“Three cheers for Iona!” I shouted as the Valkyrie entered the School’s living room. After today, all of the School’s teams had competed at least once. Shirayuki had gotten a whole feast arranged for us.

With a single exception, the School of Sorcery and Spellcraft’s teams and contestants, regardless of category, had successfully won their first round. Granted a few events had enough time to have had several rounds go already… but the idea was the same.

Iona wasn’t a member of a School team, but she’d come with the School, and after today? I had to imagine everyone here was bragging as hard as they could that Iona was a member of the School, basking in the cast-off glory of her stunning victory.

The cynical part of me wanted to say that if she’d lost, the same people would quickly claim that while she attended the School, she wasn’t a member of any of the official teams.

I squashed that part, and tried to just enjoy the party.

One of the more outgoing members of the under-100 team coordinated the cheers.

“Hip hip!” He shouted.

“Hurray!” The rest of us roared.

“Hip hip!”

“Hurray!”

“HIP HIP!”

“HURRAY!”

Everyone politely piled onto Iona, slapping her back and handing her drinks. She wisely grabbed two of them, fending off further attempts by showing people her full hands, and the party was on.

There were almost 200 of us in total across all of the School’s teams. Add in that nobody partied like students did, the endless delicacies - and wholesale beer - that the fauns were busy marking up and selling to everyone, and a nearly unlimited budget?

We threw one hell of a party.

[The World Around Me] was fantastic for waking up. I didn’t need to crack my eyes open. I didn’t need to look around in confusion to see what was going on, and get a picture of… well… [The World Around Me].

The skill didn’t tell me how things had happened. Why was Auri hanging by a foot from the ceiling? Why were some of her flames weird? Why was there a pyramid of fruit pits on a desk? And why was Iona’s mallium armor shaped like that!?

On one hand, I didn’t have a hangover because of my new and improved biology. On the other, I hadn’t quite internalized that I was now a super lightweight. Half a drink and I was toast. Something I hadn’t quite considered - with my thicker blood, it took much longer for the alcohol to hit me, and when I kept going…

It was a good thing I was in a safe environment, with people who would look after me, and my own healing could instantly purge the alcohol from my system if I wanted to.

Some things were blessedly normal. Iona was snoring away next to me. We had blankets on, in roughly the right position. I’d liberated the proper number of pillows for myself from my lover. There were approximately the right number of clothes in the room.

There were no events today. I snuggled deeper into the blankets, spooning against Iona - the backpack - closed my eyes, buried my nose in her scented hair, and went back to sleep.

I slowly stirred awake, getting an excellent view of Iona doing her morning stretches.

“Morning.” I yawned, shuffling over in bed. It was so comfortable, I just didn’t want to leave.

“The mighty pharaoh awakens!” Iona teased me.

Another nifty thing with [The World Around Me] was I could see my face without a mirror. I had a charcoal stain on my chin for some reason.

It bugged me, on some deep instinctive level. It was wrong for it to be on my face. I furiously scrubbed at it, not caring that a pillow was a casualty.

“Okay. Pause. Back up. What happened last night?” I asked Iona. I hadn’t been around for all the misadventures, and while I could easily consult [Astral Archives], there was something about hearing the story, and trying to piece it together that was fun.

She grinned savagely at me.

“It all started with Auri getting into a keg, and everyone encouraging her.”

I could just imagine Auri getting drunk. She was a little gluttonous - totally not my fault, no matter what her companion skill said - and was a featherweight at best.

“How are we in a bed, and not in a pile of ashes?” I asked.

“Well, you see…” Iona finished her stretches and sat down next to me on the bed. I idly rubbed her leg while she regaled me about last night’s misadventures.

“... and when we pointed out that making a throne and sitting on it was high treason, and nobody here would be happy, you switched gears, and declared yourself a pharaoh. The fruit pharaoh. Then you started rummaging through the trash, and… tada, the mighty fruit-pip pyramid. We’ll be sure to embalm you with mango juice when you die, oh wisest ruler.” Iona teased me.

“No. There’s no way I did that.” I protested, finally consulting [Astral Archive].

My face fell as Iona’s grin grew wider.

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.” I dove back under the pillows, covering my head.

It was true.

It was all true.

And…

“Auri classed up!? While drunk!?!” I practically shrieked.

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.

I looked up at Auri, and cast [Long Range Identify].

[Mage - 456].

A quick check confirmed my companion bond skill had leveled up as well. Maybe that’s why the charcoal on my face had bothered me so much? A huge spike in my bond-influenced vanity?

I needed to figure out if being drunk impacted classing up or not. What happened if I wasn’t entirely sober inside my own soul? I imagined nothing would change… but I could also believe my guide would be just as drunk as I was.

“Please tell me she got something good.” I asked Iona. She whistled.

“Yeah. [Phoenix of the Divine Flame]. Look at her flames.” The Valkyrie pointed at Auri, still slowly spinning from one foot on the ceiling.

I looked, and after Iona pointed it out to me, I figured out what the weirdness with parts of Auri’s flames - her body - was.

They were the same type of divine fire Selene and Lunaris had granted Iona during the fight. The same ones Auri had seized and used for herself.

“Okay, she probably picked a good class.” I allowed. Should I start calling her Promethea?

Iona’s eyes briefly unfocused and refocused.

“It’s not a goddess-blessed class.” She sounded surprised. “Just a very good one. Probably. I don’t remember what her stats were earlier.”

I was briefly tempted to make a joke about Iona not doing the math properly anyways, but no. That would be too mean. I did send off a quick prayer of thanks to the moon goddesses, figuring that they deserved some credit for Iona’s win and Auri’s fantastic class. Then I changed the topic with all the subtlety of a brick thrown through a window.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” I asked her.

“I know how to hold my alcohol.” She teased me, ruffling my hair. Goddesses, that felt good. She knew how to hit just the right spots. I popped back up.

“No, I meant about yesterday. Rolland. Beating them, and winning.” I clarified.

“Ah.” Iona said, going quiet. Her fingers subtly twitched as we sat in silence. She took a deep breath.

“I feel… empty, mostly.” She said. “It was incredibly satisfying in the moment, but exactly zero of my problems got fixed. I still don’t know what I’m doing next. I don’t know what happened with the Valkyries. Heck, there’s a chance I’ve made things worse by embarrassing Rolland like this. I look back and ask… what was the point?”

Iona despondently stared out into space.

I squeezed her hand.

“I know what the point was.” I tenderly, softly said.

“What?” Iona asked.

“Petty revenge!” I beamed at her with an unrepentant grin.

Iona’s mouth slowly widened into a grin, then she cracked up laughing. I joined in, and the tension vanished.

“I guess you could call it that!” Iona roared, quickly ending up in a good mood.

“Plus, the thing with your goddesses had to be good for you, right? You got to show them off in front of the entire world!”

Iona jumped out of bed and started pacing around our little room.

“Yes. That was…” She trailed off, a dreamy look on her face, her fingers moving like she was looking for the right words.

“Indescribable?” I suggested.

Iona twirled around and snapped her fingers at me.

“Yes! That’s it! Exactly!”

“Brrrrpt?” A sleepy Auri wanted to know why we were walking on the ceiling.

“Auri, you’re upside down.” I said.

“BRRRPT!” She protested the impossibility of the situation.

“What do you think is more likely? The humans on the ceiling and the bird on the floor, or the mighty phoenix in the sky, and the puny humans on the ground?” Iona asked Auri.

“Brrrpt!!” Auri liked Iona’s logic. “Brrrpt, brrpt brpt.”

I facepalmed.

“Auri, I’ve already made a nest with Iona. So to speak.”

“Brrrpt.”

“No, I am not making a bigger nest!” I protested as Iona started to laugh.

“You losing an argument to a bird with a brain the size of your pinky will never stop being funny.” She said.

“Yeah, yeah…” I complained as Auri freed herself.

“Brrrpt!” She shot off to get breakfast.

“How are you feeling about the Valkyries? Now that you’ve had some time to process.” I asked Iona. I hadn’t wanted to poke and prod when it was fresh, and when Iona was heaven-bent on exacting revenge.

She sat down heavily next to me, an explosive breath leaving her.

“I don’t know.” She admitted. “I know we’ve been putting off the ‘future’ talk, but now it’s even more up in the air.”

We had, by mutual unspoken agreement, not talked about what was going to happen with us after the School. The [Oracle] did not have a good forecast for us… not that they could be trusted in the first place. It looked like we were, surprise surprise, doing it now.

What would Iona say? The irony of thinking what Iona would say when talking with her wasn’t lost on me in the slightest. Linnet was also good inspiration.

“Why did you decide to become a Valkyrie in the first place?”

Iona was quiet for a long moment, her hands clenching. I put my hand on her arm, letting her know I was here for her.

“Stories. Luck. And disaster.” She said, and I stuck my chin on her shoulder, saying nothing, encouraging her to keep speaking.

“I had a friend growing up. Lux. We were two peas in a pod, although she could be a bit of an airhead at times. We did everything together. Played. Learned. Explored. Just the two of us, in our little village. We… I…”

Iona shook her head, taking a deep breath.

“I fucked up. We were playing in an old mine, and I hit a support beam. Collapsed the entire thing on her head. One of the Valkyries - Alruna - was there. Just sheer luck. I didn’t think there was anything left for me in the village, and I wanted to be out there. To be strong enough to shield others. To protect the Lux’s of the world. Alruna accepted me, and the rest is history.”

That sounded quite a lot like what happened with me and Lyra. An accident. A stupid, preventable accident, that I knew better than to do.

I opened my mouth, almost sharing my story again, then closed it.

No no, this wasn’t the time to make this about me. This was about Iona.

“Well, you’re still a Valkyrie, regardless of what the organization is doing, right?”

Iona gave a sharp nod.

“Yes. Even if I’m the last one standing. I am, and forever will be, a Valkyrie.”

“And what does that mean to you?”

Iona straightened up.

“There’s lots to it. In short though? My [Vow].”

We’d shared our respective restriction skills with each other ages ago, and I instantly recalled Iona’s.

First, protect the meek.

I will defend those who cannot defend themselves.

I will act with honor and with integrity.

I will not lie.

I will not be silent in the face of injustice.

My shield might break, but my spirit never will.

I will be the sheltering light, driving away darkness.

I will be generous when I can.

I will never betray another, nor my conscience.

I will act with temperance and valor.

I will smite evil wherever I find it.

I will not sit by idly while evil triumphs, nor will I cower in the face of it.

I will be a force for righteous justice.

I will always remember you.

“Well, I don’t know what the future holds. But we’ll find a way. Together.” I reached out and grabbed Iona’s hand.

She nodded.

“We will. Got any ideas on the how? I have no idea how I’m going to feed Fenrir after we graduate, short of retreating to the wilderness and carving out a territory for him, and true wilderness that can support a predator of his size is hard to come by.”

“Alright. We need a base of operations, or more importantly, a home. We need money. Sad fact of life. I think Amber might be able to help me out, she should owe me some money.” I technically had invested with her… I just wasn’t sure what the status of all that was. “Then we find problems, and go deal with them. Together. Let’s see if we can build something, you, me, Auri, Fenrir. I don’t know what it’ll look like. I don’t know what the future holds. Heck, maybe we should try wandering without a base of operations for a while to see if that works for us. Go visit the Han empire, there’s enough people who need defending and healing there right now to keep us busy for years. Assuming we can find enough food. But there are enough problems in the world to keep us busy forever. What do you think?” I stuck my hand out at her.

Iona hesitated, indecision warring on her face. My heart thudded in my chest as I waited for her response

“It’s a pretty picture.” She finally said. “I need to see if there’s anything from the Valkyries first. If we have a new place or not. Plus, where do you imagine we make a home? You are an Immortal, and even with your… dubious artifacts… mortal lands aren’t going to be that friendly.”

“Exterreri.” Marcelle’s pitch was still fresh in my mind. “Although, I’ll have to see. If there’s somewhere better, I’m all ears. Either way, I want to be with you. I want to stay with you.”

Iona nodded.

“Same here. We’ll figure something out. Together.”

That was all I wanted to hear.

“Together.” I reaffirmed.

The middle rounds of the Gladiator Gauntlet flashed by. Iona dropped out after beating Rolland, claiming that she’d done what she came here for and further participating was pointless. Her second round opponents were delighted for the bye. The organizers were a little less amused. Iona was a hit, and they were disappointed they couldn’t have another round with her in the arena, packing the stadium.

To my great amusement, they discovered they had absolutely no leverage. Prizes? Iona didn’t care if they increased them or decreased them. Future competition? The same. No matter what they offered her, she just didn’t care, and it was hilarious to watch them get increasingly frustrated over the whole thing.

Her winnings were more than enough to pay Pascal, who was very happy to remind us that the 16% interest was regardless of how quickly we managed to pay it off. I was probably going to leave this part out of my letter to Amber… I wanted to watch her have an aneurysm when I told her in person the next time we met! Whenever that was.

Speaking of byes, the School got a round 2 bye as well. Shirayuki had gotten us paired against the Yellow Jackets for round 2, and we were ready to humiliate them after their backstab a few years ago. We held something of a grudge.

They never showed up, electing to take the ‘minor’ hit of being an awkward no-show - made less awkward by Iona dropping out, to some minor grumbling - instead of fighting and losing.

They were all a bunch of thugs anyway.

The Vanishing Tower were our round 3 opponents, and the entire way the Phantasym Magocracy operated made my skin crawl. The basic idea was sound. A powerful wizard erected a tower for research and study, a fortified position for themself against the wilds - and other, less scrupulous wizards. It was an even toss up if they’d establish themselves in a town or village, or if people would come to the new, protected area and settle down.

Then, in classic master-apprentice fashion, they’d find a number of promising young individuals, and pass on their knowledge, raising up the next generation.

All good. Where it got weird - because of course they couldn’t just have a normal, civilized society - was there was a deep-seated cultural belief that part of the knowledge transfer involved sex. I didn’t want to know the exact details and reasoning behind it, because ew. Male, female, regardless of the gender of the master and apprentice.

And the master of the Vanishing Tower clearly had a type.

I was more than happy to stomp them as fast as I could.

One of the Aerie flocks was up next. Given that every harpy could innately fly on their own, they automatically negated half of our team. The rumor mill said the tiebreaker rules were introduced because of them. Ling Li and I were the only ones who could fly without potions, although Sarama had a small supply of them for Sir Polarton and Pascal. Iris had enough range with her sorcery, and Sir Polarton and Pascal were both tough enough to make good use of the tiebreakers.

Then we were in the final 8. The usual set of powerhouses were present, and Calador, the famous war college located over an active volcano in the Han empire was next. That was one hell of an aesthetic.

We clobbered them, although Iona let me know that their strategy game team had managed to win their entire tournament.

Like.

Their members secured 15 of the top 16 spots, with one elf from the Academy slipping in 7th. Calador was the place to become a [Tactician], [Strategist], or [General]. The School was more of an all-rounder.

Being a good leader didn’t make a good fighter, although the match was close. We only had 6 people to their 7, and we felt the lack of Morning Breeze hard.

The elven Academy were our semi-final opponents, but in an ironic twist, they were easier than Calador. A twist of the mortal-Immortal divide on Pallos was that mortals tended to have higher levels at a young age. Immortals had eternity to level up, and most of them took the ‘why take the risk?’ approach. The presence of powerful Immortals overseeing large stretches of land and dealing with problems before they could threaten anyone had a cascading effect where there simply weren’t enough threats or dangers to get the high levels at a young age.

There was something there with that thought. An idea of ‘total possible experience’ and the distribution of who got it. It all fell apart when non-combatants entered the picture, along with danger multipliers - or lack thereof - but there was something there.

Regardless of the low threats and relatively low levels, they were still elves, drawn from three different nations into a single great center of learning. I was completely sure it was the same one Awarthril had suggested I head towards once upon a time, and they had perfected gaining experience, leveling, and class quality over the eons.

It all balanced out at young ages.

Lastly, we were up against one of our eternal rivals. The great academy of the nobility, the place where all the young [Princes] and [Heiresses] spent several years getting to know each other in their rarified stratosphere, making connections and doing gods knows what young nobles got up to when crammed together.

Hapensburgs.