Phase 1 – When the Master Arrived
No bells rang.
No banners were hung.
Yet, everyone in the castle knew that something had changed from the moment she set foot on the ground.
She arrived at midday, without guards, without fanfare, accompanied by a silent woman carrying an intricately carved box.
Her walk was quiet, as if she were floating, her eyes too narrow to read, and her voice unheard… until she spoke.
She stood in the castle courtyard, the air unusually cold.
Kalidor saw her from the upper balcony, and he did not know who she was. But something within him recoiled.
"Who is that?" Myrik asked.
She looked at him without answering.
Then, after a long moment, she said:
"The one who does not come to love you… but to know you."
Her name was Estira Dar Austin, from the capital, of the lineage of accredited Masters to the Inner Court of the High Blood.
It was said she had trained the children of priests on Mount Venn, and that she only accepted requests bearing the seal of "Urgent Need."
But she did not introduce herself as such.
She merely uttered a single sentence to Lord Darval, in a low voice:
"I have come to evaluate what remains."
That was enough.
The next day, the children gathered in the circular hall. The floor was cleaned, the windows adjusted, and a black table placed in the center, upon it three water vials, cloth ribbons, and a closed book.
Estira sat on the solitary seat, and the accompanying woman stood behind her like a shadow.
Then she looked at them—one by one.
She did not smile. Nor did she frown. But everyone whose gaze met hers… bowed their head, even Neron.
She said, without raising her voice:
"I do not teach. I allow you to show what you are."
Then she added:
"If there is anything worthy… it will rise. And if not… I will not bring it down. I simply will not see it."
This was the first day of their formation.
Kalidor did not fully understand the sentences, but he felt them… as one feels cold through glass.
Her words did not strike you… rather, they held you, and waited.
That night, he could not sleep.
He heard her voice in his ear, though she had not addressed him directly:
"I do not teach."
Then he asked himself, lying under the old gray blanket:
"Am I… something that is taught?"
And the next morning, he found Myrik had prepared his robe herself. It had been rare lately.
She said nothing, but as she gently adjusted the collar, she whispered:
"Do not fear the woman who does not see you. Fear yourself if you have nothing to show her."
And he knew that this… was not just training.
It was a long test… that had just begun.
Phase 2 – The First Chapter of the Test
No books were distributed.
No tables were struck.
But everyone knew: The test had begun.
On the first day of spring, they entered the stone hall, and found before them:
Circular stones, small glass spheres, and cloth ribbons arranged in strange formations.
There was no explanation. But Estira sat in her chair… and simply looked at them.
They realized they were not asked to learn… but to show.
The first to move was Neron. He picked up a stone, closed his eyes, and a faint light emanated from him… it did not illuminate the hall, but it made everyone watch.
Talya followed him. She took a glass sphere, and focused intently on it. But it only trembled… then cracked.
She said:
"Sorry… I lost control."
But Estira did not answer.
Then it was Kalidor's turn. His heart was beating fast. He knew what he had to do—theoretically.
He picked up a cloth ribbon, breathed as Ocel had once taught him, and tried to "push energy through his fingertips" as he was told.
At first… nothing happened.
Then suddenly, a small spark ignited… stronger than it should have been.
The ribbon burned from one end.
He stepped back. He said nothing. But his face awaited judgment.
Estira did not move. But the woman behind her—who had not spoken a word before— jotted something down in a small notebook.
Jace was next.
He sat on the floor, opened one of the books that had been placed on the side, and read it without being asked.
Then he looked at the stone, and said:
"The magic here is simple, but it requires a focal point. The problem is my own focus is broken."
The stone did not move.
But Jace's words… made Estira look at him for two extra seconds.
Lisa… did nothing at first.
Then, quietly, she held the glass sphere in one hand, and the stone in the other, and whispered something no one heard.
She opened her eyes… and the tools remained in place.
But the woman behind Estira… wrote a lot.
Lin… did not move.
She looked at everything, and jotted notes on a piece of cloth she had with her. She drew diagrams, and did not use any tools.
In the evening, everyone was returned to their wings. Nothing was said.
But when Kalidor returned to his wing, he found he had been moved to a side room—small, less warm. His belongings had been carefully moved, but the bed was shorter… and the window higher.
The next morning, he saw Neron sitting in the front seat, and Talya beside him.
Jace sat far away. And was given no tools. He was only allowed to write.
Kalidor was not moved to the back… but he was not asked to move forward either.
He was in the middle.
As if they didn't know yet… whether he would stay, or be redirected.
In Estira's eyes… there was no rejection.
But there was no anticipation either.
And this, for him… was worse than failure.
Phase 3 – A Place Not Yours
At the beginning of the second year, the seats were rearranged again. But there was no announcement… everyone simply sat in a place that seemed destined for them.
Neron was in the center, always bathed in a soft glow, his features sharp-angled, his eyebrows arched like small swords, and his eyes never smiled.
Talya once said of him:
"He doesn't need magic… magic thinks it is him."
Talya sat to Neron's left, her mouth rarely closed for more than a minute, her face round, her nose small as if untouched by time, her hands moving even in silence… as if conversing with the air.
She loved to "prove" that she saw more than others said.
Lisa, the elder twin, sat behind Neron. With carefully braided dark hair, her eyes black and showing no surprise, she walked as if she wasn't walking… but calculating her steps.
She learned in silence, but when she tried something… she did it only once—correctly.
Lin, the younger twin, was behind Talya, her body thinner than her sister's, her eyes wider, filled with perpetual wonder, she didn't try much… but drew, wrote, observed.
Sometimes she looked at things as if apologizing for not understanding them.
Jace sat at the furthest end, with a pale face, messy hair, and dark eyes that lit up when he read, he carried a small notebook he wrote in every day, and when he spoke… it seemed as if he was explaining to time itself.
But he didn't succeed in anything.
He understood perfectly what needed to be done, but the stone wouldn't light, the ribbons wouldn't tremble, and mana… wouldn't come.
As for Kalidor… he was in the back-middle.
Not at the top. Nor in the shadows. A place like a void.
He wasn't a failure.
When asked for the initial fusion technique, he completed it—but with an excess effect. The flame he released became too hot, or too cold to be seen.
And one day, when he tried the thermal cohesion spell, the fireball exploded in his hands without harming him… but it turned the ground beneath him into a gray spot for several hours.
Talya laughed, and Neron shook his head. And Estira said nothing.
The next day, Jace approached him during the break.
He sat beside him without being asked, pulled out a notebook, and said:
"Your problem is the time lag. You release the energy before you stabilize it. You experience the result before you build the cause."
He said it as if reading a text… not explaining.
Kalidor did not answer. But he looked at the notebook.
And he saw on the page a precise drawing of a hand holding mana… before releasing it.
In the next session, Kalidor tried to slow down.
He took a longer breath, remembered the drawing, and imagined the energy as Jace explained it: "A fluid mass that must be slowly poured into its final form."
He succeeded, to an extent.
The sphere lit up… but it didn't hold.
And it vanished after a second.
No one applauded. No public note was written. But Estira, for the first time, said:
"Do it again… the same way."
This sentence… was the closest thing to an acknowledgment that he existed.
At the end of the day, as he walked down the corridor with Jace, he asked him in a low voice:
"Why are you helping me?"
Jace replied, without looking at him:
"Because I understand everything… and I cannot do it. And you don't understand everything… but you are capable."
And that night, for the first time, Kalidor felt that someone…
saw him.
Phase 4 – The Silence That Is Recorded
With the beginning of the third year, Estira began closing the training hall door herself after the students left. She was accompanied by no one, except that silent woman who walked behind her like a shadow made of skin.
In her hand, a small gray leather-bound notebook, and in her other hand, a white quill—used only for the special evaluation records of the Inner Court household.
No one asked what was being written. But everyone felt that things were being decided… without being said.
And on a quiet, bright morning, Lin was summoned to the center of the hall.
Lin, nine years old, with silky blonde hair she always made sure to curl, a pink ribbon on the side of her head, her body slender as a water reed, her wide, gray-blue eyes… held a childish caution.
Estira told her, with a coldness devoid of insult:
"Your talent exists… but it is slow. From today, you will undergo doubled training, under your sister's supervision."
Lisa—the elder twin—stood straight behind the row. Her skin was pure white, her dark brown hair neatly tied back, her eyes tended towards hazel, and moved with calculated slowness, her beauty was quiet, restrained… as if it were something inappropriate for a maid.
She did not reply with a word. She merely nodded, and from that day on, began to instruct her sister in a clear tone, short sentences, precise steps, merciless to error… and unrewarding of success.
Talya, with thick chestnut hair, her face perpetually smiling, and she spoke at a speed difficult to follow, would whisper behind Lin's back:
"The younger twin tries to be a queen, and the elder twin tries to write a constitution."
Neron Cael—the closest student to Estira in observation— his skin pale as cold stone, his eyes bright gray, his gaze not searching… but staring to test.
His body was slender, taut as a bowstring, and his movements always precise… as if his body was trained before it learned.
He executed what was asked of him with military precision, and never questioned.
Jace, with messy hair and a pale face, possessed sharp eyes that seemed not to see the world but to analyze it. He always walked with his fingers brushing small papers in his pocket, he read more than he executed.
When he failed the "First Specter Summoning" spell, he didn't hesitate, but raised his hand and asked:
"Can the focal point be replaced by a melodic pattern?"
Estira paused for a moment. Then she jotted it down in her notebook.
And for the first time, she looked at him not as a weakness… but as a case worthy of contemplation.
As for Kalidor…
Now ten years old, his body was gradually lengthening, his face a mixture of his father's sharpness and Myrik's calmness. His hair was dark, never staying in place, and his eyes—faint blue-gray—didn't sparkle much, but those who gazed into them saw a weariness unlike his age.
He trained quietly. He made mistakes. Then he succeeded—and said nothing about it.
During lessons, he drew no attention. But after everyone left, he practiced with Jace in the corners.
Once, he silently performed a spectral spell, and when the vortex of light appeared before him… he extinguished it before anyone could see.
Anyone? Perhaps not.
Because at that moment… Lisa was standing in the library corridor, watching him from afar.
At night, Kalidor slipped into the library— which had been officially opened to them… but they were not yet encouraged to frequent.
He lit a candle, and chose a thick book titled "Sensory Transformations and Their Treatment." He sat in the corner… and disappeared among the pages.
Lisa was there. But she didn't move. She saw him… then turned her back… and left.
She said nothing the next day. Nor the day after.
But he noticed that, the following day… she didn't scold her sister. Nor did she ask her to repeat anything.
Instead, she stared into space more than she spoke.
As if she, too… had begun to see what was unspoken.
Phase 5 – Before Her Eyes Opened
Four years passed since Estira arrived.
And now, everyone knew… their place, even if not explicitly told.
Neron Cael, his body taller, his gaze steadier, began to write with his left hand as quickly as he executed spells. He knew what was desired… before it was asked.
There was something unsaid in his eyes, as if he only awaited Estira's acknowledgment… not her teaching.
Talya, was more silent than before, but she still filled the void with surprising sentences, as if casting joy into a stagnant pond.
She once said, when Neron failed a simple move:
"Even stones slip when they contemplate themselves too much."
Lisa… became sharper. Her voice did not rise, but it pressed, her walk became more disciplined, and in her eyes, a mixture of burning and coldness, as if she knew she existed to observe—not to be celebrated.
Lin, her younger sister, began to grow pale. Her golden hair no longer shone as it once did, and she stopped using colored ribbons.
Everything about her suggested an attempt… but the attempt had not yet yielded fruit.
She would fail, then smile, then return to trying—even if not asked.
As for Jace… he no longer spoke with Kalidor.
He now sat beside Estira, received individual papers from her, and was allowed to stay after class to ask questions.
They looked at him, and did not understand… had he become another student? Or something else?
And Kalidor…
His body began to harden, his bones heavier, his dark black hair always escaping its order, and his eyes—faint blue-gray—did not change, but they stared less.
He learned. He mastered. But he showed nothing.
Even when he succeeded… he extinguished the spell before it was noticed.
Jace noticed this once, and told him, without looking at him:
"You are hiding from something… but it is not us."
And one day… a small child entered the small hall.
No one called her.
But she came, in a soft silk gown, and a ribbon in her hair that shone brighter than candlelight.
Kalidor's sister.
She was four. But she looked at the table as if she had known it forever.
Lisa whispered:
"Who allowed her in?"
But no one answered.
Estira looked at her for a moment, then nodded to the woman standing behind her.
She was not prevented. Nor was she invited to sit.
Then the child came forward—on her own accord— and extended her hand towards one of the stones designated for the test.
No one said anything.
She didn't actually touch the stone, but the light around it began to glow slowly.
Without a sound. Without a command.
Neron recoiled. Talya gasped. Lin bit her lip.
As for Lisa… she turned her face towards Estira… who did not smile.
Estira said calmly:
"What has not been trained… does not mean it is not born."
Then she added:
"Double the younger twin's training."
She looked at Lin… but the sentence was directed at her elder sister.
Lisa did not answer. But her eyes said everything.
Lin did not cry. But her face became expressionless.
And that evening, the little girl entered her designated wing, without looking at anyone, and without being asked for anything.
As for Kalidor… he stood in the back corridor, and showed nothing.
But he knew now… that the light that had once emerged from him, had chosen another face.
And it was not his.
✅ End of Phase 5 – Before Her Eyes Opened