Zeke and Maximilian were sitting in a private room. They were both silent as they sipped on their cup of tea. Zeke thought about how to start but could not find the words.
“What did you want to talk about, my boy?” Maximilian asked after putting down his cup.
“Aren’t you mad?” Zeke asked instead of responding.
“Because of what you said in the interview?” the old man questioned. Zeke merely nodded before lowering his head. Had he gone too far? He had not just attacked a single noble family, but the very institution of nobility. He could very easily imagine this turning into a massive scandal.
Maximilian thought about the question for a bit. He seemed to consider many different aspects as he tilted his head left and right, deep in thought. Zeke didn’t interrupt the old man either and just waited in silence.
“Well, it wasn’t exactly a smart move,” he finally said. “If the circumstances were slightly different, this could be seen as a call to rebellion.”
“That sounds like a serious crime?” Zeke asked.
Maximilian hesitated for a beat. “It depends. If you had spurred other nobles to act against the emperor, it would be the death penalty. But under most circumstances, nobles don’t care much about the opinions of commoners. The only reason they even care about your words is because of this.” Maximilian pointed toward the screen on the wall.
The screen showed Roland Erdherr, the second candidate to be called for his interview. The sight on the screen was vastly different from when Zeke had been up there. Instead of the cheers and veneration of the crowd, all that could be heard were boos and insults.
The stadium’s recording system would automatically change what was displayed on the screen. It had managed to zoom in on Zeke’s face to catch him winking, and now this feature was used in a completely different fashion. After every one of Roland’s answers, the screen zoomed in on him while he was being hollered at by the masses. With every subsequent take, his scowl got darker and the veins on his face looked more pronounced. Zeke could only imagine how much the young noble detested being mocked by a crowd of commoners.
After a couple of questions, Roland gave up on the interview and unceremoniously walked away. Even his retreating back looked angry. Zeke smiled at this result. At least something good had come from his actions. Roland’s entire fanbase, at least that in the commoner’s stands, seemed to have abandoned him after Zeke’s speech. The Earth Mage was now the single most hated contestant in the tournament. Zeke’s attention was pulled back to the conversation as Maximilian spoke again.
“You see the problem? Most nobles don’t enjoy getting humiliated like that,” Maximilian said, though his mouth was pulled in a smirk. His eyes turned serious again in a second as he looked at Zeke. “I don’t think any of them are going to do something drastic because of this, but watch your back inside and outside of the arena. One thing is certain, you didn’t make a lot of friends among your peers with your speech.”
Zeke shrugged this off. His worries went in an entirely different direction. “What if there’s a rebellion?” Zeke asked. “Because of me?”
Maximilian merely shook his head. “The commoners won’t rebel because of this. Even if they did, it would change nothing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you think the noble families are worried about being attacked by commoners? You might not realize this at your level of power, but once you reach Grand or Arch Mage level the situation changes. A normal person stops posing any threat to you at that point. But that is not even the most important factor. It wouldn’t matter if every single commoner was mobilized at the same time. They would all be defeated without so much as a fight.”
“How is that even possible?” Zeke asked. “There must be a million people in the capital. Who could defeat them instantly?”
“You haven’t figured it out yet?” The old man asked. “Just think about it for a moment, what kind of spells do commoners have no way of defending against?”
Zeke thought about the question. No way of defending against it? What was that supposed to mean? There was no spell that-
The answer hit Zeke like a thunderbolt! Of course!
“Mind Magic!” Zeke exclaimed. “Even at my level, I can already influence the mind of anyone without the protection of a core.”
Maximilian nodded his head.
“Never forget, the only Exarch level mage of Arkenheim, the emperor himself resides in the capital. Even though I am not sure about the limit of his capabilities, I wouldn’t put it past him to knock out every single commoner in the city without ever leaving his room.”
“Are you telling me that what I did could not be considered a crime because the commoners are too powerless to do anything?” Zeke asked.
Maximilian merely nodded. He seemed to have completely accepted this line of thinking as the truth.
“That is a depressing thought,” Zeke admitted. “This makes it sound like the commoners don’t matter at all. You don’t believe any of that, do you?”
“Of course not, my boy. It is always a bad idea to think in absolutes. Commoners are weak and useless, and nobles are strong and virtuous. How could such general statements ever be true? But you shouldn’t make the mistake of dismissing the value of nobles out of hand either. This is not a peaceful world we live in, Zeke,” Maximilian explained in a stern tone.
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“I know that, but what does this have to do with the nobles?” Zeke asked.
“Do you? Do you really know? You have no idea of the sacrifices most noble families endure for the prosperity of the empire. They sacrifice their children, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters on the altar of war. They marry not out of love but to strengthen their bloodline. All to create even stronger Mages in the next generation. Don’t get me wrong, they also do a lot of shady shit, but it can not be said that they do not take their responsibilities seriously.
“Here in the capital, all you ever see is how the families bicker and scheme. We are in the political center of the empire, after all. Let me be clear, this is not the true face of the four great families. Only on the war fronts will you see the true worth of the empire’s Mages. The four great families are the only reason this empire has survived for as long as it has.”
Zeke was stunned. “How can you defend them and the war?” he exclaimed. “I would have thought that after your own experience -” He stopped abruptly, realizing what he had been about to say.
Maximilian’s eyes glittered. “After my own experiences in the war, I should hate the empire?”
Zeke bit his lip.
After a pause, Maximilian continued speaking. “Don’t be mistaken, my boy. Barbarous deeds are committed both inside the empire and outside of it, by nobles and commoners, allies and enemies, and beings whose names you have never even heard whispered. The empire has many flaws, but it is not the worst out there by far.”
Zeke remained silent. If he was being honest with himself, he had started to consider the noble families all but useless in his heart.
“What are they like, then?” he asked grudgingly.
“It is truly a sight to behold,” Maximilian said in the tone of reminiscence. “The empire’s armies, that is. The Steiner family and their Earth Mages erect defensive structures in minutes. A barren plain can be transformed into an impenetrable fortress in the span of an afternoon.
“The Windtänzer family has absolute dominance over the airspace of the empire. No foreign fleet of airships has ever managed to infiltrate our lands. It would also be impossible to flee from the empire. There is no vessel capable of outrunning the Windtänzer Mages.
“The Wellenrufer family monopolizes the ocean. They field the strongest navy on the continent. This allows the empire to attack any nation that borders the sea at will. No power would dare confront them on the waters.”
Zeke had known about the different roles the noble families played in the defense of the empire. However, he had not been aware of how peerless the families were in their respective areas.
“Then what about the Feuerkranz family?” Zeke asked.
Maximilian smiled. “The Fire Mages make up most of the elite troops of the empire. They are fearless in combat. Perhaps you have noticed that Fire Mages tend to have a short fuse and are generally unpleasant to be around?”
Zeke snorted derisively. That was exactly his impression of most Fire Mages.
Maximilian continued, “I honestly believe that Fire Mages are made for war. In times of peace, they have no outlet for their innate aggression. This makes them tense and irascible. On the battlefield, on the other hand, they have all the traits that you would want from a soldier. I have never seen a Fire Mage run from a fight. Their bravery, strength, and even aggression make them ideal combatants. There is no other family that embodies those traits better than the Feuerkranz family.”
Zeke was confused by this high praise. He hadn’t thought that Maximilian had such a high opinion of the Feuerkranz family. Zeke asked, “But you attacked their home in the capital directly! How powerful could they be if a single Mage can storm in like that?”
Maximilian scoffed at this question.
“Don’t look down on the four great families, my boy. The only reason I could get away with that stunt is that the strongest mages are already deployed. The upcoming offensive requires most of the elites of the empire,” Maximilian said.
“Then how strong are you compared to the rest of the Arch Mages?” Zeke asked. He had long been interested in the answer to that question. The old man seemed to be unafraid of anyone in the empire aside from the emperor himself.
“I am probably among the ten strongest,” Maximilian proclaimed. “But there are several Arch Mages that could defeat me in one on one combat. And I know for a fact that every one of the great families has at least one of them.”
“How is that possible?” Zeke exclaimed. “You were so confident when you stood against Richard Feuerkranz. Were you just bluffing?”
“Richard?” Maximilian asked in a bemused tone. “No, no, no, I could crush that whelp with my hands tied behind my back. Even if the other two Arch Mages he had hidden away had come at me as well, I would still have won. Easily.” Maximilian gave Zeke a feral grin.
Zeke stared at him in shock. He’d had no idea there had been more Arch Mages at the scene, but that wasn’t even what astounded him the most. He asked, “Then why is he the patriarch of the family if he is so weak?”
Maximilian chuckled at Zeke’s blunt words. “He is not weak, merely young. Richard is only 130 years old. He has only been an Arch Mage for around 30 years. He is much stronger than I was at his age, but alas, I am over 500 years old. How could he match me?”
“Then why is he the patriarch of the family?” Zeke asked.
“The position of the patriarch is seldom held by the strongest person of the family,” Maximilian said. “No, the patriarch is merely the public face. Most important decisions are made by the elders, not the patriarch.”
Zeke struggled to take in everything Maximilian had told him. If the great families were really as peerless in their fields as the old man claimed, then it was no wonder that the emperor would let them get away with almost anything.
“If the empire is this strong, then why have we not conquered the continent by now?” Zeke asked.
“The empire of Arkanheim controls the biggest area out of every country by far. Still, it is lacking compared to the areas of the other nations combined. That is the reality of our current situation. Most nations have joined the alliance against the empire at this point. There is not a single nation that hasn’t realized the danger that we pose at this point,” Maximilian explained.
Zeke stared at his mentor in shock. “Are we the enemy of every other nation then? I had no idea the empire was so universally hated!”
“Calm down, Zeke,” Maximilian said. “The other nations didn’t band together against us because they hate the empire. They did so because the empire has gotten too powerful. The same would be the case for any other nation that happened to be in our place.”
“Are you saying that the reason they banded together is merely out of necessity?” Zeke asked.
“You could say that,” Maximilian agreed. “I’m not claiming that the empire does not have any genuine enemies. Equinox and Valor truly hate the empire. But there is not a single nation out there that does not have enemies.”
That much, Zeke understood. There were many things he disliked about the empire, but he knew nowhere else. As Maximilian had said, they could also be worse. Only time would tell if he could support the empire with pride.
Zeke’s thoughts returned to the problem at hand. “So, what do you think is my best course of action?” he asked.
“There are two things you should do. The first thing is to keep your head down for the time being. No more dramatic speeches, no more goading the commoners, nothing. Can you do that?”
Zeke agreed immediately. This was something he would try to do regardless. He had an unfortunate talent for standing out, and in most cases so far, he had only suffered for it.
“What’s the second thing?” Zeke asked.
“The second thing,” Maximilian said as he gave Zeke a conspiratorial smile, “is for you to make your prophecy come true.”