Chapter 5 - The General Learns About the Human Empire
We had been on the road for a few days, traveling deeper into the Kingdom of Teresia to stay in the region of the Duchy of Evenhart and take refuge in my family's mansion. My hand was itching to grab a sword; I wanted to keep any weapon close to me for protection. Even though I was a child, I wanted something to use if we were attacked.
Now that everything about my family's truth had been revealed, my mother allowed me to learn about this kingdom and this world. She didn’t want me to open a history book and notice my family's name in it, as we are important and have held our position since these lands were wild.
I discovered that the Kingdom of Teresia is divided into eight Duchies, each ruled by a Duke. Above the Dukes are the four Grand Dukes, who have some blood relation to the royalty, and above these Grand Dukes is the Royal Family. I am from the Kingdom of Teresia, which borders the Kingdoms of Renesia and Nemesia. The names are similar because each kingdom was named in honor of the founding family. The Founding Emperor divided his empire into three kingdoms and named them after his daughters. The Founding Emperor didn’t want a major fight for the throne when he died, so he divided the Empire before his death and gave it to his daughters.
The old empire existed at least two millennia ago, so a lot has changed since then. Each daughter defended the supremacy of her own species... It seems that the Emperor had many wives, and over time these species divided and occupied these kingdoms.
The Kingdom of Teresia is the home of humans and where I live, governed by the Royal Family, the ‘Asalons,’ descendants of Teresia. Their surname remains Asalon, and the name of the kingdom is added at the end for the royal family.
The Kingdom of Renesia is the home of demi-humans. From what I’ve heard, they are similar to humans. The difference is that demi-humans have more animalistic features. I didn’t quite understand what animalistic features meant, but my mother explained that their ears are those of the animal representing their tribe, and they also have a tail. It seems that the Emperor was a true rogue and to ‘seal the peace’ he took a wife from each tribe. So the Kingdom of Renesia is where all the demi-humans live.
Part of me was trying to understand what a half-human, half-animal would look like, but since my mother told me it was just some features, I tried to imagine myself with cat ears.
Combined with my cat-like eyes, I would be unbeatable in the art of negotiating with my mother.
It was fun to unwind listening to their stories. The last kingdom is the most mysterious and reclusive.
The Kingdom of Nemesia is the home of elves and high elves. I understood that elves are humans with pointed ears, and high elves are their purest form. It seems that when the Founding Emperor married a high elf, his half-human descendants had slightly less pointed ears. In the old empire, everyone was one people, so the pure elves became high elves to distinguish themselves. The division occurred due to some internal dispute at the time of the creation of the Kingdom of Nemesia. To seal this dispute, the royal family of Nemesia married the representatives of the high elves. Nowadays, it’s hard to notice the mix since elves and high elves have united into a single kingdom, but experts can distinguish the thickness of an elf's ear tip in terms of ‘purity’... I don’t know why that matters; to me, they are all elves.
Not everything is rosy. Even achieving peace in the internal dispute, some high elves decided to continue only ‘breeding’ among themselves. It seems that high elves have fewer emotions than normal elves, who are mixed with humans. In the end, the division was made between these two types of elves. So, when mentioning the Kingdom of Nemesia, it has to be said that it is the ‘home of elves and high elves,’ although elves with human ancestry can use other elements that high elves cannot.
At the center of all this, right on the border between the three kingdoms, lies ‘Apsalon,’ a city within a large circular wall. The city of Apsalon incorporates parts of each kingdom, and it is a place where the diversity of species is evident. In Apsalon, you can live on a street and have an elf or a demi-human with dog ears as your neighbor. To prevent disputes like those in the past, the three kingdoms created this city a few centuries ago to symbolize their unity.
All nobles from the kingdoms have houses there to show they agree with this ‘union,’ although each prefers to live in their main home in their respective regions. The city of Apsalon has no ruler and is considered a neutral region. The governance of this city is a partnership among the noble families originating from that place under the dominion of the Apsalon Magic Academy, where there are teachers of all races. One day, I will have to go to this Academy if I want to deeply learn about magic... I am also obligated to go due to the ‘noble’ status I will receive when I am officially declared the heir.
I ended up reaching the part of my topic, "how did my father die?"... I had to ask. My mother told me that first, I had to understand that outside the three kingdoms, which together represent the old Founding Empire, there is the ‘Human Empire’ and the ‘Theocracy’ that live far from us on their continent.
The Human Empire consists of the ‘true humans,’ who are humans without any affinity for mana, completely blocked from it, making it impossible for them to produce a mage. It seems that the racial mix from millennia ago created a hybrid species, my species, which they call ‘false humans.’ We are born with a mana gem inside us. Even those who do not become mages still have mana affinity; the only difference is they cannot use it. However, even non-mages are somewhat more resilient than common humans, able to become warriors and adventurers who venture out, facing dungeons and investigating the famous ‘floating islands’ that hold treasures from ancient civilizations.
The ‘Theocracy’ is similar to the ‘Human Empire,’ with the difference being that it is a religious country. Both see us as a threat.
Once I understood this, my mother explained that my father died in a war that took place six years ago, where the Human Empire and the Theocracy were defeated by our mages and soldiers. Unfortunately, the Human Empire remains a problem, balancing their lack of magic with technology, numbers, and other inhumane things. My mother doesn’t like to talk about the Human Empire, so I didn’t delve much into it.
My mother told me that my father died in a great battle where he, my uncle, and a few others killed the Human Emperor, who even enslaved mages to help him in combat.
With the Emperor dead, the Empire is undergoing its own crisis, while disputing territories with a Theocracy that saw this as an opportunity to expand its influence, aiming to absorb the Human Empire into itself.
As ex-General Icarus and now just Nathan, the son of Katherine, I am surprised to find myself embroiled in a great noble problem. It seems that the Duchy needs to resolve its own dispute, and the Royal Family will not intervene, as it would be seen unfavorably by the other Dukes. It’s as if the Royal Family wants to favor its own balance of power by placing some kind of ‘pawn.’ Things in the kingdom operate under the Royal Family’s rule, but the internal administration of families is their own responsibility. However, if the king orders something, everyone will obey because he is the absolute ruler.
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I wonder how powerful the human king of this kingdom must be. In my previous world, not even Ares dared to challenge the ‘Empress’ Athena. Although he was the God of War, that title applied more to Athena. We could say that Ares was the God of Battles because if Athena entered the war, it meant she had you in her hand and had already defeated you. Everyone feared Athena, especially when she expanded her Empire, ruling over humans. She was so powerful that not even Zeus dared to challenge her. The Gods were just one divine being; they wouldn’t survive a fight against Athena and her entire Empire with its vassal gods. That was the power the Goddess of Strategy had; she won the chess game by capturing all the pieces.
In the end... I killed her and avenged myself...
The only way to kill an emperor... was for me to become one.
The time of ruling is over. General Icarus, Emperor Icarus, or... Sovereign Icarus is dead. He died before I even came to this world. I killed the Sovereign Icarus within me when I destroyed my own divine essence and became human again, without the powers of the gods, with only the Aura... and after that, I killed myself.
“Are you okay, Nate?” my mother, who had been sleeping in the front seat, asked.
“I’m fine, just... thinking a little,” I replied.
She got up and sat next to me, sharing the blanket with me.
“Don’t worry, my son, everything will be fine. I’m here with you and I will never leave you,” Katherine said, thinking I was worried about the Evenhart issue. But her words had the same effect in dealing with the emotions I had inside me. I am not afraid of dealing with the nobility; I am afraid of losing my mother... I am afraid of falling back into the cycle that created General Icarus. I don’t want to be an avenger... I just want to be my good mother’s son.
For that, I will need power! I am in this situation because I do not know how to use mana. The only way I can ensure nothing happens is to become the most lethal weapon in this world. That is what I will do. From today on, I will unify the knowledge of both worlds... if anyone comes after what is precious to me... they will feel the weight of facing a Sovereign. I will be the Sovereign of Mana.
I made my promise: I will not become anyone’s tool again. However... I will be the weapon that will exterminate anyone who dares to touch my family. I won’t leave even the ashes of the fucking bastard.
***
We were getting further from the region of Flikthen, where I was born and raised alongside my mother in the village of Detthos.
On the first morning, I took my old wooden sword from the chest and began practicing while we were camped. In the Spartan system known as the ‘Agoge,’ all boys from a certain age were taken from their homes... or the streets, as was my case. There, the training began, both physical and mental, to build endurance and forge the inner warrior. Unfortunately, a large part of the training involved the use of Aura, which I had lost. It would be like a mage going to a world without mana; he might be a badass in his world, but without the fuel that generates his power, his techniques are useless.
There’s no use complaining.
What I will do is relearn in this body to use the training given during the Agoge period before starting to use Aura, as this body does not have the capacity to withstand the physical regime I trained with using Aura.
I will adapt all my techniques to the human standard and train my body to the peak that this world allows.
“Do you like swords, Nathan?” Hugo asked, approaching.
It was hard to convince this guy to stop calling me young master, but in the end, it worked out.
“I’ve been practicing a bit since I was little...”
Hugo laughed, and I understood why—I am a five-year-old child... of course, I am still little.
“Would you like me to teach you some techniques? I am not a powerful mage, but I compensate for that with the sword. It's always good to know a bit of both, and your family... let’s say you will learn to use swords because of your status.”
“I would love to train with you,” I said, putting a genuine smile on my face. It would be the first time I had a training partner in a long time.
“Have you ever held a real sword?”
“Yes, I have...”
I’m not even counting my previous life; I’ve really held real swords in Clyde’s shop.
"Hum... let's see then. I'll teach you some basics," he said, glancing at the carriage and probably thinking better of it not to make noise and wake my mother. "Better not wake your mother; I would hate to get scolded by her..."
You’re afraid of her too? I understand...
Hugo and I moved a bit away from the carriage but stayed close enough to keep an eye on it.
“Nathan, there are basic fundamentals related to posture that you need to know.”
I looked at him, imagining what he was going to say. Honestly, I didn’t care much; I already knew most of it. I just wanted to learn the standard techniques of this world and see if they were similar to mine.
“Don’t worry, I learned some things from a weapon shop owner and have been training since... I was younger, by observing some figures in books.”
Hugo scratched his head a bit.
“Do you want to skip to the strikes then? Every boy loves that, but I’ll keep an eye on your posture and correct you later. Come on, give it your best.”
Hugo pointed his sword at me and got into position while tossing a real sword to me to catch in mid-air.
As soon as I caught it and faced him as my opponent, images of my past flashed through my mind. I no longer had the muscle memory to help me or a developed body, but I could feel my soul screaming for this again.
“I’m coming,” I said.
‘A warrior for a thousand deaths...’ I repeated the mantra in my mind that I learned in the Agoge.
Advancing towards Hugo, I had to raise my line of sight a bit to focus on his eyes; that’s how I liked to fight. I would stare at the opponent while paying attention to their eyes. The eyes are what betray humans in a fight.
Unfortunately... I’m short and can’t reach his neck.
Hugo parried in surprise, but my free fist automatically went to his stomach.
“WHAT?” he exclaimed, startled by the blow, and dodged back.
Damn child fists...
I advanced, striking with my sword, and he defended by pushing his weight onto me, using a technique that smothers the opponent by leveraging the size difference. Knowing the dead end of being guided by an opponent with such an advantage, I locked my sword blade with his and forcefully twisted it in the opposite direction. Hugo’s sword, which he was pushing down to suffocate mine, went fully to the right, and I spun my body to strike him with the sword on the left.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach because my arms were too short. Hugo jumped back and returned with his sword aimed straight at me. I lunged and tried to thrust the tip of my sword into his stomach, but as he moved to push my sword away, I brought the blade down towards... let’s just say if I were taller, it would have hit his stomach. Being short, I ended up aiming for his ‘documents.’
His sword glowed red, and he deflected mine, sending it flying from my hand.
“Alright, kid... but what the fuck was that? If I hadn’t used mana, would I have lost my dick?”
I stopped, feeling embarrassed for getting too carried away.
“Sorry...”
“Sorry? Sorry for what? That was terrifying, I broke out in a cold sweat... I still plan to have more kids and enjoy my toy. But that was impressive, just a bit dishonorable for all men...”
I ended up sitting down, laughing. It was the first time I had conversed with a training partner in a long time.
“You scared me. What was that look? For a moment, I broke out in a cold sweat, feeling like you were fighting very seriously. Did your mother teach you to fight? In less than a minute, I was dominated in the fight.”
“My mother didn’t teach me to fight with swords; I didn’t even know she was a warrior.”
“Your mother was a dangerous warrior. If she didn’t teach you to fight... who did you learn to fight like that from?”
"With a God of War."
Hugo burst into laughter.
"You definitely have your father's playful nature in you. Now I'm even more excited to take you to the old Sifu," he said.
"Sifu?"
"He's a monk who is with your family and was saved by your grandfather from the Human Empire. Maybe one day... I'll tell you the story of your grandfather and great-grandfather, but I'd better not risk getting scolded by your mother. You'll understand everything when we get there."