Aaron woke to skin burning with chill against rough linen, cold engulfing him like a sarcophagus. His eyes shot open as adrenaline fought torpor and he scrambled back. The icy fabric clung to his skin, making each movement a small agony as he struggled out of the bedsheets.

Then, the laughter of two men erupted.

Aaron got his head out from under the cloth and saw Bark and Bug bending over with heavy chuckles at the foot of his bed. Aaron ground his chattering teeth. Bug. Of course it's his ice magic again. Bastard. He quickly scanned the rest of the room, and his heartbeat slowed a bit as he found only his familiar guards.

He glowered at the two men, which renewed their laughter. I'll get back at you for this.

As the men calmed, he scrambled out of bed and found his clothes. He looked sternly at the pranksters and spoke in a deliberately gloomy tone. "If my guards are quite done with freezing their commanding officer to death, you can tell me what will happen today."

The two mages straightened up, their laughter turning into barely restrained smirks. Aaron sighed and shook his head. Are they messing with me because they like me, or because I'm just easy to mess with? I hate not knowing. No, not going there, that's just a negative thought.

Bug inclined his head, and Bakr followed a heartbeat later. "We greet the honored champion." They exchanged a look and both men grinned widely. "We hope he is awake and full of energy today."

Aaron motioned for them to lead on, the tension falling off his shoulders. Feels good to be back with those two. I wish they had been with me in the tunnels. Lesson learned, I guess.

By the time Aaron wrestled on his tunic and sandals, the others were halfway down the corridor. He hurried after them through halls of marble and mosaics—elegant in their restraint.

As they reached the field beyond the estate, Bug spoke up. "Today is a free day for you. By the Endless Eye, you earned it. You've merely got two unpleasant things to take care of."

Aaron tensed as Bakr's growl made him even more nervous. What do they have in store today? Single combat against a full snake pit?

Bark tisked and slapped Bug on the shoulder, hard enough to make the other man flinch. "He meant to say there is one unpleasant and one very pleasant event awaiting you. There are two very powerful women who were made to wait for you at the compound. And then I—"

Aaron's shoulders slumped as he remembered how the Knowing Sage had dismissed his Matriarch and the High Priestess yesterday. Great, I guess I'll be the punching bag in this game of power politics. Yeah!

His attention snapped back to Bug's loud interjection into Bark's explanation. "What he actually means to say is that he concocted various poisons and you will be victimized by the results of his experiments tonight."

Before the chill could fully run down Aaron's back, Bark hissed in outrage and lunged toward Bug, intent on his shoulder. Bug blurred forward with supernatural speed, a playful glint in his eye. Aaron fell into a combat stance. What the hell is happening?

Bark laughed and made a rude gesture toward Bug, then turned to Aaron. "I brewed something based on our discussion. He's just sour because yesterday I had him determine which of my creations are suitable to present to you, honored Champion."

Aaron shook his head at the antics. Bug leaned close. "None of them were safe. But he never listens to expert opinion."

Aaron grinned and enjoyed the bickering as they walked through the hills, by the Life Sages Valley of Flesh, through the gate, and finally into the chaos of the city, back onto the grounds of the academy.

Theon and Rhea stood by the path to their cottages. Aaron smiled, and they bowed to the senior mages—formality done, Rhea lunged forward and crushed him in a hug. "What happened? I heard you were lost in the catacombs and got injured! You left with Magister Charos and now he's facing the Council's Judgment. Are you doing well?"

Aaron relaxed into the crushing hug. Safety.

He chuckled weakly. "Nice to see you too, Rhea." Then his voice broke. A sob clawed its way up his throat. "I'm sorry for leaving you behind. Being lost down there alone…"

His voice broke and Rhea just held him as tears ran down his cheeks. The sobs quieted to ragged breaths. Aaron leaned into Rhea's embrace, exhaustion overtaking him.

Then Theon touched his shoulder, voice low. "We came to warn you. The Holy Matriarch and the High Priestess are waiting. They even managed to shut up Esnita."

The forced cheerfulness was all too obvious to Aaron's social senses. I didn't even need the social engineering skill guide for that.

Bug cleared his throat. "We have the evening planned for this. Now we must attend to your honorable guests, Champion."

Bug's tone was serious, but he smirked at the end. Seems you are as enthusiastic as I am.

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Aaron pulled back with a grunt, wiping his face. No time for comfort. Not today. "Theon, any suggestions on how I can best deal with this? I'm really not in the mood." He sighed again. "Might be because the Matriarch wants to sterilize me until she marries me off."

Theon gave Aaron a puzzled look. "Why would you not want the sterilization? It's normal until fertility is restored when you want to sire children. I think everyone here is sterilized?"

He was met with hums of agreement. Aaron shook his head and gave them a tight smile. Healing magic. Of course. In a culture like this, of course sterilization would be reversible and routine. Did I overreact?

Theon noticed Aaron's thoughtful look and continued. "As for the marriage, obviously the Matriarchs will determine your first wife. Likely your second as well."

Aaron blinked, stunned. He'd expected outrage, not casual acceptance. Arranged marriage? Oh God, it makes sense for aristocrats, but… Fuck, I guess I didn't consider that when I decided to take the title.

He scanned the group around him. " So this is just normal and legal? Like choosing breeding partners for racehorses?"

Rhea nodded, but her forced smile didn't reach her eyes. "Of course. I and Theon were matched as soon as we both were confirmed as mages. Strong magical blood is what makes the Aristoi. A Champion's blood would be very desirable."

"But…" Aaron sputtered, his face going red with shame, "I have been placed in this body. This isn't me. This is Xandros!"

Theon pursed his lips and studied Aaron. "His body was chosen to carry the mind of a Champion by a God. What greater judgment of worthiness can there be?"

Aaron looked around, stunned—and then he noticed the sudden stillness. Footsteps rang out down the stone path. Two figures approached, and a voice like a whip cracked through the calm.

"Indeed!"

Aaron turned and looked at the two women coming down the path. One severe in body and attitude, as if wrought from steel cables. The other huge and majestic, the hyphant's black and gem-studded robe glittering like fire—like the Genius Loci she served. Aaron shuddered at the memory of mental pressure and heat. I wonder what it's like to always be the most powerful presence in a room.

Next, he met the pale green eyes of the grey-haired Matriarch. They stared each other down for several heartbeats. You will not use me as your game piece.

Finally, the Matriarch spoke without inclining her head. "I, Grandmaster Aurelia Hellionis Ultima, Archmage of Robotomancy and Noetimancy, Sacred Matriarch of the Sixteen for House Hellionis, greet the Champion born of Clan Hellionis."

Aaron gave her a tight smile. "I greet the Matriarch," he said, every muscle tight, keeping his voice as flat as steel.

Their staring duel continued until the High Priestess trumpeted softly. She spoke with a droning voice. "I must apologize for allowing such a poor choice of mentor to get close to you. You will get to proclaim your judgment of him at the trial in twenty cycles. His despicable research has already been stopped and will be used as evidence."

Aaron's eyes widened slightly. Their legal system allows the victim to judge the criminal? Or is this just because I am a god's Champion? Still, this is a mess. How do I fix this?

"I am grateful, but I would hope he is treated well while he awaits trial. I would not want to hurt such a brilliant mage due to a single small mistake."

"Small mistake? He willingly endangered a Champion and blasphemed with research against the course of nature. He should be permanently executed for those transgressions alone." The Matriarch interjected with a too-calm voice. Aaron nodded, buying time as he considered the issue. His heart began to beat faster.

Is she really pissed, or is this political? In both cases—especially with the conflict between us—I can't let this become a bargaining chip. I need to change the topic. And get her blood boiling.

"I won't let you cut into me like I'm cattle on a ledger. And you can forget about choosing a wife for me."

Rhea's gasp was the only sound in the icy silence that settled over the group. A cruel smile spread across the Matriarch's face, and Aaron took an involuntary step back as he felt a gale-like pressure erupt from her. He gasped.

Run. The thought hit Aaron's mind like a hammer. He felt like a hare facing a tiger. The Matriarch began raising her head slowly and deliberately.

A detached part of his mind noticed the others leaping away, instinctively shielding. The others leapt back instinctively, shielding themselves. Bug didn't retreat. He stepped forward, shoulder to shoulder with Aaron.

Aaron squared his shoulders. Fuck you, granny. He thought it—not said it—but made sure she saw it in his eyes.

He closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. Imagined the coin, as he had practiced in the darkness. Flipped it and spat, the intention shooting toward the Matriarch. She stepped to the side as Aaron ejected the spit, an icy smile on her face. The spit fell harmlessly onto the road.

The cantrip slammed into a barrier—hard as diamond. Her mindshield.

"You will learn to respect your elders, boy," she stated calmly, as if making an idle comment.

Her hand gripped the air, blue light collecting as a strange translucent glue formed around her fingers. Aaron looked at the growing spell. Synthemancy construct. Defending against that was the first time I used magic.

He returned the chilling smile and readied his mindshield. Spun it up faster, but contained the shield into a bubble close to him.

Drops of ectoplasm fell from the Matriarch's hand. Each drop swelled into a hovering sphere, pulsing with quiet menace. The first hit the ground and stayed motionless. The next one built legs, a torso, and arms. Within a few heartbeats, an uncanny humanoid made of spheres stood before Aaron. It floated toward him like a specter from Escher's nightmares.

Aaron kept his stance and Bug drew his katar, and the air near Aaron heated up as ice seeds sprouted in his other hand. Aaron focused on the specter. As it took the final step toward him, he unleashed the shield.

Just as Bug was about to stab the thing with his icy blade, it melted into a ring around Aaron. An eerie scream erupted, and the Matriarch's eyes widened as she flinched for a fraction of a heartbeat.

Aaron flashed her a grin. Got you, old witch.

He imagined a rotation in his mindshield at a ninety-degree angle to the current one. With a screech that quickly left the spectrum of human hearing, the entity dissipated into a cloud of blue dust that rained down on the ground like pale snow.

Aaron's shield faded, his breath ragged.

But the moment's relief shattered as the hem of the Matriarch's robe stirred—and from beneath, something metallic began to crawl. First one, then two, and finally a whole swarm of palm-sized metallic spheres scurried out from under the hem of her robe.

A thundering trumpet was the only warning before bronze sparks sprung up from the ground. The high-priestesses' voices emerged from each of them.

"Enough! I declare a peace binding. Know that any offensive action you take will be seen as contempt of the sanctity of the Polis!"

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