Sunlight streamed through the window, spilling into the room in golden ribbons. The beams danced across the floor, illuminating specks of dust that floated lazily in the warm light. Shadows stretched long and soft, and the walls and book shelves inside the quaint study room seemed to glow as the sunlight kissed their surfaces, casting a gentle warmth over everything it touched.
The air felt lighter as Rose watched the two young boys interact over a book too big to provide any sort of entertainment for ten-year-olds. Lena on the other hand was reading another book that spoke of the anatomy of the physical body and its connection with the spiritual body or if Rose was to use the technical jargon, astral self.
All in all, Rose had to pat herself on the back for suppressing her roiling emotions to a faint smile on her face.
The Record of Paragons.
Rose played with the name in her head as she listened to the one called Sam as he discussed with fervor, events predating even the Era of Great Emperors with the little highness. Most of the events and names they mentioned she had heard of. Some others she had not. After all, every major clan worth their salt in the Plains had their own secret tomes and scrolls that chronicled that long forgotten history. And while she was not actively engaging in the conversation with the young ones, she had extended her mana sense and could ‘see’ what the boys were reading.
The history of the Forbidden King’s plains mostly aligned with what was recorded in the Imperial family’s public record. Wars that took place and the major players in them. It also gave a brief accounting of the factions they represented and how they rose to prominence under the leadership of their respective paragons or in the opposite case, fell into obscurity if not ruin, after their death. It was a fairly detailed account, and despite only focusing on the strongest individual, one would be able to understand the socio-political landscape that existed at the time.
Rose had nothing but praise for the book’s author. It only stated facts. That was something she could easily discern based on the lack of embellishment of the text. While most clans would include their own speculations in their own public historical records to skew the opinion of the readers, the Record of Paragons did no such thing. It simply stated the basic facts as transpired without the flowery wording.
However, it was this same reliability that made her stomach churn.
The kind of family that would have such detailed and intact records from the Great Era… Rose could only thank the heavens that they were friends and not enemies.
No wonder their knowledge of the body tempering stage is more profound than his Majesty’s inheritance. Rose thought to herself. If this small family of three was part of a larger clan, then their foundations were undoubtedly more profound than clan Ronoa’s.
Maybe they even came from beyond the Plains. Rose mused jokingly.
Clack!
The sound of the study’s door opening roused Rose from her thoughts. The swordsman, who she had been introduced to as Aziel Barak, entered the room. His visage was expressionless and his aura was restrained.
The few hours Rose had spent in this small haven had been enough for her to form her 9th rank foundational rune while also strengthening and purifying her lower ranked runes. In fact, her foundations were so solidified, that she could feel that even if she left now, she would naturally complete blood transformation in the next month with the residual energy alone.
And yet, even with her new found strength, she could not see the depths of the swordsman’s power. To her eyes, he looked an ordinary mortal. This only increased the sense of danger Rose felt when she looked in the man’s eyes.
Could this man have reached the realm Aurelius aspires to?
Rose knew the man was no mage. He followed the warrior’s path. And despite warriors’ strength being notoriously hard to gauge for mages below the Arch Mage level, it was still possible to get a rough estimate of their strength if the mage doing the probing had a sophisticated enough mana sensitivity. But the man before her…she didn’t know. His aura seemed as boundless as the ocean yet at the same time lacked its inherent ferocity. Calm on the surface but boundless depth within.
“My wife has sent a missive to Silvestria.” Aziel spoke, snapping Rose out of her thoughts. He seated himself at the main desk in front of a large window that overlooked the compound outside. A golden barred gate that separated the small haven from the wilderness beyond stood erect at the perimeter.
“Thank you,” Rose replied, courteously bowing her head.
Aziel waved his hand dismissively before asking, “How is Aurum fairing?”
Rose’s brow furrowed slightly in half worry and half contemplation on what would be adequate information before it crossed the line of Imperial secrets.
Aziel waited patiently, giving the mage time to gather her thoughts.
Three breaths later Rose gave her response. “The pressure from Ronoa is spreading the kingdom thin. His majesty was on the precipice of conquering Great Jin when Khazrak attacked Aurum’s southern border and Frostvein the northern. The losses were devastating. Aurum lost thirty percent of its territory.
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“Luckily, His majesty is wise and has impeccable foresight. Not trusting the prior signed treaty with the two nations, he did not attack with his full might and kept some forces in reserve. Thanks to this, the potential losses that Aurum suffered was far less than what could have happened otherwise.
Rose paused at this point as her lips curved into a proud smirk. “Upon news of the empires’ betrayal, His majesty ordered the main force to return and the invaders were pushed back. Parity was restored and Aurum managed to regain her lost territory.”
Rose was naturally proud of the strength of her nation. Other than the hegemon that was the Ronoan Empire of Magic, the three strongest empires in the Forbidden King’s plains were Frostvein, Khazrak and Great Jin. For Aurum, a mere kingdom once under Great Jin, to singlehandedly push back these three behemoths… Why wouldn’t she be proud?
Aziel raised an eyebrow at Rose’s expression. “And?”
A brief flash of anger flitted through Rose’s eyes at the question but it was soon replaced by helplessness.
“Ronoa!” she spat. “The deadlock remained for two years. For two years Aurum held the three nations back! We were even gaining ground on Great Jin once more! But in the third year…” Anger resurfaced on her face once more.
Taking in a deep breath to calm her emotions, Rose continued. “In the third year, there was a shift. The strength and armaments of Frostvein and Khazrak inexplicably increased. There was a sudden increase in mages from Frostvein with more magic armaments. As for Khazrak, their ranks suddenly spotted significantly more high tier warriors. His majesty believes Ronoa is behind them.”
“But you managed to hold your lines?” Aziel posited.
“Yes,” Rose affirmed with pride. “His majesty had his own trump cards…”
Rose’s voice trailed off when she realized she was venturing into the domain of Imperial secrets.
The conversation lapsed into silence.
Aziel was the first to break the silence with a hum. “I see. So your king believes he has caught the attention of Ronoa who is using Aurum’s neighbours to gauge the depth of her strength.”
Rose nodded stiffly. “The Iron Forge King is a matchless prodigy and is surrounded by talents as well.”
“Indeed.” Aziel hummed in agreement. “From the point of view of the other empires, Aurum has grown too strong too quickly. They are wary. If your king had followed the way of his forefathers and steadily grown his strength while biding his time, he would not have caught the attention of Ronoa so soon.”
“Pity,” Aziel lamented with a shake of his head. “It is always the talented ones that are always the most impatient.”
Rose could only agree. Aurum had indeed grown too strong too quickly. But she also couldn’t fault the Imperial clan for their decision. Even considering their superior body forging inheritance, that up until this morning Rose had only known it to be the Imperial clan’s bloodline Divine Physique, the current king, Aurelius, was a matchless prodigy. It would truly be a shame to waste his talent without making the most of it.
“If it was just the suppression of the three empires, even with the support of Ronoa, I believe Aurum would have been able to survive, albeit far, far weaker than it is now. But now that they have shown that they can consistently produce Warriors at the Supernatural level…” Aziel’s voice trailed off.
He spun in his chair to look at the wilderness outside.
Rose’s heart sank. Aziel didn’t have to finish his thought. She knew. With her participation in the war efforts and her escorting of the imperial heir, she had not had much time to think things through deeply. And while she wasn’t the sharpest when it came to chicanery and power plays, she wasn’t so ignorant that she couldn’t see what the Magic Empire was dreading.
“A new hegemon in the Forbidden King’s Plains.” Rose spat.
Aziel smiled faintly. “Indeed.”
With the Aurelius Ironborn at the helm, Rose knew that such a future was indeed possible. So long as the king was given time to grow, he could singlehandedly uplift the small kingdom to become a hegemon second only to the Magic Empire if not their equal.
Aziel drummed his fingers on the table's surface, a thoughtful expression on his face. “But I wonder… Is your king sure of this course of action?”
Rose furrowed her brow, not quite understanding what the man was getting at. It took a minute before the revelation dawned on her.
Sucking in a cold breath, she gasped. “Clan Evergreen…”
***
On the veranda outside the house.
Seated cross legged on a Daoist mat, Neva cycles her breathing technique with her eyes closed in meditation. The Transformations of the Lotus technique.
Neva inhales.
A stream of mana enters through her nose and mouth. It cycles through every part of her body – her blood, meridians, organs, and even deep in the marrow. The sensation is soothing but other than feeling refreshed, Neva doesn’t get any satisfaction from the exercise. At her current level, her physical body is perfected to the point where any normal impurities that enter it are automatically detoxified and ejected without her conscious mind being aware of them.
Neva exhales.
Neva inhales. This time she cycles the mana through her meridians.
The mana flows through black meridians that are hard as obsidian, pulsating with a cold, unyielding energy as they wind their way toward the seven chakras. Each chakra hums in resonance, glowing faintly as Neva feels her energy surge.
The root chakra.
The sacral chakra.
The solar plexus chakra.
The heart chakra.
With each chakra that glows, an ancient, untamed power stirs from the depths of Neva’s body.
The throat chakra.
A searing pain threatens to burn through Neva’s neck causing her face to contort. Still, she tries to force the connection. The throat chakra flickers with a sputtering blue hue before the bright mana connection continues upward to the third eye chakra.
The pain intensifies.
Neva’s forehead is covered in sweat as she struggles to force her sixth chakra to light up. She fails. A crack is heard in Neva’s head as the hum of the chakras ceases and the light illuminating the chakras fizzles out. Blood flows out of Neva’s nose and from the corner of her mouth.
“Ugh.” Neva groans, swallowing a healing pill.
After a few cycles of mana, Neva manages to recuperate.
“Heaven Connecting Sutra. Iteration: 56. Test run number 134. Result: failure.” Neva mumbles to herself as she jots down a few things in a notebook.
Sigh~
A weary sigh escapes her lips as she stores her notebook. If only I could bypass the throat chakra… Neva laments inwardly.
Neva’s expression suddenly flickers as she’s drawn out of her thoughts. Retrieving her transmission slip, she passes mana through it to read the message it brings.
The Elder council of Silvestria has received your missive. Your timely aid of guests of Silvestria in their time of need has been noted and is greatly appreciated. In lieu of your meritorious accomplishment, Dryadalis Woodland extends an invitation to Nevaeh of house Barak so that you may be aptly rewarded.
Neva’s eyes flickered as she read the message.
Storing the transmission slip, she hummed a tune in her head as she stood up from her cross-legged position before making her way back inside the house, a gentle smile on her face.