Ezra was proud of the Romanov name his father had so unselfishly bestowed upon him even though he was an abandoned orphan. However, the same name that was once revered across Aranor was only going to cause him more trouble now.Since Jasenki and Ramel were likely to have their spies and informers in every corner of Valaria, it would not take them long to locate Ezra if he went around Magaravia flaunting his family name and meeting the people in power.To prevent attracting any unnecessary attention, Ezra had chosen to hide his true identity and assumed a new name. The fictitious name he was using right now was ‘Loris Lagerlof’. And this helped him learn the secrets of Magaravia without exposing any of his own.As Tanya and Count Gressil left the mansion, Ezra cleaned his room, re-checked his inventory, and then stepped outside on the pretense of following the Count’s instructions. However, his first goal was to collect his suit from ‘The Silver Thread’.Marlin noticed Ezra inquiring ab
Hearing such a large crowd roaring and shouting put Ezra under tremendous pressure. He remembered the last tournament he had participated in had ended disastrously. The faces of his previous opponents flashed before Ezra’s eyes. Although the tournament held in Aranor was nowhere near as grand as this, all the townsfolk had gathered to watch it. Ezra’s father had high hopes for him and Aurelia was cheering loudly in the crowd, but instead of fighting like a true prodigy, he failed to shoot straight as his arms kept trembling. His rival, another boy two years younger than him knocked him out in the first round without taking a single hit.As all those thoughts crowded his mind, Ezra felt uneasy and anxious. For now, his only relief was that almost no one in Magaravia knew his true identity except the Gressils, and he had a mask to hide his face.The demonic mask allowed Ezra to hide his emotions but it did not block out the constant booing from the crowd. It sounded like the half-elf
The first round of the Grand Dueling Tournament had kicked off with Ezra’s flawless victory over his elven opponent. But his decision to not fire a single bullet had divided the crowd, leaving many unimpressed and frustrated.However, none of that mattered to Ezra because King Reginald had applauded his feat and he had also managed to attract the attention of the Chief Gunner as well as the king’s Chief Court Mage.As Ezra walked back to his room in the Arcadium, the organizers congratulated him and presented him with fifty Sovereigns for winning his first match. But that was not all.Since Ezra was a new participant with no previous record of fighting in any tournaments, he was permitted to access the shooting range right next to the Arcadium and train whenever he wanted. To ensure that Ezra had all his needs taken care of, the organizers even arranged a room for him at the Firebolt Inn. He was free to use his lodging whenever required and could keep the keys with him at all times.H
Ezra thought his passionate reply would move the person standing on the other side and convince him to support his cause, but the mage laughed at his words.“Lord Ezra Romanov! Come to save the day, is it?” the mage mocked. “I cannot believe one of you would try such a pathetic trick on us. But we are not fools here, you sly bastard.”Ezra was shocked to hear the insults hurled at him. He had expected a warm welcome since his father always said the mages from the High College of Mysticism were on good terms with his family, and the Dean of the college, High Mage Ignacious Alavore was a close friend of his father.“What is the meaning of this? I thought you held my family in high regard and had promised to aid us in our time of need!” Ezra retorted in an authoritative voice.The mage on the other side of the wall cast Magic Flight and flew over the wall to have a look at the person who so desperately wanted to get through.“So, you are the little fledging they sent to trick us?” he aske
The High College of Mysticism also commonly referred to as the Mages’ College of Valaria was a towering white skyscraper situated right next to Lake Lorana. It was an ancient structure built during the reign of King Rudeus Gerlaine and had produced some of the finest mages in the country.Whenever a child displayed an affinity for magic, but wasn’t born with magic talent, they often grew up to either become sorcerers or train to earn the title of mage.The main difference between mages and sorcerers in this world was that the sorcerers had to swear allegiance to a deity of their choosing and sacrifice their most precious possessions to earn their magic power. Meanwhile, mages weren’t sworn to any deity and derived their power by acquiring knowledge of the arcane through books and manuscripts.Another major difference between mages and sorcerers was that sorcerers expended the magic power flowing through their veins to cast spells and had access to several different types of magic such
The High Mage’s reply dashed Ezra’s hopes to pieces. He had hoped the Elementalists would join his cause out of loyalty for his father, but despite everything his family had done for the mages’ college, they chose not to intervene.“If we lose this war, your college will be razed to the ground, and then the necromancers will hunt your students down and slaughter them like they slaughtered the people of Aranor,” Ezra spoke in a grim voice. “You cannot keep yourself out of this fight. The time will come when those cultists turn their attention toward you.”High Mage Ignacious heaved a tired sigh and addressed Ezra in a courteous yet blunt manner. “I understand that you have gone through hell over the past few days. But we are not the enemy here. Your fight is against the undead. I know you want to win, but Zepheroth’s forces are numberless. I cannot risk the lives of my brothers without being sure that we can prevail over the enemy. And I do understand Zepheroth’s followers will come for
Thanking the mages for giving him their precious time, Ezra took his leave and was escorted out of the college by Arceus. As they left the towering structure behind, Ezra turned to the mage and asked, “This place does not look very well-defended. I hate to say it, but your wall of vines and treants won’t be enough to stop an undead army. And I hear they have frost wyverns on their side as well.”Arceus smiled at his words. “Just because all our defenses are not on display, it does not mean we cannot defend this college from an attack. The college grounds are protected by a holy dome. You only managed to get inside because you are still pure. But if any undead or corrupted being tries to enter these grounds, they will be set ablaze in an instant. And if that is not enough, we also have a flock of gargoyles to protect us from aerial attacks. As long as the High Mage is here, this college will not fall to a bunch of mindless ghouls and lumbering skeletons.”“It seems you have everything
Ezra was eager to return to his room in Verdant Gardens and after walking out of the college premises, he immediately used his teleportation scroll to open a portal to Magaravia.It teleported Ezra straight outside Verdant Gardens where the elite guards opened the gate for him and informed him Lady Tanya and Count Gressil were yet to return.This was perfect for Ezra since now he had the whole mansion to himself and could focus on his own designs. Once inside the mansion, Ezra headed straight for his room. Locking himself from the inside he approached the mirror and looked into it.A lot had changed over the past few weeks. Ezra had lost weight, his face looked lean and gaunt and his eyes seemed to reflect the fire of revenge burning within.“You may have taken away my weapons, but I am not going to give up. I will come back stronger and reclaim what I lost. I swear I will kill all of you.” Ezra crossed his heart in front of the mirror and vowed to avenge his family.“You have set out