David pushed open the giant gate to the hall. The doors swung open with a loud creak. He stepped to the side with an elegant bow, waiting for Maximilian's group to enter.
Zeke stepped into the luxurious hall right behind the old man. Leo was only slightly behind him and his family entered right after. Despite being commoners, Zeke and Leo had gotten used to the opulent surrounding while studying at Elementium.
Mia and Maya on the other hand were staring with open-mouthed wonder at everything. The two had never seen anything like this. Geralt, Zeke's father, faired a little better. His stoic personality made him seem almost unimpressed.
The entrance of the group caught the attention of the gathered crowd. The first person Zeke noticed was Richard Feuerkranz. The Patriarch stood with Felix, his adopted candidate. His face gave nothing away as he cast a calculating glance over at Zeke and his group. He seemed somewhat shocked, however, when he discovered Leo among them.
Zeke hadn't considered how it might look to others if he showed up together with Leo. But despite the confusion, he wasn't unhappy with this misunderstanding. Zeke smirked back at Richard and continued to scan the hall.
He could make out the Steiner patriarch standing with Edmund. As it was typical for Steiner men, both their faces seemed carved from stone. Neither of them was giving away any kind of emotion at all. Still, Zeke had a good impression of Edmund and nodded respectfully at the group. After a moment, Edmund returned the gesture with a slight nod of his own. The patriarch, however, did not.
Zeke searched the hall for the other candidates but the only other group that had arrived were the Windspiel family. Tanya Windspiel and her group were by far the most relaxed. They were flitting around the room, wandering from table to table and trying out all the different kinds of food.
Tanya looked over at their group and her face lit up when she spotted him. She gave a friendly wave toward Zeke. He returned her greeting, but inwardly he was a little confused. He had never had any contact with the girl before and didn't know why she was being so friendly. After seeing Zeke return her greeting, she walked up to Zeke and his family.
While making her way over, she surveyed Zeke's group. When her eyes landed on Maya she smiled even wider and waved at the girl. However, as soon as she arrived before Zeke, she stopped and returned her eyes to him. Before he could even ask about her intentions she spoke up of her own accord.
"Viola says that you'll make sure the other great families don't bully us," she stated.
"What?" Zeke asked, confused. "I never agreed to do any of that, though?"
The girl merely smiled. "That's what I thought as well, but she said it would be ok! Viola said that she could make that decision in your stead."
Zeke's mouth dropped open. Had that little devil really said that? It sounded very plausible now that Zeke thought about it. The Windtänzer family didn't have a single member left in the tournament, so there was nobody here who could protect the Windspiel family from being heckled. The Feuerkranz and Steiner families both had a representative here, after all.
The other great family that wasn't present was the Wellenrufer. Unfortunately, not a single Water Mage had advanced to the next round. They wouldn't need to bother about this event at all.
Zeke thought about Viola's request. He asked himself if this was something he could do. He didn't have the strength to protect anyone from the great families on his own. It was Maximilian and Maximilian alone that had the power to stand up to those behemoths. But was it really alright for him to put that burden on his mentor's shoulders?
He looked over at Maximilian. The old man was walking around with a relaxed gait to greet the other nobles. Zeke had never noticed before, but the old man seemed to command a lot of respect. There wasn't a single person present that wouldn't show him the courtesy of a respectful nod and a few words as he walked up.
Even the patriarchs of the Steiner and Feuerkranz family were no exception. As if sensing his gaze, Maximilian turned around and smiled at Zeke before continuing his conversation with the patriarch of the Brennbar family, who had just entered the room. Zeke didn't know if his mentor had known what he wanted to ask, but he still interpreted that smile as a silent agreement to his question.
He turned back to Tanya and nodded at her. "If Viola says that I will look out for you then that is exactly what I will do. Don't worry!" Zeke said.
Tanya nodded with a smile on her face. She then looked over at Maya and asked, "Is that your little sister?"
Zeke nodded his head. He wasn't sure why the noble girl would be interested in his sister but he saw no reason to hide the fact.
"She looks adorable in that dress!" Tanya gushed.
Maya peaked her head out from behind Zeke at the compliment. She had gotten overwhelmed by the atmosphere in the room and stayed behind Zeke or her parents. Upon seeing Tanya's friendly face, she dared come out for the first time.
"Hey there!" Tanya said. "What's your name?"
"I'm Maya," the girl replied shyly.
"Do you want to come with me and try some of the food, Maya?" the older girl asked. Maya looked up at Zeke to get his permission. Zeke studied Tanya's face. He didn't know the girl, but he had a good first impression of her. The girl didn't seem to look down on his family for being commoners at least. Zeke was pretty sure that his sister would be safe here in this room.
"Don't go too far, ok?" he said.
Tanya skipped over and took Maya's hand, leading her to the buffet tables. Zeke kept an eye on the two for a while, but it seemed like the older girl only wanted to feed Maya various types of food. They seemed to get along well and Zeke eventually stopped paying attention to them.
By now, all the finalists had arrived. The Brennbar family alongside the Gluthand and Erdherr families were the only ones that had arrived after Zeke's group. With all the guests present, Jorgel also made an appearance. The chipper announcer stepped into the middle of the room and clapped his hands to get the people's attention.
"Welcome everybody to this year's gathering of the finalists. Please feel free to use the time before the interviews to mingle. For those families that are here for the first time, let me explain how the interviews will work. In a bit, I will take the candidates out with me one by one and present them to the crowd. You will then be given a short amount of time to introduce yourself and promote your family. That is all, please enjoy your time here."
Zeke and Leo had been standing together. They had been talking about their next opponents when a commotion drew their attention. A boy and a girl were staring at each other in the middle of the room. There seemed to be some kind of argument going on. Zeke and Leo exchanged a glance and went over to take a look.
It was actually Emil and Tanya that were locked in a confrontation. Maya stood behind Tanya's back and didn't know what to do. Similarly, Felix Feuerkranz was standing behind Emil and also didn't seem comfortable with the situation.
"I only said that Wind Mages are not as strong in a one-on-one fight. There's no reason to get angry," Emil said.
"Who won the entire tournament last year then? Was it not a Wind Mage?" Tanya countered.
"Come on! We both know that Viola Windtänzer is a freak of nature. This doesn't change the fact that Wind Mages have the worst record of winning the tournament out of all the four elements," Emil argued.
Zeke and Leo arrived at the scene. Upon noticing them, Tanya looked up with hope in her eyes. She dashed over to Zeke and grabbed his hand, pulling him over. She pointed at Emil and demanded, "You tell him, Zeke! He is bullying me!"
Zeke looked at Emil for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I actually agree with what Emil is saying. Wind Mages are at a disadvantage in a one-on-one fight at our current level. Don't try to drag me into this losing argument."
"Betrayer!" Tanya yelled. She ran over to Maya and grabbed the girl's hand. "Did you see that, Maya? Your brother, that callous monster, abandoned me without a shred of hesitation!"
Zeke could see the crafty glint in the girl's eyes as she pleaded with Maya. But even though he could see through her plans, there was nothing he could do to stop it. A moment later, Maya looked at him with accusation in her eyes. Her eyes clearly said 'I expected more from you!'
Zeke sighed for a second time and explained his position in more detail.
"I truly believe that Wind Mages are at a disadvantage in a one-on-one fight, BUT…" he said, before pausing to build some tension, "that is only true if the fight is according to tournament rules."
"What do you mean?" Emil asked, curious.
"Wind Mages almost always have the advantage in terms of speed and are excellent scouts. But both these huge advantages are limited by the rules of the tournament. The limited space is only one of the restrictions that target Wind Mages the most," Zeke explained. Upon seeing the confused faces all around he went on to explain further.
"Imagine a scenario where you are fighting a Wind Mage out in the wilderness. The first advantage that a Wind Mage has over you is that he is extremely likely to discover you first. This gives him the advantage of a surprise attack, he can also decide when and where a fight will take place," Zeke explained further.
The gathered crowd seemed to ponder the point Zeke had made. It seemed that Emil had an honest interest in an open discussion. The other boy didn't refute his claim out of hand and was honestly imagining the scenario Zeke had described.
"…and that is not even their biggest advantage," Zeke went on to explain. "Their biggest advantage is that they can disengage from any fight whenever they want. What can any of us even do if a Wind Mage decides to run? This advantage is completely negated in the arena. However, in the wilderness, the Wind Mage can just try a surprise attack as many times as he wants."
"Do you believe Wind Mages to be the strongest duelist in a scenario where there are no rules, then?" Felix asked.
Zeke was surprised at his amiable demeanor. He detected no hostility from the boy. This was a completely unexpected development for Zeke. He had never met any Feuerkranz that didn't immediately go for his throat. He thought about his answer for a moment but then shook his head.
"I don't think it is that simple. There are scenarios where the other Elements would have an advantage. With enough time, Earth Mages could produce defensive structures that would make it impossible to launch any surprise attacks. Water Mages are almost undefeatable if they manage to get into a large body of water. We have seen that strategy in the 'Battle Royale'. I think all of you agree that the Wellenreiter siblings were by far too weak to make it to the finals. They only managed to advance by leveraging the natural advantage of their element," Zeke explained.
"Then what about Fire Mages?" Felix asked.
"I am honestly not sure," Zeke confessed. "I am not an expert on the different tactics used by elemental Mages. Everything I've said so far is just my personal conjecture."
"Then what do you think Fire Mages would do to counter the advantage of the other elements?" a new voice asked. Zeke could see that Maximilian and the Brennbar patriarch had strolled over at some point. Their discussion on strategy had attacked quite a bit of attention by now. Zeke thought about his answer for a moment.
"In my opinion… fire is not like the other elements," Zeke began slowly, gaining confidence with each word. "No matter if it is Water, Earth, or Wind, all three of them have a common purpose. All of them give life. Fire is different though, it only has one single purpose and that is to destroy. A fire will die out if it has nothing left to feed on. It is in its very nature to destroy everything around it. I think in this very nature lies the strategy for gaining an advantage through fire."
The Brennbar patriarch was nodding slightly, but the man didn't seem completely satisfied with Zeke's answer yet.
"They win by burning everything around them. After all, there can be no sneak attacks on an empty plain. There can be no defenses on the burning ground. And there can be no hiding in a boiling lake," Zeke stated plainly.
"Excellent," the patriarch exclaimed. "I am always fascinated by the capability of Mind Mages. Who would have thought that you managed to find such a treasure, Bombastus!"
Next, he turned towards his daughter and said, "You see this, Katja. Thats why I always tell you to read more. Old man Bombastus tells me that his brat is constantly reading books. Why don't you do that?"
"Don't start with that again, Dad," Katja countered, "Strength is still the most important thing. I won't get stronger by reading books, you know?"
While the father-daughter pair were having their chat, Zeke and his group had also resumed their discussions on strategy. It was mostly people proposing their strategies and Zeke pointing out any weakness he could find. Meanwhile, most of the adults had formed their own little groups and were also deep in discussion.
"…I honestly believe that every affinity has its own advantages and disadvantages. You just have to find them," Zeke finished his explanation.
There were a lot of thoughtful nods from all around. However, a single voice spoke up in protest, "What you are saying… sounds a lot like you think that elemental mages are in no way superior to other mages. Did I get that right?"
It was Roland Erdherr who had spoken. Zeke immediately knew where he was going with this. He was trying to drive a wedge between Zeke and the other contestants. Zeke clenched his fists upon seeing the same despicable grin on the other boy's face once again.