The Lord of the Seas - An Isekai Progression Fantasy [ Currently on Volume 2 ]

The hallways of the Elarion Royal Palace were quiet that morning, painted gold by the sun rising just past Easthaven's towering spires. Lukas walked alongside Nozar's Vice Admiral Anriette Vale, their footsteps soft against the polished stone floor.

It was the morning after the Duel, and while the emotional dust hadn't quite settled, things felt calmer.

Lighter, even.

Rosalia, much to Lukas' surprise, seemed to be taking the fallout with Celina better than expected. The princess had risen early—too early for someone who had spent the previous day locked in emotional and physical battles—and gone to walk around the town square with Jesse.

Rosalia had told him that she wanted to interact with the people, show her face, reassure them that she meant what she had said but Lukas suspected it was more of an excuse for her and Jesse to spend time together outside of castle walls. And Lukas certainly wasn't about to tag along and third wheel.

He would rather have let them have these moments because it was not long before both Lukas and Jesse would have to leave for the Draconic Summit. To return to the place they called home. To return to Linemall, the Kingdom of Dragons.

Besides, his schedule that morning wasn't exactly empty. Lukas had made a promise to Anriette, one that he meant to keep.

He had agreed to introduce her to Magnus Elarion—the legendary Head Mage of the Magic Tower and King of Easthaven whose name was so well-known across the Kingdoms of Humanity that he was more myth than man.

After years of having known Magnus, it was easy to forget how much of an impact the old man had had on Hiraeth throughout the years of his long life.

As the two made their way to his private office in the western wing, Anriette began rattling off obscure facts about the old man with the kind of excitement that made Lukas glance sideways at her more than once.

"Did you know," the Vice Admiral went on breathlessly, "his early work on crystals and its ability to contain and harness different forms of foundational magic is still being used today? And he did all that before even he even had his coming of age ceremony!"

Lukas offered a faint smile as she went on.

Anriette had probably faced off against perhaps the most prolific pirates of their time, even surviving against the greatest in all of Hiraeth's history: Rodan, the Leviathan of the Deep himself. But nothing made the accomplished Vice Admiral more visibly nervous than the idea of meeting a man she had studied and looked up to since she was a child.

Anriette was starstruck and it was incredibly amusing to watch. They finally reached the old, intricately carved door that marked Magnus' study.

Lukas gave it a firm knock.

"Come in," came the voice from inside—low, calm, and unsurprised.

Magnus Elarion had been expecting them. When the door swung open, the smell of drying ink, fresh parchment, and dust drifted out into the hall.

Inside the study, the Head Mage stood with Thomas Harrow at his side.

The two of them had been pouring over something on the central table—some kind of crystal schematic covered in annotations and orbiting runes that shimmered in the air above the parchment.

Lukas tried, not for the first time, to get a better look.

For months since they had finished their work on the Shard of Obedience, Lukas still did not have a single clue what this so-called "final project" of Magnus' actually was. No matter how many times Lukas asked, the answer had always been the same: "You'll see when the time is right."

But now wasn't the time to pry.

Magnus and Thomas both stepped away from the table as they came to greet their guests.

Anriette straightened quickly and dipped into a formal bow, her voice respectful and just a touch breathless. "It's an honor to finally meet you, Your Majesty."

Magnus raised a hand, waving away the formality with a quiet chuckle. "There's no need for titles, young lady. Magnus will do. You are my guest. Klein here has made it quite clear that you've wanted to meet me for some time now."

The Vice Admiral blinked, caught off guard by his friendly nature.

"I have," Anriette admitted with a sheepish smile. "I've been following your work for years now. Ever since I got my hands on your early research on your theory on Divinities. It...shaped a lot of the way I look at magic and the way I use my own."

Magnus chuckled. "Well, I do hope I've lived up to the excitement."

Anriette gave a quick, enthusiastic nod. "You absolutely have." She extended her hand to Thomas, introducing herself to a face she had not seen before. "Anriette Vale."

The mage smiled as he shook her hand. "Thomas Harrow. I…doubt that you were looking forward to meeting me as well though."

Anriette laughed softly, and Lukas watched her shoulders begin to relax.

They left Magnus' study, passing through the eastern courtyard, Magnus and Anriette side by side in conversation; her voice full of curiosity, awe, and genuine admiration.

Lukas stayed a few paces behind, letting Anriette finally talk to the very man that she had been dying to meet since she was a kid.

Beside him, Thomas Harrow walked with easy steps, no longer the uncertain apprentice Lukas had once known. The boy had grown into a man—taller, sharper, and confident in ways that made him nearly unrecognizable; he really had aged well.

"You look good, Thomas."

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Thomas shot him a knowing grin. "You flatter me. But I don't swing that way, you know that."

Lukas smirked, rolling his eyes. It seemed like his sense of humor had grown as well. "How have you been, my friend?" It seemed like yesterday that they had both sat next to one another, awaiting for their names to be called during the graduation ceremony for apprentice mages.

Thomas sighed before giving Lukas an answer. "Honestly? I've been good. But busy. And just so you know…I am not telling you a single thing about what Magnus is working on."

Lukas let out a groan, dragging a hand through his hand. He'd been caught red-handed and the crime hadn't even been committed yet. "Damn you, Thomas."

"I'm a man of character, Klein. I'm afraid buttering me up with pleasantries will not do you any good." Thomas told him, his grin widening.

The group stepped out from the palace into the bright morning sun, where the warm breeze stirred the banners that lined the walkway.

Anriette glanced around, confused. "Wait… where exactly are we going?" she asked, turning toward Magnus.

The old mage smiled. "To the one place you've always wanted to visit," he said, eyes twinkling as he glanced at Lukas.

Her brows furrowed—and then her eyes widened. "You don't mean—"

"Yes," Magnus said simply. "It's about time you got to see the Magic Tower don't you think?"

It didn't take long for the tower to come into view.

Even from a distance, it was breathtaking—an impossibly tall spire of black stone laced with veins of glowing silver, floating arcane rings orbiting its upper sections, each one engraved with ancient sigils that pulsed with life. It stood as a monument not only to magical innovation, but to discipline, patience, and obsession.

It was Magnus' life's work, years of knowledge woven into stone.

Anriette stopped in her tracks as they reached the steps leading toward the Tower, her eyes wide, her mouth parted in awe. The Vice Admiral let out a quiet giggle—unrestrained, unpolished, and so filled with joy that Lukas couldn't help but smile.

Thomas clearly found it amusing as well. "She's…pretty cute." He murmured under his breath.

Anriette didn't catch that but Lukas certainly did. Could it be? Another romance blooming before Lukas' very eyes?

Magnus let out a slow deep chuckle. "This is it," the old man announced, sweeping a hand toward the Tower. "This is the Magic Tower of Easthaven."

For a moment, Anriette said nothing. She stood there, just taking it all in. But then her smile faltered—just a little—and the gleam in her eyes dimmed.

Because Anriette knew. They all knew.

She wasn't a mage of the Tower. She hadn't been inducted, hadn't been assessed. And that meant she couldn't enter its great doors.

Lukas noticed the flicker of disappointment as it crossed her face. So did Magnus.

The Head Mage turned to look toward the giant doors of the Tower where a line had begun to form; all of them aspiring candidates who wanted to see if they had what it took to enter the Magic Tower.

"If I'm to give you a proper tour," Magnus told her gently, "we might as well start lining up now."

Anriette looked at him, stunned. "I… I thought—"

Magnus raised a brow. "There's nothing in the rules that says a Vice Admiral of the Navy can't take the Tower's assessment test."

Her hand went to her chest, almost instinctively. "You're serious?"

"Entirely. I am the Head Mage after all. And I make the rules around here."

Anriette looked at the Tower again, this time not as a distant dream, but a very real possibility. Her hands trembled slightly at her sides. She nodded, slowly at first—then with growing confidence. And together, they made their way toward the line, the sun rising ever higher behind the Tower that had watched over the capital for centuries.

It did not take long for them to reach the front of the line.

Anriette looked down at the crystal ball—a decently sized translucent sphere pulsing faintly with dormant magic—and hesitated.

Lukas noticed the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands curled slightly into fists.

"You've got nothing to worry about," Lukas assured her. "You're going to do just fine."

And Lukas wasn't just telling her a white lie. Anriette Vale was a Divinity User, one that had been able to use that same magic to climb the ranks of the Nozari Navy, Hiraeth's most powerful military force to the position of Vice Admiral.

Lukas did not doubt for a second that she would be able to pass this test.

Thomas stood at the platform and gave her a small nod of encouragement. "Just place your hand on the crystal," he instructed her, the same way he had for Lukas when he first attempted to enter the Tower, his voice calm and steady. "Will your magic forward. Don't rush. Just…do your best."

Anriette stepped up. Slowly, she raised her hand and let it hover over the crystal ball. Then she closed her eyes.

Lukas watched the change in her face—how her features tightened with focus, how her brow furrowed slightly as she began to push. Her hand met the surface of the crystal with care, and for a moment, nothing happened.

Then the sphere ignited. Brilliant light burst from within the core of the crystal—sharp, clean, and pulsing with raw power.

Lukas' eyes widened as the glow intensified, the radiance spilling over the courtyard and casting long shadows across the onlookers.

The crowd gasped, and Thomas took an instinctive step back.

The crystal pulsed again, brighter still, and a thin crack snaked across its surface with an audible snap.

In awe, Lukas let out a laugh; incredibly impressed by what he was witnessing.

The sphere trembled under the force of Anriette's will, the glow almost blinding now, so much so that Lukas found himself raising a hand slightly to shield his eyes.

Lukas had seen this light before—seen this level of intensity once. He had seen that level of intensity when he himself placed his palm on the crystal ball. The crystal ball didn't shatter completely like it had with Lukas but…the fact that the crystal had cracked at all…it meant that Anriette was not kidding when she had promised Lukas that he did not want to be on the receiving end of her Divinity's power all those years ago in Nozar.

Eventually, Anriette let out a shaky breath and pulled her hand away, the cracks still faintly visible like a badge of proof.

She looked down at her hand, then at Magnus—unsure of what to make of the results.

The silence didn't last long.

Magnus let out a deep, booming laugh, his voice echoing off the Tower walls. "Well," the Head Mage told her, clearly delighted. "If there was ever any doubt—there isn't now. I welcome you to the Magic Tower, Miss Anriette Vale."

The courtyard erupted into murmurs and surprised whispers, many of them even erupted into polite applause.

Anriette turned to Thomas, cheeks flushed, breathing a little uneven—but her eyes were bright and full of childlike excitement.

Thomas smiled back at her. "You've passed. With flying colors I might add. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like that. You're pretty amazing, Anriette."

Anriette didn't say anything but the look and the slight blush on her face she gave him said enough.

Magnus stepped forward, smiling. "Now, Anriette, allow me to give you a tour of the Magic Tower."