metal shaping spell when Mia and Aldon were not looking.

"I think my ultimate goal is to build my own skyship one day. I am not much for the adventuring lifestyle, but owning a skyship that can take me anywhere…that is a dream I hope to make a reality," I said truthfully. I had already been managing ideas in my head. Once I got a few more spells imprinted, I would take some time to review the construction manual on the Wind Splitter.

"If you go to the lowlands, will you take me with you?" Mia asked. I looked at her, but she didn't meet my eyes and continued looking below.

I guessed, "Are you craving adventure or an escape?" She looked at me with a sad expression.

"A little of both but mostly the latter," she started. "Living away from the cities, you don't see how the three ruling families control everyone's lives. The only escape is if you have enough money to have them look elsewhere or if you ally yourself with one of the three families, tying yourself to them."

I asked directly, "So you came to Hen's Hollow and are studying enchanting to tie yourself to me?" She giggled.

"No, I came to Hen's Hollow to be instructed by Callem," she said seriously. "I joined the enchanting class to learn about enchanting. It is a valuable skill, understanding enchanting even if I am not good at it. You were just a bonus," she offered a weak smile. My bubble deflated a little. "Oh," she patted my arm, seeing my distress, "after seeing how good you are, I want to use your sail to raise me as well. You are a skilled fighter, but with your healing spell and artificing…you are going places, Storme. Just a warning, though. If your jewel is too shiny and bright, one of the families will want to keep you in their pocket."

Mia left to let me think, but my vision quickly focused on the lands below. So vast and beautiful from this high up. The World Sphere was a dangerous place, and I thought I would be safe here, but that was not going to be the case. Mia was right. The brighter I shined, the more likely I was going to be targeted. I was currently shielded behind the mask of Callem and Wynna being my sponsors. How long their protection would hold might determine when I needed to leave Skyholme.

The skyship approached the capital island, and I finally got to see all the sites that Gareth had excitedly told me about. It looked like a small city from my old life, with tall buildings and people bustling everywhere. The memories from my past life were becoming harder and harder to see clearly. Even when I first arrived here, they took an effort to recall. I assumed that if I didn't try to remember specific things, I would lose them altogether.

As we passed over the lavish estates and made our way to the heart of the capital city to land, I started focusing on the exercises Callem had taught me. I planned to lose my first match quickly to get out of this tournament. Maybe I would have some free time to shop while the second round was progressing. Callem came and gathered Gareth and me as we landed. My family, academy class, and all the townsfolk would be heading to the spectator entrance.

We walked to a large Collesum. This structure must seat twenty thousand or more. Callem knew exactly where to go, and soon, we were beneath the structure and walking down a hallway with rows of rooms. An old and fit man yelled, "Well, I never thought I would see that ugly mug again! Callem, is that really you? I heard you were still kicking and a farmer to boot!" Callem smiled and hugged the man.

"Nathan Harper! Are you still in charge of this old building? It has been a while." The two men whispered for a few moments before Callem turned and introduced his apparent friend.

"This is Nathan Harper. He has been in charge of the Annuals and this building for some fifty years! A good man and gave me some of the best advice before my first tournament," Callem said cheerily.

"Fifty-seven years Callem and the advice I gave him boys was simple, 'Don't lose,'" the two old men broke into laughter at the statement. Gareth tried to laugh, but I just pressed my brows together. "Well, I have your two rooms prepared. Unless you want just one?"

Callem answered, "Yes, just one room." He looked at us. "You will be made to wait in your room until called for your match. You are not allowed to watch the other matches." Callem gestured, and Nathan Harper led us to a heavy wooden door. Beyond the door was a finely furnished room with a large spread of food on the table.

"I wouldn't eat anything on the table, boys," Nathan said. "Usually, only the post-academy fights involve subterfuge, but it is not uncommon at your pre-academy Annuals too. Callem remember when I switched your room at the last moment for what… your third championship?"

Callem chuckled, "Yeah, the man couldn't stop vomiting the entire fight. Easiest championship I ever won."

"Well, if you don't mind, boys, I wish to talk with my old friend for a bit while you focus." Callem and Nathan left already in conversation.

Gareth looked at the food longingly. I pulled a sandwich out of my dimensional space and handed it to him. Maybe I shouldn't do that, though. There may be scrying spells or spies. Gareth took the sandwich and greedily devoured it. I made a fake motion like I was retrieving a water skin from under my cloak, took a long pull, and then handed it to Gareth. I sat on the nice plush couch after putting down the two staves I had carried with me.

"So Storme…this is kind of a big deal, huh?" I nodded and looked around the room. It had a lot of nice touches. Smooth rock walls, black marble flooring, very nice furniture, and even a bath in the corner.

"Storme, what if I don't live up to Callem's expectations? What if I let my parents down and the town?" My eyes focused on Gareth to see if he was joking, but he was serious. He actually looked nervous.

"Then my advice to you, Gareth, is don't lose." His eyes popped, and we both laughed. It wasn't long before Callem returned.

"So I got the bracket information. Gareth, you are facing a young man from the lower capital city. He is small and fast and wields a short sword and buckler. He likes to win by getting many small strikes and targeting the larger veins. He has an electrical surge ability that might stun you, so watch for his bare hand if he tries to touch you. It is an extremely short stun but enough for him to get inside your guard and strike and retreat."

"For you, Storme, we have a treat. Naberius Bricio. The younger brother of one Abaddon Bricio. If you don't recall, Abaddon is the boy Cilia is furious with for assaulting her. And Cilia and Leda will be in the stands today!" He clapped me on the back, and I groaned inwardly.

Why had fate dictated this course of events? I just wanted to put on a show and bow out gracefully after losing. Now I had the honor of a friend to defend? Bullshit. Suddenly I was getting butterflies in my stomach. "He is a large boy, probably 15, but just entered his first year of the academy. The Bricio's are notorious for doing this, but he wields a simple long sword and shield. Nathan said he is left-handed but likes to attack across his body, so expect him to use a lot of feints to the other side. When he retreats, he always has his left leg trailing, so you should be able to target his kneecap to disable his movement. He also is rumored to have received an ability from a dungeon essence, but Nathan doesn't know what it is. That should keep you are your toes out there." Callem looked happier than a pig in shit. It was clear he missed this.

"So Callem, why all the advice all of a sudden," Gareth asked. Callem had been pretty quiet in our qualifiers, and now he was handing out advice like popcorn at a movie.

"Well, I need to make it an even playing field. I am sure your opponents have received even more extensive reports on you two. Storme, I registered your healing and cleanliness spell, so free free to use them at will out there," Callem said smiling. So was that encouragement or saying I was probably going to get injured? I shook it off, and Gareth noticed I was now the one worrying.

Gareth said, "Storme, just go out there and don't lose." I didn't laugh. I took my staff and began going through some simple forms that I had learned from Elora in the last week. I began planning some sequences. A knock at the door and Gareth was called for his duel. I continued to focus on my last-minute preparation. Gareth returned fifteen minutes later looking dejected and had a cut on his forearm.

I was in shock…Gareth had lost? Then my best friend put on a massive grin and held up the scratch, "Stormy, you should see the other guy!" I shook my head at my friend's joke and healed the cut. It was over an hour before I was finally called for my match.

The large bowl coliseum had thousands of people, maybe more than my original guess of twenty thousand. I ignored my opponent in the center as I looked for my family and couldn't find them. The announcer was calling out details of both of us. He made a snide comment about bringing a stick to a sword fight in regard to my staff. Typically every fighter in the Annuals used a sword. It was considered a manly weapon, but other weapons were allowed.

I focused my attention on my opponent. Well-muscled, maybe 6'1", with black hair and eyes. He looked overconfident. I probably had looked like a country bumkin scanning the crowds when I entered. I twirled my staff slowly as I waited for the announcer to finish. I studied my opponent intensely, and he stepped back in a defensive stance…was my gaze that intimidating?

After a few more minutes of verbosity from the announcer, we finally started. I stocked forward and watched the footwork and muscle tension of my opponent. That was what usually determined the attack. I missed all the signs and barely batted his four quick sword strikes aside and regained my stance. So he was extremely well trained and didn't telegraph his attacks as I would expect. His sword had taken a few little nicks out of my staff but nothing serious.

His confidence was growing, and the crowd was becoming restless after our first exchange. Ok if Callem said he dragged his left leg slightly on retreat…I went into my first series of attacks and managed to clip his shin with a solid strike. My movements were a blur, and I was surprised he had been able to keep up. I didn't manage to break anything, but he was suddenly less confident and in obvious pain from my successful strike. Well, no time like the present to press an advantage.

My staff became a whirlwind of movement as I pressed forward, not looking for an opening but just pressing and giving myself enough time to respond to any feints. He tried to counter twice, but the first time I barely missed his elbow, and the second time I clipped his hip. He was now fully focused on defense and had no ambitions to attack. I started sweating in the light leather armor I was wearing, but Naberius was already dripping with sweat.

How long had I pressed? The cheering of the crowd was white noise as I was focused on my opponent. He gave me an opening, and I thought it was just a feint, so I didn't take advantage. Then he gave me another…no, it was not a feint…he was getting tired. I guessed my varied sequences had gone on for fifteen minutes or so. So my biggest advantage was I was fitter than him.

He stumbled, and my staff clocked his shield across his body, allowing me to hit his ribs soundly. I didn't pause as he stumbled back, and his defense became weaker and weaker. He finally used his surprise…it was a misty fog that materialized. Unfortunately for my opponent visibility was still about three feet, so all I needed to do was press my attack and not let him get further away than that. I finally took him with a blow to his left temple and then his right, and he collapsed like water splashing to the earth. The fog instantly cleared, and mages rushed in to tend to him.

The crowd was stunned momentarily before cheering. I was announced the winner and led away. I scanned the crowd again but only found Leda and Cilia a few rows back, clapping violently, smiling, and waving. They were dressed in navy uniforms. When I entered our room I thought to pull the same fake look of disappointment that Gareth had had but instead leaned my staff against the wall and hopped on the couch, and closed my eyes like I didn't have a care in the world.

"Come on, Storme, give me the blow-by-blow! You were out there for a long time. Was it a tough fight? Did you already heal yourself?" Gareth was pleading.

"Heal myself?" I said. "Why would I let anyone hit me?" My bravado ended as Callem entered.

"Storme, you have been holding out of us! Elora said that was some fine staff work. You should have seen the Bricio booth in the stands. Faces of abject anger and irritation! It was marvelous!" Callem was giddy. "Well, the brackets were announced prior, so they can't fiddle with them for the next round. Gareth, you have the tourney favorite next. He is fast and strong and has a few tier-one abilities. Definitely a strength enhancement…the others are not documented. It should be your hardest fight."

Gareth didn't look concerned. Callem continued, "Storme, you have a much easier path to finish your day. I think they had been setting up Naberius to have two easy wins today. He was the only Bricio in the pre-academy annuals this year." I opened my eyes and moaned on the inside. If the Bricios were as petty as I thought, then I might hear from them again. At least Cilia was happy about the indirect revenge.

"Your next opponent Storme will be a somewhat skilled saber wielder. The match was close, but she prevailed. If you attack with the same focus, it should be an easy win for you." Callem's words fell on deaf ears. I planned to step out. Whatever woman I was facing was going to get a gift win from me. My shopping plans were already spoiled. I was in a foolish mood. However, it did feel pretty damn good to win and make Cilia happy.

It was less than an hour later when a knock came at the door, and Callem answered. After a brief conversation, Callem announced, "Storme, your opponent has withdrawn. She is ill, and the mages can not figure out the issue." By Callem's tone of voice, I was fairly certain this was a move by the Bricios to ensure that Naberious would have advanced. I had spoiled this, but the plan had probably already been enacted. I grunted at Callem's words and closed my eyes to take a nap. I was tired and pissed off. I had made the final eight, so I was going to have to go through this all again!

Soon Gareth was called to his match, and was a long while before he returned. He didn't look great. His arm was bandaged, and he had a limp. "Don't worry, Stormy, I won. It wasn't even as close as it looks. I just got surprised a few times when I thought I had already won. Apparently, he had some type of berserker ability to ignore pain. Almost had to kill him to win, but I did!" He smiled and was missing a tooth. He touched it. "Yeah, the healers should be here in a minute to work on me. The other guy needed a lot of work."

I listened to Gareth tell the tale of his fight as we waited for Callem. Gareth had been too certain some of his strikes had incapacitated his opponent, so he had been surprised. He was good at retelling the tale and made it sound like a battle for the ages. The healers came and just needed to fix Gareth's tooth as I took care of everything else.

Callem entered and threw up his hands, "Sorry, Gareth! I only found out about the berserker ability when I returned to the stands. We can talk about your mistakes later. The skyship will be leaving in an hour, so we need to get back to it."

It was a large crowded mess in the streets as Callem guided us back to the ship. I think he was worried about some type of retaliation but didn't voice it. I remained vigilant, but we reached the ship safely. Freya jumped into me and hugged me. The rest of my family hugged and congratulated me, and then I was led through the mass of people on the deck getting congratulations. Elora grinned at me and said I was, 'making progress.'

The twins each hugged me, but I was sad that Aelyn hadn't traveled to see the fight. I guess I had wanted to impress her too. On the bow of the ship, as we lifted off, I was alone as casks of ale procured in the city were being broken out and drunk on the trip home. Two of tiny Hen's Hollow's own were in the final eight of the pre-academy annuals!