3rd of Season of Fire, 80th year of the 32nd cycle

  The return trip had lasted much longer than Newt had expected. And he really was engaged. Again.

  Even half a moon later, the notion shocked him. After Jasmine, he was certain that engagements and romance were something that wouldn’t happen in his life. Then again, an arranged marriage because he needed protection and because Maelstrom’s grandfather wanted powerful great-grandchildren hardly counted as romance.

  There were no official announcements, but the gatemaster told Newt to watch himself and not to do anything foolish or indiscreet. As if Newt had such plans. In truth, Maelstrom seemed like she needed to hear those words more than he did, preferably daily. The woman drank like a fish and seemed generally rowdy.

  Lady Woodhopper also seemed out of sorts. Newt guiltily imagined she was regretting the lost opportunity, but discarded the notion quickly. Based on the woman’s speech, they were never meant to be. Newt expected his plateau would be the tenth realm, hers the seventh. And by the time Newt reached his peak and had time for such matters, Lady Woodhopper might even pass away from old age.

  “We’re landing,” the woman said, even sadder as they neared the order.

  Her secondary quest to find an adequate replacement for her beloved saurian ended in failure.

  The airship shook as it landed, snapping everyone from their thoughts and bringing them back to the present. The door opened, revealing a crowded beach rather than the standard landing site.

  “Three cheers for the number one order in the world!”

  The black sand danced as the throats of hundreds of gathered awakened unleashed the most impressive roars their owners could muster. And even mages’ throats were powerful.

  Newt resisted the urge to blush, and like his senior students, held himself aloof, as if outperforming seven ducal households was not only normal, but expected of them.

  He tried to get away. The Sage’s Realm tournament showed with striking clarity just how horrible Newt’s abilities were. All he had going for him was raw potential; potential he was wasting by not giving it his all.

  The only thing Newt wanted to do was train and advance. He was short on time and had none for distractions. He needed to sculpt his realm, to polish his techniques and instincts so he could easily switch between the fourth and fifth realm versions of his spells without conscious effort. He desperately needed weapon training, sparring with overpowering opponents, and more, so much more.

  For the next fifteen years, the only thing Newt wanted to do was constantly improve himself. Then he would have to do the same once he reached the fifth realm, and the sixth. Newt’s heart shook. He was excited at the prospect of reaching the pinnacle and terrified of the centuries he would have to spend with hardly any personal life.

  “Come on, Little Brother.” Goodair grabbed his upper arm just as he was trying to sneak out. “We are having a feast in your honor! You can’t lock yourself away in a meditation room.”

  Newt smiled awkwardly. That was exactly what he had intended to do, but he could sacrifice an afternoon and an evening before the two or three decades of dedicated work. He could even use the opportunity to discuss his training regimen with his master.

  Yes, that sounds good. Let’s do that.

  ***

  “No.” Lady Alabaster shook her head at Newt’s preposterous suggestion. “You’re not wasting your time on that now. You’ve already wasted a year wandering the Summersweald and fighting off the onslaught. Refining your mana control and finesse, sure, but training with the spear will have to wait until you’re at the peak of the fifth realm. You will learn faster, and you won’t fight anything before you hit the fifth realm anyway. It would be an utter waste of time.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Her stern face softened, and she even smiled at Newt.

  “And when you hit the fifth realm, you’ll no longer be my ward. We had once wanted Lady Dreadwalker to take over your education from that point, but she’s no longer with us. But don’t worry, we’ll think of something. As for your other request, I’ll do it, naturally.”

  Newt had asked his master if she could handle the transaction in which he would pay off his parents’ debts, setting them free.

  “Just a friendly reminder. From what you told me, your father seems to be enjoying his status as a champion gladiator, and your mother has a decent status in a mid-sized order. They aren’t living bad lives.”

  Newt nodded. He naturally knew that, at least the rational part of him. Inside, however, his parents were stolen from him and sent to a different kingdom, where they slaved away.

  “When do you stop being a slave?” Newt suddenly asked, and Lady Alabaster jerked back as if slapped.

  She took a moment to gather herself.

  “When you don’t want to be one, or when you reach the top. I’m a slave to the order, and I don’t even think about it. I complete my missions because they are for all our benefit, not because they are reducing my debt. I take my share of resources not because it’s written in the contract, but because I have earned them. How the world works is largely a part of your mindset. What’s the difference between my arrangement and that of a normal servant who has borrowed money from their employer and has to work it off?”

  Newstar lowered his gaze.

  “Look at me.”

  He did.

  “Your parents aren’t living bad lives. They even seem happy based on what you have told me. You have nothing to feel guilty about. More importantly, we need to discuss your engagement.”

  Newt gulped.

  “I am fairly certain the gatemaster has discussed this at length with you.”

  Newt shook his head. The man notified him of the alliance and the engagement, and left Newt to deal with it. Lady Alabaster observed his terrified face and sighed.

  “Of course he didn’t say anything. All right. Where to start.” She blinked, then spoke again. “You are aware that because of your outstanding results, royal families will either try to poach or kill you?”

  Newt nodded. Dandelion had suffered the same fate.

  “That being the case, Gatemaster acted in your best interest and found a shield, a big tree you can take shade in.”

  Newt knew all that, agreed to it, since marriage with Maelstrom beat assassination, by however small a margin.

  “Where you have freedom is in the terms of the marriage. You will be married once you’re both in the eighth realm, but the terms are open to negotiation. Whether you move in with the Tidebreakers or she stays here will have a significant impact on both your futures. Should you move there, you will become prince consort until old Tidebreaker gives up his regency and Maelstrom becomes queen. Once that happens, you will be the king consort. For her to move here, you need to have a child talented enough to be the new heir apparent. You’re blushing.”

  Newt disagreed. He wasn’t blushing. His face was on fire. His master was discussing his marriage and children as if it were the most common thing in the world and about to happen tomorrow, when in fact it was a very private matter centuries away.

  “Master, regarding my training…”

  Lady Alabaster speared him with her gaze.

  “Newstar, you do know where babies come from?”

  “Master, I’m thirty-seven, hours away from being thirty-eight.”

  Lady Alabaster gave Newt another critical look, but dropped the subject.

  “All right. Regarding your training, the gatemaster has demanded you take another trip to the Valley of the Lost before you reach the fifth realm. He wouldn’t tell me what it’s about. Flameax and I are available for your elemental training. We have discussed bringing an outsider to teach you magma, but times are turbulent, the cults too active with the imperials doing sweeps, but finding nothing substantial.”

  She smiled at Newt. “Through no fault of your own, you’ll have to teach yourself, but I guess you’re already used to that. Another thing we need to upgrade is your mana sense, but there won’t be any dedicated training. We’ll just go by feel. Tracing you have already mastered, and we don’t need to instruct you with tracing new spells. You’re already using ten and know how to vary them a bit to achieve different effects, so you’ve more or less reached my level in that regard.”

  Sorrow tinged Lady Alabaster’s eyes. “There’s very little I can still teach you, my dear ward. You are growing into an exceptional man, and I don’t have a shred of fear about you reaching the fifth realm. Emerald is also there, and she will break through in a year or so. Greenbow and Sharprock…”

  She trailed off. “Well, not everyone reaches the fifth realm.”

  Newt wanted to ask why that was. What sort of barrier did people encounter when his own yielded to a poke?

  “What do you think about Rose? What are her odds?”

  “Good.” Lady Alabaster nodded. “Her master has dedicated more time to teaching her, and she’s making progress. In fifty-sixty years, she will be at the fifth realm. I expect you to hit the sixth by then, though.”

  There was a bit more sorrow in her smile. In half a century, they would be peers. Then, Newt would keep pressing forward, while Alabaster struggled and tried to cut her losses before advancing to the seventh realm.