Most of the observatories on the Shimmering Blade were open to everyone, but this one in particular had a sign on the door, loudly stating “quiet please” and “Thantir only”. Inside, nine desks had been set up, eight of them facing the ninth, arranged like a small classroom. There were seats for everyone, as well as one extra seat in the corner and one by the entrance.
“So, uh, I thought Retvik was going to be watching us for this test?” Elksia asked as she and her fellow Decaylings sat down at the desks, with Elkay, Akah and herself at the back, Teekay and Phovos in the middle and Tenuk, Tahvra and Eksi in the front row. At the front of the room, Decay Lord Vikalos was busy sorting through sheets of paper, while his partner Galyn remained by the door, pulling it shut.
“Litvir is not feeling well, so Retvik is tending to him,” Vikalos explained. “In the mean time, Galyn and I will be administrating this test for you.”
“They’re fucking…” Eksi muttered. “They’re lying in bed fucking each- Ow!” Eksi spun around, wiping snow off the back of his neck. “Akah!”
“That was Elkay, not me!” Akah protested. “But I agree with Elkay’s wordless argument, you don’t need to be so blunt.”
“Not like you’re much better!” Teekay tutted. “You’ve slept with six Teekays in the last week and yesterday you asked me if I wanted some as well. Can we get on with this stupid exam, please?”
Vikalos grunted as he wandered around the room, handing everyone a pen, pencil, eraser and ten sheets of paper, all turned upside down. “While I would not call an exam on the manipulation of time in both standard, folded and unbound forms ‘stupid’, yes, we ought to get on with this. You will have four hours to complete this exam, and you are not allowed to discuss anything with each other.”
The elder Decay Lord returned to the desk at the front of the room and placed a clock on the desk that everyone could see.
“Before we start, do you have any questions?”
Several hands of various sizes were raised. Vikalos started at the back of the room.
“What is your question, Elkay?”
“How will this test affect us and our Decay Lord trial? From our studies, I have heard that this exam is extremely difficult.”
“You are correct, Elkay, this test is very difficult, but in the grand scheme of things, it will not affect your path towards becoming Decay Lords too much. Do your best, and if you do not pass, you can always retake the exam. Next question please, Akah.”
“How long do we have again?”
“Four hours. While you ought to try and answer as much as you can, read the instructions carefully. You only need to answer three of the four questions in each section, and you can choose to answer whichever ones you consider easiest.”
Akah didn’t seem any more confident, but he settled down anyway. Vikalos then moved to the next question, from Phovos. “Yes, dear?”
“Just… how hard is this test?”
“Very hard. Us Tattered Navigators scrapped through it, and Litvir and Retvik both only scored three points above the passing grade. The passing grade has been lowered somewhat, but, well, I do not expect anyone here to score above 59%, which is how little Arkay scored when he did this test.”
Eksi snorted. “Heh. ‘Little’ Arkay. He’s, like, 16 billion years old.”
“That may seem like a lot but time is a very varied thing…” Galyn hissed from the corner. “A year for you may be a century for someone else. And we are clearly referring to Arkay’s size, as he was not much taller than you.”
Vikalos rolled his eyes, then turned to Tahvra, who barely fit in his seat as he was so small.
“Mister Vikalos, why do you always wear a scarf?”
“What does that have to do with this exam?” Vikalos asked back.
Tahvra shrugged. “I dunno, but you didn’t say we had to ask questions about the exam in particular!”
“Hmph. Well, I, just, well, really like scarfs.”
“Galyn once grabbed Vikalos by his scarf and made out with him and Vikalos secretly hopes that one day Galyn will do that again…” Eksi muttered.
Both of the elder Decay Lords stared at Eksi.
“Don’t look at me like that, it’s true!”
Tenuk leaned over and patted Eksi on the shoulder. “Mate, you’ve done nothing but constantly broadcast everyone else’s sexual desires for the last week or so. Literally everyone. Even those Great Blades bastards. Moonblade didn’t need to know that his boss was being railed by his other boss, but you went and told him that. And you just busted open the sexual tension between our bosses.”
“Oh come on, you’re just as bad, Tenuk.”
“Yeah, duh, I’m a Kronospast, I like to try and fuck anything that moves and isn’t a Kronospast, but I ain’t telling the whole world about it and what everyone else wants, like you are. Right, Vikalos?”
Vikalos grunted. “Hmph. Yes, thank you, Tenuk. I hate to say this, but Eksi, you are worse than Litvir.”
“That is harsh…” Galyn frowned.
“It look Litvir three months to accidentally do something Eksi here has done consistently, and I am including the time where Litvir gave several Voidborn entities an orgasm in order to disorientate them. Eksi, keep your telepathy to yourself. Speaking of which…” Vikalos shook his head and sighed. He pulled out a small, floating, magnetic device, placed it on the desk and switched it on. Immediately, Eksi, Elkay, Tahvra and Teekay all rubbed their heads. “Please excuse the anti-psionic device. I do not want you telepaths communicating with each other or otherwise attempting to cheat. Do any of you have any more questions about this exam?”
The Decaylings all glanced at each other, then shook their heads. Eksi shrank in his seat, having lost all of his confidence.
“Very well. None of you are to talk to each other from now on, and if you require something, then you must raise your hand and wait to be acknowledged. When you have completed your test, please raise your hand and inform us that you have finished, and we will collect your exam. Afterwards, you will be free to leave.” Vikalos hit a button on the top of the clock, and a four hour countdown started. “You may all turn your papers over and begin.”
Everyone did as they were told, reading through the instructions and doing the basics, mostly just writing down their names at the top of each page. It took about five minutes for anyone to start writing anything else at all, and the first to do so was Elksia, followed by Elkay and Akah. However, Elkay’s and Akah’s scribblings were nowhere near as furious and as confident as whatever Elksia was writing. Slowly, everyone else began to start answering questions too.
After only 30 minutes, Elksia raised her hand.
“Yes, Elksia?”
“I’m done!”
Vikalos glanced at the clock. “It has only been… You are aware that you have three hours and 30 more minutes to do this exam, yes?”
“Yeah, but I’ve already done it!”
“You have answered nine of the twelve questions?”
“I answered all twelve!”
Vikalos blinked, then sighed, suddenly realising how Elksia had finished so quickly. “Oh. Of course you did. You are a Time Drake, this is all second nature to you.”
“Yep yep!” Elksia beamed. “Can I go now?”
Vikalos made his way over and collected Elksia’s exam papers, then led her to the door. She bounced with excitement briefly, before pausing. “Uh, what should I do?”
“Whatever you want. You have three hours and 30 minutes of free time.”
“Oh. Cool!”
The young Time Drake wandered off, and Vikalos closed the door, before making his way back to the desk, glancing at Elksia’s papers as he did so. He muttered something about how she had elegantly answered the first question, then sealed the papers inside a brown envelope.
“I should point out, that is not at all normal. Do not fret!” Vikalos smiled reassuringly. “Just try your best. You will all be fine.”