The room in the north wing was quiet when Lucien arrived, the late afternoon sun casting shadows through the room. He was the first there, as expected, everyone else was just getting out of class. He set his bag down beside his desk in his room and waited.
It didn't take long for Corin to show up, his hands in his pockets.
"So we're using our dorm as the headquarters now?" Corin asked, glancing around, moving some of his stuff under his bed.
"It's temporary," Lucien replied. "We needed a space to speak."
Faye arrived next, hesitating in the doorway before stepping inside. She looked smaller than she had during the awakening ceremony, her shoulders tense as if she were expecting to be kicked out of the team.
"Am I early?" she asked quietly.
"No." Lucien said. "You're on time."
She nodded slowly then moved to stand near the wall, her hands clasped together. A few moments later, Alya entered. She stopped when she saw Faye, surprise flickering across her face.
"So this is the team…" Alya said.
Lucien nodded. "Everyone's here."
They introduced themselves quickly, some of them hadn't met the others yet. After quick introductions, Corin pushed himself off the wall and clapped his hands once.
"Alright then. Since we're risking our reputations here, we should actually know what each of us can do." He said casually.
Lucien took a breath.
"That's why we're here. The tournament won't be won by raw power, we need proper co-ordination. If we don't understand each other's abilities, we'll lose."
Faye swallowed hard and nodded. Alya crossed her arms, her expression guarded.
"Let's speak one at a time. Corin, go ahead." Lucien said.
He stepped forward, rolling his shoulders back as if he was loosening up.
"Alright. My skill is pretty simple on paper." He tapped the ruby embedded in his crest, now clipped loosely onto his belt for once. "Mobility type. I can enhance my body's movements, speed and reaction time."
Faye's eyes widened. "A mobility skill?"
Corin laughed loudly. "That's the boring explanation anyways. The useful part is when I speed up, I can blink a short distance at a time instantly."
"That sound's like teleportation." Alya replied
"In a sense." Corin said cheerfully.
"So you'll be at the frontline?" Faye asked.
"Sometimes," Corin said. "I can be bait or be a distraction too."
Lucien nodded. "Yes. Your mobility will give us flexibility in different scenarios."
Corin stepped back. "Your turn, Alya."
Alya hesitated for a moment, unsure where to start on describing her abilities. She uncrossed her arms and stepped forward.
"I'm a combat-defence hybrid," she said. "Elemental type."
The air around her hands shimmered faintly for a moment. She lifted her hand slowly, stone dust lifted from the floor, small fragments vibrating before rising into the air. The pieces hovered, orbiting her hands like a shield forming.
"Earth," she continued. "I can control the Earth to an extent…. I'm not perfect at it yet, I haven't trained much so large scale control will drain me fast."
Corin whistled softly. "That's a solid skill. Defence and terrain manipulation. I'm jealous."
Faye looked between them, her body language shrinking. "I can't do anything like that…"
"My skill is healing," she said quietly. "Restoration type. I can accelerate recovery from injuries. I can't regenerate any lost limbs or anything like that." She shook her head, slightly ashamed.
"Healers are still important." Alya said gently.
Faye's posture straightened hearing that, feeling relief at her words. Silence settled over the room for a moment as everyone's attention turned to Lucien, waiting.
He didn't move immediately, he waited a moment.
"My skill isn't physical," he said finally, "It's influence based."
Corin nodded, already knowing this information. Alya and Faye's gaze sharpened.
"I can affect decisions I think… I have avoided testing it. The skill is called verbal influence."
Alya's eyes widened, she'd never heard of such a skill before.
"Oh… what are the limits?" Alya asked.
Lucien met her eyes. "I don't fully understand the limits yet."
No one looked relieved by that answer.
Corin smirked. "You will be our strategist since you're the captain"
Lucien nodded, knowing he will have to eventually use his ability, even if he doesn't want to. The team finished their introductions and the conversation shifted naturally toward training. None of them had trained much and the tournament was only a week away.
"We will have to train together. The tournament is in a week." Lucien said calmly.
Everyone nodded, agreeing with his words.
"We don't know the format of the tournament yet, we will find out a few days before the tournament starts." Lucien said.
"Ugh… that doesn't help." Alya said.
Corin chuckled softly. "The tournament will start in the group stage. Objective based missions that will be time limited. Only the top two teams from each group will advance."
Alya sighed. "That sounds difficult."
Corin continued, speaking more clearly now. "Phase two will be single elimination rounds. Full combat will be allowed and there will be no objectives or point scoring. Only victory or defeat."
"How do you know all this?" Faye asked carefully.
"My father told me." Corin replied.
Lucien nodded, clearly understanding that due to Corin's family's influence he would get the full information before everyone else.
"Many of the noble families will be present, including the royal family." Corin said as he finished speaking.
Alya's expression tightened, a knot forming in her stomach. As a commoner, she never would've thought she'd be watched by the royal family themselves.
"Thank you for explaining that Corin," Lucien said. "We will meet after class every day until the start of the tournament to prepare and train."
Everyone agreed as the night came to an end, it was getting late already and they had been chatting for hours. Faye departed first, going over to her dorm room on the floor below, fidgeting with her jacket. Alya lingered for a moment, before waving goodnight to them and walking the long trek back to the commoner dorms.
"Are you ready for this?" Corin asked.
"I have to be." Lucien replied.