Ray's glare faded as Richard Emblaze walked into the Study, taking a seat at the western wall of the room. Emblaze smiled as he felt Ray's jealousy dwindle.
"So, Wolfe." Emblaze began, trying to lighten the heavy dullness of the atmosphere engulfing him. "What rank are you at right now?"
Wolfe sat up in his seat and gently whispered, "Bronze." The shame that came over him was unbearable. Knowing how royals had always treated him, he knew he would be brutalised and belittled again. But none of that ensued.
Instead, Emblaze just shut his eyes and went deep into thought. For a moment, Wolfe thought that Emblaze was putting up an act, but then the man spoke up.
"Alright then. I'll make sure you rise up to Low-Gold, or atleast High-Silver, by the end of the month"
Ray couldn't help but chuckle at Emblaze's outrageous goal. No matter how much potential someone had, or how great the teacher was, it was near impossible to rise up to gold, even high silver for that matter, in such a short amount of time. Wolfe couldn't help but think the same thing.
Irritation swelled inside Emblaze, but he kept it in since he understood why Ray would think that way. "I know it seems impossible, but just trust me. You are way stronger than you think you are." Wolfe smiled at the encouraging words. It was a breath of fresh air to hear positive things directed towards him via a royal's mouth.
"Starting tomorrow the two of us will meet at 6 A.M. I'll plan your schedule and send it over to you via Currtor, so you should receive it in a few hours."
Currtors were bipedal reptile-like creatures with large hind legs and fairly shorter fore-limbs. Domesticated in the early Galilian era, the Currtors were a common organism found all over Zodia. Standing at only 3 feet tall and 5 feet long, the last 2 of which were reserved for a tail that grew over the course of their lifetime, the Currtors were great at carrying small objects weighing up to 5 kilograms.
Their ferocious nature made sure no thief stole what they carried. Their sharp sense of smell made them invulnerable to any threat and allowed them to identify who their masters were. An item containing the scent of the recipient given to the Currtors helped them identify the person they were delivering to.
"You need to give me a piece of your clothing to make sure the Currtor finds you. I'll accompany you to your room to make it quicker since I have to return to Zychs to begin the admission process for the two of you."
Ray interjected as soon as Emblaze finished. "Sir, you don't need to go all the way to that pig-sty. I'll have a servant prepare some fresh tea for you while Wolfe grabs his rags for you."
Emblaze's ears felt like they were bleeding as he continued to listen to Ray's words. The entitlement and uncaring attitude in them was clear as day, but Emblaze didn't have the energy to entertain the boy.
"It's alright Ray, I don't mind tagging along with Wolfe at all. That is, as long as he has no problems with it." Embaze looked over at Wolfe, his eyes gleeful.
Wolfe giggled and relayed his content, saying he would be honored if someone as blue-blooded as Emblaze would accompany him to his room. Ray expressed his annoyance with a silent "tch!", and Emblaze smiled as if in gratitude which annoyed Ray a little.
All three of them exited the Study, Ray leaving first to search for Schelo while the others left in the opposite direction towards the Servants Quarters.
Wolfe embarrassingly walked a few feet ahead of Emblaze, unable to look in the man's general direction. Any royal would be disgusted at the sight of the aged, dilapidated Servants Quarters, but Emblaze had a look of understanding as the pair approached the building. He didn't seem bothered by the crumbling walls, instead tried his best not to make them any worse by leaning on them as groups of children clumsily ran across the pair, their gaze focused on the rare sighting of a royal who did not emit any hatred.
Upon reaching the fifth floor, Wolfe asked Emblaze to wait outside while he looked for a scrap of cloth. Emblaze, though curious as to learn about Wolfe's living conditions, complied with the boy's request, only taking a peek into the room as Wolfe opened and closed the door.
Wolfe's bedridden father was the first sight that met Emblaze's eyes. In the short glimpse that he had acquired, Emblaze could see that the man's eyes were slightly open and his body, barely moving. He didn't seem paralysed, or half-asleep, instead just unaware of his immediate surroundings.
The next detail he registered was the horrible interior of the room. The wallpaper curled over itself at the edges of its tears. The bed Wolfe's father lay on seemed to be the only one in the room, with legs so thin that even a toddler could break them if they tried. The only detail in the ceiling was the diverging pattern of cracks probably infested with all kinds of insects. Since Emblaze couldn't see the other side of the room due to the door blocking his view, he had to assume that the rest of it was similar to what he had already seen.
Wolfe soon returned with a white piece of cloth. The edges were ragged and burnt, exciting Emblaze to learn the story behind it. Noticing the glint in the man's eyes, Wolfe proudly began narrating. It was obvious that he himself was fascinated by this story and took every chance he could find to blurt it out.
The piece was from a loose tee-shirt Wolfe wore in his early years while working at the Vilhorm kitchen wiping utensils once the maids were done washing them. The water that dripped from some vessels would occasionally soak the tee, making it stick to the boy's frail body. This would usually end up in him catching a cold which would put him out of commission for a few days.
During March of Galilian year 627, when Wolfe was only 8, the Vilhorms had had many guests over and all the maids had gone to bed soon after washing the vessels, leaving Wolfe alone to work late at night. As excess water fell on him, the cold touch of the soaked tee-shirt sparked in him a great desire for warmth.
While walking back home gusts of cool night winds sent chills through his wet body. The boy shivered as the strength in his legs left him and he succumbed to the harsh environment.
The guards were later alerted of a fire near the mansion but were shocked to find a young boy shaking as blazing embers surrounded his body. Buckets of water were used to immediately extinguish the fire and the boy, later identified by the guards as Wolfe, was surprisingly unharmed.
The flames, as Wolfe later learned, were manifested by him in an attempt to keep his body from freezing. They had not harmed him because they were essentially a part of him, instead they had eaten at his clothes, only a piece of which had survived due to the guards' quick thinking. Unfortunately, Wolfe was never able to manifest flames of that level ever again because of the lack of knowledge required to do so. A fate he was unfortunately bound to until Richard Emblaze set him free.