This is the third installement of the 'starting points' collections of links, meant for newcomers to the series. This entry covers a collection of stand-alone stories which might be helpful in getting the flavor of the Whateley Academy series. While most of them do have some referents to other stories, most of them should be readable without knowing a lot of the backstory.
Of particular interest are the Combat Finals stories, especially the ones from Fall 2006. The combat finals are a series of challenges every able-bodied student must go through at the end of each Fall and Spring term. Each term there is a different 'theme' to the conflicts, which are intended to test the students' ability to cope with dangerous situations - and drive home the lessons from the classes.While most students (officially) get paired at random with someone in their own bracket (Freshman/Sophomore or Junior/Senior), they also have some training teams assigned to 'The Crash', which is a series of hand-picked challenges for specific students.
The challenges are usually one-on-one, and don't necessarily involve fighting - despite the name, the combat finals actually reward students if they can win without fighting, provided it shows initiative and cunning. The Fall 2006 Freshman and Sophomore finals were one one one, and involved trying to get to a point in the arena and finish a series of questions before the other contestant. The Spring 2007 challenge was to resolve a hostage situation without harming the hostages. Harming the simulated bystanders and LEOs counts against you in all cases.
Despite the school's best efforts to remain hidden and anonymous, the footage alays seem to leak out to the promoters of the 'Mutant Deathmatch' Pay-Per-View shows, and betting is common both within the school and outside. Funny how that happens...