One of the more fascinating differences between each race’s theology, is that each race has an origin myth that doesn’t match with the others.
Dwarves believe that the previous world had ended, and that many of the gods were killed, leaving only a small number of survivors. While this may seem a bit too fantastical of a tale, and likely inspired by the numerous violent storms that would sweep across the East coast, the story became less so after archeologists were able to confirm that there was indeed a tribe of dwarves that lived on floating islands.
While it’s unknown what caused the collapse, one could easily imagine that, if the floating city that once protected you from the valley of monsters below fell to the ground, it would certainly “feel” like the world was coming to an end. Not to mention, that the coast that you escaped to being constantly pelted by storms could be interpreted as Torbolt no longer having control over the weather due to his death.
Elven religions proclaim that the world is new, and that they are still in the protected garden that the gods created for them. The expedition that Eldar Adifel went on into the Valley of Monsters created an uproar amongst the churches before he even volunteered for the mission, claiming that they weren’t given permission to leave, and that once they venture past the gate; the protection from the world given to them by the gods would end, creating a new era.
They weren’t entirely wrong, things have definitely changed, and anyone touring the elven lands to view the numerous tropical island chains or lush forests filled with sky-scraping trees, can easily see why they describe it as a garden.
Humans… Humans… They are the annoying ones. The dwarven and elven origin stories conflict in some ways, but there is the possibility that both are correct if you interpret it as the dwarves being the first sentient race, then a cataclysmic event caused the gods to separate, followed by elves being created while the remaining dwarves struggled to become recognized by the gods again.
Humans however… Don’t have an origin story.
There are a few stories that could be interpreted as such, but each time I’ve tried to clarify if it is, I’m told that the mortals described in the story aren’t necessarily their ancestors, and that they are only retelling the tales that the gods have told them.
I’ve checked with all four human tribes extensively, but none of them have an origin story. They can’t even confirm what direction they settled the Valley of Monsters.
To be honest, that doesn’t bother me. If you don’t know something, you simply don’t know.
But what frustrates me, is that none of the humans I’ve met seem to care…
---
Arc
Voltsday, the 18th of Fifthmonth
7-8 Breakfast
“It’s 6 minutes to, you might as well wake up.”
Travis yawned, which irritated me like usual, then got out of bed with a pep to his step and started to give his arms and back a stretch while making that annoying satisfied look on his face that morning people like to taunt you with. He cast a quick [Fire Orb] so he wouldn’t need to light his desk lamp, or open the curtain, and started eagerly dressing.
“You’re back to your normal cheerful self.”
“It’s a new day and you told me about how Drozuk got chewed out yesterday, so I doubt he’ll cause trouble during drill. Plus, it’s not like I have to interact with him, instead of returning here after classes, it’d be more valuable for us to study in the school library at the end of the night or between classes.
“Hmm, that’s right, I won’t be able to read any of the books or what the other students write down in ink, but I’ll be able to overhear the students and faculty.”
Travis finished buttoning his arming jacket and clipped me to his belt, “That’s what I was thinking.” He slid open his door to the living room, saw the mess that Drozuk and his friends made, and frowned, “Ugh, is he awake?”
“Kinda? His alarm clock went off, but he’s still lying in bed and groaning.”
Travis patted my pommel, and gave a mild shout, “Drozuk, are you awake?”
The angry orc growled, “Sod off, knee-pads.”
Travis grinned with schadenfreude, “Just checking, got warned yesterday that everyone needs to be ready today, so if you need help…”
“I said sod off!”
Travis managed to hold in the giggles long enough to exit the dorm room.
---
The kid who couldn’t find his helmet yesterday looked out over the fast-filling tables and sighed, looking just like Travis did yesterday. He must have been catching the other students snicker and joke about his emotional outburst yesterday.
At least he wasn’t alone, the guy he initially threatened was with him, I’m guessing they must have bonded over the experience.
Wait, was that guy in Travis’ Wind Spells 1 class?
I played back my memories, and compared the mana builds to confirm, yep, 45% Earth, 30% Air, 15% Fire, and 10% Water.
Hmm, Travis and these two could use some friends…
“Hey, could you invite those two walking by to sit with you? The one kid had a rough time yesterday, and it would mean a lot to me.”
Travis lifted his head, and after I confirmed which two, he waved, “Need a spot to sit?”
Surprised looks appeared, not just on the invited, but the Northman Travis made friends with yesterday and the Ashman girl that was sitting with him again.
“Umm, yes.” The kid that cried yesterday replied, then sat down with his buddy, “I’m Jethro Bradshaw, Initiate Wind Mage.”
His companion looked at Travis, before realizing he was next, “Umm, right, I’m Mattius Tatian, Initiate Earth Mage. Are you in my Wind Spells class?”
Travis gave a look of comprehension, “With Professor Quinsandoral at 4?”
Mattius gave a nod, “Yeah, the instructor that tested me suggested that I should take the class.”
Travis smiled, “I’m Travis, Initiate Elementalist Mage.” He then gestured to the Northman teen next to him.
“Uh, I’m Adrian, Initiate Water Mage.” Adrian looked nervous, but looked towards Jethro, “Are you the one who lost his helmet yesterday?”
Jethro gave out a deep sigh, and nodded his head, “Yes, made a fool of myself in the process, I’m a fifth-generation mage, I should know better.”
Adrian gave out a light laugh, “You lived through the nightmare I kept having all week, I know the Quartermaster told us to go to him first if something happened to my helmet, but I assumed that was in case someone was bullying me.”
Travis nodded in agreement, “My helmet is worth more than the entire wealth of my village put together, I’d definitely have a panic attack if I lost mine.”
Jethro smiled at the two and seemed to relax before turning to the Ashman girl, “Apologies, that was rude of us to converse without letting you introduce yourself.”
The Ashman girl waved him off, “It’s alright, I’m Bridget, Initiate Fire Mage, former ward of the Mortymer family.”
While the other boys recoiled in surprise, Travis made a face of exasperation, “Ugh, was I supposed to list who I formerly was a ward to this entire time?”
Bridget took notice of the other boys, but smiled as she directed her attention to Travis, “It’s not necessary, but if you were a ward to a very prestigious family, they might be upset with you.”
Travis relaxed in his seat, “That’s a relief, I was only a ward to Clan Hopkins for a full day, but I’d be upset if I was introducing myself wrong all this time.”
“Clan Hopkins? The same one Sir Hector is from?”
“Yes, he’s married to the future Matriarch Marcia.”
She nodded her head, “I bet it’s weird having him as your drill instructor.”
“Not really, I’ve only truly spoken to him once, I’m more weirded out by his beard.”
Bridget and the other boys started to leak out small chuckles, then noticed that it was already half-past 7, and left to get changed.
I gave out a deep imaginary sigh, my biggest worry about Travis coming here had completely faded away now. He had become distant from his old friends in the village after I started teaching him and it only amplified further when he turned 15. But here he was, off to go learn about magic with his friends, and it looks like his grumpy roommate even just left to get changed as well.
Everything was looking fantastic.
---
Travis
8-12 Morning Drill
“Let’s see how many are prepared today…” Hector taunted to me and the others.
The Logistics Corps began inspecting everyone, and it looked like we were all about to pass, even Drozuk, but the person inspecting him waved over to one of the knights, and my stomach began to cramp with dread.
Hector stepped up to Drozuk, and after inspecting his arms, spoke in the tone that reminded me of the one that Mom used to use when she suspected me of stealing sweets, “Initiate, why are you out of uniform?”
Drozuk shrugged his shoulders, “Quartermaster wanted to charge me to repair my uniform, told him it wasn’t my fault that he issued me the wrong size in the first place, and that he should bill the Queen. He kicked me out of the supply depot afterwards.”
No… no, this can’t be happening…
Various groans of annoyance, disbelief, and aggravation from the other students, confirmed that I wasn’t hallucinating.
Hector kept a straight face, “Who is your assigned roommate?”
Drozuk grinned, “Travis Hopkins.”
The bearded Packer raised an eyebrow, then turned to one of the knights with a clipboard, “I don’t recall acquiring a new brother-in-law, could you check the roster for me?”
The knight looked through the pages, then visibly clenched their teeth to prevent a smile, “I don’t see any Hopkins listed, but there is a Travis Farmboy, perhaps the Initiate is confused?”
I groaned and had to desperately fight the urge to bury my face in my hands, the restrained chortles escaping the students near me certainly didn’t help.
Drozuk grinned, “Ah, my mistake, kept hearing rumors about…”
“Initiate! You were not given permission to speak.” Hector shouted with enough force to blow away the smarmy look on the orc. He then turned to me, “Initiate Travis, front and center.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
I made a quick inhale, then marched straight up to Hector and stood at attention directly in front of him.
“Initiate Travis, were you aware that your roommate failed to pass inspection yesterday?”
“Yes Sir.”
“What corrective measures did you perform to ensure that it would not happen today?”
“I offered last night to wake him, then offered assistance this morning after confirming that he was awake. Initiate Drozuk turned down both offers.”
Hector narrowed his eyes at me, “Not when you were preparing in the armory this morning?”
My nerves started to misfire, and I could feel myself beginning to tremble, “No Sir.”
Hector began to scratch his beard, “Did you offer assistance to anyone while preparing in the armory?”
I gulped, “Yes, I assisted 3 other students with gear checks before leaving the armory.”
Hector nodded, “But not your assigned roommate…”
“No Sir.” My stomach was now twitching into knots, I wish I could ask Arc for help.
My drill instructor looked to Drozuk, then back to me with a hardened stare, “Initiate Travis, you will not get to pick and choose who your fellow squad mates are in the army. Your failure to ensure that your assigned roommate was prepared this morning has resulted in him receiving disciplinary action. You will be joining him today.”
I let out a weak, “Yes Sir.”, then proceeded to endure my punishment of being yelled at in front of our entire battalion, doing laps around the group during the morning march, then an extra circuit of exercises between each lecture component of morning drill.
It actually wasn’t too bad, more embarrassing really, and Arc tried to apologize part way through, but I rapped my knuckles on his pommel and whispered that it was ok.
---
Morning Drill eventually ended, and we were released. I got into the lunch line and was joined by the four who sat with me at breakfast. Sadly, I couldn’t remember any of their names, so I had to keep prompting Arc to tell me theirs.
“Ok, I get why you two aren’t tired,” Adrian, looking red-faced instead of his usual ghostly white, looked at the other two guys before turning to me, “by why am I even more exhausted than you Travis?”
“I used to do laps around my village every morning with a knight-in-training, then I’d do some weightlifting and any physical farm chore that I could find.”
The water mage shook his head and looked about ready to fall over from the motion, “Even if I knew I was going to become a mage, I doubt I would have known to improve my fitness beforehand.”
Bridget sighed, “At least you have an excuse, I got warned by my aunt that I should wait at least 6 months before testing and do some physical training with the wards, but I was too impatient.” She groaned a bit as she stretched out her neck, “Guess I’m paying for that now.”
I approached the orkish chef, who tilted his head to see my shoulder patch better, before giving me a much more generous scoop of each food. I thanked him and he gave me a wink in return before moving on to the next person.
“Have you been flirting with the chefs to get extra food?” Jethro teased in my left ear, while Arc started laughing in my right, “Because I find it appalling…, that I didn’t think of it first.”
I grunted at him in annoyance and led everyone to an empty table on the far side, passing by a familiar looking royal knight and giving him a nod of recognition. He nodded back and even gave a small wave as we passed.
Mattius walked up beside me, and gave me a curious expression, “Do you know him?”
I nodded while we sat down, “That’s Sir Asher, Royal Knight and bodyguard of Princess Seleyna. He helped assist me and Clan Hopkins before my party.”
Jethro raised a finger, “That reminds me, is the rumor I heard about you true?”
“Which rumor?” I asked flatly, not entirely sure if I even wanted to know.
“That you’re the only Lakelander in the world that can’t dance.” Chuckles escaped from the table and Arc started laughing so hard in my ear that I swear his scabbard was even vibrating. “My parents were joking that instead of the child of a Lakeland farmer, you must really be the traveling merchant’s kid.”
Arc threw me off for a moment by abruptly canceling his laughter, but I managed to reply, “To the best of my knowledge, I am a full-blooded Lakelander. My dad can trace his ancestry back to one of the original Lakeland island fortresses, and my mom can trace her side’s back for four generations, so if there is something else, it’s not a large fraction.”
We kept talking while we finished eating, but Arc was slowly making me uneasy from the continued utter silence.
Once I got out of earshot and was walking to class, I gave his pommel a rub, “Is everything alright?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I… uh, got lost in thought.”
“It’s alright.” I paused before heading into the classroom. Arc failed to mention that he was ok, and I was trying to figure out a way to coax Arc into talking to me, but sadly decided that I didn’t have time.
---
1-3 Artifice 1
“This class will teach the three basic principles of Artifice, and even include a small bit of history to explain how this dwarven study of magic allowed us to survive Ragnarok and build the bunker cities on the East coast.”
I eagerly started preparing to take notes, Arc and I were both looking forward to this class the most, since it was the area of magic we knew the least about. Plus, the fact that the classroom desks looked more like workshop benches, was making me excited to create something.
The red-bearded dwarf grabbed a large Light Mana gem from their front desk and held it up for us to see, “The first basic principle is attunement. Many of you are already familiar with the process of taking the ambient mana that attaches to your membrane and using the physical contact to increase the pulse rate to match your internal mana.”
The instructor paused to make sure everyone was nodding their heads, “What some of you young-in’s might not be aware of, is that this can be applied to any mana that makes contact with your membrane.”
The Light from the mana crystal began to glow brighter, but then began to quickly dim back to its original intensity, “And if the density of the mana you are making contact with is high enough, you have the option of discharging your mana into the object if the pulsing of your internal mana is higher or pulling the charge from the object if your internal mana is lower.”
“So, it wasn’t anything I was doing wrong, just didn’t have the right materials.”
I tapped Arc’s pommel to agree, then noticed that the dwarven instructor was narrowing their eyes.
“Now before you go getting it into yer heads that you can grab a bunch of uncharged crystals and spend the whole day at the spell range, know this; you can permanently damage your membrane if you unnaturally increase or reduce the mana pressure on it too much or too fast.”
Hmm, I bet I know why… I raised my hand, then got nonverbal approval to ask my question, “Is that because the partially absorbed mana in your membrane can get torn out if it’s suddenly pulled in a different direction?”
The bearded dwarf smiled at me, “Exactly, hence why it’s only recommended to use that technique to fine tune a mana crystal. A common example that you’ll be doing often is changing the frequency on your helmet inscriptions to make sure your squad is all on the same messaging channel.”
“Now, let’s move on shall we? There’s another component of attunement that’s more difficult to learn but is highly rewarding once mastered.” The instructor grabbed a metal rod from their desk, then after holding it for a moment, began to glow red, allowing them to bend and shape it with their gauntlet covered hands.
The noise of impressed students made the dwarf grin, “The more mana already infused into the material, the easier it is to shape and move. This rod weighs a full stone (about 12 pounds) but feels more like a third of that.”
They then took the now chisel-shaped rod to a building stone, held it above while focusing, then looked at us once the rod began to cool, “Attunement is the first step to the next principle of Artifice, enchantment.”
They put their helmet on, then plunged the rod into the giant stone, making what sounded like the loud clattering of a dozen pickaxes erupting from the point of impact. The stone then began to vibrate and crack open, sending dust and small shards into the air.
A few cheers and even clapping sounded out from the other students, Arc was squealing with excitement in my ear, and the instructor took off their helmet to show off their grin, “But, it’ll be a few weeks before we go over that. Now, open up yer textbooks so we can start going into more detail on attunement.”
---
Arc
3-4 Break
I breathed out deeply and figuratively that Travis didn’t bring up my strange behavior during Lunch. I certainly didn’t want to lie to him, but how exactly are you supposed to tell someone that you witnessed their mom sleep with a wandering Paladin of Apheros after cracking from the stress of not producing any children with her husband (despite trying very hard for years)?
Granted, there’s no guarantee that Eagan isn’t Travis’ father, but let’s be honest, it doesn’t look good. One too many comments from the townspeople about how Travis was lucky that he took after his mother, or that Eagan was smart to marry a pretty woman, eventually wormed their way far enough into Eagan’s mind that Travis might not be his biological son.
Hence the unspoken argument that he and Margret refused to have. They’ve never once told anyone what the true reason for their fighting was, not even Father Viburnum, and they seemed content to take that secret to the grave. I just wish that they would have eventually told Travis, he deserves to hear from them the reason why his mom and dad rarely speak to each other or don’t share a bedroom.
Realizing that I need to stop mucking about in my head before Travis starts worrying again, I decided that it was time to finally show some humility, “Ok, I’ll admit it. I get why everyone was excited upon seeing your poleaxe.”
Travis looked up from the notes he was taking and smiled, “It was pretty sturdy to see the professor bust through that stone so easy. I wonder if enchantment is the ‘proper’ way of using Wood, Earth, and Metal Mana for combat?”
“Probably is, your [Earth Orb]’s tend to either be a loose ball of sand and pebbles or a slightly more mana-dense rock covered in sand and pebbles. It’d probably be more mana efficient, and just as damaging, if you took a rock and made a mana-infused throw instead. I bet we’ll get an answer when we begin Earth Spells 1 in a couple of days.”
Travis packed up, then began to walk to class, but suddenly stopped, “Wait, didn’t Reidar say that my poleaxe would help me cast ranged offensive spells easier?”
“Let me check… yeah, your right… hmm, unless Reidar considers Wood and Metal to be offensive elements, I’m not sure what he meant.”
Travis scratched his chin for a bit, but noticed that people were walking around him, “Ugh, we’ll probably figure it out soon, we don’t need to know everything yet.”
---
Travis
4-6 Wind Spells 1 – Spell Range Component
I waved to… umm…
I scratched Arc’s cross-guard, “Mattius Tatian.”
I waved to Mattius as I approached him at the spell range, “Want to pair up?”
Mattius looked uneasy and glanced at the other students before looking back to me, “Umm, you sure? Wouldn’t you rather pair with an actual wind mage?”
I shook my head, “We’re in the same boat when it comes to Wind Mana supply, we’ll learn more from each other than a caster who doesn’t need to worry as much on efficiency.”
Mattius didn’t looked convinced and was running his fingers through his long blonde hair out of anxiety, so I gave him a firm pat on his shoulder similar to the ones my dad used on the cows to calm him down.
“Today we won’t be going over any spell formations, but a skill that’s still essential for all mages; creating a [Wind Aura].” Professor Quinsandoral then began to manipulate the air around him to swirl, “This technique is not only capable of counteracting dust and poison clouds that monsters create, but will also improve your natural discharge rate for your internal mana by circulating in fresh, less energetic mana.”
He gestured to his eyes to indicate that we should activate our mana sight, “Now, there’s a few ways to accomplish this technique. The primary method used by dwarves and skilled knights has you shape the synced mana attached to your membrane into a rotation pattern on your skin.” The professor then made a series of large, likely overexaggerated, lines across his torso, causing the Wind Mana in the area to spiral around him.
“The method used by elves involves detaching a portion of synced mana and creating a large array with you as the center.” They demonstrated the technique, which allowed more Wind Mana to circulate around him.
“There are pros and cons to both methods. The dwarven method is easier to maintain, especially while mobile, but the range and circulation will be limited. The elven method allows you to use the already detached mana for a ranged spell, and will also provide better mana circulation and range, but can be extremely difficult to use while moving.”
Professor Quinsandoral narrowed his eyes at the class, “Assuming that none of you are idiots, I expect everyone to learn both techniques.”
---
6-7 Supper
Mattius gave his shoulders a good stretch while we got supper, “That wasn’t too bad, I guess. Was going to have to quit if we went for longer though.”
I nodded my head, I wasn’t feeling any pain or pressure yet, but my chest felt like it was constantly puffed out, “I’m just glad that I had you as a training partner, some of those second-year students didn’t even last the full two hours.”
Mattius gave me a giant grin, “I am too, makes me feel less stupid for not having a proper mana build.”
“Can I ask about that? I assumed that everyone here would have similar mana builds.”
“Well, I probably would have built a standard Earth one if I knew I was going to become a mage. I learned how to activate my mana consciously about 6 months ago and assumed that I would just get put into one of the basic training camps for already eligible knights, but my dad encouraged me to at least try the exam.” He started to chuckle to himself, “After mimicking both an Earth and Wind spell for my test, it took me a good while for it to sink in that I passed.”
I joined in on the laughter, “I know that feeling, Professor Quinsandoral evaluated me, and was so nonchalant about me passing that I thought he was pulling a prank on me.”
Mattius elevated the volume of his giggles, “I can totally see that.”
“So, are you going to transition to a full Earth Mage, or stick with a hybrid spec?”
“Not sure, there’s nothing stopping me from doing so, and was told that there’s a large number of spartans that specialize in Earth and Wind, so it is a viable build for combat.”
“Makes sense, you got Earth for defense and Wind for offence. Plus, you can probably learn to create dust clouds and mini sandstorms to support your squad.”
Mattius nodded his head, “I’ll have to see how much I enjoy Wind magic, I’m positive I originally slanted toward Earth Mana because I would play with my stone building blocks for hours on end as a kid.”
“Did you ever create a star fortress and pretended that monsters were attacking?”
Mattius grin looked like it was starting to hurt, “Oh, yeah, all the time. I’d even convince my brothers to bring over their figurines so we could have an ‘epic battle for the fate of the kingdom.’”
---
Arc
After supper, Travis and I went to the private spell range to do some more mana manipulation practice, then hung out in the library so I could snoop on students while Travis went over his notes from Artifice 1 and read from his romance novel.
Eventually, it grew late, and Travis dragged his feet while making his way to the dorm.
“If it helps, Drozuk is by himself tonight.”
Travis sighed, then opened up the door to the living room. His eyebrows started twitching, likely at the sight of his roommate’s mess, but kept his cool while Drozuk spoke, “There you are,” he pointed at the pair of arming jackets on the other couch, “I had these sitting out here so you could take them down to get repaired, but I think the supply depot is closed for the night now.”
Drozuk stood up and began to chuckle softly while walking into their room, “G’night Knee-pads.”
Travis started to breathe harder, then brushed off the clutter from one of the couches, so that he could rest his elbows on his knees and bury his face in his hands.
“If you report him right away in the morning, you might not get into trouble…”
“They’ll want to know why I didn’t do anything before lights out though.”
“You were busy with classes. Plus, you’re not his mother, does Hector expect you to change Drozuk out of his pajamas in the morning also?”
“No, but he’ll want to know why I didn’t return to my room during break or right after my range time was over, to at least make an attempt.”
We both sat silent for a while, until the sound of snoring started to emanate into the room. Travis stood up, then grabbed the arming jackets, “Is my sewing kit in the armory?”
“Yes, it’s where you left it this morning.”
Travis walked down towards the armory, giving out a deep sigh that I wasn’t jealous of witnessing.