"Within the many traditions that the Academy upholds, one is particularly beloved by its alumnus, where the many classes compete among themselves in games of magic, might, craft and leadership, sports and even cooking! in today's primer, we will explain how each big category works, and how you! dear parent can better prepare your son for this endeavor! Even the most humble commoners can take the entire thing by the horns!"

The Academy's Manual third edition.

 

It was a slow day for Lucrezia as she made her way to the Cafeteria, the howl of winter slowly but surely losing its teeth as the season neared its end, she would miss it of course, but the summer spirits were being kind this year according to the news she had gotten. 

Small mercy she thought, walking into the wall of noise that was the eatery of the Academy, she was alone today as her constable maid was off doing gods knew what, likely running more than a few spy rings and gathering information for her assassins.

Walking to her usual table after getting quite the meal from the cooks, courtesy of Silvebrand doing some lucrative dealings with the administration of the place and getting new produce from the corners of the Kingdom and other places, she sat down. She let the noise wash over her as the many worries she had neatly arranged themselves inside her head, something she had picked up from William before the merge.

A fascinating thing she found, was how he categorized each issue and went on dealing with them with the efficiency few had, she lacked that raw volition to keep at it like he did, but as time went by she knew she would get it, after all, it was hers now.

"The sword, the bloody sword" Lucrezia snapped as she remembered the Sacred Relic that in-game was the key to survive the bed ending in the next big event of the game, yet she couldn't remember if Hope had it! fucking shit she thought to herself, she needed to-

She felt arms envelop her from behind and a bolt of lightning flayed her spine as lips connected to the back of her neck "Oh how I have missed this" a sing-song voice whispered to her left side as Hope's face bloomed into a wild grin.

"Gods above woman, do you intend to give me a heart attack!" Lucrezia turned around and saw Richard behind Hope, his face a tad too red in the cheeks as Hope laughed "Oh don't give me that, as if a small kiss would hurt you"

"Where's Arthur?" Lucrezia asked as Hope made her way to sit beside her Richard came close and kissed her on the cheek. "Gods, what is going on?" she spoke in a rushed whisper "What happened in this trip for gods sake?"

Something was going on, and for once she wished she had future knowledge of it, because while she knew Richard and Hope's intentions, same for quite a few others as a matter of fact, she wasn't expecting them to get so, well bold.

"Oh, Arthur is rather busy dear," Hope said as she watched Richard sit down, a smile dancing upon her lips "You see Mother-in-law demanded a total report of our visit to the Orcs' homeland, at first he wanted to ditch it but..." Hope looked up and sighed.

"It was the right thing to do, our complicated relationship with the queen aside, the ties that bind Vermilion royalty to the ancient Orc's customs demanded his report and presents at the palace and so with my blessing he went there" Richard spoke, purpose in his voice as the red in his cheeks went down a little, Lucrezia made a point of that, in case things got a little too heated.

"I am also due a visit" Richard continued "My status as a new legitimate heir to the throne of Vermilion has caused too many ripples in the little games the high nobles like to pay among themselves, mother was able to smooth things over but I have to make an official declaration facing our Royals"

Lucrezia tapped her fingers on the table "Have Kaine fit you with those instant teleportation sigils he's so fond of using, it should give more than enough time for an escape if the Queen tries anything"

Hope waved her concerns away "Apparently the Queen doesn't mind Richard Lu, it's just you who have earned the woman's ire and me" she laughed "Something of which we should speak in a more private setting, I am sure she keeps spies among the students after all"

"And she's genuinely afraid of Kaine now" Hope continued "Your efforts of growing his church have given our little faction a good chunk of room to enjoy life without her meddling, of course, evil never sleeps and I am sure we will be due more trials but Malphas should not fuck with us for a good while" There was power in Hope's voice as she finished talking, the command over her blessing showing itself.

"Hope, did I give you the Sacred Sword, after the battle in the fields?" Lucrezia asked as the young woman made a thinking gesture and replied "Ah yes, that deplorable man tried getting it back from me but Arthur had him sent away, his family hasn't bothered me as well but I reckon they will one of these days, The Sword Spirit refuses to commune with me sadly, still an impressive bit of hardware so I kept it displayed in my room"

"I am more in favor of the blade my parents gifted me of course" Hope added at the end with a small smile, Lucrezia had noticed how often she did that whenever her parents came up in conversation...

"What's with the sword?" Richard asked, "You planning on something?"

Lucrezia waved his worries away like Hope had done earlier "For the future, contingencies you need not know yet" a smile blossomed on his face "I assume then you two haven't heard of the recent developments with the Imperium?"

Richard coughed "We have actually, are you sure it was wise giving away one of your battleships to them? I know, and the rest of the nobles know you have relations of good faith with them now but the Imperium Senate is always asking for "a good show of force to the cousins" even if the old war hounds have been quieter of late..."

"It was the right thing to do Richard, even the Imperium, Even Grannarius knows how bad things would get if the Dynasty were to help the Sea Elves to rise again, especially now that we are in a less-than-desirable state of affairs, with the Queen wanting my head and all that, this show of force, this...power must be wielded against them so we can get things ready for the real fight"

Hope sighed "Even Arthur believes we will be fighting them soon, Can't you break peace with them Lucrezia? you know so much and can move so many people at the snap of your fingers, is there no peaceful solution for this?"

Richard's gaze focused on her "No, It is unfortunate and a pity for those who slave away under the despotic rule of the elves, or the machinations of the Dynasty's goons but a line has been drawn in the sand and It is my duty to see it that they do not cross it, and should they commit to it, make sure they regret it, the First King did not end the fight, and when it happens I will end it" Lucrezia finished up, a bit more strongly than what she had in mind.

"It is the project in the skies, isn't it? All-Father spoke to me about it, he approves of it..." Hope whispered "It's almost like he wants to see how far you will go you know? it's strange how much of an interest he has in you, even with All-Mother's blessing"

Richard's eyes narrowed but Lucrezia held her hand "I'll tell you more later, but yes Hope, it is that" Gods did she know everything? All-Father sure wasn't sleeping on the wheel on this one.

Hope got up and bid the two goodbyes, suddenly remembering some errand she had to run, Richard nodded as he started eating his food "I miss this, Orc cuisine is spice and my stomach just doesn't agree to it, too much contrition and merry of our hosts" he spoke as he ate his plate, Lucrezia found the cafeteria food plenty spicy which meant the orcs were loading up on the stuff, either that or they did it as a test for the man.

After all, he would be leading them in the coming battle.

"Likely a hazing ritual of sorts" Lucrezia gave him a bit of solace "Make sure you are ready to lead them and all that" She smiled picturing him making faces at the spicy food, no doubt the orcs at the occasion had much to laugh about it.

"I became aware when the third plate rolled in, thankfully Hope was there to give me a blessing that helped with heat" he laughed "Don't you smile at my woes like that, it's not good for my confidence you know?"

Richard pointed his fork toward her "Anyway, I am sure you noticed Hope's mood when she greeted you, now I will not pretend you aren't smart and haven't pieced two and two together BUT I will ask for a bit more time, I have to talk with a certain someone..." his voice went low at the end there as Lucrezia waved his worried off again.

"Take your time Richard, I am patient in these matters to much woe of a particular goddess who blessed me as you are aware" she smiled "But I get the feeling there are other things you wanna talk about?"

"Indeed, while I was far away I still kept in touch with Mother and the sheer number of material you are running through our lanes is...astronomical in size Lucrezia, I don't know if Mother spoke with you about it but there are many eyes on your little project, so I gotta ask, what is it?" Richard drank some water as he finished talking, then resumed eating, waiting for Lucrezia to start.

"I was made aware of that particular fact yes, not the first time someone attempted something of the sort as well, the Principality had a similar Magical Program with their towers but that went haywire after a Fallen God infiltrated their ranks...But I digress, Falling Stars has two primary objectives Richard, one of which should be more than obvious by its name" She paused as he raised his hand.

"Attacking from up high, yes the name is a bit of a dead giveaway isn't it?" he paused "Ah, oh Gods above and below, Hells too wow" he spoke to himself out loud as his mind worked out the details, Lucrezia nodding at him confirming his thoughts "It is for the war effort against the Sea Elves! Gods Lucrezia do you even know how much would the Orcs thank you for this? Hells you might be made Royalty there on the spot" He said after drinking more water.

"Indeed, and while I appreciate their continuous business with my Duchy, I wish no title nor land from our friends, only to uphold my duty as both Vermilion born and Wulfgrem, even if my methods are a little unorthodox by our current standards" She finished with a wry smile, Richard nodded in approval.

"You sound just like the old knights I know from some of the pubs around the city you know? but it's good to know you take this seriously, many nobles see it only as history since it has been so long since last we saw the bastards but the Orcs, the Orcs remember it, every day" he took a dramatic pause "When I stood upon those Towers in silent vigil it hit me you know? the gravity of all of this" Richard finished talking as he leaned back into his chair.

"Indeed, something for us to worry about in the future, as for the present we have much to talk about and worry about as well" Lucrezia laughed "Now the second objective, would you like to guess it?"

He took a bite of the salad on his plate while hanging back into the chair far enough to lift it "I haven't the foggiest idea Lu, might as well say it heh" Richard rocked back the chair into its normal position before nearly failing backwards.

"Revenge" Lucrezia spoke with conviction few had seen in her eyes and words "Revenge for the Spirits"

Richard's eyes went wide, but that was not all that happened at their little table as an elven man, no taller than Richard sat down at Lucrezia's side as soon as she finished speaking, his hands were made of pure iron as both Richard and Lucrezia turned to face him, finding his face covered by an ivory mask.

"It's an honor" Lucrezia babbled as she bowed.

"Demons take my hide" Richard swore in a language Lucrezia took a full second to decode, it was High Elvish? a variation of it at the very least "Pardon my language, sir, it is also an honor" he was quick to fix his mistake.

"There is no need for honorifics, this isn't an official meet after all" the masked figure spoke, his voice carrying power and a weird chilly effect.

"Unofficial it is then, Pleasure to meet you Ladovan" Lucrezia cleaned her hands with a napkin and extended her regular arm to him, he took it and gave her a firm handshake "A pleasure as well Lucrezia, friend to the Ones Left Behind" Ladovan spoke in return.

Champion of the Spirits, master supreme who had a legion of the begins at his back and call, one of the oldest living beings on the planet, Ladovan was among the first envoys of the All-Father when his host arrived in the then nameless planet, the Elven man felt deeply the sorrow and rage of the Spirits and powerful as he was, began to plot revenge for them, with all the blessings of the All-Father.

Sadly, he was met with dead end after dead end, and even with the return of the last Ancient, he was no closer to finding the location of the Divine that abandoned the planet and gut her like a fish.

"An Impressive weapon you and yours have built" he smiled "Is it true then, you will join us in the Endless Hunt?" that was how he and his people called it, over the ages many individuals, mortal and god alike pledged their allegiance to him and the Spirits, many of them owned some sort of debt to the Spirits, or were followers akin to the druids of Lucrezia's lands.

"Aye, I hope that my troops lead the charge when we find Her hiding place" Lucrezia pulled a pebble made out of crystal and channeled mana through it, a flash showing some sort of ship, more streamlined than the warships Richard and the others knew "Vessels to travel the sea of stars, the cold beyond and the In-Between, places where regular teleportation can't reach"

Ladovan smiled "They weren't kidding, and you believe this will be the key to finding our Prey? I'll admit many Star Systems and Galaxies of this universe were left untouched by my search but..."

Lucrezia nodded "It will, she lacks the power to travel to other Universes, at best she can hide in the In-Between, as a Goddess of Magic that should be the max of her powers until she claims a Core like the All-Father" She tapped on the pebble as an entire armada of ships appeared, together with more versions of her space station "We are this close on breaking through the limits Ra'Tyrius has, two decades at most and then we will strike and find her"

"May the All-Father bless you if that is true" Ladovan smiled and gave her a small bone-like coin, the symbol of an arrow on it "When you are ready, break the coin and we will come, I wish you the best Lucrezia"

And he was gone, not even a flash of light or anything, gone as if he was never there in the first place, 

"You do realize you just pledged alliance to the Gods's equivalent of a madman who's chasing phantoms in quite the haystack yes?" Richard spoke "All Father protect me and the rest"

Lucrezia stared down the empty seat for a minute, a small part of her clicking with joy as what was assumed to be the hook of either a DLC or a sequel was completed and she would get to do it herself.

The Spirits were her allies after all, and she wasn't above Sacrilege and God-Slaying for those.

"It is the right thing to do" she spoke with gravitas "Evil will not prevail again"

Richard noticing the heavy atmosphere around the woman he was about to ask for a date did what many in the merchant circles called a proactive retreat "I can tell this means a lot to you Lu, so I'll let you digest it alone, I must talk with Vivienne after all, then you"

"Thank you, Richard, I'll be waiting for you when I am ready" Lucrezia spoke, not looking at the young man as he left, thoughts flying across her mind as she replayed the words of the game developers in her mind.

"...She's hiding somewhere far far away, but not out of reach, while we can't talk much about it given we want to use this for a potential sequel the writing team told me this, she's still in the same universe as the one the game takes place, and finding her will take involvement with the Sea Elves, who as you all know will be the focus of the sequel"

The Elven Lords of the Deep knew something, and now that they were getting ready for war so would she, and she would throw everything she could, and a few things she couldn't to win it, and then knock down the doors of a certain Goddess.

"Soon" the word escaped her lips as she watched Richard leave the Cafeteria.

---

In the dean's office sat the high command of the Academy, Professors, and chiefs of staff, the newly appointed head of the Academy's Security forces armed with fancy Magi-Tech provided by a certain someone who made the place her home for the better part of 2 years now.

"No" The dean spoke "We cannot allow the interclass game to go through, I know something will happen, and I don't need to consult the Gods or Prophets for this" he cast a long look across the table, many disagreeing with his decision.

"The Lass has spared no expanse to shore up the entire Security Staff boss, I can assure you nothing will-" the man was cut off by a wave of the Dean's hand as he rose from his seat.

"after someone unleashed an actual godsdamned plague in the middle of the Cafeteria and after someone summoned an Infernal who's powerful enough to cure it!" he wiped the sweat off his face "No more events, Gods above no more bleeding events!"

"The Principality has sent their scholars to ward off the entire Academy sir, we can expect to be done before the" Another person spoke and the Dean pointed his finger at him "No, damn those snobs from the Principality, even if they ward every single inch of the Academy grounds I will not allow it" he was fuming now and the crowd got silent, no one wanted to get the old elf even more angry.

The stalemate lasted for a solid minute before someone knocked on the door.

"Enter" the dean spoke as the door was opened, where once the room was silent minus a few hushed whispers here and there, now they were deathly quiet as a tall Dragonkin woman with garbs that marked her as a Royal Herald walked to the center of the room.

She gave the Dean a deep bow and spoke, clear of voice and intent "By the Order of Queen Malphas, the Activities known as "The Interclass" Will happen, under Royal Decree, supported by the High Houses, the Middle Nobles, and Merchant Houses"

The Dean placed both palms on his face, despair was his only friend now.

---

Richard Silverbrand ended up finding Vivienne down in the little arena the Knights that had bodyguard duty in the Academy had set up at the gym, for the more martial-focused individuals of the place it had become a spot for every type of exercise and competition.

He spied the young woman healing a few Knights who had just finished a grueling match of hand-to-hand combat among themselves, a few of them regulars to Richard's training he did in the place.

He couldn't lie to himself, It was a bit trippy knowing the Daughter of the Arch-Duke, second to the Royals themselves had a...complicated relationship with him, but then again he was on first name basis with the Prince, someone blessed the entity that created his entire species and a madwoman, out of the gang he figured Vivienne was the most normal, at least until she proposed to him the maddest of plans before he left for his Pilgrimage.

"Vivienne, I've come to a decision" he spoke out loud as she found herself alone, turning to face Richard with a most beautiful smile. 

"Finally! Come, let's talk about it then!" Vivienne said as she bolted to hug him, he felt the warmth of her blessings and magics spread over him "Neat trick, isn't it? deals with exhaustion on the mind, soul, and body" She smiled as she planted a small kiss on his cheek.

"It seems that the trip proved fruitful in more ways than one," Vivienne said as both sat down at a bench near the arena proper, she twisted her palm as a small bubble enveloped both her and Richard, and a few cast their glances to them, noticing the privacy bubble and nodding as they moved along, now no one would interrupt the conversation, nor hear it of course.

"I am glad it was you" Vivienne smiled "You are a good man, Richard, A bit too much on the careful side but one can't blame you for being cautious, being from a family of well-established merchants will do that to you I imagine" he nodded in agreement, risk management was drilled into every single Silverbrand alive at a very tender age.

"I'd say I've gotten bolder, given what happened in the last few months" Richard fired back feeling a bit cheeky "But we aren't here to talk about the few victories in my name, are you sure you want this Vivienne? wouldn't your parents disapprove of it?"

She shrugged with her hands "Would you believe it they actually approve of it? Mother even told me Father was elated at the thought of this multi-faceted union of ours assuming Lucrezia agrees to it, She helped us so much, it was only a matter of time feelings would be born of this Mother told me, even if they are a bit unhealthy as co-dependency isn't something I wish to foster with her, nor you or Arthur and Hope" Vivienne spoke with a pensive look on her face, tapping the seat every once in a while, a tell Richard had figured out for when she was trying to organize her thoughts.

His time with the Arch-Duke's daughter was full of this, it felt to him like a dance, where he had to carefully navigate her words and body language to understand the in his opinion rather mysterious young woman, even after all the trauma she had gone through.

"She still visits you in your nightmares?" He asked and she nodded.

"It's not just her you know, the boy is always there sword in hand and ready to fight twice as hard as her..."Vivienne had mentioned that boy only once to Richard, and he still couldn't make heads or tails of the symbolism there, but then again, he was no dream weaver or soulmage.

"Yes, It is important that we grow a healthy...relationship even if part of me still thinks we might be in for drama down the line" Richard spoke "As you assumed both Hope and Arthur were more than happy to get in, Hope in particular was very keen on the fact" he smirked remembering the girl's face "But I am afraid Arthur wasn't as happy when I told him I don't feel the same way towards men" another smirk.

"He'll live I am sure of it, Royalty has no lack of warm bodies of every gender" Vivienne's face had a shadow over it "Nor can we fault you, I am sure this is all rather new for yourself given you were quite prude by merchant standards" She laughed when the red went up his ears.

"I will never live that down will I?" he asked no one "Yes yes but aren't you worried? You know what I mean" he got serious and tried to cut down on the song and dance she was doing, as always he thought back to the words of his mother, when dealing with hard topics, straight to the point is always better.

Vivienne held his hand "It makes me happy you care so much, but while I don't feel totally ready, I want to move forward Richard, start again, and fully regain control of my life, together with you and Lucrezia, as my pillars for safety" he felt her hand squeeze his "Of course we will stumble, we will fall but I know you, I know Lucrezia and Hope, Arthur, together we can be truly happy"

It was a heavy thing Richard felt, having the trust of someone like this, Father always told him that when a Client trusts you with their lives any worthwhile merchant would feel its weight, the man dealt with medication, mercenaries, and security and he knew what he was talking about, but when things went off without a hitch he also told Richard how good it felt, to be there to help another in their time of need and have full knowledge their machine was well oiled and doing good for the community.

And now was his time to take on this challenge, to be a good boyfriend. partner for life? for these two women who clearly invested much trust in him, for reasons he couldn't even begin to divine, but he would try in time.

"One step after the other young Richard, one step after the other" Spoke the voice of the Goddess inside his very soul, of course, she was watching, after all, she had invested in both him and Lucrezia for the fight to come.

"...Thank you, Vivienne, I will do my best to not squander this and make sure that we, that we all have a happy ending at the end of this tale" Richard spoke, half in prayer to whatever Love God or Goddess was watching him right now.

Little did he know, many divines were watching with bated breath.