“And you are saying all this happened because your little friend Lily wanted to play a prank on you?” Master Rolune chortled.

“And a pretty unfunny one at that,” Philip deadpanned.

The two of them were sitting in a living area made into a study. Papers, scrolls, and books were piled on every surface except the two chairs they were sitting on and the table they were using for tea. The moon and stars sparkled down on them from the glass ceiling. A purple trail of galaxies splayed across the sky after the sun set to reveal a tapestry of natural wonder.

Philip squirmed in his chair to get comfortable, but the old gray robe Master Rolune leant him was too small. He was a disaster when he was given some time to clean himself up. His body was covered in black and blue bruises. His back looked especially bad when he took off his robe. It looked like a pincushion of wood splinters covered in a sea of half-dried red. When he washed himself he had to get new water twice.

In the end he had to discard his robe as it was nothing but rags now. The woman graciously lent him a new robe to wear until he could get a new one. Unfortunately it was one that was made for a woman, and one of much smaller stature than himself. Most of the robe felt strained against him. The very act of moving his arms felt like the fabric would rip apart. The only place it felt remotely comfortable was by his hips, where it swayed gently.

On a positive note, nobody had thought to search for Philip at the Observatory since it is on the absolute opposite end of the island from where he disappeared. For now, Philip was safe with the old Master.

The woman leaned back in her seat. She tickled her chin, her eyes almost going cross eyed as she pondered about Philip’s story.

“I do not think it was a prank, Apprentice,” she muttered after a few minutes. “It sounds like the girl’s goal was something else. To cause such a ruckus across campus just for a joke? Too much. Too short sighted. Even as out of touch as I am, I have heard the praise being thrown toward her.”

“Well she is a prodigy,” Philip asserted.

“Pfff,” old woman seemed to double over wheezing. Philip stood up to help but she leaned back and let out a loud, hardy laugh. “Prodigy? I see a ‘prodigy’ every decade or two. They are not nearly as impressive as they think they are.” Her mirth instantly evaporated and her attention focused completely on Philip. “But for one person to be hunted by an entire island and still be free even after hours of search? That is more impressive than any so-called prodigy in my books.”

“It wasn’t easy.”

“Of course it wouldn’t be easy,” She guffawed as she smacked her leg in mirth. “If it was easy then what would be impressive about it? What I am curious about is that spell you cast.”

“I am curious about it too,” Philip touched his chest. His core still was cold and dead. He was starting to worry that it was in far worse condition than he first thought. “I think I damaged my core.”

She nodded. “It is worrisome. I sent for the Priestess while you cleaned yourself up but who knows when she will arrive. There were a lot of injuries during your chase. Ironically, very little were done by you.”

Philip sighed and leaned against the armrest of his chair. His body felt stiff, but the pain at least had lessened because of his rest and thankfully his back had closed up into a hundred little scabs. Philip tried not to move too much so he would not risk opening them and ruining the woman’s robe. The woman had done wonders to calm his nerves so he did not want to inconvenience her more than he was forced to. She insisted he relax, but until things officially settled he had to be ready to flee at a moment's notice.

“I doubt she was thinking of you at all when she planned the kidnapping,” Master Rolune interrupted Philip’s thoughts. “Someone who is praised all their life will search for more attention. Since both of you are so close to graduating she needed to do something to bring focus back to herself. A fake kidnapping is a good way to get that attention, be it negatively or positive. You are the unfortunate sacrifice in the matter, but now people will be drawn to her again.

“She is probably hoping she could get a family to see her and pity her into adopting. Thinking it would add good will from society to their charity and add a new magical strength to the family.”

“If it is so effective, why do you sound like you disapprove?”

“A commoner desperate for attention can be a detriment to whoever adopts her. She creates drama to keep herself in the spotlight. At parties she might spill a drink on her own dress, or worse, on another's. At meetings she forgets notes and has to ‘improv’ and remember all the information to sound smart. She might try to woo multiple men just to see them fight for her.”

“Lily would never do something so disgusting,” Philip gagged.

Master Rolune sighed. “I am not saying she would, but that is what she would be perceived to do. Her actions right now speak volumes to those outside the University, and she is writing a very sad and desperate story.”

“That is ridiculous.”

“It is reality, boy.”

Philip swallowed his retort. The woman was a Master Mage, he would get nothing by arguing with her. He squirmed into the seat and slouched. It was immature, but he had to do something to remove his dissatisfaction right now. He closed his eyes, ignoring the woman blowing the steam off her tea and sipping quietly.

If what she says is right, though, then that means Philip was not the only one on the chopping block. He had to find his way to Mel so she could warn Lily. Philip would do so himself but with his current feelings for her it would end up as nothing more than another fight, and there have been enough rooms destroyed over their lifetime of bickering. Once everything was settled, though, that girl better watch her back. Revenge is best served cold, after all.

“Stop worrying about her and worry about yourself.”

“Are you now telling me I cannot care for my friends?” Philip spat.

“No,” her tone softened. “I am saying you won’t have time to worry about her. Your magic show in the market seems to have left quite an impression.”

“What are you talking about?” Philip opened his eyes. Master Rolune was waving a sheet of paper she was holding, with a large vulture-like bird sitting on the table. Philip jumped since he did not hear the bird fly in. He mentally slapped himself and vowed to listen to Mel from now on. He had definitely let himself go for too long. He had to get his physical abilities and senses back up to speed or he will be taken out with some underhanded method. He refused to die like his father.

“Update on today's events,” she informed Philip. “Written by the Dean himself, none-the-less. Omary says your mysterious magic fit fooled everyone to think you made a golem who just melted into the ground once it was killed. The master puppeteer is currently missing and the search has wound down because Charles could not keep the mob’s momentum going.”

“Well, that is at least one good thing. Dealing with Charles alone will be hard enough.” Philip breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps there was still hope.

“Oh, but that is not all. It seems a few professors are also wanting to examine this hidden gem of a spellcaster.” The woman’s mirth was obvious. “But it seems one has personally asked Omar already and gained his approval, with restrictions of course.”

“What do you mean?” Philip inquired.

“It means I should congratulate you. You are now officially under the personal tutelage of Professor Rupert Blackledge. A respected, if ruthless, researcher. You will have your hands full to survive his instruction, much less trying to help your friends.”

As the woman spoke she was writing out a message. Once she finished she rolled it up and tied it to the bird’s leg and gave it a pet and whispered something in its ear. The bird screeched and flew out of the window into the night.

“You can stay the night if you wish,” she said as she stood up and patted her dress to remove any debris which could have fallen on her as she sat. “While I do not recommend going down the stairs at night I will not stop you if you want to risk the wind and dark. Just find wherever is comfortable and sleep there.” When she noticed Philip’s suspicious gaze she laughed. “Boy, I have not had an apprentice up here in twenty years. Every bed is now a table with moth-eaten sheets except my own. You wouldn’t want an old lady like me to sleep on the floor, would you?”

Philip denied wanting to do so and groaned at the mocking grin on the woman’s face. She turned and hobbled out of the living area into a stairwell, heading upward into the Observatory tower.

Philip sighed and looked over at the nearest couch. Careful to not disturb the papers too much he moved each stack off onto the floor, winsing as he body complained at the new bit of physical exertion. When his makeshift bed was cleared off he collapsed onto it, sleep taking him meer moments after resting his head.

“Are you sure about this?” Dean Omar questioned. “Once I sign the paper there is no going back.”

“I am more sure than ever,” Rupert declared. “The boy is something special. I saw the remnant magic around the stonework in the marketplace. If it was a golem it was a damn good one.”

Omar sighed and reread the proposal. He had done this a handful of times during his time as the Dean and Lord of the University, and each time brought about nothing but grief. But the prospect of two prodigies graduating at the same time had too many benefits to overlook. He lifted a candle and let the wax drip onto the page. With practiced ease he let it settle just enough then pressed his seal onto the wax. When he lifted it the mark of the Dean was set. Omar rolled up the sheet and gave it back to Rupert.

“You get to use the reader for just today then it gets locked back into the vault,” he declared. “And it is only to be used on the boy and girl. Nobody else, not even yourself.”

Rupert smiled and took the sheet and placed it inside a hidden pocket in his robe. “What about the other girl? That Lilith?”

Omar groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “No. Just the two and nobody else. You know why the reader is locked away.”

“Nobody will fall into that trap. Not while I use it.” Rupert chortled as he sat into the nearby chairs.

The room was a museum of artifacts and relics found in dungeons and treasure vaults. The Dean was a busy man throughout his life, collecting trophies and accomplishments to become one of the most respected men in the realm, Lord of the University. As much as Rupert grumbled about many of his personal victories being stolen, the Dean earned his place behind the desk due to leading the old team from the front lines.

Rupert touched one of the relics and sighed nostalgically, though no glint was seen in his eyes. He had one just like it in his office to remember a few hard lessons from the past. “Do you ever miss being out there?” he asked.

Omar sniffed in annoyance. “If we were still out there we’d be either crippled or dead, just like the rest of them.”

“But you cannot say it was not fun.”

“Fun is being able to sit back in a chair and get more respect and money in a day than we ever did in a year doing quests.”

“Even though you were the most respected killsword in the Kingdom, first ranked for any mission and even personally asked by the King on multiple occasions?” Rupert bantered.

“Stop trying to butter me up and spit it out,” Omar grumbled.

:”I am curious about all the commoners,” Rupert declared. “We have one that is a known prodigy, another whose thesis and theories rival any of the Master’s and can easily be declared a genius, and now a hidden gem who potentially has explosive potential and managed to hide it from scavengers of the duke and marqueses. We are lucky the Royal Family is distracted or they would have eaten him up years ago.”

“Is he really that great?” Omar complained. “Philip this, Philip that. I had to punish the Duke’s boy because of this commoner.”

“I rather enjoyed that talk, though,” Rupert laughed. “‘Look at the mess you have made?” he quoted, “You’re not a general, you are a boy who pretends to be his father. Stick to politics, Boy, you are at least good at that. Leave everything else to actually competent people’. I have not laughed that hard in years.”

Omar groaned and continued to rub the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You can laugh. I’m still waiting for a strongly worded reply from the Duke.”

“Not much he can say. The boy caused chaos across the entire island. Everyone was affected by the mob.”

“And it was all caused by those commoners,” Omar slammed his hand on his desk. “They caused this mess, and now you want to reward them by using the Reader on them?”

Rupert quieted down, the anger from the Dean dampening his mirth. “It is not a reward. It is a way to discover what else could be hidden in them. I saw part of the ‘demonstration’ set up by Liith, Omar. I suspect the boy, Philip, to be at least a quickcaster.”

“On what grounds?” Omar asked, his interest finally peaked.

“On the grounds he could cast a feather fall mid-fall from the third floor. Then later removing the same spell while floating down to Low City and casting a mist which covered a large chunk of the city. Said mist lasting for almost a half hour before someone could break the spell. And finally the report of golem.”

“The boy did all that?”

“That, and he avoided or escaped from a majority of the Low City population searching for him for close to an hour. Not including how he ran the students ragged in Upper City beforehand.”

“That… is impressive. I now see why you want to test him to be a disciple.” Omar stroked his beard as he thought. “Anyone can make the boy great, Rupert. Do you really think he is more useful as your disciple than if someone else took him?”

Rupert’s face split into a wide smile. “Oh course. I will also be discussing ideas with the youngest commoner, Melony. I read a rough draft of her thesis, Omar. She has some fascinating ideas I never considered which might help in my future research.”

“Yes, the report you gave me was interesting. And that Lilith girl? Why do you want to test her?”

Rupert was self conscious enough to look a little ashamed. “Being honest, that one is just plain curiosity. She has been called a prodigy for years so I wanted to see her actual records.”

Omar growled and started to rub his temples as a headache began to form. “You always have a way of making my life extremely difficult, Rupert.”

“Better than boring,” Rupert guffawed.

Omar sat at his table for minutes. His eyes jumping back and forth as if he was reading a scroll of pros and cons. Rupert sat back in his chair, content in knowing that his leader would eventually come around. He always did.

Eventually, Omar closed his eyes. Final calculations were being made and it concluded as he opened them. Rupert smiled as Omar leaned forward in his chair.

“You can use it for the commoners only, nobody else,” he decided. “And you must leave a report of each one of them with me for my own personal records. And!” he raised his finger as Rupert was about to speak. “You cannot have the Melony girl.”

“What?” Rupert fumed. “That girl is a genius and would benefit the Blackledge family for generations to come!”

“Exactly,” gloated Omar. “If I let you take both her and Philip think of how unfair it would be for all the other families. I’m sure the Tai family can use her. Their youngest daughter is about the same age as her, if I recall correctly.”

“The Tai family can go jump off the ledge. I will give up my claim on Philip if you are even considering giving Melony to them.”

“Oh! How interesting.” Omar gibed. “To give up such a potential prize just to get back at a family who snuffed you a decade ago. How vengeful.”

Rupert growled and clutched his chair’s arms. There was a lot of bad blood between the Tai’s and Blackledges, and he knew Omar was just playing him for a fool. To take one powerful piece only to give another to the enemy was logical to hold a balance. But not everything is set in stone, especially with how difficult training a disciple would be.

Blackledge took a breath to calm himself. The smirk on Omar’s face made him want to give up on all pretense and clobber him over the head like he could have done when they were all still adventurers, but unfortunately there were consequences for that now.

“Have Emily choose the family the boy goes to, and I keep at girl Melony,” Rupert eventually spat out.

Omar’s eyes widened, though his smirk didn’t fade in the least.

“Oh, now that is a good idea. She should know plenty of families who could help such a promising young man.” He affirmed. “Plus, we have not had a nice lunch together in years. I wonder how the little lady is doing.”

“Is the meeting over, Dean Omar,” Rupert asked, emphasising his boss’ title.

“I believe so,” Omar agreed. “It was a very… educational discussion.”

Rupert stood up. “Then I shall be--”

A clinking resounded in the room. Both Rupert and Omar looked over to the window and saw a large vulture-like bird tapping its beak against it. Omar lifted his hand and the window slid open and let the beast inside. It flew over to his desk before landing, holding its leg out expectantly.

Omar untied the message and unfurled it. Rupert watched as Omar’s eyes moved from surprise into confusion. He eventually folded the letter and slid it onto the corner of his desk, his hand still resting over it.

Giving a polite nod of farewell, Rupert started to leave but Omar called out to him.

“Wait a moment, Rupert. This might concern you as well.”

With a sigh Rupert gave in and sat back down into his chair. Omar did another battle of the pros and cons before deciding to slide the message to Rupert.

When he opened it he was surprised to see it was written by Madam Rolune. The woman had not been seen off the hill since the last Graduation party, and even then she stayed just long enough to be polite then left. She was a hermit, yet her voice held enough power to make the Lord of the University hesitate. .

Why the woman wrote to Omar quickly became apparent. The commoner boy somehow found his way to her and she wrote out his tale. By the condition she found him he obviously had been caught in the heat of battle with the mob, and his story of his unusual escape made Rupert’s brows furrow similar to Omar. She concluded her letter of her thoughts on the situation and requested Omar to send the Lilith girl to her.

When the letter was concluded, Rupert folded it and set it back on the desk.

“Sir,” Rupert started respectfully. “I wish to change my request. Please let Emily find a home for the girl. I want the boy.” He firmly announced the final part.

Omar leaned back in his chair, sweat gleaned over his brows as his eyes flickered back and forth faster than Rupert had seen in years. But he did not shut his eyes in conclusion. He sagged his head and blinked before peering up at Rupert.

“I’ll be honest. Right now I am debating on taking the boy myself.”

“That is impossible.”

“I know and that is the most frustrating part,” the older man growled. “To see such a promising mage and be unable to touch him. You cannot imagine the frustration.”

“I can, to an extent,” Rupert deadpanned. Omar shook his head to try and clear his thoughts.

“Do you still plan to take him as a disciple, or as the disciple?”

“I won’t know until I see what the reader says,” Rupert answered. “But I think we might have found the disciple.”

Omar took in a breath and held it for a few moments before breathing out. He wiped his head and gave a nod. “Do it with my blessing. But you better be damn sure he can handle it or I will hunt you down and make you wish you died in that raid with the others.”

Rupert felt an oppressive presence lower down over him, smothering him. The weight was intense. Rupert strained his muscles and barely managed to hold up against the pressure. He reached into himself to feel his core and pulled out some of the magical essence. Like a soothing wave it spread through his limbs and he felt the weight become less bearing. He sat up but as soon as he moved the weight doubled down on him, his chair creaking dangerously.

He gave an affirming nod to Omar. Once Omar recognized the nod the pressure relieved itself until it vanished completely. Rupert was sweating and breathing hard like he just tried to run a marathon.

With a respectful salute he stood and rushed out of the room. It had been a long time since he felt the aura of his Leader, and even after all these years it shook him to his core. No matter how much training he did, or how many breakthroughs he discovered, he still could barely hold a candle to the monster of a man.

Once the door closed he leaned against it and took a few moments to catch his breath. There was nobody else in the room since it was so late at night. Even Omar’s secretary had left for the evening, giving Rupert some blessed peaceful moments to recuperate.

He had to succeed. There was no room for failure. He will make Philip into the disciple both he and Omar craved. Someone who will change this world and bring about a new era of magic to the Kingdom. Their ambitions would not be satisfied until they broke the status quo, so he will succeed.

Failure was not an option.