Anna continued sharing a piece of history passed down from her grandfather. "My ancestor, Earlfrid, wasn't interested in the political games of his family. His main concern was to shield his descendants from harassment by other clans and powers and give them ample opportunities to grow by themselves. While he had gained his fair share from the family business, his sole duty was to protect the family from other Archmages. As a result, he embarked on his own journeys in search of opportunities and wealth.

During one of these ventures, he saved the life of a fellow time Archmage. They quickly formed a strong bond, becoming inseparable comrades and eventually becoming best friends. They went on numerous adventures together, one of which proved more perilous than they had anticipated.

Caught in a precarious situation, they found themselves on the run. Tragically, Earlfrid's companion was mortally wounded. Despite facing enemy attacks, Earlfrid managed to escape and carried his friend to safety. Unfortunately, it was too late to save the time Archmage, who, on his deathbed, entrusted Earlfrid with an artifact. He urged Earlfrid to guard it with his life and never hand it over to anyone. Earlfrid accepted the responsibility and vowed to honor his friend's wish.

Time passed, and not long after these events, the space-time council approached Earlfrid, seeking answers about his connection to and the death of his deceased friend. It came to light that the friend was an ex-member of the council, someone who had been on a long-term leave since leaving the council was exceptionally challenging.

Moreover, Earlfrid possessed an artifact rumored to belong to the space-time council. This artifact seemed strikingly similar to the one his friend had entrusted to him. However, he had no intention of surrendering it to the council, as his friend had explicitly instructed him not to do so.

Aware of the consequences of crossing the council, Earlfrid feigned ignorance, claiming that the battle had been chaotic, and they had lost sight of each other. Though he admitted to witnessing his friend's severe injury, he explained that he had been outnumbered and left with no choice but to reluctantly abandon him.

The council members were discontented with Earlfrid's response, but they realized it was unwise to provoke an Archmage without concrete evidence, especially someone as unlikely as Earlfrid to possess the artifact."

Time went on, and Earlfrid discovered a young and talented water mage in his family - me. However, there was another reason he took an interest in me. I bore a striking resemblance to my great-great-grandmother, Earlfrid's long-deceased wife.

While Earlfrid certainly recognized my magical abilities and expressed a desire to train me, he treated me differently from the rest of the family. He was always kind and supportive, even approving of my relationship with your father. Over time, I grew to love him as much as my own father, who had passed away when I was very young," Anna recounted, her expression tinged with bitterness.

Then Anna's face grew somber as she recalled a pivotal moment. "Once upon a time, Earlfrid summoned me to his chambers and revealed that he was about to embark on an extremely dangerous mission, uncertain if he would survive it. He disclosed all the details of his history with the council and his deceased friend. At first, I couldn't fathom why he would burden me with such information. However, it became clear that he was truly heading towards a suicide mission in the name of the empire.

To prevent the artifact he had promised to protect from falling into the hands of his enemies, he entrusted it to me and instructed me to carry on his mission if he didn't return. Additionally, he gave me a spatial ring containing resources and gold to support my own growth and development."

As Earlfrid passed these items to her, he explained further, Anna continued, a slight tremor in her voice. "He warned me that if he didn't return, the enemies our family had made would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to take everything we possessed. It was a common practice in our world. If the resources you possessed outweighed the power you commanded, it was only a matter of time before the vultures emerged from their dens, eager to claim what they deemed rightfully theirs."

Anna paused, the weight of the responsibility bestowed upon her evident in her eyes.

Anna continued sharing the story of her past with a warm smile on her face as she spoke to Lando. "When Earlfrid left, I informed your father William about the circumstances surrounding my family. However, one thing I didn't reveal to my ancestor was that I was pregnant with you, my love." Her smile grew even warmer as she glanced at Lando.

"After a lengthy discussion, we came to the conclusion that we had to leave the empire. My family had made numerous powerful enemies during their rise to power, and we knew it wouldn't be long before they made their move," Anna explained. "So, we packed our belongings and ventured beyond the mountain range to the south. It turned out to be a wise decision, as we saw a wanted poster of me at the Port of Swelling that had been issued by the space-time council."

"We had expected pursuit from our enemies, so we took great care to disguise ourselves and avoid revealing our faces to anyone," Anna continued. "However, we never anticipated that just one month after Earlfrid's departure on his mission, the council would issue a search warrant for us. Earlfrid's mission was expected to take at least three months to complete at the fastest. Yet, here we were, facing a warrant for my arrest, even when we didn't know if my ancestor was still alive."

William gently hugged Anna from behind, offering her comfort, as she continued with a slightly shaky voice. "From that moment on, we knew we had to be cautious. Our only goal was to distance ourselves as much as possible from the influence of the Empire of Brioningond and the council. We boarded the first ship bound for the Underwood Empire and made our way to the capital, Spellwood."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

At this point, Lando's father took over the narrative. "My parents originally hailed from the Underwood Empire, and we reached out to some old friends there," he explained. "We decided it was best to settle down in a secluded area, far away from the political chaos, to give our child a safe and peaceful upbringing. So we decided to venture to a small village at the corner of the empire, our little village Sisterreach."

"But living in Sisterreach had its challenges," he continued. "We would never know if any of your mother's family enemies or the council would come after us. So, when you turned five years old, and the unrest in the north had somewhat subsided—or so we hoped—your mother decided to work for the empire. She became the commander overseeing Sisterreach, to gather information and get up to date on our enemies and for our future as well. We thought it would be better to take a calculated risk, gathering information on our enemies, rather than living in constant fear with no knowledge of their whereabouts."

As the story of his parents came to a close, Lando couldn't help but have questions of his own. He asked them directly, "So, what exactly was that artifact? What made it so important that one of the most powerful organizations in the world is searching for it?"

The parents exchanged glances, and Anna responded, "We're not sure what the artifact was supposed to do, as we were never able to activate it." With that answer, William excused himself momentarily, returning with a small box in his hands.

Sitting back down at the table, William slowly opened the box, making way for Lando to see its contents. "This ring is the artifact your ancestor gave your mother," he explained.

Curious, Lando observed the black ring, adorned with a single purple gemstone. It didn't appear extraordinarily different, so he asked, "May I have a closer look?"

William glanced at Anna, who nodded her approval, and then handed the box to their son.

Delicately, Lando examined the black ring and carefully removed it from the box. Finding nothing overtly unusual, he decided to try it on his left ring finger, where it fit comfortably.

He waited, hopeful, as time passed with no discernible effect. Lando thought perhaps he should infuse some time mana into the ring. Before he could voice his idea, he noticed his parents silently understanding, knowing the ring belonged to a time mage. They both nodded, giving him permission to proceed.

Slowly, Lando channeled mana into the ring, taking care not to overwhelm it. But, once again, nothing happened. Undeterred, he attempted a second time, this time with a greater infusion of mana. Still, there was no noticeable response. Determined, he poured as much mana as he could muster into the ring for his final attempt. He tried repeatedly, feeling drained as his mana reserves depleted. Disheartened, he finally gave up.

Looking at his parents, he noticed the worried expressions on their faces, realizing they had been observing his mana exhaustion.

As Lando despondently attempted to remove the ring from his finger, the purple gemstone flickered momentarily, emitting a faint purple light.

The Weber family stared at the ring, their anticipation building. And suddenly, Lando felt a slight connection forming with the ring. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant, but one thing became clear — the ring required more mana to activate.

As Lando shared his suspicion with his parents, both of their faces became filled with shock. Sensing their concern, Lando waited for them to collect themselves. They exchanged a glance, and William asked Anna, "Does this mean what I think it means?"

With a less enthusiastic expression, Anna responded to her husband, "That our son imprinted his mana onto an equipment piece that was originally forged by a magus? That we don't know if it could be harmful to him? Yes, I believe that's exactly what it means."

To imprint one's mana onto an equipment piece signified two significant factors: the previous owner was deceased, and the piece in question had been forged by at least one magus. A magus could use a fragment of their soul to enchant equipment, imbuing it with various functions. One such function was denying access to unauthorized users. Imprinting an artifact with a soul enchantment not only required the previous user to be deceased but also meant the magus who enchanted it was most probably no longer alive.

While there were methods to transfer ownership, valuable artifacts were rarely left ownerless for long periods. The problem the Weber family faced now was that erasing one's imprint from an artifact required access to the artifact itself. Lando theoretically had that access, but he was too weak to exercise it. Additionally, such artifacts typically had enchantments to prevent theft, including the need for the owner's permission to remove the item to prevent it from being stolen when the magus was asleep or unconscious.

This left them in the current predicament: Lando could not remove the ring, a sought-after item by one of the most powerful organizations in the world.

As panic started to consume William, he urgently pleaded with his son, "Can you remove it? Please tell me you can!"

Attempting to comply, Lando tried to remove the ring, but his efforts were in vain. Witnessing this, William's panicked expression grew more pronounced as he turned to his wife. "We should have never let you examine it! What kind of irresponsible parents are we, Anna? What are we going to do? If the space-time council discovers the ring, we're finished!"

Anna, with a worried expression, grasped her husband's shoulders, attempting to calm him down. "Calm down, Willy! It's not as bad as it seems. Lando can simply wear a glove, and the problem will be solved. He's on his way to becoming a mage, and soon he'll have enough mana to access the ring. Until then, we just need to be cautious. That's all."

As William listened to his wife's reassurance, his composure returned, and he visibly calmed down.

Lando silently observed the exchange, still reeling from the revelation. He pondered to himself, "Can other mages sense the ring's presence on my body? Will a simple glove truly solve this problem? What if the council is present at the graduation ceremony in Goldton?"

Noticing the conflicted expression on her son's face, Anna assured him, "Don't worry, Lando. No one will discover that you have the ring. Take a closer look at it. Does it appear special in any way? Besides being black and having a purple gem, it seems like just another spatial ring to most people. Expensive, perhaps, but nothing out of the ordinary, even for a regular mage. If it weren't for the council and their knowledge of the connection between me and my ancestor, I doubt they would suspect some random guy possesses their artifact."

With his mother's words in mind, Lando examined the ring once more. It indeed appeared ordinary, a simple black ring with a purple gem, devoid of engravings or ornate decorations. It could easily pass as a regular spatial ring.

As his mother further assured him that it couldn't be detected as anything more than a spatial ring, considering its enchantments of space and time, Lando's worries began to fade away. It was just a normal spatial ring in appearance, and the council was likely searching for its contents. What could lie within? A powerful weapon, essential space or time cores for his future advancement, or other treasures? He didn't know yet, but he was eager to become a mage and uncover the ring's secrets for himself.