Dummies Day

The south sparring field smelled like fresh-cut straw and damp rune stone — the kind of smell that clung to boots and sleeves and lodged in the back of your throat. Dawn dew beaded on the practice dummies, which stood in crooked rows like a tired scarecrow militia. Some were patched and stitched like old barn coats; others bristled with rune poles, each one pulsing faintly with stored æsther to record every swing.

Ironroot 1A waited near the field's edge, clustered around a battered crate that creaked if you sat on it wrong. Kaiden stood with Rio and Nerim while Peggy leaned on her hammer, Ragna, like it was just another branch she might drag through the forest. Irna sat cross-legged on the grass, her guzheng case nestled in her lap, fingers plucking ghost notes across its lid — faint, but enough to make the air buzz.

Up front, Skyward Arcanum formed a line so straight it looked unnatural — half like monks, half like fussy librarians in rune-stitched coats, some with spellbooks chained to their hips, others with staves that hummed when they breathed. A few wore tight, pristine leather — no dirt, no grass stain, as if the field itself wouldn't dare touch them.

Near the front stood Dessie Marron. She was hard to miss: the same wild braid from Ascension Day now bound tight against her back, her bow Sagitan, taller than her shoulder. She looked calm — if you didn't know her. Kaiden could see the truth in her elbow — the tension, the tiny tremor in her draw hand, the way her jaw worked like she was chewing all the words she'd never say.

Instructor Veronika paced before them, staff balanced easily across her shoulders. She didn't have to bark orders — one look, and even Rio's spear went still.

[ Instructor Veronika ]

"Listen well — the rune poles will read every strike."

"Power. Accuracy. Consistency."

"You hit your mark, the dummy logs it."

"You miss — same thing."

"No excuses. No stat to hide behind."

She swept her staff toward Skyward's line.

"Skyward, ranged weapons first — show the line."

Dessie stepped up. Her first arrow whispered through the dawn — thwip — dead center in the dummy's glyph core. A faint glow pulsed out, rune poles humming as they stored her score. She drew again, faster this time — thwip — same spot, a neat hole widening. A hush ran down Skyward's row, like they all leaned forward at once.

By her third shot, her arms were shaking. But she didn't stop. Her arrows didn't miss — if anything, they hit harder, deeper than they needed to, driving through straw and rune mesh until the dummy's core sparked an angry, sickly red.

Kaiden watched from Ironroot's knot. Rio let out a low whistle.

[ Rio ]

"She's gonna snap that thing in half."

[ Nerim ]

"Does that count as extra credit?"

Peggy shrugged, rolling one big shoulder.

[ Peggy ]

"She'll snap her bowstring if she's not careful."

Kaiden's eyes narrowed. He wasn't watching the arrows anymore. He saw the way Dessie's boot twisted in the grass, the way her eyes didn't see the dummy at all — just something behind it, a weight heavy enough to drive the string deeper into her palm with each pull.

One swing, one grain.

He crouched, brushing his thumb through the grass until he found a rough pebble, no bigger than a coin. He felt its weight in his hand, just enough. Irna's fingers froze on her guzheng case — watching him. She didn't blink.

Kaiden stepped up behind Dessie — far enough not to startle her, close enough to feel the whip of her braid when she drew again. He flicked the pebble just as her arrow left the bow — the stone bounced off the dummy's straw shoulder with a sad little thunk, nowhere near her cluster of perfect shots.

Her arrow wobbled — thunked harmlessly into the dummy's hay hip.

Dessie spun, eyes blazing.

[ Dessie ]

"Kaiden Stagin!"

"What was that?!"

Kaiden tapped the hilt of his wooden dagger, tone maddeningly mild.

[ Kaiden ]

"You were aiming for the whole dummy, right?"

"He pointed to the pitiful pebble dent."

"You got it. Still dead."

A snort escaped her — unguarded, bright, gone before she could choke it back down. Her bowstring slackened. Her shoulders dropped, just a fraction — enough to breathe again.

A Skyward boy near the line leaned over, grinning.

[ Derin ]

"You gonna thank him for saving your bow, Dessie?"

She shot him a glare, but her next arrow flew clean — smooth, sharp, splitting straw instead of overloading it. The rune pole pulsed soft gold, a perfect mark logged.

Kaiden drifted back to Ironroot's knot, hands stuffed in his pockets. Irna's eyes tracked him, sharp as her guzheng strings. Her thumb plucked a single note — too soft for most, but Kaiden felt it vibrate all the way through his chest.

Peggy nudged him with her hammer.

[ Peggy ]

"Aww, Kaiden's everyone's little hero now."

[ Rio ]

"Let him!"

"One less arrow coming our way if we spar."

"Haha!"

Their chatter drifted like smoke until Instructor Veronika's staff struck the ground near them. Nerim hoisted his pick onto his shoulder.

[ Nerim ]

"Hey, Instructor Veronika's calling — we're up."

"You gonna pull your hero stunt on us too, Kaid?"

Kaiden tilted a smirk.

[ Kaiden ]

"You don't need it."

"You miss on your own just fine."

Rio nearly doubled over, poking Nerim's hip with his spear.

[ Rio ]

"Burrrrn…"

Peggy rolled her eyes and stomped past.

[ Peggy ]

"Shut it, you idiots."

"Form up."

Veronika's shadow fell over them.

[ Instructor Veronika ]

"Ironroot — ready?"

"No ranged weapons, I assume?"

[ Ironroot 1A ]

"No ma'am."

She glanced at Irna.

[ Instructor Veronika ]

"She sits out."

"Until she knows how to wield it..."

"As a weapon."

One by one, Ironroot took their turns. Peggy went first — Ragna the hammer thudded into the dummy's chest like a falling tree, rune poles rattling with each impact. Even Veronika's mouth twitched.

"Again."

Rio bounced around his target, spear flicking in little arcs that barely nicked the glyph knot. He crowed like he'd landed a shark.

[ Rio ]

"Look at that!"

"Total fish kill!"

Nerim's swing was blunt, grim — the miner's pick punched so deep that straw sprayed his boots. He looked half-horror-stricken, but satisfied too.

Kaiden stepped up last. He drew his wooden dagger — plain, old, the runes along the hilt faintly worn from countless thumb rubs. One clean thrust through the dummy's shoulder, just skimming the glyph knot. The rune poles flickered once — steady, yet enough.

Behind him, Irna's guzheng string hummed again — sharp, soft, jealous. He turned and caught her eyes across the field. She didn't flinch. Instead, she hugged the case tighter, as if she could strangle the next note before it dared betray her.

Veronika's staff struck the ground, a final pulse echoing from rune pole to rune pole.

[ Instructor Veronika ]

"Good."

"First day's marks stand."

"Next time — moving targets."

She looked them all over — Skyward's pale, pinned smiles, Dawnseeker's stoic stares, Ironroot's sweaty scrapes, Seraphin's perfect blades.

"Rest. Sharpen. Repeat."

Kaiden let the dagger drop back into his sash, thumb brushing the old runes on its grip.

One swing, one grain.

Irna's eyes narrowed as she rose. Her guzheng case thrummed faintly with a note no one else caught.

[ Irna (mumble) ]

"Hmmph..."

"Boys."

Kaiden, oblivious, walked past her — one more dummy in a field of straw.

Oblivious.

But pure.