“Mom, look!
I awakened mana!”
“Mom, me too!”
Arthur and Cedric stood with palms open, the air around their fingers shimmering with the faint, undeniable distortion of raw power.
“That’s wonderful news!” Her voice cracked, the shadow of fear that had haunted her for years evaporating in an instant.
She rushed forward.
“I knew it.
My boys are going to be powerful mages!”
“Haha!
You’ll both become even stronger than your dad!”
A booming laugh shook the walls as their father swept into the room, his presence filling the space with the scent of pine and sweat.
The sheer vigor of his pride radiated off him like heat from a furnace.
“This calls for a celebration!” he roared, throwing his arms wide.
“We are not staying in tonight.
We’re going to the market!”
He seized their shoulders, his grip firm and shaking with contained energy.
For the first time, he didn’t have to look down quite so far.
“My two sons,” he rumbled, his voice thick with emotion as he stared into their eyes.
“Awakening on the very dawn of your thirteenth year.”
He pulled them into a crushing embrace, locking them against his chest.
“Health.
Power.
Discipline.
You have achieved it all.
I couldn’t be any prouder.”