Marlow Selaris reviewed the reports on his younger brother's first-year activities with a mixture of pride and calculated assessment.
Theodore's doing well, he thought. Building a network. Applying pressure to those commoner students. Establishing a social hierarchy that serves our House's interests.
As an instructor, Marlow maintained strict professional distance from his brother's Academy experience—no overt favoritism, no obvious protection, no actions that might compromise his facade of integrity.
But as a family, he admitted privately, he was proud.
Genuinely proud of how Theodore navigated his complex social dynamics. How he built power through structure and leverage rather than a crude displays of force.
He's learning. Developing. Becoming a Selaris worthy of the name.
The reports detailed Theodore's growing apparatus: a recruitment of some Gregor boy as an enforcement arm, cultivation of loyal noble followers, a systematic exclusion campaign targeting outpost recruits.
