It was slowly getting bright by the time Kael awoke. As he sat up in his bed, he looked around. His two hounds were with him, and so was his raven. What first hit him was how bright it was. Everything was so clear compared to his life from before. His life from before? As he tried to recall where he lived before, it hit him, that he knew nothing about how his life had been before he awoke.

All he knew was that he had set out on a journey to what he knew as the world above. The world above? Above what? The more he thought about it, the more confused he got. He did not recall leaving his previous home, wherever that might be, nor did he recall having come to this place. He decided not to think about it any more.

Eventually he got out of bed, but as pulled himself out by the side of the bed, a thundering crack resounded. Losing his grip, he crashed to the floor, landing on one of his hounds, Grim. The hound whimpered as it was startled awake, but soon relaxed noticing its master. It even started wagging its tail in response. As Kael looked back to his bed, he was dumbfounded by what he saw. The bedside he had used to support himself had been reduced to sawdust, making the bed look like quite the poor a sight.

“I do hope this furniture was not too ancient or expensive…” he muttered to himself. What he eventually realized as he got up, was that he felt incredibly light. It was as if he was a feather in a breeze. Any too sudden movement would cause him to skid across the floor. Annoyed, Kael decided to take a walk outside to calm himself. He also needed to figure out where this was, and if he was all alone.

He got himself dressed, apparently he had a few chests of belongings with him as he looked about the room. There was plenty of clothing, for fine gatherings, relaxation and so on. He picked out a set of garments, who looked quite ordinary, well in his eyes anyway. A grey scholars robe and a pair of black leather boots. He also found a washing basin by his bedside. He used this to wash his face and clean his hair. Finally, he bound his hair in a ponytail before assessing himself in the reflection of one of his mirrors. Barely presentable, was what came to mind. He absent-mindedly also had a look at his left eye. His pupil was white as ever. Someone would eventually notice that, he thought to himself.

At long last, he went for the door. He called out to the already awakened Grim, to bring him with him for his walk. As he opened the door, he realized his mistake. His strength was on a whole different level in this place. He nearly yanked the door of its hinges. Lucky for him, the only thing he ruined was the door handle. He stood there, stunned with half a door handle in hand.

Sighing, he tried to fix it a few times, upon succeeding he walked into the hallway. After a quick look at the worn down hallway, whom to his mind was quite dirty, he went towards the only way that looked like a plausible exit. It was an old staircase, which to his annoyance creaked like nothing he had ever experienced before. He came to the conclusion that he preferred stone before wood homes any time.

The common room of the inn was empty. Shabby tables stood about the room, with a few scattered chairs adjacent to them. To the left of the staircase was a shabby looking bar, behind which, were what looked like oversized barrels and few clean mugs. Finally, opposite the bar, was what he assumed would be the door leading outside. As he stepped through the exit he felt the smell the fresh breeze of the morning and the morning chill. Well, initially it did seem fresh, until he sensed the smell what had to be manure and dung...

He wrinkled his nose. This was new, but he already knew that he would not get used to this smell anytime soon. It appeared he had not been exposed to this stench in his previous home. After a quick study of his surroundings, he observed that the inn was situated in the middle of town, apparently as form of gathering hub.

Around the inn was a muddy road in a circle. The road ended at two opposite ends of the village. One road going north towards a tall black mountain in the distance, barely looking used at all. The other going south towards forests and farms in the distance. This one clearly saw the most traffic, filled with deep tracks in the mud. Besides the roundabout road, in a circle, stood many houses. Some large, made of clay and stone. Some wood and some with thatched hay roofs. There were even some larger ones, which had to be barns.

As he walked onto the muddy road, he realized that he had made a bad choice of clothing. He had to pull his robe up to avoid getting mud on it. On the other hand, Grim, the big hound, looked quite comfortable. He wagged his tail, walking next to Kael. Apparently he found no disgust in the smell here.

The were no other people in sight. He decided that he might as well take a walk towards the woods to get out of the mud. The thought of trekking through the mud, any more than what was necessary, was not something he would do if it could be avoided. It only took him a short time to walk out of the village.

He had decided on a nearby looking hill. It stood above the village and seemed like a good spot to survey the area around. A short walk later, he arrived at the hilltop. He was met with a breathtaking sight. He could see mountains in the distance, and just above the mountain peaks, was a blazing ball of fire. Kael found it hard to look directly at this ball. He decided that this had to be the sun. As he gradually looked away from the sun, he surveyed the landscape below. What had looked dull and grey half an hour ago, was now bathed in light. It was quite beautiful.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

As he stood there admiring the sight before him, someone came up behind him.

“Young master, it is beautiful is it not? I am glad you are awake. I have much to tell you of this world. My name is Rache. You can call me uncle Rache if it pleases the young master, but preferably you can also just call me Grandpa. Whatever the young master wishes.” A tall old man stood behind him, head bowed in respect.

“Grandpa Rache, was it? Tell me what happened after we left home. Also tell me what i need to know about this world, and where we will travel to next? What should my goal be in this world?” Kael was surprised, but not that much. He knew this man meant him no harm, after all, not just anyone could approach him without Grim's approval.

“As the young master wishes. First of all, when we left home, you were asleep. We came from the black mountain you see in the distance towards the North. We have been at this tavern for one night. As for this world? I'll begin then.” The old man took a deep breath, before he continued.

“This is the northern part of the continent named Kavaron. There are four other continents in this world. Those you will learn of in the future. What else... ah yes. This continent is divided into five parts. The central part of the continent is home to the capital and main seat of the Vici Empire. We are in the region known as Paravon, the smallest of the five sections of the continent.” The man slowly started smiling at the mention of the Vici Empire.

He continiued,“this section is known as the feudal state. It is divided up between several feudal lords. However, the area we are in now is not considered a part of any lords lands. There is only a few major cities in Paravon. The one I want to propose going to is called Fallgara. It is the only town in Paravon with a magic academy.” This long speech made the old man looked a bit winded. He looked to Kael in anticipation.

“I see, but you still have not told me why we are travelling to Fallgara. Also, I know a bit about magic, or at least I feel I should. Why don't you explain to me what forces of magic are used to in this world... and what other powers the people of this world can use?” With a pondering look, Kael directed these questions to Old Rache. He seemed very familiar. Yet he could not tell who he was. Whatever. He was a friend, besides, he felt at peace with this man.

“As you wish young master. This world can be divided into the world of magic and the world of obscurities. Magic is something only those gifted can use. Magic exists in countless forms, but we generally say they all use mana. Mana is essentially gathered in our bodies like blood. We can generate it, store it, and utilize it if one extracts it from one's body. If flows through hidden veins in the body, but as to how much a person can store, that depends on everything about that person. His genes, at what age he began and how many mana veins that person possesses.” At the mention of magic, the old man got a somewhat obsessed look in his eyes. He seemed to be far away in his own thoughts.

He continued, “also, unlike blood, there is no upper limit to how much a body can store when it comes to mana. People of this world however say that if a person has a mana level of five. That is the limit to the human body. That however is wrong as you know. There is no limit. As for how we measure the level of mana a person possesses, it is about how much a person can utilize at one time. An ordinary rank five magi is declared as the pinnacle of the continent. They can create a fireball the size of carriage. As for how large higher levels can create, that is unknown.” As Kael looked at the old man, he realized that this old goat was making fun of the strongest people on the continent, but he decided to ignore this for the time being.

The old man, meanwhile, continued with his explanation, “magic can be used, as i previously said, in countless forms. Nature magic, destruction magic, elemental magic, healing magic and so on.

There is also another type of power, not quite magic, but similar. This we call obscurity or obscure magic. These powers cannot be measured by the power of mana, because they use the power of faith, fear, devotion or other states of emotions expressed by large populations of people or creatures. It is more powerful than magic, in a sense, because it requires not the power of mana, but of fame.”

“It utilizes thoughts of many people to form concrete matter. And so many powerful people, famous mages in particular excel at this type of power only after gaining fame. Although the most powerful utilizers of obscurity are those who practice religion or famous royalty. They do not even need to know magic, because they have attained high levels of obscurity.” “Obscurity comes in many forms as well, emperors use righteous forms of obscurity for example, if they are kind and just emperors. Some religions might use the power of faith to create holy magic. Druids utilize obscurity to control nature, from their care taking of animals and plants.”

“As for why I wish for you to go Fallgara, is that i wish for you to enrol in the Fallgara academy of Magic. You have great talents with magic, and you know much for your age, even if you do not know it yourself as of now. It would be beneficial for you to begin your life on this continent as a mage, as they have much power both in politics and gain much fame.”

“Eventually you might even be allowed to travel to the continental capital to join the grand magi association and learn at the grandmaster academy of magic there.” At the mention of this, the old man started grinning profoundly, as if imagining something very funny.

Kael stood thinking for a long while after hearing this, he started to recall some things, which were what he was just told in more detail. Finally, he nodded.

“We shall do as you planned. I also look forward to this journey, magic huh? I look forward to seeing what the magic of the five continents will reveal to me in the future!” When he said this, Kael's face took on a somewhat terrifying look. He smiled, but unaware of this himself, Kael's smile made the old man tremble with excitement. Finally, the young master was going to act...