“Nooooo…” Samuel Edwin Calderon cried out the second his ears took hold of the information. Then, a moment later, his brain processed it one more time only to arrive at the same conclusion. “It… It can not be… I… I can not be a Ple… cough, I mean a Commoner. A Calderon can be anything but a Commoner.”

  “I am sorry, my boy.” Declared an old man who professed to long white beards and blue garments that leaned into the Wiseman line of clothing brands. Together with his pointy hat, it would be pure folly to say that the old man did not in fact portray the perfect depiction of a Wizard all stories were centered around. The same kind of stories the last thirteen generations of the Calderon Lineage had versed themselves in. “If the Orb says you are without Magic, then you are without Magic.”

  “But… But I am Calderon… Magic is in our blood!” Sam protested with all of his might as all his dreams had shattered on what should have been the greatest day of his twelve-year-old life.

  For Hells, for years Sam had even saved every penny he could from the pocket money his parents gave every month just to buy himself a Spellbook, the third most iconic item any Wizard could ever possess. He would have loved to get a Staff, but those damn sticks cost so much that even getting the lowest grade ones would beggar a dozen Commoner families, hence why saving for one's pocket money for a Spellbook was the tradition of any Wizard wannabe.

  “True…” The old wizened man said only to nonchalantly throw in a curved rebuttal of facts. “Until now, that is.” He then added an objective observation. “Perhaps the Thinning finally arrived at the Calderon Lineage?”

  The moment the words rushed out of the old man's mouth, it was not just Sam who paled in response. Even adults behind him did so for they were Sam’s parents. In fact, the mother instantly fainted the second the word Thinning reached her mind, all dramatic, with a hand upon her forehead while swooning to the ground. Or at least would have been to the ground were it not for the hasty grab of Sam’s male parentage grabbing the woman by her waist and having her lean onto him to prevent another social disaster from being thrown onto his already suspected family jewels.

  As such, after grabbing and steadying his wife, Sam’s father threw out irrefutable proof of his viral seed. “Impossible!” He said. “His brother and sister displayed early potential before even being tested by the HighTower.”

  “Perhaps… Perhaps.” The old man repeated as he stroked his long beard while staring at Sam’s parents. A bit longer on the woman displaying her love of black colors. To his old eyes and wisdom, the Witch only appeared to have fainted. Not that he cared if she did or not. His duty was Facts and Facts spoke of a few possibilities. Staring at the man again, he spoke up. “Perhaps all of the Magic went to the siblings? Perhaps this be but the first sign of the Thinning? Or perhaps it is both? Every Wizard taught in HighTower knows that Magic is a living and breathing phenomenon, and therefore always seeks to preserve itself in some way. Considering how gifted the Calderon Lineage is in Magic, it would not surprise me if your Magic genuinely chose to maximize the potential of your other offspring to preserve continuity, Young Jonathan.”

  “That… I can not refute Grand Diviner Jules.” Jonathan responded. “Once I return to my Tower, I shall immediately investigate the possibility.”

  “As is every Wizard's prerogative to ensure the continued existence of Magic.” The old man said, but then his gaze attained a deeper meaning as he stared at Jonathan, a very gifted Wizard of the Material School. “Would you like my input on the possible solution?”

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  “Bar the usual?” Jonathan poised in response.

  “Indeed.” Grand Diviner Jules nodded. “I doubt marriage will be the way to go on this one.”

  Knowing better than to disrupt when Wizards spoke up, and being twelve years of age, Sam was more aware of what marriage constituted within the Magic Community, but the discovery of his lack of the one crucial condition only skewed him further away from said destiny.

  But then, as if having returned from the depths of Hell, Sam witnessed his Mother wake from her unconscious state, only to hammer in the truth that much deeper with a zealous tone. “Of course, marriage is off the table.” She affirmed. “No proper Witch will ever consider my boy as a prospect, much less a lifelong partner.” Then, for a second the woman corrected her posture and with a twirl of her left hand summoned forth a black and stylish paper fan, sporting a white landscape of hidden groves inside a vast forest, before using the said fan to blow away her despairing facial demeanor of having already foreseen her fellow Coven Sisters whispering to everything that crept and crawled of just what she had given birth to. “Husband, you better have a solution soon, or you will not be receiving any further affection! You hear me? NONE!!!”

  “Eee… Cough… Do not worry, my Dear Wife. No Calderon will ever be without Magic.” Jonathan assured his wife with a tap on her back before returning his grip on her waist. “Even if they have to Sell their Souls to get it.”

  “Hohoho…” Grand Diviner Jules laughed at the antics played out before him. Not only because Jonathan's promise held more weight than witnessed at first glance, but also because he was already certain to which part of the HighTower the boy would be sent to. He just had to nudge the couple properly. “It seems, my advice is not needed then. Still, if Young Jonathan and Lady Edwina do not mind, I might have a recommendation to offer to your youngest.”

  “Please… It would be an honor to hear Grand Diviner Jules's wisdom.” Lady Edwina and Sam’s mother quickly responded.

  “An associate of mine has been complaining about the latest Initiates and their lack of commitment.” By commitment, of course, he meant their desire to put their lives on the line. “Because of this lack, his Department has been rather understaffed. I imagine that a Calderan, even without your family's iconic Silver Magic, will prove to be of superior stock once enrolled.”

  “That…” Jonathan, versed in innuendo, narrowed his eyes at the old man. And though he could already guess, he still asked for some clarification. “...is an interesting proposal. Could you be more specific about your associate?”

  “Why, of course, I am referring to my friend Holler, Grand Magus Holler.”

  “Ah… I had a notion that it would be him.” Jonathan said, yet the hand that held onto his wife's hip only tightened, only the wife cared not one whit if her husband did for she too recognized the title and name. “Will this be a private referral or a general one that you are offering?”

  “Both.” Grand Diviner Jules answered before waving his old wrinkled hands in a harmless manner.

  “I see… Then, as the representative of House Calderon, I will take your referral and bring it back for the Elders to debate upon.”

  “Very well.” The old man nodded and waved his hands.

  The second he did, two white parchment and two quills manifested out of thin air before said quills began writing by themselves onto the parchment of what undoubtedly would be a general and a private referral to the Warlock Department of the HighTower, the Department responsible for all the internal and external combat-related events.

  While the parchments were writing themselves to completion, Sam felt that there might be some hope for his wizarding days. Too bad, he still lacked the knowledge that the very same Department suggested also presented itself with the highest attrition rates of all Magic wielders, even for the one dealing with combat on the regular. That those wielders had at one point been Commonors was a moot point.

  At least, it would have been prior to being told of his mundanity.