At the end of their apprentice year, Aether’s Guard headed off to Buldoun for an international tournament. They had allies there in the Swift Wind and Iron Hand clans, but they also had to deal with the Eternal Flame; Nick Shun had no interest in letting go of his perceived grudge against Aether’s Guard. However, with the academy overseer on the trip, Nick had no chance to act out against them.

The tournament brought both joy and grief. Mindie, the part-fox eurtik, found her resonance with her aether and was welcomed into Gregory’s slowly growing family. The other hopefuls also moved steadily closer to their hope of joining.

The mages in Buldoun were surprisingly friendly toward Aether’s Guard, especially the Wolf House and Eagle House. Claudia Firetongue of Eagle House even turned out to be much more than just a friend. Once the first half of the tournament was over, Gregory was roped into protecting her, as she’d been targeted by assassins.

While Gregory’s wives and friends played in the Empire’s Gambit tournament, Gregory stayed close to Claudia to protect her from any more assassination attempts. As the tournament drew to a close, he was able to thwart a concentrated attack from shadow magic mages and escape with Claudia, bringing them to Lightshield. The elder of Aether’s Guard gave his all in that fight, sacrificing himself to kill the shadow mages. His last words to Gregory were a reminder that even more sacrifices would be needed in the future.

With the tournaments concluding on that somber note, it was time for Aether’s Guard to bid farewell to their new friends. Claudia was spirited away to a safer location by the Buldoun Archmage while Clover, Ling, and Roshana were taken back to Wesrik by Grandmaster Hemet. For their initiate and adept years, they were to help at the academy, away from Gregory and his family.

Setting out for their magi guard training year as initiates, Yukiko, Jenn, and Gregory wouldn’t be alone. Armsmaster Egil Magi-killer was the overseer for the year, and Mindie would be his assistant. The family would get to visit intermittently, even if only a few times during the coming year.

Gregory knew that he would need to walk a fine line between friend and commander with his men. He hoped to help shape them and himself into the best they could be. The future would certainly test him, and having a strong force beside him would make things easier.