Shattered Sanity

(One Hour Before Black Week, Monday Morning)

The sun had only just begun to rise over the distant horizon as the students of House Argent gathered within their castle, preparing themselves for the beginning of Black Week.

Usually, at this hour, most students were either attending Professor Mike’s Physical Conditioning class or slowly beginning their morning routines, while the castle itself remained relatively quiet until breakfast.

Today, however, nearly every corridor, courtyard and section of the outer walls was already occupied.

Hundreds of students had awakened early, equipped themselves for combat and gathered according to the divisions assigned to them by House leadership, while weapons, medical supplies and other resources were distributed throughout the castle.

Standing amongst the Assault Division within the main courtyard, Riven wore the standard leather armor provided by House Argent, while Sky-Cleaver remained retracted and secured comfortably against his back.

Randy, Batista, Flair, Jeff and Matt remained nearby, while around them stood the other members of the Assault Division, most of whom were seniors who had already experienced Black Week twice.

”Come on.... Ring the damn bell already, I can’t wait anymore!”

Batista muttered, as he shifted his weight from feet to feet looking impatient.

The responsibility that Riven and his group had received from Cedric was simple:

They were to enter enemy territory, create as much chaos as possible, capture valuable prisoners whenever the opportunity presented itself and make life as difficult as possible for the other three Houses.

However, while the six of them waited within the courtyard, a little further away, the Occupation Division had already separated into several organized groups, each knowing exactly where they needed to rush the moment the opening bell rang, while members of the Support Division moved between them distributing recovery potions and Aether pills, whose usage was only allowed during Black Week.

Finally, on top of the castle walls and around its entrances, the Defense Division had already begun taking their positions.

And as Riven casually observed them while waiting for the hour to pass, he slowly began to understand just how much preparation had gone into Black Week long before today.

Several Earth-affinity students had been positioned around the gatehouse and more vulnerable sections of the outer walls, with almost every one of them having spent the previous month learning [Stone Binding].

The spell possessed almost no offensive value, yet it allowed its caster to force Earth Aether through damaged stone and temporarily bind fractured sections together, meaning that even if attackers managed to crack portions of Argent’s defenses, those students could reinforce the damage before it became a complete breach.

Two particularly talented Earth users had even been made to learn [Stone Gate], allowing them to raise a thick slab of rock across narrow openings should one of the castle entrances be destroyed.

The Frost users had been prepared for an entirely different purpose.

Most had spent weeks practicing terrain-control spells such as [Ice Spikes], and Argent had positioned them around gates, stairways and narrow approaches where a relatively small amount of ice could make it considerably more difficult for a large group of enemies to advance together.

Even beyond the walls, several Shadow-affinity students had already disappeared into the surrounding woods, where their abilities were far more valuable as scouts than they could ever be standing openly atop a battlement.

Watching all of it come together, Riven finally understood why House Argent had invested so much effort into scouting prospective students before they began academy life.

Back then, he did not understand the significance of the House Draft, or why students were forced to select specific spells as their first official choice.

However, standing here now it finally began to make sense.

.

.

Soon, the hour mark finally passed, and after what had felt considerably longer to the hundreds of students impatiently waiting for permission to move, the opening bell for Black Week finally rang across the Imperial Academy.

DONG!

The deep sound had barely finished echoing through the castle before House Argent erupted into motion.

The enormous gates began rising, although several students near the front clearly had no intention of waiting for them to open completely, as one Second Year ducked beneath the rising metal before immediately sprinting away.

Another abandoned the gate altogether, launching himself over the outer wall with Aether strengthening his legs, while several more students followed from different sections of the castle.

Within seconds, the courtyard that had been overflowing with restless students became a frenzy of movement.

Occupation groups rushed towards their assigned territories, Assault Division members scattered towards different exits, while Second Years shouted at slower First Years to move aside as hundreds attempted to leave simultaneously.

And House Argent was hardly alone.

From somewhere beyond the castle came another distant bell, followed by another, as the gates of House Aureate, House Sable and House Viridian opened across the Academy and released hundreds of equally impatient students onto the grounds.

Riven tightened his grip around Sky-Cleaver and began moving with his group, feeling his heartbeat quicken as the excitement surrounding him became almost infectious.

Black Week had finally begun.

Yet he had barely crossed half the courtyard when something cold struck his cheek.

THUD!

Another object bounced from his shoulder.

PELT!

Riven looked down and noticed a small piece of ice rolling across the stone.

’Ice?’

Several more struck the courtyard.

Then dozens.

Riven instinctively looked upwards, only to find that the clear morning sky directly above House Argent had rapidly darkened beneath a mass of unnatural clouds.

Within seconds, the scattered pieces of ice became a violent hailstorm.

Chunks of magically formed hail hammered against the courtyard and castle walls, pelting the students still rushing towards the exits as several surprised First Years raised their arms over their heads.

Riven did the same as a chunk shattered against his forearm.

’What the hell?’

The opening bell had rung less than a minute ago.

He hadn’t even left the castle.

Yet someone from another House had apparently prepared a spell capable of reaching Argent before Black Week even began and timed its activation almost perfectly with the opening bell.

What surprised Riven even more, however, was the reaction of the seniors around him.

There practically wasn’t one.

While many First Years hesitated and looked towards the sky, the Second Years simply continued moving.

Some reinforced themselves with Aether before running through the hail, while others merely lowered their heads and increased their pace towards the exits.

Then, through the curtain of falling ice, a figure suddenly appeared beyond the eastern wall.

A Sable senior student had somehow reached Argent’s perimeter during the confusion and hurled a condensed sphere of Shadow Aether directly against the battlements.

KABOOM!

Stone exploded outward from the impact as a section of the outer wall cracked, although the attacker barely had time to admire the damage before two Argent defenders descended upon him from above.

Riven lost sight of the three almost immediately, although one of the Earth-affinity students he had noticed earlier was already rushing towards the damaged section.

[Stone Binding]

Earth Aether spread through the fractures, pulling the loosened stone together and preventing the damaged section from collapsing any further.

Riven barely had time to appreciate how quickly the defenders had responded before the courtyard suddenly became brighter.

Far brighter.

The hail continued falling, yet a brilliant white glow had appeared through the clouds above House Argent.

Riven looked upwards.

Something enormous was descending. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

A spear of concentrated Light Aether, easily several meters across, tore through the dark clouds and plunged towards the highest section of Argent’s castle with such force that even Riven instinctively stopped moving.

For a moment, he genuinely believed the top of the castle was about to disappear.

Then Cedric moved.

The House Lord stepped forward from the battlements and raised one hand towards the descending spell.

Aether surged around him.

A translucent barrier erupted above the castle and expanded outward just as the enormous spear of light struck.

KABOOOOOM!

White light swallowed the upper half of House Argent.

The barrier trembled violently beneath the impact, while cracks of light spread across its surface, yet Cedric remained standing beneath it until the descending spear finally shattered into countless glowing fragments.

For a heartbeat, the courtyard fell strangely quiet.

Then Cedric lowered his hand.

”GO ON, HOUSE ARGENT!” he roared from above, as his voice carried across the courtyard. ”LET’S FUCKING CRUSH THE COMPETITION!”

The response was immediate.

Hundreds of voices erupted throughout the castle as students shouted, laughed and charged towards the exits with renewed excitement.

And this time, Riven shouted with them.

His blood was rushing now.

The fear and uncertainty he had carried towards Black Week were still there somewhere, yet surrounded by hundreds of Argent students charging towards battle while spells exploded across the morning sky, something considerably more primitive had begun overwhelming them.

Excitement.

Riven gripped Sky-Cleaver and sprinted through the rising gate alongside his group who were laughing like maniacs, as despite the dangers it brought, the six of them began Black Week with enormous smiles plastered on their faces, and a hope to win their house a lot of merit points in their hearts.