My family and I looked stood at the edge of a mountain cliff overlooking the distant valley of Kala. The brisk morning wind wiped through my hair. Flakes of snow floated to the ground before melting on the barren ground.
From up here, everything was so peaceful. All the problems in the world were so distant, the worries, so small.
My dad knelt next to three figures covered in white sheets. Moving slowly, he gently lowered them down into the holes he had dug.
“Are you sure you do not want me to raise them?” I asked as I looked at the bodies of the family I would never meet, “Even if they are not the same as you remember, it would be better than losing them forever, right?”
My dad shook his head as he placed his hand on the chest of one of the bodies. His words were barely a whisper as he spoke. “I am sure. Their memory will live on inside of me. I will never forget them but the past should stay in the past. I will no longer cling to it.”
I nodded silently, not entirely understanding my dad’s decision after I had told him I might be able to bring them back as more than a puppet. However, I chose to respect his choice.
I watched as my dad gathered a handful of dirt and sprinkled it on the bodies. He had insisted on digging the graves by hand. Using a shovel, he bitterly carved three holes into the side of the rocky mountain, despite being able to complete the hour-long work in a few seconds if he had just used glyphs. Now, as he reached for the shovel, I realized he was also going to fill the grave by hand as well. Charly and Donte both squirmed from both boredom and cold but managed to remain respectfully solemn through the entire process, partially due to the stern gaze of my mom on their backs.
The three bodies were laid to rest in the ground, and my dad knelt next to their graves. His eyes were unfocused as he gazed at the distant valley below and the city of Kala that was still just beginning to wake up.
“After so many years, I was finally able to give you peace,” my dad whispered, “I am sorry I could not bring you home, but I think you will like it here. The view is beautiful.”
Unable to resist any more, I walked over and hugged my dad, burying my head in his stomach. My dad smiled as he placed a hand on my hand and ruffled the hair on my head, despite knowing I hated when he did that. I resisted the urge to pull away and fix my hair, letting my dad have his moment.
With a satisfied sigh, my dad looked up at the gently falling snowflakes. “For the first time since I was a child, I feel like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders,” my dad said as he reached out with his free hand to catch one of the slowly falling snowflakes.
As he did, the entire world felt as if it had fallen still. The temperature in the area began to plummet, instantly turning my breath to ice as an invisible pressure bore down on everything. It felt as if someone’s hand was pressing down on my shoulders.
I looked up at the source of the domain in amazement. My dad had his eyes closed as the single snowflake rested on his fingertip. However, if you looked closer, you would see that the snowflake did not actually touch his skin. It floated a hair's breadth above my dad’s finger, suspended in the air by his will. I swiftly separated from my dad and moved towards my mom.
“Wren, what…” my mom started to ask but I quickly placed my finger over my mouth, motioning for her to be silent.
Without speaking, I ushered the rest of my family out of the area of the domain. It was not hard. Newly formed domains did not cover a very large radius. My dad’s domain did not even stretch ten steps away from him. Still, the fact that he had awoken his domain was nothing short of incredible. I always knew he was the strongest out of my family but I did not realize he had reached this level already.
I stood silently while I waited for the domain to fade. Anytime Donte or Charly tried to speak, I instantly silenced them with a furious glare. This was a very important moment for my dad and I would not let anyone interrupt him. Awakening a domain for the first time was like a flash of inspiration. If anyone disrupted that inspiration, it became incredibly hard for that inspiration to return. Like trying to remember a dream, you might have some fuzzy recollection of how the dream went but recalling details was very difficult. Only through weeks of practice could you even attempt to retry an interrupted awakening.
After several minutes of standing on the freezing mountainside, I felt my dad’s domain start to waver unsteadily as the last of his energy was drained away. The suspended snowflake fell and the world resumed.
My dad’s eyes blinked open as he looked around in confusion.
“What… what was that?” he asked.
“Congratulations Dad!” I said with a big smile, “You just awakened your own Domain.”
“That was a domain… like King Sebastion? How did I…” my dad looked around in confusion as if he had just woken up from a dream.
“Well, comparing it to Sebastion might be a bit much. What you did was like a pebble. Sebastion’s domain is like this mountain in comparison. Still, awakening a domain is no small feat. Many people go their entire lives without being able to accomplish it.”
My dad looked down at his hands in amazement. “Does that mean I can fly like others I have seen?”
“Yes, though flying takes a little practice. I am sure you will get it down in no time. I can explain as much as you want, but first, can we get down from this mountain. We have been here for hours, and I am freezing.”
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My dad looked back at the three graves overlooking the valley. He was silent for a moment before nodding. “Yes, let’s go.”
With a command from Donte, the floating island of Dragon’s Nest flew up from a nearby outcropping and moved next to the mountain's edge. Using the floating island, we were easily able to descend the tall mountain and return to the city of Kala down below.
As we approached Svend’s manor, I saw both Svend and Cyra standing on the back balcony waiting for us with a smile on their face.
“I felt the awakening from here. Who are we celebrating?” Svend said joyously as hoped onto the island.
“Me, I guess,” my dad replied with a bit of an embarrassed blush.
“Haha, excellent!” Svend shouted as he slapped his giant hand down on my dad’s back, “Between myself, Cyra, and Wren, you are now the fourth domain level fighter in Kala. If the other countries knew, they would be terrified.”
“Is reaching Domain really so rare?” Donte asked excitedly.
“Well, not back where I come from,” Svend replied hesitantly, “but here in this realm, reaching domain basically gives you the right to create your own country if you desire it. Even the Novus Kingdom, the oldest country on the continent only has two domain level fighters. The Ciel Empire only has one, as do most other countries. except for a few exceptions, they are almost always the king of that country.”
“That’s amazing!” Donte shouted while practically jumping up and down energetically.
“Not sure if I would call it amazing…” Cyra said with a chuckle, “This place is not exactly the most developed. Outside this realm, it is just the bare minimum required to be a soldier of the Thirteen Divisions.”
The excitement on Donte’s face froze as he turned to look at me. “The minimum?”
I hesitated for a second before nodding. “There are exceptions for noncombatants or people with exceptional talents but yes if you want to fight on the front lines in the Thirteen Divisions, a domain is required. Otherwise, any Demon that has been around for even a few years could suppress you with ease.”
Donte fell silent as he looked at the ground thoughtfully. I heard him mumble minimum under his breath several times as he was lost in his own thoughts.
“Still, a new domain is always worth celebrating in any realm,” Svend shouted with a smile while giving a sidelong glance at Cyra, “Tonight we will have a feast worthy of a king!”
“Fine, fine, I will get started,’ Cyra muttered before walking back into the mansion.
Svend turned to my dad as he slapped his back again. “So, Renald, if you want, I can help you learn how to control your domain. I don’t mean to brag but I am probably the best there is at controlling a domain.”
“Excuse me?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow at Svend and placed a hand on my hip, “Did you seriously just say that when I am standing right here? Remind me again, how many times have you overpowered my domain when we fought in the past?”
Svend coughed uncomfortably. I saw a slight tinge of red under his grizzly beard as he refused to look me in the eye.
“That’s what I thought,” I continued with a satisfied smile, “I will be teaching my own dad. Who knows what terrible advice you would give him. Now, stop trying to recruit my dad and shoo.”
“Was I that obvious?” Svend said with a sheepish grin.
“Yes.”
Svend chuckled uncomfortably and gave my dad a few pats on his back before moving away. “Regardless, if you need any pointers, you can look for me. We need every domain we can get in the war to come.”
I glared at the quickly retreating back of Svend as he hurried into the mansion. I shook my head in annoyance when he was out of sight and turned towards my dad with a concerned gaze.
My dad rubbed my head with a laugh. “Do not worry, I was a well-respected knight in the Novus kingdom. I know when someone is trying to sway me. I will be careful not to agree to anything binding.
I gave a sigh of relief and sat down on a rocky outcropping on the island. I might be on good terms with Svend now, but having my dad work for someone that used to be my enemy would still make me uncomfortable. Still, if Svend was sincere with his offer to help, my dad would profit quite a bit. Svend was definitely not the best in the Divisions as he had claimed, but saying he was within the top one hundred would be reasonable. However, it was still better if I taught the basics to my dad myself.
I saw my dad looking at me expectantly and scratched my head. “Where do you want me to start?”
“From the beginning. I do not even understand what a domain is, let alone how it works,” my dad replied.
I nodded and looked at the rest of my family. “All of you can stay if you want. If you ever reach domain, I don’t want to repeat all this.”
My mom, Charly, and Donte all nodded and sat down in front of me. Everyone was waiting for my explanation.
“A domain, in simplest terms, is exerting your will on the world. You give a command and the laws of the world will twist just to obey. This can allow great feats like flight in defiance of gravity or manipulating objects with your mind. However, in order to actually impact the world, you still need energy. The bigger the change you are trying to make, the more energy you need. Your spirit, determination, and state of mind have a great impact on the strength of a domain but the most important factor is the pool of chaotic energy inside every living thing.”
“Every living thing?” Donte asked in confusion.
I nodded. “Those of us with an innate talent are aware of this pool of energy much more than a normal person but everything, from the whale in the sea to the smallest microbe, all have a flow of chaotic energy inside them. How much energy you can contain in your body directly impacts how much of the world you can manipulate with your domain. This pool of energy can be grown through constant use. In this way, people like Mom, Donte, and me usually have an easier time awakening a domain since our innate talents draw from that same pool of energy.” I paused as I saw the downcast look of Charly. “However, those without an innate talent have an advantage too. Since we draw our talent from the same pool of energy, people with an innate talent will often run out of energy faster than those without one. As you saw when we faced Irene, someone without a domain is practically powerless against someone with a domain. Running out of energy is deadly.”
My dad nodded and he looked at me thoughtfully. “Are all confrontations just decided by the strength of a domain then? What would be the point of practicing swords and talents then?”
I shook my head. “No, while taking control of large swaths of an area can create a huge tactical advantage in a fight, it is also an enormous waste of energy. Unless you are confident in completely overwhelming your enemy in a short amount of time, it is not how most domain users fight. Instead, most people use a technique known as domain armor. In simple terms, you can condense your domain until it is like a suit of armor, it becomes far stronger than when you try to spread it over a large area. You give up the tactical advantage of controlling everything nearby but in exchange, you can move freely through the enemy’s domain without being suppressed. You also gain a significant defensive boost, allowing you to survive attacks that would easily kill a normal man. This way, even if your domain is weaker than your enemy’s, you can still fight them.”
“Domain armor…” my dad mumbled, “I like it.”
“Good because that will be your first and most important assignment. Until you learn to condense your armor, I will not teach you any of the other fun tricks you can do with a domain.”