The gathering broke up after another hour of camera people running around to take shots of everyone mingling.
Karl’s reluctance to mingle actually made their life easy, as he was with a group in the background of many shots, and he just had to move between them for individual photos. They didn’t need a photo with everyone, just enough that they could fill multiple articles with whatever fit.
In contrast, the hyperactive ones like Lotus were harder to properly photograph because they kept disappearing, or appearing with the same people over and over, so you could never get a shot with the people you wanted.
They talked to a hundred people in the evening, but every time the camera caught them, they were with the same ones. That would just cause scandals if they posted too many.
The bored population wouldn’t see a hyper nature priestess talking to all the fun people, they would see a married politician with a much younger woman in multiple photos, as if they were a couple.
Lotus wasn’t helping that situation, as she had no qualms about hanging off people, and there were multiple pictures with her in either Bob or Tank’s arms, gaining elevation so she could see what was going on.
Karl almost felt sorry for the reporters who had to do damage control so they didn’t cause rumours that would get them yelled at by ranking Elites or their bosses.
“Prince Karl, could we get one last photo?” One of the reporters asked as Karl left with his group.
“Of course.”
They all turned as a group, and Karl put an arm over Dana’s shoulder as she leaned against him.
Doug had done the same with Morgana, who was currently tipsy enough that she wasn’t yelling at him, while the others arrayed themselves around the couples.
“Thank you all. Have a splendid evening. Will you be at the general mess hall in the morning?” The reporter asked.
“Perhaps. We may be busy again tomorrow with the aftermath of today’s advancements.” Karl explained.
The reporters left them, and Karl’s expanded group, including the Mackenzie brothers and Morgana, returned to the Fort for the evening.
Now that they had hammocks there, the trio hadn’t returned to the teachers’ dorms for an evening since, and Karl didn’t blame them. They were in the same dorm tent as Tank, and Karl could hear him snoring from the mess hall if the big berserker had a morning off.
Anyone with enhanced hearing had to be suffering or using earplugs to sleep in camp.
They had the next day off, and Karl was looking forward to sleeping in, but first thing in the morning, the sound of loud celebrations woke him up from a deep sleep.
“What is going on out there.” He muttered to himself as he equipped his suit and rolled out of his hammock.
Oddly, there was nobody in the fort, they were all outside, gathered in a circle on the ground while Hawk and Doug stared each other down.
There were vines in between them, being blocked by a wall of fire, and both of them were surging with power as they competed.
Why they felt the need for a power game before six in the morning was a mystery, but they were dedicated to it, and Hawk was so focused on his work that Karl wasn’t even picking up any stray thoughts from him.
Karl sat down in the entryway and watched the challenge while the other beasts slept. Both Hawk and Doug were right at the boundary to the Royal Rank advancement, and their contest seemed to be to keep up with each other.
The vines enlarged and contracted, while the flames shifted in colour, adapting to each other and maintaining the stalemate. Flames would burst from a new location, headed for Doug, only to be intercepted by a new vine, or a new vine would be intercepted by a ball of fire, increasing the density of the conflict every time one of them had a slight advancement.
It looked like any progress that they were making were balancing each other out, at least for the first few minutes.
Then Hawk’s body began to enlarge, and his feathers started to turn transparent with flames.
The wall of fire was pushing back the Thorned Vines now, and Doug’s forehead was rolling with sweat as he worked to increase his peak power output.
Then Hawk’s flame body went from a red-orange to a deep vermilion, and his power surged as his body expanded from condor sized to nearly five metres in wingspan as his wings spread in a majestic sweep of fire.
Doug’s power was growing as well, and a soft green light surrounded his vines, which had been burning away. Now, they were slowly repairing themselves, but not fast enough, and in only a few seconds, Hawk had overcome him and the flames hit the barrier Dana had placed over the Cleric.
The two of them grinned at each other, pleased with their success, and Karl wondered if Doug had managed to make it to Royal Rank.
Hawk clearly had made the advancement, as his feathers had changed. It was a particular characteristic of most monstrous Hawk species, in that they were visually identifiable not by size but by coloration.
It had been true of him as a Windspeed Hawk, and now as a Dragonhawk. But the new feathers were fantastic. They were literally made of solid fire, as far as Karl could tell. They still looked like feathers, but the opaque portion was paper thin, and the rest of the feather was rich vermilion red flames.
Lotus climbed on Doug, sitting on his crossed legs with her nose centimetres from his chin, as if a shorter distance between them would help her understand better.
“Did you learn a new skill? I got a new skill when I made High Priestess, do we get another at Royal?” She demanded.
Doug poked her and Lotus glowed with green light before looking confused.
“What did it do?”
“It’s a regeneration spell. It applies to me and my living targets. That naturally includes my summoned vines, and that’s what you saw.
But more importantly, you didn’t mention that you got a spell at Commander Rank. What did you get?”
Lotus ignored his question and went over to carefully attempt to pet Hawk. She didn’t know if he was actually on fire or just looked like he was, and there was one easy way to find out.
“Not going to answer?” Doug asked.
“Later. There is a Royal Rank feathered friend here, and I have to know.” She replied.
She stretched out her hand and Doug laughed. The flames dimmed under her hand as Hawk adjusted them to not scorch the priestess, and Lotus beamed in pride, then smacked out the smouldering sections of her sleeve before repairing them.
“So, they can burn, but they can also not burn. That is fascinating. You are a beautiful Hawk.” She cooed while the bird straightened in pride and spread his wings to show off his enlarged size and majesty.
[The Lotus appreciates me.]
[Oh, you think because I’m not interrupting them that I’m not proud of you? I will preen your feathers all you want later, let them have their fun.] Karl replied with a soft laugh.
Their little experiment this morning had not gone unnoticed, and Karl saw that there were dozens of teachers hanging out in the background, along with a few news cameras and Director Jones of the Military Finance Committee.
It was still nearly dark out, the sun wasn’t even over the horizon yet, so most of the camp was still asleep, but the energy had caught the attention of someone in charge, and they had sent over cameras.
[Hawk, make a loop over the camp. The cameras are running, and this is your chance to really show off your majestic feathers for the world.] Karl suggested.
Hawk gave Lotus a friendly headbutt, and then took to the sky.
The glowing flames of his feathers lit up the sky as Hawk used [Flaming Body] to enhance his appearance and make himself easier to see.
With a five-metre wingspan, Karl estimated that Hawk had to weigh over fifteen kilograms now, truly prodigious for an evolved Windspeed Hawk, and the trail of fire that he left behind him as he swooped through the morning twilight made beautiful patterns for the cameras to follow.
Doug smiled at Lotus. “I see now. You didn’t want to step on Hawk’s moment. We can discuss your new spell later, don’t think I will forget.”
“You never forget about things. Even when you should forget about the little things.” Lotus pouted.
Doug and Tessa both laughed, knowing she was referring to something from her training years.
“Hawk is glorious, though. Not even the Rocs will dare to challenge us from the sky now.” Doug agreed.
