Valerian stepped back, narrowly avoiding the wooden practice blade heading for his chin. He noticed the slight shift in his tutor’s stance, front foot sliding forward, and leaned back as the false swing suddenly switched into a lunge towards his face.

  “Good!” said Thomas, resetting and swatting aside Valerian’s unbalanced counter. The point wasn’t to hit his instructor; Valerian needed a moment to get space and recover.

  “Always keep an eye on the feet,” Thomas said. “Hands can lie. Eyes can deceive. But it’s hard to fake your stance without falling over!”

  Valerian kept his guard, watching carefully. It wouldn’t be the first time Thomas had attacked in the middle of instruction. Valerian had the bruises to prove it.

  “Yes, sir,” Valerian said, going in for a quick jab. They had been sparring for only a few minutes but he could already tell he was slowing down.

  Valerian began a series of attacks to see if he could break through Thomas’ guard before he ran out of energy. There! An opening! Thomas had overextended and Valerian rushed in, excited. At the last second, however, he saw the trap, but it was too late to recover.

  “Ow, uh…” Valerian groaned on the soft dirt of the training yard. He’d fallen for a feint.

  “You saw it coming, but a bit too late,” Thomas said. “You usually catch those, even when tired. Does tomorrow have you distracted, young master?”

  Valerian huffed, still trying to catch his breath. Thomas reached down to help him up and he took Thomas’ hand. Valerian bent over, catching his breath. Then, before Thomas could speak, he stood back up, putting his arms over his head.

  “Tomorrow is my Awakening Day. How could I not be excited?” Valerian asked. “It’s only the most important day in my life. It wasn’t just that, though…you wore me out. I just missed it.”

  “I remember my awakening, Master Valerian. But while tomorrow is certainly important, it’s not the most important day in your life. You’re young and have plenty of life ahead of you. Whether you get your dream class or something that feels bad to you now, remember, this is the beginning of your journey, not the end. The System is fair, even if it doesn’t always seem like it!”

  Tell that to Rowan, Valerian thought bitterly. Out loud, he said, “I know. And it can’t be too bad even if it’s a crafting class. Cassius will do great, and Rowan is making a name for himself. It’s just…I want to live up to the family name. There’s a part of me that’s worried about letting Father down.”

  “You won’t,” Thomas rested a hand on Valerian’s shoulder. “I’ve trained you for almost ten years now and I’ve seen how you’ve grown and how hard you’ve worked. I know you’ll succeed no matter what class you get.”

  “The System is fair, I know. It just doesn’t feel that way sometimes. I just can’t help but feel like tomorrow is going to change everything,” Valerian said.

  Thomas sighed, tossing a small cloth to Valerian. Valerian wiped off his face and head, brushing off the dirt and sweat. He opened the arena gate and slumped down on a nearby bench. The training yard had no shade and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Thomas put away the training swords in a rack and followed Valerian. He raised an eyebrow at the tired boy. Valerian looked up, confused for a moment, and then grimaced.

  “Sorry. I forgot,” he said. He normally helped his instructors clean up after training, but it had completely slipped his mind.

  “It’s no problem, Master Valerian,” Thomas said. “I always clean up after working with your brother.” Valerian winced. Being compared to Cassius made him feel even worse. Chastised, Valerian moved over and Thomas sat down next to him.

  “What class do you think I’ll get tomorrow?” Valerian asked, trying to change the subject.

  “I have no idea,” Thomas said. “My instinct is that you will awaken a magical or knowledge class, but only the System knows for sure.”

  “I think I’d enjoy a magical class,” said Valerian. “Although I’d prefer something like mother’s [Sorcerer] rather than Ella’s [Bard] class.”

  “I wouldn’t let your sister hear that!” Thomas laughed. “And [Bard] isn’t a magic class.”

  “Really? I thought the unique skills were considered magical.”

  “Close, but not quite!” Thomas said. “People made the categories, not the System. The System makes the rules, it doesn’t follow them! And so you aren’t entirely wrong…many people consider [Bard] a magic class. But the official classification is knowledge with some hybrid in magic. So, do you think Lady Elowen can fight?”

  Valerian winced. “Most definitely. We were all pretty shocked when she went to the Royal Academy instead of Military.”

  “Everyone has their own path. The System gives us options, it doesn’t define our future.

  Valerian wasn’t so sure. His oldest brother’s future sure seemed to have changed after he awakened to a common class.

  “All right, I think I’m ready,” Valerian said, moving to stand up from the bench. “I’ll grab the swords.”

  “Hold, young master,” Thomas said. “We’re done for today. Go get cleaned up.”

  Valerian blinked. “Huh?” he said. “That was only our third round. It’s not even 9th bell.” They usually trained from 8th to 11th bell most days. They hadn’t gone a full hour yet, let alone three.

  “We’re cutting this short today,” Thomas said. “Your mother insisted. She wanted to give you the whole day off, actually, but I convinced her to give me three rounds while you were still unawakened.”

  Valerian glared at him. “Wait, I could have had the day off? And I only had to do three rounds? I could have finally won!”

  “And that’s another lesson for you. You never know how long you’ll need to go in a real fight. Conserve your strength, conserve your anima, but don’t let holding back get you killed. Like, for instance, a few minutes ago.”

  “Fine, you win,” Valerian growled. “When I prove you wrong tomorrow and get a rare martial class you’ll be eating those words!”

  Thomas laughed. “Looking forward to it!”

  * * * * *

  Valerian walked as quickly as he could to the washroom. Normally he had to practically drag himself there after a full training session, but the short lesson meant he had almost completely restored his energy by the time he was done talking to Thomas. Closing the curtain, he stripped and touched the shower rune, causing water to rush out of the wooden spigot near the top of the room. He let the cold water rush over him for a few seconds before tapping the heat rune a few times to increase the water temperature.

  He had heard that archnobles and royalty had massive baths and servants to bathe them, but as a Viscount house, his family had the more practical water and heating runes for simple showers. Also, I can’t imagine Father letting his children do anything so lazy as using servants for bathing, he thought. After a few minutes, Valerian activated the [Cleanse] skill rune on the wall to fully clear off any residual dirt and grime, then deactivated the shower and dried off.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  After dressing in his proper attire, the light red vest symbolizing the blood his house shed for the empire and shared with all her citizens, along with a gray jacket and brown pants, Valerian went back to the manor proper. He went up the stairs in the main entry way, greeting several maids who were cleaning the entrance to their manor’s central hall, and walked straight to his mother’s study. If his mother had tried to cancel his training with Thomas she would almost certainly have some sort of plan for him.

  She looked up from her desk as he walked in, smiling and putting down a large feather quill. His mother, Isolde, looked up from her desk with a warm smile. Short and slim, with reddish-blond hair and piercing blue eyes, she always seemed delicate—until her mask slipped. No one in the family doubted what she could do when she got serious. She always looked tiny next to his father’s tall stature and muscular body. All of her children were taller than her but none would think of making her angry; they had all seen what happened when her friendly, polite mask slipped, and if anything had convinced Valerian not to underestimate a civilian track mage it was his mother.

  “Greetings, mother—” Valerian began, then paused. Something was off. The lighting? He felt…Valerian turned, spinning back to the door. Thomas said he had good instincts and he’d learned to trust them. And sure enough, someone was standing there, against the wall and behind the door. It took him a moment to recognize them.

  “Ella!” Valerian shouted, excited to see his sister. “What are you doing here?”

  “I told you he would notice, Elowen,” said his mother. “Nothing gets past Valerian.”

  “How are you doing, Val?” Elowen said, ignoring Isolde. “Still catching Cassius at hide-and-seek?”

  “Ella, that was years ago,” he said, making a mock groan. “Cassius is far too important to be playing hide-and-seek with us peasants.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Are you calling me old, rabbit?”

  He held up his hands in defeat. “Never. I want to survive until tomorrow,” he said. “But seriously, why are you here? The Academy doesn’t break for months.”

  Elowen huffed at him. “I took time off. How could I miss my little brother’s Awakening Day?”

  “That’s great!” Valerian said. He paused. “Have you heard anything from Rowan?”

  “Yup!” she said, then went silent, smiling innocently. Valerian narrowed his eyes. “And?” he prompted.

  “He’s not here!”

  Valerian cradled his head. He’d forgotten how his sister could be.

  “Rowan is on tour, Valerian,” his mother interjected. “There’s no helping it.”

  Valerian nodded. He’d hoped with Elowen here that his oldest brother might have made it back too. But the military moved on its own schedule and getting time off was a challenge.

  “Hey, I’m here. Don’t look so disappointed!” said Elowen, pouting. “Keep that up and I’ll show you this new instrument I discovered that makes the most lovely sound. I’ve even figured out how to keep it from breaking the windows!”

  “No thanks!” he replied quickly. “Also, Mother would set you on fire if you broke the windows in the manor.”

  “True,” Elowen said. “But you won’t be here forever. And a lady never forgets a slight,” she said, her posture and voice changing to that of a proper noblewoman.

  “It seems the Royal Academy has been good for you,” his mother said. “If only you would use your proper manners all the time and not just when being sarcastic.”

  “Yes, Mother,” she said politely. Elowen had a wild side but she wasn’t crazy. “Anyway, I’ll see you at dinner, Val. Mother and I already caught up. I just wanted to surprise you.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, Ella,” he said. “I’ve missed you.”

  “Of course you did,” she said, beaming. “I’m the best. The best…”

  And she vanished. Of course she had an invisibility skill. Valerian groaned. He never would have detected her if she’d used it before.

  “That girl…” Isolde said, frowning. Using skills like that was impolite, especially on the unawakened. His mother sighed. “We should head to the dining room, Valerian. We don’t want to keep your father waiting.”

  * * * * *

  Valerian and Isolde arrived at the family solar before his father. The great hall was already set up for tomorrow’s ceremony and they usually had smaller meals on the upper floors when not entertaining guests.

  Valerian took his usual seat, a nearby servant pulling out his chair. While Aldric Steelwurth would never be considered a man who indulged in noble frivolities, he made sure his household maintained proper decorum. Outside the manor, Valerian and his siblings had a lot of freedom in how they behaved, but inside, he needed to maintain his bearing, especially around those who weren’t members of the family.

  Cassius sat across from him as the second youngest. He had proper bearing but Valerian noticed he seemed more tense than usual. While Cassius could be high strung, Valerian couldn’t think of anything he had to be nervous about. It was Valerian’s awakening tomorrow; Cassius already had his class and it was a great one.

  As Father would say, it’s a proper noble class, as if those with common classes are somehow defective. This was a sore spot for Valerian; Rowan had been raised as the house heir, only to have that effectively ripped away when he awakened to [Warrior], a common martial class. While his father never officially said anything about it, they all knew that Rowan’s future had changed right then.

  When Rowan had declared his intent to join the Military Academy and focus on serving the empire rather than learn administration skills at the Royal Academy, his father had been silent. It was one of those unwritten rules that Valerian hadn’t picked up on at the time. While those with common classes could still be nobles, they couldn’t lead a noble house. It just wasn’t done.

  Elowen sat next to Valerian, closer to his father’s chair at the head of the table. His mother sat at the opposite end, the children in the middle, with seating ordered by age, as was tradition. Valerian had secretly found the seating uncomfortable; his parents were on the opposite ends of the table and mainly seemed to communicate with periodic glares or smiles.

  Rowan’s chair was empty, of course. Valerian couldn’t help but feel a bit sad at that. Still, he’d spent the past few years with it being just him and Cassius between their parents, so having Elowen there was nice. Valerian just couldn’t seem to have a conversation with Cassius lately that didn’t end with them bickering.

  Shortly after they were seated, Valerian’s father entered the hall. Aldric Steelwurth was a giant of a man with dark eyes and darker hair. Isolde’s fair skin was a contrast to the deep tan of Aldric and their children had an eclectic mix of their features. Rowan looked the most like his father; tall, dark skin and hair, and a powerful build. Elowen shared her mother’s light hair and eyes but had darker skin more like her father. Cassius looked the most like his mother and was thinner in his frame but still tall, with light skin, hair, and eyes. Valerian was the shortest of his brothers, although still average height among the people he knew, and had his mother’s hair and father’s eyes, with light skin that easily tanned.

  As his father took his seat, servants came out and delivered food to the family. Once placed, Aldric took the first bite, and the family began to eat.

  “So, tomorrow you become a man, Valerian,” his father said. “This is an important day, one you will never forget. I know you will make me proud.”

  “Yes, Father,” Valerian replied.

  “I have some good news,” Aldric continued. “A good friend of mine has agreed to send a magic tutor if you awaken a magic class. He worked for a Count’s household in the past and has impeccable credentials. He has even agreed to tutor you if your class is a mental focus.”

  “Thank you, Father,” said Valerian, some excitement creeping into his voice. While Thomas’ talk of classes stayed in the back of his mind, he was still excited by the idea of magic. While he had learned about magic skills his whole life, he could only actually practice basic martial combat before his awakening.

  His father coughed. “And of course, if you do awaken a Magic class, you will also have the opportunity to learn from your mother.” Valerian fought the urge to smile. He suspected his father had gotten a Look while Valerian was listening. While Aldric was known for being tough and traditional, his family also knew that he absolutely adored his wife and almost never contradicted her. Nobody was brave enough to call him out on it but it was obvious to those who knew him.

  “I would love that,” Valerian said. He was still nervous. His food felt like lead in his stomach. But at the same time, tomorrow he would know. Valerian had always been curious, always wanted to know everything about the world. And it was getting harder to stay nervous when he was so close.

  The dinner continued with small talk but Valerian had trouble concentrating on what was being said. Cassius was oddly quiet, avoiding even his subtle barbs. Maybe it’s because Ella is here? In many ways, Elowen and Cassius were a study in opposites; she was outgoing and flippant while he was dour and serious. It wouldn’t surprise Valerian if he didn’t want to invite trouble with his normal behavior in front of Elowen. While his parents mostly ignored it, expecting the children to learn to solve their own conflicts, his sister had no such limits and Cassius would be helpless against her in a battle of wits. That’s something I definitely should not say out loud, Valerian thought, grinning internally.

  Things moved in a blur after dinner. Valerian had conversations with his family, words of encouragement from the servants, and his normal evening routine, but Valerian couldn’t remember any of it. This was it. It was the last day he’d be classless. Tomorrow morning, by 5th bell, he’d have a class and have his whole future ahead of him.

  Unless things went terribly wrong, it was going to be the best day of his life. I won’t be like Rowan, he thought. Maybe if he said it enough it would calm him enough to sleep.