"Damn those midborns! Every last one of them!"
Isik kicked a random stone far into the forest, too angry to care who or what it could provoke. Only seven remained of his group, the rest either eliminated by the Stormcrawler or forfeited due to fright. 'Cowards.'
The whispers gathered at the gates of his home last year edged into the curve of his ears.
'Have you heard? The Tamaan's heir is unbound at the age of nineteen.'
'Talent has ended in this generation.'
'Disgrace.'
"Nonsense!" He plucked another pebble, chucking it skyward.
Tamaan blood ran in his veins, typics were his stepping stone, he was the heir of one of the Ten Major Families—and here he was, struggling in the midst of the Second Halo!
Isik's eyes burned a livid blue, veins popping across his forehead. If he trumped the sum of the Second Halo's best talent, despite not being to pass in his home-halo, who dared to say he wasn't a prodigy?
No one!
And yet, here these midborn were, refusing to cow before their betters.
Nothing—absolutely nothing—could come close to the vexation he felt towards the red-haired one. She and her teammate may have taken the threat with them in their retreat, but the lizard made sure to attack everything it saw on its way out, including him.
Apart from making each transaction a headache with that, that unclean mouth of hers, she never stopped talking. 'Never. What was her name again? Carielle?'
Then there was her friend, green-eyed and a head shorter. While quieter, she held more sway over both teams, making it a mission to convince his group to simply attack and be rid of the pest.
"If any of those midborns ever make their way into the First Halo, I'll make their lives a living hell!"
"Uh, Captain…" his scout scratched at his head, gesturing to the remainder of the group. "Everyone here except for you is, uh, midborn."
"I don't care!"
...
Val's stomach was flat against the forest floor, the undergrowth in front of her a mere inch above her head. The drone of the insects was thick and heavy, yet the sound barely registered to the girl, mind focused on the small expanse of grass seen through the bush's holes. She fiddled with the shortsword Williams lent her and kept her ears sharp for any sound.
"Last fight Valory." Jerel's remark came from a nearby tree, a sliver of his outline visible. "Let's make it a good one."
"Agreed."
A whistle speared through the forest's white noise. Though any other person would easily mistake it for a bird's mating call, she heard otherwise. The next second, he whistled back. Val discerned it in a moment.
'Aether creature en route. - Williams'
'Understood. - Jerel.'
Only three people could whistle out of the five of them. With two of the three being Jerel and Val, it wasn't hard to guess who initiated the conversation. The thought brought the resurgence of the argument Caro and Williams had at the fact that he could whistle and she couldn't. 'Children those two.'
The rustle of fallen leaves reached her ears as Jerel shifted his weight in preparation to strike. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." And she meant it. Ten days spent doing the same thing made a person, if not an expert, more than the beginner they had been at the start. As the visage of a Thundertail broke out into the clearing—horns, lightning and all—Val narrowed her eyes. 'Still too far.'
"I'll lead it to you," was all Jerel said before he disappeared into the forest behind her. Val continued to fiddle with the weapon barely longer than her forearm, her thoughts and attention never leaving the mature Thundertail.
A sound similar to metal hitting wood resounded near the jumpy aether creature. The beast flinched a mile high and ran in the opposite direction. A direction that led straight to Val. She smiled, gripping the leather hilt. 'Nice work, Jerel.'
Once it drew within a five-metre radius, Val emerged from behind the bush and lashed out, cutting it in its throat. Hopping back to dodge its sweep of lightning-charged antlers, she switched to a reverse grip and darted past, slicing the throat in full. The Thundertail kept running for some time, its gurgles becoming louder. It took five steps before it went down, never to rise again.
A whistle caught her attention, but it lacked the patterns woven into their limited set of codes. "Trying to give Williams a run for his money?" Jerel teased.
"Not at all." She knelt beside the corpse and sliced off an ear. "Far as I'm concerned, picking up a shield was the best choice I made in the last ten days."
"Ten days," a familiar voice added.
Val and Jerel turned to find the rest of their team ambling in, hacking away at the branches in their path. Williams straightened the shredded ends of his sleeves. "Flew by in a blink."
"For you maybe." Laura heaved a sigh. "Those first few days were a slog to get through."
"Doesn't change the fact that it's over." Caro grinned. "And that we're well above the requirement."
As if on cue, a horn blared, inexplicably bringing such a heavy bout of relief, Val's form sagged as a large exhale left her. Caro's grin broadened and she swept Val into a hug. "Hell yeah, V! Told you we could do it."
"I—cough—I need air, Cee." Val tapped for mercy on her best friend's shoulder. "Air."
"Oops." She let her go, but the grin of delight was far too stubborn to leave her face. "We did it," she whispered.
"Not yet, you did."
Clad in an ebony attire, their conductor strolled into the clearing, face nearly unrecognizable. Without the need for protection for the past few days, he'd blended in amidst the shadows, pretty much absent. 'Thank the saints it's not that shadow mage one.'
Caro scratched at her head. "Huh?"
"We've yet to appraise and account for the points collected." A smooth, circular device appeared in his palm as spoke, a smile spreading on his lips. "Who's up first?"
"I'll go." Jerel stepped forward, plucking his crystalized collection of slain aether creature remains from within his cloak. "Uh… what do I do with these?"
"Merely place it on the device." The conductor wiggled the object he balanced on one hand. "It'll do the rest for you."
Jerel dropped one glowing Thundertail ear on the pad. The number '1' levitated above the device, blazing and humming at its use.
"All them at once, please," the conductor requested.
Jerel placed the rest of his spoils, the number one ticking upwards and stopping at thirty-one.
The conductor nodded, impressed. "Jerel…"
"Imra," he finished.
"Jerel Imra." The conductor pressed onto the hidden rune etched onto his skin. "Thirty-one points. Considered a pass."
Jerel's eyes glistened. Val could only imagine the amount of effort, money and time spent on his previous failed attempts. 'It's worth it now.'
"Next," the conductor called out.
"Twenty-nine points. Mikhail Williams. Considered a pass."
"Thirty-six points. Carielle Hayes." Both of the conductor's eyebrows rose as he looked over Caro. "Considered a pass."
Caro winked at Williams. "Easy peasy."
"Thirty points. Laura Stone. Considered a pass."
Val placed her total winnings on the device, a slight sense she'd wake up from a dream in a cold sweat as the numbers ticked past fifteen. Her eyes found their way upwards, towards the tinted clouds, a sense of her parents smiling down on her.
'Mom. Dad. I did it.'
"Twenty-seven points. Valory Efron. Considered a pass."