"May I join you?"

Nauda jumped when he asked the question, but Fiyu only smiled, having no doubt felt his approach. The two of them were sitting with trays of food in a shaded area of the courtyard, away from the noise of the dining hall. Fiyu might no longer be in pain from the light and noise, but she still preferred to stay away from them.

"Please sit down, Jake." Fiyu leaned over to pat a seat some distance from her, or normal spacing by Ichili standards. He bent down, carefully balancing his tray, and then got ready to eat. Nauda had paused, regarding him thoughtfully before she spoke.

"You look better. I'm not quite sure what you've done with your soulhome, but... are you out of your head now?"

"Sorry it took me so long." Theo swallowed his first bite before speaking further. "But I didn't come to talk about myself. The contest is in three days, isn't it? Have they explained the terms?"

"Two days, and yes, they have." Nauda took a drink from her cup and stared out over the city. "Thankfully, they won't be making it into a celebration for everyone, just a private tournament. It will be spread out over an entire month, with each family fighting one complete match each week."

Fiyu bobbed her head in agreement. "With a week between each match, there is time to scout your opponents and attempt to adapt. I did not think there would be time to craft new chambers, but Nauda pointed out that most are barely beginning their soulhomes and so might be able to soulcraft something significant within a week."

"So it's contests of secrets and flexibility. If you can make it through earlier rounds without revealing yourself, then you'll have an advantage in later rounds." Nauda regarded him thoughtfully. "Or if you can come up with something new. Are you going to be ready?"

Though Theo had gotten started on his meal while they spoke, now he had to stop eating with a wince. "Unfortunately, there's no way I can provide anything more than another body in the first round. But by the second round, I might be able to come up with something new. Can we be knocked out in the first round?"

"No, everyone participates in all the rounds regardless. But the total number of victorious matches will be counted, and on the third and fourth weeks, they will begin setting the teams with the best records against one another. Everyone who participates will receive a prize, of course, but only the top four teams will receive anything valuable, and only the winning team will be able to choose from the vaults."

"That is strange to me." Fiyu toyed with a long slice of fruit, her pale finger spinning it effortlessly. "Is it not insulting to give someone a meager reward for taking the last place in a contest?"

"Maybe for some, but not many here think like that. You should see the ordinary Farmguard tournaments: everyone wants to be noticed and impress their village, but there are rarely any true winners or significant prizes. In fact, often victorious towns only win the right to host the next feast."

"I see. That is... also strange to me."

They continued talking, apparently having grown closer in the time he'd secluded himself. Fortunately, it didn't seem he'd done any permanent damage, so he was free to focus on what he could add to the contest. Without his established blueprint, he needed all the sublime materials he could get, in case one of them finally cut through the knot he was dealing with.

Another thought occurred to him, however. "How much healing do the teams receive in between matches?"

Both turned to him, Fiyu nodding in agreement while Nauda looked momentarily puzzled. "No one would be left suffering, of course. I can't imagine there wouldn't be healing." Nauda's lips turned down as she understood. "Ah... but you're thinking that some injuries might not heal in a week?"

"Exactly. Would it be a viable strategy to try to crush every opponent so they can't fight the next week?"

"It might be effective," Nauda said slowly, "but it wouldn't be approved of. I don't know if they would change the rules for such behavior, but I wouldn't risk it. But you're right: we need to be be careful so that we're still in fighting condition each week."

"That strategy might also help other teams," Fiyu pointed out. "We wouldn't face the same team the next week, so would another group receive free victories?"

Theo nodded. "Good point. Nauda, do you think we're likely to sustain heavy injuries? I was thinking that we could try to alternate so that everyone has more weeks to recover, but I realized I don't know the terms. Individual matches? Fighting until surrender, or first blood?"

"No defeat terms were stated aside from leaving the ring, but they would not approve of heavy injuries." Nauda tapped her fingers against her tray, food forgotten as she considered strategy. "Each individual can only compete once each match, to prevent a team from only fielding their strongest members. But there are tactical questions when it comes to the order we go out... yes, there's a great deal to think about."

Fortunately, their group was more than up to the task. As they discussed potential strategies and which other teams were likely to be a major threat, Theo found himself relaxing. He might not work with Fiyu and Nauda in the long term, but for now, he was content to stand with them.

In just two days, they would all be tested.

~ ~ ~

On his first journey through the Nine Worlds, Theo had participated in countless battles and high stakes tournaments. Time and time again, he or an ally had come through at the last second, everything aligning just right. Now that he thought back to it without the lens of nostalgia, he found himself wondering if those events had been manipulated in some way.

In any case, he made no genius breakthroughs in the day before the competition: his soulhome was more stable, but just a dull container for cantae. Rather than risk further damage on anything drastic, he simply accepted that he wasn't going to win and determined to do the best he could for his allies.

As the time of the match drew close, he found Nauda seated on a bench in the lower courtyard, twisting her hands around her staff. He was surprised just how anxious she seemed and hesitated for a time. Most Tatians weren't troubled by too many worries, and she'd never struck him as particularly competitive. Yet here she was, as if today was the most important day of her life.

"Is everything alright?" he asked as he approached. Nauda flinched at first, but smiled when she recognized him.

"Don't mind me. Nothing but trivial concerns before the match, small problems like the fact that Trathis has abandoned us. He's joined another group."

"Maybe we shouldn't have antagonized him." Theo sat down on the bench beside her, patting her shoulder to move beyond concerns of blame. "I didn't realize that it was possible to change teams. Aren't we supposed to be families?"

"The instructors weren't happy, but they permitted him to join one of the smaller groups."

"Then we're down one soulcrafter. Does that put us at a disadvantage?"

Nauda smiled grimly. "It's actually an advantage in the short term. When I asked about groups with different numbers of members, they said that the team with fewer is allowed to use someone twice. So unless we're exhausting ourselves, we might be able to count on an additional victory."

"I assume you're going to send Fiyu out twice... unless you mean yourself? Is anyone on the team allowed to fight?"

"Archcrafters aren't permitted to participate, but yes, I can. I will attempt to face the other team's leader whenever possible, and if we have extra matches, I could likely win one. Today we're set against Mogi's team, so I expect us to win the majority of the matches."

Theo blinked, racking his brain for the name and coming up with nothing. "I don't think I know who that is."

Nauda gave him an odd smile. "I'm not surprised. You may not behave like Fiyu, but you're remarkably oblivious to people, and I don't simply mean by Tatian standards. Mogi is a Farmguard from the far Westlands. He's strong himself, but not a good teacher, so his group is relatively unremarkable. Mostly standard Farmguard blueprints."

That might be unremarkable for her, but Theo wasn't sure how he would fare. Most of them had begun with at least a little training as soulcrafters, and three months of steady training as a Farmguard wasn't trivial. If he recalled the blueprint correctly, there would be chambers dedicated to increasing strength, stamina, and speed, making them superhuman by non-soulcrafter standards.

"Umm..." The quiet voice from the side drew their attention and they discovered Fiyu shuffling up the stairs, her hood lowered. "I thought... I should wear it for the first time, since everyone will be looking..."

As she drew closer, she drew back her hood and Theo understood: the improvised mask had been replaced. Instead she wore a band of dark crystal that molded to her face, covering her eyes, forehead, and the bridge of her nose. He wasn't sure how it was affixed, as the bands disappeared into her hair, but it had the feel of a soulbonded armament, which meant it likely connected to her defensive window. Though he could almost imagine that he saw her eyes through the crystal, intricate patterns across the surface obscured her face underneath.

"So that's why you were visiting Navim?" Not really a question, but he asked it so that she would have something to easily answer. Fiyu immediately smiled at the name and nodded.

"Yes, Navim is very kind. I wanted to speak more with him, but there are always so many people entering his room..." Her smile faded and she cocked her head toward the arena. "There are so many people watching... I am confident in my soulcrafting, but having them all looking at me..."

"You'll be fine." Nauda stepped up to her, speaking warmly as she contained herself from making contact. "I'm sure you'll win your fights today and help us take the match."

"But everyone will be judging my appearance, and I don't know what to do with that... I went to a pool at night to look at myself. I think... I look strange in the daylight. Moonlight is much more natural. I don't... know if I have the wrong appearance, somehow."

Though Theo wasn't sure exactly how to reassure her, Nauda seemed happy to take the lead. "You don't need to worry, Fiyu. Everything is fine as it is... but if you're concerned about making a good impression, we could do something with your hair. You have beautiful hair, but it isn't shown very well, tied up like that."

"Really?" Fiyu reached up and unbound her hair, which fell messily around her shoulders. It quickly became clear that she was only accustomed to dealing with it a specific way, and Nauda kept starting to help and then pulling back to respect her personal space. At that rate, it was going to take them forever just to get it into a part.

Not interested in such fumbling, and not useful when it came to hair in any case, Theo looked away. Fortunately, several others arrived soon, including Kuber. The young man carried a ceremonial stick, the type a village leader might hold on Tatian except that it contained powerful cantae bound within. He couldn't judge just how powerful it might be, as it was all tightly sealed inside.

"Jake." Kuber jerked his head to the side to ask him to come away from the others, so he followed until the other man explained. "It's too late for the match today, but no one else will help me. I want to use this armament, but the Farmguards say that it's impossible."

"Let me see it." Theo tried to take the stick, but the other man kept it at a distance, just presenting it for him to look. "Obviously an armament, and it feels like a soul-bound weapon, but what is it?"

"It was a gift from my grandmother, an heirloom of our family. They say that it's... an Archcrafter armament. A powerful one that's been soulcrafted for generations."

Theo's eyebrows rose despite himself. That explained why Kuber was so desperate to reach Archcrafter, especially if the armament was truly something special. But even if they'd had more time... "I'm afraid the Farmguards are probably right. Is there a way to activate it only partially?"

"None of them asked that... but no, I don't think so." Kuber lowered the stick angrily. "This is everything I've been working toward. Without it, I'm just an ordinary soulcrafter. Surely there's some unusual blueprint that can allow me to use it..."

"Not a good one. It would be just like the Archcrafter sublime material: the pressure from it would destroy your soulhome. Here is what I'd recommend: devote an entire chamber to this, just as an ordinary short staff. Use it to channel cantae, or whatever it's meant to do. Then once you ascend, you can open the ceiling into a second tier chamber and use the armament at its full strength right away."

"That's the best you can offer?" Kuber stepped back, disappointment merging with anger in his eyes. "I know you got an Archcrafter material and you managed to make it work. Would you have a different answer for me if I was truly part of your family?"

"I'm being honest: that's the quickest way you could use something this powerful safely. If this goes well, you'll have new sublime materials soon enough, so plan for them."

Kuber stalked away to join the others, clearly dissatisfied. Though Theo thought about it for a while longer, he couldn't think of any logical way to build for an Archcrafter armament. Contrary to the accusation, Theo doubted he would get a request like that from anyone else, but if the Farmguards hadn't gotten through to Kuber, he wouldn't either.

Eventually a loud bell signaled that it was time and their whole group headed for the staircase. Stonecrafters had been working on one of the upper parts of the village for some time, but no one else had been permitted to see their work. Now that they reached the arena, he understood.

One of the benefits of living stone was how easily it could be reshaped. Where there had once been an old storehouse and a narrow street, they now walked onto a flat plane of stone. The newly grown stone felt soft under his feet, and that was no accident: it would mean fewer injuries when anyone fell to the ground. A shallow trough inscribed a ring in the center of the arena, forming the bounds of the combat circle itself.

Of course, most of the others were more focused on the audience, seated on benches that had also been freshly grown. Three stair steps of benches in a circle allowed a large number of people to watch, and also reminded him of large village bonfires. No doubt, when they did have contests in Tatian, they took a form much like this.

"Welcome!" Nanjuma stood atop a bench on one side, apparently delighted to see them. "Please, take your seats in the small area there. And Mogi, guide everyone to the opposite side! We will begin very soon, but please maintain a respectful silence as we form the circle."

Two portions of the audience seating had been removed, replaced by recessed areas with wooden stands to provide shade or privacy. Underneath there were several more benches for their team to use, exactly opposite the arena on the other side. In their recessed alcove, they couldn't see most of the audience, but they could watch their opponents directly.

As everyone shuffled into position, uncertain how to behave for the first match, an extremely old man tottered from the stands carrying a jar. He looked like he might be swept away by a stiff breeze, but Nanjuma walked beside him with utter respect, subtly touching his arm at one point to keep him from stumbling. When the elder reached the arena, his shaking hands tipped over the jar and crystalline water fell into the trough, forming the ring.

Theo examined it carefully, but didn't think that it was a sublime material, just unusual water. It sparkled in the sunlight and somehow retained that gleam even in the stone trough. By the time the jar was empty, a circle of shimmering water clearly marked the boundaries of the ring. Task done, the elder was led back to the stands and Nanjuma stepped up beside the circle.

"I ask all of you to remember that we come together today to strengthen our communities: not merely our strength of arms, but our strength of spirit! We compete against one another, but only as iron sharpens iron. A friendly competition has never done anyone any harm, but take care to guard your hearts from anger or jealousy as well as your bodies from blows."

That speech might have fared well with a purely Tatian audience, but this group was mostly from other worlds. No matter what pretty words Nanjuma put forth, they knew what this was: a competition for limited resources. Everyone might smile and agree, because he was the most powerful soulcrafter present, but they would never truly accept it.

"I believe all of you know the rules, so I will not waste time repeating them. And if you don't, I suppose you'll learn soon enough, won't you?" Nanjuma laughed to himself, then rubbed his hands together. "One more thing: I will be maintaining a defensive barrier between the ring and the stands, so please, show us the full fruits of your labor!"

With that, he stepped away and the match began. There was no announcer or fanfare, and the only judges were a group of several instructors who were not attached to any team. An old woman rose to her feet and spoke in a voice that was audible only because the arena was so quiet.

"Our first match is between Mogi's family and Nauda's family. As Mogi's family has ten members, and Nauda's family only nine, the latter will be allowed to repeat one family member. In addition, Mogi's family must put forward the first contestant."

As a muscular Fithan man stepped into the arena, Theo realized that he'd actually misunderstood the rules slightly. He'd been under the impression that each team would send out members blindly, but it seemed that they could respond to their opponents' choice. That added an element of vulnerability to any strategy, as anyone who stepped forward first would be targeted.

"Fiyu?" Nauda turned to her and smiled. "This one is yours."

She nodded and stepped forward, her hands tight in her robes. The match had begun.