Chapter 5 Ranking on The Board

Scores of first-year cadets lined the central ring, clad in dark leather armor. Along the northern wall, sitting on bare wooden benches like discarded equipment, were the human servants. They were under strict instructions to keep their eyes down, hold extra weapons, and stay silent unless called upon to clean blood.

Instructor Kael, a scarred veteran with an iron plate covering half his jaw, stood in the center of the ring with a wooden practice sword resting on his shoulder.

"Combat stance!" Kael barked, his voice cutting through the chatter. "The humans are here to observe precision. Watch how a noble moves, because you will be maintaining their gear for the next four years."

Near the front of the human line, a small, young servant named Tessa stumbled while holding a rack of iron shields. She tripped over her oversized tunic, sending three shields clattering across the floor with a deafening bang.

The entire hall fell quiet.

Brenna, a highborn noble girl with high cheekbones and a sneering smile, stepped out from the ranks of cadets. She walked over to Tessa, her boots coming to a stop inches from the trembling human girl's face.

"Clumsy trash," Brenna insulted her unprovoked before reaching out with the tip of her wooden training sword and tapping Tessa sharply across the side of her face, leaving a red welt. "Pick them up. One by one. Then apologize to every noble in this hall."

Tessa’s eyes welled up as she lowered her head, her shoulders shaking when she reached down toward the handles.

"That's enough," a voice called out, quiet and even.

All the eyes in the sparring hall followed the sound and Sephyra stepped out from the line of human servants with a clenched jaw, ignoring the frantic warning tugs from the girl beside her. 

She walked into the center of the ring, stopping between Brenna and the weeping girl on the floor.

A dry, incredulous laugh left Brenna’s mouth. "What did you just say to me, servant?"

"I said that's enough," Sephyra repeated, her eyes cold. "She dropped a shield but you dropped something too and that’s your dignity. The floor is clean enough without you adding to the mess."

Gasps echoed along the walls. Instructor Kael’s jaw tightened, his hand dropping to the hilt of his weapon.

Brenna smiled slowly. “Wow.”

She turned toward the watching cadets. “A duel? You aren’t worthy of one.”

She looked back at Sephyra with open contempt. “You’re a servant. Get on your knees and pick up those shields yourself.”

A murmur swept through the hall like wildfire. 

“She is Lord Tharion’s personal servant. Can Brenna really make her kneel?”

“She deserves it. She has been feeling like some goddess since she walked into this academy.”

“Gosh, I hate this human girl already. Someone will finally teach her a lesson.”

Before Sephyra could answer, the double doors at the end of the hall swung open with a loud bang.

Tharion strolled into the room, his black coat draped casually over his broad shoulders, his eyes sweeping over the standoff in a single glance. 

"What is this noise?" Tharion drawled, stepping into the ring.

"Lord Tharion," Brenna said quickly, lowering her sword slightly but keeping her chin high. "Your new servant needs to be put down. She stepped out of line and insulted my house. I demand a duel to settle the insult."

Tharion stopped in front of Sephyra. He looked down at her, his golden eyes narrowing slightly as he took in her relaxed posture and steady breathing. She didn't look like a girl about to be executed; she looked like someone waiting for an annoyance to pass.

"A duel?" Tharion laughed softly, though there was no warmth in the sound. He turned to face Brenna and the rest of the shock-ridden cadets. "Brenna, you forget yourself. This human is my personal property."

Brenna blinked, startled. "My Lord, she broke academy protocol—"

“But you are right about one thing,” her," Tharion interrupted, his voice dropping into a commanding tone that silenced the room. 

Everyone froze.

Tharion’s eyes shifted to Brenna. “You don’t need to humiliate servants to prove you’re noble.”

His expression hardened. “But don’t mistake this for me defending her.”

He stepped closer to Sephyra, placing a hand on her shoulder, his thumb pressing lightly against her collarbone. “You’ll clean the western training grounds by yourself tonight.”

Brenna’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. “Thank you, Tharion."

"Get back in line," he ordered coldly.

He let go of Sephyra’s shoulder, leaning in close so only she could hear his next words. "Make sure I do not remind you of your punishment, white hair or you get a bigger one."

Sephyra fists clenched hard as she watched him walk back toward the exit without another word. 

By the time evening fell, the main courtyard was crowded around the towering stone pillar near the center of campus.

The Human Ranking Board, which looked like a big rectangular structure used for tracking the standing and service points of every human worker in Dominion, had remained completely inactive for three solid years. It was widely considered a useless piece of decorative stone.

Suddenly, a loud, grinding chime echoed across the entire academy.

Dozens of students pulled out their glowing glass tablets, while those in the courtyard pushed forward to see the board. The enchanted black stone began to pulse with a fiery red light.

Dust flaked away from the top carved line as glowing silver runes burned themselves directly into the dark granite.

Suddenly letters began to settle into place. 

Some blinked in confusion. Others murmured among themselves. A few simply stared, mouths hanging open.

Positioned at the absolute top of the board, sitting comfortably above every other human worker who had spent years accumulating points through backbreaking labor, was a single name:

RANK 1: SEPHYRA — 0 POINTS