When Han had spotted Quy across from the arena on the first day, he had thought that Quy looked small. He had seen how those two mages had knocked Quy down, and it hadn’t seemed right.

As it turned out, Han had been so stupid for assuming that Quy against those two mages wasn’t a fair fight.

Instead, Quy had fought Han, and defeated him. And went on to beat all his next opponents with a grim determination.

Han could lie to himself. He could say that it was because Quy was a fire mage, and fire mages just had a natural offensive advantage. But Quy’s attacks hadn’t been deadly, despite the sharp arcs of fire, despite the fact that sunlight seem to bend to his will.

When the ceremony ended, the other mages clumped together in new and old friendship groups.

Quy’s back as he walked away looked lonely.

Han was on his own too, but that was different. All of Han’s old friends were too practical to attend even more school, and Han himself was on a half-scholarship to attend Baashi at all. It made him a class down from other students. And after being defeated by Quy, Han’s standing had plummeted.

Quy was the son of Lord Quyen. He was meant to have followers. But after the fighting at the opening ceremony, the other students stayed away from Quy. And so Quy attended lectures on his own.

*

A few days after the opening ceremony, Han spotted Quy from across the training field, sitting in the sun by himself.

Impulsively, Han walked over. “Good noon, Quy,” he called out.

Quy rose to his feet, and bowed. “Good noon, Han.”

“Mind if I…?” Han motioned to the ground.

Quy shook his head, and sat back down. Han sat across from him and took out his own lunch.

Quy looked away. “I can heat that up for you.”

Han blinked, completely blindsided. “Do fire mages do that?”

Quy held out his hand, and curious, Han handed his metal lunchbox over. Heat wavered the air around Quy’s hands, the scent of food lifted into the air. When Quy handed it back, it was warm-hot.

Oh. “Thanks,” Han said.

“You’re welcome,” Quy murmured, and went back to his own food.

Han studied him up close. Quy’s features were soft, gold eyes resolutely looking away. Neither of them talked as they ate.

The sun shifted in the sky, and Quy looked up. “My next lecture begins soon. All the best, Han.”

It sounded final. And Quy’s back, walking away, looked as lonely as ever.

*

Khai felt as though everything was wrong. It didn’t help that Quy, still dressed up in the Immin uniform at the dinner table, seemed so bright and pleased with themself.

Khai startled when Quy glared at him.

“And you, Mai. Your performance has been lacking. You are meant to be the son of Lord Quyen, not a loner. Make connections. Fight some more first years and secure my place as the top ranking first year.”

Khai couldn’t be bothered to change his expression. “Yes, Quy.”

Quy’s eyes narrowed. “See that you do so, Mai. You were doing so well on the first day.”

“I won’t disappoint you.”

Quy tilted their head. “See that you don’t. Ah, Shima, for breakfast tomorrow, I want—”

Khai left the table, appetite gone, and went up to his bedroom.

Feeling wrong all the time had not helped Khai to make friends back at the orphanage. When his fire affinity manifested, and Mage Healer Tien took him in to teach him healing, a respectable mage career for a girl, friends had been even harder to come by.

Tien had ultimately adopted him as aunt and niece, as it was easier to teach Khai that way without having to return him to the orphanage everyday before curfew. And so what little people he knew his age dissipated, and there was only Master Tien and a rotating round of patients.

Khai had learnt combat magic in secret from a fire mage who pretended to be an air mage. She, and her partner, were also pretending to be straight among other things. They’d taught him their unique style. They’d taught him that he wasn’t alone. But they were back at Karashu.

Now, he was alone.

When Khai got to his bedroom, he stripped off. Pulled his binder tighter, and put on his most utilitarian clothes. He climbed out the window, and left.

He needed—he needed to do something. He headed to the lower districts. He’d find something there.

Unlike the mage-fire lighting other upper districts, the poorer parts of Taesu were lit with flickering candles and flames in lanterns. Children played on the streets, and mustering up his courage, telling himself that it doesn’t matter they’ll forget me anyway Khai headed to the owner of a dumpling shop.

“How may I help you?” she asked. “You’re new round here.”

Khai looked down. “I’m a mage healer. Arrived at Taesu just a few days ago. I was wondering if...”

The woman sucked a breath. “A mage healer? No offence, boy, but what are you doing down here?”

“It’s—” Khai’s stomach dropped. “Never mind.”

“Wait!”

It wasn’t the shop owner that called out though. It was one of the patrons, a woman. The woman from the burning building.

“Aren’t you the g—the fire mage from the other day?”

Khai suppressed the urge to slouch further to hide his chest. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Looking for healing work? Most of us down here are too poor to afford a mage healer.” She looked at the children playing, and Khai followed her gaze. One of them was her son.

Khai bowed his head deeper. “I don’t need coin. It’s fine, I’ll just go.”

The woman rose to her feet, catching Khai’s arm. “No, please. What’s our name? If you’re willing, we could use your help.” Her tone was warm.

Khai sucked in breath, his chest aching. “It’s Khai.”

The second time he had ever said it outloud. The first time was to his secret combat trainer, who knew, who was like him in the other way.

The woman patted him. “You’re so young. My name is Yang. We have more than a few elderly and children for you to see. Minh,” she called out to her son. “Come, we are visiting your grandmother.” She wrapped a warm arm around Khai. “Minh, this is Khai. He helped us with the fire, remember? He healed your lungs.”

Khai blinked, swallowed.

Minh looked up at him, eyes wide. “Hello.” He quickly ducked to hide behind his mother.

Yang gave an exasperated sigh. She dropped the arm around Khai and picked up her son. “Minh’s grandmother is this way.”

Khai let some heat skim across his skin, and followed. Yang filled the air with soft talking about the district, about what ailed Minh’s grandmother, among many other things, and Khai let it comfort him.

*

As sleep deprived as he was, Khai felt better. He held his head up higher as he approached Baashi University.

The water mage that had bumped into him on the first day was standing at the front entrance, and he started towards Khai when their eyes accidentally met.

“Mai,” the mage said. “You keep coming back. It’s not the place for you! Why are you here?”

Who is he? How does he know?

Khai took an even breath. “Sorry, you must be mistaken. I’m Quy, son of Lady Chau and Lord Quyen,” Khai said, bowing deeply. ”My apologies, but I don’t know your name.”

The man’s frown deepened. “Song, adopted son of Colonel Maru. You’re—you’re not Mai? You’re too thin for a man.”

Adopted? Was he at the orphanage? Khai thought, ignoring the jab. He bowed again. “Pleasure to meet you, Song, son of Colonel Maru.”

Song bowed back. “And I you, Quy, son of Lord Quyen. My apologies for bothering you. All the best for your time here at Baashi. And be careful...Quy.” He gave Khai one last frown, and turned away.

Khai quickly glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Those who were looked away, except for Han, who was rapidly approaching.

“Quy…”

Khai inclined his head. “Good morning, Han.”

Han glanced at the receding back of Song. “You know him?”

Khai shook his head.

Han frowned. “Really? He’s one of the two best second years at Baashi.”

“I see,” Khai said heavily. If so, Khai might have to fight Song under Quy’s orders.

Han grimaced, and then patted Khai on the back. “Don’t worry, he won’t bother us first years. You’re attending the Advanced Magical Theory lecture too, right?”

Khai frowned a little. “Yes.”

“Let’s go then.”

A bit dumbfounded, Khai followed along.

For some unknown reason, Han remained close by Khai’s side throughout the day. He half hoped that whatever spies Quy had on him, that this would be enough to count.

*

Despite himself, Khai felt Han’s absence during one of the lectures that Han wasn’t enrolled in. Afterwards, Khai emerged out of the lecture hall to see a large group of people clustered around one of the main training grounds at Baashi.

Rocks flew through the air, and then a person—Han—was thrown through the air too.

Khai quickly pushed through the crowd as it roared. Han fought back. His style was good, it was rough and effective, and unlike the highly trained movements of Han’s opponent.

But Han wasn’t good enough, and he was thrown up into the air for the second time, and came down, heavy, knocked and winded by his opponent’s attacks.

“And Raah is the winner!”

The crowd converged upon Raah, leaving Khai to battle against the other students to reach Han. He was conscious, barely so, bleeding, and bruised all over.

Khai quickly glanced behind him. No one was paying attention to them just yet.

“What happened?” Khai asked quietly. He drew healing fire magic to his hands and pressed them against Han’s torso at the worst of the damage.

“Saw me ‘round you. Said I was weak.” Han grimaced. “I lost.”

“You need more training,” Khai said distractedly. He moved his hands to Han’s arms, then his legs.

Han sighed, then tensed. He propped himself up. “Quy, what—”

Khai waited until the major healing was done before withdrawing his hands and his flame.

Han’s eyes were wide. “You’re a healer”

“Please don’t tell.”

“Why—” Han’s eyes flickered over Khai’s shoulder, just as a foot pressed down on Khai’s back.

“Showed your face, hey?”

Khai stood up and turned around. “Hello,” he said politely. “I’m Quy. You are?”

The other mage narrowed his eyes. “I’m Raah. The top ranking first year.”

“You hurt Han.”

Raah shrugged. “Maybe if he admitted his weakness. Your battles a few days ago have been massively overrated. People see fire and they get all scared.”

Khai tilted his head back. “Let’s fight.”

“Quy—!” Han started.

Raah smirked. “Exactly what I wanted to hear.”

Khai maintained eye contact with Raah. “It’s fine, Han.”

“Jin!” Raah called out. “Next duel is happening now against Quy, son of Lord Quyen.”

Another earth mage, Jin immediately got the crowd back out of the training ground dueling area. He also acted as arbiter, directing Khai and Raah to bow. And then the fight begun.

Raah moved first, rocks hurtling towards Khai so fast they made a keening sound in the air. Khai twisted, blasted fire to push himself over the attack. Drawing fire burning in his gut, Khai kicked out.

Fire seared through the air.

Raah blocked with a rock shield, immediately breaking it up afterwards into projectiles against Khai—

Khai kicked out again, this time using the fire to propel him towards Raah. Moving his hands in smooth motions, he trailed fire into a magic spell that called forth a flame dragon, jaws that opened wide as they came towards Raah.

Another earth wall appeared, but this time, Khai gritted his teeth and pulled the fire through, pulled the flame through the tiniest little gaps in the earth, through the earth itself. For all that it was a good insulator, earth could conduct if pushed hard enough.

Growling, Raah threw up an rock tent, thick and thicker.

Khai burned the earth. Burned it until it was more fire than earth, until it became liquid lava that oozed and sizzled and spat and revealed Raah’s face.

Khai lit a flame along the side of his hand. “Do you concede?”

Raah’s eyes flickered, and Khai cringed at the sudden battering attack of rock. He plunged his hand into the hot earth and poured energy into it, until the lava reached in deep. Some of this earth was lava, long, long long ago. He just had to remind it.

Air became hot, and Khai breathed in deeply.

The crowd roared.

Slowly, Khai used pushed the lava closer, hovering it over Raah’s skin. “Do you concede?”

Raah flinched, and his clothes burned.

“Quy is the winner,” Jin immediately shouted, dashing over. “Just get Raah out of there!”

Khai extinguished the flame, and Jin grabbed chunks of cooling earth and broke Raah out.

“A good match,” Khai said politely, holding out a hand.

Raah leaned against Jin, curling his lip. “Looks like you’re the top ranking first year now. Must be nice to be Lord Quyen’s son.”

Is it really? Quy didn’t seem to talk about Lord Quyen very much. Khai glanced down at Raah’s wound.

The clothes had completely burned away, and his skin was red and raw.

Khai stepped closer.

Jin scowled. “What do you want?”

“Cover me from the crowd.” Khai called forth heat and pressed his hands against Raah’s side until the red faded away.

Raah hissed.

Jin’s mouth dropped opened. “You’re a healer?”

“No,” Khai lied. “I know how to treat fire burns. For obvious reasons.”

Jin didn’t look convinced. Raah was definitely not convinced. Gingerly, he ran a hand over his new skin.

After a few moments, Raah looked up. “So. You’re honourable after all. We’ll keep it quiet.”

Khai bowed. “Thank you.”

Raah bowed back, and forced Jin to bow too. After that, the two headed off, dispersing the crowd. Khai could hear Raah pointedly announcing that “Quy” was the top first year now.

The real Quy better hear about this. Khai walked over to where Han was standing.

“You were using earth,” Han said. “How?”

“I heated up the earth until I could use my fire magic. But just because you’re an earth mage doesn't mean you must only use earth—remember advanced magic theory? In the end, it’s all atoms.”

But Han shook his head. “Yeah, sure, but you were against Raah, and he’s a earth mage. You were at a disadvantage to use earth.” He suddenly gave a weird smile. “I feel a bit better, to be honest. You really are one of the best. I’m not just weak.”

“You need more training,” Khai repeated.

Han shrugged helplessly. “And from where? I learnt fighting by fighting on the streets, and a tiny bit of instruction from my district mage overseers to make sure I didn’t wreck the streets accidentally. I don’t have money to hire a trainer, and what master mage would want me as an apprentice? I’m not a noble.”

“From me. If you’re willing.” Khai tried to hit the point between casual and serious.

Han shook his head.

Khai’s stomach sank. “That’s fine. Your next lecture is soon.” Khai glanced up the sky.

Han nodded. “Thanks. I’ll see you around, Quy.”

Khai raised a hand in farewell. And from the distance, he saw Han speaking with Raah and Jin, and the three of them headed into one of the buildings together.

*

“Good work, Mai,” Quy said, from their lounging position in the living room. They were soaking up the last rays of the sun.

After a moment, Khai remembered, and said, “Thank you.”

Quy sat up, an eyebrow raising. “But don’t slack off, now. Earn your keep, body double of mine.”

“Then don’t count the hours I’m in a lecture,” Khai said coldly. “Oh, don’t expect me down for dinner.” He stomped up to his room, ignoring Quy’s snort.