The Crown Tournament [Chapters 1-18] (Patreon)

Hey peeps!

Here is the opening to Crown Tournament, all the way through the first bout. Hopefully you all enjoy! I'll be uploading the rest of the book throughout the month, for peeps to enjoy.

I was going to post the unedited version, but it's very rough. I need to make a few more changes before it goes up. Enjoy this until then!

Shami

CHAPTER ONE

Everyone in the orphanage dreaded being picked.

When House Mother Mila had us clean the common room and line up for a shower, we all knew what was coming. The others were afraid, but I became icy.

“Amir, you’re next,” House Mother Mila called. “Hurry, child.”

I stepped forward, trying not to think.

House Mother Mila’s gentle hand pressed against the center of my back as she pushed me under the showerhead. She rinsed my thick and curly black hair and then lathered the soap across my tan skin. She was hasty with the washing since there were twenty-five kids to get through.

Icy water cascaded over me, numbing my body as much as my mind. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I hated the water ever since my mother was… Ever since her death.

The East-Sea Raiders had invaded our shore town just a few days after my fifth birthday. My mother had tried to flee with me.

I shuddered.

This was why I hated thinking.

Images of that day played at the edges of my thoughts, clawing their way into my imagination. A raider whose face was riddled with pockmarks. Timo, the kind blacksmith, being dragged beneath the sea. I couldn’t escape those images. Every day in the orphanage, a parade of dark thoughts stomped through my mind.

“Amir,” House Mother Mila whispered. Her comforting voice brought me back to the present. “You’re all done. Get ready now. Quickly, quickly.” She ran a hand over my head, pushing my hair to the side of my face so it wouldn’t get into my eyes.

I stumbled away from the shower, trembling as I gathered my ratty clothes and pulled them on. Rosewood Orphanage was too small for the number of people who lived here. And new kids arrived every day. The East-Sea Raiders had been more active, or so I heard the adults whisper.

Kids disappeared on the regular, too, but they didn’t go on to live glorious new lives.

Plenty of “parents” only wanted children so they could work them to death. They adopted kids to send them to the rice fields or help build ships or even mine for them. The children they adopted were free workers, not part of the family. Sometimes, the kids ran away from their forced labor and returned to Rosewood.

They were the lucky ones.

Some other kids…

Some were never heard from again. They were taken by vile men. I didn’t know what the men did for a living, but House Mother Mila never looked them in the eyes when they came.

What if they were secretly East-Sea Raiders? What if they were adopting kids to put them to work on their boats? What if I was taken by them one day?

Once boys reached a certain age, they were always picked up to be workers. I was six and a half now. Big enough. They could take me. They would.

Luna was the next to stumble from the icy showers. We all shared one room—the boys and the girls—and she hurried to her bed to grab her clothes. We all wore the same outfit as well. A gray shirt and pants, worn at the edges since each had been passed down from one kid to the next.

Once dressed, Luna turned to me, her brown eyes wide and innocent, like a little deer. She hurried to my side, still shivering.

“Amir,” she said, her throat tight. “I don’t want to go.”

I nodded. I didn’t know what to say.

Luna held her hands together and kept them pressed against her chest. “The older girls said Rebecca was taken b-by men who fed her to manticores. Do y-you think that’s true, Amir?”

I had no idea. I hoped not. Desperately hoped not.

My silence didn’t help her. Luna’s eyes grew watery. She pulled at her short, brown hair, her fingers laced in her locks.

“I don’t want to be picked,” she whispered, staring at the floor. “I-I don’t want to be eaten.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder. Luna glanced up, tears streaming down her face. She was the same age as Rebecca. Seven. Maybe Luna would be picked. Unless, for some reason, she wasn’t allowed at the lineup…

With my chest knotting in anxiety, I glanced around. The shabby beds had wool blankets and feather-stuffed pillows. I walked over, tore open a bit of the casing, and removed one of the soft, tiny feathers. Occasionally, a kid inhaled one in the middle of the night. They would cough for several minutes straight. Sometimes an hour. The tiny feathers always got stuck in their throats and refused to come out.

I offered the feather to Luna as another child walked into the room to get dressed.

“Swallow it,” I whispered. “And then tell the house mother you’re sick.”

Luna grabbed the tiny feather from my palm, her own hand shaky. It took her a moment to realize my plan. She’d have a fit of coughing the moment she swallowed it. And House Mother Mila never put sick kids in front of potential parents.

When Luna met my gaze, her face squished in worry. “You swallow one, too.”

If we were all sick…

Maybe… No. That was silly. House Mother Mila would see right through our plan. Adults were smart. But if it was just one… Maybe Luna would get away with it.

A bell rang throughout Rosewood Orphanage. That meant the new parents were here.

House Mother Mila hurried everyone to their beds. Most of them hadn’t bathed, but we were out of time. They changed into new outfits and quickly took their places at the foot of their beds. I did the same.

Luna wed her feather and then went to the house mother, just as I had told her to. She started coughing, so loud, it drew everyone’s attention. Her face turned red, her eyes watered—she couldn’t stop, even when House Mother Mila scolded her.

“Go outside,” the house mother said, guiding Luna to the back door. “Go to the well and get a drink. Wait there for me. I’ll see you afterward.”

Which meant Luna had gotten her wish. She wouldn’t be here for the lineup.

Then House Mother Mila clapped her hands and smoothed our hair as she walked down the center of the room. “Everyone, stand straight,” she said with a smile, but there was no smile in her tone. “You might find a loving home today!”

Not a single word. Most of us didn’t even look up.

House Mother Mila exited the room to gather the potential parents. Everyone listened to the creak of the floorboards as she walked up the small hallway and then back down a moment later. When she returned, she was accompanied by a single man.

He had eyes like coals in a fire.

The man’s stiff hair was black with bits of silver, and he stood tall and proud. I had always thought House Mother Mila was so tall—so much taller than me—but compared to this new man, she seemed small.

The man had obvious muscle. It reminded me of the East-Sea Raiders.

Maybe he was one of them.

He even wore a strange outfit. A chest piece made of black scales, with thick pants, leather boots, and a pair of gloves. His cloak was a dark red—scary dark—and it hung over him like a waterfall of blood.

I already hated this man. I hoped beyond hope he wouldn’t even look in my direction.

“Here are all the children,” House Mother Mila said. She motioned to us with a brief gesture. “They’re all so well behaved. If you have any questions—”

“I don’t,” the man said, cutting her off with a voice as rough as sand.

“O-Oh. Pardon me. Perhaps you want to at least speak to the children?”

The man stepped forward. Each footfall was heavy. The floorboards groaned. Everyone stood stiffer and straighter than before.

When he drew near, I chanced a glance up at his face.

His forehead…

It was marked with a seven-pointed star.

An arcanist star.

I almost gasped. Some of the other kids must’ve seen as well, because a few of them whispered with excitement.

Arcanists were the most powerful people ever! They could wield magic so powerful it could control the weather, or tide, or rearrange a mountain! They were both feared and respected—the best of the best! Some arcanists used their magic to protect people and improve life, while other arcanists used their magic to hurt the world…

Like the arcanists in the East-Sea Raiders.

This man—the strange man with the red cloak—had a star laced with a wingless dragon. A drake of some kind. The beast in the star represented the mystical creature the arcanist had bonded with.

The raiders who had attacked my shore town…

One of them had had a whale—Dead Sea Erik, was his name. His eldrin was a murderous, undead whale. It had been as rotted as a corpse in a graveyard but animated through vile magic.

I would never forget.

Dead Sea Erik.

“This one.”

I shot my gaze up the moment the man spoke.

He was pointing at me.

“Amir?” the house mother asked. “Perhaps you want to spend some time with him before—”

“I’ve made up my mind,” the man said, his words practically a growl.

House Mother Mila never denied the people who came to “adopt” us. No matter how scary or mean they were, she took their money and sent the kids away. If this strange man said he wanted me, there would be no fighting it.

“Very well.” House Mother Mila walked over and gently touched my shoulder. “Come, Amir. Gather your things.” She forced a smile. “Today is your lucky day.”

No one said anything. They watched with wide eyes, some of them smiling to themselves. I bet they were happy they weren’t the ones picked.

I grabbed a small sack and stuffed in my one other outfit. Then I reached under the mattress and pulled out a thumb-sized scale. It had belonged to a dragon—maybe. I didn’t actually know. All I knew was my mom had loved it.

The scale changed colors. During the day, it was white, and at night, it was black. She had always kept it with her. Well, before the East-Sea Raiders had come.

Now it was my sole possession.

Once everything I owned was all put together, the house mother walked with me and the strange man all the way to the front door of Rosewood Orphanage. The man handed over a bag of coins—far larger than I had ever seen anyone pay—and then said something under his breath to House Mother Mila.

She took the bag and glanced inside, her brow furrowed.

Then House Mother Mila glanced down at me. “Behave yourself, Amir. And stay strong.”

Stay strong.

I mouthed a goodbye, but the words never formed.

She patted my head one last time.

I held my small sack close to my chest, my thoughts cold, my body shaking. I stepped outside with the man in the red cloak. The orphanage door shut behind me, the harsh snap a reminder I’d probably never see anyone inside ever again.

The man grabbed my shoulder, his grip like an iron handcuff. He walked me across the yard, his footfalls as heavy as ever. We reached the gates, and the man placed a hand on the steel bars. Before he opened the gate, he stared down at me.

He was just… so much larger than me.

“My name is Elias,” the man said.

I said nothing.

He narrowed his scary eyes. “Didn’t the orphanage teach you any manners?”

“O-Oh,” I said, my throat so tight, it was difficult to breathe. “I’m Amir Thee—er, I’m Amir Rosewood.”

My birth name was Amir Theeno, but everyone who arrived at Rosewood Orphanage always took the last name of the building. I liked it better, anyway. Theenowas my dad’s last name, and he had left my mom a while back. He hadn’t been there to protect her from the raiders. He had abandoned us—which was why I would abandon his family name.

A warm and pleasant breeze drifted toward me, heating my face. A stray grain of desert sand almost hit me in the eye, forcing me to blink.

“Let’s go,” Elias said as he pushed open the gate. “She has been waiting a long time. It would be rude to make her wait any longer.”

I didn’t question him. I didn’t even ask who she was. I just wanted to get this over with. I wanted him to just tell me what my fate was. A worker? A raider slave? A manticore’s dinner? Questions ran around my head like the children in the orphanage did after a sweet treat.

We stepped onto the main street of town. The sun set in the distance, lighting the sky up with a flash of crimson. Merchants in tents shouted at us. People bustled by, staring at Elias’s arcanist mark. Some pointed.

Elias ignored everyone.

He guided me straight to our town’s sole inn. It was made mostly of wood, and it was larger than most buildings around. We entered, and the woman behind the bar nodded to Elias.

“Welcome back, Ronald,” she said.

Ronald?

When I turned to Elias, he stared down at me with half a grin.

Then he took me to the stairs. We walked up the first few creaky steps before he said, “I don’t give many people my real name, kid.” He crossed his arms. “Don’t go tellin’ anyone, got it?”

I nodded once, both confused and curious.

But I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

We reached the top of the steps, and Elias guided me down a long and empty hall. It was dark. The lanterns hadn’t yet been lit. Elias didn’t seem to care. He strode forward. I hurried my steps to match his pace.

When we neared the door to his room, my thoughts filled with scary imaginings. What was going to happen?

Elias knocked on the door before he opened it. “Hyperion. I’ve returned.”

In one quick movement, Elias pushed me through the door as the door fully opened. Then he stepped inside and shut the door behind him, like he wanted to make sure no one else would even get a glance inside.

I couldn’t breathe.

Inside the room…

Was a giant, monstrous drake.

It had a long serpentine neck and a deadly, spiked tail. Its scales were as crimson as Elias’s cloak. Its eyes were as golden as the sand in summer. Its claws… They were large enough to kill.

The drake was larger than the bed, and just a little bigger than a horse. When it moved, its muscles rippled beneath its fiery scales.

I stumbled backward and ran into Elias’s legs. He pushed me forward, and my body shook, even if I didn’t want to.

She’s been waiting a long time.

Now I understood what Elias had meant. This drake…

It was going to eat me.

All the stories were true. Kids being fed to mystical creatures. I’d never leave this room alive.

“I think the boy’s gonna faint,” the drake said, a huff of embers and smoke wafting out of its serpentine mouth as it spoke.

Elias grabbed my shoulder and tightened his grip. “He’ll be fine.” Then Elias glanced down and narrowed his eyes. “Hm? What’s wrong with you? Never seen a drake before?”

“He’s paler than bone,” the drake hissed.

Elias shook me with a hard jerk of his hand. “Damn kids get afraid of everything these days.” He pushed me over toward the only bed in the room. “Pick yourself up, kid. Hyperion isn’t going to hurt you. He’s a friendly little syrocko. Most of the time.”

Hyperion—a boy drake—laughed. “I’m nice for a syrocko drake. Maybe not so much when compared to a sapphire drake.”

“Knock it off,” Elias growled. “The damn kid is about to pass out. We don’t need any more of this.”

Their words confused me. I wasn’t going to be eaten? What was happening, then? Why had Elias brought me here? There was so much I wanted to ask him, but I just couldn’t find the words. I wished I were an adult—so I could be brave and just do and say whatever I wanted—but the smell of smoke reminded me of the raiders…

Elias positioned me next to the bed.

It was oddly lumpy.

Was someone sleeping?

Elias threw back the blankets. A strange creature was curled up on the mattress. One I had never seen before. It looked like a cross between a dragon and a unicorn.

It had the body of a foal, but its split hooves reminded me of a deer’s. It had dazzling white fur and a long mane of hair. Or maybe it had scales? The little creature shimmered when it attempted to stand. Its blue eyes were like precious stones—too valuable for anyone but royalty.

The mystical creature had a horn on its head. It was twisted, but pointed, and it was a clear, blue crystal, just as wondrous as its eyes.

The little creature stared at me for a long time. It was like… we were staring deep into one another.

I couldn’t look away. I could barely breathe.

“We’ve been looking for you for a long time, Amir,” Elias said as he reached over and patted the little foal. “This is Roux. She saw you in the orphanage courtyard when we got into town. She’s a kirin. Do you know what a kirin is, boy?”

I shook my head.

“It’s a special kind of mystical creature. Normally, a person has to prove themselves to a mystical creature in order to bond. But kirin… they know whom they want to bond with the moment they’re born. Roux has been looking for you. She’s been searching for you her entire life.”

She looked like a little foal, but when I stared into her eyes, I somehow knew she was much older than that.

Mystical creatures didn’t grow older unless they were bonded. That was what House Mother Mila had taught us.

So Roux… this little kirin… had been looking for me?

And she had known she would bond with me when she had seen me in the orphanage courtyard? Why hadn’t they approached me then? Why wait? Why adopt me?

When the kirin spoke, it wasn’t with her mouth, like a normal person or creature—she spoke directly into my mind, filling my thoughts with her words.

“Amir,” she said, though no one else could hear. “I’ve waited so long to meet you.”

I lifted my hand, nervous and still confused. “Hello.”

“Don’t be frightened. I’ve known we would bond for a while. I saw it in my dreams.”

“R-Really?”

“That’s right. Elias and I are going to train you. We have great plans for the future—and you’re part of them.”

CHAPTER TWO

This morning, I was an orphan, but now I was to become an arcanist?

“Really?” I whispered. I felt awkward for asking the same question again and again, but I just couldn’t believe it. Why me? I was nobody.

Roux nodded. Then she moved to the edge of the mattress, her thin, foal legs wobbling due to the soft surface. When she drew near, she lowered her head so that her crystal horn pointed at me.

“It’s true,” she said directly into my thoughts.

“But… how? Why? I… I don’t know anything.”

“We’ll teach you. And when the time is right, you’ll prove your worth in front of the world. But first, we must bond. We will accomplish this momentous goal together.”

I didn’t know what momentousmeant, but I could tell this was important. With a shaky hand, I touched the kirin’s horn. It was warm. I hadn’t been expecting that. Then a feeling filled my thoughts. A kind feeling. Something forever and amazing.

I closed my eyes.

Then warmth spread from my fingertips and traveled throughout my whole body. My forehead burned as I was marked with the symbol for arcanists. I developed a seven-pointed star with a kirin woven throughout the points.

It felt right.

Then Roux lifted her head. “We are bonded together. You are my arcanist. I am your eldrin.”

Eldrin. That was the term for mystical creatures who had bonded. Roux was my eldrin. Just like the syrocko drake, Hyperion, was Elias’s eldrin.

Elias’s harsh voice cut through my thoughts. “Time to leave.”

I opened my eyes as Elias strode over to his syrocko drake and tightened a single saddle on its back. It was made of worn leather that seemed well loved. Once it was tightly fastened around his giant drake, Elias turned to me and glared.

I held my sack of belongings in one hand and gripped at the hem of my shirt with the other. “Um…”

“What’re you waiting for, boy? Get over here.”

“W-We’re going to ride him in the room?” I glanced around the tiny area.

Elias headed for the window. It was night, and the glow of the white moon drifted in through the glass. Then Elias opened the window, and a rush of cold air filled the bedroom. The window was gigantic—big enough to fit the drake through.

“We’re going to fly to our destination,” Elias stated.

I stared at Hyperion. The massive drake met my gaze with a smile.

“He doesn’t have any wings,” I whispered.

“We don’t need wings.” Elias walked back over to his eldrin. “Now come. I don’t want to stay another moment longer in this dusty, old village.”

I stood still.

Roux leapt off the mattress and trotted to Elias’s side. The man effortlessly scooped her up and held my kirin in his arms. She was so small, and Elias was so large…

Then Elias glowered in my direction a second time. “I said we need to go. Hurry.”

“But…” Again, I glanced at Hyperion. “He can’t fly?”

“Syrocko drakes control the desert winds,” Elias said with a growl.

“They do?”

Elias nodded. “Like I said, we don’t need wings. Now come. You’ll learn everything you need to know in due time.”

“So where are we going?” I made my way to Hyperion.

“My home.”

“Where’s that?”

“The Sunset Desert.”

“Really? But nobody lives in the Sunset Desert.”

The Sunset Desert was on the west side of the Pale Dragon River. House Mother Mila had said it was an empty wasteland raging with deadly twisters and strange, magical phenomena. Humans didn’t live there. Only mystical creatures.

“I live in the Sunset Desert,” Elias said. “Now can we please stop asking questions? I’m your master, and you’re my student. I say things, and you listen. That’s our relationship.”

I frowned.

That didn’t sound fun. What if he ordered me to act like a raider? What if he wanted me to kill people?

“Aren’t I supposed to be a powerful arcanist?” I asked. “Powerful arcanists don’t have to listen to others.”

Hyperion snickered, and a flame unfurled from his nostril. “The boy has a point.”

Elias scoffed. “No, he doesn’t. Amir. Just ask your kirin.” He pointed to the kirin. “She’ll tell you to listen to me.”

Roux stared at me with her beautiful, blue eyes. “The kind of arcanist you become is completely up to you. Whether you take the advice of your mentor or do things all your own—I will back your decisions.”

Elias waited a moment and then half-smiled. “Well? What did she say?”

That was odd. Elias couldn’t hear Roux? Were her words only in my head? It seemed that way.

I fidgeted with my sack. “Roux said I don’t have to listen to you.”

Elias frowned, his eyes half-lidded. With a sigh, he brought Roux to his chest and held her protectively. “I carried you around for close to two decades,” he whispered, but his voice was deep enough I could hear. “This is how you repay me? You could’ve at least played along.”

Hyperion laughed. “You’re a better fighter than teacher, Elias. Day one of our training, and you already created a tyrant.”

What was a tyrant?

Elias turned to his eldrin, his frown somehow deepening. “I should just give him to the raiders. Theycan train him to be a tyrant.”

My eyes widened, and my heart plummeted.

The raiders?

They wanted to let the raiders train me?

“What? No!” I cried.

Elias and Hyperion glanced at me strangely.

“I can’t go to the raiders!” I said. “I don’t want to be like them!”

“Calm yourself, my arcanist,” Roux said in my thoughts. “Elias and Hyperion would never give you to the raiders.”

Elias walked over and grabbed my shoulder. “Calm down,” he said, practically parroting Roux’s words, even though he couldn’t hear them. “I’m not going to give you to the damn raiders.”

My lower lip quivered as I stared up at him. “R-Really?”

“Well, as long as you don’t disobey.”

Hyperion snorted and then lashed his tail. “Don’t scare the kid.”

“Fine, fine!” Elias pulled me over to his drake eldrin. “Don’t worry. Hyperion and I won’t let the raiders have you.”

I gulped. “I’ll listen. Just don’t send me away to the raiders! I don’t want to be like them.”

“Good,” Elias said. “Because those dastards aren’t worth emulating. Just listen to me, and I’ll steer you right.”

“Right?” I asked as Elias helped me onto the saddle.

“Yeah.”

The syrocko drake was so big and warm, I felt comfortable the moment I shifted my weight around on the saddle.

Elias effortlessly climbed on behind me. The saddle was large, but it clearly wasn’t designed for two people and a little foal. Despite that, Elias hooked my feet into little straps, and made sure I was nice and secure. Then he tied himself down and wrapped one strap around me.

“Once you’re done with my training, you’ll see,” Elias said. “Those raiders think they know what true power is, but they’re just thugs. Even the arcanists—they don’t know how to wield magic any more than they know how to count to ten.”

“You’ll teach me to be powerful?” I touched the rough scales of Hyperion and felt the muscles of his large, drake body move with each subtle twitch of his tail.

“You’ll be powerful enough. We need your help, kid. So you have to get stronger, understand? You’ll be able to defeat any villains who bother you then. This is a win-win situation. You help me, and I’ll help you.”

Defeating villains… I liked the sound of that.

Before I could ask any more questions, Hyperion turned to face the window. Then he carefully climbed over the sill and leapt into the sky.

At first, I thought we were going to fall and crash into the ground. I gasped and grabbed hold of the saddle, my heart pounding in my ears. Elias held me tight.

Then a rush of hot air lifted around us. It whooshed and howled, and Hyperion tucked his legs close to his body. We rose with the wind and glided into the sky, going higher and higher at a steady pace, slowly gaining speed.

The town disappeared beneath us, growing tinier and tinier with each passing moment.

Hyperion didn’t stop. The winds took us closer to the clouds before helping us toward the desert. I had to gulp down breath because my chest was so tight.

“Everything is fine,” Roux said to me in my thoughts. “Enjoy the scenery.”

She spoke to me like an adult. I liked that. My eldrin was so wise…

And when I glanced over and looked at the ground below, my fears melted away. The desert sands shimmered under the glow of the moon. The dunes rolled out in all directions, all the way to the horizon.

Hyperion flew like a snake swimming through water. His tail flicked behind him, and his head swayed back and forth as we went. I thought the wind would bother my eyes or mess up my hair, but it was like we were surrounded by a bubble of calmness. I barely felt anything as we sped onward.

***

I didn’t remember falling asleep.

When Hyperion landed and my eyes fluttered open, I realized it was morning. The sun was cresting over the distant dunes, filling the sky with orange and red.

Elias let go of me and slid off the saddle. Then he unhooked my straps and helped me down. Hyperion also made the process easy by lying down.

Where were we?

I didn’t see any buildings. We weren’t near any towns. All I saw were sand and rocks. The Sunset Desert almost seemed peaceful, despite the many things I had heard about it.

“Home at last,” Elias said with a smile.

Hyperion nodded. “Thank the good stars.”

“Home?” I asked.

Elias waved his arm out in front of him. The sands answered his command and moved along with his motion. The grains all shifted away to reveal a staircase. “It’s cooler underground.”

“We’re going to live underground?” I asked, my voice loud and high-pitched. “Really?”

“Settle down, kid.” Elias guided me over to the top of the stairway. “Today, we’re going to take it easy, get you all set up, and then tomorrow, right at dawn, we’re going to start your training for real.”

CHAPTER THREE

According to Elias, the Sunset Desert had once been the bottom of a great ocean. The water had all dried up, leaving the red sands and strange rocks in its place.

He had also told me the Pale Dragon River was something new. It had been created by a powerful arcanist to bring life to areas of the world that had once had none. Cities and trading posts existed on the east side of the river—but the west side was still too dangerous.

Elias lived underground, in a home carved from stone and opal. The shimmering open veins brightened the walls, making his home feel like a dream. By being underground, we were protected from the harsh desert winds and the unforgiving temperatures. Elias also had a way to get water—a well of some kind.

I felt safe in the underground home. All six rooms were pleasant. Better than the orphanage, at least.

Roux and I had our own sleeping space, which was amazing. I hadn’t had my own room since I lived with my mother. I even had my own tiny bookshelf. Elias had books stacked on the shelves, but I made a small spot for my dragon scale.

We had no windows. Our light came from glowstones—rocks filled with magic. They glowed no matter the time of day. It was a dim glow and kinda warm.

However, since I couldn’t see the sky, my dragon scale acted like a clock. At night, it became black, no matter what. During the day, it was white, even if I didn’t show it to the sun. And it reminded me of my mother, so I kept it prominently displayed in my room.

***

I didn’t leave my new underground home often. Magical weather problems bothered the sands above. Sometimes flames mixed in with the winds. It was much too dangerous.

Elias wanted me to learn the basics, so for months, I just followed his routine.

Once I woke up, I threw off my thin blanket, yawning and stretching my arms. The glowstones—and the light of Roux’s crystal horn—were enough for me to see everything in my bedroom. I glanced over at my scale. Black. Still night.

Elias told me deserts grew terribly cold at night. Much colder than normal places. I didn’t know why, but because of that, I was forbidden from going outside at night unless I had Hyperion with me.

I didn’t mind.

Hot and dry was a lot better than cold and wet. I preferred the daytime.

Dread tickled the back of my mind, and my muscles tensed. I shook my head and slid out of bed. Ever since Elias adopted me, I’d slept on a hard straw mattress. It was better than Rosewood Orphanage, and I would’ve happily slept longer, but that went against my training.

I needed to wake before the sunrise to meditate and clear my mind for the day.

Meditating on my bed was wrong—according to Elias. The bed was for sleeping. I wouldn’t have the right mindset if I prepared for my day while lying there.

I made my bed, then sat cross-legged on the floor. I closed my eyes, pushing away the terrible thoughts. There was no point worrying about the raiders. Elias said worrying about things in the present only poisoned the now and weakened my future. I needed to be as strong as possible—in mind, body, and soul.

I didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded important.

The negative thoughts and energy slowly seeped away from my body. My heart beat evenly, my muscles loosened, and Roux’s magic danced in my veins.

Fifteen minutes later, I stood and did my morning stretches. I braced my hand against the stone wall and then pulled back my leg and loosened my muscles.

Roux slept at the foot of my bed. She always woke at the same time I did and watched over me as I performed my meditation and morning routine.

She stared at me now, even as I finished my stretches and walked over to the calendar hanging on the wall. I used my charcoal pencil to cross off another day.

Then I smiled.

“Hey, Roux, it’s my eighth birthday,” I said through our shared telepathy.

“Congratulations,” she replied as she bowed her head, the crystal horn almost touching the rug covering the stone floor.

I stared at the calendar and frowned. “When is your eighth birthday?” I asked aloud. Sometimes I would forget to use our telepathy, which was awkward for Elias.

Roux’s ear twitched. “I celebrated my eighth birthday centuries ago.”

I turned to her, my eyes wide. “Really? You’re that old?”

“Yes. But we ladies don’t like to discuss numbers when it comes to age.” She stood and trotted over to me, lifting her legs high with each step. “I don’t need to celebrate my birth. I wasn’t truly born until I met you, after all.”

Roux talked like that, occasionally. Like her life wasn’t complete without me. I didn’t know how to respond.

“Roux, let’s get some food.”

“Sounds good, my arcanist.”

We left our room and went to the central living area, which had a very wide dining table. Someone looking at it for the first time would think we had a dozen people living here. It was ten feet long, and five feet wide—practically a small boat. It was so Hyperion could eat at the table with us, which was why I loved it.

As always, Elias had left a plate of fruit on the table. There were berries and agave leaves, but the prickly pears were my favorites. The bright pink fruits grew on cactuses, and they were delicious. Unfortunately, I had to pluck the spines out first.

I grabbed the fruit and pulled the needle-like spines out three at a time. In my haste, I pricked my finger. A red bead of blood appeared on the tip of my finger.

“Agh! Curses.”

My cry echoed through the empty house. Elias and Hyperion always left early in the morning for fresh food and other supplies. If he had been here, Elias probably would have laughed at me.

Elias said I should take the needles out one by one, but that was so slow!

Roux chuckled. “Pricked again? My arcanist, wouldn’t it be easier to have some of the berries? At least those don’t have spines.”

“But the pears are so good.” I groaned through my telepathy. “They’re way sweeter than the berries!” I worked through the pear again, tearing it apart as fast as I could. “Why doesn’t Elias just pluck these? I don’t get it. He brings them back each time, then just leaves them on the table.” The faster I went, the more I hurt myself. With gritted teeth, I powered through it.

Arcanists healed themselves faster than normal individuals. The magic in their veins helped to mend all injuries—especially minor ones, like from prickly pears. I would be fine. It was just… so bothersome.

“Perhaps it’s part of your training,” Roux replied.

I grimaced. “Right. If I keep getting these spines stuck in my fingers, I can eventually use them as a weapon.” I swung my hand around. “I’ll grab my enemies and prick them, too! Amir the Human Porcupine will be the greatest arcanist ever.”

After plucking out all the spines from the first pear, I tossed it to Roux. Her ears went straight as she leapt to catch the freshly plucked pear. Her hooves clopped against the stone floor with each movement.

With the pear in her mouth, Roux tilted her head to the side. “For me?”

“I’ll take the next one,” I telepathically said.

She nodded, though she waited for me to finish pulling out the spines out of the second pear before starting on her own. The moment I took a bite, the pain in my fingers melted away.

Prickly pears were delicious.

They were like… better watermelons. And I loved watermelons. I’d had them only twice in my life, but each had been its own glorious experience. Prickly pears were even better, and every time I took a bite into one, I closed my eyes and allowed the flavor to wash through my entire body.

They were the best. Worth every prickle.

After the first serving, I went back for seconds, painstakingly plucking the spines out again. I would eat them for every meal if I could.

Roux turned to me when I finished eating.

“Let’s get started on our training.”

I nodded to her. Then, as a pair, we walked into the deeper set training room. Elias—well, MasterElias—said I needed a wide-open place to study martial arts. He said it was important to treat my body like a weapon that needed sharpening. I was never sharp enough. I could always improve.

The training room was set apart from the others. Taller ceilings. A large floor. Stone pillars were erected in a few places to hold everything up. The glowstones cast an inviting, orange hue over everything.

A weapons rack was propped against the wall. I grabbed two of the wooden sticks—they were heavy, and short, and made of wood that didn’t splinter, according to Master Elias. Then I practiced my footwork and strikes. I would stand with my feet apart, for a steady stance. Then I’d swing my fake weapons.

When I made a mistake, Roux was there to correct me.

“Remember,” she chided. “Elias said to twist your hip.”

Right. Twist my hip.

Master Elias said I had to master all these stances and motions before I could move on to anything substantial. It felt like I had to wait for everything. My prickly pear, my training—my adulthood. It was frustrating to think about.

Roux clopped around me. “You’re not focusing. Stay in the moment, Amir. That’s how you become great. Your mind and body work together on a single project.”

Focus. I had to focus.

If my mind and body operated as one, I’d be deadly. At least, that was what Master Elias said. I tried to wrap my mind around my stance and my strikes.

One.

Two.

Three.

I kept going. More strikes. Better footing. Sweat poured down my back and face.

Fifty-five.

Fifty-six.

Roux watched with her blue eyes, her beautiful, white scales shimmering, even in the dull orange glow of the magical stones. Her observation kept me honest. I couldn’t miss a count or just stop because I was tired. I didn’t want to let her down. I had to keep going.

Roux wanted me…

To be a great arcanist.

I didn’t know why. They never told me specifically. But Master Elias kept saying he needed my help, and once I was old enough, I would understand.

I wanted to be a great arcanist for my own benefit as well. I wanted to destroy the East-Sea Raiders. They had taken my mom and my home, after all. Once I had enough magical powers, and combat training, I would take them all out.

Sometimes, when I swung my training weapons, I imagined striking raiders. If I was strong enough to stop them, I would be happy. I didn’t need to be the strongest ever. Just… strong enough.

With gritted teeth, I wondered what it would be like to go back in time and save my mom from the East-Sea Raiders. Too bad no arcanist had the ability to time travel. That would been amazing.

Even if Roux gave me that ability, Master Elias said I couldn’t practice my magic just yet.

People didn’t normally become arcanists until they reached adulthood. I was much too young—I was only eight. Master Elias was afraid I would hurt myself, or my kirin, so he said I should focus on the physical abilities first, and then I could go to the magical.

“You’re doing a great job, my arcanist,” Roux telepathically said.

“Thank you.”

For hours, I pressed on.

Until lunch, really. The moment my stomach growled, I happily stopped with my training. I returned the weapons to their rack and headed for the stairs up—my legs burning with each step, but I pushed that all aside.

A familiar sound echoed throughout the underground home. The loud scrape of stone, followed by a slam. It was the front door—a circular stone that rolled in and out of place. Only Hyperion seemed to move it with ease. Elias could move it, he just struggled at times. The door prevented the hot air and sand from getting into the house. As long as we kept out the heat, the cool temperatures from the deep underground water helped keep the place livable.

“Let’s go meet them,” I said aloud.

When I tried to hurry my step, my legs almost gave out in protest. Roux clopped to my side, her crystal horn glittering. “You should rest.”

“I’m fine.” With a grunt, I forced myself to stand straight on the stone steps.

Roux stood on the step just below me, her ears leaning back. “A man paddling a raft as fast as he can is at risk of smashing his vessel on the rocks. A man who takes him time avoids such perils.”

“But one of those men will make it to the riverbank first.” I hopped up the last of the steps, and with a powerful huff, I headed for the front door.

“Kids…”

Elias and Hyperion were in the kitchen, unloading their packs they’d brought back from town. Elias always appeared grumpier than usual after going into town, but the moment he spotted me entering the kitchen, he softened up and half-smiled. “I see you’re panting and sweaty. Did your eldrin tell you to train this morning?”

“Roux didn’t have to tell me,” I said as I crossed my arms. After a deep inhale, I continued, “I did what you said. I’m learning.”

“Uh-huh. Let me see a defensive stance.”

I spread my feet and dropped my center of weight. Master Elias nodded once in approval. His syrocko drake watched from the corner of the massive kitchen.

“What about an agile stance?”

I shifted my weight to the balls of my feet so I could pivot and move faster if needed. Again, Master Elias seemed pleased.

“You might be ready for the next step.”

With a smile, I asked, “Really?”

He only nodded.

“Oh, when do I bond with my second eldrin? Today is my birthday, after all. Maybe it could be my present?”

Technically, arcanists only bonded with one creature—ever. But that wasn’t true with kirin arcanists. Kirin were a special creature that allowed their arcanists to bond with one other eldrin. Kirin magic was said to be one of empowerment, so kirin arcanists were at their best when they had a powerful mystical creature to boost to even greater heights.

Someday, I would have two eldrin.

I couldn’t wait.

“You’re much too hasty,” Master Elias replied. “About everything.”

“I can handle it. Kirin arcanists are special, right?”

Apparently, if a normal arcanist attempted to bond with a second mystical creature, they would die. A mystical creature fed from someone’s soul—slowly, steadily. Like a leech that drains blood from a person. Eldrin didn’t consume too much, but if there were two, the arcanist would waste away, like someone starved to death. Or someone consumed from the inside out by too many leeches.

But not kirin arcanists.

“Roux bonded with you because she’s a kirin, and they don’t care about your age. But other mystical creatures don’t tend to bond with anyone until they’ve come of age. You need to be fifteen.”

That made sense. Eight years old was too young to impress other mystical creatures.

I groaned. Elias got irritated when I complained too much, but the good thing about having a telepathic eldrin was I could silently complain at any time. Roux never seemed bothered by my words, either. “Do I really need to wait until I’m fifteen to find my second eldrin?”

Roux chuckled. “Imagine waiting four hundred and seventy-two years for your first arcanist.”

I laughed. That definitely put things in perspective. With a smile, I said, “All right, so I just need to wait another seven years. I can do that. Then I’ll go out and find the strongest eldrin, and then I’ll become an unstoppable arcanist.”

Elias shook his head as he spread out the food for lunch. Rice and fish. Always rice and fish. “It’s not going to be that simple. Like I said, kirin are a special case. Other mystical creatures have Trials of Worth.”

I took a seat at the table. “Oh, I know. I’ll just pass one of these trials, and I’ll be good.”

“I’m trying to tell you it won’t be easy.” Elias held out his hand, and flames fluttered out from his palm. He cooked the fish without any spices—just heat. Once charred on one side, he flipped it over to the other. “A mystical creature’s Trial of Worth is difficult. You can’t go into thinking you’re just going to pass.”

“So, they’re all challenging?”

Elias nodded. “That’s right. Each mystical creature has their own challenge potential arcanists must face before bonding with them. Not only that, the challenges are harder the stronger the mystical creature is. There are plenty of people who go their whole lives without passing one.”

“How am I going to get good enough to pass a Trial of Worth?” I asked, though part of me already knew the answer. I stared at the table in front of me, wondering how all my strikes and stances would help.

Elias smiled and then motioned to the cooked fish. “First, grab some lunch. Then we’re going outside. The desert is a harsh teacher, but a fair one. Once the sand is done with you, there won’t be any Trial of Worth you can’t handle.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Training in the desert was harder. I had to wear protective gear, but even then, my skin burned and darkened, and I had to make sure I drank enough water.

Sometimes, I didn’t realize how much time had flown by until I noticed differences in my body. I grew taller. Stronger. So did Roux. She was… a fully grown horse long before I was a fully grown man. The day I started riding practice was interesting. She moved like water, as fast as the wind, and my body felt as stiff as a stone at first.

Thankfully, Roux wasn’t a normal beast of burden. Every day, when we went out into the sands, she would help me. Soon, it was second nature to hop on her back and head out into the Sunset Desert.

A lonely place with no people.

We had to watch out for terrible storms and sudden pits of quicksand created by foul magic.

Just me, Roux, and the treacherous dunes.

Two and a half years of practice had really paid off. In all that time… I hadn’t seen another individual. No one. Master Elias and Hyperion were my sole family. Well, and Roux. Sometimes that thought amused me, and other times it made me sad. Today, I pushed it from my mind.

“Quickly, Roux! I can handle it!”

I held onto my eldrin with all my might, my legs squeezing her sides.

Hyperion’s shadow snaked over the desert sands. He flew high above us, taking Master Elias farther ahead. Roux and I raced along the dunes, unable to fly. My clothes fluttered around me—baggy pants, a tight vest, and a headwrap to protect my ears and eyes from the harsh sun.

Roux chuckled. “Don’t fall!”

I laughed along with her.

Roux was so fast. But delicate. Speedy.

Every so often, her hooves sank into the loose sand, but I shifted confidently to make up for the uneven ground. It felt like we were one.

The familiar desert became a blur. Stones and cactuses streaked past us. In the distance, something small hopped back and forth—likely a jackrabbit, but perhaps some kind of small mystical creature.

It didn’t matter. I was only ten years old. Ordinary mystical creatures wouldn’t want to bond with me for another five years.

Hyperion slowly flew toward the ground. Roux and I met him during his descent. Master Elias clung to the spines on Hyperion’s neck like a veteran drake rider. He held himself with confidence, and even with the sands buffeting him, he didn’t lose his balance.

At the last second, he leapt off, and Hyperion glided to a dune below, like a leaf slowly descending. Syrocko drake arcanists manipulated the wind like experts.

“Here we are, Amir,” Master Elias called as Roux came to a trot next to him. “Are you ready? Today, we’ll start a longer-term training project.”

I couldn’t help but remember the day I had met Elias, when he’d introduced me to his home in the middle of nowhere. He liked surprises. That much I was certain of.

Master Elias motioned to a large wedge of stone jutting out of the desert. It created a plateau devoid of sand. Like a stage. In the center, alone and forgotten, was a single boulder. Elias hopped onto the rock as Hyperion flew around us, chasing away any vultures.

I followed my master. Roux did, too. When her cloven hooves hit the stone plateau, she made a delicate clopping noise that was different from when she clopped around our home. I smiled at her. Her horn glittered brightly in the daylight.

“This here,” Elias said as he approached the lonely boulder, “is your new assignment.”

I glanced around. “What is?”

“This rock, obviously.”

I stared at it, then stared at Elias. “Um, are you going to move it? Is there a secret training area?”

Elias laughed, slapping the rock playfully with his hand. “This rock is the training! Come. Strike it with your palms.”

I frowned. “My palms? Not weapons?”

The outside of the boulder was rough and almost porous. Where had this boulder even come from?

“Well?” Elias said. “Strike it with an open palm. Come now.”

I was familiar with punches, chops, and grabs, but Elias had never taught me to just slap things. I held up my hand and stared at the lines across my palms. Then I frowned.

Elias nodded. “Yes, your palms.”

“But… how will this help my fighting?”

“This lesson isn’t about fighting. Hit this rock with your palm.”

I walked over to the boulder and full-on slapped it with my right hand.

“Yow!”

I jerked my hand away and shook it out. The rock wasn’t just spiky, it was hot! There was a small cut on the side, and my palm was turning red.

“Are you okay?” Roux asked. She moved forward, her head held high.

I nodded. “Of course. I’m not going to lose to a dumb rock.”

“This isn’t about losing,” Elias stated. “It’s about smoothing. Do it again, but this time, drag your palm a short distance along the stone.”

I tried hitting it again, but before long, my right hand was sore. Not only was my palm red and cut, I’d also hit it hard enough to bruise the inside of my hand.

I scowled and took a few good hits with my left, but it didn’t make a difference.

The rock was still standing there, and my palms were injured. “Can I stop now? Or maybe I can kick it?” I eyed the rock. If I kicked it at the base, I might be able to topple it.

Elias shook his head. “Don’t you dare kick it. You need to hit this rock every day until it’s smoothed all the way around. And you can only use your palms.”

I raised my red and bloodied hands. “Are you kidding me? Why would I ever do that?”

The desert wind howled by, as if it were also disgusted by the training. Elias’s black hair was tossed around for a moment as he just stared at me. In a calm voice, he eventually said, “If your strikes are true, the stone will smooth.”

“Yeah, like, years from now!”

Elias nodded once. “You’ll come out here several times a week from now on, all right? It’ll be great riding experience, and I can check on your progress by visiting this boulder. Only once it’s smoothed all the way around will I consider it complete.”

It still seemed insane to me. I glanced over at the boulder and then back to my hands. Roux just tilted her head.

Elias wouldn’t lie to me…

So I supposed this was my new training, now.

***

“All right, Roux. I’m twelve and a quarter years old now. Two years and three quarters later, and I’ll be of age, and we can get that second eldrin.”

I rolled to the side of my bed. Roux rested in the corner, atop her plush blankets and surrounded by baskets of grass and hay. She rarely ate, though. She said that magic kept her full and healthy, and I wondered how true that was.

“Two years and three quarters,” she telepathically replied, her voice lyrical and beautiful. “You’re keeping close track, my arcanist.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Come on, Roux. You’re so old that you only keep track of the hundred mark at this point.”

Roux chortled. “That’s not true. I waited centuries for you, and I’m just as eager to meet our destined third. It’s just that I think of things in terms of decades rather than months… After a while, everything blurs together.”

To Roux, all of this was a short period of time, but that didn’t change my thinking. It still felt like an eternity until I could find my second eldrin, pass their Trial of Worth, and become the greatest arcanist ever.

“So, hear anything from Master Elias?” I asked.

“No. He’s in town getting supplies. I saw him leave with Hyperion. He probably wants you to smooth the rock until he gets back.”

I smirked and then glanced over at the dragon scale on my bookshelf. It was white. Daytime. “Getting supplies, huh? I bet he has a secret lady in town. That’s why he’s making me spend so much time hitting that dumb rock. It’s just a distraction.”

“I don’t think so. Elias isn’t the type of arcanist to engage in flirtatious behavior.”

“Yeah,” I muttered aloud. “He’s only got two emotions: angry and disappointed.”

Roux tilted her head. “My arcanist?”

“He just… doesn’t seem happy with me sometimes.” For years, I had done what he had wanted, but it had never seemed enough. I rolled onto my back and stared at the stone ceiling. “Do you think he hates me?”

“Elias doesn’t hate you.”

“How do you know?”

“I know him well. Elias was tasked with helping me find you. We traveled the world once over for a long time.”

The stone ceiling was the same as it always was. Boring. Flat. Reddish in coloration. I ran my hands down my face. “I need to meditate.” I rolled off my bed, tucked the sheets around the hay mattress, and then took a seat on the floor.

No negative thoughts. I couldn’t start my day like that.

After a deep exhale, I cupped my hands and held them in my lap. Then I dispelled all the negativity I had toward Master Elias and my situation. I needed to focus. Perhaps smoothing the rock wasthe best course of action.

Roux watched me the whole time.

As soon as I had cleared my head, I stood and smiled.

She did the same. “Excellent. You’re prepared for the day.”

I rubbed my nose. “I’m prepared for anything.”

“Even a sandstorm?”

“Especially a sandstorm. Nothing can take me down.”

Together, we exited our room. I grabbed my pack, and some prickly pears, and then I headed for the front door. It was closed. When I got close, I took a deep breath and then slid my fingers into the hand grooves. With all my strength, I spun the circular stone door open. Bits of sand rushed inside, along with a wash of heat, but I kept my eyes shut and just ignored it until I was outside.

Roux followed me, and then I rolled the stone door back into place.

Hyperion made it look so easy. I was winded afterward.

Then I climbed on top of Roux and pointed in the direction of our training rock. Before she took off across the dunes, I secured my headwrap over my ears and face. The sands were rough, and if we went too fast without protection, the little grains would cut right into my skin.

The desert was unforgiving.

Together, we headed straight for our destination. The sun was rising, the heat climbing with it, so we couldn’t stay out too long. I’d get an hour or two with the stone before I had to turn back for home.

As we rode, I patted Roux’s mane.

After years of striking that rock, my hands had grown permanent calluses. At first, I had thought my hands would become stiff and unusable, but the heat of the stone, coupled with my arcanist healing, had left me with leathery palms. They were soft, but thick, and durable. Very few things cut—or stung—whenever I touched them anymore.

Roux brought me to the stone plateau in the middle of the desert, avoiding a pit of quicksand as we went. I wondered how many people died in the desert because they didn’t know what to expect.

I dismounted, climbed up, and then went straight for the lonely rock. One half of it was smoothed. Years of my “training.” The northern side was still jagged, however. I walked over and struck it a few times, just prepping myself mentally for the task ahead.

“You don’t even flinch anymore,” Roux commented.

I worked my way around the rock, smiling in satisfaction as my toughened hands hit the stone with loud smack after loud smack.

I grinned at Roux. “I’m as relentless as the desert sun.”

“Yes, but you must remain as fluid as the shifting sands.”

“Don’t forget as swift as the desert wind.”

If anyone could hear our conversation, I was certain they would laugh, but I liked hearing the poetic words. I wanted to be as strong and powerful and forceful as a desert. No one ever defeated a desert. It was impossible.

But I knew what those words really meant. It was about keeping an open mind and always learning from new challenges. I had to draw inspiration from all new experiences and grow even stronger.

I didn’t know exactly what this lesson was, but I’d continue working on it.

I smacked the stone again.

“As hard as this stupid rock…”

CHAPTER FIVE

I shifted on Roux’s back as she galloped along the uneven desert sands. The wind whipped across me, but my headwrap protected my face from the worst of it. I turned around and bit my lip as I raised my bow.

Three straw targets sat atop a dune. A fourth target floated through the sky, twirling in the winds created by Master Elias’s magic. I pulled the bow string taut, then loosed the arrow. I struck the first target clean in the center. Then I shot again as Roux turned slightly to circle back around.

I hit the second target.

Only two more to go.

The sun set in the far distance, the heat still permeating the desert. Once it got dark, that would be a different story, but until then, sweat filled my clothing and threatened to cascade into my eyes.

Master Elias said beeswax could help control the flow of sweat. If I rubbed some over my eyebrows, the sweat would trickle down the side of my face.

But I had forgotten the wax this morning…

Without breaking concentration, I withdrew a third arrow from my quiver.

“Hold on!”

I hesitated for a moment as Roux’s warning sounded in my mind. She almost tripped in the sand dune, and I had to hold on to her until she corrected her gallop. Once situated, I sat straight again and readied another arrow.

As I took aim, Master Elias and Hyperion flew down from the sky. The hot winds wrapped around them, answering their call. I shielded my eyes from the sand as they soared by, Hyperion’s tail slithering back and forth.

“What’re you waiting for?” Master Elias called out.

With a half-smile, I nocked my arrow again and then fired on the third stationary target.

The arrow slammed into its center.

Perfect.

I laughed as I pointed to Hyperion sailing away. “Did you see that?” I shouted.

“I still see a target!” Master Elias yelled back.

Excitement coursed through me as I urged Roux to go faster. I wanted to impress Hyperion and Master Elias with my archery skills. I had only started training with them weapon two years ago, but already, I was hitting targets with regular frequency. Wasn’t that worth praise? Wasn’t it worth taking note?

When Roux circled back around the dune, I readied by bow. She galloped across the red sands, her cloven hooves kicking up grains as we went. The last target hung in the air, controlled by winds. As we went by, I bit my tongue to concentrate.

Then I let my arrow fly.

Despite the wind being an obstacle, I struck the target.

Just barely. On the edge. But still—I did it!

I threw both arms up into the air. My smile reached both of my ears as Roux slowed her run and then went into a gentle trot.

“Did you see that?” I asked her.

“Of course,” she replied. “I saw every moment.”

When she came to a stop, I slid off her back. Roux panted and shook her mane. I patted her shoulders and whispered reassuring things. Unlike larger draft horses, Roux didn’t have much stamina. She was fast—just thin and delicate. Training like this took a lot out of her.

Master Elias and Hyperion descended from the sky and landed on the sands next to us. When Elias dismounted, his red cape fluttered in the raging winds of his magic. It looked… amazing. Like he was an arcanist from legend.

Master Elias swept his black hair back as he walked over to me. “Well, that wasn’t so bad.”

I rotated my dominant arm. “So, Master Elias—who’s stronger? You when you were my age? Or me?”

Obviously, Elias hadn’t slid out of the womb with all his magic and skills. He’d had to develop them, like I had. When had he become a master archer? Maybe I was developing faster than he had.

Elias blinked several times, obviously taken aback. Then he smirked. “I haven’t been thirteen in decades, so I can’t remember. I can tell you one thing though. I definitely wouldn’t have been arrogant enough to ask my master that question.”

Hyperion snorted. His red scales shone in the desert light, practically glowing like fire. “You’re definitely improving faster than Elias did. When he was thirteen, he hadn’t yet bonded. You have an advantage, Amir.”

Master Elias rolled his eyes. “You’re going to give the kid a fat head.”

“I just wanted to give him encouragement.”

“Well, then tell him he needs to improve his aim.” Elias pointed to the target still twirling around in the sky. “The arrow just barely hit the side.”

With a huff, I crossed my arms. It was like I couldn’t do anything right. With narrowed eyes, I asked, “Why are you pushing me so hard? I hit the target!”

“You can’t be the best if you settle for good enough,” Master Elias snapped back. He matched my glower with one of his own. “I’m not out here training you because I want to see a mediocre kirin arcanist. I’m out here training you so you take the world by storm.”

“I don’t even visit the world.” I motioned to the blazing-hot desert. “It’s just us!”

“You need peace and quiet to properly train your mind. You’ll understand when you’re old enough.”

I exhaled and turned away from him. Roux was by my side, her blue eyes staring into mine. I grabbed her and patted her mane. He wasn’t impressed with my archery. Even after I had hit all four targets. Even after all my training.

Master Elias sighed. He shuffled across the hot sands, and I swallowed nothing, my throat dry. “Listen, why don’t we call it a day?”

“I thought I needed to work on my aim?” I snapped.

He grabbed my shoulder. I turned to face him. The salt-and-pepper white patches by his ears made him seem so much older and wiser. I sometimes forgot we had such an age difference. “I need to take some of my own advice. Patience is a difficult skill to teach.”

I said nothing.

“The thing is… Someday soon, you’re going to have to use all the skills we’re teaching you. As in, your life will depend on it. And when that comes, I don’t want you to fail because I wasn’t a good enough instructor.”

His words were slower than normal. Thicker with emotion.

“But you need to take rests, too,” Elias eventually said.

“Why will I need the skills?”

“You’ll—”

“—understand when you’re older,” I said before he did, mocking his same tone. With an exaggerated eye roll, I pushed away his hand. “Okay. Fine. I understand. It’s really important I’m prepared.”

“Rest is important, too. Let’s head in for the day.”

After his speech about needing to use the skills, I almost didn’t want to. Why quit now? I could keep going. I wantedto keep going.

Master Elias must’ve sensed my hesitation. He stood near me, examining my expression. After a prolonged moment, he snapped his fingers. “How about… we go home and have a celebration?”

I turned on my heel to face him. With wide eyes, I asked, “A celebration? Of what?”

“Uh…” Elias rubbed at the back of his neck. “Your birthday?”

“It’s not my birthday. And you’ve never celebrated that before.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not really something I celebrated as a kid, either. Our small little town didn’t believe in things like that.”

I lifted an eyebrow. Everyone celebrated their birthdays at the orphanage. I had always wondered why Elias didn’t.

He motioned to his eldrin. “Look—how about we go home, and we’ll have one big birthday party for all the parties we missed, okay? And we’ll celebrate how well you shot those targets, and how quickly you’re learning to ride, and—”

“R-Really?” My eyes went huge. “You think I’m doing a good job?”

Master Elias held up a hand, his expression set into something disapproving. “I never said that.”

“But you want to celebrate.”

“Well, yes…”

I grabbed Roux and threw myself up on her back. “I’ll race you home!” I couldn’t wait for this celebration. “Last one there has to clean up once it’s done!”

CHAPTER SIX

It was… a bizarre occasion.

Master Elias and Hyperion went into town—leaving me and Roux by ourselves in our underground house. We cleaned until Master Elias returned, figuring there would be decorations that needed to be placed around.

Hyperion entered the underground home carrying a barrel and a small crate stuffed with baked good. He placed the food on the table, and Elias withdrew small colored ribbons from his coat. With a sarcastic huff, he tossed them across the chairs and benches. They fluttered through the air before limply landing on the furniture and remaining there.

“I asked the locals for recommendations,” Master Elias said, his tone flat. “I said we wanted to celebrate, but we hadn’t done it before. Everyone stared at me like I was a wagon with only one wheel.”

“But did they give you recommendations?” I asked.

Master Elias motioned to the ribbons. Then he pointed to the baked goods. “Some old hag said we needed colorsto be festive.”

Hyperion’s red scales flared with heat. “The old hag’s name was Neeva, and she helped us more than the others.”

“Some old geezer said it wasn’t a real celebration unless we had booze.” Elias pointed to the barrel. “That’s full of arak. Don’t drink too much, or I won’t be able to wake you in the morn.”

Hyperion slowly moved around the table, careful not to knock over any of the chairs with his considerable weight and size. Once situated, he wagged his tail from side to side. “Well, an arcanist in a bakery said it wasn’t a celebration unless we had sweet treats.” Hyperion poked his drake nose down into the pastries. Several were covered in berries. “So, we got colors, booze, and confections. The perfect party.”

Our entire home smelled of sugar and fun. I practically hopped around the table. Roux followed me, her cloven hooves clopping along. I finally took a seat and examined all our food. It was a banquet fit for a king.

“So, happy birthday,” Elias said with a huff and a dismissive wave of his hand. “Or whatever.”

Once he sat down, I grabbed a pastry and bit straight into it. My eyes watered with delight. Despite the fact it had been squished into a crate, and was now cold, it was the tastiest thing I had ever eaten in my life. The sugary goodness melted in my mouth. I gobbled it down and then reached for another.

Elias motioned for Hyperion to open the barrel. Then he got up, gathered us cups, and sat back down. Arak smelled potent. I had never had any, but I knew it was common in these parts. It was an alcohol made of rice. Elias poured himself a full cup and then gulped it down like he hadn’t had water for a full week.

I hoped he would be okay.

Once finished, Elias slammed his cup on the stone table. After a short exhale, he half-smiled. “Not bad. Not the best. But not bad.”

Hyperion sniffed the cup. “That seems… highly flammable.”

“It probably is.”

“Don’t you remember what happened last time?” Hyperion grabbed the cup with two of his clawed fingers and dragged it away from Elias. “I don’t want to have to make a third home.”

“Shush! Don’t mention that in front of the kid!”

Hyperion snorted out a laugh. Embers wafted from his mouth, and Master Elias waved them away from the barrel. He seemed more paranoid about the situation than before.

As soon as I grabbed a third pastry, Roux poked her snout over my shoulder. I giggled as I patted her forehead. “Want some?”

“Congratulations,” she telepathically said. “I hope this is the kind of celebration you desired.”

“It’s amazing.”

“What’s amazing?” Master Elias asked, his eyebrow raised.

“This,” I said, motioning to our surroundings. “Thank you. I feel… really lucky.” I didn’t have any more words than that. That was just what I felt. Before Elias could respond, I met his gaze and asked, “Why don’t you, uh, like celebrating? And why haven’t youhad any birthday parties? I mean, even my old orphanage would do something to celebrate a kid’s birthday, and we had nothing.”

Master Elias ran a hand down his face. He glanced at the barrel, but then decided not to have any more arak. With a sigh, he replied, “I grew up in a small village. It’s… a secluded place. It’s a secret, really. It’s one of the few places where kirin are born.”

Both my eyebrows shot up. I scooted forward and leaned on the table, trying to hear every word he spoke.

“Kirin are special,” Elias stated matter-of-factly. “They only bond to people who they believe have the potential to be great rulers. And that doesn’t mean good rulers—tyrants are greatin their own way. And since kirin are so powerful—and allow an arcanist to bond with a second mystical creature—my village protected them from evil.”

“Wow,” I murmured. Did Roux think Iwould be a great ruler?

“But that meant the kirin were all consuming. We fed them, watched over them, protected them… It was a daily ritual that dominated our lives. Most considered themselves mere caretakers. Like we were shepherding destiny, if that makes any sense.”

I nodded once. “Yeah…”

“We didn’t celebrate our birthdays. Just the birth of new kirin. And it was boring. No colored ribbons and drinks.”

“Will you take me there one day?”

Master Elias narrowed his eyes. He had a cold and hard glower that revealed none of his true emotions. When he stared at me like that for too long, a shiver always ran down my spine.

“Maybe,” he said. “But you have to get better at your archery, first.”

“W-What? Why?”

“Because I can’t go back to my village with a kirin arcanist unless you’re fully trained. Trust me—you think I’mharsh? Wait until you meet my father. He never lets any mistake go.” Elias scoffed and rolled his eyes. “He still reminds me about the time I spilled my food on the floor. When I was two.”

I chuckled to myself. It amused me to think someone would yell at Master Elias. He never made any mistakes! Was his father the same? It made me wonder…

Elias shrugged. “So, to make a long story short, I was assigned to help Roux find her arcanist—and here you are—and now I’m going to train you so that, when the time comes… Let’s just say I’m looking forward to the future.”

“When will my time come?”

“Soon,” Elias muttered, his gaze falling to the table. For a long moment, he said nothing.

When I glanced over at Roux, she also remained quiet. They both knew something, and they weren’t telling me. They had known for years now. An event was coming, but they weren’t sharing any details with me. Why?

I supposed I would find out.

“How come you never take me into town?” I glanced down at the half dozen pastries still on the table. “Why couldn’t I go with you to get the ribbons and things?”

Hyperion leaned his drake head over us, his hot breath streaming down. “It’s best if you train away from corrupting influences, Amir. You must be strong in both mind and body before you strike it out on your own.”

“But… why?”

Master Elias held up a hand. “Enough questions. I’m your master, and you’re my student, and you just do as I say, all right? And I say, other people are dangerous. You should focus on yourself. When the time is right, we’ll head into town. Together.”

That was it.

No more discussion.

I slowly chewed another pastry, unable to taste a thing. Both dread and frustration welled in me. The East-Sea Raiders were out in the world, so I knew there was evil, but wasn’t there good, too? I wanted to see it. All of it.

I would just have to wait.

Like I did with everything.

***

Finally.

The day had come.

My fifteenth birthday.

Today, I had come of age. Soon, I would find a second eldrin, and our long-awaited trio would finally be complete.

As I sat meditating, Roux observed me from her bed in the corner of the room. While she was the size of a horse, her delicate frame meant she could comfortably curl herself into a loaf-like shape. Her horn glittered as she tilted her head.

“Do you think you’ll find your other eldrin today?” Roux telepathically asked.

“Probably not,” I replied in my thoughts.

“Oh?” She sounded surprised, but not entirely displeased. “What are you going to do instead?”

“Well, I think Elias and Hyperion want me to go out today, but first I got to deal with that big dumb rock. I could’ve finished it last night, but it just didn’t feel right.”

“I understand. Sometimes destiny wants to arrive in poetic verse, rather than a bluster.”

After a long exhale, I stood from my spot on the floor. “Now is the time, Roux.”

“Of course, Amir. Let’s ride.”

We dashed through the underground house. Even if there were no glowstones, I knew my way around. This place had been my home for nine years. I knew every crack, crevice, and creak. Even the smells were ingrained in my memories, burned there forever, like a tattoo upon my soul.

When I came to the front door, I pulled it open without much effort. The stone rolled aside, and allowed Roux out first. Then I shut the entrance behind me. With the fluidity of water, I leapt onto Roux’s back and urged her faster. The moment she stepped out into the harsh sun, I wrapped my head. It was a smooth motion for me—something I did without thought.

Several large birds circled above us. They drifted closer to the ground, their feathers shimmering in the light, much like Roux’s horn. They were mystical creatures, likely.

As we rode closer, I realized they were large, about the same size as Roux, and had strange bald pink heads that looked undersized compared to the rest of their body.

“Roux, what are those?” I telepathically asked.

“I believe Elias said they are called akbuba vultures. They are mystical creatures that live in the desert. Some say they can ferry people into the underworld.”

“Are they undead?”

“Yes, they are.”

I shivered. “Oh,” I whispered. “I’m not a fan.”

I didn’t have nightmares about the East-Sea Raiders anymore, but I still thought of them occasionally. Bonding with an undead or aquatic creature just felt… wrong. I didn’t want anything to do with these akbuba vultures.

Roux sensed my discomfort. She always did. Before long, we were streaking away into the desert, with Roux’s graceful hooves kicking up a large cloud of sand behind us. Between Roux’s growth and our training, we rode as one, sailing over the dunes like the desert winds.

When we made it to the rock plateau, I slid off Roux and headed for the rock. It was almost completely smooth after years of dogged palm strikes. There was just a small spiky bit in the middle, down at the very base of the stone.

I walked up to it, then turned to Roux. “Ready for this?”

She briefly bowed her horn, regal in all regards.

Then I struck the boulder. I didn’t even need to hit it at full force. I just brushed the base of my palm against the stone, chipping off the final bit of rough rock.

I heard a tinkling noise, and then the smoothed over rock cracked. I stepped back, stunned. Was I supposed to crack it? Would Master Elias be angry at me for damaging the rock, rather than smoothing it?

“Is something wrong, my arcanist?” Roux asked as she lifted her head.

“Uh…” I rubbed my hands over my headwrap. “How angry do you think Master Elias will be if… I broke the rock?”

“You broke it?”

“Uh, maybe? It’s just a crack.”

The crack groaned and splintered into a bigger and wider gash. I held my breath, my heart hammering. What was I going to do? Master Elias still hadn’t taught me anything about magic! I didn’t know if I could heal the rock, or mend it, or maybe repair it. What was I going to tell him?

The crack fractured and deepened a third time.

Then…

The whole damn boulder split open like a gigantic drake egg. The rock shattered around the crack as it fell into two equally huge pieces. I jumped away and gasped, completely taken aback. The whole rock just exploded open!

And inside…

I had never seen anything like the inside. Ever.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Inside was a beautiful geode of rainbow crystals. A treasure trove of beauty.

The inner crust of the rock glimmered white, but veins of color ran through the tips of the crystals. Pink, purple, sky blue—the more I examined, the more color I found. I glanced at Roux. “This is amazing. It reminds me of your fur. Er, scales. Whatever you have.” Kirin were bizarre.

She was white, but when the sun hit her scales, there was an iridescent flash of rainbow color.

Roux nodded. “I find it ironic. Imagine this beauty hiding inside—what did you call it?—a dumb old rock.”

A shadow fell over us. I whirled around on my heel and turned my attention to the sky. The familiar silhouette of an adult syrocko drake sailed across the sun. Master Elias! I waved to him as he rode the wind to our rock platform.

“Amir!” he called down to me as his eldrin landed. “I’ve been searching for you.” He half-smiled. “I thought you might be here. Decided to finish up the rock the day you came of age, huh? A little dramatic, don’t you think? I thought I taught you to be more pragmatic.”

Hyperion touched down on the ground, his claws scraping across the rock. “I’m proud of you, Amir. And I like a little drama. Don’t let Elias get you down.”

“What happened?” I asked. “The rock… it just… It broke. I didn’t mean to break it.”

Elias smiled as he slid off the back of his eldrin. “Don’t worry, kid. I knew it would break. I thought it would’ve broken open before today.”

“Why does the inside look like this?”

“Rocks form like this when there are pockets of air trapped in them. They are common around volcanos.”

How did Elias know that? It was another reminder my master had seen a lot more of the world than me. After leaving the orphanage, I’d only been training in this desert for nine years. I wanted to know more.

“We’re near a volcano?” I asked.

Elias shook his head. “No. But we are close to pyroclastic dragons. They evoke magma, and sometimes they create these geodes by accident.”

Pyroclastic dragons… I had seen them far off in the desert. Roux said we had to stay away. They were too dangerous, and too aggressive. They had made this boulder with their magic?

“So, did you have me hit this rock to prove how strong I was?” I asked.

Elias scoffed. “No. I already know you’re strong.”

I appreciated the compliment, but that just confused me even further. “So… what was the point of all this?”

Master Elias walked over to the broken rock and touched the jagged crystals. “I wanted you to train your body and develop pain thresholds. And to learn the importance of patience.”

Patience?

“Even mountains crumble to the might of a persistent river, Amir. Sometimes it isn’t raw strength that wins. It’s tenacity.”

His words sank into my mind, soaking into my thoughts and filling me with understanding. “Roux,” I telepathically said. “This rock… It’s like the prickly pears. It takes a while to rid the fruit of spines, but there’s something wondrous inside.”

Roux clopped across the rock plateau to my side. She poked me with her twisted horn. “Yes. It is exactly that.”

“You’ve been teaching patience with every lesson,” I said, coming to the final realization.

Master Elias nodded. “You’re finally seeing clearly, Amir.”

I ran a sweaty hand down the side of my face. “Uh. I think I knew all along… I just didn’t want to admit it.” It almost felt like he had tricked me. Why did I need to learn patience like this?

“Well, now that you’re of age, you have skills you need to develop. You can ride Roux, and you’ve mastered basic stances, you’ve improved your strength, and you’ve become a damn good archer—but now we need to focus on magic.”

Magic! These were the lessons I had been waiting for. I wanted to become a powerful arcanist, like Roux spoke about. “I’m ready,” I said.

Master Elias pulled himself into Hyperion’s saddle. “Let’s head back. You’ve had a long day, and while I might not know much about celebrating, I think tonight is a good night for another one of these frivolous parties.”

Elias always acted grumpy whenever we had parties—ever since the first.

But I think he secretly liked them. We kept having them, and they were always a little more elaborate than the last.

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I leapt onto Roux, patted her neck, and urged her back into the desert. We rode across the sands at speeds I had never seen her achieve before, but it still wasn’t fast enough to keep up with Master Elias and Hyperion. They shot through the sky, unburdened by the dunes, the winds their ally.

I watched with a smile as they pulled away from me.

Today, I was a man.

Tomorrow, I would start my journey to become a powerful arcanist.

***

To celebrate my coming-of-age, Master Elias had prepared a roasted boar. He also peeled half a dozen prickly pears for me. That was the real prize—it must’ve taken him an hour to do that alone. Or perhaps Hyperion had done it? Either way, I was grateful. It was a small gesture, but one that spoke volumes.

For dinner, I served everyone else first. That might not have sounded important, but it was tradition to show respect to mentors, so the eldest was typically served before all others. Master Elias had taught me that, and Roux had echoed the sentiment.

I wanted to show everyone I was mature, and patient, and prove to them I had taken everything to heart.

So, I served Master Elias and Hyperion first. They received the lion’s share of the boar. Then I served Roux, giving her half the prickly pears. She didn’t eat meat. Kirin were herbivores.

It was only then that I got food for myself. The four of us ate in quiet contentment. I enjoyed every second together with them.

They were my family.

Once Master Elias finished, he set his plate on the massive stone table and leaned back in his seat. “So, now that you are fifteen, you’ll be able to bond with a second mystical creature.”

I swallowed a mouthful of boar and stared at him with wide eyes.

“There are mystical creatures all around the world, with all sorts of abilities, but I would suggest you search for one in the desert.”

I nodded eagerly. That was what I was thinking, too.

It just felt right.

The desert was my home. I’d lived my life here, ever since Elias brought me into his care. The scorching heat and dry air had become positives I looked forward to. Besides, my master was a desert arcanist, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps.

“Amir, there are plenty of powerful creatures in the Sunset Desert. I’m sure you’ve seen a few from time to time.”

I nodded. “Roux and I see akbuba vultures constantly.”

Elias huffed out a dismissive scoff. “Bah. You don’t want those carrion creatures. They aren’t big enough to ride, and they aren’t very powerful.”

A lot of my training with Roux involved communicating with my eldrin and fighting together. I knew my second partner also had to be one who could remain on the battlefield with me.

Master Elias continued. “Mystical creatures are often categorized by their overall power. Their final limitations, once fully grown.” He leaned onto the table. “Roux wants you to become a great arcanist. The greatest arcanist, actually. Which means you shouldn’t limit yourself to a second-tier creature.”

“Second… tier?” I asked.

“That’s right. The higher the tier, the more powerful the creature. The fire of a pyroclastic dragon is far hotter—and more deadly—than the fire of a salamander. That’s why pyroclastic dragons are categorized as a fourth-tier creature, whereas salamanders are merely third tier.”

“What are kirin? Is Roux high tier?”

Hyperion snorted. A puff of smoke and embers wafted over the table. “You don’t need to worry about Roux. Kirin are special, remember? While other arcanists are limited to just oneeldrin, a kirin arcanist has two. And kirin empower the second eldrin… Which makes your second choice all the more important.”

I dwelled on his words for a long moment. “So, if I get a fourth-tier creature, and Roux empowers it, can it be, like, fifth tier?”

The room went silent for a moment. Roux, Master Elias, and Hyperion all exchanged glances. Was my question bad? Why were they so hesitant?

“Something like that,” Master Elias finally stated. “They’ll be stronger than ever before, that’s all you need to know. Which is why it’s important you bond with the best of the best.” He held up a finger. “And not something as silly as an akbuba vulture.”

I tapped my fingers along the edge of the table. My whole life, I had practiced martial arts, and combat. Why hadn’t Master Elias instructed me more about mystical creatures? This felt like important information I should’ve known before now.

It was important.

“There are lots of low-tier creatures in the Sunset Desert,” Master Elias said. “Grifter crows. Will-o-wisps. I think even shade rats come out in the evening. Maybe even ghouls and skull scorpions. You want to ignore all of them.”

That was fine by me. I liked the desert heat, but the unforgiving environment meant it was also a source of death. I’d seen ghouls shambling around before—they were reanimated corpses infused with magic. Meanwhile, skull scorpions were massive toxic creatures that decorated themselves with the skull of their prey.

I hated the undead.

Hated them.

I’d never bond with anything like that.

“What should I bond with?” I asked.

Master Elias locked his gaze to mine. “You want to bond with a pyroclastic dragon.”

My eyebrows shot to my hairline. “Are you sure?” I asked with a shaky breath. “I mean, aren’t there stone golems and basilisks out in the desert?”

“Those are both lower tier creatures,” Master Elias stated.

“O-Okay. But what about the amphisbaena? I heard they were powerful. And rare.”

Amphisbaena were amazing, actually. They were gigantic snakes with a head on each end of their serpentine body. They controlled insects and had healing abilities unlike other creatures. Roux had told me all about them. Apparently, people ventured into the desert all the time to bond with them, but most never returned…

“The amphisbaena can’t fly,” Master Elias said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Don’t bother looking for those reclusive creatures.”

“What about griffins? Are they nearby? And they can fly.”

“They’re weak. A second-tier creature.” Elias sighed as he sat back in his chair. “There’s no stronger creature in the Sunset Desert than a pyroclastic dragon. I’m telling you—that’s what you need to bond with. You need to become a dragon arcanist.”

His tone had a harsh finality to it.

Again, I tapped at the edge of the table. “I need one? But… why?”

“Because you’re going to be fighting a lot of arcanists in the future,” Master Elias said, no hesitation in his voice. “You need to win.”

“Fighting?” I asked.

My question stilled the whole room. Roux stopped eating. Hyperion tensed. It seemed as though Elias shouldn’t have said that.

“I need to fight people?” I asked again. “Like the East-Sea Raiders?”

“Yes. Like them. But also others. Many others.”

“Why? I thought you taught me that words could solve conflict just as well as weapons if I used them properly?”

Master Elias stood from his chair. He had a restless energy about him. “Listen, Amir. Right now, I just want you to focus on the task at hand. You trust me as your master, right?”

I nodded.

“Then trust me when I say you’ll be fighting a lot of arcanists in the near future. And you need to win. So, you need an eldrin who can make that happen.”

He sounded adamant about this point. I thought back to my training.

As relentless as the desert sun, as flexible as the shifting sands…

No matter which second eldrin I bonded with, my strength would come from my own determination and training. If I had to fight other arcanists, I needed to know their strength and weaknesses as well. I needed to know how to use my skills to overcome theirs.

But raw strength wasn’t always the way to win…

Wasn’t that what Master Elias had taught me?

“Pyroclastic dragons are extremely powerful,” Master Elias said as he sat back down. “Their arcanists can evoke magma and harden their bodies like stone. Not only that, they also have a useful innate ability. You will be immune to flames, and the heat of your body will automatically protect you from incoming attacks. It will burn most projectiles before they reach you.”

I couldn’t help but nod.

The pyroclastic dragon sounded perfect. I clenched my fist, and my muscles hardened in my arm. The thought of throwing a devastating magma punch sounded amazing.

“But… I thought pyroclastic dragons can’t fly?” I asked.

Elias shook his head. “Well, no. But they can tunnel through the ground. It’s almost as good. Almost.”

“I see…”

“Listen—whatever eldrin you pick will determine your destiny. Tomorrow, you need to go out into the Sunset Desert and prove yourself to a mystical creature, and I want you to keep in mind that this step will affect all other steps in your life.”

“If I get a strong creature, all the other steps will be easier?” I asked.

Hyperion nodded. “You got it.” He huffed out some more smoke. “See? You convinced him, Elias.”

I got to my feet, my heart pounding. Destiny? This was about my destiny? The weight of the decision was heavy. But in a strange way, my path was clearer than ever before. I knew what I needed to do.

“All right then,” I whispered. “Tomorrow morning, Roux and I will go out into the desert to find our destiny.”

Elias stood so fast he knocked over his chair. “That’s the spirit, kid. I knew you’d make the right choice.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Destiny.

I glanced down at my hands, confident in my decision. It felt like I was holding a piece of the sun in both my palms. The heat warmed my fingers, and the rough scales scraped against my hands, almost like a smaller version of the geode I had broken out in the desert.

My new eldrin was shockingly tiny.

I knew he’d grow big and strong, though. He was just a little hatchling right now. And he was sleepy. I swaddled him in a blanket and placed him on Roux’s back. He was the size of a puppy, but he weighed as much as a few bricks.

Roux and I rode back to our house, chasing the dying sun as the day came to an end. My second eldrin slept the entire trek.

When I arrived at the house, I was surprised to find Master Elias and Hyperion waiting. They must’ve been anxious to see what I had bonded with.

Roux galloped to my master’s side before she stopped quickly in the sand. I slid off her back and scooped up my blanket. My headwrap covered my arcanist mark, and I could practically feel Master Elias’s impatient frustration.

“Well?” he asked, stepping forward. “Did you find the lair of the pyroclastic dragons? Did you bond with one? What happened, Amir? Tell me already.”

Funny how his patience sometimes left him. It made me smile.

His frown deepened. “Boy, if you think this is funny, I’ll—”

I held up a hand. Master Elias fell silent. Hyperion loomed over, also curious. I had to choose my words carefully. At the time, my decision had felt right, but now that Elias and Hyperion were here, I worried they would be angry.

“I found the pyroclastic dragons,” I muttered. “But I thought about all the lessons you taught me. And… how you’re the person who made me into the man I am today.”

Master Elias nodded. “And that gave you the courage to face them? I know their Trial of Worth can be daunting.”

I shook my head, almost unable to look him in the eyes.

“You… didn’t?” he whispered.

“No. I decided the pyroclastic dragons weren’t for me. Their Trial of Worth required that I…. Th-The hatchling dragons required a human heart. They said a human’s heart was the jewel of their body. I just…” I shook my head. “I didn’t want that. It didn’t feel right for my destiny.”

How could I bring them a heart? It was wrong. If I killed people just to have a mystical creature, wouldn’t I be the exact same as the East-Sea Raiders? I’d be a monster. I didn’t want that. Not now, not ever.

Master Elias was silent for a long time. Then he looked me up and down. “So? What did you do?”

I held the blanket out.

Then I pulled it aside to reveal the hatchling syrocko drake.

“I realized I wanted to be more like you,” I said, offering to let him to hold my second eldrin.

“You wanted… to be like me?”

“Hyperion is a syrocko drake. And he can fly. And he’s powerful. Maybe not as powerful as a dragon… But sometimes raw strength isn’t the most important thing, right?”

Master Elias slowly took the hatchling from my arms. His hands were unsteady as he held the little drake close to his chest. The scales of the beast glowed in the dim evening light. “You bonded with a syrocko drake…”

“I thought it was fitting.” I offered a weak smile. “And it felt like destiny would approve.” I just hoped Elias would as well.

Hyperion chuckled, his warm breath washing over us all. “My, my. I’m surprised. You’re just as sentimental as Elias, Amir.”

Master Elias petted the hatchling drake. The drake was barely awake, but when he opened his eyes, the gold of his irises practically glowed with the warmth of the sun.

“What’s your name?” Elias whispered to the hatchling.

“Wren,” the syrocko drake replied. Next to Hyperion’s growling voice, Wren’s was practically a warble.

“So, how did the Trial of Worth go? You were surprised at how easy it was for Amir, weren’t you?”

Syrocko drakes had a difficult Trial of Worth—for normal people. Wren had required I survive the scouring heat of the desert for five full hours. The Sunset Desert was a cruel place. Master Elias had said most people die within the first couple of hours. They become dehydrated and faint.

But not me.

I had learned all the techniques to conserve my water and keep the heat from damaging my body. The five hours had still been rough, but I had managed.

Wren’s eyes narrowed. He snorted out a small ball of flame. “Hmph! Yes, Amir passed the Trial of Worth. But I’m the lucky one here. With an arcanist and a kirin, I’ll become the strongest drake of all time!”

To prove his strength, Wren blasted out a large gout of fire. I would need to train my kirin magic in order to empower him, but once it happened, we would become unstoppable. I didn’t know if we would become stronger than a pyroclastic dragon, but something in my gut told me we would.

Elias laughed. “Well, congratulations, Wren, it seems. You and your new partner are sleeping on the floor tonight.”

Wren’s eyes narrowed. “Why? Are you jealous of my power?” He squirmed in Master Elias’s arms until he managed to shake free. Then he fell to the ground—landing on his feet—and lifted his head as high as it would go. The point of his nose reached Elias’s belt.

“Because you’re going to set everything on fire,” Master Elias drawled. “The bed. Our table. The whole house.”

Hyperion lowered his snout and exhaled over Wren. It was adorable to see those two side by side. “Don’t worry. I’ll show you the ropes.”

Wren ducked his head away from Hyperion and then scurried over to my legs. He gave the giant syrocko drake a fearful glance. “Don’t think you can take my arcanist from me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I laughed. “Don’t worry, Wren. I hear sleeping on the floor is good for your back.”

Wren frowned. “Really? If that’s the case, I should do that, too. Usually, syrocko drakes sleep on their stomachs.”

Hyperion groaned. “Yes, because we aren’t humans.”

I smiled. My new eldrin might be too headstrong, and a little foolish, but he had the same ambition to become the strongest that Roux and I had. That was the most important thing. It was like we had been made for each other.

Which reminded me…

I held out my arms and then walked over to Master Elias. Before he could question my actions, I wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace. “Well! I did it. I have two eldrin now.”

He awkwardly patted my back. With one eyebrow raised, he said, “Okay?”

I released him and smiled widely. “Well, I’m ready to become the strongest arcanist now. Right? I just needed two eldrin?” I motioned to Wren and Roux. “I got that. All done, right? Mission accomplished?”

Master Elias half-smiled. Then he turned to his eldrin. The two shared a quiet moment, one where they had an entire conversation in looks alone. Then my master turned to face me again, this time with an icy seriousness.

“Amir,” he whispered. “Now that you have two eldrin, your real challenge is about to begin.”

I hadn’t been expecting that. With my breath held, I nodded once. “My real challenge?”

“Roux has a special mission. You see… There are magical artifacts that contain great amounts of power. One such artifact is called the Crown of Ascension.”

“The Crown of Ascension?” I whispered. With a nervous chuckle, I added, “What’s that?”

Wren wrapped himself around my legs. “It sounds powerful. We definitely want it.”

“It’s a crown meant to be worn by kirin arcanist.” Master Elias held up a hand. “But no one knows that.”

“No one?”

“No one else. I know what it really does.” Elias waved his hand. “Everyone else treats it like a simple trophy. Every ten years, at the end of the Crown Tournament, the Crown of Ascension is given  to the winner as a ceremonial prize. Well, that and a boatload of riches.”

“People join the tournament for the riches,” Hyperion added with a nod. “The crown is their trophy until the next tournament, where the previous winner hands it to the next. Or, in some cases, the previous winner keeps it for themselves.”

“And I need this crown?” I asked.

Master Elias glanced over at Roux. Then he returned his attention to me. “That’s right. Roux has been searching for that crown for some time. I… tried to steal it once.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

He waved away the comment. “It didn’t go well.”

“We also tried to win the crown,” Hyperion interjected. He snorted. “That alsodidn’t go well.”

“Youfailed?” I asked. “But you’re so strong. There’s no way you would lose a fight.”

In a rare moment of embarrassment, Master Elias’s face brightened a bit. He folded his arms over his chest. “W-Well, it’s nice that you think I’m undefeatable, but I wasn’t to blame for my failing.”

Hyperion lowered his drake head and smiled enough to flash his fangs. “The Crown Tournament is a team event.”

“Teams?” I almost choked on the word. I glanced between Elias and Hyperion. “Does that mean… we’re going to fight together? Me and you? All of us?”

Master Elias nodded once. “Calm down, kid. But yes. We’re going to be a team.”

I clapped my hands once and held back a cheer. This was going to be amazing! I was going to fight alongside Master Elias? And I was going to have Roux and Wren with me? And even Hyperion?

We were going to completely dominate the Crown Tournament. Who could possibly stand against us?

And if the Crown of Ascension was meant for a kirin arcanist, obviously it was meant for me. It was practically mine—I could already envision wearing it when I closed my eyes. And what would it do once I had it?

As if Roux knew my thoughts, she stepped close to me. “The Crown of Ascension is important to me. We need it. Understand, my arcanist? Together, we’ll become stronger.”

“Sounds amazing,” I telepathically replied. Then I patted her long neck. “You know, you’re more my partner in all of this, Roux. Don’t call me your arcanist. Just partner, okay?”

“But… why?”

“I want you and me to have something unique. Different. Wren can call me arcanist. But me and you… It’s different.”

Roux bowed her head until her crystal horn nearly touched the sands. “As you wish, my partner.”

I turned back to Master Elias. “Okay, well, if I need that crown, what’re we waiting for? Let’s go enter the Crown Tournament and claim our prize!”

CHAPTER NINE

It was time to leave the desert.

I had thought this day would never come.

Master Elias clambered onto Hyperion’s back. Then he motioned to me. I mounted Roux, and Wren got into my lap. Roux was slender and delicate, but she managed to hold us both. The moment Hyperion took to the sky, Roux raced across the sands after him.

She pushed herself to her limit.

Wren watched Hyperion sail through the desert air. Then he turned his bright eyes to me. “You’ll be able to fly on me in just a year or two,” he boasted. “It’ll take me a bit longer to take Roux, too, probably. Unless I grow faster with her empowerment?”

“Amir,” Roux telepathically said. “Tell Wren that isn’t the case.”

A kirin never spoke to anyone but their arcanist—not even the arcanist’s second eldrin. Roux couldn’t speak with Wren telepathically, so any communication between them would have to go through me.

“Wren, Roux wanted me to tell you she will only increase your strength, not your growth rate,” I said.

Wren clung to me and frowned, his pouting on full display.

When Hyperion flew closer to the sands, he kicked up a bit of a storm behind us. The gigantic syrocko drake soared mere inches from us, his body snaking about. All with a smile that showed his fangs, grinning down at Wren.

“You’re so tiny,” Hyperion said, his voice carried away by the winds.

Wren flared his scales. “Not for long!”

With a laugh, Hyperion returned to the sky. Roux panted as she ran, her beautiful scales shimmering in the desert sun. I patted the side of her neck, encouraging her to continue. She was majestic and wonderful. Nothing would stop us now.

After a few hours, we took a break to rest.

Hyperion and Master Elias flew down and brought us lunch. We ate rice with prickly pears and drank cactus water until Roux had recovered enough to ride again. Then we returned to the trail, blazing our way closer and closer to civilization.

It had been a long time since I had seen anyone other than Master Elias and Hyperion. I remembered the orphanage, and House Mother Mila… Or was her name House Mother Melona? My memories were fuzzy. It had been so long ago.

An hour from town, Hyperion swooped down and landed in a sand dune. Master Elias hopped off, and he motioned Roux over. Then he gestured for me to dismount. Confused, I did as he instructed.

Master Elias grabbed my headwrap. He secured it tightly over my head and pulled the cloth down over my forehead, hiding my arcanist mark.

Unlike Elias, who had a seven-pointed star with a syrocko drake laced through the points, I had two creatures. Both the kirin and the drake were in my marking. It was unusual. Arcanists didn’t normally have that—or so Master Elias had said.

“You can’t let anyone see your mark,” he said with a huff.

“Okay,” I replied.

Then Master Elias withdrew a horse blanket from a saddlebag on the side of Hyperion. He threw the blanket over Roux, hiding her beautiful white scales. “No one can see her, either.”

“But—”

Master Elias shot me a glower.

I swallowed my words. This was important, apparently. I just didn’t understand. Why wouldn’t he take the time to explain it?

Without another word, Master Elias grabbed some reins out of the saddlebag as well. The reins were for a fancy horse of some kind. The top of them had a leather strap meant to go onto a horse’s head. Once Master Elias had fixed it onto Roux—careful to put her horn through the leather fastening—it looked like her horn was part of the reins’ decoration, rather than part of her body.

“She’s just a normal horse,” Master Elias said. “With some fancy reins. Understand?”

I nodded along with his words. “Right. Okay.”

Roux shook her head and snorted. “How demeaning.”

“I’ll still talk to you like this,” I replied telepathically.

That seemed to cheer her up. She lifted her head and swished her tail.

Wren scurried over to Master Elias’s boots. Then he sat on his back legs and reached up with his front claws. He made little grabbing motions. “Where’s my blanket? And my headdress? I want to look fancy.”

“Fun fact, true fact: you’re not a horse,” Elias quipped.

“Yeah. I’m better than a horse. I can fly.”

“Someday.”

Roux stomped the sand next to him. Wren flinched and then drooped his head. With a frown, he stared up at Roux. “I didn’t mean it. You’re not a horse. You’re a majestic kirin.”

Master Elias carefully observed me and Roux for a moment, then crossed his arms. “Not quite good enough.” He pulled a bigger piece of cloth from his saddlebag, then threw it at me. “Use this. Around your shoulders. If anyone gets too close, pull it over your head as well, so they don’t even get a glimpse of your arcanist mark.”

I did as he said, though I still felt confused. Clearly, my master wanted me to hide my identity while walking into the town, though I didn’t understand why. How would anyone recognize me? I was just an orphan who hadn’t visited town in a long while.

Once I had finished wrapping myself in a blanket, Elias nodded in approval.

Wren coughed up a ball of embers. “Everyone gets a blanket but me!”

Master Elias patted me on the shoulder. “Excellent. If anyone asks, you’re a new member of a mystic seeker organization. We’re hunting baby mystical creatures. We found one baby syrocko drake, and that’s it.” Elias glared down at Wren. “A normal, not that powerful, baby syrocko drake. Can you keep that story straight?”

With all the pouty energy of a child, Wren flopped onto the sand. “Why should we hide our power? Don’t you want everyone to know we’re big, powerful arcanists?”

Master Elias grumbled something under his breath. Then he pinched the bridge of his nose.

But… wasn’t Wren right? Hadn’t I been training for years?

“If you’re worried about trouble, isn’t it better to appear strong?” I asked. “People are already afraid of arcanists to begin with. Nobody is going to mess with somebody with two eldrin.”

Elias shook his head. “You’re thinking about it the wrong way. If you walk in with Roux and Wren by your side, you’re right. People will be afraid of you. But the people who want to do you harm will also know where to find you. And we can’t have that.”

“Who wants to harm me?” I tilted my head.

“Assassins. Mystic seekers. People who hunt rare eldrin to make into magical items. Your kirin will attract a lot of unwanted attention, and until we get through your magical training, I don’t think we should risk it.”

Wren just continued sulking. He didn’t even move. He was a lump on the dune.

“But maybe if I’m really powerful, no one will mess with me,” I said.

“Never play an ace when a two will do,” Master Elias barked. He pointed. “Don’t tell anyone.” Then he hardened his expression. “Remember the East-Sea Raiders? Some people think might means right. Don’t let them think they can take something valuable from you.”

I shivered.

The East-Sea Raiders would definitely kill me to take my eldrin. Dying was bad enough, but leaving Roux all by herself again? That just wasn’t right. I grabbed at the cloth around my head, and tied it a little tighter just to be safe.

Master Elias had taught me a lot about martial arts, but he still knew a lot more about dealing with evildoers. It would be best to keep his advice in mind.

“You’re right,” I said. “I should hide myself. And Roux, too. What do you think about keeping her at the stable at our inn? That way, people will think she’s just a horse. That should keep her safe.”

“Are you all right with that?” I telepathically asked her.

“Your wish is my command, my partner.”

Wren grumbled. “I say we just attack everybody who looks suspiciously at us. With our kirin powers, we could do it.”

I knelt and patted his head, trying to cheer him up. From the sound of it, he’d been looking forward to picking a fight and proving himself. “Don’t worry. It’s like Master Elias said. This is just to keep the assassins and raiders from messing with us. If thugs try bothering us, I’m sure we’ll take them down in no time.”

After a little more pouting, Wren finally got to his feet and sulked to my side.

With me and Roux appropriately disguised, Master Elias and Hyperion pointed to a road at the edge of the sands. We all walked together—no flying, no riding—until we came to a wooden sign that pointed down the path.

To Morrumbi Town

“What’s in Morrumbi Town?” I whispered.

“It’s where we’re going to train,” Hyperion replied. “And it’s where the first regional qualifiers will be held.”

“What’re regional qualifiers?”

“The Crown Tournament is massive, and enjoyed by many arcanists from different nations. Too many arcanists, really.”

Master Elias scoffed out a laugh. But he didn’t add anything.

Hyperion continued. “Hundreds and hundreds of arcanists want a chance to fight and compete for the massive prize. All those coins and star shards… Everyone is eager, but most are untalented.”

“That’s harsh,” I said.

“It’s true.” Wren held his head high. “Because we’re the only ones talented enough to win.”

Hyperion swished his tail a bit. “You need to win in the regional qualifiers to prove your talent. If you can demonstrate skill, you’ll be allowed to advance. If you fail to win, you’ll be barred from entering the tournament.”

“And since it only comes around every ten years, we need to get this right,” Master Elias stated.

Every ten years? If I failed this now, that meant I’d have to wait a whole decade before I could ever try again.

When we reached the edge of town, I couldn’t control the excitement of my heart. Morrumbi Town had a little wood wall, a small gate, and two guards dressed in leather armor. One was old, and the other was probably my age. They both held spears, but the weapons looked older than even the geezer.

The younger one straightened his posture when we approached. “May the sands be kind, arcanist.” Then he glanced at me and nodded once. No words.

His skin was tanned by the sun, just like mine. I waved to him. The guard didn’t reply. He just stared at me with a lifted eyebrow. I wondered why.

When we entered the city, I spotted several citizens going about their daily lives. One woman was beating a rug to rid it of dust. A man rolled a cart through the street, selling fresh stone-baked bread. A few kids stood by a well.

It was so exciting!

There were so many people here. So many. At least twenty! That was… almost too many to comprehend. And there were probably more in the buildings—all of which were made of stone and clay bricks.

“How many people live here?” I asked, my voice filled with awe.

“I dunno,” Master Elias said with a groan. “Too many.”

“I suspect five hundred,” Hyperion casually remarked.

Five hundred?! That was intense! Did they all know each other? How could they keep track of everyone? Why didn’t they live underground, like Master Elias? This wasn’t the desert—it was more scrubland—but wouldn’t it be colder under the dirt?

I had too many questions. My head spun.

Wren giggled excitedly. “All five hundred of these people will be talking about us once we win! You, me, and Roux!”

Elias glared at him. “What did I say before we got here?”

Wren sighed. “Fine. Fine. I’ll downplay it.” Then he turned, and his drake eyes grew huge. “Is that… a sign about the tournament?” He scurried over to a billboard in the middle of the town. It had pieces of paper pinned to the wood. Wren pointed to one of the posters. “Is that for the Crown Tournament?”

There was a picture of a crown, and also a picture of stars and flames. I walked over, glanced at the words, and smiled. “It is.”

But before I could read all the details, someone snatched the poster off the billboard. I flinched and turned to find a giant man in leather armor. He was bald—his skin glossy and smooth, practically sparkling in the sunlight—and his gut was trying to escape his leather chest piece.

“I need this,” he said with a grunt.

“I was reading it,” I replied.

“Well, we need it down at the pub. We’re taking bets, ya see. We need to remember the rules of the tourney.” He tapped the poster and then offered me a smile. “You gonna be makin’ bets, lad? Do you have a favorite arcanist?”

I shook my head, a smile creeping onto my face. “Do people have favorite arcanists?”

“A few tournaments back, the Red Wind was everyone’s favorite.” The man ran a hand over his smooth head. He chuckled to himself as he said, “Ah, yes. Everyone was disappointed when he lost. I, myself, want to see the Red Wind return and claim the prize.”

“Who is the Red Wind?”

This strange man just sneered and snorted all at once. “I just told you, lad. Get your ears cleaned. He’s a legendary arcanist.”

“Does he have a normal name?”

“No around these parts remembers it. They just remember his skill with a sword, and his way with flames.” The man tucked the poster into his trousers and then headed for the pub. “Keep your ears open, lad. Don’t be so deaf.”

I waved to him, happy to have a conversation like a regular person. He even called me deaf. That was probably a good sign. We were joking around, which only friends did. It reminded me of my time in the orphanage, after all.

Hm… Arcanists lived a long time, according to Master Elias. Perhaps the Red Wind would join this tournament. I hurried back to Elias, Wren following me the whole way. When I reached his side, I smiled. He just stared at me with a frown.

“What?” he practically barked.

“Do you have any idea who this Red Wind is?” I asked. “Will we need to worry about him? Like, what if he enters the tournament this time around?”

Master Elias shook his head and half-smiled. “No. Don’t worry about that nonsense.”

I should have known Elias wouldn’t care about some martial artist with a grand name. My master was a no-nonsense man who never got intimidated. He would focus on winning, no matter what.

Elias gestured to a tent at the edge of town. It was made of blue fabric, and stood out more than anything else. At the top of the tent was a large sign with flowing script—CROWN TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION.

There wasn’t a line, but the tent looked worn and used. The footprints outside it told me plenty of people had come and gone.

“When is the regional qualifier?” I asked.

“In a few weeks,” Hyperion muttered. “They aren’t done setting up, however. We should register whenever they open. For now, we can get to training. We don’t have long before your first real combat.”

That was a shame. I wanted to register now…

But it could wait.

“Come on,” Master Elias said. “Let’s hurry. Hyperion is right. We need to start training right away.”

CHAPTER TEN

The sleepy streets of Morrumbi Town were easy to navigate.

I loved this place. It was so massive. Five hundred people! I still couldn’t believe it. I asked everyone their name whenever I went anywhere. How did everyone remember them all?

There was Abal, the baker.

Haatim, the farmer.

Rokus, a street cleaner.

So many.

But I didn’t have time to meet and greet everyone, even though I wanted to. Master Elias wanted me to learn my magic, and that was probably for the best. We went to the edge of town, away from everyone else, and took up a spot for training by an acacia tree. The long branches created a canopy of shade that shielded us from the oppression of the sun.

Master Elias and his drake positioned themselves near the trunk.

I stood ten feet away. Wren accompanied me. He scurried around my boots, more energetic than normal, his crimson scales flaring with fire. But Roux didn’t join me. She trotted over to Elias, her “disguise” hiding most of her body from view. It was a shame because she was so beautiful.

“Are you okay?” I asked telepathically.

“I am,” she replied. “Please focus on your training.”

Master Elias, who couldn’t hear our conversation, stepped closer to me. He widened his stance and raised his fists.

I understood what he wanted. This was our ready stance before we trained. I mirrored his position, my own fists raised. Wren stared up at me, watching from between my legs. He would get in the way if I moved around, but I’d address that later. Perhaps Elias didn’t want me to move?

“It’s time you learned the book facts of my fighting style,” Master Elias said, no games, no humor—he was all serious. “This is the Ginza Aggression Fighting Art. A rare form of combat taught to dragon and king basilisk arcanists from lands far from here.”

I held my stance, my breath half-held. “Really?” I whispered. “Wow.”

“This fighting style utilizes powerful hand and leg movements. Fast strikes.” Elias punched and then kicked to the side—a common form he had taught me. “A master of this fighting art never relents. All strikes are fluid, and they build into the last. They’re like a razor wind. Constant. Unforgiving. Dominating the foe by never allowing them to breathe.”

I clenched and unclenched my fists. “I… uh… I never really fought anyone, though? I’ve only practiced with you.”

“You’re ready now. You have the stances and forms engraved into your muscles. You should be able to perform them with little thought.”

That didn’t reassure me. “How am I supposed to be unrelenting? I don’t feel like razor wind.”

“That’s where your magic comes in.” Elias smiled. Then he dropped his hands and his stance. “A syrocko drake evokes fire. You will evoke this while you punch and kick. The flames and the heat will bother most opponents who aren’t familiar with your eldrin. You need to use this to your advantage.”

I tensed, readying myself to start.

Master Elias continued. “First, you will start with the striking stances I taught you. Punches. You want fire at the eyes of your opponent. You want to steal their sight and make them afraid to get too close.” He held up a finger and pointed to the arcanist mark on his forehead. “Aim here. Most opponents will duck after.”

“That’s when I follow up with a kick,” I said, remembering our training. “To catch them when they’re off balance.”

“Excellent.” Master Elias actually sounded happy—which was rare. “But let’s start with the strike. You must visualize your magic flowing through you. Evocation is when the magic in your body takes physical form and leaves from your extremities.”

Master Elias resumed his stance. He punched forward, and a flash of fire lit up our impromptu training area. The blaze died off a moment later, but it was enough that some nearby leaves and grass were charred.

“Now you try,” he said.

Wren scurried away from my feet. He stood a couple of inches away from my left boot, his eyes wide. “You can do it, my arcanist!”

I rotated my shoulders and then readied my body. After a quick breath, wherein I visualized the fire, I slowly extended my arm. I was practicing the motion of the punch, but also trying to feel the flow of the magic in my veins.

It felt…

Tingly.

It was hard to describe. But it was pleasant. Warm. Powerful. It reminded me of Roux. It was then that I knew—I could do this. I had technically been an arcanist for years. Sure, I had never used any kirin magic, because it was best used in conjunction with other eldrin, but magic wasn’t something new to me. I had been an arcanist for a long time.

With a smile, I brought my arm back and then punched as hard as I could. I visualized the fire in my arm, jetting outward after the blow.

A flash of embers left my fist, lighting up the area. It was much less than Master Elias could do, but that didn’t diminish my excitement. I dropped my stance, turned on my heel, and then smiled.

“Did you see that?”

Wren clapped his little clawed hands. “You did it! I knew it! We’re amazing!”

Master Elias and Hyperion weren’t as jovial, though. My master just stared at me, a slight frown at the corners of his mouth. “Look, you can’t celebrate every little accomplishment, or else we’ll never get anything done.”

“But it worked! You saw!” I jumped and spun all at the same time, too energized to stand still. “The first try!”

“Careful,” Roux warned me through our telepathic link. “Try to keep a low profile, my partner. We don’t want to attract unnecessary attention.”

I gulped down some air, my smile wide. Then I forced myself to stand still, even though a giggle was bubbling up in my chest. Maybe it wouldn’t take me too long to become the most powerful arcanist of them all!

“Yeah, yeah, wrap it up,” Master Elias said, rolling his eyes. He stomped over to me. “Get back in your stance, and do it again. I want to see fire aimed at my face, got it?”

“You want me to use fire on your face?” I asked, baffled.

“As a syrocko drake arcanist, I have an innate ability—I’m immune to fire. You know this.”

I laughed, way louder than normal. I just couldn’t help it. I was giddy. “Oh, right! Yes. I remember.” I got back into my striking stance. “So, fire to your face?”

Master Elias stood in front of me, frowning deeper this time. He motioned to the arcanist mark again. “Just blast fire here a few times. Once you have it down, we’ll move on to the transition for your fighting. Understood?”

“Understood,” I said.

***

The Ginza Aggression Fighting Art.

No one in Morrumbi Town had heard of it. I asked everyone who would listen. Most people here weren’t arcanists, though. And they didn’t seem interested in talking about fighting. A few individuals told me there were schools for arcanists. Academic schools… and martial arts schools.

I wished I had known of the martial arts schools. Master Elias said they were scams run by swindlers who took in young arcanists and just taught them a few tricks with weapons and magic.

Master Elias was very confident his fighting style was superior.

It made me curious. Was it really stronger? Or was he just puffing himself up? Either way, it was the only fighting style I knew.

Ginza Aggression.

It sounded intimidating. And I practiced it for several days with Master Elias. I had to be unrelenting. Fire had to spew from my fists with each punch, and a blaze of heat needed to cover the arena with each kick.

I already knew all the stances and physical techniques… Now I just had to pair it all with magic.

It was like learning to dance with music after having practiced without it for years. Everything felt a little off. But having the magic—just like having the music—made everything feel complete. Like I hadn’t been a whole fighter without it.

Master Elias never really fought me, though. We had fake match after fake match.

In just a few days, we’d be in our first tournament fight, though…

And then I’d get to test my skills for real.

***

The day finally arrived.

We could now register.

Master Elias and Hyperion went ahead to the tent to sign us up. Apparently, the bouts would take place over the next couple of weeks. Hundreds of arcanists had signed up! That number alone surprised me. How many arcanists were in the world? In my imagination, there was like… twelve. But Master Elias said there were thousands.

It was hard to comprehend. I tried not to think about it. Instead, I wandered around my inn room.

As I dressed and readied myself for the fight, Wren crowded my feet. Roux remained in contact with me from outside. She didn’t like the horse stables. I didn’t blame her.

“It smells of feces,” she complained, her telepathic voice projecting her nose scrunched. “The horses kept smelling me in odd places. It took all of my willpower not to kick them away.”

“I’ll come down and wash you before the fight,” I replied. “Master Elias said I have to put down I’m a kirin arcanist for us to be registered, remember? So maybe you don’t need to hide as much.”

“Thank you.”

I could hear her relief in our mental communication.

Wren became so excited that he bit my boot to get my attention. I flinched and glanced down at him as I tightened my leather armor around my shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

“When is the time? When is the time?”

“Calm down. Remember what our master said? You don’t want to get caught up in the moment. We need to be in control at all times.”

Wren nodded his drake head hard—but only once. Then he stilled his body, tensing his muscles so that his scales flared outward. He looked buff for a moment, his eyes narrowed in a harsh glare.

“Like this?” he whispered, clearly trying not to untense.

“Just do that when we face our opponents.” I leaned down and patted his head. “You’ll intimidate them, and that’s when I’ll go in with our razor windstrategy.”

“Perfect.” Wren exhaled, and his whole body deflated a bit. “I can’t wait.”

I turned and headed for the door to my inn room, hoping to exit and find Master Elias, but I never reached it. The door slammed open while I was still halfway there. Master Elias barged into my room, shutting the door behind him as he entered.

His right eye was practically twitching, and his teeth were gritted and grinding loud enough to hear.

“Is something wrong?” I asked as I ran over to him.

“We couldn’t register,” Master Elias barked, his shouts spooking Wren.

My eldrin ran to my leg, his scales on end.

“Why not?” I stood my ground. “Are kirin arcanists not allowed to join?”

“It’s not that. It’s…” Master Elias ran his hand down his face. After a quick breath, and a moment of reflection, he slowly stated, “Normally, the Crown Tournament is a competition between single arcanists, or a team of two. I thought this year was a team of two… but I’m wrong.”

“We have to fight alone?” I asked, my voice low.

Master Elias shook his head. Then he glowered at me. “No. It’s worse than that. We need a full team of five.”

I absorbed the information for a long moment. Then I glanced around my empty room. “But… we don’t have a team of five?”

“Exactly,” Elias drawled. “That’s the problem.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“What’re we going to do, then?” I asked.

If we didn’t have a team, did that mean we couldn’t enter? The tournament only came around every ten years. If we didn’t join now, we’d have to wait another lifetime to participate.

Did Master Elias even knowthree other people? I never heard him say even a single kind word about anyone.

Elias rubbed his chin, his nails catching on some of his stubble. Then he ran a hand up his face and through his hair. The pepper markings at his temples flared a bit, giving him a very flustered demeanor. Then he snapped his fingers. “It’s fine. It’s fine.” He snapped his fingers a second time. “We’ll just recruit some arcanists from the town.”

Wren frowned. “Randomarcanists?”

“Travelers from all over have come here.”

“Not to be judgmental, but I’m pretty sure a wet towel could’ve come up with a better plan.”

Master Elias shot him an icy glare. My eldrin ducked behind my legs.

“There aren’t that many arcanists here,” I muttered. “And won’t they all have their own teams?”

I had been all over Morrumbi Town. While the town had an astounding five hundred people, they only had fourarcanists. That wasn’t much. And would they even want to join a tournament? I doubted it.

Master Elias sighed. “The prize for winning the tournament is—”

“The Crown of Ascension,” I interjected.

“—yes, that, but also one thousand star shards.” Master Elias waited for a moment, like he wanted a reaction from me, but I wasn’t sure how to react. Elias waved a hand around and frowned. “That’s more money than most people ever see, boy! That’s why most people enter the tournament. They don’t care about the crown. They don’t even know what the crown is or what it’s capable of.”

With a nod, I widened my eyes. “Okay. But I don’t understand. Do we need star shards?”

“No. We don’t need them. Other people do. We can recruit three other arcanists if—” Master Elias pulled me close and lowered his voice, “—we promise them the star shard prize.”

“And we keep the crown,” I muttered, piecing together his plan. “Do you think people will be interested enough to team up with us? And how can we tell if they’re good fighters? Will we give them a test?”

“It doesn’t matter if they’re good.” Elias pushed me away and huffed. “You and I are very capable arcanists. We can probably handle most of the tournament ourselves, especiallysince you’re a kirin arcanist. You have the ability to empower your magic far beyond normal limitations. The other three arcanists will just be names to fill the roster so we can participate.”

That all made sense to me, though I worried my master was being too arrogant.

Surely there were other arcanists who were as strong as we were? We didn’t even have dragon eldrin. Would my kirin abilities be enough?

“You really think we can win with just the two of us?” I asked.

Master Elias replied with a smirk. “How many times do I need to tell you? You’re a kirin arcanist. Kirin empower their master’s other eldrin. You’re not just a syrocko drake arcanist—you’re going to be an unrivaled syrocko drake arcanist. And I’m already a master of my fighting arts.”

“I haven’t learned any of those abilities yet…”

“We’ll practice. You’ll be fine. Trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong?”

I slowly shook my head. “What if we face five arcanists who are really talented?”

Elias waved my comment away. “Don’t worry. We need five on our team, but five never fight at the same time. It said so in the rules.

“Oh, really?”

“How many will be fighting?” Wren asked. He poked his head out from between my legs.

“At most, it’s three-versus-three.” Master Elias paced around the room. “And the majority of the time, it’ll be two-versus-two. Trust me when I say, we don’t need the other three arcanists. We’ll carry them to the finale.”

Now that Elias had explained it, excitement coursed through me once again. That sounded like a great plan. “Okay,” I said. “What should we do?”

He motioned to the door. “We’ll scour the town. Find some chumps who want money—lots of star shards to sell, basically—and then meet up at the registry.”

I nodded along with his words. “Excellent.”

***

I walked down the street with Wren riding on my shoulder. My drake eldrin was rather large, and he had to wrap his tail around my other arm in order to even hang on to me.

While awkward, I loved having him close. His scales on the back of my neck felt warm. It reminded me of the Sunset Desert—my home.

With every step I took, my heart flew higher and higher in my chest. I couldn’t stop smiling. The citizens of Morrumbi Town waved and smiled back. I think they liked me. But instead of stopping to talk to the baker about what he does on a regular day, I focused on my search for fellow arcanists.

More people were in the streets than normal.

They were likely travelers here to see the first few rounds of the tournament. Some of them were probably arcanists as well. Did they already have teams? How easy would it be to find people?

I walked onto the market street—a whole half mile in length!—and kept my eyes open for any arcanist. They would have a mark on their forehead…

Wren clawed excitedly at my shoulder. His fingers were sharp, but the gesture was light and gentle—more of a scrabble than a genuine scratch. “What’s that?” Wren asked. “It smells delicious! Do you think we can get some of it?” He’d twisted his long neck around to stare at one of the stalls.

I glanced around, still smiling. A man with skin like ancient stone and a mustache with three colors sat beneath a large canopy. He tended blazing grill lined with a wide variety of meat. Most of it I had never seen before.

My nose wasn’t quite as good as Wren’s, but after walking a few more feet, I agreed with him. It did smell delicious.

“That’s a food stall,” I replied matter-of-factly. I was pleased at how quickly I was learning town life. “They usually sell things. This meat here is served with rice wrapped up in palm leaves.”

The words sounded strange coming out of my mouth. It’d been years since I saw anything like this. It was a little surprising, almost like I’d been transported back to a different universe. I’d lived in the desert so long.

“My mouth is watering,” Wren said with a groan.

I pulled out a coin bag Elias had given me. “Mine, too. Let’s get some.” The cloth pouch was just large enough I could grip it in my hand, and the top was tied with a red string. I untied it, but that was the easy part.

I frowned as the coins tumbled into my hand.

There were sixteen in total—seven silver ones and nine copper. The coins were all different sizes—the silver ones were about twenty percent larger than the copper.

Behind the coins were several pieces of paper. I unfurled them and frowned. “What is this, Wren? Look. This paper says one rarik on it. What does that mean?”

Wren frowned. “No idea.”

I stared dumbfounded at the coins and paper in my hands. Master Elias had said I should pay for goods and services with coins. I had coins. I saw the meat. I wanted the meat. Did I just give the coins to the man behind the grill and take what I wanted? That didn’t seem right.

Wren growled impatiently into my ear. “Hurry up, Amir. I want to try some of that meat! What’s the hold up?”

“I don’t know how much these are worth,” I whispered.

“Just ask someone,” Wren whispered back, matching my tone.

“What if they think I’m uneducated or insane?”

Wren flared some of his red scales. “Don’t humans just know how to use money? Isn’t that one of your innate magical abilities? I feel like it should be…”

I stood off to the side and waited.

A woman ambled over to the grill and handed something to the man. Coins? I couldn’t see. Her hand was closed. Then the man grabbed two pieces of meat off the grill and handed them to her.

Ah. Now I understood.

Once the woman was gone, I stepped up to the grill filled with confidence. I put all the coins in my hand and shoved the paper into my pockets. Clearly, I didn’t need those.

I handed the man all sixteen coins in my tight fist. The man held his hand open, and his eyes nearly burst from his skull when I dropped everything into his grasp.

“Two meats, please,” I said.

Wren wagged his tail. “Maybe… threemeats?”

“Uh, I don’t think we can do that,” I whispered. The woman before had only taken two…

“O-Oh, no, you can have as much meat as you want,” the man said with a smile that reached the two stalls on either side of him. “Take it all!” He shoved the coins into his own bag, practically giggling.

Wren gripped my shoulder with his claws, his mouth salivating. “What kind of meat do you think it is? Beef? Chicken? Hog? You know, I’ve had snake before. It’s pretty good, too.”

At first, I thought the meat was just on the grill, but then I realized everything was on a stick. The man tending the stall grabbed everything, wrapped them in rice and leaves, and then handed them over, stick end down, so I took them without burning myself.

“We have chicken, rabbit, goat—it’s all yours!”

The man seemed really happy. Did he just like selling meat? Maybe this was his dream job.

I walked away from the stall, happy with the interaction. Then I handed a stick to Wren. My eldrin gobbled it all, barely chewing. He even consumed the stick, which surprised me.

Wren muttered something, though I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying through all the chewing and wheezing. It sounded like he thought everything was delicious, though.

I smiled. The sight of the tiny syrocko drake inhaling the giant stake of food was ridiculous. Behind us, people pointed at him, murmuring and laughing.

I grabbed some of the chunks of rabbit.

It was just as delicious as I imagined it as a child. The rabbit was perfectly spiced and cooked to the perfect temperature. The rice was warm and sticky, and it clung to my hands as I shoved the food into my mouth.

Things were looking up.

I hadn’t eaten much rabbit before living with Elias, but after staying with him, I loved it. He always brought it out for special occasions, like when I’d done a good job with my training.

Rabbit didn’t just taste like food. It tasted like growing stronger.

“Can I have some more?” Wren asked. “I need it to get bigger like Hyperion!”

I glanced at my shoulder in disbelief. “Did you really choke down the whole stick already?” I could have sworn Wren’s throat had somehow expanded after forcing the whole thing down. Then I laughed and handed him another stick of meat, rice, and palm leaf.

His tongue flickered in and out of his mouth as he ate it from my hand. “You know,” Wren said thoughtfully, “it tastes better when you take your time with it.”

The rabbit was so warm and satisfying. I pulled a prickly pear out of my backpack and plucked away at the spines. After finishing that meal, I wanted some sweet dessert to help it go down. “You want some?” I showed him the fruit. It wasn’t fresh—it had been in my bag for days—but it would still taste good.

Wren shook his head. “Syrocko drakes don’t really eat plants.”

Come to think of it, I’d never seen Hyperion try a prickly pear either.

Wren burped and then stared at our remaining meat. “I wouldn’t say no to more rabbit, though.”

People ran down the main market street. I tensed and whirled around. Was there trouble here in Morrumbi Town?

I didn’t see any warriors or fighters or thieves, though. I just saw a whole group of children storming down the street, each more panicked than the last. They were a few years younger than me—not yet adults, but big enough to bump into people and cause them to stumble.

A girl with long red hair that flowed like fire angrily shouted, “Hurry! We’re going to be late to school because of you!” She wore a black dress that fluttered as much as her hair.

A boy in front of her, his hair shaved close to his head, wore a black tunic and shorts. They seemed to be matching. “It’s your fault!” the boy protested. “You’re the one who wanted to double check her homework!”

The two of them—and three others—ran right by me.

I blinked, then grinned.

School?

Homework?

I remembered hearing about those things at Rosewood Orphanage. House Mother Mila would often say we would need to learn our classroom etiquette, and how to properly complete homework. I never understood what she meant, and Master Elias never used those words. Not ever.

I handed Wren another stick of meat. “I want to check this out,” I whispered.

My eldrin gobbled down the stick. He choked a bit, and punched his own chest to swallow everything. After a cough, he asked, “Aren’t we supposed to be finding arcanists?”

I nodded once. “Maybe they’re in a school?”

“Hm. Maybe! I say we investigate, then.”

Again, unable to stop myself from smiling, I headed down the market street, ready to discover something new about Morrumbi Town.

CHAPTER TWELVE

The red-haired girl and her friend eventually entered a large square building on the edge of Morrumbi Town. The walls were painted a pale orange, and the roof a bright green. It seemed strange to me, but when I glanced through the windows, I spotted children of all ages—some even close to mine.

“Let’s go in, Wren,” I whispered as I headed for the door.

Wren flicked his tongue out. “Arcanists have to be older. Mystical creatures—which is me, so I’m the expert—don’t want to bond with babies. This is a waste of our time.”

“But… I’ve never seen a school before.” I made my way to the front of the brightly-colored building and touched the door handle. Master Elias would be angry if he found me goofing off. “It’ll just be a short moment, okay?”

My eldrin offered a low growl that originated in his belly. He said nothing else. I took that as acceptance. I pushed open the front door and strode into the schoolhouse, my heart pounding.

The school’s interior was built like a street through town. There was a single wide central hallway, like a main street, that branched out into several smaller rooms. I ambled down the hall, my eyes wide. Each room was nearly identical to the last. Children sat at desks while a single teacher stood up at the front, lecturing. The rooms divided the children based on age range. The younger ones in the first room, slightly older in the next…

“Check it out, Wren,” I whispered. “Look at all these students. This is awesome.” I grabbed him and set him on the floor next to my feet. Then I hurried to the next room.

One teacher, her hair kept tied down with a long bandana, shot me a glare as I walked by the door. “Hey, you! Get to class this instant. You’re rude and disturbing the others. For shame.”

I waved my hand in apology. “S-Sorry. I’ll be on my way.”

Wren followed me closely as I went to the next room. Instead of more students, I spotted something exciting. Bones. So many bones. They were kept in cabinets with glass doors, allowing me to see the contents without physically sifting through each cabinet.

The bones…

I walked into the room. Unlike the others, it was empty. No desks, just tons of cabinets, each filled with something different. One contained bright feathers, ranging in all colors, and another had weapons. Knives, short swords—even a spear.

Wren rushed into the room, staying close to my feet.

I went straight to the cabinet with the bones.

“Those are pieces of mystical creatures,” Wren said as he hopped up and down. “Again, I’m an expert, so you can trust me. Definitely mystical creatures.”

Another cabinet had larger bits of mystical creatures. I spotted the gossamer wings of a fairy, black metal chunks from a knightmare, and the long peacock feathers of a phoenix.

But my attention drifted to the spear. It wasn’t like the ones I had seen while living with Master Elias. All hisspears were wooden with a sharp point at the end. This spear was different. There was a blade at one end, like someone had attached a sword to a long wooden pole.

“Hm?” Wren asked as I stepped around him.

I went for the cabinet, opened it up, and grabbed the shaft of the sword-spear. A piece of parchment was wrapped around the outside. I unfurled it and read:

Revolution

This spear was once wielded by the powerful arcanist, Landis Bu. He and his pyroclastic dragon, Red Death, never knew defeat.

“By the shifting sands,” I mumbled. “This is a legendary weapon.”

Wren lifted his head to get a better look. “Really?”

“That’s what this says. The spear is called Revolution.”

“How did it get here? Are the teachers secretly great warriors?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“Well, then, what’re you waiting for? Test it out!”

I glanced around. “You think so?”

“We will definitely win the tournament if you’re wielding a legendary weapon.”

I held the weapon close. The shaft was emerald green, and the sword at the end seemed sharp. It all felt light, though. Too light. Even the training weapons Master Elias gave me were heavier than this. Was that part of its awesomeness? It was lightweight, to wield easier?

Ingenious.

“Okay,” I whispered. “Stand back.”

Wren scooted away, his head still lifted, his eyes wide. When he snorted, some embers took to the air.

The center of the room was empty and open. I moved to the middle, held Revolution with both hands, and took up my offensive stance. With my feet apart, and my grip firm, I slowly swung the spear. It was so light, I feared I would accidentally hit something.

“Test it out,” Wren said. “Stab a cabinet!”

“I don’t know…”

“Do it! Do it!”

He was practically hissing the last words. I knew if Roux were here, she wouldn’t like any of this. But maybe, if I showed him Revolution, Master Elias would forgive me for messing around.

I turned my attention to the nearest cabinet. And then I struck—hard and fast, like razor wind. The spear was so easy to move through the air, I struck the cabinet with surprising speed and stabbed the blade straight into the wood.

Then the spear shaft broke.

Just… in my hands.

Broke in half.

I leapt away, my eyes wide, my heart pounding faster than before.

“What the gobble?” Wren exhaled smoke as he rushed over to me. “You broke it! You must be the strongest arcanist in all history!”

Oh, no.

My mind raced, my vision tunneled. What if we needed this weapon, and…

Then I took a moment to study the spear shaft in my hands. It was hollow. This wasn’t a proper weapon—it was just some fake. Was it a replica?

I threw the spear shaft to the ground. It clattered across the stone floor. “That wasn’t a legendary weapon. It was just something to display.”

“Oh. Right.” Wren held up a claw. “They teach people here.” He said the word awkwardly, as though it tasted wrong. “This is all making sense now.”

“They probably use it to teach history.”

“Uh-huh. Well, this weapon is history now.” Wren opened his mouth and breathed flame across the broken bits of spear.

A loud scream broke all my thoughts. I whirled around, my hands clenched into fists. A woman stood at the door, her short brown hair held back with string, her black dress matching the uniform of the students. She was older than the kids, though—and obviously terrified.

“What’re you doing?” she screamed.

I glanced down. The spear was on fire. A cabinet was a broken. Another one was open. What was I doing? It would’ve been a long and stupid explanation. In my embarrassment, I couldn’t manage words.

All I managed to do was shrug.

“Thief! Vandal! Someone, come quick! This villain is burning down the schoolhouse!”

“Uh, I’m s-sorry,” I stammered.

Wren flared his scales. “Don’t tell this desert bug you’re sorry! What’s she doing yelling at you, huh? No one yells at my arcanist and gets away with it!”

The woman screamed louder than ever before. And while I appreciated Wren’s loyalty, this really wasn’t the time. The woman was clearly just confused. She would understand if I explained myself.

I stomped on the small bits of flame. “Everything is okay. I was just looking around, and—”

“Help!” the woman screamed again. “This lunatic needs to be dealt with.”

Wren huffed. “How dare you? He’s not a lunatic! He’s a powerful arcanist!”

“A powerful arcanist is burning down the schoolhouse! Call the city guard! This criminal is dangerous!”

Criminal?

This was getting out of hand. I was a criminal now? Master Elias would be so upset and disappointed. And didn’t they put criminals in things called jails? Or cells? Or something? I vaguely remembered something like that in my history lessons. What if they killed Wren and Roux because I was now a terrible criminal? What if I never saw Master Elias again? I didn’t know what was going on!

This was all an accident.

In my panic, all I wanted to do was get away.

“I wasn’t here to hurt anybody.” I tried to rush by the woman, but she stared at me with eyes that grew to the size of silver coins. When she screamed, I backed away from her.

“What’re we going to do?” Wren asked, his voice almost lost to the screaming.

I grabbed him, and then dove for the window.

The glass was much harder than I had thought it would be.

I hit the window, crashed through, but lost all the air in my lungs from the terrible collision. I tumbled onto the ground outside, rolling through the broken bits of glass, Wren still in my arms. When I managed to get to my feet, my head spun. The woman was still screaming, and now people were funneling out of the schoolhouse.

“Oh, wow,” Wren muttered as he squirmed out of my grasp. “I think they’re calling for an arcanist!”

I rubbed my temple and glanced back at the broken window. Why had I done that? Panic was never the solution. Master Elias had taught that to me, and now I knew why. I should’ve remained calm.

“This is perfect,” Wren said.

“You have a weird definition of perfect,” I quipped as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“An arcanist is coming! And boy does he look mad. Maybe he’ll want to join our team.”

“Are you crazy?” I stumbled away from the schoolhouse. “He’s going to throw me in jail. Or the stocks. Or a cell—whatever they have here. I’m a criminal now. That’s how it works. I think…”

“It does?” Wren tilted his head. “Oh. Well, then, I think we have a fight on our hands. Here comes the arcanist to arrest you.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I stood stiff and straight, my mind racing through options. Should I just run? If I made it back to Master Elias, he would handle the problem. Somehow. But that was the panicking option. I should remain calm—and handle this as a man.

Because I was one now.

“Help!” the woman screamed from the other side of the broken window. She pointed at me from the safety of the schoolhouse.

The blazing sun beat down on me like the light itself wanted everyone to know where I was.

Wren flared his scales. “Quiet, wretch! I’ll bite you!”

“He’s dangerous!” the woman yelled.

An arcanist ran toward me, his chest puffed out, a glare set on his face. I just waited, stomping down all my panic.

The arcanist was different from most people in Morrumbi Town. A foreigner, for sure. He had a rugged and angular face marred with cuts and bruises, but his eyes were blue enough that I identified the color from a good twenty feet away. His arcanist mark, just as visible as his eyes, was strange.

A seven-pointed star with a fat caterpillar between the points. What was that?

The arcanist pushed back some of his sweat-soaked blond hair. The sun wasn’t kind to him. His pale skin was red or raw in all places the desert sun could touch it. Where had this man come from?

He wore the same outfit most people wore here. Long pants. Loose, white shirt. Comfortable sandal shoes. All this arcanist was missing was a hat.

“You there,” the blond man barked. He pointed. “What do you think you’re doing in this schoolhouse?” He stopped once he was close to me, his hands clenched into fists. He widened his stance, and I wondered if he was a fighter.

“He set something on fire and then jumped out the window!” the woman inside yelled.

Wren flashed his fangs and breathed a puff of fire. I held out my hand, silencing him. My eldrin stopped, though it was clear from his pouting he wanted to maul the woman in the schoolhouse for daring to challenge us.

“You set it on fire?” A dark, magical energy swirled around the man’s hand. “What do you think you were doing? Harming kids? What kind of lunatic are you?”

“Seize him, Arcanist Rosewood,” the woman said. “Please! Before he runs off.”

Rosewood?

The same as my last name.

Well, my new last name. Everyone in the orphanage always took the name of the orphanage itself. That meant…

“Wait,” I said.

Arcanist Rosewood tensed. The woman inside gasped. But neither moved.

“I didn’t mean to harm the schoolhouse,” I said, forcing myself to be as calm and articulate as possible. “It was an accident.”

The woman stepped closed to the busted windowsill. “You walked in and broke our displays!”

“I’ve never been inside a schoolhouse before.” I turned my attention to the sand-covered road beneath my feet. “I apologize. I thought the weapon was real.”

Arcanist Rosewood straightened his posture and loosened his fists. He stared at me for a long moment, like I was a snake that might lash out. When I didn’t, he huffed a laugh. “Did you just say you’ve never been in a schoolhouse?”

“No wonder he’s a brigand,” the woman whispered from the safety of the building.

“My eldrin lit the fake weapon on fire.” I motioned to Wren. “And when the woman declared me a criminal, I panicked and leapt out the window.” I rubbed my shoulder. “Now that I’m a criminal, I understand what you need to do, b-but if there’s some way to become not a criminal, I would appreciate it if you told me.”

The arcanist and the woman exchanged glances.

“I don’t want to be a criminal,” I said. “I don’t want to be hanged. Or starve in a jail cell.” I had only read a handful of stories, but they were all terrible.

“Hanged?” Arcanist Rosewood mouthed, no audible component to his confusion.

The woman in the schoolhouse waited for a long minute. When no one said anything, she said, “If you pay for the display and the window, you won’t need to be arrested.”

“Really?” I asked. “You won’t kill me for being a criminal?”

“That… was never on the table,” the woman nervously said. “But, uh, yes? You’ll be free to go.”

I reached into my pocket and grabbed the paper notes. Then I handed them all to Arcanist Rosewood. “Here. I apologize. It won’t happen again.”

The blond man stared at the paper, his eyes growing wider. “What the? Why do you have this much money on you?” He grabbed a single note and passed it to the woman. “That’s morethan enough to fix everything.”

She snatched it from the arcanist and held it close. “It’s perfect! This will buy a whole new set of displays. Thank you, Arcanist Rosewood!” The woman left the room a second after her declaration.

The man handed me back the rest of the notes. “What’s wrong with you? Where did you get this much money?”

I took the notes and put them back in my pocket. “My master gave them to me.”

“Most people keep those kinds of banknotes in a safe. They don’t carry them around. You’re asking to get mugged.”

Wren snorted. He pressed up against my legs. “We can handle it. Bring on the muggers, I say.”

“I’m Amir Rosewood,” I said, emphasizing my surname. “Thank you for saving my life.”

The arcanist stared at me, one eyebrow lifting. “Saving your life…? Are you touched in the head?” Then he frowned. “Wait. Did you say Rosewood? You went to the same orphanage as me?”

I nodded once. “It seems like it.”

The blond man continued to frown. “I’m Finlay. I don’t remember living with a kid named Amir.”

“I was adopted when I was young. When were you adopted?”

“Never,” Finlay said, flat and cold.

“I see. You were probably one of the lucky ones, then.”

That statement seemed to change something about Finlay. He stared for a long while, his expression softening. Only people who grew up in Rosewood Orphanage would understand the fear getting picked.

Wanting to move past the subject, I asked, “Is House Mother Mila still there? Is she okay?”

“She’s old,” Finlay said. “It’s almost beyond her time. But no one wants to take on a bunch of children as their wards, so she keeps working.” He stood a little straighter, regaining some of his irritation from before. “I’ve been helping her. Sending coin and notes whenever I can.”

“Is the orphanage far from here?”

Finlay pursed his lips, the scratches on his face cracking a bit under the heat of the sun. “It’s a few days from here. Near the Pale Dragon River. I feel like… you’re not telling me something.”

“Hm?” I forced a chuckle. “Like what?”

“Like how you were hit on the head with a rock as a child or something. You seem utterly clueless. About everything.” Finlay leaned in closer to me, his eyes narrowed. “You’re weird.”

Wren exhaled smoke. “You’re weird. Don’t talk to my arcanist that way, you bum.”

“My arcanist?” A whispered voice wafted across the wind. “Is it safe?”

Finlay faced whoever was talking. I glanced around, hoping to find the individual, but I saw nothing. As I searched, Finlay walked over to a barrel propped next to the schoolhouse. The sun baked everything it touched, and the wood of the barrel had paled to a dull apricot. Had the barrel spoken?

But Finlay reached behind it and picked up a disgusting creature.

A fat, blob-like caterpillar.

White hairs sprouted from its back, and its face resembled a human skull. No, that wasn’t right. It wore a human skull—the skull of an infant. The arm-sized worm didn’t have any eyeballs, just hollow sockets where eyes should’ve gone.

It had hundreds of tiny little legs, each of them squirming around as Finlay took the creature into his arms. He cradled the monstrosity as though it were a delicate child.

When Finlay walked back over to us, I took a step backward. Wren did the same, his fangs showing.

“What’s that?” Wren hissed.

Finlay held the fat caterpillar close to his chest. “He’s a grave moth. And his name is Sinsidius.”

“It’s gross.”

“He’s not an it.” Finlay glared at my drake and then sneered at me. “You should teach your eldrin some manners, ya know?”

The freakish worm turned his face to “look” at me, but without any eyeballs, I didn’t know if he could see. “Careful, my arcanist,” Sinsidius whispered. “This one is strange. He’s not like a normal arcanist.” The tiny skull creaked as the jaw moved.

I didn’t like anything that even lookedundead. This… This was unnatural.

“He’s a moth?” I asked.

Finlay nodded. “That’s right.” He glanced at the fat caterpillar. “Well, he will be a moth. Once he ages just little more. Then he’ll fly, and his magic will be enhanced. You’ll see. Grave moths are amazing.”

I already hated it. But flightsounded amazing. Perhaps it would be a powerful creature once it was fully grown.

Finlay pointed to my headwrap. “You know, it’s more of a crime to hide your arcanist mark than it is to bust up some things in a school, right? That’s serious business.”

“Oh.” I grabbed the cloth around my head. “Master Elias said I had to wear this.”

Finlay grabbed my headpiece and tore it away. He pulled some of my hair along with it, and I gritted my teeth in irritation. Why was it a law to not hide my arcanist mark?

But for the second time since I met the man, Finlay seemed baffled beyond words. He stared at the mark on my forehead, his blue eyes fixed on the image. Unlike his mark, my seven—pointed star had two creatures intertwined through it. “You… have two eldrin? A horse and a syrocko drake?”

I grabbed my headwrap from his hand and yanked it back into my possession. “She’s not a horse. She’s a kirin. And yes. That’s right.” I wanted to wrap the cloth back around my head, but… would that make me a criminal again?

“Oh, no,” Sinsidius whispered.

Finlay backed away, his grave moth held tightly in his arms. “You…” His grave moth shuddered. Then Finlay hurried down the road. He didn’t even say goodbye.

Which was strange.

Perhaps Master Elias was right—no one would react properly once they saw my arcanist mark.

I wrapped my head again, nervous about the future.

“C’mon, Wren,” I muttered. “I think we need to get out of here.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“I don’t like that arcanist,” Wren said. “He got kooky when he heard about Roux.”

I shushed him as I turned to head in the opposite direction. “Don’t talk so loudly. And we should hurry.” After a long exhale, I scooped up Wren and ran back into Morrumbi Town.

As soon as the sun began its descent, everyone in town packed away their things and started the process to close their shops. No one wanted to be out at night. I wasn’t entirely sure why, but from what I had heard, it was cold and some people feared the strangers who had been coming around because of the tournament.

I didn’t fear anyone in town. Not the new arcanists, or the citizens. I was afraid of being declared a criminal again, especially if hiding my arcanist mark meant I was breaking the law. The thought of angering everyone didn’t sit well with me, but I also didn’t want to disobey Master Elias.

And Finlay had acted strangely once he discovered my eldrin.

Something was wrong. I had to tell Elias.

The hot light poured over everything, even as the sun started to set. The sky shifted from bright blue to orange to red, but I didn’t take any time to admire it. I made my way down main street, avoiding everyone and never making eye contact.

“Hey, Amir,” Wren said. He craned his head to the side, embers floating from his mouth. “See that man? He looks so weak! This has to be the weakest person I’ve ever seen before. Oh! Now he’s glaring at us! Do you think he wants to fight?”

I glanced over.

A frail man with thin arms and scrawny legs stood by the door to the bakery. He frowned and glared at the same time. Obviously, he had heard Wren’s declarations.

I gave the man an apologetic wave, then lightly smacked Wren in the head. “Come on. I’m starting to think you are the cause of all our troubles today. Keep your thoughts in your head, okay? Let me do all the talking.”

“Why?”

“Because Master Elias taught me manners and how to be polite, and you lived under a desert rock your whole life.”

Wren let out a dismissive squawk, but he thankfully stayed silent as I headed for the inn.

“Hey!” someone shouted. “Hey! Wait!”

I stopped and turned around. Finlay ran down the street, jumping between people in his haste to get to me. Sinsidius remained in his arms, the fat caterpillar “staring” at me the entire time.

A woman chased after Finlay. She gulped down breaths, her face red. She, too, was an arcanist.

Actually, there was a lot I noticed about her. The woman—was she my age?—had a pretty angled face with keen and bright brown eyes. Her button nose and full lips were distinct, and her black hair was tied back in a messy bun that gave her a fresh appearance, like someone who had just woken up, or perhaps just finished bathing.

The arcanist mark on her forehead was an interesting one. A seven-pointed star with a raccoon interwoven throughout. Well, it couldn’t be a raccoon… But it looked like one. I wasn’t sure what it was officially, but it was kinda cute.

Like the woman herself.

She carried a large bag slung over her back, and she wore a sleeveless tunic, traveling pants, and thick black boots. Her skin was tanned and freckled—an odd combination.

“Finlay,” she breathed. “Stop running off. Finlay!”

But Finlay never stopped. He stormed straight over to me, grabbed my forearm, and then glanced over his shoulder at the girl. “I got him! You have to see this, Sage. I wasn’t lying. He has two! Look.”

When he reached for my headwrap, I leaned away, dodging his grip.

Wren bit Finlay’s hand.

“Tsk!” Finlay jerked his hand around and shook it out. With his jaw clenched, he glared at me. “What’s your problem, huh?”

Sage came hurrying over, her breathing labored. When she neared, she slowed her gait and then stopped next to me, sweat covering every inch of exposed skin. If I had to make a guess, I would say she wasn’t very… physical. Her bag seemed packed to the brim with tomes, and she didn’t have much muscle to speak of.

“Why… are we running?” Sage asked between breaths.

Finlay pointed to my headwrap. “You’ll see. He has two eldrin.” He shot me a glare. “Anyone who bonds with more than one mystical creature dies. Their soul is sucked up by the creatures, and they keel over. Everyone knows that. But this guy is still alive. Why?”

Sage placed a hand on her chest. She breathed in, and then out, and took several moments to catch her breath. I almost felt bad for her. Did she want water? I regretted not having any on me.

“Can I see your arcanist mark?” she asked.

“Uh.”

I glanced around. There were so many people nearby! At least ten. Perhaps twelve, if I counted the people staring out windows. But more importantly, there were probably arcanists in the inn here for the tournament. The inn was only a block or so away. What if they saw? Master Elias would be angry, for certain.

I pointed to a narrow alley between the bakery and the tailor. Both shops were closing. No one would be around. Plus, it was shaded, and Finlay looked as though he needed to get out of the light. The man was actively cooking.

We all walked into the alleyway, Wren in my arms, Sinsidius in Finlay’s arms.

Sage was an arcanist, but I didn’t see her raccoon eldrin anywhere. Where was it?

“You have two eldrin?” Sage asked again.

I lifted a portion of my headwrap to show her my arcanist mark. She stared for a long moment, her eyes going as wide as Finlay’s had.

“I told you,” Finlay hissed. “What’s going on? Explain. You know everything about this stuff.”

“He probably is a kirin arcanist,” Sage whispered. “They can bond with one additional mystical creature and not die. That’s the kirin’s special ability.” She placed her backpack on the sandy ground and then rummaged through the many tomes. Once she withdrew a small book, she held it aloft. “Here! This will tell us everything we need to know about kirin.”

“I know everything,” I said.

Both Finlay and Sage glanced over at me.

I shrugged. “I am a kirin arcanist. But I’d prefer if you kept quiet about that. My master doesn’t think it’s a good idea to spread that knowledge around.”

Sage fingered her tome. She glanced between me and Wren and then frowned. “You bonded with a kirin and then a syrocko drake?” Before I answered, she tucked the tome away. “Odd. I heard kirin arcanists always wanted powerful dragons as their second eldrin.”

I fixed my headwrap over my head. “Well… I could’ve bonded with one. But I thought the syrocko drake was more fitting.”

“Oh. Um.” Sage bowed and then stood straight. “I’m Sage Unna. Pronounced sah-gay. A lot of people call me soggy for some reason…”

I copied her bow. “I’m Amir Rosewood. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She patted her messy bun. “Uh.” Then she gave me the once-over. “You know, now that I look at you… Are you some sort of knight? Or martial artist? I mean… You look very fit. Are you here for the Crown Tournament?”

I nodded once. “That’s right.”

“Having two eldrin is cheating,” Finlay stated matter-of-factly.

Sage shook her head. “It’s not against the rules. I checked.”

“It feels like cheating,” Finlay grumbled. He placed his grave moth on his shoulder and then crossed his arms. The freaky moth “stared” at us all, his skull-face unmoving.

“Do you have a team?” Sage asked, lacing her fingers together. “To celebrate the tournament’s tenth iteration, this time around, everyone needs a team of five, so the fights can be varied.”

“Varied?” I asked.

“Oh, yes. You see, the Crown Tournament was originally started to entertain the dragon arcanists who ruled over the nations around the Sunset Desert. After the first two tournaments, special rules are always added to spice things up. Last Crown Tournament, specific arcanists were excluded… The tournament before last, specific weapons had to be wielded.”

I set Wren by my feet. “Really? That’s interesting. Master Elias didn’t tell me that.”

“Finlay and I wanted to participate in the tournament, but we didn’t realize we needed a team of five arcanists.” Sage tilted her head to the side. “If you wanted to join us… we’d be a little closer to—”

I grabbed her hands and held them in mine. Sage stared at me, her eyes wide. Then her cheeks grew pink.

“I’ve been looking for arcanists to join my team,” I said, smiling. “This is perfect! Master Elias and I need three more arcanists.”

“Uh…”

Finlay grabbed Sage and pulled her from my grasp. Then he stepped between us and glared. “Hey! First of all—it’s our team. You can join if you want, but we’re not joining someone else. Secondly, we’re not taking you until we lay out some rules.”

“Rules?” I asked.

Wren hissed at him. To his credit, he didn’t speak. He was letting me do all that.

“We split the prize,” Finlay stated. “Equally. Two hundred star shards to each member of the team. That’s final. I don’t care how many eldrin you have.”

“Oh.” I waved away his comment. “I don’t care about that. You guys can have all the star shards.”

Sage and Finlay both inhaled as though I had slapped them. Was it really that surprising? Why did they care so much? Master Elias was right—this was the perfect way to get people to join our team.

“All of it?” Finlay repeated.

I nodded. “Yeah. You guys can keep the star shards, but Master Elias and I keep the crown.”

“The ceremonial crown?” Sage leaned closer to me and lowered her voice. “You understand that, right? That it’s for pomp and circumstance? It… doesn’t have much value. It’s more of a symbol. A trophy. And you have to give it back in ten years, when the next tournament rolls around.”

Finlay jabbed her in the side with his elbow. “Shh! Sage! If he wants to keep the ceremonial crown, and nothing else… Let. Him. Have it. We need the star shards, remember?”

With a frown, Sage slowly nodded.

Master Elias never actually told me what the crown did, but both Elias and Roux were convinced it was filled with magic—something only a kirin arcanist could access. Everyone else only thought it was a ceremonial crown. It was their loss.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I know the crown is just an ornament. But I don’t care. You two can have the star shards. Well… You two, plus whoever the fifth person of our team is.”

“A three-way split?” Finlay exchanged glances with Sage. “You’re sure?”

“Definitely.”

Then I felt something moving through my pocket. I whirled on my heel, and Wren turned as well, his scales flared. Something had taken my banknotes. But when I caught sight of it, I almost couldn’t believe what I was looking at.

A chubby raccoon?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

It was a fat little raccoon who stood on two legs with strange markings around its eyes that resembled a robber’s mask. The creature’s lush fur and bright eyes told me that it was well cared for.

I wasn’t sure what creature it was, however. Whatever it was, it wasn’t from the desert.

“Are you looking for… these?” The raccoon clapped his little hands together and a poof of smoke filled the alleyway. My banknotes appeared in his tiny little hands afterward, their paper fluttering. With a cute, tiny snicker, the raccoon rubbed the notes across his chubby cheeks. “I stole them. And you didn’t even notice!”

“Kenji,” Sage hissed. “I told you not to do that!”

The mystical creature stopped his rubbing and snorted. “You said I could practice, so long as I put everything back.” The raccoon scurried over to me, awkwardly running on his two legs, rather than all four. Then he held both his human-like paws up, and the banknotes floatedover to me.

I snatched them out of the air, surprised. Even Wren’s eyes were wide.

“See?” Kenji asked. “I gave them back. Everything’s fine.”

Sage stomped over, grabbed her raccoon under the armpits, and hefted him into her already giant, and heavy, bag. “You wait right here. No one extracurricular activities.”

Her eldrin—Kenji—snickered and then swirled around in her bag, as though making a next. “Okay, okay. For today.”

“What is he?” I asked, awe in my voice.

“Kenji is a tanuki,” Finlay stated. “Ya know. A raccoon dog. Mischievous and all that.”

Sage nodded once. “Well, tanuki have amazing abilities, thank you very much. As you saw earlier, he has telekinesis. But his strongest ability is he can become indestructible.”

My mouth dropped. “Indestructible? That sounds really powerful…” I’d give anything to become indescribable.

“Yep,” Sage said with a wide smile. “You’ll be glad to have us on our team. Do you want to see? I’ll even let you try it out.”

I tilted my head, my brow furrowed. “Are you sure? I’d love to see this cool ability in action.”

“Sure. It’s fine. You can have your eldrin evoke flame and wind at me, or you can hit me as hard as you like. It won’t do any damage after I use my augmentation. I promise.”

I glanced over at Finlay. He nodded once, then he sarcastically motioned for me to get this over with, as though he had seen this so many times, he was already bored. Although I was afraid of hurting Sage, I also really wanted to see this.

Before I threw a punch, Sage’s body glowed. A moment later, her whole body had become stone. Her hair was frozen in place, her skin was a gray granite color, and her clothing was stiff, as it had also transformed with her.

Not her bag, though. Her tanuki and her books just hung at her side. Kenji watched with mild fascination.

However, Sage’s stance was awkward.

She wasn’t using a defensive stance at all. She was just standing there. As a statue.

I shot Finlay a quizzical look.

He grin in response. “She wasn’t joking. Hit her as hard as you can. Nothing’s going to happen.”

I brought my fist back, copying the form that Elias had taught me over the years. It felt weird using the Ginza Aggression Fighting Art on a stationary target, but everyone seemed confident.

I punched swiftly, evoking flames from my fist right at the very end, just as Elias had said. But when my fist hit Sage’s face, I heard a loud thumping noise, and then an invisible force pushed me back. It even dissipated the flames.

Other than me hurting my hand, nothing had happened. The statue had repelled me.

“Damn…” I waved my hand back and forth.

It was just like Sage had said—my attack had been completely nullified.

“Let me try!” Wren opened his mouth, then blasted a fireball at her.

The result was exactly the same. As soon as the fireball hit Sage, there was the same loud thumping noise and then it vanished.

“Wow,” Wren exclaimed. “This ability is amazing.”

Sage’s body shimmered, and then the stone broke off her body, instantly crumbling to dust on the ground and ultimately vanishing. “So, what do you think?” she asked between gulps of air.

“You all seem perfect for the tournament. A flying eldrin, and an indestructible defender. This is just what master wanted. Seriously, I can’t believe I’m so lucky.”

Neither of them looked like they knew any fighting arts, but Elias wouldn’t be able to resist their raw potential. Once Sinsidius turned into a full-grown grave moth, we’d destroy everybody on our path!

Finlay frowned. “Wait. You keep saying something about a master. Elias, I think?”

“You need to meet him! Come into the inn with me.”

I turned back to the inn, a big grin on my face.

Elias would be so surprised. I hadn’t even taken a few steps away from the inn, and I’d already found the dream team! Just one more person and we were set.

“Wow! You have a master?” Sage asked as she lugged around her bag to follow me. “He must be pretty cool if he could teach a kirin arcanist. I can’t wait to meet him.”

Sage couldn’t seem to stop smiling, and she seemed so cute doing so. But Finlay was much surlier. He muttered under his breath to Sinsidius as he followed from a few steps behind us. From the sounds of it, he still didn’t think Elias was real, but he’d know soon enough.

I opened the door to the tavern, sending my eldrin back to the stables.

Wren grumbled, complaining that we’d only hung out for a few minutes before being separated again. Roux didn’t say anything, but she seemed pretty annoyed too.

Back in the desert, Wren, Roux, and I could do whatever we wanted.

Here, we had to follow all these stupid rules. I liked Morumbi Town, but I hoped the other cities weren’t this restrictive.

The tavern wasn’t too busy….

Elias lounged at the bar, engrossed in conversation with an old man of short stature and a robust frame. The old man’s thick black coat seemed almost too heavy for his small frame, and a pronounced bald spot gleamed amidst his snowy hair.

“In a dire situation, you might find yourself playing the role of a meat shield,” Elias said flatly, a hint of sardonic matter-of-fact in his tone.

The old man’s laugh was a surprising, youthful sound, belying his years. “My grandchildren will scarcely believe I stood beside the renowned arcanist! And his apprentice, too? It’s truly an honor.”

“You do know what the term meat shield means, don’t you?”

“Well, I must admit, I’m not hip to the jive with all the kid’s lingo these days.”

“Oh… Curse the abyssal hells.”

Grinning, I elbowed Finlay. “Are you listening to them? That old man referred to Elias as a renowned arcanist! I told you.”

Finlay’s eyes rounded in astonishment, mouth forming a perfect ‘O.’ He stared at Elias for a long while—more than I would’ve expected. His gaze seemed to fill with recognition. Did he know Elias? A sound, something between a gasp and a choke, emerged from Finlay’s throat. Was he ever at a loss for words?

“Are you alright?” My eyebrows knitted in confusion.

Just moments ago, he seemed unimpressed with everything. Now, to Finlay, Elias appeared more legend than man. Overcome, Finlay suddenly prostrated himself, nearly touching Elias's boots with his forehead.

Elias regarded him with a mixture of bemusement and amusement. “It’s too early in the morning for this. You better start explaining. Quickly.”

Gulping audibly, Finlay managed, “Thank you, sir! House Mother Mila often spoke of your kindness. You generously supported our orphanage. Your donation enabled me to attend school.”

As realization dawned, a long-buried memory resurfaced: Elias, handing a weighty purse to House Mother Mila, a donation far more substantial than any other.

With a curt nod, Elias hoisted Finlay to his feet. “It's good to know it made a difference.” His gaze then shifted to Sage. “Are you the arcanists brought by Amir?”

They nodded in unison, prompting Elias to inquire further. “Might I have a word with my student?”

Sage acquiesced, “Of course, Master Elias.”

Finlay, though slightly intimidated, murmured his assent as well.

Elias drew me aside, irritation evident as he glared. “Are these your choices? I gave you ample time to find suitable allies. You can search for someone not your age! I don’t need people kissing my feet.”

In my defense, I remembered a tidbit Hyperion shared: Elias despised excessive flattery. Sage and Finlay’s overt admiration might not have been the best introduction. “They may not be seasoned fighters,” I admitted, “but they possess powerful eldrin.”

Elias cast a skeptical eye towards Finlay, who was now feeding pieces of bread to his larval eldrin, Sinsidius. “Grave moths take time to mature,” he muttered under his breath. “They be a tier three creature, but currently, it’s far from its potential. It’s not even a cocoon yet.”

“Alright, but what about the tanuki?” I countered. “Sage is super strong. I hit her and it didn’t do any damage.”

Elias stared at me for a brief moment, then burst into stifled laugher. “Hah! You fell for that? Tanuki are just low-tier tricksters. Their stone augmentation seemspowerful, but it has plenty of severe restrictions. It’s not nearly as strong as you think.”

“She could at least be a shield, right?” I knew I was grasping at straws, but I liked Sage and Finlay, so I wanted them on our team. “I heard you talking to that old guy earlier. If we use Sage as our shield, that’ll free him up to do something else.”

Elias pointed back the old man in the cloak. “That guy? You mean Old Man Valdo?”

“Old Man is part of his name?”

“Don’t question it.”

I half-shrugged. “Okay, yeah, him! He’s super strong, right? He’s one of your secret friends? You wanted him as our meat shield because he can block any attack, right?”

Again Master Elias couldn’t stop himself from chuckling. “Nope. Not at all. He’s a grifter crow arcanist. In case you forget, they’re super weak—tier one—nothing special.”

What?

Even I knew that grifter crows were weak.

They might have been the weakest mystical creatures ever. It was a neck-and-neck race between grifter crows and slimes.

Why would Elias add a grifter crow arcanist to our team?

“Is he super skilled then?” I asked. “The grifter crow is a flier, isn’t it? He’ll be super strong after you use your secret technique, right?”

Elias shook his head. “I don’t think he’s fought before. I don’t plan on putting him in. He’s just there to take up a roster spot. He’s some kind of local performer. He and his crow do tricks together.”

“So why did you pick him?” I hissed, almost unable to believe this.

Elias waved his hand around. “Do you see the people of this town? We don’t have tons of options. And we don’t need five people. I’m three arcanists all my own, and you have a kirin—you’re practically two arcanists. We’re fine.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. “If that’s true, then Finlay and Sage should be perfectpicks. We don’t need them. They’re just filling spots.”

Elias didn’t say anything. He stayed silent for a long moment, and I just eyed him.

Finally, Master Elias snorted. “Fine. You got me there. We’ll enter tomorrow with the arcanists you picked—I doubt we’ll be able to find any other people anyways. Just make sure we win.”

I grinned from ear to ear. “Of course, Master! I won’t let you down.”

This was it.

This was what I’d spent my whole life training for.

My first fight of the Crown Tournament came tomorrow.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A sensation of weightlessness enveloped me as I sank, plummeting further into the murky depths of the cold ocean.

Eerie black mist oozed into existence, blossoming above me and blotting out the rays of sun that managed to piece through the waves. I caught a faint glimpse of undead whale—a creature made of white bones and terrible magic—and a small hunched-up figure with a skeletal arm rode atop it.

A paralyzing chill gripped my heart.

Dead Sea Erik.

Against all odds, he had tracked me down, ready to drag me to the watery abyss below. Desperation welled inside. “Roux! Roux! Rescue me!” I called for her telepathically, needing to hear her voice.

I wanted to call for Wren too, I was under the water. I couldn’t talk to him. I didn’t even know if he could reach me. Syrocko drakes were creatures of the desert, could they even fight in the water?

But then I realized I wasn’t in water at all… I was sinking much too slow for that.

My surroundings shifted, my perceptions changed.

This was quicksand.

What had happened? Had the East Sea Raiders added an eldrin who could use quicksand to their crew?

Roux’s voice cut through my fear. I always felt safe when she was with me. “Partner! What are you doing? Wake up!”

I blinked, and then everything vanished.

No vast ocean surrounded me—I was lying on my bed in the inn. The gentle amber hue of dawn filtered through the window, casting a soft glow over the modest room.

My head lolled back, and I felt it sinking into my plush pillow.

I frowned, shaking my head. I hadn’t fallen into quick sand, it was just this bed. It was way plusher and softer than anything I’d ever slept on before.

My bed back in Elias’s house was a sheet on a slate of rock, and his bed was the same, only without a sheet. He said the hard surface was good for our backs.

“Roux? Are you there?” I asked. “I heard you telling me to wake up…did that really happen? Aren’t you in the stables?”

I felt her presence in my mind immediately. “Partner. I’m outside the window. I heard you calling for help, so I left the stables. Wren is with me, too.”

A distant, anxious chirp, exactly likely Wren’s, punctuated the serene morning.

“Thank you, Roux,” I telepathically replied. “It was just having a strange dream. A nightmare, really.”

“Are you going to go back to sleep?” she asked.

Shaking my head, I replied, “This bed, though luxurious, feels as if it might contort my spine with its plushiness.”

Roux chuckled through our telepathic link. Then I heard Wren ask, “What’s so funny?” That made my whole morning.

I yawned, rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes.

The bed was so soft that even my hands sank in as I pushed off of it. The whole thing reminded me of what Elias said last night, about how city living made people weaker.

There was something to that, I decided.

After getting out of bed, I sat cross-legged on the wooden floor of my room, clearing my mind and preparing myself for the day ahead. I needed to do my meditation every morning. It was the only way to clear my mind and prepare myself.

When I felt ready, I got up off the floor and entered the hallway.

I knocked on Elias’s door.

After a brief pause, I heard an assenting grunt, so I stepped inside.

Elias sat cross-legged on the ground. It seemed like he’d just finished up his own meditation.

I glanced around and realized that he’d totally rearranged his room. The bed, sheets, and mattress were lying on the side in the far corner, and he’d just brought a pillow onto the ground.

He saw me staring and shot me a quizzical look. “How was your night?”

“I had a dream about falling into the ocean,” I whispered.

Master Elias chuckled. “It’s the same for me, except it’s about falling into pitch-black shadow. A reminder of a tough fight I once had against a dragon arcanist.” He spoke the last sentence with a hint of melancholy.

He had never told me about that.

Then Elias gestured at the pile of bedding. “Whenever I go to these inns, I just take off the blankets and sleep on the floor now. I was hoping it wouldn’t bother you and that you’d get a pleasant night, but I guess you’re a barbarian like me now.”

I smiled. “That’s not a problem. I’ve heard sleeping on a firm surface is good for your back.”

He rolled his eyes. “You keep throwing my own words back at me like that and I’ll smack you straight back to the desert.”

I laughed. Back at home, Elias’s old threat was that he’d smack me into town.

But then thoughts of Crown Tournament filled my mind. It was almost time. That kind of pressure made me wonder. “Do you really think just the two of us can win the whole tournament?” I asked. “Even though the other teams will have five arcanists?”

Master Elias got to his feet and rotated his shoulders. “There will be times in the tournament where we can shift our teammates around. Until then, we’ll just have to carry the whole team, understood? It should be easy.”

“Why is that?”

“Because these first rounds are a crapshoot. Anyone can enter the first few rounds. Weak arcanists. Untrained arcanists. We’ll have the advantage, trust me. And then later, when we need someone competent, we can find them.”

Guilt flooded me. Finlay had said he needed star shards. Well, he said Sage needed them, too. They hadn’t told me why, but it seemed unfair to leave them mid-competition because they weren’t good enough.

Perhaps…

I could make them good enough.

“There’s lots of time between matches, right?” I asked.

“This whole tournament takes a year to hold,” Elias replied matter-of-factly. “Why?”

“Just curious.”

He motioned to the door. “Let’s get going. We need to register, and I think we might be able to have our first match today, if we play our cards right.”

***

We left the inn and met Old Man Valdo, Finlay, and Sage outside. The three of them didn’t look like a cohesive unit. Finlay was the only one wearing armor—thin, desert-friendly material, but still armor—and while Sage had ditched most of her books, she still kept her mostly empty bag with her.

And Old Man Valdo… he wore a cloak and a smile, his grifter crow eldrin perched on his shoulder. It cawed when I stared at it.

“This is Peeter,” Old Man Valdo said as he petted his crow eldrin. “He’s a good boy. Despite my wizened appearance and frail body, he still bonded with me. The luckiest day of my long life.”

“The old one saved me,” Peeter muttered, puffing his black feathers. “Now he wants me to fight in a crazy tournament? Eh…” The grifter crow practically sagged with depression. “I wasn’t built for this. Neither of us was built for this.”

“It’s an adventure,” Valdo said with a sing-song tone.

Master Elias strode by everyone. “I don’t care.” Then he snapped his fingers and his massive syrocko drake rounded the corner of the inn. Hyperion was clearly just waiting for the signal.

Roux trotted out afterward, and I smiled upon seeing her. As soon as I climbed onto her back, I felt more complete. Finlay and Sage eyed me, and then Roux, multiple times. I said nothing.

Elias and Hyperion marched at the front of our group. The massive syrocko drake was so intimidating, everyone leapt aside, allowing us a wide path down the main road.

Sinsidius snoozed on Finlay’s shoulder, the fat caterpillar clinging with sticky feet. Kenji hid inside of Sage’s backpack, every so often, he’d push open the flap and peek out. I found him to be the most adorable.

As we went through town, Wren ran out ahead of us. Every so often, we’d walk by a merchant setting up for the day, and Wren would tell them that we were going to win. “You might as well grab your autograph now!” he told an old bearded man who scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Roux carried packs on her saddle, and I checked our supplies as we went. I had a short spear, and a bow, and some arrows, but I had left almost everything else behind.

According to Master Elias, the Crown Tournament’s Regional Round restricted competitors to only two weapons or armor items per person.

On top of that, the weapons had to be ordinary—until the National round, contestants couldn’t use special items imbued with the power of mystical creatures.

Since Ginza Aggression specialized in hand-to-hand combat, I’d decided to keep my spear and bow. I felt like I had close-ranged fights covered.

Sage shot me a curious look. “Nice weapons, Amir. Are any of them for us?”

I stared back at her. “What do you mean?”

Then I took a closer look at Sage and Finlay. I’d thought they’d bring their own weapons, but now I realized that they weren’t carrying anything.

“You guys didn’t bring any weapons?” I asked. “I mean, you can use one of mine if you’d like…”

Elias glanced at me from the corner of his eye. He was too nice to smirk at a bunch of beginner fighters, but I knew what he was thinking.

I couldn’t believe Sage and Finlay were going into the tournament without any weapons. This was even worse than I thought it’d be.

“Um, I have some extra weapons,” I said. “Maybe we could go back to the inn?”

Sage shook her head feverishly. “Nope. That’s fine. You know what? I’m better at defense anyway. I don’t need a weapon to attack anybody. If anything bad happens, I’ll just turn into a statue.”

I glanced at Finlay, but he just muttered something under his breath about how punches and kicks were all he needed.

Old Man Valdo walked at a leisurely place, soaking in the sights around him and chatting with his grifter crow. From the sounds of it, they hadn’t been in Morumbi Town in many years. The travelling storyteller normally traveled along the coast to seaside towns like Marinha.

Finlay nudged Sage, whispering under his breath. “Who is that guy? The grifter crow arcanist. I didn’t get to talk to him yesterday.”

Sage shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean, he seems totally unworried about the tournament. So I’m guessing he’s pretty strong.”

Finlay frowned. “How can he be strong if he’s a grifter crow arcanist? And old? Most arcanists don’t look like him.”

“Maybe he’s super tricky?” Sage tilted her head. “He’s intentionally making himself look harmless. I mean, look at how confident he is! He’s not even thinking about the fight. He and his crow are just sightseeing—no nerves at all.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell them that Valdo and Peeter were sightseeing specialists. It was probably best to keep their hopes up.

Soon, we arrived at the stadium, which was an outdoor arena surrounded by a freshly painted gold white fence. A trio of arcanists I had seen at the inn—two cerberus arcanists and a stone golem arcanist—stood at the front gate.

“Are they competing?” I asked.

“They aren’t,” Elias replied. “They were just hired to guard this event. Morumbi Town is tiny. There are only so many people who can keep watch.”

“T-Tiny?” I stammered.

I couldn’t believe that. Morumbi Town was the biggest city I’d ever seen!

Passing through its gates, we stepped into the tournament arena, and I was rendered breathless. Tales of grand tournament arenas where elite arcanists clashed had often reached my ears, yet witnessing one firsthand was entirely different.

The battleground before us was an imposing square, fifty feet to a side. This massive platform, hewn from a single block of intricately carved granite, reminded me of the door to Elias’s and my residence but magnified a hundredfold in its grandeur.

To the side, an expansive spectator section caught my attention. Easily accommodating two hundred eager onlookers, the bleachers gleamed with a recent coat of golden paint, reflecting the fervor of the impending contest.

“Wow,” I whispered to myself.

Amid the buzzing crowd, familiar faces of merchants weaved in and out, their arms laden with handcrafted keepsakes commemorating the Crown Tournament qualifier.

Valdo let out an excited cry. “I want to go grab some souvenirs!”

With a loud chirp, Peeter followed behind him. The small black bird flittered around his arcanist’s head in a wide circle, cackling to himself. “I love souvenirs! I’m more of a grifter magpie than a grifter crow!”

Wren shot out a proud fireball into the air that exploded like a firecracker. “Check this out, Amir! Everybody is here to watch us win!”

I nodded. “It’s just a little daunting. I wish they held the qualifier in a smaller city. And maybe in a humbler stadium.”

Elias snorted. He then glanced over his shoulder to shake his head at me. “There’s no humbler stadium. This is literally somebody’s backyard.”

He pointed at the building behind us, which was the same gold color as the stands and the fence.

“Wait. That’s somebody’s house?” I couldn’t believe it. “It’s even bigger than the Rosewood Orphanage!”

Elias and Hyperion glanced at each other, and the syrocko drake laughed.

“See, Elias?” Hyperion chortled. “I told you to bring him into the cities every once in a while. He’s like a drake in the water.”

The door to the house opened, and then two figures swaggered out—an arcanist and their eldrin. The arcanist carried a long beak-shaped device in his hand that magically magnified his voice. “Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to the Morumbi Town Qualifiers!” he said, “I’m your host—Brock Albert—and with me is my eldrin, Adressa!”

Brock was a stocky old man wearing a gold tunic with matching pants. He had a long shaggy mane of gray hair and a handlebar mustache.

Though he looked a little fat and out of shape, his arms and legs were still thick with muscle. I could tell from his graceful and sure steps that he’d trained in some kind of fighting art.

His partner, Adressa, was a siren, a half-bird and half-woman mystical creature best known for their melodious singing. While most sirens were thin and elegant, Adressa had a thick and blocky body, sort of like her arcanist.

Her stout arms were lined with muscle and her wings were tiny—more like an ostrich’s wings than anything else. Unlike most sirens, who had long and flowing hair, Adressa’s hair was chopped into a short bowl cut.

Adressa’s voice was unique too. Most sirens were elegant singers. Adressa’s voice was loud, booming, and resonant—perfect for this tournament venue.

“In case anyone has forgotten, allow me to quickly review the rules!” Adressa squawked. “The Morumbi Town Qualifiers is the first of one hundred different city qualifiers hosted around the nation. If you win a city-level municipal bout, you’ll get one of our special crown pieces.”

Brock reached into his baggy pants, and pulled out a large gold coin from his pocket. The crown piece was a large silvery coin the same color as the Kirin Crown. It glistened in his hand, and he turned it around, showing a pair of seals.

The first seal was very ornate, and it depicted a bag of coins and the Kirin Crown entwined together. The other side was much simpler—it showed a pair of leaves, with M.T. stamped at the bottom.

“If you get three crown pieces from three different cities, you’ll qualify for the prefecture tournament. And don’t forget that teams can freely switch their members—so long as you all five members have three different coins, you’ll be able to compete!”

Finlay tried to look unimpressed, but Sage’s eyes were wide as saucers.

“Wow,” she said. “This is so amazing. I wonder what kind of magic they used to make those crown pieces?”

After showing off the crown pieces, Brock got off the stage and started walking from team to team. He pulled out a long scroll from his backpack, and went from team to team, asking for a name and scribbling it down before moving on. Every so often, his quill would dull, and he’d ask his eldrin to pluck a new one.

Before long, he made it to us.

“Hello, what’s your team na—”

He broke off, and his eyes widened. Then a smile split his face. “Elias? Is that you?” He saw Hyperion, and his smile grew wider. “And, of course, there’s no mistaking Hyperion.”

Elias grinned, and reached out a hand to shake. “Brock. It’s good to see you. And Adressa too. So, you guys finally retired from fighting?”

Brock nodded. “I decided to move back to Morumbi Town and become a host. The life of a retired old man is a lot easier than the life of a tournament fighter. I’m surprised to see you here—I couldn’t believe that you missed the tournament ten years ago!”

“I was busy,” Elias replied.

Brock let out a disbelieving laugh. “Hah! Can’t imagine what made you busy enough to stay out of the fight.”

I shot Roux a glance. I knew why Elias had missed the tournament—he was training me.

“So, what kind of team name do you want?” Brock asked. The old man’s eyes twinkled. “Perhaps a reference to the days of your youth?”

Elias laughed and waved his hand. “No. I’m not that man anymore. I’ve become a teacher now.” He turned to me. “Amir. What name do you want?”

My mind whirled.

This was so exciting. What would we name our team? Whatever we picked had to be truly legendary. They’d write about it in books, I bet.

A familiar voice jerked me out of my thoughts.

“How about Wren’s Winning Team?” came my eldrin, answering in a confident tone.

Before I could say anything, Brock nodded and slapped his knee. “Alright. Wren’s Winning Team it is!” Then he turned on his heel, ready to announce everything.

I gaped at Wren. “Wren! You…I was just about to create the most amazing team name!”

“Oh, yeah?” Wren asked, flashing his fangs in a smile. “What name were you going to pick?”

“I…um…well…” I had no idea what I was going to pick, but it definitely wasn’t going to be something like Wren’s Winning Team. “I was going to pick something legendary.”

“Wren’s Winning Team is legendary,” Wren replied. “Once we win the tournament, they’ll be so impressed! Wow. The team that won the tournament was named after the eldrin that obviously carried them all to victory. How did they know they were going to win?”

I felt like my brain had been thrown in a whirlpool. This name bordered on embarrassing. What was Wren thinking?

Hyperion chuckled. “It’s not just the boy. The drake is like you too, Elias, what with your fanciful names.”

Instead of arguing about the name, I turned to Elias. “Master? You fought in the Crown Tournament? You never told me that.”

Elias nodded. “I did. I fought in the one thirty years ago, and in the one twenty years ago. I enjoyed it, though there were some challenges.”

“What was your team’s name?” I asked.

Before Elias could answer, Brock shouted for the contenders. “Today’s battle will be a three-on-three fight.”

Adressa shot him a pointed look, then squawked in irritation. “Actually, since both arcanists and their eldrin are on the stage, perhaps it could best be described as a six-on-six fight. Now, can our tournament contestants please step onto the stage! It’s time to divide up our matchups. Today’s battle will be a three-on-three fight!”

Even though it was a three-on-three fight, every team brought all five of their members onto the stage. The arcanists were all huddled together alongside their eldrin, murmuring and pointing at the other teams. Some of the eldrin were huge—stone golems could be ten feet tall!—and I wondered who would be matched up first.

From the looks of it, our opponents wanted to strategize their lineups after figuring out who they were up against.

Finlay and Sage nervously glanced at each other, then walked onto the stone platform that was our fighting arena. Elias stepped in beside us, but we were missing our last member.

Master Elias shouted, and then Valdo hastily came back to join us, dashing out of the stage with his hands full of dried meat sticks. Peeter wore a miniature Kirin Crown replica on his head. The crown tilted, covering his eyes, and the grifter crow squawked before crash landing onto the ground.

“Help! Valdo!”

Old Man Valdo stopped everything to tenderly care for his crow eldrin. He pried off the crown, tossed it aside, and then placed his eldrin on his shoulder. I understood now how Peeter could get into trouble. Obviously, the crow needed someone to tend for it.

Through all that, the people in the audience laughed and pointed at us.

“Who’s that old man?” someone shouted

“That team seems weak,” someone else chimed in. “Why would they use a grifter crow arcanist?”

“Man, I bet these guys will be done after the first bout. They won’t just lose—they’ll die.”

That garnered way too much laughter.

Finlay shot Valdo and Peeter a worried look. “Is that guy any good in a fight? He doesn’t seem to be taking this seriously.”

Elias overheard him shook his head. “He isn’t any good at all. Amir should have told you, but Valdo can’t fight. He’s just here to fill out our qualification spots.”

Finlay caught his breath. “Wh-What? So our team only has four real combatants? What’re we going to do?”

“Well, the good thing is we only need to use three members today,” Elias replied. “So Valdo won’t be a problem. In fact, why don’t you and Sage handle this with Amir?”

Sage and Finlay stared with giant wide eyes. Even their eldrin stared, as though they couldn’t believe this was all happening. I was just as surprised as they were.

Me?

With Sage and Finlay?

I’d been looking forward to this tournament my whole life, but I thought I’d be fighting by my master’s side.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Of course,” Master Elias replied.

Finlay and Sage solemnly nodded. Then they huddled together and whispered. While they were busy, Master Elias pulled me to the side.

“Are you sure I’m ready?” I whispered. “To lead a team, I mean.”

“This isn’t about leading a team.” Elias huffed and offered me a glare. “It’s about testing your combat. Forget about those two—they’re not important. Think about yourself. Think about practicing your magic and your combat.”

I glanced at Finlay and Sage. They didn’t look at me—they were too engrossed in their hushed conversation. I felt bad for them. Master Elias didn’t think highly of their skills.

“What if I lose?” I whispered. “Working together might make this easier.”

Master Elias shook his head. “There are countless city qualifiers. We only need to win three municipal bouts to qualify for the prefecture tournament. Even if we lose, it won’t be the worst thing in the world. Use this opportunity to practice real combat.”

“And I should just ignore Finlay and Sage?”

“I’m just saying not to worry about them. Focus on fighting. Only fighting. Got it?”

I understood. But still. I was worried. What if I failed in front of Master Elias?

Despite all that, I swallowed my fear and allowed my excitement to take over. It felt like my brain was buzzing. I was ready for this. Wren was right. We were going to do well.

Brock called two different teams onto the stage. “The first bout is Wren’s Winning Team against the Morumbi Town Brawlers!”

A huge roar rose from the crowd. I knew they were cheering for the other team since they were from here, but I was too excited to care.

This was it.

My very first fight.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Me, Sage, and Finlay stepped across the stone platform. The hot winds rushed by, but I didn’t mind. Sage coughed back some sand, and Finlay nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the next.

“Do we have a plan?” Sage eventually whispered to us.

Her eldrin, Kenji, poked his head out of her bag. “We should pretend to play dead, and then leap for their throats when they least expect it.”

“Th-That’s a terrible plan.”

Kenji waggled his little raccoon finger. “It has worked for me countless times.”

Finlay clapped his hands. “No. Stop that. This is serious. We need to win those star shards. Which means, we need a plan. A real plan.” He glared at me. “Do you have one?”

I didn’t have the heart to tell them what Master Elias said. Instead, I half-shrugged. “Well, I supposed we can just attack, and never stop attacking.”

Sage and Finlay waited. Kenji stared with wide eyes. The little grave moth yawned and then fell asleep on Finlay’s shoulder.

“That’s it?” Finlay finally snapped. “That’s not a plan! That’s barely a sentence!”

Again, I felt bad. I didn’t really know what to do. Master Elias just wanted me to focus on getting real experience. Should I listen to him? Or work with the team?

Wren and Roux approached me. I pulled myself up onto Roux’s back and patted her side.

“You can’t ride a horse into the fight,” Brock shouted.

There was no more hiding. This was the moment I revealed myself. I pulled off my headwrap and tossed it to the side. A few people in the stands gasped and pointed—I had two creatures woven through my arcanist star, after all. I was unique—no one else had this.

A kirin, and a syrocko drake.

Two eldrin.

I managed to remove all the blankets on Roux and more people gasped and pointed at her crystal horn. She stood proudly, and clopped into the center of the fighting platform. Wren scurried across the ground, his head also held high.

“We are the winners,” he softly sang to him. “We are the best…”

For most people, it’d be difficult maneuvering on horseback while on a confining stage, but Roux and I had practiced our whole life for this.

I knew our swift and elegant turns would catch our opponents off guard. I could defeat most of our opponents, then clear out the rest with Ginza Aggression.

On the opposite side of the platform, three members of the other team—the Morumbi Town Brawlers—stepped forward.

Unlike us, the other team had both matching uniforms and matching weapons. All of them carried spiked clubs in their right hand and a small rounded buckler in their left hand. They wore red tunics with thick black belts. Even their eldrin wore the belts—probably so that, during the chaos, they could always identify themselves.

Clever.

“Uh oh,” Sage muttered, her eyes shifting between our opponents. “Those guys look like they know what they’re doing.”

The man at the middle of the enemy team commanded attention. He was a young brute, likely in his late teens—only slightly older than me. His rugged features bore a certain raw intensity: a nose that looked like it had met too many fists, and a jutting chin that lent him a stubborn profile.

But it was his eldrin that truly sent a chill down my spine.

I had glimpsed this legendary beast before. An East Sea Raider had once formed a bond with a smaller version in my youth. But the creature before me now dwarfed that memory.

It was a ushi-oni—a nightmarish amalgamation of ox and spider—and it loomed large. Towering at an imposing seven feet, it advanced with an unsettling grace on eight elongated, spindly legs. Its lower abdomen, reminiscent of a grotesque spider, undulated with a sickening rhythm with each stride.

The beast’s oxen head was a shade of deep, abyssal blue, stark against its glowing, malevolent red eyes which bore slit-like pupils. Its mouth, eerily humanoid, opened to reveal a maw of razor-edged teeth and a sinuous, serpent-like tongue that flicked out intermittently.

Yet, for all its fearsome presence, the creature seemed unaccustomed to the throngs of onlookers. It cast anxious glances, its immense form belied by a palpable unease amidst the crowd.

The man turned to his ushi-oni eldrin and grinned. “Come on, Botan! You should look more confident. We’re finally at the Crown Tournament.”

The ushi-oni—Botan—smiled hesitantly, and spoke in a timid voice. “You’re right, Lu. We trained hard for this. I will try to look more confident.”

The enemy team’s other two arcanists were big and muscular full-grown men, older than their leader.

The arcanist on the right had red hair. His eldrin was a gargoyle, a beast made entirely out of stone. It was about three feet tall, about two and half feet shorter than me, with a twisted face and large bat-like wings that cast a long shadow on the ground. The creature’s arms and legs were thick, but stubby.

It was young. The arcanist wouldn’t yet have powerful magic, even if he was a capable fighter. Which was good, because gargoyles could manipulate stone, and that was all we were standing on.

Their last fighter was bald with a huge beard.

His eldrin was an enormous owl with a bear head. A bearowl. Strange. I didn’t know they were in this area. The bearowl was robust, and it was covered in bristly red and black fur. Lastly, unlike a normal bear, it had tusks that jutted from its mouth, at least a few feet from its face.

I’d never seen a bearowl in person before.

Sage muttered under her breath, “That’s a bearowl. It’s tier three… So strong.”

Brock quickly went through the introductions, first naming our team and then introducing our opponents. The ushi-oni arcanist was named Lu, and his teammates were Ginlsey the gargoyle arcanist, and Rowan the bearowl arcanist.

A bunch of the school children screamed and shouted Finlay’s name, cheering like their lives depended on it. I glanced over and smiled. Finlay waved, his face brightening with pink. The kids of this town loved him? It seemed like it.

One of them, a boy with spectacles, pointed at me. “Hey! Look! Finlay teamed up with that guy. Our teacher said he was a weird thief!”

The kid next to him, a girl with short hair, cupped his hands and shouted. “Hey, Finlay! Why are you teaming up with a thief?”

Before Finlay could answer, the questions were drowned out by even more shouting. “Look! It’s that tanuki girl we saw Finlay with. I knew that was his girlfriend!”

Finlay’s face was as red as a tomato. “Shut up! Amir’s not a thief. And Sage isn’t my girlfriend! We’re a team of legitimate fighters!”

He yelled so loudly that everybody started laughing, even the opposing team. Master Elias and Hyperion laughed so hard they almost fell onto the ground.

Roux’s voice sounded in my mind. “It seems like your master is really enjoying this. He is paying you back for your wild youth.”

However, once the laughing died down, most of the cheers from the crowd were for Lu and his giant ushi-oni. The people chanted and slapped their knees, pointing at the bizarre spider-ox.

“That’s the biggest ushi-oni I’ve ever seen!” someone yelled.

“That’s why they call Lu the genius of Morumbi Town!” another person chimed in.

“It’s not even mature yet. They bonded just a few years ago!”

“That pair is going to be a team to watch! They are the most promising duo to come out of Morumbi Town!”

Finlay shot me look, his eyebrow knitted, his face still red. “Wait. He’s the genius from Morumbi Town? I heard about him at school. This is looking bad… I can’t believe we have to fight him in the first round.”

Sage grew white as a clean sheet. She just clenched her fist and muttered under her breath, “Turn into a statue… Turn into a statue… Turn into a statue…”

Her eldrin, from deep within her bag, whispered, “Play dead… Play dead… Play dead…”

The crowd’s chanting grew louder and louder. Soon it seemed like the entire universe was cheering for Lu and Botan. Elias might say that two hundred people weren’t a lot, but that was still way more people than I’d ever met in my life. It was like five Rosewood Orphanages!

A confused voice suddenly cut through the din. “Hey, wait a second! There’s too many eldrin in the arena!”

The cheerful and joyous atmosphere instantly shifted to confusion. People whispered explanations, but it was clear most had never seen a kirin arcanist.

“It looks like it’s him…”

“Yeah, the guy on that weird horse…”

Brock frowned. “Now, now! No need to worry. This is a kirin arcanist. They can have two eldrin, but the horse—the weird unicorn here—isn’t really a fighter. They’re pacific creatures that can’t even speak!”

That was a terrible explanation. Roux could speak!

But it went over with the crowd.

I turned to Sage, hoping she would educate everyone, but she was trembling. Her teeth were chattering so loudly I could hear them.

I urged Roux forward, and then I raised my hand. “I am a kirin arcanist. While most eldrin grant their arcanist great magic, the kirin allows me to bond with another. She can talk—her name is Roux.”

The announcer slowly nodded along with my words. Then he shrugged. “You heard it here, folks. Kirin. I’ve never seen one in person, but the Crown Tournament brings out all sorts of weirdos in the early rounds!”

More laughter from the crowd. More pointing. More excitement.

Wren crowed proudly, trying to gain the audience’s attention “Yep! That’s right! And that means I’m twice as strong as you’d think, too!”

Lu just stared at me, Wren, and Roux, pointing back and forth at the two of them.

Adressa, the beautiful siren announcer, frowned. “Well, this is most unusual. I’ve never heard of anything like this before…”

Lu shot Wren and Roux a quizzical look, then walked over to us and tilted his head, closely examining Roux. “Excuse me. What powers do you have?”

As always, Roux just stared at him without saying anything.

Lu gesticulated his hands wildly, trying to get Roux’s attention and repeating his question “Excuse me, but I wanted to know what powers you had?”

As Roux continued silently staring back, the crowd gradually shifted from surprise and awe to general chuckling and doubting.

“Let the fight go on! We want to see the genius of Morumbi Town!”

“That horse doesn’t look that strong!”

“Lu and Botan can beat any two eldrin you throw at them!”

Lu beamed. He waved and bowed his head. “I’m sure I can win this fight! No worries.”

Brock nodded with conviction. “Very well.” He shifted gracefully to the edge of the combat arena, casting a discerning gaze over each quadrant. “Are all contenders prepared?”

In unison, we signaled our readiness.

In a grand flourish, Brock swept his arm wide, mirrored perfectly by his siren’s sweeping wing. Their voices melded as one, resounding through the arena. “Let the battle commence!”

Without hesitation, Sage transformed into an immutable statue.

That was it. She just… immediately transformed. I almost couldn’t believe it.

Finlay, trying to muster courage, whispered fervently to himself. “This is just another skirmish at the orphanage. I only need to—”

But he was denied the completion of his thought.

With a swift gesture, Lu unleashed his evocation. A churning orb of inky, noxious poison materialized before him, expanding ominously with every heartbeat until it detached from him with a resonant pop. Then then black bubble floatedon the air. It grew so large, it was practically half the size of our little fighting platform.

“Roux, we must evade!” I telepathically said.

She pivoted, and together we deftly sidestepped the looming threat. The audience gasped, and I knew it was because Roux was so graceful. Her hooves barely made a sound as she dodged away, her mane glittering, her scale-hide unlike anything seen in this town.

Sadly, Finlay wasn’t as graceful.

He crossed his arms in front of his face, trying to block the attack. The sight was almost comical. The moment the disgusting bubble made contact with Finlay’s arms, it exploded like a ripe pimple, sending both him and Sinsidius tumbling off the stage from the concussive force.

Sick, venomous liquid covered most of the arena. Roux’s hooves wouldn’t be affected, and I was happy to have her as a mount.

The bearowl and his arcanist lumbered over Sage. She sat there—as a statue—as the man and his eldrin lifted her up and carried her to the edge of the platform.

“Hey, hey!” Kenji called out from her bag as it was jostled around. “Careful! I’m in here.”

They unceremoniously threw Sage from the platform like it was no big deal. Clearly, bearowls and their arcanists were strong.

Now I knew what my master meant when he said tanuki were weak. Sage couldn’t take damage, but she couldn’t move in her statue form, either. They’d just tossed her clean off the platform, no resistance.

“Wow, this is a short fight,” Brock said, tugging on his collar. “How embarrassing.”

My heart sank. Both my teammates had been defeated in less than a minute.

Now it was three against one.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The three remaining arcanists, and their eldrin, all turned to face me.

Wren hissed and flared his scales. He stood with his head higher, his fangs flashing in the morning desert sun. “Finally. A real fight! You chumps are toast.”

Since each arcanist also had an eldrin, there were six figures in total—three hulking fighters and three ferocious mystical creatures. Without even glancing at each other, the enemy team fanned out, and soon I was surrounded.

Behind me, I had nowhere to go. If I retreated, I’d fall out of the ring.

My opponents stepped forward, slowly and steadily, the arcanists readying their clubs.

They weren’t going to try and risk an attack—they just wanted to push me off the platform.

The announcer’s words pounded dully in my ears, “Lu’s evocation is amazing! Such a fast match. This was a treat.”

Lu’s evocation was pretty impressive, but I wasn’t worried. As far as I could tell, he didn’t have any martial training—he just tried blasting people with those big bubbles. Even now, he stayed the farthest away, his club held poorly, his stance unsteady. What was he doing?

I’d start by cutting off the head of the snake.

“Roux, let’s charge. We’ll go for Lu first!”

With a fluid motion, Roux surged forward, her unparalleled agility making her a blur on the platform.

“Wait,” Wren shouted. “Don’t forget about me!”

In his haste to catch up, flames spurted from his mouth in a fiery dance, licking the air menacingly.

The unexpected lunge caught the opposition entirely off balance. They had likely underestimated me, assuming I shared the same inexperience as Sage and Finlay.

Each member of the rival team recoiled, momentarily rooted in spot. Seizing this instant, I thrust with my spear, targeting Lu’s club held in his shaky hand.

Lu, reacting with visible clumsiness, couldn’t get out of the way. He lifted his weapon, and we clashed, but the sheer momentum from my thrust staggered him.

“Strike him down, Roux,” I telepathically commanded.

Without hesitation, Roux lowered her head and then slashed her razor-sharp horn unerringly into Leon’s midsection. The forceful impact stole Leon’s breath, propelling him precariously towards the edge of the platform.

As I moved in for a final push, Rowan interceded, brandishing his club with desperate movements. Roux, sensing the danger, danced gracefully beneath me, evading the strike. I feigned an attack with my spear’s tip, only to swing it broadly, using its haft to sweep Rowan off his feet.

Capitalizing on his instability, I evoke a pop of flame. It was enough to startle the man. He clumsily stepped backward and then tumbled off the platform.

The audience’s shouts became soaked in confusion.

“Wait, what?”

“How did he…”

The other team had lost their composure.

Lu was still reeling on his feet, and the others were just gaping.

“Let’s go for the bearowl while it’s confused!”

Roux shifted, galloping toward the massive creature, scarlet blood dripping down her horn. The beast had no idea what to do without his arcanist. He shifted awkwardly from side to side, unsure of which way to go, a small hootescaping his bear head.

I leapt off Roux’s back and landed on the platform. According to Master Elias, Ginza Aggression was relentless, and it had techniques honed for opponents of all shapes and sizes. If I was supposed to be practicing, I might as well start now.

Against a heavy opponent like the bearowl, Elias had taught me to go for the creature’s knees, forcing them to lose balance. Fortunately, Roux managed to slammed her horn into the beast’s side. When he swiped at her, she dodged with the fluidity of water.

Now was my chance.

I evoked flames at the bearowl’s face. It worked just like Elias said it would.

The beast jerked back, trying to keep the flames out of its eyes. I followed up with a low kick, and one of its front legs buckled. The bearowl lost balance, grunting as it hit the platform.

I gathered force in my legs and booted it off the stage with a blazing kick.

“Wait, what?” the announcer called out.

With a confused cry, the bearowl slammed into the ground, throwing up a huge cloud of dust and joining its arcanist outside the ring.

I’d hoped that losing the bearowl would shock the enemy team even more, but they finally recovered. Lu and Botan each sent large bubbles of poisonous liquid at us. Beside them, the gargoyle and its arcanist used their magic to tear up the stage. They manipulated the stone upward, and then tore chucks of rocks large enough to throw. The jagged stone flew by me and Roux, some the size of my head. It would hurt good if it landed.

“Roux, focus on dodging the poison. I can handle the stones.”

Roux twisted, dodging left and right to avoid the slow-moving poison bubbles while fearlessly charging into the stone shards.

As the stones streaked towards us, I concentrated and smacked them all aside with my palms. After hitting that enormous rock every day for the last three years, the attacks didn’t even sting.

I threw my spear at the gargoyle’s arcanist, catching him hard in the shoulder. He yelped in pain as the attack drew blood, and as Roux rode by, I grabbed her pulled myself onto her back.

Again, the crowd gasped. They obviously didn’t think I’d be such a competent rider.

Once on Roux, she turned sharply and kicked the gargoyle arcanist squarely in the temple, her hard hooves smashing him with a crack.

He went down without a sound. When we rode by, I pulled my spear from his shoulder.

With a guttural growl, the gargoyle lunged, its stone fists cutting through the air with lethal intent. Roux danced backward with a grace belying her size. I feinted with a slash, then leapt off her back again.

Crouching low, I narrowly evaded the creature’s wings that sliced menacingly through the air in my direction. Seizing the opening, I delivered a powerful kick to its stony left knee.

To my surprise, the gargoyle emitted an incredulous yelp. The force of my assault unbalanced it, sending it tumbling towards the edge of the platform. I was surprised the beast hadn’t learned from the first time I used this trick.

But then the gargoyle flapped its wings. I threw my spear a second time, punching through its wing. The gargoyle hit the platform, and then a flash of fire washed over its whole body—thank you, Wren. The gargoyle shielded its eyes, but the heat otherwise didn’t damage it’s stoney skin.

And while it was distracted, I stepped forward and kicked it hard in the chest.

The gargoyle fell from the platform and hit the dirt around the arena.

I turned to Wren, who let out an excited cackle. “Hah! I told them not to forget about me.”

Lu and Botan were the only ones remaining. Lu’s jaw was clenched and he had both his palms outstretched.

A swirling miasma of poisonous liquid built at his hands. I prepared to dodge, but it just kept growing larger and larger. He was trying to build up the biggest poison bubble possible to try and drench all three of us…

I wanted to charge and hit him, but I wouldn’t make it in time.

Instead, I lifted my palm.

“If you use your evocation with my magic, you can empower yourself,” Roux telepathically said.

I hadn’t practiced this before. Perhaps this was why Master Elias wanted me to fight—he wanted me to use all these tricks. So I took a calming breath, and focused on Roux. With her in mind, I evoked the syrocko drake fire… I pushed the magic through my system, forcing it to leave my body…

The pillar of flame surged forth, cutting straight through Lu’s poison bubble. Black smoke billowed through the arena, the crackle of fire and the sizzle of hot venom splashing all around us. The crowd roared, and some leapt from their seats, shielding their heads.

Then, the venom bubble exploded.