Nearly every single time he had been called to his father's study for as long as he could remember it had been to be scolded and reminded of how much of a failure he was, but he was now an adult and he feared what it would mean for him.
"Father, you wanted to see me?" he asked, standing in front of the large desk. The place was really impressive, the walls were covered in bookshelves, a large fully colored and annotated map of the empire, a large shield bearing the silver fist over a blue background of the Armitage family. He was reticent to walk on the lavish imported elvish rug on the floor with his boots still dusty from the training square.
"Sit!" this was a command he obeyed, nearly compelled to go along. His father [noble] class was really advanced, as was his [Grand Master] one, an evolution of the [Knight] class, this made his commands hard to disobey for whoever was under his orders. Daniel was feeling even more inadequate than usual, wearing the simple brown leather pants and a white linen shirt he had put on to practice sword-fighting. His father was wearing an ornate doublet of red velvet with inlaid golden thread that did little to hide his bulking muscles, he had an imperial black beard but kept his head shaven. He had the same amethyst colored eyes as Daniel but his gaze had a troubling intensity to it.
"You failed... You failed at everything! You didn't get a [Mage] class after your studies, they sent you home saying you would never get it. You can't for the life of you get any of the requisite skills to unlock the [Knight] class that any noble of the empire can pick when they do not have better. It's almost for the best, I would die of shame sending an unqualified knight to fight for the empire, especially one of my blood. A [Scholar], what do we need a noble with that class for? Anything to say?"
"Father... I'm sorry. I know it will change nothing to say it. I didn't choose to fall ill, I was born that way. During my studies I did everything and anything I could think of to get the requirements to unlock the [mage] class, believe me when I say that there's nothing that I would have wanted more than that. I followed the training you set up for me to learn sword fighting, I train all morning to the best of my ability, I simply don't know what more to do. I wish to serve the empire, to be useful, to redeem myself in your eyes," replied Daniel, the part about magic was true. Nothing had excited him more than knowing he could learn magic nor disappointed him more than to learn he couldn't really use it beyond what everyone could do and a few beginner's cantrips.
Regarding the more magical aspects of the world it was also an unexpected situation. Realizing that he was sent to a fantasy world his mind rushed to two obvious options. The old fantasy style of magic, without levels, skills, stats and the like, one where one had to learn, study and train hard to achieve anything and had to perform any action by their own ability. The other was the more modern, rpg inspired version, the mainstay of isekai stories, where you could grind up levels, unlock skills and shout the name of attacks to activate them without efforts.
What he discovered was partway between those two. People unlocked classes that gave them skills that they could improve by training or use, but there was no status screen, numbered stats or things like this.
Anyone could perform a few cantrips that were available to all, this was supposedly a gift from the gods. One of this was a meditation technique that let anyone check their soul once a month, it showed what classes were available, what was lacking to unlock the one that you could almost get, the progression towards the next ranks and evolution and a general outlook of various stats. But nothing was codified and nicely organized. It only showed ungraduated gauges filled to some level and a mark to what amount should be achieved to unlock something or progress in some ways.
Real spells had to be cast the hard way, focusing on Engrams, huge arrays of runes, acting as some sort of equation describing the way the spell worked, incantations, hand gestures, wands or staffs, even somatic components helped complete the spell by replacing a part of the full Engram and lessening the strain on the caster's mind.
Daniel had a high intelligence, extraordinary memory and affinity for magic. Of his physical stats his strength, stamina and constitution where laughable, he only had average agility but some rather good dexterity. some stats could be improved by training and some rare magical means, but for some other it was more difficult. The illness that had plagued this body from birth was more akin to a curse, attacking his very soul, the physical symptoms only mere side effects of his damaged self. As a result, his mana pool was damaged. He had mana, could cast some of the lowest spells, but despite a rather high mana regeneration typical of his bloodline, he could not accumulate mana past a certain amount, it was like filling a cracked vessel with water. The issue was that at the center of each Engram was a mana core powering the spell, despite filling it being one of the last steps to cast a spell, if the mana core wasn't full, the spell couldn't be cast. And worse as long as the spell wasn't cast, the mana was still part of the mage's mana pool, preventing him from casting it very slowly by trickling mana as it regenerated. This made it impossible to him to cast the normal spells that would have unlocked the [Mage] class he had dreamed to get.
"You reached adulthood, if you had known how to fight you would have joined the campaign, if you had been touched by a god, you would have joined the orders, if you had magic powers you would have joined a prestigious guild. I don't know what to do with a scholar son, but on the Ancestor I sure won't have a parasite one. I reached out to the Emperor himself for counsel. It has been decided to find for you a position matching your... Abilities," explained his father. The news was both thrilling and dangerous, imperial counsel might have tempered the impact that his father's resentment would have had on his destination, but it also meant that he would have no one to appeal to in case it wasn't a good one.
"Can I know where I shall go and for which mission?" he asked, trying to remain hopeful.
"The Emperor has decided to make you
Marquis of Wrokdal"
"Wrokdal... Forgive me father but I never heard of this March. I must have missed it during my geography classes. Where is it situated?" he asked, having no clue where he would end up.
"This is in Streitland. A nice little piece of land, a few cities and villages, fertile soil, lots of good lumber, rumors of some silver ore in the mountains," explained his dad.
"Streitland is an Otraxian colony, how can we have any holdings there? The Reich wouldn't let this go... Wait! Isn't it the one colony that they had rebel under them and turn to piracy?" he asked, remembering what he read about the Streitland continent even if he never heard of Wrokdal.
The way this world was set up had been a surprise for Daniel. Eris was a massive world, more than twice the size of Earth, with dozens of continents and hundreds of islands of various sizes, from what he had gathered, it somehow had the same gravity of length of days and years though, which seemed odd. Books that were in no way classified as fiction talked about some underworld, not as some metaphor for the afterlife, but as a worldwide network of caves and tunnels, connecting the whole globe and stacked kilometers high at some places. There were entire Empires of drows, dwarves, goblins and other races dwelling below, as well as hordes of monsters. More frightening even the races of these subterranean kingdoms had legends of even deeper realms full of Demons and fire spirits. Because of the size of the world, Daniel had never seen a full world map. He wasn't even sure that one existed, there was an entire area of the sea that had been cut off by a giant storm wall for as long as history was recorded. It was daunting to remember that the map of the huge Allavrian Empire hung on the wall was just a tiny bit of this new world.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The Otraxian Reich was a world superpower, set on the Continent of Otraxia, the most of the population human, with almost a quarter of otter like beastmen and ten percent of the assorted other races of the world thrown into the mix. They had one of the largest known navies both military and mercantile. Territorial and trade disputes had started multiple wars between them and the Allavrian Empire, most ending in stalemates or when both parties considered them to be too expensive to be worth it.
"The very same, their colony failed there and they can't even manage to regain control of their own subjects there. The Emperor sent some of our people to settle there 40 years ago to contest the Otraxian Reich's claim on the whole continent. The place you'll go is pretty isolated and its surroundings unclaimed, ripe for the taking. The settled part is barely a Barony, but the Emperor agreed to make it a March so that it is both worthy of one of imperial blood and gives you the legitimacy to expand in the unclaimed parts of the island. If by some miracle you succeed there, it would be a good way to redeem yourself in the eyes of the Emperor and be worthy of your name," pointed his father.
"It's savage land, from what I know of such places this wasn't even a real fiefdom, there would have been some sort of low noble governor or commoner administrator. The place is infested by orcs, goblins, beastmen of the most feral variety and any trade by sea would be at the mercy of pirates. What resources will I receive to expand this place? Troops, ships, money, staff, craftsmen?"
" The place has its challenges, but this particular location was chosen to be somewhat shielded from most of them, especially the orcs. You will have a ship to get there and it will remain at your service, there is a sum of money prepared for your installation but it is limited and you should make the best of it. As far as troops, servants, craftsmen and other support staff, you will have to gather them from the local population. There has not been any governor there for quite a while but the colonists will be your subjects and should provide you with what you need."
"This is not acceptable. Father! I know that this is a way to send me away. But at least give me a fighting chance. If I land there alone, far from Allavria, I would have no chance to be recognized just because of some piece of paper, be it an imperial edict. The colonies of this place have proved seditious already. I won't ask for a legion, but I would need a small core both of soldiers and servants, loyal to the empire and that I can trust. People that will be able to manage, sort and train the local population that would make the bulk of the people at my service," said Daniel. He was no dupe, this honor was an exile in all but in name. He would go and make the best of it, but he would try to obtain the absolute maximum of what he could request, borrow or beg for that would give him an edge there.
"And you expect the Duchy to provide these resources?" asked his father.
"Well father... The way I see this. You could have set me in a very small fiefdom under you. But the Emperor, probably at your demand, created a new title for me. Outside of your domain and by most measures outside the frontiers of the empire. The way things were set I'd say that there would be nothing for me to inherit in Westmere on the very sad and let's hope very distant day of your death. This is a way to have me exiled and disowned, I will go with it because I know that I can't find my place in Allavria's high society in my condition. But since it will be my new life I want it to be as good as I can make it and since I received a very official mission from the Emperor himself to go rule this place in his name, it becomes my duty and yours too to make sure I have a chance to succeed," he had little hope, but there was a chance that guilt tripping his father into giving him stuff for breaking away with his parental duties could work.
"So you at least remember a few things of your lessons on politics and negotiations. You will need it going forward. I'll be blunt. Yes, this is a way to send you away and to make it so that if you would perish it would at least be for a worthwhile cause. But I don't put my own interests above those of the empire. For all your flaws, you are smart and even if they were not what is expected of a noble of the imperial family, you did well indeed in a few academic domains." The shock of hearing something that sounded like a compliment from his father hit Daniel in the chest like a sledgehammer. Even if it wasn't his real father, there was enough of the former occupant of this body in him to make such feelings real.
"The tensions with the Reich are flaring, they almost always are. If we send yet another governor to this small colony, it only looks like we want someone overseeing what we already have there. It's not a threat, just good governance and we did it many times already. Turning it into a March, that already raises the ante, but it can easily be explained. You are of imperial blood, it wouldn't be proper for you to supervise a non feudal holding. As for why we would send you here, as you said it yourself, it's obvious.
Now if we were to send an army, it would change the outlook of all of this. Do you see how?"
"I get it. The Otraxians will see it as the Empire trying to make a move and claim the whole continent, one that they technically still claim as theirs since the last war even without any control on it. Taking a lot of troops there would actually make me less safe, it would give them an excuse to attack our holdings in full force and gloat about having defeated a noble of imperial blood." Daniel had figured it out, he initially thought that he was being discarded, but he was actually moved as a pawn in the chess game between the two empires. As for if he was moved there to block a part of the board or as bait to trigger the opponent in a foolish attack, it remained to be seen.
"It is precisely why we can't send imperial troops to this island. Your status is a double edged sword, it will make you a target if they open hostilities, but it could protect you from more underhanded approaches. If your death could be linked to some dishonorable tactics from their side they would lose face, we could ask for heavy reparations or trigger a full scale war that they are not ready for."
"I get this, but there's a way to do it that would look natural and shouldn't push them to action right away."
"Really? And what is this magical solution that evaded both the Emperor, his council and your father?"
"We can't go in full force, that would be too obvious. But like you said, I'm of imperial blood and it is of very public notoriety that I can't fight, so there is no way that I would travel so far and settle away from the mainland without any protection. A legion or regiment of imperial troops would be inviting war but there are two groups we can recruit from that wouldn't. First as a spoiled noble who can't fight for itself I will bring a retinue of a few [Knights] and house guards, this won't be enough to conquer the island but they will be able to defend at least the castle. They are all veterans and will be invaluable to train the locals into shape and will provide me with a cadre of officers that I know I can trust. Because of my blood it wouldn't seem outlandish for the family to send 10 [Knights] and 40 guards with me, right?"
"Interesting idea, I'll see who I can spare. I think 5 [Knights] and 25 guards would be more adequate, if you bring too many people a second ship would be necessary and the facade of it just being a personal guard will shatter. You said first, what is the other group that you want to recruit from?"
"Well the second part will probably require a bit more money than you wanted to provide to me but I think that it would go a great length to assert our presence on the island. As the black sheep of the family that isn't given adequate resources, I will hire adventurers. It will let me recruit assets with varied specialties that I can reward with some land or maybe a knighthood if they perform well. I will also negotiate with the guild the opening of a branch office on the island and try to have the Westmere office ferry new ones when ships travel between our ports."
"Adventurers, really? You think you can rely on a bunch of mercenary pest hunters to assert your power?"
"Some are talented and only do odd jobs by lack of opportunities. It's only a matter of picking the right ones. And if the place I'm going is as dangerous as it sounds sorting the ones worth a while will be a quick business. But more importantly, this will give me access to specialists, spellcasters, healers, scouts and more. I think I can make it work, if I raise levies among the locals with a sprinkle of veterans from the house guard and adventurers for support, then I should be able to secure my position there and start expanding or clearing out some monster infested lands. I would need to bring some weapons and armors to equip the locals though, if you don't want them to come out of the imperial armories a slight bump on the money given to me to settle would let me buy them and reinforce my struggling exiled noble image."
"Maybe not completely useless after all. Your ship sets sail in five day with the morning tide. I'll need a comprehensive list of the extra resources that you need on my desk by nightfall tomorrow at the latest. Anything beyond what the Emperor granted you will be subject to my approval." Daniel couldn't believe that he had somehow managed to convince his father of considering his plan. Still the situation was now less dire, but a lot more complex than what he had been offered initially. He'd have to work fast and muster every resource and contact he had if he wanted to be ready in time for his departure. There was little chance of him ever returning to Westmere or Allavria's mainland, at least for the next years or decades.
"Are you going to loiter in my office all day? Don't you have some work to do?"
"I'll be on my way, Father. Thanks for trusting me with such an important position." On this he slightly bowed and exited the luxurious study, only starting to run to his chambers once out of sight.
This morning he had woken up condemned to live a life a failure under the ever scrutinizing eyes of his family and the imperial court. Bared from fully enjoying his noble birth, forced to train in domain's he would never master. A gloom future with little hope. Even marriage was out of reach, no noble would risk his affliction being hereditary, even to marry into the Armitage house.
Now he had a future, a mission, hope. A place where he would be the master, where he could use his imagination and knowledge to achieve something real. His life started anew for the second time.