Now that he had been recognized as a magician and knew his elemental affinity, Xavier had to choose what to do and how he would live the rest of his life. He had a couple of months before his training in the Liev tower started, at the end of the eleventh month, but before deciding that, in the same building where he was given his Magician badge, he had to register himself and his family as members of the nobility by magic bloodline.

‘Good morning, your honor,’ greeted the man behind the counter, looking at the emblem on Xavier’s chest, which identified him as a magician. Seeing the poor condition of his clothes, the official knew that he was a peasant with a touch of luck who came to register as a nobleman.

‘Good morning; I wish to register me and my family as members of the nobility,’ Xavier had already been instructed by Elcir about what to say.

‘Of course. Do you have a surname?’ asked the officer.

’My father has told me that our family belonged to the nobility many years ago. If I’m not mistaken, I can claim the previous title. Is that right? said Xavier.

‘Of course. A contribution of five gold coins is usually requested, but magicians are exempt from it. What’s your honor family name?’ asked the officer.

‘De Vonder,’ replied Xavier, smiling and proud.

’Wait for a moment, please, said the officer. He went looking at the shelves. He searched tome after tome. Then he went to check on another shelf.

“I am very sorry, your honor. There is no record of a noble family with the surname De Vonder. I also checked the historical records. As far as the real archive is concerned, there never was a village, town, or city called Vonder,” the official explained.

Xavier’s smile disappeared. Nobles who contained a “de” in their surname did so because they belonged to a small noble family in a village or city. Therefore, the surname was the name of the land over which they ruled. If the land does not exist, there can be no nobles from that land. Therefore, “De Vonder” was probably a surname made up by one of his ancestors. On the other hand, the nobles with “van” in their surname had nobility by blood; they were magicians, ancient nobles, or descendants of the royalty.

‘Another lie and another disappointment,’ he thought to himself as he looked at the bronze ring around his neck.

‘Is that a family ring?’ asked the officer, pointing to the ring.

‘Yes,’ replied Xavier. ‘My grandfather said it belonged to our family centuries ago, but...’

‘If you want, I can review the existence of a seal. Sometimes the pronunciations of some ancient names change and the final surnames do not resemble the original ones at all, but this is not the case with the family crests, because when they are registered, they are made with a magic blood seal. So, if your family crest is noble, we will find it,’ said the officer, inviting Xavier to move to a corner of the office.

Xavier and the officer stopped by a round rock with multiple symbols and engraved runes. In the center of the rock was a red gem the size of a fist.

‘Place the ring on the gem and then offer a drop of blood,’ the officer instructed.

Xavier placed the ring on the gem and, with the tip of Elcir’s dagger, made a small cut on his left thumb. A couple drops of blood fell on the gem.

‘Now put your right hand on the rock. Once the family crest and its bloodline are recognized, the gem will shine. If the gem doesn’t shine...’

Xavier put his hand on the rock, and the runes in the rock began to shine. Xavier had the feeling that something was stolen from his body. A few seconds passed, but the red gem did not shine.

‘I am very sorry, your honor. Neither your surname, your family crest, nor your bloodline exist in the recorded history of the nobility,’ the official said at the end.

‘Thank you very much for your help.’ Xavier turned around and left. He didn’t even bother picking up the ring.

Xavier was disappointed; his father used to tell him and his brothers, since childhood, the same stories that his grandfather told him about large castles, luxurious dresses, large parties with abundant food and drinks, and about the extensive fertile lands and domains of their ancestors.

‘If we can prove the noble origins of our family, we can regain our honor and maybe some territory,’ his father used to say to him proudly.

Some afflicted noble families, believed to have disappeared, eventually flourished again, usually thanks to the appearance of a magician among the descendants. When a descendant recovered the status of the family, they could even claim abandoned land as their own and sometimes had the right to dispute their territory with other noble families by force in a duel before the king.

But Xavier’s family was nothing more than a family of poor peasants who invented a surname and a family crest to pretend to be better than the other peasants. With his head down and with another failure, Xavier was heading to the door of the registration office.

‘Excuse me, your honor. Do you no longer wish to register your nobility title?’ The officer reminded him.

Xavier raised his head, reacting. It is true that he was not a nobleman by family, but he was still a magician, and that gave him the right to be a nobleman. Xavier turned around and went back to the counter.

‘Very well, sir. Do you want to register the surname De Vonder? You can exchange it for Van Vonder or any other surname you prefer,’ the officer offered.

‘No, I will keep it,’ replied Xavier.

He didn’t need an inheritance of fame and glory; he did not care about others exploits; he would create his own fame and glory. Although he had nothing, his magical element was useless, and he did not have many opportunities, he was better than before. The mere fact of not having to pay a silver coin to the nobility every year was already enough. Moreover, although it was nothing more than a bunch of debris, their house belonged to them now. He and his family didn’t live in the lands of Efrir anymore; those few meters of land were theirs.

‘Do you wish to register the family crest?’

‘Yes, please.’

Both approached the rock again. Instructed by the officer, Xavier again placed his right hand on the rock. At the same time, the officer placed a blue gem in a crack in the stone. The blue gem began to shine, and then the red gem also started to shine, pulsating in sync. The blue gem was removed; in its place, a block of solid bronze was placed, and the magician’s badge was put on top of the red gem. The surface of the bronze block started transforming until it became a seal with the crest of the De Vonder. The same crest was stamped in the center of the wizard’s badge. Xavier took the ring, the badge, and the seal as he was instructed.

‘Congratulations, sir,’ said Elric and the officer.

Xavier and Elric left the registration office and headed to the exit of the city. There, the carriage pulled by tumulos awaited for them. The talks between the nobles in the Guard tower had also come to an end. Several nobles had left, and others were already starting the paperwork or collecting the badges of the new magicians. Maurius and Xavier recognized each other and said goodbye with their hands from afar. When Xavier and Elric arrived at the gate of the city, the guards congratulated him.

‘Congratulations, your honor.’

‘Thank you,’ replied Xavier, as he and Elric climbed into the carriage.

The carriage turned around. The tumulos did their magic and began to move through the world, bypassing everything like intangible ghosts. Inside, Xavier was slowly trying to read the documents that were delivered to him. It was an information package about Liev’s Tower, where some of the magicians from around the world would train and learn to use their magic. According to the pamphlet, Liev’s Tower was one of the oldest academies in the world. After several disputes, it remained in the territory of the Poem dynasty.

There were several academies; each kingdom had its own, and there were private academies that formed magicians in the different kingdoms. The Liev Tower had a special status, regardless of the origin of a magician; if he applied for the academy or was assigned to it by proximity to its place of origin, the tower would admit them. Only the teachers of the tower had the power to reject or expel a magician from their institution. Even the rivalry between the Dynasty and the Kingdom of Veldat was not sufficient to violate this agreement; only some magicians very loyal to Veltat would refuse to receive instruction at Liev’s Tower by their own decision. These magicians would normally enter the military academies of their kingdoms.

In the first six months at Liev’s Tower, the magicians would study the basics of magic, learn how to manipulate magic energy, and learn basic elemental magic. For another six months, they would undertake specific training for their elementary affinity, with a master in said element, and in the last year, combat training was added to the curriculum.