The tension stepped up a notch, and the two men glared at each other in silence for long seconds. At first, Mahon’s look was half disgust, half anger, but as Jorik glanced back at him without flinching, it started to change.

Jorik’s frozen eyes weren’t conveying hatred or wrath. For a short instant, his usual calculative look crumbled, and Mahon saw what was behind. It lasted barely a second, and six months before Mahon wouldn’t have spotted it.

But with Zac’s teaching, and especially his training for the cult’s infiltration, it had become things Mahon knew how to spot. For half a second, Jorik had appeared tired. Angry also, but not towards Mahon, strangely.

The window only lasted for a short instant, and Jorik’s usual unfazed look went back on his face like nothing happened. The First Black sighed. It was probably the first time Mahon had seen the man sigh like this.

“And I wouldn’t stop you.” Jorik finally said.

Before Mahon had enough time to comprehend what it meant, the noble continued.

“Let’s make it clear between us. We probably started on the wrong foot, you and me. Mostly my fault, I realized. And without this forced collaboration, I’d never have guessed you were probably the most similar person to me on the whole campus. Don’t misunderstand, I still don’t want to be your friend or whatever. But you’re a decent ally. You probably know much more than me regarding fighting and strategy, but I’m the one in command here because Ratho is my world.”

Mahon listened closely to Jorik. It was rare for the man to talk about his real thoughts.

“My order still stands. We need to wait a bit more before arresting the cultist. But not for the reasons you mentioned. If Ravatoris knew about your operation, he’d put an end to the cult exactly like you said. Except he’d go himself so that you don’t get any credits. Noble families play in the shadows. They don’t want the world to know they are calling all the shots. Ravatoris’s goal is not to bring down another family directly. He just wants to win the game they play. I’m different.”

Jorik paused under the dubious look of Mahon. He took a deep breath before continuing.

“How to say that? The only way you possibly could have passed the White Reader’s test is because you want to stop the war, right? I said I don’t care about your personal objectives, and I mean it. But from all the possibilities, you had to have that goal… Would you believe me if I said I’d have passed the test too?”

Mahon observed Jorik’s face carefully for a few seconds.

“No.”

Jorik smiled sadly. “I can’t blame you. Truth is, I still want to end that damn war. We don’t have the same reason, though. You know nothing about Ratho, so you just want to end the war like what happened with Nightmare, right? I’m different. I want to end it because it’s the only way to bring a real balance and order in this hornet’s nest. To make things change for good.”

Mahon threw the noble another dubious look while the man pursued.

“Ah, whatever, you don’t get anything. You may not believe me, but I know you trust Zac. He knows about your goal too, isn’t it? Go and ask him what the best move for Ravatoris is if he was in my stead, and you’ll know I’m not playing his game. Ask him what the best one is for me, and you’ll know I’m not playing any noble’s game. When you’re convinced, come back to me, and I’ll explain to you what the real goal is.”

“I don’t want to play your games either. Especially if it involves letting people die for your schemes.” Mahon retorted.

Jorik laughed at his face. “How naïve. You thought you could end the war without killing people? Without dirtying your hands? Go talk to Zac. I’ll explain the next step when you're ready to hear it.”

The conversation ended on this note. The two men were too professional to leave their work unfinished, and so they spent the next hour in silence, copying maps while ignoring each other. Once Mahon was done with his part, he left the tent and found a spot nice enough to rest.

The scouts had special no-dream pills with specific amounts of sleep depending on how much time they had to rest, but Mahon didn’t need them. Nightmare continued to show its worth, even when everything else asked him to abandon it. He estimated how much time he had before they’d need him before closing his eyes and appearing in Nightmare.

Mahon left his meditative stance in Nightmare at the exact moment the sentries from the last watch started to pass to wake up everyone. Sun rays were barely apparent on the horizon, and the night had been short, but Mahon felt refreshed nonetheless. He was used to such an erratic rest schedule for a few weeks now.

He unwinded the soreness in his limbs with a quick warmup while the scouts started building up the fire and cooking breakfast. He went to help them, and soon the thirty or so scouts plus the professor were eating breakfast in a cheerful mood. They were all sitting in a loose circle with the food in the middle and the occasional person walking inside to get a refill.

The day before had been exhausting, but they were all pleased to leave the school for a bit and learn more scouting stuff in real situations. The professor was supposed to stay a few hours on site while the main troop mapped the surroundings and prepared for the way back. They had to find solutions for carts to be brought up there, and they hadn’t yet found a satisfying way from the first trip.

As everyone was stuffing enough food in their mouth for a full day of work, a scout rose up and crossed their circle. No one really paid attention to him, as he was not the first nor the last to do so, but something in the way he moved intrigued Mahon.

His steps were almost floating on the ground from how silent he was. His entire behavior reminded Mahon of a very experienced warrior. Or someone using the Flow. His motions were too swift, too controlled. As if it was both relaxed and ready for anything.

Mahon frowned and searched around for the only other man he thought could Flow. He found Jorik looking back at him strangely, as if he had searched for him, too. The two men exchanged a weird look before both returned to the too perfectly walking scout. They both turned their heads a bit farther, into the direction he was walking towards, and saw the professor calmly discussing with a nearby scout.

Something clicked in their mind, and they instantly jolted upright and rushed, swords out. Jorik went directly to the man while Mahon rushed to the professor instead, as he was the closest to her. The mysterious man immediately ran to the professor as soon as he realized he had been spotted.

Mahon didn’t hesitate to Flow, given the man was also probably Flowing. From the corner of his eyes, he also realized Jorik entered the Flow too. He hadn’t thought the noble could Flow as easily as he did in such a short time.

He probably practiced a lot with the Flow before.

The thought didn’t interrupt Mahon’s Flow, just a mere reflection while his body was already moving to intercept their opponent. It appeared clear now that since the man had sped up, Jorik wouldn’t make it in time to stop him. It left only Mahon between the professor and the aggressor.

Seeing how calm she is, it’s probably just one of the professor’s tests. Best not to kill the man then.

Mahon raised his weapon to block the man’s path, but he ducked under Mahon’s sword with apparent ease and drew his own weapon straight at the still unmoving professor.

The Last Red commander wasn’t naïve, a man capable of Flowing was probably more than able to dodge his preventive strike, and Mahon had guessed it would unfold like that. At the last instant, he pivoted on his hips and intercepted the enemy’s weapon with his own sword.

Mahon could feel his opponent was surprised he managed to block, and the mysterious man took a step back immediately, aborting his attack. As he started to retreat, he barely avoided Jorik’s own attack from his back. The man took another couple of steps away from Mahon and Jorik, and with the help of the Flow, he passed between the other scouts with eerie motions.

Within another second and three long steps, the man had safely retreated away from any retaliation the group of scouts could do to him. By now, the scouts had all stood up and unsheathed their swords, ready to face any incoming threat.

Alas, Nancy raised her hand and called out to her students. “You can lower your weapons. It’s a friend.”

The scouts quickly grasped the situation, and everyone went back to sit while the mysterious man approached. Nancy introduced him to the group.

“Everyone, meet Mnementh, one of my most talented past students, who kindly agreed to test you today. And I must admit, it was way too close. Let’s debrief that.” She nodded to Mnementh, as if indicating he could voice his own observations.

“I may not be one of the most talented for long.” The man started as he gestured to Mahon and Jorik. “I didn’t expect two such people in there.”

A murmur passed through the ranks of the students as they also looked at Mahon and Jorik. Most of them had never even tried to Flow before, and they hadn’t realized what had really happened between the three men in such a short window.

“We’ve some very good fighters this year, indeed.” Nancy agreed. “But they still have a lot to learn everywhere else.”

Mnementh acquiesced before reaching for some of the remaining breakfast. “True. Why did you drop the sentries once the day started? Too hungry for breakfast?” He asked, while stuffing some bread in his mouth.

A silence answered him as the scouts eyed each other with doubt. Why did they do that? The older scout laughed while continuing. “Ah, don’t worry, it’s hard to always stay focused. But know that eating time is when people tend to make the most mistakes. That was the first point. Second is, I managed to sit with you for a couple minutes, and no one ever realized there was one more guy. The two geniuses only spotted me once I started walking to Nancy.”

The professor nodded and went to add her own observation as the breakfast switched to a lesson about constant vigilance and the need to know who exactly were your neighbors. And then, the day slowly switched to Nancy strolling around pretending to take samples while the rest of the troop went on with their own business.

Mnementh accompanied them and provided much needed experienced advice about the maps they were drawing and the exploration of the surroundings. Apparently, he was a Last Green scout officer taking some time to scout out potential interesting recruits. He spent most of his time around Jorik and Caeda, asking them more questions than others about more specific details to test them in depth.

He asked Mahon too at first, but he quickly understood Mahon wasn’t an experienced scout, just an experienced fighter, and didn’t bother him much after that. But since Mahon spent most of his time around Caeda, he still got the opportunity to learn a lot at the side of both people.

The experienced officer had many stories to tell, and he accompanied Caeda and him all the way back to the school, carefully observing Caeda in the meantime. The man went on to explain the importance of precise information, especially at war, and how experienced commanders could play with incomplete data to fool their enemy. Apparently the Amentiae played a lot with that, and most of the war was spent deciphering which troop movement was a lure and which wasn’t, reminding Mahon of that one time he played similarly with Laiex on the strategy test the day he got promoted to First White.

The scout didn’t give details about the current situation at the frontline, and Mahon didn’t find a good opportunity to ask. The man was here to bribe Caeda and Jorik in, not to satisfy Mahon’s curiosity. Besides, he knew where he could get this information from a trusted source.

The scouts reached the school late in the night, exhausted and proud. The mission had mostly been a success and everyone had learned a lot during the trip, Mahon especially so. He was new to scouting, but most of what the scout unit did was very natural to him.

The way they moved as a unit was reminding him so much of Nightmare that he quickly adapted. Their tasks were different, but Mahon had led units in difficult grounds most of his life, and he knew exactly what information was needed to make an advised decision.

The remaining part about being capable of crossing any terrain faster than anyone and coming back with information was the most interesting thing he learned. Caeda conveyed much of her enthusiasm and since most of her teaching involved balance and control, Mahon had no trouble catching up in this field.

The late hour he reached his bed didn’t bother him much, with how many times he had done so due to the Fada cult, and he slept until lunch. He joined Zac at the canteen, and he barely had time to sit that his friend spoke impatiently.

“About time you got your ass here! Not only Slander tortured me again this morning, but there is also a tournament coming soon, and you’ve a First Green to beat this afternoon!”