Sometimes circumstances force you to follow rules you never agreed to, yet you might end up not minding them at all.
As fate would have it (fate being an elderly wizard with a cunning plan) a thief named Chris the Tout would suddenly be forced to become Erast von Rut, the third son of Baron von Rut, and be sent to the mysterious and distant place called Raven's castle where he'd study magic.
However, no one ever accepts a fate forced upon them without a fight, and our newly made baron won't obey his new employer that easily.