Though the ill-fated trip into the woods had ended disastrously, for the most part Tavros's life was only looking up. He wasn't allowed to speak to Eridan in class anymore, but they still met up after dinner almost every night to talk and study. Kurloz soon began attending these nightly meeting as well, uninvited but not unwelcome. Even Eridan was slightly less wary of the older boy since the incident in the woods. Aradia soon joined them as well, once her punishment had ended and her every waking moment was no longer occupied with double her usual allotment of chores.
Upon seeing Eridan's finished wand, Kurloz had presented Tavros with length of birch in a silent but insistent demand for one of his own, and Tavros had provided, topping it with a jagged shard of onyx. Kurloz had been delighted. On a whim, Tavros had found a willow branch and made one for Aradia as well. Eridan even managed to find him a piece of red topaz to bind to the end. Aradia had been thrilled, though she wasn't certain she had any magical ability to speak of, or that she would be interested in summoning if she did.
Tavros, sitting among them as they talked, Aradia and Eridan still needling each other playfully, Kurloz making his opinions known mostly through rude hand gestures, he wondered how he'd managed to get so lucky. He was apprenticed to one of the best summoner's in the kingdom, he was surrounded by friends, and even his lessons had been going well. Dualscar had been calling on him in class nearly every day, nitpicking his every choice in the practice demonstrations. It was clearly supposed to be punishment for dragging Eridan out into the woods, but Tavros kept meeting the Admiral's challenges. Though Dualscar kept raising the difficulty, Tavros didn't falter. Bolstered by his friends and his recent success, he was more confident than ever. He felt he could do most anything.
"Most of you lead wits have never summoned above a class five," Dualscar said, striding across the summoning chamber one day in mid-autumn, "I can guarantee most of you never will. It might shock you then, to learn that there is another echelon of summons entirely above the twelve recognized classes. This upper tier, the aristocracy of the demonic plane, are the named demons."
There was a murmuring of confusion and concern from the assembled apprentices. The study of named demons was something reserved for accomplished master summoners, not students. Dualscar had been escalating their lessons in his attempts to stump Tavros, leaving most of the other apprentices baffled by the complex sigil work required for summoning demons in the upper six classes, but this was a vast leap beyond what he'd been focusing on so far.
"Now, as you would know if any of you bothered to study," Dualscar continued, "The demonic plane is not a plane of matter or substance, but one of fluid energy. When we summon something, we siphon the energy of that plane into our own and shape it to suit our needs. It is not an individual, but simply a separated fraction of the vast, mindless gestalt consciousness that is the demonic plane."
Most of the other apprentices were staring at Dualscar blankly, clearly lost. Tavros had read a little about the structure of the demonic plane, how that entire universe was, in a strange way, a single huge soul. But most of what he'd read had been far beyond his skill level and gone over his head. He knew Eridan had tried to read the same book and been similarly baffled by the high level concepts. Vriska was nodding like she knew all of this but Tavros would have bet dollars to doughnuts she was bluffing.
"Within the free flowing energy of the demonic plane," Dualscar resumed, "There are certain places where the energy condenses and accumulates, and occasionally enough gathers that an individual consciousness may form, separate from the gestalt. This is the birth of a demon. It is theorized that, in their natural state, these demons do not last long, existing only briefly before dissolving back into the flow of energy. Ancient summoners, using a technique now lost to time, would locate these demonic nurseries and wait to witness the birth of a demon. Once it was resolved into solidity, the ancient summoners would bind it with a human name. Once named as an individual, the demon could no longer discorporate, but was kept in solid state. Then summoners of sufficient skill who knew the demon's name could call it from the other side whenever they chose."
As he spoke, Dualscar was flipping through an ancient book, bound in peeling leather that looked unpleasantly not-animal. He sneered as he reached a certain page, marked it with a ribbon, and gestured with the book as he continued.
"Many of those wise and ancient summoners lost their lives in precisely that manner," He said, "The named demons are not the mindless constructs that lower six summons are, or even the animal intelligence of the upper six. They are clever, they are unimaginably powerful, and they are angry. Their only wish is to dissolve, and since they learned long ago that there is no way to unbind them from their names, they seek revenge instead. Summon a named demon, and it will do everything it can to break the circle, escape your orders, and devour you. And you won't be the only one that suffers, either. Empowered by your human soul, it will run rogue and kill every living thing it encounters until it's put down. A named demon was responsible for the destruction of the city of Yo'cheved back before the unification of the empire. So complete was the eradication of life in Yo'cheved, that the site remains a barren scar on the land even now, and the demon's name was stricken from all records so that it might never be summoned again. Now."
He tossed the leather bound book at Tavros, who fumbled and nearly dropped it before looking up at Dualscar in confusion.
"Summon one," The Admiral said.
"W-what," Tavros stammered, certain he must have heard wrong.
"I've marked a page for you," Dualscar said with a sneer, "Summon it."
"I, I can't," Tavros said, shaking his head, "I can't, sir,"
Dualscar grabbed Tavros by the back of his shirt and dragged him into the center of the room.
"Yes you can," He snarled, "You're good enough feel entitled to an apprenticeship with me, good enough to refuse your rightful place scrabbling in the mud and demand one here among your betters, good enough to distract my son from his studies and take him off gallivanting in the woods like idiot children. Clearly you must be the most talented magician of your age! Clearly, you're good enough to do this. Now do it."
Tavros was shaking, clutching the book to his chest and staring up at the Admiral with wide eyes. The other apprentices were silent. Even Vriska looked stunned and worried. Tavros realized that Dualscar was about to make an example of him.
"Sir, I think you made your point," Eridan interjected, his voice shaking as he stepped forward, Kurloz a step behind him, "He obviously can't do something of that level."
"Shut up," The Admiral said sharply, "He wants to be like his father, proving everyone wrong. Well here's his chance."
"Dad," Eridan tried again, and for a rare moment he looked like the eight year old boy he was, "Don't make him do this, it wasn't his fault-"
"Silence," Dualscar snapped, "I went easy on you before, don't think I'll make that mistake if you disrespect me again."
Eridan fell silent, afraid, and looked at Tavros helplessly. Tavros, lost for what else to do, opened the book. There was an illustrated diagram of the construct, and above it a name Tavros couldn't bring himself to pronounce. A word made of harsh edges and guttural noises that described something nightmarish. Tavros began collecting the tribute items from the cabinet by the wall, his hands shaking as he gathered some of the most precious ingredients Dualscar possessed. Black sludge from the deepest depths of the sea, the fragile yellow finger bones of a man drowned on the night of the full moon, a yellow eye, carved living from some eerie abyssal creature and preserved. There was more, but Tavros tried not look at any of it more than he needed to grab it and it to the growing pile in the center of the room. Tavros knew the contents of the summoning circle were literally worth more than his life. Dualscar could buy or sell ten of him and not touch the price of those ingredients. As he finished assembling them he looked up at Dualscar again, expecting the man to stop him, to tell him to put everything back. But Dualscar was silent, his eyes a tempest behind a glass wall. Tavros kept going.
The diagram in the book was clear, though irrationally complex. Tavros's hands were shaking too hard to draw straight lines. He kept assuring himself that, eventually, Dualscar would stop this. There was no way he'd let Tavros go through with it.
But Tavros wrote out the demon's terrible name in careful lines of chalk within the silver circle and still Dualscar said nothing. He stepped back, dusted the chalk off of his pants, drew his wand, but Dualscar was still silent. Tavros began the summoning.
At the first word he spoke, black bile oozed up from the floor, slithering in-between the cracks in the stone. Tavros saw Dualscar's eyes widen, as though he hadn't expected anything to respond to Tavros's call at all. Tavros thought, surely now he'll stop me, but still the Admiral said nothing. Tavros continued to sing the chant, wand in his hand as he began to build the complex twisted cage into which he would pour the demon's energy. The hideous ichor had the shine of sweat on the pallid skin of the ill and dying. Tavros was used to the energy of his summons leaping and splashing, bright and bubbling. But this had none of that vigor. It oozed, tarlike. It slunk like some ancient reptile, testing the edges of the circle, pressing against Tavros's boundaries. He could feel it, though it was nowhere near his skin, thank the messiahs. He could feel it against his magic, and it was cold as the deepest ocean. An invasive cold that wriggled into your veins and infected your heart with ice. Tavros could feel himself losing focus. He shook his head and narrowed his concentration onto the chant. Something unspeakable was filling up the construct he'd created, pushing at the frame, warping and twisting it into a shape that defied the dimensions Tavros could understand. He could see past its black and liquid hide into a space beyond it, the place it was pulling itself out of, called by his voice, eager and hungry. It had eyes more numerous than stars and they were all focused squarely on Tavros.
Tavros shrieked and banished the summon at once. He didn't even have to think about it, cutting off the flow of energy and crushing the construct frame all at once. He could feel the summon struggling, trying to claw its way out anyway, but he pressed it down, sobbing, fat terrified tears rolling down his cheeks as he beat it back with raw will until circle was dead and the door was closed.
He threw the hideous book away into a corner.
"I won't!" He shouted, looking into Dualscar's eyes with the defiance of absolute terror making him strong, "I won't do it! Not ever!"
For a moment Tavros didn't think the Admiral would answer. There was genuine surprise in the way he was looking at Tavros, a calculating kind of evaluation. Then he shook his head, dismissing whatever thought had, for a moment, made him consider Tavros as a threat.
"Then you will never be the summoner your father was," Dualscar replied, "I doubt you will ever be a summoner at all."
He looked away with a finality that said Tavros had no place even in his thoughts any longer.
"Class dismissed," Dualscar declared, sweeping across the room past the other apprentices, still silent with shock.
"And clean up that mess," He called finally before the door slammed behind him.
All the strength went out of Tavros at once. He sank to the floor, trembling, shaking with terrified sobs.
The other students began to filter out of the classroom, whispering fearfully among each other. Only Kurloz and Eridan stayed behind, Eridan casting worried glances at the door his father had left by. He went to Tavros's side as Kurloz began picking up the scattered components.
"I'm so sorry Tavros," Eridan said, his voice heavy with misery, "This is my fault. He's punishing you because of me."
He knelt awkwardly next to Tavros, unsure what to do. Tavros was crying too hard to form words.
"I should have done something," Eridan continued, "I was too scared. If I had just stood up to him- I should be braver than this, I always fold when it's him. I'm so-"
He stopped, realizing for once that this was not the time for a personal pity party. He reached for Tavros's hand instead.
"I'm sorry," He said again.
Tavros squeezed his hand in silence.
Kurloz and Eridan got him to the library, realizing he was in no condition to go to dinner. He still hadn't stopped shaking. He could see those nightmare eyes watching him from every shadow. He curled up in one of the big armchairs, and Kurloz stayed with him while Eridan went to dinner alone, if only to avoid raising his father's suspicions. He returned in an hour with Aradia, who was pale with worry by the time Eridan finished filling her in. She hugged Tavros as soon as she reached him, and though Tavros flinched at first, he was soon returning the embrace, clinging to her tightly. She was as solid as a rock amid a warring ocean and Tavros desperately needed that stability. She rubbed his back as he shook, murmuring reassurances in a low, soothing voice.
"He was amazing though, Aradia," Eridan said after a moment, "You should have seen him. He never missed a word. And the way he shut it down at the end! I thought it was going to get loose, but he pushed it back. The Admiral himself couldn't have done better. A thing like that shouldn't have even answered to summoners of our level..."
"It w-wasn't me," Tavros said, his voice shaking, "It, it w-was that, thing. It, wanted, out. It didn't care, who it had to go through. It wanted, into the world. It was, hungry, I could feel it..."
His shaking increased and Aradia squeezed him tighter.
"Hush, both of you," She said, "No more talking about it tonight. He's had enough."
They brought him up to his room and Tavros thanked them quietly. Now that the immediate horror of the situation had abated, he fell strange and numb, unable to focus. He crawled into his bed, and his friends said their lingering, worried goodbyes before departing.
Tavros couldn't sleep however. He'd doze off, only to wake a moment later, shaking, as he remembered the face of the thing he'd almost summoned. He rolled over, weariness growing by the moment, and watched the forest shifting in the night breeze beyond his window. The attic was drafty, and the cold of the autumn night left him shivering out of cold as much as fear. He wished suddenly and deeply to be back at home, curled up in front of the fire with his father and his brother. He wished none of this had ever happened, and that he'd never wanted to be a summoner. He half wished he'd been born without the skill at all.
It had been several sleepless hours before he heard the thump outside the door and a muffled 'Ow!'
He sat up sharply, heart racing, but when the door opened it was only Aradia he saw standing there, holding a lantern. Kurloz was lying at her feet, clutching his ribs.
"Sorry," Aradia whispered, stepping over the clown and coming to sit on the edge of his bed, "I couldn't sleep. I wanted to come check on you. I didn't mean to wake you up, but I tripped over that one."
She indicated Kurloz, who was staggering to his feet, still rubbing his side and casting Aradia nasty glances as he came to join them on Tavros's bed.
"I think he was standing guard," Aradia said, eyeing Kurloz with a kind of baffled approval.
Kurloz shrugged evasively, not meeting either of their eyes, but Tavros smiled, heart aching with gratitude that these two were his friends.
"I don't really feel like walking all the way back down to the kitchens," Aradia said with a yawn, "Do you mind if I stay up here with you?"
Tavros could tell what she was getting at and smiled gratefully.
"Sure," He said, "And, if you want to keep, uh, keeping watch, Kurloz, you could do it from in here, if you wanted."
They couldn't all fit in the narrow bed, so they dragged the mattress off onto the floor and created a makeshift nest, curling up in a pile with Tavros at the center. Kurloz was all sharp elbows and knees and Aradia snored, but Tavros had never slept so well.
Feeling better the next day, Tavros returned to his lessons with only minor trepidation. However, it seemed now that Dualscar had made his point he'd lost interest in tormenting Tavros. He ignored the low born boy entirely instead. Tavros, as much as he'd enjoyed being able to show his skill, honestly preferred it. Being ignored was better than the kind of attention he'd received yesterday.
Still, in spite of or perhaps because of, what had happened with the named summon, rumors began to grow that Tavros would be chosen to go to the front lines at the end of the season. Vriska's antagonism had never really ceased, but as Tavros's name began to eclipse hers in the running, it increased dramatically. Tavros stuck close to Eridan, Kurloz, and Aradia whenever he could, as Vriska would take any opportunity to corner him in the hall and remind him of what a spineless peasant he was. She seemed to justify it to herself at least as 'encouraging him' by interspersing her insults and occasional mild physical abuse with the sage advice that he would never be a real summoner if he couldn't learn to defend himself. She was just trying to help him toughen up, she said. Tavros had no interest in Vriska's idea of toughness, which was to say, being exactly like Vriska. He avoided her when he could.
Rumors aside, Tavros knew now he would never be chosen. Dualscar would never acknowledge Tavros again if he could manage it, let alone admit he was more skilled than his highborn, titled peers. Tavros just wanted it to be over. The sooner the little contest ended the sooner Vriska would be very far away. He was less excited about Eridan and Kurloz leaving however.
"It'll probably only be a few months," Eridan assured him, "The Admiral never stays at the front for long anymore. I know you'll be lost without me around, but you can survive that long."
Kurloz had just ruffled his hair and stolen his apple.
It was only a few days before the selection would be made that Eridan rushed into the room where the apprentices were sorting summoning ingredients, flushed with excitement and waving a letter.
"Feferi's coming!" He said before Tavros could even ask, breathless with enthusiasm, "The imperial heiress Feferi Piexes herself is coming here to oversee the selection of the apprentices to go to the front lines!"
"Holy cow, really?" Tavros said, confused, "Why?"
Eridan apparently having forgotten he wasn't supposed to associate with Tavros during class, draped himself across the table Tavros was working at sorting sparrow skulls to show him the letter.
"Apparently, this war in the east is a bigger deal than we thought," Eridan said, "The Empress wants to make a big show and encourage everyone to contribute, and sending to princess to select the best and brightest future summoner's for the front lines is supposed to be a big symbolic gesture of how serious this is."
"Whoa," Tavros said, suddenly concerned, "If it's, really that serious, uh, do you, really want to be out there, on the front? It could be, dangerous..."
"Don't be ridiculous," Eridan said waving a hand, "This is the imperial army we're talking about, the enemy doesn't stand a chance."
"But what about-"
"Who cares!" Eridan said, sweeping his arms out in a dramatic gesture and knocking Tavros's sparrow skulls to the floor, "Feferi is coming! Do you know how long it's been since I saw her?"
Eridan, though he did help Tavros pick up the skulls, talked of nothing else for the next several days. Tavros nodded along to the endless extolling of the princess's many virtues and the continuous overwhelming trumpeting of how close their relationship was and how they had been destined to be married from birth. Though it was exhausting, Tavros tried not to hold it against Eridan and to be happy for his friend. Tavros was sure he'd be just as excited when Eridan came back after not getting to see him for a while.
When the day finally arrived, the apprentices gathered outside of the main house to greet the princess as she arrived. The Admiral stood in front of them in his dress uniform, straight-backed and serious, his cape a dramatic flair of noble violet behind him.
Eridan was similarly dressed to the nines. All of the apprentices were looking their best, but Eridan had never been so elaborately decorated. He was wearing what looked like every piece of jewelry he owned and he'd even specially ordered a cape from town to match his fathers. The standing collar came up all the way over his ears. Tavros told him he looked very intimidating and Eridan had blushed with pride.
The carriage arrived to great ceremony. A smaller carriage preceded it, unloading a band of trumpeters, a royal caller, and two servants with a carpet which they laid out quickly to cover the walk between the carriage landing and the steps of the house.
The princess's carriage itself was an even bigger and gaudier affair than Dualscar's had been, fairly frothing with gold leaf and elaborate arabesques and decorative flourishes. Tavros had no idea how it could possibly move, even with the team of six white horses pulling it. It looked like it was made of spun sugar and would collapse at any touch.
Tavros, feeling slightly inadequate standing next to Eridan and his magnificent cape, stood a little straighter as the carriage pulled to a stop in front of them. His nicest clothes were only his normal clothes with his hair brushed slightly more thoroughly than usual. Aradia had scrubbed out all the stains for him, but he still looked a bit shabby compared to everyone else. He hoped the princess didn't notice. She'd probably just assume he was a house servant or something.
He heard Eridan's breath catch beside him as the door of the carriage opened. The trumpeters played a loud, triumphant salute and the caller cleared his voice to shout above them.
"Her Royal Majesty, the Imperial Heiress and Duchess of the Tyrian Isles, Princess Feferi Alexandra Maria Bodacia Constantina Piexes!"
The princess emerged from the carriage like an angel alighting from the clouds, descending in a graceful swirl of white lace like Venus from the seafoam, her hair a cascade of gold that floated behind her, nearly long enough to brush her ankles. She was the perfect fairy tale picture of the child princess, delicate and doll like, her dress all white and royal fuchsia and twice the size of the girl within it. Her eyes were large and round and blue as an October sky, and when they landed on Eridan they lit up with delight. She bounced off the last step of the carriage and ran to him, shouting his name. He was shocked into stillness by the breach of etiquette, but caught her when she threw herself at him, laughing as they hugged.
"You got taller!" The princess exclaimed, her voice like bells as the put him at arm's length to examine him, "I thought you were never going to grow!"
"I told you'd I'd hit a growth spurt," He said proudly, nose in the air to make himself look even taller, "I'm going to be as tall as the Admiral one day."
"I'm still going to be taller than you," The princess said with unshakable certainty, "I am determined."
"Knowing the empress, you probably will be," Eridan said laughing.
Dualscar cleared his throat. The rest of the apprentices were watching Eridan and the princess awkwardly. Tavros was still staring in a daze. He'd had no idea human beings could look that magical.
Feferi stepped back and regained her regal composure in an instant, inclining her head to the Admiral, who gave a sweeping bow in return.
"It is an honor to invite you to my home, your majesty," He said, "I am your humble servant as always."
"Thank you, Admiral," Feferi said graciously, "I am delighted to see your home and meet the summoners that will one day be fighting in my name."
Dualscar straightened up and gestured to the apprentices around him.
"You of course know my son, Eridan," He said, "And these are the ladies Serket and Pyrope, future Marquis of the Blood coast and heir to the baronets of White Pyre, respectively. Sir Kurloz Makara of the Bastille Makaras..."
He went on, introducing each apprentice and their titles and accomplishments at length. He skipped over Tavros, which Tavros had expected and didn't mind. But the princess, apparently, did. As the Admiral finished she turned her gaze of Tavros, her eyes surprisingly piercing. Tavros froze like a rabbit in the sights of an eagle.
"And you must be mister Nitram," She said, "Eridan has written to me about you extensively."
Tavros's cheeks heated in surprise and unexpected delight that Eridan thought he was important enough to include in his letters to the princess. He found himself at a loss, unsure what the etiquette was when addressed by royalty.
"Uh, um, uh," He started eloquently, "I-it's, uh, it's an honor, uh, I-"
Eridan put a hand on his shoulder and Tavros stopped, his face scarlet.
"You were right about the stammer," Feferi said with a small giggle, "It is adorable."
Tavros didn't hear anything else she said, the blood rushing to his face was too loud.
Introductions complete, the Admiral invited the princess inside to give her a tour of the house. Eridan went with her, while the other apprentices got to work along side the house staff clearing the tables out of the dining hall and preparing it for the demonstration that was soon to take place. All the best apprentices would be showing off their skills for the princess. The final decision on who would be selected was up to Dualscar, but the princess's judgement was bound to carry a great deal of weight.
By the time the furniture was carried out and the floor thoroughly swept, they only had a few minutes left to lay the circles themselves. Luckily, part of their training was to draw their circles quickly during combat.
Tavros assisted in laying out a circle with Kurloz while several other pairs of apprentices worked beside them, drawing a series of summoning circles along the length of the room. Kurloz stood in the center of the circle with a length of string. Tavros tied a piece of chalk to the other end and pulled the string taught, Kurloz gathering more until the chalk met the stone floor at the right distance to create a circle of the perfect size. Once the circles were drawn, careful not to smudge them, Tavros knelt to put in the finishing touches, standard binding sigils at five points around the circumference.
He was only just standing up, dusting the chalk off his pants, when the Admiral and the princess entered the room. Eridan was saying something quietly to Feferi that made her laugh until the Admiral cleared his throat impatiently.
"Are we ready to begin?" He asked, and a resounding yes sir went up the apprentices. Only one boy was still putting the final touches on his circle, quickly finishing up and returning to the line with the others.
"Good," The Admiral said, "Serket, Makara, Eridan. Take your places."
He called a few more of the stronger apprentices. Tavros's name wasn't among them. He hadn't expected it to be. He was content just to cheer for Eridan and Kurloz, or so he told himself, though the wriggling jealous disappointment at the pit of his stomach disagreed. The apprentices, having planned what they would summon in advance, stepped up to their circles holding their components, eager to begin.
"What about Nitram?" The princess said suddenly.
A surprised silence fell over the room replacing the excited murmuring that had been there before.
"Is he not one of your best?" Feferi asked, "I've heard he was not only the first of your apprentices to summon a class six, but a named demon responded to his summons. That certainly seems worthy of this little contest."
Dualscar glared at Eridan, determining he was the source of Feferi's information, and Eridan flinched.
"The Grand Holy Bastille is a frequent visitor at the summer palace," Feferi continued coolly, "And quite loose lipped after a little raspberry wine. I believe one of his sons is apprenticed to you. Were you not aware of the close contact he keeps with all his family?"
Kurloz waved a little at the Admiral, smile somewhat sinister. Dualscar looked a bit pale. Eridan looked relieved.
"I was unaware, your majesty," The Admiral confessed, "Regardless, the tales you've heard of Nitram's skill are inflated. He backed out of this challenge willingly. He lacks the resolve to see things to the end."
"Is it true?" Feferi asked, turning her gaze to Tavros, "Did you not want to compete?"
Tavros knew he'd pay if he told the truth, but he wasn't sure any cost was worth lying to the princess. He shook his head.
"As I thought," The princess said with a smile, "Clearly some mistake was made. I'm sure you must have misunderstood his stutter, Admiral. Well, go on mister Nitram, prepare your circle."
Tavros jumped, suddenly petrified to discover he was about to have to summon in front of her. Kurloz was at his side a moment later, giving him a gentle push to get him started again. With the older boy's help he laid out his circle in only a few seconds. As he finished he realized another problem however.
"I- I don't have, any components," He said.
"Well then, you shall just have to impress us without them," Dualscar said with a sneer, "It should be easy for a summoner of your skill."
Tavros swallowed hard. He wouldn't be able to do anything above a class five without components. He took a deep breath as Kurloz returned to his circle, trying to calm himself. It didn't matter anyway, the Admiral would never choose him. All he could hope for today was to impress the princess and prove she'd been right to advocate for him.
"We'll walk among you as you work," Dualscar said, "And do please try to keep everything within your circles. I am not in the mood for hunting rogues today. Begin!"
The apprentices got to work at once, dropping their components into the center of their circles and getting to work. Tavros pulled out his wand, and Eridan and Kurloz took out the ones he'd made for them. They both cast him grateful smiles as they did so and, encouraged, Tavros began to build his construct.
He'd thought about what he would do if he got to be part of the demonstration, but he'd thought he would have components then. Now he had to make things up as he went. He knelt to quickly scrawl sigils within the circle as he tried to figure out what he would make. He wanted a class five, something impressive. Something the princess would love. Eridan had said she loved the ocean. He could work with that. Laying out a few more sigils, he straightened up and waved his wand, beginning to sing his incantation. Blue green erupted from the edge of the circle, crashing towards the center in a splash of white foam. It swirled upwards like a water spout and Tavros began to build his construct around it, pouring it into a frame he was inventing as he made it. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the light and hear the workings of the other apprentices, but he tried to block them out. He couldn't afford to let his attention slip when he was working on something completely new.
It began to take shape, the sea-colored energy filling out the long, coiling tail, the brilliant flashing fins. The body stretched and grew scales. The head became tapered and draconic. Wide, brightly colored sails opened on its back like wings. The sea drake roared as it solidified and Tavros grinned in satisfaction. He could do more, he thought. There were details he could iron out. But first he glanced over to see where the princess was. She was standing near one of the other apprentices, who'd built a standard class seven ogre with some interesting modifications, but her eyes were on Tavros's sea drake and her eyes were shining with delight at the sight of it. Eridan had made an impressive class eight sky whale and was working on adding a massive spiral horn. Kurloz had made something Tavros was wary of even looking at but involved a lot of bone and teeth and had to be at least a class eight. Vriska's friend Pyrope had done something huge and flashy and colorful but very unstable. He could see her working to try and keep it together while it tried to collapse in on itself. And Vriska was beside him, working on something enormous and insectoid. Just glancing at it Tavros thought it had to be at least a class ten. And she was struggling with it. She'd bitten off more than she could chew. She was wrestling with the energy, trying to keep it inside the construct, in the shape she wanted, and it was actively fighting her, wanting to break loose. It was then Tavros noticed the energy, cobalt and twitchy, creeping towards the edge of the circle. Tavros's eyes widened in sudden worry. One of the binding sigils was smudged. The apprentice who'd been lagging behind must have stepped on it by accident as he was hurrying to finish.
"Vriska," He whispered loudly, trying to get her attention, "Vriska, the sigil, l-look down!"
She was stalwartly ignoring him, likely assuming he was trying to sabotage her. The energy crept closer to the smudged sigil. If it reached it, the entire malformed summon could break loose and run rampant.
"Vriska!" He shouted this time, "The sigil!"
She finally looked down, and Tavros saw the fear in her eyes as she froze.
He banished his summon in an instant. He'd never shut one down so fast, but the energy crashed into nothing when he willed it too practically without thinking. A half a second later he was diving to the floor at Vriska's feet, pulling out his chalk.
"H-hold it, back!" He cried, shocking Vriska out of her paralysis. Wide eyed, she threw her will into forcing the energy back. No longer preoccupied by her struggling to shape it, the energy pushed back against her all the more fiercely, forcing its way towards the weakness in the binding even as Tavros rushed to scrub out the blurred sigil and scratch in a new one. This wasn't a matter of banishing at this point, but of containing. Most magical energy wanted to return to the demonic plane. Part of summoning was giving the summon a desire that overrode that instinct. And Vriska had been trying for a combat summon. She'd filled it with the desire to fight and feed and kill. It would not be banished until it had tasted blood. All they could do was hold it back. Tavros scrawled in the missing sigil and kept going, working at a blinding pace as he moved around the circle, reinforcing the basic bindings and building in new, stronger ones. The creature slammed itself against Vriska's will, against the walls Tavros was building around it. Tavros felt them shake and crack and knew he couldn't hold it back forever.
"Step aside!" He heard Dualscar bellow, and he felt Vriska's will vanish.
Tavros kept working, kept building the bindings thicker, even as Dualscar took control, forcing the summon back, rewriting its purpose until, finally, it collapsed in a wash of blue black energy that scurried around the circle like insects before at last dissipating. Silence fell over the dining hall and Tavros dropped his chalk, hands shaking. He sat down hard on the floor, exhausted. A few seconds passed as he tried to catch his breath. After a long moment, someone began to clap.
Tavros looked up, baffled, to see the princess applauding him.
"Very good work," She said, "I've seen seasoned summoners in the royal contingent would couldn't work that fast. I look forward to seeing you on the front lines, mister Nitram."
She cast a stern look at Dualscar.
"I will see him there, won't I?" She asked the Admiral, who was straightening his cape busily. He scowled at the ground.
"If that is what your majesty wishes," He gave in, though clearly not happy about it. The princess beamed.
"Good!" She said, "We need the best for this fight! Eridan, Sir Makara, I expect to see you there as well. I was quite impressed with all of your work. You have a good crop of apprentices here, Admiral."
Tavros was grinning so hard his face hurt. He'd made it! He looked over, trying to spot Eridan and Kurloz, and saw Vriska instead. There were tears on her cheeks, flowing fast and hard, and she was looking at the princess with an expression of mixed rage and humiliation. She looked at Tavros suddenly with a glare of such hate that Tavros could almost feel it burning his skin.
Before he had a chance to try to say anything to her, Kurloz suddenly caught him under the arms, lifting him up off the ground and spinning him around. Tavros laughed in surprise as the older boy set him down in front of Eridan, who hugged him suddenly, grinning from ear to ear.
"This is amazing!" He said, "We're all going to go together! The way you stopped that class ten- you're even better than I thought you were!"
"Y-your, skywhale, could have eaten my summon for breakfast," Tavros said with a laugh.
"Well, that's obvious," Eridan agreed, tossing his hair, "But it wouldn't have the chance if you banished it like that first. Did you see Kurloz's... thing? What was that?"
They both looked at Kurloz, who just shrugged.
"Well it was awesome, whatever it was," Eridan declared, "We're all awesome, and we're going to continue being awesome, together, and that's awesome!"
Tavros laughed till his eyes teared up, overwhelmed by his incredible luck. He didn't think he'd ever been this happy in his entire life.
Aradia soon joined them as the house servants arrived to prepare for dinner, and shrieked with delight when she learned Tavros had been selected.
"I'm going to!" She said, "I have to! A couple of the house servants are going to tend the Admiral. If I can't convince them to take me with them, I'll sneak into the supply wagon! There's no way I'm letting you three leave me behind!"
Tavros had hugged her until she'd begged him to let her breathe.
At dinner, Kurloz was invited to sit beside Eridan and the princess and, on their insistence, Tavros was allowed to sit with them as well. The head table had never been so loud and joyous. Dualscar excused himself early in undisguised disgust. As dinner wrapped up, Eridan volunteered to see Feferi to her room.
"I'll meet you guys in the library later," He said, "I have a surprise for all of you."
They parted, Eridan heading upstairs with the princess, and Tavros, Kurloz, and Aradia heading for the library.
They were halfway there, Aradia talking mischievously about sneaking a bottle of wine from the cellar to celebrate with, when Tavros realized his wand was not in his pocket.
"Uh, go ahead, without me," He said, frowning, "I need to go back, and grab something. I'll meet you there, in a minute."
"Okay, don't take too long!" Aradia said with a smile before turning back to Kurloz, "Now, I know you can pick locks..."
Tavros shook his head and turned around, hurrying back to the dining hall. His wand must have fallen out of his pocket while he was eating. He hoped one of the kitchen staff hadn't found it. Knowing Damara she might throw it away.
They were still working on clearing up when Tavros ducked back into the dining hall, though the last of the guests had by now wandered out. Tavros hurried to where he'd been sitting, checking under the table. He frowned when he didn't see it, worried. He tapped one of the servants on the shoulder politely.
"Um, excuse me," He said, "I'm, sorry to bother you, but, uh, did anyone pick up, a wand? I, can't find mine..."
The servant shook her head, but another one nearby piped up.
"Yeah, there was a girl in here earlier," The man said, "She said if anyone came looking for a lost wand to tell them she had it. Said she's on the fourth floor, I think? She went that way, towards the main staircase."
"Thank you!" Tavros said gratefully, and hurried off, wondering who it could be and why they would have taken it to the fourth floor. That floor was barely used. Dualscar's private quarters were up there, some other rarely used guest rooms. He supposed the princess was probably staying on that floor. Maybe it was Feferi who'd found it?
He climbed the stairs quickly, eager to get back to his friends and celebrate. He was almost as nervous as he was excited. He would get to stay with everyone, travel, prove himself as a real summoner. But he was also going to be on the front lines of a war, which was a little terrifying, not matter what Eridan said about the imperial army's skills.
He reached the fourth floor, which was dark and deserted at this time of night. Dualscar was still downstairs having drinks with the princess's entourage. Feferi was likely in her room, wherever that was. This was a very large, very empty floor.
He wandered down the dark hallway, wondering where the person with his wand was.
"Hello?" He called hopefully, "Uh, is anyone up here?"
He hoped that servant hadn't just been tricking him. It hadn't seemed like it, but Aradia had said there were a couple of not so nice who worked on the staff. Mostly friends of Damara's, she'd said. But then, Aradia and her sister didn't get along so well.
"Over here!" Someone called.
Tavros hurried closer, spotting a narrow staircase. There was someone standing at the top, their face hidden in shadow, and as Tavros approached they climbed the rest of the way up, disappearing from sight. Tavros felt a squirm of fear in his gut. Maybe he should go back and get Kurloz and Aradia. Something here didn't feel right.
He shook it off, telling himself he was being silly. He was going to be on the front lines of a war, he couldn't keep acting like a scared kid.
He climbed the narrow staircase, discovering it didn't end at the landing, but curved and kept going up. It must be one of the towers, he realized. He'd never been up here. It didn't look like it was visited often, the narrow windows full of cobwebs and stairs coated in a layer of dust disturbed only by a pair of footprints which he assumed belonged to the person who'd called him.
The stairs curved up and up and at last ended at the tower's peak. Tavros emerged into a wide, round room, empty except for the person he was following. She stood at the other side of the room, near a large window that looked out on the roof of the house. In the light of the moon shining through it, Tavros could see her face.
"Vriska?" He said quietly, worry growing, "Do you, uh, do you have my wand?"
She pulled it from her pocket without a word and tossed it to him. He fumbled to catch it, confused but grateful.
"Th-thanks," He said, "Uh, I guess I'll-"
"Follow me," She said sharply.
She turned to the window and pushed it open, throwing a leg over the sill to climb out. When he didn't move from the stair she looked back at him with an expression of impatient irritation.
"I said follow me," She snapped, "Or are you too scared?"
"I-I'm not, scared," Tavros protested, clutching his wand tightly.
Vriska just raised her eyebrows expectantly and, after a moment of hesitation, Tavros crossed the room to the window. Vriska had already slipped out by the time he reached it, and was standing on the flat peak of the roof outside, her yellow hair caught in the night breeze. Tavros, uneasy, climbed out after her, swallowing hard as he stepped out onto the narrow rooftop.
"So I made a decision," Vriska said, turning away from him to look out at the moon, "Obviously you've got some skill. Going on pretending you don't would just be stupid, and a waste of the potential resources you might provide. I admit I probably shouldn't have given up on you so fast. I guess I was just disappointed. Everyone knows about my mom and your dad. When I heard the Summoner's son was coming, I just expected more. God you were so pathetic. You still are to be honest. How you're related to someone as great as the Summoner was supposed to be I can't even imagine. Do you know, there's a good chance we're siblings?"
She looked back over her shoulder at Tavros as she spoke, and there was something strange in her eyes. She started walking along the roof and, not sure what to expect but too proud to go back, Tavros followed. It seemed like, in a longwinded way, Vriska was trying to apologize. Maybe they could be friends after all?
"Half siblings, anyway," Vriska said, hopping from one peak to another, "I'm fairly certain the Admiral is my father. He and my mother had a very lurid and very public fling. I'm fairly certain she still has dirt on him, or he would never have taken me as his apprentice. But wouldn't it be great if we were? Siblings, I mean. What a great example of the difference parenting can make. Have you ever heard of wrecking?"
Tavros, carefully stepping over the gap she'd leapt, shook his head in confusion.
"Of course you don't. Why would you know anything important?" Vriska said rolling her eyes, "It's a pirating trick. You use lights to confuse ships into crashing and then, when the ship is wrecked and the crew is dead, you sweep in and take their stuff. Much easier than chasing someone down at sea. It was one of mom's favorite techniques. She'd commandeer a lighthouse and put out its flame, then send me out a little ways inland with a lantern. The ships would see me and think I was the lighthouse, and that the way ahead was clear. We did it so many times I lost count. Merchant ships, traders, rich passenger ships, there was no one off limits to the Marquis. She said I was the best lure in all her crew. No one else held the lamp as steady."
"That's, horrible," Tavros said quietly, "I'm, sorry."
"Don't be," Vriska scoffed, "I'm not. It made me strong. I learned early that if you want something you have to take it. Only the most ruthless survive. It's a lesson you clearly didn't learn from your failure of a father."
She paused. They'd wandered a good way from the tower now. Tavros didn't dare look over the edge of the roof, but the ground felt very far away, and the roof beneath him terribly narrow.
"Once we targeted a ship we thought was a trader," Vriska said, her voice strange and distant, "Brought it in nice and smooth. Everything went the same way it always did. When I heard it crash I ran to come and see, to help the Marquis and the rest carry in the loot. But as soon as I got to the shore... I'd seen bodies before. They washed up with the wrecks all the time. But never that many. The belly of the ship had split open on the rocks and just... spilled people, like blood out of a wound. They couldn't swim, you see, because of the chains. But they were trying. My mother was very upset. If she'd known it was a slave ship she would have taken it at sea. You can't sell drowned cargo."
Tavros felt sick. He was reconsidering whether it was worth it to be brave. He wanted to go back to the tower. Vriska turned around to face him.
"See what I mean?" Vriska said, shaking her head, "You're all pale and shaky just from hearing about it. Weak. But I've decided I'm going to fix that. I'm not going to let some weakling be a better summoner than me, especially when there's a chance we might be related. So I'm going to teach you how to be strong."
"T-teach me?" Tavros asked, suddenly hopeful.
"Yeah, who better right?" She said with a shrug, "I'm definitely the strongest person you know. I figure we'll start the same way I did. There's no ocean around to throw you in though, so this will have to do."
"What," Tavros asked, confused.
"That's how you teach someone to swim," Vriska replied, "You throw them into the deep end. And if they're not idiots, they figure it out just to keep from drowning. There's no ocean to throw you in around here, so the roof will work."
"You're going to throw me off the roof?" Tavros squeaked in disbelief, beginning to try and work his way back along the roof. It was dark, even with the bright full autumn moon and he'd always been clumsy.
"No, you idiot," Vriska said rolling her eyes, "You're going to jump. A summoner as good and fast as you should be able to summon wings or something before he hits the ground. You'd better start drawing now, I'm not going to wait all night."
"B-but Vriska, I can't-" Tavros shook his head, confused and afraid, "This is-"
"Just do it, you baby!" Vriska shouted, "Prove to me your worth my time! Prove you deserve that spot more than me!"
As Tavros shook his head again she charged towards him, surefooted as a cat on the roof tiles.
"Do it, or I will shove you off and make you do it!" She snarled, "Either do it here, or do it on the way down, it's your choice!"
Tavros, too afraid to refuse, crouched and began scribbling a messy circle on the roof tiles, his hands shaking and his mind blank. He could summon something to save him, he thought, something big enough to scare Vriska off for good. If he could just get his hands to stop shaking long enough to make a proper sigil. He was already chanting, golden light beginning to bubble up, but he couldn't stop stuttering and the light flickered and faltered, coming in fits and spurts.
"Good enough," Vriska said, "Now fly."
Tavros felt her boot connect with his side, and suddenly the world was spinning, a kaleidoscope of roof tiles and night sky and he couldn't remember how to speak or how to summon and then the ground was rushing up towards him, the roar of wind louder and louder in his ears and then suddenly silent. He tasted earth and felt nothing.