Heron Synka Muryh held to the final position of his two-handed spear stance. Weeks of constant training and it took several battles for him to realise that using a spear and shield combination meant he needed to have a shield mate and that it wasn’t very effective on its own.

Controlling a three-pace long weapon with a single-arm just wasn't that effective unless the only thing he did was thrust forward. It would be fine if he were in a phalanx but what if he had to duel? What if he was the only one with a shield?

The majority of his classes in Agaza involved small-unit tactics. The Empire rarely deployed huge standing armies, preferring to use its elites in small groups, or inside Colossi with the appropriate support team.

The only time they had pitched battles was when they had fortifications. The only time the phalanx was used was against rabble, Wyldlings, and beasts. The ones who used it most were militia and barely-trained civilian forces. Heron’s class track was headed towards the leadership of such forces and unless he improved drastically, there was no way he would be trained as a Colossi Core pilot.

Journeyman. That was the minimum requirement to become a Core pilot and only for the most common and weakest of the Colossi, the Koinos class. During their first day of orientation, all of the first years stood on the stands while a parade of the upperclassmen in full regalia marched around the grounds.

At the very end, half a dozen Colossi, Animatech humanoid war armours, made the ground tremble with their weight. They were the lowest class Colossi made of lacquered wood covered in runescript but each would have made short work of the Chaos Lord from Shillogu Woods.

Heron returned himself to a ready position, with the three-pace long spear held against his shoulder, pointing straight up. His shift to a long spear was something he did somewhat reluctantly. The longer weapon required two hands to wield effectively and there was no way he could utilise a shield larger than a buckler on his off-hand. Still, a buckler was more than enough if he used it to anchor his hardened air shields.

Heron fell into a stance from the ready position: left foot forward, left hand along the spear’s haft, and his right hand near the end. Lunge, thrust. Sweep right, retreat, and swipe. Sidestep, thrust. Imagine an opponent, keep the point aimed at a vital spot. Use the right hand to easily manoeuvre the point. Strike. Strike. Strike!

The blue glow of his Animus covered the speartip and the sound of weapon cutting the air changed. The glow spread from his hands all the way to the tip but the bulk of the Animus gathered on the spearhead just as he struck. When he withdrew, the glow returned towards his hands.

“Tsk. It’s giving my intentions away.”

Heron lowered the spear and caught his breath. He was at the cusp of advancement to Apprentice and he wasn’t sure which way to go. Meditating unfurled the roadmap of his progression, of his Heritage. It extended back to antiquity where it joined several branches and turned into a mighty tree.

He had the potential to use all of that, but…he could only improve in one way for now. His father, Balliol, focused on the hardened air aspect. They both started with hexagonal shields. His sister, Teresa, followed in Balliol’s footsteps as well, changing her Facet to allow her to control the air and turn them into lethal weapons.

He’d visited her over the past weeks, watched her punch through a metal shield with a single wind knife.

“If you follow dad’s path, at least you know what you’re getting,” she shrugged at him. “But do what you want. It’s your Facet anyway.”

And the time it took for him to activate Empowered Strike was too long--two seconds. While that was good since the first time he tried the technique took him ten, in a sudden battle, it was too slow. There was really no reason not to do it actually: inlay the technique. Or incorporate it into his Facet.

There were more than enough Muryhs and before them, Leoids, who incorporated Empowered Strike into the Heritage. The variation was called Cutting Winds and it affected any hardened air object they created as well as weapons.

But another option was the one where Heron felt the most affinity with: the choice to create and manipulate multiple shields. According to the Heritage, he could make three at Apprentice level in a single instance, five at Journeyman, and seven at the first level of Knight. He could control as much as he could manipulate and that’s probably when those exercises Yuriko did would be most useful.

He had seventy lumens as his Animus Cap, last he had it checked anyway. Ten were taken up by his first Facet, another ten would be committed when he advanced it, and five lumens committed if he inlaid Empowered Strike. Ten if he increased its tier when he advanced to Apprentice. Seventy total, reduced by thirty, leaving him a grand total of forty lumens for everyday use.

Afterwards, he needed to increase his reserves to a hundred before he could advance to Journeyman. The only thing he needed to do now was to decide how he wanted it to go.

Heron readied himself to do another round of the spearwork. When he closed his eyes and imagined a target, he couldn’t help but think of a certain silver-haired, dark-skinned teen. He wanted nothing more than to stab that smug smile off the other boy’s face.

“Tsk.”

With a sigh, he stopped. His muscles already felt like jelly and he needed to meditate with Recovery soon.

He missed those days when he sparred with Yuriko but he had come to an unpleasant truth. She’d long outstripped him in both skill and technique and he could no longer help her grow stronger. It was a bitter drink to swallow.

“Oy, what are you doing here so late?” a sneering voice called out from the shadows.

Heron was startled, but he quickly controlled himself and made sure his face was impassive. The boy who walked into the Wild Oak’s central courtyard had light brown hair, blue eyes, and bronzed skin, much like Heron did.

They were of the same height, however, Heron had grown a couple of inches since the start of the Season of Fire. In truth, he could now stare Yuriko straight in the eye, having finally caught up in growth, and perhaps in a few years, he would stare down at her instead.

“Cousin,” Heron said quietly.

“Hmph.” Theopilus Leoid Gentin sneered. “We’re only cousins in the barest sense. Your family’s a long-separated branch. Answer.”

“I’m training.” Heron kept his voice as neutral as possible.

The Muryh’s Heritage was an offshoot, and if not for the Leoid House, Heron and his family would be nothing. Teresa had spoken of the Leoids before, how they were proud. Sometimes, too proud. The most incompetent and weak amongst them were often the most arrogant. Still, the Muryh household must honour their roots.

The sun had long set and the light panels along the hallways cast long shadows in the garden. The waning moon was hidden by the tall oak trees, though its leaves had already started to fall.

“Did you see that…” Theo’s sneer grew even wider “...girl during today’s training?”

He was talking about Yuriko, of course, Heron knew. Most of the boys in their year, and even the upperclassmen, took notice of her. Theo had even tried his hand at courting and promptly had it broken for his transgression.

Heron hadn’t known about it until he caught Theo raging in their common room. The expression on the other boy’s face was a mixture of desire and hate, with a healthy heaping of shame, too. But Theo restrained himself for the simple reason that the Esras family’s scion was also interested in Yuriko.

Heron didn’t want to dabble in the campus’ politics but because his family was affiliated with the Leoids, who were, in turn, oathsworn to House Esras--not directly, but the chain ultimately led there--that meant that Heron and his sister were technically of the Esras faction.

Well, there was another reason to dislike Kale Kinnock.

“No, my squad has been assigned elsewhere.”

“Hmph.” Theo spun on his heels and left, but before he was out of sight, he turned back to Heron and added, “You better stop seeing her.”

Heron didn’t say anything, though his knuckles whitened on the spear haft. Once he was alone, he stalked away.

It had been awkward when his roommates learned that he was close to the new school goddess. They asked him what she was like, what she liked, and if she was attached to anyone. His perfunctory answers left them frustrated and somewhat angry. A point of contention was that they weren’t really allowed to pursue her when the order came from above.

Heron didn’t know why though. Sure, Virgil Davar was a Knight Captain but he wasn’t the only one in Rumiga. Her lineage wasn’t that unique, right? Well, her lineage wasn’t what attracted him to her, far from it. It wasn’t just her beauty either. But to his roommates, her gorgeous looks seemed to be just the icing on the cake.

Questions about Yuriko’s family had bombarded him until he pointed out that Kato Davar was her elder brother. The questions just became more pointed then.

He left his training spear in the communal storage, it wasn’t his but something he borrowed from the dorm. His buckler was his own though. He headed back into the deluxe room that he called his home. His roomies weren’t there but since it was dinner time, he didn’t find that unusual. He grabbed a change of clothes, his towel and toiletries, then showered in the baths next door.

While he scrubbed his short hair, his thoughts returned to the question of his Facet. He should decide now what his choice was. He couldn’t let her pull away from him too far, or he would never catch up. He would never be able to stand beside her and that pained him more than he thought it would.

“Multi-shield then inlay Empowered Strike,” he decided. Although Yuriko could easily protect herself, she often left herself vulnerable when she attacked. He would be her shield.

Feeling much better, he went down for dinner. Afterwards, though he should return to his room to rest, he had the urge to go see her. They hadn’t spoken in a while.

At the lounge, he ran across Braden and Orrin Foster, who were talking with a scruffy looking boy with blue hair and grey eyes. Braden gave the boy a letter and the other gave a short bow and left. Orrin spotted Heron just as he crossed the lounge and was about to leave the dorm.

“Where’re you headed?” Orrin asked.

“What’s it to you?”

“Ah, to the Willow, then?” Braden chuckled.

Of course, the two of them wound up following behind Heron. Suppressing an urge to kick either of them, Heron just trudged down the road.

“Don’t you have anything else to do?”

“Well, we miss her too.”

“Right.”

“Huh, aren’t you worried?”

“Hmmph.”

“Well, we’ve our own plans but I can’t help but see that yours is falling apart.”

“What?” Heron rounded on them.

Braden shrugged. “I’d rather not have too many rivals, but that seems inevitable. I noticed that Yuri spent most of Martial Sciences with an upperclassman. Shouldn’t you do something about it?”

“None of us controls her,” Heron grumbled. “Besides, Yuri’s the one who asked Kale to train her.”

“Ah, yes. Senior Kale,” Orrin grunted. “I don’t like him. He looks entirely too sure of himself.”

“Being in the Ducal house does that,” Braden snorted.

“Hey, Heron,” Orrin looked at him. “Did somebody try to warn you off Yuriko?”

“Huh?”

“Ah, somebody did for the two of us,” Orrin continued. “Annoying, honestly. What do they know of our lovely Yuri? Well, at least we three know it won’t be easy.”

“Which one?” Heron asked.

“Huh?”

“From which house?”

“Ah, both.” Braden chuckled. “We’re neutral to this whole faction business; our family’s based in Cierra and Unc does his best to cater to everyone.”

“You intend to comply?”

“Why? Do you?”

“No.”

“Good, I wouldn’t think our rival would be that weak-kneed.”

The three of them soon arrived at the Golden Willow. It was still early evening, and hours still from the curfew. Maybe they could spar a bit.

At the reception counter, Heron asked the middle-aged dorm mistress to send a message. Then the three of them sat at the lounge and waited. Nearly half an hour later, Heron tapped his fingers on the armrest impatiently and then decided to ask again.

“Oh, apologies,” the dorm mistress said lazily, “Miss Davar isn’t in her room.”

“Any idea where she went?”

“Even if I knew that I can’t tell you.”

Heron grunted and returned to the twins.

“She’s not here.”

Both of them frowned.

“It's a bit late to be out and about isn’t it?”

The three of them returned to the counter.

“What about Miss Zorin, Lorn, Keryn, Shaun, or Reyn?” Braden asked.

After a few minutes, the reply came. “They’re not here.”

“They must have all gone out.” Orrin shrugged. “Oh well, another time I guess.”

Heron nodded and the three of them headed back to the dorm. Still, when they reached the Central Reserve, Heron had a sudden foreboding.

“Want to go look for them?” he suddenly asked.

“Why?” Orrin answered, “Where would even begin to look?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, if you want to spend your night crawling all over the city, then go ahead. I won’t do any such thing.” Braden said. “Since they didn’t tell us, then we’re not invited. I don’t think the girls will look kindly on our intrusion.”

“Yeah,” Heron muttered. “You’re right there.”

But he still had a bad feeling about it.