Many of Caldwyn's young students did seem to be fairly adept at their respective magics, and he could tell the pairs had been working. The magic in the air was strong, but the mixed flows of the pairs was particularly strong in the air. It was a little weird and yet, comforting at the same time. This wasn't his realm's magics, the flows were undoubtedly different, but it saturated the air as all the young sparks of magic burst inside each of the young aspiring mages, and it radiated from Caldwyn. The feeling, while not truly explainable, was like the blacksmith's draw to his forge's heat, the drunkard's instinctual guidance to the closest brothels. He'd been raised around magic like this his entire life. Despite the amount of freedom he craved from this realm with every passing moment, there was a small part, deep inside him, pulling him to this air like it was his own.<br/><br/>The assigned bondings were a little too familiar to him as well. The number of times he'd almost been put into a 'diplomatic arrangement' with some woman of some neighboring kingdom, well, he didn't have enough fingers to count them all. The closest he could claim to friends growing up was probably his personal body guards. Since he had trained them, the connection was definitely there. But he felt he could trust them, and knew they felt the same. But each guard was a volunteer from families all across the kingdom, the chance to serve royalty bringing many powerful and intelligent choices forward. Ruger, Sybil, Arias, and Triste beat out dozens of applicants though, and became his closest guards. They'd been to the edges of war and back together, the 5 of them, and it was genuinely them he probably missed the most.<br/><br/>Hearing Caldwyn talking about rejuvenating magic by using a mean as simple as arranged marriages made sense, but much like Elara he imagined, it didn't sit very well with him. He tried not to let it show though, his excitement to the class still boisterous and ever present. "That seems a very noble pursuit of you to embrace, how long have you taught your ways to the younger generations?" All though the thought of being raised only for the purpose to be married away and utilized as a great magician struck a little too close to hearth, his streak of curiosity craved the older being's knowledge with more vigor.