"Attention, all students! Make your way toward the stage; we will now announce the results of today''s tournament," Leanna declared.
The 15 nations shuffled and made their way to the gathering area. It looked like many had been back at the clearing for quite some time, judging by the number resting on the ground. That, or I was just jealous of how refreshed everyone looked in comparison to my ragged state. I made a mental note to find an unoccupied healer before all this was said and done. Once we were all assembled, the same overseer that had first addressed us earlier in the day took the stage.
"Students, first, I want to applaud you all for your efforts in today''s tournament. The scouts have reported some truly exciting events. Feats of great valor and brilliant tactical displays. Do I commend you all? No. Only the truly mighty will reap the rewards. Today''s scoring was determined by two factors: first, the number of kings that your nation captured, and second, the number of individuals that your team successfully defended against. That being said, I will now announce the nation placement for this tournament. Each nation will be addressed by the name of their monarch. If your name is called, come to the stage.” The man took in a deep breath, seeming to savor the attention fixed on him. “In third place, we have the nation ruled by Sophia!"
There was a roar of applause as a rather short woman made her way toward the stage. The overseer took another long, suspenseful pause.
"Determining first place and second place was rather difficult; the scores were so close that it came down to the difference of a single defeated defender. Sometimes, it takes a certain amount of luck to come out on top. So, in second place, we have the nation ruled by Steven, and in first place, we have the nation ruled by Damien."
I frowned, disappointed. It was one thing to lose, but it was another to lose because of what the overseer chalked up to luck. If the applause and cheering meant anything, we had something to be proud of, but even so, I had a hard time keeping a smile on my face as I made my way to the podium.
"All right, all right," the overseer said, looking to get everyone''s attention again.
"Congratulations to our top three nations; from what I’ve heard, each of your teams showed a valiant effort. And special congratulations to you, Damien; winning this first tournament is an important step in your role as a king at the Academy."
My sense of disappointment deepened as I heard the overseer''s words. Now we would have to fight our way up from a losing position. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.
"As the champion, Damien, is there anything that you would like to share with your peers?" the overseer asked. Damien nodded and made his way to the front of the platform.
"Fellow students, I acknowledge that my nation has performed a great feat that is worthy of praise. That being said, I am unwilling to become a champion by default. Therefore, I officially challenge Steven to a one-on-one duel of wits to determine the true champion.
Various expressions of shock spread throughout the crowd, and over to the side, I could hear the overseer speaking privately to Damien.
"Damien, are you sure that this is the choice you want to make?” the overseer pressed. “Once you''ve decided, you cannot go back, regardless of the outcome." Damien affirmed his position and walked over to me, holding out his hand.
"Steven! Well met. Would you do me the honor of dueling for the title of champion?"
I took Damien’s hand and nodded, stunned by the turn of events, but unwilling to let such a chance slip through my fingers. As the overseer went to discuss the turn of events with the other officials, I made my way to the front of the platform, looking out over the expectant crowd.
"I, Steven, formerly accept the challenge to a duel of wits for the title of champion!" I announced.
A thunderous roar erupted from the soldiers below, who were clearly looking forward to a good show. The overseer stepped forward to speak.
"Due to the unique nature of this tournament''s outcome, the academy approves this official challenge. Therefore, the champion will now be determined by a test of wit. Damien has proposed that the test of wit be a game of Maddosh, which we have deemed an acceptable method."
I couldn''t help the wide smile from spreading across my face. The overseer was right when he said that luck sometimes determined the victor. Unless Damien was some sort of super genius, he would stand no chance against me. Maddosh is a game of tactics and grand strategy. There are many similar games, but this one is known for its difficulty and for the many moving parts you have to keep track of at once during the game. In a game of Maddosh, you and your opponent serve as generals of two armies and are presented with a particular scenario, including the terrain, the types of troops that you have available, the movement speed of your battalions, your rations, the types of weapons at your disposal, and more. After a 10-minute study session, where the generals familiarize themselves with their army, they then take turns expending a set amount of command points that allow for the mobilization of troops or the use of resources. These bouts usually last for hours, especially between evenly-matched opponents. That being said, I doubted that Damian would match my level of skill. I''d spent much of my free time as a kid studying strategy and tactics, often playing Maddosh against myself or anyone willing to challenge me. With my near-perfect memory, I could recall any of the strategies and tactics that I had read or used in the past, not to mention my ability to easily manage the ongoing details of the game in a way no other opponent I had faced could.
The overseer, who had introduced herself as Lord Leanna, led Damian and me to a newly erected table not far from the podium. The instructors were already setting up the scenario for our game of Maddosh. Sitting at my side of the table, I listened as the overseer laid out the rules of the game for any in the crowd who didn’t know and began to explain the scenario. The scenario was funny; essentially, it amounted to me having to overcome insurmountable odds against an enemy that had an uphill advantage, a resource advantage, and a troop number advantage. The one thing that I had in my favor was that I was allotted two extra command points per turn—a common balancing measure often associated with the extra motivation that comes from a dire situation in real battles. We were each handed several sheets of paper containing our army and resource details, and we spent the next 10 minutes studying them.
At the start of the game, thanks to my extra command points, I went first. I immediately set about deploying different defensive measures and ultimately setting up the main tactical advantages. In a typical Maddosh game, there are several rounds of initial setup where the armies are mobilized and any additional resources are collected. I had my troops ready for battle by the end of turn two, not that anybody watching would have been able to realize it unless they were accomplished strategists. At the start of turn three, the battle was all but decided. Damien pushed the attack, using standard battle formations and making good use of the advantages that he''d been given. I, however, had been inspired by today''s "Capture the King" tournament and decided to use similar tactics. Most fail to recognize that if you lack natural advantages, you simply need to create them. On the first set of turns, I started forest fires set to spread into the enemy''s camp by the end of turn three, effectively splitting their forces in half. Leaving just enough troops to defend against Damien''s initial cavalry charge, I sent the rest of my troops to invade the side of the camp where the general was positioned. And just like that, the battle ended at the start of turn four with the death of the general.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
Damien was stunned when I announced my victory; in fact, he was so surprised that he looked to the instructors, trying to get an explanation for what had happened. He was like a man desperately trying to understand how his king had been checkmated. One of the instructors that were more familiar with the game assured Damian that my tactics were indeed valid, if a bit untraditional. After another half minute or so of shock, Damien got up and extended his hand toward me in respectful acknowledgment.
"Steven, that was the most decisive win that I have ever seen in a duel of wits. Thank you for giving me the honor of learning from failure today." Though there was an edge of anger to Damien’s tone, I could tell he meant what he said.
I looked at Damian with a new appreciation. There weren''t many people who could lose with grace and honor their enemies. I stuck out my hand, and Damien shook it with firm intensity—the kind I would not soon forget.
"Damien, I admire your great strength of character. I''m certain that you will be one of the greatest warriors in this country''s future."
After the crowd realized that the typically multi-hour game had been finished in less than 20 minutes, they rushed to see who the new champion was. Many of them had decided to go and rest and talk with their nation until closer to the end of the game, anticipating a protracted strategic struggle. They were quite surprised to return and find that they had missed all the action. The overseer led us back to the front of the platform and waited to speak until everyone had gathered again.
"Few of you will recognize what just happened, but we have just witnessed one of the most dominant official games of Maddosh ever played. I''m sure that in tournaments to come, Steven''s mind will prove to be an even greater weapon. Now that Steven is officially our champion, let me explain to you all what that means. Every 12 weeks, we will have an inter-class tournament. At every tournament, nations will compete for the title of champion. The champion gains exclusive boons for his nation that won''t be available to anybody else until the naming of a new champion. As you know, the amount of time that each nation spends with the champion title directly improves their eligibility for elite training after the academy.
In this instance, the first major benefit that Steven will have is first pick of boons and classes for this term. Additionally, Steven will be able to select an extra course for his nation to enroll in. As knowledge is one of the most crucial elements available at the academy, this will give the Champion’s nation a great leg up over each of you. That being said, just as Steven has proven today, advantages only mean so much, and even the most insurmountable odds can be overcome. With that, you are all dismissed. Individual overseers will be around to talk to your monarchs about enrollment in courses before sending you back to your camps.
After finishing his speech, the overseer approached me with her two assistants. "Congratulations on your victory, Steven. I must say, that was one of the finest games of Maddosh that I have ever seen. Were you perhaps raised by a former lord?"
I shook my head. "I appreciate the compliment, but I am the son of a tavern owner. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time studying strategy, using games like Maddosh, reading old military texts, studying historical strategy, and poring over modern battle theory and their applications on real battlefields." This caused the overseers to reel. The leader gaped at me before asking, "Do you expect me to believe that you can not only read, but that you also taught yourself how to win in the way that we just saw?"
I flashed a knowing grin. "I mean no disrespect; I’m only sharing what my experience has been." "Did you have something else that you were hoping to share with me?"
Recovering from her shock, Lady Leanna continued. “We have come to speak with you regarding rewards for the victory you achieved today. There are two separate selections that you will have to make—which two instructors you would like to have for the next 13 weeks, and which of the boons you would like to claim for your nation."
Having the first choice of instructors for our team would allow me to shape which topics we would be learning about. The organizers would all but certainly throw in a few poor choices to reinforce the significance of winning and standings. These selections would last until the next tournament, which happened once every 12 weeks, or every quarter, as the instructors had taken to calling it. Then I had the benefit of choosing three boons that would aid our nation, compared to the next six placing nations, which could choose two boons, and the following eight nations, which could choose only one. Insert classes explanation The five nations that didn’t compete would be left high and dry.
One of the other overseers introduced himself as "he who shall be named" and handed me a list with the names of the instructors and the corresponding classes that they would teach. Scanning through them, they were about what I expected: hand-to-hand combat, sword training, leadership, strategy, woodcraft, forge-work, and so forth. Such classes would guide the progression of my nation. Looking back at the list, I realized there was an option that I had overlooked: a class called "developing your gift." That was an idea that I had never heard before; in fact, up until that moment in the hut earlier, I had believed that giftings were simply fixed. I was willing to bet that choosing that class would pay off. So, after much deliberation, I selected hand-to-hand combat and developing your gift.
After handing the first list back to Filler Name, he showed me the selection of rewards to choose from. Most of the options were one-time bonuses, like a shipment of food and spices or tools to help build up our camps. Among these, there were several options that stood out to me, all of which would provide long-term benefits. The first that I selected was the right to use an iron and coal mine, which would require infrastructure to use, but would provide access to metal in the long term. The second provided a one-time agricultural specialist visit. The specialist would explain the best ways to make use of our nation’s soil to grow crops, as well as supplying seeds to plant the for the first harvest. For the third boon, I chose the rights to access a large bamboo grove, which I believed could be used as a versatile building material.
With my decisions made, I confirmed them with the overseers and began the journey back to camp with the rest of my nation. Even though we had only been in the academy for a few days, I felt like we were in an entirely different world. I had been dreaming about my time at the academy since I was a kid, and even though I knew it wouldn''t be easy, I had a vision that I would see fulfilled.
Arriving back at the camp, I took a moment to collect myself before I shouted for my soldiers to gather together Once everyone had drawn near, I began to speak.
"Today marks a milestone that we will look back at a year from now as the beginning of our great conquest. Through each of your feats of courage and skill, we were victorious—and we return with the spoils.” Several people hollered and grunted their approval. Then, with fire in my eyes, I continued.
"But I’m not here just to win. I have come for something much greater than simply outperforming my peers. Uncertainty swept over the crowd, but they were listening attentively, hanging on my next words which would either light a spark, or douse a flame. I stared them down with conviction.
"For decades, students have come to this academy and competed to join the military, some aspiring to even join the honored knights. But I propose to you that this has all been a test to see if anyone would rise higher. We’ve all heard the legends of how this nation was formed. In hushed whispers, we are told that a small band of warriors conquered their neighbors through ingenuity and raw strength, forging a new path for their country Merita was born with the understanding that the strongest among us would bring prosperity and order to the land—or die trying. The air was buzzing with electricity as I spoke words promising either heresy or renaissance, but I saw what I was looking for; a few eyes held the gleam of revelation.
"We are such a band of warriors as this; in our day, we will see a new legend formed. We will conquer our neighboring nations and change the face of the Academy forever. Brothers and sisters in arms, I am proposing that we lay aside our efforts to merely win glory on the battlefield, and work to completely change the playing field itself. For starters, instead of merely building a liveable camp, I say we build a new stronghold for our nation to utilize." At this point, my confidence had peaked, and I was almost shouting, "It will take more effort than anyone of us signed up for, but the results could very well change the Merita that we know!”
Furthermore, I propose that if we are willing to invest our efforts today, we could dramatically raise the standard for our whole country. The tension in the air was suddenly broken by a roar of agreement and thundering shouts and applause. Coming back down to earth, I soberly asked, "Who will join me in writing the next chapter of our nation’s history?" As the energy died down, I took the opportunity to slip out of the camp to grab a moment for myself. I sighed loudly, relieved that I hadn''t blown it in the middle of the speech. I took a few minutes to gather myself; this was just the beginning, and there was a lot of work to be done, but the seed had been planted.