Chapter 3: Grand Ceremony

Strolling down the streets from Song’s Lucky Roll, an irresistible smell of something sweet and smoky rumbled his belly. It pulled him into a crowd of people waving with their bags of coins in the air. But it wasn’t just here. It happened all around.

Street carts in every block had lines of hungry customers. Delectables on silver trays greeted their eyes as their employees shouted ‘free samples!’ to the masses passing by.

Those that were dressed fashionably or luxuriously well, the employees of Ham’s Honey Sweet Ham moved closer and their voices became soft, enticing, and personal. Some were able to ward off the smile of a salesman. But others that had their eyes simply delighted by a meaty sample lost all hope to its smoky, juicy, tender, and sticky fantasy.

I’m already late… Sigrios kept to the edge of the sidewalk, away from all the temptations.

Horses and carriages rushed down the streets, forcing a gust of wind onto those walking by. He clutched onto his map and hastened in the same direction as the crowd on this sunny day: north. All towards the sounds of festivity. All towards the bright sun.

Closer to the destination marked on his map, trumpets blared a cacophony of energy. What started so intensely soon died down to a soft and slow tempo before the beatings of drums took over. People in line tapped their feet to the infectious rhythm with nowhere to go. Both the street and sidewalk were stuck in place, barely shifting forward every so often.

And as he struggled through the crowd, eyeing and slipping his way through any spontaneous openings, eyes from all around fell onto him. Very few were of the inquisitive kind, bored out of their mind with nothing to do. Most stared at him in contempt, at his act and clothing. With how densely compacted the sidewalks were with bodies blocking him, he opted onto the streets filled with lavishly-dressed men and women stepping off of their horses and out of their carriages.

Endless chatter and gossip circulated around the exquisite bunch, especially when a young man in a white suit guided a young woman in a white dress down the streets. An insignia of a two-star tetrahedron woven into their attire sparked the awe and gasps of those around them. Those who knew of the couple parted a path as if it was an ordinary thing to do.

“Make way! Make way!” a man shouted. “The Walkers are here!”

Sigrios chased their lingering trail as discreetly as possible, hoping to take their lead all the way through. But he wasn’t alone in this endeavor. Other opportunists ahead of him did the same but without the restraints of a cane. Soon, the path squeezed shut.

Unbelievable. How is anyone supposed to get anywhere? Give me some space!

Another similar incident occurred, but not of a couple. A young woman, in an exquisite velvet doublet, dismounted her white steed five meters ahead of him. Another person of importance, he presumed, given by the path forming in front of her at the sight of her insignia--a sun wheel. Or perhaps they were parting ways because she carried a weapon strapped to her waist--a rapier sheathed in black leather.

Hurry up, you crappy body!

Before he could get blocked again, Sigrios kicked off of the cemented street. It was still too far of a distance, and the tapping of his cane became heavier and louder. Just as someone dared to step in his way, one look at that mad machine storming down the street was enough to freeze them in their tracks.

Don’t you dare!

All of his concentration poured into tracking her feet, mimicking her every step: taking a right turn at Bedside Boon; a left turn passed groups guided by a tour guide; and then another right along tall white brick walls. Sigrios halted in his steps after making a right turn into an opened grand gate of emerald, overshadowed by two humongous statues of a knight.

A step inside, and the streets behind him couldn’t even compare. He stood on a glossy wooden walkway that was far and wide enough to support half of everyone he skipped in line. And at the end of it all--led by two long ascending stairways--was a castle of a magnitude he never knew could be physically possible.

But its fascinating majesticness didn’t last long. Now that he was here, it was time to face the biggest problem.

How do I find the grandmaster of this place?

So many people brushing by wore clothing befitting people of middles and highs, but none of them had that distinctive scholarly look. None wore an authoritative gown. Their walks and their complete lack of class reminded him how much the rich are irresistible to change. Even after all this time, social classes still mimicked the behavior of the past.

What a bunch of rude pretenders.

Occasionally, while walking deeper into the walkway, large signs pointed to different areas: east of the halfway mark was the place for the magical field exam; to the west of it was a place for the physical field exam. They weren’t of much help, not for the objective he had in mind, but something helpful did cross his eyes. Guards patrolled the streets in groups, though more were socializing than they were being dutiful.

Sigrios approached a pair passing by, but was ignored without a thought in mind.

He stared at his waving hand, still in the air, and realized his mistake. Oh, right. Smile, smile. These commoners prefer to be greeted with a smile… I think. He shook off the incident and approached another group of guards completely laxed in front of thick, red ropes fencing the sides of the walkway.

“Hello.” Sigrios waved a hand and smiled the biggest smile he could forced. “I’m looking for--”

Those same guards walked off, as if resuming a far more important duty in another area.

Sigrios wondered if greeting customs were different in this time. But with how much time he was wasting, he didn’t linger on it for long. Passing a street clock that pointed to eleven, his hope shot up at the sight of a group of guards stationed at four pillaring statues: an owl and a dove on the left side of the street, and a lion and a cloaked angel on the right.

Next to the statue of a dove, a guard stood alone, isolated from the rest. Unlike the others that joked and laughed amongst their groups, this one kept his eyes on the crowd, vigilant at all times. In time, Sigrios broke free from the crowd and stood in front of him, asking for directions to the grandmaster’s whereabouts with panting breaths.

That guard, in a red cloak and white tabard, looked down and inspected Sigrios’ attire. “All candidates are to proceed to their respective field for examination: the paper tests are held further up ahead; physical field tests are held behind this red rope; magical field tests are held on the opposite side of here. All family members, friends, and guardians of students must remain behind the red ropes at all times. Owners of pets will be held accountable for whatever damage they may cause...”

Sigrios listened to every single word of his dull recital; waiting for any relevant words pertaining to his task, but all that remained was a solemn stare. “I’m not here for an exam. I’m looking for the grandmaster of this place. Where can I find them?”

“Grandmaster Babalin is very, very, very busy at this time.” The guard tapped his spear to the ground and looked past him. “If you’re not a student here, then come back next year. Now, get out of my way.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Sigrios couldn’t help his feet from tapping, impatiently. “Just tell me where I can find the person I’m looking for and I’ll be on my way. It’s that simple.”

“Sir, does it look like I have time to answer all of your questions?” The guard raised a hand in front of him. “I’m busy on watch duty, and you’re interrupting my work.”

“It’s only one question! Look, I’m supposed to see the grandmaster at ten, and it’s already eleven! I’m already late as it is, so help me out here.” Sigrios harshly exhaled his pent-up frustration, but the man remained deadpan. “...What do you want, money?”

“Ren.” A woman in the same uniform walked over, hugging a stack of papers close to her chest. Except, what the others didn’t wear was a red plume helmet with its faceguard pulled back. “What’s the matter?”

“Captain Scarlet.” The guard, Ren, turned towards the woman and tapped his spear to the ground twice. “It’s nothing worth reporting. He’s just another one of those pesky noblemen trying to seek an audience with Grandmaster Babalin. Wait a bit and the fly will fly away.”

“Ren, you dummy.” Scarlet lightly slapped the back of his head. “Sorry. He didn’t mean what he said. Please don’t hold it against him.”

“Sure...” Sigrios shrugged. “So, would you mind telling me where I can find the grandmaster?”

“Actually, that’s where I’m headed.” Scarlet turned around and gestured with her hand. “I have to drop these off anyways, so follow me.”

Sigrios eagerly agreed.

She took a step forward, then stopped. Something on the left caught her eyes. Ren called out her name, and when she didn’t respond he followed her eyes past the red ropes behind them. Neither would move or say anything. Curiously, Sigrios followed their eyes to a public showing of the college’s exam.

On grassy fields to the left of the walkway, hundreds of examinees were split into five groups for five instructors. Training swords, shields, axes, glaives, and spears made of wood laid on fresh grass in front of the selectees. Groups of five were randomly chosen by an instructor, advising them to choose one of the many weapons best suited for them.

Among the candidates chosen by a bald-headed instructor, everyone picked up their preferred weapon of choice. A girl picked up two wooden shields on the ground; a woman took the nearest spear to her; a young man gripped the wooden axe in front of his feet; a middle-aged man selected a wooden sword as his preference; and finally, a young woman scanned the items on the ground, but none matched the rapier sheathed in black leather on her waist. Instead, she picked up a wooden sword, indifferently.

“AILEE!” a female spectator jumped and threw her fist into the air from the walkway. “KICK HIS BALDY BUTT!”

“Excuse me,” a girl equipped with two wooden shields raised her hand high into the air to the examiner. “Do we have to hit you to pass the entrance exam?”

“No,” the examiner replied. “You’ll pass or fail on how you approach me. If anyone can land a single hit on me, I’ll pass the entire team.”

“Is that alright?” she asked. “I can just do nothing and still pass?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. There’s so many of you this year it makes me worry I won’t have time to make it home for dinner. If you don’t like my rules, feel free to join another instructor.” He laughed. “Now, begin.”

“Leave it to me!” Without a second to waste the young man with a wooden axe rushed in with his weapon high into the air. “Be careful, baldy! I am Leafu of Guild T--”

The examiner patiently watched the man charging in and flexed both index fingers. When the axe swung down the examiner spun to the right, and struck the young man’s wrist and chest. The axe fell out of his hand and his body collapsed, sliding along the ground. Dirt poured through the small opening of his mouth. He stayed motionless with his butt high into the air. Everybody thought he was dead, until the examiner pulled him up and gave a firm slap to his cheeks.

The young man’s eyes shot open, turning his head, stupefied. “What the hell just happened?”

“You failed,” the examiner said. “Move to the side and pray for the success of your teammates.”

Reluctantly, he did as instructed. “Sorry, team. Please carry me!”

A hearty laugh came from the middle-aged man of the team, who turned to his fellow teammates, especially towards the girl with the rapier, Ailee. “I didn’t think the fame girl from the Slumbering Sun would actually be here. To see her a part of my team must mean that this is my lucky day.” The man gave off another laughter. “However, as much as I would love to see your swordplay, I’m afraid I have to steal the show for my sponsors out there.”

He turned around and stepped forward, slashing the air around him like he was wielding a whip. Rather than recklessly charging at the examiner, he took another step forward towards him, and the movement of his sword blurred. It grew faster with every step, scattering the grass below him into the air. “You walk a strange martial path, friend.”

“Do I?” The examiner stretched out his left foot and lowered his body. The spear girl crept to the right of the middle-aged man; the double-shielded girl carefully moved towards his left; and Ailee remained back without any intention to fight. “Not bad, for a bunch of randoms.”

“[Windblade].” The middle-aged man slashed his wooden sword down, unleashing a crescent arc of wind towards the examiner.

The examiner’s eyes shot opened at that raw speed. He dug his feet into the ground and ripped into that crescent wind with both of his index fingers. “UAGH!” It gnawed and tore into his flesh, spitting his blood into the air. “HAH!” The sheer force pressed his upper half towards the ground; he urged his arms apart, prying that energy away and dispersing all of it into the air. A spear came flying from his right, straight for his head. He exhaled and split his legs, barely in time for it to glance at the skin of his forehead.

“Well? Does that count?” The middle-aged man kept his sword spinning for another attack. He looked towards the girl who threw the spear and winked at her. “Or should I continue?”

“Nice one!” The young man on the sidelines jumped and pumped his fist into the air. “Attack him again!”

“This year sure has no respect for anyone.” The examiner bent his knees to his chest, kicked it into the air, and landed on his feet. “No, this is sufficient. Anymore and this could get dangerous.” He pointed to a large tent near the stairway towards the main building of the college. “Go there and tell them you’ve passed Bidman’s test.”

“Woohoo!” The two-shielded girl jumped into the air and cheered for her team’s victory. “I didn’t even do anything and I passed!” She ran over and patted the back of the young man that prematurely failed. “We did it--Well, they did it, but we were there!”

“Hell yeah!” The young man jumped and cheered alongside her. “I really thought I was done for!”

Spectators from behind the red ropes clapped and cheered for another successful attempt at the honorary physical exam. This was the fastest group yet, but the person everyone wanted to see didn’t make a single move. People praised the middle-aged man’s martial expertise, while others expressed their disappointment of Ailee’s passivity from Slumbering Sun.

From behind the red ropes, Scarlet softly clapped her hands. “These freshies are quite promising. The honors program might have some trouble this year.”

“It’s a shame Ailee didn’t do anything,” Ren said. “I was hoping to see her martial skills in action.”

“She wouldn’t have fought with that much of an advantage,” Scarlet said. “That’s just how she is.”

Sigrios clapped his hands out of respect for a fellow martial expert. What he saw wasn’t the least bit exciting, but there was a degree of finesse from the examiner dispelling the attack. “So, about Grandmaster Babalin…”

“Oh, right!” Scarlet apologetically bowed. “Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself. Follow me, I’ll take you there--”

A loud explosion deafened the area. Everyone turned their heads behind them, shielding their eyes from a shockwave of dust and dirt rushing past the red ropes meant for examinees in the magical field exam.

Scarlet’s eyes grew stern. Ren glanced at her, and it was all too obvious what her next action would be. Sigrios quickly followed behind the two running ahead, pushing and shoving everyone out of their way towards the opposite side of the street.

“ARWYN!” a chilling scream came from up ahead, where a cloud of grey smoke rose into the air.

Scarlet broke through the crowd and marched towards a group of guards stationed for the magical field exam. A sight of a scarred land of green grasses took her by surprise. All hopeful examinees in the magical field exam stood from their chairs, shocked and gossiping, looking at the center of the disaster, the gray smoke, and their instructors for further directions. Most of them were locked in a discussion with the guards, while another instructor tried to calm the examinees down.

“Ren, do what you can over there. I’ll be there shortly.” Scarlet didn’t spare another second to turn to the stationed guards and demanded, “What happened here?”

A guard tapped his spear twice on the ground as Ren ran past the red ropes. “Captain! I’m not entirely sure… Everything was proceeding normally. They announced for a girl by the name of Arwyn Belladonna to be the next student to step up. And then… I don’t know much about magic, but something had to have gone wrong during the test.”

“What? What do you mean something went wrong?” Scarlet rhetorically asked. “Of course something went wrong! There was a huge explosion!”

“Sorry, captain. I’m… not well-versed in magic.”

“At the very least you must know what kind of test was taking place.”

“Uh…” the guard scratched his head. “I believe they announced it was the… Tsin-shin-something... test?”

“Captain! Look!” A second guard pointed towards the origin of the rising smoke.

Scarlet traced the second guard’s fingers towards Ren and a young woman aiding a coughing girl out of the smoke. She was painfully wheezing and gasping for breath, leaning on their shoulders for support with her black-and-white shoes dragging along the grass. An instructor was by their side, guiding them towards two sets of large stairways that led towards the castle’s mighty doors.

“Come, quickly!” the instructor urged. “We must take you to Grandmaster Babalin!”

“Here, hold onto this.” Scarlet forced the stack of papers she’s been hugging all this time onto the first guard. She turned around, prepared to give a formal apology to the young man that she promised to guide all along. But he was gone. That unique outfit of his couldn’t be found anywhere perceivable in the crowd.

She faced the magical field exam, and towards all the students and instructors. That apology would have to be saved for another time. Right now, her title as Captain of the First Division is in need of being used. The crowd behind her shouted their questions and confusions in horror and madness, sickly worried about their sons and daughters. Her fellow guards held them back, crying that everything was fine and under investigation.

But it was far from fine. In the two years that she’s been here, Scarlet had never seen this kind of incident before. She took a step past the red ropes, towards the group of instructors with a whole slew of questions on her mind.