"Do you have any idea how far you might have gotten in the army if your name was Verhen?" Almost everyone he knew had said such a thing to Trion more than once.
Trion would have liked to object that he wanted to rely solely on his talent, but that would make him a hypocrite. He and his colleagues whined on a daily basis about how easier it was for noble kids to become officials and wished they came from better families.
Thanks to Lith's achievements, Trion's family was now one of the most respected and influential among the new magical bloodlines, yet he had renounced all the power that the Verhen name bore just because of blind pride.
'I should change my name into Moron Dumbstar.' Trion thought. 'Only when I heard about Mom and Dad being besieged by the undead, after waiting hours to know if they were alright, did I realize how stupid I have been.