"Tell me everything—what exactly happened?"
Daniel's voice was calm but firm as he fixed his gaze on Randy.
Randy nodded weakly, a mixture of exhaustion and relief flickering across his face. In a halting voice, he began to recount his story, one that spanned thousands of years.
A long time ago, Randy had been a minor member of a powerful family, an affiliate child with dismal magical potential.
While others in his family awakened their magic patterns with ease and excelled in mastering complex spells, Randy remained an ordinary individual, unable to harness even the simplest magic.
Resigned to his fate, Randy spent his days doing menial tasks, occasionally daydreaming about the day he might awaken his magic pattern and become a powerful mage.
If fate had left him alone, Randy's life would have been brief and unremarkable.
But one day, his life took a dramatic turn.
