The news of me insulting a Great Noble to his face was a hot topic for the next few days. Several of the commoner students started warming up to me after that. While they weren't courteous to me, they were not openly antagonistic. At most, they considered me as a guy with a backbone. That earned me some respect among my peers. Those who were saying that I wasn't worthy of wielding the Truesword name eased up on me a bit.
The nobles, on the other hand, were united against me, both Lesser and Great alike. Most of them felt that I had used the opportunity of being in the academy to insult a noble, which was in part true. I wouldn't have dared to insult a Great Noble to his face outside the academy. No one would have dared, for a noble can easily get me arrested if it were to happen outside the academy. The academy's rule of treating commoners and nobles alike helped me in this bit.
But, there was one similarity between commoners and nobles alike regarding the matter. They were all eagerly waiting to see how Kantha was going to retaliate at me. Being a Great Noble, his influence was not something to scoff at. He truly had tremendous influence. And even I knew that it was only a matter of time before my stunt in the dining hall came back to bite me in the ass. The only question was when.
The thing that completely caught me off guard was the reactions of the academy teachers. They neither condoned nor condemned my actions. Only, they started treating me like a problem child. They were unusually strict with me. Their attitudes were stiff. Having been involved in three high profile incidents back to back didn't help my reputation either. They started watching me like a hawk. I could feel their eyes on me whenever any of them were near.
Strangely enough, Kantha was keeping quiet. Even his lackeys avoided me. This strange behavior made me really paranoid. I was looking for dangers everywhere I went. My nerves were on edge all the time. It was taxing, to say the least. If he had come out and taken his revenge, it wouldn't have bothered me that much. I was sure that he was planning something. Not knowing what it was going to be didn't sit well with me.
Even though I was cautious when dealing with everyone, I was happy and carefree in my dormitory. My main aim looked to have succeeded. Kantha has left my friends alone after that and it had eased the tensions back in the academy. Even though Sekar didn't approve of my method, he was nevertheless happy. Prasad was indifferent to my actions either way. Being not on Kantha's radar in the first place, it didn't affect him much.
Elango had become closer to me than he ever was earlier. He was lot more open with his feelings around me. In fact, the relationship between him and me was better than ever before. Yet, I didn't ask about the Legacy he was chasing after. I felt it to be too private to pry about. I was content with where our friendship was right now. Among my friends, Sekar was studious and sometimes naïve; Prasad was quiet and kind of aloof; it was Elango who resonated with me the most. He was the one I felt more comfortable interacting with.
Time passed by without much excitement. The academy had kind of come back to a normal state after the initial days of excitement. The last weekend of the month was announced to hold the trials for joining the three Divisions of Amara that held a straightforward recruitment process. My friends were kind of disappointed with me as I hadn't applied for any of the divisions. Unsurprisingly, Prasad had applied for the Topaz division.
"I don't want to be a Lifemage who uses his power over animals to hurt people. I want to be a Lifemage to experience their minds," he said when Sekar questioned him.
The eve of trials saw me sitting with Elango in my room. Sekar was doing some last-minute preparations, meaning he was cramming up his mind in the library. Prasad had also opted to research more about the Topaz Division from the library. That left the room empty of any other parties.
"You don't have anything to prepare," I asked Elango.
Elango sat opposite to me. He remained unnaturally quiet for some time. After waiting for his answer for more than a minute, I opened my mouth to ask the question again. Before I could utter anything, he stood up and walked towards the window in our room. I watched him stare at the setting sun for a while before joining him near the window.
"Are you well?" I asked a little concernedly.
He didn't reply to it initially. Just about when the silence was becoming unbearable to me, he spoke up.
"Why did go after the Truesword name?" he asked me softly still gazing at the setting sun.
"What!?" I asked in confusion, caught completely off guard by the question.
He closed his eyes and let out a huge sigh before speaking again.
"I asked, why do you want the Truesword name?"
I stood still for a moment before turning towards the setting sun. The sun was showering its orange rays through the window. While it was glaring to look at it straightly, it still gave off a beautiful view. I sighed to myself and asked him.
"Do you want me to tell the ugly truth or a beautiful lie?"
"The truth please," he snorted.
I chuckled to myself and told my reason to him, "I want to stick it to the old geezer. I didn't want to come here. He forced me to. I think I was already told you that he is a retired Knight, right?"
I saw him nod his head.
"I was still angry then. I wanted to let him know how I felt. But, he is strong. Way stronger than the other mage who put me in the infirmary. The only way I could think of to get back at him was to assume the Truesword name. You know how Knights get stuffy with that name, right? I just wanted to stick it to him. But, somehow it all got way out of hand. I didn't expect any of that."
I said running my hand through my hair. I felt like confessing to him. Telling what ran through my mind for the past few weeks. It was an escape I needed.
"And,…" I couldn't go on.
I walked away from the window and turned my back to him. It was hard to tell someone that they endured torment because of a petty desire for revenge.
"I didn't expect Kantha to come after you guys. Honestly, I…. I…" I struggled to form words.
Unexpectedly, Elango started laughing. For a moment it sent cold shivers through my body. For a moment I thought that I had angered him. But, the moment passed and I was able to identify that he was laughing with mirth.
"You… you turned the academy upside down for that small little thing?" he asked in between his laughs.
I nodded my head sheepishly.
"Unbelievable…. Un.. fucking... believable," he said laughing out loud.
It was not average laughter. He was laughing his heart out. It was deep, happy, and filled with exasperation. I watched him laugh for a while before getting irritated and started playfully punching him. We tangled for a bit and we both end up on the ground.
At last, he controlled his laughter and wiped away his tears and smiled at me.
"You are just like him," he said fondly.
"Who?" I asked in confusion.
"My father," he said with a wistful smile on his face.
"You mean the one who has trained Santhanu to be a snob? Please," I scoffed.
"No, not him. My father," he stressed.
I looked at him in confusion. He watched my reaction and let out a huge sigh before explaining.
"You haven't figured it out yet, have you? For a guy who is so smart sometimes, you sometimes are too thick to be true," he shook his head in exasperation before spilling his secret. "Me and Santhanu are not blood brothers. We are stepbrothers. My mom married his father."
That explained a lot of things. The difference between their characters, the way they interacted with people, their priorities, and much more. As I watched, Elango drew his leg together and hugged them before speaking again.
"He was my hero, you know. He was a Battlemage. One of the best there was. He was a commoner who was respected on par with a noble. He firmly believed in Lord Truesword's principles. He never gave up. He was always striving to improve. As a child, he was my hero and role model. I saw him more as a hero than as my father. Then it happened."
"One day, when I was around ten, he came back from the battlefield with both his arms and legs lost. From what he told me, he was protecting the rear of the army when they were retreating. His protective shield withstood for a full day before he lost control of his magic and it rebounded. He was blown away. His arms and legs were disintegrated. That left him a cripple unable to do anything. He had begged the troops to leave him, but they had refused and had brought him back to his family."
I listened attentively to the story. From the way he said it, I could feel that this story had deeply impacted him.
"Sometimes I wish that his troops had left him to die there," he said after a while causing me to look up in shock.
"He was never the same after that. He was still my hero and was a strong man, but there was a shadow within his heart. He still told me stories and how his actions saved many men on the battlefield. It was clear that he didn't regret any of that. But, he had lost something very important to him. Even though he survived, he couldn't do anything after that. He was totally dependent on me for everything. He started to feel that he was a burden. And it ate him away inside."
"It was hard to watch my hero wither away in front of my eyes. I took care of him to the best of my abilities. My mother was busy in finding a second husband. She had married him for the status. But to me, he was the world. As I took care of him, I watched him wither away, it was hard. You don't know what it does to a person."
Tears were flowing freely from his face. I moved in to support him and comfort him. His body racked with sobs. I just held him in a hug.
"You know, I think, I think he realized what it was doing to me. Even though I didn't say anything, he knew to watch him like that was affecting him. So, one day, he…. he… committed suicide to relieve me of the burden. My mother was happy, but for me, my entire world had come crashing down. For years I blamed me for not taking care of him properly. He… how could he? How could he?" he wailed in my arms.
I simply sat there letting him cry his heart out. Even though, I didn't know how to comfort him. I felt that he needed to get this off his chest.
"It took me years, long confused years, for me to realize that he had done his last sacrifice for me. Even as a cripple, he had sacrificed his life, the only thing he had, to set me free," he said after a while.
"You remind me of him," he said moving apart from me and standing up.
I just sat there watching him.
"You two are alike, you know. Once you set your mind on something, you don't back out no matter what the opposition is. You don't care about what others are going to think. He was the same. He did things his way. I am glad I met you, Kathir."
"So the legacy you are chasing after is," I spoke after a while.
"My father's. To be a Battlemage my son would be proud of."
I watched him state that with so much conviction that it even shook me for a moment.
"But why's Santhanu against it?" I asked.
"Not him, his father. His father feels that I should not risk my life in such a dangerous vocation. So he is using Santhanu to deter me. He is hoping that I would change my mind," he scoffed.
"You know, I want to be like my father. I want to reach for new heights. I want to break the stigma that commoners aren't equal to nobles. I want to show people like Kantha that even a commoner can achieve great heights. Just like my father. They think that commoners belong under them, but my father taught me otherwise. He had taught me to live for myself and reach for the stars. I want to leave that legacy to my children."
A heavy silence ensued after his statement. I looked at Elango with new respect. He had a goal and a conviction to see it through. I have come across very few people who had a strong conviction to push to their goals. At that moment, I knew that Elango was going to be someone who will be an inspiration to a lot of people.
"I think, I should be going. I need to rest for tomorrow's trials. It would have been good to have me by my side, but I think you have your reasons," he bid me goodbye after a while and walked out of the room.
I watched him go with a heavy heart. Compared to him, my reason to fight the duel was flimsy and even pettish. I felt small, insignificant, and not to say a little rattled with the conversation. I never knew he had such a burden in his heart.
"And one more thing," Elango popped his head back in. "I have to thank you for it. Even though my father had taught me a lot of things, I still needed an inspiration. The way you stood up to Kantha in the dining hall resonated with me deep in my heart. Try your best to win that name Kathir. That name signifies hope to a lot of people like me. Show them it can be done," he said and exited the room.
I sat there on the ground in my room and pondered over his words. With simple words, he had unveiled a whole new meaning to my duel. Thilothama's warning came to my mind. Did she know the implications of the name? In that case, will the nobles let me to simply claim that name easily? I didn't think so.
With heavy thoughts clouding my mind, I went to bed. The sleep was elusive but eventually, my body gave up on my mind and shut down.
The next morning saw me send off my friends for their respective trials. From what I had heard from them, it seemed the trials were a two-day event. Students can witness the trials if they want to. Several of the seniors were expected to be present to look at who went into which division. The trials were basically an elimination process and the first day was totally dedicated to weeding out the weak. The second day was dedicated to select the most promising students for each division.
I stayed in my room working on the homework that has been given to us. The amount of work that the teachers had dumped on us was huge and I dedicated the day to reduce my workload considerably. Working through lunch, I finished most of my homework. I had left the few which needed me to pick Sekar's brain.
My friends came to the dormitory jubilantly just before the dinner. I talked to them and got to know that they had all passed their respective trials for the day. The dinner was a lively event with most of the school discussing the trials and the various participants. From what I understood, the Ruby Division had held an endurance test to weed out the weak-willed and had followed it up with another test to eliminate the people with not the right mindset. Elango had refused to talk about it.
Sekar detailed the various kinds of accuracy tests held by the Sapphire Division. He had aced all of them. His control of mana was the best in the class and it seemed he had the best control in the entire Novice year. The Topaz Division had held a written test to test the knowledge of its applicants and their way of thinking.
The next day, once I sent off my friends, I found myself sitting idly in the room. With most of my homework done, I felt like taking a walk. So, I walked out of the dormitory and walked aimlessly around the academy for a bit. I contemplated going out of the academy for bit, but ultimately rejected it. To go out of the academy was inviting trouble. I was pretty sure Kantha was keeping an eye on me. The moment I am out of the academy, the protection I had here would be gone. And it would be only a matter of time before I found myself in trouble.
I was not foolish enough to tempt fate. So, I walked around the academy aimlessly for a while longer. Eventually, my feet led me back to the dining hall. I finished my lunch and came back to an empty dormitory. I sat on my bed for a while before opening my cupboard and retrieving my sword. I gave it an experimental swing and felt peace in my heart.
I tried a few sword moves in the empty room. Soon, the trying became practice and I lost myself in it. I came back to myself as the sun set in the west. Just when I was freshened up, my friends trooped inside with excited faces. Apparently, all of them had been accepted into the Divisions of Amara. We celebrated the news till dinner, before arriving at the dining hall.
Today, the dining hall's seating were a bit different. There was a large table set up in the middle. The novices who had been accepted into the Divisions of Amara were asked to sit there. My friends gave me an apologetic smile, I assured them that I would be fine and asked them to enjoy their moment. They departed with grinning faces, leaving me alone in our regular table.
A sort of ceremony was held and the novices who were accepted into the Divisions were congratulated by the seniors. I watched my friends bask in the adulation with a smile on my face.
"You are really happy for them," a soft voice sounded beside me.
I knew it was Thilothama without even turning to look. By now, we were both familiar with each other's presence to show outright aversion. The extra lessons had made sure of that. You can only spend so much time with someone before getting used to them. Still we avoided each other outside of the class. This was the first time she had sought me out.
"Why shouldn't I?" I countered.
Soft bell-like laughter erupted from her.
"You know what they call you?" she asked. "The weak link of the group."
I turned to look at her. There was no trace of guile on her face, yet I was not willing to let my guard down. I just smiled in return.
"But your friend Elango doesn't think so. I spoke to him after the trials. He believes that you can easily pass these trials. Yet, you didn't apply. It makes me wonder," she came directly to the heart of the matter.
I still didn't reply. I just shrugged my shoulders.
"He believes that you have your reasons to not join any of the Divisions. Is that true?" she pressed.
"Don't we all," I said at last.
"Hmmm, you are not as simple as you make people believe you to be, are you?" she asked curiously.
"Her Highness should get going, lest people wonder what someone like you is doing here. Tongues are dangerous when they start wagging. I think I would avoid them if I were you," I said hoping to drive her away.
"You do have a witty tongue, I will give you that. But, I will not stop until I know your reasons," she warned as she departed.
I watched her walk away with a confused mind. She always brought out conflicting emotions in me, this time was no exception. I didn't know how I had garnered such interest from her. And I wondered, whether she would be satisfied or feel disgruntled after knowing my secret. Either way, staying away from her was the only prudent thing I could do.