The hypnotic pattern engulfed Wolf. The scene looked like the young man was bathing in the middle of an aurora phenomenon. Time twisted oddly, stretching while these rainbow lights drew Wolf into a trancelike state.
A moment later the youth found himself sitting on the throne of his Mind Hall. The remarkable light had somehow seeped in here as well, permeating this space with a nebula of all colors.
The carvings of the refined columns became more vibrant and lifelike, while the columns Wolf hadn’t touched yet gave off an even more ancient and primal feel.
Despite these surreal sights playing before Wolf’s eyes, his attention was fully drawn to the ancient-looking door at the far end of his Mind Hall. The deathly gray color was drawn out of the nebula and sucked into the immovable portal. As Wolf watched this scene his mind went completely blank. He could see various scenes flash before his eyes which seemed to be drawn out by the gray mist.
Wolf relived every death he’d witnessed. It started with those that were of absolutely no importance to him. He, or people around him, swatted insects, or butchered animals. Mixed with deaths of beasts were the scenes of Wolf killing people, which just went to show how little he valued the lives of manlings.
Then Red and his men died before Wolf’s eyes one by one, causing Wolf to wince a bit. Next he was touching a blurry faceless figure with soft, still warm hands. Wolf knew he was touching his mother’s body shortly after she’d drawn her last breath, and for the first time since this phenomenon had started Wolf felt a sense of loss.
Finally, he witnessed his father disintegrating before his eyes one more time. Wolf’s grief was multiplied dozens of times over, mixed with rage, despair and countless other emotions.
Wolf was about to wake up from the trance, but he felt another will sleeping within him twist his memories and grasp the grayish mist.
Another scene flashed before Wolf’s eyes as strange words echoed in the youth’s mind.
“I know death quite well. I’ve experienced it first hand. Remember!” The voice saying those words sounded vaguely familiar.
Wolf struggled for breath. He felt like someone had grasped his heart and then clenched it. The youth grit his teeth in pain. Then he found himself in the middle of a rocky landscape.
The first person view of Lonely Eagle’s death played out before his eyes once more.
Yes, it was true. Wolf knew death. He knew it firsthand. He had died and was born again. The exact details on how it came to happen were still fuzzy, but the feeling of losing his head was deeply rooted in his mind.
The experience of dying was an integral part of Wolf’s being. Among manlings it granted him unparalleled understanding of death.
As the darkness of death embraced him, Wolf’s Mental Aspect found himself back inside his Mind Hall. He frowned at the door at the end of the hall. They seemed to have a somewhat different quality than before.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on what had changed, but seeing the multicolored mist dissipate Wolf decided to check the door later, once he was somewhere safe and where he wouldn’t be disturbed.
Wolf opened his eyes in the real world this time and saw that he was back on the circular platform. He was slowly sinking back towards the ground level. Unlike everyone else who was in the Hall of Names for only a few dozen seconds or so Wolf had remained inside for five whole minutes.
***
As the platform gently clicked back into place it relayed the rise of a new True-Namer all the way to the central Mage Academy in the imperial capital.
“Sir, a True-Namer has appeared in the Silver City’s branch,” a Mage sitting in a room full of various kinds of communication devices said as soon as one artifact started blinking.
He was in charge of monitoring various important information across the Empire of Human.
The Mage was fiddling with the crystalline object that was blinking just a moment ago, when his boss took out a clay disc known as Far-Voice.
The overseer said a couple of words with a bored expression before returning the Far-Voice into his Ring of Holding. The man then shifted his attention back to the diagram in front of him with a focused frown.
***
In his office the Headmaster of the Highseat’s Mage Academy heard the report and smiled happily.
“Excellent,” he said. “Someone should send the official missive to Silver City’s Mage Academy and offer congratulations. Hmmm… They should report that person’s name and moniker so that we can give them their noble title and a territory.”
As Headmaster spoke his secretary filled out a template letter with inhuman speed. A moment later he packed it inside an envelope and sealed it with an official wax and signet before throwing it into the outbox.
The letter flew through the air and landed perfectly on a neat stack of letters. As far as the secretary and his boss were concerned the matter had ended there.
Communication was generally handled via magic items, however these joyous occasions and congratulations were handled the old fashioned way. Besides, Silver City’s Mage Academy should already know that one of their staff was close to becoming a True-Namer.
As for how territory and granting of nobility would be handled, that was a delicate matter to be handled by Duke Silverhound and couldn’t be rushed.
If this Mage was interested in ruling a territory instead of becoming a noble without a land, they would get parts of territory from several declining families. This was the way domains of new nobles were formed. As for those who had to give up their territories, once their holds became comparable to those of lesser social standing their noble title would decline by one tier.
This cycle was perpetually in motion as new nobles came into power and the weakened noble households slowly became Thanes or Knights and then eventually commoners. This flow was the reason why nobles suppressed the commoners by any means necessary, and it was the reason why the Empire of Human lost countless talents every decade.
Mere moments after acknowledging this information the two men completely forgot about it. They had more pressing matters to attend to than think about how their subordinate branch office planned on handling a new First Order True-Namer.
The administrative work was up to the Duke in charge, while the branch office would handle all the relevant details. The rise of a True-Namer happened around half a dozen times every year across the humongous Empire of Human. Only the appearance of a Second Order Truenamer was worth the headmaster’s attention in these troubled times. And to make matters worse, there was less than a decade before rifts from the Demon World opened.
***
Completely unaware of the ripples he’d caused, Wolf rejoined his group of examinees. As he did, the youth saw that almost all of the students stared at him with envy. The nobles hated him and thought that they were hiding it well. To be honest, they did rather well for a bunch of conceited twelve-year-old brats.
The descendants of wealthier commoners on the other hand were much more mature about the matter. They were already trying to figure out a way to get close to Wolf and make use of his potential rise.
Not only were they older than the nobles, they had the experience of their parents sucking up to their betters while trying to stay afloat in this turbulent world. Their envy barely leaked into their gazes, while some of them managed to suppress it altogether.
The simplest and most straightforward were the urchins from the slums. They might not have known how to read the letters on the wall, but they knew how to read the atmosphere. Their faces were painted with envy and worship. This youth was a beggar, no different from them. And yet all of these rich people envied him. How great was he?!
The two young men that had sold Wolf pears regretted not giving them as gifts.
Unfortunately, it was too late to give the money back now. That was the naivety and worldview of those that had nothing.
To them a silver coin was what could buy them food to keep their bellies full for days. Maybe even a week, if they bought slightly spoiled, or otherwise questionable goods.
The beggars still hadn’t gotten used to the reality that their lives were about to change. In the future they would no longer think of money in terms of copper and silver, but rather gold and platinum.
The only person with a unique reaction was Wayde. He seemed excited and relieved.
There’s no way that bastard could find such a person to act as an assassin! the young man thought. Even if he could find someone like this guy he’d keep them inside his castle, hurling treasures, fancy food and gorgeous women at him while doing everything in his power to nurture him. Besides, such a man would never travel across duchies to assassinate me. Meaning uncle definitely doesn’t have anything to do with this Wolf fellow. If I could form a good relationship with him...
Just like his mentor had taught him, Wayde decided to gamble. Seizing the moment he walked over to Wolf.
Wolf on the other hand was surprised by Wayde’s expression as he approached him.
“Do I have something growing on my face?” Wayde asked.
“Oh, no, sorry,” Wolf said, trying not to show any hatred. This youth was a cousin of the man responsible for his father’s death. “Um, I apologize for staring. It’s just that you’re the only one that isn’t envious of me.”
“What do I get out of being envious? That’s what losers do. I’ll work hard and leave you in the dust!” Wayde lied confidently. “Anyway, I have another question to ask you. You are from the Northshield duchy, aren’t you?”
Wolf felt like he’d been stung by a bee. The question came as a surprise and he felt as if he was caught in a lie.
Seeing that Wolf didn’t say anything, Wayde continued with even more confidence. “You called coins pieces. That’s how they call coins back at Northshield. There are probably other duchies that call them that, so it was a lucky guess of mine.”
Wolf had no idea about this. He’d long since noticed that people in Silverhound called silver pieces silver coins, but he didn’t pay it any mind. His father called them pieces and so did Wolf. Who knew that he was giving himself away whenever he mentioned money?
That means that Roger knew I wasn’t a local, as well as that pawnshop owner from back then, Wolf concluded before he thought of something else. He must have robbed me blind! Come to think of it Anna may have known as well. What did she think about the fact that I’m from a hostile duchy?
Wait, why would I care about what she thinks? Well, we are friends, right? Questions which generally confused children and adults who refused to be honest with themselves started swarming Wolf’s mind.
Thankfully the proctor came to Wolf’s rescue as he led the youths back to the mess hall to have late lunch. The atmosphere in the cafeteria was very different compared to what it was just a couple of hours ago. The noble born children were wondering whether they should invite Wolf and Wayde to sit with them, but nobody was decisive enough to make the first move. What if their peers laughed at them for reaching out to a beggar?
On the other hand the children from the merchant faction openly invited them to come and sit at their table. The girls were doing their best to look presentable. Those whose breasts had already started budding and the ones who padded brassieres with socks or other utilities straightened up and pushed their chests forward. The girls without such assets flashed charming smiles, while subconsciously finding themselves lacking in certain areas.
What really damaged their charm was something else entirely. Most of them couldn’t focus their gaze on one of the boys, but rather shifted their sights between Wolf and Wayde. Their parents taught them, ever since they were old enough to be taught, that you shouldn’t place all your eggs in one basket. Two girls however were either sharper, or paid less attention to their teachings than others. One gazed at Wolf, while the other seemed to be just as infatuated with Wayde.
“Thank you, but we’ve already got our seats. We’re all the same people we were this morning. Right?” Wolf said calmly as he moved to sit down with the beggars, greatly surprising everyone. This included the headmaster who was using the Mage Academy’s scrying pool to see what was happening in the cafeteria.
“Wonderful! This child will be a great source of entertainment for me and a headache for you!” Headmaster Smith said to his secretary.
“Compared to a certain someone sharing this room with me, that boy will be a picnic,” Richard calmly replied while rolling his eyes.
Now that there were only two of them in the room there was no need to care about his master’s prestige, so Richard spoke freely.
“Look! That boy Northshield sat down with him!” Headmaster shouted excitedly.
“I have eyes, Sir. There’s no need for live commentary,” Richard said flatly. “Speaking of those two, shall we give them single rooms? One is quite possibly the most powerful Mage born in the last thousand years or more, while the other is a Duke’s direct descendant and has a better claim to the title than the current Duke of Northshield?”
“What are you talking about? By separating them we’d be preventing a potentially historical friendship. Just lump them together in a room. They seem to be getting along quite well anyway. Now stop your blathering and let’s see what these kids will do next!”
The hypnotic pattern engulfed Wolf. The scene looked like the young man was bathing in the middle of an aurora phenomenon. Time twisted oddly, stretching while these rainbow lights drew Wolf into a trancelike state.
A moment later the youth found himself sitting on the throne of his Mind Hall. The remarkable light had somehow seeped in here as well, permeating this space with a nebula of all colors.
The carvings of the refined columns became more vibrant and lifelike, while the columns Wolf hadn’t touched yet gave off an even more ancient and primal feel.
Despite these surreal sights playing before Wolf’s eyes, his attention was fully drawn to the ancient-looking door at the far end of his Mind Hall. The deathly gray color was drawn out of the nebula and sucked into the immovable portal. As Wolf watched this scene his mind went completely blank. He could see various scenes flash before his eyes which seemed to be drawn out by the gray mist.
Wolf relived every death he’d witnessed. It started with those that were of absolutely no importance to him. He, or people around him, swatted insects, or butchered animals. Mixed with deaths of beasts were the scenes of Wolf killing people, which just went to show how little he valued the lives of manlings.
Then Red and his men died before Wolf’s eyes one by one, causing Wolf to wince a bit. Next he was touching a blurry faceless figure with soft, still warm hands. Wolf knew he was touching his mother’s body shortly after she’d drawn her last breath, and for the first time since this phenomenon had started Wolf felt a sense of loss.
Finally, he witnessed his father disintegrating before his eyes one more time. Wolf’s grief was multiplied dozens of times over, mixed with rage, despair and countless other emotions.
Wolf was about to wake up from the trance, but he felt another will sleeping within him twist his memories and grasp the grayish mist.
Another scene flashed before Wolf’s eyes as strange words echoed in the youth’s mind.
“I know death quite well. I’ve experienced it first hand. Remember!” The voice saying those words sounded vaguely familiar.
Wolf struggled for breath. He felt like someone had grasped his heart and then clenched it. The youth grit his teeth in pain. Then he found himself in the middle of a rocky landscape.
The first person view of Lonely Eagle’s death played out before his eyes once more.
Yes, it was true. Wolf knew death. He knew it firsthand. He had died and was born again. The exact details on how it came to happen were still fuzzy, but the feeling of losing his head was deeply rooted in his mind.
The experience of dying was an integral part of Wolf’s being. Among manlings it granted him unparalleled understanding of death.
As the darkness of death embraced him, Wolf’s Mental Aspect found himself back inside his Mind Hall. He frowned at the door at the end of the hall. They seemed to have a somewhat different quality than before.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on what had changed, but seeing the multicolored mist dissipate Wolf decided to check the door later, once he was somewhere safe and where he wouldn’t be disturbed.
Wolf opened his eyes in the real world this time and saw that he was back on the circular platform. He was slowly sinking back towards the ground level. Unlike everyone else who was in the Hall of Names for only a few dozen seconds or so Wolf had remained inside for five whole minutes.
***
As the platform gently clicked back into place it relayed the rise of a new True-Namer all the way to the central Mage Academy in the imperial capital.
“Sir, a True-Namer has appeared in the Silver City’s branch,” a Mage sitting in a room full of various kinds of communication devices said as soon as one artifact started blinking.
He was in charge of monitoring various important information across the Empire of Human.
The Mage was fiddling with the crystalline object that was blinking just a moment ago, when his boss took out a clay disc known as Far-Voice.
The overseer said a couple of words with a bored expression before returning the Far-Voice into his Ring of Holding. The man then shifted his attention back to the diagram in front of him with a focused frown.
***
In his office the Headmaster of the Highseat’s Mage Academy heard the report and smiled happily.
“Excellent,” he said. “Someone should send the official missive to Silver City’s Mage Academy and offer congratulations. Hmmm… They should report that person’s name and moniker so that we can give them their noble title and a territory.”
As Headmaster spoke his secretary filled out a template letter with inhuman speed. A moment later he packed it inside an envelope and sealed it with an official wax and signet before throwing it into the outbox.
The letter flew through the air and landed perfectly on a neat stack of letters. As far as the secretary and his boss were concerned the matter had ended there.
Communication was generally handled via magic items, however these joyous occasions and congratulations were handled the old fashioned way. Besides, Silver City’s Mage Academy should already know that one of their staff was close to becoming a True-Namer.
As for how territory and granting of nobility would be handled, that was a delicate matter to be handled by Duke Silverhound and couldn’t be rushed.
If this Mage was interested in ruling a territory instead of becoming a noble without a land, they would get parts of territory from several declining families. This was the way domains of new nobles were formed. As for those who had to give up their territories, once their holds became comparable to those of lesser social standing their noble title would decline by one tier.
This cycle was perpetually in motion as new nobles came into power and the weakened noble households slowly became Thanes or Knights and then eventually commoners. This flow was the reason why nobles suppressed the commoners by any means necessary, and it was the reason why the Empire of Human lost countless talents every decade.
Mere moments after acknowledging this information the two men completely forgot about it. They had more pressing matters to attend to than think about how their subordinate branch office planned on handling a new First Order True-Namer.
The administrative work was up to the Duke in charge, while the branch office would handle all the relevant details. The rise of a True-Namer happened around half a dozen times every year across the humongous Empire of Human. Only the appearance of a Second Order Truenamer was worth the headmaster’s attention in these troubled times. And to make matters worse, there was less than a decade before rifts from the Demon World opened.
***
Completely unaware of the ripples he’d caused, Wolf rejoined his group of examinees. As he did, the youth saw that almost all of the students stared at him with envy. The nobles hated him and thought that they were hiding it well. To be honest, they did rather well for a bunch of conceited twelve-year-old brats.
The descendants of wealthier commoners on the other hand were much more mature about the matter. They were already trying to figure out a way to get close to Wolf and make use of his potential rise.
Not only were they older than the nobles, they had the experience of their parents sucking up to their betters while trying to stay afloat in this turbulent world. Their envy barely leaked into their gazes, while some of them managed to suppress it altogether.
The simplest and most straightforward were the urchins from the slums. They might not have known how to read the letters on the wall, but they knew how to read the atmosphere. Their faces were painted with envy and worship. This youth was a beggar, no different from them. And yet all of these rich people envied him. How great was he?!
The two young men that had sold Wolf pears regretted not giving them as gifts.
Unfortunately, it was too late to give the money back now. That was the naivety and worldview of those that had nothing.
To them a silver coin was what could buy them food to keep their bellies full for days. Maybe even a week, if they bought slightly spoiled, or otherwise questionable goods.
The beggars still hadn’t gotten used to the reality that their lives were about to change. In the future they would no longer think of money in terms of copper and silver, but rather gold and platinum.
The only person with a unique reaction was Wayde. He seemed excited and relieved.
There’s no way that bastard could find such a person to act as an assassin! the young man thought. Even if he could find someone like this guy he’d keep them inside his castle, hurling treasures, fancy food and gorgeous women at him while doing everything in his power to nurture him. Besides, such a man would never travel across duchies to assassinate me. Meaning uncle definitely doesn’t have anything to do with this Wolf fellow. If I could form a good relationship with him...
Just like his mentor had taught him, Wayde decided to gamble. Seizing the moment he walked over to Wolf.
Wolf on the other hand was surprised by Wayde’s expression as he approached him.
“Do I have something growing on my face?” Wayde asked.
“Oh, no, sorry,” Wolf said, trying not to show any hatred. This youth was a cousin of the man responsible for his father’s death. “Um, I apologize for staring. It’s just that you’re the only one that isn’t envious of me.”
“What do I get out of being envious? That’s what losers do. I’ll work hard and leave you in the dust!” Wayde lied confidently. “Anyway, I have another question to ask you. You are from the Northshield duchy, aren’t you?”
Wolf felt like he’d been stung by a bee. The question came as a surprise and he felt as if he was caught in a lie.
Seeing that Wolf didn’t say anything, Wayde continued with even more confidence. “You called coins pieces. That’s how they call coins back at Northshield. There are probably other duchies that call them that, so it was a lucky guess of mine.”
Wolf had no idea about this. He’d long since noticed that people in Silverhound called silver pieces silver coins, but he didn’t pay it any mind. His father called them pieces and so did Wolf. Who knew that he was giving himself away whenever he mentioned money?
That means that Roger knew I wasn’t a local, as well as that pawnshop owner from back then, Wolf concluded before he thought of something else. He must have robbed me blind! Come to think of it Anna may have known as well. What did she think about the fact that I’m from a hostile duchy?
Wait, why would I care about what she thinks? Well, we are friends, right? Questions which generally confused children and adults who refused to be honest with themselves started swarming Wolf’s mind.
Thankfully the proctor came to Wolf’s rescue as he led the youths back to the mess hall to have late lunch. The atmosphere in the cafeteria was very different compared to what it was just a couple of hours ago. The noble born children were wondering whether they should invite Wolf and Wayde to sit with them, but nobody was decisive enough to make the first move. What if their peers laughed at them for reaching out to a beggar?
On the other hand the children from the merchant faction openly invited them to come and sit at their table. The girls were doing their best to look presentable. Those whose breasts had already started budding and the ones who padded brassieres with socks or other utilities straightened up and pushed their chests forward. The girls without such assets flashed charming smiles, while subconsciously finding themselves lacking in certain areas.
What really damaged their charm was something else entirely. Most of them couldn’t focus their gaze on one of the boys, but rather shifted their sights between Wolf and Wayde. Their parents taught them, ever since they were old enough to be taught, that you shouldn’t place all your eggs in one basket. Two girls however were either sharper, or paid less attention to their teachings than others. One gazed at Wolf, while the other seemed to be just as infatuated with Wayde.
“Thank you, but we’ve already got our seats. We’re all the same people we were this morning. Right?” Wolf said calmly as he moved to sit down with the beggars, greatly surprising everyone. This included the headmaster who was using the Mage Academy’s scrying pool to see what was happening in the cafeteria.
“Wonderful! This child will be a great source of entertainment for me and a headache for you!” Headmaster Smith said to his secretary.
“Compared to a certain someone sharing this room with me, that boy will be a picnic,” Richard calmly replied while rolling his eyes.
Now that there were only two of them in the room there was no need to care about his master’s prestige, so Richard spoke freely.
“Look! That boy Northshield sat down with him!” Headmaster shouted excitedly.
“I have eyes, Sir. There’s no need for live commentary,” Richard said flatly. “Speaking of those two, shall we give them single rooms? One is quite possibly the most powerful Mage born in the last thousand years or more, while the other is a Duke’s direct descendant and has a better claim to the title than the current Duke of Northshield?”
“What are you talking about? By separating them we’d be preventing a potentially historical friendship. Just lump them together in a room. They seem to be getting along quite well anyway. Now stop your blathering and let’s see what these kids will do next!”
