《Twisted and Intertwined》


 Chapter 1: The story unfold

    I woke up and all I see was darkness. Everything all around me is dark. I could hear myself hyperventilate. I couldn''t even see my own hands....wait, do I even have a hand to begin with. I just realise that I was not breathing, moving or even sensing my surrounding...I drove myself into a panic and franticly trying to remember what had happened to me and what this dimension is.


    I sense nothing. Sight, smell, touch, taste, sound and instinct have been stripped from me. I am powerless and the sense of dread slowly circulating my fictitious body.


    I am void.


    Nothing.


    Nothing come into my perception. I strain myself to remember any semblance of memory of my former self. The dimension was dark; so dark that it had engulfed my senses. It was suffocating and depressing that it had managed to increase the fear roaring within me. I collected myself. Despite the fear, I managed to calm myself and analysed my state. However, as sudden as my abrupt awakening; I felt my sense perception came back and a sudden rush of cold sensation shuddering me causing a nauseating feeling swelling inside me.


    ¡°Waa¡­¡­waa¡­..waa¡­¡­(crying)¡±


    ¡°This one will become like his father. A peerless warrior that¡¯ll bring honour to the Freir tribe,¡± weakly the women commented on her new born. Ashia was struggling in delivering her son for hours with the help of the tribe midwife. Her beautiful complexion soaked in her sweat. The midwife and her helper carried the new born to be washed and upon cleaning returning the child to his mother. The cries of the new born can be heard throughout the room.


    Upon hearing the crying of the baby, a muscular man rushed into the room. His worried face doesn¡¯t match for his warrior-like demeanour.  His face shown signs of alarm and fatigue. The frown now turn to smile as he saw his wife holding a small baby in her arms. His wife apparently having a complication in delivering his baby. He prayed to the Gods to give safe delivery for both his son and his wife. The man; Hrutt smiled back and thankful to the Gods for what he saw in the room.


    ¡°That was the longest moment of my life Ashia. I prayed to the gods for your safety and for our son.¡± He slumped next to his wife while adoring the serenity of his wife and child. Caressing his wife and his child, he turned and gave thanks to the midwife and her helper for delivering his precious child. The midwife ushered her helper to leave the couple alone in the delivery room. Beads of sweat clearly displayed on her aging forehead, remnants from her previous life-and-death engagement.


    ¡°What should we name him?¡± Ashia, still weak from the ordeal but gleaming with happiness asked her husband. Her question broke the silent of the room. The small child in her support silently cooing and sleeping peacefully. Love and support filled her gaze towards her first-born then turned to her husband directing the question.


    ¡°I am Hrutt, a warrior of the Frier tribe. My son shall be name Lsyn. Lsyn son of Hrutt, future warchief of the Frier tribe,¡± Hrutt replied proudly to his wife earlier question. Hrutt, the warrior wished to the Gods to be given an heir to continue his legacy. He yearned for years and lastly the Gods had blessed his family with a beautiful healthy child. His heart as a father and a warrior was delighted and he knew from the bottom of his heart that his wife was ecstatic with the birth of the child.


    ¡°May the Gods blessed him with strength beyond the realm of mortals,¡± Hrutt added to his previous reply to his wife. Ashia continue smiling signalling her blessing and agreement on the name.


    ¡°Lsyn, my son,¡± murmured Ashia full of love.


    The couple spent their time admiring at their first-born son. The baby moved revealing his two tiny black horns on his forehead.


    Elsewhere in the world...


    Lord Tyr was pacing restlessly in front of his mansion¡¯s front door. He drew a worried face as he quicken his pace. Subsequently he stole glances from the window towards the courtyard of his house. The reason for his restlessness was due to the missing of her only daughter earlier that day. He had sent his numerous servants to look all over the city of Valdrath for his daughter. His wife, standing near the arch of the living chamber calmly reassured him that his only daughter is not kidnapped.


    ¡°How can you be sure?¡± Lord Tyr asked his wife with trembling voice. His face was pale and blood-drained.


    ¡°She¡¯s done this before right? I am sure that she just out wandering in the city. Also, it¡¯s almost sunset. Usually the girl return by sunset.¡± Alina assuring her husband. Although from her voice she seems calm and collected, her hand are trembling at her daughter¡¯s disappearance. Clearly she was well-aware of her daughter disappearance. She also trying to assure herself on the possibility of her daughter will return while discarding negative thoughts that have been projected by her overbearing husband that slowly looming inside her mind.


    ¡°She¡¯s done this before?!¡± Lord Tyr raised his voice towards his beloved wife. His face flushed slightly red with anger with the statement by his wife. This incident had happened before and he wasn¡¯t informed by his wife about the previous incidents. His mind now full of negative thoughts and preconceived ideas of what could happen to his only 5 years old daughter.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Lord Tyr tried to calm himself while posing the question to Ameena.


    ¡°Well, my dear, you were stressed enough recently by the current changes in the trade system implemented by the emperor. I always peered at the sight of you working deep in the nights under piles of deeds and transactions¡¯ papers. The sight just break my heart knowing that I couldn¡¯t help you in managing our trading business. So, I don¡¯t want to increase your worries with the event that I could handle myself. Usually, Myra exploration is chauffeured by Frintz, our butler or by myself around the city. Today, she took off by herself and I forgot to inform to Frintz about her. My heart is breaking right now with my mistake and if anything happen to her I don¡¯t know if I could forgive myself.¡± Ameena could no longer bear the guilt that swelling inside of her and started to cry for her mistake. She was occupied by her husband¡¯s trading partner visit to their manor earlier. She tried to help her husband and forgotten to commission Frintz to accompany Myra.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Lord Tyr now slumped on the seat next to his wife. Ameena is a thoughtful woman. He was married to her even though their marriage was not condoned by his family due to Ameena from a normal household. He slowly put his hands and pull Ameena close embracing her realizing that the incident was not her fault. He shut his eyes trying to think what to say to his wife.


    ¡°Shuu¡­..it¡¯s not your fault.¡± He paused before continuing allowing his words to sink.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Myra will come back after this. I¡¯ll bet she will come home grinning with something she picked from her adventure in the city. Heck, I¡¯ll bet she even let the servants look for her all around the city like playing hide and seek.¡± Lord Tyr comforting his wife and himself even though he had no proof in supporting his statement.


    ¡®Knock, knock¡¯


    The front door opened and Frintz appeared before the couple while holding Myra¡¯s small hand in his right hand. The Tyrs got up and quickly hugging their daughter. Tears of joy started flowing on Ameena¡¯s face as she continuously kissed her only daughter.


    ¡°Thank you Frintz.¡± Lord Tyr was grateful upon hugging his daughter in his arms again.


    ¡°Anything u want, I¡¯ll try to fulfil it. I want you to know that I am very grateful with your help today and there¡¯s nothing in this world could replace my daughter here,¡± he continued as he stroke his daughter hair who is now in the embrace of his wife.


    The child was bewildered to the response from her parents. Her mother was holding her tightly while crying and her father was flushed by the sight of her.


    ¡°Mama, why are you crying? Are you sad?¡± Myra asked with a concern look on her face. Apparently the feeling was contagious from her parents.


    ¡°No¡­..¡± Ameena stopped and quickly changed her answer.


    ¡°Yes, Myra my darling. Mama is very sad. Why did Myra run outside without telling mama? At least u could tell Frintz when you want to go outside.¡±Ameena scolding her daughter without raising her voice. She hoped that her daughter wouldn¡¯t repeat her action again.


    ¡°Yes, mama.¡±Myra replied solemnly realising that her adventure was bringing pain to her family. She learnt her lesson.


    ¡°Ohh¡­..Frintz thank you for finding Myra.¡± Realizing that Ameena was fully ignoring Frintz due to her mother instinct, she quickly apologized to Frintz and whole-heartedly give her thanks for finding her missing child.


    ¡°No problem, Lord and Lady Tyr. It is my responsibility to guard the family member of the Tyr¡¯s House. I found the young miss near Mrs. Maldias Shop in the city. It¡¯s seems that Mrs. Maldias was entertaining the young lady the whole day. Maybe she doesn¡¯t have many customers today and when I wanted to give her a reward as instructed by the Lord, she refused by saying that the young miss had just made her day.¡±Frintz explained to his Lord fully knowing that the Lord and Ladyship will asked him pertaining the details of their beloved daughter location.


    ¡°Thank you again, Frintz. Mrs. Maldias was it? I will visit her tomorrow and thank her myself. Her shop was the magic shop near the Crescent District right?¡± Lord Tyr asked Frintz to affirm the location of the shop.


    ¡°Yes, my Lord.¡± Replied Frintz.


    ¡°Okay, now we had this whole shenanigan settled. Myra you¡¯re are not allowed to wander outside the house for 2 weeks as a punishment.¡± Lord Tyr was deciding the proper punishment for his daughter directing his gaze towards Myra.


    ¡°Okay.¡±Replied Myra void of enthusiasm. Her head started to droop down like a pet being scold down. She was contented with the punishment because she knew that what she did had violated her parents trust and causing pain to her family.


    ¡°Okay. Thank you again Frintz.¡± Ameena continued to lift the dampen mood.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner. I¡¯m sure everyone is hungry. Myra wash your hands and Firntz do enjoy dinner with us. I¡¯m asking as a mother not as the Lady of Tyr. I¡¯m asking the saviour of my daughter to share a dinner with us.¡± Ameena extended her invitation towards the middle-aged butler. Lord Tyr watching what had transpired only nodded in agreement although it is not something usually practiced in the nobles¡¯ society; to dine with the servants. Myra quickly disappeared to wash her hands before dinner.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare my ladyship,¡± replied the butler. He knows the limits and the rules that govern the society. He bowed to take his leave before he was stopped by Lord Tyr.


    ¡°I must insist Frintz. I¡¯m also implore you to have dinner with us. As a man¡­no as a father to the man that saved his daughter.¡± Lord Tyr cut before the butler take his leave.


    ¡°If the Lord and the Lady insist.¡± The butler gave in to the invitation.


    ¡°Mama¡­.¡±Myra interrupted them after washing her hand.


    ¡°What should I do about this?¡± She said while extending her hand to her parents. Disbelief; Ameena franticly overwhelm by panic, the Lord was at loss of word and Frintz quickly trying to grab the nearest cloth as they watched Myra¡¯s extended hand was engulfed in fire.


    Thank you.

 Chapter 2: After A Turn

    A turn has passed


    In the heart of the Drummend Empire, stood a beautiful palace occupied by the royal family of King Irvin. Currently at the peak of the hierarchy, King Gurdrick Irvin; The Wise King of Drummend was sitting on the throne in the main hall of the palace surrounded by his trusted advisors. Unbeknown to his advisors, he currently formulating numerous outcomes from the current situation that he¡¯s being presented with. Even though he is currently in his mid-forties, his face has not shown any obvious sign of aging that could compromise his position as the king of the empire. Streaks of white hair perfectly positioned themselves at the side of his head creating him an aura of intimidation and supremacy perfecting his title as the Wise King of Drummend.


    ¡°Your majesty, all of the preparations have already set. The only thing we need to do is waiting for your orders.¡± The knight kneeled as he addressed King Irvin. Clad in enchanted steel armour, Bahrut was ordered by the king yesterday to handpick several of his finest man and lead them to accompany a certain carriage travelling to Amarath Kingdom. As one of the influential five generals of the Drummend, Bahrut the Axe abide the Wise King instructions and prepared 13 of his finest knights and paladins for the task that has been decreed upon his squad.


    King Irvin, a true believer in aristocracy reign as the true patriarch of the Drummend Empire. He believe in creating different opposing factions aside from his in order to maintain an order of self-evaluation in his ruling. Like the proverb said; keep your friends close but keep your enemy closer. Closing his eyes for a moment, he reminisced his ascension to the Drummend throne two decades ago after the death of his father; King Marcus IV Irvin.


    ¡°I rather die and chop into pieces than letting the Drummend Empire fall,¡± the young king declare to himself when he rose into power. He managed to stop the chatters and provocations done by the noble faction concerning his ability to lead the nation with his triumph in halting the advance of the Nerissa Kingdom Invasion. Nerissa Kingdom; a nation based of military supremacy had launched a full scale invasion and declaring war to numerous kingdoms and empires in the continent under the pretence to unite the humans¡¯ nation into one single flag. King Irvin managed to quell the invasion by using his vast information network that spied and sabotaged from within the invading kingdom and ultimately confronting and crushing Nerissa¡¯s vast army by leading his impenetrable army in the battlefield. This war has lead into signing of a peace treaty between the two countries which more favourable towards the Drummend Empire as the victor of the aforementioned war.


    Aside from that, the introduction of the new trade system by the king following the empire¡¯s need for raw materials had brought along a wave of prosperity throughout the empire. The introduction of a fixed rate of materials¡¯ price had unsettled the merchants in the beginning and stirred a commotion among both of the nobles and royal factions alike. Some even doubted King Irvin¡¯s innovation and labelled him as a mad man that will bring forth the downfall of the empire. However, after a few short years, the fixed pricing introduced had attracted neighbouring kingdoms¡¯ interest and waves of trade envoys began to pour into the empire bringing trade opportunities and materials for sustenance of the empire. As predicted, commerce bloomed rapidly and Drummend Empire had become the focal point for merchants and traders from all over the continent.


    King Irvin is not only held high by the Drummend citizen after his numerous successes in both commerce and military prowess but he also managed to charm even the opposing nobles¡¯ faction and influencing them to join the royal faction. Bards and minstrels all around the empire was singing and circulating the heroic tales of the young king that bring forth light and prosperity to the empire.


    ¡°I see. Then, Bahrut, please stand by at the entrance and Merianne please call for the prince.¡±


    As instructed, Bahrut ready himself with his squad after excusing himself in front of the king. One of the servants, Merianne excused herself and disappear through one of the palace large doors. A few moments later, Merianne returned to the chamber with a young kid walking by her side. Judging based on appearance, the kid was wearing an attire that fit for royalty. His handsome figure was perfected by his short auburn hair and an aura of importance wafts and enveloping the kid.


    ¡°Well, Faris, I hope you are prepared for the trip. I heard that the trip will be taking one whole day,¡± the king spoke as the young prince entered the main chamber. His face clearly painted with a smirk teasing his only heir for Faris first trip outside the empire. Despite his calm and teasing countenance, King Gurdrick also harboured a hinge of uneasiness in letting his son travelled to Amarath.


    ¡°Yes, father. I can¡¯t wait to travel to Amarath. I heard that Amarath Kingdom are holding a large festival at the end of Rjutal.¡± Replied the young prince full of vigour. Apparently, contradict to his father assumption, he was really excited with his trip to Amarath.


    ¡°Okay¡­.¡±Said Gurdrick in reply to his son enthusiast answer. He raises from the majestic throne and walks towards Faris. Without hesitation, upon confronting Faris, he hugged his son before watching the later leave for the trip.


    ¡°Be careful out there. Just remember that you can send me a letter every month. Last but not least, ¡°Strength in Principle¡±.¡±


    The king gave his last reminder to his son. The hall parted as each occupants of the great hall accompany the king in giving a final parting wave towards his son. The entirety of the hall wish and pray to the gods for the prince safety and well-being.


    ¡°Please forgive me your majesty. May I inquire why did you send the royal prince to Amarath?¡± Lord Sweiss Galahard, King Irvin¡¯s right hand man asked the king about his decision to send Prince Faris abroad. Even though his position signified his servitude and loyalty as well as the time he spent with the royal family especially King Irvin, he cannot grasp the train of thoughts running in the Wise King¡¯s mind. He tried several times and utterly devastated by the short sightedness of his way of thinking.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Well my old friend, how long have we¡¯ve been together? 30-40 years? And I¡¯m still amazed that you still couldn¡¯t read the initiatives that I took by sending my son to Amarath.¡± The king smile for his advisor and best friend. It is uncommon for the king took in his family or close friends to be his advisor however King Irvin unlike many others have considered Sweiss as the best candidate for his right hand man. Sweiss; a man well versed with the politics among the factions and a familiar face among merchants and traders was elected among numerous nobles due to his competency, secrecy and efficiency. Sweiss was always beside him whether in implementation of new ideas in the empire or marching towards the battlefield decimating empire¡¯s enemies.


    ¡°As you know¡­.¡± King Irvin continued before halting abruptly staring at a document he picked among the pile of documents arranged neatly on top of his hand carved desk. He seems have lost himself deep in thoughts. It is rather comical but familiar to the scene Sweiss quickly tap on the table and urged the king to further explain his ideas.


    ¡°Your majesty!!¡±


    ¡°Yes!! I¡¯m sorry. It seems the local sanitation unit is broken and we have to fix it as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°What about the prince? I mean what is the plan?¡±


    ¡°Well, as you know, Faris has awoken his magic tendency a few months ago.¡± Gurdrick still remembered the day as clear as day. During that faithful day, Gurdrick, some of his advisors and the royal prince was having a group of delegates from a trade point city of Earstein; located south from Drummend. Faris as the royal prince has excused himself and turned in for the night as he had an early swordsmanship class the next day. Faris, 7 turns this year had been numerously invited to meetings and discussions by the king to familiarise the young prince on how to manage a blooming empire. Faris on the other hand exudes the amount of maturity rivalling a young adult often being tease as a precocious brat by the king. Being surrounded by advisors, administrators and warriors of the Drummend Empire, Faris gained an insatiable thirst for knowledge and often pestered Lord Sweiss with questions on everything.


    On that day, after the meeting had concluded, King Irvin had the urge to visit his son¡¯s chamber. He felt something was wrong and his gut¡¯s feeling has always hit the mark concerning most matter. As he left Lord Sweiss and wished the later good night, he walked briskly towards his son. The room is on the left wing of the palace and pass the enormous indoor garden created in honour of his late wife. Suddenly, the wind started to pick up pace and the breeze easily turn to gust. Surprised, he quicken his pace towards his son¡¯s room. Questions started pouring inside his clouded mind. Much to his surprise, as the distance to the room grew shorter the wind now roaring to a constant gale.


    Gathering the last of his strength, King Irvin peeked into his son¡¯s chamber only to be surprised by the sight of Faris floating above his bed. Enveloped by the strong wind like a wind chain mail, Faris exudes brilliant sparks from the tip of his fingers that illuminated the dark room with eerie light works. The Wise King lurched and bewildered by the sight displayed in front of him. His thoughts halted and failed him in conjuring ways to save his son from what it seems the center of a natural disaster. After what it seems to be an eternity, the wind stopped suddenly returning the room into its original state; pitch black with extinguished lantern and grave silent with occasional blow of wind. Slumped near the door was the king, dumbfounded and stumped.


    Regaining his composure, King Irvin rushed to his son¡¯s side and checked the vital of his precious son. Everything seemed normal however he could faintly heard the sound of heavy thumping from the dark room. Apparently the king¡¯s own heart was still pounding heavily from the previous event. Slowly, he shook the prince in order to wake the later up.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­huh¡­who is it? Father? What are you doing here?¡± Alarmed, Faris sat up quickly just to adjust his view upon his father worried face.


    ¡°What is it?¡± He continued asking his father who remain speechless in the dark room.


    ¡°Yes, indeed your majesty. The whole advisors was immediately ordered to gather at the royal palace that night but what I want to know is why do we need to send the prince to Amarath? We have one of the best magic academy here in Drummend; Mawra Magic Academy and the headmaster of the institute, the Sane Veng Hau is one of the nine powerful mages in the continent.¡± Like a broken record, Lord Sweiss repeat his question for the third time to the king.


    ¡°Well my friend, you are right about everything. We do have one of the best magic academy in the continent however it is not the best. Mawra Magic Academy pales in comparison with Amarath School of Divinity. In the country of sorcerers and high wizards, one true talent as a mage can fully be explored and cultivated. Don¡¯t you agree? Plus, wouldn¡¯t you want the next successor of the throne to be train as a great mage which greatly will secure Faris position among the nobles?¡± Replied King Irvin revealing his plans and future predictions to his best friend.


    ¡°Also, it seems that the royal princess of the Amarath Kingdom; Princess Keera Sirvin also currently attending the same magic institute as the prince. My information network confirmed this just before I enrolled Faris into the institute. Let¡¯s just say that the princess and the prince were to be engaged, wouldn¡¯t Drummend Empire will gain most benefits from such unification?¡± Continued Gurdrick with sheepish smile towards Lord Sweiss.


    Upon the revelation of the king¡¯s plan, Lord Sweiss just amazed with the king¡¯s detail plan. A smile slowly decorating the lord¡¯s face as he fully understand the king¡¯s plan. His heart once again gripped with a sense of awe towards the king as well as an overwhelm feeling of anticipation for the future events.


    Thank you

 Chapter 3: Demon Village

    Demon Village, Thirn


    ¡°This is it boy. This is how you properly hold an axe.¡± A muscular man was instructing a young boy on the empty space behind his house. The man, full of vigour holding a heavy broad axe in his right hand while showing it to the boy. Swinging the broad axe effortlessly, the man clearly trying to educate the youngster on ways to handle a broad axe. The boy, outwardly is approximately 5 to 6 turns in age according to his small child figure. However, the truth is far further than the assumption, the boy; Lsyn only aged 1 turn old yesterday. He was born last Rjutal to Ashia and Hrutt in the Freir Demon tribe. Due to racial trait of the demon tribe especially the Freir, the demons quickly mature and can become a fully fearsome warrior in just few short turns with proper training. However this doesn¡¯t come without a price. The demons has a very long lifespan compare to humans and beast men however their birth rate is far inferior to the other races.


    ¡°Yes, father.¡± The boy tried swinging his miniature broad axe imitating his large father. Compare to the others of his age, his figure was slightly smaller and this causing him having difficulties in handling broad axes; the mark and main weapon of the Freir. Aside from his small figure, one other difference that separate him from the other demon in his tribe was his horn. Since birth, his horn has not growing accordingly with his growth. The others have already manifested magnificent display of horns compare to his. His envy was based on the pride that comes with the horns. Horns is the pride of the demons, it represented the blessing of the Four Gods towards the individual and the larger the horns the more blessed the individual by the gods.


    Succumbed by his small body, he crashed to the ground after losing his balance to manoeuvre a follow through after swinging the apparently enormous broad axe. In the battlefield, a slight misstep or misjudgement can cause you your life.  His father always remind him of the matter frequently in each of their numerous training sessions.


    ¡°Oww¡­.oww¡­oww,¡± he groaned as he tried to lift himself from the ground.


    ¡°Come on boy. You can¡¯t be tired already? We just started.¡± Hrutt motioned his hand to lift the boy.


    ¡°No, father. I just can¡¯t handle the broad axe. Is there any other weapon that I can use aside from the broad axe?¡± Lsyn asked.


    ¡°NO!¡± Hrutt answered immediately. His face tense and stern.


    ¡°iiip¡­sorry father.¡± Scared, Lsyn apologized to his father. His voice trembled due to the sudden change in his father tone and demeanour. Lsyn dropped on his bottom to the shock from his father. From the edge of his yellow eyes, tears started to accumulate out of fear.


    Returning to his calm expression, Hrutt regretted his previous action on his only son. Trying to fix the situation, Hrutt kneeled next to Lsyn.


    ¡°The Freir tribe is a blessed tribe by the gods. The axe symbolised the embodiment of the blessings that reached and passed from one generation to one generation in the Frier tribe.¡± Hrutt sat down next to Lsyn. He corrected his seating slightly as he placed his broad axe next to him. Lsyn now seated next to his father fascinated upon hearing the origin of his tribe.


    ¡°The world started as a playground of the gods. The gods created the trees, mountains and animals that filled the world. However, each gods have an equal amount of domain to work with. That¡¯s why you can see different terrains on our continent. However, the black god; Izmuth unsatisfied with his domain created an abomination out of the black clay of his domain. The humans.¡± Hrutt stressed his voice as he mentioned human. He want his child to recognise the main enemy of the demons.


    ¡°His creation started to spread and violate the other four god¡¯s domain. He made sure that the abomination continue to bring havoc by making them cursed with the ability to erm¡­¡­multiply with an abysmal rate. The other creatures created by the other gods quickly being overpowered by their numbers even though the creatures are much stronger.¡± Like telling a scary story, Hrutt varied his facial expression to give a dramatic effect to the story.


    ¡°The Four Gods; Ymir; The God of Bounty, Slica; The God of Prosperity, Trift; The God of Healing and Qwan; The God of Fertility had picked champions among their creations and bestowed them artefacts and skills to fight and stop the humans¡¯ invasion.¡±


    ¡°Why did the other gods come together against the black god? Isn¡¯t that a little bit unfair?¡± Lsyn stopped his father in the middle of the story. Ever since he was born, he was taught to honour the code of battle.


    ¡°Well, the gods themselves were not involved in the battle. They are not directly involved with the battles. They bestowed weapons and skills but didn¡¯t involve in the war. Furthermore, Izmuth, the black god was cunning and sneaky. A one-on-one battle was not possible for them against him. The Four Gods made a wager with Izmuth; if their champions win the war Izmuth is to be exile until he can be reborn again through a vassal. Izmuth, filled with pride agreed to the condition.¡± Explained Hrutt answering the question proposed by his son.


    ¡°Oooo¡­¡­I think that is also okay.¡± Satisfied with his father¡¯s answer, Lsyn grinned and looked at his father.


    ¡°Well, obviously the Four Gods won but the most important part of the story is when the gods selected their champions. Our predecessor; the first Frier was chosen and given an artefact in order to win the war against the humans by the gods. The artefact was an enchanted battle axe. It is said that the battle axe imbued with the souls it had taken and fused with its master¡¯s soul. A slash from the axe can destroy a whole mountain. That¡¯s why we, the Frier tribe are keen on using axes in battle. It brings forth the same pride from the first Frier and it symbolises that our ancestors are with us in the battlefield.¡± Hrutt mentioned as he finished his story.


    ¡°Wow, so that¡¯s why you taught me how to use an axe.¡± The story told by his father clearly gave an impression on the boy. Gripping his axe tight, he started to think on methods to handle the axe.


    ¡°So, how should I make this work?¡± He stared to the axe and a smile started to appear on his face.


    ¡°That could work.¡± He spoke to himself silently before he could hear his mother calling for them.


    ¡°Come on, one last spar before we eat supper.¡± His father suggested as he signalled to his wife for one last sparring session between the father and son.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.¡°Yes!!¡± Lsyn answered full of enthusiasm with a devious smile plastered on his face.


    Amarath


    ¡°What do you mean that I can¡¯t enrolled into the academy?¡± A resound voice heard from the Amarath School of Divinity. Prince Faris was standing at the front of the administration desk astonished with the fact given by the lady in front of him.


    ¡°Prince Faris Irvin was it? Amarath School of Divinity doesn¡¯t discriminate its student intake whether from the commoner or royalty. The school only interested in the magic that possess in each individual student. However, it seems that the king of Drummend Empire got the wrong information. The school didn¡¯t offer you a place but an opportunity to get a place inside.¡± The bespectacled lady said while adjusting her glasses. The lady was at least 50 turns old with a slightly overweight figure holding up the prince''s confirmation letter in front of her. However it is a big mistake to pry on a mage¡¯s age. Mages can manipulate the magic essence in nature and harness them to retain their youth by slowing the aging process. That is why nigh impossible to guess a mage¡¯s age.


    ¡°Pardon me, can you further explain the situation here? What should we do in order for the prince to enter the school?¡± A tall lanky gentleman interject the conversation while instructing the young prince to let him handle the current situation. The prince gave in and nod in agreement. From outward appearance; his attire and mannerism suggested that the gentleman was of noble¡¯s blood. He has a fair face with a short wavy auburn hair equipped with greyish blue eyes.


    ¡°Okay. Well, there is nothing you can do to help the prince Lord Gustav. Meaning that the prince have to get this done by himself without anyone¡¯s interference or else he can¡¯t enrol into the school. Upon leaving you will head to the Magi Association at the edge of the Styr Quarters. I hope you can navigate yourself there right or do you need a guide to lead you?¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll be just fine.¡± Answered the lord concisely.


    ¡°Then you walk up to the counter and purchase a beginner¡¯s spell; Elemental barrier. Elemental barrier is a spell that usually given to new enrollers so your details have already being delivered to the association. After that you have all the time you need to master the spell by yourself. Once you are ready, then you can return to this desk to get evaluated by one of the magus before you can enrol into the school. Any questions?¡± The lady explained to the pair. Upon finished she sealed the prince¡¯s details into an envelope and chanting a spell on it. The envelope flashes and disappear right in front of the duo.


    ¡°Done. The details have been delivered. They are expecting you at the Magi Association.¡± Said the lady giddily with a smile appeared from her face.


    ¡°How can I learn a new spell by myself? Is there any tips or clue given by the association? How long would I take to master this spell? A week, a month, a season or even years by myself?¡± The prince monologue within himself about the terms that had been laid before him. He pondered why this school has given would-be students an impossible task even before they been taught anything about magic. He was unaware that his inner monologue was easily read by others through his long silence and the frustration shown on his face.


    ¡°One question I would like to ask?¡± Lord Gustav chirped in after realising the strained face of the young prince upon hearing the terms given by the school the latter is about to enter.


    ¡°Sure. Go ahead.¡± Replied the sitting women nonchalantly.


    ¡°When the prince mastered the spell, would he be directly taught by the magus and how long usually new enrollers need to master this spell by themselves? Technically that was 2 questions but I hope you can answer both of the questions.¡± Gustav was asking the questions that clearly bothered the prince. His spot-on questions return the prince facial expression back to normal. A sense of relief started to waft around the pair.


    ¡°Yes. After the prince manage to master the spell, he will be placed directly under a magus in this school with the others. For your second question, average enrollers took about 1 week to master the spell. However most of them give up after a month or two and enrol in other magic school. The shortest period recorded was last year student with a record of 3 days. Well, it had took her far less if she focus more.¡± The lady explained answering both of the questions from Lord Gustav. A sense of pride clearly shown in her words pertaining the young mage.


    ¡°3 days? 3 days, can I do it or should I just give up and return to the empire.¡± The prince thought more to himself before he decided to ask the lady a question.


    ¡°Why do the school ask us to master the spell beforehand and not after we enter the school?¡± His question raised a smile across the lady face. Her grin bring curiosity and awkwardness for the pair.


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you a smart one. That¡¯s the second time that question was asked and I wasn¡¯t expecting the same question came from you Prince Faris. I do have to apologize for my rude personal opinion and the answer for that question will appear once you¡¯re finished with the spell mastery.¡± The lady now looking intensely on the prince with curious eyes. Sensing the uneasiness started to rise from the lock-on stare, Lord Gustav quickly excused themselves from the school and ushered the prince out heading to the Magi Association.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be hoping to hear good news from you soon.¡± Said the lady to the pair before leaving the premises.


    ¡°Who would have thought? Two oddities back to back.¡± She said to herself before grabbing a new sheet of paper and writing something on it.


    Somewhere


    I can feel again. I¡¯m no longer numb from the darkness that already envelope me. Instead, I¡¯m gaining from them. What seems to be enemies at first now like a long lost friend. I still don¡¯t know my story and why am I here but I¡¯m sure that I can remember in time. I lost track of time in this void. How many days, months or turns I¡¯ve been here.


    Wait a minute?


    Concept of time? I started to remember again. It seems the more I¡¯ve been envelope by the increasing darkness the more I remember. I laugh at the concept. Darkness is truly my friend and I¡¯m basked in it. There¡¯s another piece of info came across my mind. I got a name. I have a name. Happiness swelled inside my chest; not that I have one at the moment.


    I am Izmuth.

 Chapter 4: Burst

    One turn consist of 4 months; Hira, Crusa, Rjutal and Snith. The months was seen as blessings from the gods to every creatures in the continent. One whole turn is considered to represent a life cycle of every creature in the continent. Hira was the start of life; the month where new plants grow and animals started to appear again after a long hibernation in Snith. Hira then followed by Crusa, the month of maturing. Crusa is the month where plants are maturing and life is blooming where people are out and enjoying the sun. Then, Crusa replaced by Rjutal, the month of abundance. Rjutal is when farmers harvesting their crops and pay homage to the gods following the great haul they have during the month. This is when the people celebrate by holding large festivals to honour the gods for their patronage all year around. Last but not least, Snith end the turn with its presence. Snith the month of contemplation also known as the month of the dead. By the end of the year, the weather becoming harsher and people contemplate their year during this period. Those who survive the harsh condition will grew stronger for the upcoming turn.


    Each of the four months last for a period of 3 moons each. A moon¡¯s duration is directly correlate to the moon phases in the world itself. Each month indicate a full circulation of each of the 3 moons across the world. Each of the moons appear for 28 days each and 84 days will indicate a full month; full cycle of the three moons. The first moon; Jade gives out a pale green light in the first of the three cycles, Cressila the second moon is  giving out a blue radiance and Amber the last moon shine with a reddish hue. Both creatures and humanoids; demons, beast men and humans are affected by the moon cycle. Some magus believe that the fluctuation of the magic essence are also cause by the three moons. However none of these conjectures have been proven by the magus that supported the idea. Many unsupported groups have been banned for performing rituals to prove the hypothesis due to their unethical practice on demi-humans and unsavoury human¡¯s experiments.


    Amarath, Styr Quarter ( Rjutal, 20th day of Cressila 600R.T)


    The Rjutal sun is shining brightly in the sky. The clouds are nowhere to be seen and this make the day heated by the uncovered sun. People are bustling in the magic kingdom of Amarath. Amarath, the city that centre the whole kingdom was full of activities. Amarath, under the rule of King Invania Sirvin was divided into quarters which each of the quarters governed by representatives selected by the king with approval of the quarter¡¯s resident. These representatives gained authority from the royal families however their authority is quite limited to public orders and enforcing the King¡¯s command on the public. By the end of each month, each of the representatives are required to report to the king about any improvement or deficiency their quarters experienced. Each representatives can be replaced after a turn however retaining the current representatives after a turn are normal especially when the current representatives are doing great jobs in maintaining the public order.


    One of the representatives is Lord Gustav as the representative of the Styr quarter. Assigned to the post 2 turns ago, he was one of the youngest nobles to be honoured with the responsibility. Lord Gustav was having his brunch under the shade at the corner of his large mansion¡¯s open space. He is accompany by two more people attending to his needs. His face shown drowsiness from his late sleeping hours due to attending his business alongside managing the complaints received by nobles in his quarter.


    ¡°Bancs, where is the prince? I heard that he left the mansion early in the morning. Did you assigned anyone to accompany him?¡± Lord Gustav directed his questions to the butler standing beside him. The butler, almost 50 turn of age never neglected his master or his master¡¯s guests needs. He can deftly managed the whole mansion with the help from the maids and remember every details of his master¡¯s preferences. Well-received by the maids and warriors employed by the lord, he holds the highest authority in the mansion straight after his master and the guests. His greying hair displayed experience and his pride in his occupation.


    ¡°Yes, my lord. Prince Faris left the house before dawn without informing myself or the maids. However I managed to instruct two of our best warriors to tail him and protect him from afar. It seems that the prince was quite distraught but it is not my place to say anything about that.¡± Bancs presented his findings to his master.


    ¡°Not a problem Bancs. You have been with me for quite a long time. Please do explain.¡± The lord asked Bancs to further explain him matters concerning the prince. His face show concern for the young prince. His best friend, the king of the Drummend Empire, King Irvin has honoured him with the care of his sole prince while the prince studying in Amarath. He can still remember their first encounter with each other a long time ago. The king was just a young uncontrollable prince and he was just a visiting noble¡¯s kid that roaming through the streets of the Drummend. They met each other and out of several bad slurs exchanged, they end up beating each other while the other kids was cheering. Since then, they have been exchanging pleasantries and news with each other. Their bond strengthen more when the prince decided to marry his youngest sister, Valeera Gustav making Lord Gustav part of the royal family of Drummend and uncle to the young Prince Faris.


    ¡°Yes my lord. The young prince might be frustrated with his lack of progress for his school¡¯s entrance test. It has been 2 weeks since the day my lord and the prince attended Amarath School of Divinity and the prince has shown no progress in mastering the spell. He also becoming more recluse and less talkative. I hope that the lord could talk to him about it.¡± The butler explained further for his master. He also developed a concern for the prince after knowing the prince for about 2 weeks. The prince is a hardworking boy. Much more than the average boy of his age. He sympathised with Faris¡¯ circumstances however there is nothing he can do to help the pitiful boy.


    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ve been busy lately with King Sirvin¡¯s demands that I¡¯ve neglected my responsibility as his guardian in Amarath. I¡¯ll talk to him when he get home later this evening. Sola, is the shipment of iron ore has arrived?¡± he asked the quiet person standing next to Bancs. Sola, the lord¡¯s personal secretary is a cat beast woman. In the Amarath Kingdom, beast men and humans are free to mingle with each other and slavery is severely condoned by the Kingdom. Both races are equal in the eyes of the citizen and the administrators of the kingdom. However this does not stop the long deep rooted slave trade that manage to evade the kingdom watchful eyes.


    ¡°The shipment will arrive tomorrow with an addition of 25% more of iron ore. The mercenaries asked for an increase in their pay due to that extra burden with the load and some incidents along the way with bandits. I¡¯ve arranged a meeting with their leader once they arrived in Amarath to discuss their pay. Also, we have received two more reports on nobles purchasing illegal slaves in the quarters. Should I include these into the report for King Sirvin¡¯s attentions by the end of the month?¡± Lord Gustav nodded attentively after Sola finished her reports and considering the move he should make concerning the matters he had been presented.


    ¡°Thank you Sola. I hope you can arrange the meeting to a more secluded location like one of the district in the Curr Quarter. I bet they¡¯re more comfortable over there. Besides, there¡¯s no other place to go if we want something dealt with a little ¡°persuasion¡±.¡± The lord emphasised the word persuasion signifying a hidden agenda in his word.


    ¡°Yes, it will be arrange. How about the report?¡± Asked sola as she attentively writing notes into her small book that she carried with her all the time.


    ¡°Yes, the reports. Please exclude the reports from the one we¡¯ll be handing to the king. I¡¯ll personally look into the matter and Bancs please prepare a couple of warriors to accompany me this afternoon. I have somewhere I need to go.¡± Said the lord full of conviction while trying to finish his already cold brunch.


    Amarath, Curr Quarter


    ¡°How long does he want to spend inside the store? It¡¯s already 2 freaking hours since then and I have to take a leak so badly.¡± The wolf man asked impatiently to his partner Wein. He was dressed as a commoner in his baggy pants and sleeveless jacket showing his muscular arms. Both him and Wein has been assigned by Bancs to protect the prince from afar as the prince wanders around Amarath. In order to blend in with the crowd, they have left their conspicuous warriors¡¯ equipment behind and only equipped with the sword on their waist.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know Marr. I don¡¯t know how the nobles¡¯ thinks. Plus if you are really that desperate to use the toilet there¡¯s an alley over there. I heard that dogs mark their domain by pissing on it. You can claim yours over there.¡± Replied the girl named Wein to her partner¡¯s complaints as she directed her arm to the alley near them. She was also slightly annoyed with the wait. They were standing in one of the store shade opposite the store the prince have entered. Even though they were standing in the shade, the heat from the sun has started to affect their morale for the bodyguard task.


    ¡°Well, ain¡¯t you a fucking bitch. We, the proud wolf man never will succumbed to that heinous act. Especially when you are trying to equate us with street mutt.¡± Marr gives out a deep growl and bares his teeth towards Wein. His face contorted a bit blazingly displaying his displease with Wein¡¯s previous statement.


    ¡°Sorry Marr. I guess the heat is affecting both of us. Let¡¯s go in and check¡­¡± before she could finish her sentence a gust of wind blown out from the store the prince was in followed by a loud boom creating a large hole replacing the front door of the magic store that was once stood over in front of them and the sound of clattering of glass items fallen to the ground followed instantly afterwards. The two storey store that once stood in front of them was reduced to rubbles soon after the explosion. A sense of panic started to sweep through the surrounding and people started to disperse while shouting for help from the area of the blast.


    Holding their sword hilt ready to withdraw their sword, Wein and Marr quickly rushed into the store. The store was in a mess. Everything in the store was either toppled down or broke into thousand pieces. Their eyes frantically searched the whole store for any sign of the prince under the chaotic scene in front of them. Guilt and anxiousness flooding their brain as they raked the wreckage of once a magic store.


    ¡°Faris! Prince Faris!! Are you here?¡± Wein screamed anxiously while wadding in the wreckage. Marr¡¯s nose was furiously twitching searching for the prince scent among the rubble. However the keen wolf man sense of smell was hindered by the dozens of potion and chemical vials that broke during the big explosion.


    ¡°Urgh..¡± A small groan can be heard beneath the rubble. Wein and Marr quickly searched for the groan in the further side of the store. They dug and searched underneath the rubble only to find the magus that owned the store was lying unconscious with blood flowing from his head. His hand shown a significant amount of burnt damage and his clothes was singed all over his left side of the body. They saved the owner trying to wake the old magus demanding a few answers from him and the whereabouts of the young boy that entered his store.


    Just before Wein and Marr could manage to wake the magus up, enforcers have come after the reports of the large explosions by the masses. Equipped with their official black and red garment with wands and other magical items as sidearm; yes, the enforcers are selected magus that did exceptionally in their school years. The enforcers are organisation centred in Amarath and branched to all of the other cities that have a magic academy in it. They¡¯re originally alumni of the Amarath School of Divinity and other magic school. They were scouted to join the enforcers straight after graduation by the Magi Association to serve in their respective cities. Aside from allowances, they were given a privilege to travel among the cities without being hold for inspection on the city gate.


    ¡°What happen here?¡± Captain Damca asked the two civilians in front of him. Judging from the size of the explosion and the remnants of the magic essence left in the surrounding area, the explosion was due to the influx of magic essence on one single point in space. The magic essence in the store was distorted and infused with each other. Magic essence also known as mana can be detected by experienced magus and tapped in the beginning of any spell in order to perform the selected spell. Mana also can be separated by their purities, elements and compositions which are further required in order to perform highly effective and more complicated spells. However, mana of different purities, elements and compositions are usually naturally separated and only a high wizard and above can manipulate or infused the mana without causing disruptions in the mana flow.


    ¡°Captain, the magic here is¡­..how do I say it¡­..corrupted.¡± The lieutenant of the squad spoke as he tried to grasp the magic composition in the accident area. A sense of wariness can be detected from all of the enforcers¡¯ face. Disruption in mana means that whether a high wizard was attacking the place or something was forcibly infused the mana causing a large explosion at the spot. Bith of the aforementioned situation brought a sense of dread to the mage platoon.


    ¡°Enough chatter. Help the civilians so that we can investigate this area. We also need to gather few eyewitnesses to get the full story of what real happen. Most important thing is to get medical attention to Old Man Albus here. He¡¯s the key witness to this event.¡± The captain gave perfect orders to his subordinates after briefly inspecting the situation. Like clockwork, his subordinates split into groups realizing each other¡¯s task without further instruction from Captain Damca.


    After a few seconds, a crowd was gathering on the scene trying to sneak a peek on what had happen to the store. Two of the enforcers already trying to heal the owner¡¯s injuries and the other¡¯s was trying to gather information on what had transpired at the magic store. Luckily there was no other injuries can be located. The captain himself was interviewing Wein and Marr who was at the scene.


    ¡°Like we said. We were assigned to protect the Prince of Drummend, Prince Faris when the explosion took place. I don¡¯t know what happen and I would like to continue searching for the prince please.¡± Wein was insisting that she and her partner have no knowledge about the incident and they should continue to search for the prince among the rubble. A distinct tone of annoyance and guilt blanketed her voice as she explained to the enforcer¡¯s captain. Marr was nodding in agreement to Wein¡¯s explanation without averting his keen sense of smell from the rubble. Suddenly, Marr¡¯s pairs of pointy ears and tail was straighten as if something had caught his attention.


    ¡°Found him.¡± He exclaimed with heavy sense of relieve rushing to his heart. Wein and Marr, both without the tendency of magic, can¡¯t feel the sudden rush of magic essence gathering at a single point among the rubble. The captain and his squad noticed the sudden change started taking defensive stance while holding their respective wands and relics directing it to the gathering of the magic essence.


    ¡°Get back!!¡± Shouted the captain to the gathering crowd. Alarmed and aware of the captain¡¯s order, the crowd started to seek refuge behind stalls and in the nearby alleyway without averting their eyes on the scene. As if expecting new revelations, the crowd was unaware of the dangers of a mage¡¯s battle causing the captains sigh in disappointment. He wanted to scream at them to scare them away however he couldn¡¯t afford to divert his attention from the moving rubble right before him.


    ¡°That¡¯s him. That¡¯s him. That is the prince I was talking about.¡± Wein was frantically screaming while pointing at the moving rubble. She was detained by 2 mages from rushing to the scene. Marr was crippled by a paralysing spell from moving. Due to his larger and stronger physique the enforcers was forced to paralyse him from advancing.


    The rubble started to shake and a sudden burst erupted from it causing a smoke of dust wafting and hindering the line of sight towards the centre of explosion. Quickly recovered from the abrupt explosion, the enforcers was ready to attack before halting in disbelief at the sight presented in front of them.


    ¡°I did it!!!!¡± Screamed the blue-eyed boy with a wide grin on his face.

 Chapter 5: The letter

    Rjutal, 1st day of Amber 600 R.T


    Dear father,


    This is your son, Faris Irvin writing to you concerning my well-being and progress here in the magic kingdom centre Amarath. I wished that the Wise King of the Drummend Empire will always in the best of health all the time. It was already a moon cycle since we last communicate with each other. Firstly I want to apologize for the delay in writing to you.  It was unintentional and I am quite busy practicing for Amarath School of Divinity¡¯s entrance test. Yes, you¡¯ve read it correctly, the school has mandated a compulsory entrance exam in which the would-be students have to master an elementary spell before they can enrol into the school. Miss Fraulent was the magus that evaluated me before I can enter the school. She was strict at first however she soften up as soon as I¡¯ve shown her the spell that I have mastered.


    To be honest my dear father, I was unable to master the spell the first two weeks of my time here in Amarath. I was getting more and more frustrated by the day until one day I snuck out early in the morning from uncle¡¯s home. I hope you don¡¯t get mad at uncle for me sneaking out without telling anyone. Uncle was so busy with what I think Amarath King¡¯s demands that he slept late every night. I started to wander aimlessly in Amarath Sytr and Curr quarters all morning before I stopped and have my lunch at one of the local tavern.


    I don¡¯t know what attract me at first but I soon found myself entering a shabby two storey magic store in Curr Quarter. Inside, I was greeted by an old magus. I think Albus was his name. I looked around before I saw a book sprawled open at the counter titled ¡®Elementary Barrier; The Strongest Spell¡¯. The book was half-written. Apparently Albus was interested in the spell that he had dedicated the prime of his life in mastering and perfecting the spell. Albus was a high wizard; a title given to mages who can manipulate mana at ease.


    Albus, sensing my curiosity lectured me on mana origins; the myths and conjectures of where it all begins. I was more interested in the second half of his lecture concerning the elemental barrier spell. Albus formulated that the simplest spell when diversified and perfected its usage can become one of the strongest spells ever conjured. He started to deconstruct the basic of the spell. Starting with the obvious, each spell need to be cast with 3 components; the user affinity, magic essence around the user and lastly the ability of the user to draw in the mana. Most people manage to require two out of three of these components but the ability to draw the mana differentiate mages and normal people.


    Albus continued until he stopped and making a scooping gesture out of thin air. After that, a small barrier appeared on his hand. Apparently he had manipulated some of the mana around him and conjured the spell from the mana he absorbed. Frustrated, I tried to copy his action but I failed in drawing any essence towards me. He also stated that maybe I just can¡¯t concentrate enough to feel the mana and ask me to close my eyes. After a few minutes, I managed to ¡®see¡¯ the mana all around me. I don¡¯t know how to explain it to you. My eyes were closed yet I can see the vivid world all coiling around me. There were colours all around me; primarily blue, green, red and yellow. I wanted all of it. So I draw all the colours into myself and started to chant the spell and try to imagine a barrier all around me.


    Stolen story; please report.


    After what it seems a whole ten minutes, I heard Albus was calling my name. I opened my eyes to see and to my surprise I was enveloped by a colourless spherical barrier. Albus was frightened and tried to touch my barrier before a flashing light and a loud explosion parted us to each end of the shop. Father please don¡¯t be mad but as I opened my eyes I was shielded by my barrier from the upcoming rubbles of the store. The store was demolished by the explosion and had collapsed on top of us. I was panicked yet my barrier was strong enough to protect me from any injuries.


    Caved under the rubbles, I tried to shift my position to find any way out from the caved in. Then I heard people are gathering around the store. I tried screaming for help but no one responded to my call. Then I had an idea. I closed my eyes and tried to replicate the earlier accident to break free from the rubbles. After a few minutes, I sensed mana started to gather and erupted from me. I was free.


    Well, not really. I was reprimanded by the enforcers. I was questioned. I did asked for Albus however I was told that Albus was knocked out and burnt by the blast and it was all my fault. I was scared. Uncle quickly came to my aid and he pleaded to King Sirvin to release me. However I was about to be judged as a criminal however thankfully Albus was awake in time to testify that the explosion was an accident. Albus explained everything for the king¡¯s satisfaction and recommended that I was enrolled straight to Amarath School of Divinity because he had testify to my potential. Satisfied, the king released me from all charges under the condition that I must passed the school¡¯s entrance test in a week time and I must be accompanied by two enforcers every day until I passed the test and enrolled into the school. Although my freedom was restricted, I was glad that I was freed from all charges and allowed to go home to uncle.


    Earlier today, I did my entrance exam under the supervision of 3 people which was a bit strange because usually only one magus assigned for the task. King Sirvin, The headmaster of Amarath School for Divinity; Rootbeet the Immaculate and Miss Fraulent were the examiners. After practicing under the watchful eyes of the enforcers, I manage to perfect the spell and use it in front of the examiners without a hitch. The king was rather scary as he keep on watching me with a slight smile on his face. Anyway, I¡¯m going to start my class by next week. Apparently I was assigned to the same class as Princess Keera Sirvin to my surprise. Until next time father.


    Yours Truly,


    Faris

 Chapter 6: Drummend

    Drummend Empire Rjutal 2nd day of Amber, 600R.T


    King Irvin just finished reading the letter from his son in Amarath. He sat himself slumped on the majestic chair in his private room. A grin appeared on his face as he put down the letter. Lord Sweiss who was standing as his aide next to him perplexed by the king¡¯s reaction. According to the letter apparently the prince was about to be charged as heretic in Amarath Kingdom. Is everything within this Wise King prediction?


    ¡°Forgive me my king, I don¡¯t see the news could bring any laughter to any father especially when the son was the sole heir to the throne. Furthermore this incident might give the young prince such a traumatic experience. I suggest that we have the prince to return to Drummend as soon as possible. He can continue his magic study here and I¡¯ve never heard of this entrance exam to enter a school before.¡± Lord Sweiss expressed his suggestions to the king. His face shown concern and strain as usual. Both the King and the prince are exceptionally good at increasing his blood pressure and anxiety.


    ¡°Well, that may be true my friend and I respect all of your suggestions but I am grinning right now because something has gone out of my prediction.¡± The king replied still maintaining the grin he had earlier. Astonished, Lord Galahard could never foresaw that anything would escape through the king¡¯s meticulous calculations.


    ¡°Pardon me but could you further explain my king? It seems that I couldn¡¯t fully comprehend the situation as well as your highness do.¡± Lord Sweiss Galahard was seeking clarification. If someone would deduce the situation as he did, the best course of action is to withdraw the prince and let the prince to continue his magical study here in his own turf. However, King Irvin thought out and engineered the situation 2 to 3 steps ahead of any other brilliant strategist earning him the title of the Wise King. Having to hear there is something has gone off from the king¡¯s prediction truly amazed the advisor and intrigued his interest on the particular matter.


    ¡°Sweiss, before receiving the letter from Prince Faris, I¡¯ve received numerous more information in Amarath from many of my informants. First pertaining the entrance exam, I was notified about it before I¡¯ve sent the prince to Amarath. I never did reveal anything about it to anyone in Drummend because I am sure that most of the nobles and you, yourself are included in my calculation would go against my decision of sending the prince to Amarath. The second reason is I need to teach the Faris, heir of the stressful and powerful throne of Drummend to be resourceful and creative in dealing with unaccounted circumstances especially in the battlefield where your own live and the lives of your men are in your hands.¡± The king started to explain about his decisions.


    ¡°So, you knew all along!¡± Sweiss half-shouting expressed his shock on the king¡¯s confession.


    ¡°Pardon me my king for my sudden outburst. I¡¯m just surprise that you knew everything all along and didn¡¯t care to share of the important information to anyone in Drummend.¡± Veins clearly popped from Lord Galahard¡¯s forehead. Just imagine his stress and burden when dealing with many of the empire¡¯s ordeals just to find out that the king himself was withholding important information from him.


    ¡°Relax my old friend. Everything has been carefully calculated. Plus, I was expecting that Faris would take a few months before he can be admitted into the school. I wasn¡¯t expecting that he managed to clear the exam in 3 short weeks. Plus, judging from his letter and most of my informants, his magic apparently was more developed compared to the other student. That was really surprised me. Maybe he do inherited the abilities from his mother.¡± His gaze slightly lowered as he remembers the late queen; Queen Valeera Irvin and the time they shared together. Contrary to his closest aide and advisors believe, he was always afraid in taking chances or trying new things however after meeting with Valeera through her brother, Crocus Gustav his indecisiveness disappeared. Since that day, he was reborn a new man and he later go against his father in proposing Valeera as his wife.


    Valeera Gustav, a mage of high calibre was a noble in Amarath Kingdom under the Gustav family. She awaken her mage¡¯s potential at the age of 12 turns and the sole member in the Gustav lineage to have magical potential. Some say that she was a freak of nature considering her stunning white hair and pale complexion in contrast with her fiery eyes. Valeera, the youngest of the Gustaves enrolled into Amarath School of Divinity after working for 6 months on the school¡¯s entrance exam. Her status quickly rose as she was considered a prodigy after demonstrating unusual affinity with three elements which is an abnormality in the magic community. Normal magus can only master up to 2 different elements and use most of other elements basic spell but to show a mastery towards 3 elements was beyond the apprehension of the magic community. After a faithful encounter with the prince of Drummend on one of her visit with his brother, she fell in love and not long after that the prince ask her hand into marriage although having an enormous protest from the current Drummend King and her betrothed father; King Marcus IV Irvin.


    They lived a happy life and soon after the marriage, King Marcus IV Irvin left the world leaving the position for the king of Drummend open. It was a tough battle for her husband to regain thethrone after being labelled as rebellious and unreliable since he married her. Steadfast wu=ith his decision; with Valeera by his side, Gurdrick Irvin, the deemed as lack in potential prince rose claiming the throne of Drummend. They hurdled many difficulties together and the Queen Valeera was always by his side through thick and thin. They later blessed with their first child, the first prince of Drummend; Faris. However, a story never been told without its ups and downs. After the war with the Nerissa Kingdom, the queen fell sick and left the world soon after. Some made conjectures that the queen was poisoned and assassinated but none of the conjectures were proven and due to the queen high magical potential it was highly unlikely that she was poisoned by anyone. The passing of their beloved queen brought sorrow throughout the empire especially the king. However, deep inside each residents of the Drummend they were ever grateful to be blessed with such a wonderful queen.


    ¡°Ahhh¡­.sorry. I was remembering the late queen.¡± Gurdrick apologize to Lord Galahard. There was sadness hidden in his voice.


    ¡°Not a problem my king. I also felt deeply for the queen.¡± Galahard replied assuring the king that the pause was necessary. Lord Galahard also deeply affected by the queen who he considered his friend and mentor in dealing with numerous matters dealt from and to the empire. He was made to promise by the queen at her deathbed that he¡¯ll take care of the king and the prince for her sake, a promise that he intend on fulfilling until the end of his life.


    ¡°Now, where were we? Ahhh¡­that¡¯s right. Before the arrival of Faris letter I¡¯va also received an urgent letter the night after the incident by my brother in law, Lord Gustav. In his letter he described everything in full detail and I was already preparing the safe extraction of the prince by assembling Jinya the Silent and his corps. However, seeing that the matter had resolved itself I don¡¯t think that the extraction will be needed anymore. It also a bonus for us; well I wouldn¡¯t say us but the prince to be placed in the same class as the royal princess of Amarath.¡± King Gurdrick Irvin ended his explanation for his closest aide, Lord Galahard.


    ¡°Continuing on, how was the matter in the south? I heard there were more attacks on small villages by bandits.¡± Asked the king continue to matters of the empire. His face now shown conviction and regal.


    ¡°Yes, about the situation in the south¡­¡± Lord Galahard flustered a little bit due to the sudden change in the matter. However, fit to be the right man of the king, he managed to gather his composure and proceed in delivering the information to the king.


    ¡°The villages was burnt and destroyed before we could send any help from the empire. We¡¯ve allocated quite number of men to survey and doing patrol at our nation¡¯s border however the perpetrator still at large. All that remain in the morning after the attacks were corpses and building rubbles. However, an information that we managed to get from this incident that one of the survivors have identified most of the attackers are beast men. This incident if not carefully handled will cause a bigger dispute between the humans and beast men.¡± Explained Lord Galahard.


    ¡°Thank you Sweiss. Hmmm¡­..this is rather difficult. The attacks almost orchestrated by the beast kingdom. Say Sweiss, did you know the mercenary group name the Blood Tooth?¡± The king asked Lord Galahard about a certain mercenary group that was permitted to roam within the empire.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m familiar with the Blood Tooth. That particular group of mercenary consist mostly of beast men. They actually applied their permit a turn ago. Why my king? Do you think that this mercenary group is actually behind all of this horrendous attack?¡± Lord Galahard finally realize the correlation between the attacks that started a year ago with the sudden entry of the beast men group.


    ¡°Well, not all of them are responsible. I¡¯ve inserted a spy amongst them and he identified that there¡¯s a group actually inside the mercenary that are quite hostile to humans and ruthless when taking on mission. So far we can¡¯t make a move on them without inciting a full scale war with the beast men. I think that is what these attacks are all about. A war. Maybe¡­.just maybe the beast men are trying to make us declare a war towards them. With this, they manage to circumvent the peace treaty and make Amarath as their ally in the upcoming war. Shit.¡± The king groaned at the mere prediction of the upcoming war that looms over his empire and the beast men.


    ¡°I suggest that we purge the individuals that are responsible for this within the group. We settle the matter with the beast men ruler by stating that the individuals had committed several crimes involving the safety of the empire and we can always find proof of their misdemeanour but if we can¡¯t find some we can just fabricate it.¡± Lord Galahard suggested to the king his method in apprehending the savages that destroyed 11 humans settlement near the border of the great empire. He felt angered and hatred towards the perpetrators and thought really hard in achieving the aforementioned suggestion. Firstly he thought of moving Jinya the Silent and his mobile assassin corps to assassinate the perpetrator in their sleep however rejected the plan due to the rising problems that will occur in the morning when the mercenaries discovered their missing comrades.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°There is nothing we can do for now Sweiss. What you are doing is exactly playing into the hands of the beast men ruler. That sneaky old tiger; Ulric Ostave. I think this war is unpreventable. Gather our troops and increase our supply for the next 3 to 4 turns. We should hold off from informing the nobles because we want to avoid the leakage of information until it is necessary to inform them. And if my prediction is correct, we are going to war.¡± Said King Irvin concluding the subject. He truly wished that his prediction is wrong however history in the last 2 decades had shown otherwise. The mercenary group must be an extended division of Ulric Ostave¡¯s plan in inciting the humans to get them riled up and declare a war towards the beast kingdom. He had considered the possibility however the main purpose of the war and the outcome that the beast king wanted from the war are still a mystery for him. He stared hard at the piece of report on his desk before reaching a paper and writing hastily orders for his informants.


    Caucasa Village, Drummend Empire Rjutal 15th day of Amber 600R.T


    The night was silent and serene. The wind blows in perfection and brought a decent atmosphere to perfect the beautiful night. Amber hid herself among the passing clouds but still maintaining the red hue radiance that illuminate the scenery. In the distant, howling of wolves can be faintly heard as to remind the settlers that they were still in the middle of wilderness and the law of the jungle still applied in their settlement.


    It was a festivals night. The settlers was celebrating and giving thanks to the gods for their safe new settlement near the border of the empire. The night was filled with laughter and queer atmosphere as they dance, drink and eat around the large bonfire they built at the centre of the settlement. BY heaping and stacking the logs¡¯ leftover from the day¡¯s working, they manage to create themselves a large fire to warm their village in the night during the last moon of Rjutal. The air started to turn cold as if mother nature was welcoming with open arms the last month; Snith.


    Caucasa Village, named by their Wise King himself only reach their 2 turns of establishment last Crusa. Their main income and produce was the logging of precious woods from the nearby forest. The pioneer of this new settlement was actually a wood artisan in the royal city of Drummend. Encouraged by the words of the king that asked his people to venture out of the royal city and explore the empire, Kilte gathered a few of his friends and family members and started to venture out and decided to establish a new settlement between the border of the empire and the Great Forest Hulta. The first two years of the new settlement was hard as they need to start everything from scratch however true to his words the king have been helping them in ensuring their safety also instructing builders in helping them here in the new village. Feeling blessed with everything, the villagers decided to hold their first Moonlit night. Moonlit night is the human¡¯s festival in honouring the good where the put out all source of light except the bonfire they built. They gather their best drink and prepare their best dishes to hold the party under the full moon of Amber.


    ¡°Can I sit here.¡± Kilte asked to sit next to the roaring fire to warm him up. Kilte¡¯s true intention is to sit next to the beauty that he had harboured feelings for so long now. He was a wood artisan but now he is the village¡¯s chief. Acted under the power assigned to him y the king, he managed everything in the village from its public safety to its infrastructure development. It¡¯s tiring however his young bones manage to handle these responsibilities. Sometimes he just wished that he was back in his workshop carving beautiful masterpiece of wood however he quickly disperse the thought because if he didn¡¯t come here he wouldn¡¯t know Lyara.


    ¡°Sure, chief. It¡¯s quite warm here. I thought you were having a drink with the masons.¡± Lyara replied with a smile across her face. That smile just shake Kilte¡¯s knees making his arms want to move in to hug Lyara even though he know how inappropriate it was to do so. Lyara with her short auburn hair and a modest figure was the daughter of one of the builders in the village. She came here with her family under the instructions of the king however the whole family decided to stay after Kilte¡¯s extended an invitation for them and kindly enough to provide a very cosy home for all of them.


    ¡°Nah¡­.I stop already. The masons are booze drinking machines. They¡¯ll drink till they drop. What are you doing here alone? You¡¯re not enjoying the dance and the food?¡± KIlte asked hiding his true relieve. He was expecting that Lyara was alone tonight. He tried to adjust his voice as he asked her to mask the anxiousness that have been built up inside of him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried the dishes already. The grilled Red Hide¡¯s meat was very nice. The stew that I¡¯ve prepared, have you taste it? I hope it suit your taste.¡± Lyara was looking straight at KIlte expecting his answer for her dishes. KIlte was astonished before regaining his composure to answer the question.


    ¡°It was very delicious. You¡¯ll make a very good wife someday. Say, Lyara, how do you like the village?¡± Kilte¡¯s answer with a slight red blush appeared on his cheek. He has decided that it is time to do the thing he had planned. Mustering all of his courage, he asked Lyara what she feels about the village he had established.


    ¡°I like the silent and the serenity here. I love the warmth given by the fire. It is very different from the royal city. I love this village, chief. I love everyone in this village. We help each other and depend on each other.¡± Lyara responded with a smile while gazing to the fire in front of them. She truly love the village. It is a completely different experience when she was living in Drummend. The village also near the nature thus the dependence with Mother Nature also bring a soothing effect for her.


    ¡°Well¡­.well¡­¡­well¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes chief?¡±


    ¡°I also love this village. Caucasa is everyone¡¯s and I hope this village will stay serene like this forever. Hmmm¡­.what do you say if I were to invite you to stay here forever¡­..*gulp¡­..as my wife?¡± Kilte finally gained the enough courage to ask the important question to Lyara. He faced Lyara with determination boiled in his heart.


    ¡°What are you saying chief?¡± Shocked by the proclamation, Lyara quickly turned her face facing the chief staring at him with that green eyes that he really love. Her face blushed at the sudden confession and she doesn¡¯t believe what she had heard moments ago.


    ¡°I¡¯m saying¡­.I love you, Lyara. Would you like to stay here with me in Caucasa¡­¡­as my wife?¡± Kilte repeated his confession again with more resolve in his voice. His face now brimming with confidence and all the previous anxiety already gone now that the cat¡¯s already out of the bag. Lyara head after the initial shock slump down gazing the ground. Kilte who was perplexed by the respond trying to find words to continue the conversation.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been in love with you since you arrived here. I know it¡¯s not my place to say it but I can¡¯t hold it any longer. I¡­..I¡­..I¡­¡±Kilte was running out of words to say when he heard a silent voice stopping him.


    ¡°Will¡­..care¡­..me?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Will you take care of me?¡± Lyara now asked him with her eyes filled with tears of joy.


    ¡°Y¡­..Yes, I will.¡± Kilte replied. Just as he said the words Lyara rushed towards him and hug him tightly while planting a deep passionate kiss on his lips. Kilte dumbfounded for a while responded to the kiss and they embrace each other while ignoring the people around them. Lyara parted her moist lips from Kilte¡¯s started to wipe her tears of joy from her face.


    ¡°I do. Please make me your wife. I love you too Kilte.¡± Lyara confessed as she caressed Kilte¡¯s face with love. She is happy because the man she loves also loves her back. It¡¯s like the fairy tale she kept reading during her childhood where two lovers united under the moonlit night during the festival to honour the gods.


    Suddenly, applaud of claps could be heard from around both of them. Abruptly return to the real world, Lyara and Kilte frantically look around them and saw the whole village was already surrounding them and cheering and clapping.


    ¡°Congratulations!!¡±


    ¡°Wow, that was very passionate of you guys. Doing it in public.¡±


    ¡°Kilte, now you need to work harder.


    The villagers was happy for the new couple. KIlte is already 28 turns of age and he is in his prime age for starting a family. They also approve of the unification of the couple. They have known both of their feelings all this time but only manage to suffer in silence as both of the individuals was so scared in confessing their feelings for each other.


    ¡°Thanks you guys.¡± KIlte only manage to blurt out these few words for all the cheers coming from all the villagers around him meanwhile his partner only staring to the ground flushed remembering her earlier actions. Kilte was amazed watching signs of approval from everyone from the village. He look across each face until his gaze halt to a familiar face smiling at him. It was Lyara¡¯s father and the buffed builder was only smiling giving his blessing to his child happiness.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± KIlte silently gesture to Lyara¡¯s father and continue with the night merriness alongside his new wife-to-be Lyara holding hands with him all night.


    However the merriness was abruptly halted by the scream coming not far from them. Much to their surprise they witnessed a source of light coming from the house at the edge of the village and a man was running frantically towards them.


    ¡°RUN!!!!RUN!!!!! We¡¯ve been attacked!!!¡±

 Chapter 7: Declaration of War

    God¡¯s Domain (0th day of 0, 0R.T)


    A bright yellow light was seen hovering around the empty white space before entering a huge door that almost invisible due to having the same colour as the space. Upon opening the door a whole new world appeared. Thousands of books primly lined against the wall of the spherical room. In the centre of the room establish a lamp post with a beautifully carved lantern hanging at the end of the post. The lantern being the only light source in the room strangely manage to illuminate the whole room with the same intensity throughout the whole room. The room was lavishly decorated and the wall was replaced by layers of books making the room as a bookworm heaven. The light entered the room and started to whirl around the room before stopping at the top end of the room where a set of  luxurious sofa was neatly arranged accompanied by a matching coffee table in the centre of the upside down sofa. The yellow light then transformed into a young kid with golden hair and amber coloured eyes.  The kid now seated on the upside down sofa without a problem while opening a mysterious book in front of him/her. The book is emitting a clear visible purple aura that could corrode timelines and dwindling fate as it wafted through the room.


    ¡°Now, whose life are we gonna write today?¡± The kid talk to himself/herself while producing a devilish smile around his/her perfect face. His/her voice sweet as honey doubled with 2 layers of high and low pitch echoed throughout the room. Out of nowhere an expensive looking quilt pen appeared floating by his/her side and he/she grabbed it before turning the page of the book that he/she currently holding. He/she is whistling a happy tune as he/she stroll his/her hand through the names in the ledger and started writing something on one of the name that had intrigued him/her. As he/she write something on the page, an extended aura from the book created a line that pointed to one of the millions of books in the room making the book to glow in a bright yellow light before fading after he/she finished writing.


    ¡°Hi there, Ymir. It¡¯s been a long time. I hope you haven¡¯t forgotten about me.¡± A raspy voice started its introduction in the room startling the little kid named Ymir. A silhouette started to transmogrify from the black shadows slithering from the slit between the books and forming a shadowy figure of a man behind the sofa Ymir currently sitting. A hand started to land itself on the youngster shoulder instantly causing a sparks to fly from the youngsters all over the room before the shadow removed its hand.


    ¡°Quite hostile aren¡¯t we here?¡±


    ¡°Izmuth!! What are you doing here?¡± Shocked by the other entity appearance, Ymir quickly stand from the sofa taking a defensive stance. His/her perfect face contorted to a hideous fang bearing snake hissing angrily at the black silhouette. Sparks gathered at the tip of its hands producing several balls of black lightning that charred the sofa even though the static doesn¡¯t come into contact with the sofa.


    ¡°Why? Why, you ask? It¡¯s God¡¯s domain. I am a God. The First God. And now I¡¯m back. Spread the news please my brother. Tell our brothers that their eldest are coming to claim what rightfully mine.¡± Izmuth shadow now have disappeared leaving the room. Ymir relaxed and returned his face to the perfect youngster face again as a sigh escaped his breath and beads of terror sweats clearly appeared from his/her face. The room now return to its previous silent except for the sound of the singed sofa at the top of the room.


    ¡°Welcome back, brother.¡±


    Animalia, Adelaide Kingdom (Hira, 15th day of Jade 603 R.T)


    A man walk calmly to the large front door of the royal palace of the Adelaide Kingdom shouldering a large responsibility in delivering his king message to the current king of Adelaide Kingdom. He was accompanied by his most trusted aide by his side as the pair was accompanied by a group of beast men guards armed with spears and shields. The species of the beast men varies shown the high regards of the beast men for their king that managed to unite all of the warring beast men tribes into a strong powerful kingdom. Ulric Ostave; the king of beast men was expecting the arrival of the delegates was just right after the large door in front of the pair. Hostilities ooze from stares of Animalia citizen can be felt along their way from the main gate to the front door of the royal castle. The women of the beast men also shielding their children from the sights of the messengers out of past trauma that had been inflicted by the humans to beast men.


    The royal castle; apparently a hollowed last Yggdrasil sacred tree was a sight to behold. The enormous tree centred Animalia and provided a large canopy enclosing the whole city under its large intertwined branches and green leaves. The shade however did not hinder sunlight from entering the magnificent city but sunlight are absorbed by the tree leaves causing the leaves to radiate providing green sunlight throughout the whole city. The air inside the city is clean, fresh synthesis from the tree itself has medicinal and magical trait infused in them due to the trait of the sacred tree itself. The effect from the enchanted characteristics of the city can be clearly be seen in the citizens of the city as most of them are strong and healthy ensuring their longevity for a minimum of 100-150 turns for each individuals. The castle itself based at the foot of the hulking tree. The bark of the tree smoothed and carve to fit the castle doors.


    ¡°Please go through the door. The Majesty are waiting you at the throne room.¡± The horned goat beast men that identified himself as Thern urged the messengers to walk through the door. Thern; a warrior of Animalia¡¯s royal army equipped himself in the royal army¡¯s armour had volunteered himself as escort for the messengers.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Said the man to Thern with a smile on his face. As the usual king delegates, Lord Galahard calmly shut down his fear and anxiety from being shown to the beast men escort. After discussing and negotiating with Adelaide Kingdom for 3 turns, Drummend Empire had to put their foot down and concluded that war is inevitable between the two nations. The Wise King anticipated the outcomes of these dead-end negotiations and peace treaties turns ago had prepared to reach this conclusion.


    Lord Galahard with his aide and bodyguard; Bahrut the Axe entered through the large heavy bolted door to be received into a majestic throne room rivalling one in the Drummend Empire. The layout of the throne room shown enough elegance with the mural of the beast men carved beautifully on each side of the wall showing the legendary tales of the king¡¯s conquest. The pillars of the room are ordained with Adelaide¡¯s banner and the usage of the leaves of Yggdrasil to constant supply fresh invigorating air in the throne room perfected the room aesthetically and usability.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Welcome, Lord Galahard. It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve met face-to-face. To what honour I received the right hand man of the Drummend Empire here in Animalia.¡± Ulric Ostave welcomed the messengers from the Drummend Empire. His tone contain a hint of cynicism as if mocking the arrival of the messengers. His eyes displayed a condescending gaze towards the humans. He already know the content of the message that both the human want to relay to him today. It is already within his calculation or one can say everything is already working according to the plan. His smile hiding his bloodlust and hatred towards these two lowly humans.


    ¡°Once again, King Ulric Ostave, I am Lord Galahard under direct command from the majesty, The Wise King of Drummend Empire, King Gurdrick Irvin want to drive the attention of the king of Adelaide Kingdom on the matters that were discussed in the previous meeting that we had a month ago. King Ulric, the amount of attacks on our new settlements and villages near our nation¡¯s border had increased since the last time we¡¯ve met. Although firstly you deny any account of involvement behind this matter however we manage to interrogate one of the attackers and he claimed to be working under your direct order to attack those villages. What do you say to these statements?¡± Lord Galahard started his inquiries on the beast men king. His voice was accusative however he masked the hostility with questions even though he know these questions are just a formality to a repetitive process that lasted since 3 turns ago.


    ¡°Are you accusing me, Lord Galahard?¡± King Ulric asked provocatively. A smirk shown on his face. He knew all along what he had arranged to achieve this state of his plan.


    ¡°What?!¡± Lord Galahard shocked by the question asked by the king.


    ¡°I repeat are you accusing me in being the mastermind behind these attacks you¡¯ve claimed that had happen to the villages? I mean considering your proof is just rambling of a pawn, you dare to accuse the ruler of Adelaide on masterminding the attacks.¡± King Ulric casting his provocations to the messenger. He becoming bolder in his selection of words in order to irk Lord Galahard thus prompting the next phase of his plan.


    ¡°What do you mean rambling of a pawn? The one that were caught was one of your royal army soldier. Also the breach in our nation border by your army and the endangerment of our nation¡¯s citizen by your soldier in disguise as mercenaries wreaking havoc in our empire. If you continue to maintain your silence on that matter, then we¡¯ll have to¡­..¡±


    ¡°Declare war on us? Sure, my nation is not responsible in the attacks toward your citizens. However, 3 turns ago some of our soldiers that partake with the Blood Tooth company had been slayed by your so-called villagers in Caucasa Village. So, you¡¯re denying the fact that you are amassing a large army for the past turns near the border of our nation can be consider as an act of declaring war on the beast men kingdom.¡± King Ostave cut Lord Galahard threat short and further adding insult in his speech to enrage the noble man.


    Lord Galahard let out a deep sigh and remain silent for a couple of seconds to gather his shattered patience due to the beast man provocation.


    ¡°I guess it had to be this end after all. They wouldn¡¯t reason with us and they wouldn¡¯t stop until they get what they want.¡± Lord Galahard thought to himself with a heavy heart. He started to remember each face that he knew back in the Drummend Empire. Now, he has to be first piece that will brought forth war to his beloved empire.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He said to himself before returning to his usual fa?ade.


    ¡°I understand now of our circumstances between our 2 nations. King Ulric Ostave, on the power represented by the Wise King of Drummend, I declare a state of war between our two great nations. It is my deepest regret to announce this however your nation had violated the peace treaty in numerous occasions and this is the final measure to ensure our nation¡¯s sovereignty. Either we fight or we die trying to protect our honour.¡± Drummend Empire had declared war towards Adelaide Kingdom.


    ¡°Finally, I thought you puny humans don¡¯t have the balls to do the right thing. Hahahahahah¡­¡­.¡± King Ostave laughed to his heart content due to the success of his plan to ensnare the great nation to declare war for them. And since the war was declared by Drummend Empire, Adelaide KIngdom has the right to set the rules of the war based on the iron-clad rules established since the dawn of creation.


    ¡°Thick Skin!!!¡± The king shouted calling one of his royal guards. Upon hearing his name was honoured, Thick Skin feeling elated walked genuflecting in front of his king. The large, black panther beast man called Thick Skin stared at Lord Galahard before bowing to his king.


    ¡°Thick Skin here my lord to serve and die for Adelaide. Thank you for giving this soldier an opportunity to die and honour the gods with his own flesh and blood.¡± Thick Skin still kneeling now raise up standing next to Lord Galahard. The difference in their physique clearly shown like day and night.


    ¡°Now, tomorrow you two as the representatives of both of the nations will fight.  It¡¯s been a long time since the Animal Ring hasn¡¯t taste fresh blood. I ca¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute! What do you mean by fighting?¡± Interrupt Lord Galahard abruptly.


    ¡°Well, you did declare war on us right? Then we decide on how the war should be held and the customs of the war. In our customs, the representative of both nation, the one that declare the war and the one being declared to must have the first fight to honour our God of War, Slica. Now that you undertand of our custom, don¡¯t brought shame for us tomorrow human, let¡¯s have a good fight.¡± King Ostave explained to the unknowing human representative.


    ¡°Guh¡­..¡± Lord Galahard was out of words. He had never heard of such tradition among the human. However now he is in the country of beast men, so the difference in culture are acceptable however this development had never reached him or even the Wise King due to the beast men''s seclusion in the Sylven Forest. He was the representative of the Drummend and they have to abide to the rules set by these animals. He will have to fight the big, black cat tomorrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fight.¡± A sudden raise of voice from beside him woke him up from his deep thoughts. He looked around as his aide, Bahrut raised his hand.


    ¡°I, Bahrut the Axe will fight on behalf of Drummend Empire.¡±

 Chapter 8: Gemini

    Amarath, Amarath Kingdom; Loh Quarter (Hira 8th day of Jade 603R.T)


    ¡°Ne¡­ne¡­.What class do we have next?¡± A bunny-eared girl was jumping around her friends along the corridor of their academy. Her giddiness was her best trait along with her charming smile that could melt any man. Her greyish pelt looks so smooth and easy to pet adding to her charm.


    ¡°Hmm¡­I think it is the Summoning class by High Magus Fredrick.¡± A boy with a short auburn hair replied to the beast man question. The boy aged of 10 turns was comparatively smaller from his other companions. Carrying three books with him, he paced with the group towards their next class. Amarath School of Divinity offers a 5 turns extensive magical training compare to the other magic academy which cost their student a period of 8 turns to complete their training. The academy manage to shorten their academic years by introducing an entrance exam which greatly shorten the period. The mastery of a basic magic spell elemental barrier offers the student a 2 turns of training as the basic spell requires the prospect student to master a basic mana mastery and mana absorption which are the hardest and the longest period of the magic training itself. They opt to introduce this exam to cover the shortage of high wizards and high magus that employed as lecturers in the academy as well as to introduce a flexibility and freedom to the system as practiced by the academy according to the principal ¡°Magic is Fluid; mouldable and shapeless. It¡¯s infinite and a finite magic are only creatures with no imaginations¡±. However, the shortage of teaching personnel didn¡¯t affect their performance as the best of magic academy in the continent.


    ¡°Summoning class huh? Why do you think they didn¡¯t teach us summoning in our first year here? I mean, if you can already summon a familiar to assist you in mana manipulation, then your spell casting will be doubled or even tripled in its efficiency and its outcome.¡± A boy with a blond hair carrying the same books asking his companions about their upcoming class. The boy; Ramsay Jasper is 17 turns of age. He had awaken his magic potential at 12 however he only manage to enrol into the academy after 2 years trying to master the entrance exam spell. His green eyes and appearance suggest that he comes from a commoner family.


    ¡°I think having a familiar depletes most of your mana usage in maintaining the familiar.¡± The nerdy girl suggest her opinion on the matter. Her round glasses are obviously a tad too big for her as the glasses keep slipping to her freckled cheek. She keep trying to maintain her glasses on the level of her eyes while holding on 3 books for her upcoming class. Her long red hair are tied in braid behind her head keep swaying as she tried to accomplish those two tasks at the same time.


    ¡°I think having a familiar can cause a mage to neglect his mana absorption training and this cause the disruption in the mage mana absorption when he can¡¯t rely on the familiar.¡± The bunny-eared girl chirped in her opinion with regards on the matter.


    ¡°I agree with both statements. I think we can ask High Magus Fredrick later during class about the summoning. Furthermore, having assigned to teach us summoning, High Magus Fredrick must be a master in summoning familiars.¡± The boy with short auburn hair clearly mismatch by his age and his maturity ended the discussion and lead the small group to the class designated


    Later in the class¡­.


    The class was rather big considering there was only 8 students attending the class. Situated in the far end of the right wing of the school, the class was at least 3 times the usual lecture hall they¡¯ve occupied for any other classes. No apparent chair or desk accommodated inside the large space and just as they entered the room, they noticed the four other students that attending the same class was already inside. They gathered at the front of the class; a place where they assume the front end of the class due to a board was hanging on the wall of the room.


    ¡°Say, this is summoning class by High Magus Fredrick right?¡± A chubby boy among them asking the other 7 students for confirmation of the class. He already put down his books on the ground and sitting on the ground with a bored expression on his face.


    ¡°Well, according to the schedule we received in the morning, this whole day is allocated for a summoning class with High Magus Fredrick.¡± Answer a bespectacled boy producing his black ivory wand out and swishing it on the space in front of him. Literally, out of thin air a display screen appeared in front of him and he quickly adjust his glasses before taking a look on the screen.


    ¡°Confirm, today¡¯s class is with High Magus Fredrick at the Warrick Room third floor. See¡­.¡± He pointed on the display and show it to his other classmates. The others just nodding after watching the display shown by the boy.


    ¡°Hello there!!¡± An old man appeared from the door they just entered. Stroking his short black scraggly beard, he marched towards them and quickly appraised all of them with one glance. He then flick his hand and a set of large table and a chair appeared in front of him. On top of the table clearly piles of papers have accumulated making the large table look messy and untidy. The students were dumbfounded by his action just now but quickly regain their composure and started to ask the newcomer question.


    ¡°Pardon me, are you High Magus Fredrick?¡± The boy with the spectacle ask the old man with a timid voice. The boy with his dirty blond hair and brown eyes behind the glasses is bringing a small bag bulking on his side. He is having difficulty reaching for the old man as he was covered under mountains of papers on top of the table.


    ¡°Yes. Yes, I am. So what do you want?¡± A voice from behind the pile answer his question.


    ¡°Well, this is the summoning class and we hope that you can teach us how to summon a familiar.¡± The boy replied.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. No wonder I felt so out of place here.¡± The man stand up and appeared from behind the table. He walk to the side of the table and gave a look to all of the students before starting his class.


    ¡°Thank you for reminding me¡­.hmm¡­.Mister Farthling I think. Gideon Farthling is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s start the class. Sorry for the awkward first impression but you know that we are understaffed and eeeeeeeveryone is sooooooo busy¡­¡­busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy aallll the time. Well! Aren¡¯t you gonna sit down?¡± He snapped his finger and 8 appropriate chairs and tables arranged in front of the board in 2 horizontal rows. He gestured his two hands ordering the students to take a seat in front of them.


    ¡°Well, take a seat then.¡±


    The students quickly shuffled to the seat and started to open their book and notes to start the class. Quilts and inks started to be put on the table as they prepared to receive a lecture from the quirky high magus.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­.who said that you are going to need that all thing?¡± The magus asked. A wave of surprised looks run through the class. He smiled satisfied with the look on his respective students. He enjoys making people uncomfortable and enjoy watching them squirm on his palm. Ahhhh! I am a masochist! A self-revelation come upon him as he watch the students put away their writing utensils. He clapped his hand and started the class.


    ¡°Okay. Mister Farthling. Can you tell me the types of magic potential exist within a person?¡±


    Gideon Farthling; the bespectacled boy scramble to tidy his table and adjusting his glasses before answering the question directed to him.


    ¡°Well, there are two type of magic potential that exist within a person.  The first one is the most common among humans and beast men; the blessing. The blessing as the beast men known it as the Gift, is a common awakening of a prospect mage to their magic potential. They are introduced to their element during the awakening and later can further hone their potential with identification, manipulation and absorption of the mana of the element in the surrounding. These mages manipulate and absorb the surrounding mana to cast a spell whether the spell correspond to their element or not. However, a mage that have the affinity with the element can will cast a more powerful spell of the element compare to the one that don¡¯t have the affinity with the element.¡± Farthling stopped to take a breath before continuing.


    ¡°The second ty-¡°


    ¡°Thank you Mister Farthling. You can stop and take a seat now. Guso, yes, I saw you yawning. Please continue what Mister Farthling¡¯s explanation.¡± High magus Fredrick stop Gideon and directed his instruction to the other beast man in the room. The owl beast man straighten up his back surprise by the high magus remark. The owl beast was rather large compare to the bunny-eared beast man even though they¡¯re of the same age. His figure is more warrior-like rather than a mage and with proper training he will become a very frightening warrior mage. His brown and white feathers brazenly decorate his head and the wings that attached on his back.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Sorry, Instructor Fredrick. The second type of magic potential is the essence. The essence is a rare form potential which it contradict the normal elements that displayed through the gift. The essence is sort of like an upgrade to the gift where it is more powerful and potent than the gift. The essence type of magic doesn¡¯t follow he normal rule where the spell of the essence doesn¡¯t absorb the surrounding mana to be cast but they disrupt the mana causing it to bend according to the essence structure. The essence is quite powerful however, the spell of this type of potential is limited to two per each essence and each of the spell consume mana and chip it¡¯s user mana potency after each usage.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Guso. You can be seated. I hope you all are aware of your own magic potential. I started this practical class with an introduction to magic potential because summoning a familiar is directly in respond to your magic potential. In this class you will summon a familiar that will help in increasing your mana absorption and your potency in spells directly related to your element.¡± Fredrick explained to his students about the usage of the familiar. He, himself has one familiar that constantly help in storing mana for him to cast numerous spells that he casted for his usage.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for interrupting Mister Fredrick but why is it that we are train to summon a familiar in our third year? Isn¡¯t it more effective if we have familiars since our first year to help with mana absorption and spell casting?¡± Ramsay Jasper aske the high magus for an explanation for the peculiarity that occurred in their academic system. Seating next to him is the Prince of Drummend, Faris nodding to the well-timed question asked by his fellow classmate.


    ¡°A good question indeed Mister Jasper. And does anyone in the class has any idea on why does this class is not held in your first year but instead in your third year?¡± High Magus Fredrick ask the room while encircling the students. He seems to be enjoying himself thought the student. They have a fair share of strange lecturers since their first year. There was High Wizard Gremrill who keeps on sniffing people during classes, High Magus Dreywas that sometimes comes to class using his underwear only and last but not least Miss Tabitha who always hitting on the boys in class.


    ¡°I think having a familiar depletes most of your mana usage in maintaining the familiar.¡± The redheaded girl gave her opinion. Her glasses started to droop again for the umpteenth time now and it started to pluck a nerve on Fredrick. He reached for the glasses and set it on the table next to her.


    ¡°Thank you Princess Keera. For the love of me, I don¡¯t know why you are using those glasses. Anyone else want to add in their guess?¡± Fredrick starting again.


    ¡°Umm¡­.I think that having a familiar can cause a mage to become careless?¡± The bunny-eared girl said as she rose her hand to the air.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡­mmmmmm¡­..Sia, you know you can lower your hand now right?¡± A questioning look was given by the high magus. Does she knows that she¡¯s 18 turns already? He questioned himself internally for the bunny tribe beast man.


    ¡°Well, for decades, the answer given to you is considered correct until this genius in front of you here disprove it. The true answer is that Familiars are vile, prideful creatures that link to your magic potential. It feeds on your mana absorption before it will give mana to you. Well, that means that it won¡¯t bow down to low weakly mages. If we hold this class in your first year, you¡¯ll get eaten by them literally or worse yet they¡¯ll feed on your mana potential and give you a mana exhaustion causing you to enter a state we called a living dead. A puppet that follow all of the familiar whim. So, since you guys are all have been taught to control your mana assumption and absorption then it is safe to teach you without making you into a living magic slaves.¡± Fredrick smiles as he said the statement enjoying the grim face on Ramsay Jasper and a few others.


    ¡°You understand now? You need to show that you are the master and then the familiar will acknowledge you as its master.¡± He added briefly.


    ¡°Okay, now let¡¯s get to practice. The spell¡¯s incantation is ¡°Oh Servants of the Gods, tap into my potential and vow to me for eternity¡±. Okay, I¡¯ll write it down on the board and go work in pair. Like any normal spell, you need to absorb mana before casting and recite the incantation at the start. It may not be working for the first time however you must be careful. Now here¡¯s the twist. You have to fight it to show that you¡¯re the master. You can work in pair in this large room.¡± He said while writing the incantation on the board.


    Shuffled into pairs the students now already trying to adjust the distance among themselves. The pair was;


    Prince Faris Irvin ( Drummend Empire ) and Myra Tyr ( Noble )


    Sia ( Bunny tribe beast man ) and Gideon Farthling ( Commoner )


    Princess Keera Sirvin ( Amarath Kingdom ) and Oberon Kausar ( Chubby noble)


    Guso (Owl tribe beast man ) and Ramsay Jasper ( Commoner )


    ¡°Let us begin. You¡¯ll go first.¡± The prince said to the timid girl. The girl has a long, beautiful dark blue hair with pearly skin to complete her picturesque figure. The girl was a turn younger than him however according to Miss Fraulent she was one of the record holder for the shortest time to pass the entrance exam which was in 4 days. She is the daughter of a noble in Valdrath, a city located at the far north of Amarath Kingdom.


    ¡°Okay.¡± She said while extending her hands. In the school using magical items to enhance your spell casting is optional. However the usage of relics greatly improve their mana efficiency and reduce the time for spell casting.


    ¡°Oh Servants of the Gods, tap into the brilliant flame of mine and vow to me, Myra Tyr until your ashes feed my flame.¡± Myra Tyr recited the incantation in full concentration ignoring the prince doubtful stare as she altered the original incantation. Mana clearly gathering around her as the incantation is recited. Then, a magic circle open in front of them followed by an immense heat that quickly elevate the entire room temperature. The other students stopped their training and shocked by the sight that happening in the room with them. High Magus Fredrick who was busy behind his table clearing the piles of work stopped and quickly rushed towards the pair.


    ¡°What have you done? It was not supposed to be this intense.¡± He asked the pair. Panic clearly shown in his face.


    ¡°She altered the incantation.¡± Faris accusatively pointed to Myra.


    ¡°I just perfected the incantation. The incantation suggested by High Magus Fredrick was too vague.¡± Myra replied to her panicked instructor and partner as 2 figures started to emerge from the magic circle.


    ¡°Oh god, a gemini. Class, come here we need all of the strengths here to subdue this type of familiar. Sia, quickly go to the headmaster office and ask him and the others High wizards to get here ASAP.¡± All of the students huddled as they see the pair that formed from the silhouettes.


    A small kid probably 10 turns in age wearing a dirty and torn clothes while dragging a long chain appeared from the first figure. The movement of the kid was rather awkward proving that the chain was far heavier from what it looks like. Next to him, a large fiery black hound breathing fire from its mouth appeared with its glowing yellow eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s seems we have been summoned Gyl. Fryl thinks that he is bored. Fryl want to play.¡± A voice come out from the kid. A loud roar coming from the hound as the pair caught sight on the terrified students and high magus.


    ¡°Let¡¯s play.¡± A sly smile appeared from the kid as he effortless flings the heavy chain directly to the group.

 Chapter 9: First Battle

    Amaranth, Amarath Kingdom; Loh Quarter (Hira 8th day of Jade 603R.T)


    ¡°Let¡¯s play.¡± A sly smile appeared from the kid as he effortless flings the heavy chain directly to the group of students and high magus. The chain as if has a life of its own coil and trying to find its victim.


    ¡°Move, O holy heaven in the sky, reject and repel. Barrier!!!¡± Prince Faris commanded his fellow classmates to clear from the impact and erected a barrier in front of him. The chain landed heavily on the barrier almost causing the barrier to crack. An eerie cackle come across the room from the monster. The students already dispersed from the impact area and the high magus currently formulating on how to defeat the monsters while chanting an offensive spell himself.


    ¡°Aqua Spear.¡± A water spear formed and lunging towards the child however intercepted by the burning hound. The spell dissipates into steam as it landed on the body of the hound and the started to gurgle a large fire towards the group. The intensity of the flame was larger than what had been expected by the high magus. The heat from the flame had melted all the candles on the nearby wall and causes cracks on the dozens of windows beside the room.


    ¡°Flame wheel!¡±


    ¡°Earth spike!¡±


    ¡°Lightning strike!¡±


    Numerous offensive spell was cast by the students charging at the flame however due to the intensity of the flame each of the spell was engulfed by the fire causing the fire to increase larger. The students shocked with the outcome started to panic as the flame started to approach much closer towards them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste mana. We need to regroup and think of what we should do!! Oberon, can you create a wall of defense to ward off the flame?¡± The high magus instructed all 5 of his students to regroup while he was eyeing on his last student; Faris that was struggling handling the attack from the monster kid named Fryl. Damn. He knows that his students has practically zero real battle experience however advance their spell work are.


    ¡°Yes. O Earth that filled with bounty, erect and Protect. Earth defense!¡± Oberon built a large mud wall in front of them to deter the flame from reaching them. Faris still trying to deflect the attacks from the child with his heavy chain alone while the other was barricading themselves behind the mud wall that erected by Oberon.


    ¡°Okay. We need to separate the two monsters. So, we will divide into two groups. Guso, Myra and Gideon. You guys will go and help Faris in defeating the child. Meanwhile, Oberon, Keera and Ramsay will accompany me to subdue the hound. We¡¯ll execute the split after the flame is out and I¡¯ll cast a smokescreen and according to the group assigned you guys will help to subdue the monster. And NO FIRE SPELL on the hound. It seems that the hound can amplify its flame using any fire spell directed towards him. Understand?¡± All of the students nodded in agreement even though the fear from earlier situation still gripping hard in their heart. Trying to regain their calmness and courage in mere seconds, they executed the plan.


    ¡°Heartless eyes that couldn¡¯t see, flee and forget. Smoke!!¡± A smoke appeared after the fire dissipated in front of the wall. The group divided into two and quickly move to each end of the room.


    ¡°Aqua spear.¡± A spear coming from the right trying to hit the flame hound to lure it away from its partner. It was a success. The hound let out a roar and started to follow the 4 silhouettes that moving to the far right end of the room. Its paws leave out a burning footprints as it gallop across the room effortless.


    ¡°Come here you dirty mutt!!!¡± The high magus taunted the hound before he and his students stopped and surrounded the hound. Surrounded by the mages, the hound started to howl and the flame from his body started to melt leaving a scarred black body. The fire that melted on the floor started to move about and forming small fire beast numbering 10 small monsters that encircling the hound making a defence line from it and the mages.


    ¡°Shit!!¡± Ramsay cursed as he saw the fire animated.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lose hope. We¡¯ll defeat this bastard!¡± The high magus reassuring his students with high spirits even though he wasn¡¯t fully sure that they could subdue the monster. Gathering his mana, he strengthen his resolve to face the deadly monsters growling fiercely towards them.


    ¡°Faris, we¡¯ve come to help!¡± Myra said as they arrive behind Faris as he deflect another attack from the kid that shatters his barrier. He had cast several barrier to hold down the attack however each of them was break after a few lashes from the monster. A brief smile come across his exhausted face.


    ¡°Thanks guys. So far he¡¯s been using the chain as his attacks. I think he¡¯s hiding more than the chain.¡± Faris delivered his analysis on the monster to his classmates. Gideon reaching something from his bag and handing it to Faris. It was a small vial of green liquid that started to shimmer as light started to reach the liquid.


    ¡°Drink this. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m an appraiser-would-be. It¡¯s a drop of rejuvenation fluid. A drop of it can heal a lot of wounds as well as removing fatigue from the body. I¡¯ve appraised his chain just now and I found that the chain is heavily imbued with ice element. Be careful not to touch it, it causes frostbite and shatters you hand in an instant. All of you take this. ¡± He handed a pill to each of them and after taking the pill, they feel a surge of mana wrapping their body also an increase in their perception of the surrounding. The pill was an enhancer that widely used by warriors and mages alike to boost their body strength and durability as well as an additional bonus of mana absorption for mages. Faris exhausted face now was gone and he is ready to face the monster for a second round.


    ¡°Wow, you sure have good drugs in that bag. Can Fryl have some?¡± The kid taunted the group with his chain only to be deflected by Faris shield. Again he lashes his chain towards the group. The chain rushed splitting the air around it and changing its direction mid swing. The chain move towards Myra who he considered the weakest in the group. Guso with his quick reflex grabbed Myra to dodge the heavy swing. The chain landed on the floor leaving a clear mark on it. Frustated by his missed attack, his face contorted as he dropped the chain to the ground and started to leap towards the group of mages. The mages already expecting the short distance attack prepared themselves and swerved in all direction as the first impact hit on the floor causing a shockwave throughout the room. Upon inspection, the impact have left a small crater on the floor as cracks emerge from it. Consequently, a roar was heard from the far end of the large room however the scattered mage can¡¯t afford to be distracted as their enemy started to launch another attack.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Lightning bind X2!!!!¡± A chain of lightning started to clutch the young kid.


    ¡°Earth totem! Water Slice!¡± Guso launched 2 spells with different affinities while his two classmates restraint the monster from moving. An explosion happen as the two spells collide on the restrained monster causing a wave of dust covering the impact point.


    ¡°Careful!! He¡¯s still there!! Stormbomb!!¡± Faris released 2 small black balls from his palm towards an emerging silhouette behind the clouding dust. The ball burst with the sound of a roaring thunder as two destructive storms emerge from the small balls. Thunder was zapping everywhere inside the room followed by a gust with heavy razor sharp wind that slicing the wide area around the monster. The windows in the room smashed by the uncontrolled lightning causing debris of broken glasses to scattered on the ground.


    ¡°Hehe¡­.this is fun. You mages manage to inflict Fryl¡¯s body with this much damage with just small spell. Hahahhaha¡­.this is FUN!!!!!¡± Fryl emerge from the devastating attacks with bloodied body and several broke glass pieces lodge on his charred left hand. His cloth stain with his blood as he leap again to attack the mages. Faris fully prepared to take on the attack as he had regained his confidence due to the visible effect of his essence spell on the monster body. He casted another binding spell to catch the monster mid-air. His classmates had already been preparing high tier spells straight after his bombs detonated to ambush the monster again in hoping to stop the monster with it.


    ¡°Lightning bind, double restraint!!¡±


    Two lightning flash towards the leaping monster and restraining it mid-leap causing the monster to lose his balance and dropping it on the scattered glass on the floor.


    ¡°Arrrghhhh!!!¡± The monster squealed as more glasses piercing his bare skin.


    ¡°Tempest!!!!¡±


    ¡°Inferno!!!!¡±


    ¡°Avalanche!!!¡±


    Three high tier spells was casted by Gideon, Myra and Guso. Beads of sweat clearly shown on their forehead indicating the difficulties in casting the spells. The y perfectly combo the spell to enhance the spell next to each other. The first spell, Tempest inflicts damage also enhances the next fire spell, Inferno and lastly the earth element spell, Avalanche crushed the monster with unrefined earth also paralysing it with the poison mixed in the earth.


    ¡°ha¡­.ha¡­..ha¡­¡± The students were out of breath after the multiple high tier spell casting to take down the monster.


    ¡°Is it down?¡± Faris asked the three after walking towards the three. Dust are still wafting around the area clouding any positive affirmation of the monster¡¯s condition. Seconds after that a loud roar shock the 4 students followed by a loud thump on the ground from ythe far end of the room. The dust has cleared and lying naked in the middle of the heavily destroyed spot was Fryl, heavily wounded and oozing blood from all over his body. His body was completely charred and cuts were found everywhere on his body.


    ¡°You guys sure are strong.¡± Fryl stated as the kid fainted.


    ¡°What a tough bastard.¡± Guso proclaimed as he further observed the monster from short distance. Myra completely silent in disbelief as her summon familiar was lying naked on the ground. Is this mine? She asked herself. Faris and Gideon slumped to the ground exhausted by the battle with the monster.


    ¡°Looks like they manage to subdue the flaming hound as well.¡± Gideon pointed happily towards the other group walking limply towards them. A smile drawn across their faces as they meet with their classmates and instructor.


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t look worse for wear. What happen?¡± High Magus Fredrick who was limping supported by Ramsay asked them with disbelief at their lack of physical damage. His right leg clearly bloodied and charred. Keera and Myra hugging each other in relief at seeing each other presence. Oberon quickly dropped himself next to Faris showing his cut ear and bruised knuckles.


    ¡°That monster was sooooo tough. But I manage to defeat it.¡± The chubby teenager started to brag his victory to the group. His bragging resembling a child brought laughter to the worn-out group.


    ¡°Looks like we don¡¯t need the headmaster after all.¡± The high magus calimed to the group with a smile on his face.


    ¡°You guys are so noisy. I just want to sleep here. Gideon complaining while lying on the ground.


    ¡°I wonder if the next familiar summoned is gonna be this strong as well.¡± Princess Keera question froze the whole group. They begin to remember back all the difficulties that they had experienced in subduing Myra¡¯s summon familiar. The prospect of summoning more monsters like these two quickly damping the mood of the entire group.


    ¡°I highly doubt that. The familiar summoned correspond with the purity of the mana you produced for the summoning. So far, only Myra can gather the highest purity of mana for a spell casting. I doubt that everyone will face a strong familiar after this. Just for precaution I will ask the headmaster to supervise the next session of summoning.¡± High Magus Fredrick explained as he rubbing his charred leg wondering if the leg can be heal to its former state. A wave of relief swept across the students after the statement by their instructor. However, Faris driven by a high competitive spirit hiding a deep disappointment for his lacking in abilities to refine the mana that he absorbed.


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!! So Gyl is down too!!!! Wonderful!! Now we can play!!!!¡± The kid voice shocked the entire group. Fryl started to bloat with a devious smirk ran across his face.


    ¡°Take cover!!!!¡± Faris said as a blinding light covering the whole room.

 Chapter 10: Lets go to the Marsh

    Amarath, Loh Quarter (Hira 8th day of Jade 603 R.T)


    A large explosion could be heard coming from Amarath School of Divinity. The residents of the Loh Quarter was shocked by the large explosion however return their attention to their task because having living next to the academy they have become adapt with the peculiarity that happen at Amarath School of Divinity and its area. As long as the incident doesn¡¯t affect their businesses and daily lives they couldn¡¯t even care about what is happening in the academy. The explosion had occurred at the right wing of the academy blowing off a large portion of the academy right wing. Enforcers already prepping to investigate the explosion.


    In the main building, the explosion had caused the wall to disintegrate leaving a large hole where the wall should be with some of the floor around the wall melt into unidentified gooey substances. The room wall built with reinforced structure also enchanted materials so that it can handle a substantial amount of magical outburst from within or outside of the room. That is why the academy deemed it to be the perfect to hold the summoning class for the students. However the sturdy structures was blasted to smithereens by the earlier magical burst. Alone inside the room, a figure of a young child is standing in the middle of the havoc while observing the destruction he had caused to the room. Not a scratch was found on the boy¡¯s body like he was just been born to this world. A smile without any remorse or regret started to draw itself on the naked child¡¯s face. High Magus Fredrick and his summoning students were lying on the cracked, tilted floor scattered all across the room full with burn wounds. Faris being the centre of the explosion was thrown to the end of the room suffering the most damage on his body. The most frightening thing is that the students are all conscious despite their almost fatal injuries.


    The child thread lightly on the floor as if playing not to step on the crack walking towards Myra who summoned both him and the flaming hound. Equipped with a face full of glee, he strode towards the limp body of the young mage trying to finish her when there was no more obstacles in his sight. As he reach the mage, he lift the mage up effortless by her neck with his right hand and started to admire his prey with ravenous eye. Myra¡¯s breathing is scarce and her mana had already depleted. She tried to resist the kid¡¯s strength however her body refused to obey her instructions.


    ¡°Fryl love to play. But Fryl doesn¡¯t like be bound to a weak master like you.¡± The monster in the form of a young kid said before drawing his left hand to thrust through Myra. His finger nails started to elongate itself becoming razor sharp ready to pierce through the girl¡¯s body.


    ¡°Hel¡­me¡­¡±Myra¡¯s plead for help escaped her small mouth as tears started to roll from her eyes. She was scared. She was scared that she couldn¡¯t meet her parents again. She was scared that she couldn¡¯t spend more time exploring Amarath. She was scared that she couldn¡¯t achieve her ambition that is see the world.


    ¡°Sorry princess, no one¡¯s gonna come.¡± Fryl said as he motion his hand to thrust the girl.


    ¡°Black Deity that govern the hole, Sink and weave. Ultima Bind!!¡± A sudden voice coming from the door area followed by a ghastly figure passing through the scattered students towards the monster binding it in place. The hand that started about to thrust Myra stopped mid-air as the figure started to bind itself on the monster and slowly changing to a thick black ooze. Fryl squirmed as he tried to free from the rapidly thickens black ooze but to no avail.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I¡¯ve made it in time.¡± The headmaster of the school was standing out of breath in front of the used to be door of the room. Rootbeet the Immaculate is a considerable large man with a full head of black hair which was rather odd considering he¡¯s been living for 150 turns already. Straight a few seconds after that, several high magus appeared at the scene of carnage and gasped at the picture that present themselves in front of them. Sia, the last one to arrive scream in surprise as she saw what had happen to her friends.


    ¡°Calm yourself little one. They all can be cured. Now what we are going to do with you?¡± Rootbeet walk slowly towards the restrained monster as his group of high magus scattered themselves giving first aid to the burned victims. Myra was quickly drawn away from the vicinity of the monster after the monster dropped her to the ground. Observing the amount of damage done to the specialised room, Rootbeet calculated the amount of money needed to repair the room to its previous state while giving out a sigh.


    ¡°What are you?¡± Rootbeet asked the monster with cold murderous eyes. His eyes changes from the usual brown eyes to a cold reptile slit. Normal people will cower at the sight but the boy just stare at him indifference while remaining silent to the question. He gripped his hand signalling the black ooze to compress deliberately squeezing out a loud groan from the boy. He released his grip and ask again.


    ¡°What are you? Let me rephrase that. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Fryl. They call me Fryl.¡±


    Thirn (Hira 10th day of Jade 603R.T)


    Ashia woke up from her deep sleep early in the morning. Her hand searches the other side of the bed for warmth but she quickly remembers that her husband was out on a conquest away from the village. She rub her head as she sit on bed revealing a beautiful adorned pair of horns on her head. She started to perform her morning ritual after giving thanks to the gods and walk slowly to the back part of the house to prepare breakfast.


    Wush¡­..wush¡­..wush


    A repeating swinging sound could be clearly heard from the backyard of the house. Ashia knew truly well who was making the sound that she couldn¡¯t bother to look outside to peek. It was her son; Lsyn practicing with his axe. He had done that numerous time before that it no more surprise Ashia when she woke up in the morning. She quickly return to the task at hand and walk approaching the stove right in the middle of the kitchen. She observed the cold stove and started to literally blow fire to ignite it. After that, she strode to the small coop at the edge of the kitchen. She open the cage just to close it immediately after catching a considerable size horned rabbit from it.


    ¡°You look delicious. I¡¯ll bet your meat is tastier than yesterday¡¯s rock chick.¡± She said as she teased the flailing horned rabbit that trying to escape her grasp. She flicked the twitching rabbit nose before chuckled by herself walking towards the knives.


    Lsyn was doing his normal routine in the morning when he heard a faint sound from the kitchen of the house. Ah! Mom is up, he thought to himself. His routine which he had done since a few turns ago consists of stamina building regiment as well as his small axe weapon proficiency. Due to his small stature compare to the other demon kids, he had to switch his primary weapon from a broad axe to small axes. This saddened his hulking father as he really wished for Lsyn to take over his broad axe once Lsyn grown up. His body show maturity from the last time as now he has the physique of an early teenager. His height reached 160 cm and already almost reaching his mother¡¯s height; 180 cm. His body started to show the accumulation of muscles from rigorous training and sparring sessions as well of a few scars from his childhood skirmishes and hunting expeditions with his friends on his pale grey skin. However his growth are nowhere near the other¡¯s growth as now they are walking behemoths among the villagers. It is considered a blessing towards the village with the emergence of new blood to succeed the older generation.


    ¡°998¡­.ugh¡­..999¡­.ugh¡­1000.¡± Lsyn dropped the axe down as his hands was becoming numb from swinging. The smell of morning horned rabbit stew started to waft into his nostrils. His mouth started to salivate and before long he started to clear his training tools and rushed to the kitchen. There, his mother was stirring the cauldron where the delicious smell originated.


    ¡°What¡¯s for breakfast?¡± He asked with a bright smile on his face.


    ¡°You already knew what we will be having, don¡¯t you? Now go wash your hands and breakfast will be served momentarily.¡± Ashia replied.


    Lsyn went in to the main house and Ashia served the dishes on the table. Lsyn returned to the table and take a seat at the small round table. Ashia taking a seat and started to hand out a portion of the stew to Lsyn. Lsyn trying so hard to maintain his drool inside his mouth, gave out a puzzled look when his mother hand him the stew.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Only this?¡± Lsyn added with a sly smile as he gestured to his portion.


    ¡°Finish it up and you¡¯ll get more. Furthermore, your father is returning today. I¡¯ll need to clean the house so play outside today but not too far from the village.¡± His mother scooped some of the stew to her mouth as she finished her talk. Lsyn unable to control his hunger anymore gulped the stew raucously. Ashia just smile watching his son ate the stew she make.


    ¡°Mom, when can I use magic?¡± Lsyn asked while he¡¯s clearing the table after he had taken his breakfast. His hand swiftly scooped the empty bowls in front of him and brought it to the backyard. His mom walking alongside him in silent trying to find the right word for to explain it to him.


    ¡°Magic for most demons are talent that bestow by the gods. Like the story your father told you about our tribe broad axe, the magic will be given to the demons when they reach their 8th turn. We usually held it in a ceremony called The Raising. The head shaman of the village; the old pervert who live at the end of the village, don¡¯t tell anyone I said that will hold The Raising in the middle of Crusa, whether on 13th, 14th or the 15th day of Cressila.¡± His mother informed him as they reach the well located in their backyard.


    ¡°So, your fire breath is bestowed by the gods?¡±


    ¡°Yes, on my 8th turns. Slica bestowed me my talent with fire breath and I used it in many battle fields till I met your father.¡± Ashia started blushing remembering her first encounter with her husband. Lsyn handed the empty bowls to his mother and started to wonder what kind of magic will he be able to use once he reached his 8th turn.


    Later that day¡­


    ¡°Hey, you guys wait for me!!!¡± Lsyn was running toward the group of young demons at the edge of the village. Comparing him with them is like the fairy tale of David and Goliath.


    ¡°Who invite the pipsqueak?¡± The largest of them with a red skin glances to the small demon and look back at his companions with displeasure. There were 3 of them with humongous bodies. Their own broad axe was wrapped neatly behind them.


    ¡°Well, he might have heard it from me. I didn¡¯t mean to tell him. I¡¯m sorry Gon.¡± The dark skin demon timidly answered the rhetorical question. His horn protruding from the side of his head curled like a ram¡¯s. Gon, the red skin demon look menacingly at the dark demon and pushed the slightly smaller demon making the later dropped to the ground. His single horn protruding from his forehead glowing red under the bright daylight.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you get if you spread anymore information to unnecessary individuals.¡± He strained on the word individuals highlighting the person that are striding fast towards them. The other demon; clad in his pale green skin just smirk at the fallen demon without a thought of helping him. All of the three demons was over 180 cm tall with a broad shoulder with many scars displayed on their body. Apparently, since Gon the largest of them all he was crowned as the alpha of the young demons¡¯ group.


    ¡°Gon, I heard from Cruff that you guys are going to wonder outside the village. I want to come.¡± Lsyn approaching the group without any idea what had transpired just a few seconds ago. Cruff, the dark demon was already on his feet removing any dirt stuck on his attire when he was dropped by Gon.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, right Drim? We are going quite far from the village and I don¡¯t think a small one like you can handle yourself out there. Go back to your mother tits.¡± Gon was mocking Lsyn for his physique while getting a nod from Drim the green demon. Drim who is self-appointed Gon¡¯s right hand man was 195 cm tall demon with three horns adorning his head.


    Straight after the slander thrown out by Gon, Lsyn facial expression changes to a scowl. Then, he disappeared from their sight. Not soon after Gon was downed by the small demon.


    ¡°Fuck you. You think you¡¯re the only demon in this village?¡± Lsyn said while holding two small axes on both his hand. Gon who was dumbfounded by the attack quickly get up on his feet and reaching his gigantic broad axe from his behind. His face shown an incredible rage and steam can be clearly seen seeping from his engorged horn.


    ¡°Drim, better make room. I¡¯m going to kill this fucker.¡± Drim retreated slightly with a slight fear on his face. Cruff unable to stop Gon¡¯s wrath just retreat to mek room for the duel.


    ¡°Arrrrrrrrr!!!!¡± Gon charge with his broad axe upwards high enough to block the sun towards Lsyn. His large physique does not hampering hius speed at all. He was charging like mad bull with an incredible speed and landed the large broad axe with a large upright swing. The ground shattered and splattered all over the place.


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Lsyn uninjured by the first violent strike taunted Gon further with his hand gesture saying ¡®get it here¡¯. Gon further enraged swing the broad axe sideways and using the momentum from the swing he continue to land a barrage of attacks towards the small demon. Due to his small body and his slightly higher agility, Lsyn manage to doge all of the attacks with a small margin. Then, he planned his counter attack as soon as Gon stopped his attacks to regain his stamina. However, he had made a miscalculation in his plan because Gon was not stopping or even slowing down his attacks at all. Now his attacks become sharper and some of them manage to land a few chips on Lsyn body.


    ¡°Damn.¡± Lsyn jerked backward to create a distance between them. Gon close the distance without any difficulties due to their different size and leaping stride. Lsyn braced himself in receiving the full blown attack from the hulking beast.


    ¡°Bam!!!!¡± A thunderous sound coming from the collision between the two demons and Lsyn being the smaller and the receiving end of the tackle flown hitting the trees with a loud impact.


    ¡°Arrgh!!!¡± He screamed as he tried to get back on his feet after the powerful impact.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you get when you mess with me!¡± Gon exclaimed as he can see victory was not that far from his reach. He steadied his axe once more and getting ready to finish the fight. He leaped forward holding his axe down with both of his hand. Lsyn aware of the impending attack swerved himself to his side. Gon swing upwards towards Lsyn previous location causing the large tree to be uprooted and flown to the sky. It was Gon¡¯s favourite move. The two swing finisher that his family are so proud of. Once the enemy was flung mid-air, they will do a downward swing of their axe with their full strength to kill the enemy. Gon landed the second swing so hard that it send a shockwave to the area. The shockwave also reached Lsyn causing him to blown away from the area pelted by the dirt that spread from the attack.


    ¡°Okay!!! You won!!! Happy?¡± Lsyn conceded their bout. He realized that his speed couldn¡¯t match with the demon¡¯s strength. He should devise another strategy to fight this ridiculous strength next time. But now, he must admit defeat.


    A smile crawl on Gon¡¯s face. His broad axe is still lodge in the upturned tree cleaving the tree almost half. Drim appearing from behind one of the tree also grinning triumphantly event though it wasn¡¯t him that was fighting. The pair approached Lsyn and out of nowhere a punch to the face by Drim was awarded to Lsyn.


    ¡°That¡¯s for being insolence towards us.¡± Drimm spoke with his snake-like voice.


    ¡°Enough. He already learnt his lesson. Come on, get up on your feet. We¡¯ll take you along then since you¡¯ve shown enough guts to oppose me.¡± Gon returned to his broad axe and yanked it out from the tree without any difficulty. Lsyn rubbing his face sheathed his axe to his waist and started to regroup with the demons¡¯ youngster.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good exercise.¡± Exclaimed the large red demon.


    ¡°Yeah, so good that you have to destroy Mama Olin¡¯s Gunya Tree.¡± Lsyn gave his remark to the group. Cruff who was hiding already within their group circle. He was a bit of a coward even though he has an enormous body.


    ¡°So, where are we going?¡± Lsyn asked as the group started to move towards outside of the village.


    ¡°To Rastha Marsh.¡±

 Chapter 11: Arf, Arf, Arf

    Outskirts of Thirn (Hira 10th day of Jade 603R.T)


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that Rastha Marsh is reserved for the adults? I heard that place is super scary with its powerful creatures and lurking Cretans. Only the one that the elders have approved can venture to the place.¡± Cruff stated the information he got from his parents. Rastha Marsh, a 3 hours journey southwest from the village was a usual hunting ground for the elites in their village. The elites usually brought home thorn fish, black beak and arf beast home to the village; unusual and hard to catch creatures which are found in abundance in the marsh.


    ¡°If you are so scared you can turn back home. Today, our aim is to capture an arf beast. If we manage to catch one then we can prove ourselves to the elders and we can join the elites for their next hunting trip.¡± Gon spoke brazenly leading the pack. He is full with confidence leading the group. Drim, like a good follower just nodding in agreement while Cruff was scared to his wits. Lsyn just putting his calm face on the front as he try to remember the information he read about the beast.


    ¡°Arf Beast u said? Isn¡¯t that kinda dangerous, Gon? The beast the elites usually brought back is 2 times the size of us.¡± Cruff trying to persuade his brethren in aborting the suicidal mission.


    ¡°And that¡¯s why we have 4 top demons here¡­..well, 3 and a half.¡± Gon smirked as he said the statement intending to provoke Lsyn.


    ¡°Fuck off Gon. I think we are missing something about the arf beast. Hmm¡­.what is it? Hmmm I can¡¯t seem to remember. I remember reading something about it.¡± Lsyn still trying to remember the crucial thing he had read once in a bestiary. He usually alternate between training and reading as for him the increase in one¡¯s knowledge may alter the course of the battle. This also include the time he help his mother around the house; cleaning up and any chores given to him. It was peculiar for a warrior especially in the Freir Tribe to be able to read at a tender age because the Frier emphasises on building a strong physical earlier in life.


    ¡°Read? It¡¯s better if you polish up your fighting skill. You should ditch the book. Can you use a book in battle? NO!!! So, bulk up like the rest of us. Well¡­..Except Cruff.¡± Drim lectured Lsyn once he heard about him reading books. He was triggered by the notion of Demon Warriors reading books. He can¡¯t fathom the significance of a few pages in amidst the battle field. No wonder his strength is not on par with all ofus¡­¡­.what is he thinking? Reading books? As if a Freir needed that sort of thing. Drim thought to himself.


    ¡°Hey, move up! We need to reach the place before sunset so that we can locate the beasts den.¡± Gon ushered his group to quicken their pace as the sunset are rapidly approaching them. There was no road that leads directly to the marsh. They have to venture through a thick forest before they reach the marsh. Along the way, they have encounter some of the local creatures that are common to them. Migor, silky monkey and root deer; all of the creatures they have encountered on a daily basis and see no point in hunting them. However, Lsyn suggested that they should bring some bait to entice the arf beast so the demons hunted a large Migor to bring along to Rastha Marsh. MIgor a hybrid between a tapir and a gorilla. They are quite slow but never be deceived by their look because Migor is carnivore by nature.


    The whole journey took longer than 3 hours because they have to hunt the bait for their prey. They reached the marsh with 2 hours to spare before sunset. Once they reached the marsh, they were greeted by a sweet subtle smell. The marshland was very vast. It was a cluster of small islands with tall grasses with no visible hiding places. The water canal separating each islands flows at an extremely slow flow almost stagnant. It was a very beautiful place with fresh air and a very delightful scenery. However the demons didn¡¯t come here to enjoy the scenery. They quickly try to locate one of the beast den using all of their hunting skills. Hopefully they want to locate one before the night fall because beasts usually more active in the nights. They don¡¯t want the hunters become the hunted during the night time.


    ¡°What did you guys found?¡± Gon asked the boys to report their findings after they¡¯ve split up searching for tracks in the marsh. Due to the size of the marsh, they¡¯ve decide to split up to cover more areas of the marshland. They trod the marsh in four different directions and planned ahead to regroup at sunset.


    ¡°Nothing in my direction.¡± Drim answered nonchalantly.


    ¡°None in mine. Also I still think we should go back¡­..¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Cruff!! We¡¯re already here so might as well we see it to the end. Lsyn?¡± Gon shouted at Cruff.


    ¡°I might have found something¡­¡­but it ain¡¯t arf beast.¡± Lsyn reported back. Upon hearing the report Gon¡¯s eyes started to shine filled with expectation.


    ¡°Well, what are waiting for? A fucking invitation? Tell us what you found. I got no trail in my direction.¡± Gon instructed Lsyn to share his findings. Sometime he want to knock something inside the small demon¡¯s head so that Lsyn more assertive and comply with him. His ego clouded his judgement as he see himself as the rightful successor as the chief of the tribe; a title for the strongest warrior of the Freir.


    ¡°It¡¯s not arf beast. It¡¯s something bigger. The tracks I¡¯ve found lead deeper into the marsh. By the estimation of its weight and the size of the tracks its made, it is thrice the size of arf beast and it¡¯s nastier than any creatures I¡¯ve hunted before judging from the intensity of the smell of blood coming from its direction.¡± Lsyn presented his report to the group. Few expressions can be seen from the entire member of the group. Gon was brim with excitement, Drim still wearing his Noah mask filled with indifference and Cruff was terrified.


    ¡°Well what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s start tracking this beast.¡± Gon started to imagine his fame when he¡¯s finally hunt down the beast. He was intoxicated with power and due to there is none to stop him among his peers, he become obsessed in finding ways to prove his strength without considering the consequences. Cruff was already fidgeting when hearing Lsyn¡¯s report however upon hearing Gon¡¯s suggestion to hunt the monster, he started to sweat profusely. He froze at his seat. Drim meanwhile already packing his item to start hunting the beast like a good soldier he is.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°May I suggest something?¡± Lsyn chirped in.


    ¡°What?¡± All eyes were on him. Cruff was begging with his eyes to abort the hunt.


    ¡°I suggest that we stop for the night because we¡¯re at disadvantage to hunt at nights and tomorrow we start early but before we hunt this thing, it¡¯s better if we widen our options by tracking more into the marsh. And if we still can¡¯t track a single beast aside from this one, then we hunt it by noon. What do you guys say?¡± Lsyn suggested. He was a having a mixed feeling about hunting this creature. It was too easy to track and as if it wanted to be followed. He was also scared as the footprints it left suggested that the beast wasn¡¯t just enormous but also agile.


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­.that is also right. Even though we are blessed with partial night vision, we can¡¯t hunt the thing at a disadvantage. I am for the suggestion Gon but I don¡¯t understand why we need to track another beast while we can hunt this one.¡± Drim finally opening his mouth to talk. He rarely agrees with Lsyn¡¯s opinions but Lsyn was thankful for his agreement in this one. Lsyn having a hard time to convince the hard headed Gon but with Drim¡¯s help he might be able to. Gon was contemplating Drim¡¯s suggestion in silence.


    ¡°We need to widen our options because we need to bring something home from the hunt right? If we fail with the beast not that I think we will fail, we can pursue the others as a failsafe plan right?¡± Lsyn further adding more excuses to fortify his suggestion. He still want to proceed with his suggestion earlier because he already considered the risk of undertaking such dangerous mission.


    ¡°Well, you have a fair point there. I also agree with what Lsyn had suggested. Furthermore out of the four of us, Lsyn is the best hunter here. He can identify the beast weight, movement and habits just by its paw prints. I am quite impressed by the analysis earlier. Maybe that¡¯s why you are smaller than us.¡± Drim complimented with a snide sarcasm remark at the end of his sentence.


    Yes. Drim has eaten the bait. Now it¡¯s time to bait the big fish. Lsyn thought to himself while hiding a grin due to his perfectly planned bait. He¡¯s now playing the master puppeteer where he want to guide Gon to follow his suggestions subtly but there is no other way unless he can make Drim dance in his palm. Now that phase 1 is complete, next is to wait for the big fish to bite.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll follow what you¡¯ve said Lsyn but¡­¡­the big beast is our main hunt. I don¡¯t want to return before we meet this beast and nothing can satisfy me now that you¡¯re found a large target for us.¡± Gon finally decided on the hunt after a while in deep thought. Cruff almost burst into tears with the majority agreement among his companions. Reluctantly, he had to agree with the group otherwise he would be left behind.


    ¡°Ok, where should we set camp?¡± Cruff said nervously.


    Snake path, Godstain Mountain. (Hira 11th day of Jade 603R.T)


    The wind was blowing harsh against the slow moving caravans riding through the snake path of Godstain. The caravan was packed with demons of the Freir tribe as they were returning after being summoned by their king. The two caravans rocked slowly withstanding the harsh wind blowing at them. Four fiercely looking Zaracals are mounted to each of the caravans. Most of the demons are already fallen asleep except for the drivers and a small few of them. Among the awake was Hrutt, one of the elders of Freir. He was deep in thought while watching the faded Jade and stars in the sky. Next to him was Kunika, the Freir¡¯s shaman rocking slowly with the caravans.


    ¡°Can¡¯t sleep?¡± Kunika opened his mouth.


    ¡°Yeah. Looking forward to get home to my wife.¡± Hrutt answered. His mind is still lingering on the previous meeting with the King. The king had presented an impossible suggestion that shocked most of the demon leaders in the Gian.


    ¡°Still thinking about the suggestion heh? I hope the king has something in plan because the suggestion that he just gave is out of this world. Made me think that he had some more agendas that he hadn¡¯t told us.¡± The shaman knew very well what had keep the elder awake. He also perplexed as he heard the proposal by the king earlier. His mind was racing then thinking of any possibilities of such outrageous proposal.


    ¡°Well, nothing really escape you huh, Kunika. No wonder the gods have been talking to you.¡± Hrutt paused for a while before continuing his words. He tried to tread lightly on the subject that he¡¯s going to comment for fear to be label as a traitor among the demons.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about this new suggestion by the new emperor. Sure he pointed out all the goodness in it but I can only see it as a sign of submission to the other party. We, the demons are the pinnacle of the gods creation submit to an inferior race. I¡¯m shocked that nobody would slit his throat as he suggest it.¡± Hrutt said as he clenched his fist. His dissatisfaction to the king new suggestion had clearly shown on his rough face.


    ¡°Maybe he already dismembered all the people who oppose this idea! Heck, maybe there¡¯s an assassin waiting to take your head.¡± Kunika tried to make a joke but the joke was dry like the wind that currently blowing at them.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious Kunika. Lending our might to others signifying that we see them as equal but to fight under their banner is saying that we submit ourselves to their rule. We need to do something about this.¡± Hrutt said afterward. Kunika silenced himself at the corner of the caravan considering his word before he started to talk again.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re suggesting we overthrow the king? Is that what you¡¯re trying to say? Am I hearing myself right?¡± Kunika asked in whispers.


    ¡°The king expect each tribe answer by the end of the month. I suggest that we meet with the other leaders and end this madness.¡± Hrutt was filled with determination on opposing the King¡¯s proposal. Even though he will be committing a blasphemous act in defying the king, he would never let his tribe bow down to anyone.


    ¡°Well, things gonna be busy now. Both options we¡¯ve been presented end up in war. But¡­¡­I rather die in a war among my brethren rather than among the beast. I¡¯m in. We need to gather our forces though.¡± Kunika answered with enthusiasm.


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be any problem.¡± Hrutt said with a smile started to shape on his face.

 Chapter 12: Busted

    Rastha Marsh (Hira 11th day of Jade 603R.T)


    The day has reached its peak a few minutes ago. The sun of Hira now shining brightly on top of the sky. The sky was clear with an occasional appearance of thin layered cloud. Rastha Marsh is a complete different compare to its late evenings and deep nights. The marsh now filled with lives. There are bugs flying everywhere and the sun reflected on the surface of the waters. The buzzing of the bugs are so intense that the sound constantly humming in your ears even though you kept on swatting the bugs away. Lsyn was frozen still without making any movement hiding in one of the tall grasses. Beads of sweat already decorating his forehead. He wouldn¡¯t dare to wipe the sweat fearing for the sudden movement could chase his prey away. His eyes staring at the placed bait; the leftover of the Migor¡¯s meat that was injected with numbing poison extracted from Sulur pufferfish. He also keep watch for his surrounding for any movement indicating an approaching creature. Silent. The air stood still for a moment. The faint smell of the marsh still lingering in the air as the air stood still.


    After what it seems for hours, Lsyn finally stood up from his hiding place and went straight to check on the bait. The bait was still intact and no signs of anything chewing on it only a few small bugs hovering around the meat. After carefully placing a few poison dart trap around the meat, he carefully retraced his footsteps to avoid triggering the traps he set. It¡¯s already noon and it¡¯s time they have agreed upon to meet again at their camp. The agreement as instructed by Gon was Lsyn is to set up bait to lure the giant beast out from its lair meanwhile the other three split up in new directions to check for new creature tracks.


    They have set camp the previous night at one of the small island of the marsh located at the centre of each of the directions they¡¯ve tracked yesterday. There is not much of an encampment actually. Due to their thick skin, they don¡¯t need anything to help them sleep on any ground providing the ground itself is not wet or filled with spikes. They have taken turns guarding that night to prevent any uninvited attacks towards them while they were sleeping. Once Lsyn had reached the camp, he saw Gon was lying down sharpening his broad axe using the black wheat stone he had brought along.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing? I thought you said you guys are going to find new tracks.¡±


    ¡°What? I¡¯m sharpening my axe. Yes, I did said that this morning. So what?¡± Gon sheathed his axe and standing up to greet Lsyn. His face shown content to the small demon¡¯s return in the hopes of bringing good news about their hunt.


    ¡°Then, what the hell are you doing here?¡± Now instead of questions filled his head now he was seething with anger. This retard was wasting his whole morning here idling around the camp. How arrogant is he with his strength. Arrogance breed carelessness and that will lead to a certain death when hunting. He clenched his fist trying to remain calm as his rage was almost reaching his limits.


    ¡°Like I said I¡¯m preparing my axe for the hunt. Are you deaf?¡± Gon said with a harsher tone towards Lsyn. He had detected a hint of anger from the small demon. He don¡¯t know what to make of it but the seething anger from the small demon send his spine tingling. However, he was confident that he could take on the kid if he had to as displayed before the hunt started.


    ¡°Oi, what are you guys doing? I¡¯ve found nothing in this direction. Not a single footprint. I found it very weird with the buzzing of the bugs everywhere.¡± Drim emerged from one of the tall bushes with a faint smell of the marsh coming from him. He came just the right time to stop both of the demon fighting each other. After a few seconds, Cruff shuffled from the water canal and trod towards the camp. He also found a dead end on his search for the tracks. He was a little bit wary of the fact but he refrain himself from telling the group.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been setting up traps around our bait and stalked it for the whole morning. Nothing came. Not even an arf beast which the elites remark are abundance in this area. I found it¡¯s quite weird as well. Also, the smell of blood is getting thicker in the air. No more new tracks but I can feel something is watching us. Hunting us.¡± Lsyjn presented his report to the group after manage not to bulk Gon¡¯s head to the ground. His report are received with different reaction from the group.


    ¡°Well, what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s kill that thing. Cruff drag your coward ass here. After this hunt we can go home.¡± Cruff delighted with the prospect of getting home that he managed to somehow forget the fact that they are hunting a very ferocious monster. Lsyn just stare with a blank face and started to guide the whole pack to the place where he had set up the bait.


    Upon reaching the place, he hold his hand signalling that they should stop as they secure the perimeter. Much to their surprise, the bait was already gone. The traps set was either sprung or destroyed with heavy footsteps trampling all over the place. Lsyn was checking for any unsprang trap before he signalled the other three to meet him.


    ¡°What the fuck Lsyn? I thought you already set up all your traps here. What happen?¡± Drim asked angrily at Lsyn.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Apparently this creature is bigger than what I¡¯ve expected. See here, the paw prints is deeper and the ground dispersed more on its back leg. It means it walks with its hind legs supporting the upper body. The smell of blood is somehow doesn¡¯t change from the morning and I am very convince that this beast knows about the traps and sprung all of them. Also, it has immunity to Sulur pufferfish poison judging by it can walk away after devouring the bait.¡± Lsyn started to analyse the scene. He was challenged by the hunt and the fact that all of his traps and trickeries are foiled by the beast make him submit that they have to hunt it the usual way; full frontal confrontation.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Well, can you track it?¡± Gon asked impatiently.


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s moving north upwards. I saw an elevated clearing earlier when I was canvassing the area. We can get a better view there.¡± Lsyn suggested to the group. His suggestion was answered with a resound agreement. Cruff already taking out some Gonya leaves and churned it in his mouth to temporarily boost his physical senses. His eyes; originally browned now stained with red signalling the effect of the leaves already taking place.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Thirn (Hira 11th day of Jade 603 R.T)


    Two caravans being pulled by Zaracals was charging towards the village gate of Thirn. The watch man was a grey demon with his inward horns holding his large axe watched as the caravan come to a stop.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± The watchman asked to the caravans¡¯ passenger.


    ¡°Igur you stupid oaf!!! It¡¯s us you idiot!!¡± Kunika shouted as he peered through from inside the caravan.


    ¡°Yeah, now open the bloody door, my friend!!¡± Hrutt shouted a few second after Kunika. He peered outside the caravan with a smile on his face. The watchman; Igur returned the smile with a grin of his own before disappeared into the watch tower. The gate then open slowly with the sound of people heaving it open from behind it.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    The caravans enter the vicinity of the village and stop at the empty space right in the middle of the village. Around 10 demons walked out from the caravans and gathered before Igur some of his man came and lead the zaracals to their barn.


    ¡°Okay guys! Listen here! No one. I mean no one should know what we¡¯ve discussed on our journey back from the palace. When I mean no one, I mean not a soul! Get it!¡± Hrutt said to the group with Kunika standing by his side making a stern look. His warning is greeted with an unanimous agreement from the demons in front of him. Satisfied by their answer Hrutt hold out his hand and share a handshake with each of the demons before dispersing he group. Walking slowly towards his home, Hrutt was accompanied by Kunika along the way.


    ¡°Are you sure we¡¯re gonna do this?¡± Kunika once again ask Hrutt with a serious facial expression on his wrinkly face. He had considered everything however he just need one more push to solidify his resolve towards Hrutt¡¯s insane plan.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Two words came out from Hrutt¡¯s mouth. These two words were the only thing that Kunika need to hear to reinforce his resolve. Now he put up a calm face as he can clearly see who was waiting Hrutt in front of the house.


    ¡°Welcome back!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m bac¡­¡± Hrutt couldn¡¯t manage to finish his sentence as Ashia running towards him and planted a deep kiss on him. He returned the kiss as passionately as he could. He really missed home after being two moons away from it.


    ¡°Ehem¡­..¡± Kunika interrupted the couple with a slight cough signalling that they¡¯re not alone in the proximity. Kunika a bit ashamed with the sight in front of him like he was 60 turns years old again. Ashia quickly loosened her hug over Hrutt neck and searched for the direction of the cough originated. He face changed from a wide smile welcoming her husband home to a low scowl after turning her head to see Kunika.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Kunika. Didn¡¯t see you there. My gods you¡¯re getting older every time I see you.¡± Ashia said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She really hates the guy.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­..you¡¯re right my dear. I¡¯m getting older but you¡¯re still the same child that playing with snot under her mom foot that I used to know. Please act your age Ashia. For God¡¯s sake you have a husband and a child.¡± Kunika said with a chuckle at the end of his sentences. He¡¯s quite offended by Ashia¡¯s words but he managed to make a comeback for himself. Ashia turned red hearing the insults and started about to attack Kunika before she was stopped by her husband.


    ¡°Stop it you two. By the way Ashia, where¡¯s my boy?¡± Hrutt were asking for his son. Usually, Lsyn would greet his father safe return with his mother but today he was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°He went hunting with Gon.¡± Ashia said answering Hrutt¡¯s question. Hrutt raised his eyebrow in suspicion. The usual hunting ground for the boys are right in the middle of their way home but there were no sign of anyone hunting or greeting them along the way. He started to suspect something was off. It couldn¡¯t be. They wouldn¡¯t dare. He keep denying himself before he speak to both Ashia and Kunika.


    ¡°Ashia, stay here till I¡¯m back. Kunika, gather Igur and Mora. Meet me at the village¡¯s gate as soon as possible. I need to check something first.¡±


    As soon as Hrutt given the command, Kunika knew something was wrong. Without making any witty remark, he straight away left the couple and went to search for the aforementioned demons. Hrutt facial changes brought a sudden panic inside Ashia. It was normal for the boys to go hunting but this unusual expression on Hrutt¡¯s face determine that something was off.


    ¡°Hrutt, what is it? What¡¯s happening?¡±Ashia asked trying to contain her panic.


    ¡°The boys are not in their usual hunting ground. I bet they are at some place far. Far and dangerous. So, stay here Ashia and I promise to bring the boys home. They sure need a lot of beating once they get home.¡± Hrutt said leaving Ashia to take care of the house. He just got back. Ashia, like a good wife just watched her husband left and stay back. Her instinct are telling her that the boys should be fine because the gods are watching over them. However her heart is in turmoil as she heard that the boys might be in danger. She was torn between following her husband and stayed at home as her husband ordered. Somewhere far and dangerous. It can¡¯t be. Ashia gasped as there was only two possibilities came across her mind.


    ¡°Please Gods, protect my family.¡± She prayed by herself to the gods for protection to her family.