LOUISA/CRANE

An infant girl named Louisa is found among the ruins of the Dahlian Kingdom by Sir William DiMather, following a siege ordered by King Ivan of Orwell. Taking pity on the girl, Sir William secretly adopts Louisa and brings her up as his own daughter. When Louisa reaches nine years of age, she loses her foster mother, Lady Ada, who dies giving birth to a stillborn son - the child Sir DiMather had been waiting for. Determined to make her father happy, Louisa decides to dress up as a boy and be the son her father should've had.

At age 12, with CRANE as her new name, Louisa is sent to study in Castle Desanti as a page under Sir Remmington Poe, Orwell's Weapon-master, who also happens to be a friend and subordinate of her father's. There, she meets the Heir to the Orwellian throne, Prince Carroll, who is said to have the ability to see the future. One day, Crane meets two travelling magicians - Rao and his talking tome companion Emyrus, who hole up in Crane's room for safety. Through them, Crane is told about the plight of Fanreya's magicians who are left displaced by King Ivan's "mage-hunts". One thing that arouses their suspicion about King Ivan is that Prince Carroll's power of prediction- the Seer's Eyes, are of magical origin. Also, amazingly, Crane is revealed as a fire-type mage with the power of the Healing Hand.

With full awareness of their powers, Crane and Prince Carroll train alongside each other to hone their respective abilities. However, a new threat arrives in Orwell in the form of the prince's estranged older brother, Conrad Desanti, who has sworn to destroy his former home and everything that stands for it, including the Lucian Order, led by Crane's foster father Sir William.

Saving the prince on various occasions, Crane starts to have feelings for Prince Carroll. But she has to keep these feelings - and her true self, a secret to succeed in becoming a knight...