With Azreon gone for the time being and her own reputation improved by taking down the necromancer and their undead Titan, only Galo and a few others continued to bully Shaya. Their abuse was so minimal she wouldn’t even count it as good practice for controlling her emotions. She continued to take notes, however, for Azreon’s inevitable return and in case she needed to take matters into her own hands.

Shaya found that the notes came in handy elsewhere too: Game Theory. While the game played each week changed and grew more and more complex, the players didn’t. At first, Shaya only played mind games against Azreon’s supporters, but the strategy proved so successful she expanded it to record information about others in the class and leverage it against them as well. To avoid tipping her hand too much and spiking her reputation off a cliff, she saved the mind games for graded activities and tried to keep them as civil as possible.

“Impressive,” Zaal said after asking her to remain after class that week, “you’ve come to understand the ‘meta game’, as some of us call it, and have adapted to it as readily as any politician.”

Shaya felt slimy at the compliment, but nodded. “It’s the only constant in the environment and I’ve had good reason to pay close attention to those around me.”

“Indeed,” the thin professor nodded with approval, “and you’ve limited its usage to when it matters most, which conceals the strategy so others cannot adopt it or adapt to it. Very clever, for an Amber mage.”

“Am I that transparent?” She asked, baiting out his next response.

“No,” Zaal replied, “I’m just that good at reading people.”

“Is that why you changed topics so quickly at the debrief?”

His eyes narrowed, “You shouldn’t speak of it further. The effect on you was a brief twitch of your face, no one else would have noticed.”

She nodded, “I thought as much, but I get the sense you’re familiar with what happened to me.”

“I’ve been around for centuries girl,” Zaal replied, “I’m familiar with many spell effects.”

“Of course,” Shaya granted, “is there anything else you can tell me about apostates in general? Like how one could come to work so closely with Titan spawn and perhaps how to counter this forbidden magic of theirs?”

“There is nothing else I will tell you on this topic,” he stated, “stop prying into matters beyond you and leave it to the professionals.”

“Like planning our last deployment?”

“The last deployment accomplished everything it needed to,” Zaal replied levelly.

Shaya’s eyes narrowed as she thought the statement over, before she could speak again Zaal continued.

“The reason I asked you to stay,” he said, “is because you’re wasted as an Amber mage. I want you to consider abandoning your current esper in favour of bonding to a Sapphire – your mind and cunning can shine under the influence of such a being, rather than dull into a rusted lump like Basillo’s. The cool rationality brought on by Sapphire’s influence could also help you control your temper better, which I suspect you wish to do.”

She blinked in surprise, taken aback by the statement and flailing for a sassy response.

“You make it sound so easy,” she managed, cursing herself inwardly for a lame riposte.

“It is,” Zaal assured her, “you’re no longer an urchin, Shaya. I could conjure a number of spirits which I believe might be compatible with you. It is quite common amongst the aristocracy, though some ‘traditional’ families insist on torturing their children to trigger an Awakening.

“Beyond that,” he waved dismissively, “breaking your current bond is simple, most hedge mages break their bond within a year or two of forging it by accident. Doing so with purpose is easier.”

“Are you...serious?” She muttered.

“No, Shaya,” he said, voice flat, “I’ve carefully nurtured an image of being a cold, serious professor only to unveil at this very moment my sense of humour.”

Stunned by the comment, she could only blink again. Shaya had to suppress a manic laugh, fearing that he might just kill her for laughing in his presence or something insane.

“Okay,” she said, shaking her head to clear it, “this sounds crazy to me. You’re telling me another esper would bond with me willingly, even though I’d be breaking an existing bond to do so? Doesn’t that tip my hand as an awful invoker?”

“An Amber esper might hold such a thing against you,” Zaal conceded, “but a Sapphire one would be unlikely to do so.”

“Why don’t I just bond a second esper?” She asked.

“Bonding multiple espers is difficult,” Zaal explained, “and often not worth the trouble of balancing all their desires. Were circumstances different, I might even suggest binding your current esper, but...” he gestured at her, “records show binding ancestral spirits can cause severe psychological issues, which you can’t afford any more of. And it would only strengthen the Amber influence on your mind, which is the opposite of what I’m suggesting.”

“I... I don’t know what to say,” Shaya stuttered, mind overwhelmed by the possibilities.

“I do not require an answer tonight, obviously,” Zaal said, frowning at her, “think on the possibilities. You can be more than just a meat shield, Shaya.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled, meaning it despite the dizzying thoughts whirling through her, “I will.”

+++++

The next morning, Shaya and her friends arrived at the Five Rings dueling site.

They were far from alone.

Dozens of spectators lined the stands around the simple, one-hundred yard diameter grassy circle. She recognized several students from her cohort, but there were plenty of others she didn’t recognize as well. Shaya’s eyes were drawn to the figures in gilded armour and coloured cloaks: Knightly Orders come to watch her fight.

She swallowed down her nervous energy, adjusting the straps on her bladed shield and fidgeting with the head of the new axe on her belt.

“Don’t worry,” Bri said, squeezing her shoulder through her brigandine, “there’s no way that shorty can beat you.”

“Thanks,” Shaya shot her friend a nervous smile, “I guess we’ll find out.”

“We already know,” Samorn assured her as well, “all we’re going to watch is the inevitable conclusion.”

Oraeus and Ral nodded their support.

“I dunno,” Ren said, stretching as he walked, “she seems spicy, I’d watch yourself in there with her.”

“I don’t know what that means, Ren,” Shaya replied drily, “are you telling me to keep my tongue off her?”

Ren blinked, “No, now that you mention it, I would strongly encoura-”

Bri cut him off, slowing her stride to jab him in the kidney.

Shaya laughed, then spotted Apricot and her lance heading towards the stands.

“Apricot!” She shouted, waving a hand at her, “Can we talk a minute?”

The petite woman waved back, then walked over. “Hi, Shaya, it’s good to see you aga-”

Shaya crushed her in a big hug, “I’m so glad you’re okay! And I’m so sorry for asking you to do the thing with the portals, I had no idea it would-”

“I’m okay,” Apricot insisted from inside Shaya’s grip, unable to escape, “at least I might be if you stop crushing me.”

Shaya did so immediately, “I’m so-”

“Sorry,” Bri finished, rolling her eyes, “we all know. Gods, this is the real reason Apricot hasn’t been around this week.”

“I wish,” Apricot giggled, turning to Bri and the others, “watching Shaya stumble over herself is actually pretty refreshing, has she been like this since deployment?”

“It gets old fast,” Ren assured her, fluffy tail twitching in annoyance, “especially now that she’s not purple anymore.”

“She was...purple?” Apricot asked.

“Oh yeah,” Ren continued, “from head to toe, looked like an eggplant for most of the week.”

“Ugh!” Apricot rolled her eyes, “I can’t believe I missed that. You’re all so lucky to have to live with her.”

“Yes,” Oraeus replied drily, “we count our blessings every day. But it is good to see you hale again Apricot, our classes were not the same without you.”

“Thanks, Oraeus,” Apricot smiled, “I can’t wait to get back to class now that the aether fevers are done.”

“Aether...fevers?” Shaya asked.

“I’ll tell you about them later,” Apricot promised, “Una’s shooting daggers at you from across the field though, so I should leave you to your duel.”

“You and your lance should feel free to join our side of the ring,” Shaya said, smiling, “we wanted to see if you’d be interested in practicing together, so we can figure out larger scale maneuvers. This might be a fun first step!”

Apricot cocked her head, “That sounds like a lot of fun! I’ll let the others know and see you all on Shaya’s side of the ring.”

“Good luck,” Bri said, clapping her on the shoulder again, “don’t make us look bad now!”

The others echoed the well wishes and Shaya moved to the center, where Una was already standing with the referee: Avaim, the same squire from the Order of Justice who hosted some of Shaya’s practice sessions.

“Done saying your farewells to dear friends?” Una scoffed as Shaya approached.

“I hope you actually have real friends, Una,” Shaya shook her head and replied with the same volume, ensuring only she and Avaim could hear her, “the kind that don’t throw you under the palanquin when it’s convenient to do so.”

“I don’t need your sympathy,” her rival replied, “you’re not exactly swimming in friends right now either.”

“I’ll take quality over quantity any day,” Shaya said, smiling, “though I’m greedy enough to want both, of course.”

Una snorted, “I can’t wait to wipe that smile off your face.”

“I can’t wait to see you try.”

“Then perhaps we should get started?” Avaim said, quirking an eyebrow in amusement at their exchange.

“Happily,” both women said, still glaring at one another.