"Two thousand years ago," the Director began, looking out over the seated rows of wizards and youngsters, "the art of wizardry faced the greatest crisis in its history. Incompetent wizards were to be found in every city of the world, and their bunglings caused such chaos and destruction that the mundane population finally lost patience with them, banning the practice of the high art in almost every nation and kingdom in the known world. Wizards were forced to burn their spellbooks and take up mundane occupations, and those that continued to practice magic were hounded unmercifully, being killed or imprisoned when they were caught. The number of practising wizards in the world plummeted from hundreds to less than fifty in less than twenty years, and there is little doubt that wizardry as practised by humans would have died out altogether within one or two more generations. Not even during the Massacre of the Mages that followed the Mage Wars was the situation so critical, and never since have we faced a crisis to equal it.

"It was Ka Lenna-Ka who saved wizardry from extinction in those far off days. Ka Lenna-Ka, the wizard we know today as Lexandros the Founder." He waved a hand towards the statue of Lexandros, standing proudly on top of a plinth of white marble amidst the teaching buildings, temporarily expanded to giant size by a growth spell to make it visible from Graduation Field. "He alone saw how wizardry could be saved. He alone recognised the need to make wizardry acceptable to the mundanes, and knew that the only way to accomplish this was to raise the standard of wizardry. To create a standard of excellence which all wizards would have to attain before they were allowed to practice their arts. It was he who gathered six other wizards and convinced them to aid him in this most noble and worthy project, and together, under Ka Lenna-Ka's inspired leadership, they laid the foundations of the world's first school of magic.

In a wild and deserted spot far from the outermost frontiers of civilisation they gathered suitable children from all across the human occupied world. Orphans and outcasts. Children whose disappearance would not be noticed but who were gifted with that certain extra spark that marks potential wizards out from the mundane population. There, in a small, huddled collection of simple stone buildings, they trained the first twenty six Lexandrian wizards. Young men and women trained not only in the basic casting of spells, but with all the additional special training that only Lexandrian wizards receive. Those twenty six young people were not merely wizards. They were professionals, trained to use their gifts safely and competently. The first such in the history of the human race. Lexandros and his six assistants spent many years training them in secret, and then they sent them out into the world with instructions to use their gifts any way they wished, so long as they did so visibly, so as to deliberately attract attention to themselves.

"It was a terrible gamble, and you all know the fates of most of them. How they were imprisoned by the mundanes. Some of them put to death, others mutilated in ways that made it impossible for them to cast spells. Some survived and retained their liberty, however, and five years later another twenty graduates were sent out into the world, and twenty two five years after that.

"Gradually, the mundanes noticed that those who survived and continued to practice their art were of a different breed to the wizards they'd known until then; that they were able to use their magic without causing accidental death and destruction all around them. Those few nations in which wizardry was still legal employed them in their armies and intelligence gathering agencies, and the advantage they gave them enabled those nations to prosper and grow at the expense of their neighbours.

"In order to survive, the other nations of the world were forced to employ wizards as well. Under draconian restrictions at first, but with more and more tolerance and freedom as it became apparent that they were able to use their powers safely. Oh make no mistake, some of those first Lexandrians were cruel and evil and used their powers for their own personal gain, but even so they only killed those they intended to kill, which is a whole different kettle of fish from an incompetent wizard killing accidentally. Gradually, wizards were accepted back into society, back to the status that we continue to enjoy today.

"That was the achievement of Lexandros, our founder. It is because of him and him alone that there are still human wizards on this planet, but the fundamental problems that Lexandros had to confront still exist today. We exist on sufferance. No matter that some of us command such power that we can tear down mountains or scatter armies with a single word. We exist on sufferance, and if we ever lose the tolerance and trust of the mundane population, we are doomed. That is why it is our most solemn duty to train the next generation of wizards to be as competent as we are."

He looked down at the new apprentices, sitting in the front row, staring back up at him with solemn attention. "That is why you young people are so important. You are the future of wizardry on Tharia. If you bungle a spell, you place all of us in jeopardy. That is why you will be expected to meet the highest standards of your predecessors, and that is why those of you who fail to meet those standards will never be allowed to cast spells."

He stopped speaking, and an uncomfortable silence fell over the audience. Everyone there already knew the story of Lexandros, of course, and in far greater detail than the brief, summarised version the Director had just related, but the youngsters were no longer looking excited, as if waiting to enter a funfair. They were now looking worried and sober as they felt the heavy responsibility they would be expected to carry, and when Thomas turned his head to look at Derrin, he saw the same expression on his face as well. His slanted eyes were widening with fear as he looked around at the assembled wizards, seeing them in a new way. No longer as superheroes using their powers to have great adventures, but as the holders of a sacred trust. A trust that he would have to shoulder himself one day if he was to achieve his ambitions. Then his small head lifted, though, and Thomas's heart swelled with pride as he saw the look of determination on his elfin face. My son will be a truly great wizard, he thought proudly. One of the best ever.

The Director remained silent for several moments, allowing the moment to burn itself into the minds of everyone present. Behind him, the Master of Ceremonies nodded his head in satisfaction. Then the Director turned, fixed the first youngster with his bright, piercing eyes and swung the Staff of Wisdom at him as if he were about to blast him to ashes where he sat. "You!" he thundered, and the poor boy froze in his seat, a look of pure terror on his young face. "Come forth and stand before me."

The poor boy, trembling with terror, walked unsteadily to the Director's podium, his hands clutching at the hem of his tunic and glancing back at his parents, who were nervously holding hands a few seats away from Thomas and Lirenna. The Director peered down at the boy, his eyes narrowing as if having serious doubts about his suitability, and the boy stared fearfully back, trying to reassure himself that this was all part of the ritual. That everything was going the way he'd been told it would.

"Young man," said the Director, "You are about to embark upon a long and difficult journey. You may not reach its end. It is even possible that you will die in the attempt. Are you prepared to devote the next five years of your life to this endeavour, knowing that almost every day will leave you weary to the limits of endurance? Knowing that the load you will have to bear will be heavy to the limits of your strength? Knowing that you will have to prove yourself again and again to the severest and most unforgiving judges in the world? Think well, young man, before you answer, for if you answer yes it is likely that you will curse this day a thousand times over before the year is out."

The boy, like all the other youngsters, had been coached in all the correct responses, but it still took a moment for his terrified brain to dredge up the correct words. "I have thought well on it, master, and I am ready to bear the load."

"Do you pledge to obey every word of your tutors without question or hesitation, no matter how unreasonable and meaningless they may seem to you at the time?"

"I so pledge."

"Do you pledge to devote yourself to your studies to the exclusion of all else, even though it may seem that you have not a moment of free time to call your own?"

"I so pledge."

"And do you pledge that you will strive to uphold the finest ideals of the University, whether you graduate as a wizard or not?"

"I so pledge."

Then I hereby accept you as an apprentice of Lexandria University. Keep your pledges, young man, and the next time you stand before me it shall be to accept the highest and noblest title to which any person may aspire. The title of wizard."

The Director lowered the silver studded tip of the Staff of Wisdom until it touched the top of the boy's head, and spoke a single word. Instantly the boy's clothes shimmered and flowed, rearranging themselves to become a simple white robe. The robe of an apprentice wizard. Apart from his cotton underwear, simple leather sandals and, now and then, a tough pair of gloves, it was the only item of clothing he would wear for the next five years.

The boy stared down at himself, and a look of joy and delight began to appear on his face. He looked back at his parents and saw them beaming back at him, sitting upright in their seats, their pride clear to see in every line of their bodies. Then the Director dismissed him, and as the boy returned to his seat he pointed his staff at the second youngster; an impossibly slender girl whose long hair was held in place by a yellow headband. Having seen the boy undergo the ritual and emerge unscathed, she was a little more confident as she approached the podium, but there was still a quaver in her voice as she gave the ritual answers to the Director's questions. No-one ever underwent this ceremony without having butterflies in their stomachs, not even the older people who occasionally enrolled; people in their twenties or even thirties who'd discovered their calling late in life. No matter how confident and sure of themselves they might be in all other situations.

It took nearly five hours for each of the three hundred youngsters to be formally enrolled as apprentices and receive their white robes. Five hours without a break, but no-one felt aggrieved about it as they all understood the overwhelming importance of the occasion. As the last apprentice returned to his seat, though, his chubby face pale with relief that his long wait was at last over, the ceremony was still not over and the twelve senior wizards stood in readiness for the Director's final speech. The speech that would formally close the occasion for another year and herald the beginning of the celebrations; the last moment of freedom and relaxation that the apprentices would know for a very long time.

"Three hundred young people came to this sacred field," he began. "Three hundred apprentice wizards will leave. Five years from now, those of you who are found to meet the high standards we demand will return here for the graduation ceremony, and once you have passed that most important landmark you will be free to live your lives however you wish. To use what you have learned here for good or for evil. To pursue the magical arts to the fullest extent of your abilities, or abandon them in favour of a purely mundane occupation.

"Until then, however, you belong to the University. Mind and spirit. Body and soul. You have no freedom. None whatsoever. You will be expected to obey without hesitation any command given to you by a qualified wizard. Failure to do so will result in heavy punishment, and possibly expulsion. You may question a command, since you are here to learn, but it is entirely at the discretion of the teaching wizard whether or not to give you an answer and you will be expected to obey whether they answer or not."

He paused and scanned the faces of the new apprentices to see whether they fully understood his words, and their wide, nervous eyes told him that they did, or at least they thought they did. Few of them could have any real idea of what was in store for them, but in the audience Lirenna was gripping Thomas's hand tighter than ever.

Then the Director's face softened, though. "Enough of that," he said. "Most wizards describe their apprentice days as the best days of their lives. You are going to learn more than you ever thought possible, more than you ever thought a human head could hold. You are going to learn that the world is a more wonderful place than you ever dreamed, and that this world is just one of many, many of them strange and wonderful beyond imagination. I envy you. Oh how I envy you! For you it is all just beginning! You all have an entire lifetime ahead of you, a lifetime of richness and wonder beyond your comprehension. You are the future of wizardry, and we will see that that future is in good hands. Study your lessons well, and the future and all that it contains will be yours."

The parents in the audience all rose to their feet and launched into an enthusiastic round of applause while the new apprentices beamed with pleasure and pride. The senior wizards stood to accept the applause while maintaining a dignified silence, and then the Director and the Master of Ceremonies made their way off stage to begin the long walk back towards the teaching buildings, followed after a decent interval by the senior wizards, walking in single file like saints on their way to a church service.

The new apprentices than ran back to their parents where they were hugged and congratulated. Lirenna watched the boy who'd been the first to be called to the Director's podium running to rejoin his parents, lifting his arms to show them his new robes. "I'm an apprentice!" he cried. "A proper Lexandrian apprentice!"

"We're so proud of you!" his mother cried emotionally as she gathered him up in her arms and gave him a bonecrushing hug.

"That'll be us in a couple of years," said Lirenna, drawing Thomas's attention to the scene. "When Derry's old enough to enrol. I'm not sure whether I'm looking forward to it or not. There's a part of me that doesn't want to subject him to that kind of pressure."

"It's only natural that we want to protect him," agreed Thomas, "to shield him from harm, but we both went through it and emerged unscathed. He will too. Look at him, see how he's already making himself at home."

He was right, she saw. Derrin was chatting happily with a group of older children, the smallest of whom was twice his size and all of whom were treating him as a full equal. Any child who tried to exclude the tiny demi shayen boy from his circle of friends was defeated by Derrin's sheer personality and love of life. It was impossible not to like him, even for the class bullies who might have picked on another boy his size, and just as well, because the demi shae was quite capable of taking care of himself, having a speed and agility that was more than a match for sheer brute strength.

"Two years," she said with a slight tremor of emotion in her voice. "Maybe three or four, depending on how he grows physically and how he does in his pre-apprentice classes. That might seem a long time to you humans, but to me those years will pass like a blink of the eyes and then it'll be our son walking up to the Director to have his clothes changed into apprentice robes. To me, it feels as though it's going to happen tomorrow."

Thomas smiled. "To we humans, time seems to pass faster after it's happened. Two years in the future is a long time, but two years in the past..." He put an arm around her shoulder and held her tight. "I remember the day you gave birth to him. I remember holding him in my arms and looking into his eyes, thinking how much they looked like yours."

"I haven't got blue eyes," she said, staring at him in confusion.

"That wasn't what I meant."

She stared at him a moment longer, then nodded in understanding and rested her head on his shoulder. "He is really going to be all right, isn't he?" she asked anxiously. "Remember what happened to him in the testing chair. His teachers won't forget that. They're already watching him, and he's not even an apprentice yet. To them he's the new Malefactos. And there will always be children who gang up on anyone who stands out from the crowd. He may have friends, but he's going to have enemies as well."

"Then they'll have me to answer to," swore Thomas, but softly, playing down the very real possibility. "I won't have him victimised just because of his exceptional control of the magic force. And if I hear the phrase 'new Malefactos' again, I'll tear someone's face off."

Lirenna grinned and hugged him tighter. "It is going to be all right, isn't it?"

"Of course it is."

Thomas kissed her, and then they also began to make their way back towards the teaching buildings.