Contents
13. Tests
Overview
Exhausted initiates endure relentless classes under General Cleandro, Professor Pine, and Professor Augustus. Theros, heir of Zeus, demonstrates an impenetrable shield and its limits. The class is jolted into back-to-back exams; Cassius ranks first and Alexis second, while Dimitrios finishes last and is sent to the circuit. The promised break is revoked, extending the crucible two more weeks.
Summary
In a frigid, windowless classroom, eight surviving initiates—including Alexis, Drex, Cassius, and several antagonistic peers—wait under General Cleandro’s silent intimidation and the looming presence of Kharon’s black box. Exhaustion, hunger, and anxiety mount after a week of nonstop classes without a single circuit run.
Professor Augustus arrives with a sharper, accusatory edge toward Alexis and brings in Theros, heir of Zeus, to demonstrate meditation and power engagement. Theros manifests an invisible shield that blocks Augustus’s punch, then discloses its limitation: if engaged too late under stress, he can trap a nearby opponent with himself. The demonstration lands flat among the depleted initiates.
Classes blur as Pine lectures on harsh utilitarian math and Augustus on sirens’ intelligence and exploitation in Spartan society. The deprivation culminates when Cleandro pelts the class with cold water and orders immediate testing.
During the mathematics exam, Alexis fights delirium and completes problems, then is issued a Latin essay on sirens; her honesty undercuts discretion. After an enforced collapse, the scores are announced: Cassius first, Alexis second; Alessander, Maximum, Leo, Drex, Titus follow; Dimitrios is last.
Cleandro seizes Dimitrios and sends him to run the circuit. Finally, Augustus declares that although two weeks have elapsed, the anticipated break is canceled; the crucible will continue for two more weeks, drawing a despairing cry from the class—especially Alexis.
Who Appears
- Alexis HertNarrator; sleep-deprived initiate enduring classes and tests; ranks second; reels under Cleandro’s and Augustus’s pressure.
- Professor AugustusLore instructor with raccoon familiar; fixates on Alexis; oversees Theros’s demonstration; announces rankings and extended crucible.
- General CleandroEnforcer of the crucible; uses intimidation and dousing to force exams; sends Dimitrios to run the circuit.
- Professor PineMathematics and ethics instructor; alternates relentless lectures contributing to the initiates’ exhaustion.
- Theros (Heir of Zeus)Drex’s mentor; demonstrates an impenetrable shield and admits its close-quarters limitation.
- Drex ChenChthonic initiate; sits beside Alexis; ranks sixth amid the grueling tests.
- Cassius (Heir of Hermes)Disciplined initiate with winged feet; ranks first on the exams.
- Dimitrios (Apollo)Exhausted initiate who finishes last; Cleandro drags him to run the circuit.
- Alessander (Poseidon)Bullying initiate; places third on the exams.
- Maximum (Hera)Initiate focused on his own work; places fourth.
- Leo (Apollo)Bullying initiate; places fifth and shows fatigue during class.
- Titus (Dionysus)Taunting initiate; places seventh in the ranking.
- NyxAlexis’s serpent companion; sleepy, sardonic commentary highlights Alexis’s extreme fatigue.
- PocoAugustus’s raccoon familiar; ever-present during lectures and demonstration.