The shattering of the talent stone had left a ringing silence in the clearing, broken only by the heavy breathing of the three legendary nobles. Old Holt looked at the sparkling obsidian dust at his feet, his eyes wide and shimmering with a mixture of reverence and absolute shock. He looked at me as if he were staring at a god descended from the heavens. I knew you were special from the moment I laid eyes on you, My Lord! he exclaimed, his voice cracking with emotion. But this... this is beyond anything recorded in the annals of history. You possess the greatest talent that has ever graced the Vermilion Empire!
Old Nel, ever the one to boast once his fear had subsided into pride, puffed out his chest and looked at the others with a triumphant smirk. Hmph! Forget the empire! Nel shouted, g
