“If we walk far enough," says Dorothy, "we shall sometime come to someplace.”

- L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The day of the Exhibition dawned like any other. The weather was still cold as it had been in the prior weeks the frosty temperatures were further exacerbated by a steady wind. A squadron of griffon riders circled overhead. The academy staff had been busy since a week before building the necessary arena out of conjured stone.

Short-lived runic arrays had been painstakingly carved to protect the audience and to warm the seats. The temperatures were still unseasonably cold.

Students were chatting excitedly and some pointed at the glamorous knights circling above. First would be the speech of the king then the exhibitions of the senior students followed by those juniors chosen to represent the first and second years and when the day came to a close the team battles were what would be the crowning moment.

There were all sorts of events planned for the next days but the first day was most important for the academy- as the host, they could start the festivities.

The stadium was placed between two small hills on whose softly slanted sides were built terraced seats and awnings covering all from overhead. Globes of light hovered over cleverly placed runes holding them aloft. When someone passed beneath they would bob and float and there would be the feeling of a stiff breeze swirling around the passerby. Columns holding the awnings were carved with large fire runes radiating comfortable warmth.

In the middle of the seats was the area for noble or wealthy guests and above them all resided the royal family and the upper crust of the nobility. The opposite side held the lower classes, peasants, and citizens of Kronenburg chosen by chance or some lesser amount of money or favors.

Around the stadium proper had been set up stalls for food and sport and those attracted the first customers as soon as they were open.

Magister Illimen sighed and clapped Calvin on the shoulders. “We did what we could. It will probably be a disaster anyway if the divinations are anything to go by.”

They stood on the highest platform overlooking the field.

“Why not simply delay the Exhibition until we have found all possible traitors?” Calvin said exasperatedly.

“Pride.”

“I know, I only wanted to curse a bit. It's not good for your health to swallow all of your anger.”

“I am too tired to get upset right now. I only hope the preparations shielding the students and innocent citizens are sufficient. I feel cold thinking about it.”

“Perhaps they won’t try? It is folly to make an attempt now.”

“Suicide attacks are always an option. And with whom we are facing it is even highly likely. There is no diplomatic incident if you are already at war after all.”

“Aren’t you two gloomy.” Carmen of Perrilen Heights joined them.

“Good day to you Carmen.” Calvin nodded at her while Illimen simply smiled and made an inviting gesture.

“Instead of standing here shouldn’t we look for problems?” Carmen looked at both of them challengingly.

Calvin gave a short laugh, “Might as well.”

Illimen waved them off, “I will stay here for a time and think, you go on ahead.”

Guards watched over the proceedings and some royal knights were on patrol grouped together with palace guards.

The atmosphere was festive and more and more people arrived crowding the surroundings with the academy buildings a few hundred meters further back. The wind was brisk and carried with it a numbing cold but spirits, mulled wine and hot soup were in plentiful supply.

The sunlight fell on the banners and tents the sky was a steely blue with only a smattering of small clouds.

Alyssa, Mireille, and Alea were already dressed and ready when the fields around the arena were opened to the public. Iseret was following them discreetly wearing armor beneath her servant's clothing. Butler One was also attending them.

Mireille walked straight towards a stall selling meat skewers.

“Halt! We had breakfast twenty minutes ago!” Alyssa shook her head in exasperation.

Vanessa had sent her another pendant and she was cloaked in a well-crafted illusion hiding her peculiarities.

Alea’s complexion was paler than usual as she had used the evenings and nights to look through the notes of her grandfather. Only Mireille and perhaps Cyrus were perfectly fine.

Walking a bit behind the trio with their attendants Vivienne seemed to have a headache. Valens looked at her concernedly. She shook her head. “It’s alright don’t worry too much.”

“Here you are young lady, that will be three coppers.” The round-bellied man with the rosy cheeks laughed and presented the skewer dipped in heavy brown sauce to Mireille who took it gingerly blowing to dissipate the heat.

“Don’t we feed you enough?” Alyssa grinned.

“Don’t talk so much, you and Alea will help me eat it after all.” Mireille smiled as she bit into the first piece of meat- it should have been pork- and then hastily breathed through her mouth to cool her scalded tongue.

“Here.” Alea passed her a water flask.

There were jugglers and street magicians entertaining the crowd with small magics and sleight of hand.

Vivienne squinted her eyes and felt the pressure weighing her down- the winds were restless.

After losing a few rounds of throwing darts at a spinning target and failing to get more than a small wooden figure they drifted towards the side seats reserved for students and those chosen to participate. All of them had been selected for one reason or another.

The celebration was slowly quieting down as more and more people filled the seats of the stadium.

The crowds still outside became silent suddenly as a single fanfare announced the arrival of the royal family. First came a squad of royal knights garbed in green and gold over plate mail burnished to a mirror sheen. Then followed dignified mages floating a few feet off the ground hands clasped in their sleeves dark green hoods drawn deeply into their faces, men and women both.

Then followed three open-top carriages drawn by mechano-magical clockwork horses more smooth and slick than ornate. The king stood in the first and waved at the crowd his last wife Irene stood with him smiling brilliantly in a gown of dark blue samite with gossamer draping her arms.

Lieseleta and Carl were in the second carriage together with Keralia showing outward unity.

Then the last carriage held the prime minister and his wife as well as the ministers of state, the diplomatic advisor, and the first general.

The crowds became active again and shouts of adulation echoed as well as clapping and some parents held their children so that they could better see the splendid procession.

Then the king and his family ascended to the uppermost platform and took their seats. Magister Illimen himself spelled the lens made of air that would focus on the distant field so that the distinguished guests should not have any difficulty seeing the proceedings.

The tower-lords and the elder magi took their seats with the high nobility and the peasantry crowded into the seats opposite. With another fanfare, the king addressed the gathered guests.

“Welcome my friends, citizens of Margrinar and visitors from other lands. The Arcane Exhibition is our most revered tradition passed down from fallen Allisair and possibly beyond. It has fallen into disuse in the last years as exams and recommendations have taken the place of displays of magical might and cunning. Today we revive this venerable practice and look forward to a fair display showcasing that Margrinar still raises the greatest mages and scholars of humanity.”

Applause drowned the last words and the king graciously raised his hand acknowledging the adulation. He continued in this vein and spoke of great mages past and present. Mireille yawned covertly behind a raised hand earning an amused look from Alyssa. Alea was looking at Lieseleta and seemed a bit anxious.

Vivienne noticed and leaned forward whispering in the blind girl's ear, “What worries you? He won’t do anything to his sister while being near the center of attention.”

“I know, but he tried to hurt her, kill her. Being rational is difficult.” Alea whispered back.

“How is your great blessing?” Alea focused on Lieseleta and did not see the strange look in Vivienne's eyes as she asked.

“I still see the light that people cast, that living things emit. And sometimes it's overwhelming. Strangely I think it helps a lot that I see through Cecily, she cannot be blinded and it does never hurt.” She hugged herself subconsciously as she said the last sentence. “I need to sleep less and my magic is more smooth and powerful than ever.”

Vivienne looked at her enviously and remembered a day on the coast swept by storms, drenched by rain. She felt his presence and his indifference, his amusement, and his fickle pride. Yrgos Worldstrider laughed as he blessed her, as he stripped her of agency and let her be one with the winds that had never once left her since. Even in the still hours of the night in the market plaza at noon there was the wind and sometimes his echoing laughter.

She lowered her eyes and hid the darkness they contained.

The first round of exhibitions began.

A student with a mop of dark unruly hair walked to the middle of the grounds some dozens of meters in every direction shaped like an oval. Runes worked into low walls kept spells from being dangerous for the spectators. Bowing towards the stands the young man smiled and flourished his hands chanting and gesticulating. Smoke rose from a spot before him before the heat began to distort the air and successively flames erupted turning into a column six meters in height. Gasping the student let go of the spell and nearly fell before stabilizing himself and bowing again to generous applause.

After him came two female students who manipulated a large sphere of water forming sculptures and buildings out of the floating liquid.

They were followed by progressively more challenging displays, complicated spellwork, the summoning of elementals.

Maximilian breathed deeply as he went to the middle of the stage made of solidified earth. Scuff marks, burns, and some slight wetness were the only things still showing the magic that had been wrought before. He shook his arms and bowed gracefully towards the royal platform a quick smile to his sister and he stood straight once more. Intoning a complicated spell armbands on his wrists shimmered and began to transform into a metallic liquid coating him from head to toe. Encased in suffocating darkness he controlled his rising panic and forced the metal into the shape he envisioned. His sight -and sweet sweet air – returned as a helm shaped like a mask depicting a dignified older man took form around his head. Long blades grew from his hands the edges constantly renewing themselves. Proudly he turned and bowed again.

Polite applause rang from the commoner's ranks while the academy staff and students were more appreciative. A column of flame might look good but was actually not that difficult to invoke if you had the time and could rest afterward, the range was also pitiful. But it was much more spectacular. The control needed to form two blades of ruin and a living metal armor was very much superior.

Ludwig of Hundredstreams smirked as he bowed before royalty while acknowledging his noble peers.

Straightening he concentrated and spoke a short spell, three imperfect mana crystals rose into the air. He continued with another spell and darkness gathered around the jewels until a low ringing sound signaled the completion and three identical copies made of shadow stood beside him. He gestured and one of them stood protectively before him wielding a round shield made of glyphs, the other two held staves formed of dark whirling mist and with a final command, they unleashed a volley of void-bolts. Paling at the effort Ludwig managed to keep smiling throughout but soon canceled the spell letting the crystals fall to the ground dimmer than they had been.

Carmen gave a disapproving look and earned a questioning glance from Calvin to which she replied, “He drew on his vitality for a display. I can’t really condone such frivolousness.”

“He should go all out, the others will too.” Calvin mused.

Back at the student area fellow third years welcomed the exhausted-looking Ludwig who seemed relieved and in good spirits for once.

Alyssa looked around and her entropic sight showed her the many small flaws and illnesses the dissolution of order and life. Her gaze came to rest on a nondescript female student with dishwater-blonde hair. Dark light seemed to spill from her and illuminated the surroundings in sickly grey. Squinting and blinking a few times the phenomenon did not go away.

“Do you see the girl over there?” Alyssa pointed and nudged Mireille.

“The one with the food-stains?” Mireille focused on a somewhat rotund girl that was trying to clean a few spots of sauce from her robes.

“No, behind her, near the column.”

“I don’t think...ah that one?” Mireille looked toward Alyssa and the student vanished behind a group of chatting workers.

On the field, someone was trying to summon an earth elemental. An errant thought shot through Alyssa's head 'Adrian had been more proficient'. Some snowflakes fell from above.

An older man in the uniform of a townguard walked towards the back. Alyssa blinked repeatedly. This person was emitting the same ‘light’ of entropy as the girl before. And where was she? Getting up she silently urged Mireille to accompany her.

Making a bit of a face the red-head got up and both went to the back apologizing to those they disturbed. Alea wanted to come too but Alyssa signaled for her to stay. With the problems of her sight she had difficulties maneuvering through a larger crowd and would surely slow them down significantly.

Walking briskly Mireille caught up to her friend and grabbed her robe. “What is the matter? Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

Alyssa gave her a wry glance, “Shh. There is someone suspicious going back there.” She pointed.

The stadium was formed like an oval between two gently sloping hills, the seats were simply terraced stone going up, further back there were platforms with better seating, especially on the right side where the nobles and the royal family were sitting. The ground was compressed earth that was renewed after each magical feat. Low walls inscribed with runes protected the spectators. Columns held awnings made of some -probably magically created – clothlike substance. Those towering stone fingers were also inscribed with runes and when you looked at all of it from above a complicated pattern would be revealed.

The whole was a geomantic formation to ward against evil and misfortune.

The crowds were more sparse the farther they walked with exclamations of surprise and applause sounding behind them.

“Are you sure?” Mireille looked at her friend with dissatisfaction, “The next exhibition is Marta from Sword One. I would have really liked to cheer her on. She would do some air tricks obviously swordwork is something that would not be fit for the Exhibition.” She grumbled.

“Shhh.” Alyssa concentrated and saw the tell-tale glare of entropic energies from further ahead behind some walls. She was unsure what kind of area they were going to actually.

Rounding those walls, they stumbled over two fallen academy guards bleeding from deep cuts in the neck and chest area.

Mireille instinctively raised her hand and used the lightning shield she had practiced for the first time. Her veins lit with energy and a scorched smell reeking of ozone spread as tendrils of lightning surged and combined into a shield-like lattice in blinding blue-white.

Several small items impacted against the barrier and fell to the earth sizzling and smoking. The hot throwing knifes melted the snow as they impacted the ground.

A black-haired woman wearing the clothes of a royal guard stood before them, her beautiful face contorted into a foul grimace and she cursed quietly. The walls were double the height of a person and there was a complicated-looking magic circle on the ground inlaid into a smooth stone platform. Several mana crystals were placed at nodes inside the pattern glowing with spent energy. A mage was lying on the ground clothes slashed apart, his breast gouged and ribs spread apart. The ‘royal guard’ had been in the process of removing his heart.

“That is the last mistake you will ever make.”

The person spoke with a scratchy male voice and grinned.