“Quickly!” Trini huffed as she ran through the streets with Seks following close behind. “We're not going to make it!”

They were chasing after Pempe, Enneya, and Kingston, other three of their five person team for the tourney.

Kingston shouted, “This way!” He turned into a roadside tunnel and the rest followed.

“Isn't this the longer way?” Trini asked.

“It's faster today. Less traffic. Trust the wind!” he replied.

Meandering through the underground roadway, they popped out of a tunnel just slightly east of the arena. Public crowds had gathered around the battleground and treetop pathways, barricading them from entering from the main roads. Throngs of cheers erupted every other second as bright light flashed and danced against falling snow. Slow falling meteor showers sparking atop the arena.

Pempe commanded, “The contestants' entrance!”

The group headed for the barred off underground path in the north that was only allowed for participants. Even as they moved, their ears pricked up to the voice of the announcer, Counrtney Woods.

“And we have our first knockout from Aleynonlia's Academy. It is now an exciting three against two! It looks like the kids are not done fighting! They're pushing back the Lion of Devara with a combined wall of fire!”

“Yeah!” Trini cheered, still running. “Get 'em!”

North of the arena, the tunnel entrances were sentinelled by armed guards which, to Trini, was overkill defence for a place filled with Spellblades. At one of the entrances, the guards held out their arms to halt them, but lowered when the teens raised their school badges and were allowed in without further blockage.

Inside, the tunnel circled the arena underground in a long kliq of oval. Lining the corridors were the hundreds of contestants. Some were in their teams while most were alone for the single fights, simply mingling with their peers. But they were all colourful. Each individual wore unique armour or none at all. Others were equipped with unique combined weapons while many were equipped with basic, but visibly sheen arms.

The five of them ran around, circling the path and giving curt waves when greeted. There were multiple tunnel exits but they were looking for just one. Another roar of cheers erupted above and the ground around them shook. They found their tunnel and took a turn. At the end of it, the rest of their class waited.

Upon seeing them, Four-Chan exclaimed, “Where were you guys?”

Pempe replied, “Sik Rehiy had us for a team meeting. What happened?”

They stepped out onto the viewing deck just in time to watch Pip jam her lance into the ground. Whirling on a twirling burst of fire, she jumped, spun, and kicked the head of one of her much larger opponent, sending the opposing drakin involuntarily flying out of his ring.

The commentator roared, “And Pipquet Chevlier has just knocked out Kisa with a beautiful pole stomp to the face!”

The hologram of the out of ring drakin flickered out of sight as the judges called for the knock out. Excited screams came from Aleynonlia supporters but the celebration was short lived. Camza, Pip's remaining partner, turned at the commotion. Taking the opening, one of the opponent threw a spear of light that caught Camza in the head. The judge called the hit fatal and Camza's hologram faded from the battlefield, leaving Pip surrounded by the two elven mage.

Trini cheered, “Come on, Pip!” The rest of Class C followed, adding their encouragement to the crowd.

Pip had to keep her attention separate, darting her sight between her two remaining opponents. Once the two enemy combatants got into positions opposite of her, they moved. Both humes charged at her and Pip fired her wind propelled flamethrower at the closer of the two. As fire engulfed her target, she used the propulsion from her attack and blasted backwards. With a spinning step and a twist, she swung her lance like a staff at the unsuspecting attacker, catching her backstabbing enemy with a smack to the head, knocking the foe out of the fight.

Then, she turned, only to be faced with a wall of ice that had been erected against her. The wall shattered, the ice turning into pointed shards. Like a targeted storm, the frozen blades rained down on her. A loud whistle sounded as the judge called the match. The crowd boomed excitedly, drowning out even the announcer.

While Pip's team had lost, they graciously stood to their feet. With mutual bows to their opponents on the opposite end of the field, then to the audience, the thundering claps that followed was well earned.

Class C clapped and cheered along the admirable performance. “Nice fight, Pip!” Trini called out, fully knowing her voice would be drowned by everyone else's but not caring.

“Shame,” Seks said. “Knocked out in her first round.”

Pempe replied, “True. But not surprising. We're still students compared to these guys. The fact Pip got them down to a last man standing is pretty impressive though.”

It was true that in the past dozen days of qualifying, they had watched many of their schoolmates be knocked out of the tourney, more so than the fully qualified Spellblades did. Though a few of their own did make it to the next round, it was mostly against their own schoolmates in the randomized match-ups. Shichi and Four-Chan were unluckily paired with two skilled fighters and, while the match was close, they did not claim victory, putting their class's win rate at zero.

“Alright!” Pempe exclaimed. “Who's up next?”

“We are,” Lua announced.

She stood to the side, fully armed with her dual chained swords. Beside her were Joachim and Nos, both looking vehemently annoyed at the prospect of stepping out and working together.

Trini asked, “Are you three going to be okay?”

Joachim signed and Ishumi translated, “Sure. As 'okay' as we'll ever be, I guess. I mean, I still hate Nos to the guts, but we'll do okay.”

Outside, the announcer called, “On to our fifth match of the day, we have another trio from Aleynonlia's Spellblade Academy who will be matched up against the gun totting team from Everwind!”

“That's our call,” Nos voiced.

The team of three began walking out with lucks and well wishes being passed around. The class watched as their classmates approached the arena. Their opponents were armed with steam pressured nail pistols. An off-shoot mercenary brand of Everwind's famous sharpshooters. With a bow, the two teams moved to take their positions.

A new voice called, “Trini?” The entire class turned to it and away from the main event.

Standing at the head of their tunnel was two well dressed human male in maroon cloak lined with white fur and gold embroidery. The shorter one had bright hair of red similar to Trini's while the taller one had a heavier build and a hairless head. Besides them, two private guards in light shining mail stood at attention with spears in hand. Behind them, a small crowd had gathered to watch the two nobles conduct their business.

Trini gulped but stood her ground. “Fathers,” she greeted. Seks took her hand in his and she gripped back tight.

“Why have you been avoiding us? Is this what you want?” the taller man asked. “To fight? You're of noble blood! You're better than this! This is not what was suppose to happen to you in this school!”

Trini yelled back, “You're the ones who sent me to this school!”

“Because we thought it would teach you some manners! How to act in a society higher than these...” His eyes glanced over his surroundings but he said no further.

His husband continued, “Come back home with us. We'll put you into the best social academy there is! Just look at the way you're dressed! Such drab clothings. Listening to your parents. You can be more than a brute swinging a spear.”

“A tri-dent, father Zach. I use a tri-dent.”

“Semantics,” Zach replied. “You will come home with us.”

“With all due respect Sirs Alquin,” Pempe crossed to Trini and voiced. “But this is Trini's choice to–”

The taller man practically screamed, “Stay out of this, peasant!”

Shocked, Trini scolded, “Father Abel!”

“You will come back with us, daughter. I can see that being with these people have clouded your senses and etiquette. Return home and we will see to resuming your tuition in a society befitting your stature.”

Trini fell silent. She did not want to go with them. But as far as she had come in her independence, she did not wish to defy her parents either. They had, after all, taken care of her the best they could in the only way they knew how. Regardless of what she thought of them, they were still her parents.

So she started walking to them.

“Trini!” Seks called out.

She wanted to stop. Her shoes dragged through the dirt with the weight of a thousand indecisions.

Abel yelled back at Seks, “Be quiet you reptoid! You must be that Seks she wrote so much of. Regardless of what you may feel or think, let me assure you that our daughter is not for the likes of you. Give up on your fantasies. Inter-species relationship. If word of this got out, it'll be the death toll of our family's name.”

She stopped walking. Her hand reached behind her belt and pulled. Her three section staff fell out of its sheath and snaked to the ground on clanking steel chains, the sharp trident blade on one end dangled and spun on its heaviness. With both hands, she held the middle section of her weapon then twisted, and pulled. The middle section extended and locked over the chains, clicking into clamps at max length and erecting the weapon into a trident. She stabbed the polearm into the ground before her.

“Father Abel, father Zach, thank you for all you've done. But if being a noble means I'm not allowed to love who I want, or go where I wish, I don't think that is the life for me.”

Zach clicked his tongue. “That is not what we meant! You can have everything you–”

“Quiet!” she snapped. Her parents jumped at her raised tone and quickly held their voices back to a breathe. Her heart was pounding. Out of fear, excitement, anticipation, or uncertainty, she did not know. A part of her thought it was a mix of all. She was, after all, about to raise her voice to them in a way she had never thought of doing. “I am an Alquin. That will never change. And I will love you two for raising me, that too will never falter. But this is my life. And this here, with this class, is where I stand.”

Abel found his voice and asked, “That class is not a place where people go to rise. It's where they go to fall.”

“It would be of my greatest privilege to fall with them.”

“How can you speak so confidently?” Zach added. “This class is known for being the worst in the school. What do you hope to accomplish with them? You've yet to even win any matches. At least the other classes have some of their students move on!”

Nos voiced, “Is that so?”

The whole group turned to the tunnel exit. Standing at the archway and bathed in light flooding in from the outside were Nos, Joachim, and Lua. The use of magic had drastically heated up their bodies, misting the snow that fell on them in a shroud of vapour as the circuits slowly cooled.

“That may be true a few moments ago, but not anymore.” He crossed the cramped space and walked right up next to Trini, standing beside her. “Because we just won.”

Everyone turned their focus outside to which the cheers and adulations that had become background noises were clear once more. Amongst it, Counrtney Woods was announcing the result of the match, and sure enough, she declared, “Once again, the winners in an astounding landslide is Nossaral Unn, Joachim Kerr, and Lua Orniter from Aleynonlia's Spellblade Academy!”

“How?” Abel voiced. “It's been barely a minute!”

“Duh,” Lua replied. “We trained. Besides, how long do you actually think it takes to win a fight?”

Nos continued, “See, I hate stuck-ups like yourselves the most. So, how about a little wager?” The teen said so without skipping a beat or lacking confidence from speaking with those twice his age.

“Wager?” Zach asked. “Of what?”

“If Trini's team loses the qualifying, she goes home. If they win, you leave. Simple as that.”

“Nos!” Trini exclaimed. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged. “I merely want to show your fathers what us peasants can do.”