Corinne stood across the room, safe and incandescent with her victory, and a breath he hadn't known he was holding shuddered out of him.
Most of the trainees surged toward Corinne with genuine congratulations, but Caleb's attention snagged on the handful who approached Mala instead. Tamsin Mhuire appeared at the defeated girl's elbow, offering a waterskin without fanfare. Bren Paz from the older cohort squeezed her shoulder and murmured something that made her expression brighten. Even through his own relief, Caleb was heartened through the display.
He peered across the room to where Narbok leaned against the far wall, tracking the scene. The Mycari boy's lip curled in contempt. Finn and Durk flanked him like loyal hounds, their faces mirroring their leader's sneering dismissal. Where others saw courage and sportsmanship, the trio saw only weakness.
"Thal!"
Corinne's voice cut through his observations as she broke away from the crowd. She practically bounced on her toes despite the exhaustion shadowing her face, her eyes glittered with manic energy.
"Did you see? Did you see the sweep at the end? She was so strong, and I thought I was going to lose, but then I remembered what you said about waiting for my moment and—"
Caleb raised his palms, a grin tugging at his mouth despite himself. "Slow down."
"I mean it!" she continued, words tumbling over each other. "When she charged at the beginning, I thought I was done for. She hit so hard, Thal! Like being run over by a cart! But then something just clicked, you know? I could see what she was going to do before she did it. Every attack had this pattern, this rhythm, and once I found it, it was like dancing instead of fighting."
Leo pressed closer, his face pale but his eyes shone with vicarious excitement. "The crowd went completely silent when you made that final move. Even Captain Hatch looked impressed."
Corinne's grin stretched impossibly wider. "Really? By the spirits, I can't believe I actually won! The whole inn must have been going wild watching the mirror. Mom was probably beside herself. And Dad—he'll give me that gruff look and complain about the spectacle, but I know he'll be proud!"
A paternal pride swelled in Caleb's chest. This was the essence of teaching, the reward of watching someone take his lessons and transform them into a personal victory. In his old life, the closest equivalent had been watching Katie master a difficult soccer move or seeing Jack finally grasp a challenging math concept. The feeling was a poignant echo, yet completely new in this context.
Caleb clapped her on the back. "You earned it. Every bit of it. You adapted under pressure and found a way to win. You won with pure skill."
The shared moment evaporated as a cheer erupted from the trainees clustered around the scrying mirror. Caleb turned his attention back to the display, where the next match had already started. Sabine Gibbs, a compact girl with braided hair, held her defensive stance against Morian Greenshade's relentless assault. This new fight was a brutal, messy display of raw aggression.
The lanky Mycari wielded his spear like a club, each swing powered by teenage fury and desperation. His technique was serviceable but unrefined, every attack telegraphed well in advance. Sabine held her ground through superior footwork and calculated risks, but Caleb could see the strain building in her posture.
He leaned closer to Leo, lowering his voice. "Look at his stance. See how he plants his feet before every big swing? He's trading mobility for power, but power means nothing if you can't hit your target."
Leo nodded tensely, his knuckles white where they gripped his elbows. "He looks so angry."
"Anger makes you stupid. Watch."
As if summoned by his words, the youngest Greenshade's frustration finally boiled over. Sabine deflected another heavy swing, the impact with the ground sending vibrations through his arms that made him grimace. Instead of resetting and trying again, he lunged forward in a wild, overextended thrust that left him completely off-balance. Sabine sidestepped the clumsy attack and brought her spear shaft down hard across his extended forearm. The strike was so keen Caleb thought he could hear the crack of wood against flesh even through the mirror's magical silence. Morian's weapon clattered to the platform as he clutched his injured arm.
The fight ended with Sabine's spear tip hovering near Morian's head.
"See that? He chased the hit instead of setting up properly. All the power in the world means nothing if you're out of position after you throw it. Control is strength."
Leo swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. The lesson wasn't penetrating—the boy's mind was clearly elsewhere, lost in anticipation of his own approaching trial. Fear had a way of making even the most practical advice feel abstract and useless.
Moments later, the prep room door opened again. Captain Hatch stepped onto the threshold, his presence silencing the scattered conversations. He had the brisk air of a man keeping a tight schedule. "Tanner. Mhuire. You're up."
The blood drained from Leo's face. He stared at the floor, his hands beginning to shake as he started muttering under his breath, a frantic, whispered litany. "A Tanner holds the line... fear is a luxury... a Tanner..." His breathing quickened to short, panicked gasps, the words failing him as pure terror took over. Around them, the other trainees fell silent, sensing the significance of the moment. Everyone knew Leo's reputation.
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Corinne immediately stepped to Leo's side, her triumph forgotten. "Look at me." She grabbed his arm in a fierce grip, her eyes burning with conviction. "You can do this. You know the forms. We practiced them until we were black and blue. Trust your training."
Caleb moved to Leo's other side, placing a steadying hand on the boy's shoulder. Through the leather of his training armor, he could feel the fine tremor running through Leo's frame like a plucked string. The boy’s fear was compounded by the weight of his father's command and the resentment of every trainee who believed he'd stolen their spot. Underneath the fear, however, Caleb sensed a sliver of something else. In the straightened spine and the thrown-back shoulders. Resolve.
"Breathe. Remember the lessons. You are not a wall meant to be broken. Just guide her attacks, one at a time. Let her exhaust herself against you."
Leo's wide blue eyes locked on Caleb's face like a drowning man grabbing for a rope. He nodded jerkily, his breathing still too fast but becoming more ordered. "One block at a time. I can do that."
Tamsin stood near the door, her copper hair caught back in a tight ponytail that emphasized the angles of her face. She radiated coiled determination, her slender frame held with the rigid posture of someone trying to prove their strength through sheer force of will. Caleb had observed her during training sessions—she fought with an aggressive, almost reckless style that seemed designed to compensate for her slight build. She would see Leo as someone she should overpower, which could work in his favor if he stayed calm.
The two trainees walked out through the arena exit, leaving the prep room in tense silence. Caleb's attention immediately went to the scrying mirror, where Specialist Spinova started moving between the fighters to activate their protective shields. The magical barriers shimmered into existence with a soft silver light, and then the bell rang.
The silence of the mirror felt more oppressive this time. Without the soundtrack of clashing weapons and shouted commands, Caleb found himself reading the entire story through body language and movement alone. Every shift in balance, every telegraph of attack, every moment of hesitation became magnified in the window-like display.
Tamsin opened with exactly the aggressive charge Caleb had expected. Her spear shot forward in rapid thrusts, each one aimed at forcing Leo backward and establishing dominance. His defense was a frantic scramble, like a boy trying to fend off a swarm of angry bees, but even in his obvious panic Leo was executing what he'd been taught. His parries were a fraction late and his footwork a clumsy shuffle, but the angle of his spear was always correct. He redirected her attacks, sending each thrust sliding harmlessly past his body.
Too slow, Caleb thought, his fingers clenched into fists. But the technique is right. Be the ramp. Keep moving, Leo!
Tamsin changed her rhythm, her next attack a quick feint followed by a lashing thrust at his ribs. Leo’s parry was a beat too slow. His spear shaft deflected the worst of the blow, but the metal tip still scored a shallow groove across his forearm, slicing through the padded leather of his vambrace.
Leo appeared to cry out as he stumbled back, briefly looking at the cut on his arm. The young teen's face was a brave facade as they reengaged, his stare fixed on Tamsin's spear tip as if it were a striking viper. Every successful deflection seemed to surprise him, as if he couldn't quite believe in his own ability to endure. But he was getting through, and with each redirected attack, his movements gained confidence.
Tamsin's initial fury curdled into frustration. Her attacks weren't landing, and her expression soured. Instead of the satisfying crash of weapon against weapon, her spear kept sliding off Leo's defense. It was like trying to punch a river; her force was simply absorbed and dispersed, leaving her stumbling and off-balance. The slender girl's shoulders began to tighten with annoyance, her careful timing starting to deteriorate.
She's getting angry, Caleb observed with growing excitement. Leo was entirely on the defensive, focused only on surviving. And it's making her frustrated.
Through the mirror, he watched Leo execute a panicked slap that barely passed for a parry. Tamsin's spear slid past his guard, the tip coming within inches of his ribs but somehow missing. The near-miss seemed to break something in the copper-haired girl's composure. Her poise collapsed, and her next attack was a reckless swing powered by pent up frustration.
Leo stumbled backward, his feet tangling momentarily before he caught his balance. But even in his clumsiness, his spear came up at the right angle, sending Tamsin's thrust skittering off to one side. The girl's lips pulled back in what could only be described as a snarl, and she raised her weapon for a massive overhead strike.
Caleb's [Combat Analysis] surged, his perception sharpening to a razor's edge. Time seemed to dilate as [Savant of the Mind] processed the flood of information from the mirror. He saw the subtle telegraph in Tamsin's stance, the shift of weight that broadcast her intent to his trained eye. Her frustration had made her sloppy, and the massive overhead strike would leave her completely extended and vulnerable for a critical second.
The universe narrowed to one flawless instant of opportunity.
There, Caleb thought with electric intensity. That's the shot. Please see it, Leo!
Leo's dropped toward the platform in a deceptive crouch that served as the setup for a [Linebreaker Sweep]. His execution was clumsy—he nearly tripped initiating the motion, and the contact came as a fumbling clip instead of a graceful hook. But physics didn't care about elegance. Tamsin's own momentum carried her forward even as her supporting leg was swept away, and she hit the platform hard, her weapon spinning from her grasp.
Leo stood over her for a moment, his spear tip wavering uncertainly near her throat, his eyes wide with shock. His mouth hung slightly open, and his feet shuffled as he waited for someone to tell him what came next.
Tamsin stilled, her face wrestling with what had just happened. Eventually, she slapped the platform twice in submission—slow yet decisive.
The muted ring of the bell reached them through the thick walls. For a heartbeat, the prep room was completely silent, dozens of eyes glued to the mirror in various states of disbelief. The weakest fighter in their cohort had defeated a girl who should have overwhelmed him. Leo had won.
Caleb's eyes remained on the display, taking in Leo's stunned expression and the way the boy kept looking at his own spear as if it belonged to someone else. Caleb glanced around the arena, catching sight of Captain Hatch standing at the edge of the platform. The captain looked beyond Leo, staring directly into the mirror with intense brown eyes that seemed to meet Caleb's through the one-way connection. Hatch gave a single, quick nod of approval, and Caleb didn't understand how, but he felt a flash of recognition pass between them.
The tense quiet broke when Corinne let out a joyous scream beside him. "He did it! He actually did it!"
The room broke out in conversation, voices raised in genuine excitement and amazement. Several trainees were already placing bets on the remaining matches, their assumptions about strength and weakness thoroughly upended.
Caleb released a long, shaky breath, a wide grin spreading across his face as pride roared through him. First Corinne, now Leo. Both had faced stronger opponents, their victories earned through intelligence and technique. They had listened, they had learned, and they had made his lessons their own under incredible pressure.
There was only one more of them who still might fight today. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to it.
He didn't wait for an answer. "One final instruction. Do not look for a posted bracket. There isn't one. The presiding officials will select matches dynamically to test your adaptability. Each of you will be expected to remain in this room until summoned. If your name is called and you are not standing here, you forfeit. Constant readiness is the mandate."