The Last Age: The Servant's Crown

It was the evening of summer’s final day. A grand celebration was underway. In the villages surrounding the capital of the Duchy of Zalen, people rejoiced at the end of the hardest season of the year — when they’d toil from dawn until deep into the night, working the fields, gathering the harvest, brewing beer, and handling countless other tasks that weighed on the shoulders of country folk.

Now, tall bonfires would be lit. Laughter would echo through the streets, and the air would brim with joy and festivity. The village elder would roll out a keg of beer — and there was even a chance they’d get a taste of the famed Ereind Ale. After all, the villagers had earned it. They’d worked hard and deserved a reward. And who cared if Ereind Ale was typically served only in the finest taverns and city inns?

Ereind — a city renowned for its mercenaries — was also famous for its beloved ale, brewed exclusively within its walls. Those who knew the recipe had tried and failed to recreate it elsewhere. Neither master brewers nor determined laborers, hoping to stock up for long evenings after work, could replicate the flavor.

Right now, a hundred-liter cask of that invigorating, top-shelf brew — crafted by the hand of Lorriño Saguinteu himself — was heading to the home of a certain nobleman. Under its heavy load, the old cart groaned and creaked in protest. At the reins sat a young servant named Anji, who had been entrusted with the purchase and safe delivery of the precious cargo.

Since the age of twelve, Anji had served Reymund Valeyn, a mage renowned across the region — not just any mage, but one of the senior heads of the Magisterium and the owner of a mansion he’d built himself, dedicated to the study of every known school of magic.

Visitors to the duchy, upon learning who lived in the manor just off the South Road, often envied the nearby villagers. What luck to live so close to such a celebrated spellcaster. From his academy days, Valeyn had displayed a rare gift: the ability to wield all elemental branches of magic taught there. Such elemental versatility was a talent almost unheard of — a gift that set him apart even among the greatest spellcasters.

Yet despite all the praise Master Valeyn received, Anji found his master far too harsh, sharp-tongued, and utterly intolerant.