2 Chapter 2

Within a few weeks following my test, the king summoned my family for a meeting. A gold soul color, alongside talent in three of the five elements, is something that warranted such a call.

One thing that I should clarify is that everyone can use all five elements -- if they are not a cripple, that is. The test only figures out your elemental talents; they determine which ones are easiest for you to learn. My results show that I am talented in air, water, and shadow.

On another note, something that I have realized over the past few weeks is that having a gold-colored soul realm is great, as it would bring fame and glory to my family's name. However, it also paints a target on my back for the enemies of the empire. As of now, I am still rather vulnerable, so if a high-level knight or mage attempts to end my life, it would no doubt be an easy feat.

Luckily, my mother and father seem to realize this as well and decide that until I gain enough power to defend myself, I am to be guarded by an advanced mage and an advanced knight. These two would also double as teachers when I reach age six and am able to be trained.

For now, I will do no more than basic body workouts, being only four years of age, after all. Training my body at such a young age can do more harm than good if overdone. I can, however, train my magic, which I have been doing through meditation and exhaustion of magic energy, otherwise known as "mana".

Being four years old, my mana is extremely weak. I have not even had my first eruption yet. Everyone's magic energy has three main eruptions: one being at around six years old, another being near eleven years old, and the last being around the age of fifteen.

Even with a gold-colored soul, most people at this age can only cast a couple of simple spells, as their mana is extremely underdeveloped and they have very little of it.

Therefore, every night before bed, I simply cast a simple light spell until I can no longer cast it. Through these small exercises, I will slowly but surely build my mana capacity and strengthen my core.

Of course, though I regularly train my magic talents, that doesn't mean I'm going to neglect my physical training. Many mages never train their bodies, seeing it as a needless chore. Although mages have an inherent advantage over knights, there is one thing I feel that knights have an advantage in; they don't completely rely on their mana.

Think about it. If you run out of mana as a mage, you are simply useless. A knight, however, doesn't have to rely on his magic supply so long as he has stamina left.

The same can be applied to me. I have the ability to use my magic but even if I run out of mana I won't be completely defenseless as I will be able to fight physically.

However, one thing that stumps me is a certain power that I have: the ability to enter the minds of animals, otherwise known as warging. Although I have no clue how I have such power, and I found no records of it in the mansion library, I'm not going to complain. Being able to warg will give me a significant advantage in battle and will make information gathering a lot easier, especially because no one knows about this power of mine; not even my family.

I practice by warging into basic animals around the estate: rabbits, crows, birds, lizards, anything I can find. Through my exercises, I have realized that it wasn't the size of the animal that dictated the difficulty of warging, but the intelligence. For example, a horse would be extremely hard for me, seeing as they are rather intelligent, whereas animals that have much less intelligence, like a bird, would be much easier.

I could use it for spying as well as battle, maybe if I get powerful enough I could even tame a dragon or something of similar power. A powerful dragon is said to be on the same level as an Arch-mage, it could be the turning point in a large-scale battle.

In case my warging powers may be useful, I decided to bring a 'pet' bird I named Ava to the capital. My parents allowed it, seeing it as nothing more than a pet.

Our scheduled departure is in the early evening, around two in the afternoon. Quite thankfully, the time system here is the exact same as back on Earth. It's very convenient, as it makes it simple to remember. We will be traveling to the capital through a portal, as it was decided that traveling in a carriage would take far too long.

These portals are also rather convenient, allowing us to go from one place to another almost instantly. It is one of the reasons why our empire can grow to be so large with rarely any issues.

Normally an extremely large empire or territory leads to disaster, as there is so much to defend. However, the portals that are spread throughout the empire allow for the easy transport of supplies and troops in times of need.

For this scenario, though, we are simply using it for transportation purposes, the reason being that our Duchy is near the border of the empire and it would take weeks to travel to the capital by carriage.

Enough of my monologue. It's time for me to go through the portal.

"Enjoy your trip, my lord and lady," the gatekeeper, or portal keeper as they are called, announces, bowing down his head respectfully. He extends out his hand in the direction of the portal, signifying for us to pass through. Once my father and mother nod back, we walk towards the portal.

"It might make you a little dizzy, Santis, but it should go away in a couple of minutes," my mother says gently, squeezing my shoulder.

"Yes, mother." And with that, I step through along with my family.

---

Not long after, we find ourselves strolling down the royal halls, the glittering gold walls covered in intricately woven majestic tapestries, the floors covered in bright red carpets which we tread carefully on as to not leave a single trace of sediment. Arriving in front of the throne room doors, we straighten ourselves before a servant opens them for us and indicates our permission to enter. My eyes look up to see what I would assume to be the King, sitting on the royal throne.

He looks rather intimidating, giving off an aura similar to that of Tywin Lannister with his cold, stinging gaze. As we near the throne, my father and mother kneel. I, myself, hastily join them, kneeling just in front of the throne.

After what seems like an eternity, the King finally opens his mouth.

"You may rise," he declares, staring down at us with unwavering eyes. We immediately raise to our feet. "Lord Puma, Lady Tituis," he continues, "welcome to the capital. I trust your trip went well?"

"Yes your majesty, our journey went well without any problems. Thank you for your concern." The king nods and looks over at me.

"This must be the miracle child then? One of the blessed?"

"Pardon your majesty, but I know not what blessed is," I reply, bowing down my head.

"Those with a golden-colored soul are referred to as blessed. You are the newest of the four. I didn't summon you and your family here for such talks though, though I do enjoy it." He shifts his gaze to my father, "Lord Puma, I trust you realize the danger your son is in once word spreads about his… talents?" the King inquires, his eyes glittering maliciously.

"Yes your majesty, I have him guarded at all times by an advanced level knight and mage. I will also be sure to take his training seriously so he can soon gain enough power to defend himself."

"Good, see to it that you do so, we can talk further over dinner. I will have rooms prepared for you and your family. Servant! Lead Lord Puma and his family to a guest room."

A maid enters the room, bowing towards the King. "Yes, your majesty," she says. "If you would, Lord Puma, please follow me." The maid bows towards us before leading us into a dining room.

---

"April. Try to get close to that boy. He could be a valuable asset, as well as a dangerous foe. His eyes shine with intelligence and cunningness no four-year-old should hold. Seduce him if you must. We must keep him loyal to the crown."

"B-but father...he's 8 years my junior…" she stutters.

"Silence! I will not hear it. The Puma family has a history of being rather rebellious and them having such a strong heir can further those tendencies. You are my youngest daughter and you will do as I say."

"Y-yes father." With that, the girl bows submissively and leaves the room. Once she leaves, the king turns towards a shadow in the corner and speaks.

"James."

"Yes, your majesty." A person comes out of the corner, this person being James, one of the king's elite guards and assassins, a master in the shadow element.

"Keep an eye on that boy and his family. Report any findings you can to me. Remember to be discreet."

"As you say, your majesty." With that, he disappears into the shadows to complete his task, leaving the king alone, sitting thoughtfully on his throne. He suddenly hears the twittering of a bird and looks up. There, in the distance, was a grey bird with white eyes perched on an arch just below the roof. It sat there studying him for a while before flying off. It wasn't anything unusual to the king's mind, however, as animals get into the palace all the time.

---

"So that's how you want to play, huh?" I smirk as my eyes return to their normal color and the bird flies through the window and lands on my shoulder. I give it a piece of bread and smile while petting it. "So that's how you want to play."