Elias' seat in his classroom, in a way, corresponded to his standing in the social hierarchy of the school. It was literally the most bland spot in the entire classroom. To put it simply, he was ordinary, and the only things he had going for him were his somewhat presentable face and sharp brain. Other than that, he had no friends except Thaddeus and Roger, and no mentionable hobbies or passions to speak of. He was just drifting through life hoping to live a decent future without expending more effort than was necessary.
The other students in the class were throwing cold glances at the three of them and an indistinct murmur of voices could be heard all around. About eighty percent of Helcrest Academy consisted of students from either rich or noble backgrounds and the rest were commoners. These students thought it was unacceptable for a commoner from the bottom rung of the social ladder to be so friendly with the heirs of two of the most prestigious royal families in the country. And Elias was well aware of the class distinction between them. While his friends could potentially rule half the country without even going to school, Elias himself was the son of a mediocre businessman who got into the academy purely by means of an extravagant scholarship. Despite all of these factors, Elias was not bothered by it in the least. On the contrary, he was quite glad that the other students did not attempt to socialize with him seeing as how much he hated associating with unknown people.
"I suppose you've heard everything ?", asked Elias the moment he saw Thaddeus and Roger walking towards his desk.
"Yes, we have.", answered Thaddeus with a sigh. "What do you plan on doing about it?"
"Nothing, for the time being. I'll just sleep on it tonight and come up with some excuse tomorrow", replied Elias without a hint of motivation in his tone. Seeing how the final exams are coming up, I've got bigger fish to fry, he thought to himself.
"But is that what you really want?", began Roger in his usual soft tone, while Elias raised his head from his desk and looked up at him. "Look, we both know how you feel about associating with anything related to your brother, but that doesn't mean you should always run away every time your brother's name comes up."
Elias was a bit annoyed. Not because Roger accused him of running away, but because there was some degree of truth in his words. "Alright. I'll do it. It's not like I'm busy or anything, anyway", said Elias reluctantly, once again burying his face into his arms. "Did the Chancellor speak to you guys too?"
"Yes", began Thaddeus, "and he's one heck of a genius too. See, he already knew that you would refuse and so, he told us in advance to convince you after he broke the news to you." Elias could not help but smile. Though he did not show it, he was actually happy that the Chancellor paid attention to him disregarding social stigmas.
"Then I'll tell him about my decision tomorrow. And you two, make sure that both of you are on the committee that I'll be working with. Otherwise, I can't go through with it unless there are a few familiar faces present", said Elias with a sense of authority.
"Alright, no problem", replied Thaddeus. He took a quick glance at his watch and began, "We should get going now. Lunchtime's almost over. Roger and I will be staying late after school today so, you can go ahead and leave without us."
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Yes", answered Thaddeus and left the classroom with Roger in tow.
The Artemio and the Magnolf Houses were direct descendants of the current royal family ruling the Ragnario Empire. Although they were separate houses, both worked in a coalition with each other and Emperor Ragnario III to ensure smooth administration and nationwide political support. However, that was not the case with the noble families assisting the emperor. At present, the nobles were divided into two major factions vying with each other to secure the emperor for themselves. The Orientalists wanted the favor of the emperor so that they could rule the empire according to their own choices instead of relying upon a higher power. The Republicans, on the other hand, were driven by the urge to gain enormous amounts of wealth by overthrowing the monarchy and usurping the taxes of the people for their own benefit. Unlike most other countries, the people of Ragnario were truly happy under the rule of Ragnario III - the economy was stable and the trade scene was quite flourishing, there was never any scarcity of food, water or facilities for the people and the coalition of the Magnolf and Artemio Houses with the emperor was largely responsible for this prosperous situation. The public truly respected both the houses and were intolerant towards any kind of slander against them, which was the principal reason why the nobility could not oust the two major houses no matter how much they tried.
The people treated the royal houses as if they were some kind of deities. Naturally, Roger and Thaddeus were highly respected at Helcrest, even by students older than them, and the general population revered them enough to keep an obligatory distance. Because of this, it was unacceptable to them that a plebian like Elias would be so casual with Princes Roger and Thaddeus.
After his friends were gone, Elias once again sat staring at the distant skyscrapers and drifting through the remaining three classes. He was playing out scenarios in his head about the possibilities that could arise if his brother really were to become one of the contestants for the Final Stage.
Finally, the bell rang and classes were over for the day. Elias slowly raised himself on his elbow and began stuffing the books into his bag one by one. Most of the other students had already left, but he could still hear a slight murmur coming from outside the classroom and he knew what they were talking about.
He thinks he's hot stuff just because he's smarter than the rest of us....
How dare he give orders to Prince Thaddeus and Prince Roger. Lowly commoner.
Apparently, the Chancellor himself has taken an interest in him. None of us has ever been personally called to his office before and this commoner acts like it's no big deal. I don't know what the Chancellor sees in that plebian....
Elias waited until all of the others had left and then he proceeded to exit the classroom and return home. It was a long walk from the academy to his home. Normally, either Thaddeus or Roger would give instructions to their drivers to escort him to his house after dropping them off at their estates. But today, he was all alone.
As he walked through the bustling streets of the market just outside the academy grounds, his head was filled with all kinds of thoughts, rapidly switching between varied topics and working through pointless, often unrealistic, scenarios. When he finally reached the park near his house it was almost an hour since his departure from the academy. Elias was mostly left to his own devices by his lenient parents, and therefore he was in no hurry to return home. He sat down on one of the swings and it was at this moment that all those memories came flooding back - the memories that he had cherished for a long time and which also happened to be the reason for his disconsolate condition.
Elias had looked up to his older brother for as long as he could remember. Playing in this park with him in the afternoons used to be the best part of his day. His brother would show him all kinds of curious magic that he had read about in some dusty old manuscript at the library, or teach him how to perform basic magical feats with utmost care and interest. To Elias, his brother was his first and best friend. In fact, for a long time, he was his only friend.
Time passed and slowly his brother began drifting away from everything he once embodied. It was almost as if he was possessed by some inexplicable desire to seek out power and strength, disregarding everything else.
Evening turned to night and the neighborhood settled into a sedate tempo as the homes of the commoners lit up with warm lights. A mildly chilly breeze blew across Elias' face breaking him out of his reverie, as if it was whispering to him to go home. He wearily got up from the swing and realised that he had been sitting far too long, as was evident from his sore body and the slight headache.
Maybe I should skip school tomorrow and chalk out a report for the committee briefing....he thought to himself as the key turned in the lock and he slowly swung the door open to find himself in the dim narrow passageway of his exceedingly ordinary house. At that moment, he instantly knew that neither of his parents was home - again.
Making his way to his room he took off his prestigious Helcrest Academy jacket, flung it onto the back of a chair, flopped into the bed and within a few short minutes Elias Denver was out like a light.