Phil was so excited he was up half the night. He was going to the Wizard's Tower! His Mama put his name into the lottery and it was the fourth name drawn. The school gave him a list of things to bring. Mama traded and swapped with all the cousins until she gathered everything on the list. Phil packed his bag three times in the night. He put on his small sword and took it off again.

  Finally at first light, he jumped out of bed and went to clean up. He carefully combed his wild hair so it fell just right. He put on his nearly new hunter’s greens and added his sword belt. He refilled his water flask with fresh water and strapped it on his belt where he could reach it easily. He put his pack on, tightening the straps so it wouldn’t shift.

  He waited impatiently as Mama got his younger siblings up and ready for the day. He was nervous that they would miss the school men and he wouldn't get to go.

  “Can we go now?” he asked Mama. “They are going to leave me.”

  “No they won’t, baby,” Mama replied. “They told me we have till midday to report. There is plenty of time yet.”

  When Mama and his three siblings were finally ready, Phil breathed a sigh of relief. Mama picked up the special piece of vellum and tucked it into the pocket of her robes. She opened the door to their room and led the way down to the common room. Phil almost panicked again, when instead of heading to the door, she went to the tables.

  “They will replace me, Mama,” Phil almost cried. “They said they would.”

  “You don’t want to make a journey on an empty stomach, baby,” Mama told him. “The list said to be prepared. Being hungry is no way to prepare.”

  Phil dived into his food. Mama was right, it did say to be prepared. He didn’t want to get rejected because he couldn’t follow their directions. The light was bright enough in the square that Phil could see the outside tables. They were empty which left Phil torn between the fear that they already missed them and anticipation that they would be here soon.

  He kept up his watch on the tables while urging his Mama to eat faster.

  “Where did you think you're going boy?” Uncle James asked from over his head.

  “I paid for him a place at the academy,” Mama said in a tentative voice to her brother. Uncle frowned. Phil shrunk into his seat. Bad things happened when Uncle got angry.

  “I don’t remember a Pittock being selected,” James countered.

  “Phil isn’t a Pittock. Boys get their family names from their fathers. His father was Ted. I gave them his true name. Phillip son of Theodore.”

  “That’s not our tradition,” Uncle James responded. “All royals are Pittocks, especially those in the main line.”

  “Since George is king, I’m not really the main line myself anymore am I?” Mama asked. “Phil is even farther from the throne.”

  “As a daughter of a queen you will always be in the main line,” James corrected her. “Work hard at the school, young Phil. Your performance will reflect on the honor of our house.” Uncle James walked away and Mama released a breath. Phil was bold enough to look out the window into the courtyard.

  “Look Mama,” he said, a bit more subdued. “They’re here.” Mama looked at the group of recruiters setting themself up at the foot of the square’s crystal.

  “Make sure you have all your things,” Mama told him. “I’ll just ask Rachel to watch your siblings.” Mama rose to her feet and stepped over to the next table, carrying his youngest sister. She handed the toddler over to Rachel and asked her to keep an eye on the rest of Phillip's siblings.

  Phil made sure his pack was still snug on his back. He ate his meal wearing it. He checked that his short sword was still in its scabbard and hadn’t fallen out somewhere. He fingered his water flask making sure it was still plump with water.

  “Come along,” Mama said, holding out her hand. Phil put his hand in hers. Mama led him out of the inn and into the courtyard. She walked over to the old woman among the recruiters.

  “I’ve brought Phillip,” Mama announced to the woman. “He has a place.”

  “Did you bring your receipt?” The woman asked.

  “Yes, I have it here,” Mama said, pulling the magic vellum out of her pocket.

  “Wait here a moment,” the woman said. She went over to a little table the recruiters must have brought with them and looked through the eight vellum sheets laid out there. She picked one of the sheets up. She walked back over to them.

  “You are the first to arrive,” the woman said. “When everyone is here, we will do a little ceremony before we leave. If there are no-shows at midday we will do another draw for replacements. I have you checked in, so Phil won’t be replaced as a no-show. He doesn’t have to wait here, as long as you check back every so often.”

  “Can he wait with you? Things are a little difficult for me this morning and he is so excited,” Mama said.

  “Of course,” the recruiter smiled at Phil. “I understand the excitement of youth.”

  Mama knelt down next to him. She gave him a big hug. “I will miss you, baby. Be good for the teachers and learn as much as you can. I will see you in the spring.” There were tears in Mama’s eyes when she let him go.

  “Don’t cry Mama,” Phil begged. “I will be good.”

  “They are tears of joy, baby. No, not a baby anymore, you're my big boy now,” She rose to her feet and gently pushed Phil forward toward the old woman.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Come, Phillip,” the woman said. “Let’s set you down over here by my selkie friend Companion. He always has an interesting toy in his pocket. If you learn to say his selkie name he might let you play with it.”

  More students arrived and were seated with Phillip. The selkie and elf taught them how to play a game on the flat stones of the courtyard with wooden blocks and round balls of glass. The elf’s name was Valin.

  Phil was one of the youngest students. He didn’t know any of the others, which was even better. Phil was the only royal who was chosen. That made him special.

  “That’s all of them.” Phillip heard one recruiter tell another. “Everyone who owed the tuition paid up. We’re ready to head out.”

  “Ok everyone. Gather up the balls and blocks and give them back to Companion. We are going to call you one at a time. When your name is called, step up to Ben,” an older man that was clearly a warrior announced. Phil bounced to his feet. The toys were quickly gathered and returned.

  “We are the Wizard's Tower. Today, in the fiftieth year since the landing, we welcome into our number these new students for the winter session at the Speedwell Academy,” Ben called. Phil looked around and realized a crowd was gathered to watch them off. He spotted his Mama standing with a bunch of other royals in front of the inn.

  “Vicky Atwater,” the woman recruiter read from a sheet of vellum. She passed the sheet to the old man and stepped back. A girl about the same age as Phil, went forward to stand in front of Ben. He was standing next to the protection crystal. He said something to the girl. She reached out and touched the crystal. The crystal filled with a very faint blue color. The old man pulled a strip of blue fabric from one of his pockets and wrote something on it with the use of a stylus and the small table. He tied the blue cloth around the girl's upper arm, making it into an armband.

  “Welcome to the Wizard's Tower,” Ben called loudly. He pointed to where the girl should go and wait next to the warrior recruiter.

  “Richard Maxim,” the other male recruiter who wasn't a warrior called.

  Phil began to fidget as name after name was called. Were they never going to call him?

  “Phillip son of Theodore.” Phil jumped forward at his name. Then forced himself to slow down. He didn’t want to fall and embarrass his mother. He stood proudly in front of the old man Ben.

  “Touch the crystal for me,” the old man instructed, “so I can see the color of your magic.”

  Phil reached up and set his hand on the clear crystal. The crystal remained clear.

  “Hmm…” Ben said. “How old are you?”

  “Eight.” Phil said proudly. The old man looked down at the vellum in his hand.

  “Are you Phillip, son of Theodore?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Phil answered. “I go by Phil.” The old man noted something down.

  “And your sponsor is Ira daughter of Julia?” Phil was getting worried now. No one else took so long at the crystal.

  “Yes,” he said nervously.

  “Is she here? I want to speak to her for a moment.”

  “Mama!” Phil cried, waving her frantically over. His mama came forward from the front of the inn. She was carrying his baby sister on her hip, which bunched up the blue silk of her robes.

  “Is there a problem?” She asked, anger and fear mixed in her voice. She gathered her son up against her free side. “I paid the tuition when his name was drawn.”

  “No problem,” the old man said to her. “I just want you to be informed. Phil’s magic color isn’t set yet. When he gets back it will be. The academy believes in allowing the learner to pick the color of their magic. If you don’t agree with this and want to guide your son down a certain path, now is your last chance to withdraw him from the school. Your tuition money will of course be fully refunded.”

  “He can pick?” Ira asked.

  “There are always accidents along the way, but normally yes,” the school official responded. Ira shifted the toddler around and squatted down next to her son.

  “You’re a big boy,” Ira said, “and smart. So I know you will make the right choice for you.” In a softer voice she added, “Don’t pick blue.” She kissed her son on the forehead.

  “I’ll make you proud, Mama,” the boy responded.

  “I am already proud,” Ira told her son. With a little effort she rose back up to her feet, still holding the toddler on her hip. “Thank you for telling me this. I still want him to go.”

  “So he shall,” the old man said. He fished an armband out of his pouch that was a pure white. With a stylus he wrote something on it. Phil couldn’t read, so he didn’t know what it said. The old man tied the armband in place around his upper arm. “Welcome to the Wizard's Tower,” he said.

  Phil danced around in a circle in his excitement. His mother smiled at him one last time and stepped back into her position with the family.

  “Go wait by with the others,” the school official told him. Phil ran over to where the other students waited. Two more names were called. Only now that the nervousness was past did Phil realize they were being called in the order their names were drawn. He was thrown off because he didn't recognize the first two names.

  “One last check,” the warrior recruiter announced. “Does everyone have their pack? If you're bringing a weapon do you have it? Check your belt for your water.” All the students touched their items, making sure they still carried everything. “We are going out the back door. Students together in the center. Let's go.”

  Two school officials led the way, while two officials followed. The selkie and the elf walked alongside the group of students. When they reached the back hall, Phil could see that someone was waiting for the group about halfway along the back hallway. The officials in the lead reached the warrior in red touched leathers. One of the officials turned. The red warrior helped the old man through the wall! It was a secret passage and Phil was going to go through! He didn’t think this day could get better.

  “It is dark inside, stay calm and go where you are directed,” the warrior said when Phil got to the front of the line. The warrior took Phil’s wrist and pushed his hand through the glass. An unseen hand took his hand from within and pulled him into darkness.

  Companion and Valin were the last two members of the recruiters group to walk down the back hall. Behind them was Lucas. He watched the selkie and the elf step through the wall as he approached his cousin.

  “I see there are some secrets yet,” Lucas commented when he stopped.

  “There are plenty of them,” Todd responded, “but you don’t seem surprised.”

  “I read the User Manual,” Lucas admitted. “Although it doesn’t say where you go to get access to the fast transport system.”

  “Two months travel south, through the territory of walking bears that are armed with swords and crossbows, you will find an area of large rooms. Somewhere in those spaces, likely down a pipe, or up a vent, you can find an inscription in Egyption that when decoded gives you access to the system,” Todd responded.

  “That sounds difficult,” Lucas responded.

  “It was. Don’t try it until you are tier four and don’t go alone,” Todd replied.

  “Phil is a royal,” Lucas said.

  “I know,” Todd replied. “I recognized him from our spell buying trip.”

  “There was talk of making him a companion of the king, because they are close in age. It wasn’t done yet because his color is still clear. Someone that close to the king will be controlled,” Lucas replied.

  “That explains why his mother told him not to pick blue,” Todd responded.

  “Yes,” Lucas responded. “Safe journey to you. Keep my children safe.”

  “We will,” Todd responded. “All of them.” Todd stepped through the wall, leaving his cousin alone in the hall. Lucas continued on to the back door of the square, where he planned to ask the guards if they saw where the recruiters went.