As Thomas arrived at the dining hall for breakfast the day after the award assembly, he was startled to see Ms. Honoka standing behind a table placed just outside the entrance to the building. A sign that read 'All students check here for meeting requests' was hung along the table's front. Already a sizeable cue of students was formed, but the line was moving quickly.
"What's all this about, Ms. Honoka?" asked Thomas when he reached the head of the line.
"Ah, Mr. Walker. I'm glad you're here early. I've a stack of interview requests for you. Many of the guild representatives wish to meet the newest shaman, especially since you took so many awards yesterday."
"Interview requests? What am I interviewing for?"
"Nothing, really. It's just a way for the guild reps to meet with promising first years. Most often, the guild in question will keep an eye on your progress, maybe invite you to visit during a break, and eventually offer you an invitation to join after you graduate. But these will just be first meeting type of things. No pressure, except that the school would really apricate you going to some of them. This program is a part of how the school maintains its relationship with the guilds, and their funding."
"I see. Exactly how many invites did I receive?"
Ms. Honoka handed Thomas a stack of about twenty envelopes, tied with a skinny green ribbon. Within the stack, Thomas saw two smaller bundles, one tied in red and the smaller one tied in blue.
"The red stack are individual requests, and the blue are for your party," Ms. Honoka explained. "If you would please look through them and select the ones you will attend, I'll return the rest to the senders, and give your apologies, etc. Ten o'clock is the earliest that any request is allowed, so take your time and choose carefully. Each invite should have a time listed, so please schedule as many as possible this weekend."
Taking his stack of requests, Thomas entered the hall. After filling his plate, he sat across from Alex who was in the process of sorting her own stack of invites.
"Can you believe this?" asked Alex. "It's only been one exam, but we're already expected to be a part of this dog show. I mean, I've gotten thirteen individual requests and eight party requests. It looks like I won't be able to go mining with you this weekend." Alex finally looked up at Thomas who had begun sorting his own invitations. "So, they roped you in too. Light! You've got more than me."
"It looks that way. I think the mining trip is off." Taking care not to spill his breakfast on any of the cards, Thomas ate a few bites. Opening his party cards first, he began to sort them by the invitation time. "What times are your party invites for?"
As Alex began to look over her own party invitations, Sara and Karen both arrived, each holding her own stack of cards.
"How are we going to decide which invitation to accept?" asked Karen looking at her stack of cards. Sara just looked overwhelmed.
"Here's my suggestion," replied Thomas. "First, we agree on which party meetings to accept. Then, we each fill the space in between with individual meetings. Most of my individual cards are for twenty minuet meetings, while the party invites are for an hour or so. So, if we can agree on, say, three party meetings today, and take fifteen or so individual meetings each, we could be done by five tonight. It will be a busy day, but not undoable."
Receiving nods from his party, including Elidin, who had arrived in his elven form for once, Thomas continued. "The guild I'm most interested in meeting with as a party is the Sparking Sword."
Karen's head shot up at that announcement. "Cecilia's father's guild?"
"Exactly. They have an impressive reputation, but if they are as magically biased as Cecilia, I want to know now before I consider working towards joining them. I also want to try to get a reading on how much they know about Cecilia's actions."
"I see," said Elidin in his melodic voice. "You're checking to see if Cecilia's 'Magic first and best' agenda is the norm in the Swords."
"That about sums it up," replied Thomas. "Does anyone object to going to the meeting?" A universal head shake. "Okay. That covers one meeting. Are there any suggestions for the other two?"
Later that day, at eleven o'clock Thomas and his friends met at the dining hall for their first scheduled meeting as a party. One of the many third-year students who had been drafted to help with this event ushered them to a table set for a lunch.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am the guild master of the Sparking Swords, Isaac Westbridge. I believe you all know my daughter, Cecilia?"
"It's nice to meet you sir. I am Thomas Walker, a trainee Shaman," replied Thomas. "I do know your daughter, but unfortunately, I cannot call her a friend." Seeing Isaac's confused face, Thomas tried to redirect his attention. "But let me introduce Alexia Mason, Sara Harlow, Karen Stone, and Elidin von Sarguinius nar Cyotree." Each of the party members nodded as their name was said. Even Elidin who was, as usual, in his tiger form.
"It's my pleasure to meet all of you. The results you earned during the exam are incredible. A single party earning twenty-six awards is unheard of. I'm sure many of the guild representatives will want to recruit you as soon as possible. So, thank you for choosing to meet with me today."
"That's not a problem, sir." Alex responded. "As you say, we have received quite a few meeting requests, but yours was the first we agreed on."
"May I ask what put me so high on your list?"
Karen spoke up, "I'm afraid you will not like the answer to that question, sir. The decision was based on the beliefs and actions of Cecilia."
Isaac leaned back, and a stony expression set itself on his face. His voice matched it perfectly. "I see. When she came home during the break, I was amazed at how foolish and arrogant she was acting. Daughter or no, I would never permit anyone like that to join the Swords. I take it that her attitude has been like that for a while?"
"I met Cecilia during the enrollment exams. From day one, she has proclaimed that magic users, specifically Mages, hold a higher rank than anyone else. And the actions she encouraged the Magic course students to take against Shaman Walker were well beyond disgraceful. As far as I know, she never actively bullied Thomas herself, but I'd testify in court that she was half of the driving force behind the organized campaign of prejudice that pervaded the first term. Honestly, I'm ashamed to say I was her friend now. Before the term exam, I was one of her closest supporters. In fact, I was supposed to visit your guild during the break. But, as you heard during the assembly, I did not complete the exam on the first attempt. In fact, the only reason I passed at all was through the mercy of Thomas and this party. They helped me through on the last day. I learned so much more that afternoon than I had all term."
"What did my daughter say after her exam? Didn't she offer to go again, or at least arrange another group to take you?"
A wince seemed to pass across the assembled students as they remembered that shameful display. Thomas told Isaac, "No, sir, she didn't. She publicly blamed Karen for not keeping up, then asked, and I use the word loosely, her to bring the party's official time back. Since she quote 'Would be going to the administration booth anyway' and Cecilia and the members who passed with her were leaving in the morning and needed to pack. There were at least a hundred students waiting to take the exam, and they all clearly heard the discussion."
Anyone who could see Isaac's eyes would recognize the shame and hurt in them. He lowered his head for several minutes as he processed the further damage this information did to his image of his little girl.