It was morning once again. Thirty-one one of us were seated cross-legged on the wide gray floor of the Homeroom, the cold stone beneath me heating up to match my body's temperature. Groups of four jade disks had been waiting on the floor when we students first arrived. The disks had an intricate pattern carved into their surface, similar to the qi seals that served as locks at the Academy. In the center of each pattern was a small, smooth depression. We had sat behind the jade disks, one per student, organized by teams.

One spot was conspicuously empty behind me. As far as I could tell, Five hadn't come back to the Quarters last night despite the Academy's curfew, and he hadn't been in bed either when I had woken.

"Where is he?" Naisha hissed for the fifth time in the last minute. "I'm blaming you for this."

Alanna sighed. "I don't know. He's a soldier. He should be reliable."

Reliable to whom, though? What if he was on a mission for the Empress? Another thought struck me. What if he had another Assignment, like I had? I didn't dare reveal mine to him, or anyone else for that matter.

The patter of light footsteps running down the hallway grew louder. A moment later, Five appeared at the entrance to the Homeroom. He surveyed the situation, then made his way to the lone empty spot without saying anything.

Naisha grumbled under her breath. "You're late."

"No, my Index says I'm on time," Five replied. He paused, then stood up and bowed to the instructor. "I apologize, Instructor, if I arrived later than desired." Five sat down again.

Naisha stared at him, as did the others. That was hardly the Five I knew. I look up towards the instructor, who stood in front of us.

The instructor's face was completely hidden behind a dark green helmet with a lowered visor. I assumed the instructor was a woman, based on the shape of the sleek armor that covered her body, which had the same hue as her helmet. The armor was close-fitting, not like the bulky ceremonial plates used by some of the nobles, or the crude metalwork of the northerners, and it made no sound when she moved from side to side. Her voice had an odd, muffled tenor to it.

"Apology accepted," she said. "Now that everyone's here, let's begin. I'm Yoxu, disciple of Theus. I'll be your instructor for Geistech one-oh-one. I call it that because I'll show you a hundred and one ways to kill yourself."

The helmet distorted her rather young-sounding laugh. "But more seriously, I'll teach you how to become the strongest sword artist possible."

I quickly checked my class list. Sure enough, Geistech now appeared there, although the naming was different from what Yoxu had said.

Classes

Swordcraft I: 0%

Qi Shaping I: 0%

Geistech I: 0%

The armored woman hovered a foot above the floor. A single black blade inlaid with a golden pattern appeared in the air in front of her, its tip pointing outward. The black blade spun in a circle around her to form a streaking ring of black and yellow. The ring rotated on its axis to envelop Yoxu in a dim yellow shell, similar to what Ikari had demonstrated.

"Spinning swords. Check."

While the blade continued to spin in its spherical pattern, a second strange sword appeared in Yoxu's right hand. This sword had three black blades like three prongs of a fork, except folded together into a triangular formation. An intense golden light emanated from the tips of the three blades.

Yoxu pointed the new sword at the four students seated on the ground closest to her. "Stand up please."

No one moved. After an awkward pause, one of them spoke in a strained voice. "We...can't...move."

"Qi bolts. Check."

The shell of blades around Yoxu disappeared, as did the tri-tipped blade. The previously frozen students began moving again.

"Boring, I know," Yoxu said.

A large longsword appeared in her hand. The black blade turned a red-hot orange color, glowing brighter and brighter until I had to squint and avert my eyes. Yoxu stood about twenty yards away from where I was seated, but even at that distance, a searing heat warmed my face to an uncomfortable level.

"A high enough temperature can disrupt any qi construct, condensed or not." Yoxu's sword left behind bright streaks as it sizzled through the air in a series of rapid slashes.

The painfully bright glow of the sword disappeared. When I looked at Yoxu again, the longsword was gone.

"How about absorbing foreign qi and using it for my own purposes?" Yoxu now held what looked like a small dark dagger with a purple light running up its length.

I held back my own gasp as others cried out in alarm around me. My own qi was seeping out of my body against my will. I tugged it back towards myself, but a weak trickle continued to flow towards Yoxu and her blade. The sensation of stolen qi was disturbingly similar to what Empress Shih had done to me during our brief encounter.

"That's what it feels like from far away. Imagine what happens when I cut you with this." Yoxu waved her gauntlet-covered hand. A series of swords of all different shapes and sizes, some glowing with colors, other midnight black, appeared floating in front of her for a moment. There were nine in total.

"That barely scratches the surface," Yoxu said. "Pun intended. Forging even a single Geistech blade is no simple task, and you've seen but a hint of what they can accomplish.

The swords vanished before I could examine them closely. My hand crept to Terminus' hilt. Artifacts were Geistech blades, weren't they? Weaker versions of what Yoxu had just displayed, but more powerful than what human alchemists could create.

Yoxu continued. "Most of you know that Geistech can augment your strength or speed. Even the primitive designs used by your alchemists can do that. But did you know that Geistech can boost your entire rank? How else would one surpass a Blade Divinity?"

Surpass? Was she a Blade Divinity? Was Yoxu implying that she was, in fact, the strongest one of the instructors?

I sensed motion behind me and to the left. Naisha raised her hand, then spoke without waiting for Yoxu to acknowledge her. "How many erqs of qi did your demonstration require?"

Yoxu helmeted head gazed straight at Naisha. Even without out seeing her face, I could guess the annoyed expression she wore.

"Chalisa told you to ask that, didn't she?" Yoxu asked.

Naisha lowered her hand. "Maybe. So?"

Naisha's question confused me on two fronts. First, I had no idea what she was talking about. Second, I was fairly certain that Naisha had been as confused, if not more confused than me, in Chalisa's class yesterday. She had given every indication of hating the class. What had changed to put her in Chalisa's confidence?

Some of the others gave Naisha curious looks as well. Not Alanna, though. She appeared unsurprised by the question. Five yawned slightly.

"It's true," Yoxu said. "With Geistech, there's no limit to what you can do, but there's always a price in qi. If not your own, someone, or something else's. Anyways, on to your jade selectors."

She hadn't bothered to answer Naisha's question, at least not directly. The price must have been extraordinarily high, which wasn't surprising. Power always demanded a price, whether that was through years of toil, or vast sums of gold. I had to wonder, though. What was the price of surpassing a Blade Divinity, as Yoxu had mentioned? Part of me wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to that.

"In this introductory class," Yoxu said, "we'll concern ourselves mostly with using Geistech. Sounds easy? It's not." She pointed at Five. "Implants and etchings? Those are crude implements that require no skill. Nothing like what we'll use."

Five's temples shifted as his jaws tensed, but he remained otherwise motionless. In front of him, to my left, Alanna rubbed at the qi etchings peeking out from the neck of her tunic, her fingers tracing two lines that ran down either side of her throat. Some of the other students glanced at each other. I was fairly certain that everyone else, other than me, relied on qi implants of one sort or another.

Yoxu continued as if she hadn't noticed the discomfort her comments caused. "Fundamentally, Geistech purifies, stores, and recombines different components of your qi. As I'm sure Chalisa explained, raw qi is universal, and as such, it contains every essence within. Even if you're qi manipulation is excellent, the problem is that none of you have worked with its sub-components. Anyone can drive a wagon. Riding the horse that draws the cart is an entirely different skill."

Yoxu held up a stone circle like the ones in front of the students. "This is a simple piece of Geistech, a jade selector. Everyone take yours now. We'll start with a basic elemental extraction since it's simple and easy to observe the effects."

I reached for the stone in front of me. It was surprisingly heavy for its size. Out of curiosity, I reached out with a trickle of my qi. I nearly dropped the stone from a sudden backlash of pain searing my hand.

Someone else cried out as well.

"Please don't break it." Yoxu shook his head. "These take quite some time to connect to the exam system."

Yoxu looked around to make sure that we were paying attention. "You'll need to guide your qi along one of the four inputs marked with a symbol. The triangle for fire, the inverted triangle for water, you get the idea. As your qi flows along it, the jade selector will refine the elemental component. Keep pushing the elemental component through the circuit and you should see a sign of the correct element."

I examined the jade selector more carefully. Four small symbols were carved on the outer edges of the disk. As Yoxu had mentioned, the symbols corresponded to the standard alchemical markings if I interpreted them as pointing downwards towards the center of the disk. Triangle for fire, a triangle with a horizontal line through it for air, an upside-down triangle for water, and an upside-down version of air's symbol for earth.

I had never used such a small alchemical device or artifact. Terminus was a large, brute conductor of qi. I probed gently with my qi and found four separate channels corresponding to the locations of the alchemical symbols. I picked the symbol for air and sent a small sliver of my qi into the opening I detected. The delicate, winding path branched again and again, but I sent my qi steadily through the channels.

The qi changed, slipping out of my grasp. Before I realized what had happened, I lost my hold on my own qi. I stared at the jade selector, dumbfounded. The whole device fit in the palm of my hand. Controlling qi on this scale should have been trivial, but it was as if I was a fledgling novice all over again with no qi control.

Naisha slammed her jade selector onto the ground and muttered something under her breath.

"Break it, and that's a hundred point penalty," Yoxu snapped.

Alanna grimaced. "This sucks."

I glanced backward to find Five staring at his jade selector with furrowed brows. Something may have flickered briefly in the center of his selector, but he kept frowning before looking up. He scowled when he saw me checking on his progress, then leaned forward to look at my jade selector. He grunted, as if satisfied that I hadn't made progress.

Yoxu chuckled. "Not so simple, right? Here's your first question. Use your jade selector to pick your answer."

Which of the following is your favorite element? Choose the corresponding answer on your jade selector.

Air) Air

Earth) Earth

Fire) Fire

Water) Water

Despite Yoxu's instructions, I tried to answer the usual way. Final answer, fire.

Nothing happened.

Final answer, C.

Still nothing. I focused on the jade selector and attempted to direct my qi along the fire path this time, but I again lost hold of my qi halfway through the path.

"You have until the end of lunch to answer this question. Hold onto the jade selector for your own practice, but don't forget to bring it back next time. Good luck!"

Yoxu waved as she walked out of the Homeroom.

A handful of students, including Kendra's group of her, Elda, Jun, and a quiet boy, Oman, left immediately afterward.

The rest of us continued sitting on the ground, staring at the jade selectors in our hand. I tried each of the different elements in turn and found, surprisingly, that I could make the furthest progress with air, the first element I had tried, before losing my grip on the slippery elemental qi.

"Ah, screw this." Another two students got up and left.

We sat in strained silence for what must have been almost an hour, each of us unwilling to admit defeat with what seemed like such a trivial task. Even Naisha, with her usually careless attitude, was staring fiercely at her jade selector, her cheeks taking on a faint pink blush from the prolonged mental exertion.

"Got it!"

We all looked up as one to identify the speaker, although from the gruff tone, I already guessed who it was. Tycho the prince, held his jade selector high above his head in triumph.

"No way!"

"You're amazing, Tycho!"

"Show me!"

A cluster gathered around Tycho. I exchanged glances with Alanna, who shrugged.

"I'm curious," Alanna said.

Naisha made a retching noise. "More kissing up. No thanks."

Five didn't move. I was curious, too, I had to admit. I nodded to Alanna and stepped towards the others to get a better view. I managed to glimpse Tycho's jade selector through the tangle of bodies crowding him. In the center of it was a frosty white patch. I stepped aside to let Alanna take a look.

"That's it?" Alanna pouted. We both returned to our original seats.

I had to admit the display wasn't particularly impressive, but this was a completely different approach to Geistech from what I had seen outside the Academy. Such small first steps weren't unexpected.

As noon approached, more of the others left the Homeroom, despite no one else claiming any success. Soon, only the four of us were left behind, still focusing on our jade selectors. The lack of progress was more than a little frustrating. I had been rather proud of my fine qi control.

"This is stupid," Naisha said. "I should have left already, but I can't let you idiots beat me."

"Oh, is it a competition?" Alanna asked.

"Obviously," Naisha said. "Ikari pretty much said so on the first day."

I thought I caught a faint flicker of something in the middle of my jade selector, but when I blinked, there was nothing there.

"Well, then, the first one of us to succeed should win something," Alanna said.

Five's head was bent over his jade selector. His eyes flicked upward. "A wager. I approve."

Alanna smiled. "Good. How about...first right to bathe?"

It was a bit childish, but I could see the reason for the wager. The spout for hot water above the bathtub tended to run out after the second person, which was ridiculous considering the extravagant power on display at the Academy. I had a lurking suspicion that it was on purpose, although I didn't quite understand why the Academy went to such lengths to force us into teams, and then revel in creating these minor sources of friction.

"I don't care who's first, but make sure he washes up properly this time," Naisha wrinkled her nose in my direction. "I swear I could smell tomato soup all night."

I refrained from the urge to sniff myself. I had bathed yesterday because of the culinary combat, but my standards for hygiene likely differed from theirs. It wasn't as if Elder Gri and I had been able to afford the fee of a public bath house regularly while in Sanctum.

Five frowned. "I agree with the girl." He put an odd emphasis on the last word.

"The girl?" Naisha raised an eyebrow. "I have a name."

"So does he," Five replied, now staring at his jade selector again.

It was a minor thing, that Naisha never used my name, but I was surprised that Five had noticed and was mentioning it now. Especially since it was Five. Had he ever used my name? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Naisha dismissed Five with a wave of her hand. "Whatever."

My eyes checked my jade selector. Still nothing. I was close, though. I had almost completed the circuit that time. I glanced quickly to Five's jade selector once more. There was nothing there, either, but I was sure I had glimpsed motion there a few times. I made sure to keep my face perfectly neutral as I spoke.

"What about a punishment instead?" I asked. "The last one to finish has to clean the living quarters and bathroom for two weeks."

Five and I kept our side of the quarters rather neat, but the noble's side was strewn with dirty clothes, scrolls, vessels of half-eaten food, and other sundry junk. The bathroom was becoming particularly hideous after only several days of shared use. I had been forced to cut through a clump of long hair clogging the drain at the bottom of the bathtub. With Terminus.

The shadow of a subtle grin spread across Five's face. "I'm with the clansman."

Alanna tilted her head in thought, although her eyes went down to her jade selector. "Good idea, Talen. I approve wholeheartedly."

Naisha grinned. "I'll want the place scrubbed squeaky clean from the floor to ceiling."

"It's agreed, then." Five slapped his jade selector onto the stone floor between us. A small spark of flame burned in the middle for several seconds before disappearing, leaving a thin trail of smoke.

Alanna stared. "I thought it'd be at least a day."

Naisha shrugged. "There's still three of us left."

I was fairly sure I knew how my chosen element worked by now. I had sensed the preliminary signs, the faint sparks of feedback that I was on the right track. I placed my jade selector on the ground next to Five's.

"What's he doing?" Naisha asked, her voice's pitch rising slightly.

"Shh," I said. I let my index finger touch the symbol for air. The qi seeped out of me, but I kept my grasp on it this time as it wound its way through the device.

A popping noise sounded. "Air," I said.

+1 xp. Total: 815 xp.

"Talen," Alanna said. "How could you?"

Naisha huffed loudly. "Cheaters. I don't believe it."

I picked my jade selector back up, as did Five, without replying.

"How about we split the cleaning duties?" Alanna asked to Naisha. "Since it'll be one of us anyways."

"Afraid you'll lose?" Naisha recovered some of her bluster. "I've always been better than you at handling my qi. This isn't too different from what Chalisa showed me the other day."

Chalisa? The way Naisha had spoken, she made it sound like Chalisa had given her a private lesson. I immediately recalled how Five had behaved oddly respectful to Yoxu this morning, despite having never met her. Or so I had thought. There was one obvious answer.

The others were already forming bonds with the instructors, I presumed to become disciples of their respective Swordgeist masters. While I wasn't as versed in such politicking as the others, I had assumed I could wait until I had witnessed each instructor firsthand before moving forward.

Clearly, I had been mistaken. While the instructors had given no indication of a limit to how many disciples each Swordgeist would take, everything at the Academy, from the Swordgeists themselves to the formation of the teams, was pointing to a likely conclusion. Four team members and four Swordgeists couldn't be a mere coincidence, and if I didn't hurry, I'd end up with the derelict-sounding Broken one for my master. The others had hinted at this very situation earlier.

Five with Yoxu, and by extension, Theus the Maker. It made sense, as Five's background with Empress Shih and her alchemy would mesh with a Geistech-focused future.

Naisha with Chalisa, and therefore Shiah the Refiner. Her raw qi manipulation, as displayed during her wall walking and thieving, were unparalleled. I wasn't surprised that Chalisa, however unimpressed she acted, would select Naisha as a favored pupil.

That left Ikari as my last chance. I glanced at Alanna, who was still arguing with Naisha. I was confident in my prowess in swordplay. Surely Ikari and Kizen would accept me? I had to hurry, even if it meant blocking Alanna's choice. This was a fight, and there was no room for mercy in a bloodless battle like this.

"...three days me, two days you," Alanna continued in a slightly desperate tone. "We alternate."

Naisha crossed her arms. "You take weekdays. I take weekends."

Alanna gawked at that. "But there aren't supposed to be classes on weekends. Most of us won't even be around, which means my workload will be even higher than yours."

It was news to me that weekends wouldn't have classes. I had a sinking feeling in my gut that I was further behind the others than I had previously thought.

"So?" Naisha said. "Fine. Four days you, two days me, back and forth. That's my last offer."

"That's unfair!"

"It's called negotiating. Unless you think you can win?"

"Talen, some help?" Alanna asked, turning towards me.

I held up my hand to indicate that I wasn't going to get involved between the two of them. I stood, ready to leave. Five had already gone a few steps ahead of me.

As I walked towards the Homeroom's double doors, I sent the mental command. There was no time to waste. Message. Blue words immediately appeared in response.

Recipient(s):

I formed the thought carefully. Ikari.

Compose your message now, and use the Send command when done.

I took a deep breath before composing the message, even though I didn't require my voice to do so. Instructor Ikari, I am interested in pursuing discipleship with Kizen the Warrior. How may I go about proving myself for this position? Send.

Message sent.

Since I wasn't particularly experienced in "kissing up", as Naisha called it, I had opted for a direct approach. I doubted that Ikari would take kindly to such posturing. Then again, maybe I had a thing or two to learn from the nobles. I winced at recalling my last interaction with the instructor, which had been less than favorable. I half-expected Ikari to not even reply, but by the time I stepped outside the Homeroom and into the wide hall, new blue letters had appeared.

Message from Ikari:

Your sword may be as sharp as your tongue, but I cannot offer you the position you seek. One of your teammates has already spoken for it. Outside of highly unusual circumstances, we require each team to have one disciple from each Swordgeist.

A fraction of a second later, a large wall of blue text flowed past my eyes.

(CONTINUED)

AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION, I REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT I AM UNABLE TO ACCEPT YOUR APPLICATION FOR THE POSITION OF DISCIPLE WITH KIZEN THE WARRIOR.

THIS ERA'S BATCH OF SWORD ARTISTS WAS AMONG THE MOST COMPETITIVE TO ENROLL IN THE SWORD SYSTEM ACADEMY. WHILE I WAS IMPRESSED WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE IN SWORDPLAY ALONG WITH YOUR STELLAR PEDIGREE, THE DECISION IS MADE IN COORDINATION WITH ALL FOUR INSTRUCTORS. WE MAY RECEIVE UP TO THIRTY-TWO APPLICANTS FOR A SINGLE DISCIPLESHIP EVEN THOUGH WE CAN ONLY ALLOT EIGHT STUDENTS TO EACH POSITION.

I UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT THE SEARCH FOR A MASTER CAN BE FOR A YOUNG SWORD ARTIST. HISTORICAL ANECODTES INDICATE THAT THE CHOICE OF A MASTER IS LESS IMPORTANT FOR THE ULTIMATE GROWTH OF A SWORD ARTIST THAN THE DISCIPLINE AND MOTIVATION OF A SWORD ARTIST WHILE UNDER THE TUTELAGE OF A MASTER.

I AM SURE THAT KIZEN WAS FLATTERED BY YOUR INTEREST AS A DISCIPLE, AND I WISH YOU GOOD KARMA IN ALL OF YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS.

IKARI, DISCIPLE OF KIZEN

INSTRUCTOR, SWORD SYSTEM ACADEMY

That seemed rather formal. Although I had suspected what Ikari's answer was going to be, I had to admit I was still disappointed. It stung, too, that the others had moved so quickly without informing me, but I had no one to blame but myself. I had to remind myself. These were nobles. And Five was, well, Five. But while brusque and sometimes flat out hostile, I counted him more reliable than the other two, in his own way.

I ran forward to catch up to Five. He didn't slow, but he shifted the angle of his body slightly--enough so that he could draw his blade and defend himself against an attack. He was well-trained, no doubt.

"Five," I said as I approached. "A quick word."

"What is it?" he asked. "You don't strike me as the type to gloat over a minor victory." He nodded his head back towards the Homeroom. Alanna and Naisha had yet to emerge from there.

"You've chosen your master, right?" I asked. "And the others, too?"

Five stopped walking and met my eyes. His mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Judging from your words, I see you haven't." His eyes suddenly took on a hard glint. "Your first true lesson, clansman, eh? The type you won't learn in whatever backwater village you came from."

He lowered his voice, which was more of a snarl now. "You see, don't you? Even Vox--behind her fake smiles, she's the same. All those rich and rotten nobility."

I didn't try to correct him, because I didn't necessarily disagree. But the seething hatred in his tone was more than I had expected. He hated the clans, now the nobles, and, by all indications, even himself.

"Is anyone beyond your scorn?" I asked.

"Of course not. Tell me, clansman. Is there any you truly admire? Any you believe in other than yourself? Is that not the same?"

I paused, holding his stony gaze silently. He was right, in a twisted sort of way. I had admired the elders when young, but as the years passed, their flaws and cracks had become all too visible, even more so during the recent years of hardship. Perhaps Elder Roma if he had still been alive--no, my sword had surpassed them all, even before arriving at the Academy. It wasn't arrogance that made me feel this way. It was...solitude.

Five lowered his eyes. "I despise all, some more than others." A ripple of anger flashed across Five's face, but his aura shrank and withdrew, rather than pouring onto me. He stamped away, then stopped again after four steps.

His voice was quiet and cold. "She wants to meet. Tonight."

It took me a moment to understand what he meant. The Empress. He had to mean the Empress.

"There's an evening curfew," I reminded him.

"Don't disappoint her," he hissed. Then, he quickly marched away, leaving me alone in the hallway.