SVAN CHORYTH

Ahead of me were rows of different types of buildings and beneath some of them were stalls that sold one item or another. I walked cautiously along the street, wearing simple clothing to blend in properly.

I was quite nervous because it was my first time outside the Choryth manor alone. I walked past different people, young, adults, and old who were either busy with something, walking by, or wandering. For someone embarking on such a first-time trip, I was rather composed.

My destination was the Stormcrow guild House. I was given directions to the place, but it wasn't sufficient so I had to improvise, asking welcoming faces a few questions on how I could get there.

I quite enjoyed my walk, appreciating what downtown Stavren really looked like. It wasn't the first time I found myself coursing through the narrow paths of a street, Eliora and I had done it not so long ago at Academroth. The feeling was totally different, and if I were to choose between downtown Stavren and downtown Academroth, I would go for Stavren because it looked more livable.

Downtown Academroth looked more sophisticated. I couldn't tell if its sophisticated outlook was merely due to its congested arrangement or due to the structures present in it. Downtown Stavren was simple-looking, spacious, and less crowded.

I emerged from a cornered path, as a little boy no more than seven years of age bumped into me. He was running and didn't see me coming. The boy fell backward and landed sitting, cushioning his fall with his hands. The result of our collision made me take a few steps backward. I was lucky he wasn't any bigger else I would have found myself on the ground. I looked at the boy and before I could say anything, he picked himself up and scurried away.

“Welcome to life outside the castle,” I said as I continued in the direction I was headed.

The days were getting increasingly busier, everyone seemed to be immersed in one activity or another, and rest slowly became a wanted luxury.

Lord Edger somehow managed to use the unrest the demons had created to create a new order as he assumed the position of Regent of Stavren. It was natural since nothing was heard from the imperium. Something had to be done, leadership had to be established else it wouldn’t be long before chaos erupts all over Stavren.

Except for House Choryth and House Vaughn, all other renowned Houses in Stavren had been disposed of by the demons. Lord Edger arranged a meeting with the adventurer's guilds in Stavren since they were the only ones with a little influence and manpower left. Details of the ongoing events were thoroughly discussed, and plans on how to deal with them were formulated. In the end, there was little to no opposition when Lord Edger declared his intention on being regent. According to him, he stated that Stavren needed someone to lead her through these uncertain times since the imperium had abandoned them, and the hierarchy of governance was disrupted.

Lord Edger had his suspicions. He didn't trust the guilds since Eliora had insinuated that the demons might be operating under the guise of a guild. Our new task was to quietly investigate the guilds in Stavren to clear or confirm Eliora’s suspicion.

My analysis of the whole situation was completely different, and the guilds were the least of my suspects. My initial assumption was that everything that happened was the Imperium’s doing. The central republic was spared, the Imperial soldiers were withdrawn, and only Houses with power and influence were attacked. I believed that the Imperium ordered the attacks on the renowned Houses to eliminate them and whatever influence they held, instilling a new form of government over which they had complete control. It made a lot of sense but when I tried to put the whole piece together, it didn't fit.

The first question was, why would the Imperium suddenly decide to go over such lengths when they've always held a position of higher authority in a system that had thrived over generations? Secondly, if they wanted absolute control, with all renowned Houses gone, there was no need to withdraw their soldiers. It just didn't make sense. The final question lingering in my head was, why they hadn't taken any other significant action since they went after the Houses. The whole escapade was a difficult one to understand. I considered the possibility of Eliora’s assumption, it was plausible but it begged the questions of who the demons were and what they wanted, in contrast to mine which provided these answers.

If it was the imperium’s doing as I had assumed, there was no way they would keep on being silent, pretending as though nothing happened. They would have to make a move sooner or later. At the moment, our focus was on the guilds, and hopefully, it leads us to something.

There are six official guilds in Stavren; Stormcrow, Longhorn, Tempest miners, Snow fire, Azure, and Dark spades. Most casters that didn't belong, or work for a renowned House, registered as adventurers under a guild. These adventurers were divided into ranks based on their strength and experience, the least ones being D-rank adventurers and the best ones being SSS-rank adventurers. The roles of guilds were different, almost business-like. While the renowned Houses were focused on governance, the guilds were responsible for paid jobs that needed the abilities of a caster. Missions were assigned to adventurers based on their ranks, this was the same with rewards. Low-ranked missions attracted lesser rewards in contrast to higher-ranked ones which attracted more rewards. Guilds were also responsible for the dark cavern raids which were the most dangerous activities they engaged in.

No one knew how the dark caverns came to be. Inside them were man-killing creatures and monsters. The rare artifacts in the dungeons were what attracted adventurers because they fetched huge sums of money.

The plan was to register as an adventurer under a guild. Yukina, Evren, Eliora, and two other casters were doing the same as I was. Each of us randomly chose a guild to register under. I chose Stormcrow, Yukina chose Azure, Evren chose Tempest miners, Eliora chose Snow fire, and the other two casters split between Longhorn and Dark spades. Becoming adventurers was the best way we could investigate the activities of the guilds without being suspicious.

First, I had to take some kind of test. The results of the test would determine what kind of rank I would be given. I wasn't nervous at all. I didn’t know what to expect from the test and I didn’t care. I was someone who had killed falxes and demons, a feat that even the strongest or best-ranked adventurer in all of Stavren wouldn't be able to achieve.

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It was weird that no one asked me questions after the events that occurred at Vaughn’s manor. Everyone moved on like it was normal, like nothing out of the ordinary happened. I was willing to talk about it but since no questions were raised, I kept my mouth shut.

Sometimes I sat back and tried to wrap my head around what I did that day. It was difficult, even for me, to believe that I was able to kill not just one but two demons. It took a toll on my physical state. At the end of the fight, it felt as though something in my chest was coming apart and it had to be my nexus. I happened to overwork my Feel and it was apparent that anytime I did, the result was me passing out. On the bright side, such kind of strain on my Feel led to forced improvements. I was made to understand that it was difficult to overwork the Feel because somehow, the Feel knew its limits and worked within them, making improvements gradually. My case was different. The abilities I used weren't even mine in the first place, so maybe my Feel did its thing, taking me as Darya. Yet, it could only do so much because my body had its limits even though it would have loved to exceed them.

Since that day, I've had a new companion, Darya. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t comprehend how she could be part of my consciousness, and it was apparent that I hadn't gotten used to it. Sometimes, I found myself alone, talking out loud. Whereas, the actual situation was me having a conversation with Darya. If a someone saw me in that situation, they would think I had gone mad. I was just trying to get used to the new feeling, one where a person is aware that someone else is in his head.

I had my fears, I was scared that maybe one day, Darya might suddenly decide to take complete control over my mind and thus my body, but she assured me that something like that wasn't going to happen. One thing that annoyed me about her was that she never really answered the questions I asked her. Her responses were always, “you would know when the time comes,” “ it wouldn't do you any good if you knew,” and “you are not ready for that yet.”

It was unfair because she knew everything I was thinking, and I felt like my privacy was invaded. Whenever I tried to confront her about it, she would say,

“I’m a part of you, remember?”

For some reason, she had been quiet since the day started. Maybe she just didn't have anything to say to me.

I continued walking until I arrived at the Stormcrow guild house. I stopped briefly, standing in front of its gate just to have a good look at its insignia that was designed as part of the gate. It was a simple-looking one, depicting the side view of a crow’s head. After I was done looking at the insignia, I gently opened the gates and entered inside. I walked on a cobbled path that led to the main building. It was a busy environment containing a lot of people, adventurers and non-adventurers alike.

The main building was large, its length spanning over a hundred and fifty feet. The height of the building varied at different sections, with the highest point well above forty feet, and the lowest around twenty feet. The main entrance was in the middle section of the building and was in between two keep-like structures, only that they weren't high enough to be called keeps and they were four-cornered with a balcony and a roof over it at the top.

I walked inside and made my way to a counter where I saw a few people at. There were four people behind the counter, two males and two females. I noticed that one of the males wasn't attending to anyone so I went to him.

“How may I help you?” He asked.

“I’m here to get an adventurer's badge,” I replied.

He looked at me like he was carefully examining my face.

“What is your name?” He asked.

“Svan Choryth,” I said to him.

He looked at me again, this time with a lot more intent.

“Why is a Choryth trying to get an adventurer’s badge?”

I wanted to ignore the question, but I didn't want to raise any suspicion.

“The recent attacks on Houses like mine are no longer new news, are they?”

He shook his head, looking confused while trying to figure out what I was implying.

“There is no telling what would happen next so I think I need some fighting experience to prepare myself for what is coming.”

“By fighting experience, you mean....”

“The dark caverns,” I said firmly.

He hurriedly wrote down some things on a sheet before standing.

“Come with me,” he said.

We entered a room where we met another man as he handed the sheet over to him and left.

“Please sit,” the new man said.

I sat down and he continued,

“I’m Kai Shane, the test examiner.”

“Svan Choryth,” I responded in a manner that I felt was polite.

He went straight to the point, asking only relevant questions without making any statements indicating or relating to the fact that I was a Choryth, and I like that about him.

“Caster or Stillbringer?” he asked.

I paused for a moment, thinking of what reply to give to him. I didn't know if I was a caster or stillbringer, or both. Worse, my abilities were odd.

“Stillbringer,” I replied after giving it some thought. It was easier to pretend to be one since I couldn't conjure spells.

Mr. Kai nodded,

“Feel Stage?” he asked.

“Amber,” I replied.

After writing a few things on the paper that was handed to him, he continued,

“We could do this in two ways. Either you go through the normal screening process and be judged based on your performance, or you face me in a duel. He didn't say anything further as he stared at me. I let out a faint smile,

“What are the pros and cons of each option?” I asked.

I could tell by his expression that he was impressed with the question I asked.

“The first option is just a basic test of your abilities, accessing your speed, agility, stamina, battle sense, and firepower. Your results would be compared with the average. Anything below average places you in D-class, and if it’s too bad, you wouldn’t be given a badge. An average performance puts you in C-class, above average places you in B-class, and if your performance is exceptional, you would be placed in A-class. The second option has a different grading system. If I beat you, you wouldn’t get a badge, but if you beat me, you get an S-class badge.”

“If I may ask, what is your Feel stage?” I asked.

“Golden,” he replied.

“I see,” I said, nodding.

He had to be strong to be this confident. It was obvious he was a deviant, but it didn’t matter. I was about to become an S-class adventurer.

“Let’s have the duel,” I said to him.