The warm glow of the fire crackling beneath the chimney cast a comforting light in the dark room. Eryndor busied himself gathering wood from outside, his thoughts lingering on the tragic loss of his parents. His grandfather, a retired mage who had taken him under his wings had taught him everything about magic, after the tragic loss of his father and mother despite the fact that Eryndor himself being powerless in that regard. This lack of magical ability had made him a laughing stock among his peers, but his intelligence and knowledge of magic far surpassed theirs. With his grandfather's guidance, Eryndor had become a font of knowledge about the very thing he couldn't wield himself.
"Eryn," Grandpa Arinthal voice was a low rumble, like distant thunder, "I know the news about the Argentum Academy was…unexpected, but I want you to know it's the best. "
Eryndor flings the woods in his arms into the fire box sending a shower of sparks up the chimney. "Unexpected? Grandfather, it was a mockery! Enrolled into the Magic Academy? Me? I can't even light a stubborn candle with my own will, let alone conjure a proper spell!" His voice cracked with a mixture of anger and despair. He, Elara, the boy who struggled to even mend a broken fence with rudimentary tools, was expected to wield the arcane arts. It was a cosmic joke, and he was the bewildered punchline.
Grandpa Arinthal, a man whose eyes held the weariness of a hundred battles, shifted in his seat. "The Emperor's decree was clear, Eryn." He abbreviated just like he always did since he Eryn was still a toddler, "Every capable youth, regardless of their current aptitude, is to be assessed, don't belittle yourself if others belittle you too because you are not born without magic, And your name, through some twist of fate, came up." He paused, his gaze steady. "But that doesn't mean you're doomed. It means you have an opportunity."
Eryn scoffed. "An opportunity to be laughed out of the academy? To fail spectacularly in front of every prodigy and noble heir?"
"No," Grandpa Arinthal interjected, his voice firm, "an opportunity to prove them wrong. An opportunity to prove yourself wrong." He withdrew his leg from the stool and pushed himself backwards to the chair holding the arms of the chair comfortably, his gaze locking with Eryn, "You may not possess the innate magical talent of the arcanists, boy, that much is true. But power isn't always about what you're born with. Sometimes, it's about what you earn."
Grandpa Arinthal leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "The academy, for all its pomp and circumstance, still operates on a fundamental principle: knowledge. They've given you a chance, Eryn. But it's not a free pass. You have to pass the three entrance exams."
Eryn head snapped up. "Three exams? What are they?" Dread coiled in his stomach. If he struggled with basic arithmetic, how was he supposed to tackle magical examinations?
"The first.....," Grandpa Arinthal explained, he knew about all the magic academy because he has attended all of them when he was still a young adult, he continues, "is the Theoretical Aptitude Test. It's a grueling assessment of magical history, elemental properties, and spell components. Pure knowledge, Eryn. No practical application required, just what you can learn and memorize."
Grandpa Arinthal then laid backwards and continues. "This is where your diligence, your dedication to understanding, will be tested. It's a mountain to climb, yes, but not an impossible one."
"The second," Grandpa Arinthal continues, "is the Aura Recognition Trial. They'll gauge your ability to perceive and differentiate magical energies, even if you can't manipulate them. It's about sensitivity, about intuition."
Eryn frowned. "Perceive auras? I can barely perceive the difference between a badger and a bear in the dark."
"It's about focus, Eryn," Grandpa Arinthal said softly. "About stilling the mind and listening to what isn't spoken. You have a quiet strength, my boy. Don't underestimate it."
"And finally," he concluded, his voice somber, "the third is the Intent Projection Challenge. This is the most difficult for those without innate power. You won't be expected to cast a spell, but you'll need to demonstrate your ability to project your will, your intent, towards a magical construct. It's about mental fortitude, about the strength of your belief."
Eryn shoulders slumped. Theoretical aptitude, aura recognition, intent projection. Each sounded more insurmountable than the last. He was a simple village boy, destined for a life of honest labor, not arcane pursuits.
Grandpa arinthal rose and placed a hand on Eryn shoulder, his grip surprisingly strong. "They've given you a path, Eryn. A difficult one, yes, but a path nonetheless. Do not give up before you even begin. You may not hold the powers they seek, not in the way they expect, but you hold something far more valuable: the stubborn heart of a true survivor. And that, my boy, is a kind of magic all its own."
The fire crackled, casting dancing shadows on the worn walls of the small building. Outside, the wind whispered through the ancient trees, a low, persistent murmur. Eryn stared at his grandfather's kind yet cold gaze, The weight of the three exams settled upon him, heavy and daunting. But amidst the fear and uncertainty, a tiny spark, no bigger than the ember he had just kicked, began to glow within him. Perhaps, just perhaps, they weren't entirely wrong about him. And perhaps, for the first time in his life, he had something truly extraordinary to prove.
"But what if I don't pass the exams Grandpa?" He asked his voice of melancholy and his grandfather who was staring at the glowing night of the stars that shimmered in the sky, sound of chirps of the cricket as the trees rustled above their heads, waving caused by the gentle breeze that surrounded them.
Still staring at the bright night sky, "even though you can't seem to lot a single candle light, but your mind hold a treasury of knowledge about magic that even your peers would envy don't belittle yourself and instead see the light in you, and anytime soon that light within you would shine brighter. " He then twisted his head to stare at Eryn whose brows furrowed nervously about the exams. "You don't have to be nervous about the exam, believe in yourself, if you are too anxious in taking the exams then don't you don't have to feel discomfort because of the magic academy, " Grandpa Arinthal informed him with a bright smile on his lips revealing wrinkles on his face.
"I am not worried about going there grandpa, I am just nervous because everybody knows about Eryndor throne as the unremarkable human who doesn't have a single magic, " his voice held tension and dismal in them.
His father chuckled lightly, "when they see how great you truly are, they are not going to shine their teeth at your face, don't let that keep bothering you, " the old man said trying to bright his grandson mood. "Here take this, I found it in a chest box, which I acquired from a magic monster I killed years ago," he took the golden necklace out of his side pocket, pulling the boys hand with his palm opened and placing it on his palm, "I always wanted to give you this, since the monster was the most strongest magic beast I ever encountered I had to keep it's most valuable in my possession, It was my wish for you to join the academy, now that you are one step on becoming a student, it's yours now to keep and not mines anymore, I don't know what it holds, this is the third time I am taking them, so figure it out by yourself I'll be inside the wind is getting more chilly, you should come too before you catch a cold, " a smile on the old man lips as he left his sun under the tree whose shadow was cast upon the ground with him standing on the dark shadows.
He held the chain with one of his fingers as it swings oscillating on the air, "what's this, " he narrowed his eyes at it and one of his brows slightly raised as he squints his eyes at the bizarre designs in it. And he wore the necklace on his neck and went in.