Finley, Cailin, Julian, and Ella stand in a line with the rest of their classmates. Finley has been waiting for this day ever since Penelope had explained what exactly a wand and magic is. All the council members have their own wands, hand magic, and their own dragons. Finley cannot wait to be similar to them. He may not like them very much, but it is in the norm to aspire to be like them. Being as powerful and wise as the ten council members, or King the headmaster himself, is a big accomplishment that nobody has yet reached. Finley seems to think it is the perfect goal. It is so surreal to him. He has always been in awe of the older kids, who have already been graced with their own wands, using the magic they learned at parties and gala's. It was always magical.

   Cailin on the other hand, just wants this class to be over. He wants to get his wand, and zip out of here. He wants to learn all the spells he can by himself to impress his teachers.

   "I trust each and every one of you to choose only one wand. Not six, not two, not an extra one for your nannies." Giggles and chuckles go around the room, but Finley is too cooped up in taking in his surroundings to understand the joke.

   Magic class as a whole is held in a large room which is attached to The Wand Room. Thousands upon thousands of intricately made wands are waiting to have someone to wield them, and that is the room the 28 scholars are standing in right now. "The Wand Holding Room," as Finley likes to call it, is pristine and new looking. The walls are golden, the crowning black, and filled from head to toe with wands in their small cases. Finley wants to take a look at each and every one of them.

   In addition, Finley loves his two magic teachers. Oddly and happily enough, they both love and acknowledge him as well. School at the KSDL, or King’s School for Dragon Leaders, has been better than it has ever been before for Finley. Well, teachers and classes wise, at least. The students are still a small problem, but it is nothing that Finley cannot handle.

   "Once you get your wand, under no circumstances are you allowed to use them.” The scholars all groan, and Mr. Len rolls his eyes. "Yes, yes, it's so tragic. You will be able to use them tomorrow, do not worry your tiny little bratty heads. Now, if you have any trouble finding the wand that you think suits you the best, just come over to Ms. Green and she will help you." Mr. Len points to the second teacher in the room, and she waves. "Now, go crazy."

   All the students race down the halls, scattering around the room as well as Cailin, Ella, and Julian. Finley takes his time though, going to the first shelf on his right. He examines all the pictures that are stamped on the covers of what the wand inside looks like. Some are plain and brown with different markings embroidered into them. Some are skinnier, some are longer, and some are much more pretty with jewels, and sparkling rhinestones. 

   "You sure are taking your time. Doing alright, Mr. Daniels?" Ms. Green asks, and Finley smiles over at her.

   “I'm doing fine. I just want to find the right one, it's important I do since I only have this one chance."

   Ms. Green grins, nodding her head. "You're absolutely right." She begins to trail after Finley as he continues his slow search. "You know, I’ve been teaching this class for years, and I’ve never known someone who takes their time."

   "Really?"

   "Well, of course, this is an exciting moment. No regular people or children get to live their lives with magic at their fingertips. Wands are exciting, and scholars seem to pay so much attention to the magic wielding, that they don't care about what their wand specifically looks like."

   "Well, they must regret it later, then."

   "They did. Some people didn’t choose the right one that fit their hands. Some did not realize how heavy, or how light their wands were. It definitely hurt their grades."

   Finley stops and turns back around to where Ms. Green watches with a sparkle in her brown eyes. Finley tilts his head at the emotions emitting from the teacher, looking at her suspiciously. "Do you have a wand for me?" He asks suddenly, and Ms. Green's smile gets bigger.

   "I may have a few suggestions for you," she whispers, beckoning him to follow and Finley does happily.

   They travel down the middle walkway, other aisles spreading left and right with more and more wands resting. Scholars talk within the aisles adamantly to one another. Some students have already chosen their wands, taking them out the box to show off to their friends. Ms. Green ignores them, walking to the back of the room and towards the right. She travels down the aisle, and Finley slows down to take a look.

   Nobody is anywhere near these aisles, but that is probably because the shelves are a lot older and more broken down. It seems like the farther you travel, the older and more ancient the wands become. 

   And to Finley, and everybody else who takes the chance to read…. More powerful.

   Finley turns around in a circle, focusing on the back wall of the room that has weird markings sketched into it that the blonde cannot make out. He snaps a mental picture, and will search through the libraries to see what they all mean when he has the time.

   "Finley." The scholar turns his head to see where Ms. Green stands, holding two wand cases in her hands. "I want you to test these out, to make sure they're comfortable in your hands."

   The blonde comes over, taking the first case on the top and setting it down on one of the shelves. He opens it up, and his eyes widen. He stays quiet for a moment as Ms. Green opens the other case next to him. "So?"

   Finley gaps, not knowing which one to choose. "I don't know what to say…."

   "Cailin! My boy, you look confused," Mr. Len calls towards the front of an aisle. He watches Cailin, who holds a case in one hand and a powerful wand in the other. It is his first time holding a wand, but he does not look to be enjoying the experience.

   "I…. I guess I am," Cailin states, looking up to his teacher who comes over to stand next to him.

   Mr. Len glances down at the wand in the brunette’s hand, lifting an eyebrow. "Is something the matter with the wand?"

   Cailin hesitates, turning back to look at the bland wand. He does not speak for a couple of seconds. "I don't really know. I came over here and I just grabbed a random one, but I…. I really don't like it."

   Mr. Len grins as he sets his hands on his hips. "You don't like it? Then put it back."

   "But I shouldn't care. I genuinely feel like I hate this wand, but I shouldn't care about it."

   Mr. Len's smile turns genuine as he slowly takes the wand and case out of the scholar’s palms. "How about I help you out? Help you find a wand that you like?"

   "But why does it matter? It's just a magic stick."

   Mr. Len shrugs his shoulders slowly. "I guess it is just a magic stick. But it is magic nonetheless, so you can have connections to these... sticks." He waves the wand around dismissively, before setting it back in the case and where it belongs. "Magic is about seeing the brighter side of things when all there is, is darkness. Magic is about seeing the greatness in someone or something when there is only evil. Magic doesn't need a fancy way of explaining itself, because it just is."

   Mr. Len crosses his arms as Cailin looks around a little dejectedly. "Then how do I find the one I have a connection with? There are millions of wands in here."

   Mr. Len takes a glance around, before shrugging again. "It's magic, Mr. Littlemen. It doesn't have to have an answer." Cailin slouches in defeat, and his teacher slowly puts an arm around his shoulders. "But...." Cailin lifts his head, now listening. "I may have something that you might take an interest in. If you're up for being different."

   The scholar nods rapidly. "I've always been different."

   Mr. Len grins, nodding once. "You're right. So, what’s the harm?” He lets Cailin go, and begins to walk out of the aisle. "Now, come along. I think I have the right wand for you."

   "It's your choice, Mr. Daniels. Just choose the one you feel the most comfortable with," Ms. Green mumbles calmly as Finley looks from one wand to the other.

   "Oh, I don't know…. They're both beautiful."

   Both wands are colored differently than the standard brown. One is painted a dark blue with light spots of white dotted along the stem. The colors are not too much, but remind Finley of the night sky with a white jewel sitting at the end of the hilt. The other one is completely black. A yellow jewel sits at the end of the hilt, with purple swirl stripes along the stem.

   "Do the colors have different meanings?" Finley asks, and Ms. Green smiles down at her student.

   "Yes, just a little."

   "Which one is older?"

   "They're both the same age," Mr. Len's voice states above his. The blonde looks up, smiling at Cailin as he appears behind the teacher. The older boy smiles back.

   "They were both made by the same person as well," the teacher continues, as Ms. Green takes a step back for Mr. Len to grab each wand out of their cases. "In truth, I’m not supposed to state what sorts of powers these wands hold. It's up to the wielder."

   Cailin stands next to his friend in front of another shelf of wands, both boys gazing at the "magic sticks."

   "Is there a reason you want us to have these wands?" Finley asks suspiciously, and Ms. Green smiles next to the other male teacher.

   "We were given orders."

   Mr. Len holds the wands closer. "That’s all you have to know."

   The two young boys stare down at the wands for a slight moment, before they both randomly reach for them at the same time. Finley grabs the blue one, and Cailin with black. Finley's is much skinnier than Cailin's, but also a lot longer. The blonde moves his wrist around with the wand, letting out an appreciative noise. "It feels nice," he states, Cailin nodding along with him.

   "Yeah, and I like it. It's very… unique."

   Ms. Green claps her hands excitedly. "So, are these your wands?" She asks, and the boys look at each other. They grin.

   "I definitely have mine," Finley states confidently. He turns his gaze back to the wand, watching in fascination when the stem starts to glow. Sparks fly as the blonde’s name gets burned into the wood all by itself, Cailin's soon doing the same thing.

   "Wonderful! I can already tell you both are on the right path."

   Cailin looks up with a confused expression. "What path?"

   Both teacher’s glance at each other, before they shrug. "A destined one."

   At this point in time, the boys were now three years old, Sarah reaching one. The boys were now learning how to walk downstairs. Cailin was screeching with excitement, immediately ready for the small steps they would take that led to the front gates of their school, and home.

   Finley was a little scared to do such a task. Christine was helping them both down while Penelope rocked little Sarah up on the top step. Sarah was already learning to be much like her older brother. Loud, rambunctious, and always moving. But she listened, and that was something that Cailin did not do. When Christine told Sarah to stop doing something, she stopped doing it. When Christine told her a story, she watched with silent interest. Her hazel green eyes would stare up at her mother, like she knew exactly what she was saying, and was loving it.

   Even now, Sarah watched silently. She stared at her brother, and Finley, as they both walked down the stairs at their own pace. Cailin cheered Finley on when he got discouraged.

   "Mother! Look at the wand I got!" Finley yells as he opens the dorm door. He smiles at Penelope who sits at the couch, knitting.

   Once she hears her son’s voice, she turns her head rapidly. Sets her supplies to the side, getting up quickly to run over. "Let me see, let me see!"

   The young eighth grader lays the wand on his palms and Penelope gasps. Her eyes go wide with awe as she gingerly picks it up to hold in her own hands. "Wow, Fin. It's beautiful, where on earth did you find it?"

   "Ms. Green gave it to me. It was all the way in the back where the most powerful wands sit, and she said I should have this one. Cailin has one too, he has the other one the teacher showed me."

   The nanny cannot take her eyes off the beautiful piece of wood. "Fin, it's perfect for you. It looks like the night sky, it's gorgeous."

   "Thank you. I'm excited to learn about its power."

   Penelope smiles down at her son, nodding. "Me too, and I’ll help you in any way I can."