Armorica, Year 1392

SLASH.

The last bodyguard's head flew off its neck, and his body dropped immediately to the floor.

Outside, black clouds covered the sky; the soft rain that fell from above permeated the windows. It was a dark day in more ways than one.

"Wait...! Don't do this...! I'm sure we can come to an agreement...!", said Lord Mosley, trembling against his desk.

The killer tightened the grip on his sword -an enchanted rapier which shone in a beautiful mixture of purple and pink-, and took a step forward.

"You think me the same as you, pig?", asked the killer, his cold voice filled with contempt.

"Why...!? Why are you doing this...!?"

"Any and all who stand in my way shall die either by my word, or my hand.", he sentenced.

"Just name your price...! I'll give you anything! Things don't have to be this way!"

"Those are some pathetic last words... I'll allow you one last chance to find better ones," the killer took another determined step forward.

His victim was within blade's reach.

"Don't... don't think you'll get away with this! You think you can simply come here and do whatever you want!? You'll never win in the end! We'll never let you!", cried Lord Mosley, desperately trying to make himself smaller in the face of this ruthless murderer.

A quiet chuckle escaped from the killer's soft lips.

"You're an incompetent fool, just like the rest of them.", the killer raised his sword.

"Wait...! WAIT...!"

"And I have no patience for fools."

"SPARE M-!"

A thunder strike roared outside, lighting the windows. Dark, red drops mimicked the water falling outside on the inner face of the glass.

His beautiful lips curved in a dark smile.

His reign of blood had just begun.

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Nycea, a few years earlier...

Inside the dusty bookstore, a girl was contemplating the shelves.

Aged around seventeen, she wore a very neat outfit, bearing the Nycean College Of Mages' crest on her chest; her skin looked as clean and pristine as the blue waters of the Caledon sea itself.

"I think... I want to buy Innocent Romance. Do you have it available?", she asked.

"Of course, of course. Nero, dear, could you bring me a copy from the deposit?", said the old lady who tended to the store.

"Right away, grandma!", said a voice from the back of the bookstore.

After a few seconds, a young boy -no older than fifteen-, emerged from the dusty back of the store carrying the copy the student had requested.

His eyes were exaggeratedly wide open, trying to hide the fact that he had fallen asleep for a minute in the backroom. However, upon laying eyes on the customer, Nero woke up immediately. It was not everyday that the bookstore received students from the College, let alone such...

"Ah! This is it! Thank you so much!", she said, happily taking the book off his hands.

Unfortunately for him, he was too inexperienced to even have a chance at impressing her.

"Then, that would be one silver and twenty seven copper coins, dear", said the grandma.

"Yes! Here you go."

She paid the old lady and left the store hopping happily with her love novel pressed against her chest.

Did all girls like books like those?

What a waste of time..., Nero thought.

Books were pretty expensive, too, since Nero had to copy them word by word multiple times to stock them up.

The boy sighed.

Rich kids always got to do whatever they wanted without a single care.

He, on the other hand, had to work real hard at the store, saving up what little money his grandma would give him, and could barely spend any time reading books on magic himself.

The old lady had adopted him shortly before his parents had died of plague, at their request. He used to live next door, but Nero never went to that other place, since he was just a baby at the time and had no recollection of those events.

To him, his only family was his "grandma" Apollonia, the lonely owner of the bookstore. She treated him with love after the store closed, but was rather strict with him when it came to copying the books.

Still, even though it may sound cruel that Nero had to grow up working for hours everyday at the store while the other kids had their fun outside -many of them wouldn't start helping at home until they turned sixteen-, his life wasn't all that bad.

Not because staying indoors all day was good -it wasn't- but because, unlike most people in the Estyrian kingdoms, Nero could read and write perfectly.

In having him help at the store like that, grandma Lonia had gifted his young grandson the greatest of skills -the ability to learn-, and since Nero didn't know anybody that could also read other than his own grandma, he had nobody else to share this activity with.

But that didn't make him quit nor resent it. On the contrary, he made it an exclusive activity of his. Nero enjoyed reading in the safety of the bookstore without being bothered.

He would write down notes, events, people who had wronged him, suspicious customers, dates, thoughts, reflections, and the entire town would be none the wiser.

Unfortunately, he couldn't simply write anything he wanted; grandma Lonia would often look around his room and search for his notes to read them.

Also, grandma Lonia would only let Nero use as much ink and paper as he could buy from the store itself. Indeed, he had to pay for it and so he had no choice but to be very careful with his personal writing in more ways than one.

...but he had every reason to maintain such a lifestyle.

Nero had every intention of getting accepted into the College. Becoming a mage who would make a good amount of money was his main goal. Prices went up every week in Nycea, but profits didn't, and grandma Lonia was not getting any younger, either. Nero figured, the only future he had was outside the bookstore, exploring ruins, studying magic and, why not, saving a damsel in distress and marrying into a good family.

...a little delusional, yes, but a boy was allowed to dream.

At any rate, he was so determined to become a student that he had even managed to strike a bargain with his grandma.

"You won't have to work on the bookstore anymore if you get accepted into the College of Mages.", she had promised him.

For your normal College student, getting accepted was a very simple process. One would simply present themselves with documentation stating their title of nobility, pay for the education either entirely or for one year at a time -the latter being considered shameful by many- and that would be it.

For Nero, the absolute totality of the above described was impossible. He had no money, nor did his grandma, and he was no noble either.

The College itself was just another of the walls that separated nobility from what many perceived to be the uneducated mob.

But then, why would grandma Lonia make such a promise to his grandson? Well, because of one simple reason: there was a way to get accepted into the College without meeting the aforementioned criteria.

Indeed, anyone below twenty years old could apply to the College and get accepted on a scholarship if they passed a series of tests, and Nero thought he had a fair opportunity, since he was educated. He knew literature, geography, arithmetic, and could speak, write and read fluently in two languages: Nycean and Canaanite.

Problem was, the very first of the tests consisted of being able to cast one basic spell in front of the College authorities, and though Nero had spent many a day reading books on magic, he still had never had a teacher to help him put all that theory into practice.

Also, the College only accepted very few scholarships per year, maximum -there were years that had no new scholarship students-, so even if he could manage to cast a spell, he would need to pass all the other tests and perform above the competition in order to be accepted.

...and all of the following tests were usually conducted in the utmost secrecy, meaning Nero had no way to prepare himself for them.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

This made Nero so anxious he would bite on his own nails sometimes, something his grandma would always scold him for.

But not all was lost; there was indeed a silver lining for him.

After his work was done, Nero closed the store and took many books with him to his small and dusty room while grandma left to buy the ingredients and begin preparing dinner.

The books Nero kept in his room were, however, just a diversion. Under a loose wooden plank in his room floor, he kept his single, most valuable object, away from the old lady's eyes.

A simple book with no name or signature he dubbed "The Red Book", since that was the color of its cover.

The Red Book had come into the bookstore in a huge box full of other books for him to copy. However, since the Red Book was written in dialect, he had set it aside to copy later and had discovered it was basically a series of notes taken by an anonymous mage once he opened it with a translation book next to him. It had all sorts of drawings, and described many experiments with various ingredients.

Nero had decided not to copy this one book, that grandma Lonia probably didn't even see buried in the box, and keep it to himself. It was his biggest secret, one that Nero hoped would help him succeed in this massive endeavor.

"Alright, let's see where I left off yesterday..."

Nero opened another bigger book, and the smaller red book inside, hiding it in case his grandma came into his room without warning.

He flipped through the pages quickly and found the spell he was looking for in no time. Having spent weeks translating it word by word, and deducing the meaning of a few slangs, Nero was fairly confident he could understand completely what the spell was about: summoning.

It was a spell that would allow him to pass the very first test of the College. Summoning a familiar (or "pet", as the mages called them) was, by all means, a valid incantation.

...the risks were high, but he had no other options. He had to make the gamble and try to perform the summoning the day of the test to the best of his ability.

Should he fail...

No. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted by useless thoughts. The exam would take place in just two days, and he had to be ready.

Nero had a hard time falling asleep that evening, but he did eventually, and soon enough, morning came, the time to show the world what he could do.

The following morning, Nero woke up so early the sun was yet to come up.

That was a good thing. He waited for a few minutes until the first light arrived, then got out of bed and prepared two separate meals: a light breakfast for his grandma and a more loaded one for himself.

He ate quickly and headed straight for the minuscule bathroom to wash himself. The water system was only half working, and it barely heated, too.

He put on some clean clothes he had especially reserved, since they were relatively in good shape. He also used about half of what little mint-based cream he had on his body to serve as perfume.

It wasn't nearly as good as the expensive ones the rich peoples wore, but it sure beat having none at all on such a hot day.

He left the light breakfast on the table, ready for when his grandma would wake up, and left the house.

Even though Nero lived outside the walled city -Nycea itself-, he was close enough to it for the sidewalks of the streets to be cobbled.

The further away from the walls you were, the more your neighborhood looked like you lived in the fields, and the closer you did, the more it looked like you lived in a city.

Nero's house was in-between both neighborhoods, leaning slightly towards the walled side, hence the cobbled sidewalks, though the inside of Nycea was far more urbanized.

He walked at a decent, consistent pace, not wanting to rush and risk presenting himself covered in sweat, and soon enough he was in front of the city gates.

That morning, two women were stationed to guard the southwestern gate.

"Good morning, Edda. You too, Gala." Said Nero as he approached them.

"Oh! If it isn't the book boy!" Said Edda, the older, more extroverted of the two. Edda had long, brown hair with a few white strands, and was the mother of two young children.

"Good morning." Replied the younger, red-haired Gala in a dry tone. She always appeared to be in a rather bad mood, which prompted many to say that was the reason she was always single.

"What business do you have today?" Asked Edda.

"I am here on College business." Announced Nero, proudly.

"College business? You're not a student." Pointed Gala, frowning.

"Oh, but I'll be one soon enough! Just you wait."

"So, you're going to... you're going to apply!?" Asked Edda, almost in shock.

"That's right! Today, I'm taking the first step towards becoming a proper mage, with you two as my solemn witnesses."

Nero was forcing himself a little bit to be more likeable. He wanted to get on everybody's good side that day.

It was working! Gala showed him a slight smile.

"Then, I wish you the best."

"Same here!" Added Edda, "go right ahead, the Administration Office is almost downtown, you can head north from here. Just remember: if you arrive at the plaza, then it means you walked past it and need to trace back."

"Will do! Thank you both very much."

Nero set foot inside Nycea after the brief exchange. Most guards knew him fairly well, since it was more than common for the boy to visit the walled city on bookstore business.

He had done most guards many favors, too, such as re-painting written signs, reading stories to their children when they dropped them at his grandma's for a few hours due to them being busy, and so on.

The streets were already quite busy inside Nycea. Everybody woke up early to open shop, and the traveling merchants and adventurers who were passing through did just the same to get on with their schedules.

However, Nero had a good feel of the town, no matter how many people there were, and he found the Administration Office in less than thirty minutes.

Not to his surprise, there was a line in front of him.

He knew something like this could happen, hence why he had woken up so early. He patiently placed himself last, and waited.

The queue didn't quite advance as quickly as Nero had hoped, but eventually he was called to approach the counter.

A tall man with long, tied hair, received him in a way much too polite to be true. A small sign on the desk informed him of his name: Claude.

"Good morning." Greeted Nero with confidence.

"Good morning. How can I help you today?" He smiled.

"I have come to apply to the test for the Nycean College Of Mages, as a scholarship aspirant."

Nero had recited to the man the words he had rehearsed a thousand times at home.

"I see. Then, please fill this form as quickly as possible, without mistakes."

Claude handed him over a pen and some ink with an unpleasant smile.

Ha, you picked the wrong idiot to make fun of.

Nero promptly grabbed the pen, dipped its tip with ink and expertly wrote his name, address, the name of his only relative, the names of his immediate neighbors, his age, the languages he could employ fluently and, last but not least, his general career aspirations:

To become a great mage, explore the world and meet wonderful people.

"Excuse me; I'm done."

Nero handed over the expertly written paper. He made absolutely sure to appear innocent and well-intended so as to not let the man know he thought he was a complete bastard.

Antagonizing him would only mean his application would "get lost" and he would no longer be able to participate.

He couldn't afford to make anyone angry, no matter what. He had to make sure he would be allowed to enter the contest.

"Hm. I see."

Claude's reaction to the written paper was quite lighter than what Nero had expected. He thought he would be frowned upon by him for having the audacity of not being an illiterate.

Perhaps, Nero thought, Claude had to deal with way too many people who didn't qualify to even be allowed to be tested and found it a breath of fresh air that at least one of them looked like they actually knew what they wanted and why they were there.

Then again, Nero couldn't blame anyone for wanting to be accepted into the College, literate or no.

Regardless, it looked like Nero was off the hook. Good thing.

Claude signed Nero's application and then proceeded to grab another smaller paper, and copied Nero's basic information, as well as adding a "submitted testing papers properly."

He then signed that smaller paper and gave it to Nero for keeping, as proof of his entry. This meant that any problems regarding his application "getting lost" could be circumvented by presenting Claude's signature on that paper.

"Do I need to present any further documentation?", he asked.

"No. Since you can write and read just fine, I suggest you take note of the time and schedule corresponding to the tests; they are posted there, on the wall. Here, have some paper and more ink. I will now call for the next one in line, so don't bother talking to me once you are done taking notes. Just leave the pen and ink in the desk and be on your way."

"Yes, understood."

Nero obeyed his words to the letter and gave the man a very quiet "thank you" when returning the elements. Claude was already busy with the next person in line, but nonetheless he nodded to him.

By the looks of it, Claude apparently wasn't as mean as he had first thought.

Feeling content with the flawless developments so far, Nero made his way to the exit -the office was getting rather crowded- and glanced quickly at the people forming the ever-growing line.

Good thing he had arrived early; the line was at least three times longer than the one he had to form in.

There were all sorts of aspirants: some looked quite nervous, like that short and skinny boy sporting a bowl haircut next to him. Others looked rather confident, like the tall, tanned boy over there who had taken his white dog along with him.

Most aspirants were accompanied by at least one adult. However, some others had arrived on their own, like the aforementioned boy with the dog, or the girl a few places behind him, who was dressed in a short, white cloth and sported a black haircut that barely reached her shoulders.

Her black eyes gave Nero a very mean stare that forced him to avert his gaze immediately.

...there was no point in standing around there anymore. The streets were getting really busy and Nero felt it was time for him to get away from all the noise and go back to the homey bookstore.

On his way out, he greeted the guards once again.

"So, everything in order?" Asked Edda.

"Yes. I'll take the very first test tomorrow morning."

"Is it going to be the same as every year?" Asked Gala.

"Yes." Confirmed Nero.

The papers posted in the walls of the Administration Office confirmed that the first test consisted of successfully casting a magic spell.

"There is a catch, though. A hundred applications will be accepted this year. This means mine has to be chosen in the first place. Assuming it does, which I'll find out tomorrow if they let me through, then I have to cast a spell and make it to the top fifty."

"So, basically, out of a hundred applicants casting one spell, fifty are going to be ruled out?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Asked Gala.

"Don't worry! I will definitely make it past the first round."

Edda smiled.

"I will be on guard duty tomorrow morning too, but Gala should be able to assist. Will you be going?"

"Yes, I'll tell you all about it as soon as I can." She replied.

"Excellent! Then, I'll see you both tomorrow, at the gate and at the testing grounds of the College!"

"Best of luck, Nero! I'll be rooting for you!" Said Edda as he made his way back to the bookstore.

Luck, huh.

At that moment, Nero felt that he would need all the luck he could get his hands on.