Chapter 11 - Part 3

"I can't believe I slept through all that!" Mare slumped in his chair stuffing a sweet bun in his mouth.

"You're pretty deaf" Haidend added.

"What did you say?" Maree joked. Haiden laughed but in the end he wished he had some support back then, maybe things would have went differently if Camila and Mare were there from the start. But he didn't blame them.

"What would you have done anyways." Camila rolled her eyes.

"Sit and watch the show, of course." This earned Marree a slap on the arm from Camila. "Ouch! That hurt!"

"Good." she shoveled a spoon of thick stew with an unknown but delicious meat. "I can't believe that fuckface knows such advanced spells." she said while chewing.

"Yeah, Master Rwoy said that everyone here had tutors."

"Sure did." Camila confirmed. "But no one's really supposed to take them seriously."

"I used to bribe mine with a few coins and dropped him off in the kitchen. Ah, good times." Maree looked like he was reminiscing somee mischief from when he was young. Camila nodded and laughed.

"My tutor preferred to read books. She's the one who introduced me to this!" Camila dug through her bag and held up one of her indecent books. "I owe her so much, too bad all we did was read instead of training. Maybe I would have been able to handle standard spells by now, but all I cared about was a bit of control and finding out if Faric would ever get back with Ianna after she betrayed him with his twin brother."

The more he got to know his friends the bigger the gap grew between them. They were raised with a silver spoon, Haiden didn't even know if he had a bed and a warm meal every night.

"You're so lucky." he said under his breath, luckily they didn't hear him. "So, what do we do now? I don't think I can beat Bras." he confessed.

"You have enough Fios as an entire battalion and you didn't even have to practice much to pass the evaluation. Unlike someone we know." Camila added in a whisper. But little did they know that he had devoured every book that he put his hands on. He might have innate abilities like his empathy that allowed him to better understand how to Wield but he believed his dedication was what made him a better Wielder than his fellow students.

"Hey!" Maree gave her a deathly stare, luckily next week his torture will end." This was his last lunch together with his friends. After Today, lunch will become a revision class.

"You'll be fine, Maree. Second time's the charm." Haiden smiled at his friend to reassure him, but this somehow irritated Maree even more.

"Of course!" he said and turned his attention to his food.

"I need to figure something out by..." Haiden trailed off.

"End of summer. It marks the day the Sisters begin their alignment that culminates on the End Cycle." Camila clued him in.

"Right... but how?"

"I don't know. Doing their moon thing or something." Camila looked confused at Haiden.

"No! Getting ready to fight Bras!" He took a big gulp of plumpberywine, and sighed. Haiden had rotting fruit more alcoholic than this, but it was sweet and refreshing.

"Why don't we look at the library for any books on Standard spells?" Maree suggested. He poked the unknown meat around his plate, only eating the vegetables.

"We won't find anything beyond Minor spells." Haiden replied.

"How do you know?"

"I went through all they have on Minor spells the first few weeks I was here, Cams. Then after I couldn't find anything more advanced I started reading some weird ass books on strange facts." He reminisced about his time with Tasgal in the infirmary. He thought about him. He wondered where the Ash'en cadet was? What was he doing? Why was he avoiding him? No answer came to him, but a daunting thought that maybe Tasgal was avoiding Haiden because of what Bras had said about him being a Yeva'Ah. He pushed the thought away and made plans to go by the training pit and look for him.

"What if we ask that old hag Liv if she could lend us some?" Maree suggested.

"Maree! Stop calling her that!"

"What? She loves it." Camila rolled her eyes at her friend. Haiden couldn't help but think that two people had suggested going to the library today so he might as well give it a go, and it so happened that the way from the Dining Hall to the Library passes by the training pit.

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Haiden had stopped using heat cloak ever since the first rays of true sun hit the Academy's grounds. The refreshing breeze of early Spring was invigorating and pleasant. While others preferred the cozy atmosphere, Haiden enjoyed the brisk, clean air.

Just as planned he stopped by the training pit after lunch but to his dismay Tasgal was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he met Vick standing on the sidelines watching Kip and another Ash'en spar. Haiden peeled off his eyes off of their chiseled bodies and forced himself to greet Vick.

Although Haiden was dwarfed by the presence of any Ash'en cadet, Vick had managed to look down on him in more ways than just height. The man sported a sickening smirt, all too knowing, all too happy about it. Haiden knew he lied when he told him he hadn't seen Tasgal. It irked him so that he imagined punching the dirt blonde man squarely in the face with a satisfying crunch. But Creators know that was only possible in his mind. He was certain that Vick could kill him in two moves. He held his tongue and left with no goodbye.

At the Library, Master Liv was just as elusive as Tasgal. They had scoured the library looking for anything on spells above Minor, hoping that maybe Haiden had missed something but to no avail. They went through half of the books in the Wielding section only to find tired eyes and sore arms.

"That was a waste of time." Camila laughed nervously and flopped on the chair next to Maree.

"Told you." Haiden followed shortly.

"What now?" Maree asked with hands behind his head he leaned backwards and closed his eyes. He was ready for a nap.

"I don't know." Haiden admitted. He was frustrated but he still had time to figure this out. "Let's take a break for today, or a week." he smiled looking at Maree.

"Good. I have a lot to catch up." Camila pulled a book from her bag and began reading. Haiden fell deep on his thoughts on the matter only to be distrubed now and again by the oos and gasps coming from Camila.

Upon sundown they had packed up but just as Haiden got up from his chair Master Liv wandered from behind a bookshelf, seemingly out of nowhere. Haiden's hope rekindled he rushed to her.

"Master Liv. Could I have a moment of your time." he asked coming up to her from the front.

"Oh dear! She jumped backwards in a delayed scare. "Oh, just a lovely young Wielder. Gave me a proper scare.You did." she laughed. Haiden looked back at his friends worried and the back at the old woman. As always she leaned onto her staff. "How can I help you, dearie?" she asked.

"I was wondering if there's anything on more advanced spells?" he asked hopeful.

"Advanced... You mean Standard spells? Why in the Creator's name would you need something like that, young man. You're but a hatchling." she shook her head. "You won't find anything here of the sort. These are dangerous spells only for the experienced Wielders." Haiden sagged his shoulders and lowered his gaze.

"Thank you, Master Liv." just as he turned to leave the old woman grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"You won't find any books on Standard spells in this library, but books on the Trials of the Three Sisters is an entirely different matter." She gave a dry chuckle that ended in a fit of cough.

"A-are you alright, Master Liv?" he asked.

"Quite, Never felt better! You might want to visit the history section under bookshelf G8. And tell Rwoy he needs to visit more often. If he can find me." she laughed again and coughed again while retreating behind another bookshelf mumbling something about wondering if that was the way to the lavatory.

"Master Rwoy..." he turned to his friends with wide eyes. "Master Rwoy told me to check the library!" Camila and Maree looked at each other as if he was loosing his mind but indulged him nonetheless.

"She said in the history section, G8, right?" Camila said.

They all rushed through the countless rows of bookshelves until the golden plaque said History. Luckily this was a section Camila frequently visited and knew her way around. She led them to Bookshelf G, and on the 8th shelf they found a heavy tome named aptly "Trials and Success. Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines." Haiden read.

Maree turned confused to his friends. "They're all synonyms."

"They are...I don't know what to say about the credibility of this book, Haiden."

"Master Rwoy wanted me to find it. I'm sure it has something important that will help me defeat Bras. Right?" he asked, uncertain, maybe hopeful that that was Master Rwoy's intention.

"Who knows, maybe he wants you to fail." Maree earned himself two stern glances from Haiden and Camila. "Creators, I'm just joking."

"Well, I'm sure it has something important in it. Bag it and let's go. It's getting dark and who knows who will be waiting to ambush you this time." Camila held open Haiden's bag. It barely fit in it.

The three young Wielders retreated to their rooms and Haiden as always preferred to stay up late, flipping through the book. Using the spell Screech had shown him. Haiden was still in awe at the simple yet effective spell. It used just as little energy as the stones but it was easier to handle. It moved just by a single thought of his mind since it was mostly just his pure Fios. The stone had to be maneuvered and required concentration. He briefly wondered where the creature was as he hasn't heard anything from it ever since. But he was certain It will come back, so he pushed that trail of through aside and read through the book finding exactly what the book title indicated.

It first began with the format of the Trials. There were three trials, one for each sister. First, the blue sister, the competitors must traverse dangerous terrain. Secondly, the green sister, the competitors' control will be tested, and finally, the red sister, a tournament that will decide the winner. The book stated that there is no restriction to who can compete. This meant that the trials were not restricted to Haiden's own year. He will be facing Wielders from all years and Ash'en alike. It meant that his fear of Bras knowing Standard spells was illogical since second and third years will definitely bring Standard spells to the trials. And the Ash'en...Haiden remembered the trophies that lined the cafeteria walls. He was in for more than he had initially thought. Pushing his anxiety away he continued to read through the book, hoping to find something more that will help him. The tome proved to be only adding to his fears. It continued with the rules of combat, which were quite vague which allowed it to be skewed based on personal interpretation. There were a few restrictions that he made sure to commit to his mind and the guidelines were the most basic and logical notions. But, at the end of the book, a small section named "Rewards" caught his eye. Among the monetary reward of a few coins, a small parade and the trophy, the winner received the title of Esquire.

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"No way! That's brilliant!" Camila jumped from her chair leaning over the food to take a look at the excerpt from the book.

"Do you think this is what Master Rwoy intended for you to find?" Maree asked, enjoying his Dreg soup.

"I don't know, but it's the only thing in there that makes sense." Haiden snapped the book closed and grabbed a sweet bun.

"It must be!" Camila said excitedly. "Don't you understand? If you're made Esquire, Bras or anyone else for that matter, won't be able to touch you!"

"Without any consequence." Maree added.

"Without any consequence." Camila repeated. Haiden wasn't sure this would work, he looked at Maree.

"Then why is he still trying to beat on you?" Haiden didn't want to say anything about being a Yeva'Ah so he held his tongue. Camila and Maree looked at eachother with creased brows.

"We didn't tell you, did we? My family denounced their titles a long time ago. My ancestors were self made merchants that came to own a lot of land in the east which earned them the title of Baron. But my parents don't believe in class and status and hated all the events they had to organize and attend just to keep up. They say we've worked like everyone out there for what we have."

"This is why Bras hates him because he thinks he's family are traitors to the Empire for denouncing." Camila added. Haiden didn't know what to say, he always thought the reason why Bras bullied him was because he thought that Maree was a Yeva'Ah. He was glad he didn't say anything, he would have risked exposing himself.

"I understand. So, if I get Esquire he has no choice but to leave me alone?"

"Not quite." Camila laughed nervously. "He won't be able to kill you. That's something, isn't it?"

"It's better than nothing and besides, I do like the idea of not dying." Haided laughed.