Adam wakes up in the Red Castle about the same hour every day. On Saturdays, the only ones he sees sleeping in the boys' dorms are Prospounae and Sotíel; Mikael leaves early in the morning to his shift in the Police station, Tius has not slept in the castle since they got permission to sleep home and Valon wakes up even earlier than Mikael so he can train. Ever since the internships started, Valon has shifted the focus of his training from Elemental magic to medical procedures; so far, the only thing he has been able to do in the hospital is carry things from side to side and clean things. \\
Adam leaves the room and go to the bathroom, where he takes a shower and slowly prepares himself to another day at "work". The canteen at that time was quite full, at least for the usual number of Cavaliers that have breakfast in the castle. Usually, the food prepared at the refectory is for the Cavaliers that are going out of their shifts; many of them, work during the night, at police stations or even at special services that people order from the Cavaliers. The food served in the morning is gentle and refreshing. It relaxes the muscles and even makes people sleepy; it is Adam's favorite. He grabs a big plate of food and starts to eat in one of the tables there, soon after, some bronze and one silver cavalier sit with him. They are the ones that always eat there, when they noticed the boy that is always going there alone at the same time as them, they quickly started to chat with him. They just finished an escort mission for a school; one of the private schools in the city is changing its campus, the new one has just been built, so they needed to transport all of the objects and materials of the school from the old building to the new campus. They had to do it in a single night since they were in school season. It was hired two carriers, seven trucks in total, and the Cavaliers to help load and unload the trucks and protect the convoy. Each truck traveled three times; the mission lasted almost eleven hours after some small miscalculations, but, in the end, they were able to transfer all of the things the school was going to need during the day; Adam could clearly see how tired they were. After breakfast he went straight up to Alíthela's office, she had not arrived yet so the boy decided to walk around the castle while waiting. He started in the back gardens of the castle, near the arena, he saw a couple of Cavaliers, and Valon with them, practicing. From far away it looked like Valon was casting a spell in one of them. He continued to walk throughout the whole castle until he reached the highest tower in it, it is the tower where Raphael's office is located. Right at the top of the stair to the floor, there is a window where you can see the forest located to the south-west of the city. He admired the view for a while and then looked around the floor; it was a long corridor with a single door in the middle of the left side. At the other extreme of the hall was another window, Adam started to walk to it, to see what kind of view it held. When approaching the door, he started to hear voices coming from the room behind it. He did not want to hear, but his legs started to weigh and his feet took smaller steps, in the end there was nothing he could have done to not listen. \\
—I'm Not going. — Raphael said with a firm voice. \\
—You will. — Seraphim responded. \\
—I won't. \\
—You are the Commander, you will. \\
—Yes, I am the commander, I have a lot of work to do here. I don't see why my presence is needed there. \\
—You are the first commander of the newest castle of the nation. You Will go. Do you know when was the last time something like this happened? \\
—I know but...\\
—We were not even born. \\
—I know but... \\
—They expect you to give them reports, and tell the saints how great our nation is becoming. \\
—You can do that. You are archduke, people are going to love if you give the inaugural speech. \\
—Usually they would, but these are special circumstances. You are going. \\
—Please don't make me go, take Haamiah... He loves Haamiah. \\
—She is not the leader of this castle so she Will Not go. She wasn't chosen to command this castle, you were. So as the one in Command, you will assume your responsibilities and go with the saints, and me, of course, to the annual evaluation. — Seraphim sounded mad to Adam — You will make the speech and tell how everything is going to Karabu... — Raphael deeply sighed and lowered his head — What is your problem with him? It's been years and I still don't understand it. \\
—It's not that I don't like him. He is the one that does not like me. If you notice the way he looks at me you'll understand it. \\
Seraphim stared at Raphael for several seconds. \\
—I have work to do so I'll be going now. Put yourself together. There are some things we can't run from, we all... \\
Before he could hear the rest, Sanael ran away. He left the tower and went to Alíthela's office; she had already arrived and started working. \\
His work there was basically read and organize the documents they received. As the Internal Affairs representative in the Red Castle, Alíthela had to report all the official activities of the Cavaliers in the city. Some of the documents she receives are from the police station, the representative of the Cavaliers in the police, Skael, makes a new report every four weeks and sends it to the city hall, from there they send the organized documents signed by the mayor to the Cavaliers Command Castle in the city. Usually, a CCC is located in a big city and it is responsible for all of the smaller cities nearby; the Red Castle was built as a temporary base in the last war given the city's location near the border, it was not fully operational as a Command Castle until this year when Raphael took over as commander. The twelve new Cavaliers are the first ones trained in that castle, in previous years, the saints discovered in the city were sent to train in the Yellow Castle. \\
Sanael opened an envelope and saw written in it the names of some of his colleagues, Asphela's and Exoutius's were the ones at the top of it. \\
—Is this one of the internship reports? — He asked Alíthela. \\
She took a quick look at it and confirmed with her head, then went back to write something in a paper. \\
—Where do I put these? \\
—Just leave them at my table. \\
Alíthela's table was a mess; there was papers, pens and stamps all over the place. The stack of documents spread out around the edges, threatening to throw themselves at any moment; the only space she left vague was a small square in the middle which she uses to work. \\
—In which pile? \\
She raised her head and was startled by the mess in front of her. \\
—Ahm... just give me it — She grabbed and gently placed on the floor next to her foot — I will have to sign these anyway, so I'll leave it here where I will remember it. \\
—Do you have to sign all of the internship reports? \\
—Yes. \\
—How do I make mine? — He sounded worried. \\
—No, I'm the one who has to make yours, it is the instructor who makes the reports. I'll make yours as soon as I finish this... \\
—Instructor... \\
—Yes... \\
—So... Can I ask you something? \\
… \\
Alíthela lifted her head and deeply stared at his eyes... \\
"This is it" — She thought:
"This is the moment predicted by the gods at creation, it is the moment where the boy meets his destiny. \\
—Alíthela... — The voice that came out of his mouth did not belong to the same — There is something I... need to do, but I don't know if I have the knowledge... \\
—What is it? \\
—I need your help... \\
—Tell me, what is it? \\
—As My Instructor...\\
—Yes, I am. \\
—It is Your duty.\\
—Oh God... \\
—And yours only... \\
—I'm ready. \\
—To guide me... For Now, I will meet my..."
Sanael clapped his hands right in front of her face "waking" her up.
—I'll help you — She shouted with the clap.\\
—Help me to do what? — The boy was incredibly confused. \\
—Nothing... to do nothing. What were you going to ask me? \\
—Oh... So... by accident... I heard part of a conversation of two people... \\
—Who? \\
—the Commander and the Archduke... — he almost whispered. \\
—What??? — She screamed — You can't walk around overhearing the superiors. They could be talking about confidential stuff...\\
—I know, it was an accident, it won't happen again. \\
—What were they talking about? — She jumped closer to him and her eyes widened. \\
Sanael's face has never looked so red, he tried to speak everything he heard but in between stutters the only thing intelligible was: \\
—What is an annual evaluation? \\
—Oh... That is what you heard. — She started laughing — The annual evaluation is an event in the Black Castle. There, they are going to fill out the recruits' form and introduce them to all of the Cavaliers activities. \\
—Cool... \\
—Yea... it is pretty funny actually. Usually, they make like... they do something so that recruits from other castles can get to know each other. \\
—Something like what? \\
—A tournament... or a gymkhana. I don't remember exactly. It is been a long time since I went to one of these. Not a long time... Just a little — She said with a straight face. And staring at him. \\
Sanael blushed and asked. \\
—So... you are not going... \\
—No — She looked down and continued her work — Only the Commander of each castle goes with the new cavaliers. So don't worry, you guys will be in good hands. \\
He sat down in his chair and whispered to himself. \\
—I'm not worried... \\