“I accept these conditions!” Cypher said proudly and he turned to face Eiden with confidence burning in his eyes.

“Then we have an accord!” said the retainer. With another loud clap, the two retainers on either side of Elder Fergus began to chant. The air around everyone present began to shimmer and change. The fountain vanished, as did the courtyard. In its place they found themselves standing in a field of dirt surrounded by an endless void of grey.

Silence pervaded the area and only the sounds of echoing footsteps could be heard. Elder Fergus conjured up a pair of ethereal swords and tossed them to Cypher and Eiden.

The retainer from before stepped forward between them and held out his hands. “In this duel, you are both bound to only martial combat. Should you break this rule and attempt to use Magick of any kind you will forfeit. Should you attempt to kill your opponent you will also forfeit. Make this an honorable duel, am I understood?”

At this Alvin spoke up, “Elder Fergus is this really necessary? You saw for yourself how the young lord treats those he deems beneath him! His ideals and morals are not fit for this academy! Skilled or not he is not worthy of attending this institution! Young Cypher on the other hand shows great promise. I beg you to reconsider!”

Elder Fergus simply shook his head and motioned for Alvin to stand by his side. Alvin dipped his head and let out a frustrated sigh, but did as he was asked.

Cypher gripped the ethereal sword in his hands and stared at Eiden. The heir stared back, anger burning in his expression, his fists tightly clenched. Cypher had not ever dreamed that something like this would happen to him. However, he did know that he wanted this opportunity more than anything, and if this was how he earned it, he would abide by the rules.

With that, they took up their places several feet apart. The retainer stepped back and raised his hand above his head. He glanced at each of the combatants and they readied themselves. Cypher looked over at Alvin who only offered a solemn nod of his head. Then with firm authority ringing in his voice, the retainer swept his hand down and said, “BEGIN!”

Before the last syllable could leave his mouth the two boys had charged at each other with wild abandon. Their battle began with Eiden attempting to slice at Cypher's waist. Cypher easily blocked it and returned the attack with one of his own aimed at Eiden’s left leg.

The heir barely blocked the attack and stumbled back. He wasn’t done there though and swept his leg out to catch himself. The two locked eyes for only an instant before they began to exchange a flurry of blows. Each of the two boys was blocking and parrying the other with unbridled skill and precision.

They had trained together for years now and knew the other’s fighting style by heart. Eiden shifted his form into Brodd and began to hack and slash at Cypher with all of his might. He might not be aiming to kill Cypher, but each attack was unleashed with his full power and without restraint.

Cypher countered with Fenn and parried the blows with practiced ease. However, despite being able to read Eiden’s movements and knock them off course as he always could when they sparred, something was different this time. Each strike from Eiden’s blade was far heavier than Cypher had ever felt him unleash before.

It was difficult to properly parry them and Cypher actually found himself struggling against the young heir. His thoughts were confused as he tried to figure out where this strength was coming from. However, as he stared on he noticed something he had never seen before. It was easy to see against the endless grey of the void around them, he could see that Eiden was slightly glowing.

The light of that glow only extended to his arms and torso, but it was still obvious if one looked carefully. He could also feel a faint pressure radiating from Eiden and it seemed to slow Cypher’s thoughts and reaction time ever so slightly. This had never happened before and he was left at a loss for what to do.

He pulled back and rolled to the side to avoid an oncoming attack. Eiden’s ethereal blade slammed against the ground and he lost his balance once again. The blow left a sizable cut in the earth where Cypher had been standing and he gritted his teeth as he continued his attack.

Cypher switched to Brodd himself and swung his blade down at Eiden’s. The two weapons clashed and Cypher brought his free hand back and delivered a backhanded strike to Eiden’s face which sent him sprawling back a few steps. Whatever that glow was, it was obviously empowering Eiden’s attacks. Keeping his distance might be the key to victory in this battle.

He knew that it couldn’t be a spell of some kind. If it were Eiden would have been disqualified from this duel and Cypher knew that right now, Eiden wouldn’t dare do something like that. He was out for blood. There had to be another explanation for what was going on. Cypher could only imagine that Jelroy had taught Eiden something like this in their private sparring sessions.

It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Eiden had been the one who was training to become a Conductor not him. It was only natural that Jelroy would have had special techniques to teach the heir that he neglected to share with Cypher. But now was not the time to dwell on such things. No matter where he had learned it or what was going on, Cypher knew that he couldn’t afford to lose this battle.

“How DARE you!” Eiden said as he rushed forward and began to strike with a flurry of jabs. Cypher parried as best as he could but against the strength and speed that Eiden was unleashing, it was hard to time his blocks properly. The blades of the two boys met once again as they exchanged blow after blow, and Cypher was losing ground.

With no choice, Cypher switched to Eine and began to counterattack as best as he could. Eiden’s body continued to glow, and as the battle dragged on, Cypher could see how that glow moved to each of Eiden’s body parts just before he released an attack. Whatever this technique was, it was obvious by the slow buildup of that glow that Eiden had yet to master it.

Cypher still had no idea what it was, but it was something he could use to his advantage. Eiden’s strikes were almost impossible to block or parry completely when enhanced by that light, but there was a slight delay between each of his attacks as the glow shifted around Eiden’s body.

Cypher began to telegraph Eiden’s attacks through the use of that glow and found that he was once again gaining ground against the young heir. Soon it was Eiden who was on the defensive and Cypher took full advantage of that fact. He pressed harder, gritting his teeth, and landed several glancing blows across the heir’s torso.

In their wake, those slashes left a shimmering light of their own that faded away and took the glow from Eiden’s body with it, leaving behind only a red streak. It wasn’t blood but those streaks were clearly meant to represent it. Again, Cypher had no idea what was happening but he could only guess that whatever that glow was, these swords were capable of negating it while also leaving behind proof of damage.

This was only a duel and with the rule about no killing in place, Cypher could only guess that these ethereal swords were enchanted somehow. It wasn’t too farfetched to think that killing with these swords was impossible, this was, after all, a school of Magick. Still, if that were the case why bother issuing the rule about no killing? Was it a test of some kind?

His thoughts were stopped dead in their tracks as Eiden swung his sword as hard as he could at Cypher’s midriff. Cypher blocked the attack, but found his blade pressing into his side as he was unable to stop the forward momentum of the attack. A red streak appeared on his own body at the point of contact leaving it numb and unfeeling, and he began to slide against the ground as Eiden pushed him back.

Cypher was quickly putting the pieces of this puzzle together. Weapons that could not kill, yet an ironclad rule about not killing. A test of strength without the aid of Magick to gauge the potential of the combatants. A battle observed by someone from the academy much like the one that Eiden had won not long ago. All of it pointed to only one logical outcome in Cypher’s mind: He was being tested to see if he was truly a fit for the Academy.

A knowing nod from Elder Fergus gave him all the confirmation he needed as he chanced a glance in the man’s direction. Cypher could only resolve himself once again and charge back into the fray with a renewed sense of purpose.

He leaped back a few feet to regain his posture, and the two boys charged at each other once again. Cypher roared as he pushed all the strength he could into his strike and Eiden did the same. The blades clashed loudly, the sound reminiscent of a crystal bell being struck, and both weapons spiraled off into the distance where they embedded themselves in the dirt on either side of the two boys.

The two of them were shocked as they were suddenly disarmed and a look of sheer disbelief spread across Eiden’s face. Cypher made to dash for his own weapon, but a punch from Eiden caught him in the stomach and he fell to his knees gasping. Eiden rained down blows upon Cypher’s exposed back without mercy. Cypher rolled out of the way and stood back up struggling to draw in air.

Pain racked his body. Each of those blows had been extremely heavy. He wobbled on his feet as he tried to compose himself but it was hard to focus since he still couldn’t breathe. However, despite that, he raised his hands and prepared to duke it out with Eiden. If hand-to-hand combat was what he wanted then he would get it.

Jelroy had done more than train them in the art of bladed combat. Hand-to-hand fighting was a staple of their training back at the mansion and Cypher had taken to these lessons just as efficiently as he had with the sword. The two began to fight barehanded. Punches flew and bruises started to appear across the bodies of the two boys but still, they fought on.

Whatever technique Eiden had been using before seemingly required the use of a weapon to employ and now, they were once again evenly matched. Although to say that was probably wrong. Cypher now had the edge against the heir. His fists were faster, stronger, and more precise than Eiden’s.

It wasn’t long before Eiden was sent sprawling back onto his ass and Cypher stood over him triumphantly. Cypher looked down at Eiden and said, “This fight is finished, Eiden! I’ve beaten you!”

Eiden gritted his teeth and let out a frustrated groan, “How? How did this happen? I’m supposed to be a powerful warrior just like my father and his father before him! You can’t do this to me! How am I supposed to get him to see that I can be just as great as he is? That I’m worth his attention?! You don’t understand!”

“Eiden…” Cypher was shocked to hear Eiden talking like this. Never before had he ever opened up to such a degree. Was it some kind of ploy? Some tactic to get him to drop his guard? “Look I know you want your father to acknowledge you, but there are better ways than this. Don’t you see that you’ve brought this upon yourself? I didn’t want to beat you, I didn’t even want to fight you! I just wanted you to leave me alone and let me live my life!”

“Let you live your life?” Eiden asked through gritted teeth. “Your life? You came into my house… a commoner mongrel bastard fresh off the streets and you have the nerve to say I should let you live YOUR life? Ever since you showed up my life has taken a back seat! You’re all that my parents talk about when nobody else is around!”

Cypher took a step back, confused. “What are you even talking about? They don’t talk about me? Do they? Why would they?” This was clearly news to Cypher. If what Eiden said was true why was it that Galex and Tyrina always treated him with coldness and indifference?

“I’ve heard them you know, talking in hushed whispers when they think we’re all asleep! Mom always cries when she talks about you. Hell, she can’t even look at you without wanting to burst into tears and father…” Eiden paused and composed himself but it was clear that he was only barely able to pull it off.

“My father does his best to try and calm her down but I can see the truth they won’t acknowledge! You’re a curse on our household! Because of you, he’s always away on business trying to bring glory to our family in an attempt to make mother happy again! I don’t know why they took you in, but your very presence is a blight on the glorious Galvan name! Because of you, he doesn’t even have time to take care of his own children!”

Cypher had no idea what Eiden was talking about. None of this even made sense. Why would he be the reason for any of that?

“Eiden think about what you’re saying! None of that has any logic to it at all! You treated me like shit and did all of this because of something like that? Did you even stop to think about maybe asking your parents about these things? Is that really what this all comes down to? All of this, the bullying, the cruel treatment, and now your loss against me… Is it all because you couldn’t stop to ask your own parents about what was really going on?”

“My loss against you? No… You haven’t won anything bastard! Not yet!” Eiden flung a fist full of dirt at Cypher and he pulled back to grasp at his eyes as he was suddenly blinded. Eiden took that chance to kick Cypher in the gut while rolling to his feet and dashed toward his discarded weapon with wild abandon.

Cypher struggled to clear the dust from his eyes and saw what Eiden had in mind and quickly ran to retrieve his own blade.

By the time Cypher reached his, Eiden was already coming back to begin attacking again. Cypher flipped his sword into a reverse grip and parried the attack upwards. From what he could tell, that blow had been one meant to cleave him in half. In a normal battle that would have been a fatal blow and Cypher was shocked to see that Eiden was actually trying to kill him at this point.

‘Are you trying to get yourself disqualified you fool?!’ he thought. Anger filled him at the realization that his life had been threatened. But he didn’t have time to ponder the issue and dropped low as Eiden swung at his midriff once again. Meaning to end this battle before the heir could get another chance to claim his life, he then swept his leg under the feet of the young heir and sent him falling into the dirt.

Eiden’s head cracked against the ground and at the same time, Cypher slashed at his sword arm leaving a bright red streak through it. Eiden’s hand went limp and the sword clattered out of his grip. The limb hadn’t been severed but through the magick of the swords they used, it was rendered useless as if it had been.

“I said this fight is over, Eiden! Give up! You’ve lost!” Cypher said again, his sword pointed right at Eiden’s neck. The heir looked up at him with hatred written all over his face for everyone to see.

“How?!? WHY?!?” Eiden groaned. “How is it that a worthless bastard was able to beat me? I’m supposed to be better than you in every aspect! I HAVE to be better than you in order to restore glory to the Galvan name!” Eiden’s limp hand clumsily gripped at the sword as it lay in the dirt but it was useless.

At this, Elder Fergus raised his hand, and with a wave, the area they were battling in vanished. They once again found themselves in the courtyard in front of the bubbling fountain.

Eiden growled in frustration and the sword in Cypher’s hand vanished along with the red streaks that covered their bodies. The duel was over and Cypher had won fair and square. However, Eiden wasn’t willing to let it go and scrambled to his feet. He drew his own weapon and made to slice at Cypher with all his might.

Cypher’s eyes grew wide and he gasped as he saw his end swiftly approaching. Before another instant had passed, Elder Fergus stood between them and had caught the blade with his bare hand. He wrenched the weapon free from Eiden’s grasp and shattered the blade with ease. Elder Fergus stared at the boy with disgust as the pieces of Eiden’s sword fell to the ground.

“No!” said Elder Fergus and his voice seemed to radiate through the entire courtyard. A massive pressure fell on Cypher and Eiden then and both boys fell to their knees clutching at their heads. Cypher had never felt such pain before and he was terrified of the power that Elder Fergus seemed to possess.

Much quieter than before, Elder Fergus began to speak, that pressure no longer accompanying his words, “Eiden Galvan, you have disrespected both your family name, this academy and everyone present by resorting to such petty tactics. You are hereby banished from these grounds and forbidden to return effective immediately!”

Eiden was left dumbstruck as his face paled and the truth of what he had done set in. A moment passed as silence filled the courtyard. However, it was quickly apparent that Eiden’s rage had reached a boiling point. ‘Y-You can’t do that! Don’t you know who I am? I am a Galvan dammit! I will not be disrespected in such a way by some tottering old fool like you!”

Without another word, the two retainers on either side of Elder Fergus moved to grab Eiden. They began to drag him away towards the exit and Eiden broke out into a furious tirade.

“NO! NO! NO! Unhand me this instant you peasants! Cypher! Cypher you bastard! You’ll pay for this! I swear to God you’ll pay for this one day!” Elder Fergus’s retainers continued to guide Eiden out of the courtyard but his ramblings continued without stopping as he struggled against their firm grip.

"You have shamed me and my entire family today bastard! Enjoy this while you can! The next time we meet I will end your pathetic life for this grave insult. Don't think for a moment that you're safe here! I will personally see to it that you’re dragged back to the mansion kicking and screaming!”

The door leading out of the courtyard opened without prompting, and as they guided him through, Eiden continued to rave like a madman, “You might not be a servant of this family anymore, but we are nobility and you will ALWAYS bend the knee to the Galvan family! Watch your back!"

With that, the door slammed shut and only the sound of the water fountain could be heard.

Cypher stood there unable to process what had just happened. His mind ran wild with questions. What had Eiden been talking about? Was it true that Galex and Tyrina really spoke about him in the dead of night? These and other questions swirled around in his mind as he tried to make sense of everything.

Alvin walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder and Cypher snapped back to reality. He thought that defeating Eiden would bring him some measure of peace. That if he were finally able to put the young heir in his place that maybe, just maybe he would feel as though all the struggles Eiden had put him through could be left behind him. However, the only thing he could feel right now was embarrassment for the young heir and an overwhelming sense of pity.

"I am sorry you have had to grow up under such conditions,” said Elder Fergus as he began to depart. “It must not have been easy to hold your tongue for all these years. Rest assured, however, your life is about to change for the better. Behavior like that was appalling to see from one of the noble class. Perhaps his father can talk some sense into him.”

“Given all that has happened, and despite the parameters of the agreement the young lord agreed to, Galex may indeed still try and request a refund of his payment to us but that is no matter. Money comes and goes in a place like this. It isn’t the first time something akin to this has happened and it certainly won’t be the last. Leave the rest to me.”

With that, Elder Fergus left and silence filled the courtyard once again.

Alvin gave Cypher’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze and said, “Don’t worry about funds dear boy. I shall sponsor you myself. Your room, food, clothes, and anything else you might need while you are here will all be taken care of by me, you have nothing to worry about."

Cypher bowed and held the pose for a moment longer than he normally would. His gratitude towards Alvin was immense and he would not soon forget the kindness shown towards him today.

In the span of a few short hours, his entire life had been turned on its head.

Seeing Eiden finally put in his place was something Cypher had never expected to witness. It should have felt incredible. It should have been as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Instead, he only felt as though he had earned himself a powerful enemy in the young lord.

But if that was the case there was nothing he could do about it. He could only deal with that when the time came. Moving forward, there was a lot for him to consider about how things had turned out, but again, now was not the time for that. Another emotion was forcing its way to the surface of his mind.

He was free! No longer would he have to serve that ungrateful boy. No longer would he have to craft plots of escape or revenge in the quiet hours of the night. Eiden had been utterly humbled. Where before he had felt contempt and hatred for the young heir, now he found that only pity remained.

Despite having the answers right in front of him, Eiden ignored them in lieu of trying to maintain his ego. To that end, he had fought against everything including an Elder of the Academy and it had cost him dearly. Everything he had strived for during the last six years had fallen away in an instant and the boy was instead sent home in disgrace.

Now, a new life awaited Cypher. He wasn’t sure how to feel in all honesty. Something like this was far beyond his scope to imagine. Was it joy that he now felt about that fact? Or perhaps catharsis? Whatever the case might be he now had the chance to really do something with his life. For once he could decide what his next move might be.

Despite Eiden’s warning and his fear of retaliation, he knew that turning back when fate had given him this chance was foolish. There was only one path ahead of him now. "Where do I sign?" Cypher asked, limping over to take the scroll and quill into his hands once more.

The journey, HIS journey as a Conductor would begin right here and nothing short of death would stop him from working harder than anyone had ever worked before.

He would reach the top, not because of some malformed plot of revenge against the Galvans. No. He would reach for the personal satisfaction of forging his own path for the first time in his life. He would reach for the reigns of his own destiny. This, much like the choice to accept the duel in the first place was his choice to make.

Gone were the days of subservience without even a scrap of respect or gratitude. Gone were the days of empty, meaningless, and never-ending chores that left his hands calloused and bruised. Gone were even the days of training for the sake of someone else.

No.

From now on he would train for himself. He would succeed and it would be by the sweat of his brow, and the fortitude of his own mind. Cypher felt excitement well up inside him. For the first time, his future looked bright and vibrant.

He couldn’t know what awaited him in the days to come. Nor did he know what strings might come with Alvin’s offer of sponsorship, but they couldn’t be worse than what he had already endured. He knew that it would be difficult and that he would face struggles and hardship. But, at long last, he could move on from being the lowly servant of a hopeless household…