Chapter 6: Alchemists
The yellow tower in Norvaegard was one of the six mage towers, and the one devoted to Alchemy. It had a long history, but it was on the decline. On the other hand, its rival, the Grey Tower, who focus on Mana stone engineering, was having great success.
The last meaningful contribution from the Yellow Tower had been over a century ago, the creation of the now-standard mana potion, a concoction that restored five percent of one’s mana. It was a modest but dependable tool, yet nothing new had followed.
In contrast, the Grey Tower had unleashed invention after invention, each one pushing society forward. Their latest success, mana lamps, had taken the capital by storm. These devices required no flame, no oil, only a low-grade mana stone to emit steady light. They burned cleaner, lasted longer than torches, and carried no risk of fire.
What began as a convenience for nobles and scholars was now trickling down into everyday life. Inns, workshops, and even the homes of modest merchants were beginning to adopt them. In the streets of the capital, it wasn’t rare to see the soft glow of a mana lamp marking a shop’s open hours or lighting a quiet alley.
Meanwhile, the Yellow Tower teetered on the edge of irrelevance. Funding was drying up. Apprentices stopped coming. Its once-busy laboratories had grown quiet. A great institution, reduced to little more than dust and memory.
And it was in this moment of uncertainty, when the tower’s future hung in the balance, that a curious request arrived from none other than the Iron Duke of the North.
The current Tower Master of the Yellow Tower, the only seven-circle mage in Norvaegard, Tower Master Thelwin Keldross, was the reason why the declining Yellow Tower still stood among the six towers. He finished reading the letter in silence.
It would seem that the eldest son of the Iron Duke had awakened his mana core and wishes to learn alchemy. The Iron Duke was willing to pay a large sum to the Yellow Tower for a good tutor for his son.
Thelwin closed the letter slowly. He wished he could go himself, but with the tower in its current state, his absence could mean disaster. Still, he couldn’t send just anyone. This tutor needed to be someone competent, reliable, and brilliant. Someone who wouldn’t embarrass the tower or worse, provoke the Iron Duke.
He needed to send someone good enough to teach and who would not make a mistake that would anger the Iron Duke. There was only one choice: he needed to send the hope of the Yellow Tower, the genius Robert Duskwell.
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