Alex adjusted the strap on his satchel as he and the rest of the team headed along the packed-dirt road toward Captain Vance’s physical conditioning class. The late morning sunlight washed the village in a warm gold, catching on carved wooden signboards, chimneys puffing with thin trails of smoke, and the whitewashed walls of homes built with a mix of medieval charm and Eastern stylings.

  Villagers moved around in groups of two or three more often than not. Many were probably headed home for lunch at this point and some carried long loaves of bread or small baskets of fruit from the market. Two little kids chased each other with wooden practice swords, squealing and giggling whenever the blades clashed.

  One of the little kids almost tripped over his feet when he saw Jay. He just stood, staring up, mouth wide. His friend got close and looked up at Jay with bright eyes “Wow! How big are you?”

  Jay just laughed and Rae answered for him. “Giant size!”

  The kids stood there staring, eyes growing wider and wider as they watched the group pass.

  Alex was still surprised, every time he stopped to think about it, how lived-in the village felt, considering it didn't exist just two years before. It felt like living in an old pioneer village, but with swords.

  “So,” Jay said, stretching his arms overhead as they walked. “Is it too soon to talk about Connor?”

  Danny snorted. “Connor’s face you mean? Oh, we’re definitely talking about it.”

  Mel pumped a fist. She clearly wanted to say something and had just been waiting for the conversation to come up. “That was sick, Alex. Like, just: BAM. Shields up, dodge, block, block and then just…” She made a dramatic foomph noise and gestured as if launching an energy blast.

  Sarah, adjusting the straps on her bracers, gave him a small smile. “Connor attacks like a charging bull. It’s not easy to keep your cool when facing that. And how you managed him? It was impressive.”

  Rae, hands tucked in her pockets, chimed in softly, “Connor was furious. Like… barely-on-this-plane furious. He’s always been a little too ‘in your face,’ but now he’s going to be impossible to be around.”

  Alex rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks warming. “Guys, c’mon. It was just a spar.”

  “It was not ‘just a spar,’” Jay said, pointing a finger at him. “Connor came in ready to turn you into paste. And you handled him. AND — if Reach hadn’t stepped in at the end I’m pretty sure Connor would have forced a round four.”

  “And would have lost again I bet,” said Mel, then burst out laughing. “‘Infirmary,’” she said, mimicking Reach’s deep voice. “‘Mandatory check.’”

  “Connor’s soul was crushed when Reach sided with you,” Danny said.

  Rae nodded solemnly. “Nope. It fled his body in that blast of fire and sparks. I saw it ascend.”

  Sarah stifled a giggle behind her hand.

  Alex groaned. “Please stop bullying the man. We’re all supposed to be on the same team.”

  “Nonsense. We are on two different teams.” Mel declared. “Besides, he’s been pushing everyone around since we got here. Especially you.” She laughed again. “And then you Dragon Breath’d him across the room.”

  “It’s not officially called that,” Alex said.

  “It is,” Mel insisted. “It absolutely is.”

  “Dragon’s Breath,” Danny repeated reverently. “That was the coolest thing I’ve seen here so far.”

  They continued through the village, passing the open-air smithy where sparks erupted from a glowing forge. The smith out front talking with a customer nodded to them on the way by. Alex wondered if they felt like employees of the company putting on a show, or if they had embraced village life here. The rhythm of hammer on metal rang out steady and strong as they continued on their way.

  "I'm still wrapping my head around how big this place is," Sarah murmured, eyes scanning the rows of houses and herb gardens, the winding paths, and the rows of shops.

  “It’s like one part renaissance fair, one part TV set, one part actual town,” Mel said.

  “It has layers,” Rae said in a bad Scottish accent. “Like a medieval onion.”

  They walked past a stall selling wooden trinkets — carved animals and tiny handcrafted charms shaped like dungeon monsters. The carver was an older man just sitting and enjoying the weather while whittling his next charm. He gave them a nod. Alex smiled back.

  He’d seen all this a dozen times already, but today he realized that it was less of a spectacle for him now and had started to become something familiar. Something like home.

  “So,” Jay said after a moment. “We should probably talk strategy for the Forest Competition.”

  Danny perked up instantly. “Yes. Finally.”

  Mel practically bounced. “Okay. Favorite challenge moments from past seasons. Go!”

  “Oh, no,” Sarah muttered. Mel was their team expert on past Dungeon Inc. episodes and it was her single favourite subject matter to discuss. “Here we go.”

  Jay cleared his throat dramatically. “Season Eight. Team Solstice versus Team Emberfall. The giant vine maze.”

  “Yes!” Mel pointed at him. “Where the vines were actually moving around too and kept blocking passageways!”

  “And Emberfall’s rogue — uh, what’s his name?”

  “Rys,” Danny supplied.

  “Right. Rys. He just — zip zip zip — Parkoured his way across the shifting branches.”

  “That was so cool,” Mel sighed. “That’s what I want. Cool acrobatics.”

  Rae stared ahead. “My favorite was the mushroom grove.”

  Everyone looked at her.

  “You know,” she added. “Season Three. When the mushrooms started screaming.”

  Danny shuddered. “I’d repressed that.”

  “Terrifying,” Rae said.

  “Traumatic. Half of the people on those teams quit. They shuffled the rest around to other teams… Man, I always figured they just didn’t make the cut for the show. But they were really there in that grove.” Danny replied.

  Jay looked to Alex. “What about you? You probably remember all of them.”

  Alex shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t really do ‘favourites’. For me it’s the tactics of the challenge. Finding the flag, outsmarting the other team, and getting out. It’s like a heist and a puzzle. You have to move fast to catch the other team off guard, but not so fast you walk into a monster nest.”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Danny snickered. “Translation: You were that nerd who paused live episodes to analyze team formations. I had a friend like you.”

  Alex didn’t deny it. “I liked seeing how teams adapted to new rules each season. Or how they adapt to the challenges as they come up. Same difference.”

  Sarah looked thoughtful. “I wonder what they’re going to throw at us. I overheard one of the guards saying that we weren’t going to have to travel for it and we know they’ve called it the Forest Challenge. You think it’s the forest outside the walls?”

  “Maybe. I’ve been told by a few people not to go too deep into the forest. I get the impression that there are a lot of nasties out there.”

  Sarah looked at her, “Like regular nasties like wolves and things? Or, like, monsters?” Rae just shrugged.

  Mel wrinkled her nose. “I still can’t believe we’re doing it for real.”

  Jay grinned. “Welcome to Dungeon Inc.”

  “Speaking of which, we’re going to need a team name.”

  Mel spun to walk backward, grinning. “Oh yes we are. You guys don’t understand the branding power of a good name.”

  Danny groaned. “Mel, this isn’t a streamer startup.”

  “It’s a televised global reality phenomenon,” she corrected. “Names matter.”

  Alex laughed. “Okay, so… name suggestions?”

  Mel immediately pointed at him. “Actually, that depends on who the leader is.”

  Everyone stopped walking.

  Alex blinked, everyone was looking at him. “What?”

  Jay stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Uh… yeah. About that.”

  Mel was grinning broadly.

  Danny scratched his cheek. “We kinda talked. Y’know. Last night after dinner.”

  Rae nodded.

  Sarah looked at Alex with a warm, quiet sincerity. “We think it should be you.”

  Alex stared. “Me?”

  Jay shrugged. “Dude, it makes sense. You’ve been stepping up for all of us since day one.”

  “And you analyze things and come up with the plan before we do,” Danny said. “I mean, usually, before I even understand what’s going on.” There were nods all around at this, making Alex blush.

  Mel chimed in, “Plus you’re kinda famous already. Your show has fans on Earth1 and Earth3. You’re recognizable. That matters.”

  “It shouldn’t matter,” Alex protested.

  “But it does,” Danny said gently. “You know it does. We’re here to be stars on Dungeon Inc., and what better way than to have a star as our leader?”

  Rae added, “You’re calm under pressure. Even with Connor trying to bench-press you into paste, you adapted. I almost stuck my dagger in Connor’s eye yesterday and I’m not the one in his focus. And yet, I haven’t seen you lose your cool once.”

  Alex felt his face warm again. “Guys… I don’t know if I’m the leader type.”

  Jay stepped forward. “You’re the guy who thinks before he moves. Who explains things so we can all understand them. Who asks for our input, even when you don’t need to.”

  Sarah nodded. “You’re a good listener.”

  “You helped me last week when my anxiety was kicking my ass,” Danny said.

  “And you helped me finally figure out how to do those staff spins,” Mel said with a huge grin.

  Rae lifted a hand slightly to call everyone’s attention. “And you remind us to hydrate.”

  Alex blinked. “You can’t pick a leader based on hydration reminders.”

  “We absolutely can,” Mel insisted.

  Jay exhaled. “Sorry man. You barely have a say here. We decided. We want to follow you.”

  Alex swallowed, throat suddenly tight.

  “Let me… think about it?” he said softly.

  Jay clapped him on the shoulder. The group began walking again.

  After a beat, Mel snapped her fingers. “Okay! So, if Alex is the leader, then obviously — obviously — our name should be… Side Quest Heroes.”

  This time, Alex froze and looked around. Jay was smiling. Danny let out a whoop. Sarah clapped her hands. Even Rae was smiling.

  “Yes!” Danny said. “I love it!”

  Rae nodded sagely. “Side quests are the best quests.”

  Sarah nodded once. “It’s… fitting.”

  Jay nudged Alex slyly. “C’mon, man. That’s your brand. Bringing it into the big time is… well, big time!”

  Alex’s chest tightened. Jay was right. It was a big opportunity for the little brand that he had built with his friends over the years. It wasn’t his alone. It was something he had built with them. Side Quest Heroes wasn’t just a name. Could he really just take it and use it here? Where would that leave his friends?

  He smiled weakly. “I… I love it. Obviously. But I’m not sure we should use it.”

  Mel frowned. “Why not?”

  Alex scratched his head and thought how to answer. “Because it’s not just mine. My friends — they’re the original Side Quest Heroes. The show only worked because of all of us. Using the name here feels like… I don’t know. Taking something that doesn’t just belong to me.”

  The group resumed walking, but now the conversation mellowed.

  The palisade gate came into view. It was tall, taller than the surrounding buildings, and built out of thick logs bound together with iron bands. Guards in leather armor leaned against the exit archway, chatting lazily as the trainees approached.

  ***

  Western magic is most accurately described as a long succession of changing traditions. Its evolutionary path to today's well known institutions was not a straight line, but rather, a winding record of adaptation, fracture, and reform.

  In earlier ages, magical authority was concentrated within elders and familial lineages—learned slowly, guarded jealously, and passed on to future generations behind closed doors.

  In darker centuries, practitioners were driven underground, hunted not for what they could do, but for what they were. Entire bloodlines vanished during these periods of persecution.

  It was only in the aftermath of the very bloody War of The Nine Thrones that the West finally began to understand one simple truth: magic does not disappear when forbidden by those in power. The Colleges we know today were born not from idealism, but out of the wreckage of conflict.

  Each kingdom, seeking stability amid prolonged chaos, began to formalize magic as a state-monitored necessity. Each state cultivated its own sanctioned discipline of magic, refined and bound to crown and charter. Rivalry was inevitable, but so was progress.

  When the Western Empire finally rose and old borders were erased, five Colleges survived where kingdoms did not. Their rivalries persist today—though they are now regulated, codified, and, when required, cooperative.

  The five orthodox Colleges recognized by Imperial Accord are the:

  Spell-Mages of Valcross. These are the most visible heirs of the old traditions. They wield bounded spellbooks—finite, deliberate, and precise. Their strength lies in versatility and repeatability. While their spells may not be as flashy or grand as those produced by some of the other schools, their versatility has ensured their continued relevance while the influence of other colleges wax and wane.

  Hex-Mages of Blackreach descend from practices once deemed heretical. They are powerful mages who work with decay, malice and erosion. Hex-Mages remain under close scrutiny by the other Colleges and are widely distrusted among the general population.

  Conjurers of Kharos animate raw mana into forms. Illusions, constructs, golems, and engines of will. Their creations are not alive in the mortal sense, yet neither are they simple tools. Conjurers stand closest to the boundary between craft and creation, and it is no coincidence that Imperial law concerning them is the thickest of all.

  Enchanters of Lumnara, my own order, concern themselves not with fire or flesh, but with influence. We bend probability within minds, weave power into objects, and shape emotion as others shape stone. This practice is often mischaracterized as mind control. It is not. Rather, it is the structured influence of perception and choice. Enchanters understand how people choose and what they can do to influence those decisions.

  Finally, there are the Sorcerers of Astaraea, known by many as Diviners. They do not predict the future exactly. They collapse it. By reading potential and understanding how to narrow probability, they specialize in making one outcome more likely than any other. Fate, it has been observed, proves remarkably cooperative when approached with sufficient discipline.

  Each College claims primacy and each can make a compelling argument for it.

  Either way though, history suggests that the Empire endures not because one path is supreme, but because none are allowed to stand alone.

  Annotations on the Western Arcana,

  Arch-Lecturer Iseval Thorne,

  Enchanters’ Collegium, Third Circle

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