Zorzic watched Thomas as he left the infirmary and let out a deep sigh. If anything had happened to a student under his watch he would have had some serious backlash to deal with. The dueling rings were one of the foundations of the academy and if they had stopped working it would have been disastrous. The students needed a place to let out their frustrations without consequence and practice their magic without having to worry about permanent injury. He stroked his beard as he walked out of the infirmary and headed toward his office.

He'd already sent a messenger to the King and now he was just waiting for a reply. He really needed to deal with the situation that Brao had brought to his attention. If it got out that nobles could challenge commoner's and then use a champion to simply beat down their opponent it would just cause chaos and make dueling within academy grounds unfair. After arriving inside of his office he sat at his large desk and worked through his stack of paperwork.

Nearly an hour later the messenger returned and informed him that the King was willing to meet with him. He happily left behind the pile of paperwork and made his way outside. He knew paperwork was necessary but that didn't make it any less annoying. Once he arrived outside there was a horse-drawn carriage bearing the King's crest waiting for him. He climbed aboard and sat in silence as the carriage made its way through the city to the King's castle.

Upon arriving at the castle he was met and escorted further inside by one of the many butlers working at the castle. Despite holding a fairly important position within the city Zorzic was still forced to wait for nearly an hour before the King could finally see him. He stepped inside the King's meeting room and immediately kneeled, "My lord."

The King sat on a golden throne in the middle of the room. He was a noble-looking man with salt and pepper hair and a matching well-trimmed beard. He looked down at Zorzic and smiled warmly, "Zorzic my old friend. I'm told you have something important to discuss with me?"

Zorzic nodded and raised his head to look up at the King while he remained kneeling, "Yes my lord. There was an incident at the academy today that has allowed a noble to abuse his position."

The King immediately frowned, "Explain everything."

Zorzic sighed before he began to explain, "Today there was a duel of honor between Brao Dueldrid and a young otherworlder named Thomas Darkrose. There was nothing of note until the duel started. After both participants agreed to the duel, young Brao invoked his right to have a champion fight for him. He selected a third-semester student to fight in his place against a student that has been in the academy for less than a week."

The atmosphere in the room immediately became heavy as the King became angry. Feeling pressure from the King, Zorzic quickly finished his story, "Young Brao was blatantly supported by Jerendalv Theun Von Kedz, I even suspect that the whole incident was orchestrated by Jerendalv, though I have no evidence to support this. As could be expected young Thomas was thoroughly defeated but the fact that he was willing to go into the duel despite my warnings shows that he has promise. The next issue stems from the young man's defeat."

The King continued to listen in silence, though he was still clearly upset. Zorzic took a breath before he finished the story, "Young Thomas was stabbed clean through the heart. Normally even such a severe wound isn't deadly within the dueling rings, but this time there was something different. Young Thomas was not immediately revived as he should have been. His body was dead but his soul remained. Even my most powerful Holy magic couldn't bring him back. Fortunately, after some time passed he revived anyway. He explained that, unlike our people, he had to wait for five minutes before the dueling rings enchantment would revive him."

Zorzic looked at the King, "I've come to ask that you revoke the right of nobles to use champions within the academy. I also ask that the Dueldrid and Von Kedz families be looked into. The actions of their children do not reflect well on the remaining nobles."

The King remained silent for a bit as he thought and then nodded, "I agree with everything you've said. I decree that nobles may no longer use champions for duels within academy grounds. I will also have the Dueldrid and Von Kedz families examined closely. For them to stoop so low as to use a champion on such a minor matter shows that they have no honor."

The King sighed and shook his head, "Fortunately, such families are few and far between."

He looked at Zorzic and smiled slightly, "How is my daughter doing at the academy?"

Zorzic smiled broadly, "The princess is doing rather well. She's been showing excellent progress and learning her lessons well."

The King nodded, "That is good news. Thank you for reporting this incident to me in person Zorzic. I'll get on it right away. You're dismissed."

Zorzic nodded and climbed to his feet before leaving the room and making his way back out of the castle and to the academy. He made his way back to his office and sat down in his chair with a sigh. Today had been a complete pain in his ass and he couldn't wait for it to be over with. Sadly, it was barely half over for him.