Hot Springs Brigade!

Six months after the attempted assassination of Princess Aurora by a group of unknown assailants, Taisha and Vic enlisted into the Cassun Academy of Warfare and Tactics by Her Highness' endorsement. It took Taisha a whole lot of convincing to get Vic to agree with joining. She could have easily used Coercion, but it wouldn't mean a thing if that stubborn half-demon didn't join herself.

Today was evaluation day for the recruits. The class had to perform a series of physical and magical aptitude tests to determine their level of strength. Taisha had just completed her magical affinity test and scored the highest above all her peers.

It didn't mean she was the strongest mage, only that she could competently tap into every school of magic; abjuration for defensive spells; evocation for manipulating mana into destructive energies; enhancement for supporting spells; and illusory magic. It did, however, set a warning to her colleagues that she was on her way to becoming the indisputable strongest mage of the class.

With some extra free time on her hands, Taisha wanted to go check on Vic to see how she was doing. The field behind the Academy was currently being occupied by Commander Zekan and his students to determine their physical prowess. It didn't take Taisha long to get there, and find beefier students topping the charts on their evaluation.

The physical evaluation ranged from boulder tossing, close quarter combat knowledge, endurance, dexterity, and many more that the instructors came up with. She was sure Vic would consider all of this child's play.

"Commander Zekan." Taisha saluted the large elf with the standard Cassun military etiquette of placing a fist over her mouth, keeping the forearm parallel to the ground.

"At ease, Taisha. Done with your examination?"

"I am."

"Bet you showed those pips what a real spellcaster can do? Haha!"

Taisha rolled her eyes. Commander Zekan never had a way with etiquette even in front of the Princess or King. It likely had to do with him being King Teo's younger brother. The over-friendly and casual nature of his persona bled into his work, much to his fellow instructors' dismay. But it did set a lot of the newer recruits at ease thanks to his easy going if not crass personality.

"How goes training on this end?" Taisha asked, scanning the field for Vic.

"Oh, please. You couldn't be anymore obvious about looking for Vic."

"Am not!"

"You're always here for her, don't kid yourself. Wait a minute, I'll call them in." Zekan put two fingers into his mouth and whistled. In a matter of seconds, all fifty recruits on the field lined up in formation. Taisha saw Vic in the front row, the half-demon was just as surprised to see her.

Zekan leaned in and whispered, "I need to ask you a favor."

"What is it?"

"When I give the signal, I want you to put up a barrier around the recruits."

"And… why would I do that?"

"It'll be for their final test."

"Fine, but don't expect me to hold it if they try to beat their way out of it."

"Alright, munchkins! I have your final test ready for you." Zekan grinned. If Taisha listened carefully, she could hear a subtle chuckle from him. "Your final test today is this: Whoever puts Vic on the ground first earns full marks on the physical exam. Do it, Taisha!"

"Wait, what?!" Soldier instincts had her raising her hands and conjuring a dome barrier on top of the recruits. "Is this really a good idea??"

Taisha turned to Vic who put a fist against the barrier. "ZEKAN, YOU PIECE OF SHIT."

"Hahaha! Vic, if you lose then you fail!" 

"Taisha, you don't need to listen to him! Drop the barrier."

He patted Taisha on the back. "Don't think about dropping the barrier or I'll tell Instructor Vorgen you were causing trouble out here."

Vic slammed her fists against the barrier, causing ripples across the surface. "Is this because I made fun of your beard??"

Zekan rubbed his cleanly shaven chin. "I never liked it anyhow."

Everyone in the barrier looked at each other confused. Taisha watched as Vic tried to play the peacemaker and asked her peers not to fall for their Commander's dumb idea. Just as Taisha thought this was going to go nowhere, the barrier turned into a full-blown moshpit.

Taisha dropped the barrier on Zekan's call. The battle barely lasted two minutes with Vic crawling out as the victor. Behind her, forty-nine bruised and battered recruits lay in a groaning pile clutching wherever Vic beat into them.

Vic crawled up to Zekan, pointed a finger at his face and said, "Haaahhh… those… full marks… belong to… me… huff…"

Zekan patted Vic's head. "Mmh! Next time, I should get the upperclassmen out here."