Preserved Hope

In a refined room reminiscent of a medieval western library two men were talking. One of the men was Saul.

“Father, are you sure there is no way to get this done?”

“Saul, you already know the situation our family is in. Your recent success has caused our enemies to focus their attention on us. Getting the boy’s life to be spared is of no difficulty but getting him to work under you is a different matter. Especially if you’re personally requesting it. The Cryus and Azar families are doing their best to thwart anything you put into motion.”

Saul stared at his father with a strong gaze but maintained a respectful attitude. “Is there really no way?”

Saul's father sighed and shook his head. “If it is really that important to you I can arrange for him to enter a military school. But it has to be a low tier one, that is all I can do in my current condition; it is also the only way I can get the other families to agree to pardoning him. If he’s as talented as you say he can rise through the ranks and get exchanged into Uriel. If he gets to Uriel no one, not even one of six households can stop you from recruiting him.”

“Thank you father”.

Saul’s dad turned to look out the window. “It is too early to be happy. As a peasant with a criminal background getting into Uriel is impossible. He will still face many difficulties even after we erase his criminal background. The boy has a grueling road ahead of him; I hope the resources we’re about to put in him is worth it.”

“You may now leave Saul.”

“I give you my thanks father.” Saul bowed to his father and left the room.

…

Deveon woke up in a prison chamber. The room was dimly lit by the few torches placed along the hall walls. Both the cell and hall walls were made of a stone like material; with only one door located at the end of the hall. There were other cells on the floor but they were all empty. Each cell had a plank of wood meant to be a bench, held to the wall with a chain. Deveon surveyed his surroundings and collected himself.

“Those people in the white robes must’ve been nobles. The guy that killed Eon, he used a spell to knock me out. That was my first time seeing magic. Can I really fight something like that?”

At this moment the door at the end of the cell opened and in came Saul, directly to Deveon's cell. Deveon got up and backed away from his cell bars. Saul paused and then stared at Deveon with an intriguing look in his eyes.

“You woke up faster than I expected. I didn’t think you would be up for at least another hour.”

“Anyways, as it stands, I have two options for you right now: Face execution or join one of Orises schools.”

“And why would I listen to the man who killed my comrades and forcibly brought me here.”

“Because I’m giving you a chance”

“Do you think I’m so fickle that I’ll just follow the man responsible for Eon’s death?!!!” shouted Deveon angrily.

“No, that is part of the reason I went through the effort of guaranteeing your life. Eon is his name you said. It seems like you’re very attached to him, by not taking this opportunity I’m pretty sure you’re disappointing his expectations.”

“Shut up! You don’t know anything about him. How would you know what he wants for me!?!”

“Because he told me to watch after you. Those were his last words.”

“He’s most likely not lying. People only lie when they have something to gain from doing it or from a twisted sense of enjoyment. He has nothing to gain from lying to me and he doesn't fall into the latter group.”

Saul continued to speak “Go to the military academy and learn to use magic, join the military magus branch and help me change this country. Growing up, you’ve seen the living conditions of the low class in this country. You’re a talented child and can help me bring change.”

“I don’t give a damn about this country, my only concern is killing you!” Deveon held a calm demeanor but the rage in him was made apparent from his speech and was visible in his eyes.

Saul shook his head. He looked straight into Deveon’s eyes. “Earlier you claimed I don’t know anything about Eon, but I understand far more about him than you would think. On the day the Gestas were killed you noticed something amiss. Instead of running away you tried to recover your comrades' dead bodies. That isn’t something people that grow up in the same conditions as you would do: risking yourself because of your comrades. Eon severed all of his parents teaching from him and became a cruel cold hearted murder for the sake of his own survival but he didn’t teach you any of the negative things he learned on the streets.”

“In fact he did the opposite; he preserved what he used to admire in his parents and placed them in you. Eon still believed that his parents' way of life was the right one but he wasn’t strong enough to succeed living by it. You’re supposed to be what Eon couldn’t. Every man wants to leave something behind that’ll leave a mark on this world. You’re the hope that Eon left behind to bring change to this world, prove that good can overcome evil.” Saul was passionate as he spoke.

“What a load of bull.” exclaimed Deveon with a sneer on his face as he stared at Saul.

“Well then. If you're so focused on vengeance, siding with me is still the best option to go. With my help you can gain power far faster than you would on your own. Then, focus on killing me.”

“I may be a child but I’m not stupid enough to believe you’ll watch me grow stronger than you.”

“I will, because I believe you will end up joining my side.”

Deveon pondered for a bit then spoke up.

“If you’re going to be that naive and watch me grow stronger than you I have no reason to deny your offer.”

A smile stretched across Saul’s face. “You made the right decision. As you are right now you are too weak but you have an extremely large mana reserve, full of potential, so you can quickly become a powerful person as long as you take your time. You’re going to be enrolled in a low tier magus academy. Low tier academies are normally filled with low ranked nobles and merchant children, meaning that you’ll stand out easily. If you play your cards right you can use this to your advantage because you need to make a name for yourself in order to be transferred into Uriel.”

“What is Uriel and why don’t you just directly train me?”

“I can’t directly train you because numerous nobles are plotting against me. If they find out I took up an apprentice it’ll bring too many dangers that you currently can’t handle. This is also the same reason I can’t directly enter you in Uriel. All that negative attention will be on you, hindering your growth and putting your life at stake. Aside from that, Uriel is the most prestigious magus academy in the whole country; I’m sure you’ll be able to learn more being there than from me.”

“You basically want a nobody like me to gain the qualifications to enter the best school in this country on my own??” Deveon asked with a questioning look painted across his face.

“Yes. It is a daunting road but you’ll learn much from it. Your knowledge and experience with mana is too shallow. You need the practice.”

“I know mana is the source of life and if one runs out of mana they die. I also know mana is used to cast spells and that it recovers on its own with rest is not enough.”

Saul shook his head and palmed his face. “No, that is not enough. Hasn’t Eon taught you anything?”

“Eon didn’t teach me much about magic. He wanted me to stay as far from killing as possible.” said Deveon.

“In other words you didn’t understand what I said when I evaluated your mana reserve?”

Deveon glared at Saul in response. Saul sighed and shook his head again.

“Mana Reserve is the max amount of mana an organism has. Everyone one is born with a different mana reserve but the amount of mana you’re born with isn’t set; a person can extend their mana reserve through training. Think about it as the container for your mana. Obviously the larger your mana reserve the better because it means you could use your mana longer.”

Deveon took time to absorb the information he just got. “ I have a question. How come people with mana suddenly gain more strength and speed than the average person. Also I encountered someone who broke my blade with their bare skin. Come to think of it, I've done the same thing before. Is that some kind of spell?”

Right before Saul said something a man entered the hall. “Sir, the Cryus family is causing trouble. We need your assistance.”

“Leave, I'll be out soon.”

“Yes.” The man left the room and Saul returned his attention to Deveon.

“To answer your question, no, that wasn’t magic. It was Haki, I can’t go into the specific details of it now but you'll soon learn of it at the academy you’re going to. It’ll cause a lot of trouble if your history is revealed so we have forged records for you. You’re a peasant whose father came across a fortuitous encounter. He saved a noble and was rewarded for it. He used all the money he gained to enroll his only son in a magus academy. If anyone discovers your history it’ll cause problems for the both of us. I want you to develop your fighting style, learn how to use mana, and incorporate mana use into the way you fight. By the time you accomplish this you should gain enough attention to enter Uriel. I prepared a room for you to stay the night. By tomorrow you’ll be sent to your magus academy. I won’t be able to come in contact with you for a while so work hard.”

…

Later that night, Deveon was laying in bed. He had a straight face, but he was deep in thought.

“Were we all wrong about Eon? Does he actually desire change for this country? He’s actions and words did contradict each other at times. I'm his preserved hope? ”