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"Where the heck is he?" He grumbled.
"We have been waiting for him for…" Lith realized that without the sun, he had no idea how much time had passed.
'Barely ten minutes.' Solus mind-rolled her eyes at his impatience.
"Over ten minutes! It doesn't take that long to fly over here. Maybe we should start on our own."
"Why so anxious? Don't tell me that you let that Rudd guy get under your skin." Friya mocked him playfully.
"He can believe whatever he wants. As long as he judges the students semi-fairly, is fine by me. I don't fear the Professor as much as his subject. It's nothing like I've ever done before, and I will not relax until I know I can do it." Lith replied.
"It's the same for all of us, yet you are the only one freaking out. Do you know why?"
'Because you are all a bunch of children that still believe in unicorns and rainbows. In real life, only results matter. No one cares for the reason why you failed or succeeded. The magical power of friendship has never solved anything, unless in works of fiction.' He thought.
"Because despite all of your talent, you are so single-minded on the task at hand to become obsessive. Ten minutes aren't going to affect our chances with dimensional magic. Try to relax. Sometimes one has to stop and smell the roses.
"Who knows, maybe he has met someone special. I mean, any other guy I know would be delighted to be in your place, surrounded by pretty girls. Yet you just nag all the time like my grandpa."
Lith didn't miss Friya poking Quylla's back, probably to encourage her to say something instead of staring at her own toes. She had been awfully silent since he had entered her room.
'It's not like there's something embarrassing around. This place is as empty as mine. I wonder if I was so awkward at her age.'
Despite she really wanted to join the conversation, Solus kept silent. Having access to all of his memories, she knew that the twelve years old Derek's past was better forgotten. There was only pain and misery there.
"I'm flattered by your feelings." Lith replied. "But it's better if we stay friends. It's not you, it's me."
Friya was left speechless, while Phloria was rolling on the bed laughing.
"Knocked down in one move! You better stay down, sister."
Before Friya could scold the two of them, they heard knocking on the door.
Lith quickly opened it, eager to begin, letting a groggy Yurial walk inside. He was leaning on the wall just to stand on his feet. His eyes were semi-closed, as if he was about to fall asleep at any moment.
"Are you drunk?" It was the only explanation Lith could find. Yurial shook his head, while Lith helped him reach the bed. He clearly needed to sit down.
While the other girls started worrying, asking Yurial what was wrong, Quylla used one of her personal diagnostic spells, finding that he was perfectly fine, just like Lith had previously done with Invigoration while supporting him.
"He is not drunk." She said. "For some reason, Yurial has barely the strength to walk."
"I can easily fix that." By using a tier four light spell, Lith gave him some of his life force.
Yurial finally managed to speak, telling them what had happened, down to the last detail.
"That b*astard beat me so hard that the healing spell drained all my remaining energy. I had to fight just to put one foot in front of the other. It's a miracle I managed to get here without fainting."
"What a scheming son of a swine!" Phloria snapped.
"By healing you not only did he cover his tracks, but he also left you so weak that even if you managed to call for help, it would have been too late. At this point he can be anywhere, surrounded by people ready to give him an alibi."
"Yeah. I need to inform my father of what happened. If I were you, I'd do the same. You come from a magic bloodline too, I'm surprised that they didn't try to recruit you already."
"Maybe they did." Friya suddenly realized.
"Do you remember the cute guy that seemed wanting to talk with you, but walked away as soon as he noticed we were together?"
"The one we joked about being too afraid to confess in public? Yes, I do, but what makes you think he was one of them?"
"Nothing, just that it seems too odd to be a coincidence. We have attended the same classes for months and he chooses today to make his move? Also, was he afraid of me or of my Ballot? Everyone knows I have one."
"It makes sense." Yurial nodded. "I think at this point it's better if we all get one. Our family names make us targets. It could happen to you too, Friya. Contact your mother and see where she stands in this matter."
Lith was shocked contemplating all the possible consequences. It was ironic how he and Quylla were the least affected by the sudden turn of events. Being commoners, they had no value in a political struggle, at least for the moment.
If they really wanted to hurt Linjos' reputation, their existence as the top students of the Master Healer class sooner or later would make them targets as well. The other class wasn't a problem, there were better Forgemasters than him.
Or at least, it was what he had made them believe.
Friya, Phloria, and Yurial took out their communication amulets to inform their parents of the current predicament.
"Mind if I use the bathroom?" Lith asked. In a world were underwear did not exist and the uniform was the only dress they wore, it was unlikely there was something embarrassing lying around. But he wanted to make sure to not invade Quylla's privacy.
She nodded, and after entering Lith used his Hush spell to prevent from being overheard before calling Marchioness Distar. Even though she answered immediately, the Marchioness seemed annoyed by his call, but as soon as she heard the news, her attitude changed.
"Good gods, those b*stards dared to involve their own sons. This is even worse than I thought."
"I'm sorry, your Ladyship, but you do not seem surprised at all. Can you please tell me what's happening exactly?"
Marchioness Distar drummed with her fingers on the desk for a while before answering.
"What happened today is just a sideshow of the real struggle. It goes on from decades, with new powers demanding more equity, and the old ones fighting to keep things as they are. Every year, commoners rise to the status of nobles thanks to magical or military achievements.
"But getting lands and titles means nothing if bureaucracy stands in your way at every step. Kings come and go, but paper pushers are forever. Over the centuries, all such positions have been taken over by the old powers, and they use it as a bottleneck to limit the authority of new nobles.
"No one gets anything unless they agree. And that makes a lot of people angry. In a way, they can even overrule the Court's orders, simply by delaying everything as much as they can.
"For this reason, the Court has started to replace bureaucrats. Sadly, that also made many people angry. The conflict between old and new powers keeps escalating, despite all the attempts of mediation.
"Why do you think my family is under a constant death threat? Because in my Marquisate there is not one, but two of the six great academies and they are key points in the balance of power.
"Both factions want me dead, hoping to take my place and further develop their agenda."
"Both of them? Then what side are you on?" Lith asked in confusion.
"The Court's side. I believe in compromises. Radical changes lead to chaos in the short term, and the neighboring countries would exploit the opportunity to invade us. No changes, instead, mean the collapse of the system.
"If no matter how powerful you are or how much you contribute to your country, if you do not get an adequate reward, then you have no reason to remain loyal. Not when other countries work much better. That's why so many mages defect."
"What does this mean for me and my family? Are we safe?" He had little to no interest in political struggles, unless they involved Lark.
"Yes, you should be. Believe me, very little can get past the Queen's corps, and in the big scheme of things, you are insignificant. No offense."
"None taken." Lith sighed in relief.
"This is not the first attempt of sabotage, Linjos knows what to do. I'll let him know everything, so stay away from his office and don't draw attention on yourself. Stay out of it as long as you can, but keep me updated if anything else happens."
He promptly agreed.
'If this goes on for so long, then I just need it to last a bit longer. In less than two years from now, it's none of my business anymore.'