Cassian made his way out of the physician’s office. Mana wave injuries were disorienting, but ultimately superficial damage. With an elixir or two, he was back to full health. Wandering into the massive House Moon courtyard, he took his time to gaze at the flowerbeds. Despite the namesake, House Moon’s estate was surprisingly vibrant in its colors and plantlife. Even the exterior walls of the Great Hall were painted a stark white.

  The familiar scene from his childhood at the estate conjured up memories from long ago. He remembered being just twelve when his family was notified that he’d been chosen as a Starling. To be selected was the greatest honor for a child of House Moon. One had to demonstrate immense potential and affinity for magic.

  It meant a chance to climb the ranks of House Moon and join the succession war. If done well, most would at the very least secure a vaunted position as a Crescent. With the right career moves, one could even move onto becoming a Gibbous and then even an Elder! His parents had been overjoyed for him, so happy that they allowed him to eat an extra portion for dinner and stay up an extra 15 minutes later that night.

  Gods, they really were strict weren’t they?

  The meeting with the elders had been as fruitful as he’d hoped. He knew it would be hard to negotiate a return to the House. Nobles didn’t take honor lightly, it was the first word in their creed, and he’d trampled all over House Moon’s honor by withdrawing from the succession war for no real reason, at least, not any that they were aware of.

  Cassian’s train of thought was interrupted by the loud laughter of a teen. Looking up, he saw a group of two boys and a girl, all no older than 15. Cassian was reminiscing about the joys of youth until he realised the laughter was actually derisive in nature, and in fact, aimed at him.

  “Are you the guy who ran away and just came back?” The young boy laughing asked. “Oh man, you really are stupid looking!”

  He was a scrawny teen boy with jet-black hair and glasses. His robes were dark as night, but his sleeves were cut short at the elbow, and the bottom of his robe stopped at his hip, revealing a pair of pale legs in shorts. The entire outfit made the teen look decidedly like a child.

  “Boy, Justus was right,” the other boy stammered out, then took a quick nervous breath to recover, “You are stupid looking!” He was tall and hulking, if not for his prepubescent face marked with acne, Cassian would have a hard time believing him and Justus were the same age.

  “Bellvar, you’ve gotta stop stammering like a stupid goat,” the final member of the group said, she was a girl of the same age with a short bob cut that she kept adjusting.

  “S-sorry,” said the giant boy.

  “Oh my god, you just did it again.” she said, exasperated.

  “Sorry, Bella.” Bellvar took his time to say it properly this time.

  “Whatever. But Justus is right, you look stupid, with your stupid hair and stuff.” said Bella.

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  Cassian felt a singeing headache pierce his brain. “You guys are Starlings?”

  “Yeah, duh. What are you, blind or something?” Bella rolled her eyes.

  Justus got in Cassian’s face and started throwing mock punches at him, stopping right before they hit him.

  “Why?” he grunted with each punch, “you scared?”

  When he had enough and was starting to pant, he finally withdrew. “Coward.”

  Cassian knew returning meant he would have to deal with the young, hormonal teens that made up the Starlings. He was starting to wonder if it was a price worth paying.

  “This guy’s scared as heck. Look at his stupid face. Bet he’s peeing himself cause he has to fight Uncle Sylvan’s team.”

  “Well, I w-wouldn’t want to fight your uncle’s team either.”

  “No freaking crap, Bellvar.”

  “Sylvan?” That name rang a bell for Cassian. He’d been away from the House for so long he’d forgotten most of the key figures. The only ones he remembered clearly were Elder Sxall and his own parents, the fact that this name was familiar at all gave him a bad feeling.

  “Sylvan, as in Elder Sxall’s son, Sylvan?”

  Justus burst out in high-pitched laughter again. “See I told you guys he was scared!”

  “Fuck.” Cassian cursed.

  “Woah, did you just curse for real?” Justus’ smile dropped away instantly.

  He remembered now, Sylvan was Sxall’s third son. An Adept-ranked Crescent that led his own team of Crescents. He frankly wasn’t anything of note, considering the man was in his forties and only made it to unit leader because of his father’s authority. His older brothers were the more impressive pair, both already Master-ranked Gibbouses that oversaw large portions of the House. But Sylvan’s name was still more well-known, mostly because he was a wreck of a person.

  Although he passed his Starling phase and advanced to Crescent, he never made it further than that. The man was a serial philanderer who had cooked up many a scandal for House Moon to deal with. New Crescents were frequently assigned into his team as punishment or hazing. In commoner circles, Sylvan was widely known as the star representation of House Moon’s downfall as a Noble House.

  Regardless of his infamy, Sylvan and his team were still Crescents. His questionable behaviour didn’t erase the gap between him and Cassian’s physical abilities.

  “Where did you hear this?”

  “You must be freaking stupid if you think we’re going to-,” Justus was interrupted mid-sentence.

  “Justus’ uncle told us just now,” Bella said, flicking her hair again. “The elders just told him.”

  “Bella! Why would you tell him that!”

  “Oh my god, you’re not the boss of me!” Bella yelled. “By the way, what do you use for your hair, runaway boy? How do you get it to look smooth like that?”

  Cassian looked up from his thoughts to glare at the nightmare trio before storming away.

  “What’s up with you and hair?” Justus asked.

  Sylvan’s team would complicate things for Cassian. He was expecting to fight a couple of 15 year-old Starlings, not an experienced team of Adept-ranked Crescents. As he stood, he couldn’t yet cast spells, not with a Unbound body. He needed to pass the trial with just raw mana control or his entire plan for House Moon would be shredded.

  “Fuck.”