Shattered Sanity

(Meanwhile, Inside Vice Principal Chadwick’s Office, The Imperial Academy’s Academic Wing)

Vice Principal Chadwick sat alone within his office that evening, as the celebrations occurring throughout the four House compounds remained distant enough that only the occasional roar reached him through the closed windows.

Several reports remained scattered across his desk.

Most belonged to students whose unusual appraisal results had warranted additional attention from the Academy administration, although only one currently rested directly before him.

Riven Dawnriver.

Chadwick had already read the report twice.

Yet as his eyes travelled across the numbers for the third time, an increasingly peculiar expression gradually appeared across his face.

[Student Name: Riven Dawnriver]

[Soul Vessel Quality: Excellent]

[Primary Elemental Affinity: Storm]

[Affinity Quality: Perfect]

[Physical Assessment Scores: 4.97]

Chadwick stared at the word for several seconds.

Perfect.

The Imperial Appraisal Array had reached the absolute limit of what it was designed to comfortably measure before Riven’s affinity stopped producing a meaningful distinction.

Chadwick’s eyes slowly moved away from the parchment.

Then he remembered those eyes.

Green.

Bright, unmistakably green eyes belonging to a boy whose Storm affinity had practically overwhelmed the Appraisal Array.

For several seconds, Chadwick simply stared ahead.

Then a laugh escaped him.

”Ha...”

He covered his mouth.

Another followed.

”Ha... hahaha... hahaha”

His shoulders began shaking.

Within moments, whatever restraint the Vice Principal normally maintained completely disappeared, as Chadwick leaned backwards within his chair and laughed so loudly that anyone passing through the corridor outside would have wondered whether the old man had finally lost his mind.

”Hahahahaha!”

He slapped one palm against the desk.

”Hahahahahaha!”

The absurdity of it only became funnier the longer he considered it.

Eventually, Chadwick managed to control himself, although a wide smile remained plastered across his face as he picked up Riven’s assessment report once again.

”What exactly are you planning, Duke Dawnriver?”

Chadwick muttered, as his thumb slowly brushed against the edge of the parchment.

”A Perfect Storm affinity accompanied by those green eyes...”

His smile gradually disappeared.

”Any fool who sees the boy can tell that something is unusual, but anyone who has actually bothered reading the older histories will recognize exactly what those characteristics are supposed to represent.”

Chadwick leaned backwards.

”That boy is a Storm-Born.”

The word remained within the silent office.

He had encountered references to them before.

Anyone occupying Chadwick’s position eventually did.

Old military records, restricted histories and surviving accounts from periods most modern nobles rarely bothered studying all described those same characteristics often enough that dismissing them as coincidence required considerably more stupidity than Chadwick possessed.

His fingers tapped slowly against Riven’s report.

”So that’s the question, isn’t it?”

Chadwick murmured.

”Was your concubine secretly Stormborn, Duke? Did you somehow produce this boy legitimately and simply decide that hiding his maternal bloodline was easier than explaining it?”

His eyes narrowed.

”Or is Riven Dawnriver not your son at all?

That would make sense considering how he never publicly existed until only a few months ago, but I guess your status as the Duke does make it hard for anyone to pry.... Doesn’t it?”

That possibility interested him considerably more.

”Perhaps he’s some political ploy you’ve dressed in the Dawnriver name and sent into my Academy for reasons only you currently understand.”

Chadwick smiled again.

”Although if that’s the case, you’ve certainly chosen an interesting candidate to send.”

He lowered the parchment onto his desk.

”House Dawnriver has never produced an heir with a Storm affinity.”

Chadwick said quietly.

”At least not since we started to maintain lineage records.”

Chadwick muttered, as he recalled how he had personally watched four Dawnriver heirs pass through the Imperial Academy throughout his career, who while possessing different personalities and talents, carried within them the same unmistakable Dawnriver blood.

”This child is not one of you and Matilda, I get that, but somehow my instincts tell me that this isn’t one of yours at all....”

Chadwick paused.

”I know what Dawnriver heirs look like. I know what affinities your bloodline tends to produce, and now you’re brazen enough to send me this?”

His finger landed directly upon Riven’s name.

”A green-eyed boy carrying a Perfect Storm affinity.”

Another quiet laugh escaped him.

”And you know perfectly well that eventually I’ll start asking questions....

That I’ll investigate everything surrounding this boy and keep digging until I understand exactly what you’ve brought into my Academy.

And the moment I find even the slightest crack within his identity, his personality or whatever story you’ve constructed around him, I’ll pry it open until I reach the secrets buried underneath....”

Whatever amusement remained within Chadwick’s expression gradually transformed into something considerably more sinister.

However, there was another possibility he could not ignore.

Perhaps Duke Drew Dawnriver knew exactly what he was doing.

Perhaps the inconsistencies were intentional, and perhaps Chadwick was supposed to notice them.

Perhaps whatever game the Duke had begun required someone like Chadwick to recognize that something about Riven Dawnriver did not fit together perfectly.

”What do you plan to do here, Duke Dawnriver?”

Chadwick asked the empty room.

”Because you’re either considerably smarter than I currently understand...”

His fingers slowly folded the report closed.

”...or you’re a fool who doesn’t comprehend the forces you’re trying to stir.”

Chadwick remained motionless for several seconds before his attention returned towards Riven’s name.

Either possibility interested him.

The Imperial Academy had existed for centuries for the single purpose of keeping the nobles of the kingdom under the thumb of the crown.

And although a few oddballs slipped through, most were culled before maturity.

Chadwick smiled.

”Either way...”

He carefully returned Riven’s assessment report to the top of the pile.

”I don’t foresee you succeeding in your schemes, East Duke.

This is the Imperial Academy.

This is my turf.

And out here, I decide who gets to succeed and who doesn’t.”

He declared, as a disturbingly cruel glint flickered within his eyes, carrying the unmistakable delight of someone who genuinely enjoyed watching carefully constructed plans fall apart.