Baron Hartright was the noble household directly north of the Northwood Territory. They were a small barony and were well-liked by their people. James Hartright wasn't a perfect ruler, but he was competent and fair. He had dark black hair and a wispy mustache that made his appearance unique among the nobility of Elion. His family got along with the Northwood family for over a decade, and when he heard that his son was looking for a squire, he looked toward his own sons as an option.

The only one that fit the description was a bastard. His wife had been furious with him, and the child was treated rather poorly, but Baron Hartright still went out of his way to take care of his son. Daniel Hartright was 6 years old and was two months away from his 7th birthday. He had already confirmed that the boy was a talent and had been sending tutors over to him and his mother, but he knew as long as he stayed in the Barony, he could never reach his full potential.

In the early morning, he grabbed some gifts and walked to the edge of town at a small cottage home nestled in between two trees. He knocked, and a woman answered, "Oh... Baron." She awkwardly bowed her head before letting him inside. "It's fine, Nelsa. I'm here to talk about Daniel." "Oh, I'll go wake him." The Baron nodded as he walked over to her small kitchen table and sat in an open chair. Daniel came out of his room with droopy eyes and a yawn. "Father, is that you?"

"Son, I'm going to send you to Renee."

Daniel woke up in a hurry, "Dad! You're getting rid of me?"

"No, I'm giving you away to someone who can take better care of you. You will go by my name and will be taken care of by our close friends. In many ways son, you'll have a closer relationship with the Northwoods than my successor."

"I don't want to go, dad." Daniel choked back sobs as he continued, "I want to stay with you! You promised I'd come to live with you one day!"

"I'm sorry, son. This is an opportunity you won't get again. You're talented, brilliant, loyal, and have a good nature like your mother. It was wrong of me to take advantage of that." He walked over and hugged his son while saying, "You will always be my son, and you will always be welcome back home. If you are in danger you can come back and hide away with your mother, but I have a feeling you won't do that."

Tugging on his father's shirt a little tighter he said, "How do you know that?"

"Because of all the things I said before. You will serve Darius Northwood, heir to the Northwood Duchy. Son, work hard because you will have a higher place than my barony far into the future. Influencing a greater figure and protecting him is an honor you can be proud to serve."

The boy cried as he held onto his father, "We were just getting close." Daniel whispered the last part as he grew to accept his fate.

Darius met the first candidate in the middle of the day. He had finished his training session outside before going into the dining room to get something to eat. "Rhea! What's for lunch today?" Then he saw him sitting at the dining room table. He wore clean linens with silver hair and violet eyes. The kid looked like he had something magical about him. They locked eyes. Darius sighed.

He gave up on the situation. He was stuck with what came next.

Darius walked up to the boy and said, "My name's Darius. What's yours?"

The boy looked at him with judgemental eyes as though sizing him up, "Hey litt- cough, Hi Darius, I'm Aaron."

Darius narrowed his eyes, "I'm bigger, taller, and stronger than you. I don't appreciate being called little."

"I didn't"

Rhea walked in with food and said, "Young Master! It looks like you've met Aaron! I hope you guys have hit it off and are friends."

Aaron was the first to respond, "Of course, Miss Rhea, I was just admiring the young master before you came in!"

Darius was annoyed. He dislikes these types of people the most. Wanting to get away with every fiber of his being, he looked away from the boy and asked, "Rhea, what's for lunch? I'm famished."

"Your mother and father will be down in a minute. They are talking upstairs." She placed the tray of snacks in her hands on the table and said, "I made healthy stew! I'll bring the pot over when the Lords come down. You'll have to make do with snacks until then."

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Darius had wanted to eat and leave as soon as he could carry his feet, but it didn't look like Rhea was giving him that option. He sat across from Aaron and picked at the snacks on the table. The tray had heral cream topped with fresh cream and a mixture of fruits and cheeses to match. Darius dove right in as Aaron slowly picked at the food placed in front of him. "Well, little Aaron, you need to eat if you want to grow any bigger." Darius smiled and Aaron gave him a look of being wronged. Rhea picked up on that and said, "Young Master! Don't bully Aaron! He's going to be your knight you two need to get along!"

Aaron slowly lifted his head expectantly and looked at Darius as though waiting for a response. Darius's teeth showed as he smiled, "Aaron, if you manage to stay here for a long time, you will very quickly get a picture of my personality. I do what I want when I want. I make my own rules when it's necessary, and I do not fall for manipulation. If you want to get along well with me then drop the act now. I don't care for it very much. My father and mother don't care for it much either."

Aaron gulped a bit before nodding his head.

"Good. Rhea, I know your intentions are good, but with all of the snakes and enemies lying in wait, you can't let your guard down. Our food could easily be poisoned if you and Alman aren't paying attention."

Rhea looked confused but said, "I understand, Young Master. If you'll excuse me. I'll check on Alman in the kitchen and see you two in a few minutes."

After she left, Darius looked Aaron up and down, "I don't care much for your intentions. As long as you don't negatively impact my family and you learn to be loyal, you and I won't have any problems."

The two boys stared into each other's eyes without saying a word until the adults entered the room, "Looks like the two of you have met. Let's all eat lunch and talk." Darien sat in a wheelchair and floated down the stairs, carried by a gust of wind. He'd become more and more independent through magic. Taking his place at the head of the table, he started the conversation, "Another candidate is being tested today at the Tower. I've raised the standards to a rather; ridiculous degree because you are my son. I'd rather you only have one or two competent knights than four incompetent ones. I'll be doing the same for Ella in a few years, so you aren't the only one getting this treatment."

Elaine sat in the chair next to Darius while holding Ella and said, "Get used to it, son. In the next two years, you are going to have a small group of children that are going to grow up alongside you. Whether you think you're their babysitter or not is up to how much of your time you'll give them. I can promise you that if you have capable people by your side. It'll make your life far easier in the future."

"Ok, mom."

I had a feeling I'd be getting this speech a lot. Hopefully, the other brats will be less annoying.

The Red Tower was filled with people. In just two years Joseph had tripled the number of mages occupying the tower by lowering the standard acceptance rate. In exchange, anyone accepted would have six months to prove themselves whether through advancement or mission completions to stay. Every month mages were shamefully stripped of their status as Red Tower Mages, and new ones came to fill the void.

Even with the new people, his workload was overwhelming. He did three people's worth of work every day it was starting to catch up to him. "My head is killing me! Darien's awake, but he hasn't confirmed his future status yet which is frustrating. I know that slimy bastard could come back wheelchair be damned!"

He looked at a list of 4-star Tower members that could be given a position underneath him. He needed someone to take his old job, or he'd die from exhaustion sooner or later. Lindt, Denny, and Tobias made up that list of people. Tobias only needed to break through the barrier of 4th Circle magic and become a high mage, and he'd gladly give him the position. But he was stuck at the 3rd Circle like so many others. "Lindt is too... He's not good under pressure, and Denny is a mission-grinding fiend. He's rarely at the Tower and is the primary reason Renee is considered a safe place next to the Longwoods. Neither qualify for different reasons."

A knock at his door broke Joseph from his introspection. "Come in."

Linda walked through the door with a young girl following right behind her.

"Oh, Linda!" He looked down at the girl and said, "Is that a candidate I see?" His now scarred face looked quite scary now when he smiled. The small girl shrinking back at his face told him that he couldn't pull off the jovial middle-aged look anymore.

"She's from the slums, and her results were pretty stunning. The final choice is up to you."

Joseph waved them closer and asked, "Can I see your report?"

"Of course!"

He read through the report slowly with a look of ponderance on his face. "Interesting, the girl's definitely worth testing further. I need to see for myself before giving a final judgment."

Linda pushed Talia gently forward until she stood in front of the desk. Joseph opened a drawer in his desk and took out a small crystal. He handed the crystal to the young girl and advised, "Focus on the crystal just as you've done before."

Talia nodded her head before closing her eyes with a do-or-die look. She focused on the crystal with every ounce of willpower she had praying for it to light. Fear of rejection pushed her further than last time as the crystal brilliantly lit up the room with a bright blue washing of light. It lasted a few seconds before quickly fading as though it never lit up the room in the first place. The girl opened her eyes and noticed the crystal was only barely lit up and panic overtook her, "I-I wait!"

"Relax." Joseph rubbed his chin while thinking of what to say. "The truth is her mana bursts out of her hands all at once. If I were to compare it to the other candidates then they would be passively lighting up the crystal while miss Talia here is actively doing so."

Talia looked confused, but Linda frowned as she understood what he was saying, "So... It's a false test. Her mana talent isn't that good she's just using up all of her mana in a few seconds?"

The girl was terrified by what they were saying. She didn't quite understand all of the big words they were using, but she got a feeling it wasn't good. It was too negative to be good.

Joseph smiled, "No, her talent is really good. Just... Just in a different kind of way. In a way, she'll naturally use mana differently than other mages. If you work her hard she'll probably be at the top of her age group for a while, but will be off in a few years once the kids around her learn 2nd Circle magic. 3rd Circle will widen the gap, and 4th Circle that's too far away to even think about."

"Then what do you suggest, Vice Tower Master?"

Joseph didn't answer right away as he pulled out a piece of parchment from his desk and started writing on it. "If you factor in her malnourishment her age, and her ability... I'd say she has potential. Enough to warrant my approval. Darien was capable of something similar though he broke the common crystal when he was younger." Joseph looked at the expant girl and sighed, "I digress, I can't be sure you'll be chosen young lady, but I will give Darien my suggestion. He'll be the one to make the final judgment call." In one quick motion, he rolled up the parchment and sealed it with wax. "Here." He handed the parchment to Linda and finished the conversation with, "I wish you luck, young lady."

As Linda left the room with Talia in tow, a young man in fine linens walked past them. Talia looked at him curiously before being dragged away. He knocked on the door and heard, "Who is it?" coming from inside the room. "Lord Keller! I am Daniel Hartright! I've come to take a test!"

"You don't have to scream. Come in."

Daniel walked to Joseph's table with his heart beating wildly in his chest. He had to do well to make his father proud. He'd be the greatest knight the world had ever seen.