Later that day in the dining halls of the Gardlans ridge keep, Lucius, sat behind a table filled with all kinds of food and dishes. He was wolfing it all down as if he was a starved man deprived of food for entire days. His family and close ones sat next to him dining with him.

His father Crassus was a big burly middle-aged man with scars on his face. His ever-frowning face now replaced with joy. His mother Lucia beautiful as ever, sat right next to him caressing the symbolic black hair of their Annatallia family while staring loving at him. His sister Ilya, a spitting image of her mother, tried to eat courtly but was unable to hide her big smile. His two brothers Caius and Dalius were both next to his father, Dalius beaming with smiles all while sneaking glances at the pies and cakes on the table. As for Caius, he just sat there silently eating with that fake smile on his face nodding from time to time. It seems he has earned an earful for his recent antics.

But the family of 6 were not the only ones there. Janus along with the main steward and the captain of the guards Roland, a lifelong friend of the late lord was there as well. All of them were trustworthy and lifelong friends of their family. And all of them were curious about what Lucius saw and experienced during the Passing Slumber.

"So what did ya see? What did ya see?!" Dalius kept yelling with his mouth full of food while their mother kept reprimanding him about his manners and his way of speaking.

"Well, I...."

He began telling everything he could that happened while was undergoing the Passing Slumber. From the way, he was absentmindedly walking through the dark woods to the beast chasing him all the way to the ruins. As well as about the voice that seemed to be stuck in his ears, still whispering his name and calling out to him. The fear he felt was still present inside his body unknowingly making him shiver as he stared blankly at his plate of food.

Silence prevailed inside the hall as the joyful mood now turned sour from Lucius' words.

"It's ok now! Your back now!" Lucia hugged her son tightly kissing him on the head trying to shoulder as much of the fear and felt with her motherly love. "Mom..."

"You were out for 11 days Lucius your mother has been worried sick sitting by your bed all this time!" His father's heavy words sounded out reminding him of how long he has been asleep.

"11 days!" He looked at his mother and her crying eyes and couldn't help but hug her back. "Everything is fine now. You are back! And that's all that matters now! Also....you should take a bath." Lucia said jokingly as she sniffed his hair.

"MOM!" Everyone laughed at the mother and son interaction. But with this, the mood seemed to have immediately improved.

"Forgive me if I interrupt this moment but I must ask you something." Janus suddenly spoke all of them turning their gaze at him. "Lucius? How do you feel? Do you feel...different now?" Janus question seemed strange considering that he has been in such a deep sleep not being able to move or think.

Yet everybody understood what he meant. Even a small child like Dalius knew what they were talking about, his big eye widening even further in anticipation as he listened to them. After all, while waking up from the Passing Slumber, difficult as it was, those who managed to do so would gain something in return.

"I...I don't know...I do feel strange but I don't know if just my body and muscles screaming for me to move or something else. There is also this...strange buzzing in my ears. Like...like I hear something...something...a voice?"

Lucius' reply seemed to have brought more questions than answers as everybody was confused about what he meant.

Only Janus seemed to grow more excited with every word he said. And true to his profession as a record keeper he started showering him with question after question. "Your body feels strange? What do you mean by buzzing? A voice? Can you describe what it says?"

"Janus! Let the kid rest! You can both figure it out later! For now, you should eat boy! While we did feed you when you were slumbering it was mostly just soup! And that's no proper food for a young growing lad like you ain't it?!" Luckily Roland the guard captain stopped Janus from his unending curiosity.

"That's right we should celebrate today!" Crassus said loudly making any objections invalid. And so for the rest of the day, many servants and villagers came to congratulate Lucius for waking up from his Passing Slumber. Rumors tend to quickly spread amongst the common people and the majority of them were uneducated and suspicious by nature, so they had to come and see with their own eyes and ears to believe. Yet upon seeing Lucius sitting there happily greeting them with his family, loud shouts of joy sounded out, some even tearfully crying at this miraculous event. After all, some of them have already lost their children to the Passing Slumber. So seeing Lucius alive and well. It gave them hope that should one day their own children ever fall under the Passing Slumber they might still wake up.

On the same day, deep into the night. in a place away from Lucius's home. Inside a lit room of a giant castle that stood next to the inner sea, an older obese man with messy facial hair sat behind a luxurious desk made of dark wood. Stacks of papers and books piled up on it so highly that he was barely visible behind all of them. The burning wood cracking inside the fireplaces seemed to have awoken him as he rubbed his tired face. The sight of the still many unchecked documents seemed to bring a foul distaste to his mouth as he reached for the golden cup filled with wine.

"You shouldn't drink so late into the night my lord." A voice suddenly sounded out.

"Ugh! By Venisia tits! You scared me! How many times have I told you to not do that Remus!" The man shrieked in terror and anger, choking on the wine while spilling some of it on the table and papers.

"Forgive me for playing this prank, Julius. But I couldn't help myself." Remus laughed revealing himself standing on the other side of the table. Dressed in clean robes of red and black, he was a man of young stature. His hair was kept short and his face cleanly shaved. He flicked his wrist as one of the chairs close to the table seemed to move on its own behind him. He sat down on it still smiling from pranking his friend.

Both of them sat in silence, the fire crackling mixed with the rustling of papers made Adrian reminiscent of his younger days as a student inside the towers. Those were truly the greatest and most joyful days of his life.

Now as a high circle sorcerer he acted as a guardian and an advisor to the prestigious Hadrian family. A Patrician family whose history dates back all the way to the early days of the Imperium.

"So?" Julius asked while writing on a piece of paper with his quill.

"So what?" Remus feigned ignorance.

"So what do you want?" Julius asked again still not bothering to look at him. "What do I want? Can't I just come and see my friend?" Julius looked silently at him for a second before he resumed his work.

"You used to be a lot more fun." Remus sighed.

"I used to be younger." He retorted back.

"Younger?!" Remus couldn't help but laugh. "My friend you are a goddam Hadrian! By the time you grow old, an entire three fucking generations might die of old age! "

Finally Julius unable to endure it any longer let out a smirk while shaking his head. "A high sorcerer. Cursing like some tavern wench getting fucked. What would towers say?"

"They'll probably tell me to go fuck myself."

"And your reply?"

"To go fuck themselves as well?" Both of them laughed at the same time.

"So what can I do for you?" Julius finally let go of the mask of seriousness he has been presenting himself with. His friend being one of the few people able to make him do so.

"A message came today," Remus said as he poured himself a cup of wine.

"Oh really? I didn't seem to notice. Sorry." He replied sarcastically, throwing one of the papers into the fire.

"A message from the Towers." Remus's tone changed serious.

"From the Adriatic stone?" Julius asked as Remus nodded.

"What did it say?"

"It's an invitation letter for your son."

Julius took a deep breath as the inevitable day he dreaded so much has finally come. He stood up from his chair but the wine took its course making his head spin. Luckily he caught himself with the table knocking over some of the papers and documents.

"Woah Julius sit down!" Remus quickly got up to help him.

"So the day has come." He said silently.

"Julius...your son is one of the most talented source wielders we have ever come across! His fate lies in the towers you know that."

He knew that of course. Yet he could not get rid of the bitter feeling of sending his one and only son, an heir to the Hadrian family to such a faraway place not knowing when he would be able to see him again. Remus did not say anything as he understood how his friend felt right now.

The Hadrian family despite being one of the oldest and most powerful ones in the Imperium has suffered casualties over the many years. War, assassinations, and disasters have reduced their family to just a number of 4. His father a high consul of the senate was far away in the capital. As such he was currently the acting head of the family and had only 2 children. His only son Marcus and his daughter Valentina.

If Marcus were to join Towers then the future of their great family would fall on the shoulder of his one and only daughter Petunia. And should ever something happen to her. Then the long history of their family would fall to ruin. As such he did not want his only son to leave. But unfortunately despite the power and influence he had, he was unable to do anything as that was a decision made by an even higher authority than himself.

Julius massaged his head heavily as both of them sat down.

"Wine?" Remus asked while already pouring Julius a cup who drank it whole all in a single go.

Both of them sat there talking and joking trying to ease the heavy mood, slowly getting drunk with each passing cup they drank. And soon laughter was heard coming from the room Julius was working in.

But that peaceful drunken joy he felt was cut short by a knock on the door.

"Come in." Said Julius half drunkenly still laughing from the joke Remus told him.

"Oh look who it is? Its Harn. What have you come for? To steal our youth?." The old record keeper slowly waddled his way towards them feigning ignorance to his lord's comments,

"A message has arrived my lord. From the Gardlans ridge." He said handing him a rolled piece of parchment.

"Great like don't have enough of those already." He snatched it from the record keeper's hands accidentally knocking over some other documents that very lying on the paper.

He broke the seal and lazily read the contents but somewhere in the middle of it his drunken eyes turned serious.

"What is it?" Julius asked.

"It's..."