Andrew Rowe - On the Shoulders of Titans

True to their word, Teft appeared a few minutes later.

“Well, that was a unique match, at least.” Teft folded his arms. “Marissa and Corin’s team won, as I’m sure everyone expected. You shouldn’t feel particularly proud, however. That was quite a debacle right at the beginning of the match, Master Cadence. You almost managed to turn a nearly insurmountable advantage into a defeat by taking so long playing with your toys.”

“I—”

“I’m not finished. Do not interrupt. Regardless of what you almost did, the result was that you learned how the tiles worked. Against most opponents, that would have given you an even greater chance at victory, and may have been worth the investment. But I fear you underestimated Miss Shard.”

Sera looked up, blinking.

“She took every bit of information that you gained and learned it by watching you. If she was in fighting shape, you would have been defeated soundly, and most likely without contest.”

I started to open my mouth again.

He raised a hand. “I said, do not interrupt. I am lecturing. You will listen. My greatest commendation must go to Miss Callahan, both for her individual combat abilities, which remain in the top of our class, and the ingenuity to cut out a tile and use it as a weapon. This was an excellent example of teamwork, as was the use of levitation, which I suspect was Miss Cadence’s idea and Master Wayland’s implementation.”

“In light of all these factors, Miss Callahan receives a grade of ‘A’ on this test. Master Cadence, you contributed to your team’s success, but leaned heavily on Miss Callahan. You would have failed without a team member as skilled as her. I begrudgingly offer you a ‘B’ for managing to discern and properly utilize the functions of the tiles.”

He turned to the other two. “Master Wayland, you carried much of your team’s weight, but you also failed to eliminate either member of the opposing team. Your general combat prowess was above average, but you were not able to apply it in a way that neutralized your enemies. You receive a ‘C-’. “

“Miss Cadence, you might have rivaled Miss Callahan if you were able to fight properly. You made a choice to fight in spite of your disadvantages — and it was the wrong choice. You were not ready. You will also receive a ‘D’, which is lower than what I would have given you if you had chosen to withdraw from the test. This is not low enough to expel you from the class, but one more of them would be. We will conclude the final exams with a second battle of this type next week. I will offer you a similar choice. I hope that next time, you will make the correct decision for your circumstances.”

“That is all. I have more teams to observe, so there will be no questions today. You may come with questions next week, before your second matches. Your next opponents will be better prepared. You should ensure that you are as well.”

And with that, Teft spun on his heels and left the room.

Sera managed to make it home before she cried.

After Sera rushed up to her room, the rest of us sat down in the main living area.

Derek was reading a book when we arrived. “Huh, she’s in a hurry. Something happen?”

We explained the situation.

“I could punch Teft for her?” Derek offered, helpful as usual.

“No, Derek, I suspect that would only complicate things further.” I shook my head. “And she doesn’t blame him, anyway. She blames herself — probably mostly for dragging Patrick’s score down.”

“Aw, it’s not that big of a deal.” Patrick waved a hand dismissively. “We’ll just do better next week.”

“She won’t see it that way.”

Patrick shrugged. “She’s a great student, though. Always has been. Even if we get kicked out of this class, we can still graduate. It’s an elective.”

“Just graduating would never be good enough. And if she caused someone else to fail a class, I don’t think she’d ever forgive herself.”

Patrick laughed. “She did fine. You guys just did better.” He stretched his arm. “Mara, you’ve got a mean punch.”

“At least you had a shield to help with that. That lightning aura went right through me.” She shivered. “Maybe less of that for sparrin’ in the future?”

He blinked. “Oh, sure. Didn’t realize it would hurt that much.”

Derek leaned over. “New lesson, Patrick. Lightning hurts people. Considerably.”

Patrick scratched behind his head sheepishly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Was a good trick, though. Almost had me.” Marissa grinned.

“Uh, thanks?” Patrick blushed a little. “Right, uh, back to Sera, though. Corin, you should go talk to her.”

I pointed at myself. “Me?”

“Uh, yeah? Obviously? You’re her brother.”

“Sure, but I also was on the team that just beat her.”

“All the more reason you should talk to her,” Derek offered. “If you’re right about how she thinks, seeing Patrick again will probably just make her feel worse.”

Maybe, or maybe it would help if Patrick told her he didn’t care. Eh.

Either way, I was overruled, so I stood up. “Fine, fine. I’ll go talk to her.”

I headed up to Sera’s room. The door was closed, so I knocked.

She didn’t answer, but I could hear her quietly sobbing inside. And coughing a little, too.

“Sera, it’s Corin. Can I come in?”

I knew she couldn’t verbally tell me to go away, so I was making things a little awkward. Eventually, she opened the door, still wiping her eyes.

I offered her a handkerchief, which she accepted and used to wipe her face and nose more effectively. Then she put on a stronger face, folded her arms, and stared at me expectantly.

“Can I come in?”

She stared a little harder. She wasn’t going to make this easy.

“Sorry, Sera. I’m no good at this. I’ve never been good with…emotional stuff in general.” I paused for a moment. “Not really sure what to say. You fought fine back there. Would have beaten us hard if you had your spells, and it’s not your fault you lost them. You saved our lives back in that tower. No question. We’d be dead if you hadn’t summoned Seiryu.”

Sera turned her head away, letting out a sigh.

“I mean it. And I know you’re suffering right now, but it’s not your fault, and we will find a way to fix this. It doesn’t sound easy, but I’ve already been doing some research, like I said earlier.”

That got her to turn her head back toward me, tilting her head up to meet my eyes. Then she twisted her lips, turned, and gestured for me to come into her room.

“Thanks.”

I came in and sat down on a chair next to her bed. “You want to hear about what I’ve found?”

Sera sat down on her bed, wiping her nose again.

“Okay. I’ll fill you in.”

I summarized everything the Researcher had told me about her situation.

“So, I’ll read the book about the mountain. If I think I can handle it, we’ll go ourselves. If it sounds too dangerous, I can ask Keras or Derek to handle it. If the flower doesn’t work, we can look into some of the other treatments she mentioned. Since my new attunement involves life mana, I might even be able to learn healing magic myself eventually and treat it directly. I’ll start looking into that.”

She listened patiently, but got up when I’d finished and grabbed a sheet of paper to write a reply.

Flower will take too long. We fight other teams in a week, and they won’t go easy on me like you did. I can’t keep dragging Patrick down, or whoever else they pair me with.

“I didn’t go easy on you.”

She tilted her head downward to glare at me.