“Jon, wait,” someone called out as he approached the exit. From the stands behind the platform, two nobles approached, a man and a woman.

The man’s dirty blonde curls reached down to his neck, his simple tunic and trousers looking like something a commoner would wear if not for the fine silk fabric. He had an excited look on his face which was mirrored by his companion, to a lesser extent.

The woman was dressed in a long dress. Her eyes, matching in color with her chestnut brown hair, studied Jon’s armor, particularly the various scratches and dents from years of use.

“My lord, my lady,” Jon greeted the two unknown nobles as they approached.

“It’s nice to see you again,” said the man, his face beaming up with a large smile. “And no need for the formalities, you can call us by our names.

Jon tried and failed to identify the man. “My deepest apologies, my lord, but I can't recall where we have met.”

The man’s smile froze on the spot. The woman, in turn, chuckled. “See? I told you he wouldn’t remember us.”

Refusing to give up, the man insisted. “It’s me, Nevil, and this is Bella. You came to our rescue at the forest near Rochdale, years ago.”

Only through the nobleman’s reminder did Jon manage to realize who they were. After his mother’s death, Jon left towards Rochdale in hopes of finding aid. On his way there, he came across the two nobles on their own and being chased by bandits.

Jon had hoped they would all continue on their way without involving him in their conflict. Unfortunately, the bandits didn’t want to leave any witnesses alive, so he was forced to take part in the fight. In the end, though, it all worked out well for Jon and that was the most important.

“Oh, that’s right. My apologies for not remembering, my lord.”

“As I said, no need for the formalities. We actually wanted to thank you in person back then. But, after what happened, my and Bella’s parents locked us up and wouldn’t ever let us walk unaccompanied.”

The woman, Bella, nodded along. “My father blamed Nevil for the incident while Nevil’s father blamed me. Today, we were both technically supposed to be under escort, but we managed to lose them.” She glimpsed back to the last rows of seats where an agitated-looking man searched left and right. “Speaking of which, maybe it would be better that we all start moving.”

“Agreed,” said Nevil already walking towards the exit. “Besides, we should definitely get you to the healer,” he told Jon. “Your face is already starting to swell.”

Following behind Nevil and Bella, Jon returned to the cramped corridors inside the arena.

“His Grace didn’t go easy at the dubbing, did he?” Nevil asked.

“It’s fine,” answered Jon.

“Did you know that it used to be even worse, though? My great-grandfather would tell me that, back at his time, the dubbing took place with a closed fist rather than an open palm. Gauntleted if the duke felt particularly ill-humored that day. It even happened of a contestant dying on the spot after getting through the tourney. That’s just one of the regards where Jorvan is a better duke.”

“True, though, it would be even better if the dubbing was extinct altogether,” added Bella. “It must be terrible to get slapped in the face right after passing the tourney. That’s a terrible welcome. Still, congratulations by the way.”

Nevil looked back at Jon, his smile getting even larger. “Yes, congratulations. Bella and I will both be enrolling this year, so we’ll all be studying together. I hope we get the same classes, though. They separate the students to make it easier to teach, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Unless your family has some prestige with the headmaster that is. But we can choose our dorm rooms at least. Bella won’t be allowed to stay with us, but you and I can stay together. It would be better than staying with three complete strangers. Oh, yes, the students are placed together at the dorm rooms in groups of four...”

Did this nobleman ever get tired of talking?

The trio continued down the corridor until reaching the first intersection. There, a woman in a blue robe stood in waiting, two barrels full of water by her side. She gestured to one of the barrels. Against gravity, a rivulet of water streamed up towards her hand until forming a glob of water the size of a tennis ball. “My lord, my lady,” she first greeted Nevil and Bella before addressing Jon. “Come.”

She willed the water to float against the side of his face, covering it entirely and even getting inside his ear. Gradually, his face stopped throbbing, the pain diminishing until disappearing. That was good. His ear also stopped ringing constantly. That was bad. Now he would be hearing even more of Nevil’s babbling.

When finally done, she willed the water back into the barrel. “Done,” she said before pointing to the corridor at her left. “Follow that way and take the second corridor to the left. Please don’t wander around else you might get lost.”

“Thank you,” Jon told the healer. He then touched his own face as the trio continued walking through the corridor. It was completely fine once again, not a hint of pain no matter how hard he pressed. The tangled messes he called beard and hair were also completely dry, not a drop of water left in them.

“Do you even need to use padding?” Nevil asked, not even waiting a full minute to break the silence.

“I’m sorry?”

“Padding. For your helmet.” He pointed to Jon’s head. “I mean, your hair alone seems able to serve as a cushion.” He then extended his arm, pressing against Jon’s head. “It’s all fluffy.”

Jon contained a sigh as well as a desire to punch the nobleman in the face. He started to reconsider if saving Nevil had really been the best idea after all. And that was only after a few minutes. Spending seven years living together will be the greatest test to his patience.

In contrast, Bella barely talked, only adding something to the one-sided conversation once in a while.

Following the healer’s directions, they finally came out of the arena and into a large open space filled with people as well as all sorts of random clutter in neat and spaced rows. Other than the event’s attendants and a few officials, the people were all former contestants while the random clutter seemed to be their belongings.

One of the attendants approached them. “Contestant 1703,” he read the number at Jon’s plate in a loud voice.

“This way,” another attendant further back yelled out.

“Come, let’s get your things and hurry to the academy,” Nevil said, pulling on both Jon’s and Bella’s hands.

The attendant led the trio towards Jon’s old mule and the large burlap sack with Jon’s belongings, both just laying there in the open. For a moment he wondered if anyone ever tried to steal something from here. Then he recalled the officials and how they were very likely Warlocks, similar to the ones who watched over the fights. That was a hell of a deterrent. Anyone capable of facing off against them could earn much more through honest work than whatever there was to find here. With one exception.

Involuntarily, Jon brought a hand over to his neck, the magic key hidden under the armor.

“Is that a mule? I never saw one in person,” Nevil said excitedly, his hand petting the animal’s head. “It’s so much calmer than a purebred horse. Those ones really hate it being touched by a stranger. One time...”

Jon ignored Nevil as he noticed one of the officials quickly approaching. If her gray robes didn’t serve to identify her as an Aeromancer, then the fact that she was flying down towards them did.

She landed with a gust of wind.“Jon of Rochdale,” she immediately said, not even giving time to answer before throwing him a red metal key. “Your dorm room has been assigned.”

“Wait, aren’t we allowed to pick our own rooms?” Nevil asked just as she prepared to leave.

Seemingly annoyed by the question, the Aeromancer turned her around to look at the nobles for the first time. Her countenance immediately changed. “My lord, my lady,” she greeted the two. “That is usually the case, but the headmaster has already picked a room for him. Now if you’ll excuse me.” She flew away much more slowly than when she arrived, barely causing a change in the air.

“I take it that doesn’t happen often,” Jon asked Nevil.

“Not that I know of, but if the headmaster decided it then there’s nothing that you can do about it. Let’s go check your room then.”