The next morning my mother was the one to wake me up. “Let’s go, Darius, today we’re going to practice wind magic." The excitement my mother had while teaching was always contagious. “Let me get young master Darius ready Lady Elaine.” Rhea walked in before my mother could take me outside in my underwear. “Make it quick! We’re taking breakfast with us. I'm taking him to a nice spot for training. Darius your father was called to the capital he’ll be gone for a little while.” My mother seemed to say the last part of that sentence quickly as if to hide it. “Yes, milady.” “Wait, where is father?” “Get dressed quickly, we're going to have a fun day!”

My instincts which were honed over a long period were telling me something was wrong, her expressions and her eyes betrayed what she thought. I felt goosebumps climb up my arms and legs. Something was definitely wrong. Rhea helped me get cleaned up and changed before taking me to my mother again.

She was outside the manor with the carriage and a few baskets of food. “Get in, we're going to train in nature today and get some fresh air!” Rhea picked me up and handed me over to my mother who grabbed me like a fish out of water and sat me on her lap. I noticed that two new knights were going with us that I didn’t recognize, one male and one female. There was also the head butler who I rarely saw get in the carriage and Rhea got in right behind him. “Where’s Tobi and Eli?” Something was definitely strange. At least one was always with my mother and one was always with my father. “They both went with your father to the capital.” The Alarm bells that had gone off earlier were ringing loudly in my mind. Why would both go with my father?

“Is father safe?” My mother looked surprised as she couldn’t hide the worry in her eyes but said, “Of course little lion he’s going to be fine. He's just going to the capital to check on some things. Your father’s strong, I married him for a reason you know. So don't worry about him Darius, he'll be back soon.” I buried speculation and stomped on it trying to focus on the tasks at hand. We went the rest of the way somewhat quietly, that is... until the young knights started talking.

“Young master Darius, you're able to use magic already! That’s incredible!” Linda the female knight spoke in a tone one would use with a small child. She was annoying. I might be 2 years old, but that didn't mean I liked being treated like one. “He’s Lady Elaine’s and Sir Darien’s child so of course, he's capable of magic at his age.” The young male knight Casper responded naturally. He’s even more annoying. Mother always responded in a haughty way when I was praised by someone, with her nose held high. I asked, “I thought knights grew up with nobles so are you two former adventures? Mom, these guys are kinda young so how could they have any experience.” The knights blushed a bit as my mom responded, “They are both from the Royal Knights Academy and were the top graduates of their year, both Caspian and Linda are the most promising young Knights in the Red Tower right now.” I looked at both of them and noticed Casper rubbing his nose and Linda rubbing the back of her head. They were terrible at hiding their expressions. “Linda was the top of her class the year before me, she's my Jr.” Linda frowned before replying, “I would have beaten Caspian even if we were in the same class.”

I ignored the two of them and looked outside the carriage window. It seemed the carriage ride would be longer than I thought. We ate our breakfast in the carriage with the knights. It took 3 hours before we reached our destination. We had gone through several portions of a thick and gloomy forest before we started hearing the sound of rushing water. We arrived at a large clear lake fed by a tall and mighty waterfall. We got out of the carriage and walked past a decrepit wood cabin at the basin of the waterfall. I could have walked on my own, but my mother carried me on her shoulders as we hiked. A little over an hour of hiking is all it took to reach the top of the waterfall. “Beautiful.” I was surprised by the size of the running waterfall. It seemed even larger up close. The water sparkled as it fell on the rocks at the bottom of the basin. It was the most beautiful sight I had seen in this world so far. “Pretty isn't it?” “Yea, mom it’s nice.” “We’re going to be practicing here for the rest of the day, no boring books or lectures, just magic, and lots of fun!”

My mother then demonstrated the spell we would be practicing today. “This is the first circle spell, Wind Steps." Air began spiraling on top of her palm. "There are higher versions of the spell up to the third circle, but today we're just going to focus on the 1st circle version." I nodded my head as she continued, “This spell is one of the most well-known wind spells as well as being one of the most used. Even my self-created wind spell is based on Wind Steps. Memorize the incantation, I call upon the spirit of the wind, grace me with your steps, Wind Steps!” My mother began to run at a fast speed, faster than a Heral at full gallop, as she leaped from rock to rock before reaching the other side of the lake in less than a minute. She sprinted back from the other side of the lake before somersaulting and landing right in front of me. “Moms pretty cool huh.” Mother had a big smile as the knights were looking at her slack-jawed. “Lady Elaine, was that really the first circle Wind Steps spell?” Casper exclaimed. “That was more like a 2nd circle spell, like Wind Rush or Wind Riding!” Linda yelled. “Caspian, Linda, when you master a spell you can always stack it for an even greater effect or even use it more efficiently or less efficiently as you please. A spell is only as good as the one practicing it. The Red Tower's head knight Sir Elijah is capable of similar feats with his wind and earth magic.” I was genuinely surprised by the magic displayed, especially considering it was 1st circle magic. I had already learned more than a dozen spells and none of them were as impressive as what mom did. “Mom, do you think I'll be able to do that too?” “Of course, this level of play is easy for a little genius like you! You’ll get the hang of it in no time!” My mother's confidence in me was as incredible as always. I’m confident to the point of arrogance, but I think she’s more confident in me than I am in myself.

I remembered the chant and tried it, “I call upon the spirit of the wind, grace me with your steps, Wind Steps!” I waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. There was no reaction at all which slightly annoyed me. I tried the chant half a dozen times before getting a small reaction. I patiently practiced the spell getting a bigger response after every attempt. “Wind steps!” I successfully cast the spell on the 27th attempt. “Don’t be discouraged Darius, for you this might seem slow, but for others including me, that’s over ten times faster than average. It took me 30 attempts and I was called a prodigy.”

I wasn’t satisfied so I set myself a goal. I’d at least shorten the incantation today and do the spell chantless at some point this week. My mother demonstrated the spell for me again, which she used as easily as drinking a cup of water, before correcting me every time I used it. “You're gathering the wind too forcefully. Darius, you're treating the wind the same way you treat fire and earth magic with oppressive control. The wind is free, you have to let the spell gather the wind on its own. Forcing it like that slows the process down.” I normally picked up on her lessons quickly, but I really couldn't understand today's lesson at all. “If you can’t control it then what’s the point?” “Son, you shouldn’t force the wind to gather, you just need to set the image you want and focus that image, focus the image of the gathering wind, and let the wind do the rest.” That was like saying you should just let your muscles throw a punch for you. “How is your casting that fast mom, if you're just letting the spell gather on its own you have no control over the speed it gathers?” “Practice, I let the wind gather at a point, the wind I need comes as quickly as I need it. The wind naturally gathers quickly. You can only force things with wind magic when you’ve already gotten all the wind you need for the spell.” Sometimes my mother's explanations were frustrating like today's. She used magic completely differently from my father. I could see that when it came to learning magic, I took after my father slightly more than my mother.

I practiced the spell the way my mother taught me making it a central point to gather the wind as quickly as possible, it was not something that gave me instant gratification. I looked over at my mom when I was starting to get frustrated, but she looked happy with my results instead. I decided to be patient for once and tried again.

After a few more practices it was time for lunch. We ate together with the knights and Rhea. Our butler Alman set out the blanket and food for everyone and poured everyone some drinks. “After lunch, I’ll take you for a hike. It's incredibly beautiful up here. Your father's cabin is well maintained so we’ll probably stay up here for at least a week.” Wait, what did mother just say? “Did you say, one week mom?” “Yes, one week.” I was confused, I thought my father would only be gone for a few days. “I wish we could stay a bit longer, but any longer than that and some problems might crop up. I need to take care of the Red tower for a little while so I can’t stay away for too long.” Something was wrong, I bit my lips and pressed the bad feeling down.

I practiced the Wind Step spell blowing wind out of my hands while my mother carried me on her shoulders. The hike was naturally beautiful and at some point, I had stopped practicing the spell and was just enjoying the sights. “What is that mom?” “That’s a spider lily, doesn’t that flower kind of look like a spider?” “That bush with the white flowers looks interesting as well.” “Yes, that’s an elderberry bush. The berries look really pretty but are poisonous. They'll give you a really bad stomach ache if you eat one.” I didn’t cultivate my internal energy and I didn’t practice with mana. I just enjoyed my mother’s company. It was a nice change of pace. I’ll train and cultivate later tonight, but for now, I was enjoying nature.

Caspian POV

My name is Caspian, my mother was a prostitute my father was one of her customers. When I was living in the slums I got an opportunity, and eventually ended up in the Royal Knights Academy. I went from eating gruel and hard bread to 3 meals a day with meat and dessert every single day. I never wanted to give that up so I worked hard. I listened intently to every class, I trained after classes and even in my room late into the night. I started near the bottom of my class so I was forced to work harder than my counterparts. Most of the squires were trained since they were 5 and many knew magic already, some were even the children of nobles; they stood up at the top like a mountain that could never be overcome.

I decided to focus on training rather than focusing on the others. I ignored the insults that some squires or rich brats directed at me, “You can’t even cast magic or hold a sword properly? I thought you were at least some talented commoner, how’d you end up here with those skills?” “You work hard but what’s the point you’ll never catch up to a real knight.”

I caught up. After 3 years the mountain wasn’t quite as high as I thought. “You cheater! There’s no way the spawn of some slum bitch can cast 2nd circle magic. I want a rematch!” I endured unfair treatment because I started beating those chosen knights. Hard work eventually pays off and never betrays. However, once I graduated no one tried to recruit me. “You should have stayed in your place whore child. Have fun being a third-rate guard.”

The vileness and poison that came from the nobles I passed stung. I couldn’t retaliate outside of the training grounds and they knew that. They never started a physical fight because I’d crush them if they did. Their smug and oppressive faces were permanently burned in my memory. Despite overcoming them, why do they succeed and I fail? I felt so hopeless at that time, but a recruiter from the red tower showed up at the guard post I was assigned to and asked me to show him my skills. At the time I didn’t know who he was or that he was recruiting me, I let out all my frustration, thinking he was provoking me, I even used two 2nd circle spells simultaneously. I was one of only two people in my class that had reached that level as a mage, but I still ended up as a gate guard.

It's not fair! “Woah that’s a good one blondie, Earthen Wall.” The man didn’t chant, he just said two words, and the ice spears I had sent his way in rage were blocked in an instant. The wall not only blocked my attack but was still standing. I hadn’t intended to kill him. The spears were blunted and I had set it to freeze him and not pierce, but I was shocked that the spell he used was still standing. “At least you don’t completely lose yourself in anger. You have some potential blondie, what's your name?” “I’m Caspian sir,” I answered back with genuine admiration.

The man answered back, “I’m Elijah, I’m a knight working for the Red Tower. Would you like to come with me, Caspian?” That’s how I ended up working for the most prestigious place in the entire kingdom. I grew to admire not only Elijah but also Tobias and many of the other knights and mages of the Tower.

The Tower Master was the most incredible image I had ever seen, not only was Lord Darien kind, but he also showed me little tricks I could do with magic and even gave me an amulet with protective magic once I had been at the tower for a year.

He was worth being loyal to, when I chose a place to live I was choosing my place to die as well, but Darien earned my respect and even worship on the battlefield. When I heard I would be on guard duty for his son and wife I was incredibly nervous but also excited. I was trusted so much by my idol that I was chosen to guard my idol's son and wife. The girl I had been competing with Linda was also chosen which was slightly bothersome, but I could handle it. Lord Darien’s son was 2 years old and his wife was in her early thirties, though when I saw the rumored Red Lioness she looked like she was only slightly older than me and was less fierce than what I imagined. Lady Elaine was an incredible mage in her own right and could lead the Red Tower when her husband was away; she had also earned the respect of most of the knights and mages in the tower.

What I didn’t expect was their 2-year-old son already knew and was proficient at using magic. I was informed before seeing him, but watching him learn something that took me months to accomplish in an hour was honestly both shocking and horrifying. He was even frustrated that his learning speed was too slow! Linda whispered to me, “I’m not dreaming right?” I couldn’t answer because I wasn’t so sure myself.

Lady Elaine used 1st circle magic as effectively as I would use 2nd circle magic. It gave me an entirely new perspective and even opened my eyes a bit, but watching young master Darius I finally got to see what a real genius is. I had seen so many so-called genius mages at the Royal knights academy as the knight's academy was connected to the Royal Magic Academy, I’ve seen a lot of different people, but no one comes close. Little Darius is a monster, his mother who sees this as normal is a bit of a monster too. Until the kid grows up he might end up the biggest target in the kingdom.

The weight of the secret and the duty of protecting it was an even bigger responsibility than I initially thought. Seeing young master Darius smiling while on his mother’s shoulders I felt an inexplicable desire to protect them. The fierce Red Lioness and her prodigy son. I remembered what Lady Elaine said to Darius, “Son, you shouldn’t force the wind to gather, you just need to set the image you want and focus that image, focus the image of the gathering wind, and let the wind do the rest” I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but I could try to practice that image later. I felt the difficulty of my mission was currently beyond my level, but I had learned that hard work never betrays. I need to practice.