The Mirage Knights originally were three. Light, Sound, and Mind. This grouping always reformed, even when a bearer died, the survivors would choose successors until the orphaned blade chose someone to Bond. It never took more than a dozen. Vowyn’s Blade, granted the ability to control Light, Kylical’s Blade granted the ability to control Sound. Both blades bent their Fonts to obscure or distract and could focus them for destruction. Synalia’s Blade granted the power of the Font of Mind, and together the three slew kings.

  -Bladed Knights by Kysin, the 195th High Librarian

  ---

  On Friday, the week of the group's collective breakthroughs with the Font of Space, Kole and two illusory copies of himself stood facing Gray down for a duel in WIZ 205.

  This was Kole’s second duel of the day, as he had to catch up after missing a week. His first had been against a student training to be an artillery wizard. His defenses had been poor, and his casting speed slow, and Kole had been able to take him out by charging him and hitting him with a Thunderwave. The surprise of the frontal attack had slowed his already slow casting. Kole was certain he’d have lost to whatever spell the other boy was casting if he’d gotten to finish it. But he hadn’t and Kole had won.

  Now he was facing Gray, who’d not been idle himself the last week. Gray stood across from him, his rapier in hand and a layer of jagged plates of ice covering his body. He’d learned the spell Ice Armor, likely through sorcery if Kole had to guess, as the spell had only been on Gray’s list of longer term spells to learn. He couldn’t see what would have compelled the other boy to waste a week learning a second defensive spell when he already had one.

  “Go!“ Underbrook announced.

  Gray shot an Ice Bolt at Kole, just as Kole sent a Radiant Bolt back. The two copies of Kole joined him, and three golden bolts of light passed a single bolt of ice. Kole brought his shield bracer up, activating the rune just in time for the barrier to intercept the Ice Bolt, shattering it on impact with a sound of breaking glass.

  Instead of blocking Kole’s illusory mixed attack, Gray had jumped as soon as he’d finished sending his own. With the aid of his magical enhancement, Gray flew ten feet up, well out of the path of the three bolts, and vanished.

  While Kole hadn’t been expecting the jump, he’d expected the Blink. He spun around, looking for Gray, to see him lunging at him from behind.

  Kole and his two copies brought their hands up in unison as the real Kole crafted and sent the construct for Thunderwave into the Arcane Realm. Gray’s rapier passed through the illusory palm of one of the Kole’s causing it to vanish, and Kole’s Thunderwave manifested an instant later.

  Exposed by the lunge, Gray was thrown back by the concussive wave of sound, and he flew back ten feet, landing on his rear. Gray’s armor shattered entirely under the attack, and the fragments exploded out towards Kole.

  “Argh!” Kole shouted as the freezing shards peppered his body.

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  Some passed through his second copy, disrupting it enough to banish it.

  Kole and Gray both had to recover from that trade of blows. Gray jumped to his feet and recast Ice Armor. A mist formed around him, rapidly coalescing into the shards that covered his body. Kole took the opportunity to cast Mirror Image again, while rubbing at his face, trying to banish the icy sting.

  They both exhanged bolt attacks once more, only this time, Gray cast a Shield of his own to block, copying Kole. Both Shields absorbed the attacks, but Gray had begun running at Kole the instant his attack had left him. Kole sent another blast at Gray as he charged, but the martial wizard ducked under them, sliding on the floor which had suddenly been coated with ice.

  That was kind of cool, Kole had to acknowledge, even in the middle of a fight.

  Gray regained his feet two paces from Kole, and it was too late for Kole to cast anything else before he got close. He brought his quarterstaff in front of him, and met Gray’s attacks, going on the defensive.

  Kole wasn’t particularly skilled with the weapon, but he’d focused primarily of late on using it to defend from attacks. His shield bracer was great, but if he was creating the intent for that, he couldn’t be constructing a spell.

  While his staff was less effective as a defense, using it allowed him to fight with a spell waiting in his mind, ready to go off once the opening came.

  Kole deflected a few attacks, Gray quickly dismantling the illusory copies with a sweep of his rapier, confident that his armor would deter Kole from inflicting another attack so close. He expected Kole to fall back, but Kole had a secret he was suddenly very glad he hadn’t shared with Gray.

  When Gray lunged at Kole, he narrowly deflected the attack with his staff. Instead of retreating some distance for another Thunderwave as Gray expected, Kole stepped in, dropping his quarterstaff and bringing both hands up in front of him, creating a triangle with them, framing Gray’s face.

  Somatic aspect complete, Kole sent the spell out into the Arcane Realm toward the Font of Mind, and he felt as the power suddenly flow through him and left him just as fast.

  The effect was immediate, and Gray recoiled, falling to the ground clutching his head in pain.

  Then, Gray suddenly stopped writhing, and the pain in Kole’s own face vanished, as whatever magic the Dahn used to simulate the pain of battle vanished.

  “Kole is the winner!” Professor Underbrook declared.

  Kole extended a hand to help Gray up, and the other boy took it.

  “When did you learn that!” Gray demanded, more impressed than angry.

  “Monday,” Kole said, getting a laugh.

  “Fine, don’t tell me,” Gray said, and they headed to their seats to make way for the next group.

  “No,” Kole said, deciding something in that moment.

  He’d just beaten Gray in a duel, and he felt the same pride he imagined he would have felt if he’d ever beaten Zale or Rakin in a spar—not that that would ever happen without Kole using his magic. A part of him had expected to feel like gloating, to have proved Gray wrong so directly to his face. But he’d not felt that way at all. He’d mostly just felt concern that he’d hurt Gray in the end.

  Gray was not Corbyn, he knew that. Zale had always told him Harold and Gray were good guys, but he’d never really believed it. But on being publicly defeated by someone he’d publicly declared an incapable wizard, Gray wasn’t angry or prideful about it. He’d just accepted it and asked Kole how he’d done it.

  The reservations Kole had about telling Gray the truth were suddenly gone, and he’d been rather eager to share his breakthroughs with someone who would truly appreciate it while not also assigning him work to do with said ability.

  “It really was Monday,” Kole said.

  “Explain,” Gray demanded, as they headed to the back of the class.

  And Kole did, explaining the details of his spellbook, and most of the uses he’d found for it.

  By the time the duels were over, Gray was staring at Kole slack jawed.

  “That is so unfair,” he said, but then he smiled, and headed out of class together.

  “Kole.” Professor Underbrook said, catching his attention on the way out. “Let’s talk.”

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