So they were to face a group of Welsik mages, Megan noticed. She had to admit that their enthusiasm for the coming fight seemed less than expected. Welsik as a country did have mages, but their school was focused more on using magic in smithing and crafting, rather than the more combative practices. This long dedication had made Welsik craft far and away the best with few exceptions, of course, but it did have its serious drawbacks in terms of student strength. She had even heard stories that most of the country actually went out of their way to ignore magic as a tool.

Given all of this, Megan was hardly surprised to see that Michael lacked the usual fire in his eyes when facing a challenge. He’d fight to the best of his ability today, but he likely wouldn’t draw any enjoyment from the match. In fact, she was willing to bet that his mind was more focused on the obstacle course, which would start its events today. After his loss to Kanora, this was his last chance to gain a relic, and he didn’t want to pass it up.

“Okay. Both teams are here, and ready,” the referee said, his deep voice breaking into Megan’s thoughts. “Combat will begin on my signal.”

“Waste of my time,” Michael muttered, running a finger along the edge of his blade, casting the usual spell to temporarily blunt it. “Let’s just get it over with.”

Megan tugged her wand free, deciding not to dignify that with a response. “Alright. This should be straightforward. Jordan, you get in close. Cramp them for space, see who scatters. Rachel, you and I will support him for the first few seconds. Michael, you’re on watch duty. Then we rotate.”

“Fair enough,” Rachel said jovially. She raised her mana and held both hands up towards Jordan, ready to cast. Michael simply moved to clear the path, looking bored. “Don’t pout, Michael. You’ll get to whack someone soon.”

The referee’s hand came down. “Fight!”

Jordan darted forward, much faster than his massive frame seemed to suggest was possible. As expected, the Welsik mages immediately started to panic. One threw up a barrier to ward him off, while two more began to mutter incantations to attack. The barrier was fairly thick, Megan thought, vaguely impressed. But it made no difference to her. The counterspell she’d already launched slammed into it and shattered the mana, leaving Jordan’s way clear. The mage who had cast the barrier did the only reasonable thing he could. He jumped to the side.

Three spells were fired at Jordan, in point-blank range, but only one seemed to do anything to him. His hair sizzling slightly, he bared his teeth in a feral grin at their opponents, who all cast again. It was a classic example of the difference between their educations. Tyrman fostered a sense of competition in their students, whether magical or otherwise. You had to be the best even before you left school so that you could be strong enough to face the outside world. Welsik didn’t instill such determination in its students.

“Alright, you’re in, Michael!” Megan called. Glancing at Rachel, she added, “No point in showing all our cards. You and I will each take one of them. Let Michael and Jordan move freely.”

Rachel nodded her understanding and released the chain of mana binding her to Jordan. Jordan himself unleashed a wide cone of fire from his mouth as he jumped back. The Welsik mages, blinded by fire and deafened by a dragon’s roar, recoiled behind their barriers, unaware that Michael was rushing in for the final blow. His sword came down with terrifying force, shearing through one barrier as it if weren’t there, and slamming into its owner. Even from this far, Megan could tell that was a broken arm at best.

She fired two basic spells at her chosen opponent, the mage on the far-left. To her surprise, both were blocked by a strong, fast barrier, and a counter-attack was already on its way. It had more force than expected as it slammed into her barrier, but not too much for her to handle. Actually grinning at the unexpected challenge, she swatted aside another attack from him, and let loose a barrage of low-powered electric bolts. The first two were blocked again, but the third stunned him. By the time that the eighth hit him, he was already disabled. If only he were a bit faster at casting, Megan thought.

Michael of course had already dispatched another of the Welsik students and was battering away at the barrier cast by one. He was only using a spell to reinforce his arms, clearly going along with the plan to reveal as little of their abilities as possible. He deflected a close-range spell with an almost contemptuous flick of the wrist, then hit the barrier twice in rapid succession, cracking and shattering it. The hilt of his sword slammed into the student’s head before he could conjure anything else, and the fourth member of their team surrendered outright as Rachel pinned him in place and Michael turned, grinning evilly, to face him.

“Tyrman wins!” The referee announced, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the smattering of polite applause. “That concludes the first round of matches!”

Samuel was waiting for them as they exited the arena, or rather, he was waiting for Megan. A discreet signal told her to follow him, and only her friends seemed to notice it. To a casual outsider’s perception, he was merely discussing the match with his apprentice. But Megan thought she could detect a hint of worry, even concern in his expression as he beckoned her onward. She turned to her friends.

“I’m going to go with Master Bragg for a bit,” she said, sure that her voice would carry. “I won’t be long, so save me a seat.

Samuel didn’t say anything as she followed him, but Megan noticed that he seemed a little more on guard than usual. He was constantly glancing to the side as he led her away, keeping a close eye on everyone that they passed. It was as if he expected each person they saw to attack suddenly. Megan wondered what had happened to put him so on edge, but was certain she would find out soon enough.

“In here,” he said quietly, coming to a stop in front of a small white tent set on the very edge of the Exchange site. She ducked under the flap and found, without much surprise, that the interior had been expanded a great deal to resemble a comfortable set of quarters.

“Alright,” he said, sounding brisk as he sealed off the entrance. “First and foremost, you should know that Eric’s body is well on its way towards being created.”

She nodded. Some instinct told her that this wasn’t the reason he had pulled her aside, and waited patiently for him to continue. She didn’t have to wait long.

“I believe that the Exchange site might come under attack,” he said. His voice was so casual he might have just mentioned that it would be a little rainy later, but his words brought her to a halt, breath caught in her throat. “I don’t have much of a hint, but we should be prepared for a fight.”

“Who?” She asked at once. Then realized there was a more important question she should be asking. “How do you know that there will be an attack?”

“I don’t know for sure,” he said, sounding a little frustrated now. “But my network of information sources in Attos tells me that they’re planning on acting during the Exchange.”

“Attos?” She supposed that she shouldn’t have been surprised. “But if the Attosian army attacks, we don’t have nearly enough people here to hold them off.”

“Correct,” he said dully. “Not to mention that there are less than a dozen people here who could actually cope with a surprise attack. Even fewer of that number are people that would rise to the occasion to help us. And out of them, I only trust two.”

Megan wondered briefly if she was one of those two, but didn’t have the nerve to ask. Instead, she continued with her questions. “So what sort of defenses do we have that we can use?”

“Virtually none,” Samuel answered. “It is impossible to teleport into the site, and I have the ability to stop any magic being cast if I have to, but nothing else. This wasn’t designed to be a fortified position, you know.”

Megan sat down in a nearby chair, chin propped up on one hand and thinking hard. Whatever the situation, it must have been pretty grave if Samuel was bothering to mention it to her. After a year of silence and peace, it seemed that Attos was finally making a move. Well, not Attos himself, she told herself. He was still stuck in the Divine Isles, but he had such tight control on his nation that it was virtually the same as if he were leading them personally. She knew, from rumors that made it across the seas, that his daughter Lana was leading in his absence, and she operated along identical lines.

“Should we call off the Exchange then?” She asked after a short pause. “Or just send the Attosians home?”

Samuel shook his head slowly. He was clearly still thinking through the problem himself. “I can’t do either. The Exchange has been attacked in the past, and it’s a point of pride never to cancel the event. It would also be an unforgivable insult to expel the Attosian students, particularly as one of them is about to win a relic.”

The proud Attosian mage officer who was taking part in the duels and group combat came to mind. “We can’t be sure that she’ll win.”

“I’m sure you would put up quite a fight,” Samuel said, smiling slightly. “But I’m referring to the duels. Young Kanora will likely lose, which is heart-breaking, but unavoidable..”

“Oh,” Megan said, as she couldn’t think of anything to add to that. The thought that Kanora, who had so easily defeated Michael, could be beaten was a scary thought. “So what are we going to do about it, then?”

“That’s what I’m trying to work out,” Samuel said. “Most of my mana is going into making Eric’s body. I can’t stop now that I’ve started. I can only hope that I’m able to finish before any attack comes.”

“Will he appear here, or in Milagre?” She asked, guessing the answer. “Could you get him here in time to help us?”

“I could transport him from Milagre instantly. But as I’m already committed to a spell that will take up nearly all of my mana, I’ll be next to useless. As it stands, my best option is to warn you and your friends.”

“There must be more we can do,” Megan protested. “We can’t just sit here and wait for the attack to happen.”

“True,” Samuel agreed. “But as I said, I’m thinking about that. So far, I haven’t come up with an answer.”

Megan got to her feet again. An insane idea had just occurred to her. “What if they’re in contact with soldiers that are already posted here?”

“Oh, I can already tell they are,” Samuel said. “I’m able to spot every messaging spell that comes in and out of these grounds. But messages to and from their homes aren’t that rare for our participants.”

“That’s not my point,” Megan said. “If Attos is planning to attack, then surely the soldiers here are already aware of it and will play a big role.”

“That is a reasonable assumption,” Samuel said with a nod. “But as I said, we can’t expel them from the Exchange.”

“No,” Megan agreed. “But we can put them out of action, and in a legal way.”

Samuel studied her determined stance for a moment, thinking over what she’d said. There was some merit to the idea, he decided. But it would be hard, he knew. Much harder than any other task she’d taken on. He finally nodded his agreement.

“It won’t be easy,” he finally said. “But if anyone could pull it off, it would be you and your friends. Good luck.”

Megan nodded and turned to leave the tent, an odd sense of excitement and foreboding building in her chest. Would she and her friends be able to pull off what she had in mind? If they failed, then the consequence would be much worse than a bad grade. She forced the thought away. She would make sure they won. Little did she know, the war of over two years ago hadn’t finished. Attos hadn’t accepted defeat. Miles and miles away, they were planning to attack their new target. The war was continuing.