A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

Winter, to say the least, has always been the most interesting at the Academy. The brilliant rays of sunlight would reflect off the rupturing waves of the pacific, showing the uniqueness and detail of every snowflake that falls from the deep clouds above. The small puddles around the sidewalks would turn into a few seconds of skating and laughter, adding texture to the sheets of white covering the ground. The weather wouldn't drop too low, nor would it be too warm, making it perfect for friendly brawls with snow.

This weather, where the sun would shine with warmth, but the gentle vapor escaping your mouth would flourish in the air like a flower's bloom, was truly the weather to cherish and enjoy while it lasts.

At the Academy, most students went back home to enjoy this weather with their families and friends during the break. Some stayed back in the dorms, mainly traveling around and spending time exploring the empty hallways and secrets of Princewood. However, if you were someone like Atlas, Leo or Cartuja. You were spending your entire day fighting each other in the snow with fire, speed, and pure force alone.

The Princewood gardens were closed down, mainly kept under lockdown by professor Crane to make sure the plants and wildlife kept their livelihood with the little sunlight available to them underneath the greenhouse. Since the gardens were closed off, the giant empty field next to it was entirely open for student use. It was usually nothing more than grass and broken cobblestone sidewalks, but now, it was a battleground.

Leo sparked a flame between his fingers, making it drop to the ground below like a ticking time bomb. "Burn." The flame settled on the soft snow, and instantly expanded across the field like a fierce wave of hellfire, melting any traces of white remaining.

Cartuja dashed through the flame as if he was riding it on a surfboard, grabbing Leo by the collar of his sweatshirt in an instant, and whipping him across the field before the flame could even reach the outer edges of the perimeter.

At the same time, as the flame approached Atlas, he clapped his hands together, making sure he controlled the small wind that traveled with his momentum. "Augment!" He shouted, confidentally, making the force of his clap travel across the dirt and flame like a missle of pure gravity. Cartuja had no time to escape the pressure of the wind, sending him flying right behind Leo.

Atlas quickly focused his concentration to the bottom of his cozy boots, making sure to jump over the waves of flames approaching him. After landing back down on the dirt that was below the snow, he laughed, and it felt really good to. "So what does that make it now?" He asked as Cartuja and Leo picked themselves up from afar, "Me, 32. Cartuja, 45. And Leo with…" He thought for a moment, "8?"

Cartuja laughed alongside him, "Sure sounds like it!"

"Hey! I'm trying over here." Leo tried his best to hold back his anger, sounding like a little boy who just got his toy taken away. "You guys have had way more practice than me." Leo looked down at his hands, remembering when they were covered in burn marks, blisters, and cuts. He could feel the control of both the flame and the water from before, but bringing it back seemed almost impossible.

Atlas tightened up his jacket, and readjusted his hat. "Shall we call it a day gentlemen!" He said while looking around, "Seems like this field kinda got obliterated."

"I think it'll snow overnight," Leo mentioned, "We can always practice tomorrow. Besides, tomorrow is the last day before classes start, so everyone will prolly' be comin' back!"

"Oh yea!" Cartuja shoved his hands into his pockets, mainly due to their poor circulation in the cold weather. "Foureyes, water girl, and the bitch will be back, ye? Oh, and Laena of course."

"So Laena is the only one you don't have a nickname for?"

"Aye."

"Seems respectable honestly…" Atlas paused for a moment, thinking of his next question. "So what's our nicknames?"

Cartuja shrugged a meaningless expression, "Atlas and Leo."

"Those aren't nicknames…" Leo shared a wry look with Atlas, unsure if that was a compliment or not.

"Y'alls names are easy to say."

"Rina and Paris are hard to say?"

"Nah," Cartuja started walking towards the back entrance where they originally came from, "I just like how mad they get when I say it."

Atlas and Leo laughed, knowing how accurate that was, and how funny it got when Paris or Rina started cussing him out for it.

…

The three of them headed towards the Guild Headquarters after their daily afternoon brawl. The woman usually running the lobby desk wasn't there, but neither were any other students, making the eerie silence feel pretty nice once in a while.

They opened the door to the Guild Halls, greeted by the fresh scent of mowed lawn and dry cobble. The pathway with all the Guilds was always maintained perfectly, adding a great deal of professionalism and superiority for anyone walking on it.

After walking past a dozen or so Guilds, they arrived at their own, never bored of the 'Endless Sun' sign hanging over the front doors like a flag of victory. Everyone took a nice whiff of the warm air before walking in, soaking up the feel of pride and accomplishment.

Calvin was rearranging a few glasses and bottles behind the bar as Atlas, Cartuja and Leo came in. He was wearing the usual Princewood professor's robes, had a fresh, crispy haircut, and a welcoming smile to greet them. "If it isn't the three musketeers. How are you all holding up?" He said in his usual friendly, casual voice.

"Sup," Cartuja yawned, stripping his hat, gloves, and jacket to hang on the coat hanger by the door.

The Guild seemed to have some new renovations Atlas and Leo instantly picked up on. The floors seemed to have less cracks in between the fibers of the wood holding it up. A few extra windows were added to the sides to welcome the extra sun from the outside. The shelves behind the bar table had more glasses, and what looked like bottles of aged wine and other beverages that usually aren't served in the plaza. Also, the center table, which was the biggest out of all, seemed to have been renovated to a much more suitable presentation. It was still held up by a wooden foundation, but the tabletop was replaced by a clear, board-like material for writing and planning.

"Wow!" Leo jumped, "This place looks awesome!"

"You can thank Mooks for that." Calvin continued polishing a few glasses with a white cloth. "He asked for some minor tweaks and improvements, and so, tweaks and improvements came."

The three of them huddled over to the bar, sitting in the stools like fine gentlemen after a long day of work. "So," Atlas started, "May 1st…"

Calvin gave him a seducing look, "May 1st indeed. Only 3 months away. It'll come faster than you think."

"What's on May 1st?" Cartuja grabbed a pitcher of water, pouring himself a glass.

Leo was about to jump out of his seat and slap Cartuja's unawareness straight out of his face, but stayed calm, and kept his slap for another day. "The Tournament dummy.."

"Oh yea… Didn't think we're really going for it."

"Deciding to participate and actually participating are two completely different things." Calvin placed a polished glass on the shelf behind him, replacing it with a new one to occupy his polishing d.e.s.i.r.es.

"Wait, are you saying we aren't eligible to participate?" Atlas scratched his head, rearranging some of his black hairs into their proper positioning.

"Don't worry, we're eligible. The problem lies on whether or not we pass the preliminaries. Although it can still count as participation, the preliminaries don't even have audiences to cheer you on. They are strictly there to eliminate those who aren't strong enough to partake in the tournament." Calvin hoped his explanation was enough, but it didn't seem to say in Cartuja's head at all.

Leo sparked a flame in his hand, rolling it on his fingers like a silver coin. "What are the preliminaries like? Are they filled with monsters and demons? Have some type of crazy mazes? Or are they a brawl to the death?"

"Well," Calvin began. "When me and my old Guild entered way long ago, our preliminaries actually consisted of Guild Battles. Back then, there weren't many Guilds to begin with, making the wanted entries around 30 or so. If a Guild won two battles in a row, they would be placed in the tournament."

"Seems pretty easy…"

Calvin laughed, "Apparently you've never witnessed the strength of an ACTUAL Guild. My team was quite strong, but unfortunately, we just happened to face the strongest Guild there was. They even went on and won the tournament in the end. After that, we never entered it again."

A wave of awkward silence fell over the table like an unwanted spill. The sound of glass being polished filled the air once more, and of course, the sound of Cartuja inhaling water down his throat like a rabid dog was also present.

"So like," Cartuja pointed towards one of the unopened bottles of alcohol on the shelf. "Are we allowed to drink?"

"There aren't any laws that forbid you from doing so. However, I think if someone isn't old enough for an Alchemy or University then they shouldn't have possessions of such beverages. Clearly none of you fall under the category, but I desperately advise against drinking during the day." Calvin sighed like he's given this talk before.

"Whatever," Cartuja yawned, "I only drink on special occasions anyway."

"You… Out of all people, only drink on special occasions?"

"Don't judge dawg…"

"I'm not." Atlas laughed along with Leo.

To Calvin's surprise, no one actually drank alcohol out of their group. Except of course, for special occasions.

Alcohol was usually only popular for people that felt empty, needing something light to clear their mind from it. Some were addicted, but that goes without saying that everyone is addicted to something in their life. It's just a matter of time, place, and why.

Although the wood holding up the Guild Hall was renovated, the door still seemed to make a creaking sound everyone was used to by now. The front door swung open, dragging the attention to the entrance like a robbery was taking place.

A silhouette of a girl in the doorway no taller than 5'6 came into view. Their hair had streaks of sunlight glimmering between each follicle, and their posture was that of someone who was ready for challenge.

Calvin smiled, "Welcome back, Rina."

Rina brushed her dirty blonde hair behind her shoulders, letting the natural curls on the tips hand like a waterfall behind her. "Glad to be back!" She said as she walked over towards the bar.

Atlas and Rina shared an awkward smile that Leo caught onto, but kept his mouth shut to avoid any unnecessary conflicts. "You ready for the tourney?" Leo barked enthusiastically.

"Isn't it in May?"

"Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean we can't be excited for it."

"Can't argue with that." Rina reached underneath her shirt, pulling out her necklace which now contained not one, but two dragon hearts. "Calvin. You're telling me what I need to know."

Calvin gawked at the two stones like they were a regret he hasn't let go of. He gulped, put down the glass he was polishing, and took a seat. "To bring Violet back," he started in a monotone voice. "We'll need a majority representation to allow your entrance into purgatory. Meaning you'll need seven of the twelve zodiacs to agree. Me, Mooks, Atlas's old teacher Sadrina Henzy, and our friend Kaplan shouldn't have any complaints. The problem is getting three more to oblige."

Rina clenched the stones between her hands, "Three more... How hard could it be? You were friends with them at some point, right?"

Calvin gave her a slight chuckle accompanied by a deep sigh, "Harder than you'd ever expect it to."