I wore my uniform under the brown chitin plate and over the green scale mail. My hair spilled out from under my more basic helmet. The single sheet left my face exposed and had a ridge on the brow that ended in a central point. Enough plate covered my nose to prevent a single swipe from blinding both of my eyes.

  With my new glaive resting on my shoulder and my satchel filled with school supplies, I exited my room. The rest of my team was assembled in the war room, awaiting Riena’s announcement. I stood by the counter and waited for my Commander to say her piece.

  She sucked in a breath and straightened her posture. “I’ve discovered that my ability has a range limit and would ask your permission to reapply it whenever I can.”

  Nyla squinted at her. “Yes, use your lifesaving ability all the time. Why do you keep asking?”

  “I want to be very careful that I don’t strip your autonomy or violate your privacy. Needlessly influencing your—”

  Our Vanguard groaned and hopped to her feet. “I can’t imagine the kind of life you’ve lived where any of that shit matters, but you’re with us now. It’s do or die. We worry about survival not if someone knows I think they are cute.” Derek looked uncomfortable. Nyla made a buzzard sound. “Not you big guy. I’m sure plenty of girls are crazy for that silver hair and those abs you could crush rocks on, but you’re not my type.”

  Derek seemed relieved. “Likewise.”

  Riena bit back her first few responses and simply said, “Noted.” She seemed offended that we didn’t care about our privacy and a little horrified at her own power.

  With the team meeting complete, I left and noticed Nyla walking next to me. This early in the morning, 2nd year students patrolled in squads around us and worked to clear out the infestations from the night before. A greater bone terror clogged the optimal path to my first class.

  Nyla and I dodged errant bone shards and the occasional death spell as we found a new route and let the five teams of 2nd years handle the chaotic mass of bone and black sinew. The giant’s skull at its heart followed our departure with eyes of green fire.

  When we were still walking the same direction, Nyla said, “You still taking Vanguard classes?”

  “Just sparring.” I checked the ceiling for any cysts. A bone terror only climbs this high to ‘lay eggs’, not the technical term, but it fits. “I can’t let my skills get too rusty.”

  “As long as you don’t muscle in on my turf.” The slightly shorter girl bunched her fists and punched the air a few times in my direction. “Pop-pow! We understand each other?”

  “Nope. I will crush your legend by being a bastion of excellence. When you are old and gray, you will tell stories to eager listeners about how you traveled with me.”

  Nyla laughed and punched my shoulder. “Asshole.” We fell into the easy companionship of Vanguards. Every role was important, but it was Vanguards that slew the monsters. That led to highly competitive personalities with edges that sharpened each other as we clashed.

  Our classroom was the size of a gymnasium and constructed with sandstone. Every surface was etched with runes of sound absorption and structural regeneration. The room was segmented into raised circular arenas that had walkways running between them. Most of the Vanguards had clustered in the largest central arena as we waited for the professor.

  Gabriel stopped chatting with a person I didn’t know to stare at the white trim of my uniform. He shivered with disgust. “First you cut off your balls, and now you’re a Crafter. It’s like you’re doing everything you can to become a weak little bitch.”

  Half the room bristled at his words. A young Valkyrie was particularly irate. “The fuck…? Are you calling women weak?”

  Nyla stared at me as Gabriel backed away from the approaching Valkyrie. “That’s not what I meant. No see, he—” Gabriel gestured in my direction.

  That utterance unfroze Nyla. She whirled on Gabriel and erupted into pyrochromatic fury. “Are you starting shit with my Crafter? I will make you shit your teeth.”

  A tension I didn’t know I had unclenched at Nyla’s reaction. I shouldn’t have been worried. She’d been cool with Casimir, but my trust in this matter had been thoroughly shattered by Gabriel and my mother’s rejection. When your strongest allies stab you in the back, it can be difficult to open up again.

  That relief and sense of acceptance did nothing to smother my rage. That wasn’t Gabriel’s tale to share, and I would have recompense.

  As I stepped toward him, spears of solid fire stabbed between the students. “Save it for a few minutes! Goddamn, I swear, Vanguards get more rowdy with each generation.” Professor Burn Bright sauntered into the room. His full plate of solid flame chimed like clanging crystals with each step. Axes, swords, and spears of fire hovered about his person. They set themselves to be ready in case any of us charged him.

  The older hero had been active in the war until he was captured by demons and tortured. Allegedly, he had lost his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and all his limbs before fighting his way free and returning to Last Stand. No one has seen him outside of his armor since then, so the extent of his injuries may be exaggerated, but he did retire to a professorship after the ordeal.

  “Alright, pair up and start hitting each other. Remember that you are sparring. Vanguards and especially melee Vanguards are the duelists of any team. When a higher tier monster is leading a pack, it’s your job to fight it until your team can support you.” He made an eye rolling motion. “Yes, you three Guardians, put your hands down. You may be able to duel a monster, but when you are doing so, you are acting like a Vanguard. That’s why it’s my class, and I’ll tell you how to do it right.”

  Both Nyla and the Valkyrie headed for Gabriel. I set my satchel in a cubby and walked past their argument over who gets to kick his ass. “Stand aside, my grievances are far greater.”

  Nyla gave me a knowing nod and backed off. The Valkyrie fluttered her mechanical wings. “Fine, but if you lose, I’m kicking both your asses.” She and Nyla went to have a much more friendly spar.

  Gabriel and I took the center arena. He sneered. “Poor Exemplar, still thinking you're a big fish in a small pond.” He grew a meter taller, and his normal lupine form gained scales and a tail.

  The ground exploded under me as I leapt at him with all my strength. He caught my glaive swing by the blade in one claw and kicked me in the side. I rolled with the blow and ripped my weapon from his grip. One of the teeth gashed a finger on the way out. Strength filled my weapons and armor as Gabriel staggered.

  “Already resorting to necromancy? How desperate are you?” He growled and charged.

  I parried his claws as his tail struck my knee. I gritted through the pain. “All tools have their place.”

  “Yeah, and yours is on the ground!” He transformed into a green-eyed vulture, flew under my guard behind me, shifted back to his combat form, and raked both claws down my spine. My enhanced armor held, but the force of the blow briefly winded me. I repositioned to hold him at glaive length while I caught my breath.

  That gave me time to process the fight. “Scales, an extra limb, AND using your scout form in combat? These tactics were beyond you before.” What ability did he gain?

  Gabriel preened, showing all his sharp teeth. “So you’ve noticed?” He chuckled darkly. “To my great fortune, I received the Exemplar ability. This is the last duel where you can hope to match me!”

  Hysterical laughter bubbled out of me as I pressed him with a renewed flurry of blows. His previous confidence buckled at the impassioned assault and the accumulation of small nicks. “You better hope you’re not like me then! Because do you think I had a choice in any of this? The power doesn’t just help you exemplify yourself. It makes you!”

  I still remember that doctor's visit so long ago for what I thought were harmless chest pains.

  After weeks of testing and being passed from specialist to specialist, my mother and I found a doctor knowledgeable enough to tell us what was going on. “Madam, your son—err—child is going through a perfectly natural—if unexpected—process common for girls this age.”

  My mother gave him a flat stare. “Speak plainly. What is happening to him?”

  “Puberty. Just not the one you were expecting.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. What’s wrong with him?”

  He pulled a stool close to us and sat down. “We’re at the edge of medicine here, but I am the Savior’s personal physician. By using your child’s ability, he has grown taller, broader, and his eyes changed color after he regrew them. We think it is because the Exemplar ability helps you manifest how you see yourself rather than merely letting you regenerate slowly. There are heroes that have had similar transformations to what your child is going through, although by different means. Regardless, it is a well established phenomenon.”

  “So this is all in his head.” My mother then hugged me. “I’ve been worried something like this would happen with all the fighting and bloodshed. He’s been more stressed lately and can barely sleep. Are there pills you can give him?”

  The doctor looked sadly between both of us. “Yes, there are pills I can give your child to make this easier, but that isn’t what you asked for.”

  When my mother realized what kind of medication the doctor was offering, she stood and rebuked him, “Not for that!” She then pulled on my arm. “Come on, champ, let’s go.”

  I didn’t move. My head was swirling with the revelation. While I looked up to a lot of heroines and they seemed super cool, composed, and beautiful, I didn’t—well no, I totally imagined myself as a Valkyrie all time. Oh, that’s it! All I needed to do was stop visualizing myself as a woman and the problem would go away. I smiled at my mother and said, “Don’t worry, Mom! I’m Exemplar, the champion of Blood Valley, the slayer of the ogre Drakfor, and the bane Hissgrillie the hag. I’ve ridden Dragons and fought fire elementals in volcanoes. My mind is just another foe to best.”

  My mother teared up, grabbed my shoulders, and made hushing noises. “Honey, you’re the one that doesn’t need to worry. No matter what happens, you’ll always be my son.”

  In the end, I didn’t change my intrinsic nature, but the final push was my choice. A few months before training school ended, I did opt for surgery of my nether region and an infusion of drugs. Since I didn’t trust anesthesia, the process was quite harrowing, but the reaction of my peers hurt far more.

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  During the present day, I was laughing like a mad woman and tripped Gabriel with my haft before shoving my glaive under him and flipping him into the ceiling.

  Gabriel roared and propelled himself back to the ground, creating an explosion of rock that I rolled away from. “That’s not how it works for me!” He stalked toward me and grew a few centimeters. “Shapeshifters in my family don’t have true natures. For all those little immutable parts that everyone else takes for granted, we have to pick someone to emulate.”

  I blocked his next punch and slid back a couple meters. From there, I dashed around him and stabbed weak points in his guard.

  He barely deflected the attacks and accepted the shallow blows. “If you told me years ago, then I wouldn’t have picked you, and I wouldn’t need to try to hate you to break the bond.” He blurred into a counterattack that I was too stunned to dodge. His tail sent me into a wall.

  I pried myself out and leaned on my glaive to stand. “Try?” Tears filled my eyes. I knew we were inseparable. Nothing could ever come between us, not even Gabriel himself. “I see… You were refusing the call.” I didn’t think he was actually a monomythist, but his actions made sense to me through that lens. The saga of my youth didn’t end on a dolorous note because my closest friend and everyone I saved were small minded ignorant fools. No, my friend was only preparing himself for his own saga.

  “The call? You lied to me and fucked with my life. Turning into a chick isn’t a hero’s journey.”

  With a surge of strength, I kicked off the wall and drove my glaive through his abdomen, pinning him to the floor. I mounted his chest and began punching him while fending off his flailing claws. “Why not? It’s an initiation into a new world that will transform you completely.” I giggled. “Since you’re a shifter, you’ll even be a master of both worlds by the end.” I punched him a few more times as I visualized the shape of it. “It’s perfect. It fits. It makes sense.”

  The flaw in monomythist thinking is that anything can fit into a vague story structure. I knew it was stupid, but I latched onto the hope of getting my friend back as I grabbed his chest and repeatedly slammed him into the ground. If nothing else survived my childhood, at least I could have Gabriel.

  He kicked me off, and I only went a couple meters. Odd, because I felt lighter than air. Gabriel pulled the glaive from his stomach as he rose and clutched at his head. All his wounds were rapidly sealing as my weapon clattered to the floor.

  “Would you actually forgive—” He squeezed his head until he drew blood. “Go to hell!” He lunged and attacked with the remaining claw. My face hurt from how hard I was smiling. I backed up and gracefully dodged or deflected his blows. He growled, “Stay still!”

  “Fear not, Gabriel. I will be your mentor on this journey. There are so many things to show you.” I twirled and retrieved my glaive. “Hair, makeup, voice, mannerisms, and hundreds of little things. With my ability you’ll master them in no time and be quite the diva!”

  In a burst of speed, he tackled me to the ground and squeezed my helmet. His eyes were wet as he whispered. “I wanted to want to be a boy.”

  “Hey, me too!” I broke his grip with my forearms, grabbed his head, and shattered his nose with my helmet. In his temporarily concussed state, I rolled him over and kicked my glaive to my hand. “When you turned all my companions against me, that made these last few months quite a trial. But I’m not mad. It wouldn’t be very heroic to hold onto hate. In fact, let me help you with crossing the threshold.”

  I rammed my glaive through his crotch. He screamed and writhed as I twisted the weapon to excise all his reproductive bits. I didn’t vindictively twist the blade or delight in his blood spilling all over me. This smile was for a friend coming home.

  “Let us test if you’ve broken this ‘bond’ that troubles you so. With Exemplar, your ability will grow back exactly what you really want.” After I stood, I ripped the glaive out and flicked the blood in an arc. When I surveyed the room, everyone else was busy with their own grudge matches or forging their own rivalries.

  How I enjoyed the company of real heroes! Our bloody shouting match didn’t warrant their attention. And why would it? Nothing we discussed had anything to do with their own advancement or the survival of humanity. None of Gabriel’s sycophants made it here with him. Only the two of us escaped Ward 17. The rest would die there.

  I watched with eager anticipation to see what Gabriel would regenerate with. My oldest friend turned into a snake and slithered away before I could see, but I didn’t need to. The bond between us was unshakable. If that came with more than he bargained for—oh well—we all have our trials.

  The professor waved me off. “Passible dueling. Emotionally destabilizing your enemy can create openings, but using personal matters opens you up to the same tactic. Obviously, your form and bladework was perfect. Only bringing one weapon was a strategic error. In a real duel, you would have access to potions, range weapons, and a backup weapon with different enchantments. As a Crafter, I expect you to practice with those options available. Go to the showers. Gyro will bite my head off if she sees you covered in red blood.”

  I thanked him for his instructions, grabbed my satchel, and left for the lavatory. The wide open room was still thick with glowing green particles from the 2nd years washing after their morning hunts. The semi-sentient energy swarmed me and scrubbed off all the filth without requiring me to strip and leave myself vulnerable. I’d made due with a single cleanliness ring for months, but modern advances had made washing a needlessly luxurious experience.

  Who needed to feel themselves be cleaned? How was this relaxing? I had earned the viscera through hard-won combat. It was a symbol of prowess to be worn with pride… until it smelled.

  I sighed and turned to see Nyla in the showers. “Mari, I don't give a shit about your—uh—origins, but you should tell Casimir, so he knows he’s not alone. We’re a team and that would help him. Better he hears it from you, than the rumor mill.”

  “It’s not a secret, but…” Hesitation cloyed at my heart, spawned from a mad fear that he would find me offensive, someone who had cast away what he seeks. That wounded part of my soul wanted to move past this and never speak about it again. The other part, the part that refused to change our hero name, that insisted I wouldn’t hide, that part knew I should show solidarity with my companion. “I’ll tell him.”

  “Sooo,” She craned her head. “What are you rocking down there?”

  “Is that a proposition?”

  Nyla laughed and straightened. “Right! It is weird to ask about someone’s junk.”

  “The siren’s song of my mythical quim has ensorcelled the curiosity of many. Woe, all those are rebuffed unless they be enamored by the woman attached.”

  She wilted with chagrin. “Yeah, my bad.” Nyla punched my shoulder. “See you later, girl.” The whirlwind of a woman then left. In her wake, I stood in silence for a moment before embarking on the next leg of my scholastic journey.

  The Crafter’s tower oozed with a false safety. Drones patrolled the halls, and every corner had automated monster traps. Tension drained from the Crafters as they stepped from the areas with shared dorms to their sanctum of mechanized death.

  I was far too concerned about malfunctions to lower my guard, but I did not miss the shift in tone. In most of the school, students prowled at combat readiness. Strangers watched each other’s back and foes were dispatched at a moment's notice. Here, the students chatted about inane topics and smiled as they walked. It reminded me of my training school and lacked the heroism I had already grown used to.

  A wisp of spirit flowed from a ceiling vent into a patrolling reaver drone. Its single eye turned red as it faced the back of a student with a nascent shade before revving its two gatling lasers. With a sonic boom, I chucked my glaive at the drone’s anti-grav ring. It spun and missed its initial barrage. Before I could leap and wrestle with the foe, a dozen other drones and defenses evaporated the construct in a kaleidoscopic explosion.

  I retrieved my weapon as upperclassmen attended to the recently imbued underclassmen. Potions were shared to heal their ears, and salves were applied to skin burned by indirect radiation. The boy I saved was still curled up as I passed by him.

  The classroom was mostly empty by the time I arrived. I aimed for a middle seat because that would put me within equidistant reach of my peers in the event of an attack. After resting my glaive against the two-person lab table, I pulled out my rune book and continued trying to memorize all of them.

  My studies were interrupted as the classroom filled. A girl walked from table to table, looking for a seat. She flinched from death glares, drawn weapons, and whispered threats. When she reached my table, she waited for the same reaction from me.

  I nodded to her. “The seat is not taken.”

  The girl with long silver hair, pointed ears, and eyes that looked like the night sky, sighed and sat down. Her closed blazer and skirt were white with silver trim, marking her as a Monster. She carefully unpacked her supplies and extended a hand with a smile. “Hi, I’m Vanya Morningdew.”

  Vanya appeared shocked when I accepted her hand. “I’m Mari. May our lab partnership be successful.”

  “Oh good. Someone in this school has manners. Everyone else doesn’t want to associate with a ‘demon’.”

  I shook my head. “That’s ridiculous. Elves aren’t demons. They are spirit possessed humans or living undead. If we wanted to be completely accurate with our heroic nomenclature, we would call them ‘monsters’ since they violate certain subcategory rules. People latch onto the term ‘demon’ because elves leave a body when they are banished.”

  She slumped. “At this point, I’ll take educated bigotry. At least you’re not threatening to stab me.”

  “Wha…? You wound me. I support the alliance with Elves. If monster tamer abilities are acceptable, then turning monsters against each other with diplomacy is equally heroic.”

  Vanya clenched her hands and gritted out, “We are human, and I’m only a half-elf.”

  “Ah, excuse my assumption. You share all the phenotypical markings of a full-elf.” Not that it really mattered, because any elven ancestry made you an elf. High fey lords and ladies kidnapped generations of humans to selectively breed more mortal fey until a species was made that could sometimes translate their wants into human speech. One or two more generations of human mixing would only marginally dilute the fey essence.

  “When my shade grew, so did my elven features. I used to look more human.”

  I nodded. “I’ve seen that happen. Powerful elven heroes tend to grow more fey, driving them mad or back to their court of origin.”

  She gestured to the Crafting classroom. “And that’s why I’m here, so that I can learn how to fight without pushing my shade. How do you know so much about elves? Please tell me you’re not an enthusiast because I can tell you right now that I’m not interested.” Since the fey no longer needed to capture us, elf fetishists have stopped disappearing and now live among us.

  I waved off her concern. “My interest was not so base. I had to investigate the elves in my Ward before we burned them at the stake.”

  “You were an inquisitor!” She hissed and backed away.

  “Yes? I slay monsters of all kinds, but rest assured, the elves we killed were guilty of heinous crimes. When I was 12, I baited a child snatcher into kidnapping me. He baked no more children into confections. Another disguised human flesh as artisan leather furniture. One was casting a blood ritual to sacrifice my Ward and call forth a Titan spawn. But just because every single elf I’ve met has been a horrible monster in spirit and deed doesn’t mean they all are. I’m not going to let myself be biased by coincidence.”

  Her every muscle was tense, and her face was flushed with anger as she asked incredulously, “And how many non-elf humans have you killed?”

  I pressed a hand to my chest. “I would never slay a human. Even the elves I’ve killed—as vile as they were—will reincarnate.”

  “Spoken by someone that has no idea what the fuck they’re talking about. ‘Oh, elves reincarnate and live magical immortal existences!’” She slammed the table and leaned into my face. “My mother’s sister is also her grandfather. Aunty didn’t even get his old shade, only his memories and his experiences for an ability she doesn’t have anymore. My family tree is a bush. Those elves you killed will only be even more fucked up elves beget by their nearest relative.”

  “That’s why we burn them, so the trauma of their death scrubs away the previous personality.”

  She reached into her bag and shoved a paper in front of me. “That doesn’t work! Look at this study published last year. Recidivism into dark deeds goes UP after a traumatic death. Only rehabilitation has shown ANY effectiveness in harm reduction.”

  I closed my book and examined the paper. “Ooo, this research was by Insight. I love her work. Let’s see…” I read through the abstract and conclusion before skimming the results to make sure I followed the logic. “Amazing! Thank you, Vanya. I’m always looking for ways to refine my approaches to the foes of humanity.”

  Triumph mixed with despair in her eyes. “Mari, elves aren’t your enemy. No matter how much scorn and hate humanity heaps upon me, they are my people, and I will defend them with my life, and my next life, and all the ones after that. They may revile me, but I am their hero.”

  I opened my mouth to respond, but Vanya put a finger in front of it.

  “Hush, class is about to start.”