“I can’t believe it’s been a week already,” Olivia said, staring at the splatters of rain hitting the banked windows in their dorm. Her friends had just gotten back from the cafeteria, exhausted from a bout of instruction from an unusually grumpy and hostile Commander Grobak. Olivia had been on her own all afternoon, Oylla having given her “time to reflect” before she had to step through the portal in the morning.

“Busy days make quick lives. Our mother always used to say that,” Adaida said, glancing at Shani.

“My dad said the same thing. I could never tell if he was saying I should slow down and enjoy life more or if I should be busy so the weekend would come faster.” Rald shrugged, flopping back on the couch and throwing his feet up on the arm.

“My people say, ‘time flies when you’re having fun.’” Olivia sighed wistfully, dragging a finger through the condensation on the window.

“So they’re sending you off in the morning?” Hanwol asked. “How long will you be gone? We’ve got a break in a couple of weeks.”

“Oh, god. I’ll be back before then, right?” Olivia turned to look at Hanwol. “I better be! I was thinking this might take a few days, not a few weeks!”

“Didn’t Professor Oylla-dak give you any idea?” Shani asked.

“Well, yes. There are six levels to the proving grounds with five rooms per level. She talked to me about getting as far as possible before giving up but never really said how long it should take. I figured it would go quickly until I couldn’t progress, and then I could teleport out. Oylla said she’d be happy if I could get to the fourth level.”

“Hah, that’s because no one’s gotten past the third floor since Illia Tarn.” Hanwol snorted.

“Illia Tarn?” Olivia asked.

“Kind of a famous alumnus of Fainhallow. She reached the fifth level if I recall. She went on to lead the Ridonne Empire to a few victories over the Vinduv. Last I heard, she had traveled off-world, though.” Hanwol looked around at the other students to see if anyone wanted to correct him or add to his explanation. No one did.

“That was before my time,” Shani yawned.

“Before all our time,” Veena added. “I think it’s been nearly a hundred years since she was here.”

“Well, anyway, I hope I’m back long before break! Will you all be leaving? I hope I can find a way to get home for a visit, but it’s not a sure thing.” Everyone looked at each other, then back at her.

“Yeah, I think we’re all heading home for the break. You’re welcome to come with Shani and me if you can’t get a teleport home,” Adaida said after an awkward moment.

“Thanks, Adaida; I’m glad for the invitation. We’ll see what happens. Well, team, I’m supposed to head down to administration soon. I guess there are some formalities I have to go through before I can port to the Proving Grounds. Oylla said that after they process me, I have to sleep in a ‘clean’ room before the portal opens in the morning.”

“Yeah, they don’t want you to cheat somehow. All the schools have to do the same,” Hanwol said, and it made Olivia feel better to know it was normal.

“You’re awfully well informed about these things,” Shani said to Hanwol.

“He loves competitions and dungeons; he could probably list off the top earners in every dungeon within a thousand miles of Zancryst,” Veena said, tousling Hanwol’s hair. He slapped her hand away and snorted, turning to read his book, done with the conversation as far as he was concerned.

“Want us to walk you to the admin offices?” Adaida asked.

“No, that’s alright. You all look beat, and I’ll probably wander by the cafeteria on my way.” Olivia turned and started to walk away, but they all stood and crowded around. Rald pulled her into a hug and thumped her on the back awkwardly.

“Sheesh, you’re skinny,” he said, pushing her back. “Good luck, alright?”

“Hey, I’m not skinny; you’re just a gorilla!” Olivia laughed.

“I think that would be funnier if I knew what that was,” he said, but he also laughed. Then Olivia was mobbed by the rest of her cohort, and she had to fight back tears as they all gave her sincere well-wishes. When Adaida pulled out of a long hug, she held out a length of blue string she’d woven into a little bracelet. Olivia held it up and admired the little hearts and stars she’d entwined between the two borders.

“Wow, I didn’t know you were so artistic.”

“They won’t let you take any enchantments in there, but this should get through okay. If you feel alone, just look at it, and you’ll remember us out here waiting for you.” She tied it around Olivia’s left wrist, and this time a tear did escape the flames of Olivia’s eyes.

“Thank you, Adaida. Thank you, everyone. I’ll try to make Copper proud!” She turned and hurried from the dorm before more could be said. It felt good to have friends; she’d had friends before, but never so close. Having a team, a cohort, whose success was tied to hers was something altogether new to Olivia. She’d always been a solo achiever in the past, and she quite liked having other people to look out for while they did the same for her. Even when she’d joined Vynatek, it had almost been a hostile merger—she’d given them her tech and ideas, but she’d very clearly spelled out what she wanted in return.

“Watch out, freak.” Olivia had been just about to say, “excuse me,” when she’d brushed against the other student coming around the corner, but that voice and those words froze her vocal cords. She turned to face Gwinna, looking down her nose at the Bogoli. She was tall for her race but still two full heads shorter than Olivia. Heat rose in Olivia’s chest, and she opened her mouth to speak, but then she thought better of it. She just smirked and turned, walking on toward the stairwell that would take her to the administration level.

When she’d looked into Gwinna’s blue gemstone eyes, Olivia had felt almost nothing. There had been a surge of irritation but absolutely no fear—no intimidation. Gwinna didn’t matter to her, and Olivia felt like dismissing her was probably the best way to get back at the girl for her rudeness. “I was talking to you!” Olivia kept walking, a jaunt in her step, and soon she was down the first flight of steps, and Gwinna was in the past.

When she arrived at the administration offices, it reminded her of her first day at the academy. She smiled, thinking about how she’d impressed the evaluator by sending different attuned Energies into that device. It seemed very trivial to her now. The receptionist gave her directions through the little maze of hallways to get to the Office of Games and Competitions, where another receptionist had her wait on a low sofa by a dusty potted fern. After about twenty minutes, a thin Bogoli man, his face and scalp painted a solid royal blue, opened a door and gestured for Olivia to follow him.

The man was silent, and Olivia just followed, not wanting to be the one to start the conversation. The ease with which she endured his silence surprised her; in the past, she’d probably have tried to start some small talk to make herself feel less awkward, but now she simply followed, understanding that any awkwardness was a result of his lack of communication, and she wasn’t responsible for his actions. It wasn’t confidence, per se, more like a sense of surety, ease. Was it a natural easiness that came with increased power? She’d describe it as a feeling like she could handle a situation regardless of what happened. Did the elemental she’d bonded with have something to do with it? Was it simply her training with Oylla? More likely, it was just a combination of everything she’d been through in the last few weeks.

“In here, please,” the slight Bogoli said flatly.

“Thank you,” Olivia said, stepping through the door he’d opened. She was in a stone-walled, closet-sized chamber with another door on the far wall. Two crystals were mounted above the far door; one was pulsing with a red light. A small table filled the center of the room, and atop the table was a metal box with an open lid. Olivia stepped to the table and looked in the box. A white garment was folded within, and atop that were a handwritten note and a small golden, circular pendant on a chain. Olivia read the letter quietly to herself, “Place all of your belongings in this box for safekeeping. Wear the recall pendant, don the jumpsuit, and proceed through the door when the light turns green.”

Olivia looked around the room, subconsciously looking for one-way mirrors or cameras. Nothing but smooth stone met her scrutiny, so she shrugged and started to strip off her clothes. She lifted the garment out of the box and piled her clothing, satchel, and storage ring into the box. Standing naked, she contemplated putting the blue woven bracelet into the box, but the red crystal stopped pulsing, and the other started to throb with a green light. She shook out the white garment, revealing a jumpsuit that would cover her from neck to wrists to the bottom of her feet with sewn-in shoes.

Olivia slipped the thin golden chain around her neck, then pulled the loose-fitting jumpsuit on, snapping a dozen silvery buttons up the middle. It hung on her like it was made for someone Rald’s size, so she tried trickling some Energy into it. It instantly bonded with her, snapping to fit snugly against her body, almost like a second skin. “Well, at least I’ll be flexible in this thing,” she chuckled, lifting the lid to the metal box and securing her belongings within.

Suitably attired, Olivia walked to the green-lit door, turned the handle, and pushed it open. She walked into another room, almost identical to the other, except it had a cot in its center, with two blankets folded on top. On the far wall was a rune-etched archway with smooth stone at its center. Olivia presumed that was where the portal to the Proving Grounds would open. While studying the archway and its runes, the door behind her clicked shut. “So, just wait here for the portal to light up. Got it,” she said, feeling like she had an audience even though none was apparent.

The room was dimly lit, just a faint orange ambient glow coming from the stone of the ceiling. Olivia wasn’t cold at all, so she spread the blankets on the cot and lay atop them. She closed her eyes and tried to will the time to move quickly—she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep. For one thing, she didn’t sleep as much as she used to. Her body seemed far more efficient than it used to be. She didn’t eat as much, didn’t drink as much, and three or four hours of sleep a night seemed plenty to make her feel rested. For another, she was too excited to sleep. She’d worked hard with Oylla to get better with her spells, using them more quickly and efficiently. Her cohort had done an excellent job of hyping her up, also. She was no longer a reluctant participant—Olivia wanted to compete, and she wanted to win. She’d heard plenty of stories over the last few evenings about the kinds of things she could win, and she intended to make a good showing of herself. If not for her own personal gain, then for the benefit of the people back in First Landing that were counting on her.

Olivia began to meditate and channel Energy into her cultivation drill. She lost herself in the rhythm of Energy flowing through her pathways, alternating her different affinities and straining to pull in the sparse ambient Energy. She’d gotten so wrapped up in the process that it almost startled her when the portal swirled into existence with a hum and a whoosh of air that fluttered her long, black hair.