Kasper jumped in his seat.

Daniel opened his eyes once more. The flames didn't appear to be hurting him. He tilted it right and left, as though inspecting it. It was far from what Kasper had imagined a phoenix to look like. It mostly still looked like a pigeon, except for the fact it was, of course, on fire.

"Far from the most splendid looking creature, but other birds can be used depending on the user. Hawks, ravens, doves, that kind of thing. Though remember the bird is expended in the process, and does not live long after its conversion. Using a costly bird of prey will set you back more than just the magic use," Daniel explained. Kasper bit his lip.

He had never heard that the birds died before. He had always thought that they were reborn as phoenixes, which continued forever. The thought of killing a living animal just to deliver a message made him feel slightly sick.

"Excuse me while I take this pigeon to where he may be of use. Read through the notes on the board about Mage Quills in the meantime," Daniel said, backing out of the room and closing the door behind him with a swift kick.

Kasper stared at the spot where the pigeons cage had been.

"I knew he was powerful, but to make a phoenix without even a gesture. Master Daniel really is one of the strongest mages here," the student sat next to Kasper said, seemingly to himself. Kasper turned to him.

"What do you mean?" he asked. The boy next to him tilted his head.

"Well, he had to get here based purely on talent. His parents are both Brown-hairs," the boy whispered with the tone of a conspirator.

"But that's impossible! There must be magic in his bloodline!" Kasper hissed back. His own mother was the mage from whom he got his magic, even though his father's line did not contain any.

"Yeah, and that's what the courts said too. When his magic manifested he was eleven years old. His mother had to stand trial for adultery when it was discovered. Of course, it was so high profile that none of the Houses would do the usual..." the boy's voice dropped as though Kasper should know what 'the usual' was. He didn't.

"'The usual'?" he questioned. The boy looked surprised, then shrugged.

"Usually mage Houses will take in bastards with magic born outside marriage. They raise them as though they were always members of the family, just sequestered away for the first few months, and the Lady of the House pretends that she gave birth to another child to preserve the family image. The kid gets a House and status, and the House gets another heir and extra status for having another mage kid," he explained. Kasper nodded along, even though he didn't think it made much sense at all.

"What about the original parents?" he asked. The boy's expression darkened.

"They either sign contracts to state they'll never reveal the true parentage of the child, or in some of the Darker families... well, they can do other more sure things I suppose," he conceded. "They never see their child again."

Kasper looked back to the lectern. He had not known that such a thing existed.

"What about mages that don't have a House?" he asked. "Me and Mum don't belong to a House after all."

The boy looked amused. "Well, we're not all the Chosen One, are we? Lord Ifan and the King intervened on your mother's and your behalf, though the details are kind of hazy on that."

He gave Kasper an expectant look, as though hoping that he would pass on a juicy bit of gossip. Kasper was lost. He had never asked his mother about any of this, had never realised how strange it was to be a Houseless mage. He realised he needed to deflect.

"So that's why the two of us are called "Master" instead of Lord and Lady then?" he asked. The boy looked a little put out that his question wasn't answered, but continued all the same.

"Yeah. His mother stood trial and no one came forward to claim him to a House. So he was raised by two Brown-hairs, both adamant he was their own flesh and blood. But it didn't take long for people to realise there was something special about him, you know? You just can't ignore how powerful he is."

Kasper couldn't deny that. Though Daniel's magic felt like arachnids to him, crawling all over his skin, the power itself was overwhelming.

"So he got admittance based on his strength?" Kasper asked. The boy shook his head.

"No, there were others who had met him and tempered his strength who spoke for him at the admissions panel," the boy's voice dropped to below even a whisper. "Daegol, Lord Tullus and Lord Durante."

"Wh-what! How long ago was this?" Kasper asked. He had not thought Daniel to be the same age as his parents.

"Must have been nigh on thirty years ago now," the boy said thoughtfully. "It was before they even started the War, when they had only just started University themselves."

Kasper felt a chill go through him. He had never really thought of Daegol as a person, as a student at the same University he now attended. He had never thought of him as having anything like a cause, beyond being evil and fighting and killing everyone.

His vision of the evil mage did not line up with him being the kind of person who would fight to allow a Houseless mage admission to the University.

"So they fought for him and he ended up getting accepted?" Kasper asked. The boy nodded.

"Yeah. That's why it was such a surprise when-"

The door squeaked open and all conversation in the room stopped when Daniel returned.

"I assume you have all finished reading," he commented dryly. Kasper tried to quickly scan the board before the professor erased it all.

"Pst. The name's Felix, by the way," the boy whispered, offering his hand for Kasper to clasp under the desk.

"Kasper," he replied. There was a brief moment of conspiratorial camaraderie as they shook hands before both remembered that had mere seconds to read the board and quickly started to take notes.