The rest of Danny’s afternoon was spent moving his meagre amount of belongings into a room in the Academy. Retta had driven him back to his place and asked if he needed her to call a van. Danny had laughed her off, quickly gathering the few things he had.

Danny didn’t own much, a few sets of gloves, a couple sets of training gear, and a few trinkets. Mostly gifts he had gotten from his sister over the years. Other than legal documents, the only items of any real value that Danny owned were some pieces of jewellery. There were a few rings and a necklace that his mother had owned and had managed not to pawn off over her decline. Danny kept them deep in a secure bag, not having laid eyes on them for years.

All of Danny’s worldly belongings fit neatly into the back of Retta’s car. Danny had told his roommates he would continue paying rent until they could find someone to fill his room, which led to them happily waving him off.

Eventually, Danny found himself in what was functionally a fully furnished apartment. He had a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living/dining space, all tucked away in a building that looked like a corporate office from the street. As he was shown around the large complex that hid within the city, he was impressed to find that it was practically a hidden village within the city block.

This is where the majority of the few wizards of Madley lived, Retta explained. It was a place away from the eyes of the non-magical, where wizards could be wizards without worry. At least, that’s what it had been historically. Things were going to be changing now that the cat was out of the bag.

Danny didn’t care though, he had his own place, a nice one at that, and there was no way the triad or Agostinos would reach him here. Danny pushed the bed into the corner of the room and laid out his blanket on the carpeted floor. He laid down and let himself relax.

So, what’s next? Danny let his mind wander. He created a large mana shield above him and stared at the floating creation. I guess I play around with magic some more?

So that’s what Danny did. He read some more of the book Retta had given him about earth elementalism and practised the mana control exercises in his room for a while before getting bored. He then began roaming the block. Two-thirds of the block was dedicated to the Academy, mostly filled with offices, research spaces, or teaching rooms. The remaining third was living spaces, there had to be 40 sizeable apartments available, but Retta had told him that not even half of them had people living in them. It was mostly people who had recently moved in to fill the newly required teaching requirements.

Danny couldn’t help but think that it must have been lonely for Henrietta here. It was sounding more and more like a strange prison sentence she had been forced to serve. That brought up something else he had recently learned to his attention. Aldous Madley.

Danny looked up his wikipedia page, finding it to be boring at first. According to the page, not much was known about the man, he had been a British noble who had journeyed to Australia in the 1800s with money from the Crown to settle a penal colony. As Danny continued to read oddities popped up. Nobody had known who Madley was, but the King had given him an exorbitant amount of money for his settlement. Madley had also apparently immediately travelled to the settlement site of his city, ignoring numerous other suitable locations.

There were journals from the workers and convicts Aldous had brought with him that described the journey as if the man had been guided by God, directly heading to a near-perfect location. Things only got stranger the more he read. The early city of Madley had received massive investment from external sources and received large amounts of highly-skilled labour immigration from Europe.

The final cherry on top was a documented meeting between Queen Victoria and Aldous Madley in the 1850s that led to the city of Madley being declared the South Eastern Territory, an independent territory of Australia. No historian knows how that decision came to be made, which raised a lot of questions. For the first time, Danny was actually interested in the history of his state and discovered what a unique political situation the city was in.

The almost mythical Adlous Madley was suspected to have died shortly after his meeting with Queen Victoria, but Danny now knew that to be false. The man was apparently very much still alive and in control of the city.

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As Danny was sitting in a random alcove reading he got a call from a number he didn’t recognise.

“Hello?”

“Danny, it’s Smith. Madley had some free time open up so it’s time for you to meet him. I’m out the front of the Academy, hurry up.” The man hung up on him before he could say anything in response.

Danny didn’t bother wondering how the man knew he was in the Academy. If the last few days had told him anything, it was that everyone apart from him seemed to always know what was going on in the city.

Danny considered not going to the meeting. He didn’t like being ordered around. That was the emotional side of him crying out. The rational side of him warned him that Madley seemed like a very dangerous individual and ignoring him likely wouldn’t bode well.

Feeling rather lacking in adjacency, Danny made his way down to the street outside the entrance to the Academy. He found an expensive car waiting. Smith rolled down the window and called Danny into the car.

“Took your time,” Smith commented.

Danny had nothing to say. He was feeling tired. It had been a long day and he was increasingly feeling like needed to sleep so his brain could have a chance to process everything.

Smith didn’t press him for a response. “I’ll warn you now kid, Madley is,” Smith cleared his throat. “Let’s say, unstable. He’s been around for a long time now and the years have been less than forgiving.”

“Why do you work for him then?”

Smith went quiet for a while. Danny watched his face and saw that the man was deep in contemplation. Eventually, the large man sighed. “At some point, you just can’t get away. He won’t let you.”

“Doesn’t sound like a great boss.”

“He never has been.” Smith let out a grim chuckle. “Anyway, if we’re being honest, I’m not sure you’ll survive this meeting.”

The words came out of the blue and Danny’s mouth opened but nothing came out.

“I’ve seen what you’ve done Danny, anyone can see what you’re capable of. That daft woman is doing her best to downplay it but it’s clear as daylight. There’s something different about you Danny and Madley doesn’t like different.”

Danny thought about attacking the man next to him and trying to run away.

“Don’t bother trying to run. You wouldn’t make it far. Your best chance is convincing Madley that you’re not a threat to him, if you run he’ll wipe you off the face of the Earth.”

Danny sighed. “Well, there’s not much of a choice is there?”

Smith laughed. “That’s the spirit. You get used to it eventually.”

Danny was struck by a distinct feeling that Madley, the city, was a prison run by the prisoners. Henrietta was forced to be here against her will. Smith couldn’t leave. Things weren’t looking great for him.

“How do I convince him I’m not a threat?”

“Dunno. That’s the hard part. You are a threat, Danny. Luckily for you, threats are going to be a common sight from now on, maybe Madley will go easy on you. Maybe he’ll blow this whole city up. Who’s to say at this point?”

Danny took a deep breath. Then another. Then a few more for good measure. He needed to get his brain working. The last few weeks had been challenging, perhaps the most challenging of his life, but there appeared to be no breaks on this train.

He’d tried to keep his head in the sand for the last few weeks, but that wasn’t working.

Danny had survived up until this point. It had been tough, but he had made it through the last 24 years, in no small part due to luck. He took another deep breath. No one ever said that life was fair. It was the motto that kept him going. There had never been a promise that things were going to be easy, so why should he expect things to be?

Danny had been dragged around far too much recently. Too many things were happening to him and around him, his sense of agency had been systematically stripped away.

He took another deep breath.

It was time for that to change. Danny wasn’t going to roll over and die. He was sick of the helpless feeling that had been growing in the pit of his stomach. It was time for Danny to stand up for himself.

After all, wasn’t it better to die on your feet than to live on your knees?