I straightened my clothes before entering the room. I nervously sat down. In front of me where five imposing figures. Each one dressed in court outfits. These were the ones that would judge if I were worthy or not.
The room was dark, very dimly lit. I could only barely make out the faces of the five people in front of me. I sat down in the chair in the middle.
The older looking man in the center spoke. In a voice devoid of inflection he said, “Please, tell us a bit about why you should be chosen.”
“My name is Caelus Pendraco. I am the son of the great Jerold Pendraco. Jerold Pendraco is the son of the great Joshua Pendraco. So my potential for power is, at least in part, thanks to my great lineage.
My grandfather was ever the experimenter. He could manipulate gravity, and light magic. He made experiments, and was the first to suggest the sub-view items known as ‘life parts’.
As you all know life parts are the general building blocks of everything in our world. His great success was usually attributed to the fact that he was the only person in his field of magic. What only a few people know is that he was actually able to increase his own intelligence. He could increase his own intelligence to equal ten smart men thinking of the same problem all at once.”
The woman on the far right interrupted. “That’s nice, but that doesn’t explain why you are the most capable, or why we should choose you.”
I nodded. I couldn’t do much else. Anything any of these five said was basically law here.
“Well it is to explain something later.” After she nodded I continued. “To shorten a long story, one of his experiments dealt with the inheritance of powers in offspring.
His son, Jerold, was the product of one of those experiments. One night grandpa- uh Joshua, made his wife with child while he was using his intelligence increasing magic.”
After a brief amount of murmuring from the judges I continued. I was giving away loosely held family secrets after all.
“Well Jerold was born, and learned far quicker than any other his age. Part of that was due to the superior genetics of Joshua, but part of it was due to him having a largely increased intelligence right from birth. He has been assumed to be about twice as intelligent as any man normally.
Of course genetics were later discovered by Joshua. Joshua could actually view the ancestral code each person held. My father could also increase his intellect by about ten times. Joshua spent a long time researching about genetics. That was because of my mother.”
The judges were getting impatient so I hurried my story again.
“My mother always lost her child before it was born. No matter what they did it always resulted in the same thing. Then my father had an idea.
While he and my mother tried for another baby, he increased his intellect to the maximum. He modified my ancestral code before I had even started developing.” I cleared my throat to speak up.
“*Ahem* Well what resulted was a baby that had access to all of his powers since birth.”
The judges began debating instantly. To be fair, it was unheard of for anyone to be able to use their magic before turning at least 50 at the earliest. I was a mere child of 60 it was no surprise they didn’t believe me.
It was a weird life up until now. I grew up with the power of regeneration. Not as a usable power, but as a passive ability. I aged like normal until I hit 15, puberty. While anyone with magical aptitude began to age slower, I stopped aging altogether.
While the judges deliberated, I thought carefully about how to phrase the next part of my presentation. I had been trained in the four M’s. Magical Arts, Martial Arts, Military Arts, and Mental Arts. I had private tutors for all of them. My father afforded the best for my education.
It was one of the few perks of being scion of the great Pendraco family. My grandfather made a good living for his wife and children. My ‘father’ made a merchant’s web so big it was said to be able to topple any nation within the empire with sheer economic manipulation.
It was almost cheating that he could use his massive intellect boost while making plans and investments. He almost always came out with a killing. Sometimes he lost a lot, but never enough to affect our family’s fortune.
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The head judge silenced the rest. “SIIIILENCE!” The others quickly stopped whatever they were saying. “Continue boy. Why would accepting you benefit us? We already have many intelligent and powerful people with high potential.”
“I’m used to intense training, and can handle myself in almost any circumstance. My life pool was estimated at over nine thousand last year. Only half of the people here have over a thousand.
My intellect is about twice as large as Jerald’s when he isn’t using his intellect ability. Letting me go would be doing a disservice to both me and you.”
I was ushered from the room soon after that. Several other potential students gathered around me. They began to buzz around me with questions. I ignored them and continued on into the waiting-room.
Fucking peons don’t deserve my time. I am Caelus Pendraco! Who do they think they are? I never gave them permission to touch me.
My father beat several lessons into me. One of which was to never show that I thought others were beneath me. My private thoughts though, they were mine to do with how I would.
A few other candidates were in the room as well. Most of them were women, as was the norm. Women just had a higher pension for magic then men. Some thought it had to do with the fact that magic is passed down mostly through the mother.
The one that caught my eye though, was child. He looked as though he was sixteen or so. He had to either be very young, or have an exceptional amount of life pool. That boy is a child! How is it that he made it here!?
The youngest person to ever make it in to this academy was around 50 years old. This boy might break the record. I should hurry up and make friends with him. It would be good to know someone around here.
The boy was the easiest to approach. His posture screamed a lack of high-brow upbringing. His clothes were high quality but worn. He must be from a family in decline. They must have forced him to come here to help establish the family name for future generations.
Whatever the reason, it was easier to talk to him than any of the others there.
I sat down in a seat right next to him. “Hi there. I’m Caelus. What family are you from?” It was polite back then to ask for the family name after introducing yourself.
The boy looked at me. “I’m Garren Vloust. Nice to meet you.”
The guy didn’t even ask me my family name. No wonder his family is on the decline.
I decided to put the information out there anyway. “I’m from the Pendraco family. My father is Jerald.”
His eyes went wide, and he gave a low whistle. “Not THAT Jerald. The man that can topple kingdoms?”
I inwardly smiled at the praise. Even if I hated my dad, it was still good to be associated with someone powerful. “Yes THAT Jerald. I’m his only son, so he sent me here in hopes of becoming a Magi one day.”
Of course Magi were the highest of the high ranking magic users back then. They were said to be able to topple entire cities with just a thought. Exaggeration and rumor can do a lot to boost someone’s reputation.
The students around us started murmuring to themselves. I was used to that kind of behavior. Meeting me was like meeting a foreign prince. You might have heard of my family, but I was generally not as known.
After half an hour of talking I learned that Garen was very sociable. He seemed to enjoy talking, and making friends. It was a good quality to have, but power and money were better.
A tall, slender man walked into the room. “Hello all. My name is Brutus. I am from the Corvo family. I will be overseeing your tests. The judges have finished deliberating, and the applicants will be decided by way of competition.”
He gave a smile, but all I felt was calm acceptance. There was no way I could lose to these curs. Winning the competition was going to be as easy as taking a walk in the community park.