Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (107/?) WiP 1

Hey everyone! Here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 107 I hope you guys enjoy! :D The Revised Version for Chapter 106 will be released some time before the regularly scheduled release of Chapter 107 as my editor is still working on it! :D 

The two parade floats showed no signs of stopping. 

A fact quickly corroborated by the EVI. 

[Warning! Collision imminent!] 

So, without hesitation, I made my moves.

With one arm picking up the diminutive ferret — his whole body elongating like a slinky in the process — and the other arm poised to deploy the much-dreaded grappling hook, aimed just above Auris’ float. 

[Grappler trajectory confirmed! Proceed?]

However, no sooner were those calculations made, did the figureheads of both floats suddenly come to their senses, ordering their respective hallway-sized ego-machines to an abrupt halt.

Though, it would quickly become clear that this wasn’t done for the sake of the pedestrian.

Instead, the two parties seemed to be first and foremost preoccupied amongst themselves.

“Does Lord Auris Ping of Pronarthiarealm, fellow peer of the Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts, yield to the Class Sovereign candidate, Lord Qiv’Ratom?!” The hamster-like Rostario shrieked bombastically, earning nothing but an annoyed grunt from the bull.

“No, I do not yield!” Ping shouted back, prompting Ladona to push forward with what I assumed to be a rebuttal.

“Does Lord Qiv’Ratom of Baralonrealm, fellow peer of the Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts, yield to the Class Sovereign candidate, Lord Auris Ping?!”

“No, I do not yield.” Qiv declared with a surprising degree of class compared to his bullish counterpart.

All of this culminated in both would-be candidates shifting their attentions down from their thrones, towards both me and the ferret merchant lord. 

“Do, you, Cadet Emma Booker of Earthrealm, fellow peer of the Transgracian—”

“—Academy for the Magical arts, yadda, yadda, yadda…” I interrupted, letting my annoyance be known. “First of all, let’s take a step back. What’s all of this is actually about.” I gestured frantically towards either float, decorated to the brim with mana-enriched metals glistening with not just random specks of light, but outright patterns that ranged from flowers to intricate engravings, to even the signatures of either ‘candidate’. 

That question, whilst received with a series of nods from Qiv’s group, seemed to be enough to give Ping the ‘ammunition’ he needed to strike back.

“HAH! The newrealmer once more shows her true colors, as one so lacking in the deeper nuances of the dynamics of power beyond mere feats of physical strength.” He taunted, eliciting an uproarious series of laughs from his float-members and followers, prompting me to tap my feet in response.

“You must have quite the selective memory, Lord Ping, as if I recall correctly… you of all people had first hand experience with a certain library card belonging to yours truly.” I stated bluntly, my hand tapping the pouch housing the aforementioned card in the process. “I assume that the library doesn’t just hand out these things for ‘mere feats of physical strength’ now does it?” 

The bull’s eyes grew wide at that retort, Ladona’s spindly hands seemingly the only thing keeping him from simply leaping out at me, as she gently massaged his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

It was Qiv’Ratom however, who’d fill me in, clearing his throat to garner all of our attention. “Please be reasonable, Lord Ping. It’s not everyday a newrealmer arrives with little to no context for our civil practices. It’s simply unreasonable to assume she has an answer to every question, so let’s try to enlighten her in a civilized manner, yes?” 

The bull refused to respond, simply shrugging as Qiv momentarily took the reins of the conversation. “What you see before you are floats, newrealmer. Simply put, they are part of a long-standing tradition, made with the intent of spreading awareness of a student’s declaration of intent in their campaign for the position of Class Sovereign.” 

“Right.” I nodded in acknowledgement. “So… I’m guessing the class sovereign is like, the de-facto leader or representative of the year group or something?” 

“Correct, newrealmer.” Qiv responded tactfully. “It is a position which only one may hold, for the duration of the entirety of the year group’s enrollment within the Academy.” 

Cogs started turning in my head at that revelation, as it quickly became clear how Class Sovereign wasn’t probably a clean one-to-one analog of Class President, but was once again probably yet another twisted mirror-version of the institutions back home. 

So even the humble Class President isn’t safe from Nexian-ification, huh?

“I’m assuming that there’s no voting involved then, is there?” I responded with a sigh, garnering a nod from Qiv, and an indignant huff from Ping. 

“Specify… voting, newrealmer.” The bull replied with a dismissive chuckle. 

“Oh come on… I know you guys at least have some concept of it.” I began with an exasperated sigh. “You know… the process of choosing officials in positions of power, or policies, by declaring or casting your preference for said official or policy.” 

“And exactly why would we ever put such a time-honored and storied position to the whims of the esoteric inclinations of the ravenous masses?” Ping responded with an indignant huff. “Yes, you are correct in assuming that the concept of voting is not beyond us. But the act of voting, of casting your decision, is one which must be made amongst equals of heritage, pedigree, and titles. From the peerage council of class sovereigns, to the privy council in His Eternal Majesty’s court, the act of voting is sacrosanct, and must be reserved for those deserving of it. And even then, council decisions, no matter how unanimous, must ultimately always be subject to the will of the highest sovereign by decree or birthright.”

“The Dean is to the Class Sovereigns, what His Eternal Majesty is to the Privy Council.” Qiv concluded, garnering what was perhaps one of the few nods of acknowledgement from Ping. 

“Right, so, if not voting… how exactly is the Class Sovereign chosen?” 

“By Dean’s decree, of course.” Ping responded with a self-satisfied smile. “Haven’t you been listening, newrealmer?” 

“If we’re being pedantic about it, that would be the answer.” I replied with an annoyed grunt. “But I meant the actual process, Lord Ping.” 

“The prerequisite to even entering the challenge is to be a member of the top seven peer groups by points.” Qiv answered. “Following which, a test of strength, a test of knowledge, and a test of magical prowess will be required.”

“These tests differ from year to year, but it is the final test, the Quest for the Sword, which remains the same year after year.” Auris continued, taking the mantle of answering from Qiv.