My soul and all its constituent parts were scattered to the void winds, and in all these millennia, only a handful of these fragments are recovered. We needed only two, though we had hoped for more. My mind is as sharp as ever, though without my memories, I have struggled.

  The clash of a powerful spell against the ship’s protective barrier shook Evran awake. He found himself in a large room, occupying one of a few dozen cots. The walls were lined with cabinets full of strange magical instruments and countless varieties of potions. Daylight poured through translucent windows opposite his bed, and Evran could make out countless blurry figures running about on the outside deck. Before he could remember how he got here, a second blast rocked the ship.

  Jumping out of bed, Evran threw on the academy uniform resting on the table beside him. Just as he’d finished fastening the last button, a pair of healers burst through the door carrying a wounded sailor. His leg was bent at a gruesome angle, presumably by a fall from the mast.

  “Ah, you’re awake,” said the older healer. “There are Ravagers attacking. If you are still unwell, remain here. Otherwise, join the defense.”

  Evran’s blood boiled. More often than not, if a ship went missing, the Ravagers were behind it. They even dared to raid islands from time to time, always in search of lives to take and stormborn to bolster their ranks. Evran didn’t know if they had been responsible for the loss of his father and brother, but he wasn’t planning on letting these Ravagers live either way.

  He brushed past the healers and exited the medical bay. The main deck was littered with mages and sailors running about. Those who could fight were streaming over to the port side of the ship. Evran watched as the barrier lit up from the impact of another powerful artillery spell. Just how resilient was this ship’s barrier?

  After arriving at the port side rail, Evran quickly spotted three enemy ships on the horizon. He could also make out one of Aldea’s schooners being towed along behind the lead vessel. Countless gliders dotted the open sky between, rapidly approaching their position. They’d come close enough to where ambitious students pelted them with stone and ice shards.

  Evran heard the crack of lightning tear through the sky and strike down a glider. Though it was a powerful and effective attack, he scoffed at the sheer waste of mana. It was far too precious a commodity, far from an island where the mana tide was so thin. The ship itself was already passively leeching mana from its occupants to stay afloat, though not at a concerning rate — at least, not so long as there were many souls aboard. Regardless, wasted mana in the skies away from an island took days to recover instead of mere hours.

  One by one, the gliders and their unfortunate occupants fell from the sky, victims of a ceaseless barrage of projectile spells from the Glory of Aldea. The flimsy aircraft appeared to have some protection against arrows and the like, but they clearly weren’t designed to hold up against even basic attack magic. The Ravagers must have anticipated losing a handful of gliders on their approach, hoping to overwhelm their target with sheer numbers. They clearly hadn’t expected their target to be a colony ship brimming with hundreds of capable mages. Regardless, their attack continued.

  As the Ravagers got closer, more and more fell victim to the Aldean defenders. Evran disliked the idea of killing people, but had no problem with doing whatever it took to keep him and his friends safe. He aimed a series of stone shards at the closest approaching glider and launched them at his foe. They sailed harmlessly past his target.

  Evran adjusted his aim, taking into account the enemy’s evasive movements and the prevailing wind. His next set of stone shards found their target. They struck the glider on its left wing, causing it to enter a spin. Evran watched as the pilot was ejected from the tumbling glider. His enemy drifted back to the float limit, thanks to the emergency float harnesses they were wearing. Evran saw scores of Ravagers in similar positions. At least without their gliders, they moved much slower, though their smaller profiles were now more difficult to hit.

  Evran felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Kaila and Lerrum standing behind him. She was uncharacteristically angry, but Lerrum appeared as calm and aloof as always. He carried Evran’s staff with him.

  “Getting into yet another battle without your staff, I see,” Lerrum teased. “Honestly! Why did I even buy this thing for you?”

  Evran smiled as he took his staff. Though they’d tested it out on some weaker monsters in the preserve, this would be his first proper battle using the weapon. He was eager to see how well he’d perform with it.

  “Hmph!” Kaila sneered. She pushed Lerrum aside and approached the port-side railing. Pulling out her silver wand, she aimed at the approaching Ravagers and began launching a relentless stream of ice shards.

  Lerrum gave Evran a confused shrug, then joined in the defense of the ship. Many of the gliders had fallen into the abyss, but the Ravager attack continued. Crossing over the void with nothing but a float harness between you and oblivion was slow and terrifying, but not impossible. The first wave of Ravagers soon reached the Glory of Aldea.

  Ravagers were feared for their incredible skill in melee combat. Like all stormborn, they were incapable of casting magic, though they could still use their mana to power magical artifacts or enhance their bodies. Additionally, their mysterious demonic arts gave them strange and powerful abilities. They were not to be underestimated.

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  As a glider crashed into the side of the ship, its pilot leapt up the side of the ship and landed on the deck behind Evran. They spun around only to find Narro already engaging the Ravager in combat.

  “I’ll back him up,” said Evran. “Keep picking them off before they can board.”

  Lerrum and Kaila nodded and resumed their attacks on the approaching hoard. Evran assessed the battle between Narro and the Ravager, keeping an eye out for an opening he could take advantage of. He appeared to be a skirmisher, an elite class of Ravager with unnatural strength and deceptive speed. It swung a long, thin club with metal spikes on the tip at Narro, but the spellblade skillfully parried the attack and countered with an air-enhanced slash that only barely missed the knee.

  The Ravager’s attacks were relentless, but Narro held his own. After a fruitless exchange of blows, the combatants pulled away from each other. This gave Evran the opening he was looking for. He quickly cast a speed enhancing buff on Narro, now that the sudden change wouldn’t throw off his rhythm. Evran followed it up with a flurry of ice shards hurled toward the Ravager, cast from high up and angled down, so as not to hit anyone beyond his target.

  The Ravager dodged, but in doing so, created an opening for Narro. With magically enhanced quickness, Narro launched himself at the distracted Ravager and scored a shallow cut on his thigh. The Ravager smiled at the sight of his own blood. His gaze shifted back to Narro, glaring intensely with his glowing purple eyes.

  He quickly countered with an exaggerated lateral swing, attacking Narro’s side. As Narro moved the parry the strike, the Ravager dropped his hips and twisted his club upward. The inhuman momentum shift of the club caught Narro by surprise. He barely managed to block the strike, but the force of the blow pushed his blades high, breaking his guard. He was completely exposed to a follow up attack.

  Having seen the opening he created, the Ravager swung his spiked club at Narro’s chest. It collided with a wall of light instead. Evran’s protective barrier shattered on impact with the club, but it had done its job in arresting the club’s momentum. Narro recovered from the previous strike and repositioned himself for another attack, but the battle had already ended.

  A massive spearhead stuck out from the Ravager’s chest. A tall woman in shining silver armor had run him through from behind and had done so without Evran even noticing her approach. She pulled her weapon out of the Ravager’s body and kicked him face first to the deck.

  “Well fought, children,” said the woman, who turned and sauntered away.

  It was then Evran noticed that the fighting had stopped. He glanced back over the rail to see the remaining Ravagers fleeing back to their ships. By his estimate, they had lost more than two-thirds their number. The ones still in gliders were collecting the stragglers where they could, but most were already dead, their lifeless bodies kept afloat by the slowly dwindling mana reserves of their float harnesses.

  Evran looked back at where the Ravager lay. Kaila had wandered over to the body. She pointed her wand at the corpse and launched a few ice shards into the back of its head and torso.

  “They like to play dead,” she said coldly, before joining up with Lerrum and Narro.

  “Damn it, I almost had him!” Narro groaned, disappointed in the ending of his fight. “Oh, Ev! Glad to see you’re awake. Like, really glad. Thanks for the backup.”

  Knowing Narro, he must have wanted to land the finishing blow himself. On the other hand, Evran was grateful for the adventurer’s help. In fact, he was a little indignant they hadn’t received more. Glancing around, he saw dozens of mage and spellblade students surrounding them. Some wore looks of apprehension, others, excitement. Many stared intently at the corpse of the Ravager.

  Evran looked down at the man he’d helped kill — his first. He stared into his lifeless purple eyes, unable to read the final expression on his face. Was he surprised or happy? If death had been his goal, he had certainly achieved it, though perhaps not how he’d have liked.

  “Your first?” asked a soft voice. Kaila put a hand on his shoulder from behind. “My total is seven now. It helps not to think of them as people anymore. They can’t be. Not after all they’ve done.”

  “If it makes you feel any better,” said Lerrum, “you don’t have to take any responsibility for his life. You didn’t exactly land any of your attacks.”

  “No, I helped end this man’s life,” said Evran. “And it’s not like I haven’t been responsible for someone’s death before. Come on, let’s go somewhere else.”

  Though they had planned to return to their cabins, the academy staff ordered everyone to the mess hall for an announcement. The floor was packed with students feasting on gossip and speculation. Shouts of joy rang out when lost friends found each other alive and well, and some still frantically searched the crowds.

  “Attention, students!” said the magically amplified voice of Professor Merrilus.

  The room fell silent in an instant. She performed a roll call of the students from both schools. It lasted an eternity, but at its conclusion, not a single name had gone unanswered. Many breathed a collective sigh of relief, though Evran noted the conspicuous absence of a few names.

  “If you did not hear a name called, rest assured, that student is alive and in the medical bay. A handful of students suffered minor injuries in the chaos and fighting, but I am pleased to report no loss of life among the student body.”

  The room erupted in cheers, though a handful of students drop to their knees in relief. Professor Merrilus probably should have led with the medical bay part. With that confirmed, there was still one matter on everyone’s mind. Would the practical be canceled? As none of the students had died, Evran expected the excursion to continue, but the professor made no mention of the staff. At the very least, one of the schooners had been taken by the Ravagers, and its crew was likely dead or enslaved.

  “We ask that no one visit the injured students, as the facility is a bit crowded at the moment. The faculty will be meeting shortly to determine if we will continue the practical, but for now, I urge everyone to celebrate this victory. You have all helped defeat a major Ravager attack, and you should be proud of yourselves. Lunch is to be served on schedule. As a reward, we have a special dessert being prepared — one we normally save for the last day of the practical. Enjoy!”

  Another round of cheers flooded the mess hall. Evran sat silently as his friends recounted their roles in the battle. He was proud of all he did, but he couldn’t help but think he fell short. He recalled the night his father had killed those Ravagers, and the ease with which he dispatched them. Evran was slow, weak, and powerless. Pathetic... He needed to get stronger if he was going to be an adventurer.