Shaya was in so. Much. Pain.

Despite Bari’s intervention and healing above and beyond the normal trauma care, Shaya still wore a neck brace to keep her sore neck steady, her head was wrapped in bandages, and her ribs were... well, they were left unwrapped, given the additional problems that could cause. She was only starting to warm up again after all of the ice she had pressed toher body to cut down on the swelling, and she was still starving despite eating a full-blooded giant’s breakfast. Bari’s healing had taken a lot out of her, and eating in her condition took even more effort than normal – much to the amusement of her Lancemates that morning.

Shaya sat in the auditorium for her cohort’s after action debrief, her friends at least one seat away from her to avoid some of the reeking unguent stench she radiated. The smell of it made her nostrils flare, which was just additional salt in her wounds given how painful breathing was in the first place. She had her notebook and was ready to write, though she had to lean her entire body forward and backward to look from the professors on stage to what she was writing.

“Let’s get started,” Professor Zaal said, dark bags under his eyes like several of the other professors. He waited a moment for the chatter to die down before continuing, his voice raspier than usual, “apologies for our disheveled appearance, the proctors and supervisors were up well past midnight reviewing and grading since one of the groups finished their operation much, much later than their peers.”

He looked pointedly at Shaya and Apricot’s group, earning them smirks from around the auditorium - as well as looks of sympathy, given that Shaya was far from the only person to be openly injured. Sathaea looked pale and weak, breathing even more difficult for her since one of her lungs was healing from multiple punctures, and Ren looked like a ‘mummy’ according to Apricot, his numerous wounds requiring his entire body to be wrapped in bandages. Only Samorn and Apricot had escaped relatively unscathed, the others sporting at least one bandage, though all of them looked drained.

A few of the other students were similarly injured, but none of the other paired teams sported such a large percentage of injured people. Beyond the students, the only other person to look half as bad was Bari, her jade-flecked eyes noticeably bloodshot from pushing herself too far to heal Shaya’s severe injuries, as well as those of her friends and allies. She insisted it was to make sure none of them made any excuses for their upcoming exams, but Shaya knew the hard-bitten woman was growing fond of them.

“While your previous mission was about dealing with the darker side of humanity and exploring your own feelings of taking life,” Zaal continued after a moment, “this one was about focusing on protecting life and learning to adapt your plans accordingly.

“As you’ve noticed, even an inexperienced, young mage can take life, but protecting innocent lives is far more difficult. While our powers can aid us, careless use of magic can just as easily snuff out lives unintentionally. This is known as collateral damage, but remember that this ‘collateral’ damage had family, friends, loves and passion just as you do.”

Shaya was surprised to hear him of all people say this, given how cold and calculating he was. Though he didn’t speak with any warmth or passion of his own, she had to admit that Zaal wasn’t just a callous monster. Her respect for him may even have been toeing a little bit into admiration, given how much good an intellect as sharp as his could do.

“As warmages, you will be asked to defend the Empire – and an Empire is nothing without its people,” he continued, pacing, “a mage who is too quick to accept the sacrifices of others is not rational, or calculating – they are lazy and foolish. Save what lives you can, but... know that you cannot save everyone. That some may have to die for the greater good - that is the brutal calculous of the world and one which you must grow accustomed to as warmages.”

Professor Celica stepped forward, projecting volunteered memories as Zaal led the cohort through the debrief.

Azreon allowed it this time as he had the last time, and Shaya focused on his debrief and memories to the exclusion of all else. The auditorium vanished as she watched him lead an attack on pirates in Kelahkese waters – her homeland’s waters – in order to free people they had taken and enslaved. He antagonized everyone around him, ally and enemy alike, treating them like lesser beings, and attacked without regard for his safety or those of the people who had to trust in him. He ordered the Kelahkese frigate he was upon to rush the enemy so he could board them and glowered at the ship’s captain when he refused orders to fire upon the enemy vessel.

From his tone, he was clearly offended by the Kelahkese’s dastardly and dishonourable use of blackpowder weapons, but could not hide his curiousity to see the powerful cannons in action.

Shaya noted that he still favoured his dueling style with a longsword, his flashy maneuvers denying valuable space to his allies even on the cramped deck of a ship. His power had grown enough to control three conjured blades with surprising dexterity, meaning he scythed through the malnourished and poorly trained pirates with four razor-sharp blades. Despite the naval action, he still wore his mythrite platemail, which allowed him to fight recklessly without fear of reprisal.

Parmenia’s lance had been his reluctant partners for the deployment, as everyone else had refused and her Lance’s pick was drawn last. Shaya noted Samorn’s interest in Parmenia’s work, matching her own for Azreon’s. Samorn’s rival gave up on reasoning with Azreon quickly, which Shaya couldn’t blame her for, and planned her part of the operation around him as if he and his team were a force of nature and not allies. With powerful enchantments, she coaxed pirates on the lower deck to unshackle all of the slaves working the oars and rescued them stealthily with dinghies that returned to the other Kelahkese frigate. Once the prisoners were safe, her lance boarded through a porthole and secured the pirate captain before he could destroy valuable maps and notes that could lead to additional hives of scum and villainy.

Shaya got the sense that Azreon wouldn’t make it into the top five that time, though Parmenia might. She couldn’t remember how well Parmenia had done in their previous deployment, but had no doubt that Samorn did.

Una had found a willing partner in Yllaneth, and the two worked well together. Yllaneth off-set much of Una’s aggression, which similarly tempered Yllaneth’s more conservative command style. Together, their lances had rescued prisoners from a gang of Lythranian beast tamers before they were fed to the corrupted menagerie. Shaya neighboured that blasted kingdom, and she still couldn’t believe how overrun by corrupted monsters it was – and how important taming them was to the Lythranians.

The first Kassarah – the traitorous one – really did a number on that land, its people, and their reputation. It’s hard to believe they haven’t managed to recover over the past millennium...

“Shaya,” Celica said politely from the stage, drawing Shaya out of her reverie, “with your permission, I would like to replay a portion of your memories from the latest deployment.”

“I’m sorry, professor,” Shaya replied, blushing, “but I would like to keep those memories between those on stage and myself.”

There was a moment of stunned silence, as this was only the second time permission was refused. Azreon, who had otherwise not been paying attention or taking notes, perked up at the whispers that ran across the auditorium.

“Are you certain?” Celica pressed, “We believe there is much your peers can learn from your mission.”

“I understand, professor Telemnar,” Shaya said, feeling guilty, “but I wish for them to remain personal, for the time. Perhaps they can be replayed at a later date?”

Celica looked to Zaal, who gave a twitch of a smile to Shaya before nodding to Celica.

“Very well,” Celica continued, “Apricot, do we have your permission to replay your memories of the assault?”

“Of course, mom-er, professor,” Apricot said, a tinge of red touching her cheeks at the slip up.

Shaya watched as Apricot’s group charged the keep. Cerud, her Amber mage, had ritually cast an absolutely enormous barrier to protect the tight group from crossbow fire on their approach and Shaya was impressed at how much punishment it could take despite the iron bolts striking it. Given that it took him a solid minute to cast and looked to be rather taxing, she wasn’t too surprised that such a barrier could absorb almost ten times as much damage than spells whipped up in seconds.

As they approached, Oraeus, Ral and Apricot opened fire with necrotic rays that drained defenders, causing them to drop unconscious or at least take much longer to re-cock their crossbows. Melda, despite her sweet, gentle demeanour, animated vines crawling up the walls of the keep and had them drag defenders out of the windows or crevices they fired from, flinging them to the ground twenty feet below. Meanwhile, Samorn’s songs bolstered them as they moved, allowing Bri and Licurian to return fire with their own arbalests, re-cocking them on the move using only their arms. They focused their fire on the crumbling parts of the keep rather than the arrow slits, their bolts finding homes in the defenders or at least driving them to cover.

Shaya idly wondered how much worse it would have been had the guards on the roof and third floor been present and lending their weight of fire to the defenders on the second floor.

Once the unit had made it to the gate, they stopped. Apricot opened a small portal, which Licurian tossed a flask of black liquid through before stepping aside. Bri stepped up, Ruby draining from her eyes as she put an open palm in front of the portal. Shaya heard glass shatter somewhere above Apricot in the memory, then screaming began as Bri unleashed a gout of flame through the opening. In Apricot’s peripheral vision, someone plummeted to their death, leaping of their own volition as hungry flames clung to them.

While Apricot and the Ruby mages continued their oil-and-fire tactic, alternating to stay fresh, Oraeus and Ral switched to execution duty. Using the arbalests taken from the Ruby mages, the two put fallen guards out of their misery, ensuring no enemy could flank them – or escape – once they breached the keep. Meanwhile, Melda stepped up to the gates, channeling immense amounts of Jade into one of the doors until it warped, its frame tearing away from the hinges that held it aloft.

The battle grew bloody as they rushed into the keep, Bri, Ral and Cerud leading the charge. While Bri’s magical flames didn’t incinerate the defenders instantly because of their iron armour, they still obfuscated the team’s actions. Another volley of crossbow bolts punched into Cerud’s barrier and shattered it, Shaya hearing someone grunt as the residual force carried a bolt into them. Ral returned fire with a wave of spectral energy that Oraeus directed with his foresight, but Shaya couldn’t see what effect it had beyond Bri’s raging flames. Then they were in a swirling melee.

The first few rooms went smoothly, but the group was flanked as they tried to go up the stairs. As Apricot glanced back, Shaya saw through her eyes a squad of soldiers pour from two separate rooms. Oraeus and Ral rushed back to support Samorn, but they were too slow. A soldier rushed the petite woman with a vicious grin on his face, but a sharp note from her violin seemed to stab into his mind, causing him to flinch backwards. While his head was tilted back, Samorn swept her violin’s bow over his throat, opening it better than any razor Shaya had seen in The Blight.

Apricot and Licurian rushed back to help as well, leaving Bri and Cerud to hold the stairs. Melda pulled Samorn back to safety, readying healing energy for the injured. Oraeus and Apricot leapt past Samorn to fight the remaining guards on that flank while Ral held a flank by themself, staff spinning and spectral scythe reaping. Several seconds later, Licurian ordered everyone to duck, lightning crackling between his fingers.

Electricity shot forward, surging through one guard in front of Ral and leaping to the next closest, still drawn to the iron covering their bodies. The first guard dropped instantly, hand clutching at their heart, while the second spasmed uncontrollably. On its third and final leap, the lightning only caused the guard to twitch for a second, but it was more than enough for Ral to crack their skull then finish off the spasming guard.

Licurian looked exhausted from the one spell, eyes bloodshot, and Apricot ordered him to pull back. But his spell had turned the tide, allowing Oraeus and Apricot to cut down the rest of the guards with an eerie level of coordination. Then an Arctiger leapt through the air at them. Apricot sidestepped it, but Oraeus rushed at her and shoved her back.

"What are you-" Apricot snapped, but stopped, eyes widening.