Searing 22, 107
The Valentin Estate
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Valentin Valentin considered a collection of letters, deep in thought.
He was acutely aware that the letters arrayed before him represented a very limited universe of choices- only three paths amidst the sprawling infinity of the future. Once he had chosen, his fate would not be locked in stone, but many possibilities would be removed from the equation. It was a daunting choice to have to make at his age; but it was also more choice than most boys had. To the average man of few means (and the Valentin Family’s pretenses aside, he knew how few means they truly possessed), any one of these three choices might seem like a golden opportunity.
He sat listless, his body just finishing its development, limbs too long to be comfortable in the overstuffed chair he had pushed over to the table, but equally too full of energy to be entirely comfortable with stillness. He’d fought that energy for many years, though; someday soon, he knew, the stillness he’d found in his mind would be reflected in demeanor.
Before Valentin thought about what he had been offered, he took a moment to do as his father’s old manservant had instructed him years ago, and reflect on just what it was he wanted.
Decades ago, Alexander Valentin had been a hero of Gel’Grandal, an explorer par excellence who had dared the greenskin hordes of mysterious Ecith to obtain wonders which could still be found displayed in the Imperial Museum today. Valentin’s chambers in the house had once been a storehouse and museum which Alexander used to keep and display relics of which he was proud- now, much of his finds had been sold, and Grandfather’s personal trophies moved to his Father’s impromptu shrine, but a portrait of Alexander, resplendent in a leather jacket and explorer’s hat, still hung above the fireplace.
Grandfather’s expeditions had earned him fame, renown, and even Imperial plaudits like the Order of the Silver Spyglass. There was a statue of him in one of the public gardens. A plaque on a display in one of the Palace of Spires’ rooms for entertaining, explaining the history of some artifact or another. Valentin thought it might have been a diadem of some sort, taken from a greenskin seer in a daring raid?
Beyond that, though, Alexander had brought back treasure. Gold and jewels in small quantities, yes, but also artwork, antiques, and even artifacts of power which had to be reviewed by Imperial mages to decide if the government needed to exercise its right of first refusal and force a sale. “Alexander’s A’s”, the old man had referred to them, whimsically.
But Alexander’s son had attended the academy, become a pilot of no great distinction, and fallen in love with a nurse on a campaign at the border of Atinaw. Valentin held no rancor for his father’s choices, nor his mother’s humble birth, but the family’s fortunes had begun to dwindle years before Alexander’s death, and Mother and Father, though appropriately frugal, had to maintain certain baselines of spending to avoid rousing suspicion in society. The family was seen in society as a well-to-do house in slow decline; if the truth about their finances were known, their troubles would only multiply.
Still, while Valentin’s parents might die in this house, Valentin knew that he himself would have to see it sold to some lucky merchant sooner or later. Unless…
Unless he could stem the bleeding.
Thus, the three letters. Three opportunities which he had secured on the basis of his Grandfather’s name and such small bribes as he could manage. But while three didn’t seem like much, it was two too many; he could devote his life to only one.
The first path was a letter from the Imperial Army, which read:
Herr Valentin Valentin,
It is my honor to confirm that the Deans have met upon the subject of your letters of inquiry and application, and are prepared to offer you enrollment in the Imperial Officer Academy for the standard tuition fee.
If you wish to accept enrollment, it is required that you remit the first annual fee in lump sum by the first of Ash of this year, and present yourself for inspection at the Ministry of War to undergo a physical examination and an application interview.
Although the Academy requires no specialized training from applicants, you must pass the Ministry’s physical and written examination for acceptance to be final.
We look forward to receiving your reply.
Sincerely,
Adan Wulfric,
Dean of Students
It wasn’t ideal, in a lot of ways.
First, Valentin would have preferred aeronautical training. It wasn’t that he was physically incapable; he was sure he could pass the Ministry’s standard physical examination, and that the Army Officer’s training would be tolerable. It was simply that the air force was the Imperium’s premier branch. When people spoke of heroics in the military in Gel’Grandal, it was invariably upon the subject of some aerial ace, not ground troops.
Second, though he’d written an exceptional application, they hadn’t seen fit to reduce the standard tuition. His father would pay it, of course, and say nothing, but the cost of the Imperial Officers Academy was tremendous, and the rewards of service were only commensurate if you could wrangle your way into a posting with real authority. Valentin did not fancy spending so much only to retire as Major Valentin, a virtual unknown in the capital posted for a decade in Sangen.
Valentin turned his attention to the second letter.
Herr Valentin,
Master Rogoro has considered the missive you sent two fortnights past, and will consent to permit you to apprentice with him, pending a confirmation containing a bank note of twenty thousand avens to compensate him for a term of four years and commensurate room and board.
Respond with your agreement at your earliest convenience.
Regards,
Salmic Walfy,
Sec’t’ry
Apprenticeship with Rogoro’s shipping concern was much less enchanting than the life of a young army officer, but Valentin had done his research. The man made nigh unto a million coins in the course of a year, and that number represented only a fraction of the actual wealth tied up in the freighting business. Twenty thousand for a four-year apprenticeship was a drop in the bucket, more like earnest money than a serious attempt to profit for a man who could probably make that sum back while on vacation.
If Valentin could achieve similar success, or even a significant fraction, he could repair his family’s finances for generations to come. What the job did not provide in glory, it would more than make up for in lucre.
Still, there were warning signs. Valentin had never met Rogoro, and if the magnate’s offer was not a genuine apprenticeship, he’d be out in four years with no inroads into the business to show for it; a journeyman shipping logistician could hardly go off and start a business from scratch. The fact that the man had asked his secretary to pen the reply could mean nothing at all, as Rogoro was surely too busy to handle all of his affairs himself, but it could also mean that this wasn’t a serious opportunity.
And he wouldn’t get another.
The third letter, then.
Mr. Valentin.
The Imperial Academy of Administration is in receipt of your application, which was given a satisfactory evaluation. On that basis, the decision has been made to offer you enrollment in an administrative credential on the basis of suspended tuition, to be waived upon ten years of confirmed service in any Ministry.
Your separate application for initiation and use of a Cardinal Rune to the Imperial Academy of Arcane Science requires in-person evaluation. Upon successful completion of said evaluation, you may be offered initiation and a stipend for valuable contribution to the Imperium.
Indicate by Ash 1, 110 whether you intend to accept this enrollment.
Regards,
Dr. Fallon
This letter was the least exciting opportunity of them all, by most any measure. A career in the Imperial Ministries was reputed to be long, boring, and almost totally unnoticed. The pay was better than the army, but only by a bit- certainly, even the highest-ranking officials would never achieve great wealth.
But it had several advantages. First, it was free- assuming he wasn’t fired early in his career, his family wouldn’t have to spend a dull copper piece. Next, there was the opportunity for a Rune, usually restricted to those of high birth, those related to magicians, or people in similarly unusual situations.
Finally, it offered both direct access to the great decision-makers of tomorrow and the levers of power, but a chance to make his career while doing something for the common folk. A heroic army career might earn him acclaim, but he had to admit that he simply didn’t believe that the Imperium was well-served by intermittent bombings of Sangen or the awful pirate federations of the sea. Logistics was even worse; though he knew the brute value of money, he also knew how little of it would be liquid enough to do more than charity for a few hundred neighbors.
"It seems there is only one path which is certain, moral, and profitable" Valentin said to his Grandfather’s old room, staring up at the portrait of the proud jungle explorer, "To save my family, I will become a lawyer."