《Soul Vessel Psyche》 Prologue: Some are more Equal - - - - - - Prologue: Some are more Equal - - - I died. I think I died. No; I know for a fact that I died. How? You ask? Because life is Shit you fucken idiot! . . . Fine! Ill give a proper explanation you stupid fuck. Shit; now Im yelling at my own naivety. Now that I died I can derive some lessons from my previous life. Lesson 1; life is . Wait , wait-wait Im getting ahead of myself here .. fuck, just fuck. So how do I know I died right? Because Im in a Fucken womb. How do you know youre in a womb? Right? Because the ass-fuck who killed me gave me his memories. Oh? Did I mention that the shit-hole who killed me is my father in this life! Thats right; the SonavaBitch who killed me in my previous life is my genetic father in this life. I say genetic father because I dont want to ever mistake that asshole for anything other than a genetic donor. Basically my genetic father is one of 17 Shit-Fucks who conspired to murder 15 million people on Earth. All it took to commit the single largest genocide in human history is 12 Dvern and 5 Svern. But what these fucks did on Earth pales in comparison to what they did to Orro. You guessed it; these are the very Arch-Mages whose Super-Magic opened the door to the demon world and royally fucked Orro in the Eye. They claim that it was all an accident; the Svern protest that they were only defending themselves from the invading Dvern. The Dvern for their part claim that it was a holy war to reclaim some obscure magic rich plateau from the Svern. You know its all bullshit right? The Dvern and the Svern had been at each others throats for centuries. This was just another one of their endless skirmishes that got out of hand because the Vern Race is the only Race on Orro capable of Psionic Magic. They had just advanced the Inter-Dimensional technological aspects of Psionic Magic and the first time it was used as a weapon in combat it blew-up in everyones face. At the time the Mage councils of both countries consisted of over 500 Arch-mages. The 500 on each side that took to the battlefield tried to use large scale Inter-Dimensional Psionic Magic against each other at the same time and the result was a spatial anomaly. Of the combined 1,027 Arch-mages at the incident 12 Dvern and 5 Svern survived. Without Arch-mage support the demons quickly overran both surviving armies and the surviving 12 Dvern and 5 Svern Arch-mages had to work together to safely withdraw from the Interplanetary Gate. By the time the Gvern Arch-mages in the Far-west finally derived a method to fight the Demons it was already to late. They had learned too late that the only thing that can penetrate the Demonic Aura is your Mana which is essentially Ether that has been absorbed and shaped by your Soul into Mana. All creatures native to Orro have an organ called a Mana Core where Mana is stored. The Demons have a different organ that store demonic energy since their demonic Souls turn Ether into toxic demonic energy. The Knora who traditionally use internal magic had leaked their Aura during the Melee with Hordes of Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, Lizardmen, Serpentmen, Devils and Vampires. The limited success of the Knora was the clue to how to defeat demons, but the Dragon species of Demon is too aged and too powerful to be confronted directly. The Dragons essentially cleansed the Orrba continent of all the native species and drove everyone to the largest of the Gvern Islands; 1,274km from Orrbas South Western coast. The Orrba Continent that had been home to over 4 billion Natives is now home to at least 10 billion Demons who now squabble amongst themselves over lands and territory. The Native population has been reduced to 87 million and they now inhabit 47 Islands under a combined Government known as the Orro Federation. The one consolation is the knowledge that the 12 Dvern and 5 Svern who are the last of those responsible for this mess are rightly and truly dead. Unfortunately the 17 Fuckers didnt want the Dvern and the Svern to righteously die out as penance for their great crime and the bastards hatched a plan to use the Gvern to revive the Dvern and the Svern. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. From the memories of my genetic father the 17 of them went about designing large scale super-magic meant to impregnate the entire reproductive age female population of the newly established Orro Federation. The Magic they came up with required over a million times the Mana they could muster so they came up with a method to drain minuscule amounts of Mana from the population over some 225 years. The Vern have the second longest lifespan at 120 Orro years, the Knora have the longest lifespan at 250 Orro years and the other Races average 65 Orro years. An Orro year is 574 Orro days and an Orro day is about 27 hours; that means the average lifespan of Orro species longer than that of Humans. A professional mage has a lifespan 3 to 5 times longer than members of the same race thanks to the high Mana capacity and periodic channelling of Mana throughout the body increasing regeneration. The longevity of mages is why the 17 Arch-mages survived to implement their plan 150 years after the destruction of their countries. The 17 Arch-mages had lived hidden amongst the Norr population who were less able to detect the Psionic Magic. First the 17 Arch-mages collected their semen into 17 magical containers enchanted with long term preservation Spells. Then they constructed an Ether generator deep underground on the Main Island. And then they inscribed the magic in the deepest part of the hidden underground structure. Finally they sealed themselves inside the inner chamber; making sure that the underground structure would never be opened again by collapsing the entry tunnels. To activate the magic the 17 Arch-Mages had to give up their lives; surrendering their life force to start the long process of the Super Magic. Ordinarily members of the Vern Race pass on their knowledge to successors through Telepathic forms of Psionic Magic, but since the 17 Arch-Mages would not be around to teach the large number of children they would father they designed a memory transfer Spell that would preserve their memories in the minds of their children. It is this Memory Preservation and Transfer Spell that unintentionally preserved the memories of the previous life of the person whose soul was ripped to be implanted into a new body. The reason they needed souls is that in the magical world of Orro a suitable soul has to enter the embryo at least 45 days after conception for humanoids otherwise the pregnancy is automatically aborted. Therefore anchoring the pregnancy with a suitable soul guarantees success. Being the evil bastards the 17 Arch-Mages really are they designed the spell to seek out people with above average education and combat training. And thats how the Naru Zuna that I used to be got screwed. I say used to be because I now know that the Psyche is shaped by the Vessel of the Soul. That means the mind is affected by the brain, and my personality is already being affected by the infant brain. So why am I so coherent in my thoughts? The Answer is its a result of the Memory Preservation and Transfer Spell. At least you get to keep your old memories right? Its not that simple; the Memory Preservation and Transfer Spell only allows access to my old memories and the memories of my genetic father in this life when in deep sleep or deep meditation. Well; at least youll have an advantage! Did I mention that I likely have 882,353 half siblings? Yeah; thats the sort of asshole my genetic father was. Im talking about 15 million people with the same level of knowledge; so its not much of an advantage. But still your genetic father was an Arch-Mage; you can become a mage right? Not exactly; to develop the Mana Capacity of an Arch-Mage requires daily magical training for 50 years; Im talking about exhausting your Mana every day for 50 years. Thats over a hundred years in human terms. The best part is that all the humanoid races of Orro are born with the same Mana capacity; Im talking about a 4% deviation from the statistical average. So whether you end being an Arch-Mage is entirely dependent on your training effort. Fuck; my previous life wasnt easy but I get the feeling that this new life will be worse. - - - Chapter 1: Birth; my First Failure - - - - - - Chapter 1: Birth; my First Failure - - - - - - - - - Now that I died I can derive some lessons from my previous life. Lesson 1: Dont wait to live your Life. The Naru Zuna that I used to be was too reserved. I was the first born of 5 children; the son of a poor working class woman, and consequently automatically felt the weight of responsibility of taking care of my siblings. I was born in 1985 to a 21 year old na?ve village girl who had gotten sexually involved with the 17 year old son of the white family she worked for as a maid during the darkest days of Apartheid South Africa. At the time it was illegal for a European to be romantically involved with an African. So my birth was essentially proof of a crime in the twisted world of the racists ideology practiced by the white Apartheid Government of the South Africa of the time. Needless to say that my mother was fired from her job and the boy that was my father was sent to Holland in the Netherlands to keep him from getting into trouble. As such I never knew my father, and because my mother had to earn a living I was left under the care of my aged grandmother while she went back to JoBurg to work for a different white family as a maid. Unfortunately my mother was an attractive woman so she had a lot of attention from wealthier men and so she ended up as a mistress. So she became a kept woman of a wealthier African man and that resulted in 2 more children over the next 10 years; at least she got a somewhat decent house out of the deal. When things ended with mothers lover I was brought over from the village after the death of my grandmother and became the babysitter as my mother became a woman about town in the new Democratic South Africa. In the next 7 years 2 more children were born to the new wealthier sort of African elites. Wanting to run away from what I felt was a repressive environment with my mother and her new husband I joined the Army right after high school; 6 months of training and 3 deployments in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a peacekeeper. After 4 years in the army I got a job as an armed security guard in a shopping; it paid better than being a cop. Through correspondence I got a Diploma in Public Security from the University of South Africa through distance learning. I became a supervisor at work. Later I completed a triple major Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics, Physics and Information Technology from the University of South Africa through distance learning. Thanks to that I was further promoted at work and became a security systems specialist at work tasked with monitoring multiple systems from the company head office. With a middle class income I bought a townhouse through a mortgage and took in 3 of my siblings so that my mother and her husband could live with their 7 year old child in Cape Town. Im not in any way saying that my mother didnt love her children but she is cursed by beauty; even in her fifties she looks like someone in her late thirties. My previous mother is a beautiful woman and she cant avoid being the centre of attention, and that means the demand for her attention forces her children to take a backseat. I was determined to make sure that my 2 sisters dont go down the same path and that they didnt feel neglected. My brothers would have me as a role model. As a result I waited to actually live my own life; get married and start a family. To be honest I was afraid that I would fail at marriage so I avoided it. Until it was too late. Life insurance should settle my debts and the oldest of my siblings is old enough to look after the others. Lesson 2: Take care of the people you Love. - - - If its not obvious Im currently asleep; thats how come Im able to think clearly. Given the number of Heartbeats I know that I likely have a twin since during my brief bouts of consciousness I detected 6 heartbeats. Thats right; the Knora have 2 hearts. I know that my twin is a girl. How? Thats because the crystal on my forehead is a kind of third eye and because Im half Svern I get a kind of thermal imaging. So Ive been able to make out her shape. I can also see outside our mothers belly. Its a neat trick but dont be too impressed because it requires a bit of concentration and I have the brain of an infant so I only get brief imagery. I suppose I have to explain some of the weird traits of the humanoid species of this planet. Ive summarized the following:
The Humanoid Races of Orro The Races of Orro: Vern :
    o
  • Basic Characteristics are; 175cm tall humanoid mammalian with a 2cm diameter crystal on the forehead. o
  • Consist of 3 sub-races; Dvern, Gvern and Svern. o
  • High aptitude with Psionic Magic.
Gvern :
    o
  • Basic Characteristics are; 175cm tall humanoid mammalian, Pale-Green skin, Green hair and a Green 2cm diameter crystal on the forehead. o
  • The Green Crystal on the forehead gives better perception of plant structure.
Svern:
    o
  • Basic Characteristics are; 175cm tall humanoid mammalian, Pale-Red skin, Red hair and a Red 2cm diameter crystal on the forehead. o
  • The Red Crystal on the forehead gives better perception of Temperature Differences.
Dvern:
    o
  • Basic Characteristics are; averaging 175cm tall humanoid mammalian, Pale-White skin, White hair and a White 2cm diameter crystal on the forehead. o
  • The White Crystal on the forehead gives better perception of Ice structure.
Habu:
    o
  • The Habu are characterized by short stature at an average height of 110cm. o
  • Basic Characteristics are; averaging 110cm tall humanoid mammalian, Black hair, varied skin colour; Brown, Black, Pale-White, Pale-Red, Pale-Green or Yellow skin.
Norr :
    o
  • The Norr are the most Humanlike. o
  • Basic Characteristics are; averaging 178cm tall humanoid mammalian, varied hair colour, varied skin colour; Brown, Black, Pale-Blue, Pale-White, Pale-Red, Red, Pale-Orange, Orange, Pale-Green, Green or Yellow skin.
Knora :
    o
  • The only Matriarchal species of the sentient humanoid races. o
  • The only distinguishing feature between male and female are genitalia. o
  • Basic Characteristics are; averaging 275cm tall humanoid mammalian, A 175cm tail, Pale-White skin, Thick White Fur covering from neck to ankles with the exception of front of torso and genitals. o
  • Consist of 3 sub-races; Vnora, Hnora and Nnori. o
  • Vnora is Half Knora half Vern, Hnora is Half Knora half Habu and Nnori is Half Knora half Norr. The 3 sub-races of Knora will differ in appearance in accordance to their ancestry. o
  • Only a Knora female can carry an embryo of Knora heritage to term due to the fast growth of the large foetus.
Some information about the world:
World Descriptions Orro:
    o
  • The planet is about 11 times the size of Earth. o
  • 57% of the surface of the planet is covered by water 24% is ice. o
  • The planet has 5 continents with only 3 free from perpetual ice. o
  • The largest continent on the planet is Orrba and is where all the sentient species originate. o
  • The other 2 non-iced continents are home to giant magical beasts known as primordial beasts making them unsuitable for colonization.
Hell:
    o
  • Hell is the Demon world. o
  • Nothing much is known about Hell
The Enemy
Demon: The Demon Races are a type of Reptilian and include:
    ?
  • Goblin race; 1.4m tall with Pale-White, Green or Brown skin. Hobgoblins; 2m tall with Pale-White, Green or Brown skin. ?
  • The Orcs; 2.5m to 3m tall, muscular humanoids. Pale-White, Green or Brown skin. ?
  • Trolls; 4-5m tall, very muscular, likes heavy weapons ?
  • Lizardmen; humanoid lizards. ?
  • Serpentmen; 3m tall humanoid Snakes. ?
  • Devils; winged humanoid that resemble humans with large bat wings on their back. ?
  • Vampires; humanoid with web-wings on their back, Red Eyes, golden hair and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth & over-developed canines. ?
  • Wyverns; 10-50m long flying winged creature with a dragon''s head (which may be said to breathe fire or possess a venomous bite) and wings; a reptilian body; two legs (sometimes none); and a barbed tail. They have High Affinity & Proficiency in Wind Magic and High Affinity & Proficiency in Fire Magic. ?
  • Dragons: Over 100m long extremely powerful beings with High Affinity with Fire, High Proficiency in Fire magic, High Affinity & Proficiency in Wind Magic, High Intelligence and High Wisdom.
From the knowledge of my genetic father Ive been able to understand the basic principles of Magic. Magic is all about Mana. An individuals Mana is unique. You put your Mana in a rock and you can Manipulate that rock, You put your Mana in water and you can Manipulate that amount of water, You put your Mana in a Ice and you can Manipulate that amount of Ice. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The same applies for Air, Fire, Space and so on. There is no creating things out of thin air there is only Manipulating your Mana in the elements to control the element. Demons do the same with their Demonic Aura. Therefore how much of an element you can Manipulate depends on the amount of Mana you put in that particular Element. So in Magic Mana Capacity is Everything. There are however people who choose to specialize in Manipulating a particular Element. Thus forming magical disciplines.
All Magic is derived from Mana Manipulation:
    ?
  • Earth Magic. ?
  • Fire Magic. ?
  • Wind Magic. ?
  • Water Magic. ?
  • Ice Magic. ?
  • Plant Magic. ?
  • Psionic Magic. ?
  • Enchantments Magic.
Over time some humanoid races evolved competence and proficiency in particular magical disciplines. The Vern Race evolved into Psionic Manipulation magical specialist and the Knora evolved into internal body Manipulation magical specialist. - - - Since Im half Knora and half Svern Im gonna ignore the details about the other races and focus on what is of consequence to me. The first thing Ill point out is that the Knora have more females than males; 4 females to every male. The Harem route cant be avoided. The prospect of romance with the other Humanoids is impractical; largely because the Knora are large, covered in Fur and weird. All Knora have feminine features. Wait!...... Im saying this wrong! All Knora are very muscular, but they have big boobs and butts as well as what can be considered a beautiful feminine face. Did you get the part where I say all Knora? Yes; this is how fucked up the Knora are. Both the females and the males have boobs. Fucked up right? So thats my future; despite the fact that I have a penis and testicles Im gonna grow boobs that will eventually lactate. Yes; males actually breastfeed the young. This is some fucked up shit! So the male of the Knora species are actually transsexuals. That means only weirdoes from the other races would be interested in a Knora male. Apparently amongst the Knora looking after the children is the responsibility of the males and working outside the home is primarily a female responsibility. Well; when you think about it this sort of makes sense since there are fewer males and there is no physical advantage. But as a former human male from Earth I can only despair. At first I thought that since the semen came from other races there might be more males amongst the Knora sub-races but the memories of my genetic father rule that out. Heck I even entertained the idea that amongst the Vnora sub-race there would be a better male to female ratio and that being half Svern would lessen some of the Knora traits, but the memories of my genetic father ruled that out as well. Apparently the egg of the Knora provides many of the requisite genetic information; much more than is the case with humans. According to the memories of my genetic father in the Knora the egg of the female provides 60% of the genetic information and the other 40% has to come from 2 sperms. Crazy right? Somehow this Knora species evolved a female centric reproduction system where a both Xxx and Xxy are female while only Xyx is male; for that matter an Xyy is a failure and fertilization fails. That means to produce a male the y sperm has to enter the egg first with the x sperm entering the egg second, but to get a female the x sperm has to enter the egg first and what comes after is irrelevant. Looking at it explains why theres a 4 to 1 female to male ratio. Id say the one benefit of being male is that you dont get pregnant but the price for that is that you get saddled with all the child care and most of the daytime breastfeeding duties. Given that there so few males to begin with it makes sense that the male is the one to be kept safe in the home rather than the risky cold wilderness that is the traditional homeland of the Knora in the far north. Subspecies dont get a pass on the major Knora genetic traits. My genetic father clearly didnt have a high opinion of the Knora; consistently labelling them primitive barbarians. For that matter almost all the other humanoid races consider the Knora primitive barbarians. From the looks of things my sister is half Dvern so we dont share a father since the super-magic transported the semen directly into the egg; an egg that had been optimized by the same magic. In this my twin sister is lucky in that her Fur will likely match with the normal white Fur of the Knora; thus making it easier for her to fit in. The Knora have thick skin, tough Fur and a regeneration ability that rarely leaves a scar; the sub-races get 60% of those abilities. Thanks to magic I should be just as strong as a normal Knora; I just wont be as durable or heal as well, but more magic should be able to compensate. The Knora have a tribal system the normal Knora have a Matriarch who is more like the Queen of all Knora. All the Sub-races have their own Clan Matriarchs who is subservient to the Knora Matriarch so they are more like Clan Queens. So how does one become Matriarch or Clan Matriarchs? Knora children inherit the rank authority of their mothers. However to hold public office they have to prove themselves through ranking contests. The ranking contest is simple: 14km Sprint, 14km Swim if freezing water and weight lifting. Easy!........... yeah right? For the daughters of the Matriarch the one to get the highest average in the ranking contests wins the contest and is elevated to Matriarch of all Knora. The Clan Matriarchs are chosen in the same way unless the Matriarch of all Knora has daughters of those particular Sub-races. Since daughters of the Matriarch of all Knora have a higher rank than daughters of Clan Matriarchs in that particular instance the ranking contests can only involve the Sub-race daughters of the Matriarch of all Knora. Knora law and customs demand that daughters of the Matriarch have families upon coming of age at 11 years old; every daughter must marry 3 females and 1 male to complete the traditional Knora family. Thus the 4 spouses of the daughters of the Matriarch are chosen through ranking contests. Females and males will compete separately. For the rest of the population selection of spouses is chosen based on where they end up on the ranking contest. However the common Knora are allowed to disregard the ranking and choose spouses based on affection. An Orro year is 574 Orro days and since there are no months in the calendar system the year was simply divided by 7 in reverence to the seven moons of Orro. So you end up with First Moon, Second Moon, Third Moon, Fourth Moon, Fifth Moon, Sixth Moon and Seventh Moon describing units of 82 days. Therefore the ranking contest is held every 82 days. So the best case scenario for me is that Im born to the commoner class because they are the only ones with any kind of freedom of choice. - - - Interesting fact about the Knora; apparently their fight against the invading Demons reduced the Knora population to just 17 females and 55 males. The Knora actually managed to fight 25 to 1 odds to a stalemate and were only defeated by the dragons; some 97 million Knora died, but it gave the other races a chance at survival. In recognition of the tremendous sacrifice the largest of the southernmost islands of the Orro Federation is reserved for exclusive Knora use. Renamed Knora Island it is the largest and coldest of the Orro Federation Islands. Knora Island is where 17 females and 55 males set about trying to save the Knora Race. With the assistance of the Orro Federation government each of the 17 females managed to have at least 1 child with each of the 55 males. The longevity of the Knora saved the species. 1244 children from the 17 women stands as an incredible demonstration of fertility; an abnormal fertility fostered by Gvern magic. This is one of the few instances where Magic is credited with the survival of an entire race of people. Today the Knora number over 4 million. - - - From the looks of things my sister moves around a lot; she may be more energetic. To tell the truth I dont know how long weve been in our mothers womb; its kinda hard to keep track of the time since Im asleep most of the time. Shit; I probably sleep for days. I think were almost fully developed; which means we should be born soon. My life strategy revolves around relying on my twin sister. - - - Ah! The big day is finally here! It looks like my sister will be First . . Looks like theres some kind of delay . . Fuck! Theres some kind of problem with my sister. The fluid has drained but were not moving. . .. . Shit! Shit! Shit! Were both in the wrong position! . .. . Are we gonna die? . .. . Were out, were out! They cut us out! Thats right; Knora can heal. . - - - Birth Report: Im asleep now. Life Plan is a failure. Mother is a somewhat aged Knora. She was wearing some kind Crown. Yeah; Im doomed. Mother is the Matriarch of all Knora. End Report - - - - - - - - - Chapter 2: Immobility - - - - - - Chapter 2: Immobility - - - - - - I can only characterize being a newborn as a state of immobility; utter indolence, sluggishness, idleness and inactivity. Fortunately when Im conscious my mind regresses to that of an infant and Im completely oblivious; to the point where I cant tell how many days its been since I was born into this world of Orro. I think its been 3 days, but its possible its been 2 or 4 days; were kept indoors so I cant tell, and the fact that we sleep so much distorts everything. I basically run on my sisters clock; shes very energetic and constantly moving around so I can only sleep when shes asleep. Fortunately all that moving around tires her out and she falls asleep often. I on the other hand am .. I dont like waiving my hands, feet and tail all day long like my sister so I dont get that tired; I think my personality will be very different to when I was human. The baby me seems to enjoy using my thermal imaging crystal eye to look at things; because every-time I see something the thermal imaging activates and I take a peak at it with the thermal imaging crystal eye. Its entirely possible that the Svern normally start using their thermal imaging crystal eye in this way at infancy and my baby mind is simply responding to that instinct. However using my thermal imaging crystal eye seems to cause mental fatigue so I end up sleeping about as much as my sister; its likely Id be sleeping more if my sister didnt keep me up. Ive noticed a strange pattern. My sister and I seem to eat a lot; by eat I mean breastfeed. We feed once about every 30 minutes. Strange; right? Now that Im asleep and can thing at the level of an adult I can conclude that our mother has reached an age where it should not have been possible for her to have children. I know this because it looks like she cant produce sufficient milk for our needs. Fortunately our mother is the queen and there is no shortage of male servants that can provide the milk we need to nourish our rapidly developing bodies. Yes; its the male servants. Dont ask me any questions about it because I dont want to thing about it. Haaa. I get the feeling that we are growing at a noticeably fast rate; I can move around better. I can only move around my limbs and I have no control over the fingers and the tail but its better than when I was born, and I feel stronger. I suppose Im noticing these things because I remember looking after human infants as the big brother and I have some understanding of what a newborn baby should be able to do. It seems obvious that the more animal traits of the Knora are at play here. The humanoids of this world have antelope ears and the Knora are no exception; though from what Ive seen the Knora ears are for the most part covered by a large head of hair which is more like the main of a male lion. The hearing is therefore very acute and I can already hear far better than I ever did as a human. Its a pity I cant move around my ears yet; it would help me focus my hearing in order to quickly learn the Knora language which sounds very alien to me. Thats right; my bigoted genetic father never bothered to learn the language of the Knora because he considered it pointless since there wasnt much to learn from the Knora. That bastard! That genetic father of mine learned the languages of the Svern, the Dvern and the Gvern as well as that of the Norr and the Habu. Yet he saw no reason to learn the language of the Knora because he considered them primitive barbarians. That means my infant mind has to pick-up the words and remember them for me to process the meaning with an adult mind while Im asleep. This is needlessly complicated and will make sure that the other 15 million babies will communicate faster than those born to the Knora. But I shouldnt worry about that; since apparently the Knora pregnancy is half that of the other humanoids. Also; the Knora seem to developed twice as fast as the other humanoids. So if my calculations are correct the other humanoids take about half a year to start walking but the Knora do that in half the time. Talking takes about the same time as the other humanoids because the Knora language includes some complex gestures and animal calls as well as normal words. The most common languages are those of the Norr and the Habu since they made up most of the humanoid population of Orro; the Norr are 37% and the Habu are 38% of the humanoid population while the Vern are 8% and the Knora are 17% of the humanoid population. Apparently the Vern have the lowest fertility of all the humanoid races. However the situation is slightly different since the demon invasion and both the Vern and the Knora population should be even lower since they were the worst hit. The reason the Vern are called Vern is because of King Vern of the First Age. According to the memories of my genetic father the Vern Race was once as varied in colour as the other humanoid races but after the establishment of the Vern Kingdom magic training became regimented; focusing on Plant Magic, Water & Ice Magic and Fire & Earth Magic. Over thousands of years the other Vern colours vanished and the divisions between the Dvern, Gvern and Svern became increasingly more pronounced; ultimately resulting in some leaving to establish their own nations. The Vern kingdom persisted until it was utterly destroyed by dragons. According to the memories of my genetic father legends say that the humanoids of Orro were once the same race called Orro which died out as a result of a plague that fell from the skies. The Vern believe that the epidemic was likely the result of a virus from space that triggered mutations that killed most and transformed the rest. The pestilence happened too long ago to have definitive proof but bones of the Orro race have been discovered and that lend compelling evidence in favour of the validity of the legend. Ah; Im waking up my sister must be awake. - - - If todays experience is anything to go by its been ten days since birth; mother is completely healed and we were taken to meet the family as Knora custom demands. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. According to the memories of my genetic father it is customary to introduce newborns to the rest of the family on the 10th day. Family is an interesting word when it comes to the Knora. What happened is that we were carried to a room where there were at least a hundred Knora women with Vnora children. Apparently my sister and I were the last children in the family to be born. According to the memories of my genetic father Knora pregnancies take a minimum of 143 Orro days. Depending on the nutritional state of the mother the pregnancy can be extended by up to 44 days. Thus given that my sister and I are twins which is very rare amongst the Knora the pregnancy would automatically extend by some 25 days. However from the looks of things the pregnancy went all the way to the maximum time limit of 44 Orro days extension. I know this because all the other Vnora children at the room can already sit up which indicated that they are at least 40 days old. My conclusion is that mother is very old; I mean 200 years old kind of thing. As proof of this assertion I point to the seating arrangement at the gathering; there were no children to the right of mother. According to the memories of my genetic father seating at Noble Knora family gatherings has to follow honour custom. To the right of the Matriarch sits the First wife, second wife, third wife and lastly the male consort. The other 4 are technically the spouses of the head of the family and the male consort is responsible for impregnating all the females thus guaranteeing that all the children are siblings. When it comes to sexual pleasure the female Knora are very masculine and as such copulate with both male and female, but for some strange reason the Knora society frowns upon male to male romance without explicitly forbidding it. To the left of the Matriarch sits the next Matriarch then her First wife, her second wife, her third wife and lastly her male consort. The next Matriarch is probably my sister, and shes also holding a pale white hairless male Vnora child; her wives are also holding pale white hairless female Vnora children. Because mother is the current Matriarch it means that my twin sister is automatically the next Vnora Matriarch. It wouldnt have mattered if the child of the next Knora Matriarch had been female since the child has to be born to a reigning Matriarch to inherit her Rank Authority. However if my twin sister wasnt there and the child of the next Knora Matriarch had been female she would have inherited the highest Rank Authority and would have automatically been the next Vnora Matriarch. Thankfully I dont have to worry about my older sister assassinating my twin sister in order to create a favourable situation for her own daughter. However I will have to worry about the previous person to hold the rank of next Vnora Matriarch since my twin sister likely usurped her throne. High Ranking Knora female normally give birth to 10 to 15 children during the child bearing years which last until theyre 185 years old. Its uncommon for women older than 185 to fall pregnant but on rare occasions someone over 190 might get pregnant. Older women have more miscarriages and the children often end up with birth defects. It is therefore likely unusual that mother got pregnant and gave birth to 2 healthy children. So there is a strange contrast between the left and right royal seating; on one side there are Vnora children and on the other side theres nothing. Mothers consort isnt interested in me and my sister. Its understandable give that it is likely most of the adult children in the room have some kind of connection to him. He likely fathered at least 40 children from the Matriarch family, and they are likely in the middle of their child bearing years. Then suddenly interlopers showed up and all his child bearing age daughters and granddaughters were made pregnant by the hated Dvern and Svern. The kicker is that the twins in the arms of the Matriarch are not his. Im gonna have to watch this consort; make sure he doesnt do something to my sister. I dont know when it happened but Im very attached to my twin sister; I think we kind of imprinted on each other when we were in the womb. I find it hard to get comfortable when my sister isnt around; I somehow got used to her being next to me. At the room I got a bit overwhelmed by people making a fuss all over me and ended up crying which triggered my twin sisters crying; we ended up wailing and forcing mother to comfort us. Being a baby is embarrassing; I dont think people are supposed to remember being a baby. - - - Its been a few days since meeting the family and Ive come to a few conclusions. But first some derived lessons from my previous life: Lesson 3: Start Early; and youre likely to get there first. So in this life I have to Start Early. I figured it out; if you Start Early you dont have to be the fastest; its called a head-start. My original plan was to rely on my twin sister to make connections for me and ultimately hook me up with one of her friends. But that wont work now that I know that shes a future Clan Matriarch; she wont be allowed to keep me around and mother will likely use me to create connections with powerful elites of Vnora. So I somehow have make myself indispensable to my twin sister; make it impossible for mother and older sister to use me as a pawn to carry favour with powerful elites. In order to be allowed some level of freedom I have to be an asset; a powerful asset that my twin sister cant do without. To Start Early? I cant exactly start training because Im simply too young. Fuck! Wait; I used to be a surveillance expert, and this Red Forehead Crystal Third Eye is a thermal imaging tool that I can probably use for surveillance. Also Learning to Deep Meditate will allow me access to memories without being in deep sleep; that should be my top priority. But how do you get a days old infant to meditate? I mean when Im conscious Im basically an idiot with some awareness. I should focus on the Forehead Crystal Third Eye; my baby brain likes it so maybe I can somehow trigger Deep Meditation through learning to focus. Its a long shot but its all I got. Plan B: Become a Competent Dependable Asset. - - - - - - Chapter 3: Influencing Yourself - - - - - - Chapter 3: Influencing Yourself - - - - - - I think its been 40 days since Ive been born into this weird world, and I havent really made much progress, and my twin sister seems to be about 5 days ahead of me in development. I dont exactly know how she suddenly sprinted ahead; one moment we were laying in our kryb playing and the next she was sitting up. I swear shes bigger than I am; its noticeable that her arms are a bit longer, and shes stronger than I am since shes able to take toys from me despite my feeble attempts to resist. What the Fuck? Was it all that moving around? Did shi somehow build more muscle when I wasnt looking? Could it be that she handles the local temperature better? Heres the thing; somehow my sister is more comfortable with the ambient temperature than I am. Even our mother noticed and Im dressed a bit warmer than my twin sister. Vnora arent born with Fur like the Knora so were not automatically resistant to cold climates. However; what Ive seen of my sister tells me that those of Dvern heritage might handle colder temperatures better than those of Svern heritage. It is likely that the fact that the Dvern specialized in controlling water and ice made them resistant to the negative effects of those elements. The Svern who specialized in controlling Lava through controlling Earth and Fire are likely resistant to heat and weak to cold. Come to think of it the reddish babies at the meeting were slightly smaller. Could it be that the Svern are incompatible with Knora on some level? Are we going to be at a disadvantage in this colder climate? If my math is correct the half-Svern should be 29.41% of the newborns from the 15 million. That means the vast majority of Vnora will be half-Dvern. The Vnora likely already include a sizable population of half-Gvern but if all the child bearing age females not already pregnant give birth to 70.59% half-Dvern it means an estimated 38.83% of the Knora population is half-Dvern; assuming that 55% of the Knora population are the child bearing age females. It is assumed the half-Knora are weaker than full Knora given the low compatibility with Knora traits but the half-Dvern Knora variant may actually be more powerful than both Dvern and Knora due to the high compatibility of Dvern and Knora traits. If they somehow end up more powerful than normal Knora my twin sister will end up being at the centre of power. Given the access to memories of their lives on Earth theres likely to be a revolution in Knora societies. In that scenario the ones to counterbalance the half-Dvern Knora are likely to be the half-Svern Knora. To protect and support my twin sister I have to somehow control the half-Svern Knora. The best way to control a faction is to be the one that starts the faction. Nevertheless no one will follow a weakling. Im gonna need Power. Lots and lots of Power; enough to be automatically recognized as a leader. But what is power? Is it physical superiority? Or is it mental superiority? Should I go for half-physical and half-mental to produce optimal superiority? Or will going for half-physical and half-mental produce something half-assed? A lot of novels make it look like its possible to do both, but instinctively we know that its impossible; otherwise football stars and other sport stars would be PhDs in astrophysics. In my previous life I started out as the athletic type but I get the feeling that athleticism isnt my thing in this life. Its likely Im more suited for magic given that when conscious I simply dont like to move around. But I get the feeling that going all magic is a bad idea given that the demonic enemy is powerful both magically and physically. I cant build a life strategy focusing solely on Knora society; I have to consider the larger picture at all times. Wait? Thats it! BUILD! Damn-it! Why did I think that I have to focus on combat? There are other options! The half-Svern Knora would likely be very good and building with stone since they can make stone. I dont have to have a full strategy right now but the way I see it money is the only path to liberty; to be free I have to be wealthy. - - - Its been X days since I was born. Yes Ive lost count; what do you expect Im an infant and I cant exactly write in my mind. Ah; the thing is the more conscious I am the less adult my mind becomes. Im making new memories and those memories are a priority. I seem to truly enjoy playing with my twin sister. Im slowly becoming this new person. And I think its a good thing that Im not that other person in a new body but actually a new person with the memories of that other person. It means Im able to reinvent my self. Ive determined that my name is Novid Ollo and my twin sister is Ovis Ollo. Ive just recently confirmed the Ollo part. Theres some good news; the older I get the easier I find it to direct my infant mind. The breakthrough came when my twin sister started crawling; the baby me was not interested in crawling so when asleep I had to repeatedly recite follow Ovis follow Ovis follow Ovis follow Ovis. Surprisingly it worked; I had found a method of influencing the baby mind. This proves that the infant mind is somehow affected by what is likely a type of dream state. Being able to direct my infant mind into crawling opened the door for me to be able to direct my infant thoughts in other directions. However its not that simple; the infant mind largely relies on instinct, so the directions in which I can point the mind have to be aligned with the infant minds instincts. Therefore Ive been limited to what the infant mind considers enjoyable play; the mantra I recite when asleep is find mother, find Ovis, find food giver, find mother, find Ovis, find food giver, find mother, find Ovis, find food giver; the food giver is the guy who provides me with Breast-milk. My infant mind seems to enjoy the finding game and actively uses the Forehead Crystal Third Eye thermal imaging to search nearby rooms for people. The other benefit is that the finding game also stimulates mobility since the infant minds thermal imaging capabilities are limited to a small range; I can basically only see behind a single wall and if its too thick the thermal images are hazy. I know from the memories of my genetic father that as I get older my thermal imaging will improve to the point where Ill be able to see things at vast distances. For now my infant mind is having fun with the find game. However theres a slight problem with the find game; mental fatigue. The experienced mental fatigue takes a heavy toll on the infant mind; it has gotten to the point where my infant mind is forced into as much sleep as when I was several days old. Ive seen looks of concern from mother; she must be concerned that Im somehow a weakly child given that Ovis is awake almost twice as long as I am. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. I havent been able to moderate my infant minds playing of the find game; what Ive been able to encourage is rapid mobility. The logic being that if the infant mind refuses to moderate the use of the Forehead Crystal Third Eye thermal imaging then I should at least get as much physical activity as possible during the conscious period. Therefore instead of steadily crawling around to look for this person or that person Im essentially sprint crawling like a race horse. Ive used the infant minds desire to complete the find game by locating the target as quickly as possible to get a lot of physical exercise. I can only hope that all this rapid mobility doesnt do too much damage to the infant body since Ovis has taken to following me during my sprints. The extra physical activity doesnt seem to tire Ovis out; meaning she is likely in far better physical condition than me. I cant help wondering what Ovis is doing with her Forehead Crystal Third Eye given that its tailored to detecting crystalline ice structures and water flow. I cant help wondering what Ovis sees. The memories of my genetic father indicate that the Dvern are as good at healing magic as the Gvern since healing magic comes in 2 prominent forms; Water Magic and Psionic Magic. Both blood and cells have a lot of water and that means controlling water is a key component of water healing; the other component is using Mana to repair tissue. Healing magic is a specialized profession requiring years of training to gain proficiency in the application of healing magic. Using Psionic Magic to heal is similar to using water magic with the difference being that since your not using water as the medium youre affecting everything which makes the Mana cost 2 to 5 times more depending on level of skill. Therefore it is traditional for the healing profession to be dominated by water mages. The only group to practice Psionic Magic healing to an appreciable level are the Svern since they had low compatibility with water magic and had to be reliant on Psionic Magic healing. The Gvern being Plant Mages had to be adept at Earth and Water Magic which allowed them to use water to carry nutrients from the earth to provide sustenance for the plants. However the true talent of the Gvern is in directing growth of plants through Mana injection. The Gvern even managed to tame and breed plants that are independent of the soil and walk the land like other beasts. It is these tamed plant creatures that are the primary fighting force of the Gvern. I should make it one of my life goals to have a pet plant and become good enough at plant magic to sustain its life. I want to give it a Heroic Name. On the subject of names; the people around us rarely mention their own names so I still dont know them. Come to think of it the attendants rarely talked to us; the only ones talking to us are the care givers who also breastfeed us. Thus in order to learn the language quickly I have to direct my infant mind to listening; make listening to private conversations a game. - - - Its been more than several days since I decided to direct my infant mind to listening; making listening to private conversations a game. At first I couldnt get my infant mind to care about the adult conversations; children are essentially selfish creatures who are interested in those interested in them. Then it occurred to me that like everything else it had to be a form of play; a game the infant mind would readily accept. Since starting a new game would be problematic I integrated the listening to the finding game which slowly transformed into a target tracking game. Basically I encouraged my infant mind to play a game where I follow someone without being seen and listening for the targets conversations, footsteps and such became part of the game. Surprisingly my infant mind readily took to this modification; likely the result of pronounced Knora hunting instincts. Even my sister Ovis took to playing along and we would hunt for this person and that person and pounce on them. The adults seemed to play along and would reward us with treats and affection. Im guessing that the hunting behaviour is normal for Knora children and mother seemed particularly delighted by our attempts to conceal ourselves while tracking her. What seemed to be a complete surprise was my sister Ovis making tentative attempts to stand on her feet. Im guessing that it is unusual for an infant that young to be using objects to try and stand up. Now all that excessive moving around she had been doing since we were born made sense; shes some kind of prodigy. I cant lift my self up but shes already learning to stand; shes likely 20 days ahead of me in that field, and this is surely a significant sign of things to come. Ill never be able to keep up with my sister. Anyway my goal is not to keep up with my sister Ovis but to be her eyes that watch over her from the shadows. It occurred to me that its entirely possible that Ovis was a man on Earth. No; its not my wounded pride at being outdone by a girl. I mean; have you seen Knora women? They are muscular giants with big boobs and a pretty face. Anyway; Ovis being stronger isnt a problem. It actually means that shell be more important than anticipated and wont be seen by the Knora as a mere Vnora. If the Knora recognize her strength it will make it easier for them to take me more seriously when I make my move. Its just unfortunate that my baby instincts are to only do things that I enjoy and I dont seem to possess that same instinctive determination that Ovis seems to have been born with. Ovis might be of the Heroic variety. Honestly; Im a bit jealous. Hopefully being around her will push me from the slacker route. - - - Day number .. I dont know since birth Fuck it! Im not gonna bother trying to keep track of the time until Im older. Lets get on with some derived lessons from my previous life: Lesson 4: Theres no substitute for Hard Work. I get the distinct feeling that the instincts of my infant mind are inclined towards laziness. I had already seen the signs that my new body is shaping my psyche to wards a personality of a slacker; devoid of ambition and content to take it easy. Since I hadnt been that sort of person on Earth and the memories of my genetic father indicates he was a studious diligent person so my infant mind must be suffering the effects of genetics and not something caused by the memories. So unless I somehow find a way to overwhelm the genetic tendency towards becoming a slacker I wont be able to become anything I want to be. Im therefore forced to take drastic actions. Ive been reluctant to push my infant mind to the extreme for fear of damaging the psyche and creating psychological trauma. But now the gloves come off. I wont allow a slacker tendency to get in the way of my goals. - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 4: Twisting Fate - - - - - - Chapter 4: Twisting Fate - - - - - - Im not going to claim to be propelled by a righteous cause or a desire to do good. That would be false; a bold face lie! Im driven by fear! Fear that the instincts of my infant mind are inclined towards shaping my psyche to wards a personality of a slacker; which would then mean the end of my personal freedom as all life decisions would be made for me by the family heads. Fear; it turns out is a powerful motivator! Fear allowed me to overcome the aversion to tempering with the psyche of my infant mind; Twisting the Fate the genes had written, and creating a new uncharted destiny for myself. I became the captain of this rudderless ship and though my actions are undoubtedly amongst the worst of criminality I feel justified in having avoided the leisurely fate that would have made my life meaningless. Having died so that my infant self can be born I wont accept a life unworthy of the sacrifice it took as payment to set this young heart beating. The life I paid for with my previous life must have meaning. I must prove worthy in this life! - - - So how did I do it? How did I defy my fate? How did I override genetics? FEAR! The answer is fear. The answer was always Fear. Ive committed a sin; Ive made my infant self afraid. Afraid of the light, afraid of the darkness, afraid of the shadows! Afraid of everything! Just afraid. That is my sin; my heinous crime against the innocent. - - - I understood that a game would not work. That the only way to override genetics was to tap into even more powerful genes; activate a primal form of genetics that is capable of overriding whatever tendencies the Infant Mined had preferred. Therefore to break the will of the infant psyche all I had to do was make the infant mind experience constant terror. When the infant psyche experiences fear it will become the predominant facet of the infant consciousness; never knowing peace. I had noticed that repeating mantra while my infant mind is asleep filters through to periods of consciousness, and that became the method for attacking the infant psyche of my infant self. This method is imprecise and is akin to dropping cluster bombs because the after-effect will be embedded psychological landmines that will persist long after my adult mind has fused with the mind of the infant Novid Ollo. What Im doing is creating scars that will shape my infant psyche in unpredictable ways. It cant be helped; this is the only method available to me. I theorized that since a mantra filtered through to the infant mind emotions and images could also filter through. Thus I flooded the sleeping infant mind with fear; I imagined and remembered all the things that terrified me and allowed myself to feel the fear. The memories of my genetic father who had witnessed the horrors of war are useful in this since even my adult mind was terrified of the imagery; demons of every shape and size slaughtering the innocent and feeding upon their remains. Demonic aura polluting the land; raising the dead who are now more vicious than the demons that spanned and overflow with unending hunger for flesh. After a few days of bombardment I feel could my infant mind fall into despair; filled with nightmares that tormented the fragile infant psyche. I could feel the walls of the fragile mind break but I did not relent. The torment had to continue until I was certain that the scars were permanently edged on the infant psyche. Proof that the scars were permanent came in the form of changes to the adult mind; my constant terror even within the shield of the Memory Preservation and Transfer Spell was sufficient proof that the infant psyche had shifted, but even then I did not relent. I should have stopped but I had gone too far; sank too deep into the abyss and could not find my way back. Unlike the memories of my genetic father I am the infant Novid Ollo; I feel what he feel, I desire what he desires. I am the soul of Novid Ollo; we are one. The adult me hadnt properly understood that I am Novid Ollo, a part of me thought I was still Naru Zuna, but I understand now that the other guy is dead and all that remains is Novid Ollo. The fear that I induced on Novid Ollo was a double spear that pierced both of us and accelerated the merger. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. More of the emotions of the infant filter through and Im guessing that the reverse is true. I did far more damage than I had intended and it led to the degrading of the infants health. Days upon days without proper led to deliria, hallucinations and other unwanted side-effect; ultimately collapse followed. Gvern Healers brought over to the palace saved and sustained the life of the infant son of the Knora Matriarch. My adult mind trapped in a hell of my own creation I was oblivious to the danger faced by my infant self. I suspect that I was in a coma for at least 20 days and only survived because my family is wealthy enough to afford round the clock care from Gvern healers. I was in some sort of coma and the looks of relief upon my awakening was proof that I had been near death more than a few times. The people looking at my infant body had fought desperately to save my life and I owed them no small measure of gratitude. Indeed I would forever be in their debt. In my arrogance I had forgotten one of the key lessons of my previous life. Lesson 5: Dont Hurt the people who Love You. - - - So its been 10 days since I regained consciousness. The Gvern healer who had taken care of me saved my life, and my mind. And I listened in as he explained to my mother what happened. Apparently I had misunderstood the natural disposition of the Svern. My genetic father belonged to the high ranking military class of the meritocracy that was the militaristic Svern Republic. High ranking officers wanted their children to be exceptional so they used Psionic Magic to drum the playful tendencies out of their children. Done correctly the children grow up to be talented in the fields they join. However such magic should never be applied to those under 2 years old. According to the elderly healer the subconscious adult like mentality that he has detected in all the Newborns had been the problem in my situation. He explained that I somehow rejected the Svern natural tendencies to be playful and easygoing and performed destructive Psionic Magic on my own psyche. It would normally be impossible for a child to do something this dangerous but the subconscious adult like mentality added a complexity that was unprecedented. The Knora children of the 17 Arch-Mages were the first to be born so they hadnt known to be concerned but now that they know they will take measure to contain the subconscious adult like mentality in all the children and prevent it from doing harm. The healer explained that he had been forced to create barriers between my subconscious adult like mentality and my infant psyche. However Psychic barriers are not permanent or absolute. The healer explained that the damage to my infant psyche could not be undone and I would always be fearful. Where other children will be running free with reckless abandon I would always me worrying about a lurking threat. I would never be truly at peace and my sleep would always be populated by nightmares. I would be afraid of venturing away from the protection of family and would perpetually feel insecure. The only cure being erasing my memories, but that held the risk of leaving me as catatonic shell. According to the elderly healer the Svern living outside the Svern Republic were primarily builders, smiths and crafters. The natural disposition of the Svern was towards following their curiosity; doing only what interested them. I had been a fool; an unmitigated idiot! I would not have been a slacker; I would have been a normal Half-Svern. - - - My sister Ovis is confidently on her feet and walking while I on the other hand have grown weaker. Im not gonna make the same mistake again and try to keep up with Ovis; Im gonna go at my own pace. Im afraid of being alone so theres always someone with me; a guard, attendant or teacher. Mother has sent for teachers; 2 Knora 2 Gvern and 2 Vnora. Apparently finding out that I could somewhat understand the all the other languages inspired her to have me and my sister properly learn the Knora language. Looks like Ive opened the geek route since Im too afraid to do anything other than stay at home where its safe and read books. My life plan has to be readjusted to the new realities Im faced with. I can still somewhat influence my conscious mind but Im restricted to positive emotions. I really should be thankful to have a second chance instead of worrying about trivial matters. I nearly died without knowing what would happen to my Soul. From here onwards I walk the safe path. - - - - - - Chapter 5: Seed - - - - - - Chapter 5: Seed - - - - - - Im a year old now; which is more like 2 years old in human terms, and this is evidenced by the appearance of the children of Norr traders living in Knora territory born at the same time who look like 2 year old humans since pure Norr are more humanlike. All breeds of Knora on the other hand look more like 4 and 5 year olds; in human and Norr terms. I have thus concluded that the Knora are the Beastmen race of the world of Orro; all those light novels I used to read as a kid had themes of people with animal traits in fantasy realms so it kinda fits the role. However the Knora are not to be taken lightly and possess true power that was proven by their ability to hold hordes of Demons to a stalemate; not even the Vern kingdom was able to do that and the Vern are widely believed to be the most powerful of the humanoid races of Orro. So the Knora can be understood to be powerful at the same level as the Vern. Such prowess is attributed to the Knora Fighting Aura; what the Knora call Full Might. The Knora are very different physiologically; for one thing the torso is encased in a bone shell similar to the skull, and the hearts are connected to the spine which is encased in a further layer of thick bones along with the major arteries including the ones going to the head. The skull itself is encased in not just bone but also a thick layer of keratin that grows in as they grow older. On the subject of Full Might it is understood to be the primary function of the second heart and the primary source of the Knora internal body enhancement magic. In the other humanoids the Mana Core builds a network throughout the body and this allows one to channel Mana to different parts of the body. In the Knora the Mana Core only builds the channels to the second heart; thus making the arteries, veins and the blood flowing through them the method of channelling Mana. While this makes spell casting difficult it makes the Knora internal body enhancement magic instinctive and natural. That means theyre already able to use the Knora internal body enhancement magic from a young age; and they do this unconsciously. Few if any Knora are proficient in spell casting, and the Mana used to cast even the simplest of spells is extremely inefficient; using 11 times as much Mana as others for the same spell output. These are primary Knora traits passed on through the females so all types of Knora have them. Consequently the Knora tend to abandon external Mana use because the process is so difficult for them. The only exception to these limitations are the Vnora breed who are born with a Mana channel through the brain to the Forehead Crystal Third Eye. In normal Vern the Forehead Crystal Third Eye would be connected to the network in the body but in the Vnora it links to the second heart. That means the Forehead Crystal Third Eye is probably the only part of the body that can efficiently move Mana outside the body. However learning to inject Mana into elements is primarily about touch and feel and the Forehead Crystal Third Eye is particularly inconvenient. So in order to learn to Manipulate External Mana even the Vnora must inefficiently inject Mana through their hands which would cost 11 times more Mana. Since none of the humanoids are born with exorbitant amounts of Mana the Vnora reach their limit rather quickly making the learning process slower to the point where a Vnora would take 3 to 4 times as long to reach the Mana Capacity of an Arch-Mage. However what the Knora lack in External Magic they make up for with their Full Might. The way Full Might works is that the Knora Magical Heart pumps in increased amounts of Mana increasing Strength, Dexterity, Durability and Regeneration as compared to the Baseline. What that means is that a Knora using Full Might becomes several times more powerful; depending on the body condition. Thus Full Might makes the average Knora more than a match for the average Mage. Depending on the psyches effect on the Souls processing of Ether into Mana Full Might is different from person to person; some gain more Strength, more Dexterity, more Durability or more Regeneration. Full Might is said to manifest when the seed that is the second heart blooms in response to crisis. Most Knora experience this crisis during the first ranking contest at 5 years old when they are asked to perform in front of others and be judged by the results. Depending on personality, physical exertion and level of desire Full Might is manifested with differing levels of Strength, Dexterity, Durability and Regeneration. In most people Full Might generates increased levels in the 4 Baseline attributes with similar enhancement rates. The ones who are more competent are those whose enhancement rates favour 3 or 2 of the 4 Baseline attributes. The truly lucky ones are those whose enhancement rates favour only 1 of the 4 Baseline attributes; because the 4 Baseline attributes are related. Super-Strength gives you Super-Durability as a bonus because Super-Strength would destroy the body if its not durable; however the bonus Super-Durability would be at half that of someone who manifests Super-Durability. Super-Dexterity would require a level of Super-Strength since moving speedily requires muscles. The rarest is Super-Regeneration which is usually manifest by children who face a deadly illness at a young age. Super-Regeneration requires high Mana Capacity of all things; a factor outside the 4 Baseline attributes. The few fortunate enough to survive and gain Super-Regeneration develop an oversize Mana Core during their long battle with illness and are sometimes regarded as the most powerful of the Knora. When not healing wounds Super-Regeneration takes the form of Super-Stamina. Mother is someone with Super-Regeneration and it explains how she was able to give birth at the elderly age of 244. - - - The lucky people who get Super-Strength are said to possess a Heroic Heart and my twin sister Ovis is such a person. Our Mother who is said to possess an Unyielding Heart says they have never seen a Heroic Heart on someone so young and that it was her strong desire to protect me during my coma that likely triggered a blooming of her Heroic Heart. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. I on the other hand was so afraid of being bitten, clawed, gored or eaten by monsters and demons that I manifested Super-Durability; said to posses a Protecting Heart. Honestly; I would have preferred Super-Regeneration but Im told that the survival rate for the disease that afflicted mother is less than 1% so Ill happily take Super-Durability instead. Truthfully I would be delighted with Super-Durability; I mean having a Super-Attribute is such a rare occurrence to begin with. The problem is that my Super-Durability looks shabby in contrast to my twin sisters Super-Strength. Unfortunately Ovis has taken it upon herself to help me get stronger and I get to see just how amazing Super-Strength is compared to my Super-Durability. Ovis is stronger and faster than I am and the training we are doing revolves around using Full Might to Swim, Sprint and Lift Weights; none of which require significant Durability. None of the other kids our age connected to the palace have manifested their Full Might yet so training with them is pointless at this juncture since the training revolves around us using our Full Might. The one impediment we are faced with is our child level Mana Core; we simply dont have sufficient Mana to use our Full Might the way it was meant to me used. Full Might is meant to energize your body for 11 minutes or about 9 Parbeats. Again; the time system is weird. This worlds version of the second is based on the heartbeat of King Vern; the first king of the Vern kingdom. It was about 80 beats a minute according to my calculations. 100 beats equals a Parbeat, 100 Parbeats equals a Zarbeats and a day has 13 Zarbeats. Its unlikely that King Verns heartbeat would be as accurate as they make it out to be at around 80.246914 beats a minute so the Vern likely used it as a base rather than use the actual heart rate. Anyway Ovis and I cant sustain Full Might for anything more than 2 minutes, and even doing that much drains our Mana which takes about 2 hours to restore naturally; eating and meditation helps. However were kids so meditation is out of the question and since our family is wealthy mother supplies us with Mana potions in exchange for chores. The chores we do are probably not worth what I suspect are the expensive Mana potions made from the Mana cores of native animals and monsters. Demon cores are toxic and cant be used for anything other than poisons. Fortunately we have low Mana capacity so even the weakest Mana potion can last the whole day. At our age the chores are primarily gardening duties in mothers private garden; watering flowers, digging out weeds and so on. We are too small to help out with any of the serious work around the palace but I can expect that as we get older we will be given harder tasks since mother isnt the sort to overindulge her children; even if shes at an advanced age. Thus the only restriction to our use of Full Might is the toll it takes on our bodies. Nevertheless Ovis is adamant that we have to acquire the power to protect ourselves when we are older and sent to the military for our mandatory 4 years of service. All citizens of the Orro Federation have to complete 4 years of military service after the age of 10, and Knora being robustly physical often find themselves on the frontlines of the war against the demons. The military service often involves routing out demons from islands between the Orro Federation and the Orrba Continent. The Orro Federation Islands are protected by magic barriers but it would be imprudent to allow the demons a nearby staging area, so raids on any demon settlement on the Islands receive the highest military priority. The Orro Federation military prefers fighting the Demons in the open ocean where they can take advantage of the poor seamanship of the likes of Goblins, Orcs, Serpentmen and Lizardmen. The winged demons are reticent to fight away from home ranges after the failed attempt to conquer the primordial continents. Even the prideful dragons were slaughtered in droves by city size Primordials. Scholars suggest that a single primordial has enough power to defeat all of the demon armies on the Orrba Continent. It is believed that Primordials are immortal since there has never been a record of any Primordial death. The Orro Federation Navy does not venture close to primordial continents on the other side of the world. I for one have no intension of ever going there. - - - Ovis trains me hard because she claims to be trying to save my life. By looking at her you wouldnt think that she used to be a feminine Gay Canadian man in the previous life. However in this life shes a determined Knora female in the truest form; so much so she manifested a Heroic Heart at 85 days old. Even the Knora have bee shocked by the fact that someone so young can bloom their seed into a Heroic Heart because it requires a resolve to stand and fight against an impossible enemy; children arent suppose to be prepared to sacrifice their lives. There was no precedent for someone under 4 years developing a Heroic Heart. There had been a 2 year old with a Protecting Heart and almost all those who possess an Unyielding Heart are under 4 years old, but there has never been anyone under 4 years of age who developed a Heroic Heart. Somehow the crazy people of this Island simply say; as expected of the daughter of the Matriarch of the Ollo Bloodline. The both of us being Super is attributed to the Power of the Ollo Bloodline. The Ollo Bloodline goes back to the last of the Knora Matriarchs and the one who led the Knora survivors to the safety of the Islands; fighting through Hordes of Demons. Ewim Ollo is the name of the legendary matriarch who saved the Knora; she had the Super-Regeneration that allowed her to possess an Unyielding Heart, and when mother became Matriarch she took the name Ewim Ollo II in recognition of them having the same Super-Attribute. Apparently mother was a legendary warrior in her youth who earned the status of Hero of the Federation by stopping the demonic invasion of an island in the Far East during her tour of duty. She led 4 others against hundreds of Orcs and emerged victorious; saving thousands of live on a remote fishing village. In the aftermath of that battle all surviving free peoples in remote far flung areas of the world were forcibly brought to the safety of the Orro Federation; adding 10 million to the population. The addition of people seems to have altered the timeline of the activation of the Super-Magic of the 17 Arch-Mages; delaying the activation by some 125 years. - - - - - - Chapter 6: Magic Scholar - - - - - - Chapter 6: Magic Scholar - - - - - - Like all the na?ve children I assumed that learning magic would be easy, but even with the memories of my genetic father there is no shortcut; muscle memory isnt the sort of thing you inherit. Im 3 years old now; but do I look like a 5 to 6 year old? Noooo! I look like a freaking 12 year old! Ovis and I still dont have any Fur, but the lion-like main has started growing in so we have a lot of hair on our heads. Ovis has taken to tying our hair into ponytails because cutting the head hair is a complete no-no amongst the Knora. My head hair will eventually reach all the way to my hips, and that is considered normal. Ive started noticing that my hips have started to take on a more feminine shape, and somehow Im not too concerned about that. A year ago Ovis started begging mother for magic lessons, but mother wouldnt budge since Knora only start magic lessons at age 4 as a way to help grow the Mana Cores so they are ready for the awakening of their Full Might during the ranking contest. So to mother teaching spell casting to 2 year olds was dangerous; no matter how prodigious they may be. Magic is dangerous and there was a real risk of burning or freezing your fingers. However Ovis wasnt going to accept such logic; not by a long shot. So we started independent magic training; practicing injecting Mana into various elements. As expected progress was slow and it was obvious that we got more out of training with Full Might than practicing external magic. Because the Knora constantly use Mana since it flows into the bloodstream we develop a larger Mana Core than the other humanoids; That and the fact that the Knora are simply larger than the other humanoids. Once we reach age 5 and develop the Full Might skill it becomes the primary form of Mana use, and that slows down the development of our Mana Capacity. Ovis and I felt that in order to avoid the plateau in Mana Capacity growth we had to learn spell casting early. Ovis reasoned that its a question of developing a healthy spell casting habit. The other humanoids cast spells on a normal basis to start fires, purify water and cleaning as well as regular maintenance. It certainly explained why the Knora who start using the Mana Core early end up with the same Mana Capacity as the other humanoids when they reach 20 years. Even so there was still a problem; without a proper network through the fingers its tremendously wasteful in terms of efficient use of Mana. The solution Ovis came up with was putting our foreheads into a bowl of water; thus allowing the Forehead Crystal Third Eye to come into direct contact with the Element and making it easier to directly inject Mana. With this plan we could inject Mana into the water Element as efficiently as those with a proper magical network in the body. I developed a healthy respect for Oviss Intellect; she obviously had a brilliant mind to go along with he freakishly strong body. And so began the most brutal year to date. Before we trained hard, but we had the Full Might skill to assist. However the new training regiment designed by Ovis required that we use up our Mana doing magic and then train the body while in the lethargic state of Mana depletion. Consequently the physical training became harder on the body; triggering a rapid muscle development. I could understand the situation Ovis found herself in; the weight of expectation for a future Clan Matriarch demanded no less effort. I could not allow myself to take it easy in the face of such effort; my twin sister became my inspiration. Also; Ovis had thoroughly convinced me that the only way to be same was to have the power to protect myself, and being safe had become very important to me. If anything a powerful body would allow me to run away faster; you dont have to be faster than the monster, you just have to be faster than the monsters next potential target. In the worst case scenario you have to possess the strength to protect your family. The year of hell came to an end with mother finally relenting and acknowledging that Ovis and I already had a larger Mana Capacity than the average 5 year old Knora. We were allowed to join the magic class for 4 year olds held every 4 days. People would proudly proclaim starting magic classes at 3 years old was yet another record breaking feat accomplished by the Matriarchs prodigious twins. For whatever reason Ovis was indifferent to such praise and I had grown more timid with the years. - - - 4 year old Knora are the size of 15 year old humans with the one distinct difference being that they still have flat chests. Knora start puberty when they reach the age of 7 years, and until then their chests remain flat. Given that all breeds of Knora grow to be an average of 275cm being the size of 15 year old humans at age 4 is only a little strange. Vnora start growing Fur when they hit puberty and Im kind of exited to get my red Fur. Its surprising how Knora Ive become and in the process loose my human mentality. The Knora dont have a public educations system, and children are expected to learn from their families; be it reading or magic. However the Orro Federation has publicly mandated education systems and on federal lands children are required to attend school every 2 days. On Knora lands there is a resistance to any kind of forced education of the young, and the Knora regard such a system as federal indoctrination. Knora believe that children should learn values from their family. Mother had been trying to get the Knora to adopt standardized learning methods for an Orro century and the only thing the Knora had accepted were standardized learning materials. The Knora were never going to accept public schools and they did a fairly decent job of teaching their own children. The wealthy families have established exclusive family schools for their children, and Ovis and I found ourselves in such a school. The rank held by Ovis meant that there would be no protests no matter how anyone might feel. The only ones required to attend a Federal school are those who hold public office. At age 11 the Knora ruling class leave for the Federal Academy of Philosophy to study for 2 years; thus deferring military service for 2 years. Im told that Ovis will take up to a hundred guards and attendants and Ovis has made it clear that I will be coming along. Im one of the few people Ovis can trust completely and be free around so Im happy to be relied upon by my future Clan Matriarch. When I told Ovis of my desire to be independently wealthy she was relieved. Im guessing that she had resolved herself to take care of me and is relieved to learn that I have some ambition. Most of the progress Ive made thus far has been as a result of Ovis pushing me. However even I realise that at some point Ovis will be forced to take 4 spouses who should rightly be her focus. As my Clan Matriarch Ovis would then have the responsibility of marrying me off to a suitably qualified female. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. But me finding the resolve to move forward on my own is a weight of Oviss shoulders. Being wealthy will require economic know-how. The Knora economy is largely about supplying the Orro Federation Economy with Mana Cores in exchange for everything else; theres hardly any production. The Mana Cores are mostly harvested from the monsters that populate the frozen Southern Continent. Leather working is developed to a respectable level but most of the leather is sent off unprocessed along with the Mana Cores in exchange for other goods. Theres hardly any agriculture on Knora Island because of the cold climate. The primary impediment to economic development is Knora attitude. The Southern Continent is largely hostile to anyone other than the Knora and they have a virtual monopoly on access to the Mana Cores of large ice beasts just as they did in the north of the Orrba Continent. This makes it difficult to change the economy to one of production since the Knora get to act out their pronounced hunting instincts. Fishing had always proved problematic given the large numbers of sea monsters in the oceans that make it difficult for anything other than a warship to transverse the oceans. Catching fish would trigger a response from the monsters who consider the fish their prey and territories in they oceans their exclusive feeding grounds. Therefore the only safe fishing takes place from the coastal shore and on the rivers. Not even the Knora are foolish enough to pick a fight with giant see monsters. I already know that if Im going to be wealthy it has to be by manufacturing products for the Knora in exchange for Mana Cores which I would then process into other products desired by the rest of the Orro Federation. Success had to happen while mother was still alive and on the throne since when shes gone there will be all sorts of attempts to get in my way from the entrenched business interest benefiting from the current situation. That gave me 50 years since the Super-Regeneration born from an Unyielding Heart increases lifespan by 50 to 60 years. - - - So there we were; 3 years old and excited about the first lesson in magic. What a let down! I should have expected it but Im a child most of the time so I couldnt help getting excited. These are Knora for fucks sake; it should have been obvious that the magic being taught would be limited. Ovis called it a waist of time and immediately started dragging me out of the door. Haaa; I cant help sighing. You see the class was basic Mana channelling. The Knora dont really practice external magic; the exception being channelling Mana into magic tools and weapons. So the first lessons would need to be about pushing Mana into elements; something Ovis and I have been doing for a year now. I had thought they would teach spell casting but apparently that would come after the ranking contest at 5 years of age. Spell casting is taught along with combat training because the two are related; at least the Knora see it that way. Ovis wasnt about to wait 2 years to learn formal spell casting and she was not happy; she was fuming actually. After going on a small destructive rampage in our room she calmed down and we started thinking about how to get over the hurdle. Both of us were already able to levitate about 2 litres of water shaped into a sphere, and then begin dissipating the heat from the ball of water to form a ball of ice. For some reason Ovis has better control of both the ball of water and the ball of ice. Her ball of ice seems to be denser and smaller than mine despite using the same amount of water. Its seems Ovis is better able to control the crystal structures in the ice; forming better ice crystals. Its the same with the water; Ovis is able to compress water into better controlled shapes. The magic lessons were supposed to teach us formal spell casting; we already possessed the knowledge during sleep but its hard to remember things in detail so the hope was that with someone there to show us we would be able to develop sufficient muscle memory to become proficient spell casters. Spell Casting is like swinging a sword in that repetition creates proficiency. The chants and gestures that people do while Spell Casting are just a crutch developed to help the mind rapidly remember and focus on creating a particular structure. Spell Casting is essentially reflexive shaping of elements. We could self study and develop our own methods of Spell Casting but that would be reinventing the wheel. The Chants, Stances and Forms used during Spell Casting have been developed over thousands of years to make it easier to conjure and ice spear or earth lance. We already knew that we would have to reinvent the wheel to some extent since most of the teachings on Spell Casting are meant for people with a magical network running through their body. Finally I struck upon the idea that there had to have been a Gvern who through an accident or deformity became paralyzed from the neck down. Such a person would have to develop methods of Spell Casting that relied on the Forehead Crystal Third Eye and not the magical network in the body. It was obvious that we would be able to learn far more from such a person than we would be able to from any other teacher; provided that telepathic teaching is allowed. When Ovis and I went to mother to request a paraplegic Gvern teacher the price for her involvement was that it be done under the auspices of the establishment of the Vnora Academy of Magic. Mother is the Matriarch after all and isnt interested in creating favourable terms for just her 2 youngest children, and once she realised the potential benefits to Knora Island she wanted the advantage to be given to the widest possible population. Ovis and I would have to act as teacher assistants. According to mother finding the paraplegic Gvern would take some effort and convincing them to pass on their knowledge to Vnora would require more than a bit of money so this has to be an official initiative of the Knora Enclave. So mother saw an opportunity to push through one of the major policy initiatives of her reign; public education. The Knora High Council had resisted all efforts to build public schools but the new Vnora are different and everyone knows it so it was a chance to build a major institution. We would all become Magic Scholars. - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 7: Tutelage - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 7: Tutelage - - - - - - Im 4 and half years old now; half a year from the first ranking contest. Ovis is a future Clan Matriarch so she doesnt have to participate in the ranking contest, but mother advised that she participate as a way to cement her legitimacy amongst the population. Theorizing that once they see her power there would be no further discontent from the supporters of the former princesses of the Vnora, and even the Vnora Clan Matriarch would have to acknowledge that Ovis is the best candidate to be the next Vnora Clan Matriarch. The reason for mothers confidence is what happened over the past year and a half. Being the kind and benevolent ruler that she is; mother decided that Ovis and I should make good on our end of the bargain even before the Academy was built and the suitable teachers located. The problem with locating a paraplegic Gvern is that the prevalence of healing magic means that an injury that would originally result in paralysis can be cured with magic. The known afflictions that resulted in paraplegics are a degenerative neurological disease and a muscular disease; both of which are genetic diseases. Therefore mother said that Knora Island put out a request to such people through the Orro Federation. However there were Political Problems in getting the cooperation of the Gvern Republic since they saw Vnora practising magic as a threat to their agricultural monopoly. Indeed most of the grain purchased by Knora Island comes from Gvern territories. This meant that Knora Island had to hire skilled people to manually seek-out the paraplegic Gvern and make the offer directly. And so mother didnt want to wait to pass on the lessons that Ovis and I have learned; especially given that there were at least 2.7 million new born Vnora with memories of their Arch-Mage fathers. So mother immediately sent for all the Vnora elders and teachers and had them evaluate our progress. The Vnora elders in particular had been sceptical of the Knora Matriarchs call for them to come to the capital to evaluate the magical abilities of her Vnora children. The Vnora Elders had tried to resist the building of the Vnora Academy of Magic next to the palace in the capital because it would put it under the direct control of the Knora Matriarch. The Vnora had been just 2% of the Knora population; the result of Knora Island paying 2000 Gvern males exorbitant amounts to impregnate some 20,000 Knora females. The Knora deliberately created the Vnora sub-race in hopes of getting access to magic that had thus-far been unavailable to the Knora. The creation of the Vnora with Green Fur and a Green Forehead Crystal Third Eye did not have the desired results and was largely considered a failure. However the 2.7 million new born Vnora with memories of their Arch-Mage fathers were a different matter altogether. Most of them arent born to Vnora parents so they dont have an automatic allegiance to the Vnora Clan. And now the move by the Knora Matriarch to build the Vnora Academy of Magic funded and directly controlled by the royal family seemed like the independence of the Vnora Clan was being erased. Politically the Vnora had suddenly become the largest Knora sub-race and it would have been politically problematic for the Knora Matriarch and the Knora High Council not to establish control over the Vnora. The relationship between Knora and Vnora had to change and the largely green Vnora leaders could not represent all Vnora. The new Vnora leadership would be built around Ovis who is coincidentally or fortunately the daughter of the Knora Matriarch. When the adult Vnora evaluated me and Ovis they were simply stunned. They had never seen such proficiency on 3 year olds; not even in the Gvern. The Vnora Elders proclaimed us Magical Prodigies of the same level as those of the other 3 humanoids fathered by the 17 Arch-Mages. The children of 17 Arch-Mages were first born to the Knora due to the shorter pregnancy period but after 3 years the total was slightly over 15 million; many of whom had prodigious talent for magic. Even amongst the Knora the children of the 17 Arch-Mages persevered with great effort to develop their magical talent; many also discovering the method of putting your forehead into direct contact with the element. What made Ovis and I different was that we are also Supers, and that meant that our Mana Cores were growing faster due to the use of the Full Might skill. There were even several hundred amongst the other Vnora children of the 17 Arch-Mages who managed to develop the Full Might skill; even a few Supers. Thus far all the other early Vnora supers had developed Super-Dexterity; known as possessing the Helpful Heart. The Helpful Heart developed by those who gain Super-Dexterity is the most common of the Knora Supers; likely because the Knora cant rely on magic and so traditionally have to be able to make crude tools from the environment. Parents teach their children how to make things like wood spears, ice huts and other useful survival techniques. It is probable that under optimal circumstance this tutelage results in the blooming of the seed into the Helpful Heart. With the Vnora leadership having relented construction of the Vnora Academy of Magic could begin unhindered. Mother says that the funding of the Vnora Academy of Magic could not be taken from the National Treasury since the High Council opposes public education; so the funding came directly from the private coffers of the family. Apparently mother spent 80% of the wealth of the royal family on this 250,000 capacity Vnora Academy of Magic, and when it is complete it will be the largest building complex on Knora Island. The High Council will provide funding for the running of the Academy; likely feeling the embarrassment after the Matriarch virtually emptied the coffers of the royal family to build the academy. With the construction underway Ovis and I started the tutoring of the other Vnora. - - - Youd think us having to tutor hundreds of kids our own age would convince Ovis to ease-up on the training right? Wrong! For some reason it became the impetus to intensify our training. Now we wakeup before sunrise and train hard in a depleted Mana state while the Mana potion restores our Mana over 15 minutes, then its either magic practise or training the Full Might skill. This goes on until lunch, after which we each tutor 50 Vnora kids our age at magic for 2 hours. We see each group about once every 10 days so its a thousand students in total. Apparently mother has the other Supers provide the same tutelage all over Knora Island; the payment being Mana potions. After tutoring its snack time then back to training until dinner with the rest of the family. The kids we tutor graduate from our lessons after 50 days and we take in a new group since they catch on quickly and can now pass on the lessons to other children. I had somewhat expected the other kids to be in awe of us being a prince and a princess but Knora consider it normal to interact with royalty; its even expected that the royalty listen to their complaints. All in all the past year and a half has been hell. The proof of my suffering is the muscular body Ive developed, and given the size of my biceps and thighs Id say that we have more muscle than even the same age Knora which is unheard off for Vnora. Id say that things will get better after the age 5 ranking contest but I wont delude my self with such thoughts, and given my twin sisters disposition it is likely that this will only get worse. The combat training will likely get brutal and Ill probably take several beatings a day. But things are looking up! Because its half a year until the ranking contest we will receive formal training to get us ready for the ranking contest. All the kids born in the same moon will take the ranking contest together so every day from now onwards we will join all the other kids from the Capital at the proving grounds where the test will be held and run the course as a form of preparation. While at the proving grounds well get to see a few ranking contests; along with thousands of people who come to watch. This is the biggest spectator sport of the Knora, and a seminal event in the life of every Knora. So much so that some manifest their Full Might skill during the half a year of training. I may be excited about getting a break from the daily torture my twin sister Ovis calls training but Im sure the little fiend will somehow find a way to make me suffer during the evenings. Mothers private gym has seen more use since we turned a year old given that shes at an age where she hardly uses it. Looking at the other kids gathering at the proving grounds I get the feeling that most dont stand a chance against Ovis and me. Though we are relatively the same height theres definitely more muscle on our bodies than the average kid. I get the feeling that Ovis and I are amongst the very few that have been pushing ourselves to reach top physical conditioning. It seems that most of the reincarnated people have been relaxing and enjoying their youth while Ive been killing myself. This is some Bullshit! I mean; what the Fuck Ovis? What the Fuck? Then it hits me that the eyes of the world will be on Ovis. I will get scrutinized because of it. Ovis must have known that this would happen and prepared the both of us for the coming moment. I may have thought that our training went a bit over the mark but the moment we step onto the field of competition we represent the royal family; the Bloodline of Ewim Ollo. Unlike the others we cannot be relaxed because we represent a legendary Knora; someone worthy of the respect of all Knora. While having the power to keep ourselves safe has been my primary motivation, Ovis has been thinking about our larger role in society; to be a Beacon of Hope, a Symbol of Pride. I must confess that Im still afraid; in fact its possible that Im more afraid now that I understand the dangers around me even when conscious. I draw comfort from the guards that shadow me and Ovis all the time. Ordinarily Ovis and I would have been separated and given adjacent bedrooms but my night terrors get worse when were apart so well be sleeping in the same bedroom until were 5 years old; at which point a 13 year old green Vnora female guard who has just completed her military service will take over the role of staying with me at night. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ovis and I will both receive green Vnora female guards skilled in Psionic Magic that will watch over us for the foreseeable future. Normally the job would be given to a warrior Knora but the fact that we are Vnora means we have to follow Vnora tradition. Im told we should expect someone with a combat proven Super-Dexterity or in rare cases Super-Durability. Therefore someone skilled in Psionic Magic should be able to calm my mind and allow me to get some restful sleep. Anyway listening to the instructor explaining what the training at the proving grounds will involve brings a smile to my face but I see a definite frown on Oviss face. This Girl is a true-born monster. I mean how about going with the flow for once? Everyone else seems excited. Though I think these thoughts theres no way Id voice them; Ovis would make me pay for it later on in training. She certainly has the demeanour of a Matriarch down to a Tee. Come to think of it shes always had that quiet resolve; the confident demeanour of a Matriarch. Behind my back when people dont think I can hear the Im called the Scaredy Prince, Fearful Prince, Nervous Prince, Anxious Prince and so on and so on. Im not gonna worry about it because its true. The instructors talk about some jogging, some swimming and weight lifting. Its all intended to build muscle mass on children and its not the gruelling training Ovis and I have been doing. Knowing Ovis her instincts are probably telling her that the both of us should promptly leave, but since mother has explicitly forbidden her from pulling the same stunt shed pulled with the magic class when we were 3 years old. And that frustrated look on her face is likely because she feels trapped. Mothers reasons for insisting that we stay on the proving grounds are not those of a parent but those of a Matriarch. Mother says that the effect of our trained bodies will likely shock the other children into putting in more effort. I get the feeling that mother is using her abnormal daughter to inspire a generation into action. Ovis isnt the type to hold back even in this training because the sooner we complete the jogging, swimming and weight lifting the sooner we can get to our own training. Vnora have about 80% the muscle density of the Knora but such differences wont matter to me and Ovis because weve had the Full Might skill since we were half a year old, and the Full Might skill distorts the development of the body; bringing Knora traits to the forefront. That means our muscle density should be the same as the Knora; or at least in 98 percent range. However it is the fact that weve been training since we were a year old that will probably make us stronger than even the Knora our age also possessing the Full Might skill. When it comes to the ranking contest itself we have a number of magical tricks that will likely blow away the competition. First; the greater your Mana Capacity the more powerful your Full Might skill. Second; self heal. Its far easier to heal your own body once you are able to manipulate water, and healing yourself is much easier than healing others. Thus by healing ourselves we shorten the time period between uses of the Full Might skill. Third; an internal Telekinetic Form of Psionic Magic can further strengthen your body. This is how Ive been able to keep up with Ovis this past year; I burn through a lot of Mana but its the only way. Ovis says that the combination of the Full Might skill and the Telekinetic Form of Psionic Magic puts us closer to 11 year olds in power, but only for a limited period so we have to be mindful of Mana use. Fourth; when swimming we can use water manipulation to push or preferably pull ourselves through the water since Mana injection is most efficient if we use the Forehead Crystal. I have to use the external Telekinetic Form of Psionic Magic to keep up since Ovis is so much better at controlling water. Fifth; Transparent Psionic Magic visor to protect our eyes when moving at super speed. However given my high durability I dont need the visor as much as Ovis and I often dont use the visor in order to conserve Mana. Given that Im more wasteful with Mana Ovis has a 25% advantage if she uses her Mana the way I do but she likes to conserve it for a final burst of power at the end of every training session. - - - Aya! Stop daydreaming Novid! The first training session on the proving ground is about to begin. The instructor said those with the Full Might skill should go to the front of the group for the Run, Swim and Lift. Those with competent rating which is called Adept are to take the second row and the Supers go on the first. It looks like theres at least 150 Knora and Vnora with the Full Might skill. Thats really impressive! There are even 21 people with a Super-Attribute! I thought Ovis would take the centre given how confident she looks. But shes walking to the right edge of the front row. I timidly follow my reliable twin sister; trying desperately to ignore the stares on us. Ah! It looks like its about to begin; everyone is warming up. There are 15 Vnora on the front row; thats a surprise. Heck; theres even a red girl and 3 greens, and one of the greens is a boy. As for the whites therere 11; three boys in there. So 23 supers in total. Right the starting signal is when the water empties out of that transparent funnel; what a clever idea. It should take a minute. Oh its open; its starting! Ovis : " Focus; Novid!" Right I can feel Ovis activating her Full Might skill; everyone is activating their Full Might skill. Novid : " Full Might!" Isnt the difference too large here? The aura around Ovis and I is at least 5 times thicker. Ovis : " Psionic Boost!" Novid : " Psionic Boost!" Ovis : " EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Novid : " AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Ovis : " Lets finish this in one go!" Novid : " Right" Ovis : " GO!" WOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! Ovis really isnt holding back shes even starting to break away from me, but I have to keep up; so more power to Psionic Boost! Both the running track and the swimming track are curved so when we finish we will be closer to the where we started. Ovis : " Keep-up! Its just like training at home." Novid : " Got it!" Were really moving now! Swimming coming up; were supposed to come to a complete stop so we use external Psionic Magic to stop. Concentrate! Made it; Ive stopped. Ovis : " One Breath brother!" Novid : " Yeah!" I take a deep breath and follow Ovis into the water. Damn shes quick! Just the legs and the tail, the hands tucked in and out of the way; just like we practiced. No need to come up for air; we do the whole 14 km underwater. Its almost over Done! Only the lifting left. Breathe slowly, deep breaths; catch your breath. This lifting contraption is just like the one at home; the higher you lift it the more strength you need. Ovis : " Put everything you have left into it!" Novid : " Lets do it!" Ovis : " EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Novid : " AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Looks like Ovis went a bit higher than me; almost twice as much strength as me if my calculations are correct. Looks like we did everything with one use of the Full Might skill; outstanding! Now we walk towards the rest of the people. Why is there a crowd? Shouldnt they be running or swimming? Looking over to the running track I can see that the other supers are just about to clear the running track. Ah! I get it! This is that stunned silence Ive often heard about. This feels awesome! I want to grin and gloat but Ovis has that Stoic look on her face; its so fucken cool so lets go with that! Im picturing us moving in slow motion like bad ass heroes. And we move towards the instructors. This is so fucken awesome! Right; Stoic. Stoic! Stoic! Stoic! Stoic! Chief Instructor : " When the Matriarch said that her youngest were extraordinary I dismissed it as the pride of a parent, but what Ive seen today is shocking." Instructor : " How are Vnora stronger than Knora? HOW?" Chief Instructor : " In my 2 centuries of life I have been rarely surprised, but never to this extent." Instructor : " How did you get this power?" Ovis answers by pointing to the Crystal on her forehead. Chief Instructor : " So its true; Vnora have the potential to be more powerful than both Vern and Knora." Damn right were amazing; running 14km in 150 seconds, swimming 14km in 215 seconds and lifting 171 times my weight. Were freaking ALL STARS! Stoic! Stoic! Stoic! - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 8: The Quality of the 【Full Might】 Skill - - - - - - Chapter 8: The Quality of the Full Might Skill - - - - - - There are three rankings in the life of the average Knora; the First is at age 5, the second is at age 11 and the third is when your generations next in line for Matriarch is determined; the Royalty compete to be next in line and the rest compete to be the spouses of the Matriarch. The generations next in line for Matriarch is normally determined when the youngest of the reigning Matriarchs 5 children is 50 years old. That is to say every Matriarch is expected to give birth to at least 5 daughters. If the Matriarch fails to produce a sufficient number of daughters then all the daughters of the Matriarchs matriarchal siblings join the contest. That is to say the Matriarchs sisters and brothers from the same mother put forward their daughters as possible next Matriarch candidates. No matter what qualities the candidates may possess the ranking contest is essentially a test to assess the quality of the Full Might skill. For the Knora race you are defined by your Full Might skill. The Knora have a long history of wars whos outcome was determined by the Full Might skill; the number of those with Super-Strength, Super-Durability, Super-Dexterity or Super-Regeneration in your army usually represented elites of the fighting force. The Supers in ones army invariably became the centrepieces of each of the formations. Tribal Matriarchs would use sons to cement relationships and alliances and a son with a Super-Attribute was all the more perfect for this role. Unfortunately even with the tribes gone that practice prevails and regrettably for me that is my future unless I become independent. The higher I rank at the contest the less likely my mother will be willing to give me to someone outside of her own bloodline. Waiting for Ovis to ascend to Vnora Clan Matriarch was a good plan and as long as mother is alive she gets to decide until Ovis ascends to Vnora Clan Matriarch. But its too risky! What if the current Vnora Clan Matriarch is alive when mother dies? I may be considered timid but the current Vnora Clan Matriarch cannot afford to ignore the quality of my Full Might skill. I may end up being given to one of the granddaughters of the current Vnora Clan Matriarch. While I hold no personal enmity for the green furred girls I would at least like to have a say in whos consort I become. Males may not give birth but in this twisted Knora race males provide most of the milk for the babies. Apparently the males providing the bulk of the milk allows the female to recover from having to provide the nutrients for a rapidly developing giant baby in their wombs. Ive made peace with the fact that in the Knora a male is only a male in name only and for the most part look like females. And to be honest I dont find the other humanoid races appealing; I must have become fully Knora while I wasnt paying attention. My Vnora genes have overridden all of those human preferences. I want someone with fur damn-it and I wont apologize for it! That being said I should get to decide who. - - - Im grateful to Ovis for always looking ahead; because it leaves me with less worry. After that practice session we were approached be the other Supers and the Adepts; wanting to know how we gained such power. At first I thought it best to keep it a secret in order to maintain our advantage, but Ovis rubbished that idea and called it narrow minded; she was right. Ovis made me understand that we faced a grim future in this world and there was a real and constant threat of a demon attack. I finally understood that we werent some clich protagonists favoured by God in a fantasy novel; were in a horror story. There is no doubt in Oviss mind that the Demons will come; it would be too convenient if they somehow gave up on attacking the Orro Federation. What is obvious about the Demons is that they will only back down when forced to do so by a power greater than their own. The Demons did not enslave the humanoids of Orro; they slaughter some 4 billion people. They never once accepted the endless pleas for mercy and the only mercy they showed was a quick and horrid death. And so we formed a training group with all the Supers and the Adepts; not just those there on that day but anyone who wanted to learn the methods of our success. In total we numbered 157; 54 Supers and the 103 Adepts. Mother decided to send in people to organize us and record the methods outlined for future use at the school. I grinned from ear to ear when everyone learned the terrible truth; the horrified looks on their faces when they learned of the training regiment was priceless. They all realised that Ovis is a thoughtful Fiend; and they had signed over their lives to her. At least they got to choose; no one ever asked me if I wanted to be trained by that super strong monster. With mother providing ample amounts of Mana potions shit got real really fast, and the acute torture of our bodies began. Shiiittt! Did they think power comes easy? - - - Later-on Ovis told me that the other reason for agreeing to train with the other local Supers and the Adepts is that it give an opportunity to choose out future spouses. It finally hit me that the people in our training group are being given an extraordinary advantage by virtue of being associated with us. Being supplied Mana potions for training could be considered extravagant, and it was likely part of mothers strategy to create an elite Guard for Ovis. Proof of this is that over the next few days I began hearing that other talented Supers and the Adepts were being brought over from all over Knora Island to join our training group. It was therefore likely that the spouses for Ovis would be 4 of the Supers and the Adepts training with us. Learning ourPsionic Boost, self healing and pushing the bodies to the very limits would make them stronger than all the other competitors. They are getting a head start on all the other competitors. That meant that those who we chose to include in any additional training could very likely end up as our spouses. This was certainly better than rolling the dice with the ranking contests. Because we had classes to teach the training group gathered from before sunrise to lunchtime and in the afternoon training wed invite those we think we have a good enough affinity with to consider them potential spouses. Of course theres no guarantees but Ovis could certainly give the best opportunity of giving the ones she liked an advantage. As for I already know that I will be limited to an Ollo; one of mothers grandchildren or great grandchildren. I got the verdict directly from the Matriarch; mother. In truth I expected as much, and this is a favourable result; it means I will remain within the protection of the royal family and my status will be protected. However the problem is that Ive kind of taken a liking to Ebba; one of the green females. She used to be a factory worker in Wales and a former Royal Navy Officer in the previous life. The complication being that her parents are Vnora farmers and do not possess sufficient social status for her to take in a royal male as a consort. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. In this Knora race where the female is the head of the family it would be impossible for the royal family to accept losing me to a woman of such low birth. The only other option is for one of my nieces or grandnieces to take in both me and Ebba. Unfortunately all the royals seem to be aiming for Ovis. The only other option is Osprid but the red haired girl isnt interested in me or Ovis; I think she might have been a man unlike Ebba who was a woman, and so Osprid may have a female as a priority. Osprid would be perfect since shes both a super and a royal; though not nearly high enough in the royal family to satisfy mothers demands. Besides I think Osprid has her own plans so Im gonna leave her be. Anyway I may have made my interest in Ebba too obvious. Well; what do you expect? Im still a child. Theres got to be a lazy high status royal amongst the over a hundred Vnora born into the royal family. - - - On the subject of spouses I was kind of curious so I asked mother how women had sex with each other. The answer I got was mother poking the back of my head with her tail. Thats when it hit me; they use the tail for sex. This is fucken outrageous! The tip of the tail of a Knora is about the size of Knora male penis. This is fucked up! The tip of the tail of Knora is hairless and is about as sensitive as a finger which allows the Knora to reach for things, hold and control objects with the tail. Most of the guards have a weapon attached to the tail so its also used in that way. However I had no idea that it was the primary method by which females had sex with each other. I had known that our tails were not an extension of the spine but a separate limb that is more like an armoured arm. While on the subject of sex mother told us that when we reached puberty we would each get assigned a royal courtesan to properly teach us how to give pleasure to our spouses. Apparently it would be a failure if we dont keep our mates properly interested in copulation. I hadnt thought there would be that much pressure to perform but mother promptly told me that as a male I would have to be particularly good at giving pleasure with my tail in order to keep the females interested. I was concerned about what would happen if the assigned courtesan got pregnant but mother laughed as said that royal courtesans are professional and properly trained. Royal courtesans are chosen for their level of attractiveness and not the quality of their Full Might skill, so if by chance they got impregnated by a Royal male they would have to leave the profession to properly care for the royal child. Having a child who has a much higher status is not ideal but it guarantees a life of leisure. So if I understand mother correctly my royal courtesan may want to get pregnant by me if Im a high ranker at the ranking contest but doing so would cost her a lucrative and pleasurable profession. Being skilled lovers and earning a lot more than the average Knora the royal courtesan is able to retire at around 70 years old to start her own family. Because of the shortage of males the courtesan profession is exclusively female. Males who secretly become courtesans receive harsh punishment for it; a male has to know his place in Knora society. Talk about twisted. Haaa! - - - With the Ranking Contest fast approaching Ovis and I have increased the tempo of our training. We still train with the super group in the mornings but they still lack sufficient stamina to keep up so to make sure we match their pace Ovis and I wear enchanted weighted training armour; one of the benefits of being royal. Using enchanted weighted training armour means that we are always moving with heavy loads so we arent able to run or swim faster than the rest of the training group. So from the beginning of the training group weve had this handicap on our ability to show off. The benefit of using the enchanted weighted training armour is that we gain more muscle mass from the training. Normally the rather expensive enchanted weighted training armour isnt allocated to those less than 7 years old because children arent normally strong enough to handle its effects but mother made an exception for Ovis and me since weve had the Full Might skill much longer than the average 7 year old. I noticed an improvement in my stamina thanks to the armour. From afternoon till midnight Ovis has us train in Full Might skill management. The Full Might skill is normally used in 7 minute bursts, but Ovis and I have concluded that its very restrictive, so we are trying to limit the Full Might skill time to under a minute; 25 to 30 seconds being preferable. The logic being that short bursts of the Full Might skill do far less damage to the body and the natural Knora regeneration would be sufficient to heal the damage with healing making it faster. Consulting with the adults and instructors we realized the Knora had mostly been focused on extending the duration of the Full Might skill. As someone with Super-Durability I can naturally use the Full Might skill about 40% longer than those with Super-Strength and Super-Dexterity. However those with Super-Regeneration can use the Full Might skill about 5 times longer than those with Super-Strength and Super-Dexterity. Apparently Super-Regeneration explains why the focus has been on extending the duration of the Full Might skill. Ovis and I explained that shortening the duration of the Full Might skill would have the same effect as extending it, but the experts rebuffed that shortening the duration of the Full Might skill would require extraordinary control over the body; particularly the Mana flowing from the Mana Core to the second heart. That meant years of meditative training to get to a state where you could focus without meditation. It was clear why most Knora would be reticent to commit to years of meditative training but the new crop of Vnora with memories of their genetic fathers would have an incentive to mastering the focus resulting from years of meditative training; access to the magical knowledge while conscious. For the new Vnora it was a no brainer; theyd happily commit to the years of meditative training because it would mean access to magical knowledge that they could then immediately apply. The progress on shortening the duration of the Full Might skill has been slow and I wanted to give up on it for a while but Ovis says that developing the methods to shorten the duration of the Full Might skill will probably be the most important contribution we ever make to the Knora race. It would extend the Knora magical stamina and in doing so multiply the battle prowess of the Knora warriors by several fold; and in doing so save innumerable Knora lives. So giving up is not an option! What we do now is not for some fringe benefit. No we have far loftier goals in mind. Our work henceforth has greater meaning than selfish whims. This work we do, we do for all Knora. - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 9: Legend of Knora - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 9: Legend of Knora - - - - - - People like to look at people at the top of their class, field, group and generation and wonder at their magnificence. The tendency is to label the top achievers exceptional, talented and genius; which is in essence calling them extraordinary. Labelling people extraordinary removes them from the group and makes them outliners from the average without examining the background to that success. Because if theyre extraordinary then its a god given talent unique to that person and as such has no relation to the level of effort that went into training and practice. That way the average person has an excuse for not putting the same level of effort into training; they can be a comfortable passenger in the life train and leave the troublesome things to the extraordinary. The praise that people give to someone they label extraordinary is actually a rejection of that person; they reject your hard work, reject your dedication and ultimately reject your effort to show them the path to excellence. Having rejected the top achiever they ascribe the success to talent bestowed by the divine and promptly remove the so called extraordinary out of the group and put them in the special category. Were they accepting they would congratulate then emulate; but they dont want that. Having reborn to this world I understand the true nature of exceptionalism. Ovis is called extraordinary, and by extension Im also labelled extraordinary. But of course its a lie; a lie people tell themselves to avoid looking at themselves with the necessary scrutiny. People dont want to look at themselves; they dont want to make the sacrifices for the nameless other, they dont want to risk life and limb for the benefit of some other unknown person nor do they want to lose what belongs to them for the sake of others. Oh no! Let somebody else make the sacrifice! Let the hero do that! Why isnt the hero saving that child in danger? Thats not my problem; let someone else deal with that. The average person is selfish and self-involved; they have to be! The problem is that the society designed by the powerful of the ancient past vests all the authority on those who wield the power. It is the strong who defeated the wild beasts and tamed the wilderness, and in doing so set a precedent; created an expectation that they would protect the weak. What the strong should have done is refused the responsibility to protect the weak, and instead expected the weak to contribute to their own security. But the strong liked the authority that comes with the responsibility to protect. Unfortunately the descendants of the strong didnt always hold the same level of strength or the desire to take responsibility to protect the weak. Their primary concern became their own security and the protection of the population became third in the line of concern after protection of property. Over time the responsibly for sustaining and protecting the society somehow shifted to poorest strata of society. It is the children of the poor that became the soldiers who fought and died for the society. Fortunately the current Knora have not degenerated to that level; nearly going extinct had taught them a lesson. However the same could not be said for the rest of the Orro Federation; the same patterns had returned and higher social strata of the society live in opulence and comfort. Government corruption slowly eats away at the authority of the state and private wealth is gaining more power. There were even attempts to convert the Knora to that kind of thinking, and in their way stood the iconic royal family; holding the centre of the Knora nation. This is important because Ovis recently informed me that after the ranking contest she would not have the leisure to push me, and that I would be taking instruction from a suitable mentor. Ovis would be mentored by mother and begin learning the duties of a Matriarch directly from mother. Ovis would learn combat from mother and the technique masters of Knora race. There would not be a similar level of investment in training a son; even the son of the Matriarch. The one charged with preparing me to be a valued consort would be my older brother; a male has to learn from a male. So the Vnora son of the next Knora Matriarch and the Vnora son of the reigning Knora Matriarch would be taught together; we would be brothers. My nephew Kodis had lived the life I should have lived; he lived the life of a prince and leisurely frolicked while I went through intensive training. Kodis had become a free spirited good natured kid with all the qualities of a prince. To continue some derived lessons from my previous life: Lesson 6: Dont focus on the negative. - - - This Moons Ranking Contest is finally here. Ovis and I will finally get our chance to go all out. HaHaHaHaHa! This is gonna be good! The way this is set up is for the groups of kids without the Full Might skill to go first, then the Adepts and as is custom the supers will go last. To make sure we dont collide with each other we go in groups of 45 in a line along the marked track. For those without the Full Might skill theyll start every 4 minutes, for those with the Full Might skill itll be every 11 minutes, for Adepts every 14 minutes and for Supers every 17 minutes. Everyone is lined up based on the records from the preparatory training at the Ranking centre. As expected Ovis and I will be at the last group of 45, and we recognize less than half of those who will be competing against us. It seems that the very best have come from all over Knora Island to stand alongside us. Just by looking at some of them I can tell that they are at a higher level; their muscle definition clearly indicates that theyve been training since at least 3 years old. Ive even heard that there are 4 others with a Heroic Heart. Details provided by mother indicate that there should be 32 with a Helpful Heart, 7 with a Protecting Heart, 5 with a Heroic Heart and 1 with an Unyielding Heart in our group of 45. Whether they are Knora, Vnora, Nnori or Hnora doesnt matter in relation to physical traits since only the Knora have fur and everyone is about the same size. What will make the difference is their magical abilities since mother has properly disseminated all the methods of our success. This has unexpectedly become a challenge; especially since one of those with a Heroic Heart is a Vnora and looks properly trained. The biggest challenge for Ovis will come from the one person with an Unyielding Heart; a full Knora who should perform beyond expectation. Super-Regeneration allows you to push the body far beyond its limits; you Regenerate so fast that pushing your muscles beyond their limits doesnt weaken you. If Ovis comes out faster than the Super-Regenerator it will confirm the potential superiority of the Vnora. I hope theyre ready because Ovis has made it clear that shell go all out and I made a promise to also go all out. The average Knora at age 11 runs the 14km in 180 seconds, and the record is 105 seconds. The average Knora at age 11 swims the 14km in 258 seconds, and the record is 151 seconds. The records for the 5 year olds have already fallen during the first exhibition by me and Ovis; so they are irrelevant, but I pity the generation that will come after us since they wont have the memories of their genetic fathers. The records for the 11 year olds have stood for a while but today I suspect that at least 8 will break the records. It would be presumptuous to think I can beat Ovis or the other girl with a Heroic Heart but the rest should be fair game with Psionic Boost. Fuck it! Im gonna reach for the sky damn-it! This is my moment; Im gonna drain every ounce of Power and challenge even those with a Heroic Heart. Burn brightly for just a little bit; show everyone the power of my Full Might skill. - - - As expected everyone else wasnt much to look at; but the Supers that went before us came very close to the records for the 11 year olds. I think everybody expects to see something amazing. I pity the 11 year olds who have to perform in a few days because the records for the 11 year olds are about to be shattered. Ive my done meditative warm-up; my body is ready. Ah; Ovis is also ready. Time to line up! Next to Ovis as usual; I can feel the Mana build up. Ovis : " This should be fun eh Novid?" Novid : " Should be?" Ovis : " Dont worry; youll be fine!" This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.Shit; I should exude confidence. Confidence. Confidence. Confidence. Right I can feel Ovis activating her Full Might skill; everyone is activating their Full Might skill. Ovis : " Full Might!" Novid : " Full Might!" There isnt as much of a difference in the level aura around Ovis and I as was with training group. These guys really are at a different level. Ovis : " Psionic Boost!" Novid : " Psionic Boost!" Ovis : " EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Novid : " AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" What a rush! Ovis : " Lets see what you got Brother!" Novid : " Right" Oh its open; its starting! Ovis : " GO!" WOOOOSH! WOOOSH! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! So this is the real thing? No holding back! The 2 Heroics are in front of me. Is it between just the 3 of us? Okay; put all remaining power into Psionic Boost! Go over the limits; my body can take it. Ovis : " Impressive brother; youre Keeping-up!" Novid : " AAAAAAH!" Were really moving now! Is it going to be a photo finish? Shit; Ovis is pulling away! Fuck the other Heroic is also pulling away! How the fuck are they doing that? Where are they getting the extra Mana? Ah right! Theyre going past their physical limits. Its over! Were at the end. Novid : " Huh-Huh-Huh-Huh-Huh-Huh-Huh." Ive got to control my breathing. Mana depletion sucks. At least I get to rest for 35 minutes until the next event. Ovis : " That was great brother!" Novid : " Yeah! Huh-Huh-Huh" Ovis : " Theres barely a margin; I honestly thought thered be at least 10 seconds between us" Novid : " Yeah; well I used everything! Huh-Huh-Huh." Ovis : " I can tell; you should have at least saved a tiny bit." Novid : " Looks like Im not the only one. Im gonna sleep now; wake me when its time." A nod from Ovis confirms acknowledgement and I promptly fall asleep after taking an offered Mana Potion. From the looks of things Ovis is the last one standing What a monstrous power! Ovis clocked 14km in 82 seconds, the other Heroic did it in 85 seconds, I clocked it at 87 seconds and the Super-regenerator was right on my ass at 89 seconds. Third isnt bad at all when you think about it. 14km in 87 seconds is 579.3 kilometres per hour, Ovis clocked 614.6 kph; its a ridiculous speed. Were fucken monsters! - - - The swimming event is coming up and were starting our warm-up. Being Knora has a lot of benefits. After exerting beyond the limits of my body Im fully recovered in 30 minutes. The swimming event is the one area where I should be able to win; this despite the 2 white heroics having better control of water. All thanks to my durability and control of heat. Ovis and I learned to compress water into balls and put them in our hands after the initial dive in the water; make them on the forehead and grab them as the arms move to the sides. Where we differ is that while Ovis simply further compresses the water balls I also heat them. The controlled release of the compresses the water balls is a water jet that can move us through the water much faster than under our own physical power. Heating the compressed water balls in freezing water isnt efficient but it compensates for the fact that I cant compress the water balls to the same extent as a Green or white Vnora. So instead of a water jet I use explosion. This is the risky option that only someone with Super-Durability can attempt. My Super-Durability allows me to survive the explosion but getting enough heat into the compressed water balls requires that I abandon Psionic Boostand focus on riding the explosion once it is triggered; and most of my magic goes into moving the water ahead of me out of the way through use of both Water and Psionic Magic. Doing very little swimming at the start of swim I claim that what Im actually doing is flying through the water for most of the track. Ovis knows this so I wonder how shell respond. - - - I can see Ovis is as confident as ever. Concentrate! I explained to the officials what Im gonna do so they reduced our groups size to the top 10 from the running track. There should be a safe distance between me and everyone else. Ovis : " Think youll win this brother?" Novid : " If theres no problem." Ovis is giving off that knowing smile; has she come up with something? I take a deep breath and ready myself to jump into the water. And . Go! Damn shes quick! She used her monstrous strength to push herself. Focus on compressing and heating the ware ball. More compression! More heat! More! More! More! More power! Prepare the path ahead of me. This is gonna hurt! Alright; HERE WE GO! BOBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! No need to worry; just ride the underwater explosion. SWOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHHHHHH! Its almost over Done! Past the finish line and into the lake. Damn I got singed a bit. But I won! In your face Ovis; in your face! Ovis : " I didnt think you could actually do it; Congratulations brother! Novid : " Thanks!" Ive done it; Ive won an event. Im exhausted but Ive become Legendary. Ovis clocked the 14km swim in 141 seconds, the other Heroic did it in 167 seconds, I clocked it at 98 seconds and the Super-Regenerator wasnt a factor at 189 seconds. First is definitely better than Third when you think about it; it feels better. On this day I Novid Ollo also became a Legendary Knora! I wont say this out loud because that would be a douche-bag move; but Im the best. Fuck! Im the Shit! Fucken amazing! - - - Final event! I win this and I take the whole thing. But Super-Strength isnt really my forte. Ovis : " Any tricks for this event?" Novid : " I got nothing new thats usable." Ovis : " Do your best then!" Novid : " Yeah; Lets do it together" All 45 from the running track are lined up with their Full Might skill activated. Even if the heroics will take this event its Time to go all out again; full power to the Psionic Boost to increase my lifting power. Here we go! Ovis : " EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Novid : " AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Looks like Ovis went a bit higher than me Again Ovis has almost 70% more strength than me. How does she do that? Wait? Whats this? Im second? Im second in lifting weights! I lifted slightly higher than the other Heroic. It Looks like the other Heroic had less Mana than me so my Psionic Boost to lifting power gave me more than her. Out-Fucken-Standing! Ovis is lifting both her hands with a V-for-Victory sign. I should do the same! BOOOM WOOOOOSH! Mother is hugging us? When did she get here? Was that a sonic boom? Ovis : " Not so tight mother." Matriarch : " Im so proud of the Two of you!" Novid : " Ah; mother? When did you get here?" Mother gives one of her characteristic knowing smiles. Matriarch : " Youre not the only ones with speed little Novid." Ovis : " Oh right; that other Super-Regenerator could keep-up with our Vnora Psionic Boost" Novid : " Is it some kind of water boost?" Matriarch : " Wave to the crowd little ones." Im waving to the crowd, but it seems that the one who truly got them all excited is mother. She stole our Thunder! - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 10: Culture Shock - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 10: Culture Shock - - - - - - To continue some derived lessons from my previous life: Lesson 7: Try to be more Accepting. In the spirit of Acceptance let me proclaim that I am not a Human in the body of a Vnora; I am a Vnora of the Knora with the memories of a Human. Perhaps the Norr may be able to relate to the human form but having experienced the body of a Knora I can only see humans as feeble, wretched and pathetic; not worth basing your paradigm on. In the body of a Vnora I have Power a human mind can never comprehend. My previous life is relevant only in that I can draw lessons from it. The science of this world is at the level of mid 20th century Earth; though its called magical science. It is all too obvious that the magical component of the science is at a level that to some extent exceeds 21st century Earth. The availability of Magic has made certain scientific avenues redundant and in so doing stopped certain developments. According to the memories of my genetic father guns were made redundant by the fact that they cant penetrate the demonic aura of the primary threat, internal combustion engines lost out to Ether Powered engines and radiation somehow reacts with the ether to transform into harmless light energy. The local star is a blue Super-giant and is apparently responsible for the ambient Ether. Consequently most of the technology is Ether Powered and most of the weapons are Mana Powered. It always bothered me why the people of this world didnt develop nuclear weapons to counter the hordes of demons; the answer being there are no radioactive materials anywhere in the system because of the Ether being produced by the local Sun. That means the pervasive Ether makes it near impossible to enrich materials anywhere near weapons grade, and even if you managed to build a nuclear bomb theres no guarantee it would actually work against the stronger demons. The people of this world have not been sitting on their hands waiting for a saviour and have steadily pushed the magical research forward to develop Mana Powered weapons. The success of holding off the demon armies for 500 years is proof of their effort, but they know that if they are to flourish they have to take the fight to the demons on the Orrba continent. Sealing the World Gate is the only way to guarantee victory. Although theres a possibility the demons can open another gate. I for one think the only way to beat the demons is to find their natural enemy; if demons are real then the angels must be real. - - - After that Ranking Contest there was a large feast where the Knora showed some of their more uncivilized side; getting stupid drunk and flaunting public displays of affection. Heres the thing; I can understand a little PD or some kissing and hugging and even some groping. But thats not what were talking about here. Oh no! Thats not what was happening right before our eyes like its the most natural thing. Have you ever seen wild animals getting busy? Thats when it hit me that the Knora are more beastlike; having cultural practices normally seen in wild animals with no sense of modesty. I finally understood why my genetic father and all the other races regarded the Knora as primitive barbarians. The behaviour of the Knora can easily be misconstrued as reminiscent of animalistic tendencies. The love for hunting is a predatory trait, the competitive rankings are in a sense a competition for the best mate and the public copulation is what it is. The public sex I witnessed on that day helped me understand that the Knora had no sense of modesty and there was no religious nonsense to prohibit that kind of behaviour. On closer examination I understood that the married Knora didnt participate in public sex, and the culprits are the unattached Knora; primarily young Knora. The ones participating in the public orgy are 11 to 20 year olds; Knora about to depart for the tour of duty in the military for the mandatory 4 years of service, those returning from 4 years of Orro Federation military service and those still enjoying the freedom from the undoubtedly harrowing time in the Orro Federation military. Mother understood our shock at the spectacle and properly explained that only the Royal Family is prohibited from participating in these orgies because there was a requirement to preserve the quality of the Royal Bloodline. That meant that almost every Knora would participate in these orgies at some point in their lives. Even if someone got pregnant its not a big deal in the female orientated society since the male doesnt get to choose the females in the harem; theyre chosen by the female head of the family. In fact getting pregnant was an easy way to get your mandatory 4 years of military service deferred for 3 to 4 years. For the most part the average Knora starts the 4 years of Orro Federation military service at age 15 and returns at age 19 to rejoin the Knora culture. The Knora elders encourage the girls to have at least 1 child before they leave for the dangerous duty; leaving a young child with their grand parents. In this dangerous world survival is not guaranteed; so leaving an offspring is recommended. Those with a Super-Attribute normally dont have children before the 4 years of Orro Federation military service because they have a higher survival probability and are likely to be married to higher ranking Knora families upon their return. A high rank during the 11 year old ranking contest is likely to earn you a marriage offer from the Knora Nobility. It is therefore rare for those with a Super-Attribute to participate in these public orgies and they are usually more reserved in their behaviour. So as both a Royal and a Super-Attribute Im not expected to participate; Im actually forbidden from taking part in orgies. I suppose that I should be disappointed but Im yet to hit puberty so Im not interested in copulation; my Knora physiology suppresses sexual desire until puberty and that means I dont even get the slightest hint of an erection. Having the memories of an adult human male I must say that not having to deal with sexual urges is a relief; no desire is much easier to deal with. While on the subject of sex Im gonna put it out there that after witnessing the public sex I cant see how a Knora male would be able to have sex with a human size female; that rules out the Gvern, Norr and Habu as potential sexual partners. I suppose I should have known that there would be a compatibility problem given that the average Knora is 275cm tall; thats over 9 feet tall. The Members of the Royal Family are slightly taller at an average of 287cm; likely the result of generations of taking in the strongest males. About the compatibility problem; it has to do with the size of the genitals of an adult Knora male. Having seen the fully erect ones Id have to say theyre about 55cm long and maybe 15cm thick. So in a word grotesque! Not the kind of thing that can fit inside the muff of the other humanoids without doing some major damage. The Knora females take it in stride though. Damn-it I should have noticed given that the tip of the adult tail is over 10cm thick! Somehow not having reached puberty Im oblivious to such things; as if my mind simply disregards this stuff. Talk about childhood traumas! This is some fucked-up Shit! - - - About the training provided by my older brother Ulvid to my nephew Kodis and me since the ranking contest; its torture. I let the easy going demeanour of Ulvid fool me into thinking if would be better than Ovis. Ulvid is different but very serious about his responsibility as an older brother and mentor for the Royal Males. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Right off the bat Ulvid told us that from that moment onwards he would be our master and we are now his disciples. I was all excited until master Ulvid said that a Royal Male has to have Stamina in Abundance and started us running around the palace grounds in training armour. Any guesses as to why we need Stamina in Abundance? Thats right; sex! Royal Males have to be able to perform for the high ranking females that become our mates, and I mean perform on demand. So everyday mornings are training with Ovis and after school Kodis and I run. School; right! The Knora werent able to find the paraplegic Gvern but hired retired Gvern adventurers; considered outcasts by the proud Gvern Conclave. Before that; I have to say that Im completely Jealous of Kodis. I cant remember ever being so envious of another person; even in my previous life. Why? You ask? Because Kodis is a cheat! I didnt think there were cheats in this world but Kodis definitely has a cheat skill; The One Loved by Women. Its not just Knora women who somehow thing Kodis is cute and cuddly but from what Ive seen all humanoid women love Kodis. So I can conclude that being liked by women has nothing to do with having Super-Attribute since Kodis doesnt have one and has a normal Full Might skill. Yet somehow even Ovis and mother are completely enamoured with Kodis and they treat him far too differently to the other royal males. There arent as much expectations from Kodis; hes allowed to be who he is. The person himself says that when I accept that amongst the Knora a male is actually a female in human terms Ill be more comfortable in my own skin and be able to let the Knora females love and protect me. That guy Kodis was a man in the previous like but hes taken to being cute and cuddly like its something natural. Hes smaller and doesnt have a lot of muscle so hes sort of cute for a Knora male. The girls at school have all gone gaga over Kodis. Anyway school has been an eye opening experience. The memories of our genetic fathers created the impression that we had all the magical knowledge we would ever need; that was wrong. It turns out that the magic of this world has moved forward in ways the 17 arch-mages never predicted. The Inter-Dimensional technological aspects of Psionic Magic led to the development of Inter-Dimensional Pockets which became the primary use of Psionic Magic. Through Inter-Dimensional Pockets it is possible to store elements injected with your Mana and summon them as and when needed. Consequently element summoning through Inter-Dimensional Pockets is the primary form of elemental magic. The Inter-Dimensional Pockets are inscribed and attached to magic items. The materials for making magic items are elements imbued with Mana. The Mana injected into normal elements dissipates over time so the bones of animals are crushed into powder and mixed into elements to create magical elements. There are no magical metals on Orro and the thing that gives metals magical properties is animal bone powder. As a result animal bone powder differs in value; older and more powerful animals that produced a lot of Mana during their lifetime have the best quality animal bone powder. Things like small fish, rodents and small creatures that have a relatively short lifespan have the lowest quality animal bone powder. The trade in animal bone powder is similar to that of Mana Cores. The Knora dont normally sell their animal bone powder and choose to hold on to the animal bone powder for construction of buildings and production of tools. Since the Knora are the best hunters of the Orro Federation they supply 40% of all the animal bone powder; only 35% of the total annual Knora animal bone powder output. Through this the Knora are able to make sure that at least some of the initial magic metal production such as magic steel is done by Knora and benefits the Knora Enclave. The Bones of Animals are therefore critical to national security and the Adventurers Guild which supplies 50% of the Bones of Animals is perhaps the most powerful organization after the Federal Government. The National Adventurers Guild is an association of regional Adventurers Guild that are primarily controlled by regional merchant organizations or regional governments as in the case of the Knora Enclave. The Knora Enclave fully owns and controls the regional Adventurers Guild on Knora Island. The Knora are traditionally weary of foreign influences and are resistant to attempts by the other cultures to make inroads into Knora society. Not even wealthy Knora families have been successful in transforming Knora Culture into the more modern lifestyle lived by the other humanoid races. The Knora live a communal lifestyle and Knora law prohibit private ownership of land and does not consider land property; you can own property on the land but not the land itself. The Royal Family is considered stewards of the land and the palace controls the land around it in the way a municipality controls the allocated land. The result of not having land owners is that Knora Nobility doesnt have as much power as those in other territories of the Orro Federation. Knora merchants have been trying to overturn the situation for centuries but the Royal Family has consistently stood in their way since every Matriarch sees herself as the mother of the nation. What we are learning at school has been enlightening; it came as a shock to discover that parts of the Orro Federation allow a limited form of slavery or indentured servitude. Slaves are primarily those who commit crimes of some sort and rather than imprisonment slavery is imposed as punishment for the duration of the sentence and indentured servitude is imposed on those who owe money to the state. Slavery or indentured servitude is achieved through the use of Psionic Magic inscribed through tattoo ink made from high quality Animal Bones. The Knora Enclave doesnt approve of Knora enslavement and only someone truly stupid would try to buy a Knora slave because such a person would soon find themselves assassinated. Its an open secret that the assassinations are sanctioned by the Knora Enclave, and as such the Knora are exempt from slavery or indentured servitude. Consequently Knora who commit murder are sent to the frontier to fight the Demons and other crimes are punished with extended terms in the Orro Federation military. The school building is about 4 times the size of the palace and sits at the bottom of the hill whose peak is the palace. Im told that a lot of bone powder was mixed in with the earth that formed the bricks that went into the construction so that self repair enchantments could be inscribed into the building. The fact that the school is on palace grounds means it will forever fall within the jurisdiction of the palace; local officials from the Capital cant interfere with the running of the school. Half the students come from the capital and the rest of the 250,000 comes from all over Knora Island. Im told that the other cities are building their own schools but nothing at the level of what mother built. The full Knora make up about 11% of the student body even though the school is called the Vnora Academy of Magic. Mother says calling it the Vnora Academy of Magic was the only way to get around the Knora aversion to institutional standardized learning and thanks to that shes been able to sneak in more than a few Knora. Apparently the Knora aversion to institutional standardized learning is a consequence of Dvern enslavement of a substantial portion of the Knora population some 3,000 years ago, and the Dvern of the time taught the Knora that they were created to be Dvern slaves. It took countless wars to finally liberate all Knora from Dvern domination; largely thanks to the assistance from the Svern. Again it took a long time to pay off the debts to the Svern as well as breed-out the Dvern indoctrination. And thats why the Knora resist the influences of other cultures with a passion. - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 11: The Heritage of the Knora Royal Blood - - - - - - Chapter 11: The Heritage of the Knora Royal Blood - - - - - - Ive been learning the history of my Royal Heritage from my older brother master Ulvid. Knora Royalty means being born into extraordinary privilege but it also means being saddled with extraordinary obligations. From the start I knew that being born a Royal meant a substantial loss of freedom; thanks to the memories of my genetic father. The average Knora is relatively free; able to choose their own profession, spouse and how to raise their children. A Royal Knora on the other hand is expected to live their lives in service to the people. When I was younger I thought it would be possible to live my own life but a Royal Male is a precious commodity that can never be allowed to be outside the Royal Family. From what Ive been able to glean from master Ulvid Royal Males that tried to defy their Royal Heritage met an unfortunate end at the hands of assassins from any number of factions. Therefore the only viable way to survive is within the protection of the Royal Family. Im not na?ve enough to think that Im some Overpowered character in a clich Light Novel situation; Im a flesh and blood normal Knora that can be killed just as easily as any other living creature native to this world. The problems of being Royal go back to the first Queen Umvill. Surprisingly the first Queen didnt possess a Super-Attribute Full Might skill but was an Adept with higher levels of Strength and Regeneration on her Baseline Full Might skill. Apparently the Super-Attribute Full Might skill didnt show up until the young Umvill was captured by Vern hunters during one of the raids on Knora villages during the age of King Vern. To the Knora King Vern is seen as a vile existence that is the personification of evil and the utterance of his first name is meant to be a curse. The Vern Hunting of Knora forced the nomadic villages to coalesce into large tribes that would be better able to defend against the Vern. The Vern for their part had taken note of the Full Might skill and the disadvantage it posed to their combat mages; so they captured the Knora to use them as practice for combat mages. The situation degenerated to the point where Knora hunting became a popular sport for the Elite. Knora children made the most ideal experimental specimens as they were unlikely to escape. The secret that is known only by the Royal Family is that the first Super-Attribute Full Might skill was brought on by the experiments done on Knora children. It wasnt Super-Strength, Super-Dexterity or Super-Regeneration but Super-Durability; the Protecting Heart born to those who suffer severe trauma. About 80% of the Knora get the normal Full Might skill, 18.3% get an Adept Full Might skill, 1.2% get Super-Dexterity Full Might skill, 0.48% get the Super-DurabilityFull Might skill, 0.017% get the Super-StrengthFull Might skill and less than 0.003% get the Super-RegenerationFull Might skill. The blooming of the seed is largely determined by environmental factors but the body is a significant component. The Royal Family has always known that it was the horrid experimentation on the Knora children that gave rise to the Super-Attribute Full Might skill. Before the discovery of the Super-Attribute Full Might skill there were no ranking contests at 5 years old; in fact the ranking was done at 15 years old. The ranking at 5 years of age is meant to be a safe traumatic event in the lives of children meant to produce a Super-Attribute Full Might skill. When the 8 year old Umvill was rescued from Vern captivity after 2 years she had an acute closeness with a young Knora male of similar age who had survived horrific experimentation due to a Super-DurabilityFull Might skill. That boy grew up to become the consort of the first Queen; it could be said that Umvill became queen because she had partnered with Ollo. The Royal Family doesnt like it pointed out that the source of the Ollo line was a male, but it was his ability to endure great attacks that allowed Umvill to survive the campaigns in the north. With the Vern on the warpath after the killing of the Kings nephew in a Knora rescue of Knora children the Knora had to flee north from Vern attempts to eradicate them. The Vern had clear superiority on the battlefield and even the armies of allied Knora tribesman couldnt hold their advancement northwards. In the prolonged decades of war that followed several Knora tribes fell to the Vern advance; the Vern had better tactical applications of advanced magic than their Knora counterparts. Unfortunately the prideful Knora would not give up without a fight and even Umvills mother and sisters were killed. Umvill became tribal Matriarch by default; until then she had been discarded as one of the defiled. The fact that a 6 year old Knora had the body size of a Vern adult allowed the rape and gruesome molestation of Knora female children; and Umvill was no exception. Having been defiled by the hated Vern Umvill was no longer desirable as a mate and the only appropriate partners for her were the other defiled. In the end Umvill was pared with Ollo and 2 other defiled females from high ranking families. However the situation changed when Umvill became the tribal Matriarch by default and rather than be a puppet for her relatives the 45 year old Umvill decided that victory against the Vern was impossible and that the only way for the Knora to survive was to flee the Orrba continent for the northern continent. Umvill abandoned those who refused to leave and took in refugees from other tribes on a march across the frozen seas. The few ships they managed to construct were filled with the best warriors and sent on ahead to establish the camps deep in the interior of the frozen northern continent. The monsters of the frozen northern continent are larger and more violent than those of the Orrba Continent and Umvill wanted to use their vast herds as a barrier between the Knora and the pursuing Vern. Umvill was one of the first leaders of the Knora to understand the true value of the Super-DurabilityFull Might skill and she used it to defend the refugees from the monsters of the north. Someone with a Super-DurabilityFull Might skill could take a hit from powerful monsters and survive; making them instrumental in repulsing monster attacks. Armed with a large shield and giant hatchet those with the Super-DurabilityFull Might skill became the ultimate protectors of the Knora refugees. With the Defenders at the front the spearmen could apply all their strength and concentration into bringing down the large magical beasts for food and leathery warmth. Fighting large magical beats gave clues on how to fight the Vern; those with a Super-Attribute Full Might skill were the key to survival. Umvill went about gathering those with the Super-Attribute Full Might skill and trained them for the fight ahead. The Knora found shelter deep inside the inland mountains of the far north and Umvill was firmly established as the Matriarch of all Knora; a Queen. The mountainous region was chosen because it would be inhospitable to Vern armies and they would be forced to fight in smaller groups that the Knora could easily overcome. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. As expected the Vern arrived in the northern continent after a few decades; having been bogged down by the hunt for the surviving Knora on the Orrba Continent. The Vern scouts found the Knora hiding places in the inland mountains but the terrain and hostile climate favoured the Knora and the Vern armies suffered defeat after defeat. Unable to draw the Knora into open combat as they had done in the Orrba Continent the Vern eventually abandoned the campaign in the northern continent and Umvill was proclaimed the legend of Knora. The rumours of the Matriarch of all Knora who defeated the armies of King Vern spread throughout the Orrba continent and all surviving Knora in hiding made their way to the northern continent. The Knora became a Nation. With time the Knora lands on the Orrba Continent were reclaimed. - - - Put simply; Knora Royal Blood is the blood of those who have been enslaved, raped, molested and gruesomely experimented upon. Knora Royal Blood is the blood of those who triumphed over evil. Knora Royal Blood is the blood of those who protected the Knora People from annihilation. Knora Royal Blood is the blood of those who accepted the responsibility to be the Guardians of Knora liberty, freedom and life. The most important duty of those of Knora Royal Blood is the protection of the Knora. It is therefore not surprising that the Royal Family opposes attempts of the merchants and wealthy to create class stratification. To those of Knora Royal Blood the life of every Knora is as valuable as the next, and any attempt to suggest that the wealthier are more important is repugnant. That is why the consort of the Matriarch is not determined by pedigree of your ancestry but by the power of your Full Might skill; often a childhood trauma induced Super-Attribute Full Might skill. The children of the wealthier Knora face little if any strife in their early childhood and that means that few of them gain a Super-Attribute Full Might skill. By the time the contest for the position of consort to the Matriarch comes around some 90% of the participants are originally from poor households elevated by the state support given to those with a Super-Attribute Full Might skill. The consequence is that the consort to the Matriarch is almost always a commoner; connecting the future Matriarch to the poorest in Knora society. That means the Matriarch is firmly on the side of the commoner Knora in all political situations. The Royal Familys connection to the commoners means that they consistently block any attempts by the wealthy to oppress the commoners. The commoners know that the Royal Family is their traditional ally and prevent any attempts to reduce the power of the Royal Family in Knora society. Sure there have been many attempts by the wealthier class to get a consort to the Matriarch from the elites but the Royal Family has thousands of years of entrenched culture that allies them to the commoners in all state matters. Any elite who joins the Royal Family is forced to subject themselves to the traditions of the Royal Family; including periodic tests of honour that include living with the poorest for long periods of time. The periodic tests of honour often involve Psionic Tests of Character. - - - As pointed out earlier the traditional weapons of the Knora are Shield, Hatchet and Spear. Im being trained to use a Shield and Hatchet and Ovis is doing the same. As Royals we have access to the Royal armoury and are able to choose some of the most valuable weapons in the Knora Enclave. The cutting edge of the Hatchets Ovis and I use have been covered with magic steel to prevent us from hurting each other during training. The Hatchets are at least 270cm long and extremely heavy; clearly meant for a Knora adult. However thanks to the enchantments on the Hatchets lifting them up is as easy as lifting up a feather provided you have the Mana to spare. Being a Royal means I get copious amounts of Mana Potions so I dont have to worry about Mana expenditure during training. When bringing down the Hatchet for a slash the tremendous weight of some 100 adult Knora creates such a force that I can cut through giant trees like theyre nothing. But Im not allowed to cut down any of the precious giant fruit trees planted all over the island. Im told that the average adult Knora weighs 7 times the average adult Norr so that would mean that the average adult Knora weighs about 500kg and the Hatchets weigh in at over 50,000kg; 50 tons. For now simply learning to stop the downward swing is a challenge and the Mana consumption is ridiculous. But mother says learning to control the Royal weapons is crucial to our development and not even Kodis is spared from the horrors of this training. The fact that mother and the other Royal Adults can swing the Royal Weapons without using Mana proves the extreme gap we will have to close before we are able to take up the duties of members of the Royal Family. I use a large Quadrilateral Kite Shield with edges that can be used to pierce and Ovis and Kodis chose circular Shields. My large heavy shield that is at least 220cm tall and 150cm wide is enchanted with Shock Absorption Vibration Magic; basically Absorbing the energy of the impact and dissipating it in the form of Vibration Magic. Changing Shock Impact into Vibration is the only way to reduce the energy of the impact on the shield without using Mana. However the Vibration will be felt by the one holding the shield and those with low durability will take significant damage. The Shock Absorption Vibration Shield is the optimal weapon of someone with a Super-DurabilityFull Might skill. Ovis and Kodis use the normal Shock Reflection Shield but that requires the use of Mana to activate the enchanted Magic of the Shield. Ovis says that I should learn to absorb the Vibration since Vibrations fall within the particle excitation under the purview of Fire Magic. Somehow that sounds very complicated; converting kinetic energy into Fire Magic. Ill probably need a specialized Magic Tool to harvest the vibrations into an element and the use the exited particles of the element to heat it up and store for future use. Either way its a Mana efficient method to turn enemy attacks into fuel for your magic. - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 12: Coming of Age - - - - - - - - - Chapter 12: Coming of Age - - - - - - In human terms seven years on Orro means 13.5 years or so; that means I would have hit my teens. However for a Knora it means Ive hit puberty and even a half Knora Vnora like me is beginning to feel the flood of hormones. Some weird shit is about to go down! Ive been informed that my assigned Royal Courtesan is a Vnora named Lenora Ramiv and her sister Morin will be taking care of Ovis. The commoners get to choose their first sexual partner but Royals dont get such luxuries, and they turn your seventh birth day into a spectacle; first theres the party and in the middle of that party youre whisked away by a skilled professional and you do the deed with everyone patiently waiting for the good news in the next room. Yeah fun times! I mean What the Fuck?! If I didnt have the memories of my genetic father or of being Human I probably wouldnt see any thing wrong with being asked to perform sexually with my mother and the rest of my family in the next room. So it cant be helped that Im a bit anxious; my birthday is days away and I havent been able to get the slightest Erection. I mean nothing; nada! Oh; and that Kodis apparently performed like a Rockstar 25 days ago. The show-off even came out of the room naked to show everyone that even after an hour he still had a solid Erection; much to the delight of Ovis and the other females. Have some modesty damn-it! I get the feeling that Knora males are supposed to be flamboyant. Which means that theres something wrong with me since Im naturally modest and reserved. Whatever is wrong with me is likely a consequence of my attempts to change the natural inclination of my psyche; theres no undoing this, and the damage is permanent. Even though Im over 250cm tall now and days away from my seventh birthday Im still a child by Knora standards and will remain a child until the 11 year old ranking. The other humanoids of Orro are considered adult at age 8. - - - The big day is here and Ovis is besides herself with excitement. I on the other hand would have given myself an ulcer if the Knora didnt have such a hardy physiology. This is so unfair; why put so much pressure on the male? It would be so much easier if I was female; cause you cant fail that way. Damn that Kodis for piling on the pressure! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! No; SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! I want to run away! Its nothing personal Lenora; I just cant take all this pressure! - - - No; I didnt run! Cause Im a coward thats why! I simply dont have the gall to go against the duties of a Royal and forever be branded as the one who ran from his obligations. Besides; the worst that can happen is that Im forced to perform with my tail. So even now; half naked and alone with the beautiful Lenora I cant get a reaction out of my male member. Yet somehow Lenora is unconcerned. Does she know something? She does; doesnt she? Lenora : " Dont worry; youll do fine. Everyone is nervous the first time. Novid : " But I cant get a reaction from.." Lenora : " And youre not supposed to" Novid : " Eh?" Lenora : " At least not until your stimulated for the first time." Novid : " What?" Lenora : " Ahhh; you didnt know? No one told you?" Novid : " I was too Afraid to ask?" Lenora : " As expected of the timid prince." Novid : " Haaaa" My heavy sigh let loose all the tension in my body and I finally began to relax. - - - Well; that was eye opening. As it turns out the first erection of a Knora male is caused by skin contact with the vaginal secretion of a Knora female. For that matter most of the erections throughout my life will be caused by said vaginal secretion. This is apparently one of the more animalistic Knora traits that my genetic father never bothered to research. The Knora are very female orientated as a species, and that extends to even the reproductive area; copulations occur on a female timetable. I shouldnt be surprised really; all the signs were there. Haaaaaaa. . . As for my performance? I think I did fine; not that the others appreciate my efforts. Lenora was forced to provide an after action report to the awaiting audience. She straddled me, guided me inside her and I ejaculated within 30 seconds. Fortunately I didnt loose my erection. She allowed me to come on-top; which allowed me to demonstrate my youthful exuberance. Being a Super my agility allows me to thrust in and out faster than the average youth. Having properly trained I have Stamina in abundance. Higher durability means that my penis doesnt strain from sustaining erections even after multiple ejaculations. My skill with the tail needs a lot of work. All in all Im a decent lover for someone my age; according to Lenora. Im a bit disappointed because the report given by Lenora isnt the glowing review given by the courtesan who broke in Kodis; gentle, thorough and attentive lover is what I remember her saying about that Kodis. She praised his natural skill with the tail to high heavens and Im being told that I need a lot of work. SHITTTTTT! It is what it is! In all honesty I havent put any effort in the fine motor control of my tail, and the fact that Ive neglected my tail has come to bite me in the ass. Anyway Ovis and I are the last of the Royal Knora born Vnora to go through this ritual and I guess I dont rank very high amongst the royal females. The whole reason we get these courtesans is to teach us to be good lovers; Lenora has a lot of work to do. Now that my less than impressive debut is over I can finally relax; its done. I dont think Ill ever be as good a lover as Kodis or the other royal males; Im wired differently. I enjoy sex as much as the next guy, but I think Ill enjoy it more within a loving relationship. Giving pleasure to someone you dont love feels like a chore to me. I guess Im a selfish lover. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. - - - Its been a moon since my coming of age and soon Ill be going on my first home-stay. That means Ill be sent to live with a family of commoners for 2 to 7 moons depending on the circumstances. Lenora has been teaching me this and that. She gets along splendidly with Allegra; my royal guard. Maybe its because theyre both green Vnora. Lenora has clued me in on whats happening in the castle; rumours and such. Apparently I have the political outlook of a Knora when I should have the viewpoint of a Vnora. Lenora says it cant be help that I see myself as a Knora since Im being raised at the heart of Knora power. Ive come to understand that there are subtle differences between Knora and Vnora culture. The first major difference between Knora and Vnora culture is that the Vnora see marriage differently. The Vern are psychic and as such marriage involves psychic bonding and the Vnora are similar. The problem with psychic bonding is that it is most stable when it happens between a pair; thus removing the negative effects of competition for attention and the resultant jealousies. However the Vnora lack sufficient males to keep marriage between heterosexual couples so they created pairs within a family construct. The way it works is that the female head of the family marries her preferred female partner and they both select a suitable male, and then the male is allowed to find a suitable female Psychic Partner. Thus the Vnora family usually consists of 2 or 3 pairs. A Psychic Partner is permanent and it is the most important relationship a Vnora or Vern will ever have; sharing a deep connection of the mind and Mana. A Psychic Pair can share Mana and are able to maintain a telepathic connection even when separated by vast distances. The second fundamental cultural difference between Knora and Vnora is that the Vnora are not opposed to public education. While the Vnora can empathize with the Knora about the dangers of indoctrination the Vnora also see the benefit of standardized magical education. The green Vnora have tended to specialize in both plant magic and mind magic since being half Knora brought severe limitations to Mana manipulation. Magic however can only flourish with institutional Research and Development. The Knora leadership has thus far been permissive of Vnora public education. The Third fundamental cultural difference between Knora and Vnora is that the Vnora psychic bonding creates a type of shared consciousness and when used with complex mind magic in the form of compartmentalized information storage and processing it allows a form of parallel thinking. Put simply the Vnora like their Gvern ancestors practice complex mind magic that makes them acutely intelligent however when combined with a Psychic Partnership it makes them super-intelligent. Gvern psychic bonding explains why the computers of Orro have not progressed beyond the level of 1960s Earth. Basically rather than building ever more complex computers they are building progressively more complex minds. Unlike humans who have no appreciable magic the people of Orro have all manner of magic in abundance, and to make things worse Psionic Magic has proven capable of interfering with the functioning of non-magical machinery; consequently the governments of the Orro Federation are reticent to rely on technology the Psionic Magic capable Demons can easily subvert. Since higher level Psionic Magic capable Demons are able to interfere with the functioning of non-magical machinery building networks based on such machinery is needlessly risky. However the magical equivalent of a modern computer is available in the form of a psychic familiar. The animal chosen for this role is the Qwelb queen of an aquatic species similarly to a jellyfish but with a hive mind and social structure. The Vern and any related subspecies have proven proficient at controlling the Qwelb. Come to think of it these arent subtle differences? God Damn-it these are major fault-lines! Theres no way mother doesnt know that Vnora are so complex; she knows and chose to minimise it so we would fit in with the Knora members of the family. - - - Theres a Political Shit-Storm brewing between the Knora and Vnora; factionalism is coming to ruin the party for everyone. Lenora and Allegra say that the Knora nobility are stirring things up because they realise that the rise of the Vnora would diminish the power of the Knora nobility. Therefore rather than share power with the Vnora they are trying to factionalize the Vnora in a divide and rule Grand Strategy. The Green Vnora are the only entrenched Vnora authority and they are set to lose a lot of influence with the rise of the new White and Red Vnora. According to Lenora and Allegra things would go a lot more smoothly if the Green Vnora rallied around Ovis, but from the beginning the Green Vnora have seen Ovis as an attempt by the Knora to completely take over the Vnora Clan. The problem is that with the Green Vnora distancing themselves from the other Vnora its creating the space for the Knora nobility to gain influence with the rest of the Vnora population. The primary goal of the Knora nobility seems to be the fostering of Vnora factionalism. Fortunately the Matriarch of all Knora foresaw the potential for factionalism and built the Vnora Academy of Magic. The Academy has instantly become a unifying centre for the emerging Vnora, and the school will make it difficult to split the White and Red Vnora along factional lines. Im aware that my relationship with Ovis is another stumbling block for the factionalist since Ive emerged as a popular figure for the Red Vnora given that Im a direct prince and a high ranker in the ranking contest. All of this is troublesome and I would rather not be involved. - - - Ive been recently told by mother that there is a possibility that my marriage will be fixed by the age of 11; by that I mean an arranged marriage. Mother says that there have been calls to put me up as a prize during the ranking contest for the 11 year olds. It would seem that the factionalists are trying to diminish my importance to the Red Vnora; at least according to mother. If I had to say it out loud I would have to say that from the very beginning I had a preference for the Green Vnora, and I fell for that Ebba without hesitation; though it turned out that she wasnt all that interested. If it was left to me I would probably choose a Green Vnora and that would likely lead to a waning of influence amongst the Red Vnora. Therefore for political reasons I have to choose a Red Vnora from within the royal family; preferably within mothers bloodline. Just think about it; Im limited to my nieces, grandnieces and great-grandnieces. Yeah; Fun Times! - - - - - - - - - Chapter 13: A Mother’s Dilemma - - - - - - - - - Chapter 13: A Mothers Dilemma - - - - - - The Hammer finally came down. Mother has chosen her Great-Granddaughter Oruna to be my Spouse. Orunas mother is a Super-Dexterous born of a Super-Dexterous. Orunas Grandmother is my sister Ocilla; the next Knora Matriarch. However Oruna is the problem child of that illustrious Bloodline. You see; like Master Ulvid Oruna is a 2 Attribute Adept. Master Ulvid is a Strengthened-Regenerator and Oruna is a Dexterous-Regenerator. A 2 Attribute Adept Regenerator is comparable to a super and that means that Orunas Full Might skill is of a sufficient quality to make her proficient. The problem with Oruna is in her attitude and behaviour; she seems to have inherited Svern psychological traits rather strongly for a Vnora. Oruna manifested her Full Might skill at around 4 and a half years of age after she snuck out at night and fell into a sinkhole. Having to climb out with a broken arm and fractured foot required the ingenuity common amongst the Dexterous and the healing factor of Regenerators. Thus Orunas Full Might skill is Adept Dexterous-Regenerator which should be enough to secure her a place amongst the Royal warrior elites; like that Osprid with Super-Dexterity. However Oruna is prone to frivolity; doing only what delights her and unwilling to do even the minimal amount of training. Oruna seems intent on living a life of leisure as a Royal Princess and is more like the Princesses of the other humanoid races in that she is content to live a life where all her needs are catered for without her ever having to exert herself. I cant say that Oruna is an ideal match for me but it seems that mother had little option but to give me to Oruna. Apparently the factionalist have scooped up all of Mothers Red Vnora descendents other than Oruna and I; with me its that Im just to attached to non-factionalism and Oruna wont consider being part of a faction because its too troublesome. That being said the fact that both Oruna and I wont join the faction being created by Knora Elites to weaken the Vnora has put us in danger; which necessitated our marital engagement and in so doing declare a true Red Vnora Faction. Perhaps the most surprising thing has been Osprid volunteering to join our prospective family. I dont know what Osprid is aiming for but since shes the Granddaughter of my Aunt shes also of the Royal Ollo blood and a true Princess. I must say that I was a little shocked by Osprids move since she would have been given a little more room to manoeuvre had she waited a bit longer to choose a Consort. But I can understand that my involvement means her children will have a direct connection with the future Vnora Clan Matriarch and there may be other personal circumstances that preclude her joining the other Red Vnora Faction. It seems mother was also thinking of me when she engaged Oruna and I; that being the fact that Oruna is less likely to be an overbearing head of the family. I think Osprid is also going with Oruna because Oruna is such an easy going person who is unlikely to be demanding and restrictive. From the looks of things we are likely to end up as 3 pairs given our very different personalities; Osprid is a very serious person, Oruna is an easy going person and Im very Timid. - - - I thought Id have more time but a few days ago a chieftain of an Island village came to the Palace to request aid from the Matriarch. Apparently the Island of Noka has been suffering repeated attacks from Pirates and bandits from the rest of the Federation. The response of the Knora Security Force has been lacklustre and amounts to sending a patrol every several days. Thus Chief Elena Noka has come to request aid from the Royal Guards who are under the direct control of the Matriarch of all Knora. By coincidence mother believed the threats against me arising from within the Royal Family were increasing since the Knora Elite were convincing many moderate Knora that the rise of the Vnora would displace some of their prominence and privilege. The Royal Palace had started to feel like a den of wolves and I began to feel like an increasingly soft target. Ovis is too prominent a target and I was the central figure for the would be Red Vnora Faction; an obstacle that had to be removed. The arrival of Chief Elena Noka gave mother a rare opportunity to move me out of harms way for long enough to take the pressure off and let the factionalists accept their defeat. And so mother decided on my home-stay location; Noka Island. The fact that I was being sent to Noka Island instigated both Osprid and Oruna to join me on the home-stay; for all intensive purposes we are a family now. When a direct Royal travels outside of the Palace Grounds an escort of no less than a full Battalion with sufficient compliment to maintain daily watch in 3 shifts is dispatched. A Knora Battalion is 450 Soldiers and 50 Officers. Therefore since both Oruna and I are direct Royalty we travel with an additional 1,000 Royal Guards as protection. Osprid isnt direct Royalty but is also of Royal Blood so she also gets protection; though in her case its a Company composed of 4 Platoons of 40 Soldiers including the Sergeant in Command of every Platoon. The Company itself is commanded by a Lieutenant, a Battalion is commanded by a Captain, 10 Battalions form a Brigade which is commanded by a Knight/ Colonel/ Brigadier General, 4 Brigades form a Division which is commanded by a Knight Commander / Major General, 5 Divisions form a Corps which is commanded by a Lord Commander / Lieutenant General and 4 Corps form an Army Group which is commanded by a Lord Marshal / General / Field Marshal. In most of the Federation State Armies the highest rank is normally Lieutenant General but the Knora are amongst the few with a Lord Marshal who can call upon over 400,000 troops. Originally the Knora didnt have such extensive military ranks and structures and fought according to villages and towns with Chieftains commanding their own militias. However during the great battle with the demons the Knora realized that their method of command was lacking and they werent able to pull their armies out of the fight quickly enough to save their people. It is believed that had the Knora leadership been able to withdraw to defensible positions where Dragon Fire was less effective more of the Knora could have been saved. Thus when the new Knora Security Force was formed they emulated the Royal Armies of the other Humanoids. The Orro Federation insists upon similar command structure and all officers from Lieutenant and higher have to graduate from the Officer Training Course of the Federal Academy of Philosophy. The Officer Training Course is year long and at the end of the course the test involves a simulation relevant to the level of rank. Every promotion after the rank of Lieutenant requires the passing of a simulation relevant to the level of rank and involving the appropriate number of subordinates. Therefore the fact that Oruna and I would be protected by 2 Captains gave me confidence in our security; not even pirates would dare tangle with a properly trained military force. More importantly the chance of there being an assassin amongst the Royal Guards is very low since they are vetted through Psionic Magic. The other thing is that most of the Royal Knora that were assassinated were killed in houses and compounds where their safety should have been assured. Somehow conspirators always manage to find holes in the defences of stationary structures. So Im reasonably confident in the level of security around me. - - - Chief Elena Noka has with good reason been in a good mood the entire 1400km journey to Noka Island; she went to the Capital looking for 1 or 2 Platoons from the Knora Security Force and was now returning with 2 full Battalions and a full Company from the Royal Guards. Noka Island only had 1174 people to start with and now the population would essentially double, but more importantly the Royal Guards would bring with them enough supplies to last an entire year and they would construct fortifications and instillations for the processing of water and waste. The presence of so many Royal Guards would undoubtedly deter the criminal elements but it would also accelerate the development of Noka Village into a proper town. Noka is an Island that lacks strategic significance; there are other Islands further away from the main Federation Islands that serve as a screen against the Demons. Patrols closer to the main Orro Federation Islands are left to smaller patrol boats and the heavier BattleCruisers make sure that no Demon Vessel ever gets close enough to be a problem. Consequently the monitoring of local waters falls to the states and criminality often takes advantage of political intransigence as most states prefer to spend their money on BattleCruisers rather than patrol boats. A BattleCruiser is an optimal tool for dealing with enemy Navies but too slow to efficiently respond to fast attack crafts used by many of the criminals on the high seas. The Knora like others have often left themselves vulnerable to bandits and criminals. What makes the Knora different is that unlike the Norr and the Habu they are not usually obvious targets for Bandits. If I had to guess I would say that Noka village is probably being threatened with long range attack to force the villagers to flee and allow the bandits to raid. Other wise the Norr bandits would find themselves at a physical disadvantage in mle against the physically robust Knora. I assume that the bandits are Norr since they are now 45% of the Orro Federation population; the Habu are 41% of the population while the Gvern and the Knora are 8.3% and 5.7% Respectively. It is not inconceivable for the Habu and Gvern to be involved in banditry but a Knora female is highly unlikely to get involved and the Knora males have it far too easy to risk their lives for cheap thrills. Additionally significant is that Knora society is essentially a communally lived existence and commoners share both food and resources so there isnt the extreme poverty that leads people to the kind of criminality seen in the other humanoid society. There is a social contract between the Royal Family and the commoners; the Royal Family provides food, shelter and security and the commoners hunt the monsters as well as cultivate the land where possible. This is what makes the idea of a home-stay so important; it reaffirms that social contract. By leaving the palace and staying with the commoners the Royal Family reminds all of the Knora that the Royal Family includes a substantial amount of commoners; the Royal Family are commoner elite. - - - I suddenly felt the entire moving column slowly grind to a halt as the Royal Carriages came to a complete stop. The Escort Column consisted of 8 Main Battle Tanks, 15 Light Tanks, 4 Self-Propelled Artillery, 4 Mobile Anti-Air Guns and 45 Armoured Troop Carriers. Oruna and I were each assigned a Royal Carriage to ensure our security. Royal Carriages are probably the most heavily armoured land vehicles and are designed to survive even Dragon Fire. Depending on the model Royal Carriages can be 50m to 150m long complete with over 2m thick armour and armed with an assortment of both defensive and offensive weapons. Royal Carriages have been said to be the equivalent of a land based battleship; armed with sufficient amounts of both magical and non-magical weaponry to conduct a war. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. So the fact that the Royal Carriages were stopping had all of us more than a little puzzled. After all; Royal Carriages arent supposed to stop for anything. - - - When Captain Mari the senior of the 2 Captains reached the Royal compartment where all the Royals and Chief Elena were staying I knew that something troublesome has come up. Captain Mari : " Apologies to your Highnesses and Your Eminence. By the order of her Majesty Ewim Ollo II his Highness Novid Ollo Second Prince of Knora is to participate in all appropriate Combat operations during his absence from the place. So decrees the Matriarch of all Knora." Novid : " What?" Osprid : " Eh?" Oruna : " As his promised Head Spouse I should get a say in this; shouldnt I?" Captain Mari : " Apologies to your Highness; Spousal relations are a matter of Cultural custom where royal status is a fact of law in both the Knora Enclave and the Orro Federation." Oruna : " So even after we wed Novids Royal Rank will remain higher than mine?" Captain Mari : " Yes; His Highness Novid Ollo is the Second Prince of Knora. That means he is the second son born to the reigning Matriarch of all Knora; a Royal Rank that cannot be undone by something as mundane as marriage. Having been born to a reigning Matriarch of all Knora His Highness Novid Ollo like first Prince Ulvid Ollo has fully inherited the Royal Title and Authority." Chief Elena : " Thats right; those born before she becomes Matriarch gain the Third highest Royal Rank and loose that rank when the Matriarch dies, but those born to the reigning Matriarch keep the Royal Title and Authority forever." Osprid : " Somehow it doesnt seem fair." Oruna : " Yeah; even though they say Ill be the Head of the Family I wont be able to prevent my Spouse from being involved in troublesome things if they involve matters of State." A smile finds its way to my lips as I realize that Oruna is worried for my benefit. Chief Elena : " It doesnt seem important now but in ancient times when Royal Females were married at a later age it was important that a prince and princess be the offspring of the winner of the contest for the right to be the Royal Consort. In those times children born before she became the Matriarch could not be legitimately considered Royal since that Title and Authority was only given to the offspring of the reigning Matriarch." Novid : " Anyway; what seems to be the problem Captain?" Captain Mari : " Scouts detected a Squeaker horde up ahead " Ah Squeaker; those are the semi-bipedal rodents that stand about a metre tall. Theyre sort of a humanoid rat and like to gather in massive hordes to raid fields and attack larger animals for food. Little shits like to make spears out of sticks and twigs. But the Squeakers are nothing to adult Knora; so why are we even stopping to deal with them? A few incendiary grenades should be enough to scatter them. Whats going on? Novid : " If its just Squeakers then they dont really pose a threat to an Army." Captain Mari : " True however as Royal Guards dealing with such things that can inconvenience the larger population is our responsibility. Furthermore since we have been ordered to include your Highness in appropriate combat situation it would be prudent in making an assessment of your Highnesss combat capability against a manageable foe." Novid : " I understand." Captain Mari : " Good! As is the norm someone with a Protecting Heart fights at the head of an Army; so this is an opportune time for your Highness to show the Gallantry of the Royal Family." Im not fooled this is about getting me some achievements. After this theyll send out the video of me fighting the Squeakers with the caption Red Vnora Prince of Knora fights hordes of Squeakers Novid : " Right; Ill put on my Armour and head out to the front of the Battalions and attract the attention of the enemy." Captain Mari : " Excellent! Im told you have a full set of Shock Impact Absorption Vibration Armour, Hatchet and Shield?" Novid : " The Shock Impact Absorption Vibration Armour and Hatchet are new but the Shield Ive had for 2 years now. However Master Ulvid has properly instructed me in the proper use of all my equipment." Captain Mari : " Good; then Ill see your Highness out there." Captain Mari leaves and my bodyguard Allegra helps me put on my Armour. I then decided to offer a little prayer to the ancestors before I go out to battle the little shits. Novid : " Mother Umvill, Mother Ollo and the pillars of my ancestry; grant me the courage and fortitude to do my duty as I go and protect my people that I so dearly love. Grant me the resolve to fight through my enemies and make it back to my Family." - - - As I thought! Im having to go out front alone. Even my bodyguard is held back because of the need to create the image that I rushed out ahead to face an entire horde of Squeakers. Fuck; thats not a small horde at all. There must be at least 2000 Squeakers out there. This is Bullshit; normal 7 year olds only have to face 2 to 5 of these things, so why am I being forced to face thousands. This isnt cool at all mother! This is fucked up! Okay; Okay; Okay. Compose yourself. Its not like theyre gonna let you get seriously hurt. Youre a Royal Knora God damn-it; get a hold of yourself. Damn this thing is heavy; They call it a Hatchet but its not really a Hatchet but more like a metal club or metal bat with the end flattened into a sharp cutting like some kind of exotic War-Axe. The War-Axe I trained with before was simpler to use but this new one was specially made for me so I can use vibrations to increase the power its cutting edge. However that makes it harder to control since it weighs about the same and I need a lot of Mana to negate its weight. Controlling the vibration makes it harder to channel Mana into the War-Axe. But right now I need to Focus. - - - Lets see; Im about 500m from the closest Royal Guard. Up ahead is the horde of Squeakers so far only a few have noticed my approach. Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Novid : " Shit! Theyve noticed. Time to get started! Full Might! Psionic Boost!" CLANGGGG! Im hitting the blunt part of my War-Axe against my shield to activate the Vibration effect. Thats why I use Psionic Boostto fortify my body. Novid : " Shit! This War-Axe is too long so I cant hit with the other end; the best I can do is hit with the middle of the bat part." CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! The Vibrations are getting intense Im beginning to feel them deep inside my body, but I need more. CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! Im hitting as hard as I can. Novid : " I need More!" CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! Novid : " More!" CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! Novid : " More!" CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! Novid : " More!" CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! Novid : " More!" CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! Novid : " More!" CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! Novid : " More!" CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! Novid : " More!" CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! CLANGGGG! SQUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKK! Novid : " Ah; little shits are already throwing their Makeshift Spears and now theyre rushing towards me. Its time; Ive got something special for your asssss!" CCCLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! Novid : " Vibration Aura! " Now everything with a low Durability that touches my Armour, Shield or War-Axe will experience the Vibration feedback. Sticks, crude spears, claws and bone shatter against my Vibration Aura. This is the problem with a rushing horde; the ones at the back are pushing the ones at the front and in the middle to their deaths. All I have to do is keep steadily walking so I dont get enveloped by the pile of dead and dieing Squeakers. Little Fuckers havent realized whats happening to them. They continue to blunt themselves against me. This kind of swarm usually works against animals of my size, but Squeakers have made a blunder in not realizing that a Knora isnt a normal animal. At this rate itll be over before the Royal Guards get a chance to do anything. Novid : " Ah; the smarter Squeakers have finally realized that their cohorts are already dead. Theyre running. let them run." And thats how it goes. - - - As I walk over to the Royal Carriage I see odd looks aimed at me. I wonder what that look is about? Surely they didnt expect me to be troubled by Squeakers; right? Theyre Squeakers after all! Even a Horde of them is just a Horde of Squeakers. Sure I was afraid, but then again Im always afraid that Ill mess-up and my stratagem will fail. Or something unforeseen will happen and Ill get killed. But that kind of thing is everyday; right? Im almost there. Oruna : " They said you and Ovis are strong; but that is just Ridiculous!" Novid : " Eh? This much is expected of Super-Durability. I mean its not like they could ever hurt me." Captain Mari : " I expected somebody with Super-Durability would be difficult for even a Horde of Squeakers to injure. But I never expected that youd have the kind of skill that could kill any weak thing that touched you." Novid : " Thats my Vibration Aura." Chief Elena : " The Matriarch has given birth to some truly proficient children." Captain Mari : " Indeed." My body feels really weary; I also take damage from the Vibration feedback. Ill need a day to fully recover. - - - - - - - - -