EA Chapter 14 - Last Place Squad

In the first few days that followed, Luna found herself immersed in a whirlwind of classes and drills that served as a basic introduction to life at the Citadel. The classes were simple affairs, where the students were usually broken up into lectures that best reflected their strengths and affinities. For Luna this entailed lessons on Arcane History and Arcane Theory. The former, as the name implied, discussed the history of magic in Elthreme, as well as the major figures in the history of magic.

Luna wrote their names down and then, just as quickly, discarded them into the dustbin of her memory. She hardly cared about the life of the man who 'invented' pyromancy, or which ancient Elthremian king wrote the most grimoires. But ultimately she had to keep up appearances and act as if she were a passionate student.

Arcane Theory, on the other hand, was much more interesting. It focused on the practical applications and nuances of magic, and it proved an ideal chance to broaden her powers. The instructor, a stern-faced and redheaded older man known as Lorekeeper Skalpe, was also decently engrossing as far as teachers went.

"There are those who say that qi is the lifeblood of the universe," he had said, motioning to the colossal blackboard that dominated the back wall of his lecture hall. As he did so, he called upon a rudimentary telekinesis charm to spur two pieces of chalk into action, drawing in the background while he spoke. "Such people are fools. Qi is not just the energy which provides life to living entities. Qi is a fundamental building block of reality itself. Anything that ever has, or ever will, exist contains traces of qi permeating through every particle. When the stars themselves flashed into existence untold eons ago, it was their chaotic eruptions that forged all matter in existence."

The twin pieces of chalk had fashioned a detailed illustration of a burning sun, surrounded by a halo of vibrating lines. Then came a smaller illustration of a planet, surrounded by a similar aura. Then a silhouette of a human, again with the vibrating outline. And lastly, a drawing of a minuscule ant, a mere speck that was also marked by a vibrating aura.

"The birth of the cosmos, the continuous births and deaths of countless stars, these emissions created mighty surges of energy which, in turn, generated continuous bursts of qi that helped to forge every molecule and atom in existence. The light that shines in your eyes, the very air your breathe, these all carry traces of qi." Skalpe smirked and snapped his fingers, generating a great plume of lime green light at his side. "As an Arcanist, you are blessed with the power of creation at your fingertips. To take the building blocks of creation, permeating every facet of reality, and bending them to your will. But..."

A malevolent glint shone in his eyes, and in an instant that ball of cold light morphed into a fireball that bathed the entire lecture hall in a scarlet haze. "Never forget that your potential can be ruinous. To lack control is to be an agent of chaos. And to be an agent of chaos is to be a liability to the glorious war against the foes that seek our destruction.”

The man could scarcely go a lesson without mentioning these insidious forces at least once.

Skalpe was an oddball, Luna wouldn't lie about that, but a decent instructor at least. And it had been reassuring to know that magic permeated Aquilonia just as it had in her home dimension. An ambient energy, docile and formless, until the will of a wizard compelled it into action. She had suspected that, of course, but the confirmation was nice.

Beyond those lectures, there were also some classes that involved the parties grouping together. Usually for things like history lectures, or lessons on monster anatomy. Those, however, were rarer than lessons tailored specifically for each individual class.

But, to mark the start of her second week, Luna was getting to attend her first practical group lesson with the rest of the Red Hawks, a combat training exercise. A chance for her to stretch her legs and, potentially, get a little stronger.

"So," Syri stiffly said as they approached the training grounds, looking Luna in the eye. "You should know that Sergeant Gallow can be a rather... uncompromising instructor. She expects perfection, and she'll work you like a hound until you're about set to drop."

"Mm. Sounds about right," Luna said, slowly rolling her shoulders. "She seemed pretty stern when I had to deal with her."

"Scary," said Rema.

"Very," concurred Romula.

Luna had never really felt comfortable around twins. There was just something inherently uncanny about them, and Romula and Rema embodied that unease. Still, she'd be lying if she said they didn't seem like suitable candidates to get under her thumb. Giddy fools, eager to please. She just needed to find the right way to get them motivated.

"I can live with a pain in the ass instructor," Kiharu said. "At least this way way we get to stretch our legs a little. Beats the hell out of sitting in a boring, dusty lecture hall."

"The theory lessons are important," Syri said, the two exchanging a brief glare of mutual annoyance.

Those two, Luna reasoned, would be tougher to get under her sway. They were both headstrong and independent, and seemed to regularly butt heads on trivial nonsense. But if she was to make progress in this world, then getting loyal followers would be a part of that process. And, first and foremost, she'd need to prove herself a capable leader for their party. In time, these four would naturally be drawn in by Luna's strength and guidance.

"I think we should see it as a good learning experience," Luna chimed, managing a tiny smile. "And a chance for us to bond as a team. Even if it will be difficult. We didn't become cadets to have an easy time of things, after all."

Kiharu shrugged her broad shoulders. "Guess you're not wrong about that."

"Indeed. But since this is your first official training session... Well, just be prepared to really get pushed. It's gonna be tough," said Syri.

They started down the stairs toward the training platform just as another team, marked by the black cloaks on their shoulders, were coming up. They were sweating and partially bruised, but carried themselves with a great swaggering their pride. Their leader, a tall dusk-skinned boy with upswept raven hair, likely wouldn't have noticed the Hawks at all, were it not for his elbow bumping into Luna's in passing.

The contact made the young man scoff, his azure eyes narrowing into a glare. "Watch where you're going."

Luna bristled. She was willing to suffer some indignities in this new life, a necessary form of suffering until she regained her throne. But there were some things she wouldn't abide. She turned, glaring up at him. "Excuse me?" she asked in a tone like ice.

"You're excused," he replied, earning a chorus of mocking laughter from his cohorts. "I'd heard the Hawks were getting a new member. Figures they'd get some deaf hick to fill the ranks for such a washout party."

Luna grit her teeth, venomous anger flaring in her eyes. "You have some nerve speaking to me like that, you overgrown sack of shi-"

Syri gripped a hand over Luna's mouth, muffling a slew of enraged curses from the shorter girl. "A-aha, so sorry about her your highness! Truly!" She bustled Luna further down the steps, flanked by the rest of the Red Hawks. Kiharu's shoulders were trembling as she tried to hold back her own laughter.

It was only when they reached the bottom of the steps, and the other party reached the top, that Syri released her grip. "You better have a damn good explanation for why you did that!" Luna growled.

"Do you... seriously not know who that is?" Syri asked, glancing back over her shoulder. An exhausted sigh escaped her. "That was Aryn Oathsworn! A prince of Elthreme!"

"He's also the leader of the Black Drakes. And an overgrown sack of shit, like you said," Kiharu said, grinning wolfishly.

Syri groaned. "For goodness sake, don't go saying things like this out loud! Badmouthing a royal... as if things aren't hard enough for us."

"Royal or not," Luna replied, "I won't stand for anyone treating me in that way. And I must say... I'm disappointed to see you don't feel the same way." That made Syri recoil a bit, her eyes widening. "And what exactly did he mean when he called out group a 'washout party'?"

"Um... Well..." Rema tapped her fingertips together. "During the first few weeks, our party may have... kind of come in last place almost every time. Which, um... gave us a bad reputation."

"It's also one of the reasons why Vaire left us," Kiharu added.

"The pressure, and the harassment... well, it got to her." Syri glanced to her feet, a look of guilt writ large on her face.

An annoyed sigh rose in Luna's throat. "Well. Wonderful. Took you all long enough to tell me that."

"Well..." Romula let out a nervous gust of laughter. "We didn't want to lose our new Arcanist so soon after getting her. We thought stories like that would scare you away."

Luna grunted. She supposed joining late meant she was bound to be put somewhere unfavourable. Not that it would halt her. No, if anything she was certain she could mould these 'losers' into useful assets. She spared a glance over her shoulder to the stairs. Presumably, Oathsworn was in a high ranking team. She'd make sure to surpass him before she killed him.

Partially for the sake of putting him in his place, and partially because it was just common sense to wipe out an entire royal family before consolidating power in a region. You leave a single princeling alive and he'll grow to become a pain in the neck, stirring up rebellion with talk of 'royal blood' and 'restoring the rightful ruler to the throne.' In her anger, she hadn’t even thought to check the little bastard’s energy. But she was willing to bet that he was decently strong.

"I'm here now," Luna bluntly said, "and I'm not going anywhere."

"But... don't ever put a hand over my mouth again," she warned, jabbing a finger toward Syri. "I won't give out second warnings."

Syri swallowed, letting out a small nervous burst of laughter. "Of course."

Nodding firmly, Luna glanced across the smooth white tiles of the training area to where Sergeant Cade was waiting for them. "Come on. Let's get this training session started."

Kiharu chuckled, leading the way. "Now you're speakin' my language."