Weak Mage, Divine Power

Brandt wants the Layne family back. He was its rightful heir until his uncle Cedric killed his way through the household and had him driven out. For seven years he lived in ruins, keeping still and waiting, and in that time he worked his way through the Firmament Grimoire until he understood all of it. He came out of it convinced he was a weak mage with nothing much to show for the study. When he goes back for Cedric he does not try to be quiet about it, and the quarrel he starts inside the family turns into open war. Cedric answers by turning to the Abyss, taking its power in order to make himself a demigod. Brandt keeps using the plain, ordinary spells any student learns first, and everyone fighting near him can see that those spells carry enough force to level the ground they are standing on. He is the only one who has not noticed.