- Threaten a dragon
Wyvern Hunting
- Get a reputable Seer to tell you which Pond is most likely to have wyverns active.
- Prepare for a extended wander through the distant Depths
- Survive
~ * ~
Anya barely had time to blink before a fresh bowl of soup was placed before her. Surely she hadn't heard what she thought she'd heard. School? She'd gone to school, she'd finished school, she was an adult, she was past the wall and had her, well their, own Holding.
"Combat Pathers who reach level 15 within ten years of Awakening are eligible to attend one of several Elite Training Halls." Ben began. "Non-Combat Pathers get fifteen years but neither of you are following that route."
Anya didn't know what to say, Elite Training with a time limit? She started to wonder why she'd never heard of this, she could feel Seb's curiosity as well, only to remember how many details seemed to be unknown in Holding Lys.
Ben seemed to finally notice their continued silence as he glanced over at his wife.
"Alice, did I..?"
"Yes dear. I tried to let you know but you know how I get when you start to blunder your way forward."
Alice set her spoon down on the side of her bowl, leaving it balanced as if by accident.
"What Ben was saying was accurate, he just skipped over a few things."
"There are Halls in the Widepond, institutions dedicated solely to the advancement and training of Awakened on Elite progression paths. Not every Elite goes to them, some are able to continue at the accelerated pace with whatever Organization they work under."
"Holdings and Families tend to send their Elites to these Halls, they do not have access to the same resources or trainers. Even the best and oldest are unlikely to have the exact tutors needed for every single generation. Of course attending these Halls also provides the opportunity to meet your peers, those who you will likely encounter time and time again over the decades, or centuries, to come."
Centuries? Seb sent.
Keep encountering? she sent an instant later. And yes, centuries. My mother isn't considered old even for a Sovereign who hasn't crossed the wall.
So this is networking, education and a reward?
"If Organizations can train their Awakened and we are still on Earth, why would we-" she started to ask.
"You won't stay on Earth, not forever," Ben interrupted.
"Ben," Alice said with the slightest of frowns.
"Sorry."
"He's right though. You'll want to Dive off Earth at some point. Different Ponds have different Depthsborn so you face other threats and styles. And of course there are Awakened society reasons, including these Halls, as well as Tournaments to participate in."
"Tournaments against Depthsborn?" Seb asked.
"Rarely," Alice answered. "It is very hard to make any Dive fair for tournament purposes, they don't spawn very predictably. Tournaments are between Awakened. Individual combat, paired combat and group combat usually."
"Groups and Pairs?" Anya said.
"Groups sometimes have minimums, almost always maximums of six to align with Diving groups. Pair and Individual combat is most strictly defined. But look at you both, distracting me."
"You like explaining, telling people what they don't know," Ben said with a chuckle.
"Hush you. School. That was what made you spill your food. There are some classes and lessons, but mostly more private tutoring as long as no one else shares your Path and style. You get shown how you could improve, what you could improve. You get evaluated and pit against your classmates in various ways."
"You go in with your skills, and your family's training, you come out reforged," Ben added.
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"Ben."
"You do. And if you do well enough you get automatically invited to the WidePond Progression Invitational."
"They don't need to know about that."
"I say they do Alice. They asked about the tournaments, this one is important. Only the best get in and the rewards make it worthwhile. Ask your Seer, she'll be able to answer those sorts of questions, it's been so long they might have adjusted the rewards."
"So," Anya began, her thoughts still reeling slightly at the idea of going back to school, let alone competing against other talented Awakened. "We go to school, get into the tournament, get rewarded?"
"You have meet the entry requirements first," Alice said. "Level 15 in ten years, not ten years and one month"
Anya felt herself pale slightly. Seb had plenty of time, over six years at this point. Even if they slowed down even further past the wall and she had no doubt they would, that was still nearly twice the time to cover half the levels he already had. She only had-
We make it together, he sent. I'm not going anywhere without you.
But if you can make it even if I-
Anya. I made it this far with you. We made it this far together. Why would I want to go somewhere that took me away from you?
She blushed, unable to help herself at both his words and the emotions behind them.
"Reminds me of us," Ben said.
"I never," Alice said.
"The Ball, when your father was busy-"
"Ben, do not finish that story," Alice said, her spoon rattling despite nothing touching the table in that moment.
"Yes love."
Seb?
It wasn't Energy, not exactly.
"Please," Alice continued. "Enjoy your lunch. We wanted to meet our goddaughter, see what's become of her after all these years. I'm certain you'll be wanting to review your plans, but as your host, the meal comes first."
Anya nodded, feeling Seb's uncertain agreement as well. They were here and they were being fed food. Now was not to the time to offend the people who were responsible for her having her own Holding.
~ * ~
Fay glanced at the door as it swung open. Not seeing her friends she turned back to her nearly empty mug and sighed. She knew they'd be fine, she knew everything was going to work out, but here she was, about to get her fourth, no, fifth mug of the day and she could see Briana watching her with more and more concern on her face.
"It's just lunch."
"I know. And they can take care of themselves. But they were summoned by the Keepers. I looked into it, they never issue public invitations. They haven't in over 300 years. They're all but in seclusion."
"Fay, they aren't bad people. I know this is still a SmallPond but I've never heard anyone claim that our Keepers were cruel."
"But-"
Briana's fingertips pressed lightly to her lips, cutting her off with the gentle touch even as her cheeks flamed.
"Last mug. We're about to put out some pastries though, if you're hungry?"
"I- Please?"
She started to sip her fresh coffee only to choke when she heard Anya's voice from behind her.
"You're so cute."
"Anya!" she said as she spun in her chair.
The two of them were standing there, Seb with the faintest of smiles while Anya had that victorious grin that always made Fay want to prove something. But they were here, they'd survived the Keepers, they had snuck up on her. The door hadn't opened, how did they-
"She distracted me."
"I don't think she planned it, we didn't."
Briana took that moment to come back with a plate of pastries and three fresh mugs.
"You-!"
"They opened the door when you kissed my fingers. I didn't want to distract you," Briana answered before pulling a chair over to sit next to her. "At least not too much."
Fay felt her thoughts freeze, she hadn't kissed her fingers, had she? She'd been interrupted, she'd been stopped mid sentence, she-
"Briana," Seb said, his shoulders shaking slightly as if he was laughing despite keeping his tone even. "Don't be mean."
"No," Anya said almost immediately. "More!"
Fay found herself caught between wanting to glare, laugh, and die of embarrassment. She couldn't do any of those, not properly, not with Briana leaning against her, distracting her by being so close.
"Next time," she whispered, not sure if Seb or Anya would hear, but they weren't who she was talking to. "I'm saying no."
Briana blushed, pulling away slightly to look her in the eyes. Fay didn't let herself blink, she wasn't sure if she was serious, but she wasn't going to let them have all the fun. Briana nodded then settled back against her.
"I'm sorry Fay," she murmured a moment later.
"I'll probably say yes," she whispered back.
They all took a moment to settle, the pastries vanishing so quickly you'd think they were all starving.
"What did the Keepers want?" Fay asked.
"My godparents wanted to meet us both."
"Don't forget they want us to go back to school, so we can get into the Progression Invitational?"
Fay blinked, she knew what that was. Everyone knew what that was, at least she thought they did. Briana's confusion made her remember how weird SmallPond culture was.
"What school did they think would get you into that?" she asked.
"Into what exactly?" Briana added almost on top of her.
"Important tournament, top prizes have been known to allow prodigies to start new dynasties, or achieve the impossible," she answered.
"They didn't give a name, but an Elite Training Hall of some sort," Seb said.
It only took her a moment to work out the logistics before nodding.
"You're on track."
"Even though I took so long?" Anya asked.
"You're barely on track by normal calculations. But if you use your pace from when you two started diving together? You should have plenty of time."
"Did you?" Anya said.
"No," she answered. "I had access to the training and tutoring I needed at the Council school. I could have though."
Seeing Briana's clear confusion she explained all she knew about the schools and the tournament. Anya asked her if she could find out more about her godparents, about the family name they mentioned. Seb asked her why the coffee was so much better, only for Briana to finally interrupt and start explaining.
The only thing that made the moment less was Briana's constant departure to serve customers. It was strange to be sitting in a coffee shop talking about these things yet it felt right. It wasn't home, it wasn't private, but the people made it feel like it was.
Fay smiled as she managed to sneak another mug. The afternoon was everything she'd hoped showing her friends this place would be.
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