The walk back home was filled with people congratulating Cassian for being selected. Gifts were pressed into his hands, toasts were raised in his name, and promises of future celebrations followed them at every step, all of them confident that his party would achieve victory.

  Funnily enough, Todd proved very useful during all of this. He talked to everyone who came close, accepted gifts on Cassian’s behalf, and told anyone who lingered too long that they were on their way to practice and really needed to get moving. It was something Cassian could never have done himself, not wanting to appear rude or spoiled.

  Combined with Sabrina’s sharp chastisements, she was far less quiet now than when they were alone, the effect was devastating.

  “Those gifts are for Cassian,” she scolded Todd more than once, “and he said they really shouldn’t have bothered. Please give them back.”

  They crossed the plaza in record time and before long, Emeraldhold was visible.

  “Hey, Cassian,” Todd said nervously, “there’s not gonna be a big scary man like your uncle inside, right?”

  “You really don’t listen, do you?” Sabrina replied immediately. “First, I told you not to call his uncle that. Second, his parents are on a quest.”

  “It doesn’t have to be his parents,” Todd insisted. “Like a guard, or anyone who thinks like that uncle. I just don’t want someone screaming, ‘How did this scum enter our ancient household?’”

  That actually drew a laugh out of Cassian. “That does sound like my uncle.” He said.

  Realizing what he’d just done, he covered it with a cough. “Anyway, you don’t need to worry. Right now only our head butler could bar entry, and Timothy’s not scary at all.”

  As the gates opened, both Sabrina and Todd froze, transfixed by the gigantic statue of Leonard that loomed over the entrance. Cassian didn’t stop walking, not noticing at first that the two of them had fallen behind.

  “Hey, Cassian,” Todd said quietly. “Pal. Did… did that statue just move?”

  “I think I saw it too,” Sabrina added with a nervous laugh.

  “What?” Cassian said, turning back. “Oh. Right. I forgot.”

  The statue’s eyes glowed faintly.

  “Cassian Viamnova has brought two unplanned guests,” he said calmly.

  Cassian waved a hand. “Let’s go. I want to start training.”

  “Haha- wow, I didn’t take you for such a kidder, Cassian,” Todd said. Then, in a very careful whisper, “He was kidding, right, Sabrina?”

  Ignoring the two there was something about Todd’s earlier remark that got Cassian thinking

  Would Timothy allow them into the training hall? He was very strict about the rules. And would he even allow them into the mansion? Cassian hadn’t sent word ahead. That alone could be considered rude. He was already thinking of an apology when they reached the main doors.

  They opened at once.

  “Congratulations, Master Cassian!” a chorus of voices cried.

  The entire household staff stood waiting.

  “Congratulations,” Timothy said, standing at the center. “On being selected for the Special Quest. Please accompany us to the banquet hall so we may begin the celebration.”

  At that moment, Sabrina and Todd climbed the final steps. Timothy noticed them immediately.

  “Young Master,” he said smoothly, “did you bring friends to the mansion?”

  “Wait, I can explain-” Cassian began.

  Timothy was already moving. He stopped before Sabrina and bowed deeply.

  “May I have the honor of your name, miss?”

  “Oh-uh-that’s Sabrina,” she said. “Sabrina Longhorn.”

  “The Longhorns of the Eastern Mountains,” Timothy said with a nod. “It is an honor to host you. Is Lord Bruno in good health?”

  “Y-yes,” Sabrina replied. “Daddy’s doing well. The harpies are a little rowdy lately, but he can manage.”

  “Excellent,” Timothy said.

  He turned to Todd and bowed just as deeply.

  “And you, young man. May I have the honor of your name as well?”

  “That’s, uh… Todd.”

  “Todd what?” Timothy prompted gently.

  Todd hesitated. “Just… Todd.”

  “A commoner,” Timothy said warmly. “Then allow me to offer my highest praise for your acceptance into Draíochta Acadamh. Very well done indeed.”

  “Oh-thanks. Thanks a lot,” Todd said, blushing fiercely.

  “Very well,” Timothy announced, turning back toward the mansion. “That settles it. Prepare two additional places of honor. Inform the chefs that we will be adding new items to the menu.”

  He glanced back over his shoulder.

  “What is your favorite dish, young master’s friends?”

  Sabrina hesitated, unable to answer, but Todd didn’t miss the opportunity.

  “Can you make Carnivore Bean Broth?”

  “Of course,” Timothy replied without missing a beat. “Even if I’m not certain myself the chefs will know what that is.”

  He clapped his hands once.

  “Come now, look lively, everyone. We have much to celebrate tonight.”

  “Wait! Please-wait a minute, Timothy!” Cassian shouted. “We came here to train! We don’t have time for celebrations.”

  “Is that so?” Timothy asked, some of his excitement dampened. “If that is the case, then it can’t be helped.”

  Cassian was about to thank him and ask that no one interrupt them, but Timothy continued.

  “However, it would not befit a Viamnova to show discourtesy to his guests by refusing them a meal,” he said calmly. “Don’t you agree, Master Cassian?”

  “I-I suppose it wouldn’t,” Cassian admitted. “No…”

  “Quite right.” Timothy reached into his coat and produced a pocket watch. “Very well. I shall allow you two hours to train, after which we will dine.”

  He snapped the watch shut. “Would that be to your liking, young master? We cannot delay too long, as your friends must return home at a proper hour.”

  Cassian hadn’t considered that. Two hours was hardly any time at all, but the crafty butler had trapped him neatly.

  “Yes,” Cassian said begrudgingly. “I suppose that will do.”

  “Excellent.” Timothy nodded. “Meena and Hannah” Two maids stepped forward. “Please escort the young master’s friends to the training hall.”

  The two maids moved at once.

  “The rest of you are dismissed,” Timothy added. “I require a moment alone with the young master.”

  “Timothy, what’s this-?” Cassian began.

  “I need to speak with you,” Timothy replied simply.

  “But we only have-”

  “It will take but a moment.”

  As the maids led Sabrina and Todd toward the training hall and the servants filed out, the room quickly emptied. Left alone with the head butler, Cassian felt his patience thinning.

  “What is it, Timothy?” Cassian asked. “What was so important it couldn’t wait?” His annoyance was evident.

  “You know,” Timothy said fondly, “you are such an incredible lad. I sometimes forget how young you truly are. Do remember that patience is a virtue.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Well, you’re the one who gave me a time limit,” Cassian retorted.

  “And I assure you, I will be quick.” The old butler smiled then, in a way Cassian had never seen before. He couldn’t quite place the emotion behind it. “I simply wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.”

  “Yes, you already said that you’re happy I was selected, so can I-”

  “No, not about that,” Timothy interrupted, chuckling. “I meant how you managed to make friends. You’ve never brought any to the mansion before.”

  Cassian paused.

  “I know it must have been difficult,” Timothy continued. “The name Viamnova tends to intimidate people in equal measure as it attracts sycophants.”

  Cassian understood the part about intimidating people. He had found that convenient at keeping people at bay and away from his secret. The other word, “picofants”, he did not know. He would have to look it up in his encyclopedia later. The last thing he needed was for people to think he was powerless and stupid.

  When Cassian didn’t respond, Timothy went on. “Those two seem like good children. Treasure them, young master. All men, even great men, need companionship. It feeds the soul in ways nothing else can.”

  The old butler’s eyes grew watery as he looked at Cassian.

  “Timothy, are you-?”

  “Oh, never mind me,” Timothy said quickly. “It seems my tear ducts have weakened over the years.”

  He straightened. “Go on now. Have a good training session.”

  Perplexed, and not quite understanding most, if any, of what the old butler had just said, Cassian turned and made his way toward the training hall.

  Timothy was right. Cassian had never invited anyone over. He did not really have friends. He had people who admired him, people who respected him. He had plenty of those, and that was the way he liked it. Friends, friends sounded dangerous. People who were close to you, people who knew you. That felt like a recipe for disaster.

  How long until these friends found out about his incompetence? How long until they told their own friends? Too risky. He decided then that he had no use for friends. As soon as this whole Special Quest business was over, he would find a way to remove Sabrina and Todd from his life.

  Cassian felt a small twinge of guilt. Would that make the old butler sad? One problem at a time, Cassian told himself. For now, he needed to focus on training.

  When he opened the door to the training hall, the sight that greeted him was Todd standing on top of a large rock, balancing precariously while swinging an enchanted wooden sword.

  “This place is awesome! Ha!” Todd shouted, spinning the sword wildly.

  Sabrina stood near the door, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Cassian glanced at her. “Are you sure he can teach me anything?”

  “Oh yeah,” she said dryly. “Can’t you see those elegant moves?”

  At that exact moment, Todd lost his balance and fell flat on his back. Sabrina burst out laughing, and Cassian could not stop himself from chuckling as well.

  After Todd recovered and grabbed a different sword, having broken the first one, the two of them met in the middle of the training hall.

  “Alright,” Todd said, straightening up. “Let’s start this lesson. We’ll go over the basics.”

  He cleared his throat. “First thing about magic is that, um, you need Mana. And Mana is the power… no, Mana is energy that we have inside us, and then we can… uh… what was it again?”

  Cassian sighed quietly and stepped in.

  “Mana is the invisible energy that all living creatures possess,” he said calmly. “With it, and our imagination, we are able to shape the world. There are two groups of Mana users. Those who use their internal Mana for magic. Humans belong to this category, as do dragons, harpies, and mermen.” He continued on a roll with his explanation. “The second group uses nature’s mana instead, because their physical forms are not suited to storing large quantities of it. Fairies, gnomes, and ghostly creatures fall into that category.”

  Todd stared at him. “Wait, really? They don’t have Mana inside them? So are they, like, super weak?”

  “Not at all,” Cassian replied. “Having access to the world’s mana makes their magic incredibly potent. There is a limit, though. If they push beyond it, the consequences can be dire.”

  “Wow,” Todd said. “I didn’t know that.”

  “Hey!” Sabrina yelled from the benches. “You’re supposed to be teaching him, not the other way around!”

  “What do you think I’m trying to do?” Todd shouted back, clearly annoyed.

  “He was top of the class in theoretical exams,” Sabrina taunted. “You’re not going to teach him anything like that.”

  “Ugh, fine,” Todd said. “Anyway. There are three disciplines humans can learn. Uh… knighthood and sorcerers, I mean sorcery. Which is the thing where you… um…”

  “Sorcery is the discipline of using magic to affect the world around you,” Cassian said smoothly. “Modifying things, creating things that were not there, and at higher levels, even changing the laws of the world itself, within a limited area, of course.” He decided to help Todd get to his point. “Knighthood is the discipline of using magic to enhance oneself. Making the body stronger, faster, and capable of perceiving the world at incredible speeds. While sorcerers may change the laws of the world, those same laws need not apply to a high-level knight.”

  “And then there’s…”

  Todd jumped in eagerly. “Arbiters!” He pointed dramatically upward. “We use our magic to affect others. Strengthening your physical power and magic, protecting you from mortal blows, and even healing wounds that would otherwise kill you. Death can only come when an Arbiter isn’t around!” Todd brandished his sword in front of him. “Now behold our power! Shield!” he exclaimed.

  Nothing seemed to happen.

  Sabrina looked disappointed. “You can do the spell, can’t you?”

  Todd smirked. “Doubting me, Sabrina? A fatal mistake.”

  He picked up a small rock lying near his feet and tossed it into the air. It quickly fell back down toward his head, but just before it struck, it seemed to hit something invisible and was repelled, flying off to the side.

  “That,” Todd said proudly, “is a shield spell. It protects me from incoming attacks, as long as they aren’t strong enough to break it. If they are, I’m a goner.”

  “Don’t look so proud about that last part!” Sabrina snapped.

  “Well, that’s it,” Todd continued. “It’s really simple. You just imagine a coat around your body that’s liquid, but also really hard, and it moves and goes whoosh, whoosh.”

  “You’re just going to confuse him with weird descriptions like that!” Sabrina protested.

  “Liquid but solid, moving like the wind. I can see that,” Cassian said confidently.

  Sabrina stared at him. “Wait. How did you get all of that from what he said?”

  “Alright,” Todd said, gesturing grandly. “Give it your best shot.”

  Cassian closed his eyes, held his sword in front of him, and shouted, “Shield!”

  He felt an awkward sensation, as if he were wearing a cape but around his entire body.

  “I think it worked,” he said.

  “One way to tell!” Todd yelled, hurling another pebble straight at him.

  Cassian watched as the pebble flew toward his face. Just before impact, it seemed to slow down ever so slightly.

  Then it hit him square in the nose.

  “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!” Todd screamed, panicked.

  “Why would you throw that at him?” Sabrina said, scandalized.

  “No, no, it’s fine,” Cassian said, holding his nose. “I told him I had it. Clearly, I did not.”

  But deep down, he knew he had done the spell correctly. He had just failed. Like with every other spell he tried. He had been deluding himself. There was no magic he was secretly good at. Nothing like that existed. He was condemned to be worthless.

  Would this injury be enough to make them leave? Probably not.

  “You really have to picture it,” Todd said. “Like you’re putting on armor or something. This time I’ll just poke you with my sword. If you do the spell right, it should bounce off.”

  Cassian agreed, faking enthusiasm. He was still going to try his best to form the spell. Todd poked him once. The sword moved towards him, then slowed, then went straight through.

  “I think that was better!” Todd said cheerfully. “Now really picture it!”

  So they tried again.

  And again.

  And again.

  By the twentieth attempt, Todd’s confidence was clearly wavering.

  “Are you having trouble imagining it?” he asked. “They say some sorcerers have real troubles with Arbiter spells. But I always thought they were just being stuck up. You’re not being stuck up, right?”

  “I don’t think so,” Cassian said, as the sword tapped his ribs once more.

  “You know what?” Todd said suddenly, “let’s try something else. Keep it fresh!” He raised his sword, drawing a looping motion through the air, then shouted, “Enhance!”

  Cassian felt the change immediately.

  He felt good. Energized. As if he would never tire.

  “Pretty good, isn’t it?” Todd said proudly. “Now try a spell! Any spell. You’ll see how much you’ve powered up.”

  Cassian’s stomach twisted.

  This could be really bad.

  Would the enhancement be enough for them not to notice? If they did, they would know.

  “What are you waiting for?” Todd urged. “Come on!”

  “I’m just thinking of which spell to do,” Cassian replied quickly.

  “Any is fine. Hurry up!”

  This is it, isn’t it? Cassian thought. This is how they find out.

  Find out it was not just Arbiter spells he had trouble with. He was bad at magic in general. Cassian bit his lip.

  “Hey… what’s… wrong…” Todd said panting heavily.

  “What’s wrong with you, Todd?” Cassian asked.

  Todd collapsed.

  Cassian reacted instantly. He sent Sabrina to look for help while he administered basic battlefield aid. There was a kit in the training hall. A mana regeneration potion, followed by water brought by a maid, helped Todd recover somewhat.

  “So you used magic beyond your capabilities and passed out?” Sabrina asked.

  “No,” Todd groaned. “I’ve done that spell before. I had friends running around for thirty minutes. I don’t understand what happened.”

  “Well,” Cassian said, “you’re in no condition to teach. And with how long it took you to recover, our two hours are almost up anyway.”

  Cassian felt foolish for getting his hopes up. Defeated. Once again, he had reached for something and failed. He also felt guilty about what had happened to Todd. He was ready for this horrible day to end.

  “Wait,” Sabrina said.

  Cassian looked up.

  “If you’re done with Todd,” she continued, “you can still train with me.”

  Cassian did not see what that could accomplish other than shaming him.

  “Sabrina, we came here to practice Arbiter spells, so-”

  “Yes, exactly!” Sabrina interrupted excitedly. “Try that enhancement thingy on me.”

  “I don’t know…” Cassian said. He had already had enough disappointments for one day.

  “We came all this way here. We should at least try,” Sabrina replied.

  There was little point in arguing. This time, the two of them moved to the middle of the field, while Todd remained seated on a bench to rest.

  He raised a hand and offered one last piece of advice. “You have to imagine you’re like one, but separate. Then you make the connection, and your energy goes pow pow, bam bam, wham!”

  “A link between us,” Cassian said slowly. “Letting my energy flow into her, powering her up. Yes, I see.”

  Sabrina stared at him. “Seriously, how can you get that from what he just said? How was that intelligible at all?”

  Cassian did not answer.

  “Here goes,” he said, mimicking the motion Todd had used earlier. He raised his sword, traced a loop through the air, and chanted, “Enhance!”

  He felt a tug in his stomach. A tiny thread appeared, thin as a hair, connecting him to Sabrina. He felt energy flowing through it, steady and warm, feeding into her.

  “I think it worked,” Sabrina said. “No, wait. It didn’t? No! It definitely did. Did it not?”

  She opened and closed her fist, testing the feeling. Without uttering a word, Sabrina pointed her sword at a nearby target. A sharp gust of wind burst forth, striking the center and leaving a clear imprint behind.

  “Yeah, I definitely felt it,” she said, clapping excitedly. “Oh, Cassian, you did it on your first try!”

  “Very impressive,” Todd agreed. “You just need more practice so you can give out more energy.”

  Their praise felt like daggers. They don’t understand. This is it.

  After a hundred tries, the spell would come out exactly the same. No stronger. No better. He was lost. There was nothing he could do to change his fate. I should tell them it’s time to go to the dining room. Make it quick so they can finally leave.

  “Now don’t think you know everything about being an Arbiter!” Todd suddenly exclaimed.

  “Well, yeah,” Sabrina said. “You haven’t even told him how to heal.”

  “Oh. Right,” Todd said. “I don’t actually know how to do that yet. But I’m talking about something more fundamental.”

  He straightened, regaining confidence.

  “I’m talking about magical tools.”