"It's time to give him the recognition he deserves!"
There was a kind of silence that was deafening.
Some of the Grand Mages at the meeting could not help feeling a little envious.
Just listen to that. What kind of statement was that?
Was the Arcane Star Award his by right?
Most of those present had never won it themselves.
But they had to admit one thing: for reasons of political publicity and fairness in Arcana, they had to give it to him. There was no way around it.
Grand Mage Antonia had brought up "the youngest in history" because that would count as an achievement for the current administration-a manufactured marvel.
It would still make a fine story hundreds or even thousands of years later.
"Roland already has abundant achievements, and his reputation and experience are well established. He certainly qualifies for this award."
"His school has branches in several Mage Towers, with over a thousand formal members and more than three thousand informal followers.
"That means thousands of achievements, tens of thousands of papers, and the combined influence of even more interest groups..."
"He has the makings of a grandmaster!"
They discussed the various unspoken conditions behind winning the award.
It would be wrong to assume that a magical world had no social maneuvering and relied on Arcana alone.
Academic merit was merely the most basic requirement for consideration.
Seven years earlier, in the year 10026 of the Atrelin calendar, Roland had already qualified to contend for the Arcane Star Award when he submitted "Constructing the Seris Rune System."
Antonia had recognized the value of that achievement and nominated him. After that, he had made the shortlist every year without winning.
Now that even "Seris Rune Compilation" was complete, the question was no longer whether he deserved the