24. Sorin: Ward & Sword

After the first trial, Sorin spends a day bedridden with nausea, headaches, and feverish sweats, surviving on ambrosia until she feels marginally recovered. Determined to resume routine, she attends history, distracted by Arcady and last night’s controlled performance, and by Magnes’s watchful interest. Professor Fullin lectures on Jask–Locmyria tensions and the bloody War of 742.

When class ends, Arcady presses Professor Fullin for access to restricted records on the Plaguebringer trial against Barrow Eremia. The professor refuses and warns the topic is too sensitive for first-year original research. Arcady masks frustration and pivots to a safer essay subject. In the hall, Sorin borrows Arcady’s alchemy notes, still unwell and terse.

On triday, twelve candidates gather in the amphitheater. Professor Ultred and Armskeeper Hulm announce the second trial: a paired duel combining wards and empowered swordplay, scheduled just before the Spirit Moon break. Partners are “randomly” assigned; Sorin is paired with Arcady, intensifying Sorin’s suspicion of Magnes’s unseen influence.

Ultred and Hulm demonstrate: Ultred casts a protective ward for two, and Hulm empowers a dulled blade to batter it until it pops. The lesson: victory comes either by breaking the ward with empowered strikes or by exhausting the warder. Students practice cautiously; several wards collapse abruptly, knocking pairs down, and Ultred urges restraint and balance.

During drills, Sorin proves better at imbuing the practice sword while Arcady more capably sustains wards, deciding their roles for the trial. As Arcady concentrates within a raised ward, Sorin experiences a brief, disorienting flash of summer flight through a forest, then staggers as the ward drops. Shaken but functional, the pair resumes, recognizing the challenge’s difficulty and the need for disciplined preparation.

Ultred and Hulm close by warning students to train privately and attend morning arms practice, noting that exposing weaknesses to competitors could be costly. With the trial imminent, Sorin and Arcady leave with defined roles but unresolved tensions and the pressure to perfect their synergy.