Ranvir felt like he’d just joined the academy. His legs were burning as sweat poured from him like they were still in the height of summer. The only saving grace was the nausea, or rather, the distinct lack thereof. He could only thank the Goddess that he hadn’t lost all of his strength during his illness.

And he could thank the Goddess that he wasn’t the only one suffering either. Esmund seemed just as pummeled as Ranvir felt, Sansir and Grev were noticeably more worn out than usual.

“It’s just the first couple days.” Teacher Vigo explained, as he walked amongst exhausted students. “Most of you didn’t keep up the training and are suffering now for it, but in a few days you’ll set into ice again. Five more minutes then we’ll move on.”

“He’s in a good mood.” Grev said, though he kept quiet enough that Vigo didn’t overhear him.

“I think he knows better than to push us too hard after the stunt they pulled with the exam.” Ranvir said. He was already beginning to feel a little better, though he felt a twinge of pain in his leg. It was the only mark from his injury. Stjarna hadn’t even left a scar on his leg and even that should fade. It was also a lot less of an involved healing, so Ranvir wasn’t surprised that it had left less of a mark than on his eyes.

“Yeah, you guys going to talk with any of the teachers?” Grev asked. Esmund shook his head, but didn’t say anything.

“I think I understand why they did it.” Ranvir replied.

“And the experience was invaluable.” Sansir added, though he sounded no happier than the rest. “I don’t think there was any other way to learn how to handle that kind of situation.”

“Alright boys! Back at it, give me two more laps.” Master Vigo yelled.

Ranvir stifled a groan.

As they made another round around the perimeter of the compound, Ranvir couldn’t stop from staring at the new construction. Even from when they’d begun running to then, there’d been noticeable progress.

At first, they’d been digging a pit on the south-western corner of the campus, but now Ranvir could see the shapes of seats and a stage take place. It was rough work, what made him curious were the people he saw working there, the rather small, amount of people.

On his second pass, he couldn’t stop his curiosity and embraced the pressure. His step faltered for a second, but he caught himself and continued.

“Do you guys feel that?” Ranvir asked, looking at the crowd of workers.

He looked to the others. Sansir and Grev had been keeping pace with Es and Ranvir for this run. They all shook slightly, their steps becoming less sure as they briefly entered tether-space before embracing the pressure.

They all stared at the site, before passing. Esmund even going so far as to stare back after they passed it. “Something’s not right…” He finally said.

Ranvir rolled his eyes, turning to the others. Grev shook his head. “I don’t know what it is either. They’re tethered, that’s all I’m getting.”

“I’m not getting much more than that either. Why?” Sansir asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Ranvir took his time, coming up with a reply. Partly because he wanted to phrase it right, but mostly because he needed to gather the air necessary.

“They’re all second stage.” He said. “Or higher. I sensed at least three Masters down there.”

“Are you sure?” Grev asked, skeptically. “You might be confusing them for second stage and the others are first stage?”

Ranvir shook his head, he was about to continue when he caught a hint of something behind him. “We’ll discuss later, run faster.”

They looked at him curiously, but nodded. Esmund pushed himself slightly ahead of Ranvir, despite him increasing his own speed. Sansir and Grev easily pulled away to their cruising pace. Moments later a weight moved up on Ranvir. He couldn’t detect it through his normal senses, but to his spirit it felt like a boulder was rolling towards him. A boulder made of obsidian. Inevitably moving ever onwards.

Master Vigo appeared to Ranvir’s left. The Master was giving him a suspicious look. Ranvir tried to return an innocent one, but he had trouble maintaining a steady expression. His gaze flickered to the collar of Vigo’s uniform, hiding his neck. From what he could figure out, the Master had been the one who’d fought Ranvir during the test. The ‘flesh-torn’.

Ranvir felt he’d been targeted specifically by the Master, but could come up with no reason for it other than blind intuition. Though, Ranvir was beginning to trust his intuition the longer he went to the academy.

“Student Ranvir.” Master Vigo said, sounding like he was doing nothing more strenuous than a morning stroll, before passing him and running up to the head of the group. They were getting close to the field where they’d begun and Ranvir was already searching out the place he would take a rest.

“One more round!” Vigo yelled loud enough for all the students to hear it. “Embrace the pressure.”

Ranvir, who hadn’t let go of the pressure, groaned at the idea of another lap, but kept going. Multiple students stopped to press a finger against their chest.

“Did I say you could stop?” Master Vigo yelled. “I said another lap, and to embrace the pressure. Nowhere in that instruction were you given leave to rest.”

Students tried to run and embrace the pressure, but many of them took too long between entering tether-space and embracing the pressure. Instead of staggering a step, or having to correct their balance, they were already falling by the time they regained control of their body.

Ranvir was properly heaving for breath by the time he passed the workers again. Two dozen tethered and he was certain three masters working.

How do you get access to a workforce of twenty plus tethered, with more than a few masters? Ranvir wondered. Why do you need access to that many tethered. That must be prohibitively expensive.

Looking on, he watched as a man—who felt more like a muddled mix of stones than obsidian—shattered a boulder half his size, then with the flick of a wrist lifted the entirety into a wheelbarrow without once touching it. Another man, like ancient and powerful obsidian, dragged the wheelbarrow away like it hadn’t been filled with at least a thousand kilos of stone.

Someone who needs something built fast. He thought, turning away from the construction as he sensed Grev fall back.

“This is the home stretch! Come on! Put some speed on!” He spoke with a grin, causing Ranvir to roll his eyes.

“You…” Ranvir said. “Never… do this.”

Grev shot a glance behind him before winking. “Speed, Go! Go! Go!”

Ranvir sensed the inevitable boulder of pure black glass behind him, just as well as Grev did. His friends’ senses might be lacking in the distance department, but this close a Master was impossible to miss.

Ranvir put his head down and pushed harder.

“There we go! Everybody!”

Ranvir rolled his eyes at his friend, but kept pushing the speed. Last minute sprints wasn’t something Vigo usually enforced since he had other training for them afterwards and running themselves dry from sprinting wasn’t necessarily a good thing. That didn’t make him stop Grevor, who soon had the entire group whipped into a sprint.

Ranvir whimpered to himself as he rested on the field, as the others too recovered.

“You should all thank young Grevor.” Master Vigo began. “I was going to make you run another round before I let you get some rest, but him whipping a proper froth out of you warmed my black stone heart.”

Ranvir couldn’t see it from where he lay, but he knew on the back of Vigo’s uniform he actually had an obsidian heart embroidered. Denoting his mastery in the Discipline of Body.

“So I’m going to take this time with you and talk about something else instead.” Master Vigo continued. “I wanted to talk about your first trimester test, more specifically what you got out of it.”

Ranvir frowned to himself. Usually, physical was just that. Physical. Turn your mind off and obey orders kind of training. Not listen and think.

Ranvir sat up watching the Master.

“So first, I’ll go through and ask you all. What did you learn from the test?”

Ranvir watched the other students, no one wanted to raise their hands. No one wanted to be the first. Until one hand came up slowly.

“It was a lot more chaotic and scarier than I thought it would be.” Esmund said.

“Yes, that is as good a lesson to take from it as any.” Master Vigo said. If Ranvir didn’t know any better, he would say the Master seemed uncomfortable. “War is chaotic and scary. It’s loud and terrifying and people are screaming.”

Ranvir wished he’d taken the time to check, but he was still pretty sure of what he was about to say as he lifted his hand. “Most, if not all of the students who did really well on the test, the ones that got picked out, were all in weapon class.”

“Correct.” Master Vigo said. “Part of what we teach in weapon class, is how chaotic combat can be, and how hectic a big fight can be. In addition as pre-stage tethered, you’re generally as helpless as any tethered the Ralith oppresses. I said this last trimester, but I’ll say it again. People who learn a weapon have added another tool in their arsenal against the flesh-torn, both to kill and to survive.”

The Master took a long circuit in front of the class, looking each sweaty and exhausted student in the eye. “How much free time is your life worth? Three hours a week? six?