Slander threw a last look at his group of students before he dismissed them and walked away. Mahon joined Zac, and together they went to the canteen.

“You knew there would be something else after the training?” Zac asked.

Mahon shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. I’d have tried my best even if there wasn’t anything more. But yes, given Slander didn’t teach us some advanced stances, I figured they would be something else. They just love to do it like that.”

“I hate when you’re right.” Zac sighed. “I should have pushed myself harder, too.”

“Told you.”

“Yeah, but everyone else was doing the complete opposite! You might know everything regarding training in Nightmare, but we’re in Ratho. It might have been different.”

“If there is only one thing similar between the two worlds, it would be training.” Mahon laughed. “Slander kind of reminds me of the instructors I had when I started in Nightmare. They just like to push you harder without telling you anything. To be honest, I fell for it the first time too, but once you have learned the lesson, you push harder every time.”

“I knew you were just a cheater.” Zac grinned.

The two friends queued with the other First White, and once they could enter, they picked whatever they liked from the still impressive buffet. They went to sit on the edge of the canteen at a table of two.

“I think I’ll change my specialized lessons.” Mahon started.

“What? Now?”

“I’m strong enough to do what I want. I’m not at your fitness level, but it will come with time. Slander’s training and one more specialized lesson will be enough. I don’t need to keep the running or yoga ones.”

Zac scratched his head. “Well, it’s obvious you know better than me what to do, so… Actually, it might be best if you help me plan my own specialized lessons too?”

“Sure.” Mahon acquiesced before pursuing. “I think we should try some magic lessons. Yordar suggested we give it at least a go, and we should follow his advice. Especially if you want to learn how to Flow.” Mahon brought his fork to his mouth without looking, lost in thought.

“Ah. But I don’t think we can right now. There are no magic lessons for First White.”

“You know the list?”

“Not by heart, but I remember looking for magic lessons specifically. We will need to upgrade and see the list for First Green.”

Mahon shook his head. “You’re not ready yet to win against a First Green with certainty. There is no rush. I’d prefer not to duo duel and carry you to a higher rank just for some magic lessons. You’ll not learn a lot in the rings if your opponents are too strong.”

“I don’t want to slow you down, and I think I can do it. I’ve fought with most First Green now, and I’m pretty confident in being able to defeat at least some of them.”

“Hmm… What do you suggest?”

“Let me pick my fight. If I can beat a First Green, you just have to beat his duo afterwards and that’s it. If I fail, you forfeit, and I can try a bit later. It’s a good challenge for me. And I think I need it.”

Mahon scrutinized his friend’s face. He tended to forget it, but Zac had been accepted by his own doing into the Pine Hill Officer Institute. He knew much less than Mahon, but as did the other students. To Mahon’s eyes, Zac was still a rookie full of weakness. Though his opinion was really biased, since Nightmare required perfection and nothing else.

His friend was hardworking and an excellent learner. He had stayed in the shadow of Mahon for some time now, and it was not good for his growth. He had to do things on his own, or he’ll only rely more and more on Mahon.

“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry, I didn’t consider that. That would be the perfect challenge, indeed. Ok, let’s do that.”

“Yeah! I won’t disappoint you. It’ll be a clean fight, I promise.”

Mahon smiled back at Zac.

It’s definitely a good idea to let him do this on his own. There are things you need to experience by yourself to learn them.

“Still,” Mahon continued. “I don’t want to wait for First Green before switching lessons. You remember what was on the list?”

“Ah… There wasn’t much. More weapons. Some advanced alchemy stuff. I think there was an advanced gainage lesson.”

“Shit. That was the only lesson I thought I would keep. Sure, I can take the advanced one, but that still leaves me with running and yoga, and I don’t want to attend those anymore.”

“There are still all the lessons from First Red. Weren’t you interested in some others back then?”

“Uh, right…” The memory of him choosing his specialized lessons with Zac, Allen, Kali and Wyrran flashed in his mind. “I wanted to try scouting to learn more about Ratho, but you taught me a lot about the area already.”

“Ah, no, no! My knowledge of outside Ratho comes mainly from books. You might learn more from scouting.”

“Hmm… Anyway, I can still try it and switch again if it doesn’t fit.”

“Yeah. And for the other lesson… I guess you don’t want to train on some weapons?”

Mahon grinned. “No.”

“Then I don’t know. We’ll have to get the full list to check.”

“Ok, ok. We’ll see tonight then. And see about your specialized lessons too. I’ll try to do scouting this afternoon.”

“Yeah, good idea. And Mahon, about the Flow…”

The two friends continued their serious discussion while finishing their meal. The break was long enough to have time to eat leisurely, but it wasn’t so long that they could discuss for hours, and soon it was time for the specialized lessons to start.

Zac left for his own training, and Mahon went to check the scouting lesson. He surprised himself that he remembered where the lesson was supposed to happen from that one time he checked the list with the First Red roommates. It was only five months ago, but it felt more like years with everything that happened in between.

Mahon passed beside smaller and smaller buildings until he arrived at a wide open area bordered by a small forest. It wasn’t the golden leaf pines that had given the school its name, but shorter and denser trees instead. The grove seemed small and yet Mahon wasn’t able to see more than a few meters inside.

As he arrived, a group of thirty or so students was already waiting in the area. They were seated directly to the ground, moving their hands through the earth with weird ease. On a second look, Mahon realized they were actually practicing earth magic. Some of them were already able to shape an earth cube, like Yordar had shown them months ago. Others were simply softening the hard soil.

Mahon lost himself in the mesmerizing sight of a student passing his forearm through the ground like it was water. A gentle tap on his right shoulder brought him back to the present.

“Hello. You want to try scouting?” a gentle voice asked.

Mahon turned his head and saw an old lady smiling back at him. Her face was a mix of wrinkles and wisdom, and her eyes shone with both curiosity and intelligence.

“Uh, yes. Is it still possible to join?”

“Yes, of course, sweetie, it’s never too late. You’re very welcome to join us.” She grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him towards the group. Her grip was firm and yet gentle. “Come, I’ll introduce you.”

She stopped a few meters ahead of the group of students diligently practicing and spoke louder to attract everyone’s attention.

“Boys! You can stop the magic training for now. Let me introduce you to a new element that will join us today.” She pointed to Mahon at her side and gestured for him to speak.

“Uh… Hello, my name is Mahon, First White.”

The other students nodded, and some even waved back at him.

What kind of group is this?

“Good. Now let’s start training. Jorik, sweetie,” the professor called. “you’re in charge, as always. I’ve modified the area in the North East. I want a detailed map in two hours.”

Mahon hadn’t noticed at first, but the First Black was indeed among the other students. Jorik stepped forward and casually spoke to the professor.

“Who asks it?”

“A mining company. Twenty carts full of valuable ores.”

Jorik nodded and started giving orders to the surrounding people.

“I want six volunteers to scout ahead of the main force.”

Without hesitation, a dozen hands raised up. Jorik chose his six scouts and appointed one of them as the man in charge.

“I want a preliminary report in half an hour. I want to know exactly who to send where for maximum precision. And cover your tracks. We don’t want bandits to know you’re here.”

While Jorik continued organizing the little troop, Mahon threw a baffled look at the professor still standing beside him.

“There really are bandits?”

The grandma showed a smile, half serious, half mysterious. “Of course, sweetheart.”

“Mahon!”

His name brought back Mahon’s attention to the situation at hand. The students were running around in what seemed to be a mess, but on a second look, they all knew exactly what they had to do, and they never disrupted others as they ran to their duty. The only one who was standing without moving, and looking straight at him, was Jorik.

“Come with me.”

Mahon joined the First Black.

“We train as a military unit here, so act accordingly.”

“Yes, First Black.”

Jorik nodded at the answer and pursued his explanation.

“You’re a novice here. Stay close to me and learn. You’re allowed to ask questions anytime, giving there is no urgency to handle.”

Mahon threw a weird look at the noble. It wasn’t how Jorik usually acted. Sure, they had spent more time together, and Mahon was far from crippled now, but it wasn’t enough to justify this new attitude. The man only swore by efficiency, and kindness wasn’t in his register. Did Slander’s speech change his view on Mahon? Or is it how he usually act when he’s not in charge of dealing with murderous fanatics?

“Are there really bandits inside school’s grounds?” Mahon finally asked.

“No. But once in a while, professor Nancy asks other student groups to ambush us. Last time we had to deal with the archery specialized lesson’s group. Most of the time there is no one but us, but it forces us to always be ready for something.” Jorik explained while observing his men going on with their tasks.

Mahon looked back to the professor, but the woman was gone. Disappeared without a trace. Following Mahon’s glance, Jorik explained again.

“She is a shadow. You’ll never be able to spot her if she doesn’t want to be seen.”

“But isn’t she the one teaching us?”

“Yes and no. She gives an exercise, and we execute. We’re completely free to do it the way we want while she observes from the shadows. She provides advice when she thinks it’s necessary, and she debriefs with the whole group at the end. But let’s focus back on the mission.”

Jorik walked towards a bag and handed it to Mahon. It was a small backpack but as Mahon put it on his back without complaint, he realized how heavily loaded it was. Jorik grabbed another for himself and started walking into the small forest.

Without needing to issue an order, the other scouts followed as one, and they all entered the forest with measured steps.

The next two hours were the most interesting Mahon had witnessed since Yordar’s lessons about unit sizes. Jorik was an excellent leader, and the scouts were all very thorough and attentive.

The First Black didn’t need to give much orders, as everyone knew what they should do. The little group found an area where they settled their camp. They posted sentries and installed a small table within a tent as headquarters. The goal of Jorik was to map out the designed area with the best of his abilities.

It required sending people to specific places so that they could analyze it. They watched the surroundings for any enemies, mapped easy paths forward and notable elements such as a big rock, water and else. A constant flux of information arrived in Jorik’s tent, who was charged with putting all the pieces together and building the most accurate map.

In order to do that, no less than three people were drawing on a big sheet spread on the table. Mahon didn’t do anything, as ordered. Instead, he watched how the people moved, acted, and planned.

The structure was similar to some colony of insects, where each unit was independent and interchangeable, capable of doing every single action by itself. But the area was vast, and coordination was an absolute necessity. Each single unit thus became part of a whole intelligent structure, adapting to the field to travel, collect and gather every useful piece of information.

Jorik seemed to be the main piece of the network, but in fact, without all the independent elements swarming around, he could do nothing. It was a beautiful show of teamwork and intelligent decisions, both individual and global. The map was drawn piece by piece until completion, without any incident.

At the end of the training, the professor reappeared by magic and went on to explain what could’ve been done better. How another earth block somewhere could have improved their defense drastically. Why it was necessary to map out some particular landscape people tended to ignore. What kind of strategies they could have used if bandits had been present at one place or another.

She also gave particular advice targeted at one student or another. How he should practice moving quicker through dense undergrowth, or quieter. Why he should not have stayed too long in a dangerous position. What methods he could have used to come back faster with information.

The lesson passed in a blur, and Mahon learned a lot. The exercise had been close to similar situations he had been through in Nightmare, minus the trees. The students were all focused on the task at hand together, and no one was slacking. The professor was very keen to help everyone progress. At the end of the session, she walked directly to Mahon.

“So, sweet boy, what did you think? Coming back tomorrow?”

Mahon smiled in return. “Sure will do.”