Chapter 1: The Examination
The heavy oak door slammed shut behind him, sealing out the wind and the rest of the world. Kael stood alone in the center of the high-ceilinged entrance, clutching his travel bag so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"So," a voice came from the hearth in the study next door. It was deep, smooth, and indifferent. "This is what the village has sent me."
Master Thorne stepped up. He was taller than Kael had imagined, and the magical energy around him felt like static electricity, prickling against Kael’s skin. Thorne didn’t look at Kael’s face; his eyes swept slowly down Kael’s body, assessing him like a piece of livestock or a raw ingredient for a potion.
"What is your name?" Thorne asked.
"Kael, Master," the boy whispered. He dipped his head, but his wide brown eyes stayed fixated on the mage.
"You are twenty-three years old and from Cittaburro?"
"Yes, sir."
"Very well. That is a good age to start your apprenticeship." Thorne paused studying him. I have had many promising apprentices from Cittaburro. Even though the village is small the mana must be rich there."
Kael nodded carefully maintaining eye contact with the master.
"I'll need to examine you and your mana potential. Follow me into my study I prepared something for you."
"Yes, Master."
Kael followed Thorne into the study. A room full of magical machinery and tools. The Master sat down at the end of the room in a tall, red armchair besides an alchemist’s bench and an elegantly decorated bookshelf. For a while he was just inspecting Kael with his gaze who was standing in the entrance of the room with his arms behind his back. The silence was oppressive.
"This is for you," said the Master with a subtle smirk on his face. He was pointing at an apparatus in the middle of the room. On a slightly raised round stone slab there were two anvil-shaped stone pillars arranged like a V, with a book's length of spacing between them. Both were painted with sigils. "We will use this to examine your mana."
"What do I have to do, Master?" Kael asked softly.
"Strip."
Kael's eyes widened, and he blushed. They stood in silence while a rush of arousal and shame ran though his body. After his mind cleared up a bit, he answered with a trembling voice "Understood".
"You can put your clothes next to you on the desk."
Kael put down his travel bag next to the desk. Hesitantly he stroked his right arm with his left while staring at the empty desk next to him. Then, he took off his dark blue fabric boots and colorful knitted socks, carefully placing them on the edge of the desk.
Barefoot, he slowly started pulling up his loose, olive-colored shirt, exposing the smooth skin of his slender stomach. He quickly turned his back to the Master just before pulling the fabric over his head, hiding his chest. With his torso fully exposed, he folded the shirt and placed it on the desk, keeping his arms crossed to shield his front from the Master's gaze.
He took a quick, shy look over his shoulder before slowly pushing down his trousers. With the rest of his clothes on the desk, he was left in only the barest essentials.
"And your underwear, Kael," the Master said in a calm voice, watching the boy hesitate over the last piece of fabric concealing his modesty.
"Understood, Master" he whispered, tension tightening his throat.
Kael carefully cupped his genitals with his right hand to hide them, using his left to slide the underwear down his smooth legs. As the cool air of the room was touching his sensitive skin a cold rush of embarrassment rose through him, mixing with the heat of sexual excitement. It was a storm of emotions: he was exposed, vulnerable, standing before a man he had never met.
Master Thorne stood up from his armchair: "Turn towards me, Kael."
Eyes fixed on the ground, Kael slowly turned around, keeping his hands clamped tight over his groin to hide himself.
The Master stepped behind him, placing a warm, heavy hand on the boy's waist to guide him toward the stone circle. "Take your place," Thorne commanded.
"How, Master?" he asked, his voice trembling.
"Kneel on them: One leg onto each stone pillar. Your legs shall be spread, V-shaped like the pillars themselves."
Obedient to the order, Kael climbed onto the apparatus. As he knelt, he arched his back, sticking out his beautifully rounded and full bottom, which contrasted sharply with his slender waist. With his hands still protecting his privates, he waited, nervously anticipating what might come next. Thorne walked around to face him, looking deep into Kael’s wide, frightened eyes. "Hands behind your head."
Kael’s breathing became heavy. He hesitated, holding eye contact with the Master, pleading silently for a different command.
"Now, Kael."
"Yes, Master," he answered, slowly lifting his arms behind his head, revealing the erection he desperately tried to hide. He felt a deep, burning shame for the way his body betrayed him. To him, his erection was a mark of weakness - small, exposed, and far too eager.
But in the warm light of the study, he looked like a finely sculpted Greek carving. His cock was like a compact, sturdy pillar of marble, polished to a high sheen by his own growing desire. It was a beautiful, hard little secret finally brought into the open.
Seeing Kael shamefully gazing at the floor, the Master stepped closer. He carefully lifted the boy's chin with one finger, forcing Kael to look deep into his eyes.
"This is a perfectly normal reaction," Thorne said softly. "Do not worry about it. You look very pretty like this."
Thorne released his chin and began to slowly circle the boy, inspecting him from every angle. Kael remained frozen, his heart pounding against his ribs, as the Master introduced the fundamental concepts of his potentially new life.
"A common apprenticeship focuses solely on knowledge - books and scrolls. They neglect the cultivation of the vessel itself. Your mana grows naturally with age, yes. But nature is slow."
Thorne paused behind Kael, his fingers tracing the line of the boy’s spine, making Kael shiver.
"Eating and resting will replenish your mana, but it will never raise your potential. Your body is already accustomed to the weak magic found in food. To truly ascend, you must absorb mana from a source significantly higher than your own."
He leaned down, his lips brushing Kael’s ear. "My potential is among the highest in the realm. If we begin now - while you are young and malleable - you will not just become a mage. In ten years, you will be a force of nature."
Kael swallowed hard, the promise of power mixing with his fear.
"But there is a condition," Thorne continued, moving to stand in front of Kael again. "Mana is the life force of all things, an extension of the soul. Every source has its own harmonics. If I were to pour my full power into you now, the dissonance would tear you apart."
Thorne placed a hand on Kael’s chest, right over his beating heart. His palm felt the rapid thud of the boy's pulse, while his thumb drifted sideways to toy with Kael’s stiff, pink nipple. The casual intimacy of the touch was too much for Kael. A jolt of electric pleasure shot from his chest straight to his groin. His small, rigid shaft twitched violently against his belly.
"To harmonize complex sources like humans, one must bend the soul to fit the other. This is the Arcanum of Submission."
Thorne’s eyes locked onto Kael’s. "You must fully surrender to me. My desires will become your desires. My pleasure will become your highest priority. You will have no needs but those I decide for you. It is difficult, and it requires total obedience. But the more you internalize this Arcanum... the more of my power you can hold."
Thorne paused, his serious attitude turned into a subtle warm smile. "But, before we continue, let us measure your current mana potential to determine if you are even suited for this. Open your mouth wide."
Kael hesitated, his face painted with worry, but he obeyed. Thorne placed a heavy, three-inch crystal orb between Kael's teeth, stretching his jaw uncomfortably wide.
"I am going to activate the sigils on the stone pillars now," Thorne explained, his voice calm. "You will feel electrifying vibrations running through your fragile body. The only thing you are forbidden to do is spill your seed - that would alter your mana flow and sabotage the procedure. If you manage to control yourself, and your mana level checks out, I will accept you as my apprentice."
Kael's body was flooded with a mix of intense arousal and the terrifying fear of failure.
Master Thorne placed his hands on the stone, infusing the sigils with his own mana. Immediately, they flared to life with a bright green light. As strong, rhythmic pulses of pleasure started surging through the boy's thighs and groin, the Master stepped behind him, gripping Kael's waist with both hands to stabilize him against the shaking stone.
Surprised by the sudden intensity, Kael tried to moan, but the heavy orb blocked the sound, turning it into a muffled, desperate whimper.
As he struggled against the sensation, his heart pounded violently against his ribs. With every heavy breath, the pleasure mounted, rising higher and spreading like wildfire through his veins. His whole body felt hot, consumed by feverish excitement. Instinctively, he leaned backward, seeking the guiding warmth of the Master's body. He ached for Thorne's firm grip to anchor him as he slowly lost control of his own limbs.
The vibration intensified, as the crystal was feeding from his body's mana. The orb between his slick lips was now glowing in a deep red.
Primal instinct took over. His hips began to buck back and forth, his erection twitching violently at the peak of every thrust. Kael’s mind was paralyzed by the sensory overload, the only desire dominating his thoughts was to spill his seed right there in the Master's arms.
Only the crushing fear of failure - of losing the apprenticeship - clung desperately to his lust-flooded mind, acting as the last crumbling wall preventing him from bursting.
The apparatus intensified, shifting into its strongest pulsation yet. His loud constant muffled moaning indicated: Kael lost all control, the overwhelming pleasure purging his mind of fear or thought. The boy's hips thrust in fast, short bursts, making his whole body shake violently. His small cock throbbed, weeping droplets of pre-cum that ran down the smooth skin of his shaft.
The lustful whimpering in his throat intensified. He spread his toes, digging them into the stone. Every muscle in his body went rigid, as his whimpering rose to a muffled scream against the crystal.
His body was poised to release the mountain of lust it had accumulated - when the stone abruptly went dead. The vibrations vanished instantly.
The Master released the boy's hips and stepped in front of him. "The process is completed."
Kael slumped forward, his body shaking from the shock. His arms hung limp at his sides, and he could barely hold up his heavy head to look into the Master's eyes. He was crushed by frustration; every nerve in his body was still singing with unfulfilled desire. His shaft continued to throb pitifully, begging for the Master's hand to finish what the machine had started.
"Drop the orb, boy," Thorne commanded calmly, holding out his palm.
Kael opened his aching jaw and carefully dropped the wet crystal into the Master's hand.
"You can rest in my chair while I evaluate the results," Thorne said, gesturing to the tall red seat. He turned his attention to the alchemist's bench, which stood directly beside the armchair.
Thorne glanced at the shining orb in his hand. The swirling red light had settled into a steady, shimmering gold.
"Higher than I expected," Thorne murmured, placing the orb into a brass holder on the bench. "This looks promising. I will take you as my apprentice."
"Thank you, Master," Kael whispered, blushing. He struggled to cross his legs tightly, desperate to cover his petite, erect shaft with both hands. "What now?" he murmured, shame tightening his throat.
"I will bind you with a phantom collar, as is common for apprentices. For that, I must write my arcane signature around your neck in common runes."
Thorne reached for a shelf and pulled out a flask containing a black, shiny fluid. "Now, sit up straight."
Kael, who had been slumped in the red chair, forced his exhausted body upright and stretched out his neck. Thorne uncorked the flask and dipped his index finger into the viscous ink.
"The mana basis of this ink is my own seed," Thorne explained calmly. "It is not only mana-dense, but - most importantly - it guarantees the right mana frequency."
He stepped in front of Kael, lifting the boy's chin to guide him during the writing process. As the Master's wet finger touched his neck, a violent rush of lust ran from the fingertip straight to Kael's groin. A quiet moan escaped the boy's mouth. The arousing thought of his Master painting him with his own semen robbed him of his last energy reserves. Kael's hands were already coated with the pre-cum leaking from his aching cock.
"Alright," Thorne whispered, his voice bringing the boy back to reality. "The only thing left is for you to guide your mana into your neck, infusing the runes. This is how you sign our contract."
Kael closed his eyes and concentrated. The wet runes on his neck began to glow.
"Done," Thorne said, a subtle, warm smirk playing on his lips. "You are mine now, Kael."
"Thank you Master." Kael whispered his gaze lost in his Master's eyes.
"You did well today. Go into your room and rest now. It is upstairs, the first room to the right."
Thorne’s warm hand cupped Kael’s cheek, his thumb brushing the skin gently. "But there is an important rule: do not waste your seed. Do not pleasure yourself without my explicit permission. We will need your seed for the creation of minor potions. Do you understand, apprentice?"
Kael leaned into the touch, starved for praise. "Understood, Master." He hesitated for a moment, then added softly, "But... why couldn't we use yours?"
"It would require too much effort to dilute the potency of my own seed for such minor tasks," Thorne explained patiently. "But most importantly, you need to learn the Arcanum of Submission. I begin teaching you by taking control of this part of your life."
Thorne took a step back, gesturing to the door. "Now, go to bed, Kael. I need you well-rested - and full - tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Yes, my Master, good night." Kael said. He walked up to the desk near the entrance, still hiding his privates, and picked up his clothes and travel back. Thorne's gaze dropped to the boy's round bottom as he slowly left the room walking up the wooden stairs
"Yes, my Master. Goodnight," Kael said.
He walked to the desk near the entrance, using one hand to shield his privates while the other grabbed his clothes and travel bag. Thorne's gaze dropped to the boy's round bottom, watching the sway of his hips as he slowly left the room and walked up the wooden stairs.
Kael reached the top of the landing and pushed open the heavy oak door. He stopped in the doorway, surprised by the quality of his new quarters. He had expected a simple apprentice’s cell, but this was a proper guest room, warm and inviting.
The room was spacious, with a large window looking out over the night sky. A sturdy desk of polished dark wood stood against one wall, next to a tall bookshelf waiting to be filled. In the center lay a wide, comfortable bed made with crisp, white linen and a thick cotton quilt.
Kael stepped inside, placing his bag on the floor. He stumbled toward the bed and climbed onto the mattress. It was soft and supportive - far better than anything he had slept on before - and he sank gratefully into the pillows.
He curled onto his side, but the comfort of the room offered no peace. The mark on his neck tingled against the sheets, a constant physical reminder of who he belonged to now.
His body was still humming from the machine, his nerves raw and screaming for the release he had been denied. The memory of the Master’s warm hand on his cheek and the heavy gaze on his body replayed in his mind, sending fresh spikes of arousal straight to his groin.
His hand drifted down to his stomach, hovering dangerously close to his aching erection. The cool linen sheets felt maddeningly good against his sensitive skin, teasing him with every small movement. He squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fingers into the mattress. He wanted to be good. He wanted to prove he could control himself.
Kael let out a shaky, frustrated breath into the darkness. It was going to be a very long night.
