“I don’t want to go!” I exclaimed. “I want to stay and help mother and father.” 

The wizened wizard stared into my eyes while grimacing. "I know you do Samuel," he said. "but you are not enough to change the tide of battle and you need to be protected until it's safe to return."

The wizard, who has watched over me since my birth and has taught me everything I know continued to gather my things in my darkroom. The older wizard was just as you would think, an old man with white hair and beard. He stood around five foot four and was always hunched over due to a bad back as he always told me. All around me I heard the screams of war and the bangs of steel. Even in my young age, I knew that what I heard was not the winning side of my family guard but the traitors destroying everything I know and love. 

It was hard for me to believe that just yesterday on my tenth birthday everything was wonderful and normal. I spent the day with my servant Alice, a cute teenage girl with blond hair like a wheat field and a cute button nose, who took me to play in the meadow just outside the walls near the Auburn Forest. I picked a few beautiful flowers to give to my mother as I know she loves them and cherishes them when I present them to her. Also, it makes my older sister Ilana jealous when I get the attention from mother, so that was always a plus. I love my sister of course but what kind of younger brother would I be if I didn’t tease and irritate my loving older sister. 

That night was a grand feast where other nobles came for my birthday celebration as I was the only son of the current Duke of Shire Valley. Shire Valley is a small dukedom that mainly focuses on crops and metalworking like iron and tin. The valley itself is strategically located between two other dukedoms; Nightwood, known for the dark forest of strange creatures and Marrowdel, known for the precious metals the woman of the castle love, all according to the old wizard's teachings. These two dukedoms have been having issues between each other according to father and he has been directed by the king to handle the affair between the two. As I am his son and future heir, he has taught me how he is dealing with the issues and through this I know he is going to side with Marrowdel instead of Nightwood because Nightwood has been the one infringing on the Marrowdel’s territory stealing precious metals from the mines. 

According to the old wizard, Nightwood’s Duke Harold is evil and should be taken out of power, but my father refuses to listen to the old wizard as my father thinks him to be paranoid in his old age. The wizard told me that Duke Harold is evil because of the dark forest that sits next to the ancient tomb of a necromancer that nearly destroyed the world, to me it sounds like an incredible story, but the old wizard refuses to teach me more about the story. I tried to have him tell me more before the feast that night, but the old wizard stated he will tell me when it becomes appropriate for me to know, whatever that means. 

As I finished up my lessons with the old wizard, I made myself ready with the help of Alice for the feast as both dukes will be in the castle for my birthday. According to my father, it is because they seek favor from him and he told me to expect the same since I am the heir and will take over after him. Father taught me to never let others curry favor from me as it will cloud my unbiased judgment as a duke and interfere with my rulings of my territory and responsibility beset by the king. I took this lesson from father as a standing point on how I treat other nobles and even the servants of the territory because according to father, even the most common of man can change the tides of power if not looked after properly. In my eyes, my father is the most powerful and kind person in the realm. My father was named William O’Godwin and he was a tall man of over six feet. He has brown hair and was built like a barbarian as my mother likes to say. He is a handsome man even in his forties and I hoped to look like him as I grow up. Mother, of course, says I look just like my father just a bit shorter. The only difference is I have light blue eyes and my father has brown eyes.

The feast was grand but boring as the other children and I were expected to be seen and not heard as the adults spoke with each other about more boring things that I don’t really care for. The only conversations I cared for were fathers and the old wizards, but the old wizard didn’t speak with anyone, he kept in the corner with a weird expression. 

“What are you doing?” I asked the old wizard as I walked up to him. “Shouldn’t you be talking with others as father wants me to?”

“No.” Stated the old wizard. “What do I have to say to these boring and selfish nobles? Nothing that is what. They keep to themselves and I do as well, now shoo boy, I need to think on this weird feeling I have.”

“What weird fe-.” I tried to say. 

“I said shoo boy and leave me!” The wizard cut me off and said. 

I left to go eat some food at the main tables but was interrupted by Duke Harold’s youngest son Ralph who was my age. Ralph was a short and round boy that didn’t miss a meal but missed all the lessons of the sword. His blood-red hair made him look all the worse but matched his fiery attitude towards everyone. He had a face only a mother could love according to the old wizard. 

“Why do you still have that old bastard wizard around? He is up to no good and he is worse than my wizard teacher. You should get you some better teachers, but then again you are too poor to afford what my father can provide for me." Said Ralph with a sneer.  

"Well I know one thing he has taught better than your teachers have," I said.

“Oh yeah, and what’s that Sammy pooh?” Ralph said with a laugh. 

“How to be a noble worthy of my title, not just a spoiled brat.” I said as I turned around to get food even though I had an upset stomach now that I talked to that fellow “noble”. 

“How dare you speak to me like that, how about a duel? That way we can settle this like nobles and see who has the better teachers?” Ralph nearly shouted. 

"No thanks, I was taught not to bully the weak," I said as I continued walking.

“You…you…rotten basta-” *smack* Ralph began to yell until cut off by a smack from his father. 

“Now Ralph, we mustn’t speak like that to fellow nobles, you should get along more with Samuel as you both will be young nobles in the service of the king one day.” Stated Duke Harold. He was an older man in his forties but was built sturdy and had reddish-brown hair. Duke Harold was a handsome man but had a sharp look that made others leery of him. 

“But father he-.” 

“No but Ralph!” Interrupted Duke Harold, he then walked away to speak with my father who was watching the interaction with a frown. I know I will be given a scolding later tomorrow morning as I have been told once to watch what I say to other noble children I find to be irritating. 

*sigh* I gave my father a look that I hoped conveyed an apology for my actions and continued to the plates of food. 

“You shouldn’t tease Ralph like that you know? He may not be a duke one day, but he does hold grudges. Ralph may end up in the kings' service as a royal battlemage and he will then have equal power to you as a duke." Said Karen, the daughter of Duke Christoph of Marrowdel. She was a year younger than me and cute with beautiful brown hair like my mother and amazing grey eyes that made you want to stare into them forever, when not trying to irritate me. Mother said Karen did this because she liked me, but I disagreed. Karen was a menace and I did not like being around her. The old wizard said she was a bad influence as she always got me in trouble by having me go on adventures with her that always led to me being in trouble because of missing curfew or one of us getting hurt. No matter what it was always my fault which is why I do not like being around her when her family visits the castle.  

“Ugh, all I want is food, why do I continue to be interrupted?” I said with despair. 

"How dare you, Samuel, you should be happy to speak to a beautiful lady like me," Karen said with a cute giggle.  

“Beautiful lady, is your cousin Lindsey around? I didn’t know she was coming to my birthday.” I said with a grin. 

 “You know what I meant Samuel, don’t make me tell my older brother you are being mean to me.” Karen turned red and pouted. 

"Umm, Karen, of course, I was just joking, you are a beautiful lady, even more so then Lindsey." I hurriedly stated and nervously looked around for Sean, her older brother. I am not afraid of most people, but Sean is an amazing battlemage. Sean is the heir to Marrowdel dukedom but was currently serving as a battlemage for the royal army to gain some training. I once heard from the servants he killed a whole bandit camp of over fifty men that were terrorizing the royal highway. He apparently slaughtered the whole camp to the last man and rescued the hostages that were being held to be sold as slaves. 

“That’s what I thought Samuel, now be a dear and get this beautiful lady a drink would you?” Karen asked. 

"O…of course Karen," I said through gritted teeth.