The next day, Aldrich attended his lessons as he normally would. At the time he was supposed to practise his swordsmanship with Sir Baristol, one of the knights that served at the castle. Aldrich came into the training hall with his hair untied and itt covered his eyes. Sir Baristol grumbled something about the lack of discipline and respect amongst the youth. As they fought Aldrich felt a feeling similar to when one was tired and needed sleep. His eyes felt heavy and his eyes closed for only a few seconds. When he opened his eyes again, Sir Baristol was on the floor, a sword held inches from his face. Aldrich quickly apologised and helped Sir Baristol up. The man brushed himself and grinned,

“Didn’t know you had it in you young master. I think your swordsmanship lesson can end here, take the remaining time to rest before your next lesson.”

Aldrich did that and as soon as he had to he made his way to his next lesson. Throughout his lessons, Aldrich found that he had knowledge of certain topics and skills he never had before. He decided that he would keep his newfound abilities to himself. His instructors were intrigued and impressed by the sudden improvement of the boy. Weeks passed and an envoy and a battalion of one thousand soldiers arrived at the palace. A woman climbed out of a carriage. She was tall for a woman, having chin length hair and a pair of spectacles. Aldrich, his mother, knights and some of the household servants were all waiting close to the palace's doors. The woman approached the son and mother bowing just a few feet away from them. She lifted herself when Moira commanded her to do so.

They made the customary greetings and then they were off to the airship hangers to make their journey to Wylan. Aldrich sat with his mother in their own carriage. Aldrich contemplated whether to tell his mother. He took a deep breath and said,

“Mother, I must inform you of something.”

Gesturing to his eyes, the appearance of which had changed. Moira sat shocked but recovered, showing her son a similar design in her left eye. She explained,

“This is a trait that is unique to House Arslan. This eye grants us several abilities but most notable is it allows us to access the knowledge of our ancestors. It is known as the Oculux, the eye of light that reveals all. Although it is very rare for one to get it in both eyes and at such an early age.”

Aldrich explained his dream and then mentioned that a song sprung into his head. His mother asked for him to sing and the words flowed out of his lips. Its tone sombre, Moira’s face could not have displayed more worry. Aldrich’s voice had a smoothness and quality that made the words affect one's heart more. Eventually, they arrived and before Aldrich knew it, he was in the air on his way to Wylan.

Aldrich sat in a lounge eating a meal when the envoy entered bowing immediately. Her name was Emery. She was the daughter of the Grand Chamberlain, the Earl of Perthlochry. Emery was not sure how to approach the boy but eventually the two started talking. Aldrich asked about a more in depth history of Wylan. Aldrich’s patrilineal family started as Houses Valoris and Royce, they had distinguished roots in the Caliginous Ages, the era in which some of the greatest empires existed. The Valoris had the last name of Spits while the Royce’s were known for their surname, Frost. The Spits were a family of mercenaries, infamous for their tenacity and great fighting skill during that time but became a distinguished merchant family later on as well. The Frosts were noblemen of the Deira Empire known for their cunning, wisdom and cold demeanour. When most of the kingdoms and Empires of the Caliginous Ages had fallen, several new kingdoms rose, some large, others small.

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The Spits and Frosts sailed north and they established and expanded their territories, often warring against those that wanted to establish or expand their rule. Due to the constant war the island was known as Wylan, meaning warland. Some centuries passed with these conflicts, borders changing were quite frequent. So much so that a satirical song was made telling the tale of a man whose farm was within a different house’s borders each week. During this time a man by the name of Asiotos Spits arose. Asiotos eventually unified most of the inhabitants through a marriage alliance with House Royce through Valencia Frost, the eldest daughter of the patriarch of House Royce. That alliance involved some of the island's smartest individuals and greatest warriors and those involved saw it as a perfect alliance and bent the knee.

The island nation of Wylan was officially established and became known as the Archduchy of Wylan. The inhabitants were known as the Ravndal. House Valoris and Royce joined together to be known as House Valoroyce, its descendants marked by the surname Spitfrost. Valencia’s only brother, Gaelen, was sent to another island that became the Grand Duchy of Dorian Gaelan’s family formed House Arslan and Dorian is where Aldrich’s matrilineal family ruled for centuries. Centuries later, House Arslan and Valoroyce decided to wed their eldest son and daughter, Prince Wymore and Princess Moira so as to create a stronger relationship between the two nations. It was also due to the fact that House Arslan had no suitable male heirs.

Aldrich knew that Wylan and Dorian had a close relationship but he had not realised that the two nations had such a close relationship. Some hours later they arrived at the airport. Aldrich, Moira and Emery were ushered to a luxurious car and they were promptly taken to the Archduke’s palace. Through the car ride, Aldrich was shocked by the capital city of Duxhaven, tall buildings were everywhere, most being no less than five stories high and some reaching up to ten stories high. As the car drove further, the palace became more visible. They approached the gate and Emery showed a badge and the gates were opened allowing them inside.

Emery apologetically hurried them inside to meet the Archduke in the dining hall. When Aldrich entered he found a tall muscular man at the head of the table. There was a woman, two boys and two girls at the dining table as well. The older of the two girls came rushing towards Aldrich, shouting as they embraced,

“Al! I missed you so much.”

She continued kissing him as Aldrich grumbled. His older sister, Winona, was always so affectionate, even when they lived together back in Dorian but with their time apart her affection had been bottled up. Aldrich was eventually let go and Moira became the target of her daughter’s remaining affection. The reunited family sat down at the dining table, prompting several servants to quickly come with several dishes. While they ate, the children introduced themselves. The two brothers were Leofrich and Wilmot while the middle child was the sister, Yeona. Leofrich was the eldest out of all the children, including Aldrich and Winona, while Yeona was a few months younger than Winona and Wilmot was the youngest of the royal children.

The woman who was eating with them was the Archduke’s second wife, Brianna, who came from the assumption that Moira was barren. Brianna was the daughter of the Duke of Highfield, a very powerful noble house within Wylan. Aldrich felt her stares on him but did his best to ignore them. Wymore, after polishing his plate, clinked his glass to get everyone’s attention. He then said,

“I want you all to know that ten days from now, Aldrich’s coming of age ceremony is to take place, it was supposed to take place last year but due to unforeseen circumstances it did not happen. I would like to take this time to congratulate you Aldrich and I wish you many long years my son.”

Similar sentiments were shared by the others. After everyone had eaten, each one went to their bedroom to sleep. The next day was a blur of action as the preparations for the ceremony took place. Aldrich’s outfit measurements were taken, the food menu was organised and so forth. What occupied Aldrich’s mind primarily was his speech. He was going to be under the scrutiny of the most powerful and influential men and women of Wylan and even Dorian.