Three years had passed since Mary became part of House Falconbridge. The past three years had been very demanding, with all the different things she had to learn.

She learnt how to read and write in another two languages, the most important ones from the two surrounding continents. She had furthermore learnt how to ride a horse and its two higher evolutions.

Her lessons in sword fighting had stopped only a week prior. Her teacher had said he couldn't teach her anything more, she would now only get better with actual real life practice, something a noble life was very unlikely to deliver at her age.

There was one real downside she and her teacher had discovered though. When she reached sufficient strength to fight in armor, they discovered she couldn't use a helmet, everytime her head got enclosed by these apparitions of hell she lost it, and had a panic attack that wouldn't stop until the torture instrument was removed. She really had no idea how anyone could use these hellish devices!

Her parents had at first been unhappy she bonded with Starshadow, as there were the obvious drawbacks of having a familiar with very little mana-reverves. Though it seemed Starshadow had quite the high mana regeneration as well, meaning even though they both had small manapools, Mary was capable of casting small scale magic for a nearly infinite amount of time. She suspected it came from bonding with her, as it was only fair the animal got something out of the bond as well.

She wouldn't give him away even if she could!

Currently she was once again sitting in the gardens near the fountain, enjoying the sunrise, something she had done everyday in the last years. Starshadow had been a very smart falcon, even before being her familiar and now that he could understand what she wanted from him without problems, they made for a very good team.

Her ranger training had continued after a month’s break, and she was by now capable to move through any natural terrain undetected by even her teachers. She made the first of the advanced ranger tests about a year after the first, though this one had been way easier, as you were allowed to use better gear, something her father was all too willing to supply. She had an additional benefit as well, as she was able to see the area around her with the eyes of a falcon.

There were of course spells that could do the same, but they were complex magical constructs and had serious problems to move around. While at first it seemed they were still better to watch a small area, as they were invisible, they were not. As falcons were the most common species of birds in the world, nobody really payed attention to them, they were just there, and if the falcon was a normal one, it would just be ignored.

She noticed something strange as well, Starshadows mana pool actually grew way faster than hers even though she was the one still growing and he was technically an adult. She didn't find any cause though, so she had let it be.

She had to admit she tried a few spells to fly on her own, after experiencing the feeling Starshadow had when he flew. Sadly her mana was the problem there, as flying was one of the fastest ways to burn through your mana pool.

Only five months ago, Mary had been allowed to take the exam on wizardry she needed for the next rank as a ranger. She had made sure to nearly fail it, as they were sure the rangers guild had an eye on her, so better be careful.

Sadly, even though her manacontrol was steadily improving, she still wasn't able to cast the manarune she knew backwards. Her other magical abilities were over the top for someone of her age though, her affinity encompassed most normal spells.

Mother and herself didn't find any new limits than the ones they found in the first months. She was able to cast all spells except time, space and healing spells with her affinity. Normally she controlled her mana manually though, as she still wanted to improve her control.

Her impressive manual mana control helped her with a project she started soon after Starshadow became her familiar. She managed to teach Starshadow a few basic wind spells that improved his flight, using the air magic to do sharper turns or speed his flight. It had been really hard to teach him though, she only managed the first after months of training, guiding his mana to form the required runes and telling him how to use the spells. More than one time she had to heal some injuries, luckily no severe ones. The problem was, as he wasn't sentient, he couldn't willingly cast magic, so he had to do it instinctively. After the first spell all following spells had been easier to teach.

What really elated her though, was the prospect of joining a magical school after the next festival of founding. Such schools only took children who were older than seven. Terms started every twelve months.

That meant she had to apply to one in the next month. She had already narrowed it down to three, all of them outside of the capital though. She was favoring one in the march of marquis Lionward, one of the western territories of the empire. It had the reputation of being really hard to get into with the capitals nobility. Mary thought that was exaggerated though, as most of the nobles she had the misfortune of meeting in the past years had been extremely incompetent.

Said school was actually one that allowed everyone to join, independent from birth or race, something she greatly appreciated, as she didn't really understand the bias most nobles seemed to have against them.

The other two were in the inner parts of the empire, one in the county of Count Crowdrait and the other in a small Barony about five days from the capital. These were widely seen as the best magic school in the surrounding kingdoms, and because of that reputation they only accepted nobility.

She had already sent her application to all three. She got the admittance for two of them, but was still waiting for the response of the third. She was reasonably confident she would get a chance to join it. Even though she was quite young for that particular school, the average student joining with eight or nine years.

She had several advantages though. Agora, the Academy of applied magic had a different approach to teaching than the other magic schools. Mages in these schools didn't get all that much combat experience, not something most nobles would need unless they went out to explore the world. The Academy had a different approach though, when you were enrolled you automatically joined the Adventurers guild as a trainee, and when the school saw you fit you were sent on a quest with an assigned group.

There were several obvious benefits in that approach, you learnt how to deal with people other than nobles, and got tons of life experience on top of that.

Suddenly her musings got interrupted by a craw coming from her left shoulder, where Starshadow sat like always. Startled she inquired why he interrupted her. He looked at her accusingly and jumped in the air and flew towards the mansion. She thanked him for the reminder, and wished him a good hunt.

She jumped up and jogged towards the mansion, she wouldn't want to be late today of all days. She arrived at the mansion and went to the dining hall where her family would appear soon enough.

As today was the birthday of both her and her father, all would be present, even the long sleepers like her two brothers. She actually had way more than two brothers, but they all were travelling the world with some tasks their father gave them. She only met one of them in the past years, he was adopted as well and one of the most interesting persons she ever met. They had hit right off, as they had the same interests. He told her much about her other siblings, most of which were like them.

“Stop brooding dear!” Her thought were once again interrupted, this time by her mother. “I wasn't brooding, I was thinking!”

“You alway say that!” Decius chuckled.

“That's because it's true, I’m a happy and open person, I just lose myself in my own thoughts sometimes!”

Everybody started laughing at that, so Mary pouted.

“Be that as it may, you will probably be leaving us for the next years my daughter, so allow me to give you a gift that will hopefully help you in the years to come!” Her dad pulled a sword out, which he somehow managed to hide until now. “The core is made of the bone of a lesser dragon.”

The sword was about a meter and ten centimeters long, she took it and first admired the scabbard. It was made out of some leather unknown to her. Together with several thin silver strings, the scabbard was decorated with simple forms. It had a deep cut on one of the sides, so you could easily carry and draw it from your back. The pommel was made of mythril if she wasn't mistaken, the mythril forming crystal shape. The hilt was clad in the same leather the sheath was made of, tightly wrapped around the swords core.

The blade had a bluish tint, which meant it was made out of cobalt. It was balanced really well, the point of balance being at the exactly right point.

The Crossguard itself was a work of art. The middle was adorned by a falcon that looked suspiciously like Starshadow. The crossguard itself was decorated with all sorts of small trees.

The sword and sheath were enchanted as well, the sheath had the standard enchantments you found on every sheath and a few others. It would first of all protected the sword from environmental influence. The incision was protected by a small barrier. Furthermore, the sheath would do basic maintenance for the sword, sharpening the blade to optimal sharpness. The special enchantments were security ones, for example, only the one who inserted his mana in the sheath would be able to draw it.

The sword itself had several enchantments as well. While cobalt itself wasn't enchantable, the core of the sword was probably made out of some sort of bone, which could be easily enchanted. The leather on the hilt as well as the mythril were enchantable as well.

The enchantments on the sword were more complex, so she needed some time to analyze them. There were several enchantments that were all very useful when you triggered them. One extended the tip of the sword by up to fifteen centimeters, giving the sword a factor of surprise and expanding its reach. The enchantment on the mythril was really intriguing and probably the most useful for fighting. It increased the weight of the sword as a whole, so when fighting, she could activate it to increase the force behind her attacks. The enchantments on the hilt were simple but useful, they improved her grip on the handle.

She got up and embraced her dad. “Thank you so much dad, it’s a beautiful sword!”

“You’re welcome, but lets hope you don't have to use it anytime soon.”

Starshadow returned about after they walked out of the theater, obviously satisfied. Mary really had no clue how the bird could eat as much as he did, while everyone teased her to be a glutton, and she actually really liked to eat, she couldn't fathom how much he had to eat per day. He had to eat about a quarter of his own weight per day and still stayed the same weight.

The rest of the day was a happy affair, they visited one of the film theaters again, like they did at least twice per year.

A week later Mary was currently training with some of the guards, when Elaine suddenly appeared, a rare occurrence, the other girl had by now accepted Mary would never be a proper Lady, and opted for denial, just ignoring everything unladylike Mary did.

So if she came here, something important must have happened, as fighting with the guards was about as unnoble as it could get.

She signaled her training partner to take a break and went over to her maid. “What’s the matter Elaine, has to be something important for you to show up here!”

“A messenger the young Lady awaited for some time has just arrived! The Baron and Baroness require your presence in the Lord’s study!”

Shortly afterwards Mary reached the study. She knocked and then waited patiently. “Come in!” She was expected by her parents and a woman clad in the gear of a ranger. “And who is this lovely young woman?” The stranger asked. “The young miss is called Mary Falconbridge!” Elaine introduced her, having catched up to Mary just in time. “Very well, Mary Falconbridge, you are hereby invited to travel to the Academy of Agora, where you will perform a test that will decide if you are eligible to join!”

The woman then continued way more informal than before. “I have been sent to the capital to gather you and several other youths! We will travel there in about three months time, be sure to only take what you absolutely need. You are allowed to take anything you and a mount of your choosing can carry!”

There were several detail that had to be cleared. The woman was actually one of the older students. She and her team had been sent out to gather twenty one of the applicants and bring them to the academy for testing. Mary’s group all lived in the capital, so they wouldn't need too long for the journey when the time came.

Unlike the other schools, everyone was only allowed so much to bring with him, regardless of rank, race and title.