Locke frowned and glanced at Melanie Carlisle. Now that he was a Formal Wizard, he naturally had to uphold the dignity of his rank.
The White Wizard Association had an explicit rule: a Wizard Apprentice who attacked a Formal Wizard committed a grave offense.
The Wizard Seed from the Secret Fire Academy had attacked him before he became a Formal Wizard. But Locke had been on the verge of advancing, and it had all happened within the Forbidden Forest Secret Realm. By a stretch, the attack could be counted as an assault on a First-Ring Wizard.
The association treated that charge with the utmost severity.
The ensuing disciplinary review could keep a wizard prodigy from making any progress for the next five years. It might even affect his wizard mentor.
After all, in the association's eyes, only Formal Wizards counted as adults. Wizard Apprentices were merely their property.
To the association, this was a conflict between two Formal Wizards.
"Witch Carlisle," Locke said coolly, "attacking a Formal Wizard is a serious offense."
The Secret Fire Academy's Wizard Apprentices grew increasingly tense. They feared Locke would demand an apology and compensation,
or even make them work for him without pay for several years.
If that happened, their futures would look much bleaker.
Time was a Wizard Apprentice's lifeblood.
Every Wizard Apprentice had to strive to raise their Mental Power to 800 before turning forty.
Melanie Carlisle's heart sank a little. She sighed inwardly and studied Locke, but could not tell what he was thinking.
I knew he wouldn't be so easy to placate. What was I thinking? He's a White Wizard combat prodigy who earned tremendous merit in this war and hunted Black Wizards like dogs on the run.
*He acts swiftly and decisively. How could he be as easy to