The Change and the Selection
The night before the Selection, the air in the mountain city of Starcrest was crisp, smelling of pine and the faint, citric tang of the magical town's protective wards. It was pine trees and grapefruit were rejoicing in the mountain air.
This was the last weekend before tournament mania hit the school and most eligible Star Academy students were now roaming the streets of the small town.
Hazel, Evervine, Marcel, and Ron had managed to slip into The Gilded Portal, and even get their favorite booth.
Between them sat a tray of the new pub's signature drink - Star Blazer sodas - the liquid inside swirling with actual miniature nebulae that popped with a strawberry-ginger fizz. It had been an instant hit with the Star Academy students and the Gilded Portal was now a favorite spot.
"I'm telling you," Evervine said, her voice buzzing with excitement. As a student of Sof House, she had spent the last six hours in the transfiguration pits. "The rumors from the Zenith camp are that they've brought their own specialized staves. If I get selected for the Beast-Form Scrimmage, I'm going to show them exactly what a Star Academy guardian looks like."
Marcel, representing Pilar House, leaned back with a more composed look, though he was tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table, a splash of the opalescent effervescence of his star blazer at the corner of his mouth. "The alchemy brackets are going to be a nightmare. I've heard the Iron Spire team is using volatile Aether-salts. It's not about strength; it's about not blowing yourself up."
Hazel sat quietly, watching the tiny stars in her drink fade and reappear. She looked at Leo, who was sitting at the edge of the booth, looking a bit overwhelmed by the older students' intensity.
"You're awfully quiet, Hazel," Marcel noted, popping a snack into his mouth. "Most people would be vibrating out of their boots right now. You're the frontrunner for half the categories."
Hazel offered a small, tired smile. "I have so much I have to do. Honestly? I'm not even really interested in all this anymore. I only did the Divination tournament because Professor Sing practically begged me." She shrugged. "And to shut Rosa up. Between my research and helping Leo, the idea of adding a tournament schedule feels more like a prison sentence than a prospect now."
The table went quiet for a beat. The others looked at her—the Master of Fate who had survived more in two years than most did in a lifetime—and realized she meant it. She had more on her plate than most professors, or battle mages.
Evervine got serious again. "How is your Golem research going?"
With this Marcel also perked up. "I was reading Perkins' 'Notes on that which is taboo' and his soul stich is better than any I have seen."
Hazel nodded. "Agreed. I already decided to combine his and Summervale's methods." Marcel's eyes widened as he made a mental note to look up Samantha Summervale's soul stich. "It is not just the Golem. I really want to help Leo as well, if only to make Cassius Ambrose choke on his words." Leo sat up straighter at the mention of his name.
Evervine took a sip of her soda, a nebula bursting at the exact same time and going up her nose. She sneezed and a small opalescent shimmer shot from her right nostril. She spoke like it never happened while Marcel fought to contain his laughter. "Well, get ready Hazel. You are going to be placed in at least four of the categories and who can defeat you?" She shrugged and took another sip of her drink - watching the nebulae carefully. "You will qualify for whichever categories you are placed in."
The Morning of Relief
When Hazel woke up the next morning with an odd tension in her back. When the tournament was announced she had been so gung-ho, ready to compete in her father's name, but then she began working with Leo and she knew she wanted to honor her father by teaching Leo what he had taught her. She sighed as her bedpost lit up - like every other bedpost in the school lit up.
Hazel walked to her post. The dark would glowed green a seemed to go translucent. Hazel's stomach knotted as the common runic language of Tan began to appear.
'Hazel Jazel Potter McGonagall. You have not been chosen for any of the categories for the qualifying tournament. Thank you for your submission.'
For a split second, a flicker of frustration rose up—the feeling of being overlooked—but it was immediately replaced by a surge of pure, unadulterated joy. A physical weight lifted off her chest, making it easier to breathe than it had been in weeks.
She bolted down the hallway to the boy's dorms and began shouting Leo's name well before she arrived at his door. She knocked Leo's door with a sharp, happy rhythm.
"Leo! Wake up!"
He opened the door, rubbing sleep from his eyes confusion creasing his face.
"I didn't get picked!" Hazel laughed, grabbing his arm before he could get his thoughts together. "Which means I can help you most of the day. We will have classes half the day and then everyone will begin preparing for the tournament. Let's go to the Traveler's Vault after class - no one will be able to enter mine and i can decrease the difficulty level for you. I want to show you how to anchor a sub-space fold without using a wand."
Leo's face transformed from confusion to astonishment. "You aren't chosen? But... how? Maybe your bedpost is defective."
Hazel shook her head. A wide smile on her face. "It works just fine. It announced that I wasn't chosen." Joe's jaw dropped. Hazel simply smiled as she calmly walked back to her room - she had completely forgotten about half day today until she began talking to Leo. "She you this afternoon.
The Five Pillars and the Apology
Later that afternoon, after a grueling but successful session in the Vault, Hazel headed back toward the library. Her mind was racing with the research she'd been doing on the Golem for Gaelia. She had a list of The Five Top Facts for soul-transference burned into her memory:
1. Aetheric Conductivity: Clay must be tempered with ground moonstone to hold a conscious spark.
2. Sensory Anchors: Without silver-thread nerves, the Golem will have no sense of touch.
3. The Heart-Core: A soul needs a central 'battery'—usually a refined divination star crystal works fine.
4. The Mirror crux: if the soul is encased within a reflective surface a reversal ceremony must be completed or the soul will enter the Golem as an exact reflection, and therefore the opposite of self.
5. The Will of the Golem: Most Golem will only be as stable as the will entering. The more stable the will the more stable the Golem
As she rounded the corner - her mind fully immersed in her thoughts - she nearly collided with Professor Sing. The Professor gave her a hard look and pursed her lips.
"Hazel! I was just coming to find you. You have been avoiding me all day. I want to talk with you about the Selection for the tournament. The headmistress feels that given the issues with the Emotion Doll, Rosa, and the new wraith that has been summoned but still not found. You would be safer not participating. We know that you wanted—"
"Professor," Hazel interrupted, holding up a hand. She gave the Professor a genuine, warm smile. "Please, don't worry about it. I'm not upset at all. I actually have some other things I really need to do—important research that I finally have time for. You understand, right?"
Sing blinked, completely thrown by Hazel's lack of resentment. "You... you're sure? You wanted to participate for Montague didn't you?"
"I did. But i think training Leo would be a better homage to my father" Hazel said with a shrug. "I'll be in the library or the Traveler Vault if you need anything. And don't worry. I will be rooting for Evervine and Marcel during their categories. I won't lock myself away."