The Emberheart family boarded their carriage and sat down on the luxuriously padded seats. Tapestries lined the interior with depictions of great mages performing feats of magic.

The largest depiction was of the great Alaria Alerion, ‘the living flame’ engulfed in enormous threads of silver light as waves of red lunged towards the charging mob of rat-like creatures in steel-plate. Not even the cold winter snow could stop the savage heat from engulfing them, leaving their dead in charred piles of melted steel, snow boiling as it touched their lifeless, sindering heaps.

Behind her, Pathmaster Havias Heracle stood encircled with a massive vortex of silver, while streams of black arched overhead, forming an enormous portal. Hundreds of soldiers charged through the portal, Affinity Stones glowing and weapons raised.

The scene was depicted in panorama on the wall opposite the carriage door. The enemy charged from the side his parents sat on, meeting certain death in the centre of the carriage, as they fell to the Living Flame.

Evander watched breathlessly for several moments before finally sitting down opposite his parents.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they”, said his mother

“Beyond beautiful. I wish I could have some of these commissioned for my room. Alaria and Havias the greatest!”

His father scoffed

“Sure, if you think killing troglodytes is amazing. What about all the master mage smiths that made all their armour and weapons?”

“Oh, sorry dad. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that, they’re more prominent in the depiction. Magesmiths are also pretty cool too”

Evander looked for a few moments, then pointed at a small depiction of a mage forging steel just to the right of the carriage door.

“Look, there’s Marius Moore on the other side of the portal. He makes all the weapons and armour for Elyria’s elite portal unit”

His father patted him on the head

“I was just being silly. Everybody knows craftsmen make the greatest mages”

His mother cleared her throat.

“So, how are you feeling about your first day? Are you nervous about the affinity test?”

Evander pondered for a moment. He recalled the notes he took on academy orientation and what he was told to expect.

“I’ve practised a meditation technique that will make channelling mana easy. When I get there it’ll straight into the affinity test”

“I was talking about your affinities. Are you nervous about discovering them?”

Evander waved dismissively.

“I don’t need to worry about my affinities. I can’t control which ones I get. Being a master mage is about hard work and dedication, not luck”

“Ah, but you’re sure you will get more than one?”

“That's only because you both have two affinities. I’m pretty sure that increases the odds for me. Either way, even one affinity wouldn’t be that bad”

His father grinned cheekily.

“So, no favourite then?”

Evander rolled his eyes as his mother elbowed his father.

“You know I’d love to be a thermal kineticist like you, but the chances are slim. What’s the point of false hope?”

“I’m right here, Evi. And here I thought you wanted follow after your mother and join the clinic after graduation”

Evander looked out the carriage window at the dirt road below. They had exited the cobbled surface of the trade district and were now traversing a dirt road then led to the Academy Estate.

“Did you two plan this? Stuck in this little carriage with nowhere to go, lest I dirty my robes you gifted me. Now you can finally corner me into picking favourites”

“I wouldn't dream of it, son. That would just end with your mother in tears and me in the guest room”

“I do house visits to nobles all the time and they say there is a correlation between parental affinities and those of their children, so there’s a much higher chance of you getting one of ours”

Evander recalled reading similar claims in the biographies of well known nobles. At the time it had given him hope that he could be just like his father. However, upon further investigation he concluded that it was just a trick of large numbers.

“Wrong. If enough nobles have enough children, you will eventually get a matching affinity. Since you have four affinities between you, for each affinity it’s a coin flip whether I get one of them. I’ll have a 1 in 5 chance of getting two of your four, and a 1 in 25 of getting an exact match to one of you”

His parents stared at him in shocked silence.

“Is this how you aced your courses? Relate everything back to magic?”, asked his mother

Evander shrugged.

“I guess. That and lots of work”

“Anyway. At the end of the day no one knows. Maybe it’s random, maybe it’s not. Although, I’ve also been told there might even be a degree of subconscious choice involved”

Evander's stomach knotted as his mother spoke.

“No pressure”, he thought.

He was contemplating how dirty his robes would get if he jumped out of the carriage and ran the rest of the way.

“I would love to have your affinities, but please don’t be mad if I don't get them”

His mother smiled and leaned over to give him a hug,

“I love you, Evai”

His father leaned in to join the hug

“So do I. And I will love you even more when you become an thermal kineticist like me”

His mother elbowed his father again, as they returned to their seats.

Evander looked out the window and saw they were now travelling alongside the academy campus perimeter. He saw the perfectly manicured hedge wall that ran the perimeter of the grounds. Behind the hedges Evander could see tall pines that looked to be planted about ten feet behind the hedges, spaced around 20 feet apart.

He got up and raised his head and body out of the window as far as he could to peer over the five foot high hedges. He could see the spires of the academy in the distance. It wasn’t long now until they would be at the gates.

“Ever wonder how they maintain these perfectly square hedges? I mean, they’re huge. They’ve got to be at least five feet thick and just as high. Would they pay a mage to do something like this?”

“Most likely a life mage like myself. One who specialises in plant growth”

His father looked out the window.

“An air mage could do it. With enough skill you could fly along the perimeter in no time whipping off slices like they were paper”

Evander was sure his parents were wrong. The economics just didn’t make sense to him.

“This campus is miles long and miles wide. Skilled mages would be outrageously expensive”

His father glanced at his mother and smirked.

“Oh, I don't know. I’m sure a large enough force of rookie mages could-”

His mother interrupted.

“Shh”

Evander blinked in shock and disbelief.

“Seriously?”

The carriage slowed as it approached the entrance to the academy grounds. An archway bridged the hedge wall, allowing carriages to pass through. A sign was hung from the top of the archway:

‘Xander Xalatar’s Grand Academy of Magical Arts’

Evander eyed the sign as the horseman cornered their way through the arches.

“With a name like that, I hope he didn’t have any kids”

His father snorted a laugh, but quickly settled himself.

Though she tried to hide it, Evander could see her stifling a grin.

“Of all the things you can do to be funny, please make sure repeating that is not one of them”

Evander paused for a moment, then grinned.

“So I take it he did have kids”

His father pinched the ridge of his nose as he groaned

— —

Evander peered out the window once more and saw the open grassy fields either side of the road that led to the academy main building. The academy was made from smooth polished dark stone with a great white spire rising from the centre of the building.

The spire rose up several dozen stories, narrowing as it grew higher. The Spires appeared to be made of white stone, which was either expensive marble, or some kind of veneer.

They neared the academy and the dirt road transitioned to a smoothly tiled and well kept surface. Evander looked down and examined the surface as they rolled onto it. It appeared to be made of polished stone tiles several feet wide. The seams between each tile were barely perceptible and too smooth to clunk under the wheels as the carriage rolled over them.

Evander looked up and saw the marble driveway leading into a covered outdoor lounging area with many tables, chairs and lounging seats. Several wait staff were taking orders and delivering food and beverages to students, mostly those in coloured robes. There were a small number of silver cloaked students, as well as students who had not yet donned their robes.

The path ended just in front of the undercover area, winding around a large three tiered stone fountain before exiting again. Carved into the outer rim of each tier Evander could see depictions of mages performing acts of magic. The images were coloured with a combination of coloured metals and stones. The chiselled mural depicted each mage doing something related to their affinity.

They stopped behind another carriage several yards from the fountain. There were several carriages ahead of them waiting to drop off their passengers. The carriage ahead rounded the fountain and stopped. A man in a fancy yellow suit took an envelope from the carriage, removed the paper, then pocket the envelope of coins. The man proceeded to read the contents of the paper aloud.

“Presenting Victor Vanvaughn, son of Vincent and Victoria Vanvaughn, and heir to the Vaughn Eastland Trading Company”

A tall young man with shoulder length blond hair stepped out of the carriage in stunning red and gold robes. Victor strode from the carriage with his head up and nose held high. Around his waist was a sheath holding what appeared to be a short-sword. Acknowledging no-one, Victor continued to the academy entrance and disappeared down the halls.

A few minutes later, it was finally Evander’s turn to exit his carriage. The man in yellow opened the carriage door and leaned in. Evander's mother handed the man an envelope. As the man stepped out of the carriage, the jingling of coins clearly heard from the envelope as he pocketed it.

His mother clasped his hands and kissed his forehead.

“Are you ready?”

Evander took a deep breath as his heart pounded, his palms becoming sweaty as fidgeted. Evander put on a fake smile and stood up.

“At this point it hardly matters”

“Son of The Night Witch, Emilia Emberheart, Royal court physician and medical advisor to the king. And Son of The Ivory Smith, Erick Emberheart, master magesmith and artisan craftsman for the discerning noble. It is with great pleasure that I welcome the great prodigy of magic theory, sole heir to the Emberheart fortune, and soon to be greatest mage in all of Elyria. Please give a resounding welcome to the great Evander Emberheart!”

“Sheesh! How much did you pay him?”

“More than enough. Now go!”

Evander took one more deep breath as he steadied his shaking legs. Putting on his best look of confidence, Evander stepped from the carriage.