"So you had a vision that there would be a demon attack, and you just decided not to tell the cadre or the Grammarians?" Head Grammarian Luka was nearly apoplectic. "What are you going to tell me next? There was no time?"

  There really hadn't been time for him to deal with that. He knew that he was going to have to fill out forms, and talk to more than one Grammarian, and the first one wouldn't believe him. Even though he had the title, the respect wasn't there yet. He can only hope that after this, he would have the respect and the title, and maybe they might listen to him the first time.

  "I don't think that I would have been listened to."

  The scratching sound of Marcel scribing down this interview for posterity stopped abruptly. It wasn't one of the Grammarians, because they had more important things to do. They grabbed Marcel almost as an afterthought. His penmanship and his ability to work was almost as good as Ludere's. It was just the ability to do the work, it did not compete with him having to be the one telling a story back. Marcel only had a bit role in this play. He was deemed sufficient for the job.

  "Don't Grammarians take these kinds of things seriously? Why would you think that?" Marcel asked.

  "I didn't think that I could adequately explain that in time. We have now. Suffice to say that I had a vision, and this is not the first time that I've had a vision that has come to pass."

  "So you're an Oracle now? Regnicus, this is a little bit ridiculous. Please understand the position that you're putting us in. You're acting on your own, without oversight."

  "If I'd had oversight, would it have gone any differently? What if I told you that there was supposed to be an attack during the dueling event that occurs in roughly twelve days? What if I told you I had a vision of myself dying through that, and had to piece together how that could have even come to pass, and I came to the conclusion that some of my fellow students had been replaced by demons, assuming their form? Would you take me seriously, or would you blow me off?"

  Luka took off his spectacles. "The final duels for standing in this class are a sacred… If what you're saying is true, then you should have brought it to us."

  "Unless I had a vision that I was not going to be able to get through you in the time frame. You understand how much this cuts through the red tape."

  Luka sighed deeply. "Still, you've already become a hero to the Empire, and we just need you to understand that you shouldn't be acting on your own like this. You should be working with us, and we should all be on the same page. Forming a vigilante group to administer rough justice is not the first option. I don't even think it's going to be an option, save for the fact that everyone that was involved is alive. If a single person had died—"

  "No one died."

  "—understood, but if, then we would be having a very different discussion right now."

  Grammarian Luka had a scar across his cheek. If Ludere was correct, that has probably been from his time in the Legion. Almost all the Grammarians had been in the Legion and done their ten years before they took this posting. There wasn't much other reason for them to have a scar, unless it had been from some other incident. It was unlikely that a Grammarian of his level had even been in the fight significant enough to threaten his life.

  "Fortunately, I know a way around a hoard of demons."

  "The reports from your showing at the arena don't mention a horde of demons, just the gate and one elite demon. Is this some sort of part of your vision? I'm going to be honest, here. I did not think that visions could be this detailed. What you're describing here sounds more like a living play."

  Ludere waited for the Grammarian's questioning, but picked out Marcel in particular, and made it sound like this was just something that he did. Which, of course, it was. But he had to not mention the loops in such a way that would cause him to give away all of his secrets. He trusted Mila. She had proven to be good people, but this man looked like he would use the loops as a weapon if he understood what it was. Which, to be fair, Ludere was using the loops as a weapon against the demons who were trying to invade.

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  "We understand that you've become very close with some of our students, and in light of this we're going to have to shut down the school for a week or two, to get a sense of why this happened. Everyone's going to have to leave and come back. If what you're saying is true, then we have to scour this place and update our security protocols. The demons shouldn't have been able to infiltrate this place, much less get so far that any student's life was in danger."

  They've gone over the security protocols with him several times. He did not understand what they'd done, but many people had poured their Willpower into imbuing the static defenses that ringed the wall on the island.

  Each one of the walls had layers of protection to keep unwanted guests out.

  Each doorway held the potential to stop somebody who wasn't there on official business. They'd been handed small medallions, that allowed them free-roaming privileges around and let them go through all the gates. But if any one of those gates was not correct, or the person didn't have a medallion, then they wouldn't be able to pass through the barrier in question.

  It was simple enough to slip through a barrier with the correct medallion. So easy, even a demon could do it.

  "While you're here, I do need to scan your medallion. For accountability, we need to make sure that they're all found. The demons had two on them. We're not sure how they did what they did, without someone on the inside. I'm only telling you this because you've been a friend to the Empire, and you deserve to know. Marcel, don't write that." Luka mimed erasing the tablet.

  "If the school is closing down for a week, then we're being sent home? Will that interrupt our studies?" Marcel was furiously crossing out part of his parchment as they spoke.

  "Your studies will be fine. Every student just needs to be… Fully vetted."

  Ludere gulped. This sounded like they were trying to find a reason to disenroll him, but the political situation was not expedient.

  "Is there anything else, Grammarian Luka?" Ludere wanted to get up and check on his friends. He needed to make sure that they understood what was going on, and that was before he even thought about the matter of his spear.

  "I believe that should be all. Regnicus, despite what I might say, you've done an excellent job here. Any Legion Commander would be happy to have you in his ranks. Have you given any thought as to what you intend to do when you're done with the academy?"

  He hadn't, but he knew how to curry favor. "I am leaning towards the military."

  A smile flitted across the Grammarian's face. It wasn't unexpected. The only chance he would get would be if he did very well. With the academy closing for a week, he had another week to prepare to do his best.

  He had another week in which he could work with whatever the Senator could provide him.

  "That will be all. Strength in numbers, Regnicus."

  "Strength in numbers, Grammarian."

  "Do you think that this isn't going to affect what happens next?" Mila said, over lunch.

  Classes had been canceled for that day, and every student had been ordered off the island. They were waiting for their turn at the terminal.

  "I think this is going to affect it greatly. I can't wait to see what the Oracle says."

  He couldn't, either. For so many reasons, he was excited to see his new girlfriend.

  "You should thank her for her insight. I wasn't expecting this extra week off. I don't think any of us were. This whole mess with the visions? It's unbelievable."

  The visions were how they had coded his talk about the loops. They knew it, but there were always prying eyes trying to find out more information. He would gladly do without anyone else finding out his secret.

  "It will be good. Do you think that this might be a way for them to cause a bit of a panic, though?"

  Ludere lifted his empty lunch basket. "Good. They should be taking this seriously. I don't think they are. Demonic incursions used to be rare. I don't know what happened to the force that was going to come across at the arena, but that would have been enough to level the capital."

  "Truly? That whole thing… You went through so much… And they're just not taking you seriously. That tracks."

  "Unfortunately."

  A transport came into view from the mainland. It was one of those sleek, black obelisks that represented the strength of the Empire. Someone was using their Willpower to imbue it to move. Somehow, he had missed that lesson. He dearly wished to learn that trick.

  It was one of the more complicated things you could do with a focused Will imbuement.

  "When are they going to teach us how to do that?"

  She tracked his finger. "They teased that the last month would be all practical applications of what we've learned, but as to this point, I think that they're still making it up as they go. I've got the foundational text here, if you want to read it."

  Ludere knew that Grammarian Tyler would want a full accounting of his time, as well as Cire would want a debrief. He had a lot of work ahead of him.

  The book she handed him was a tome. It was nearly the size of his basket.

  "Where were you keeping this? Marcelo's Will Theorem. What a name."

  He hadn't seen it on her but she had been wearing a loose toga. Did her toga have pockets? Did that make it better than his cowled toga? This matter required some investigation.