Corin was already in the room when Lucien returned to the dorm, his boots off and jacket across the floor as he sprawled out on his bed.
"Someone sent you a letter by the way." Corin yawned, still tired from the class earlier.
Lucien walked over to his desk and saw the letter, it must've been sent recently. It wasn't there when he woke up in the morning. The seal was old and worn at the edges, like it hadn't been used in a while.
"Lucien of House Nox" was written in small text across the front of the envelope.
He carefully ripped open the envelope and pulled the letter out.
Lucien,
The estate was recently informed of a tournament within the Academy that will be hosted soon. You will represent House Nox as a participant, your placement will determine continued financial consideration from the royal family.
Do not fail our house.
Kael Nox
Lucien read the letter again before sealing it back up precisely and putting it back on his desk. He sat on the edge of his bed, the letter still heavy in his hand.
House Nox rarely sent letters, there was little reason to do so. The estate did not have the influence it once did, and it had been a long time since anyone outside the family cared about whether it rose or fell. This event must've been important to Lucien's father if he went out his way to personally send the letter.
Lucien let out a sigh knowing failure would only further escalate his family's decline.
"That bad?" Corin asked, slightly interested at what was in the letter.
"My father sent me a letter telling me I had to participate in an upcoming tournament." He said while exhaling.
"Oh yeah? I got one of those too." Corin replied instantly.
"Really— wait, you're a noble? I thought the tournament was for noble participants only, I haven't seen you wear a crest." Lucien asked, slightly intrigued.
"I forgot I never mentioned it," Corin replied while pulling his crest out from his bag, lifting it up in the air. It was different from most crests, it had a ruby gemstone in it. "I'm from House Zenon."
Lucien took a slight step back, not expecting this revelation. House Zenon, one of the 3 great noble houses. He stood still for a moment, deep in thought, thinking as to why a member of House Zenon acts so careless and doesn't wear their house crest.
"I would've never have expected that." Lucien said.
"Yeah I don't wear my crest that often. I don't see a need for it." Corin replied casually.
"So are you participating in the tournament too?" He asked.
"I'm unsure what team I'm joining, it's a team of four apparently." Corin muttered.
Lucien sat on the edge of his bed, contemplating a few decisions in his head, unsure which path to take.
"Join my team." Lucien said after a while.
"Oh you're making a team? That sounds interesting." Corin said while chuckling slightly.
Corin hopped up off his bed and shook Lucien's hand. "I'm in, but we need two more participants."
Corin passed him the letter his father sent that includes the rules of the tournament that weren't present in Lucien's letter.
The teams will have 4 members each, no more, no less.
Each team must have a member of nobility as their captain, the rest of the team can be decided by the captain.
Lucien read the words carefully, planning his decision in his head, it said nothing about removing commoners completely from the tournament.
"Alya will be our third." Lucien said still in thought.
Corin tilted his head slightly, "Are you sure about that, the organisers won't be happy involving a commoner."
Lucien nodded. "Yes."
Corin shrugged. "Fair enough, So who's the fourth?"
Lucien didn't answer immediately.
"... I'll find someone." He said finally as he got back in bed and put his head on the pillow.
In the morning, Lucien got ready quicker than usual. The tournament was in a week and he had to finalise his team by the end of the day. He moved without any destination in mind as he navigated the large space, no student caught his eye while he continued his walk.
Many noble students, with their crests embedded into their jackets were already forming organised groups. Many of them already knew each other so it was easier for them to form a team, Lucien however knew no one within the academy.
He accidentally bumped into a student as they were walking by.
"Ouch," she whimpered as she got knocked to the ground.
Lucien stopped and looked down immediately, he saw the slim girl on the ground, pink hair with blue eyes. She was holding her knee, it was slightly bruised from the impact.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you." He said calmly, while putting his hand out to help her up.
"No it's okay, I wasn't looking where I was going either…" She replied to him.
Lucien nodded and went back to walking as he apologised for knocking her over. A few moments later, she jogged back over to him, slightly out of breath.
"Sorry... I wanted to ask what your name is?"
"Lucien."
"I'm Faye…" She replied.
Lucien thought for a second, trying to remember where he knew her from. He remembered her from the awakening ceremony a few days ago, she awakened a healing skill. He stood in thought for a few more seconds, she would be useful for his team since they didn't have a healer yet.
Lucien nodded before replying. "I see. I remember you from the awakening ceremony."
"Oh… you remember? I didn't get anything that good…" She said nervously, surprised she got remembered at all.
"Have you heard about the upcoming tournament?" Lucien asked her.
"Oh… yes, I don't have a team though." Faye replied, her voice calmer now.
"I have a final spot on my team available if you want to join," he continued after a moment. "We could use a healer."
Faye stood still for a moment, not expecting to have been asked this directly. "I see… I would like that, I have no one else to join anyways…"
"Good, meet me in the north wing, third floor at 5pm after classes to talk more." Lucien said while walking off, making his way to the commoner dormitories to find Alya.
The walk to the commoner dormitories was longer than he'd expected, the area felt more depressing than the rest of the academy. The building was still large and grandeur, the academy did have standards to maintain. The area itself was big but the conditions weren't great.
Many buildings looked like they hadn't been properly maintained in a long time, he chuckled slightly thinking back to his estate that hadn't been looked after as much since its decline.
He waited outside for Alya to come out and after a few minutes the door opened. Alya walked out, missing Lucien standing there completely until she did a double take.
"Lucien?!" Alya shouted, startled and confused, "Why are you here?"
"I came to ask you if you want to join our team for the tournament." Lucien said.
"Me… but I'm a commoner." Alya replied softly.
"Doesn't matter." Lucien replied instantly.
Alya stood in the doorway, silent for a few seconds. She didn't expect a noble to come to her directly to ask for help.
"I see… If it's what you want then I will join."
"Good, meet me in the north wing, third floor at 5pm after classes." He said as he walked off to class, for the first time in a while he had something he wanted to achieve.
"I can't fail." He whispered under his breath.