Vaenal Lamalli, the fourth son of the Dukes of Esnain, stepped out of the carriage and looked disinterestedly at the desolate landscape before him. He had been staring out of the window of the vehicle throughout the entire journey, but nothing he had seen had managed to pique his curiosity.

The village seemed too small to be considered as such, and neither the crops, the rocks, nor the mountains seemed particularly interesting. He was alone, in a strange land, far away from everything he had known until now.

The idea that his parents had sent him there to become a great wizard seemed absurd to him. He was the youngest son of the family and had always been compared to his older brothers. They considered him inferior due to his apparent lack of talent, but Vaenal doubted that he had seen any talent in any of them.

"Become a person worthy of your name," his parents had told him as they bid him farewell. Despite everything, Vaenal couldn't help but feel a certain excitement as he faced the new life that awaited him. He knew it was going to be difficult, but he also knew that he had something that his brothers didn't have: the will to do it himself.

Shiz, his oldest brother, had quickly climbed the military ranks thanks to the intimidation that the family name inspired. He always took credit for the feats of his subordinates and his superiors never dared to question or punish him for his transgressions. The Lamalli name was associated with espionage and assassinations, which made few people dare to challenge his older brother. Despite everything, Vaenal couldn't deny that Shiz had a certain ability to subdue the defenseless.

On the other hand, his brother Kadyn was a pathetic man. He was sure that his tutors had suffered during his education, as he never saw him with a book in his hand and always questioned everything they tried to teach him. He doubted he understood the faith he was supposed to profess. However, he had a great ability to win the favor of his superiors.

Pallius was the youngest of his siblings and the one with whom he had spent the most time during his childhood. He couldn't deny that he had immense talent in two things. He had a gift for spending public funds to buy prosperous businesses from which he later received benefits, as well as great skill in squeezing anyone who had the misfortune of being employed in the businesses he acquired.

Without a doubt, Vaenal was the shame of his family. At nineteen, his teachers had always highlighted his intelligence and quick mind, but at the same time criticized his laziness and hedonism. The latter did not bother his parents at all. In those times, the pursuit of pleasure seemed to be the norm for anyone of noble blood. The dukes wanted all their children to be recognized and famous in the empire. Since their youngest son did not seem to share their vision and seemed to systematically reject any profession worthy of his status, they decided on their own that little Vaenal would be a mage, like his great-uncle with whom he shared a name.

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If the landscape he observed from the carriage had been depressing, what he saw when he got off it made him want to get back on and never return to that horrible place.

He found himself on a flat terrain full of tiny, sharp stones that would undoubtedly pierce his shoes, something his parents had kindly warned him about. A tower no more than three stories tall seemed to integrate into the wall of the volcano. It was slightly larger than he had imagined, but that did not detract from the fact that its design and maintenance resembled one of the first constructions on the continent.

The stable didn't look any better, even though his parents had insisted that it had been prepared to accommodate him and the servant they had put at his disposal. He began to wonder if they had really sent him there to become a mage. Maybe they just hoped he would be buried under one of those buildings. Vaenal didn't dismiss the idea, after all, sending him there already implied a desire to get rid of him.

The carriage in which he arrived began to take the way back. The driver did not bid him farewell, but Vaenal didn't hold it against him. The poor man would be eager to get away from that place.

He stood still, contemplating. He had never left Zinthfair before. Every step from now on would be the furthest he had ever been from there. Gathering his courage, he began to walk towards the stable. The door stood out from the rest of the structure, being much newer. Upon reaching the door, he put his hand on the doorknob.

A short, bald man opened the door just before he could try to open it. Upon seeing him, the man bowed slightly and stepped aside to let him pass.

"I trust your journey was satisfactory, sir," said the man, still with his head bowed. "You may call me Zures. I have been personally designated by the duke to be at the service of Lord Reedal and to be your personal assistant."

"At the service of Reedal?" said Vaenal, raising an eyebrow. "I thought my father sent you to be my assistant."

"I will obey your orders, sir. As long as they do not contradict a direct order from Reedal. Your father was very clear about the chain of command."

Vaenal sighed and walked further into the converted stable.

"Of course," thought Vaenal. "Father wouldn't give authority over his own servants to his useless son."

He continued to look around the room. Both the floor and walls were covered in wood. They were not made of marble or stone, as he was used to, but it seemed cozy. The feather bed seemed to be the most luxurious part of the room, and next to it was a chest filled with clothes. It seemed that his clothes had arrived in his room before he did.

"Sir, I imagine you are tired from the long journey and I have taken the trouble to prepare a bath for you," said Zures.

"A bath? Do we have hot water up here?" Vaenal was surprised.

"We have water, sir. The mage did the rest."

Vaenal nodded to himself, impressed. It seemed that some of the luxuries that had been part of his life would still be with him. He decided to take the bath slowly. His new master could wait.