An introduction.

Magic is real. It isn’t whimsical, nor is it for children, but it is in fact, real. Magicians, sorcerers, wizards, witches, warlocks, magi; all names for those with the power to harness the energy of the world around them into creative or destructive works of art.

The Zaneus Crawford School for the Magically Gifted was one of four schools spread across the world that trained the limited few who had the potential to become…more. Students are chosen during their formative years, observed throughout their adolescence, and recruited upon graduation of their basic education.

The schools for those magically gifted took no students younger than 18, as this was an agreed upon date of basic mental maturity (more or less).

Rhen Sullivan was Jacob’s newest potential recruit.

Jacob Bartley was a talent spotter for ZCS (Zaneus Crawford’s School, the full title was too damn long). He had been a spotter for about 7 decades now, since his graduation from the academy back in ‘42, during the height of WWII (not that the magi got involved with that war until that asshole Mengele).

It was now 2021, and Jacob looked on casually as a young Rhen Sullivan played merrily with his brothers on the park grounds. The boy was around 5 or so, and this was Jacob’s first time seeing the kid up close. Usually these children are marked by the Oracle Mages, and so at best the spotters are given a name and a general location.

Luckily, that’s all a spotter mage needed. Tracking magic was a rare commodity, which is why Jacob was **** into this job in the first place, but it was also as easy to use for a spotter mage as simple fire magic was for a first year student.

Overall, Jacob didn’t mind his job. He had the basic gifts all magic users get (elemental magic, summoning magic, enchanting, abjuration, etc…) which made life easy and pleasurable. He didn’t need to worry about money as his salary was more than generous, and all he literally had to do was keep tabs on snotty kids throughout their early lives, judge their personal growth and development, monitor their soul energy, and keep them alive. If the kid shows promise at age 18, Jacob would basically kidnap them, and introduce them to the world of magic. All in all, not a bad gig.

Rhen Sullivan, however, gave him the heebeejeebees. It wasn’t lost on him that the kid didn’t look anything like his brothers. The fact he had the gift and they didn’t wasn’t an issue. Bloodlines do have an effect, but random offshoots are by no means rare - hell, all of Jacob’s recruits had been offshoots. Kids born into magical families had no need of spotters. No, Rhen Sullivan gave him the heebeejeebees because he was dead certain that kid look at him periodically.

You would think that would be hard to do since he had come to the park with his invisibility spell in place. But this kid…he had looked at him a few times now.

And those eyes. His eyes were a normal green, albeit a vibrant green that would cause many girls to drop their panties later in life. They were green…until the damned kid looked at Jacob.

And then he could swear they were black.