“What’s going on here?!” He asked, jumping to his feet while glaring at the group. “Who threw that?” His yet-to-be mature, slightly deep voice echoed in the room, causing the chatter to die down completely as everyone turned toward them.
The dwarf scoffed as he stepped forward, cupping his hand into a fist as he flexed his muscles. “What is it kid, trying to stand up for that mixed blood over there?” He chuckled, accompanied by his entourage, whose mocking expressions couldn’t be hidden behind any sort of facial hair.
Mix blood? Kai frowned, his vision switching between the group and Sverik. He indeed looks a bit different, but he’s still a dwarf, isn’t he? He pondered as he stood beside his friend. “What did you just call him? Earlier, I couldn’t quite hear.” His tone, more imposing this time, was met with a roaring laughter from the group, and a few chuckles from the bystanders.
“What? Mix blood or… Lechiar?” The dwarf emphasized the last word, making sure Sverik, who kept hiding behind his hood heard it clearly. Kai clicked his tongue and began walking forward, only to be stopped shortly after by Sverik’s trembling hand.
“It’s alright, Kai. They’re right, after all.” His voice, barely above a whisper echoed in Kai’s ears, causing his anger to rise even more.
“It’s not alright,” Kai replied, distraught by the way Sverik acted. “They’re clearly bullying you, and for what? You’re just gonna sit and take the abuse like that? Why?”
“Because he’s a Lechiar.” The dwarf interjected. “He’s neither elf nor dwarf, he’s just a broken halfling.”
“Broken halfling?” Kai’s eyes snapped toward Sverik, and he clenched his fists as he thought about Euphridia. Immediately turning back to the dwarves, he inhaled sharply as he said. “So just because he was born like that, it’s his fault? He deserves to be abused?” Grtting his teeth, he tried controlling his anger, deciding not to act upon his emotions.
“Right-” The dwarf’s lips parted, however, Euphridia’s angry voice, accompanied by her and Paul’s footsteps interrupted him.
“What's all this?!” She asked, standing next to Kai. “What happened?”
“They called Sverik a mix of blood and a Lechiar, whatever that means.” Hearing that, Euphridia’s pupils constricted almost instantly, and her fighting aura unciounsly escaped her body as she turned to the group. The hardwood under her feet cracked as she began taking a step forward, however, Paul stopped her before she could get too far.
“It’s alright, let me take care of it.” He said, slowly walking toward the dwarves wearing a bright smile on his face. “May I ask you all to take your leave? We don’t accept such discrimination here in my restaurant, so if you will, please get out.” He said politely, although the anger hidden within his tone spoke another story. “I’m not going to ask twice.”
The dwarves gulped, looking up at the giant that Paul was, then toward Euphirida, whose glance alone made their legs shiver, and in the end, ran away with their tails tucked between their legs.
“Sorry for that lad.” He said, placing his hand over Sverik’s shoulder. “There’s always people like that wherever you go, don’t let it get to ya.” Sighing, he patted the boy on the shoulder after seeing he didn’t acknowledge or move at all. Paul turned to Euphridia with an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry you had to see that, I’ll make sure them fuckers can’t ever eat or drink in the First Gate again.”
“It’s alright,” Euphy said, shaking her head. “You can’t help it, forget about them don’t bother yourself too much.”
“I insist, the less scum in here the better. I’ll make sure the people in the mountains know about it too. This kind of thing has been abolished long ago and people like them still dare open their mouths!”
“Paul,” Euphridia said, her voice barely above a whisper. “You know better than I it’s just above the surface, You can’t change people’s hearts so easily.”
“Yeah….” He replied with a half-hearted tone. “Look, today’s meal is on the house, and so are the drinks so don’t worry about it.”
Euphy nodded, sitting down at the table, together with Kai. “Sverik, how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.” He grunted in a low voice, avoiding her gaze the best he could.
“Do you know them?” Kai asked in a grave tone, taking a sip from his tankard.
Sverik remained silent, his eyes jumping from Kai to the ground and back to him. He gulped, sweat dripping down his forehead, however, his trembling lips parted as he said in a voice barely above a whisper. “Yeah… they’re from my village…”
“Those assholes!” Kai yelled as he slammed the table, causing both Euphy and Sverik to jump up in surprise.
“Kai, what’s wrong? I’ve never seen you this worked up.” Euphridia reached out for Kai’s hand, tightly holding it within her own.
“It’s…” Kai hesitated, his eyes moving around the table, switching from it to Sverik and then to the woman in front of him as a feeling of helplessness gathered in his heart. “It’s not fair, mix blood or Lechiar or whatever. Sverik wasn’t born to be this way, he shouldn’t be hated just because he is different.” Kai lowered his gaze, looking at Euphy’s comforting hand, then at his friend’s face, whose pain remained hidden deep within his eyes. “It’s not fair…” Kai repeated with quivering lips, gritting his teeth as he seemingly spoke to himself.
…
Kai flopped onto his bed, letting out an annoyed sigh as he looked at the ceiling. Running his hand across his face, rubbing it before spreading it out. Onyx walked next to him, cuddling Kai with his head as he let out a light yelp. Sighing again, Kai pat the Obborik’s fluffy head, a light smile creasing his lips as he sat deep in thought. To think that such discrimination exists… even among themselves. ‘Mix-Blood’, is that the slur they use when talking about people born from two races? Like Euphridia… and even Sverik. Such needless hatred… Is that why he also didn’t react so strongly when he found out my identity? He gulped and moved backward, leaning against his pillows and the walls as Onyx followed suit, placing his hand on Kai’s lap. If they react that strongly to their own… I could not imagine if they were to find out I’m a- a Vampire… I need to be more cautious when I go out, the First Gate houses a lot of races. Even if the elves don’t hold a grudge against us… I’m sure the others do, after all our history isn’t that beautiful, and I- I chose to be born this way. From now on-
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
*Knock Knock*
His head snapped toward the door, interrupting his train of thought as it creaked open. Aina’s head peeked through the gap before entering, taking a seat next to Kai as she said, “Sorry to bother you… I heard what happened today- Kai those things, they shouldn’t bother you too much, it’s a common thing mostly everywhere.”
“A common thing… so because it’s common it should be accepted?” He asked, a hint of anger hidden within his voice. “Should Sverik suffer like that because his parents were different? Should… should Euphridia be treated the same then?!”
“So she told you…” Aina sighed, grabbing the bedsheet. “You’re right, they shouldn’t be treated that way just because of their upbringing. However, it’s the only way these people know how to defend themselves. They’re afraid. They fear that one day a mixed race will rise, as the child of two different races can either be marginally stronger than both… or marginally weaker. They don’t want to gamble, they shut down any potential growth without any ultimatums…” A shiver ran down Kai’s spine as his eyes widened upon hearing her words. He grit his teeth and inhaled sharply.
“So they don’t want a second tyranny. A second… Vampire race.” He said, his voice breaking.
“Kai!” Aina’s voice rose slightly as she looked at him with a harsh gaze, however, she quickly cleared her throat and continued. “Yes, you’re right. They fear another such war… or such a terrible life coming again.”
“There’s better ways, aren't there?”
“Yes, but none as easy. However, things are starting to change, it just takes time.”
“And in that time we’re supposed to wait and let those people suffer?”
“No,” Aina said, standing up. “We help them the best we can.” Heading to the door, she stopped briefly as it cracked open. “Zerman invited us to the Dwarven Ascension Ceremony in two weeks.”
“What’s that?” Kai asked, raising himself slightly higher.
“It’s to determine which mages of the new generation become forgers or warriors… that’s all you need to know.” With that said, she left, leaving Kai once again alone in the darkness.
…
The two weeks quickly passed, and Kai’s research into the body core became more and more intense. Studying the way his body reacted upon chanting the technique in his mind and using the appropriate way to conduct the mana, he noted everything down in the notebook his grandpa gave him, then forwarded his research to Aina. However, what he didn’t tell her was that he had also begun to research how to modify the body core technique. Sitting at his desk, illuminated only the light crystals and candles, the sound of his pen scribbling against the rough paper echoed in the darkness. Onyx sat at his feet, sleeping comfortably to his right.
If I use the way the body core technique gathers mana, but instead use it to form a mana core… hm… I haven’t attempted it since last time, when my veins almost cracked and shattered again. I need to be careful, theory only. But this method doesn’t seem viable, the mana core requires way too much mana… but I feel my body has gotten stronger. One month… in one month I’ll be able to attempt forming a body core.
That means I have one month to perfect this technique… Rodney, please don’t fail me… He thought as he wrote down ways, ideas, and goals to achieve the ability to cast Onkos magic. The only requirement for Onkos magic is a core with the capability to store mana, and then call upon it when casting. The problem with the body core is that it only acts as a filter… I’m not sure how it achieves that, however… If I manage to hollow out the core without affecting its ability to filter… then using it as a storage box for mana would work… It seems simple, then that means other people tried it as well… and didn’t live enough to record their progression… He gulped, however, his grip tightened around the pen as he continued writing.
*Creeeaaak* The door opened, making way for some light from the hallway to enter his room. “Come on Kai, we need to go.” Elizabeth beckoned him as the door fully opened, revealing her enchanting figure. She wore a red dress, similar to the one she wore at Kai’s birthday if it wasn’t the same one. A pair of green earrings and some light makeup.“Mom is already waiting downstairs.”
“Alright, I’ll be right down.” He closed the notebook and sat up, bothering Onyx, whose ears twitched slightly before shifting position and going back to sleep. He’s like a cat… Kai thought with a light chuckle.
As Kai stepped into the artificial light, his casual, everyday outfit stood in stark contrast to Elizabeth’s fancy garments. “Do you dress like this for every occasion?” He asked, slightly amused as they made their way downstairs.
“How else am I supposed to dress?”
“Your everyday outfit would have done just fine, actually I think most people here would prefer that.”
“But our ancestor’s books say this is the best way to go to a gathering…” She pouted, crossing her arms and picking up the pace.
Your ancestor was an interesting man… Kai smirked as he hurried after her.
Meeting up with Aina, his eyes widened in surprise upon seeing her outfit, which resembled her daughter’s a lot, except for the dress color. Aina wore a loose, green dress with a necklace a pair of earrings, and green high heels. If Kai hadn’t known better, or were it not for her light blonde hair, he would have thought she and Elly were the same.
“Finally here, took you long enough.” She quipped and walked toward the back of the manor, opposite the gate.
“Where are we going?” Kai asked, confused.
The two women didn’t say anything, however, their mischievous smiles couldn’t be hidden behind their pretty makeup. They stopped in front of a brown, sturdy door made out of old oak. It shone with a blue hue, signs of a magic protection spell being cast on it. Aina waved her hand as her fingers glowed softly, and the door opened silently. It revealed a seemingly empty room, shrouded in darkness and mystery. “What is this place?” Kai could not help but ask, however, his question remained unanswered as the two stepped foot in, prompting Kai to follow them. The door slammed shut, leaving Kai with no source of light, however, that didn’t last long as Aina took her wand out, casting a chantless spell, lighting up the entire room.
His eyes widened as he looked around the almost crumbling walls made out of brick and clay, however the thing that shocked him most was a machine sitting back, almost glued to the wall. Its circular frame was white like a bone, and it stood on a pitch-black block of stone, within which words he could not even begin to understand were carved. Connected to the rock was a branch, or multiple twisted branches that formed into a spheric shape at their end.