Even that would’ve been a forgivable offense if the magic he did have had shown signs of growing or being powerful, but Loren had struggled to keep up with the gifts of the others and had never shown himself to be particular talented in magic or to be particularly clever with the skills he did possess. Maybe even that could’ve been overlooked, but Loren didn’t seem to be a good soldier or a good spy, so in the eyes of Cyton, Loren was basically useless. Try as he might, Loren couldn’t seem to improve in the abilities that seemed to matter. Loren certainly did try, throwing himself into his studies and his training with a single-minded abandoned that would’ve been worrisome if anyone had been paying attention. Despite that, it hadn’t worked and Loren found himself pushed aside for other, more valuable, members of the Launceleyns.

He grew up alongside his twin, but the two of them drifted apart when Neron received more and more attention and Loren grew more and more sidelined. His older brother Wyeth Chance was similarly praised and acknowledged by Cyton as both a skilled magician and a decent spy, and Loren found it difficult to approach him and not to become resentful. While he loved his younger sister Astra Launceleyn as much as every other family member did, he felt that he didn’t deserve to be in her presence, as she was her father’s favorite and Loren was Cyton’s least favorite. His mother Morgana may have loved him, but she died too young for him to have clear memories of her. He’d always felt awkward around Celeste and for her part, while she’d done her best, she couldn’t overcome the barriers between Loren and the rest of his family members. Aimless, with nothing to do and no one to spend his time with, Loren found himself spending more and more time around books.

Books, at least, wouldn’t criticize and tell him he was useless. Books could open up whole new worlds for him and provide him with information that he’d never been given before. Books could be his friends: he found himself reading everything he could get his hands on with a voracious appetite. It sadly wasn’t something valued by most, but seeing as nothing Loren did ever seemed to please his family and he was left to his own devices more often than not, Loren decided to provide his own education. He became decently well read in a variety of relatively random subjects, from history, to law, to magical theory, to science. It didn’t make him any less of a black sheep in his family, but it did fill him with a sense of accomplishment, something he didn’t get anywhere else.

Despite his isolation, he was still a Launceleyn and still his father’s son, so Loren was chosen along with the rest of his family to come through with the first wave. For most of that time, Loren had worked on Cyton’s farm, trying to curry favor with his father and not being trusted with any more sensitive tasks. However, when a position at the library had opened up, Loren had jumped at the chance. Here was his opportunity to not only break away from his father’s oppressive thumb but also to maybe finally prove his worth to his father, his family, and his community.

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