Shattered Sanity

(Meanwhile, The Forty-Eight-Hour Trade Window)

While Riven toured House Argent’s grounds and tried to select a dormitory for himself, the other First Years desperately attempted to recruit individuals from Argent’s target list, following the strategy Cedric had given them almost word for word.

"The house leader has said that we can discuss the price for my trade once we have settled this one....."

They said, as initially, much to the delight of House Argent’s leadership, the strategy worked considerably better than anyone had expected.

The other Houses, wanting desperately to acquire Argent’s most valuable recruits, agreed to their demands, as one after another, low priority targets were drafted to Argent for low prices.

However, soon the ploy was exposed.

Once the initial trades were completed in good faith, the seniors from other houses began to approach house Argent leadership to negotiate the important trades, but, much to their shock, House Argent showed absolutely no interest in trading their top picks.

"What do you mean you’re not willing to trade Deku and Mary? I practically gave you Sauron for free....."

A Viridian delegate muttered furiously, however, there was nothing he could do about it.

No formal agreement regarding the second trade had ever existed, while the student himself possessed no authority to guarantee that Cedric would accept anything.

So, by the time Viridian understood what had happened, Argent had already successfully repeated similar tricks elsewhere.

Mary herself managed to convince an Aureate senior that Cedric might become more receptive towards discussions regarding her transfer if another recruit from her list was acquired first.

Another Argent First Year successfully approached Sable.

Two others found different targets.

Within the opening hours of the trade window, eight additional students had been transferred beneath Argent’s silver banner, bringing their incoming First Year population from one hundred to one hundred and eight without forcing the House to surrender anyone particularly valuable.

Then the other Houses began talking amongst themselves.

And everything collapsed almost immediately.

"Those Argent bastards are playing us!"

The accusation spread between the compounds rapidly, as seniors who had previously believed themselves engaged in separate negotiations gradually discovered that Argent’s First Years had been approaching everyone with variations of the same story.

By the time the ninth Argent First Year attempted the strategy, the response was considerably less welcoming.

"My House Lord said that if I successfully acquire this student, he might become willing to discuss my own transfer afterwards."

The First Year explained carefully.

The Sable senior standing opposite him stared silently for several seconds.

Then he pointed back towards Argent’s fortress.

"Fuck off."

The First Year blinked.

"What?"

"You heard me."

The senior replied.

"Go back and tell Valemont that if he wants one of our students, he can stop hiding behind First Years and come negotiate properly."

Similar responses quickly appeared everywhere else.

Within another hour, the entire Academy’s trade market had seemingly received the same warning.

Argent’s First Years could no longer approach another House with vague promises regarding future negotiations, because nobody believed that Cedric intended to honor them.

The strategy had burned itself out.

However, eight recruits already belonged to Argent.

For Cedric, that was enough to consider the deception worthwhile.

From that point onward, House Argent’s Second Years were forced to become directly involved, as negotiations shifted away from clever promises and towards actual exchanges involving resources that possessed measurable value.

And unsurprisingly, the prices immediately increased.

Students who might have been surrendered for several weeks of food during the opening hours were suddenly being valued at several times that amount, while some Houses began demanding herbal medicine, Merit Seals or even another recruit in exchange.

Argent’s reputation certainly had not helped.

Nobody wanted to give Cedric another favorable deal after realizing how thoroughly he had exploited their early interest.

Yet while Gwen, Marcus and several other Second Years began dealing with the increasingly expensive negotiations, Cedric himself was nowhere near the Argent common room.

Instead, he sat across from the one House Lord he currently had absolutely no intention of deceiving.

Cassius Auremont.

The House Aureate Lord sat comfortably opposite Cedric inside one of the Academy’s smaller private meeting rooms, as the golden insignia upon his uniform contrasted sharply against the silver embroidery decorating Cedric’s clothing.

Neither had brought their Secretary or any other house delegates, as whatever Cedric intended to discuss, he had specifically requested that the conversation remain between the two House Lords until they decided whether there was anything worth discussing at all.

Cassius glanced towards the clock mounted against the wall.

"You requested this meeting, Valemont."

He said.

"So I’m assuming you didn’t drag me away from an active trade window because you wanted the pleasure of my company."

"No."

Cedric replied.

"Then what do you want?"

Cedric leaned backwards slightly.

"Do you remember Balde fighting Araujo last year?"

Cassius stared at him.

Several seconds passed.

"That’s why you called me?"

"Answer the question."

Cedric replied.

Cassius’s eyes narrowed.

"If you’re wasting my time, I’m leaving."

"Do you remember the fight or not?"

Cedric asked again.

Cassius exhaled through his nose.

"Of course I remember it."

He replied.

"Everyone remembers it."

Cedric remained silent, allowing him to continue.

"Professor Ann made some comment during one of her lectures about Balde being the most naturally talented student she had trained throughout her career."

Cassius recalled.

"Araujo happened to be there, interpreted the statement as an insult towards his own ability and challenged Balde before the lecture had even ended."

"Exactly."

Cedric replied.

Cassius leaned backwards.

"Araujo genuinely believed he was better than Balde in practically every measurable category, Balde wasn’t willing to tolerate him running his mouth, and within several hours, half the Academy wanted to watch them settle it."

His expression became increasingly impatient.

"People traded food, study materials and even Merit Seals for access to the training ground because there wasn’t enough room for everyone who wanted to watch."

Cassius paused.

"I remember the fight, Valemont. What’s your point?"

Cedric smiled faintly.

"My point is that nobody planned that."

Cassius’s expression changed slightly.

"The Academy didn’t organize it. Neither House leadership organized it. Professor Ann certainly didn’t organize it. Two talented students developed an issue with one another, fought, and everyone else became so interested that they willingly surrendered valuable resources merely for the privilege of watching."

Cedric leaned forward.

"So imagine what we could make from a fight people already want to see."

Cassius stared towards him for several seconds.

Then his eyes narrowed.

"What fight?"

Cedric’s smile widened slightly.

"Gary Ironveil versus Riven Dawnriver."

Cassius’s expression immediately became serious.

Cedric allowed the name to settle between them.

"The first overall selection against the second overall selection."

He continued.

"House Aureate’s most valuable incoming recruit against House Argent’s most valuable incoming recruit."

Cassius remained silent.

"Gary finished with a confidential evaluation of 4.95, two Excellent elemental affinities and the Ironveil name."

Cedric said.

"Riven finished at 4.97, possesses an affinity that exceeded the Appraisal Array’s conventional measurement range and carries the Dawnriver name."

His fingers slowly tapped against the table.

"They haven’t attended a single class yet, and people are already comparing them.

Especially the seniors that already know about their hidden scores.

Especially houses Sable and Viridian."

Cassius finally spoke.

"And you want them to fight."

"I want us to make them fight. We create the narrative, we create the fake feud, and we sell the fight....."

Cedric corrected, as Cassius stared at him blankly.

"Is there any point behind this?"

He asked.

"An enormous one."

Cedric replied.

"If Gary gets angry tomorrow and challenges Riven somewhere publicly, everyone gets to watch for free."

He leaned farther across the table.

"If we organize it ourselves, control the venue and make access conditional upon payment, then everyone who wants to discover whether the first overall selection is actually superior to the second overall selection pays us for the answer."

Cassius’s expression remained guarded, although he no longer looked impatient.

That alone told Cedric the proposal had caught his attention.

"What exactly are you suggesting?"

Cassius asked.

"Three fights."

Cedric replied immediately.

Cassius’s eyebrows rose.

"Three?"

"One shortly after the trade window closes."

Cedric explained.

"One after the first semester concludes, and the final one near the end of the academic year before the House Championship standings are finalized."

Cassius remained quiet.

"The first fight establishes the rivalry."

Cedric continued.

"The second shows everyone how much they’ve developed after several months inside the Academy, while the third determines who actually finished their First Year ahead."

He spread his hands slightly.

"And every single time they fight, we charge admission."

Cassius slowly leaned back.

"How much?"

"For the first fight, keep it affordable."

Cedric replied.

"One Book of Knowledge, one week’s worth of food rations or another resource that both Houses agree possesses approximately equivalent value."

Cassius frowned slightly.

"Per person?"

"Per person."

Cedric confirmed.

"And you seriously think students will pay that?"

Cedric almost laughed.

"They paid considerably more to watch Balde and Araujo settle an argument nobody cared about until Professor Ann accidentally started it."

His expression became serious again.

"We’re talking about the two highest-ranked recruits from this year’s entire incoming batch, both belonging to Great Ducal Houses and both drafted by the Houses that finished first and second last year."

Cedric paused.

"I think we’ll struggle to find enough seats."

Cassius did not immediately respond.

His fingers tapped slowly against the armrest beside him as he considered the proposal.

"And the spoils?"

"Fifty-fifty."

Cedric replied.

"We split whatever people pay directly down the middle."

Cassius’s gaze sharpened, as he was certainly interested in such a proposal, although he remained reluctant to agree when doing so would make Argent wealthier as well.

"You better not be screwing me, Valemont, if I realize later this is one of your schemes, trust me when I say, this year will be hell for Argent....."

He warned, as he extended his hand for Cedric to shake.

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