My rescuer kept repeating the painful treatment each day, rubbing the oil into my muscles and then forcibly activating my mana. The pain was nearly unbearable some days, but I was beginning to see results.
My appetite was monstrous, I don’t think I’d ever eaten so much in such frequency or duration, and I was regaining strength in my limbs. In fact, it only took five days for me to be able to stand unassisted, and then another three to be able to walk a short enough distance to relieve myself without support.
I still had to be carried in the sling for the majority of the day, but the little independence I had gained was keeping my spirits high.
We eventually camped at a miraculous sight; a wide-ranging waterfall that stretched across multiple cliffs. The sound it gave off was enough to make my bones vibrate and the moisture it left in the air could be seen wafting far into the forest.
My rescuer led us to a path that cut into the cliffside, and we were able to slowly make our way up the cliffside to the top.
At the top, an ocean of green grass was waving before us, and strange heavily muscled beasts could be seen grazing in the distance.
We traveled towards the beasts but were intercepted by more bipedal creatures similar to my rescuer.
These ones looked more similar, since they at least had hair on the tops of their heads, but their skin looked like polished bronze and their hair was the color of dried grass.
My rescuer handed off his spear, along with a hatchet and hammer that he carried, to one of his other men. A small number of us then left the group to follow the new creatures.
We followed then for a while, until we came across an encampment composed of multiple tents and were stopped by a woman who was surrounded by guards.
My rescuer then stepped forward and held his hands palm up to the woman and gave what I assumed to be a greeting. The woman replied, then invited us to a large tent in the center of the camp.
My rescuer then began to talk with the woman for some time, occasionally pointing towards me, but she shook her head to the side in what I believed was a shared gesture of “no”.
The two then began to talk trade and I could see my rescuer getting irritated at the lack of items she deemed valuable. Eventually, the woman pointed towards one of the young men that came with us, and my rescuer gave a frown.
He spoke to the young man, and after the young man nodded to my rescuer, he had the young man remove his torso covering and spin slowly in place.
The woman and a few others gave nods of approval and shook hands with my rescuer to seal the deal.
It took me a while to figure out exactly what it entailed until a group of horses were brought over to be exchanged for the pelts, herbs, and oils my rescuer’s party carried. My rescuer gave the young man a long-shared embrace, tears visible in both of their eyes, before he sent the young man forward with his goods.
My rescuer was in a dour mood for the next week. Our increased speed thanks to the horses was of little comfort to him.
However, I did get him to smile when I pointed to myself and said, “Eldar.”
---
Travis
The next day was a frenzy of activity. I was getting pulled almost every hour for refits on my outfit for the night, paperwork for my wardship had to be filled out, and Lancel was throwing me off balance by being even more nervous than me.
“Why are you the one who’s nervous?” I asked while I waited for my turn to be refitted, “You’re the child of a noble, beat the cutoff to become a knight by 3 years, and just recently saved an entire village of people without any casualties.”
Marcia, who was assisting the tailors began to laugh, “He’s afraid that he’ll run into all of the people he snubbed by turning down their invitations.”
I turned to see Lancel’s shimmering brown skin gain a reddish hue, “I’m having second thoughts about going now…” he muttered.
“Too late to change your mind now!” Marcia stated with glee while pinning a decorative edge to a piece of fabric. She then held up the garment and then looked to me, “It should hold for the night, just don’t get into any duels.”
I took the offered item and began to try it on. The entire ensemble ended up being a mix of Lakelander and Packer styles. For my legs, I borrowed a pair of Lakeland navy colored wood-fiber pants from Darius, (The seams had to be brought in since my quads weren’t nearly as large as his.) a white long-sleeved undershirt was purchased from a Lakelander merchant that was asked to visit, and instead of a traditional Lakelander doublet, I was going to wear a Southern Plains styled dress robe.
The shape was similar to the evening robe that I had been wearing, being sleeveless as well, and stopping mid-thigh, but was not as open in the chest area. The main coloring was the Human Kingdom’s forest-green, but it had the Southern Plains gold for trim, and Lakeland navy blue for accents.
“It looks nice!” I commented when I looked into the mirror, “Umm, what am I going to wear on my feet?”
Marcia gave me the Hopkins’ family grin and gestured to one of the servants that entered while I was changing, “It just so happens that the boots you were wearing are a popular style right now. I hope you don’t mind, but I had yours polished up a bit.”
A smiling servant then presented a pair of below-the-knee riding boots that did not look like they had just spent the last two weeks on the road collecting dust.
“Those aren’t my boots,” I immediately accused, “Even the day I finished making them, they weren’t that shiny or dark.”
The servant gave out a light chuckle, “I used a conditioning oil that was developed down in the Cloudy Rainforest. Although it unfortunately stains the leather darker, the resistance and repulsion of water it provides is popular among Knights wishing to keep their feet dry.”
I nodded my head in thanks and tried them on. The dark brown coordinated well with my outfit, and I was a bit tickled that something I made was considered fancy enough for a formal event with nobles.
“Well, looks like you’re ready for tonight.” Marcia spoke as she circled around me, trying to spot any needed last-minute corrections. She suddenly stopped, and gave me an embarrassed expression, “A bit late to ask now, but do you know how to waltz? You’re going to be expected to do a lot of dancing tonight.”
I turned my head to raise my eyebrow at Lancel, Arc laughing in my ear like usual, and gave him an accusatory glare, “I was told it was optional.”
---
Arc
Watching the entire family getting ready for the nights festivities was quite interesting to watch. In my previous life, my only exposure to the wealthy elite was through media or working the occasional charity event.
The entire day was full of vendors dropping off clothing, gifts, and services. It appeared that the entire family had events to go to that night: Darius and his wife had an invitation to the palace, Tristan would be taking his wife and daughter to an middle ring block party located at a park, Marcia would be meeting her husband at an event hall near the Mage’s Academy, Percy and his fiancée were to attend a military ball, and Caldia would be going with a few friends to what I assume is a single’s event hosted at a vineyard.
Despite all of the preparations, Rabiria managed to sneak in her Matriarchal duties and pulled Travis aside when a lawyer came to formalize the paperwork needed for him to become a recognized ward.
“Normally, you’d need your parental guardians to give permission in writing as well,” The lawyer explained to Travis while he went over the forums, “but since you’re a resident of a Lakeland city, you’re automatically granted emancipation upon written confirmation from a registered Knight…” the lawyer gestured at a present Percy, “that your mana level is high enough to require exile from your village.”
He then handed a book to Travis along with a packet, “These go over the contracted obligations you are to perform as a ward, nothing too egregious, just behave yourself and don’t get into any legal troubles. If you have any questions, you are free to contact me privately, I am considered a neutral party between you and Clan Hopkins, so anything said to me in private will not be shared.”
“Now,” the lawyer straightened his spine, “are there any immediate questions that you’d like answered?”
Travis sat there for a moment thinking and began to scratch his right ear, “Oh, I got one. What happens if you become a mage instead of a knight?”
Travis tapped his ear and then asked, “I’ll be taking the exam for the Mage’s Academy tomorrow, what happens if I pass?”
The lawyer began to chuckle, “Then everything I’ve just done would be for nothing.”
He kept going for a bit before Rabiria interrupted, “Why is that? I was under the impression that gaining the ‘Mage’ title was equivalent to a ‘Knight’ one? I know plenty of older noble families will grant wardships to mage candidates.”
The lawyer clarified for her, “You are correct, it’s just that academy students are in a strange place legally. Since the academy is funded by the kingdom, all students as a result are drafted into the army and are considered wards of the Queen.”
“This grants some interesting perks that a typical wardship wouldn’t entail, one of them being a military rank equivalent to a recently titled knight.” The lawyer paused to drink some water, “Those of course are only temporary, and upon graduation, the wardship can then be transferred to an existing noble family or the new mage is allowed to establish a family name for themselves.”
“If the mage candidate fails to graduate though, then things get interesting. They’re considered a ‘failed knight’ under a standard wardship agreement, and since they were a ward to the royal family, they can only be granted a new one upon completion of a 12-year military contract before they reach the age of 31. Only then can they be granted a noble title and be allowed access to knight training.” The lawyer concluded.
“That seems really harsh.” Travis commented, likely worried about his future.
“Mages are a precious resource to the kingdom; the Queen does not want the students at the academy to slack off.”
“Still, that basically means that I’d have to drop out before my eighteenth birthday, and then serve a full 12 years in the army without a wardship even though I would qualify to become a knight.”
The lawyer resumed his previous laughter, “There’s a reason most dropouts are exiled from their family and forced to become monster hunters.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
---
Final preparations were being made for the night and Travis managed to find some privacy.
“How are you doing? Having second thoughts on enrolling now?”
Travis gave a nervous grin, “Not going to lie, I am. Maybe I’ll be able to talk to someone tomorrow about how difficult the coursework is? Becoming a knight right after completing basic training is looking pretty tempting now.”
“I have a feeling that as long as you show that you’re committed to learning the coursework, that you’ll be fine. It’d be in the kingdom’s best interest to help any students that are struggling at the academy.”
Travis let out a big, jealousy inducing sigh, and began to practice his dance steps while he counted out loud. I started playing music in his ear to help him out, but my poor student still had two left feet.
Eventually his frustration got to him, and he began pacing the room agitated instead. “Maybe I should smuggle you into the party? Having you there to help, would take some of the weight out of my boat.”
Scenarios from various cartoons, movies and novels began to spring into my head, “Yeah, that’d be a bad idea. Even if you pulled it off, you’d shave years off your life from all of the stress.”
Travis, the little bastard, gave out another sigh, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
---
Travis
The evening drew near, causing Lancel and I to depart in our carriage. The trip was short, since we were only traveling one ring inwards, but to my annoyance, we ended up waiting in line to enter the estate for over an hour.
“Ugh,” I squirmed in my seat, trying to force out the stiffness in my limbs, “what’s with the traffic?”
Lancel began to grin at my discomfort, “The Quintillius clan is taking the time to welcome every guest as they enter the estate. If they didn’t, they’d run the risk of not being able to speak to someone that they invited.” He stretched his arms out, then smoothed out the black, gold, and orange sleeved robe that he wore, ensuring that the three clan symbols depicting his ancestry was visible.
“As for the line, there’s a social puzzle that every attendant is supposed to figure out. You want to show up early, but not too early since you might come across as desperate, in order to beat the forming line. If you show up later, you can avoid having to wait, but then you’d run the risk of insulting the host by showing up late.”
Lancel pointed a thumb to the window, “I decided to opt for waiting in line, since it’s the safest option. I’d rather not insult anyone tonight.”
Eventually our carriage made it to the walkway in front of the estate and we finally exited the carriage. I tried my best to not dart my head around wildly, but it was difficult given all of the new sights.
One of the things I noticed was that the displayed symbol for the Quintillius Clan was identical to the bottom one on Lancel’s robe.
“Was your grandfather part of this clan?”
“Yep, these guys are all my cousins. Though that probably doesn’t mean as much to us Packers as it would to everyone else.”
Lancel led me down the carpeted walkway to a man that waved at our approach, “Sir Lancel! I was in for a shock when you confirmed my invitation yesterday. You’ve given my family quite the honor for being present tonight.”
Lancel approached the man and gave him a shield brother hug, “I’ve been fortunate in my travels. I did not truly believe that I would return in time to attend, I owe Torbolt a hearty thanks.”
The two separated, the man giving a friendly grin, “Care to explain what sent you running off the second the flood ended?”
Lancel extended a hand towards me, “I needed to escort our clan’s newest ward. His mana level grew too high for him to remain at his village.”
The Packer-descent man gave me a surprised look, “Ah, I see. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Tiberius, Knight of the Quintillius Clan.”
“Hello, I am the newly accepted ward of Clan Hopkins, Travis, from the Lakeland city of Aelder Creek.” I gave out my prepared greeting.
Tiberius started chuckling to himself, “Well, I guess I can’t blame Lancel for running off, I know I would do the same if there was some gifted kid just waiting for me to come pick him up.” He turned to Lancel, “Just a heads up, there were a few families that bribed me to make your night a storm. Shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle, more of a polite rudeness instead of insult, but it should be enough to appease them.”
Lancel’s head drooped a bit, “Guess I knew that was coming. Thanks for the warning.”
Tiberius slapped Lancel on the shoulder, “You’ll be fine, just keep your walking excuse nearby, and all will be forgiven by tomorrow.”
We left Tiberius to welcome his next guest and then began to enter the estate to find our table.
“So,” I asked with a mischievous tone, “how soaked in the rain would you be if I didn’t have a huge mana pool?”
Lancel began to groan as we walked, “I expect that my bruises from Tristan trying to beat some sense into me would become permanent.”
I chuckled at his response while we followed a servant to our table.
There were a few people already seated there, including… umm, crap… what was the name of the middle brother?
Lancel froze in place, then began to frown while muttering, “Nothing I can’t handle…”
I looked back over at the man, who was wearing a scapular with the symbol of Torbolt on it. “Sir Lancel, it’s been a while…”
Lancel gave out a sigh, “I guess it has Gaward. It’s been what? 14 years?”
Gaward gave a frown, “Only because Mother refuses to let me visit.”
Lancel didn’t reply, only stared for a moment before silently taking his seat. I awkwardly followed and glanced to the fellow teenager seated next to me.
He looked to be of mixed descent, having the pale skin of a Northman, but the brown hair of us Lakelanders. He looked as out of his pond as I did, so I decided to say hello.
“Hi,” I offered my hand, “I’m Travis from the Lakeland city of Aelder Creek, and ward to Clan Hopkins.”
He stared at my hand a moment before awkwardly grasping it, “I’m Reidar, Spartan of the Queen.”
“A spartan, wow, I did not expect to meet one here.” I commented, hoping the conversation starter was adequate.
“I was ordered to attend,” he replied, gesturing to the man next to him, then gave out a small groan of annoyance, “I’m to immerse myself with the culture surrounding nobles, so that I can better assist her highness in the future.”
I looked over to the two brothers that were giving each other looks and commentated, “Well, if it helps, Sir Lancel Hopkins over there just beat the cutoff to become a knight by three years but performed a social faux pas by turning down a bunch of invitations to post flood celebrations. In revenge, a few of the snubbed nobles bribed Sir Tiberius Quintillius to have what I’m assuming is Sir Lancel’s exiled older brother seated at his table.”
Reidar gave out a small groan and began to massage the side of his head, “I haven’t even been here an hour and I already have a headache.”
I began to chuckle at his discomfort, “At least the food will be good.”
“It’ll probably be inadequately portioned…” he grumbled.
Our conversation was interrupted by the silver-haired man seated next to Reidar, “Don’t worry kids, they keep us high-mana folks close to the kitchen so they can bring out seconds and thirds.”
The rest of the table was remaining silent, likely not wanting to set off the potential fire between Lancel and his brother.
Deciding that I should try to help, I tapped Lancel on the shoulder and gestured for him to lean close, “Are you going to be ok?”
Lancel sighed, “I’ll be fine once dinner concludes and we’re allowed to separate.” He shot a quick glance at his brother, “I haven’t seen him since the day he left to take the Mage’s Academy exam. Mom and Dad never told me exactly what happened, just that the paladins present convinced him to join their order.”
That shocked me quite a bit, and I grabbed onto Lancel, “Is that why you’ve been trying to convince me not to take the exam?”
Lancel gave me a sad look and nodded his head, “I’d rather you take Trent’s offer than join a paladin order. They give out a lot of promises and gifts, but in return,” Lancel sighed heavily, “they basically take ownership of your life.”
A loudly cleared throat came from across the table. Lancel glared at his brother, “I’m sorry, did I insult our representative of the church?”
The paladin looked like he was about to speak, but a loud bell began to ring in the hall, signaling the beginning of dinner.
I gave Lancel a grin, and he returned one as well upon witnessing his brother's frown.
Dinner was delicious! Appetizers were delivered before three different courses and a dessert. The servants then took requests for seconds and I could hear noises of contentment coming from my spartan neighbor.
Lancel’s brother finished eating, but after watching Lancel make a showing of requesting another plate in front of him, he left to enjoy the party elsewhere. Once he left, the entire table let out a group chuckle, apparently happy that the river blockage was now gone.
Eventually, the table finished eating and those present took some time to make pleasantries with Lancel and I before leaving to speak to the other party goers.
The spartan next to me surprised me by asking a question, “You’re going to take the exam for the Mage’s Academy?”
“Yes, going to take the test tomorrow in fact. Why do you ask?”
“I’m confused I guess.” He scratched the side of his head, “Wouldn’t it make more sense to accept a wardship from a more prominent noble family that already has mages in their ranks?”
I got a good laugh at his confusion, “Do you know any?” I pointed to Lancel, “I grew up in a tiny village over twelve days travel from the capital, the only reason I met Lancel is because he was assigned to my village as a guard.”
Lancel grinned at my statement, “Too late, you already signed the paperwork.”
I snapped my fingers, “Damn, so much for that.”
The spartan still looked confused, so I decided to clarify, “Lancel’s been guarding my village since I was 10. He was already like an older brother to me.” I gave Lancel a pat on the shoulder, “Plus I owe him big time. I’d be covered in burns and probably dead with the rest of my village if it wasn’t for him.”
Lancel reciprocated with a pat on the back, “I’m pretty sure that you saved me first. Not many commoners would abandon their safety to save their sworn protectors.”
The spartan began to nod his head, “I see, you were essentially squad mates, but now you’ve made it official.”
I looked to Lancel with a strained look, “Umm, I guess?”
Lancel gave me a grin, “If I remember right, Spartans are assigned to their first squad when they turn 5, and it’s considered a lifelong appointment?”
The spartan nodded his head, “From what I’ve been told, it’s similar in structure to a familial unit since our squad leader is assigned for life as well.”
Lancel nodded at the confirmation, “Then yes, my squad officially had Travis assigned to us as a lifelong appointment.”
Lancel then stood and gestured for me to join, “Now, let’s go mingle with the other attendants, otherwise, we’ll never get a chance to join in on the dancing.”
A small groan escaped from me, and I spotted the spartan giving me his first smile of the evening, “Have fun, I’ll just stay seated over here.”
“But I thought you were told to immerse yourself in noble culture.” I replied in a mocking tone, “How can one do such if they don’t humiliate themselves by dancing in front of a group of strangers?”
My new friend’s smile turned into a frown of discomfort, “Please don’t…”
Ignoring his protest, I grabbed him by the arm and was assisted by the older man next to him in pulling him away from the table. The older man shouted at the spartan to hang out with someone his own age, which caused the spartan to start cursing under his breath as we walked around, speaking to different people.
The conversations did get repetitive, but at least it was understandable. A wandering elf did shake things up though.
“Sir Lancel Hopkins?” A tall blonde elf with pale skin and flowing hair asked.
“That I am.” Lancel paused to study the elf’s face, “My apologies, if we’ve met before, I’m afraid I don’t recognize your face.”
The elf waved off the comment with a flick of their wrist, “We haven’t. My name is Selanar Ulaphine, I’m the Head Researcher of Monsters over at the Mages Academy.”
I swear I could hear Arc squeal in excitement, or maybe it was just my own? Thankfully, no one seemed to notice if I did.
“I was told that you’d be attending tonight and wanted to personally ask you about the creatures that you encountered.”
Lancel nodded his head and then looked around, “I’m under a gag order about the specifics, so we’ll have to go somewhere private.” Lancel looked to the spartan, “Umm, silly question, but are you cleared to know what we’re about to discuss?”
The spartan raised his eyes to think, but then gave a look of epiphany, “You two are from the village that got attacked by those flaming bipedal monsters?” Lancel and I nodded our heads, “Then yes, I have already read the report.” He then looked over to me as we walked over to a private room, “That story about how you saved each other?”
“Yep,” I replied, “same incident.”
Once in the room, Lancel and I did our best to describe the creatures in detail, from how they looked to how they attacked.
“And you’re positive that they were elves?” The researcher asked, showing a mild discomfort at the thought.
“My knowledge of elven anatomy is minimal, but one of the monster hunters present seemed confident.” Lancel clarified.
I decided to add in as well, “One of the one’s I killed did have long ears,” I looked the researcher up and down, “but that’s the only distinctive surface level characteristic that you share with those creatures.”
The researcher began to grow agitated, “I just can’t understand why someone would do that. There’s no way that those creatures would be able to live long. The implanted Fire crystals would simulate advanced mana sickness, and even if done for unethical reasons, the effects are already well documented. There wouldn’t be anything to gain.”
Silence filled the room, no one could answer the question, but then the spartan broke the peace.
“How much do you know about orcs?”
The researcher looked puzzled initially but then apparently understood what he was implying, “No, they wouldn’t…”
“Why not? Orcs are naturally gifted soldiers. Heck, a large number of Spartans are half-orcs.”
The researcher began to groan and massage their forehead, “We’ve still yet to learn how orcs were created from us elves, or why they can breed with three different species.” He gave out an exasperated sigh, “This is not how I would like to learn about the creation of a new species.”
Lancel nodded his head along with mine in agreement, “On that, we can agree.”
---
To my dismay, we parted with the researcher shortly after, and then had to endure getting paired off to dance with the sisters of one of Lancel’s friends. My new spartan friend, whose name I had already forgotten, was at least commiserating with me on the dancefloor.
The three of us kept alternating between dancing and talking with the various partygoers. We continued to spend the night sharing stories, telling jokes, and even did a few party games.
Eventually, it started to get late, and Lancel spoke to our group, “Well Reidar, it’s been a pleasure making your acquaintance. You’re welcome to come visit the Hopkins’ Estate, I know my father and brothers would be just as interested as I am in getting to know you better.” Lancel then extended a hand and grinned when the spartan joined him in a shield-brother hug.
Reidar. Reidar, I need to remember that. I gave him a shield-brother hug as well before saying goodbye.
Reidar, Reidar, Reidar…, I kept repeating in my mind as we left the party. I was going to remember that name.