"That makes things much simpler."
Rowan allowed himself a small, satisfied smile as the first girl successfully completed the energy circulation process and awakened her magical potential.
The hat he had created wasn’t ant to sort students into houses.
Its purpose was far more fundantal.
To create potential where none existed.
When soone wore it, complex arcane patterns were gradually imprinted into their mind. These patterns guided their body into naturally circulating magical energy. Once the process completed, their body and mind beca capable of learning magic.
Rowan called it the Awakening Hat.
Creating it had been extrely difficult. Encoding such an enormous amount of arcane structure into a single artifact required blending forging techniques from multiple worlds.
Without that knowledge, it would have been impossible.
"You’re Hannah, correct?" Rowan asked.
"Yes, Director. I’m Hannah."
She stood, feeling lighter, clearer. As if sothing inside her had finally clicked into place.
"Have you studied the introductory spell theory manual?"
Rowan’s tone remained calm and patient.
Humans were fewer in number than elves, but not insignificant. And since they were scattered across vast regions, new candidates were still arriving.
Rowan couldn’t personally test every human.
So he had created a simple filter.
He published an introductory spell theory book. It only covered basic spells. Light. Cleaning. Minor utility magic.
If soone studied it and eventually cast even the simplest spell, they had potential.
If not, they didn’t.
It also filtered out those who had potential but lacked discipline or learning ability.
Many adults couldn’t focus long enough to finish even the simplest magical theory text.
Such students would struggle in the Academy anyway.
"Yes! I morized everything!" Hannah said quickly.
When she first learned humans could beco mages, she refused to accept the future waiting for her in her village.
She studied obsessively when the tribe distributed the books.
But reality had been cruel.
No matter how well she morized the text, she couldn’t cast even a basic light spell.
Until now.
"Try," Rowan said.
With a flick of his hand, a staff appeared and floated beside her.
Rowan himself no longer needed casting tools.
But that didn’t make them useless.
For beginners, and even experienced mages, staves improved casting speed and power.
The staves used here were massive compared to typical designs. Embedded with magical crystals native to this world.
Humans here were physically stronger than those from many other worlds. Even young children could lift heavy stones.
And if an orc closed distance?
A heavy staff doubled nicely as a weapon.
"Light of Day," Hannah said, voice trembling.
The staff’s tip flared into brilliant white light.
"I... I did it... Mom... I did it..."
Tears stread down her face.
Nearby elven princes exchanged excited glances.
Humans lived barely a century.
But they learned fast.
In a few hundred years, the allied armies could field massive numbers of human battle mages.
And humans reproduced far faster than elves.
For elves, a few centuries was nothing.
For humans, it ant entire generations of trained mages.
Victory over the orcs... even over Morgoth... no longer felt impossible.
"This man really is a miracle," one elven prince murmured, looking toward Rowan.
Below, the waiting human youths erupted into cheers.
Seeing proof shattered their fear.
Even the older Academy students were stunned.
The Awakening Hat wasn’t just a tool.
It was history changing in real ti.
"Continue," Rowan said, sitting back.
Applause echoed as Lúthien guided Hannah to the human student table.
"Jack," Lúthien called next.
The second student succeeded.
Then the third.
Then the fourth.
Everything proceeded smoothly.
Until the one hundred twentieth student sat down and the hat settled onto his head.
Suddenly, the hat scread:
"Azkaban! Azkaban!"
Confusion spread through the hall.
The hat speaking wasn’t unusual.
But the word ant nothing to anyone present.
Rowan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"I prepared for this possibility," he said quietly.
With a small gesture, he pulled the boy toward him and began searching his mories.
...
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