Jake stood there, completely dumbfounded, he was looking at the Volcan estate, if you could even call it that. The so-called estate was a massive castle carved into the side of a volcano, the ground surrounding the estate was completely devoid of any life, the ground was charred black, and fissures ran through the area with molten lava coursing through them.

Despite being surrounded by molten rock Jake didn't feel any discomfort from the heat at all, in fact, to him, it felt pleasurable.

"Feels good doesn't it," Oscar said.

"Yeah, for some reason I can't feel any discomfort at all," Jake replied.

"It's because your a flame elemental now lad and this kind of place is our domain," said Oscar proudly, puffing out his chest.

Iris, who had been pretty silent the whole of the journey then turned towards the both of them.

"Let's go, my father has been informed of our arrival and it wouldn't look good to keep him waiting, he's a busy man after all."

She then turned and started to walk directly towards a small pond of lava.

"W-Wait where you going!? There's la-" Jake said in a panic.

However, what proceeded to happen made Jake's jaw drop even further as the small girl proceeded to walk directly over the molten rock as if it wasn't even there.

"You have a lot to learn lad," Oscar said with a chuckle whilst looking at Jake's dumbfounded expression before copying Iris's actions and walking over the lava.

Jake followed but hesitated before stepping onto the small lava lake, he looked up and saw Iris and Oscar waiting for him on the other side beckoning him to hurry up.

'Here goes nothing I guess.' Jake thought.

He closed his eyes and stepped out onto the lava, to his surprise he didn't sink or feel any burning sensation but felt empowered, like a well of energy was rushing up through his legs from beneath him. At this moment, he felt invincible.

'Ok, this shit is pretty fucking cool' Jake chuckled under his breath as he looked down at the lava underfoot.

He rejoined the two Volcans and they continued their walk towards the castle embedded in the Volcano.

They arrived at the entrance of the castle and Jake was looking around, completely in awe of everything. The insignia of the Volcans were emblazoned on flags and statues that were positioned around the entrance and he could see various guards, all sporting the same fiery red robes, two of these guards were stationed at the gate into the castle, and as they saw who was approaching got down on one knee.

"Welcome back lady Volcan," the two guards said in unison.

"Thank you, you may stand Duncan and Rhys," Iris replied.

The two guards stood before proceeding to open the gate for them.

"Highlord Volcan is in the grand hall awaiting your arrival and the new prospect."

"Thank you, we will go to him straight away," Iris said before walking through the entrance with Oliver and Jake in tow.

As they walked through the inner castle the scenery turned from the barbaric and harsh wasteland that was outside to something of pure opulence and majesty. Coming from a poor backwater town, Jake had never seen anything like it and continued to be mesmerized by every little detail of the castle as they walked through.

Jake also took note of how some people in the castle would simply dip their heads in respect to Iris whilst others would kneel before her as she walked by. The hierarchy within the family was evident for all to see.

The group approached a massive door at the end of the hallway and judging by the guards who unlike the ones stationed outside, were wearing golden armor and held a giant battle-ax with both hands infront of them, with the pommel resting on the floor. Not only did these guards look impressive, but the aura they were radiating was one of pure dominance, that whilst clearly didn't affect Iris who was sporting the same poker face as usual, and Oliver who was smiling caused shivers to run up Jake's back every time he stepped closer to one of these guards.

Upon approach the guards turned and opened the door, saying nothing and letting the group pass into the main hall.

However, once the doors opened, an aura, unlike anything Jake had felt previously washed over them. This completely stopped Jake in his tracks, his instincts telling him something truly overwhelming and terrifying was in that room. Even Oliver hesitated slightly as he felt the pressure hit him, the only one unaffected was Iris as she continued to walk forwards into the grand hall.

Jake gathered himself and stopped trying to resist the aura and just let it pass, it was still uncomfortable but no longer felt completely suppressive, and looking up he could see exactly where this pressure was coming from.

Upon a throne carved out of what looked to be obsidian sat a middle-aged man with bronze skin and the same fiery red hair and emerald eyes that Iris had, his expression was steely as he rested his chin on his fist.

Once they arrived before the throne, Iris and Oliver knelt infront of the man, and Jake quickly followed suit.

"Iris, you've finally returned from the capital, let me ask you," said the man in a low and rough voice, "did the Lockheart's agree to the deal?"

"They said they would provide us with the resources we asked for as long as we sent ten more of our family to the front line for the next six months," Iris replied.

"Very well, it was to be expected, I heard the skirmishes at the front were getting more frequent as of late." the man sighed, "Anyway, on to the matter at hand."

The man averted his gaze from Iris and it landed on Jake, honestly, Jake was completely terrified of this man as he had never felt the feelings he was currently experiencing. A mixture of awe and raw fear would be the only honest words he could think of to describe the feeling the man gave off.

"Do not fear child," said the man, "for today you will become a Volcan."

Jake looked up at the man, his expression had turned from a steely gaze to one of a warm fatherly look, and honestly, it soothed Jake's soul. The man stood up from the throne and Jake could now fully see his impressive stature. The man stood around 6'10" and despite wearing ornate red robes he could tell beneath them that the man would physically be an absolute monster. The man walked over to Jake and proceeded to speak.

"Stand child, for today there will be few you will ever have to kneel to again as you now carry the Volcan name."

'Jake Volcan' thought Jake, the sound of the name bringing a smile to his face.

"It would be an honor, sir," Jake said, his words filled with respect and gratitude.

"Indeed it is, the Volcan name has lived at the top echelons of power in this country for millennia and with it the responsibility that each of us must bear, I hope you will bring honor to our name child."

Jake felt a sense of pride rush through his body, he would do anything the family needed to repay the gift they had given him. The man then walked over to Oliver.

"Oliver, thank you for escorting my daughter to the capital, I never felt worried having you by her side."

"It was my pleasure Highlord," replied Oliver respectfully.

"Please, Ian is fine for familial matters," Ian replied with a smile.

On the other side of the group, Iris stood there with a pout on her face after hearing the conversation between Ian and Oliver.

"Daaad, I told you I'd be fine by myself there was no need for Oliver to come," whined Iris.

"No, I know you're immensely talented, maybe even the best the Volcans have nurtured in century's but you're still a child," said Ian

Iris reacted with a simple humph before letting the situation go, Jake stood there smiling after listening to them talk, despite the grandeur and power they still really felt like family.

"Now, I've got matters to attend to." said Ian, clapping his hands together to adjourn the meeting, "Oliver, please show Jake here to his quarters, and Iris I'm sure your mother would like to see you after being gone so long."

With that, Ian turned and walked away from them and Jake felt a hand grip on to his shoulder.

"Welcome to the family lad, now let's get you to your room," Oliver said.

Jake nodded and turned to Iris before giving a curt bow.

"It was a p-pleasure to meet you, Iris," said Jake, stuttering slightly.

Iris responded with a curt nod of her own before turning and walking away herself. After she had left Oliver let out a chuckle.

"For a fire elemental, she really is an ice-queen huh,"

Jake and Ian had a little laugh before they too went off towards the living wing of the castle.

---

Jake and Oliver walked down one of the corridors in the living wing before stopping at one of the rooms.

"This one is yours lad, place your hand on the door," said Oliver

Following the instruction, Jake reached out and placed his palm on the wooden door and the door clicked and opened infront of him.

'Neat' Jake thought.

The room itself was pretty simple, a double bed in the middle of the room with a large window overlooking the molten wasteland outside, on the other side of the room was a decently large desk with a single bookshelf adjacent that contained a few red books. Jake turned to Oliver to ask him some questions he'd been holding for some time.

"So, what now?" asked Jake.

"Well for the first couple of days you'll have pretty free reign to familiarize yourself with your new home, most areas in the castle are open to you as an official member of the Volcan family, and the ones you can't you won't be able to open the doors anyway," replied Oliver gesturing towards Jake's hand, explaining like the door for his room that allowed him entry with his touch, certain rooms would be off-limits to him, for now at least.

"After a few days, a servant will come by and hand you a schedule that will basically structure your day around learning the basics of nobility such as etiquette and decorum, and learning how to harness your ability. As a flame elemental with B-tier potential, you have a shitload of talent, but without training, you won't amount to much."

Jake nodded, it was pretty self-explanatory and made a lot of sense, however, he was shocked that Oliver knew what tier he was, after all, it was normally only after a formal test that one would be able to find out.

"How do you know my talent cap!? Also, B-Tier, isn't that pretty good?"

"Pretty good!?" Laughed Oliver, "Damn kid, you really don't realize how special you are do you? A B-Tier elemental is one in a million amongst elemental users, let alone the rest of the population who have physical abilities. I wouldn't be surprised if you were one of the most exciting new awakened that came out of this year's blessings in the whole country."

Jake stood there shocked, looking down at his hands, was he really this special? He certainly didn't feel like it. Noticing Jake's expression Oliver went on to explain.

"Don't worry kid, you'll come to realize what you are soon enough, and to answer your second question, after seeing so many flame elementals the subconscious pressure they give off is a pretty clear indicator of what tier they are."

To be honest besides Iris and Ian, Jake didn't feel any sort of pressure coming off anyone else.

"What tier are the Highlord and Iris?" Jake asked.

"They're both A-Tier talents," said Oliver, a hint of jealousy in his voice, "However make no mistake, the Highlord fulfilled his potential and became a bonafide A-Tier over a decade ago and has the experience to back it whilst Iris is only a child and he wields his ability, unlike anything I've ever seen from a flame elemental, I reckon he could even hold his own against King Lockheart himself."

Jake noted all this information down in his head, he was still new after all to the world of abilities but he was sure once his lessons started he would learn more about this exciting world.

"Well that's pretty much it, your bookshelf has a few basic books on the history of Lutia as well as the Volcan family and there are a few books on the flame itself. I'd recommend at least familiarize yourself with all of them before your lessons start in a few days and you join the rest of the Volcan children," said Oliver.

"Thank you for everything once again" replied Jake earnestly.

"You can thank me by doing the name proud kid," said Oliver with a chuckle, giving Jake one final thumbs-up before leaving the room.

Jake sat down on his bed and let out a long sigh, a lot had happened today and his horizons had truly been broadened, there was a lot to look forward to and he honestly couldn't wait to get started. However, as he sat on his bed he thought about one thing that he'd pushed to the corner of his mind throughout the day.

'I wonder how Leon is doing.'