Sixteen Years Ago

Amegnon crept along the stone walled corridor, careful to put his toes down before his heels, lest they click on the tile floor and give him away. As he approached his target, a sturdy wooden door with a black eye painted on it, he could hear voices arguing within.

"And what would you have me do, mother? The boy is talented no doubt, but I've never been one to teach. Where would I even begin? Besides, I have my own research to attend to and High Magus council business. Why don't you get Lily to teach him?"

Amegnon recognized the voice of Olivander Casumus, High Magus and the man he wanted as a mentor.

"You listen to me, boy," Muriel Casumus said. "You've been coasting long enough. You think you just get to do whatever you want because you have powerful parents? Every High Magus is required to take on apprentices periodically. No. If it were up to me, you would be teaching the most talentless bunch of idiots I could find. A little struggle might be good for you. It's not up to me though, the Queen requested this assignment personally. So instead of tutoring a bunch of magic wielding rocks, you get the single most talented student since your sister graduated from the academy."

"Hey! I graduated after Lily!"

"And you don't see her in here complaining, do you?"

"Fine. I still don't think it's a good idea. I'm so close to figuring out new balancing rituals, I can taste it. You know, what if—"

"Olivander! Enough!" a deep rough voice snapped.

Amegnon froze. He hadn't realized the Arch-magus would be here.

"You will tutor this boy, not because you want to, or because it's the best thing for you to do. You will tutor him for the simple reason that it is required of you. If I hear another complaint about it, you will find your assistant reassigned, all of your research funding and materials rescinded, and your place on the council given to a Magus who will actually fulfill their responsibilities."

Amegnon was not an expert magician by any means, but he was an accomplished student. When he felt all the mana in the area drain away, he knew it was time to leave…but he really wanted to know what was going to happen.

"Fine. If you'll excuse me, mother, father. I'll begin immediately"

Amegnon didn't hear Olivander leave since he typically traveled by portal, but he heard the Arch-magus sigh.

"Was I too hard on him? My temper grows out of control too quickly, I fear."

"Not hard enough by half. He needs just as much tempering as that boy."

"And what have you seen of this boy, Amegnon? Anything of note?"

Amegnon grew excited. The Seer, Muriel Casumus, could see glimpses of the future, and he very much wanted to know what his future held.

"You know," a voice behind him made him jump, "it's not exactly considered polite to eavesdrop. Come, Amegnon. If you're to be my apprentice, then we had best get started. First thing we need to do is correct all of the idiocy that was drilled into you at that damnable academy."

Amegnon gave one last longing look back at the door with the black eye and then followed Olivander.

"Tell me, Amegnon, why do you wish to be an apprentice to a Magus?" Olivander asked as they walked through the corridors near the High Magus council chambers.

"I want to be the best magician ever!"

Amegnon had spent most of his childhood in the castle. He had hazy memories of his family, but they had died. The more prominent memory was the fire that had consumed them. He had just discovered his ability to use magic months earlier. If he had just been stronger, he could have saved them. He knew it.

"An admirable goal, but it lacks some specificity. What kind of magician do you want to be? Take my family for example. My mother is a scholar and political leader. My father is a peerless warrior with a passion for fighting alongside and leading others. My sister is a powerful fighter, but she has little interest in being a leader. She would much rather be told where she can be a weapon. I consider myself to be a combination of all these things — a scholar, a warrior, and a leader. I am always a scholar, but I become a warrior, leader, or even a healer as the need arises"

"A warrior and a leader!"

They passed out of the building where the High Magi offices were located, and headed toward the Arch-magus' tower where Olivander lived and worked, as a member of the Arch-magus' family.

"I figured as much. But you're only, what, twelve?"

Amegnon nodded.

"You might change as you grow and learn. I did, several times. But, if you want to be a warrior, I can help you. Know that this path is painful and hard. You will wake up hating me and cursing my name, and I will continually push you farther than you think you can go. Are you willing to accept that?"

Amegnon's resolve was firm. He nodded.

Olivander stopped in the middle of the open courtyard, turning to face Amegnon.

"Very good. Now, defend yourself in whatever way you can. I need to know where to begin."

Olivander conjured dozens of objects, from rocks to knives to chains. Using what Amegnon understood to be mana manipulation, he launched them.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Amegnon didn't understand he was being attacked for a moment. Then the first rock hit him. It hurt. He could just barely use mana manipulation, but couldn't imagine being skilled enough to launch objects like this with such force and accuracy.

He began to dodge. He paid special attention to the knives. He was sure Olivander wouldn't kill him, but he was still terrified of the prospect. It was one thing to hope to become a warrior, it was another to face down death and pain along the way.

Amegnon had one casting class, Lesser Elementalist. It evolved from the Lesser Magician class and gave him proficiency at conjuring and controlling base elements. He had some attack spells too, but they wouldn't do anything here besides make him run out of mana.

Amegnon sculpted a small wall of earth, but Olivander used one of his larger objects to blast it apart, applying more force to that attack than he did to the others. Amegnon knew he couldn't win, and he couldn't fight back, this was about showing what he could do and how good at it he was.

A chain flew towards him and he tried his elemental manipulation on it. It functioned similarly to mana manipulation, but he made a direct connection with an elemental effect or object through the power of his skill. The spell failed. In that moment he was given two insights. First, he couldn't manipulate the conjured items of another magician unless his will and intention far outstriped the other. Second, metal wasn't close enough to earth to be covered by his elemental manipulation, which was limited to base classical elements like earth, fire, water, and wind.

The chain struck him in the chest and he was knocked over onto his back.

Two knives buried themselves into the ground on either side of his head.

He's trying to make you panic! he said to himself, panicked.

Amegnon pulled together some power for a firebolt and launched it at Olivander. He didn't watch what happened, instead he used the opportunity to roll back out of the way and back onto his feet.

Olivander was smiling at him when he looked back, no trace of the fireball remained, and the High Magus looked perfectly at ease.

"Let's make this a little more challenging."

Olivander's grimoire appeared and he began drawing a ritual. Amegnon knew about rituals in a general sense, but they only taught two at the academy, and they didn't explain what they did or how they worked. He wished he knew either.

"Duplicate!"

Amegnon stiffened as he took in the four Olivanders who surrounded him.

Each one raised a hand and conjured items. Amegnon didn't back down or hesitate before the onslaught. He just did as much as he could to hold on.

When his eyes finally cleared, he was staring up at the blue sky far above. A face popped into view. One of a man who put up a facade of lighthearted kindness, but Amegnon knew that deep down, this man was a monster.

"An acceptable performance. Come, sit up."

Amegnon winced as every part of his body hurt, but he managed to get into a sitting position. His clothes, a simple shirt and pants, were tattered and covered with dirt and blood. He could already see bruises on his arms forming around a series of shallow cuts. Nothing had hit hard enough to break anything, and no blade cut him too deeply to bleed much. That didn't mean he wasn't on the verge of blacking out from the pain.

"Do you know any healing spells or rituals?"

"No," he said, the world slowly spinning in his vision.

"Then here is your first lesson. Learn this ritual and use it to heal yourself."

Olivander opened his grimoire and set it on the ground.

"You have until I need my grimoire again to learn it, and you will accept no outside healing or assistance. Understand?"

He focused on the book. He could read it, so he should be able to do as he had been asked. "Yes, master."

"Eww. No, you may call me Olivander. I would estimate you have about an hour to master this ritual, so you had best get started."

With that, the man left, and Amegnon fell onto his back.

Maybe this hadn't been such a great idea.

* * *

A foot prodded him awake some time later. The sun was setting and Olivander's grimoire was long gone. His eyes fluttered awake and he found himself looking into an unforgettable face. When he realized who it was, he tried to scramble to his feet, ignoring the screaming pain.

"Peace. Hold," the rough voice carried power that calmed him and prevented him from getting up. "Are you alright? Looks like you really took a beating."

Arch-magus Vestrius Casumus wore void black robes and looked like he had taken more beatings than Amegnon could imagine. His face was covered with scars, the most notable one taking his left eye. The empty socket always terrified Amegnon. The man usually wore an eyepatch over it, but it was absent today.

"Yes, I'll be alright, Arch-magus. It looks like I've already failed my new master," he said and slumped.

"Don't let him hear you call him that. That's what I made him call me during his training. It left something of a sour taste in his mouth."

"I'm afraid I already made that mistake. How am I supposed to do what he asked of me? I fell asleep. I was supposed to learn a healing ritual."

Vestrius studied him and scratched his chin.

"I'm going to give you a little advice. My son is a scholar and a researcher. If he could just study magic all day every day, he would be a happy man, but life often doesn't allow us to do the things we want most. To a man like Olivander, failure is only a step on a path. In his research, he fails every single day, but from each failure, he takes a lesson and learns. You're not going to be able to do everything he asks of you, because he's going to set you up for failure, like he did here today. The important thing is that you continue forward."

Amegnon nodded. He had never spoken to the Arch-magus for more than a few seconds before. He was a little surprised the man sounded so reasonable.

"What do you think I should do?"

Vestrius shrugged. "Find him and tell him you failed. There's not much else you can do."

"Can you teach me the ritual?" he asked before he realized what he was saying. It was presumptuous, and he was far beneath the attention of the Arch-magus.

The Arch-magus gave him a crooked grin. "A bold ask, but I cannot. I don't know any healing rituals off the top of my head, and my grimoire…well."

A black book manifested in the air next to the Arch-magus. The air twisted and bent around it. It flipped open and pain lanced through Amegnon's head.

"Sorry. It's a little challenging to read."

The maddening book vanished and the pain in Amegnon's head went with it.

"Return to Olivander and admit your failure. We're going to need strong magicians in the future. I want you to be someone my son can rely on. He's going to need the help soon. Learn and grow."

The Arch magus helped him to his feet and then patted him on the shoulder. "Now, if you don't mind, try to enter the tower a few minutes after me. I don't want the headache that would ensue if he thought I helped you."