Cypher all but jumped with joy as Alvin handed him a scroll and quill. Not only did he have an elemental affinity, but the rarest of all of them. His childhood imaginings of casting spells and defeating dangerous monsters had suddenly become a reality. Despite all the hurdles and hardships he had faced in his life, he was actually going to be a Conductor!

Astonishment rushed through him as he contemplated his shining future. He suddenly had the chance to follow a dream he had all but given up on. But a sudden pang of dread soon followed as reality set in. "Sir, what about Eiden? I doubt that I'll have time to tend to his whims and..."

Before Cypher could even finish his sentence, Alvin held up a finger and his joyful expression turned deadly serious. He glanced towards the door Eiden had left through and then back to Cypher, a scowl on his face.

"You needn't concern yourself with that boy any further. Testing to see if one will be a decent fit for us begins as soon as they cross the threshold of this building. Since the moment you both entered we have been carefully watching and listening. As I alluded to earlier he will be sent back to his manor emptyhanded."

"He is not at present worthy of learning anything from us. He is overly spoiled and full of himself. His treatment of those who serve others is clearly lacking. The way he talked to you, Velruud, and Havana sickened not only myself but the other elders who were watching him," Alvin said with a look of disgust on his face.

"Despite his noble upbringing and slightly above-average talent, he still has a long way to go before he is ready to learn anything from this academy. We were fully prepared to send the both of you back to your mansion the moment he openly disrespected our staff. You however surprised us, as we did not expect a simple servant boy to be such a rare oddity. No, you shall be taking his spot and he can try again next year, hopefully, by then he will have learned some humility."

"But, hasn't Galex already paid to secure a spot for his son? Something like that couldn't be easily ignored, could it? What if-,"

At this, the door across the courtyard slammed open and Eiden stormed out. His face was red with anger, and as he marched across the grass towards Cypher and Alvin his mood only seemed to darken further. Eiden's eyes darted around, glancing first towards the open chest at Alvin's feet, and then to the scroll in Cypher's hands before they narrowed in suspicion.

"This is somehow YOUR fault isn't it bastard? You cost me my spot here at the academy! I fail to see why they’d let someone like you in here. Well, don't think for a moment that you will get to enjoy the fruits of my father's labor! When I get back to the mansion he WILL be hearing about this and you can rest assured that we'll be returning to drag you back kicking and screaming if we must! I'll make sure you're stuck shoveling horseshit for the rest of your days for this you worthless bastard!"

Eiden stepped forward and made to slap Cypher across the face. But, in the blink of an eye, Alvin caught his hand. "You will do no such thing. Not while I'm around to have a say in the matter!" began Alvin, authority ringing loudly in his deepened voice. Velruud arrived behind Eiden a moment later and placed a hand on his shoulder as if to hold him in place.

“Y-you dare touch me? A noble? You… you could hang for this you realize!” stammered Eiden in complete bewilderment.

"Indeed I do. Your status means nothing here. This is not a place where you can freely throw your influence around and expect results. As such, you will leave these grounds peacefully and you will do so this instant. Yes, this boy has claimed your place in this year's available slots. Yes, that means you will not be able to attend this time around. But even if this boy did not show incredible potential, nothing about this situation would be any different for you."

Alvin let Eiden pull his hand free as he continued, "We have been watching you Eiden Galvan, and we were not pleased with what we saw. From the moment you stepped atop this plateau, your testing had begun. We are looking for more than a powerful element or wealthy heirs to teach the secrets of our craft."

"Indeed, just about anyone skilled or dedicated enough can learn to harness the forces of the universe with enough training. Still, we seek people who know respect, humility, and above all, compassion. We are looking for people who would make a good fit in the various roles and missions Conductors of the kingdom must undertake."

"You are not the first noble heir to arrive here today, and while they each had their own flaws, not a single one of them showed as much disrespect to a person of the servant class as you did in the span of an hour. Your attitude has been abysmal since the moment you arrived and given that behavior, it is not hard to imagine how you must have treated this boy in the privacy of your own home."

“You can’t do this! You have no right to-” began Eiden as he scowled at Alvin, but the man simply raised his hand and frowned back.

“Silence! Once again you show nothing but disrespect. Have you heard nothing I’ve said so far? Or is your ego so large that you cannot be bothered to listen?”

Alvin stood with his arm outstretched as he berated Eiden, his patience clearly at its limit, "That kind of behavior is not at all what Guardian Hall Academy was founded to promote. Why then should we accept someone who could disrespect envoys or nobles from other nations through the mistreatment of their servants?"

Eiden was shocked and his mouth hung open as Alvin continued to verbally assault the heir. Cypher was more than certain that nobody, not even his own parents had ever talked to Eiden in such a way. He couldn’t help but smile a little as the scene unfolded before him.

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"You do not seem to care for much beyond your own selfish desires and vanity. You may possess a powerful element, and you may be the heir to a noble family, but you are not so special that we would ignore such toxic traits. I suggest you take this year and use it to better yourself if you wish to attend this academy at a future date. The blame for this lies not with Cypher, but with you. Accept that fact, and there may still be hope for you yet."

Alvin finished his verbal assault and crossed his arms, a stern look on his face as he glared down at the young heir. Eiden on the other hand stood still, his fists balled so tightly his knuckles turned white. He looked as if he would explode, unleashing a storm of hateful words, and for a moment, it seemed as though he would.

Eiden, however, glanced up and noticed several faces in the many glass windows that circled the courtyard. They might not have been watching during his attempt to use the Gaelin stone Cypher assumed, but they most certainly had seen and no doubt heard Alvin berating Eiden. The young heir stood silent for a moment, thinking carefully about what he would say or do next.

Then he looked over to Cypher and in barely more than a whisper said, “You BELONG to my family! You are a servant of the Galvan household and by the laws of the Kingdom of Dellorim, I won’t allow you to abandon your duties… If you think that stealing from the Galvans is going to go unpunished you’re sorely mistaken! As per my rights as a noble, I hereby challenge you to a duel!”

“What?” asked Cypher, shocked. It seemed that Eiden really had completely ignored everything Alvin had just said to him. He was completely unable, or unwilling to accept that this consequence was the result of his own actions. Even now he was trying to use his status as a noble and issuing some kind of formal challenge in an attempt to change the outcome of this situation to suit him.

Eiden repeated himself, loud enough for everyone to hear this time, “By my rights as a noble I challenge you to a formal duel! If you somehow manage to defeat me I’ll relinquish our hold over you and from there, you can live your pathetic bastard life however you wish! But if I win, and rest assured you commoner piece of trash I WILL win, your fate will be mine to decide!”

Cypher was taken aback and didn’t quite know what to think. Was that really something that he could do? He looked at Alvin and the man was just as shocked as he was. Never before in all of Eiden’s cruelty and bullying had he ever pulled rank on Cypher like this. Was it truly something he had the right to do? Or was he simply posturing? Cypher wasn’t sure, but as he was thinking about that, Alvin spoke up once again.

“Young man, you do realize that it will change nothing. Fighting Cypher here will accomplish nothing regardless of the outcome. Our decision is final and-” Alvin had been speaking with authority, but a loud clap from the other side of the fountain gathered everyone’s attention and silenced him.

An older man cloaked in a robe of deep vermillion stood with two stoic-faced retainers by his side. Alvin stood shocked and in awe at what he was seeing, and his words stopped dead in their tracks. “E-Elder Fergus!” he exclaimed.

With a wave of his hand, Alvin caused the shutters on the windows lining the courtyard to slam shut. It was an obvious sign meant to encourage the students who had been watching to carry on with whatever they had been working on before. Now that an elder of the academy was involved, this was no longer a matter that students should witness, not that it had been in the first place. Alvin turned back to face Cypher and offered him an awkward smile in apology.

The man walked forward with his retainers trailing behind him, fierce authority evident in each step. He stopped in front of the fountain and whispered to the retainer on his right. For a moment only the trickling of the fountain could be heard. Then without warning the retainer spoke.

“Elder Fergus has declared Eiden Galvan’s challenge of combat and his claim as lord over the boy known as Cypher to be legal and valid. However, he offers a further condition for the results of this duel. Should lord Galvan lose he will abandon any and all rights to payment his family has made to this academy. Furthermore, that payment shall go towards the education of young Cypher instead. However, if the young lord wins this duel he will be allowed to remain here at the academy and pursue an education as originally planned. Is this agreeable to you, lord Eiden?”

Eiden didn’t even hesitate and said, “I accept these conditions! There’s no way commoner trash like him could ever defeat me!”

“Do you accept these terms, young Cypher?” the retainer asked.

Cypher was unsure of what was happening. He didn’t want to do this. He wanted to move on with his life and begin anew here at the academy. Of course with Eiden adamant about his claim Cypher wasn’t sure what would happen if he refused. If he won this challenge then there was a good chance that he would finally be free from his life of servitude without repercussions. However, he knew that if he lost there was also a fair chance that Eiden might just slay him on the spot.

He wondered if that was even allowed. Still, even if it wasn’t Cypher couldn’t imagine things going well for him after that. A moment of indecision passed but Cypher could see the rage coursing through Eiden and knew that he could not be reasoned with at this point.

He locked eyes with Elder Fergus and it seemed as though the man was silently urging him to accept the conditions of this duel. Cypher knew enough from his experience with nobles to know when the highest authority in the room was making a demand without putting it into words.

It didn’t feel right to him to have to go through something like this. But what choice did he have? Maybe it was best to simply bow his head and just accept the situation as it was. He was no stranger to being ordered to do things. However, a curious thought occurred to him as Elder Fergus’s expression changed. It was subtle, almost imperceptible even, but Cypher could swear that the man was smiling at him.

Was this really a situation he had no control over? Or perhaps, was it instead a chance for him to assert his will and forge down his own path for once in his life? Cypher didn’t know for certain, but he was an optimistic person and decided to take this as a chance to choose for himself. As he continued to think his thoughts wandered back to his time at the mansion.

He was reminded of every time that Eiden had ever bullied him and every time that he had been treated with disdain and cruelty. His own anger welled up inside him, but unlike Eiden, it was tempered by reason. Unlike the young heir, he could think clearly and his instincts were not so quietly guiding him down the path to one conclusion.

“So it’s really come down to this has it?” he thought.

With a look of determination, he made his choice. He would take this chance, the first of hopefully many, to control his own destiny. Perhaps it was time for the young heir to finally learn humility and Cypher was all too happy to be his instructor.