Brax very quickly took a strong lead. His legs were extended to a good seven feet tall, giving him a significant stride. At approximately ten feet tall, the only cadets he did not tower above were the two from a race of actual giants. He easily waded through the first obstacle and stepped over the second. The third was a little trickier since his balance was not quite perfect on his lengthened legs. After that he was out of sight.

Jim smiled to himself as he heard the other boys around him grumbling about how unfair it was. Brax was making himself quite a few enemies today. "Let's move Sy." The two boys sprang onto the first obstacle.

A series of moving platforms about three feet square glided back and forth across a large pit. Jim estimated the pit was maybe seven feet deep, seven feet wide, and about forty feet long. It looked like there was perhaps two feet of space between each platform. If your timing wasn't right, you could lose significant time waiting for them to line up again. Or worse, you could end up in the pit and have to figure out a way to escape.

One of the giants followed Braxton's lead. He waded through the pit, dodging the platforms as they sailed by. The other giant was at least attempting to manage the challenge the way it was designed. Likely because he knew they would not have as easy a time climbing out of the pit as lightweight Braxton did.

A large leopard bounded through the crowds and leaped off the edge into thin air. Instead of plunging into the pit, however, he remained floating in thin air. Flecks of sparkling dust glittered about him. He growled his pleasure before he focused on flying forward. The remaining youth were not so lucky as to have paired with a sparrowman.

Three teams had pulled ahead straight away, taking leaps of faith as they tried to clear the platforms as fast as possible. Jim recognized Mozenrath as the boy in the very lead. Jim had bumped into the first year in the cafeteria at the beginning of the year and he never wanted to repeat the experience. The black haired bully and his partner were one platform ahead of the next two closest teams.

As the two platforms moved towards each other, Mozenrath leaped backwards onto the prior square. He landed dramatically in front of the four boys. "Hello Aladdin. Goodbye." Planting his hands into the center of Aladdin and Varian's chests he gave them a good shove into the team behind them. A small burst of light accompanied the push, propelling them backwards.

Mozenrath swiftly escaped as the four boys struggled to recover. One of the first year boys had managed to grab onto the edge of his platform, but Aladdin had landed somewhere in the bottom of the pit.

"That was dirty!" Someone shouted from behind Jim.

Sy took a deep breath. "I see how this will be."

Jim nodded. "Wilskin hasn't told you guys yet, but the last ten teams all have to do extra chores, and you do not want the chores she picks. It's her way of making sure we don't slack off. The only rule is you stay on the path. Everything else is fair game." Someone behind them shrieked as he plunged into the space below them, almost as if to prove Jim's point.

"We'd best make sure we watch ourselves then." Sy crouched as he prepared to take the next platform.

Jim did his best to focus on no one but himself and Sy. They jumped one after the other, clearing platforms as fast as they could. Unfortunately the second to last platform proved to be an additional challenge. Vinny was still trying to pull his partner back up onto the platform. The poor first year was much larger than Vinny and they were having no luck.

"Vinny." Jim eyed the platforms as they drifted closer to each other. "We need room to land."

"Guess you have to wait then." Vinny grunted.

"We'll help you pull him up." Sy offered quickly.

Vinny glanced over at them, then down at his partner. Reluctantly he shuffled towards the side to make them space. Sy took the opportunity and jumped. As soon as Sy had made room, Jim surged after him. One foot hit the platform, the other came down on nothing. He pitched his body forward, landing gracelessly on his face. But he had made it.

Jim popped to his feet. "There's the next one, let's move Sy!"

"You said you'd help!" Vinny protested. He couldn't dare let go of his partner though, for fear of him falling.

"We lied." Jim replied. He jumped onto the last platform and grinned. "Alright Sy, let's-Sy?" Turning around the young cadet frowned. He was alone on his stand. "Seriously?"

Sy grunted as he and Vinny pulled together. The first year kicked his legs uselessly as he tried to help hoist the last of his body up onto the platform. Jim groaned. He wasn't getting an easy lead after all. The other platforms were starting to back up waiting for this one to clear space. Several teams had already been pushed off. Jim had no doubt that it would not be long before someone took a chance on their platform and knocked everyone off, including Sy.

The platforms rushed towards each other again and Jim landed gracefully back with the others. Together the three managed to pull the first year up onto the small square. One of the other boys took a chance and jumped too soon, plunging into the open air instead of joining them on the platform.

Someone else jumped a second later, making the fifth on the square. Jim did not like how crowded things were getting. "Let's go, Sy. The longer these are moving, the faster they get. We need to go together if we both want to make it in one pass."

Sy nodded nervously. Together the boys leaped. Their feet hit the platform and they surged forward, bounding over the final space and onto solid ground. Without daring to pause they bolted towards the second obstacle.