Season 1

Episode One

500 Gold Coins

≈ 3000 B.C.

The city of Uruk, a shining jewel placed on the Euphrates river, stood above all other cities on Earth. A hub of trade and commerce and the source of every new innovation, it was the largest gathering of people this planet had ever seen.

Raoul walked slowly through the narrow streets of Uruk’s largest market. His sandalled feet tapped gently on the cobbled street as shoppers and hawkers ran by him in every direction. His skin was tanned a shade of hazel and his brown curls bleached lighter by the sun. Under his arm he carried three clay tablets, prepped and ready to be written on.

He rounded the corner and the narrow street opened up into a wide clearing surrounded by vendors. On one side, a large building of sturdy mud bricks rose above the surrounding market stalls. On the other side, a large crowd had gathered. Raoul smiled as he went to join them.

The hustle and bustle of sheepskin and linen was easy to slip through, and Raoul found himself face to face with the object that drew the crowd together. A young woman, several years older than marriage-age, stood on a pedestal surrounded by pots of all shapes and sizes. Her hair hung in plaits down to her waist and its black hue shone purple in the sunlight. The golden tan of her skin was kissed by the mesopotamian sun and she seemed to glow as she held up another pot for sale.

“Highest offer! Highest offer!” She cried as men of all ages clamored around her, holding small purses and wallets in the air. An older man walked out from the building behind the woman, his hands covered in clay. The potter, the woman’s father. He scanned the crowd as merchants and city-folk clamoured to purchase the pot. His eyes lingered on Raoul, who tried his best to appear friendly to the man. He nodded before looking away.

A surge in the crowd pushed Raoul forward, and he put his hand out to avoid falling and crushing his tablets. He caught himself on the side of the pedestal and quickly looked up. Bright green eyes stared back at him as the mob continued to bustle around him.

“My apologies, Miss.” he said. The green-eyed woman stared at him, her eyes blazing into his soul. Raoul quickly removed his hand from the pedestal and stood up to face her. Her glare intensified, and darkness spread across her vibrant eyes as she lowered her brow. Raoul began to stammer out another apology, but before he could get a word out the corners of her lips turned up and she began to smile at him.

“Don’t worry, I’m only kidding you,” she said with a laugh. Raoul found himself laughing with her, his clay tablets clutched close to his chest.

“My name is Ninsar. What’s yours, Scribe?”

“Raoul,” He smiled as she readjusted her grip on the pot she was selling.

“What brings you to the market?”

“Oh, I have a regular appointment with one of the merchants.” Ninsar looked up at the sun directly above her.

“Is he expecting you soon?” Before Raoul could answer, another man stumbled forward from the crowd, a leather pouch lifted high above his head.

“100 gold pieces for the woman!” He yelled, and Ninsar’s head snapped in his direction. The old potter, who had been watching Ninsar and Raoul’s conversation, simply shook his head and turned to walk back into his shop. The man was absorbed back into the crowd amidst harshly whispered murmurs.

“Um,” said Raoul, drawing Ninsar’s attention back to him. “I actually should be going soon.” She nodded slowly.

“Will I see you around, Raoul?”

“I certainly hope so.” Ninsar flashed Raoul a dazzling, toothy grin as he slowly worked his way out of the crowd. When he reached the outskirts of the mob, he turned back to see Ninsar still watching him.

His mother’s stare captivated Raoul as the mob of celebratory young folk moved past him to the doors out of the amphitheater. Raoul stood still as hundreds of his former classmates swarmed around him, crystals clinking around their necks and graduation ribbons held high. His mother’s eyes had always had an alluring quality to them. She was the only person Raoul had ever known that never allowed the color of her eyes to betray her emotions. They were always a purple so unnatural Raoul had never seen anything like them. A light starburst around her pupil faded out to deep hues reminiscent of deep space. There was something behind them Raoul had always found unsettling. Looking into her eyes made you feel like she knew something you didn’t. Like she knew everything you didn’t.

“Great work, man.” said Adam as he walked up behind Raoul, startling him as he rested a hand on his shoulder. “Not top of your class like I was, but still great work.” Raoul rolled his eyes and glanced back up to the seated audience. His mother’s attention was off of him, and her vibrant eyes had taken on a foggy hue. Adam followed his gaze up to their mother, the corners of his mouth tilting down when he found her in the crowd.

“She gets further and further away every day,” said Raoul as he watched her stare out into nothingness.

“That’s not your concern right now, Raoul. Father has her seeing a new doctor this week.”

“Why? So he can tell us the same thing all the other ones did? That she’s just disappearing and they don’t know why!” Raoul brushed his older brother’s hand off of his shoulder and turned around to face him. “Besides, when has Father ever cared about any of us, Mother included.” Adam’s frown tightened.

“Let’s talk about this later, this is supposed to be a happy day for you.”

“It’s just secondary school. I’ll be attending university next week anyway, it’s not like I’m done with my education.”

“Yeah, but now you get to stop doing boring shit like math and science and can start doing the fun stuff!” Adam allowed his goofy, crooked smile to spread across his face. Raoul did not return it.

“What, like strategy?” Raoul spat. Adam’s smile faded and he rolled his eyes.

“I picked strategy because I didn’t want to limit myself to only one type of magic for the rest of my life.”

“More like you couldn’t do any of them well enough to specialize.” Adam crossed his arms in front of his chest and glowered down at his little brother, who was all of three inches shorter. Raoul returned the expression.

“Honestly, I don’t know why you have to be so difficult all the time.” Raoul rolled his eyes again and tried to walk away from Adam, but his brother followed him as he made his way to the door. “It’s not like you have a particular talent for any type of magic. If you know what’s good for you, you’d choose strategy too.”

“Oh, so that we can compete with each other for the rest of our lives? Was twenty years not enough for you?” said Raoul. Adam’s voice began to grow louder. His hands began to fly in wild gestures as he spoke, but Raoul refused to turn around and acknowledge his growing frustration.

“For goodness’s sake! What the hell is up with you today?” Raoul stopped and turned around.

“Some asshole keeps trying to talk to me.”

“Oh, great. Real mature, Raoul.”

“You started it,” Adam sighed, and raised his hand to comb through the thick brown hair that hung loose around his jaw. It drew Raoul’s attention to the crystal around his neck. A gold chain with a small cage around a clear crystal hung freely over Adam’s tunic, the small veins of silvery-purple barely visible from Raoul’s point of view. He brought his hand up to feel his own necklace. His chain was silver, but the crystal was identical. Even through the cage, Raoul could feel the faint heartbeat within the small stone.

“Look, Raoul,” said Adam. “I don’t want to fight today. I’m just trying to prepare you for next week.” Raoul opened his mouth to provide a well-planned retort, but he paused and looked at his brother. His eyes, which had been a bright shade of frustrated orange only moments before, had turned a muddy gray. His face was paler than unusual and his hair, while styled for the day, showed signs it hadn’t been washed recently. He was taking Mom’s fading state as hard as Raoul was.

“Yeah, next week.” He had tried to think of something nice to say, something comforting, but he couldn’t quite form the words. “I promise I won’t rule out focusing in strategy, but I need to try and carve my own path.” Adam nodded, his eyes mixing in a new color to his tumbleweed of emotions. Green. Happiness.

“As long as you promise to try.”

Further down the market was one of the largest shops in the city. A merchant of fine silks and jewelry, Ninurta was one of Raoul’s largest clients.

He was a large man, with a tufted fur shirt and several gold adornments to distract from his ugly face. Necklaces jingled and clattered together around his bloated neck and earrings were haphazardly stuck into his shrunken ears. As he spoke, his large belly moved up and down and his voice sounded more like a cow in the fields than a well-established city dweller.

“I would like you to accompany me when I purchase these horses from Ishkur. I’d like to make sure the price remains what we agreed.” said the merchant as he reclined in his plush wooden throne. He reached up to scratch a large boil that had been growing on his chin.

“Of course, sir.” Raoul sat opposite him, stylus in hand as he transcribed Ninurta’s recent purchases.

“Oh, and also accompany me this evening. I have a rather large purchase in mind.” Raoul nodded and etched a small note on his tablet. “Unless the wife objects, of course.” Raoul smiled and shook his head.

“I have no wife yet, sad to say.” The merchant stood from his chair, pushing it back with the force of his motion. His legs were short and stubby, and his feet were barely contained by his sandals as he pushed himself awkwardly out from between his chair and desk.

“Nonsense! You have a perfectly respectable job and come from good standing, how could you not have a wife yet?” The merchant began to waddle towards the door exiting his office, and Raoul quickly gathered his tablets into his arms to follow him.

“Well, I haven’t made very many offers.”

“Ah, you have your eyes on a specific one then,” The merchant nodded as the two men entered the street. The sun was beginning to set over Uruk, and only the wealthy were out strolling the streets of the market. “Me too, and I know she’ll cost me a hefty sum.”

“Is that the purchase you would like to make tonight, sir?” The merchant only nodded in response. The purses of gold coins tied to his belt jingled as they walked.

“Do you want some advice, Scribe?” The merchant inhaled a deep breath of the night air and exhaled it slowly, creating a loud whistling noise. “The key is to persuade the father. You never even have to talk to the woman. In fact, it’s a waste of time. Prove to the father you can provide for his daughter and pay him a sum worthy of the daughter and then you will have a wife.” Raoul nodded, but his gut twisted in disgust.

“I will keep that in mind sir,”

“You better, I’ve been married three times already. I know what I’m talking about.”

“Listen, I know what I’m talking about.” Adam spoke quickly as the brothers walked down the hall. Raoul had tucked several newly-purchased textbooks under his arm and was struggling to keep a hold on them. Adam had thought to bring a satchel to carry his as the new academic year started. “Professor Sijurta’s classes are some of the hardest to score well in.”

“Well, I shouldn’t have him full-time this semester, he’s a Moon Mage.”

“Yes, but you will have him if you decide to specialize in Moon Magic. So I want you to know I’m advising against it.” Raoul rolled his eyes.

“Are you still trying to get me to switch to strategy? I told you, I’m not going to do it.” Raoul turned down another hall in hopes of ditching his brother, but he continued following him, huffing and puffing as he struggled to keep up with Raoul’s brisk walk. “Why don’t you ever push me towards one of the other non-magic focuses?”

“Because better a bad mage than a good… landscaper? Fishmonger?”

“All perfectly fine professions.”

“Not for you. Imagine the fit Father would throw if he learned you didn’t want to be a mage.”

“Oh, I’m imagining it.” Raoul chuckled softly while Adam shook his head.

“You can say things like that all you want, but you know you’ll never go against him.” Raoul readjusted his books under his arm before making his way down the university’s grand staircase.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Listen, I’m going to go drop these off back home before I head to my next class.” Adam stopped walking halfway down the stairs, hesitating. Raoul stopped and turned around to answer him.

“...Which is?”

“Magical exploration. So I can decide what specialty to pick.” Adam nodded slowly, his energized lime-green eyes scanning the floor of the large hall.

“Sounds good, I’ll see you after class,” His eyes finally found their target and blossomed into a pale pink. Raoul sighed as his brother began to move down the stairs again.

“Well, you two have fun in the meantime.” Adam perked up and chuckled.

“The eyes give me away?”

“They didn’t need to, your stupid face did.” His older brother wound up his arm and softly punched Raoul in the shoulder, almost making his grip slip out from under his stack of textbooks.

“Hey! Watch it!” Adam was too busy humming his merry way down the stairs to pay any attention to Raoul. Raoul followed the ditz as he skipped down to the bottom steps and into the arms of a dark haired woman.

“How are you doing, Eve?” asked Raoul as he caught up to Adam and his long-term girlfriend.

“Very well. Thank you.” She pulled out of the hug and turned to Raoul. Her smile was bright and her eyes a shade of confident sky blue. “How was your first day of classes?”

“Good… good… Would’ve been better if this loser would stop following me.” Raoul returned Adam’s earlier punch, but made it a little harder.

“Gotta make sure the newest adult in the family is living up to our standards.” Adam said proudly as he puffed out his chest. Raoul scoffed.

“What do you even see in this guy?” he asked Eve. She was a beautiful, intelligent woman of great breeding, and Adam was a greasy-haired, magically incompetent fool. In no sane world would she ever associate with the likes of him.

“Oh, your judgement is clouded by your blood-ties, Raoul. All the girls want your brother.” Eve lifted her hand to tussle Adam’s hair, and Raoul felt bile rising in the back of his throat.

“If you say so. Now let me go, I’m going to be late for class.”

Raoul managed to scurry into the large lecture hall moments before the doors were locked. He squeezed himself into the nearest empty seat he could find, which was about midway down the stairs and directly in front of the professor.

The professor was an imposing man with a tall, muscular build and a sour face. His hair was neatly done in dozens of thin black braids pulled back from his mahogany-brown face. His eyes were set deeply into his skull, their dull red tone intimidating the class into silence as he scanned his new pupils through the thin pair of glasses that rested on his hooked nose.

“I am Professor Sijurta, as I am sure you all know,” he said. Small murmurs of laughter echoed through the lecture hall, but were quickly silenced as the professor pushed himself up from his chair and walked around the podium. He didn’t bother with the microphone, his voice was loud enough to be heard all throughout the large room.

“This is an exploratory course, for those of you who have yet to pick a magical specialty.” His eyes stopped scanning the room as they locked on Raoul. He felt a cold pit form in his gut, and sweat began to bead on his brow as Professor Sijurta’s face contorted into something almost inhuman and his eyes flared a bright red. Adam’s reputation must have been most foul in the eyes of Professor Sijurta. “Although I suspect many of you are not cut out to be mages at all.” The older mage turned quickly away from the students, finally breaking his eye contact with Raoul and allowing him to breathe. The professor picked up a small piece of chalk and began to write on the board.

“I hope you are all familiar with this by now, but for the slow amongst you I will reiterate.” He began to scribble on the board. “Flesh, Moon, Mind, Atmosphere, Temperature, Illumination, Formation, Volume, and, if you wish to be the laughing stock of the school, Growth. These are all of the available magical specialties at this institution.” A hand shot up in the front of the audience. Professor Sijurta paused his writing and frowned.

“I assume you wish to clarify that there are other types of magic, yes?” He said without turning to face the student. The raised hand waivered, then slowly lowered down. “I am well aware of the existence of other types of magic, but they are irrelevant at this school... Well, they are for you.” Professor Sijurta placed his piece of chalk down against the edge of his olive green chalkboard and took a step back, fully revealing the list of magical specialties he had written.

He walked over to the edge of the raised podium and stood over a gutter that surrounded it. He leaned down and gently opened a small metal door. Water rushed in, filling up the gutter to make a small moat around the podium. The class oohed and aahed in quiet, respectful tones. Raoul was silent. With a small swish of his hand, Professor Sijurta summoned the water up to the chalkboard, using it to wash away every word but ‘Moon’. Another swish, and magic bade the water to return to the gutter. The chalkboard and podium were left completely dry.

The room began to fill with excited chitter chatter, and Professor Sijurta patiently waited for them to quiet down. Raoul remained silent, his mouth parted to be slightly agape. The professor looked at him, and smirked softly as he sat back down behind his desk.

“Those of you who decide to specialize in Moon magic will be able to attempt feats such as this near the end of your studies.” The hall went silent as the professor began to project his loud voice once more. “But, unfortunately for you, I will not be your professor.” Murmurs circulated in the hall once more. “Other than this small introduction, I teach only the advanced class of Moon mages, which is already full for this semester.”

Professor Sijurta showed a few other awe-inspiring displays of his specialty for the rest of class. He created floating bubbles, suspended shards of rock in midair, and even showed some of the more proactive students how to manipulate their own water droplets. After an hour of magical demonstrations, Professor Sijurta finally pushed the water back into the wall and slid the small door shut again, leaving the moat dry.

“Your next class will be with my Flesh mage counterpart, Professor Rayne. I am sure you will prefer her style of teaching to mine.” he said as he walked towards the door. Raoul glanced up at the clock mounted above the chalkboard. It was five minutes until class ended. The other students seemed to be similarly confused as the Professor leaned down to unlock the door. He opened it and held it open as he turned back to address the class one last time.

“Class dismissed,” he said before quickly making his leave. The reason for his speed was immediately apparent as the stairs towards the exit were swamped with students before Raoul could even grab his bag. When he finally made it out, the hallway was already clear save for a few lingering groups discussing the demonstrations and two smiling faces.

“Hello Eve,” said Raoul as they approached him.

“Hello to you too,” said Adam, wrapping his arm around Raoul’s shoulder. Eve smiled softly at the brothers. “How was the Professor?”

“Very impressive,”

“Did he pull that red-eyed glare on you too?” Adam shuddered as he spoke.

“Yeah, I figure you’ve altered his opinion of me.” Raoul glared at his brother, but Adam just held both hands up in surrender.

“He did the same thing to me the first time I had him.”

“I can’t blame him,” said Raoul. Eve cut in, preventing Adam from defending himself against Raoul’s rude banter.

“There’s a party tonight we’d like you to go to.” she said. Raoul raised an eyebrow.

“You want to take me to a party? Why?”

“Because you don’t have any friends.” muttered Adam under his breath. Eve shot him a sharp look before turning back to Raoul.

“Because it’s being hosted to celebrate the new academic year and we think it would be a good idea for you to go and make some connections.” she said, her voice slow and melodic. Raoul sighed.

“Fine,” Adam perked up and placed a hand on Raoul’s head to mess up his hair.

“Awesome! Let’s go!”

“What? Right now?”

“Yep, just enough time to drop your books and run over. The thing’s already started.”

Ninurta continued to talk about the joys of having a wife as Raoul accompanied him down the market, but Raoul found himself preoccupied. He reached his hand up to his hip, feeling the pouch of gold coins he kept tucked away. It was nothing compared to Ninurta, but it was a sizable fortune for a scribe. Enough to tempt most of the city to let him wed their daughters.

“Ah, here we are.” Ninurta stopped and Raoul looked up, his heart skipping a beat when his eyes settled on the familiar home of the potter. The earlier crowd had dissipated and Ninsar was sitting behind a small counter tucked behind rows of pottery. She glanced up as the two men approached the store, and she smiled softly when she locked eyes with Raoul.

Ninurta didn’t spare a glance for the young woman and walked up to the door of the old man’s studio. Raoul, not daring to lag behind the merchant, stood a few paces away. He spared several glances at Ninsar, and each time he looked over he met her green-eyed gaze. The merchant knocked once, twice, thrice before stepping away from the wooden door. It creaked open a few seconds later and the gray-bearded face of the old potter poked its way out from the small sliver that led into the studio. His pale eyes widened when he saw Ninurta, but he said nothing.

“Good potter, I am here to make you an offer.” The potter seemed to control his surprise and opened the door fully, exposing half-finished pots and shelves of clay behind him.

“Y-Yes, what is it then?” Ninurta reached down to his belt and loosely tugged at the string holding the largest wallet to his hip. He gripped it in his meaty hand and held it out to the old potter.

“I will cut to the chase. 500 gold coins for your daughter’s hand in marriage,” he said. The old man’s eyes bugged out of his head as he grabbed the money from the merchant. Raoul reached down to his own wallet as his stomach lurched forward. His savings from decades as a Scribe only amounted to a little under 400 coins. He glanced over at Ninsar, and her flirtatious smile faded as she recognised the panicked look on his face. Her attention turned to the piggish merchant, and she frowned. Her hand rose to her brow and she cupped her face gently as she let her head fall forward.

“I shall gladly accept, sir!” said the old potter, who didn’t spare a glance at his daughter as he eagerly began to count his new fortune.

“Very well then,” crooned Ninurta. “I shall come to collect her the day after tomorrow.”

“I can’t believe I let you drag me to this,” said Raoul as he followed Adam and Eve into a large inner-city apartment packed to the brim with people.

“Oh, come on, you’ll have fun.” said Adam, his eyes a bright hot pink as he grabbed Eve and pulled her towards the crowd of people dancing in the center of the large, vaulted room. Eve stopped and looked back at Raoul.

“My sister is here. It’s also her first year here, so you should try to talk to her.” Raoul nodded, and Eve was whisked off to the dance floor.

Raoul made his way to the bar, keeping to the edges of the room. The crowd was mostly older students, around Adam and Eve’s age, but Raoul recognised a few younger students around his age. He didn’t talk to any of them as he pushed through the crowd in his slow crawl towards the other side of the room.

The apartment itself was lovely. Tall, elegant, white columns were placed evenly throughout it and the wrought iron frames around the floor to ceiling lancet windows cast intricate shadows across the floor. The sun was setting behind the window next to the bar, with hundreds of graceful white spires turning pink as the cityscape fell into darkness. Raoul poured a pink drink into a small crystal glass as he stared absent-mindedly down at the street below him.

“Raoul, right?” a woman’s voice came from behind him. He turned, and nearly dropped his glass. She looked almost identical to Eve, but something about her made Raoul’s heart skip a beat. His eyes darted over her face and body. He couldn’t put his finger on what was different about her. Anyone else would have called them identical. She had the same dark hair, but maybe it was thicker and shinier? Her cheekbones were just as high, her lips just as plump, her frame just as lean. She didn’t have her hair up, like Eve always did, and it cascaded down over her shoulders in loose, pleasing waves. Raoul glanced up. She was staring at him, her eyes opened wide and her beautiful lips pursed in confusion. He had to say something.

“Uh,” he managed to stutter out. “Are… Are you Eve’s sister?” The beautiful woman’s expression shifted, and her mouth opened to expose her dazzling, pearly teeth captured within the perfect smile.

“Oh, she didn’t tell you we were twins, did she?” she laughed softly. “Yeah, I can see how that would be pretty confusing.” Raoul laughed with her, his grip tightening on his glass.

“Can you… Sorry. Do you want a drink?”

“I would love one!” Raoul turned and placed his glass on the table that served as the bar. His hand was shaking as he reached for another one and filled it to the brim with fizzy pink liquid. He handed it to her, managing to spill a few drops onto the pale hardwood beneath them.

“Sorry,” he said breathily.

“No worries, it’s not my house.” Raoul chuckled, the tension between his shoulders starting to relax as he took a sip from his drink. “I’m Lydia, by the way.”

“Oh, yes! Yes of course! I’m so sorry.” Raoul fumbled over his words as he spoke, his tongue a thick useless slug in his mouth. “Gods, I am sorry. I’m so out of it today.”

“Yeah, the first day of class will do that to you.”

“You said you and Eve are twins? She told me you were just starting classes this year.”

“Oh, yeah. I took some time off before university.” Lydia’s smile seemed to falter, and she glanced quickly down at her feet. Her eyes remained happy, so Raoul thought nothing of it.

“I wish my Father would let me do that, being in the same school as Adam is a bit suffocating.” Raoul tried to laugh, but it got caught in his throat and he began to cough. Lydia stared at him as he tried desperately to stifle it.

“So, what are you specializing in?”

“Uh, not really sure yet.” Raoul took another sip of his drink and glanced over at the dance floor. Adam and Eve were entwined in each other's arms, stepping quickly back and forth to the beat of music that seemed to radiate from a man sitting in a raised chair in the middle of the floor. “I’m in the magical exploratory class right now, so I hope to change that soon.” Lydia nodded as he spoke, her soft smile like a vice that kept Raoul talking.

“Oh, those classes always looked fun. I’m in the advanced class with Professor Rayne.”

“To become a flesh mage?”

“Exactly, she’s pretty awesome.” Specializing in Flesh magic had crossed Raoul’s mind, but he didn’t think he had the stomach to be a doctor and there was no need for soldiers anymore. Other than that, the ability to manipulate muscle and bone was pretty much useless.

“How’s the advanced class? Professor Sijurta talked about it today.”

“It’s wonderful! The classes are smaller, so they’re a lot more personal. Plus, we get to work with some of the other specialties. In a few weeks, we’ll partner up with the advanced Moon mages and work on some projects together.” Raoul perked up.

“That sounds like a great opportunity.” Her smile widened, showing her teeth once more. Raoul returned it and glanced around again. He wasn’t sure what else to say, but he desperately wanted to keep talking to Lydia.

“Have you heard of the new exhibit in the museum of magic? I think it’s a focus on modern flesh mages.”

“I have! I’ve been meaning to go but haven’t got around to it yet.” Raoul’s back stiffened, and his grip on his glass tightened.

“Well, would you–” A large hand placed itself roughly on Lydia’s shoulder, stopping Raoul’s proposal in its tracks.

“Who’s this, Lydia?” He was a very large man, with jet black hair pulled into a small bun behind his large head. Sweat covered his face and large wet marks were forming underneath his armpits. Lydia’s smile widened, but her nose crinkled as she looked up at him.

“This is Raoul, Adam’s brother.”

“And Adam is?”

“Eve–my sister’s–boyfriend.” The man nodded and looked Raoul up and down. His eyes narrowed, turning a shade of magenta. Red and purple. Anger and suspicion.

“Nice to meet you–” Lydia cut Raoul off, her attention focused solely on the man next to her.

“He’s a first year student, like me.” The man just nodded, ignoring Lydia in favor of glowering at Raoul. Lydia finally turned to acknowledge Raoul again.

“This is Varian, he graduated a few years ago from the mind mage specialty.”

“Wow, mind magic is a difficult thing to master.” said Raoul. Varian grunted in response and turned to Lydia. He grabbed her drink and gulped it down in one go and set it down roughly on the table.

“Come dance with me, Babe.” Lydia didn’t say anything to Raoul as she was dragged onto the dance floor, but she didn’t need to. He felt as if his world had been shattered. The woman he had known for all of five minutes–the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life talking to–was dragged away from him by a slobbish, magically gifted brute.