One month had passed since the failed peace conference between the Three Thrones. To avoid an all-out war, one last attempt at solving the differences between them peacefully was to be made in a second meeting three months later. This time however, not physically, but with the 6th-Tier spell , which would send out the consciousness of the one using the spell to a specific place in the form of a light-construct. Despite this, all nations started preparing for the worst, with each nation having increased the security at their borders, as well as all of their units being briefed to be at the ready immediately. Nevertheless, all information regarding the failed peace negotiations have been withheld from all but the noble families of each nation, as to not cause unnecessary panic among the rest of their population. Thus, the citizens of the Merdelum Empire went along their day normally in blissful ignorance of the entire continent being at the brink of war.

Today was the day the entrance exams to military academies across the country were held. Among them, Rouclier was known as one of the pickiest when it came to accepting students, as they only accepted those who already showed the potential to become soldiers.

Therefore, the exam was divided into 2 different stages: The talent assessment, where one's profession and magical aptitude would be determined with the help of a magical item, and the talent demonstration, where one was able to show off their ability to control their talents.

Those who failed to impress the examiners at their first entrance exam were allowed to try it one more time in the following year but failing it twice would mean the end of one's career at Rouclier before it even started, as did cheating of any kind.

For this reason, Corvo's thoughts raced from one doubt to another. What if his training was not enough? What if it turned out he had a non-combat profession, making it impossible for him to attend? His nervousness kept him awake in the night before the exam, and now, on the way towards the academy, he could not keep his hands from shaking. Suddenly, a hand reached out to him and laid to rest on his left shoulder. He looked up and saw his father, giving him a reassuring smile. His parents had arrived at Caelum three days prior to watch him attend the exam, as it was held open to the public.

"Don't worry, Corvo. I know you can do it! Just give it your all and you'll definitely get in!", his mother said, giving him the same warm smile as his father.

"Yeah, and even if you don't, you still got next year.", Sean exclaimed to his right. Sean's parents were sadly not able to join, as they were not able to take the day off from work.

The words of his parents and best friend started to calm his mind, though only a little.

Moments later, the small group arrived in front of Rouclier's main building. The academy consisted of 3 buildings, which were arranged in the shape of a lower-case n. The left and right buildings consisted of the dormitories, one for female students and the other for male. The middle building was filled with classrooms, a library, the assembly hall, and the canteen. North of these buildings were the training grounds, on which practical-combat-lessons were held.

The first part of the entrance exam was held on the south side of the main building, were a large stage had been built. There were guards stationed close to the stage and the viewers, which would watch the first part from a few yards away before continuing on to the second part on the north side of the main building, where a grandstand had been built. To attend the first test, one had to first make their deposit at a small desk, where one's name and personal information was taken by a young woman wearing the uniform of the students at Rouclier. Her glasses glinted in the sunlight, and her purple hair was tied back into a ponytail. Her overall appearance could only be described as peak professionalism, as did the way she talked. After giving her his information and making his deposit, Corvo parted with his parents and Sean, who were now looking for a place to observe the event and joined the group of other attendees waiting for the talent assessment.

Corvo tried to get his mind away from what was to come so he could calm down, so he decided to observe the other participants and see how they dealt with their stage fright. There were about 300 others of about the same age as him waiting a few yards away from the spectators, all of them showing varying degrees of nervousness. In front of him was a girl shorter than him with red, shaggy hair. She was wearing black cloth-armour and was supporting herself with her wooden spear with a metal tip in a way that made it look as if she was trying desperately to keep herself on her from anxiety wobbly feet. Next to her, a tall, black-haired boy in expensive looking attire, which made him almost seem out of place among the other participants, who wore simpler, and sometimes even partially weathered and damaged armour, was tuning his lute nonchalantly, as if he had already become accustomed to situations like this. Behind Corvo, he could hear two boys talking to each other about having to attend the exam for the second time now, and how they had to spend the last year with daily training. This conversation did the opposite of what Corvo had intended to achieve, mainly reducing his uneasiness, which led him to move to a different place in the crowd. On his way he bumped into a hooded girl in a dark green coat thrown over leather armour, which he had not even noticed until now. He hastily uttered an apology, which was met with a quick nod, then continued forward. However, he did not come far, as a voice suddenly rang out and immediately silenced all people in the vicinity, who were now looking at the place the voice was coming from.

A bald, middle-aged man with a black moustache and goatee was standing in front of the crowd on a wooden stage with a white sheet as background, his emerald green eyes looking at them with a stern, but also curious expression. He wore a uniform which differed slightly from the one students at Rouclier where required to wear, mainly in the colour of their buttons and belt, which were a shining gold colour instead of silver, and a multitude of different military medals, which adorned the right half of his tunic. Behind him were 2 women and another man, all in the same, slightly different uniform, though with less medals. Each of them stood at parade rest their hands crossed behind their backs, as they listened to the man before them. The man stepped a step forward, and greeted the crowd with the proper salute of the Merdelum empire, placing his right fist over his heart and his left hand behind his back.

"Welcome, visitors and attendees of the entrance exam alike! I am Alexander Cheldric Calros, former Knight Commander of the Knights of the Red Sun, current holder of the Snake-Seat among the 12 Zodiacs of Merdelum, and current headmaster of the Rouclier Military Academy. Today, we will determine who of you new recruits has what it takes to join one of the most prestigious academies in all of Merdelum. As you all should know by now, the entrance exam consists of two different parts. First, we will determine your profession with the help of the relic mirror Vrai Soi, which will also show if the personal information you have given us was truthful."

At the last part, Corvo noticed a few of the participants starting to shift around nervously.

"If your profession turns out to be of the non-combat variety, you will not be able to attend this academy, and we will provide you with a leaflet containing information about other academies in Caelum and the surrounding cities with less strict selection criteria. The second phase will be a demonstration of your abilities. This can either be done with a demonstration or a mock-battle with one of our instructors. Together with my colleagues, who have gathered behind me, we will then decide if you will be given a chance to attend Rouclier. However, do not worry if you do not manage to pass the demonstration at the first try. We at Rouclier believe that everyone deserves a second chance, as being able to learn from one's mistakes is a most valuable trait.

The other instructors, who will judge your performance today, are Sir Leroy Cameron Montell, former Commander of the Anti-Magic-Unit of the Imperial Army, currently occupying the Rabbit-Seat among the 12 Zodiacs and instructor for Combat-Theory and Strategy,"

The dark-blonde young man with a similar beard as the headmaster briefly stepped forward and greeted them with a polite bow before stepping back in line.

"Professor Kassandra Lambert, former Court-Mage, occupant of the Dog-Seat of the 12 Zodiacs, and now instructor for Magic Theory for first-years and Elemental Magic"

The seemingly youngest among them, the short, blue-haired woman wearing a wide-brimmed, black magician's hat next to Montell jumped forward with a smile and started to wave, then returned back to her position.

"And last but not least, Lady Irene Karm, the 382nd Sword-Saint, former Knight-Commander of Ardena, currently holding the Tiger-Seat of the 12 Zodiacs as well as the position of Head-Combat-Instructor and Disciplinary Teacher of Rouclier."

Other than her colleagues, the darker-skinned young woman with long, white hair and orange coloured eyes stepped forward and greeted them with a proper military salute, causing her blue-haired colleague next to her to snicker. She was the only one of the 4 which carried a weapon, a sheathed sword.

"Operating the relic Vrai Soi, which will determine your profession and magical art, will be Archmage Salazar Blanche, holder of the Goat-Seat of the 12 Zodiacs our Instructor for Arcane Magic and History"

Upon being mentioned, a man in his late 70s with a long, grey beard wearing a purple robe which had been embroidered with golden ornaments at its hems and 8 golden, five-pronged stars over his left chest, on his head the same wide brimmed magician's hat Lambert wore on her head, stepped forward, carrying a tall mirror in his hands. The crowd before the stage started to whisper in confusion, as no one had noticed the man before he was called out. The headmaster ignored this, however, and continued with his speech.

"Now then, let us begin with the first phase. We will await those of you, who managed to pass the first phase on the training grounds behind the main building, but the second phase will not begin until the last one of you has been examined. Good luck.", he concluded his speech, and the group of four made their way off the stage. The young woman, who had taken their information before was now approaching the archmage and handing him the information sheets, while keeping the list of names and positioning herself next to the mirror.

"Greetings, attendants! I will now call out your names alphabetically, upon being called, you will step in front of the relic and your examination will begin. If your information turns out to be falsified, you will be detained on the spot and you will be taken in for questioning by one of the nearby guards. Let us begin! Adelaide, Mira! ", she called out, and the red-haired girl Corvo had observed earlier stumbled forward, almost tripping over her spear out of nervousness.

"Do not worry, this will not hurt.", the old man operating the mirror said in a grandfatherly tone, before motioning her to touch the mirror's face with her right hand. The reflective surface reacted to the touch and started to ripple, as if made of liquid silver. She quickly stepped back from the mirror, as the archmage next to her patiently waited for the surface to calm down. Suddenly, faintly blue glowing letters started to appear on the mirror, in a language which reminded Corvo of the runes one can find in spell-circles. Salazar Blanche looked at a sheet of paper and compared the information on it with the one displayed on the mirror.

"Hmm...Mira Adelaide; 11; female human; Class: Lancer; Magical Art: Transfiguration. Alright, everything seems to be in order! Please head forward to the battle grounds, the demonstration starts once all attendees have been examined.", he exclaimed and motioned towards a sign with an arrow, which pointed to the left-most path. The red-haired girl looked visibly calmer now. She thanked the instructor with a small bow, then followed the arrows behind the stage.

"Anders, Walther! "

During the examination, a few participants had used the fact that everyone was watching what was happening next to the stage and fled the testing grounds, as they had probably tried to get into the academy with falsified information. Though there was one who thought himself to either be stronger than the relic, or believed it to be a bluff.

A child with the name Elmar Barateo approached the mirror after he was called out, and awaited his assessment. Though he seemed to be full of confidence, all that changed once Salazar Blanche took a look at the runes appearing on the mirror. Before anyone could react, he snapped the fingers of his right hand, and pointed at the boy who had called himself Elmar Barateo, who immediately dropped to his knees, unconscious. The audience gasped as the boy's appearance started to change as he lied on the floor, slowly turning into what looked like an adult man with red skin and horns on his head.

"Do not panic! This person is neither a child, nor is he human. The mirror of the gods sees through all lies, even those crafted by a demon! Guards! I will write down the information the mirror provided, see to it that he is dealt with accordingly!", he demanded, and his command was obeyed immediately. The rest of the examination proceeded without major incidents.

Seeing as Corvo's last name, Rhedi, would be one of the last to be called out, he became more and more restless. About half of all whose names got called forward were sent back home, which made his rising anxiety all but unfounded. Minutes passed, and one after the other stepped in front of the mirror. He saw the boy in expensive clothing he had noticed before step forward, who turned out to be Martin Gerard Crevier, the youngest son of the Count of Caelum, Armin Paulo Crevier, whose profession turned out to be, just as expected, that of a Bard, as well as the hooded girl he had bumped into earlier, Eleonora Boreas. Before reading her information out loud, however, he could hear her whisper something to Salazar Blanche, to which he knowingly nodded and motioned her to follow the others who had passed before whispering her information to his assistant, something he had not done for anyone else until now. After about three hours, Corvo's turn had finally come.

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"Rhedi, Corvo! "

It took a moment, but Corvo started to shakily approach the mirror in front of him.

"Do not worry, I won't bite. At least not if you are not trying to get into Rouclier with underhanded means.", Salazar Blanche mentioned jokingly, trying to make the nervous boy in front of him loosen up a little, before making him touch the mirror. Just as with everyone else, the surface of the mirror started to ripple, and, after it had smoothed back to its original state, Corvo could see his information slowly start to appear in front of him. The archmage looked at the mirror for a little longer than he did while examining the others, something having piqued his interest.

"Hmm... How peculiar... Corvo Rhedi; 11; male human; Class: Mage; Magical Art: Light-Elemental Magic."

As Corvo released the breath he did not know he was holding in relief, the old man in front of him looked at him curiously.

"Mr. Rhedi, are you really determined to join the academy? This is the first time in years I have seen someone with an affinity towards the light-element trying to attend. To be honest with you, joining the Feublan Monastery would probably be a better choice for nurturing your talent, seeing as someone with affinity to the light-element is practically predestined to become a high-ranking cleric. And another thing: Humanity's knowledge of light-elemental magic is more than lacking, as only very few people actually decided to research it, mostly due to the Ardent Path immediately taking in anyone showing talent for it. If you choose to stay, I will not keep you from advancing to the next round, but you should know that you will likely have to put more effort into your studies than the other attendants if you want to graduate successfully.", he explained in a serious tone.

Corvo did not know how to answer. He was not even sure if he would make it past the first hurdle, and now he was already offered to switch to a different school. The old man could read the inner conflict of Corvo from his face, so he decided to make the boy an offer.

"Hmmm, how about this, if you manage to pass the next phase, and if during the first year you realise that it is not what you had hoped for, come to my office, and I will help you transfer to the Monastery. I am acquainted with one of their instructors, and I think they would all to gladly accept you among them. Well, what do you say?"

A quick nod from the boy was all he needed for confirmation, and he motioned him to follow the path, as he did with all who had passed.

'Hm... I hope he succeeds. I would hate to watch another young talent get snatched away by the church...However, I will not work against his wishes.', Blanche thought to himself, before reading out the name of the next candidate.

Corvo followed the path to the north side of the main building, where the group of about 100 others who had passed the first examination had gathered and took a look around. Nearby were 4 platforms made of white stone, each placed in a row a few yards away from the grandstands, which slowly filled up with the friends and family of the attendees as well as those who were just curious about the next generation of students at Rouclier. Further away, he could make out an obstacle course, which led towards a small forest, and a rather large rectangle-shaped pool filled with water, and north of the platforms, quite far in the distance, he could see a large wall, though it seemed lower than the city-walls. He remembered Silvia Riddar's tour and instantly recognised it as being the wall that separated the rest of the city from the mansions of the Luminary and the noble house which managed the city.

The space they were given to wait in was big enough for each of them to warm-up, if there was a need to do so. He saw those with weapons take some practice swings at the air, others were meditating or stretching, or just trying to relax a bit. Since Corvo was going to use magic during the demonstration, he did not need any preparations, so he decided to continue watching the others. A few minutes passed, and the last few attendees joined the group, together with the woman from the reception, who delivered more sheets of paper to the headmaster, before leaving the area and moving towards one of the four buildings. Seeing as the first part of the exam has concluded, all eyes were now fixating the judges. The headmaster quickly skimmed through each piece of paper, then nodded and took a step forward to address the group of candidates.

"Alright, now that the examination has concluded, let me explain what is going to happen next. According to your wishes of how you wanted to show off your worth in the second examination, which you noted on your application sheet beforehand, you will be split into 4 groups, each of which will be judged by one of us. Sir Montell will judge those of you who want to show us skills, Professor Lambert will judge those who make use of combat-magic, Lady Karm will judge those who want to shine during a combat demonstration in a mock-battle, and I will be the judge of Support-Classes, such as Healers, Bards, and Fautors. If one of the group finishes before the others, the judge of that same group will then move on to the group with the most attendees and take half of them with them to their platform, where they are judged in the same way as the group they were coming from. All of us may be teachers who specialize in a specific subject, but we still pride ourselves in our ability to judge all kinds of talents. If you, for one reason or another, do not remember in which category you belong, or perhaps want to change to a different one, feel free to step forward and ask now."

Corvo looked around, as did others, but none seemed to be confused as to which category they belonged to.

"Alright. Please follow us to the demonstration.", he concluded, and the group split up.

As Corvo made his way towards the magic demonstration platform, he noticed that the groups where all but evenly split. The most people went towards magic and mock-battles, with only a few going towards the skill demonstration, and the least moving to the platform on which the headmaster waited.

"Hello again, everyone! As this is the magic demonstration, I have prepared a target dummy for you to aim at!", Lambert explained in a carefree tone with a smile on her face while pointing at a wooden target resembling a mannequin standing in the middle of the stage, which was holding up a small wooden shield and a wooden short-sword.

"The rules are simple! Hit the target with a spell. You are allowed to use a magic-focus, but other magical aids, such as potions, enchanted items, or scrolls are forbidden! Give it all you have without thinking about damaging the dummy, we got countless spare ones! I got the list with your names and will call you forward alphabetically. Oh, and don't worry if you don't hit the target, the stage was reinforced by an archmage to not let any magic or its by-products through!", She snapped her fingers, and a long wooden staff, the tip of which curled into the shape of a snail, appeared in her free hand. She looked at the list of names in her other hand and read the first one out loud.

"Phineas Akard!"

A weak looking, brunette boy in a brown robe tied at his waist with a black cord stepped on the platform, a wooden, featureless staff clutched in his right hand.

"Alright, whenever you are ready, but don't take too much time, the others want their turn too, you know!", the teacher said jokingly, and stepped off the platform.

The boy closed his eyes as he concentrated his arcanum, his staff pointed at the target dummy in front of him, a red spell circle forming at the tip of the staff. Seconds later, he opened his eyes and released the spell.

"Volare et ardeat!"

Corvo recognised the spell to be the spell, which took the shape of a crossbow bolt made of fire and now made its way towards the target. Before the spell hit, however, Corvo could swear that the dummy started to raise his shield slightly, which blocked the spell, leading to the bolt being parried and flying into the air, where it was extinguished by the wind. The only damage done to the target was a small black scorch mark on the shield.

"Aw, I know you can do better. Try again.", the teacher commented.

Again, the boy charged the same spell, and just like before, it was parried by the target. Two more times he tried to hit the target, and twice again he failed to do so.

"Hey, I just saw it move! That's not fair!", the boy yelled out, visibly exhausted by the spells he had cast.

"I never said it wouldn't now, did I? All exams are made to be of the same difficulty as the others... though I do think Ira sometimes goes a bit too far in her mock-battles... Anyway, I'm sorry, but this is not enough to pass, please try again next year!", she replied, her smile never leaving her face.

The boy did not like the answer he was given, but he left the platform, mumbling curses under his breath.

Five more failed to do any damage to the dummy, which either blocked their spells with its shield, or parried them with its sword. The next one, Lawrence Dolmen, a boy with blonde, spiked up hair, approached the platform full of confidence.

"Let me show you how it's done!", he declared, retrieving a small wand from his pocket, pointing it at the target.

"Arcana pessula!"

Five purple balls of energy formed around the wand, which visibly started to form cracks, before hurtling towards the target, with one destroying the shield, two of them breaking the sword and sword arm of the dummy, and the remaining two destroying its torso, causing those who watched it to stare at the boy in awe.

"Oooooh! 4th-Tier, ! And a shortened spell at that? Impressive! At least...that's what I'd say if you passed, which you didn't. This was your second attempt, wasn't it? Too bad, please leave the stage.", Lambert remarked, to everyone's surprise.

"Wait, what? But I destroyed the target!", the blonde mage shouted in irritation.

"Indeed, but your wand had the spell embedded into it, thus making it a magic-item, and you disqualified. Did you really think I wouldn't notice such a blatant cheat?", she answered, her smile fading in the process.

Getting even angrier at his trick having been found out, he now pointed a different wand, made from snow-white wood, at the teacher.

"You'll regret that! Fulgur!", he yelled, his face having contorted into a malicious grin.

The wand formed a ball of purple lightning, disintegrating the wand in the process. The ball of lightning now hurtled towards the teacher, which just stood there, yawning excessively as if to make sure everyone knew that she was not impressed by the purple glowing ball of death making its way towards her. The people all around the stage stopped what they were doing, and observed the situation, shocked at how someone would dare to just attack one of the teachers. Before the spell left the platform and connected with Professor Lambert, however, it was stopped above the edge of the platform and exploded along what looked like an invisible barrier.

"5th-Tier , eh? Looks like you stopped listening to me from the get-go, or did you really think that a barrier personally constructed by the archmage known as the Living Fortress would be scratched by such a simple spell? Now for your punishment.", she chastised the boy, who started to panic as she raised her staff and pointed it at him, a large purple spell circle forming at its tip. Without uttering a word, the spell released, and an arcane bolt hit the blonde boy square in the chest, which caused the muscles in his entire body to spasm for a moment before they started to stiffen, and his paralysed body dropped to the floor.

"Oi, you there! Yeah, you!", she yelled, pointing at one of the guards near the platforms.

"Can you remove this guy? Thanks!"

The guard did as he was told, and the examination continued, this time without any escalations. Most who attempted to hit the target failed, but there were a few who managed to get past its defences and deal some damage to it, earning them the permission to enter the academy, and requiring Professor Lambert to repair the dummy every now and then. After a while, the headmaster approached them, having finished on his site, and took half of them under his own supervision. This new group, however, did just barely not include Corvo, which meant he was the last one to be put to the test.

It was now quite some time past noon, and the number of participants in the magic exam had been reduced to one other attendee and himself. The girl, whose attempt was before his own, barely passed by casting two spells in short succession, but a passing grade is a passing grade, of which Professor Lambert made sure to remind her reassuringly.

"Alright, last but not least, Corvo Rhedi ! Get up here and show us what you got!", she said cheerfully and motioned him to get on the platform.

Corvo's anxiety returned to its height, as his thoughts started to fill with doubt.

'Will the spell I trained be able to hit the target? What if the old man was right and I belong in that Monastery? Would I still be able to become a mercenary as a priest? '

However, he was ripped out of the void which his mind had become by the words of the instructor.

"Hey, don't worry about failure, just try your best, okay? You can do it!"

Looking at her genuine smile of reassurance, he took a deep breath, and pointed his right hand at the dummy.

"Ooooh, no staff or wand? Interesting...", she muttered under her breath while watching him.

Corvo concentrated on the spell, which he had been taught at the end of his training, once he had gained some control over his arcanum. A red spell circle started to form inside of his palm and slowly expanded outwards as he spoke the words taught to him by Michael Riddar.

"Prima flamma, globulum finge, inimicos meos frange et incende!"

After a minute of chanting and forming the spell-circle, the ball of fire exited his palm and hurtled towards the dummy. It was the same size as the spell on which he had exhausted all his mana on the first time he had cast it, though its shape and properties differed completely from that spell. The dummy raised his sword to parry the ball of fire, but as he touched it, it exploded and immolated the target completely. Seeing his spell having hit its mark, Corvo dropped to his knees, the exhaustion of the spell starting to set in. However, he did not lose consciousness, much to his relief.

"NO WAY! ? Without a focus and while not attuned to fire? Boy, you got talent! Can't wait to have you in my class!" Lambert cheered excitedly.

"Congratulations, you may join the others and once everyone finished their part, we will tell you what comes next."

It was as if the words of the instructor had lifted an invisible weight off his shoulders, which made Corvo's exhaustion leave his body as fast as it had appeared.

He had officially become a cadet of Rouclier.