Sword of Dawnbreaker

”This can only indicate that their goal is indeed not to meddle in the forces of the Loren Continent, but whether this goal is really limited to just travel and study is hard to say. This country is too mysterious... mysterious to the point of awe,” Gawain rubbed his chin and said with a serious expression, then suddenly looked up at Victoria, ”Can you speak specifically about your childhood experiences? How were you selected? What method did they use to guide the selected ’gifted ones’?”

”The selection process for seeds by the Violet Kingdom has always been a mystery; they have never publicly disclosed specific criteria,” Victoria shook her head, ”You know, the City of Thousand Towers holds an extraordinary status in the hearts of spellcasters akin to the kingdom in the hearts of believers or the royal temple of the Goddess of Magic, being selected is many mages’ lifelong dream—this means a path to high-level or even legendary realms.

”The mages returning from the City of Thousand Towers, no matter how mediocre they were before, start at high-level upon their return, so there have always been people wanting to find the selection criteria of the Violet Kingdom. Some clandestine organizations have even racked their brains trying to open a channel to send apprentices to the Violet Kingdom, but no one has ever successfully found this pattern. Their selection appears to prioritize spellcasting talent, yet there have also been instances where a talentless farmer encountered a ’guide’ in a field. Mostly they choose young people, but there have been older individuals entering their apprentice roster, and there’s even a rumor that they would take away gnolls and wild goblins from the wilderness... Of course, those rumors aren’t very credible.”

”In short, I don’t know why I was chosen—I only remember that one day, a mage suddenly visited Bitter Winter Castle. My father received him, and that mage presented the mark of the Violet Kingdom, along with an ’Great Library Admission Proof’ awaiting signature. My father and mother talked with the mage for a long time, discussing some enrollment details and contractual matters. In the end, they sought my opinion, and once I nodded, I became a preparatory apprentice.”

Gawain looked somewhat surprised at the holographic projection of the Grand Duchess: ”On one side is the heir to the Duke of the North, on the other is a foreigner suddenly coming to recruit. Moreover, the subsequent learning process requires traveling afar and undergoing closed management... And your parents just agreed? Doesn’t this seem a bit rash?”

”Because this kind of thing has happened more than once,” Victoria said lightly, ”In six hundred years, five members of the Wilder Clan have successively become apprentices in the City of Thousand Towers. Although the ’recruitment’ by the Violet Kingdom is a rare opportunity for the entire mage community, if you look at centuries of history and the entire northern region, such things actually have happened many times, and we are not unfamiliar with it.

”Secondly, the ’selection’ of the Violet Kingdom is not mandatory. In fact, compared to the traditional process of mages choosing apprentices, the invitation from the City of Thousand Towers is unbelievably gentle and loose—you can refuse, regret, and even if you’ve already arrived in the Violet Territory, if you want to go home, they will immediately send you back. Moreover, they have a very detailed... what we would now call an ’Enrollment Agreement,’ which specifies in detail the standards for food and lodging, health guarantees, travel time, and course content, just...”

Victoria thought carefully about how to put it, and finally shrugged: ”It’s very formal, very formal.”

”Formal... alright, I still think there’s something wrong, many issues,” Gawain sighed, ”but you can continue—what happened after ’admission’? How do they bring the apprentices to the City of Thousand Towers?”

”Rumor has it that Violet’s beckoners would use flying ships that traverse dreams and the starry sea to pick up the selected apprentices. While all the crew are dreaming, the ship navigates itself across an invisible sea line, falling into a cave shrouded by auroras, and arrives at the courtyard of the Mystics Prince by the next daybreak...” Victoria said, her lips curling slightly, ”A very romantic and ’magical’ fantasy, but unfortunately, the reality is much more mundane.