I was halfway towards my seat before his words registered, and I froze in place. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I could feel sweat starting to form under my shirt from nerves, but I did my best to approximate a confused look.

“I am sorry, Master Julian, but I am afraid I do not understand what you mean. I am only an Applicant, here for my advisory meeting for my first semester as an Apprentice.” I said, feigning innocence. It must be just a coincidence. How could this man possibly know about my future?

Laughing, Master Julian shook his head and said, “Not a bad attempt, but you need a lot more practice if you are going to lie convincingly. You have too much eye contact, and there are these little twitches on your face, basically minute changes that someone with the right training can pick out.”

Leaning backward in his chair, Julian gestured at the seat in front of his desk again. “Now, please, sit down. We have a lot to discuss before our meeting is over, and if it’s all the same with you, I would prefer we get to it as soon as possible.”

Walking forward numbly, I sat in the chair and looked at Julian in shock. This man was dangerous. He somehow knew about my future and had instantly seen through my attempts to lie. What did that mean for this meeting? Was this where the King’s agents recruited me, and I began training to become his weapon?

“So, according to what I have read, you are a sponsored Applicant for Duke Darren Estton. You’ve been training around ten years or so to take over as counselor for the family after their current one either retires, or more likely passes away. I have met the man before, and he could lose every one of his limbs before retiring from his job. That’s not a bad life for a commoner at the end of the day. Although, considering your potential, it’s certainly a waste of talent. Yet panic is emanating from you in waves, which certainly is unexpected.”

My confusion must have been evident on my face since Julian laughed again. “My apologies, I am what you may call an ‘empath.’ In simple terms, I can detect the emotional state of other living things through magic. A beneficial and particularly uncommon talent, which I have honed over the years. And in answer to your curiosity, yes, it’s possible to learn, but it would take years of practice and study.”

“Master...with all due respect, how could you know all of this?” I asked incredulously. The time for lying was over. There was no point in even attempting. The best I could hope for was some answers to learn how he had known so much already.

“Oh well, that is pretty simple, the Academy monitors the Awakenings and their results closely. It’s against Academy rules to reveal too much, but we get an approximation of the raw mana and its aspect of applicants. Lucky for you, I have special access to the records and was able to pull your results before anyone else got too close of a look. From there, it only took a few strings pulled to ensure that I could advise you, rather than some other master.”

Julian paused in his explanation to hold out one hand. A gust of wind swirled, and a thin book flew through the air and landed on his desk. Flipping through it, Julian stopped a few times and read quietly before closing the book again.

“To summarize, both your core and channels are massive, well beyond the norm for a novice. Some adepts have smaller cores, never mind your classmates. Your aspect is also extraordinarily rare, though most would argue it is more of a hindrance than a blessing. Despite that, you are, in all probability, the most talented apprentice in at least twenty years. You would be hard-pressed not to achieve archmagi by forty, as long as you trained diligently.”

I see, so he was making an educated guess based upon information, not seeing my future somehow. Not as bad as I thought, but still a very disadvantageous situation for me. I had to tread lightly, or this could end poorly and likely push me closer to the future I had seen in my visions.

Tilting his head to one side, Master Julian scrutinized me and said, “Despite what should be good news, I feel panic or frustration emanating in waves from you. Emotions are a bit tricky, but I can narrow it down to something in that region. Why?”

Honesty would be the best choice here. Maybe it would earn me some goodwill with this man. At the very least, it would be better than lying and potentially antagonizing him.

“During my Awakening...the future I saw was not one I wanted for myself. I die young and leave a mountain of bodies in my wake. The life I had always planned for is not much better, I may live longer, but I will still spend my life doing the bidding of others. I want to find my path in life, something different from any set before me.”

“And what do you want to achieve with your life? Certainly, you must have some sort of goals?”

I thought about his words for a few minutes in silence. “I am still not sure, but I know what I don’t want. In that future, I was a monster. I killed thousands and did not even seem bothered by it. Truthfully, I have no idea what I want, but I know losing any sense of morality or empathy is not one of them. Beyond that...” I trailed off, unsure what else to say.

Nodding a few times, Master Julian closed his eyes deep in contemplation. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he smiled widely at me.

“I like it! Prodigal young mage struggling against his future, facing a destiny he will change at all costs. I knew you would be interesting, much more than the dreary kids I usually get stuck with advising. You would be shocked how dull these meetings get. Most kids just want to become a War Mage, get rich, take down some bandits or monsters, before marrying some other noble to produce more of the same. Alright, so here is what I am going to do for you since I am such a kind-hearted and gracious man.”

Flicking his hand, a swirl of wind surrounded the book on his desk and formed a blue-tinted orb. When the sphere dissipated, all that remained of the small booklet was a pile of paper scraps and the remnants of its hardened covers. Another gesture sent the scraps flying through the air into a small trash bin on the floor next to Julian’s desk.

“So, with that thing disposed of, no one else should be able to track down the results of your Awakening. While your potential future absolutely enthralls me, it would end very poorly if I got too directly involved in your development after this meeting. With that said, let’s figure out what classes you will be taking.”

Standing and walking over to the blackboard on the far wall, Master Julian erased the symbols and began writing class names with a piece of chalk.

“So, every student takes Spell-Casting and Magic Theory. They form the foundational skills all Mages require to control and direct mana. The rest of the classes I would recommend you take are Alchemy, Enchanting, Magical Beasts, and War Theory. All are useful skills, and all are the sort of classes we recommend for counselors. While normally, we limit students to only six classes to keep from overwhelming them, this is only a recommendation rather than a strict rule.”

Pausing for a moment, Master Julian turned and gestured for me to speak. It took me a few seconds to realize what he was implying.

“While I need to take those classes to keep Duke Estton and Girem happy, I could take additional classes on top of those six. Classes that can teach me useful skills and abilities.”

Smiling in satisfaction, Julian turned back to the board and wrote down three more class names, Martial Combat, Spell Dueling, and Espionage.

“I recommend these classes, since each will help you develop different useful talents. Dueling and Martial Combat will get you the ability to defend yourself, both with weapons and spells. The former is very common for War Mage hopefuls, but the latter is extremely rare for most nobles. Espionage is not useful in a fight, but it is possibly even more important in the long run. Amongst other skills, it will teach you tricks to hide your mana and overall power from examination. While right now, only an in-depth investigation would reveal the full extent of your talent, your powers will eventually grow too strong to hide.”

Three books suddenly flew off the shelves and stacked onto each other on the desk in front of me.

Julian turned and said, “Read those books in the next few weeks before the start of the semester. The first one contains introductory information on different aspects of mana, the basic types of magic usage, and other material you will find useful. The second will get you started on connecting to your mana and cultivating your abilities. The final book is the beginner spell book, with a few dozen spells you may find interesting. They are all standard-issue material for first-year students, but if you plan to make good on changing your life for the better, you can’t afford any delays.”

Moving towards the door, Julian dug into his pocket and pulled out a small metallic token around the size of a coin attached to a dark leather bracelet. The metal disc shimmered with a pale blue Mana for a moment, before returning to a flat gray color, after which he held it out towards me.

I stood and grabbed the books on the desk, before walking over to the door and grabbing the bracelet from Master Julian’s outstretched hand. Examining the object, I could see tiny markings etched into the metal of the coin.

“That is your identification bracelet. It’s enchanted to get you into your room, record attendance to classes, access your account, and enter areas restricted to visitors. Last favor I can give you, I will authorize you to move into the dormitories starting today. That should give you plenty of time to get through those books, familiarize yourself with the layout of the campus, and get started on your training.” said Master Julian.

I paused, before asking him the most prominent question still on my mind.

“Why are you doing all of this? Why would you go so far to help me?”

Master Julian tilted his head, and put one hand on his chin in contemplation.

“I suppose there are two reasons. First, I love an unlikely story, which means I have a soft spot for people like you, who want to change their lot in life,” he said after a minute.

“And the other reason?” I asked.

“And the other reason is that you could become one of the strongest mages in history, and I want to be able to say I was the one who gave you a chance. After all, that will certainly earn me quite a bit of honor and renown,” he said with a smirk.

Putting his arms behind his back, Master Julian stared at me and said, “The future is often challenging to predict. Some people say it is a river flowing towards the same location, but in truth, it is more like jumping into a desert and hoping to land on the grain of sand you are aiming towards.”

I looked at him curiously. “But altering my future should be impossible. In theory, my original self would have seen the same things and reacted the same, right?”

Master Julian shrugged. “Truthfully, we have no idea how the future works. I believe that every decision you make can change your fate, and by choosing to reject your future rather than accept it, you are already changing your destiny.”

Not much of an answer in truth, and I wanted to do some research to see what others had to say on the topic. Before I could reply, Master Julian continued to speak.

“If you want to change your future, my recommendation is to train and study your ass off. Knowledge and power are more important than anything else. If you want to avoid being controlled by others, become impossible to control.”

I considered his words deeply, and concluded that he was right to a degree. I knew that avoiding the notice of the King or Duke Estton was crucial, but ultimately, I would need to get more capable before anything else.

“So then, with that, I officially welcome you as an apprentice! Feel free to head back to the Duke’s servant and let him know you are authorized to stay in the dormitories starting today. After that, ask Cynthia to guide you up to your room and give you a short tour of student life.” Julian chirped.

Opening the door, he dramatically gestured out, and I realized that my meeting with Master Julian was over.

Julian heard a slight rustle behind him as his office door closed, and without turning, he sighed dramatically and spoke in an annoyed tone.

“Mother, you would think that by the time I hit thirty years old, you would stop barging into my room. Yet, here you are still barging away.”

Finally spinning, Julian found a woman of around fifty sitting behind his desk, with an amused look on her face.

“I will let that disrespectful tone slide this time, if only because I am so proud of you finally stepping up as a mentor!” said the woman, who was clear Julian’s mother.

She possessed the same bright and slightly mischievous glint in her eyes, and their features and were nearly identical. The streaks of gray in her flowing blonde hair and the fine wrinkles on her face did little to disguise her still prominent beauty.

“But I must ask, why did you mislead that boy? He is certainly talented, but you know as well as I do that talent is only one part of the equation. Without the resources and support of a noble family, he would be lucky to reach Mana Cloud. Yet you are giving him hope and setting him against his lord. It’s a dangerous game you are playing.”

“I was not lying to him. I do think he has the potential to become a great mage.” Julian said in mock innocence.

Snorting, his mother stood and circled the desk towards the workbench in the corner. As she idly leafed through the papers on the table, she spoke in a skeptical tone.

“I heard what you told him, but what is the real reason? I know you better than that Julian, you had a motivation to do what you did, and it was not altruism.”

Julian’s face dropped the facade of innocence and became hard and hate-filled.

“With proper motivation and guidance, that boy could one day become strong enough to shake Ferris’s foundations. When he does, he will bring down the entire damn kingdom and kill that arrogant fool King we must suffer. And when that day comes, I will personally piss on his royal ashes.”

As his mother turned to face Julian, her features had become stern. Striding to within a few feet, the woman leaned in close enough to whisper threateningly.

“You are playing a dangerous game in your petty pursuit of revenge. Know that I will not help when your plans fall apart. I will not tarnish what is left of our family’s legacy or put your sister at risk to save you from an execution for high treason.”

With those words, a shimmering cylinder of blue mana surrounded Archmagi Alexandria Esteed. When it cleared, she had disappeared, and Master Julian was alone at last, left to ponder the boy who he was betting his life on.