Kingdom of fire and shadows: Useless magic and Salamanders.

'Pft, horrible!' A white girl with long, red, and wavy hair complained while throwing a dress on the floor. Her sharp nose, thin lips, and green eyes gave her an attractive appearance, but all her charm was immediately lost when her irritating character was revealed. She continued to put dresses on her thin body; she had developed some curves in the last few months, and although it was nothing of which she could brag about, it was necessary to make some adjustments to her clothes.

'All of my clothes are garbage!' She yelled as she continued to take out and throw clothes on the floor in all directions. The girl stopped her violent aggression against her wardrove to look at the maidens, who had kept themselves away from the ogre in human form. 'Why are all of my clothes on the floor? You bunch are so useless; pick up all this and wash it. For heaven's sake, how incompetent can you be?,' she cried again as she came out of the room in a bad mood.

Astrid was the horror of the maidens—a cold, cruel tyrant prone to irrational attacks of anger. The servants of the mansion trembled in fear only at the mention of her name. As the favorite daughter of the leader of the Van Castin family, she was untouchable; she had grown into a conceited and spoiled brat.

'Father.' Astrid reproached her father when she entered his office. ′ This alerted the old man to his daughter's mood. She only called him "father" when she was upset. 'These village workers are useless. We need better servants; they're so stupid and slow.'

'My baby. What has happened now? What's bothering you?' asked the father.

Velen van Castin was a tall and bald man. What was left of his hair had turned white long ago. He was about fifty years old, green-eyed, and had no beard; in his family, they developed little facial hair. He was obese, with a prominent belly. A serious and rigid character, he was after all a businessman, but all this rigor disappeared when it came to his children, especially Astrid, his treasure.

'My clothes are inappropriate; I don't like my dresses; they don't fit perfectly; I can't show up at the party of the Van Ferra with those rags. I will not lose before other nobles,' said Astrid with her green and weeping eyes to her father.

After Clinton van Ferra awoke as a magician a few days earlier and the announcement of the party they would celebrate, a large number of nobles ratified their attendance at the event. The Van Castin were no exception.

'I understand; you go shopping with your mother tomorrow. Silvia has been complaining that she doesn't want to go alone all the time. We still have time until the end of the eighth month, so you can ask them to make you some dresses,' said the father, returning to his papers. 'I have to get back to my business; go play with your brothers or something.'

Astrid left her father's office in a good mood. However, instead of going alongside other members of her family, Astrid spent the whole day harassing her maids and reminding them why they were inferior to her. She didn't have many choices either; her brothers hated her. All the servants hated her too, but they didn't have a choice. This did not affect her at all; in her mind, she was perfect and wonderful; the others simply did not understand her greatness.

'Wake up all of you!' cried Astrid at midnight on the last day of the seventh month. 'Wake up, ungrateful people, come and see my ascension to glory!

Although Astrid's father adored the little girl, waking up at midnight was the limit of his affection. The angry man got out of bed.

'Armin, what the hell is going on? What is this scandal?' cried the exasperated father, calling for the master of the keys.

'Master Velen, Lady Astrid, is asking for the whole family to attend the great hall,' Armin answered to his master's question.

Armin was a young boy, twenty years old, tall, thin, and black-haired. His face was slightly elongated, and his nose was thin and prominent. His own family sold him to the van Castin family when he was only a child. A family of disgraced nobles offended Velen at a royal court event. The situation became so horrible for them that, in order to calm his anger, they gave their younger son to Velen as a peace offering. However, although Velen accepted Armin as his servant/slave, the barbaric acts of the family caused Velen such disgust that, over the years, he used his influence in the royal court to deprive them of all of their properties. He made sure that all the men ended up on the front lines in one of the skirmishes against the Veldat Kingdom. None came back alive. Eventually, the family disappeared completely in less than ten years.

Velen van Castin was neither a saint nor a good man. But if he had only one redeeming characteristic, it would be his devotion to the well-being, glory, and greatness of his family. The family that sacrificed and abandoned its own was, in his opinion, deplorable and deserved to be eradicated from the planet.

'Another ridiculous tantrum. Go and tell that girl that I am not in the mood for her games today,' Velen ordered.

'My lord, this is not a game; I can confirm that this is a very serious event,' replied Armin.

Velen kept staring at him. The servant was so respectful and afraid of him that he would not dare to do anything foolish, let alone disobey him.

'What is this about?' asked Velen.

'Master, the lady has warned me that if I ruin the surprise, she will make sure that I am fed to the dogs, sir,' Armin explained.

Velen looked at Armin and laughed. Although Astrid was his precious little girl, she did not have the power to fulfill such a threat. It was not the first time that the little scoundrel tried to put fear in the body of some servant with some similar treat. Still, he found it funny that even Armin, despite knowing who was in charge, had fallen into such a game.

'My daughter does not have the power to fulfill that threat, but I do, and if you don't tell me what is going on right now, I assure you, you will desire to have been thrown to the dogs,' threatened Velen.

Although he had some appreciation for Armin, he was still a servant and a pet. For Velen, pets that did not obey their master orders needed to be re-educated. As Velen stared firmly at Armin, the light of the lamp allowed him to see the servant sweating. He was scared out of his wits.

'Master Velen, please, I beg you, the lady will fulfill her threat; please believe me this time; see it for yourself in the great hall,' Armin begged in a trembling voice. Velen van Castin's threats could be regarded as accomplished acts.

Velen's face turned red from anger. Armin saw Velen's coleric face and almost peed himself; however, he didn't move; running would just make things worse. Velen was heading to beat Armin to an inch of his life when an idea came to his mind. He stood still for a few seconds and then hurried out of the room, completely ignoring the trembling servant. At that moment, Armin could finally breathe; he had avoided a crisis.

'Armin, stop standing there like an idiot and bring the lamp; move!' cried Velen from the hallway.

The servant recovered from his shock and ran with the lamp behind his master. It was surprising to see how a man of the weight of Velen could move so fast and nimbly. Meanwhile, the servants were awakening the whole house; Astrid's mother and her brothers arose at the insistence of the frightened servants and marched to the main hall with clear anger.

On arrival, however, their anger turned into pure fear. The sixteen-year-old red-haired girl was standing in the middle of the hall. Velen's face was ecstatic. Meanwhile, there was terror in the faces of the servants and all the other members of the family. Steam and droplets of water came out of Astrid's hands, which were covered with scarlet. Wind currents surged around her, making her hair and her fine white silk dress fabric wave around. Unlike the others, she had no shadow.

'A mage' said Velen, laughing. 'My lovely little girl is a mage.'

This was a blessing for the Van Castin. After the death of her grandfather, Astrid was the first and only mage in the family. They maintained their social status and fortune thanks to their many businesses, the reputation of their surname, and Velen's ability to manage family fortunes. Although money was important, in the world of the nobles, prestige was more important, and nothing increases the prestige of a family as much as the power of a magician.

Velen approached his daughter and hugged her. Astrid and her father laughed and rejoiced. The rest of the family was petrified, with a face of horror. Now that Astrid was a future magician, she would be the heir and future leader of the family. Her previous narcissistic, aggressive, and megalomaniac personality would be just a joke now that she had such power. Both the father and daughter turned around and looked at the rest of the paralyzed family. Nobody said anything; everyone anticipated the horrors that would befall them in the coming days.

One person's applause broke the silence.

'Congratulations, ma'am,' said Armin, increasing the intensity of his applause and bringing the others out of their lethargy. Everyone began to applaud.

'Congratulations, my dear daughter,' said Silvia, approaching her with a very well-pretended smile and hugging her.

'You have always been an example and an extraordinary daughter. It is a pity that your brothers do not have your gifts and talents.' Silvia continued to adulate the girl as she directed a hard look at her brothers. 'Of all my children, why would she be the gifted one? Please, world, have pity on me,' she thought while keeping her fake smile.

While the manifestations of magic remained in Astrid's body, she kept her show going. When a drop of water fell from her hands or when a gust of wind moved her hair, dress, or curtains, she made sure that everyone knew. The show lasted about two hours; several members of the family were exhausted, tired, and sleepy, and the same happened with the servants. However, no one dared to anger that psychopath in her moment of glory. Her mother, her older brothers, and Armin probably would not be able to sleep peacefully again for a few days; just thinking of how big that girl's ego would become gave them gossebumps. When the magic manifestations stopped and Astrid began to feel tired, she decided to go to bed. At last, everybody could sleep in peace—or at least get away from her.

Astrid woke up late, very late. It was about noon when she decided to open her eyes. Armin assigned one of the maidens to be near Astrid room door at all times.

'Servants!' cried Astrid as soon as she woke up.

'My Lady' answered the maid, entering immediately after the shout.

'You're new' Astrid didn't recognize the maid, although she had been working at the mansion for months. 'What's your name? Oh, never mind; it doesn't matter; calling you a maid is enough. Bring my breakfast,' she said before the girl could answer.

'Yes, my lady,' obeyed the maid.

A few minutes later, another servant entered the room with a tray. Butter and jam toast, fruit juice, scrambled eggs, and tea made up the breakfast. While eating, Astrid gave a talk to the servants, who stood silent in the room.

'How tired I am,' complained Astrid. I mean, I've spent almost the whole night showing all of you the magic signs of a talent. The way you looked at every little thing, for heaven's sake, I was tired. I wanted to go to bed, but I couldn't leave you all with the curiosity. Uh, I'm not even an official mage yet, and my life is already based on satisfying the curiosity of mortals.

The servants remained there in silence, listening to the narcissistic speech of the lady. From time to time, they looked at each other, as if seeking confirmation that they were not dreaming. The young woman's ego was enormous.

'Do you not think that my efforts to enlighten the less knowledgeable should be recognized?' Astrid asked the servants.

'It is as you said, my lady,' replied the servant who had brought breakfast.

'Pft, why do I even bother? You lot are not able to understand the things of those of a higher caste.' She got out of bed to go to the bathroom. 'One feels lonely on the top!' she complained with an exaggerated sigh, closing the bathroom door.

The servants had already loaded and deposited the water and products necessary for Astrid to wash up. After she was done, her maidens did her hair and dressed her up.

One hour passed, and after several dress changes, hairstyles, and accessories, she was finally satisfied with her perfect and impeccable appearance and decided to leave her room. She went straight to her father's office.

'My little magician, how is my princess today?' asked Velen when he saw his daughter come through the door.

'I am so tired, daddy,' replied Astrid. 'We have to go shopping for real. I can't show up in society with these clothes,' she added, modeling for her father.

'Of course, my little genius deserves the best. We're not going to lose against the Van Ferra family. Our family has its own genius," Velen said.

Astrid smiled from ear to ear when she heard her father's words. In fact, she no longer wanted to be superior to the other noble girls; she wanted to be superior to the Van Ferra. Their magician won't be better than her. Many families would attend that party, and there was a likelihood that another magician would appear among the other families as well.

That same day, it was already public that Astrid had awakened as a talent and that she would become a magician and heir to the family. Soon, all kinds of offers began to arrive. Multiple families wanted to close ties with the already wealthy and influential Van Castin. Having a mage who woke up during the first months of the harvest made them even more important. Both father and daughter spent the following days receiving envoys from high-ranking noble families. Meanwhile, the mood of the servants and the rest of the Van Castin family was becoming increasingly lukewarm. Astrid's ego grew, and her demands became more exaggerated.