Chapter 122: Registered Under Thorne
Kael was still standing in the corridor outside the guest room.
He didn’t knock again, but his voice carried easily through the heavy wood. "Father wants him checked by the household healer before we leave for registration."
"We heard you," Emily called back.
"Why are you still inside?"
Emily pulled the door open, but only a few inches.
Kael leaned slightly, catching a brief glimpse of Arthur sitting shirtless on the edge of the bed. Dark, heavy bruising had already formed across Arthur’s ribs, stomach, and shoulder. Kael did not see anything that told him exactly what else had just happened in the room, but he grinned anyway. Emily looked slightly irritated, and Arthur looked suspiciously relaxed for someone Gareth had just thrown across a training yard.
"Treatment going well?" Kael asked.
Emily shut the door directly in his face.
Arthur let out a breathy laugh, immediately wincing as his ribs pulled tight.
Emily turned and pointed a firm finger at him. "Do not encourage him."
"He doesn’t actually know anything," Arthur reminded her, picking up his clean shirt.
"That has never stopped him before."
She walked over to the mirror, checking her reflection carefully. She fixed her short brown hair, straightened her collar, and made absolutely sure there was nothing obvious left on her face or clothes before they went downstairs.
Arthur watched her do it, a faint smile touching his mouth.
Emily caught the look in the mirror. "One comment, and I will tell my father you are ready for another round."
Arthur decided silence was highly valuable and finished buttoning his shirt.
The household healer checked Arthur in one of the smaller sitting rooms on the ground floor.
Gareth, Seraphina, and Emily were present, alongside Adrian and a highly unnecessary Kael, who was simply leaning against the wall to watch.
The healer examined Arthur’s ribs, stomach, breathing, shoulder, and back. The verdict was straightforward: no fractures, but heavy bruising and strained muscles. The pain would remain for a while, but there was nothing preventing him from competing if he was sensible about his movements.
The healer wrapped Arthur’s ribs lightly for support and handed him a small glass of recovery tonic.
Arthur swallowed the tonic and immediately regretted it. The liquid tasted like crushed roots and stale ash.
"Medicine is supposed to taste bad," Kael commented.
Arthur held out the empty glass. "Next time, you can have mine."
"No thank you."
Gareth stood near the window with his arms crossed. "I told you he was fine."
Emily looked at the tight bandages wrapping Arthur’s ribs. "You threw him across the yard."
"He got back up," Gareth countered simply.
Seraphina raised a hand, cutting the familiar argument off before it could truly start. She stepped forward, holding a neat stack of registration papers.
The top document carried the heavy wax seal of the Thorne Main Dojo and Gareth’s signature at the bottom.
Arthur took the paper, his eyes dropping to the ink. He noticed the signature was completely dry. Gareth had signed it before the healer even finished checking him.
Arthur took the paper, his eyes dropping to Gareth’s signature at the bottom. The ink was already completely dry.
He looked up. "You already signed this."
Gareth shrugged. "You passed before you asked if you passed."
Seraphina tapped the paper. "You are being sponsored as an outside entrant under the Thorne Main Dojo. That allows you to register under our name, but it also means your conduct in the ring reflects on the dojo."
"Understood," Arthur said seriously.
"Meaning do not embarrass us," Kael added.
Arthur looked at him. "I thought that was your role."
Emily snorted loudly into her cup of tea. Adrian looked away, hiding a smile, while Seraphina simply sighed.
Gareth looked at Arthur. "Win enough matches that nobody questions why I sponsored you."
"I intend to win the elixir," Arthur said.
Gareth’s grin returned. He liked the confidence.
They didn’t rush straight from the sitting room to the registration hall.
Arthur ate a lighter lunch in the family dining room, moving carefully because his bruised ribs complained whenever he twisted too sharply.
Emily noticed his discomfort, but she didn’t fuss over him or draw attention to it. Instead, she quietly shifted the serving dishes closer to his plate so he didn’t have to reach awkwardly across the table.
Kael noticed the subtle movement. He looked at Emily, then at Arthur, then back at Emily.
Emily leveled a flat, warning stare at her brother before he could open his mouth.
Kael wisely decided to keep eating.
After lunch, Gareth remained behind to oversee the dojo’s afternoon routines, and Seraphina retreated to her office to handle household business matters. Arthur left for the city center with Emily, Adrian, and Kael.
Arthur’s ribs flared with dull pain every time the carriage hit a rough patch of stone on the city roads.
Emily noticed him wincing after the second heavy bump. Without saying a word, she picked up a spare velvet cushion from the seat and shoved it firmly against his injured side.
Arthur looked at her. "You are worrying again."
"I am preventing you from making annoying noises every time the carriage moves," Emily corrected, looking straight ahead.
Kael heard the exchange from the opposite seat. He started smiling.
Emily immediately glared at him. Kael turned his head and looked out the window, though his shoulders shook slightly. Adrian ignored all of them, casually reading a tournament program.
"What are the rules?" Arthur asked, leaning carefully into the cushion.
Adrian lowered the program. "The early elimination rounds are spread across different arenas and dojos in the district. The later rounds move into the larger central venue. Matches end through surrender, a ring-out, a complete inability to continue, or a judge stoppage."
"And the judges always stop it too quickly," Kael complained.
"Only when you are losing," Adrian replied without missing a beat. He looked back at Arthur.
"The open division allows martial weapons, but no ranged weapons," Adrian explained. "Swords, spears, staffs, daggers—anything meant for direct combat. Killing techniques are obviously prohibited."
Arthur glanced down at his side. "So Whisperwind stays home."
"Unless you plan to beat someone with it," Kael said.
Emily looked at him. "Do not give him ideas."
"Has the Vale group already arrived?" Emily asked.
Adrian nodded. "They registered earlier this week."
Kael immediately became more interested, leaning forward slightly. Arthur noticed the shift in attention, filing the name away.
The registration hall occupied a large civic building near the center of the city.
Hundreds of voices filled the registration hall as competitors moved between administrative desks and equipment inspection stations.
Walking beside the three Thorne siblings earned Arthur a few curious glances, though most attention remained on Adrian, Kael, and Emily. Several people greeted Adrian as they passed, while younger fighters called out to Kael and Emily.
At the main registration desk, Adrian handed over the official forms.
The registration official scanned the paperwork, pausing when he saw Gareth’s personal signature on Arthur’s sheet.
"Master Thorne personally approved an outside entrant?" the official asked, looking up at Arthur with mild surprise.
Kael answered before Arthur could. "He tested him this morning."
Arthur looked at him.
"Violently," Kael added.
"Stop helping," Emily told her brother.
The official stamped the form and handed Arthur his registration tag.
Arthur Vance — Thorne Main Dojo
Arthur clipped it to his belt. Until the tournament ended, whatever he did in the ring would carry the Thorne name with it.
The officials inspected Whisperwind, running a quick mana scan over the enchanted wood before approving it. Arthur confirmed he would use the tournament-safe blunt arrowheads provided by the organizers.
His Necrotic Dagger, however, was flagged immediately. The officials informed him that it could not be used in the ring with the necrotic effect active.
Arthur was given two options: allow an official tournament seal to suppress the dagger’s enchantment temporarily, or use a matched, unenchanted competition dagger provided by the hall.
Arthur chose the matched dagger. He didn’t want strangers modifying or sealing his actual weapon.
His leather bracer was checked and quickly approved. It supported his wrist but carried no offensive enchantment of its own.
The final check was simple. The official asked whether Arthur carried any other effects that could remain active after a match or endanger spectators.
Arthur did not.
Once his gear was cleared, Arthur regrouped with the siblings near the center of the hall.
While Arthur was fastening his bracer, Adrian noticed three competitors approaching through the crowd.
The man in front was broad-shouldered and carried a Vale registration tag at his belt.
Adrian gave him an easy nod.
"Corwin."
"Adrian."
Corwin’s attention moved next to Kael, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
"Recovered from last year?" Corwin asked.
Kael’s expression instantly soured. "The referee stopped it too early."
"You were unconscious," Corwin answered mildly.
"Briefly."
Emily laughed out loud.
"Nobody ever remembers the part where I was winning earlier in the match," Kael complained.
"Because you were not," Adrian pointed out.
Corwin’s gaze finally shifted past Kael and settled on Arthur. His eyes briefly dropped to the fresh Thorne Main Dojo tag clipped to Arthur’s belt.
"Haven’t seen you around before."
"He’s with us for the tournament," Adrian said. "Arthur Vance."
Arthur gave Corwin a small nod.
"Corwin Vale," Adrian added.
"I figured," Arthur said, glancing toward Kael. "He’s been complaining about you since yesterday."
Kael immediately turned toward him. "I have not been complaining."
Corwin laughed. "Then he has matured considerably since last year."
"I hate both of you," Kael muttered.
Emily smiled into her hand.
Corwin’s eyes dropped to the dark wood of Whisperwind secured across Arthur’s back. "Master Thorne approved an archer?"
"After trying very hard to fold him in half, yes," Kael said immediately.
"He is exaggerating," Arthur said.
Emily crossed her arms. "Not by much."
Corwin laughed.
He turned his attention back to Adrian. "I hope you reach the later rounds this year."
"You should worry about reaching them yourself," Adrian replied easily.
Kael inserted himself into the conversation immediately. "Both of you keep talking like I am not competing."
Corwin looked at him. "You were competing the last two times too."
Kael looked deeply offended. Emily openly enjoyed his suffering.
"Keep laughing," Kael told Corwin, gesturing vaguely toward Arthur. "He might eliminate one of you before I get the chance."
Arthur immediately raised a hand. "Do not volunteer me for your arguments."
Corwin gave Arthur another brief, amused look.
Before they left the hall, the preliminary brackets were posted on the massive boards near the exit.
The siblings naturally moved toward the crowd, checking their own placements, locating Corwin’s name, and scanning for familiar dojos that had landed near their routes.
Arthur found his own name in one of the lower outer blocks.
Arthur Vance — Thorne Main Dojo vs. Rian Mercer — Eastgate Spear Hall
His first match was scheduled for the following afternoon.
Kael leaned over Arthur’s shoulder, reading the pairing. "Spear user."
Adrian looked closer at the board. "An aggressive one."
"It should still favour Arthur," Kael argued. "He can attack from range."
"A spear fighter who closes the distance immediately can pressure an archer before he establishes control," Adrian pointed out.
Arthur read the name once more and checked the scheduled time.
Emily found her name in another section. Adrian traced his own route upward until his finger stopped several rounds away from Corwin’s.
Kael found his own name next and immediately started tracing possible opponents farther down the bracket.
His finger eventually wandered toward Arthur’s side.
"Plenty of time for you to lose before reaching me," Kael said.
Arthur ignored him.
While they stood at the board, Arthur noticed two nearby competitors looking at his Thorne registration tag, then glancing up at Whisperwind.
"Thorne Main Dojo has an archer now?" one of them muttered quietly to his partner.
Emily noticed the look. She stepped closer to Arthur. "They will try to rush you."
Arthur folded his bracket slip and placed it in his pocket. "Most people do."
On the way out of the hall, Corwin and the Vale group split off toward the eastern exit.
Corwin gave Adrian a casual wave. "Try not to lose before I reach you."
Kael immediately answered, despite not being addressed. "You should worry about yourself."
Corwin laughed and disappeared into the crowd.
Arthur watched him go. Even outside the ring, Corwin seemed far calmer than Kael.
Emily noticed him watching. "What do you think?"
"Ask me after I see him in the ring," Arthur answered.
Back in the carriage, Kael spent the first ten minutes insisting that Rian Mercer was an easy opening match. Adrian calmly disagreed, pointing out the specific reach advantages of a spear.
"Stop planning his fight for him," Emily finally told both of them.
Arthur leaned back carefully against the velvet cushion Emily had given him. He looked at the bracket slip in his hand one last time.
Rian Mercer. Eastgate Spear Hall.
Tomorrow, Arthur would get his first chance to find out whether Gareth Thorne was right to put the family name behind him.