Tipping the Scales

13

Leo sat in his usual spot at lunch, near the other nobles but not amongst them. Lukas half expected not to see him again come combat training, so was surprised when he left Kian behind to join him and Ellis. "The deal still on?"

Lukas shrugged, "we had an agreement, didn't we?"

"What do you plan to do?"

"Just basic sparring?" Lukas proposed, receiving two unenthusiastic nods in response. After only their first bout, Lukas could tell Leo was a skilled swordsman.

"Not bad for a noble," Lukas wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, "I'm curious, why learn with a sword when you can just blast people with minimal effort?"

"I can't do that," Leo appeared reserved.

"But you're a noble, I saw what you did to that bloodworm."

"That was nothing," Leo slumped to the ground, Ellis taking his place opposite Lukas.

"Looked pretty impressive to me," Lukas back peddled from Ellis' swing.

"He has a weak flame," Ellis said matter-of-factly.

"A weak flame?" Lukas looked to Leo, who was staring at the floor, his mind elsewhere. "Is this true?"

Leo waited until the end of Lukas and Ellis' sparring before replying, "my fire magic is comparable to say a hearth fire, like the ones you probably burn under your little chimneys." Lukas glanced at Ellis but held his tongue. "If you replace that with the fire power of the other nobles, your village would likely burn down. Had Erik been allowed to continue, there wouldn't be much left of you but crispy charcoal."

Lukas was reminded of the gruesome images of Jaspar. Even the contrast in colour between Leo and Erik's magic was stark - Leo's bright red compared to Erik's deeper and sinister crimson.

"Sad thing is, Erik isn't even the strongest flame user, they're all freakishly powerful," Leo looked deflated.

"How do you know this? Have you been training in secret whilst we're being given those boring lessons?" Lukas questioned.

Leo replied in between strikes, "yes. I always knew I couldn't compete in the magic department, so I thought training every other aspect of my fighting would compensate, but now I'm not so sure."

"You saw me defeat Erik, and I can tell you are already competent with a sword," Lukas encouraged, "I'm sure you could do the same."

"But it all comes to naught in the face of raw magical power," Leo argued, skilfully diverting Ellis' powerful attacks, "if they wanted to, anyone of them could end a fight before you can get within swinging distance."

"I refuse to believe we will be entered into such a one-sided exam."

"Don't you get it?" Leo turned to Lukas, exasperated, "the Ascension Exam is just a performance to display the power of the upcoming nobles to the public, to remind them that every generation of nobles is powerful and there is no end to our ruling. They're even holding a mystery round this year to thin the number of commoners. Any who remain will just be sideshows for the main event, the nobles."

"You're saying we have no chance at entering an elite squad?" Lukas tried to appear confident but felt his voice crack.

"There are very few spaces in elite squads, as they only recruit the best," Leo spoke knowledgably, "though it has been known for commoners to make it, it all depends on the captain. Most captains only want other nobles working for them, or they make take on another noble family's child as a political favour. Very few care about actual skill, though the nobles and most skilled recruits are often one and the same."