The continent of Phios was vast, made up of hundreds of countries spanning millions of miles. The distances became so big that travel via ordinary means of transport became pointless when one travelled far. Portals existed in secretive places that only people with the right access could open. Being the general of an army, Deden naturally had access to such a portal. One he could use freely without restrictions.
Originally these portals or nodes, as they were more commonly known, would teleport you to a random node as well. They occurred naturally in Phios and different forms with different attributes. Some could only transfer non-living beings, some could only transfer energy, and some only worked during specific times. Others needed catalysts to activate.
Most nations and kingdoms had their methods of utilizing these portals. Atley was no different. On the continent, it was on the smaller side when compared to most but it made up for quantity with quality. It was a kingdom where magic and science beautifully came together to come up with new types of manatech.
Eden led Artiallian to one such place, an Isolated cave close to them, as they approached the cave the duo had a lengthy conversation on many topics that Artilian was behind on. Such as the structure of Phios, and more importantly Atley. He barely knew anything besides what he knew from the orphanage.
Artillian was familiar with magic due to some unique encounters he had in his previous life, but the knowledge he had of magic was almost useless here because the system here was different. It was almost as if the laws of nature were different.
'Magic 'only became publicly known from 2015 onwards back on earth, but here it's always been part of the culture. I will have to adapt to this as best as I can.'
Artillian was hoping that perhaps Hestia would fill in some gaps in his knowledge, but she remained quiet and he did not intend to disobey her instructions. He had seen first-hand how dangerous Eden was.
'Even if she is a goddess, it seems there are things even she fears.'
Having someone a goddess has to be cautious around as a teacher, was not a bad idea to Artillian. Not to mention this world was much more suited to his skills.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Back on earth Artillian only had a few hobbies. He was an online blogger who specialized in ancient war tactics and martial arts. He also did videos analyzing spells and techniques from some of the earth's most powerful users. Born in the year 2030, when superpowered beings were now commonplace on earth, knowledge of magic, spells, martial arts and the like were the most consumed content online. Artiallian added his interest in military tactics which started as a child.
He was a naturally gifted chess player and he loved researching ancient wars won through tactics. From Shaka the Zulus cow-horn formation to Bai Qi's incredible conquest of being undefeated in 400 plus battles greatly assisting Ancient Qin's unification of Ancient China to Caesar's tactics against Pompey. He consumed it all greedily.
He wasn't much of a gamer, but he loved war simulations. He died on earth at 16, so he had not accomplished much, but if there were two things he knew, it was war and magic theory.
'Question is, how do the laws of nature here differ from the ones on earth?'
Eden helped Artillian understand the key differences, and luckily for Artillian, the differences were not much. The greatest differences lay in the vocations that existed in Phios.
All spells were powered by mana while techniques were powered by qi. Qi was used by warriors and mana by wizards. One could learn to use both but it was tiring and required incredible talent. On earth it would be akin to a person practising their weaker arm their whole lives. Hence Although everyone could try and use both, the dominant energy was always the focused one.
Warrior and Mage were two broad and general categories, but many subcategories lay between the grey area. Spiritualists were a good example of this. Spirits were metaphysical beings from higher or lower plans that one could host and form a relationship with in exchange for power. There were different types, but the most sought after and feared were divine spirits, ones that carried the essence of a true divinity such as Hestia who resided in Artillian.
Those who took in World Energy from the environment and used it to strengthen their qi or mana were called cultivators. The process itself was called cultivation. The cultivation base was a rough estimate of one's power. Spiritualists were one of the most powerful and rarest types of cultivators. They hosted spirits and could use their abilities to perform incredible phenomena. Eden was a Spiritualist himself, hence he had a good understanding of them. Atley was a nation that emphasized oh churning out high-quality Spiritualists. They encouraged any powerful vocations, but in Atley, Spiritualists ruled at the apex. Just as how in Ragah, warriors who used Qi were at the top of the food chain.
Rajah was in essence an extremely militaristic kingdom, much bigger in size than Atley but with much less quality in terms of bloodlines.
"Noble bloodlines were the ones that produced the most talent, as only the powerful had the right to wield power in Phios. In ancient times, when ancient beasts were still reigning supreme, humanity gathered their most gifted fighters and gave them noble titles and sovereignty, to ensure that these powers are passed on. In return the nobility vowed to protect man from the creatures of darkness that preyed on them. Now mankind is at the apex but we can fall at any time. Especially now that phios is divided. From Vampires, to werewolves to ancient demons. The threats we as nobles must face are numerous." said Eden as he walked to an unassuming wall near the entrance of the cave.
The wall lit up in a silvery light when Eden touched it. He looked at Artillian and said, "Mimic me, we are going straight to the capital. The boys here can handle the rest."