As he made his announcement, Soral felt a powerful magic surround him, filling him for a moment before dispersing naturally on its own.

“What was that?”

“This is the Hall of Oaths,” Belvin informed him, “Any promises made here are bound by powerful magic.”

“What exactly did I agree to?” Soral asked, filled with suspicion once more.

“You have agreed to be Sibel’s apprentice. The details of the oath can be agreed upon after the oath has been made since the magic decides whether or not you have broken it by whether you think you have broken it.”

“So it can’t be broken by accident?” Soral checked.

“If you realize it later, you will feel compelled to meet with Sibel and explain, but otherwise you will not be punished,” Belvin assured, “However if you should attempt to break your oath on purpose, the punishment will be severe.”

Severe? What kind of severe? Belvin had been avoiding mentioning what the punishment actually involved this whole time. That could either mean the punishment was a lie or that it was unmentionable. Either way made Soral uncomfortable.

Belvin seemed to notice Soral’s discomfort, and reluctantly explained. “We have never used this hall for anything other than the official Belleas Oath before, so I am not quite sure what the punishment will entail. Even with the original Oath, the punishment changes from person to person and oath to oath.”

So he just didn’t know. “So you led me here, knowing I would face some unknown punishments from some magic oath if I agreed?” Soral accused.

“Only if you break it,” Kristabelle assured him.

“If you trusted me not to break it, there would be no oath in the first place,” Soral pointed out.

Sibel stepped in to try to calm Soral’s fury. “I should have explained,” he admitted, “Oaths mean something different to the Toll family. It is a right of passage. Proof you have become worthy. Since you cannot officially become a Toll we skipped the ceremonies to make everything more casual, but could not rob you of the opportunity to experience the Hall of Oaths.”

“Why is that important?” Soral asked, skeptical but calmer.

“Any apprentice you have met in the future will have taken the Oath here,” Sibel explained, “We cannot tell anyone about the Hall of Oaths unless they have made an Oath here.”

“So if I didn’t know about this place I would be seen as an imposter?” Soral guessed.

The Tolls nodded in response.

He sort of understood now, but he still felt disliked being dragged into their strange rituals without warning. There was also the possibility the magic might not work on him anyway, with that prophecy about no law being able to restrain him.

“Fine, whatever,” Soral gave in, “But this means you have to hold your end of the deal as well, right?”

“Of course,” Belvin promised.

“We always uphold our deals,” Kristabelle added.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

The way they said it gave Soral a feeling. “Is that part of the main oath you mentioned?”

“It is,” Sibel confirmed, “The details of the oath that we make public include that we swore never to lie. It is the reason the King of Thador does not reign us in, as well as more private promises to Thador.”

“The King of Thador’s deal is why we can only accept pureblood dragons into the Toll family,” Kristabelle explained.

“The King of Thador… Isn’t that the king of the dragon capital of Althaedor?”

“It is,” Sibel confirmed.

“Why did you make a promise like that?” Soral asked.

“It was made by our founders, Silas and Belle Toll, before the disputes between humans and dragons began,” Kristabelle explained.

One of the founders was named Belle? And Silas too. Didn’t that make Sibel named half after both of them? “Why do you have to keep the promises of someone so long ago?”

“It is Toll tradition. To ignore tradition is to cease being a Toll. Others have done so and left our midst.”

Soral found himself oddly glad he was not a pureblood dragon, or otherwise draconian in nature. All these rules, oaths, and traditions sounded like a pain. He suddenly realized he had gotten distracted by the whole oath thing, and needed to get his own details settled. After all, if they were magically held to their end of the bargain, everything would be far more secure.

“Let’s discuss my apprenticeship,” he told them, “Do you agree to my earlier suggestion?”

“Yes, with the amendment that the independent businesses can include branches of your already existing ones,” Kristabelle answered, “I look forward to seeing what you invent for us.”

“Can we speak about the magic battery?” Belvin asked.

“First, I want control over the magic battery experiments. Ruena said if I don’t claim that, you could steal the idea from me after I explain it.”

“We will give you five years to invent your idea,” Belvin told him, “If you cannot invent it by then we will begin testing of our own. You will still receive partial credit in either case, but your percentage for actual invention will be far higher.”

That sounded good to Soral, but he was worried he was missing something Ruena might catch. He was sure he could finish the first battery well before five years.

Promise secured, Soral told them what a magic battery was, and asked for help acquiring the materials he needed to make it. Crystilium would definitely work, but Soral was determined to make a more affordable version out of something else. He just hadn’t figured out what that was yet.

The Toll family beamed as he talked them through his idea. He did admit that he had gotten the idea partially from their carriages, and also with the help of Ruena, but they didn’t seem to mind. Sibel especially looked pleased.

“My son’s eyes are as sharp as ever,” Kristabelle said with satisfaction, “It is a pity you won’t be joining us officially. I hope we can work together as partners for a long time to come.”

“I can definitely work with you,” Soral agreed, then remembered where he was, “but we have to keep it a secret from people later. Ruena needs my businesses to fund the revival of the Alodan Warriors.”

“And we can’t be associated with direct support of mercenaries,” Belvin finished for him, “A sensible idea. I agree.”

There was a bit more back and forth between them before they came to an agreement everyone seemed happy with. The main deal was that everyone would remain friendly, they wouldn’t steal Soral’s ideas, and Soral would do his best to learn from Sibel. As if Soral would turn down an opportunity to gain more talents.

It wasn’t until after they returned to Evergreen that Soral realized his mistake. Sibel wasn’t just going to teach him trades and talents. First of all, he gave Soral two very thick books. One on history, and the other on geography.

“You may not think it now, but these are vital to a merchant, and subjects you have shown a clear lack of understanding for,” Sibel told him, “Try your best to learn what these books have to offer.”

Soral grimaced, but shoved the books into his pocket. “I’ll work on it,” he promised begrudgingly. Why were books for learning always so needlessly thick and heavy?

After that he finally returned home to find everyone waiting for him in the small cottage. Rather than reading some old books, shouldn’t he work on that old castle first? This cottage just wasn’t going to cut it, and he needed to plant the seed so it could begin to grow.

“You’re back early,” Howler commented. It was long before dinnertime.

“Negotiations aren’t supposed to take all day,” Soral told him. At least he hoped that wasn’t the norm. He wouldn’t be able to handle wasting a whole day like that.

“How did it go?” Ruena asked.

“I agreed to be Sibel’s apprentice, and they agreed to support my inventions help start my future businesses,” Soral informed her proudly, “I just have to invent the magic battery within five years.”

“So there is a time limit,” Ruena noted, “but I really hope we don’t have to spend years inventing the first thing.”

“She told us about your plan,” Rosalie informed Soral, “And I am in. Since I can fight well, that brings the total up to three.”

Soral looked at Howler. “Did you refuse?” he asked.

“I don’t think I will count as active,” he explained, “I will need to spend most of my time on your magical plant experiment.”

That was a fair point. “So we need to recruit,” Soral concluded, “but not until we have a better starter base. The old man said I could use the castle if I fix it up.”

“We can?” Ruena asked, a little surprised, “That is a good place to start. I can help you with the floor plan. I have some ideas of what we will need.”

They sat around the small table in the cottage discussing their own plans for the future. Soral was listening. He was just getting a little tired of deals and plans, so he cooked everyone some food while they discussed things. No one seemed to mind.