POV Einar Nordgren
"May Erindra's light guide the young heir," the crowd chanted as the caravan moved through the city, its hood open for the civilians to see me.
Seeing their eyes, the expectations they had for me, I could only cower with my back hunched.
Before my actions could make for a pitiful sight, my personal knight, Talon, pinched my side. "Oh, has the young master finally given up on being the greatest lord ever?" he teased.
The pain made me straighten my back as I was reminded of my position.
That's right, I was to be their lord. So of course they would have high expectations from me. I don't want to let them or my parents down.
"As if!" Scoffing, I looked at Talon with a smug smile. "I am just worried that you won't be able to keep up with me."
"Maybe you should prove your words at training. I won't even use a wooden sword this time," he said, making me wince in imaginary pain.
I swear, the only things he does with passion are beating me and flirting with my maid.
"Oh, did I hear it right? You want to reverse all your progress with Isla?"
The corner of his mouth twitched in irritation, but we had already arrived on castle grounds. So I made a quick escape.
Jumping off the railing, I dashed through the castle hallways to the one person Talon feared other than my parents.
As I pushed open the library doors, I found her sitting there, calmly reading a book. It was none other than my teacher, who coincidentally happens to be Talon's mother.
"Had a good day, young master?" Teacher Thalia asked as she looked at me above her book.
"Of course," I answered through heaving breaths.
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Talon appear at the door to the library, only to run away the moment he saw his mother.
The sibling-like relationship I had with my personal knight wasn't appropriate, and the fault lies with Talon. Or so teacher Thalia says.
Suddenly reminded of something, she said, "Oh, right. The lord called for you."
"Thank you for relaying the message." I gave her a slight bow before leaving the library.
As I was just about to knock on my father's office, Talon appeared beside me out of nowhere. I nudged him, whispering, "Did he call for you too?"
I could practically see the gears turning in his mind as he tried to find out what he had done wrong, or maybe which one my father had found out.
Giving me a nod, Talon knocked on the door. "My lord, the young heir is here."
"Come in," my father's voice came almost immediately, unmuffled even through the thick wood.
Talon pushed the door open for me to enter before he followed, closing it behind him.
In front of me, my father sat on his work chair, his elbows resting on the table while his blue eyes pierced through me. "First, neither of you has done anything wrong."
Hearing his words, I sighed, but the relief was short-lived.
"I called you here to stop you from making a mistake." He looked at Talon, who was standing beside me. "Talon, tell me. What is Ether?"
Despite the unexpectedness of the question, the young knight answered without hesitation. "It is the life source of Aurelia, our world. Existing since creation, it gave birth to the goddess Erindra. Ether is what powers our technology and magic."
Feeling satisfied with his answer, Father nodded before turning to me. "Einar, what is an Etherglyph?"
I hesitated, unsure of how to answer the question. In the end, I recited what was in the books. "An Etherglyph is the medium through which an individual can channel the power of ether. Manifested as a symbol on a person's body at about ten years old, it lets them manipulate ether by converting it into the attribute the person has an affinity to."
"Wrong." Father shook his head. "An Etherglyph does not simply let us manipulate the ether in the world. First, the ether is absorbed into the glyph and stored there before the person uses it to cast a spell. Do you realize what I am getting at?"
I was about to shake my head when his words sank in. "For a person to cast a spell, they can use only the limited capacity of ether stored within their glyph."
"Yes." Father nodded at me. "Then, Talon, do you realize why I have called you here?"
When Talon's answer didn't come just as swiftly, I risked taking a glance at him, only to find him pale-faced as he stared at my father with wide eyes. "My lord, please forgive my negligence."
"It is not your fault, Talon. Even I was unable to notice it until recently."
Father's words only added to my confusion as I stood there, trying my best to understand what was happening.
Unable to hold back anymore, I was about to question them when Father said, "Einar, the capacity of ether in your Etherglyph is pitifully low—so low that you might be able to cast only two or three basic spells."
But I can cast many more than that.
I wanted to intervene, but Father continued, "To substitute for that, every time you cast a spell, you use not only your ether, but also the ambient ether surrounding you."
"Then," I smiled, "isn't that a good thing?"
"Yes, young master, it is," Talon answered this time instead of Father. "But the issue is that an ability like that has never been recorded. It means that you are a unique existence, and you might be in danger if people come to know of this."
"Therefore," Father took over Talon's words. "Henceforth, you will only train indoors in the company of me, your mother, Talon or Isla. And you are not permitted to use magic outside private quarters. The rules will be effective as long as I deem them to be."