Tim tried to catch up with his son as the old wizard was now feeling his age in the triple digits instead of the (much smaller) double digits. It didn’t help that his wife Eliza looked at their son in both pride and envy as just moved to the next…

“Oh sweet Nefaria… how many of these things are left?” He asked himself in disbelief.

“I know!” Their son/nightmare spoke in honest pride “We just skipped across half of North America in just a few minutes.”

The glare his wife was shooting him didn’t help as transportation by magical transport was tiring. Transportation by apparition drew upon one’s own magical reserve with the side effect of nausea, dizziness, and your body trying to adjust to suddenly being in a new location.

You could go far, but you could also tire yourself out and not everyone had the talent for it. So the solution was to tie the spell to an object or a ‘Gatekey’ to allow one to be teleported to a preset location.

In theory this worked better because a wizard or witch wouldn’t be drawing upon their own magical reserve and there were spells that could be set up to help them catch their ground or breath when they apperated to the new location.

The problem?

It felt like he had gained a hangover only for the barkeep to then try to beat him unconscious with the empty bottle and unlike apparition he wouldn’t simply ‘get better’ once his magical reserve was replenished or he managed to get his footing.

Technically the new mass Gatekey system made it easier… in the same way saying you had that annoying person saying ‘You just have a little bit further to go’ when you were dog tired and wanted to stop running.

They were tired, exhausted, and the magical recoil was exhausting… there were booths for people to rest in as they tried to recover, yet Marcus was running around as if they hadn’t jumped through twelve cursed blasted things!

He checked his watch before glancing at the map apparently impressed at the speed of travel… and completely ignoring every other wizard and witch groaning about Antiarius idioitc attempt at trying to create a mass Gatekey travel system.

Still he kept moving forward dragging his traveling suitcase behind as the large trunk on wheels would sometimes unzip itself (just a little) to where you could see something inside the suitcase staring back at you.

Tim Flame pinched the bridge of his nose as he started to question if perhaps this was some sort of Arcadia nonsense that allowed their son to not experience any Gatekey Recoil and if so… what ancient spirit did he need to make a Pact to stop feeling all bad parts of drinking without actually having drunk anything.

“Just one more.” His wife muttered half in prayer as the latest Gatekey… a large richly decorated golden staff stood off to the side as a pair of goblins were checking tickets “One more and then we can rest in a booth.”

Tim nodded his head as he revealed his ticket to the goblins who stared at him in disbelief “The Illusive Mage?”

He flinched as he hated that title. His father named him Tim in the hopes that he could buy a better name in the future. Tim Flame actually liked the name his parents gave him, yet the entire magical world just kept trying to figure out what it stood for… and kept making new titles up around it.

Sometimes a name was just a name. He liked to keep things simple even if his wife sometimes joked it was because he sucked at naming things.

“Travel for three to the next point of the Candidate picks.” He dimly replied.

The goblins quickly moved to help them get to the staff as they gave him Botmen’s Savior’s the small bloody awful pills who’s only saving grace was that while they tasted horrible… they were far more tolerable than Gatekey sickness.

Popping the small orange pill into his mouth he joined his son as they all took hold of the staff before the entire scenery changed before their eyes as they now stood inside an old stone fort. Plenty of parents were bidding their children goodbye as more than a few adults were taking refuge in the booths to recover from their trip.

Tim took a deep breath as he managed to walk in a straight line as his son glanced at the map checking where they were… and the unsettling chill down his spine reminded him why they had kept away from the wizarding magical world.

“I heard Andrew Flame is joining us this year.” A voice spoke up “Anyone see him?”

“You heard about Hadwin Vera? He’s joining as Lux’s pick!” Another voice spoke in awe “Do you think he’ll sign my book?”

Tim pulled up his hood as his wife cast the disillusionment charm to keep the crowd from noticing them. He hated that nobody noticed his son as they all had taken to the idea of what they thought would be their son instead of… accepting the truth.

“Marcus. Remember the rules.” He spoke reminding his son on what he was allowed and more important not allowed to do “This isn’t… Arcadia. Nobody is out to get you.”

His son turned around staring at him as if not believing him before he nodded his head “Don’t get into a fight with the old goat. It doesn’t matter if I win so long as I make it through the school year… and don’t tell Velkear where I am.”

While most parents who had their child nominated for the Trial of Fates would be ecstatic and try giving words of encouragement. The problem was that Marcus didn’t know how to duel. Dueling had rules and regulations while fighting… or the brand his son was used to?

Their impression was to show that Marcus Flame the third child and heir to the Flame Family was just a kid even if Marcus hated being called a kid. There was nothing bad or wrong with him. He was skilled even if his magic was a bit old fashioned...

One of the Unsee slowly pulled out a pair of headphones.

“No electronics.” Tim quickly replied as he shoved the headphones back into the suitcase “There is going to be a lot of magic and electronics will not work there.”

Marcus had worked his ‘magic’ to keep them working, but that wasn’t the point. There were unspoken rules within the magical community and having a child who freely used Mundi Technology so easily despite the large amounts of magic (and wards) that should have rendered them useless?

Tim did not want to see how the magical world would react when they realized that it might be possible for anyone with a properly warded cell phone could instantly take their picture and send it to the internet.

Or worse…

If one bound to Arcadia found their location.

Tim felt nervous as he knew it would be safer for their son to attend the magical school even with the politics going on in the background. Still he could picture far too many ways this could all go wrong.

What if Lux had gone too far? What if one of the other children cast a curse only for Marcus to cast one in return? What if they found a goblin steel dagger in his bags… or worse… what if they looked into the staff?

As much as Tim hated that his son was bringing the staff with him after getting a perfectly fine Fourteen inch Spruce Wand. The core was a little bit troubling… especially with the wood pairing.

‘Flexible, Slightly Flamboyant and dramatic effects. Dragon Heartstrong bonds easily, but also can turn to the more darker aspects of magic.’

Normally most would focus on the more positive aspects or associations of the core… as a powerful loyal spell caster was always something to cherish within the wizarding world. The problem was...

If wands helped show an aspect of a wizard (or witch) then one would simply take ‘Flamboyant and dramatic’ combined with ‘Sometimes learns towards darker spells’ as the obvious sign of a budding dark lord.

Maybe his son’s paranoia was getting to him, but Tim thought of all the ways a skilled wizard could twist around the type of wand his son got into a sign… a sign to remove his son and find their ‘proper heir’ to claim the Flame Legacy.

He pinched his nose as ‘wizard who messed with Mundi Tech and shows very little respect towards the Albion Accord’ wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. Still hopeful his son would find some people around his age and just…

Be a child.

Even if Marcus hated being treated as a child it was because he rarely got to be a child. That was what his father wanted his son to experience.

Just the daily mundane aspects of going around classes and being taught magic. Complaining about homework and trying to find some sort of magical adventure that generally didn’t amount to much, except for the fun times and laughs he and his friends would have as the worst trouble they would face would be getting detention.

He tried to smile as he put both hands onto his son’s shoulder. Tim stared at the odd young child who happened to steal The Red Stone from them… only to get caught trying to sell it at a Mundi Pawn shop as he had no idea that the wizarding world even existed.

“Just be careful, but more importantly… have fun.” Tim spoke as he glanced at the crowd of students trying to be rounded up ahead of them “Not everyone is trying to get you.”

Marcus glanced up ahead as he looked nervous at the large crowd of people up ahead. Some were being sorted to pick between the students who were returning to the school this year… and those having been picked to serve as (possible) Champions of the Duel of Fates.

“Also don’t get into any fights with Hadwin Vera just because Lux chose him as a candidate.” He quickly added

Marcus nodded his head “I know… because he is the popular pick and the press is going to support him and tear down anyone who messes with their ‘child of prophecy’. I know to be careful in how I pick my…”

“He is just a kid.” Eliza cut in “Do not mistake ignorance for malice as sometimes people are just stupid.”

Tim rolled his eyes as he wanted to say something that sounded a little more positive, but his son nodded his head accepting the decision… even if it was for the wrong reason.

They both bid their son goodbye as Tim sighed as… it never got easier did it? Two different children at different time periods. You’d think that by the third child they would have figured it all out?

Sadly being a parent was never that easy as each child could share the same fears while bringing together their own unique bag of fears, worries, and concerns that would make you second guess every decision you made.

Yet…

This was what being a parent was. Looking at your child go and just praying that everything would be alright.

Marcus Flame turned around and spoke “And remember… if you don’t have everything set by February…”

“We know…” Tim spoke with a soft smile “We know.”

Marcus turned around and tried to figure out which group he was joining while Tim pulled out the small business card in his pocket. Velkear would be watching their movements, but not interfering as the ancient fiend had an odd sense of… honor… or perhaps it would be better to say ‘rules’ that he lived by.

Far easier to trust than some people these days.

“So which ingredient do you want to go after first?” Tim asked his wife.

She glanced at the map before pointing at the Gatekey location “I say Newport… White River Spine and fang might be able to replace Zmei fang. Also we’ll only have to take…” She took a deep breath “Two more jumps.”

Tim tried not to groan as it was just two more Gatekey jumps. Then they could simply collapse within one of the booths and sleep it off.

Marcus took a deep breath as his parents were gone now. There were dozens of twig twirlers walking about and now there was the maze of which group he was going to be sorted into. The ones on the right shifting about in disappointment towards the silver staff GateKey.

Safely get to school without anyone noticing you.

Pros - Arrive at school safely and other students know the area. Cons - it makes you look weak and they’ll notice you aren’t one of them.

On the left was the golden staff where other ‘chosen’ students were walking to.

Pros - Walk proudly upholding family name and see rivals. Cons - Rivals see you and might do something stupid.

The left he wasn’t a fan of since there was no telling what someone could do especially if they did something stupid. He also doubted anyone would intervene until someone (they didn’t want) was losing.

The same problem was held on the right side because he would be seen as weak. Even if somebody did something stupid it would hopefully mean everyone else wouldn’t gang up on him thinking he was the easiest one to eliminate.

‘Meh. If they try and gang up I can just use wide Area Of Effect tactics.’ The young magician thought to himself. ‘I don’t need to put on a good show. I just need to be the only one left standing.’

The decision had been made as it seemed like the right choice only some odd twig twirler in a brown duster jacket to magically move him out of the crowd and drag him towards him. Marcus hated that he was being dragged out as he tried not to glare at the adult.

First rule of fighting in a crowd?

Doge the first strike they throw. If you're lucky it hits someone else making them hit your attacker. If you are unlucky then it means they threw the first punch and you are fighting for ‘self-defense’ which hopefully should work when the authorities dragged you in.

He held up his left hand a little making sure that the obsidian ring could be seen. Thankfully the twig twirler didn’t seem to react or even notice it which meant he was a regular wizard instead of one with ties to Arcadia.

The wizard flicked his wand as the envelope from the chairman came out of Marcus’s suitcase and into the twig twirler’s hand. A few others glanced at him in confusion as he decidedly didn’t look like a twig twirler opting for pants instead of hard to run in robes.

The man before him had also opted for pants and a shirt… but he also had a gun on his side. Marcus kept an eye on the gun as a dozen situations filled his mind on how badly this could go down.

“Marcus? No last name?” The twig twirler spoke in confusion

“The chairman picked me. If I am correct the proper term is new blood as my family line still has one Mundi relative with no magical ones.” Marcus spoke as technically it was true.

His father wasn’t born a twig twirler and nobody knew who his biological mother was (or even if he had one). Sure blood adoption counted more making him a… either a half-blood or full blood.

His (adopted) mother came from a wizarding line while his father was a new blood… but he was over five hundred years old. Normally that was for magical blood lines through generations which would have made him a full blood… but he didn’t know if you needed magical lineage to last through ages or generations for it to count.

Magical Twig Twirler politics were complicated.

“Sounds like one of his picks.” The twig twirler muttered “Still at least he is being progressive. You are going behind me towards the scenic route.”

His blood froze as he stared at the carriages. This was not a fancy term or name for a car or possibly a bus. No they were old wooden horse drawn carriages with the only saving grace (and failure) being that they weren’t pulled by horses… but some sort of magical spectral horse.

In theory this meant they were easier to guide. In practice it meant that if the driver was gone the cart wouldn’t go forward. Even if the driver ditched them a flesh and blood horse could still pull the carriage.

Marcus coughed as he glanced at the much safer and reasonable golden staff Gatekey. If he was being forced to pick the second option… “Can’t I go the regular way? It’s much faster…”

“Don’t worry about it.” The Twig Twirler replied “Just go to cart number four.”

He felt the Twig Twirler’s magic push him forward a little as apparently the man misunderstood the message. Marcus wasn’t being shy about going on carriages thinking they were too good. He wanted to go by the much faster and safer method of mass public transportation!

You didn’t see the regular non-magical humans take carriages to go across state lines when a car (or plane) would do the same job! Heck most people would find spending three days traveling as ‘far too long’ to spend on just trying to get somewhere!

He nearly shot the man a glare until he saw some random child with glasses speak up “Any luck on finding Andrew Flame?”

“No Hadwin. He still hasn’t come.” The twig twirler who pulled him out of the safer lines replied “We’ll find him so that Lux can have a talk with him.”

Marcus was thankful that the Chairman… Antiarius.

That was his name.

He was thankful that Antiarius hadn’t marked him down as the flame heir or this trip would have been a lot shorter than he would have liked. The young magician shivered at the brief brush with death he just barely managed to avoid.

With that in mind he quickly raced over to the carriage before the Twig Twirlers could realize their mistake.

He opened the door shoving his suitcase inside before getting in the antique piece of junk and closing the door shut. He nearly sighed in relief until he heard the slight ‘humph’ from the other passenger inside the cart.

Some young blond hair girl with blue eyes stared at him “What are you doing here?”

Marcus sighed, holding up his left hand with the envelope “Letter of invitation.”

She squinted as if he was somehow offending her with his very presence… “You are wearing that ring on the wrong finger.”

He froze as his right hand went to the suitcase as the Unsee quickly moved his staff up ready for him to defend himself.

“What house is that?” She asked in confusion.

Marcus blinked, caught off guard “The House of the Moonless Night.”

She didn’t react to the name like most people would have. There was no cursing, no fear, and more importantly she didn’t pull out her wand and try to kill him. That sounded a bit drastic, but people have tried to kill him for less.

“Have you ever heard of Korona?” The question was about as blunt as asking ‘you ever heard of the Albion Accord?’ to a twig twirler.

The fact she still seemed confused only brought up more questions to him since only those with ties to Arcadia could see the obsidian ring. How could you have ties to Arcadia without even knowing the most basic details!

Marcus coughed as he held up his right hand “Also I’m blood adopted. That one takes precedent for the right hand.”

He summoned the Flame Family Ring marking him as the latest Flame Heir and the obvious look of disbelief and shock now came from the strange young witch’s face. She rubbed her eyes before looking him over twice as if in disbelief.

“You look nothing like what the books say.” She spoke in disbelief.

He rolled his eyes “The name is Marcus Leng Flame the Third. Third child to the flame name. First two already dead. Picked to be the champion of old by the chairman since none of you know what a freaking Unsee is.”

On que the Unsee came out of the suitcase carrying whatever they could to try and fortify the inside of the cart. He spilt the beans and they were preparing to make sure that this useless bit of lumber on wooden wheels would be able to protect him.

She stared at the small swarm of Unsee “What… I mean…” She seemed to struggle with what to say next before she recomposed herself.

The young witch in black robes held out her hand revealing the ring on her hand “My name is Lapis Rezen. Heir to the Noble House of Rezen and chosen to be… someone who supports the traditions of the British Isles.”

She smiled softly as she glanced at the Unsee “I can’t claim to be a champion of old when you have a stronger claim to the title.” The Unsee turned to face her as if acknowledging her presence for the first time “I am sorry for my lack of respect… Spirits of the Hearth.”

A few of them took off their hats and bowed in response as Marcus was kind of surprised that she knew of them by a title. It was a good move since most of the Unsee felt… abandoned by the magical female portion of the magical world.

She chuckled a little before she glanced back at him “Though I have to ask what is with your clothes… and your staff?”

Now he couldn’t help, but chuckle as he took the opposite seat and pulled out the tools of his trade. A staff, the circular notepad with pre-inscribed Rites and Runes, and a few fake wands. The goblin steel knife just had to stay hidden until he got to the school or when trouble popped up.

“The clothing is because it’s always good to wear something you can run in.” Marcus spoke from practical experience.

“As for the staff?” It flared to life within his hands as he couldn’t help, but smile a little “Not all magic is bound by the Albion Accord.”

Garmr Grim sighed as Andrew Flame had yet to be found. He prevented more than a few other students that tried to hide away with the carriages, but the real reason why he was put in charge of sorting duty had yet to arrive.

It shouldn’t have been hard trying to spot the portly young wizard with goggles who smelled of various potion ingredients. Andrew would have some self confidence issues which Hadwin could help him overcome and getting the shy young wizard who didn’t like conflict to grow out of his shell.

Then again it wouldn’t surprise him if Andrew was dropped off at the school by his parents considering how old Antiarius had gone off the deep end. Abandoning his position as Chairman of the Silver Cloak Protectorate and becoming whatever job position he had achieved with the Amora Branch.

Even going so far as refusing Lux’s words and having lost faith in the Book of Prophecy to the point he refused to see the child Lux had presented to fill the void left by the death of his daughter. To refuse accepting the daughter who would help save the magical wizarding world.

‘Shame really.’ Garmr thought to himself. “We could have made the band of Five meet sooner… Instead it’s just a duo as Roland is still focused on being rivals with Hadwin instead of friends. No idea who had poisoned his mind considering the rest of his family seems about right.’

Still things should be better this year as Roland wasn’t picked as Lux’s second choice. In fact most of Hadwin’s problems were being left in Europe (for the most part) as it was time for him to go see the wider magical world without any extra problems added to it.

His Godson already had a few rough years and this one should hopefully be better than last year… it would be hard to top a psychotic witch breaking out of jail and trying to kill you.

“Well let's get to the cart Hadwin.” He spoke with a sigh “Looks like this is it.”

His godson nodded as the young youth with messy brown hair and glasses smiled “Beats taking the Gatekey.”

Garmr nodded as Gatekeys were useful… but anyone would take a carriage ride or a broom over a Gatekey if they had the choice.

As they walked to the cart he tried to remind his godson “And remember Hadwin… Andrew is a bit of a traditionalist. So be careful as he isn’t as bad as Jasper Rezen, but…”

“Classic like Merlin, but not Morgana.” Hadwin nodded with unease “I know. Still it’s going to be rough as…”

Garmr stopped as he held Hadwin’s shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. The kid was still feeling guilty about what happened during the first year… and it hadn’t gotten any better after the disaster during the third year.

“You are not ‘The-Boy-In-Trouble’ but the ‘Boy-Who-Survives’ alright?” He spoke firmly to his godson “It was the dead dark wizard who was responsible for the destruction of the Stone. It was the crazy witch Vilateria who killed that young witch. You are not responsible for their actions Hadwin Havoic.”

The young wizard tried to smile, but the guilt still hung there “I know… I just…”

Garmr smiled “You are riding in a cart to be protected by plenty of my friends as you’ll get to meet a lot of people. Nothing is going to happen to anyone on this trip Hadwin. We kept everything a secret including the last minute change to this location to ensure that nothing is going to happen.”

It gave Antiarius a bit of a fit, but Garmr didn’t care. They had already faced enough problems trying to get here… and he knew why Hadwin was feeling uneasy this year. He still held the newspaper of the rather direct mark of ‘the threat for the year’ in his hands.

The picture of the Aloe Vera manor as dozens of Silver Cloaks were busy trying to figure out who had left the attack and how they managed to get past so many family wards. The fact they weren’t home when the attack happened was a relief… but the wards had been broken and the message… was troubling.

‘The Claim Is Mine!’ was carved into the door.

Hadwin didn’t know what the message meant, but Lux feared it was some new Dark Lord only this one was after the Staff of Aeons. It was still locked safely back in Stagniss as the defenses guarding the staff were still intact, but those who read the book of prophecy would know that Hadwin was supposed to claim the staff in the future.

So if someone was contesting a claim… it would be for the staff.

So Garmr was going to do his best to protect his godson and try to figure out what the latest dark lord wannabe was and take care of them early so that Hadwin could focus on making friends with the other two chosen picks.

Andrew Flame and Casandra Hawks.

“Ah Hadwin… Still see that everyone giving you special privileges.” A voice spoke out mocking his godson “Did Mommy pull strings or did Lux think you needed ‘extra protection’ after how badly you screwed up last year?”

Garmr turned around as the last person had arrived… and it was now Andrew Flame. No this was Roland Rook… who wasn’t supposed to be here.

The red hair youth wore a mocking grin as he held out his envelope “Chairman Antiarius personally came to pick me up and ensure that I would arrive with the chosen few.”

Garmr snatched the envelope out of the kid’s hand and looked at it in disbelief “Wait… you're the champion of new? What happened to...”

“New kid? Last minute pick who won by merit instead of drooling as a baby.” Roland spoke with a hint of envy “Still try not to get anyone else killed during one of your ‘scenes’ this year Vera. The school is already making a betting pool on how many students you get killed at this school before the middle of the term.”

Garmr shoved the envelope back into Roland’s hands “Take a cart. The Headmaster is going to…”

“Welcome me to his school as Luxarious the old prick is not my headmaster this year.” Roland snarled back “Please do your job well so that Hadwin doesn’t win by simply being the only contest left alive to arrive at the school.”

Garmr gritted his teeth as he watched the prat walk off. Hadwin gripped his wand tighter as their rivalry hadn’t ended… if anything it somehow had gotten even worse? Hopefully having Hadwin beat him fair and square in a duel would finally make Roland less of a prick and become the friend he was supposed to be by the end of this year.

“Wait… the new blood is the champion of old? The Mundi-born kid with the suitcase?” Hadwin spoke in disbelief

Garmr glanced back at the carts as that couldn’t be right. Even if Antiarius had turned sour… Roland Rook came from an established (if down on their luck) old wizarding family. There was no way that he had been passed over as the champion of old… unless something had gone wrong.

‘Pre-Albion Accord magic?’ The older wizard thought with an uneasy shiver.

Technically it was an older form of magic… but there was a reason why it had been left for dead. Not even Antiarius would even consider… something like that.

“He’s probably lying, Hadwin.” Garmr lied to his godson “Let’s get to the carts so that you can meet Lux’s second pick.”

They walked to the cart as hopefully Hadwin’s meeting with Cassandra Hawks would turn out alright. The only question would be if they got along… or if they would both be nervous at meeting one another. Personally he hoped it would be the second one as he needed some time embarrassing his Godson and getting someone else to see him as Hadwin Havoc instead of the elusive ‘Boy of Prophecy’ that was supposed to help save the magical world in the future.