In a moderately sized blue house just inside the grounds of the Corvelin Preparatory Academy in London, England, the Tell family was celebrating Duncan’s last night on Earth, for now at least.
Although the other four people around the table were, in reality, his aunt, uncle, and two cousins, to him, they were his parents and siblings. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, that was precisely what they were. Fake birth certificates and medical records ensured no one else, especially the Mayfield family, found out.
“Mom, you have to stop looking at me like that,” Duncan grumbled to Professor Donna Tell, head of the enchanting division at the Corvelin Preparatory Academy. Across the dinner table, Donna stared at him, as she had been on and off for the past twenty minutes, with a look containing equal parts pride and dread.
“How exactly do you expect me to look at you?” Donna reprimanded. “You can’t fault me for worrying. Yes, you have done extremely well at the academy, but I also know exactly where you are going tomorrow. Earth is a nice and safe tier zero realm. There isn’t enough mana in the environment to make a magical mosquito. Dintarnum will be a lot different—a lot more dangerous.”
“What do you think the boy has been training for?” Matthew Tell asked his wife. “If anyone can take on the challenges of other realms full of magic and monsters, it’s our boy here.”
“Did I ask you?” Donna’s attention finally left Duncan as she turned her ire on her husband. “If you don’t recall, I’ve actually been there. I know what it’s like. Even staying in the Corvelin capital just long enough to earn my Subject and advance to tier two was dangerous.”
Matthew’s face briefly fell when his wife reminded him of his past failure. Although he had been a competent combat mage candidate, he hadn’t made the final selection for the Realm Shift in his graduating year at the academy.
“Oh, honey. I’m sorry,” Donna said, regret taking the place of anger on her face. All the Tell kids knew it had been a shared dream of their father and his little sister to earn a place in the Realm Shift to Dintarnum. A chance to visit a new realm full of magic and adventure was something the two of them had bonded over growing up.
In the end, neither of the siblings made it. One wasn’t good enough, while the other was likely too capable for her own good.
“Mom, don’t you think it’s a bit hypocritical to teach at an academy that sends kids to another realm for military service and not be willing to let your own son make the shift?” Duncan asked in what he would have called an innocent and utterly respectful tone.
“I’m sorry, what did you say? The only thing I heard was you calling me a hypocrite. The rest of your question seems to have gotten lost in my fantasy of messing with the enchantments on the Realm Shift platform so bad that you get dropped off in the middle of the ocean tomorrow.”
Duncan noticed Donna had missed the irony of threatening him with something like being stranded in the middle of a monster-infested ocean after she had been worrying about the dangers he would face just seconds prior. He knew only a fool would comment on such a discrepancy, however.
“Mom, you were literally just saying how worried you were. Now you want to feed him to the sea monsters?” Marie asked.
Duncan might not be a fool, but apparently, his little sister was.
Marie, the middle child of Donna and Matthew Tell sat beside Duncan at the dinner table. The 14-year-old was mischievous, cunning, and loved to stir up trouble. Her light brown hair, green eyes, and lengthy frame gave her a lot in common with her father and Duncan in the looks department.
Matthew always said she was the spitting image of Rhona, his younger sister—Duncan’s birth mother.
Donna slowly turned toward Marie; her eyes narrowed to slits. Before long, a battle of snarky remarks began between mother and daughter, with Matthew taking the role of referee for the event. Duncan just shook his head at his family’s antics. His last day on Earth for the foreseeable future, and he put it at even odds that a food fight would break out before the end of dinner.
His gaze left the growing hostilities, moving to the youngest Tell at the table. Duncan’s little brother Wayne took after his mother in most ways. Both had the red hair common in Donna’s Irish heritage. Both had slighter builds than the more martially inclined in their family. They even focused on the same specialty, enchanting. However, he most definitely didn’t inherit their mother’s temperament.
A steady ship in the storm that oftentimes was their family, 11-year-old Wayne was the least… fiery… of the Tell family.
“What are you reading now, Wayne?” Duncan asked over the growing sound of battle on one side of the table.
“Enchantments and Their Place on Modern Earth,” Wayne responded, not bothering to take his eyes off the giant textbook sitting in his lap. His plate was still nearly full, having been ignored, as usual.
“You know, by the time I next see you after your own Realm Shift, I think you will probably be the same size as you are now if you keep forgetting to eat.” Duncan’s teasing had its intended effect, drawing a sheepish grin from Wayne, followed by the snap of his book closing and the clink of a fork against plate.
“Duncan!” It seemed the battle was over, likely resulting in a draw as usual. Marie was now looking at him with a gleam of greed in her eyes. “So, where are they?”
“Come on. I’m about to leave Earth, maybe forever, and the only thing you care about is whether you get my old swords?”
“You act like you aren’t more obsessed with swords than I am. Besides, it’s not like I won’t see you after I make the shift,” Marie shrugged. “If you can be Primo for your Realm Shift, I could probably do it without training for the next three years.”
“Well, unlike you, I don’t have an awesome older brother who helped me train and taught me all about the combat division.”
“Awesome older brother my wand. All you did was beat me up over and over.”
“If you didn’t learn anything from me beating you up, you aren’t cut out for the Realm Shift.”
“Well, then, you had better leave me something to remember you by while I’m stuck on Earth, like a sword or two.”
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“All right, fine,” Duncan mock grumbled. “I already cleaned out my room. You should be getting some things in the next couple of days. You too, Wayne. I found some old enchanted items I won in some duels for you to look at.” Duncan laughed as Wayne immediately forgot about his food again.
“What kind of stuff?” the boy was almost shaking with excitement. “Who did you fight that gave you enchanted stuff?”
“I don’t remember who exactly I got it all from. I have been in a lot of duels. I have no clue what all there is; I never really did anything with them. You will have to figure that out.” Wayne looked excited at Duncan’s lack of knowledge.
Marie looked satisfied as well. “Nice. How many swords are there? You know, there are a lot of girls I know at the academy that would likely do anything I asked in exchange for one of your old swords.” Duncan’s glare was only met by a mischievous grin.
“Marie, if you sell any of your brother's swords, I’ll enchant your dorm room door to sing the Corvelin national anthem in your voice whenever someone knocks on it for a month. I want them all after you’ve had your fun with them.”
“Fine,” Marie said, downcast. She had no doubt her mother would actually enchant her door. Donna was a fan of pranks. She was also very sentimental, always wanting pictures and memorabilia from events she thought were important.
“So,” Donna turned her attention to Duncan, shifting to ‘mom checking to ensure everything was packed and ready to go before a family trip’ mode. “Do you have everything done? Is there anything you need help with before tomorrow?”
“I literally only get to bring the clothes on my back. There’s nothing to prepare other than packing up my room, and that’s all done.” Because he knew Donna would ask, Duncan continued, “Yes, all the stuff not for Wayne or Marie is coming to you.”
“Perfect,” Donna smiled. “Thank you!”
***
Dinner was over, and the dishes cleared from the table. Marie and Wayne had volunteered to clear the table, and Duncan could hear them working in the kitchen. He was now alone with his mom and dad.
Before Rhona Tell’s disappearance, he had only been their son in fiction. Since his birth, he had always legally been their son. Donna even went so far as to fake a pregnancy. They had been lucky she had returned from Dintarnum by the time Rhona had discovered she was pregnant right after she missed her year’s Realm Shift.
All of the lies and secrets were intended solely to protect Duncan and Rhona from the Mayfield family. No one knew what the noble family would do with an illegitimate child and its mother.
After joining Donna and Matthew’s family in more than just fiction, Duncan had called them mom and dad. First, it was only to hide whose son he really was; then, it became the only way he could think of them.
He was going to miss them more than either of them likely knew.
“Duncan.” Donna’s face was as serious as he had ever seen. After a pause and a quick glance over to Matthew, she met Duncan’s eyes and continued. “I know you have your reasons for making the shift, and you have every right to want answers. But, please, do not underestimate the pride of the Mayfields. People here on Earth may appreciate them because they were among the first four families to help the Corvelins when they stumbled on this realm. That is all people here care about.”
“The nobles in Corvelin only care about the Mayfields and other Earth nobles for one reason. Power. Most of the best shifters from Earth have come from those families, and they are treated well there. This only inflates their pride, especially when they are in service to other noble houses in Corvelin. Many of them feel untouchable because of the favor they are shown. They aren’t people to mess with or trust easily.”
A look of hesitation crossed Donna’s face before she continued. “Roger always seemed above noble pride when we knew him, but his last act on Earth was to leave your mother behind without a word after his family blocked her from the Realm Shift. I have no idea how different he is now from the boy I met all those years ago. There is a reason we hid your true parentage. We didn’t know what the Mayfields would do if they knew about you.”
Duncan sat at the table, looking between Donna and Matthew. He knew she was right, and he would have to be careful after he made the shift. But she was also right that he had his own reasons for making the shift.
Duncan wanted power. He wanted a Subject. However, he thought he might want answers from Roger Mayfield even more. All Donna did now was make it clear Duncan would need power before he got those answers. The Mayfields wouldn’t respect weakness. He had little reason to believe his birth father would be any different.
He would be lying if he said he didn’t have a slight desire to find his father the first chance he got. Assuming he was still alive, Roger Mayfield shouldn’t be a hard man to track down, considering the abilities he had shown at the Academy and Duncan's limited information on the man’s more recent activities.
Finding his father would likely not be the issue. The real problem was that Duncan had no idea what the man was truly like. All he had to go on were Matthew’s less-than-detailed stories and what he knew about the Mayfield house as a whole. If what Matthew said about Roger’s mother was true, Duncan thought he was less likely to find answers and more likely to end up dead in the ground, despite him being her grandson.
Even if he got to Roger and found the answers he was looking for, what if they weren’t enough? What could have justified him abandoning Rhona? Was there even a reason his father could give that would be worth forgiveness?
Duncan suspected the only way to get what he truly wanted was to grow powerful enough to demand it.
“Mom, Dad. Thank you. You have done more for me than anyone could ever ask. I know you’re right, and I promise to be careful, but not searching for what I want will turn me into a man who can only ever think about whys and what-ifs.”
He was getting closer and closer to tears. “I just… I don’t want what I find over there to undo who you have helped me become.” Even though he thought he had lost all ability to cry while training with Rhona, the thought of disappointing them and letting his old self take over nearly crippled him with fear. “What if I…”
“Son.” Duncan’s head snapped up at Matthew’s tone of absolute authority. Duncan’s usually playful and kind uncle was gone. Matthew looked back at his nephew with the same expression Rhona had when she demanded complete obedience and effort.
“We have witnessed your growth and resolve since we took you in after your mother disappeared. You are not who you were then, and you will continue to grow into someone new, especially once you get your Subject. There will be times when you feel your only option is to go back to the ruthless killer my sister trained you to be. I know you have done everything you can to fight against that.” He paused now, ensuring his nephew’s attention was entirely on him.
“Duncan, I am going to make a demand of you. It is not negotiable. It is the only price Donna and I will accept as repayment for taking you in all those years ago. You. Must. Survive. Sometimes, you will face terrible choices. You may feel like you are betraying us and the help we gave you, but the only way you can do that is if you don’t do everything in your power to live. Dintarnum and all the other realms you will see out there are full of monsters and people who won’t hesitate to kill you. You will have to rely on everything you know to come out on top, even if you have to be a little ruthless.”
Duncan was crying now as he listened to his uncle’s demand. His family’s support had transformed him from the killer his mother had created into the young man he now was. Strong, brave, and controlled. A young man who loved his family more than anything in any of the realms.
“If you can do that. If you can survive, we know the boy we raised can do nothing but make us proud.”
Across the table, Matthew and Donna were smiling, and Duncan could only see pride in their eyes as they looked back at him.
“I promise.” Duncan wiped the tears away from his face. “I promise… I’ll survive. I’ll make you proud.”
“We know you will.” Matthew reached his hand across the table to give Duncan’s arm a quick squeeze before rising from the table. “Now, I believe it’s time for the grand finale of the Tell family board game rivalry. Who knows how long it will be before I get to destroy you all again?”
They spent the rest of the night playing their favorite board games and discussing Marie and Wayne’s upcoming Academy classes. No one acknowledged Duncan’s impending departure from Earth, and he was grateful.
He was ready. Ready to gain magic powers, grow powerful, and maybe find answers. Despite his eagerness, he was grateful he could spend one last night on Earth with his family. Tomorrow, he would leave Earth to begin his journey in Dintarnum and many other realms. Adventures were waiting for him.