The Eyebright's Dimension

Chapter Nine: Division Unit Three

After dinner and all the classes were over, the first step girls met in their corner of the Study Room to finish their homework before Unit meetings started.

“What were the healing powers associated with Foxglove?” asked Kasity, frowning and staring at her homework: List the uses and powers generally associated with Foxglove.

“Doesn’t it help the heart?” replied Claia, flipping through an atlas.

Kasity shrugged and scribbled a couple words. “Done,” she muttered.

“Already?” sighed Karynn, looking sadly at her stack of homework. “I’m never going to get this done before our meeting starts.”

“Hey,” called a voice, and the three girls looked up.

Tal came towards them, waving.

“Claia, Devan just made a meeting,” he said, huffing.

Claia sighed, and started to roll up her atlas. “But we had one yesterday.”

“Yeah, but he assigned another one today,” confirmed Tal. Claia began stuffing her work into her bag, and the two left the Study Room just as Shant came in, looking very downcast. He sat down in Claia’s vacated seat and put his face in his arms.

“What’s wrong?” Karynn asked. “Didn’t you just have your first Division meeting?”

Shant groaned, and looked up. “Don’t remind me. I’m in disgrace. Yetta had all of us do ‘basic’ magical exercises to see where we stand. I tried to do a spell I hadn’t really mastered and it ended up blowing in Yetta’s face.”

Kasity and Karynn fought to keep their faces straight.

“You won’t tell Aidan, though, will you?” Shant added nervously.

Kasity’s smile slid off her face. “Of course not. But you shouldn’t be worried about what he says. Last Meditation class, we were meditating on the cliff and he lost his balance and fell. The teacher had to go rescue him,” she scoffed. Shant looked slightly happier.

The clock in the Hall chimed eight, and Karynn looked up from her spelling.

“Ugh, time for us to leave already,” said Kasity.

It was an unspoken rule that all the younger steps vacate the Room for the older students. They had the least amount of homework, and were expected to finish it before eight so the older students could have more room to study.

“I don’t know why you’re complaining. Looks like you’ve already finished all your work,” grunted Shant.

“She has,” Karynn replied with a small smile as she started to put all her things away, too.

“We have our first Division meeting now. It’s in the den,” Kasity told Shant as she waited for Karynn to finish packing up.

“Bye, Kas. Bye Karynn,” said Shant glumly, watching them leave.


Because most of the other students were in the Study Room, completing their homework, Calixte had assigned their first Division meeting in the den. Kasity and Karynn trooped over to the northwest corner where they were to meet, and saw Aidan sitting alone. Rissy, who was talking to a strawberry blonde girl, waved at them. Sprawled out on a mass of cushions were three boys, guffawing loudly. Kasity recognized the transfer student sitting alone, next to the fireplace. The first steps sat down next to Rissy. Karynn motioned to Aidan, but he acted as if he hadn’t seen her and sat a little ways away from the girls, looking wistfully at the other boys, who were now throwing cushions at each other.

“Hey, Kas, Karynn, Aidan,” said Rissy, “this is Synnove. Synnove, Kasity, Karynn, and Aidan. They’re the first steps.”

“I remember when you, Darin and Gershom were first steps,” sighed Synnove in a reminiscent voice. “Remember that time the three of you accidentally exploded that tree in the middle—”

Rissy laughed quickly, interrupting her. “Synn’s such a joker,” she told them.

Kasity and Karynn nodded politely. Aidan looked away rather sourly.

“Has Calixte designated Unit Leaders?” asked Karynn.

Synnove shook her head. “But most likely me and Lander will get it. He’s in my step.”

“Where is Calixte?” questioned Kasity.

Synnove shrugged. “She’s late a lot. I’ve been working with her since first step, and she’s hardly on time. I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else, though. Calixte’s something special.”

“I hope she gets an Aerial next year. I might just appeal my Resectioning if I get stuck with Devan,” Rissy said with as much passion as she could muster while yawning.
It was an empty threat. Although students did have the right to appeal the Council’s decisions, it was hardly ever done. Most students accepted them, and, although they would complain about their teams, would only rarely protest to that extent. There was a stigma attached to causing an unusual ruckus in the tightly knit, organized society of the Cloud, and very few students hated their assignments enough to face that sort of humiliation.

Kasity privately agreed, and decided to ignore Aidan’s pointedly disbelieving face.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” glowed a voice behind them. It was Calixte. “Come closer, boys, Eunae. Let’s introduce each other before we get started. I’ll go first. I’m Calixte, fourth step. Rissy, you next.”

“Rissy, second step.”

“Synnove, third step,” she said, tossing her hair.

“Kasity, first step.”

“Karynn, first step.”

“Aidan, first step.”

“Lander, third step,” replied the eldest boy.

“Darin, second step,” said a boy with a missing front tooth.

“Gershom, second step,” answered a boy with a head full of curls.

“Eunae, fourth step,” murmured the transfer student.

Calixte beamed at them all. “Well, I’m glad we got that all settled. Eunae, Synnove, and Lander, you three are unit leaders.” She nodded at them all.

Kasity looked from Lander to Synnove, and for a moment, she thought she saw a look of disgruntled surprise on their faces.

Calixte, however, continued as if she had not seen anything. “Rissy and Darin with Eunae, Gershom and Karynn with Synnove, and that leaves Aidan and Kasity with Lander.”

Kasity sat back, horrified. Of all people to be with! She was stuck with Aidan. Aidan! He obviously felt the same way, for his mouth had dropped open and he was mock projectile-vomiting behind Calixte’s back.

“Well, get into your units and get to know each other a little more. Individual unit meetings will be up to the unit leader, and we’ll be meeting as a Division in the same place same time every Tuesday just to talk strategies and other things. I’ll start assigning Terrain practices and other exercises next time we get together. I really need to go, Council meeting.” Calixte strode off.

Lander got up and moved toward Aidan and Kasity. He seemed very tall, with a monkey-like, frank face, and a mass of bright yellow hair that was even messier-looking up close. “Well, kids, I guess I’m with the first steps,” he said, but not in a mean way. “I’m Lander. I’m a third step, but don’t think that’ll stop me from whipping either of you if you slack off. We’re gonna be the best stinking unit in the school.”

Aidan and Kasity weren’t looking at each other.

“What’s the matter with you two? Not like each other, I guess. Or maybe it’s the opposite.” Lander grinned, prompting Aidan to find his voice.

“Like I would like a big frizz ball like Kasity.”

“He might if he had something other than air in that big head of his,” Kasity growled.

Lander looked surprised. “I guess we have some work to do. Right, both of you can’t fly, yet, right? I know we’re Ground Division, and are supposed to mainly operate earthbound, but Calixte doesn’t go like that. She clashed a lot with the Council ‘bout her tactics last year. They’re not traditional, but no denying they work. So you’ll need to put in some hard effort to keep up. I want both of you to sign up for either an extra flying class or an intro to battle magic, or defense, or weaponry, or something like that for your special class. The first Combat Contest is coming up at the beginning of the second trimester, which is only two months away, by the way.” He glowered at them for a moment, and then continued, “Combat Contests are the most prestigious and important Contests in the entire Academy. Nothing stacks the ranking like Combats, and Sylph and Wyvern are especially good at them. That’s why they’ve been the top Clouds for so long. But there’s only three combats the entire year: one at the beginning of second trimester, one at the beginning of third trimester, and one the last week of school. So these really count.”

He ran a hand through his tousled hair and remarked, “You’re really lucky that you’re in Sylph, you know. Most other Clouds work on only building up their Select Band—that’s the top fifteen students in each Cloud, by the way—which means lower steps hardly get to play any part in the Combats. That’s because the Combats are broken up into fives rounds. Only the Select Band participates in the first round, and that’s the hard round to get past because that’s when half the Clouds are eliminated. Only the top ten Clouds or so really prepare for an all-Cloud battle, which doesn’t occur until the third round. Even amongst the top ten Clouds, Manticore Cloud uses the lower steps purely as fodder, or patrollers in remote areas of the Battle Island where they won’t mixed in the fray, knocked out, and lose the Cloud points.” He nodded impressively at them all. “Of course, even in Sylph there are more upper steps in the Aerials,” he added as an afterthought. “But I expect you two to contribute, and contribute a great deal. Sylph raises the standards for the lower steps, and I hope you’re eager to prove yourselves worthy for the challenge.”

He grinned at them. “Okay, well, I got a whole bunch of military history homework, so I’m dismissing. No meetings this week, but you won’t get off so easy after now.” Lander strode off into the Study Room. Aidan made a rude face at Kasity and followed after him.

***********

Eunae approached the tree grove next to the Sylph dwelling with apprehension. Calixte had scheduled the first Unit Leader meeting in the center of the grove, and she felt a bit nervous. She had not missed Lander and Synnove’s astonishment at her promotion to Unit Leader, and knew that they had expected Rissy to have that title. And she couldn’t help but feel that perhaps they were right to question Calixte’s judgment; after all, she knew nothing about the system, nothing about training, nothing about the contests themselves. Just the other day Calixte had taken her down to the training fields for the first time. She had not known about their existence. How would someone as untrained as she be able to lead?

Classes had just ended, and a steady stream of Sylphs landing at the edge of the cliff headed toward the dwelling, chattering about that day’s events. As she came under the shade of the first gnarled trees in the grove, she immediately sensed Lander and Rissy’s presence, and her heart sank: Calixte was not with them. There would be an awkward period as they waited for her to show up; she wouldn’t enjoy it.

She stopped for a moment in the dappled shade, wondering if she should wait, when she clearly heard Synnove’s voice floating past the trees.

“…don’t know what Calixte was thinking. Rissy clearly should have been a Unit Leader or at least in Aerials.”

“Look, Syn. You know that I don’t like criticizing Calixte; she’s the best out of all the Council members. But seriously, she’s a transfer student! What does she know about the system?”

Eunae couldn’t take it anymore. She coughed deliberately and stepped on a few twigs for good measure, the loud crackling sound echoing through the grove.

“I hear someone coming,” Lander whispered, and Eunae waited a few moments before finding them.

“Hi,” said Synnove, flushed.

Eunae nodded at both of them, her heart pounding. So they thought her that incompetent, did they? For a moment, she felt light-headed before resolve flooded into her. She was going to be the best, the very best Unit Leader ever. The first Combat Contest was in two months, and she would prove herself. There was indeed an awkward silence that lasted until Calixte arrived.

“Am I last to arrive?” asked Calixte as she sat down next to them.

Her blue eyes flitted from Synnove, who was sitting next to Lander, who was leaning against one of the bigger trees, to Eunae, who was a bit away from them, her knees drawn to her chest.

“Alright then,” Calixte said, taking a seat between Lander and Eunae. “I don’t think you two know Eunae as well, and I know she’ll never introduce herself, so I’ll give you some quick facts.”

Lander and Synnove both looked at Eunae, but thankfully turned back toward Calixte when she started talking.

“She’s from Serentan. It’s a country in Ailsa, as I’m sure you know. Her specialty is Sensory, and from what I’ve seen she’s good. Better even than Sariel.”

Lander started a little at that, and Calixte smiled a little.

“Sariel’s a Wyvern Council member,” Calixte explained to Eunae. “She’s probably the best Sensorist at the Academy. Baeddan from Hydra is pretty good, too, and you’ll see them both at the next Sensory Contest, since you moved up to advanced—anyway, that’s how I constructed the first unit. Eunae will patrol with me and do general Sensory. Rissy and Darin make a good pair for attack.”

Lander and Synnove both nodded mechanically.

“Synn, your unit will be more versatile, and you’ll work with both attack and defense, and maybe even patrol if we must. Lander, since you have two first steps, it’ll have to be just patrol for the first Combats.”

Calixte stretched and swatted at a few gnats. “Well, let’s talk tactics then. Since in Combats the first two Rounds don’t involve our Division, we only need to worry about Round Three. Lander, what do you think might happen?”

Lander scratched head. “Well, uh…skies, I don’t know. They had lots of interesting obstacles last year, and the year before last. Maybe they’ll do that weather thing again.”

“Nah,” put in Synnove. “What if they try one where it’s only in the air? They haven’t done that in a while.”

“Personally I think there will be a strong emphasis on terrain,” said Calixte. “Probably not an aerial terrain because it’s the first Combat, but jungles…underbrush…”

Her voice trailed off as expressions of growing horror appeared on the other’s faces.
“That’ll mean Terrain Stadium,” finished Calixte.

Lander groaned, and Synnove buried her head in her arms.

“Come on, guys,” cajoled Calixte. “It’s not that bad.” She noticed the confused look on Eunae’s face and added, “Terrain Stadium has a powerful enchantment that allows the actual earth to shift and move into different terrains, allowing for practice.” Glancing at Lander and Synnove, she whispered, “I’ll take you there later.” Then, in a louder voice, she said, “Lander, I want you to brush your Unit up on terrain types. They should know basics of the terrains and what to do in elementary situations. Assign reading if you have to, and definitely have them look at maps. Synn, your Unit should already know all that stuff, so prepare them for the most brutal terrains. You might want to take them to terrain ranges to brush them up, and work on aerial maneuvers to get past difficult situations, since you can all fly. Eunae, work with them on Sensory, and how to sense easier paths, and such. Darin and Rissy both need Sensory lessons, but they’ve never really been able to fit it into their schedules. Darin’s opted to take Weather instead of Sensory already, and he’s only a second step. Okay, before I dismiss, I have the usual warning.”

Lander and Synnove were smiling, now.

“Morwenn, the Wyvern Leader, is insane. Her favorite tactic is spying, and she constantly thinks that we’re up to something,” Calixte told Eunae.

“She constantly thinks you’re up to something,” corrected Lander, making a face at Calixte.

“Well, Morwenn’s right, then,” said Synnove, grinning.

“Just be careful not to say anything to fuel her paranoia. It’s just not a good idea. The less conflict outside of Combats we have the better,” Calixte said, playfully pushing Lander. “Alright. Dismissed.”

“I’ll take you to the Terrain Stadium now if you want,” she said after Lander and Synnove had left.

Eunae nodded.

“It’s on the Training Quad. You’ve been there, right? For your Weaponry classes?”

“For the past month.”

“So you’ve noticed the big old stadium behind the archery range, I’m guessing,” Calixte said, grinning.

“Occasionally.”

They reached the edge of the cliff. Though now it was technically the ninth month, and autumn, the air was still sultry, even at this altitude. They jumped together, and Eunae found an air current a bit above Calixte’s, enjoying the feel of cold air against her skin. They landed right outside the Training Quad, which was located northeast to the Centre Quad, and Calixte continued as if there had been no interruption.

“I think you should schedule a Unit meeting this week. I know you’ll hate this, but find Rissy and Darin and tell them both personally, okay? There’ll be another Unit Leader meeting for all of them in the Cloud with the Council next week, and I want you to be able to say you’ve done something. Plan out something interesting for the first lesson. Oh, but make it useful, too.”

Eunae’s head was buzzing. “You know, Calixte, I didn’t ask for this.”

“Yeah,” Calixte said absent-mindedly.

All the special classes were over, so the Training Quad was practically deserted, albeit a few heading toward the archery range for some practice.

“I heard from Hagan that you’re pretty good at archery,” Calixte said as they passed the range. “He said you’ve moved up to his class already and you’ve been there less than a month.”

“I was rusty in the beginning,” said Eunae, feeling a bit self-conscious. Hagan had been talking about her? “But I used to do a lot of archery back in Serentan.”

“Yeah, well, Hagan’s a sixth step and in the most advanced class,” Calixte replied, grinning. “Don’t be too modest. Hey, are they still making you take basic Astronomy?”
Eunae nodded. “It’s not too bad. I thought it would be all first and second steps, but my class actually is older Golems. They were pretty surprised to see a Sylph there.”

Calixte chuckled. “Of course they would be. Surprised that they’re still not in Cooperative Economic Living.”

“I think they might be.”

Calixte laughed. “Hoorah for Sylph.”

They stopped at the entrance to the Terrain Stadium, its enormous shadow blocking out the sun.

“Calixte,” Eunae said, “Lander and Synnove don’t like me.”

Calixte turned toward her, an expression of complete seriousness on her face. “They don’t know you,” she replied, placing an arm around Eunae’s shoulder. “Look, they’re just a bit confused right now. They don’t know what you can do, and they’ve only seen you in the classes you’re behind in, like Healing and Offensive Magic. But you’ll prove them wrong, okay?”

Eunae smiled a little, feeling a bit awkward that Calixte was so close, but at the same time relieved at both Calixte’s confidence and her friendship.