Tristain Academy of Magic, 1220 hours
"Sir Julius? Do you have a moment?"
Julius turned to see Colbert walking up to him, book and pen in hand. With nothing else to do for the next few hours, he decided to humor the professor.
"Professor Colbert, how can I help you?"
Colbert looked around. The Lancastrians, as he heard the soldiers led by Julius were called, were eyeing him warily. Julius raised his hand, telling them that everything was fine.
"I need to speak with you for a moment, if you'd please," Colbert began. "When Ms. Vallière sealed the contract with you yesterday, did you feel a burning sensation on your body just before you collapsed?"
Julius blinked. "Contract? You mean when she bound me as her familiar?"
Colbert nodded. "Yes. You see, upon summoning a familiar, the mages are supposed to seal it with a kiss, as you have seen firsthand."
Julius hummed in thought. "Well, my left arm felt like it was on fire, and from what I heard from Capt. Bristol, things nearly got messy."
Colbert's eyes lit up. "Could you please show me your arm? It's supposed to have the familiar's runes etched on it."
Julius gave Colbert a funny look before rolling up his sleeve, and once Colbert saw the runes, he proceeded to write them down. Julius glanced down at his arm, trying to make out the runic writing.
"Interesting. Very interesting," Colbert murmured, causing Julius to look at him in confusion. "Alright, sir Julius, thank you for your time." He then turned to walk away.
Julius blinked again, rolling his sleeve back down, and thought of Colbert's actions as nothing more than mere curiosity.
Headmaster's Office, 1253 hours
"Are you sure about this?" the academy's headmaster, Old Osmond, asked in surprise.
"There's no doubt about it. I admit, it's rather strange. A human being summoned as a familiar?" Colbert paced back and forth, a thick book held in his hand.
"There has never been a case of a human being summoned as a familiar, let alone an army. What did this man say his name is?" the headmaster asked.
"Julius, sir. Julius Sickles, and if what he had told me this morning is true, he and his men are not of this world."
Colbert paused, taking a deep breath. "There's a more pressing concern, headmaster. The runes on sir Julius's arm was something I didn't recognize, so I took a look in the library a few minutes ago. It's very similar to what I found here."
He opened his book, searching for a particular page until he found it and showed the rune in question to the headmaster.
Osmond's eyes widened in recognition before he turned to his green-haired secretary. "Ms. Longueville, could you please give me and Mr. Colbert a moment?"
Longueville nodded before turning to step out of the room. "Of course, headmaster."
Once Osmond was sure that no one else was within earshot, he turned to Colbert, a serious expression written on his face.
"This runic familiar is said to be nothing more than a myth, and to think that Ms. Vallière summoned a familiar such as Julius, I have a strong suspicion that this has something to do with the lost element."
Colbert took a step back, aghast at what such a thought could mean. "W-wait, headmaster, you don't mean that – "
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm implying," Osmond said, resolve in his tone. "Mr. Colbert, we never discussed any of this. You and I have no knowledge of Ms. Vallière being a void mage and her familiar being a Gandálfr. Do I make myself clear on this?"
Colbert gulped, a feeling of dread welling up inside him. "Very clear, sir. Very clear."
Tristain Academy of Magic, 1945 hours
The past seven hours had been busy for the Lancastrians and the Hussars. Both units had tackled the issue of being clustered in one area, resulting in little room to maneuver. The Challenger IIs have been placed outside the academy walls, with four sides being lined with three tanks and the fifth one with six. This gave the Hussars a three hundred and sixty degree coverage of the entire perimeter. Patrols have also begun, with five men responsible for covering each courtyard. Another twenty men were assigned to each of the five towers, with one trooper per floor.
Michael, who had been assigned to the third floor of one of the towers, was ten minutes into his patrol. He had come straight from kitchen, where he and Thomas had been given a hearty dinner by Marteau and other members of the kitchen staff. Marteau had been enthusiastic upon learning that not only had Michael defeated a noble in a duel, but he had done so without so much as breaking a sweat and in such a short period of time. They had called Michael their "thunder," after the weapon he had used in the duel earlier that day, which he found odd but amusing.
Michael paused at the end of the corridor and mulled over these thoughts as he took out a cigarette pack from his jacket pocket, lighting one up before resuming his patrol. He took a drag, the nicotine steadying his nerves as he unslung his L85A2, having traded it for the L110A3 he had used earlier that afternoon. As he turned around, he came face to face with a large, red salamander.
It wasn't the size of the lizard or its color that nearly startled Michael. Rather, it was the burning flame at its tail that shocked him. Michael had to rub his eyes in order to make sure that he wasn't just seeing things.
"What the bloody hell is that thing?" he blurted out. As soon as he had spoken, the salamander moved so fast that Michael didn't manage to react in time as the lizard grabbed him by the collar of his uniform before it skittered off.
"Oi, what the flying fuck?! For the love of all that is holy, put! Me! Down! Right this moment!" Michael yelled. The salamander then entered one of the rooms lining the hallway, where he was unceremoniously dumped on the floor.
The corporal glanced around him, confused. Candles were lit just about everywhere, and standing before him was a tanned redhead, one of the students who had watched his duel with Guiche that afternoon. She was wearing nothing but some sort of lingerie.
Michael growled as he got up on his feet, loading a magazine and chambering a round. Before he could switch the safety off, the girl spoke.
"Welcome to my private domain, Michael Holstein," she took a step towards him. "I know I'm doing something I'm not supposed to, but the thing is my code name is known as "Fever." I have a tendency to burn up like a torch."
Michael took a step back, removing his rifle's safety and aiming it at the girl. "What do you want?" he snapped.
The woman giggled. "Oh, my sweet Michael, you don't understand. I'm in love, you see, and I think it's safe to say that the one I'm in love with is you, and I must say that love does always come unexpectedly, don't you think?"
Michael simply gave the girl an icy glare. "Your point?" he grated out.
The woman batted her eyelashes at him, although this only served to irritate the young corporal. "You looked so handsome when you defeated Guiche in your duel this afternoon. When I witnessed it, Kirche the Fever suddenly became Kirche the Ardent." She leaned towards him, her lips puckered.
Michael turned and strode to the door, opening it. "Look, whoever you are, I don't have time for any of your bullshit. The last thing I need is to get chewed out by my CO, so if you could please let me do my patrol in peace for the rest of the fucking night, that'd be great." With that, he walked out and slammed the door, leaving a stunned Kirche.
He turned around to see Louise walking towards him. "Let me guess: Zerbst?" she inquired.
Michael sighed. "If you're talking about that bitch who had the great idea to take me away from my patrol duties, then yes, you're right."
Louise merely smirked. "You know, I think you and I will get along just fine, since I hate her so much."
The corporal slung his rifle as he walked past her. "I think I can agree with you on that one," he said as he resumed his patrol.