Leylin had been inextricably shunned by his father even in his most distant memory. His father, a gifted mage and respected noble of the Varius House, should have spared no effort to raise him as his heir. Instead, he was ignored. Thinking that his father's apathy was a result of his personal faults, Leylin worked from a young age to improve his mind and body. Sitting in a dusty library, he focused on the book within his hands. Laura, an adorable young girl at the age of five and also Leylin's sister, approached. She asked in a whiny voice, "Leylin, when are you going to stop studying?" "You know that I always study magic until lunch, Laura. I can play with you later," replied Leylin. "You say that, yet after lunch, you're gonna study politics," she said, pouting. Leylin felt bad since it had indeed been quite awhile since he had last played with her. "Well... I guess I can play with you. Just for a little bit," sighed Leylin. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist me," giggled Laura. "Oh? And what makes you say that?" asked Leylin. "It's because I'm so adorable of course," said Laura with confidence. Laura and Leylin shared the dark hair and blue eyes that were characteristic of the Varius House. It was easy to tell that they would grow up into good-looking young adults. "Who taught you that haughty attitude? Uncle must be pampering you too much again," said Leylin, teasing. "Alright my Queen. What should I do as your humble jester to entertain you?" "We should steal desserts from the kitchen," said Laura with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Sweets are a lady's best friend and worst enemy. Treat them with respect when you get older," joked Leylin. "What are you talking about? Come on, let's go," said Laura grabbing his hand and pulling him. Everyone from the Varius household lived on the manor grounds. It consisted of beautifully tended gardens and a series of large brick buildings. The buildings served a wide range of purposes from domestic to academic. As the son of Duke Varius, Leylin had free reign within all the facilities. But, he spent most of his time studying within the libraries. Magic and strategy were his two favorite subjects, but he wasn't an expert. Having no tutor, Leylin had to rely on himself to learn. He studied magic and strategy because they were useful during times of war and peace. The kingdom would always need strong mages and strategists to forge the future of the nation. Aiming to become a powerful noble, Leylin studied with all his energy. He studied daily to gain the attention of his father, but he remained aloof. The Varius house was one of the seven main houses that worked to manage the country of Lavania. The seven houses were all powerful, but each had their own weakness. These weaknesses were exploited to keep each house in check. Leylin had not yet been told about the Varius House's weakness. Traditionally, the weaknesses of all the houses were passed down when the heir became of age at 17. Leylin was nearing 17, but he was not yet proclaimed heir to the Varius House. Finally giving in to Laura, Leylin stopped working. "I'm going to try and ask Uncle Falt if he can convince Father to send me to a magic school. If I succeed, I can be useful and help father with the country's affairs," Leylin said. "You are plenty amazing at magic already though. You don't need to move away for that," Laura whined. "It's an option to better myself, so I can become useful to father," comforted Leylin. "But I would miss you if you left," said Laura. Leylin grabbed her tiny hand, grateful for her company. She was the only other person besides his uncle who felt like real family. "Alright then, let's go have some fun. Even though we got caught by Head Chef last time, this time I learned a new trick to get past her," said Leylin. "What is it, what is it?!" Laura excitedly asked. "It's a surprise. You'll see soon," replied Leylin. Laura watched silently with an excited expression. Her imagination ran wild as she followed Leylin. When they arrived outside the kitchen, Leylin signaled for Laura to be quiet as he began to focus. Magic exists everywhere in Leylin's world. Reading books in the library, he learned that magic was not spontaneous. From a superstitious standpoint, magic created spells out of thin air. But, this was not what occurred scientifically. Rather, it was the manipulation of a particle similar to an atom that created the effect of spells. This particle was called mana, after the name of the food given by The Creator to the first humans. One of the easiest spells to use was summon fire or ice. Spells that altered the appearance of an object were harder. Even harder were spells altering the physical properties of matter. Finally, Creation is the last type of spell, but only The Creator was able to use it. Leylin already reached the level of altering objects' appearances. Slowly, Leylin manipulated mana to camouflage himself and Laura. "Where did you go Leylin?" asked Laura. "I'm right here. Don't worry. This is the trick that I came up with, invisibility. Cool huh?" said Leylin. "Yeah!" she exclaimed with awe. Although he said invisibility, they blended in with the background like chameleons. This kind of "invisibility" was difficult to achieve. It required the user to constantly change the camouflage to match the background. One slight mistake, and they would be discovered. "Come on. Let's move slowly," said Leylin. They snuck into the kitchen, avoiding bustling chefs as they quickly prepared food. Despite the chaos, each chef had an organized goal. The food was cooked with the greatest efficiency, giving testament to the scary Head Chef. "Quickly, quickly, Duke Varius wants this first prepared for the guests in less than two hours! We can not afford to make any mistakes whatsoever!" screamed the head chef. "Guests? What for?" whispered Leylin. "Daddy said that people from the other houses are coming for a meeting," replied Laura. "Do you know what the meeting is about?" he asked. "Nope," Laura replied. Leylin decided that he would sneak into the meeting. It would be a good example for handling future country affairs. He wanted to learn everything he could to please his father. "Alright, let's keep going," he said. Laura sneakily grabbed one of the puddings that a chef recently completed. Leylin grabbed his favorite dessert, apple pie. Pausing a moment, he camouflaged the food as well. "No one will ever know that it was us," Leylin said laughing mischievously. Sitting in one of the main gardens on a bench, the two quickly ate their desserts while watching the scenery. "A whole pudding to yourself Laura? Slow down before it's too late," Leylin teased. "But it's so good..." Laura said, dejectedly. "I can solve your problem with magic," Leylin said with a mysterious glint in his eye. "Really?" "Yep, just close your eyes." While Laura had her eyes closed, Leylin quickly ate a few bites. "Ok, you can open them now." "What happened to my pudding?!" exclaimed Laura. "I caused it to disappear with magic of course." "LIAR, you ate it!!" "No, your brother is the greatest mage who ever lived." "Not true! You're just a big jerk!" The two continued their teasing and playing until, while relaxing in the sun with full stomachs, they peacefully fell asleep.