A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

Calvin made his way around the bar table, pulling up a stool so he could sit comfortably, and have everyone's attention. It was something he was used to by now, perhaps it was nothing more but a perk that comes with being a professor. However, he felt more like a bartender rather than a certified teacher with the current setting before him.

Calvin grabbed the pitcher of water, and started filling the empty glasses, "The Gilded Thrown…" He said in a remembering voice, pausing for a moment. "My Guild and I participated way back in the day…"

"No way! Did you win!?" Atlas asked, quite surprised this was the first time Calvin mentioned something like this.

"Of course he did." Leo nudged him on the shoulder, focusing his attention back to Calvin.

Calvin chuckled, sat down, and sighed. "We didn't make it past the preliminaries."

Everyone stayed quiet for a moment, losing any confidence they might have had. "You're joking, right?" Leo said with a wry look.

"The Gilded Thrown isn't just some sort of brawl or game. It's an absolute madhouse." Calvin took a sip of his water, clearing his throat. "It's a tournament hosted by the Bureau every year during the first few days of spring. Since so many Guilds want to take a shot of winning The Gilded Thrown, preliminaries are set in place. And I'm not just saying this to make you scared or feel sorry for me, but the preliminaries are the most difficult to pass."

Faibel took a courtesy sip of water, bringing in his fluorescent attitude everyone expected. "From what I hear, the preliminaries are different every year. Am I correct?"

"Yes. Not only that, but once you partake in the tournament, you can't participate again for another 5 years."

"5 YEARS!" Leo screamed, everyone feeling the same exaggeration as him, but not expressing it so loudly.

"Most give up." Calvin began again, "And I don't blame them. Because even if you make it past the preliminaries, you're going to be up against some of the best Guilds in the country. The Prize isn't just some trophy or anything. The prize, more than anything, is honor, pride, accomplishment. Of course, you do get a trophy, but you also get additional upgrades to your Guild Hall, or the construction of one outside of an Alchemy School. There are many things and many different scenarios that can play out, but the most important thing is to stay calm, be patient, and take things at your own pace."

"I hear there are casualties." Faibel said, staring deep into Calvin's eyes.

"Indeed. I am not here to convince you to partake in The Gilded Thrown, but if you do, beware. People die in this tournament, young, old, doesn't matter, with no penalties if the rules are followed accordingly. It is a championship to show who is the strongest Guild, nothing more, nothing less."

The silence crept it's way into the bar once again. Everyone was either thinking things over, or trying to understand how crucial this could be.

"Listen." Calvin raised his hands after taking another sip, "You are now blessed with a Guild hall. You're points are 200,000 something now, but they don't really matter anymore. If you get another million points you can make upgrades to your guild, but that isn't really necessary now. What I'm trying to say, if you truly want to participate, we need to start planning now. Training will get more intense, but school work needs to be done too. You will have little freetime, no time for Guild missions, and absolutely now time to slack off." Calvin folded his hands, waiting for a reply.

Laena fulstered, clenching her hands between her knees on the barstool, "Uhm," She said, shivering. "I don't want to…"

"I'll have to agree." Faibel adjusted his glasses, "If there are casualties, and the requirements for participation are quite high, this doesn't seem like something we can accomplish."

"Very well then." Calvin took a sip from his glass, "Does everyone feel the same?"

A slight pause was raised after he asked, but was broken by Paris's bossy tone like a spice of heat on sweetness. "So what?" The attention quickly shifted to her, "So what if we'll be the youngest, inexperienced, and possibly the dumbest." She specifically looked at Cartuja, making everyone giggle in private. "We killed a dragon. We stopped a curse. We…" She stopped, "We're just always underestimated. Let's show everyone else how strong we are."

Calvin laughed, "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but this tournament doesn't revolve around raw magic power alone. Most of the stages are strategized and logically implemented for those specific reasons. That is, if you make it past the preliminaries."

"So what." Paris barked at him, flinging her hair out of the way, "We got brains." She motioned towards Faibel. "We got strategy," She pointed at Mooks, who was quietly sitting in the corner, l.i.c.k.i.n.g his fur. "And we got power." She braced her c.h.e.s.t, trying her best to seem like the shining star of the room.

"Ehem!" Rina coughed, "She means me." She did the same, battling it out with Paris like two cats in an alley.

Mooks came out of the corner, jumping onto the bar table. "I believe we have a very good shot at making it past the preliminaries. This is a very strong group, but no one can reveal the powers of the Seven Laws, or else questions will start to rise."

"If everyone wants to… I won't hold anyone back..." Laena whispered, trying to gain back Calvin's attention.

Calvin looked at Paris, Rina and Leo. All of them giving him a nod. Atlas did too, and Cartuja just yawned, but agreed. It took some more convincing, but Faibel finally agreed, leaving Laena to be the deciding factor.

"Uh… Okay, I guess." Her voice was shaky, but she just wanted to be a part of the excitement.

"Very well then." Calvin started, "Enjoy your winter breaks for now, because we have a long road ahead of us if we want to win this thing. Oh, and we'll have our meetings here from now on, it is your Guild hall after all." Calvin finished as he sent everyone on their way.

Leaving the Guild hall, Rina caught up to Laena, putting an arm around her shoulder. "It'll be fine. Don't stress about it. Just look how excited these goons are." She pointed towards Cartuja, Atlas and Leo all punching each other.

Laena giggled delightfully, "I just want to make sure everyone stays safe. I haven't had many friends throughout my life, and you've all been through so much recently…"

"It's fine. I promise…"

"You know I'll always trust you Rin. But this is big." She said with a concerned tone.

"Don't worry about it for now. We still have months before it starts. Besides," Rina revealed the two dragon hearts around her neck, "The Gilded Thrown isn't the only thing I'm planning on doing-"

Rina bumped into Cartuja's back without being aware of her surroundings. When she looked up, Cartuja was standing still, along with Atlas and Leo right beside him.

"What's going on," Rina said cautiously as she looped around to see them facing two upperclassmen in front of them. They were the same ones that Cartuja fought against in the Guild Battle not too long ago.

Nothing but silence and stares filled the perimeter, and the tension only rose with every second. Cartuja didn't have a pleasing grin on his face, but neither did the fellas from Kryptonite.

Gilford kept stroking his mustache, "I see you've acquired yourselves a Guild Hall. And some fine looking ladies," He bowed.

Cartuja kept his hands in his pockets, but restrained his deathly stare, "Ye. you got a problem?"

"Actually," Hendrix swiped his hand through his hair, "We are dazzled to see your points being used accordingly." He chuckled, "We were defeated fair and square, nothing but respect to you and your Guild. However, I do hope we'll see you at the Gilded Thrown. I would love a tournament style rematch." Hendrix scooted past Cartuja, taking Rina's hand and kissing it gently, "If you decide to leave your current Guild, we'd be happy to take you in." He gave a handsome smile before retreating.

"Whatever," Cartuja yawned. Right now, Atlas wanted nothing more but to punch Hendrix right in his chiseled jaw, but he stayed calm, knowing that he'll have a chance at the Preliminaries if what Hendrix said was true.

Although Rina had insanely fast reflexes, she let Hendrix do as he pleased. A woman never backed down from a gentlemen's praise.

Gilford stepped aside, revealing someone behind him. "We have a new recruit you see, I believe he will make a great addition to our current roster." Of course, their new recruit happened to be Trey, the so called, "Strongest in the Academy."

"This twerp?" Cartuja laughed. "Yeah, we'll see you at the," He scratched his head, trying to remember the name of the tournament. "The Guided Trumpet?"

Hendrix and Gilford laughed, walking away with Trey before letting him get one last look at Atlas and Leo.

"Uh, who were those-" Laena asked, but was interrupted by Cartuja immediately.

"Randoms."

"Oh… I see."

A joke about Trey was told to lighten the mood, and everyone walked out of the headquarters like another day in a classroom.

…

Back at the Guild, Calvin sat patiently with Mooks, filling a bowl of water for him to drink out of. "So. What do you think?" Calvin began once again.

"Can't say for sure," Mooks licked the bowl dry, "We have to plan things out perfectly. Every stage is different, and every battle is unique."

"You seriously think they'll make it past the preliminaries?"

"Hmm… Depends what the challenge is. If it relies on magic power, then yes. If it relies on strategy and outsmarting your opponents, perhaps not."

Calvin poured himself another glass of water, thinking about what's to come, and what to expect. "Only one way to find out."

Mooks chuckled, yawned, and hopped back down on the sturdy wooden floor below him. Luckily for him, the door was made to swing open, so leaving the Guild Hall wouldn't pose a big threat. As he stepped outside, he felt the smooth touch of cobblestone below his padded paws, and the days from his youth occupied his thoughts like an unbreakable cage of steel. The memories, the emotions, and the thrill of battle brought a smile to his face, and after 200 hundred years of being a feline, he couldn't help but finally feel them again.

*** With the completion of Volume 2, I am going to go back and finish correcting the grammar of Volume 2 Chapters. I want to say thank you for reading thus far, but unfortunately, the next Volume won't start for another week. However, I can assure you that Volume 3 will be much longer, have more action/fights, and overall development. Stay tuned, and feel free to leave a review, it truly means a lot! Once again, thank you, and I hope to see everyone stick around for Volume 3: The Gilded Throne***