Today was a day just like any other. A fireball was casually flung at Henry while he was running around, doing his best to stay focused under this relentless onslaught. Reacting to this, he quickly changed his trajectory and moved to the side. Just as he evaded the fiery sphere and relaxed for only a split second, the ground under his feet slightly shook and the earth hardened into a spear that moved in for the kill. Henry used all the skill and speed he gathered over the years and took the attack head on with his shield. As the result of his successful block the spear dissipated. Taking note not to let himself be caught off guard again Henry stayed alert of his surroundings. Much to his dismay he was not prepared for the next attack that came out of nowhere. A long range spell cast with no incantation or sound was hurtling towards the boy. Henry immediately knew that he did not have enough time to evade it, so he took the strike head on with his shield.

“Pause!” Alfred’s voice interrupted this practice. Henry’s father quickly ran over to him with Eleonora closely following him. “Son, are you all right?” There was genuine worry in the man’s voice and fear did not leave his eyes until he made sure there were no injuries on his son's body.

Henry stood there for a moment before starting to reassure his father, “Dad, please, I am fine. It was just a weak attack, master Oliver put only a small amount of his mana in that fireball.”

“I see! Good, Henry, please remember, never ever take a magic attack with your shield, particularly if it is coming from the fire mana school. They can melt that metal with no problems and what’s worse it will cause you to lose an arm. The way you and I fight is not compatible with heat, keep that in mind, deflect or evade those attacks at all cost.”

“Al, relax, he is young and, more importantly, he has time.” Eleonora jumping in gave Henry a breather from his father’s worries. “Still honey, you must listen to your father, intense heat and metal don’t mesh together at all. Even mithril can be evaporated if you use the right amount of mana.” That second part Eleonora said with a bit of mischief mixed in.

“Lady Eleonora, not all mages can melt mithril with an attack, don’t scare the boy.” Anna was standing behind her mistress and gave her opinion of the situation. “Lord Henry, your mother and father are right, when facing a mage, or like you did today, two of us, try to have numerical superiority. If you cannot do that then make sure to deflect their attacks and, whenever possible counter them while slowly advancing towards one of the spellcasters.”

“Well, that is enough for today.” Alfred interrupted, “Henry, you did splendidly, most children your age can only cry in front of such an onslaught, but not my son, you did great. In time mages will not be your match as a swordsman, and when we get that mana talent of yours up and running it will be the perfect combination.”

“Al…” Eleonora silently whispered to her husband, who once more forgot that his son could yet manifest his mana to the outside world.

Alfred hung his head low, “Sorry son, I got too excited.” He knew how hard Henry was trying to master his mana, Unfortunately, he was no closer to unlocking its full potential than the day he first attempted to manifest it.

In front of his father’s hunched figure Henry could only give him a hug. “Father, please do not say such things, I know you only want the best for me, I will work hard and unlock my mana so we can train even harder and have even more fun.”

“Yes!” Alfred was now full of enthusiasm and felt great relief as his son had not allowed his rash words to hurt him, on the outside at least.

“Well now, you boys are both sweaty and covered in dirt, go and wash up quickly. There is much more work to be done before nightfall. I won’t tolerate slacking off.” Anna was giving her usual lines to the family as she noticed that the trio might just leave desk duties for tomorrow and stay in the gymnasium for the day.

“Right you are, boys off you go now!” Eleonora agreed with Anna and, placing her hands on her hips, gave them instructions.

“You are not getting away either my lady!” The nanny saw right through her former ward's play and reminded her of her own obligations. “You have guests coming in today and the mage division will need to start recruiting soon as it is that time of the year, must I remind you that you are in charge of us, Eleonora?”

Eleonora’s victorious smirk was now gone, replaced with a crestfallen look. She could only mutter some incomprehensible words…

***

“My lord Henry, today’s lesson is almost over so I will be giving you a small treat. I will instruct you about the beasts that have been recorded in the annals of history. Do pay attention, this falls under history as well as military tactics, your two favorites if I am not mistaken?”

“Yes master!” Henry gulped up any knowledge Stephen Miller was willing to impart on him, but these lessons are the ones Henry loved the most.

“Good! I like your enthusiasm.” After taking a moment to admire his students passion for knowledge, Stephen began his lesson. “First, let us talk about the lesser class, even though some of them are come into being with intelligence, typically the ones you will encounter are mindless creations that have long lost their sanity or were created with none. They make for excellent minions for the upper and mid ranks of the monstrosities.” Giving Henry a moment to write down some notes, Stephen continued.

“As I already stated, most of these creatures are stupid to the extremes, but keep in mind that they are gifted with strength and a set of keen senses. They mostly move in packs, depending on circumstances some might be found wandering alone, but if you see one, best be prepared for more of its kin being nearby. They are made of pure malice and live to cause pain, destruction and serve their master’s will.”

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“The second class are the mid ranks, we also sometimes use an archaic term with which I will not burden you any time soon. They are different to the lesser species as they have species names, personal names, if they are strong, and are capable of creating minions. They are mostly ancient, as old, if not older than the three races that have existed since the birth of this world. Be mindful Henry, never say their names out loud, a name gives the named one power. Among them the most famous ones are the vampires. Though there are not many left in this world, they are a menace like no other. If you find one, kill it with no mercy as they are creatures of pure evil who will, if left unchecked, drape a city in red in a matter of weeks.”

Henry was confused as this was a new subject to him and the idea of monsters having personal names was unknown to him. “Why are personal names not spoken, what kind of power?”

Stephen was pleased with his student who was obviously paying attention in class. “This was passed down to us. We do not know the exact reason for this, but it has become a custom. Customs are numerous and sometimes weird, aren’t they Henry? Sometimes we look at them and say that they are strange, redundant, pointless. But remember that they are solutions to the problems our ancestors had, problems that have since been rooted out or kept at arm's length by our respect for the knowledge we have received.”

Henry only nodded, he knew full well that Stephen’s words were worth their weight in gold, most of the time.

“I will share with you a theory of mine, as you know we cast spells by calling their name. Most people have to do that as the name helps their mana form into the shape they want. So that got me thinking and, what if the name of the creature gives it power. In a way, they take a fraction of our own mana and strengthen themselves. That is why the worshipers of the ancient demons call their names during their filthy ceremonies.” Stephen looked at Henry and patted his head. “This is only a theory, of course, but be smart and remember it.”

“I will, teacher!” Henry was adamant, he knew full well Stephen’s knowledge was superior to most people in this world and had long ago decided to gather all that knowledge and use it to survive in the future.

A warm smile formed on Miller’s lips. “Good, let us wrap this lesson up. As most creatures of evil cannot breed and leave offspring a legend has formed that they are only born from malice infused mana, but in reality that stew can only bring forth lesser beasts. The ones that are truly the problem are born just like you and me. They cannot be created by mana, but they can breed with those who are wicked enough. Now, taking vampires as an example, they must find a human who is as close to their malice as possible and if they are “lucky” a baby will be conceived with the vampire's evil and its strengths.”

“Is that possible, surely people can hardly be as evil as them in a single lifetime?” Henry was perplexed as he could not fathom the level of evil necessary for a person to be a good match for a vampire.

“Right you are Henry! They do not take just about any women or men, but the ones whose family was bred for this, honor as they call it, for centuries. After all, most of the vampires alive today are children of a single mid rank vampire who has since grown into a mighty existence which can rival the higher ranked evils.”

“The upper ranks shall be discussed another day. Go and rest a bit, today is the day you receive mail, yes?” The first part was said in Stephen’s usual flat tone, but the second part had a bit of mischief mixed in.

It took Henry a few seconds to understand his teacher’s intention. “Master, the letters I receive are simply an exchange among old friends.”

Stephen only smiled before gesturing towards the door. “Go and have fun reading.” Not wanting to give him a chance to change his mind Henry ran out the door and quickly found himself in his room.

“No mail?” To his surprise there were no parcels or letters on his table or anywhere in the room. “Well maybe they are still sorting them out, they will bring them here soon.” Making this conclusion Henry sat at the table and pulled out an old, weathered book and a stack of papers.

After flipping through some pages Henry walked over to the large map of the dukedom he had in his room and spoke to himself. “According to the tales, the only possible location for the dungeon is in the highest part of the mountains. In order to prevent the calamity I will need to get the treasures that are stored in the vault over there as soon as possible. If the same prizes are there, I might even be able to save Mathew.”

After standing there for a few more minutes, Henry took his quill and marked the most likely position on a smaller map that he kept in his desk drawer. His attention then shifted towards the list he made which was in the drawer next to the map.

The list contained some twenty names. All the high ranking npcs he could remember were there. They were just children now, much like him, but most of them were assets he wanted to have on his side in the time to come.

“My academy days won’t be successful if I don’t use them to recruit these people.” Just as he was about to read through the book once more, a knock reverberated through the room. A familiar voice of a butler was heard from the other side.

“Lord Henry? Duke Alfred and the duchess request your presence in the study.”

Henry was taken aback, usually his parents would come to him if they had something to tell him, or send Anna. This was quite unusual and made Henry feel worried about many things. As he was exiting the room he felt a slight pain hit his heart. ‘Sophie? Could something have happened to her?’ With renewed haste Henry briskly walked over to his father’s study.

Inside the room the atmosphere was grim. His parents, Anna and Aron stood on one side of the room and a man was kneeling on the other. His face was pale and his clothes told the story of his long journey. “Father, as requested, I have arrived.” In a daze Henry spoke before walking over to his father and taking his place next to him.

Alfred gave his son a nod before speaking to the guest. “So, this message that can only be read before the whole ducal family, can you show it to me now, messenger?”

Without a word the man walked over and gave Alfred a sealed letter. The duke looked at the seal for a moment, without looking up he spoke “Aron, take him outside, have someone take him to the kitchen and make sure he rests.” Responding to his lord’s orders Aron led the man outside.

After a moment he returned and took his position. Alfred looked towards Eleonora and broke the seal, thus opening the letter.

His demeanor changed the moment he saw the first words written by the king himself. Alfred's hand quivered for a moment before he started reading aloud.

"Alfred, head to the capital as soon as you read this letter. Archduke Nicolas Ritter is dead."