Once the teachers left, the Clades were left to map out their son's future plans.
"Listen, son, there are three ways you can graduate from the Academy. First, you can go the Scholars route. Meaning your school life would more or less resemble that of regular students in regular schools. Pass exams, get credits, write papers, and so on. The difficult part comes in the form of expectations. Since the Academy wants the best, and make no mistake they will milk you dry for contribution points, you will have to give up on the Martial Path."
"The second option would be to become a Warrior. Don't let your grandpa fool you into thinking that means you have to be a soldier. There will be involuntary service sure, but it doesn't have to be the army. There are three options if you chose this path – Army, Navy, or Rangers."
"Rangers are the people responsible for protecting us from the wildlife. They are a lot more independent than the other two, but that comes with a higher mortality rate."
"Third option is the magic route. The simplest of all really, just reach the Rank of Apprentice and find yourself a teacher. Becoming a mage is more about luck if you ask me, so don't get your hopes up. Gods know I tried, still trying actually, it just doesn't come to everyone. The hard part comes with finding a teacher, one with the right element no less." Liam said.
He usually hated to put on a serious face, even in the direst situations, but today was special. Due to the nature of his work, he was rarely home. Most of the time he wasn't even in the Empire even. These days he was more a diplomat than a merchant. He was taking full advantage of the precious few days he had with his family, and he would use the time he had left to prepare his son to live without them.
"Question! What elements are you talking about?" Ciaran asked.
"Didn't your grandpa tell you? Typical, only the necessary information is shared." His dad said and clicked his tongue in distaste.
"Listen, kid, every person has an innate element. For the Martial Path, we only use that in our power. Let's go in the backyard and I will show you,"
Liam led them outside and had them sit in the gazebo. Then he distanced himself from them and breathed in. One moment he was fifty meters ( 164 feet) in front of them the next he was grabbing Ciaran by the waist with one hand.
The boy was startled and looked at his dad. His feet had sunken into the ground, while the hand that was grabbing him was made out of stone.
"This is what an element is. I as well as most soldiers, your grandpa and brother included are Earth users. We bend the earth and use it to our advantage. You will learn more in-depth about elements at the Academy."
"Just so you know, you NEED to establish a connection with your element if you wish to reach Rank One. And on average, Academy graduates are at Rank Three."
"How many elements are there, and what is mine? How do I make a connection? "The boy's eyes shined, he really wanted to learn how all this worked.
"No idea. Our best guess comes from a person's personality. But it's not that accurate. For example, Earth users are grounded realists, who love structure and organization. Your grandfather was truly flabbergasted when I showed talents for it." Liam laughed.
"The fastest way to find your element is to ask your dryad friend about it. Creatures close to nature have a way of finding these things. The other method is to just train and not worry about it, it will come to you eventually."
The two stared at each other. The mere words brought them a sense of nausea. Neither had any love for mindless hard work. If there was a clear goal, with a proper plan then sure, they would spare nothing to get what they wanted. But hard work was a tool, not a virtue; it was to be used intelligently. Neither of them believed that someone could just work hard, do as they are told, and one day achieve all they wanted. No, hard work and drive were important, but intelligence and shrewdness were even more so.
Now the question was how they were going to tell his grandparents about Ciaran's 'exile'. His grandfather was so happy when one of his grandsons was assigned to the special learning unit at such a young age. He said that it was because the Clades were finally going to have another good soldier in the mix, but everyone knew better even Rayon himself, the old man was just happy to spend time with his grandchildren.
As happy as he was about it, that left him with very little time for Ciaran. The boy had no talent for being a Warrior, and as such needed very little guidance from him. Most of the work was left to a Rank Two instructor. As such, they shared very little time together, a fact The Colonel was extremely self-conscious about.
Now that he would essentially be ripped from the nest for fourteen years, the man would be livid. And when one of the Empire's war heroes was furious, the whole army followed. One thing that could be said about the Empire's army was that its members were united. They of course were loyal to the Emperor, him being a fellow soldier played no small part in that, but they were just as loyal to their direct leadership. And The Colonel had a LOT of soldiers under him.
"Do mages follow the same concept then? Do they also have an element?" The boy asked cautiously, trying his best not to sound too enthusiastic.
His mother was right next to them, and he could feel the anxiety oozing from her. His mother was more fearless than both his father and grandfather combined. This showed the kid that this magic business was dangerous. And if his mother got it her way he would never even get close to it.
She would never forbid him of course. She knew how to spin his dad on her finger and do their taxes with the other. Filling all the necessary documents in triplicate no less. And he and his dad were cut from the same cloth. You couldn't straight up forbid them things, but their attention could be diverted.
'Getting cut off from my family will suck. No resources and I hate to admit it but I am more or less worth it without that wealth. Not to mention how much I will miss them, but Gods forgive me this might be an opportunity in disguise.'
'If I stayed here there was no way I would ever become a Mage. My family loves me too much to risk my life in pursuit of wonder. My options were always plentiful, but I never knew the one thing no one bothered to tell me about would be the one thing I would want most of all.' Ciaran thought.
"That is all well and good, but can you put down our boy Liam, not like you need to hold him in the air like that." Camille said with a slight smile on her face.
Both of them were startled. They had forgotten, or more accurately selectively ignored the position that they were in. Liam lowered the boy into his mother's arms and sat next to them.
"Your dad gave you a nice briefing, but what are your plans Rany, what will you do without us." She asked.
He wanted to joke and blurt out 'cry' but if he did he might get beaten harder than ever before, or worse, he might actually make his mother cry.
"I will keep my head down, study, and maybe visit the Maze again if I am allowed. They banned me from the Library, but no one said anything about it. I can use it to train or ask it for guidance."
"That would go on for a few years, probably until year four. From then on I will focus on the Martial path. I will not lie to you mom, I want to learn magic. And to be frank, I WILL, but not like this, not their way. I refuse to only learn what is fed to me. I am sure I can find a way to sneak into the magic ranks. Worst case scenario, I give up and go to the military. I even know a talented future General I can serve under." He looked full of pride when he said that.
It was worth noting that even with the vast difference in talents, Ciaran had never been jealous of Rayon. They grew up together, their family had a screw loosened inside their heads, but if they got one thing right it was unity. For all its worth, there was no in-fighting in the Clades. The worst it had ever gotten was between his dad and The Colonel, but that was before he was born.
"Speaking of Rony, can I ask you to take him from the army base and bring him to school a few days of the week? I know they don't allow civilians in the base, and you heavily dislike seeing him in army gear, but he will need his mom more than ever, and it will give us an excuse to see each other." The boy said cautiously.
This brought tears to her eyes. At this moment she realized that because of his raised emotional maturity they had treated the boy as an adult for far too long. Even now he was trying to think of his brother when tomorrow his everything would be taken from him.
She said nothing. She just pulled him into a hug and sobbed. For once even his dad refused to be a jackass and kept quiet as he joined in the hug. The gears in his head turning. Someone made his family miserable, and they were going to pay, of that Liam Clades swore to the Gods, both those above and the ones below.