《Reincarnated as a noble》


 The End of a Life and the Start of a New Beginning

    The boredom set in as soon as Daniel sat down. Math class was not his favorite subject, how could it be when he mastered everything halfway through the notes. He spaced out and started staring at the back of the beautiful head in front of him. It was Sarah. The girl Daniel had a crush on for the last 6 months of junior year. She wasn''t the prettiest girl in school nor was she the smartest, but she had everything Daniel looked for in a three-dimensional girl. She was nerdy in an adorable way with long messy black hair that abscured her cute bespectacled face. She was easy to talk to and, once she came out of her shell, she wouldn''t seem to be nearly as quiet as she acted at school. For some reason Daniel never noticed that his dream girl lived in the neighborhood next to his.


    He sat there daydreaming until the final bell rang at 3:30 PM. He walked up to Sarah and asked if she was ready to walk home. She got up and went with him. The walk wasn''t anything special, all they did was walk and talk at the same time. Daniel couldn''t gather the courage to tell her how he felt. He began to say something but Sarah cut him off with a good-bye when her neighborhood came into view. ''Perfect,'' he thought, ''at this rate I''m going to die a fucking virgin.''


    He got home and walked to his room without a word to his older sister. He lay on his bed facedown and decided that all he wanted to do was lay in his own self pity. His sister came in, a black haired woman who allowed him to live with her after their parents died last year. She was 25 and perfectly capable of supporting them both.


    "I''m guessing your confession didn''t go smoothly?" Asked Tanya.


    "It didn''t even happen," he answered, " I''m such an idiot."


    "I''m not arguing with that," she said sternly, "how do you expect her to say yes if you never ask?"


    "Do you actually think she will?" Daniel said skeptically.


    Tanya replied with a laugh "if I was her I wouldn''t even spare you a passing glance."


    "Thanks, sis."


    "Why would she. You don''t even have the courage to ask. Be confident and she will most definitely give you a chance. If not a date." Tanya sighed then continued. " I''m starting dinner. Do it tomorrow or I''m going to do it for you." With those last threatening words, she walked out the door.


    Daniel knew she had a point but he was annoyed by the fact that she could always tell when something was bothering him. And by the way she always made it her business.


    It was morning and Daniel knew it was finally the day. The day to tell Sarah his feelings. He began his walk to school and texted Sarah to meet him in the usual spot at the corner store. They walked together to another day of boredom.


    At 3:30, it was finally showtime. He walked over to Sarah and asked if she was ready. They got off school grounds and he began by saying " Sarah, there''s something I want to tell you."


    "I need to talk to you about something too," This is not how Daniel expected her to respond. " and I think I need to go first."


    "No, just let me say this. I''ve been needing to get this out for a long time." Daniel didn''t think he could stand to wait any longer.


    "I-" Sarah began before he cut her off.


    "No, just let me say this. I''ve had the biggest crush on you since we met. You are the only person who I can talk to without freezing up or being nervous. How can I stand just being friends? So I need to ask you something. Will you please be my girlfriend?" Throughout his speech Sarah''s face was blank but it turned to a sad look at the last sentence.


    Daniel looked up from the ground, it was the only place he could look. Eye contact would make him lose confidence. What he saw in her eyes was the most heartbroken look he had ever seen.


    "I''m sorry, Daniel. I''m so, so sorry" these words were incomprehensible to Daniel. The look in her eyes said it all. "I wanted to go first to tell you that my family decided to move to New York. My grandma is sick and we need to take care of her"


    Daniel couldn''t say anything. He knew he should have let her talk but his own selfishness broke not only his heart but Sarah''s too. He thought to himself ''god dammit, fuck, I''m such a fucking asshole. How am I so fucking stupid?''If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    " I''m sorry," he said at last, "I should have let you talk first. Then you could''ve gone without knowing you broke my heart."


    "What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You think you''re the only one whose feelings matter? How do you think I feel," tears where streaming from her eyes, " if you think I didn''t know how you felt you''re wrong. If you think I don''t feel the same then you''re even fucking dumber than I thought." She was screaming at this point. She was crying so loudly that the street corner would''ve had to have been deaf not to hear her. The people passing by left a wide berth.


    Daniel wanted to die. He couldn''t bear seeing her like this. He felt even worse knowing that he caused it. He had no idea what to say.


    She shouted "well, what are you going to say? You just gonna stand there like a fucking idiot?"


    "I don''t know what you want me say. Don''t go? Stay with me forever? Anything I say is going to sound selfish and it''s only going to make it harder for you to go," Daniel hated being the asshole but he had to make sure she could go with no regrets, " just go, your grandma needs you. There''s nothing left here for you here anyway."


    "Really?" Sarah shouted, " there''s nothing left for me here? You''re right. Go fuck yourself, asshole." She ran away, tears streaming down her face. Everyone on the sidewalk looked at Daniel as if expecting him to go after her. But he couldn''t, not after what he just said. His heart was broken and he was pretty sure he just broke hers too.


    He walked away, going the same direction Sarah had ran in. After all their houses were in the same direction.


    All the way there he continued thinking the same two thoughts ''she hates me now'', ''I''m such a fucking dick''. He closed his eyes and looked to the sky, trying not to cry. He kept walking until he got to the corner store, Sarah and his usual meeting place. He needed some caffeine after everything that just happened. He walked inside and the scene before him was horrifying.


    A gunman was pointing his weapon at a terrified cashier. She was grabbing handfuls of money and transferring them to a plastic bag. "Hurry the fuck up!" The gunman shouted. The cashier took a panicked look around and her eyes widened as they fell upon Daniel. The gunman looked to see what she saw and turned his pistol to Daniel. "Get on the ground!" He ordered. The cashier took this opportunity to retrieve her own weapon from under the counter. As she aimed her long black shotgun at the gunman, she cocked it. The sound was deafening and it was followed closely by another, smaller shorter boom. The gunman fell from the force of the shot and as quickly as the scene had started it was over. Daniel was so stunned all he could do was stand there, staring at the body of the gunman, dead before he hit the ground. For what seemed like forever he stood watching the pool of blood grow around the deadman. Finally, he saw the cashier who had approached him at some point. She snapped him back to reality and the ringing he hadn''t noticed in his ears was gone.


    "Are you hurt?" The cashier asked.


    Daniel looked down and saw a black spot on his grey hoodie. It was growing. The pain hit him like a truck. His lungs filled with blood and he coughed some up, splattering the cashier''s face. He no longer had the strength to stand and fell forward onto the cashier, who caught him and eased him to the ground. Laying in this woman''s arms, he realized that this was where he died. He felt a look of fear come to being on his face. His chest was cold.


    "I don''t want to die" the words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them. Tears now created lines in the cashier''s blood covered face.


    "It''s not over, stay with me." The look on her face said otherwise. She sounded just as panicked as she looked when the gunman was alive. Why couldn''t she tell that he needed her to be calm.


    "T-tell my si-sister I finally did i-it. And that I f-fucked it up." He could no longer keep his eyes open. He felt like he was floating, like he was nothing. Except for the horrible pain in his chest. Was it the bullet or his broken heart?


    "Stay with me. you''ll tell your sister yourself" the cashier was crying, she was sobbing. She reminded Daniel of the all to painful memory that was still fresh on his mind.


    He opened his eyes but didn''t see anything. "Don''t cry, Sarah. You don''t need to worry, now I''m going too. No need to worry about leaving me behind." His eyes were still open but everything was black. The sound of the cashier on the phone with the emergency line faded. He tried to talk his body already shut down. He was no longer in pain.


    "I need an ambulance, there is this boy who got shot. We''re on-...." the sounds faded and Daniel faded too. All was nothing and Daniel Roberts was nothing as well.


    Suddenly he was awakened as if he was simply sleeping. The sounds of a woman screaming jarred him from his peaceful state. Everything that happened that day piled on his conciousness and forced him to tears. He emerged from a dark place and saw the face of a woman. She shouted in a strange language that he didn''t recognize.


    He cried but his voice sounded like that of a baby''s. He cried and cried. Suddenly he felt the touch of a woman. She was holding him and patting his back. It was comforting, like a mother. He hadn''t had one of those since the crash last year. He kept crying in this stranger''s arms and he cried until his tears couldn''t flow anymore. Finally he opened his eyes and saw a woman sleeping with a blond haired man holding her hand and looking at him as if he was is pride and joy. Daniel realized what happened. He was reincarnated as this man''s son. He got fucking isekai''d.

 The early life of a noble and the history of the world

    Now that you know the story of Daniel, I would like to tell you of my new life as Alfred Von Earlheight. I''m the son of William Von Earlheight who is the Duke of Demaria and the cousin of the king of Doltia Elric Von Earlheight III. Being the first in line of noble succession and a candidate for king should he have no male heirs, much is expected from me. All I want is to lead a life that is fulfilling and, after my last life, that should be too much to ask. As far as I can tell, infantile amnesia is meant to help people forget their sorrows of their previous lives and the people they knew. However, I don''t seem to have experienced that. I remember my last few days on earth in vivid detail. Perhaps, because I no longer felt attached to anything in that life, the gods decided to let me keep my memories of earth.


    Five years after I was reincarnated to this life and I had have a better understanding of this kingdom''s language. At the age of four I got a personal tutor and started learning the more complex aspects of the language. It wasn''t much different from the Spanish classes I took in freshman and sophomore year on earth. But with a general grasp of the language from my infantile years, it was twenty times easier to become fluent.


    At the age of five my father decided that the tutor should start teaching me basic math and history. With my 16 years of experience math was easy. But history was far more interesting. It seems that there are four ages that this kingdom goes by. First is the age of barbarism when tribes fought often with both each other and the other intelligent races. Meaning orcs, dwarves, elves, lizard men, and basically anything you can think of from those fantasy RPGs. I think I''m not the only person not to suffer from infantile amnesia. Maybe someone was reincarnated on earth who remembered what it was like to live here, maybe not just one.


    The second age was when the barbaric tribes of orcs organized an assault on human kind and almost wiped them out before the elves realized that they were next and organized themselves against the orcs. With the orc invasion, the human tribes began working as one and unified into a single nation after the elves helped deter the orc invasion which lasted 150 years.


    The third age was that of peace between humans and elves and last almost as long as the first age. The human kingdom known as the empire of Guthrie form close relations with the elves in thanks for the help with the orc invasion. They formed an alliance in case any invasion should threaten either race. Threatened by this alliance the dwarves under the Rancius mountain range connected their tunnels and formed a kingdom of their own. Many of the other intelligent races lacked the intelligence to form such large nations. Goblins in particular could only decide who would lead by whichever individual was strongest. And therefore, could only form groups where every individual could challenge the leader. Large kingdoms were out of the question.


    With such large kingdoms being formed, war was inevitable. Orcs, though now small in number, kept raiding caravans and disrupting trade between elves and humans. The dwarves had to deal with underground monsters and cave trolls (a subspecies of troll, an intelligent species but only just so). Soon goblins began moving further underground because lizard men were pushing them out of their forest. Ogres were moving underground because they felt like it. With an invasion of two races from above the dwarves began to abandon their peaceful ways and decided to invade the surface. Fighting of the invaders, the dwarves all but irradicated the goblins. The few thousand that remained were forced to share the land that the orcs were exiled to. The ogres stopped invading cause they stopped feeling like it. The dwarves now had a stronghold underground and above it. They built a fortress on the second tallest mountain and a city in the valley below to supply it. The lizard men were now firmly in control of their swamp and the surrounding forests. With dwarves now showing interest in life above ground the alliance of elves and humans approached them in hopes of inclusion in the pact. As the three most intelligent races in the world an alliance between them would secure a long future of peace. The dwarves accepted the offer on terms of being an equal partner, not having participated in the orc wars as they came to be known. The three-way alliance was secured and trade between the three kingdoms was negotiated.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Meanwhile the orcs and goblins formed their own alliance. Being defeated races, they couldn''t afford to fight in land disputes. The goblins taught the orcs how to tame Dire Wolves and the orcs taught the goblins how to use magic in battle. This new development worried the humans and they urged the elves to join them in destroying the new threat. However, genocide was against the elves philosophy, and they urged the humans not to eradicate them. This was the first time the alliance faltered. But the elves decided to ask for the dwarves to come up with a solution that everyone could agree with. They decided that military action to secure the border would be carried out but any incursion into the territory would be punishable by expulsion from the alliance.


    The humans were angered by the order not to invade. The stretch of plains that the orcs and goblins occupied was the only way to get to the mountain pass to the other side of the continent. The less civilized races on the other side often traded resources with the humans in exchange for weapons. Not only that but the only way to get to the dwarven valley was on the other side of the mountains. This made valuable dwarven metals such as mithril and gold impossible to acquire. Elves on the other hand could pass the mountains quite easily. But to humans the journey to the valley through the mountains would be quite deadly. Not to mention the journey back. The order not to attack effectively cut them off from the dwarves.


    The empire of Guthrie brought this to their allies attention. And the elves decided that all trade between humans and dwarves would simply have to go through them. Though the empire was still unsatisfied, they would have to wait until the goblins and orcs attacked to take any action against them.


    The orcs and goblins continued to coexist in peace and grow in strength. With the order not to invade protecting their growth, they could do this quite easily. So the standoff lasted for 100 years, the population of both nations growing exponentially. Then civil war erupted in the empire. Led by my great great grandfather Elric Von Earlheight I, the rebel faction opposed not invading the orcs and goblins. Most of the empire''s forces were amassed on the border, and most of them agreed with my great great grandfather. They joined his cause and the only battle of the war was fought on the plains near the border. Elric I led an assault on Fort Candria and won, destroying the empire''s only loyal army and gaining independence for the kingdom of Doltia in what was known as the six week war. The elves and dwarves had no time to react to the war before their ally lost and ceded a third of their most valuable land to the new kingdom. Elric Von Earlheight I was named king and the third age came to an end.


    In the fourth and current age, the elves and dwarves recognized Doltia''s independence but warned them that invasion of the goblins and orcs would result in heavy trade embargoes. Without trade with dwarves and elves invasion would only serve to hurt Doltia''s newly formed economy. They were forced to abandon their plans for invasion and set up trade agreements with the elves. The joined the alliance as a junior partner only protected by the alliance with no sway. As the border with a hostile party they were forced to allow imperial and elven troops in their borders. 80 years bring us into the current date, and the goblins and orcs are still building their strength. With a population comparable to those of the first and second age, it seems that they are almost ready to regain their former lands. Now they are known as the kingdom of Glathria but remain unrecognized by the alliance.


    The history of the land fascinated me and it was important to the path I would decide to take. I continued to do the tutorial for four years until the age of nine.


    My father decided to teach me swordplay himself. He said he was the greatest swordsman in the land and the more he taught me the more I believed him. His training was tough and I barely had time for anything else. That was until my magic started to show signs of itself.


    The age of ten was when magic started to develop. It would appear in a multitude of unpredictable ways. Mine started to show itself during sword practice. One day my wooden sword ignited into flames. Another, it froze solid. The final straw was when I won a spar with my father because a jolt of lightning paralyzed his sword arm. He said I vastly improved in the year we had been practicing and it was time to hire someone to get my magic in check. This new tutor brought an interesting young apprentice with him.

 Magic tutor and a new rival

    Before I begin telling you about my magical studies, I should explain something. It is generally stated that nobles are better at magic than commoners, especially nobles of royal blood such as myself. Everyone in the kingdom has some magic but ,as the kingdom of Doltia was founded in the blood of our ancestors, noble titles were granted to the most skilled warriors and magic users to form a militaristic society.


    Magic is especially hard to predict especially because it''s generally hereditary but every once in a while a commoner will be blessed with especially powerful magic. This is a rarity but it''s the reason that the magic academy in the capital has an entrance exam instead of only allowing nobles and royalty. Royals are less likely to be rejected but if they show lack of skill they will be put in remedial training until they show they are ready for on level classes. Commoners, no matter how much potential they show, are over scrutinized and more likely to be rejected. Who wants to put a commoner in a school of nobility?


    My father became headmaster of the school shortly after I began my training. He changed the entire structure of the exam putting magic skill and potential on top priority and not even bothering to check noble status. The amount of commoners accepted went up and school attendance was at a historically high level. He even banned students from exerting their nobility to stop altercations between students. Needless to say, a royal prioritizing the education of commoners was looked down upon by nobles. Several nobles protested and threatened to pull their students out of school. Finally, it got so bad that the king had to royally decree that acceptance was final and truancy was criminal. The nobles backed off but not quietly. They spread rumors that the new headmaster was only being supported because the king was his cousin. In truth the king appointed him to the position because more magic using commoners meant more magic using soldiers for the impending war. All graduates were supposed to be entered into military service upon graduation but one third of the nobles used their influence to pull their children out of duty. This was generally looked down upon a militaristic society but they claimed that they were joining their personal militias. If war ever came all noble militias would be added to the royal army but if the nobles ever showed themselves it would be hard to tell.


    Commoners on the other hand didn''t have the influence to dodge service. I despised this plan immediately. I couldn''t stand nobles and most of my family too. However, I never heard any family criticize the new academy policies. Probably because they wouldn''t dare criticize my father in front of me.


    Most nobles and royals were spoiled babies. I never really had the time to get spoiled. My schooling and training disciplined me even more than I was in my last life. As a person of a humble past life, I was not your typical royal. The reason I''m telling you this is because the apprentice my new magic tutor brought was everything I hated in a noble. Even worse she was my cousin on my mother''s side.


    Emilia Estella apprentice of my tutor James Halberdia and my senior of one year. I hated her immediately. When she first came my tutor introduced her.


    "This is Emilia. She will be cotaught with you though she already has a year of training. Please look to her for advice on things you don''t understand." He said.


    I gave her the royal bow I was taught in basic schooling. "Pleasure to meet you, Emilia."


    She gave a stuck up hmf and said "enough with the formalities. I''m not interested in helping tutor a brat who is just starting to show signs of magic. I''m only here because you''re a senior family member and my tutor was ordered to be yours too."


    ''What a bitch'' I thought. With no more attention to Emilia I turned to James.


    "Shall we begin?"


    "Indeed, young apprentice." he said.


    He began to give me lessons in magic theory for a month. I was a diligent student but Emilia studied separately. Practicing magic in the courtyard. James said magic came from something called mana, and, while it was all around us, humans could only use magic from their own stores. He then explained that mana stores differed in size from person to person. This kingdom''s nobility is based off which people had the largest mana stores a hundred years ago. While mana stores are mostly hereditary some large mana stores are not passed to offspring and some offspring have larger mana stores than their ancestors. This made the noble system of the kingdom imperfect. However the royal family earned their position in the six week war and had the right to rule. Not only had we earned this position but it was said that Elric I had mana stores equal to that of a forest elf making him more magically inclined than any human in history.


    That month went by quickly, magic theory fascinated me. But then James said I was ready to get started with spells.


    "What element did you show signs of having when your magic began developing?"


    "Well, my sword ignited into flames during practice. Then it coated itself with ice the next day. The day after that lightning temporarily paralyzed father''s arm giving me my first victory over him" I explained.


    "You mean to tell me that you can command not only fire but water and lightning too?" James sounded shocked.


    "Is it unusual possess more than one type of magic?" I asked If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "It isn''t unheard of but generally those that do possess similar types. Such as fire users being able to use lightning or light magic. Or water users being able to use healing or illusion magic. But possession of opposing elements is very rare Indeed. The only one that I know of was Elric II." He explained


    "My great grandfather''s elder brother?" I asked.


    James smiled. "Yes. You are so well disciplined that I forgot you are related to Emilia," he said softly so she wouldn''t overhear, "any other magic?"


    "The maid accidentally cut herself while cleaning a decorative sword and when I came in to see what was happening the wound closed as I looked at it. Only later did I remember a faint green glow around my hand." I told him various other stories of strange things that happened.


    James looked astounded by the end of my story. "It seems you possess many elements. And the ones you didn''t exhibit usually show themselves after years of training. Are you the reincarnation of Elric I himself?" I flinched at the word reincarnation but he didn''t notice, "Your magical ability is still untrained but you already healed someone completely. Even if it was just a cut, untrained healing users only heal about halfway or so."


    I hated having servants suck up to me. I got enough of that with the maids. "Are you going to stand there with are jaw on the floor all day or will my tutor actually tutor me?" I tapped into royal pompousness.


    He smiled knowing that arrogance didn''t come easily to me. "Very well, young apprentice. We will start with meditation and mana manipulation."


    The lesson was boring the meditation was to help locate my mana store and draw magic from it. I located it immediately. it was so massive that drawing magic from it was like trying to draw well water from a fountain in the capital. I wanted to learn spells not sit on my ass with my eyes closed. Finally James realized that I did it immediately and congratulated me.


    "Lessons are over for today. Go practice with the sword. Your father wants you to not get rusty." James said.


    " yeah, yeah," I said disappointed, "any excuse for you to not do your job."


    "I do have another student who I haven''t taught anything to for a month." James responded


    I hadn''t spoken to Emilia since the first day. Despite her living in one of our mansion''s guest rooms, our schedules never intersected, thankfully. I was glad not to have to speak to her because I was afraid that I wouldn''t be able to refrain from profanity.


    The next day the real magic lessons began. "Though you''ve already been using your mana, it''s best controlled through use of incantations," he put his hand up and pointed his palm out to the target. A dead tree my mother wanted to have removed, "FIREBALL!"


    Flames interrupted from his palm. A bright white sphere appeared and launched toward the tree. The fireball made contact, exploded, and split the tree in two.


    "Impressive. Now, If you dig out the stump with earth magic, you can save my mother a few gold coins." I told him sarcastically.


    "Maybe we should practice on a less flammable surface." James responded.


    "I''ll have mother acquisition us some archer targets. Perhaps she can get us some nice ones if you actually do remove that tree for us."


    Lessons reconvened that afternoon. "Remember that simply shouting the words won''t actually create a fireball. You have to input your mana and picture the spell." James explained.


    "Couldn''t I just input mana and picture the fireball and do the spell without shouting like an idiot?" I asked


    "You could but shouting like an idiot helps beginners picture the spell." Said the smiling James.


    I put my hand in front of me and faced my palm toward the target. Gathering my mana I shouted the incantation and pictured a ball of flames. What I felt was unlike anything I previously experienced. My mana not only acted as fuel for the flames but it gathered oxygen and ignited into a red puff. I was so surprised that science actually applied to magic that I allowed the spell to die seconds after it started.


    "Wow Alfred. You actually managed a puff on your first try. Emilia uses water magic and she couldn''t manage a drop on her first try." Jamed sound genuinely impressed.


    "I was just surprised. Allow me to exceed your already low expectations." I said confidently.


    Without speaking a word I gathered my mana and condensed the spell into a tighter form. Adding more oxygen and fuel than before and making the fuel more combustible. When I ignited it, it burned bright blue. As I launched it at the target, I still had yet to speak a word. It made contact and exploded. The explosion destroyed not only the target but the surrounding ground. It was louder than a gunshot (speaking from experience, they are pretty deafening).


    Soon the entire staff was outside to see what that sound was. And the guards came running to see who was attacking.


    James calmed everyone down. "Sorry, sorry everyone. It was just a spell backfiring everyone is fine."


    "Fine?" said the gardener, "FINE? The lawn is destroyed. Its going to cost at least thirty gold coins to get the recourses and manpower to fix this crater!" I handed him the gold plus five coins in apology for destroying the lawn.


    James turned to me after everyone got back to work. "How did you do that? That was a fireball, one of the most basic attacks, how did you make it so powerful after a single failed attempt?" He looked astonished but for the first time, excited.


    "How does fire work?" I ask in answer to his question.


    "It burns." He said not getting my point.


    "Yes it burns. But it needs to burn something. We provide mana and the fire burns it. This means that you can manipulate the mana to make the fire burn how you want it to." I explain


    "I tought you this in magic theory" he said, trying to make me get to the point.


    "You know how you can put a candle out by putting the lid on it? Fire needs air to stay lit. By gathering air I was able to create a hotter fire and by manipulating mana to be more explosive I was able to create a larger blast." I told him.


    "You are the first person that I met who thinks about what makes fire burn instead of what you want it to do once it''s burning. You truly are a rarity."


    As I continued training I discovered that magic was just physics and chemistry combined with mana. By understanding the basics of what made spells work I was able to make everything i tried more effective than my tutor''s demonstration. Soon years had passed and I was 13. James had held off on letting his two students spar but he finally felt like Emilia would survive my freakishly effective spells. Dispite her training for longer than I had, my talent for magic far exceeded most full grown adults. In fact James gave up on tutoring me 4 months after he started. Instead he gave me a book of spells for each element I exhibited and told me to memorize them.


    For whatever reason he believed that sparing with me would help Emilia improve. But he underestimated her ability to be a pain in the ass.

 The duel and a decision

    My parents had a practice arena constructed after the lawn incident. A small square building with a dirt floor. The loose dirt and sand would be easier and cheaper to repair than the prestigiously upkept lawn. As an extra precaution I wasn''t allowed to practice fire magic anywhere near civilization.


    James thought that Emilia had not been improving in her magic ability for a few months and thought a rivalry might spur her to improve her magic. Unfortunately, the only one who could fill this roll was me. James pulled me to the side before our duel.


    "I know you haven''t needed a tutor for a few years now, but do try to go easy on the girl. If you beat her too easily she might give up on magic forever." He warned.


    "And what a shame that would be. Imagine how horrible I would feel if I didn''t have to share a home with that brat anymore." Technically she was a year older than me but by the way she acted the only time we talked three years ago, she could be mistaken for a six year old.


    "Just try not kill anyone, okay?" He said in exasperation.


    I walked into the arena and bowed to Emilia. "Pleasure as always." I said biting my tongue.


    Emilia gave me that same stuck up hmf as she did that day. "And I see your still just as clueless as before." ''Fucking bitch'' I thought angrily '' here I am trying not to be an asshole then she goes and makes it that much harder? I''m fucking done with niceties.''


    I calmed myself and tried to make my tone even. "I look forward to winning, I mean, dueling today." I thought I did a good job at trash talk. "Shall we begin?"


    "Let''s."


    She shouts "WATERSLICER!" ''Really?'' I thought ''either she can''t use magic without incantations or she''s way too confident.'' Knowing what spell she used, I easily blocked it with ice wall. Then used mana to force ice arrows from the wall to fly in her direction. She dodged to the side instead of wasting time shouting an incantation.


    I could easily close the distance by using warp to shorten the space between us. Basically teleporting behind her, but I decided against it. Teach, said to go easy on her, after all. I lowered the ice wall and shot a small bolt of electricity at her. This time she was ready a ball of water intercepted the bolt. Since water is conductive the bolt electrified the water for a few seconds. Emilia through the ball at me but I used a small wall of fire to evaporate the water. Then I used a burst of light magic to blind her. While I drew my sword I warped behind her. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    I placed the flat of the blade on her shoulder. The Doltian symbol for the end of a duel. It lasted about a minute but it was such an easy fight that barely used an eighth of my magic.


    Emilia walked over to James and started shouting at him. "He cheated," she complained, "how could he beat when I trained a year longer than him?"


    James looked sympathetic. Like he got where she was coming from. "The problem is that you only ever bothered to learn what I taught you. He studied night and day and got a better understanding of magic than I could teach in a lifetime. That''s how he beat you."


    "But he only studied from books. You only taught him for four months. It''s not fair." She really did sound like a six year old throwing a tantrum. It was hard to watch. "If your done teaching him then why are we still here? I can''t learn anything in this house. I''m telling Aunt Elizabeth that I''m done." With that she stormed away.


    James turned to me. "Didn''t I tell you to go easy on her?"


    "I did. It''s not my fault that she can''t beat me when I''m going easy." I said defensively. "you should do what she says. There isn''t anything else I can learn from you."


    My mother had a talk with me about why Emilia was leaving. She was angry, but she understood what was happening when I explained it to her.


    "So, how do you plan to proceed from here? Will you continue your magic and swordplay training?" She asked at last.


    "Yes," I had already thought about it for a while at that point, " I intend to study magic on my own for two years until I''m an adult. Then I''ll take the magic academy intrance exam."


    Her eyes widened. "You know that school is only in place to train magic users for the military. Most nobles could get away with taking their children out of service but your father is the headmaster, cousin of the king. If he took you out of the kings army he would lose favor with the king and be fired from his position."


    " I know mother. I don''t plan on being removed from service. How would it look if only commoners and minor nobles were all the king''s army consisted of. If the son of the Duke were to be in his service, the kings army would be more legitimized as the defense of the kingdom. Then more nobles would be obliged not to remove their children from service."


    "But it''s dangerous. War is just around the corner-" I cut her off


    "Which is exactly why I need to do this as soon as possible, mother." I said curtly, "if the kings army gets more nobles then victory is certain."


    "But you are the only heir to the duchy if you die then I lose my only child and our family loses its title until another heir is produced."


    "I know. Which makes it that much more important that I help get something done" I argued, " I thought about this longer and harder than any decision I''ve ever made. If I die then you just have to get to producing another heir."


    Mothers face was sadder than it had ever been. "If that''s your decision, I can''t stop you. Your father will just have to find out when you take the exam."

 My Birthday Present and the entrance exam

    I sat there at my desk staring at the sword my father sent home for my coming of age. It was tradition for nobles to recieve swords after becoming adults. However the father typically presented them to their sons personally, mine was otherwise occupied in the capital.


    The four foot blade was made of a blueish silver metal which I recognized as Mithril. The cross guard was steel with inlaid gold in a spiral pattern. A black leather grip with a gold lion shaped pommel. It was a LARPer''s dream weapon. I personally found it a bit tacky but it handled well and Mithril happened to be the easiest metal to enchant.


    I learned enchantment magic when I was fourteen and mastered it a month later. As I sat and looked at the blade, I wondered what enchantments a Mithril longsword would be given. Enchanting swords was not common, weilding a sword typically meant a person''s magic was lacking. So what use would enchanting it serve? With no magic control an enchanted sword was as useful as an enchanted Sprite can.


    Magic users preferred to use staffs for aesthetics and wouldn''t know the ass end of a sword from the business end. So enchanting swords was typically done by sword trained nobles who excelled in magic as well.


    I decided to put a conductivity enchant on it. As well as unbreaking and sharpness. Mithril was the hardest metal, and it magically inhances the qualities of was crafted from it, so unbreaking and sharpness was overkill. Conductivity allowed the flow of mana through an object and is most commonly used on staffs. I just wanted a flaming sword in homage to my first sign of magic.


    Once it was completed, I sheathed the sword and attached it to my belt. I started packing my clothes in a travel bag. The journey to the capital would take two or three days. it was 60 miles away, on earth it would take one or two hours to go that far. I wasn''t looking forward to the trip.


    After I finished packing I said my goodbyes to mother, I won''t bore you with the details it was a typical "I''m going away for a few years" goodbye. She gave me a hundred gold for the trip (which is about a thousand sliver and twenty thousand copper. Ten silver to a gold and twenty copper to a silver. Either way it a ridiculous amount of money for a two day trip.) She also gave me instructions for the family bank account for when my small fortune of pocket money ran out.


    The trip was equally uneventful. I sat in a carriage for two days reading magic books and wishing this world had smartphones. In fantasy land bandits were usually a problem. Always robbing those unsuspecting caravans carrying important people. But in reality, Doltia had military patrols along all main roads to the capital, keeping bandits from all roads that nobles travel.


    When I finally reached the capital I tipped the coach 1 gold even though my mother only payed five silver for him. He left me outside the walls as per my request.


    The guards saw my nice clothes and heavy money bag and let me through immediately. As I stepped inside, I saw exactly what I expected to. A sprawling medieval type city. Buildings built attached side by side with stone walls and clay roofing. Streets made of stone and roman concrete and sidewalks full of people going on their day to day. The people were a lot cleaner than I expected and their clothes less disheveled. Perhaps it was because I was in the capital or because the poor district was not near the city gates. These commoners were the middle class neither poor nor rich. They had access to public baths but not the fancy ones reserved for nobles.


    As I also expected, there were slaves too. Dog and cat eared demihumans and scaly lizard folk too. Not that I particularly approved of slavery but there wasn''t much a single nobles son could do to end a thousand year old system of human supremacy. I did think it was ridiculous that the humans in this nation would enslave a race of human just because they had a little extra on top. It didn''t surprise me, humans back in my old world enslaved people that were basically the same in every way.


    I went to find a nice inn. After my trip I still had ninety two gold. My exploration of the city took half a day. It was about four in the afternoon by the time I found the inn. The person at the counter was young. Around my age maybe a year or two older. She had long brown hair and a pretty face. She was definitely beautiful for this world but she wasn''t my type.


    She looked at me with her deep brown eyes and smiled a smile that would melt the toughest man''s cold stone heart.


    "Welcome to the Brooksbury inn," her voice was high and cheerful, "how may I help you?"


    She was obviously at the counter to attract customers, though it was the nicest looking inn and it was close to the city square so I doubted they had trouble getting customers.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    She may not have been my type but a virgin is still a virgin. I had trouble speaking to any woman. And I was fifteen years out of practice.


    "Um... I''m here to book a room." I said almost in question form.


    "Are you asking me?" She looked at me with those brown eyes like she was staring into my soul.


    I felt my face go red. "No," I asserted in what I hoped was a firm fashion, "I''m here to book a room." This time my words were clearer.


    I was beginning to get used to being social again. I also remembered my own name so.... progress.


    "How much for your finest room?"


    "Five slivers a night." She squeaked cheerfully.


    The exam was in three days but results would take a further three to be announced. It would take four days to be allowed to move into the dorms.


    I brought my bag up to the room after paying the five gold. It was as nice as my room back in the mansion and I was accustomed to it by then.


    The days went fast. It was time for the exam before I knew it. I paid a carriage to drive me to the academy grounds. They were located half a mile away from the capital walls. It took thirty minutes to get there by carriage.


    The academy was almost as sprawled as the capital. Many different buildings and towers spread across a distance that of a major university. The staff had tables spread across the back field of the campus. It was a sea of teenagers, lined up one behind another. They were writing their names and the identification number that they were handed upon reaching the front of the line.


    The lines were so long that I knew I was late. Even though the exam wasn''t for another four hours everyone seemed to have shown up five hours early. I took my place in line and began the mundane task of standing in line.


    I finally reached the front of the line and received the number 15642. I took the pen and wrote the name Alfred Von Earlheight in perfect Doltian cursive ( a form of cursive taught only to high class noblemen and royalty to avoid any identity fraud). I slid the wax tablet the woman in front of me, an old woman who reminded me strangely of Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter. She looked at the pad over her glasses and grimaced.


    "Are you aware that impersonating the headmaster''s son is not only a criminal offense but it won''t grant you you free entry to the academy?" She growled sternly.


    Unfazed I responded. "Check the signature again."


    She studied the tablet more intensely and gasped when she realized that it was legitimate.


    "I apologize for the suspicion. I was not informed that you would be attending the entrance exam."


    "Neither was my father. I wanted to pass on my own merits. Not by arrangements made ahead of time."


    She stared deeply at me. As if penetrating the very essence of my soul. "Your father would not give you preferencial treatment because of family ties."


    "I know that," I said impatiently, "but I didn''t want him to make a big deal about it."


    After another long, soul penetrating look, she accepted the registration and called the next in line. I turned and proceeded to the waiting area. The central courtyard was packed with people and I could barely make out where I came from. I sat on the ground and waited for the exam to start.


    There were so many of us that they decided to do a test to eliminate the least qualified applicants first. It was a general knowledge magical theory test. Since half of the applicants were self taught, magical theory was not something they saw fit to study. Out of the twenty thousand of us only ten thousand passed. Then in the basic application five thousand could only perform support magic ( the academy required at least basic attack magic).


    So by the end of the preliminary exam, three quarters of the applicants were disqualified. Then the real exams began.


    I was brought to a back to the fields behind the school with a group of ten others. Our magic skills were tested rigorously. Having to perform each of the spells three times each. I thought I did well enough although I was the only person who didn''t drop out when another element started to be tested.


    The instructor ( a short bald man) continued to look more and more flabbergasted as I continued to do each and every spell with unfaltering proficiency and quality. The other examanees began whispering when I was the only person who remained standing as he tested darkness magic (a rare form of magic used to summon animals. It was only tested as a tradition because summoning animals to fight for you was considered a cowardly way of fighting). The examiner didn''t give me a spell to cast. He only told me to summon whatever I could. I decided to go small and summoned a boar.


    Finally the first phase was over and the examiner pulled me aside.


    "You know how rare it is to be able to use every element? Are you by any chance related to our nations founder?" He asked.


    I wasn''t trying to be accused of using my influence to intimidate the examiner. So I said "What if I am? Would that make a difference in the results of the exam?"


    His face flushed red. "No of course not. Your results are your own and your family has nothing to do with it, but I was just curious because the only other person who could use all elements was related to the Eric I." He was talking fast and bowing to me. To any onlooker it would appear as if he was deferring to me.


    "Of course. I am aware that my grandfathers uncle was also able to use every element. But I wished not to appear as though I used my influence as the headmaster''s son to pass the exam." At that he stopped his apologies and straightened, still looking red and uncomfortable.


    "Of course," he calmed his voice and steadied himself. "You would certainly be shunned socially by those who think you cheated your way in. Especially since the exams are so difficult."


    "Such claims are inevitable, but even more so if they appear to have merit to back them up."


    "Indeed. I should take the next bunch of examinees now." He said, getting my point.


    "Good choice." I said


    He hurried away. Giving a worried glance behind him. My lack of social skills was really starting to make me look like an asshole.

 A Strange dream and reminders of a life gone

    I knew it wasn''t a normal dream at once. Normally my dreams are distant without much detail, but this one was vivid. It felt like I was actually in it, experiencing first hand what would typically be a third person feeling. I felt like I could actually see my sister sobbing into her hands in a sterile hospital waiting room.


    She was sitting in the middle of a baren row of an otherwise busy emergency waiting room. The nurses at the counter on the side were whispering fiercely to each other and attending to the line that was growing to be rather large.


    My sister sat there for what seemed to be an hour. A nurse walked over to my sister and whispered something inaudible while shaking her head. This made her sobbing worse and the nurse gently grabbed her arm and led her deeper into the hospital. She was directed to an elevator and herded inside still crying deeply. It made my heart lurch as she was pointed to a glass window. Inside was a crimson stained sheet on a silver table. There was a human shaped object between the metal table and the sheet.


    It became clear just who the person covered by the sheet was. The silence in the room was only broken by the sobs of mourning my sister gave. Then the nurse spoke.


    "There was nothing we could do. He was dead when the ambulance arrived. The woman who was with him was in too histeric of a state to get a full statement of events but it seems to be a clearcut case of o robbery gone wrong." She was explaining but I was clear the nurse knew she wasn''t listening to her. Or even aware that she was speaking.


    She stared at my body with tears silently streaming from her eyes. She was obviously oblivious to anything that was the fact that her brother was lying dead on a table. Her worries were only that her little brother, a kid she had raised for half their lives, would never speak to her, never confide in her, never be annoyed by her ever again.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    She stood like that, staring, for a while. At some point her tears stopped flowing and here stare became blank. The nurse had led her to the seat on the other side of the hallway. She stared blankly and the nurse decided it was time to discuss burial plans. She nodded through and seemed to obsorb very little of the information.


    The dream shifted. My sister in a church, sitting in the front pew. There was a priest drowning on about god and heaven and immortal souls. I recognized a few people in the crowd. Distant family, people I knew from school but never talked to. My sister was being comforted by an old lady. My grandma, she allowed me to live with my sister after our parents death and checked in from time to time.


    After the priest finished, everyone walked over to console my sister, people who never talked to me talking about what a great person I was and how they would miss my company. It''s weird how so many people suddenly know you after you die.


    The dream shifted again to the burial service. I was lowered into the ground and my sister, who had been surprisingly stoic throughout the whole service, suddenly burst into tears. As if the whole thing had been a horrible dream and my burial was her awakening to find that the dream had in fact been reality.


    My grandma patted her back and hugged her head into her shoulder. She whispered to her while holding back tears of her own. It lasted a while longer until I awoke in the straw bed of the inn.


    I walked over to the mirror to wash my face. In the mirror I saw, not the blonde haired noble I had become, but the weak coward I was in my past life. A single tear streamed down my face. The water felt cool and woke me up completely. I looked up and Alfred Von Earlheight returned. The memory of my dream had already started to fade.

 The entrance ceremony and a surprise

    The days leading up to the return of the results were excruciatingly boring. I mostly explored the capital. It was to be my city of residence for the next years to come, so I decided that I should be as familiar with the layout as possible. I had all the time to think about my past life and my dream. I didn''t want to be that person. I had another chance and I wouldn''t waste it by being the same insensitive jerk.


    The problem was that my people skills hadn''t improved a lick. Finally the day had come that the results were posted in the square of the capital. I took the scenic route to the square. There was no rush, I had four days to get settled in on campus before the entrance ceremony. My trip through the park brought peace to my racing thoughts.


    The back alleys were far less crowded than the streets. Some alleys were better than others, thugs hung out and waited for people to rob to pass by. It was annoying to take them down so I was glad when thugs began recognize and avoid me. I was coming across one of my least favorite alleys. There was a new thug hanging out there, and he was a lot bigger and dumber than the other thugs. No matter how many times I beat him up, he would train and think he was ready to face me next time. He was a fucking shounen villain in an isekai story.


    When I came across the alley that time, he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a standard thug creeping on a girl. She was pinned against the wall and I couldn''t see her face. Before I could do anything, a sturdy looking commoner peered down the alley.


    "I already told you no. Get away from me." She said.


    The commoner walked toward the pair. "Is this man bothering you?" He asked.


    Not bothering to see this trope to end I turned around and walked to the street. It was crowded but I was nearly to the square. I arrived around noon and was nearly an hour past that when I finally reached the results. The tablet on top was the top five applicants. Under that where rows of tablets worth the last names in alphabetical order.


    I read through the list of the top five.


    1. Von Earlheight, Alfred. Practical score 100


    2. Goodman, Wayne. Practical score 98


    3. Walterberger, Enis. Practical score 97


    4. Graeme, Atezor. Practical score 95


    5. Nightshade, Leviah. Practical score 94


    I was surprised that I got a perfect score, but what surprised me even more was that a commoner came in second. Not that his status mattered, but commoners typically had less magic. Those outliers almost always came into positions of power. Whether they be granted land or mayoral powers over towns. This commoner not only had an almost perfect score but he was second only to someone who was descended from the person with the most magic in human history.


    What surprised me even more was that number four was a foreigner. I didn''t even know foreigners were eligible for the military but this one had obviously been born in Doltia or he wouldn''t be in the academy.


    With the top five applicants so close in strength it was sure to be an interesting three years. I would probably have to train my ass of to stay number one or one of the others would surely pass me (in technique if not raw power.)


    The move to the dorms was as expected. I moved my pack of clothes to the dorms and was assigned to a room which no one else had been assigned yet. Then I decided to wander the campus to get a feel for the academy layout. I came across a few upper class men but they mostly kept to themselves.


    Two days passed and a few other first years moved into my dorm. Nobles. I didn''t bother learning their names, all they talked about was how the school had been "infested with commoners" ever since the new headmaster took over.


    "But you would know all about that," said the loudest of the bunch, finally noticing my presence as I lay on the top bunk. "He''s your father, isn''t he?"


    It was Samuel one of the sons of my father''s vassal, the lord of a city in his duchy Sir Damestrenger. I hated it when he came to report to my father and decided to bring his brats along. He thought it would be advantageous if one of his sons became friends with the son of his lord. Needless to say, I wanted nothing to do with the spoiled children.


    "And what if he is? My father can do what he pleases as headmaster." I responded vehemently.


    "You would know all about that. After all you''re only here because he''s headmaster." He mocked


    "The headmaster may have final say over entries. But it''s the examiner who determines the score." I was already tiring of his bullshit.


    His face reddened as he made his response. "And just what was your score? You couldn''t have gotten higher than a eighty. My father always refused to tell me how good your magic was. Probably protecting your family''s fragile ego."


    "Did you even bother reading the top five?" I asked with sigh. "Of course not. You''re only capable of thinking about yourself." I paused for a second.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "If you had bothered reading than you would know that the top spot belongs to me. With a perfect score." I said feigning arrogance.


    He gave a scoff of disbelief. "So you performed every spell in your element perfectly and didn''t even diminish in strength after performing it multiple times?" He goaded, "the highest score this academy has seen in 20 years is ninety-nine. You can''t be that good."


    I was surprised to learn that this spoiled child actually knew something I didn''t. I didn''t bother to research past tests or scores because I wanted to be surprised. But he actually studied so he could be prepared. Maybe we could''ve been friends if he wasn''t such a dick.


    "I''d be happy to give you a first hand experience of my abilities." I threatened.


    Samuel actually laughed at that. "No. I believe you. You are a descendant of Eric I. And Duke Von Earlheight isn''t the kind of man who would give his son a free ride. But I still don''t think a person like you should be the heir of the Dukedom. You''re too accepting of filth like commoners."


    "And you''re too proud of a class system that''s out of date. Nobles have spent the last hundred years have illegitimate children with commoners and the magic based system hasn''t been changed. So now we have commoners with just as much magic as nobles and they''re still looked down on as lesser than us." I argued soundly.


    "I''m not arguing politics with you. I''m done." He turned back to the other nobles, ears noticeably reddened.


    I turned over on my side to face the wall and ignored my annoying roommates. Soon the others went to sleep and I finally got some quiet to do so as well.


    The next day was the day of the entrance ceremony. It was to take place from noon to two o''clock in the afternoon. I walked to the mess hall for breakfast and bought some porridge. This nation''s main food source was wheat so everything with wheat was less expensive and I was still living off the hundred gold coins my mother gave me. I still had sixty-seven gold, nine silver and a copper. I was determined not to draw from the bank until I absolutely had to. So I was on a budget.


    I found a seat in the theater where the opening ceremony was to take place. My father would give a speech, then the person on the top of the graduating class, then the headmaster would come back out and announce the top scoring examinees from lowest to highest with each coming up to shake the headmasters hand.


    The theater quieted as an imposing figure came toward the podium. A heavily muscled blonde man with hands calloused from swordplay. He towered over the podium and cast a spell to amplify his voice.


    "Welcome students," he said in his deep and powerful voice, " this term will be a long one. No break for harvest or the winter festival. The king has ordered this as the threat along our border grows greater. This academy trains our nation''s mages to fight for a greater purpose than themselves. We fight to protect our borders from the vicious monsters in the land beyond.


    With breaks in training our mages may not be prepared for the war to come. If an invasion does occur we will be the front lines. The elves and dwarves will take weeks to send reinforcements and we will need every able fighter. Meaning that second and third years will be sent to assist."


    He looked around at the students and continued. "First years, no matter how you look at it, are just not trained well enough to be sent into battle. However, we will be implementing a new program for the top five examinees.


    They will be trained as officers regardless of birth," you could only apply as an officer in the king''s army if you were a noble, " their training will only last one year. They have proven that they are already adept at magic and only need proper training in its combative uses. As soon as they graduate they will be given into service of the king but will have to prove themselves to be given any command."


    Father stopped to let this sink in. I couldn''t believe that I only had to go through a single term. Just eight months of training to join the army. This was everything I dreamed of. Being in a position to make a difference for the good of the people of the kingdom.


    He continued, explaining further. "The top five will have on level classes until the time classes end at three o''clock. They will then have officer training until eight. With five hours a day for the entire term they will have as much training as any officer. Which train for three months for the whole day," he paused for a breath, "moving on. There are no additional announcements for the term. Fight on and prosper." He gave the Doltian salute, the right arm held out bent at the elbow hand straight in front of the elbow. At the words "fight on and prosper" everyone stood up and returned the salute. Some students lagging behind to copy the others.


    Father left the stage after setting us at ease. Then the top of the third year class came to the stage. His speech was a lot of "do your best" bullshit, so I didn''t listen to too much of it. Then he went back to his seat in the front row.


    Father came back out to the same effect as the first time: immediate silence.


    "Now I will announce the top five scorers on the exam. When your name is called, please come to stage. Number five, Leviah Nightshade."


    A tall girl stood up and walked on stage. Her hair was pitch black and she was as beautiful as the night sky. Her surname Nightshade suited her perfectly. She walked proudly on to stage and shook father''s hand. I noticed a slight grimace of pain in his eyes but I doubted anyone else did. It seemed Leviah was far more than she appeared.


    "Number four, Atezor Graeme." A man walked up. He resembled those people found in the north of the continent, just before one would reach the demon domain. He had dark hair and golden eyes. He would appear to be of middle eastern ethnicity if he was on earth. He walked with purpose and shook father''s hand with vigor.


    "Number three, Enis Walterberger." A girl with red hair presented herself. She was obviously a Doltian noble but I didn''t recognize her. If she landed in the top three, then she was from a high ranking family. Meaning that she wouldn''t be caught dead serving my father. Her family probably had a duchy of their own.


    "Number two, Wayne Goodman." It was the commoner from before. The one in the alley. He conducted himself quite well despite not being taught the proper way to present himself to a duke.


    "Finally, in the top spot, with a perfect score, we have Alfred Von Earlheight. My own son." His eyes, which had been glazed and unfocused throughout the ceremony, suddenly shone with a deep and fierce pride. It was obvious to me that he had known my plan the whole time. He had just wanted me to walk my own path. I was suddenly reminded of that day my magic showed itself. His eyes had the same pride then too.


    I walked up, a little dazed and went to shake his hand, but instead he pulled me into a crushing bear hug. I hugged back, strangely comforted, I hadn''t been hugged by someone I saw as a father since my previous one died.


    I walked back to my seat and missed the end of the ceremony as I was lost in my thoughts.

 Officer training and a new friend

    I was the first to arrive to the room after class. I had just come from advanced magical theory, so I was well rested and ready for whatever training they had planned for the five of us. The instructor wasn''t there yet, but he would come when it started. I was twenty minutes early and the others were probably putting away their school books. I had a storage spell that could hold a small amount of things with spacial magic, so I didn''t have a reason to procrastinate by going back to the dorms.


    All I had on me was my sword, which I was only seventy percent sure I needed. I sat in the back and pulled out my book Dark Magic: How to Summon Powerful Creatures and read until the door was opened and someone else walked in.


    Atezor Graeme came strolling in and sat next to me. Put my book back in storage as he turned to talk to me.


    "You''re Alfred, right? I''m Atezor. Your father let me in despite being a foreigner." He introduced himself, in a strange accent.


    "You''re really from the north? I didn''t think foreigners were eligible for the academy. If father saw fit to accept you then you must have really impressed him. I look forward to training with you." I said.


    "And I you. Headmaster Von Earlheight is strong but you seem to have inherited more than just physical prowess." He said.


    "You aren''t so bad yourself. Top five in the best magic academy in the kingdom."


    "Not as good as top three. Or first place," He sighed, "that honor belongs to you."


    "It''s no big deal. If the headmaster''s son isn''t top of his class, can he call himself headmaster?" I responded


    "True." He laughed.


    Two people walked in one after the other. First was the commoner, Wayne Goodman. Then Leviah Nightshade.


    Wayne saw Atezor and smiled as though they had already met. Then he saw me next to him. His smile vanished and he made a subservient nod.


    "Lord Von Earlheight." He said in a low voice. He wasn''t sure how to address me.


    "No need for the formality," my good mood from talking to Atezor faded, I didn''t like being seen as superior just because of my birth, "we''re all equals at the academy."


    He just nodded and sat next to Atezor. Behind him, Leviah said nothing and sat away from the three of us in the back. She didn''t appear to be a noble but she was definitely powerful.


    The last of us to come in was Enis Walterberger. She walked in like the room was empty and sat in the front row.


    It was five minutes until the training was supposed to start when the instructor arrived. He was stern looking, with a buzz cut and a military uniform on. His chiseled jawline was perfect for a military man.


    "Today you''re civilian life is over," he shouted as he was still walking to the teacher''s podium, "today you become soldiers. In this training course, you will learn what it means to be a follower. Only then can you be molded into leaders. When I look around this room I don''t see leaders. I don''t see followers. What I see is a bunch of sorry...sacks...of shit that did well on a test." He looked around when he reach the podium.


    He singled me out. "You," he pointed at me, "you got a one hundred, a perfect score?" He yelled.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    "I did." I said in an even tone.


    "Good. Now do one push up for every point you got. And don''t whisper to me again." He yelled.


    My arms were well muscled from sword training but one hundred push ups was asking way too much from my fifteen year old body. I dropped to the floor and did fifty-six before I began to struggle. After sixty-two I had to use a muscle enhancement spell.


    While I was doing this he was still shouting at the top of his lungs. "When you speak to me you sound off. If I catch you whispering like this young fuck-up, you do exactly what he''s doing right now," he looked at me, "who told you to magic? Cancel the spell and start over!"


    My arms gave out and I landed on my left side.


    "You''re weak," He said in an inside voice, "I thought you were William''s son. That man could did a thousand pushups a day when he was three years old."


    Someone laughed, it was Wayne. The man turned to him. "You think something is funny? Get down there and do it with him."


    He did seventy-six before he gave out. "You still think anything''s funny?"


    "No." He shouted in response.


    "No, Lieutenant Orwell." He loudly corrected.


    "No, Lieutenant Orwell." Wayne copied.


    "Better. Get up both of you. Today I''m teaching you basic drill. Get outside."


    Once we were outside, Lieutenant Orwell got us in a line. "Get to the position of attention. Eyes ahead, back straight, legs together, feet at a forty-five degree angle." He demonstrated and we copied his lead.


    "In order to do a left face, you push off the ground with your right foot and pivot to the left with your other foot." It took some time to get it down, but after we did it seemed stupid that it took us that long.


    "An about face is done by putting your right foot behind your left and pivoting one-hundred-eighty degrees." We completed the task.


    He drilled us until we had it all down. Then we switched to marching. It was easy enough to stay in step so it wasn''t all that difficult. After two hours we were done with basic drill.


    "For the next three hours we will do sword training. How many of you don''t know anything about swords?" To my surprise, all five of us had trained with swords.


    We all spared with the lieutenant to place us with sparing partners. There were five of us so one would be without a partner. I noticed this and pointed it out.


    "You will be sparing with me. I want to see if your father tought you anything."


    Enis was paired with Atezor as the best two behind me. The remaining two were pared together.


    I prepared to get destroyed by the lieutenant. He came at me with speed beyond the norm. I barely deflected his first strike. His second was just as fast but I was expecting it. I met his wooden sword with mine to block his over head attack. He had me on the defensive, leaving no openings. As I parried his strikes, I began to think of a plan.


    The duel went on for a few minutes and I saw my opportunity. As he went for another overhead strike, I feigned a parry and dodged out of the way at the last second. He stumbled, but as I went in for a strike, he turned and hit my sword away.


    I saw my opportunity and went on the offensive. He parried my quick barrage of attacks but obviously wasn''t expecting me to be so fast. I pressed my advantage until I saw an opening. I went in for the "killing" blow. Suddenly, my world turned upside down. Lieutenant Orwell was standing above me sword placed on my shoulder in triumph.


    "Not bad," for once his voice wasn''t at maximum volume, "if you hadn''t fallen for the fake opening you would''ve damned near beaten me." He helped me to my feet. The others were looking at us, astounded.


    "You''ve never seen a sword spar before?" His voice returned to its normal volume: full blast, "get to it."


    Atezor and Enis got to sparing. They both had obviously professional training. Their strikes weren''t anywhere near as fast as the lieutenant''s or mine but the technique was flawless.


    Leviah and Wayne had far less technique but their raw skill was to be marvelled at. With some training each of them could be as good as or better than me.


    Words from the lieutenant snapped me back into reality. "Ready for round two?"


    Overall the experience was draining, but I got some good practice in and my skill seemed to have improved. After years of training alone, I didn''t think I could keep up with an actual battle hardened veteran.


    At eight, when practice was over, Atezor came up to me. "It seems your swordplay is just as Impressive as your magic."


    "Yours isn''t so bad either. With some extra work, you could surpass even me." I responded


    He smiled and gave a thickly accented laugh. "You willing to help out with that?"


    "Is now good for you?" I asked


    He shook his head. "I''m too tired now but whenever you have time."


    "Come to my dorm whenever. I''m usually not busy."


    "Will do." He turned and walked away.

 Progress and tragic backstories

    Atezor''s strikes were as swift as his mind. He progressed much over the last four months, and his skills with a sword were giving mine a run for their money. Left, right, left, I managed to keep up. His training gave me a grasp on his fighting style and I had exploited its weaknesses to improve it. He had exploited mine and in turn made me improve too.


    I saw an opening and failed to fall for the trick. I hit his wooden sword to the side and made it wider. I turned and slammed my left shoulder into his chest, staggering him. I failed to finish the duel and allowed him to regain his guard. I went in for the attack to test his blocking capability. He matched me strike for strike.


    Despite the cool morning air, sweat glistened on his brow. A particularly good parry set Atezor into a string of attacks, all blocked by my swift reaction. He suddenly thrust into a weak point in my guard. A bad decision on his part. I was prepared for this. I twisted my sword and disarmed him. I was breathing heavily as I placed my the flat of the sword on his shoulder.


    We moved to sit on the edge of the pathway. I spoke first.


    "One hundred thirty two to six?" I asked while smiling.


    "One hundred thirty one to seven," he said in his accented voice, " you cheated last time." He returned my smile.


    "How many times do I have to say that throwing my sword is a perfectly acceptable way to end the duel as long as it lands on your opponent''s shoulder."


    "You grazed my shoulder," He objected, "that barely counts."


    "Barely," I said triumphantly, "still counts."


    We laughed at the same conversation we had yesterday. It was barely dawn but I felt wide awake. For the first time in either of my lives, I truly had a friend that I trusted.


    Atezor was the only one of the top five that I even talked to. Leviah stayed to herself. Enis did too, but I doubted it was for the same reason. Two of the five were commoners and one was a foreigner. The only outlier was me, I was supposed to be a noble of the highest order. Surely she saw it fit for me to be graced by her presence. But I think she was still a bit pissed that she only landed third. With me in first place it would be natural for her to not be friendly towards me.


    Then there was Wayne he acted like he hated me. Other than the overly courteous greeting on the first day, he hadn''t spoken to me. He only spoke to Atezor (the only other person who would speak that wasn''t me). When I asked him why Wayne wouldn''t speak to me, he said it didn''t have anything to do with me personally but he wouldn''t go further into detail.


    Atezor himself was somewhat of a mystery as well. When I asked why he came from the north and how he actually got here, he only told me that he sailed to the empire and crossed into Doltia. He refused to tell me why he left his home in the first place.


    Those thoughts ran through my head as Atezor and I watched the sun rise further into the sky. Soon everyone would wake and the quiet morning would turn into a rush for breakfast and a dash for the late risers to get ready for class. But for then the silence was peaceful, I never took time to enjoy the little things in my past life. Or even in the early stages of my new life. It was a mad dash to grow up. My death proved that mad dashes could as easily lead you off a cliff as they could to the finish line.


    The silence was finally broken as the lieutenant came across us on his way to take his early morning piss.


    "What the hell are you two doing up so early in the goddamn morning?" He was too tired to use his "inside" voice.


    He looked around and saw the discarded practice swords.


    "You mean to tell me that you two got up at the ass-crack of dawn to practice sword fighting?" He whispered.


    I responded first. "No lieutenant. We got up before the the ass-crack of dawn to practice sword fighting."


    He almost smiled at that. I could see the corner of his mouth twitch.


    "You better not fall asleep during training." He said.


    "I have a full day of classes before training. I''ll be well rested by the time training comes around." I said, immediately knowing I made a mistake confiding as much to him.


    "You sleep in your classes?" He asked in an uncharacteristically low voice.


    "I sleep through the things I already know. Which is just about everything they teach us." I pretended to be oblivious to his obvious outrage.


    He said nothing and turned to walk away mumbling something about me being a perfect reflection of my father. Atezor was silent through the whole thing. I turned to him expecting to share a look of relief, but he was deep in thought. I doubted he was even aware that the lieutenant had made an appearance.


    I tapped his shoulder. "You okay?" I asked tentatively.


    He stirred. "Huh? Yeah I''m fine." His voice was low and thoughtful. Unlike his usual bright demeanor. A clear sign that he was not fine. But I didn''t press further, if he wanted to talk about it he would.


    "Just thinking about my sister." He said in the same low voice.


    "You have a sister?" I asked surprised. He never shared anything about his life.


    "Not anymore." I looked at him and noticed that this man,who was always so cheerful was holding back tears.


    "You want to talk about it?" I pressed.


    He gave a weak chuckle. "And ruin such a nice morning? I will tell you, in time."


    I just nodded. I could understand not wanting to talk about something. After all, I had sixteen years of something I didn''t want to talk about. It wasn''t that I wasn''t going to tell anyone about my past life, it had never seemed like the right moment to drop that I was from a world were technology had advanced so much that it would seem as much as a fairy tale to these people as magic was on earth.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    The morning lagged on, both of us lost deep in thought. Then the silence ended as everyone got up for breakfast. We picked up our swords and put them back were we got them. The rest of the day flew by until it was time for training.


    The lieutenant came in and got straight to the lesson. Not even pausing to yell at us.


    "You are already pretty good at magic but today you are gonna learn how to use that in battle. Resighting spells from memory is no good. In the heat of battle you often don''t have time to think about what spell will work and why you have to use it. Magic users are typically in the rear of the formation using long distance spells but you five are proficient in both melee and magic. So you will be closer to the front, leading and protecting men. Some of you healing them," he looked at Enis, the water mage who heavily specialized in healing magic, and me, I was less effective at healing but still better than most. "that means you need special training to not get your men killed."


    He continued his lesson and droned on for the whole three hours. After the lesson we went to dinner. The five of us ate alone because everyone already finished eating by eight.


    This time it seemed that Wayne wasn''t eating. Atezor asked him why, and he admitted that he had run out of money three meals a day. Atezor told him that he wished he could pitch in but I was paying for all of his meals. Which was true, with Atezor coming from another country he had very little money and I was a loaded rich kid.


    I offered to pay for Wayne''s meal but he refused.


    "I don''t need the dirty money of a damned noble." He downright spit his words at me.


    "You got a problem with me?" I asked genuinely confused.


    He took it as a challenge. "Yeah, I do. All you damned nobles care about is money. You look down on us commoners as less than you because of an outdated system," he was talking in an angry voice. He spun hate in his every word. "you won''t even spare medicine to a boy''s dying mother because the medicine is supposedly worth more than her life."


    I had a horrible feeling that he wasn''t talking all nobles anymore. He was talking about one in particular. I had no idea what to say.


    "What?" I asked confused.


    "Don''t act like you don''t know," I responded spitefully, "when my mother was dying of a curable disease my father went to the lord of the town, asking for the medicine to cure it. He said that the Duke," he pointed at me, " your father, was the only one who had it in stock. When my father asked if it could be sent over he said it would be a misallocation of resources."


    I was shocked. If my father had ever given any order to deny medicine to sick people that was the first I was hearing of it.


    "Which lord was this?" I asked. I could think of a few candidates.


    "The lord of Genuda village, Lord Derion." He said the word "lord" with such spite that it could be classified as verbal irony.


    "The one who was imprisoned for embezzlement last year?" I asked, not needing an answer.


    Now it looked like he was the one who was first hearing of something.


    "He was? But I thought he spoke to your father. It took him a week to respond." He said shocked.


    "If anyone knew about misallocation of resources, it was him. He was siphoning off money from various town budgets, including the medical facilities. It was our fault for not catching it sooner," I bowed my head apologetically, "I''m sorry you lost your mother because of our incompetence."


    "So your father knew nothing about the situation?" He asked.


    "I doubt that greedy bastard even left the village." I responded truthfully.


    He looked like his entire world just got turned upside down. He sat down and buried his head in his hands. He sat like that for a while. Atezor sitting beside him and patting his back.


    I had no idea what to do, so I bought the three of us food and left to eat in same place that I sat that morning. This time the sun was setting so I was just watching the sky get darker and the orange and red clouds change to purple.


    Atezor came out after the sun had gone down and the stars were on full display. The brightest one was even brighter than Sirius. I had always loved the stars in this world. I wondered if anyone would believe that I came from a place where there was so much light that it blocked out the stars.


    Atezor sat beside me. "Beautiful."


    "Save that talk for the ladies." I said, not wanting to talk about what had happened.


    He got the hint. "I was talking about the stars, dumbass." He was talking in his usual jovial voice but it was strained. He was obviously forcing himself to act cheerful.


    "Today would''ve been her birthday. My little sister was born ten years ago. We lived in a village near the border of the demon domain. The people there were strong, we had to be. We lived on a fertile stretch of land next to the baren wastes of the demons. Even demons have to eat," his act had completely dropped, this was the face of a man who was devastated. "we were raided constantly by demons, so I was taught to use a sword as soon as I could hold one. It was two years ago. We hadn''t lost a man in a raid for three months. The demon groups were getting smaller and smaller. We thought they had stopped trying. Then one day a large group came. Not to raid us but to invade us and push us out of our home."


    He paused wiping a single tear out of his eye.


    "My father ran out to defend the city and told my mother to stay in the house with us. I wasn''t old enough to help but I was old enough to think I could. I wanted to go with father but he told me I had to stay and protect my sister, Ariadne and my mother. There were too many demons. My father fell after fighting 6 at once. The demons quickly overwhelmed the hastily prepared defenses and moved to the village. Mother told me to protect my sister as they entered our house. She surprised one with a kitchen knife but all I could do was protect Ariadne from the horrible sight of the demons tearing her apart." He choked.


    "I picked her up and ran out the back door. I don''t know how long I was running but soon enough the only sight I had of the village was the smoke. We survived on the road stealing from farms and sleeping in the barns. Then one day we were on a main road for the first time, on our way to a city. The bandits came out of nowhere, demanding that we hand over everything we own. We had nothing of value. All I had was the sword my father had given me and the dagger I stole from a barn.


    "I pulled out the sword but I didn''t even have a chance to fight. One of the bandits snuck up behind me and by the time I realized it he already had a knife to Ariadne''s throat. He said ''drop the sword or she dies''," he gave a humorless laugh, almost a scoff, " I said we had nothing. They said even if that was the case, they wanted all of the nothing we had. I gave them the food but it was all we had. They were complaining that they should have known the two of us wouldn''t have anything. Then one of them suggested that they sell us into slavery.


    "I couldn''t bare the thought of little Ariadne being a slave. I pulled out the dagger and stabbed one of them in the back. Then the next before any of them had time to react. I was disarmed and on the ground in the next moment. Then," he hesitated as though he couldn''t speak, " then they killed her. My little sister, dead. My entire family, gone. Alone and weapon less. They sold me to a slave trader who brought me here. I worked in the mines until I saw the opportunity to escape. I practiced magic then killed my master with a fireball."


    Through the entire story I sat in stunned silence. I couldn''t think of a word to say. The entire time, I thought I had it bad because I got shot and died. But Atezor, his entire family died, and he had to live. The survivors guilt would be destroying him. He''d be thinking of all the different ways he could have saved them. All the ways that his choices led to his sister''s death.


    At last I decided to say something. "There was nothing you could do. You know what slavery is like. If you hadn''t tried to save her she would be enslaved."


    "Are you saying that death is better than slavery?" He asked in an uncharacteristically irate voice.


    "No," I said softly, "I''m saying that ,even if she was alive, she wouldn''t be living. And that''s no kind of life. You did the right thing trying to save her from that. Don''t you ever doubt that." Who was I to be telling him never to doubt it, I was never sure of anything. And I definitely wasn''t sure I should be talking about sisters. Mine was back on earth feeling the same way Atezor was. And all I was worried about building a reputation in a world she never even knew existed.

 Graduation and a speech.

    Ever since that night, Wayne had been less cold toward me. He sat next to me and Atezor during training and I had even started giving him sword lessons. It took some time, but he was starting to be on par with Atezor.


    As the end of term came closer, the five of us were told that we would be stationed together, but we weren''t told where we would be stationed. Our training now consisted of learning how to be leaders. Lots of loyalty bullshit, a good leader must first be a good follower, and other sentimental shit.


    I just wanted to be done with academy life. I had forgotten how boring school was. You can only sleep for so long before you aren''t able to go back. I decided to build a name for myself, I was a nobody in my last life. People here knew my name of course, I was Alfred Von Earlheight, son of William Von Earlheight. But I didn''t want to be known as the son of my father. I wanted to be known as myself, I wanted William Von Earlheight to be known as the father of Alfred.


    I could sympathize with the kingdom of Doltia. They gained their independence for a reason, one that was denied them. They wanted to stop their people from enduring the hardships of invasion. What was a more noble cause than that?


    I don''t value the whole human superiority notion, but I did value my life (it had already been taken from me once.) Which meant that I would do anything to keep it. Even if it meant risking it to repel an invasion of genocidal maniac orcs. Besides, what better way to spend life in a fantasy world was there than fighting orcs? It was every nerd''s wet dream.


    Before I knew it, it was a week before graduation. We were in training and the lieutenant had us practicing with swords because he said he had nothing else to teach us. Atezor was with Wayne, and the girls were together. Which left me with Lieutenant Orwell, just like first time.


    "Let''s see if you''ve improved any since the start of term."


    He went in on the first attack, a slash to the right. I blocked with a slash to the left. His guard broke slightly and I went in for the attack. A slash to the right, one to the left. Everything I threw at him was blocked. I moved faster, jabbing and slashing. Nothing worked. I put everything into a single stroke and was knocked back. The lieutenant came back strong, barely letting me keep up.


    I waited for an opening, but nothing came. I blocked and parried everything I could but eventually he overwhelmed me and hit the wooden sword out of my hand.


    "You got better." He said.


    "Maybe. I still couldn''t beat you." I responded.


    "I''m more experienced. I''ve had far more years of training. But you lasted longer than countless opponents that I faced." He explained.


    He got a look on his face like he forgot something.


    "I forgot to tell you. You''re giving a speech at the end of term ceremony."


    I could feel the color draining from my face. A speech? I was terrible at speaking in front of audiences. I could barely speak to a single person.


    He continued. "You are the top student. It''s tradition for the top new student to close out the year with a speech. It''s doubly important for you because you are graduating."


    I didn''t say anything I just nodded.


    At the end of training, I silently went to dinner. Atezor and Wayne noticed my particularly foul mood and asked what was wrong.


    "Not saying that I saw it coming, but I''m surprised that you didn''t." Wayne said after I explained everything to them.


    "It''s not that I didn''t see it coming, I was avoiding thinking about and hoping I was wrong." I responded


    "That''s not a valid excuse. I noble should be prepared for anything," Atezor laughed, "besides, who ever heard of a Duke who couldn''t give speeches."


    "You''re not helping." I grumbled.


    "I''m not trying to help," he argued, "I''m trying to get you to face the facts and start writing your speech."


    With that, he got up left, taking Wayne with him. I sat there for a minute but then decided to go to bed.


    I was laying in bed for what seemed like days, never being able to fall asleep. I couldn''t stop thinking, worrying about what I was going to say.


    ''Fuck it.'' I thought at last. I wasn''t going to sleep with my mind going a hundred miles a minute. I decided to take a midnight stroll, regardless of curfew.


    I wandered around, seeing the shadows move strangely beneath the light of the pale halfmoon. I found a spot in the grass, near the courtyard, and decided to lie down, again peering at the glittering sky. I couldn''t get enough of it, I had seen it many times and yet my past life was so devoid of stars that I couldn''t help but be mesmerized by them.


    My thoughts calmed and I lay there peacefully doing nothing. Nothing but stare at the sky. I didn''t even notice that someone was approaching until they spoke.


    "The sky is beautiful isn''t it," said a feminine voice "I''ve never seen you here before. I come to this spot all the time."


    I sat up lazily and turned to look at the person behind me. It was a girl my age. With jet black hair like that, there was only one person it could be. The name Nightshade suited Leviah. She was always beautiful but the darkness brought that beauty to a whole new light. Her black hair shown with moonlight, and her dark blue eyes seemed almost violet. To me, in that moment, she outshined all the stars in sky.


    I realized that I was staring and sat back returning to my view of the sky. It was the only way I could have a normal conversation without tripping over my words and making a fool of myself.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    " I couldn''t get to sleep," I said in what I hoped be calm and steady voice "my thoughts were out of control."


    "So even the prodigal child gets overwhelmed with it all sometimes." She asked.


    "I wouldn''t say I was overwhelmed," I answered " I had too much to think about."


    "I know that feeling. I always come here when I can''t stop thinking, which is pretty often as it turns out." She related.


    "The stars always fascinated me. I could sit and stare for hours at a time as a kid. They have a way of calming the mind." I said, remembering what she told me in way of greeting.


    ''They really are beautiful.'' I thought.


    "I didn''t think someone like you could appreciate the stars."


    "Someone like me? What do you mean?" I asked, already knowing the answer. I was supposed to be the spoiled rich kid. The kid who gets everything handed to him and never had to work a day in his life. She was right but that didn''t mean I saw myself that way.


    "You don''t seem to care about anything. Everytime I see you, you''re either asleep or talking to those other boys. But I suppose if you get all your sleep in class you would be seeing the stars pretty often." She said.


    Multiple things stood out to me. One: she didn''t seem to be drawing conclusions about the fact that I was a noble. Two: despite never talking to me before this moment, she seemed to already be familiar enough with the fact that I sleep in class to make jokes about it.


    "We have classes together?" I asked.


    "We have every class together," She sighed "you never noticed because you always walked in half asleep, then sat through the lessons fully asleep."


    "You never said anything until now?"


    "It never came up. You never spoke to me until now." She said uncaringly.


    "I didn''t know how to start a conversation with someone who mostly kept to themselves."


    "I don''t like talking to people. It''s annoying to deal with them."


    "Tell me about it." I grumbled.


    "You don''t like people either?" She asked.


    "I don''t like curtain kinds of people. Mostly those brats that my father''s vassals brought over when they came to kiss his ass."


    "That would be annoying." At some point she moved from behind me and she was now sitting next to me. I tour my eyes from the heavens and looked at her. She was sitting with her hands behind her, supporting her as she leaned back to view the sky. Her hair flowed freely, almost obscuring her arms. The look on her enthralling face was that of peacefulness. She looked at home, sitting there contemplating the sky.


    "You don''t seemed annoyed by talking to me." I noticed.


    She took her eyes off stars, looking at me. Her eyes met mine and maintained eye contact. "You''re less annoying than I thought you would be. I almost didn''t even come over."


    "Why did you?" I asked


    "I don''t know," She sighed "I guess I just thought it would be nice to enjoy the stars with someone else for a change."


    "Were you right?"


    She broke eye contact and returned her gaze to the heavens. I did the same.


    "Mostly. At least I was. Until you started questioning me like a prisoner of war."


    I chuckled. "Sorry about that. I never really talked to anyone aside from my parents until I met Atezor and Wayne. My people skills are not the greatest."


    "Same, except I never made any friends like you did."


    "That must suck."


    "Not really, I enjoy being by myself."


    "Then why the hell did you think it would be nice to stargaze with someone else for a change? That''s what you said."


    "Because that person was a cute boy."


    I looked at her. Expecting to see the smirk of someone who was messing with me. She looked back at me, face completely devoid of humor. She was serious.


    "Makes sense," I tried to keep my face emotionless as I returned it skyward "I don''t mind stargazing with a cute girl myself."


    "Really?"


    "There are worse ways to spend my time."


    I played it of but if it wasn''t the middle of the night she could''ve seen that my face was as red as a Georgian neck.


    "Right," she said, feigning scepticism "it''s time for bed. You look like you''re about start class."


    Once she mentioned it, I did feel incredibly tired. I didn''t appreciate that she chose to say ''start class'' instead of ''pass out''. She was right but that didn''t mean that I had to like it.


    The next day I noticed Leviah in class. I couldn''t help but think about how she looked the night before. I sat in my seat and immediately went to sleep, almost out of spite.


    I saw her in all of my classes but neither of us acknowledged that anything happened last night. Soon enough it was time for training.


    I got there first just like always. Then Atezor and Wayne walked in together and sat close to me. We had a throwaway conversation while waiting for everyone to show up.


    Leviah walked in, but instead of ignoring our existence like usual, she looked at me and smiled. She walked over and leaned on the front of my desk, resting on her forearms.


    "I wanted to thank you for last night," she said softly "I had a great time."


    Without waiting for a response, she went to her usual spot, smiling slightly.


    Atezor looked at me. "I thought I told you to work on your speech," he scolded, also smiling slightly "but instead I find out that you went on a date with Miss Nightshade there?"


    Wayne chuckled at that then joined in. "For shame," he chastised "homework comes before your love life Mister Von Earlheight."


    the cleverest comeback I could think of was ''shut up''. I never thought she would say something like that in front of other people. I realized that she was antisocial, not completely awkward.


    Atezor finally stopped laughing for long enough to start gossiping. "So what did you last night? Leviah sure seemed to enjoy it."


    "Seemed? She just told me that she enjoyed it. And don''t worry about what we did," I told him "it isn''t any of your business."


    "I''ll ask Leviah later," He said "don''t expect me to help you with your speech. Not after this stunt."


    He laughed but kept his word. By the end of the week, he hadn''t even mentioned my speech. And I never even bothered writing it. Before I knew it, I was in my seat at the closing ceremony.


    I was in the front row sitting between Atezor and Leviah (Wayne was sitting on the other side of Atezor, opting to let me sit next to my ''girlfriend''). There was a sea of noise behind me.


    It was quickly quieted as my father took the stage. The same phenomenon as the opening ceremony, my father had a presence of authority that could could cause a room full of people to quiet as soon as he appeared to be about to speak.


    He cleared his throat and began.


    "It is the end of another great term. We have one hundred sixty seven graduates, five of which are graduating after only a single term. We typically end the year with a speech from the most promising student going to his or her second term, but this time, our most promising student is graduating. Before his speech, I would like to reiterate my words from the opening ceremony. We live in turbulent times, our kingdom is likely to be invaded sometime in the near future. Our top five first years have been trained to be officers, which will be vital in the times to come.


    " I won''t ramble on any further. Come up here Alfred Von Earlheight."


    Atezor grabbed me by the back collar of my shirt and pulled me to my feet. I was grateful because I would probably have just sat there, not believing that it was me who had to follow such a man as my father.


    I stumbled to the stage and cast a voice amplifying spell.


    "Um... I don''t really know what to say. I''ve never really given a speech before," I was surprised at how calm I felt, my nervous energy had seemed to disappear. I only felt a cold calm, and the words seemed to be speaking me instead of the other way around "I would tell you to do your best, but if your best hasn''t already been done you wouldn''t be here. I would say to work hard, but I would be a hypocrite. I didn''t get here by working hard; I''m here because I have natural skill and noble training. I would encourage those of graduating to be brave and strong in the face of danger, but I''ve never been in enough danger to know what that even means. I can''t encourage anyone to be better, because I have to think myself better to tell others to become that. But I can tell you that have no intention of backing down. I will do my best to be the best. These invaders will have no idea what hit them. There is a war to be had, let''s get waging."

 Scouting mission and the beginning

    Six months had passed since my speech, I was stationed at a small castle near the border with the other four. Nearly eighty percent of the elven troops stationed on our border had been pulled out of Doltia because of an unexpected problem. A necromancer had appeared in their lands and killed quite a few nobles in the forest. This caused a few problems for Doltia as well. With half the soldiers, the orcs and goblins were getting braver. Goblin scouts were appearing on a regular basis. The invasion seemed on the brink of starting.


    Dwarves reproduced slowly and only made up ten percent of the front lines. Meaning that Doltia would not only bear the brunt of the invasion but would be almost completely alone in defending itself. The elves couldn''t be counted on until the necromancer was defeated, but that was easier said than done.


    The five of us were still proving ourselves. Typically officers were the nobles that led men into battle but in the kings army officers were chosen by who distinguished themselves. The others and I had yet to do that. We were given tasks to complete. I helped mages train their attack magic, most graduated from the academy but were still weak in control. They knew the spells but still used incantations. I helped teach them to invision the spells (minus the science).


    Atezor trained the infantry in swordplay. Some had been trained as knights but most were commoners or beastman slaves.


    Wayne was surprisingly good at archery and helped train the archers.


    Enis trained the healers, and Leviah the summoners.


    It could be misconstrued that we were already officers because we were training men, but officers led men in battle, not exercises.


    Overall, the castle held two hundred troops, one hundred infantry, thirty cavalry, twenty archers, twenty five attack mages, fifteen summoners, and ten healing mages. All under the command of the newly promoted Commander Orwell. We were assigned by the king to hold the castle at all costs. It was a key point on the supply line to Castle Forgust to the east, which held twenty thousand men and was situated where the invasion force was most likely to attack from. Our castle named Fargarand was vulnerable to attack from the north but the forest around it was so thick that a force larger than a thousand would be too disorganized to take the castle, hence the small garrison. Fargarand protected a small farming village to the south which supplied it with wheat.


    One week the goblin sightings were far more frequent and the commander called the five of us to his office to receive orders.


    As soon as we arrived in his office he started talking. "I''ve known the five of you for a year and a half now. I know your skills and I''ve never trusted a group of children more. That''s why I need each of you take one of the best men that you trained and scout enemy movements. The increase in activity in the area makes me think they will try to sever the supply line to Forgust." He looked at us with the most serious look in his eyes that I had ever seen on him.


    "If you see even a single goblin or orc, don''t engage. Report back, do you hear me?"


    "Yes, commander." We chorused simultaneously.


    I already had a mage in mind. He was a fire mage with powerful attacks. Regerlus Artenius was a noble from the empire, but he was humble. His cunning would be an asset to the mission and his attacks would help us escape in case of ambush.


    I went to the training grounds and called Regerlus to me. "Artenius, I have been ordered to take my choice of mage on a scouting mission with the other officer trainees. Gather what you need. We will be gone no more than a week so pack accordingly."


    "Yes, sir." He said.


    I went to my quarters to pack. My storage spell could hold the more cumbersome things such as my clothing, but I had to remove my sword, which I strapped to my belt. Donning my traveling cloak, I went to retrieve Artenius.


    We made our way to the mess hall to acquire provisions and eat before we left at noon. After finishing, we went to the gate where Atezor and his swordsman had gathered ten horses. He explained that the commander had assigned a veteran that he trusted to accompany us. Enis would not bring a healer because there were not enough to spare.


    Once we had all gathered at the gates, we mounted our horses and rode north. It was around mid-autumn and the leave''s colors had turned to their usual oranges and reds. As we rode by, I didn''t pay much attention to the conversation, only the trees.


    Then the conversation shifted to me. Atezor was talking about how I had taught him everything he knew about swordplay. The soldier he brought had asked where he learned to use a sword like he did.


    "Really?" asked the soldier "if you got that good training with him, then why is he training the mages? Why not infantry?"


    Atezor laughed. "As good as he is with a sword, he''s five times better with magic. He got into the academy with a perfect score in every element."


    The soldier looked about a year younger than me. He had probably joined as soon as he came of age. If he had never heard of me then he was probably a commoner from the area bordering the empire. If Atezor had chosen him to accompany, than he must have been good enough to stand out.


    "Who is he? If he''s that good with magic, he must be a high ranking noble."


    "He is. He''s Alfred Von Earlheight son of the kings cousin." Atezor bragged.


    "Don''t talk about me like I''m supposed to be high and mighty. Here I''m just another officer in training." I interrupted.


    "Yes, I forgot. You don''t like people seeing you as a stuck up nobleman." He responded.


    "I don''t care how people think of me," I told him " I just hate people deferring to me based on who my father is."


    "Of course." He then went back to speaking to the soldier he brought.


    Artenius caught up to me and began talking. "You''re related to the king? Wouldn''t that make you royalty rather than a noble? All of the Emporer''s relatives live in the imperial palace."


    "It doesn''t work like that here. It''s true that I have royal blood, but the king assigns his most trusted relatives as powerful vassals, so he knows there won''t be any infighting when war breaks out," I explained "the idea is that lesser nobility would be eager to prove themselves rather than focus on the good of the kingdom."


    "The empire has been at peace for a hundred years. With Doltia on the border there is little risk of invasion unless Doltia falls. Our nobility is comprised of the oldest families. It seems you base your nobility based on magic power?"


    "It started out like that, but apart from whoever the new king appoints to be Duke, it''s based on hereditary rule. Since magic power is mostly hereditary, we never bothered to change the nobility to keep them as the strongest magic users. Now the nobility is old and rotting. It''s perfect for the orcs that they waited to invade. Now we''re at our weakest and their at their strongest."


    "You don''t seem to approve of your nobility system." He noticed.


    "I don''t. Let''s just leave it at that." I didn''t want to elaborate further. I felt like their were hostile ears listening to our conversations.


    My silent ride continued for another six miles north. Soon, night fell and we made camp beside the road that enemy forces would have to take if they were going to take the castle. We tied the horses deeper into the forest where they wouldn''t be visible from the road. Our tents were hid with illusion magic that I cast but I couldn''t hold it after I fell asleep so I would be on first watch.


    We made a fire and ate some of the provisions. Everyone was talking to each other and paying no mind to the dark forest around us. I was getting creeped out by the fact that I couldn''t see five feet the fire. I wasn''t in a very talkative mood and Atezor was the first to notice. He exited his conversation and moved to the spot of ground beside me.


    "You okay?" he asked "you aren''t your usual cheery self."


    I laughed. "Who accused me of being cheery? I''ll fight them myself." Somehow, my anxiety vanished with a few words from Atezor. He truly was the greatest friend I made in my new world.


    "Was there something bothering you?" He pressed.


    I decided to tell him the truth. "I don''t like the low visibility of the forest. Between the trees and the darkness, I doubt that a night vision spell would help much. Not being able to use their eyes is a humans greatest weakness."


    Atezor nodded. "Goblins have been scouting this area for weeks now. With an advantage in knowledge of terrain, we would be quite unaware of them until they are right next to us. But that comes with the mission, we''ll just have to deal with that when it happens. Until then, we can only conceal our presence and hope we do a good enough job of it."


    "I know that, but I''m not stupid enough to trust my illusion magic to conceal us forever. We need an escape plan."


    "We have one: if they show up, we fight. If there are too many to fight, we run like hell."


    Even if he did nothing else, Atezor had at least cheered me up. Soon everyone had gone to sleep and I started first watch. If an attack were to occur the invading army would move at night. Orcs were more effective during nighttime and had more energy. Due to the goblins, which were more active during the day, they could only move from the hours of dusk to three in the morning. Or so it was estimated. Doltia had very little information on enemy tactics and movements. Because of the estimation I would be on watch from eleven to three. Just about the estimated time range for enemy marches.


    As soon as everyone got into the tents, I put the fire out. I was on watch with Atezor but I would be stationed on the road, separate from him who would be in charge of guarding the camp. I hid in the bushes and activated night vision to keep an eye on the road.


    Nothing happened for a few hours. At around one in the morning, I heard something. It was getting closer until it came into view. I knew at once what I was hearing. The clatter of claws running across a paved road. Five heads came into my line of sight. They had green skin and pointed ears. Their noses were as pointed as their ears and extended three inches past their faces.They had mouths that seemed permanently stuck in devilish sneers. Goblins looked just they did in games, and if tradition held they would be easy sources of experience points.


    The goblins full torsos came into view and soon their mounts did too. Giant dire wolves bred for war, also known as wargs. They didn''t look anything like the overgrown hyenas depicted in Lord of The Rings. They had thick coats of grey fur and noble faces. They seemed to be creatures of some intelligence as well. Why they would ally themselves with creatures such as goblins was beyond my comprehension.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The goblins I could take on, no problem. But if I was forced to kill a warg, I might have never recovered emotionally. I had to act quickly, despite the longevity of the goblin''s noses they had nothing in the way of smell. But I doubted that the wargs weren''t already aware of my presence.


    As they approached, I sent a shockwave of lightning magic into the group. The wargs were paralyzed immediately but goblins seemed to have a resistance to electricity. The five of them were thrown from their mounts and landed ungracefully on street, two rolling further than ten feet away from the wargs.


    Atezor heard the commotion and came rushing to help. I emerged from the bushes and pointed at the two furthest from me. He nodded in affirmation and drew his sword while he slowly advanced. I drew my own and approached the three closest to the wargs. The goblins were already recovering. I used binding magic on the wargs (I just couldn''t bring myself to kill such beautiful creatures.)


    One of the goblins growled. "Humans. This should be fun." The others cackled.


    "Tasty! Tasty!" They chanted in unison.


    I returned an arrogant grin. "If you want a meal, your going to have to come and get it." I pointed my sword at each of them.


    One said to the others. "This human thinks highly of himself."


    Another responded. "Good. Nobles have the best meat."


    the three cackled in unison. They were really starting to get on my nerves.


    I made the first move, teleporting behind one and cleaving his head from his shoulders. His body fell to the ground and the other two turned and jumped back. One drew his short sword, which was more of a long dagger for my height. He lunged toward me and thrusted. My sword was too long counter as such close range so I sidestepped and kicked the goblin in the small of his back, sending him stumbling forward and losing his balance.


    I turned to the other goblin and he barely caught my overhead strike on his sword. I raised my sword and did another overhead stike. I didn''t bother changing my attack and the goblin was soon overpowered and lying dead at my feet, head split down the middle. Behind me, the goblin had regained his footing.


    I lunged at him in the same thrusting motion he had tried against me. It was not countered, instead my blade entered his gut. I could feel his flesh being broken against the edge of my sword, the vibrations of the handle gave me an intimate knowledge how deep the sword was. The feeling was unpleasant at first but as his torso reached the guard I was strangely enjoying the feeling. I had never understood how someone could be bloodthirsty, I never enjoyed the thought of killing in my old life, but that when there were only humans and animals. Neither of which would I even think of killing out of anything other than self defense. But in my new world, there were creatures of significant intelligence that would actively hunt humans into extinction. I didn''t think I could relish the thought of killing them, but I wasn''t going to let them have their way.


    As I pulled my sword from the goblin, however, my heart longed for more blood. I stabbed him again once he fell to ground. The goblin was still alive. Again, was he still alive? Again, he may yet live. I kept stabbing the goblin. The feeling was intoxicating, I couldn''t get enough of it. Was that how it felt to take a life? The feeling of bloodlust was greater than anything I ever felt.


    I stabbed the goblin''s corpse over and over. I may have laughed. It was a side of myself I had never seen before, but it only terrified me later.


    Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. "The creature is dead Alfred. You can stop killing it now." Atezor''s voice snapped me back to reality. The red I hadn''t noticed in my vision had vanished.


    I looked at the goblin but all I saw was a mangled patch of red. I didn''t know how I could justify stabbing a corpse twenty eight times. The horror of my actions came to me in a wave that hit like a truck. I fell to my knees and sat on my feet, leaning forward I rested on my forearms. I pressed my forehead on the ground.


    "I''m sorry." I didn''t know who I was apologizing to.


    Atezor said something that I couldn''t comprehend at the moment.


    "I''m sorry." I repeated. Tears began to fall on to the stones of the road.


    I stayed there, crying and apologizing to no one in particular until Atezor placed his hand on my shoulder and guided me into a kneeling position. He looked into my eyes and punched me directly in the face.


    "Get a hold of yourself. You lost control, it happens. Get over it." His words were harsh but they gave me what I needed. I even forgave him for punching me.


    "I''m sorry," I said, sounding like a broken record,bit that time I knew who I was apologizing to. "I''m better now. Thanks."


    "No problem. I don''t know what came over you but you need get control of it. Rage clouds your mind and you can only fight with a clear head," He nodded at the wargs behind me "what are we gonna do with them?"


    "I don''t know. They looked so noble that I couldn''t bring myself to kill them." I told him.


    One looked at Atezor. "You seem weaker than your friend, but you know how to control his bloodlust. It''s no wonder the two of you defeated our riders so easily."


    It then turned its eyes to me. "You said we looked like noble creatures. You couldn''t be further from the truth. We were raised for war by our masters, so war is all we know. We blindly serve those who raised us because they allow us to satisfy our lust for blood. The lust that was instilled in us from birth. The same lust I sense in you. We are not noble creatures, we are like you: animalistic creatures seeking only to kill. We are no more than servants to our desires. Maybe you would be a better master than those weaklings. You could provide far more blood for us to spill than those goblins."


    I was just getting over the fact that the warg could speak when his words sunk in. "You want to serve me?" I asked.


    "Indeed." He confirmed.


    "How can I be sure you aren''t just trying to save your own life?"


    "I am trying to save my life. But I meant every word I said."


    "What is your name, creature?" I asked.


    "I have none. My masters never bothered to give me one."


    "Then I name you Lupeus and bind you to my will." I released the spell restraining Lupeus and turned to the other wargs.


    "Does Lupeus speak for all of you?" I questioned.


    I general murmur of consent came from them. It seemed that they saw Lupeus as their Alpha and only allowed the goblins to ride them in hopes that they would get to fight something. Now that I had subjugated the alpha, they saw me as the alpha.


    It seemed that wargs used shadow magic, a form of dark magic that allowed them to be summoned from and morphed into shadows. I let them disappear into the shadows so I didn''t have to compromise the mission with my new pets.


    We explained the events to second watch but left out the true reason that one of the goblins was so mangled. Simply saying that the wargs tore him apart after changing sides. I couldn''t get any sleep after everything that happened so it seemed that the illusion would hold until morning. When third watch went out, I was getting tired of repeating recent events in my head, so I decided to sit with whoever was on camp guarding duty until morning.


    As I emerged from the tent, I heard a voice. "I knew you were awake," said the voice " the illusion was still up."


    "I couldn''t sleep," I said to leviah "did second watch tell you what happened?"


    "They told us the same lie that you told them." She responded.


    "You saw through that story?" I asked.


    "You would be laying awake if all that happened was an encounter with goblins." She told me.


    "You''re too smart for your own good."


    "So what actually happened?" She inquired. I moved closer and sat opposite to her around the relit fire.


    I told her everything. About the fight, about me losing control, and about the blissful feeling I had that carved a hole in my humanity. I fully expected her to be revolted. I was waiting for her to tell me to get the hell away from her. I was prepared to hear words of scorn and disgust. But when I finished, the only thing she said was, "oh."


    Then she did something I didn''t expect: she got up and sat in my lap facing me. She embraced me in her arms, and she squeezed harder as I hugged her back. There was nothing romantic about the moment, just a friend comforting her friend. How could she be so calm when I was terrified, I was afraid that, in a major battle, I would lose control again and go to far to come back. I may have already gone to far. How could I live with myself.


    I sunk deeper in her arms, resting my head on her shoulder.


    "What if I go to far?" I asked "what if I lose my humanity in the heat of battle?"


    "If you go to far, I will be there to pull you back. Even if your humanity is gone, I can try to retrieve it for you."


    I didn''t know if I felt any better but she did succeed in comforting me. Maybe a little too much.


    I sighed. "Thanks for that, Leviah. I feel better now."


    I let go of her. She stayed in place, not letting go. She leaned back and looked me in the eye. I''ve never seen such a look in a girl''s eyes before. It seemed like the perfect moment to kiss her. I simply wasn''t in a very romantic mood. How could I be? I let the moment pass and averted my gaze. The look in her eyes shifted to disappointment...no, not disappointment. This was something more. Not sadness but...what? I was confused. Was she feeling rejected?


    She let go of me and stood up. She walked back to the other side of the fire and sat down.


    "You should try to get some sleep." Her voice was cold, the scathing voice I expected to hear after I told her about losing control.


    I didn''t argue, there was more than ice in her voice. There was a hint that she was holding back tears. I returned to my tent with even more problems than when I left it. Was it my fault that she was crying silently outside my tent or was it her timing?


    The rest of the mission passed in relative silence. Despite the scuffle at the beginning, nothing came to see what happened to the goblins. Either they didn''t care, or they were used to scouts not coming back. It didn''t matter to me, no orcs were good orcs.


    We packed up camp at noon and prepared for the thirty mile journey to the south. I wasn''t in any mood to talk, my first night had ruined all the fun that was in it for me. Leviah was also gloomy (more so than usual), and our moods affected the entire group. The ride was silent and long. At full speed, we could have made it back by nightfall, but at the rate we were going we would have to stop to make camp. It''s funny how a mood can affect motivation to return somewhere.


    The ride was long and boring. I sat on my horse, blankly staring at the forest I had thought so beautiful just six day before. No one said a word and no one bothered. Atezor started to say something but a sharp look from Leviah cut him off. I believed that meant she was still mad, she was even lashing out at people who weren''t involved.


    I was personally over the incident at the campfire. She chose the wrong moment to something that would''ve been great any other time. My thoughts were on my actions during the fight with the goblins. I was still horrified by my actions, but I was more focused on not letting it happen again.


    The ride continued in silence at first the silence was deafening but soon it became an asset. During the early evening a sound was heard behind us. A rumbling was vibrating on the road. The sound of an army approaching.


    They were approached with too much speed and we were too far from the castle to make it on our already worn horses. We decided to hide under an illusion in the forest. It wouldn''t hide our scent from the wargs but hopefully they would be more focused on thought of fighting a big battle than killing a few humans.


    The question on everyone''s mind was why the orcs would be making a move so early. Orcs were creatures of darkness and they were supposed to act accordingly. Why they would be marching during light hours was unknown. Suddenly the answer came tome and I started to say something, but at that moment, the first orc came into view.


    The orcs face was nothing like the fantasy adaptations on earth, and after seeing the real thing I understood why. Not even the grotesque creatures in Lord of the Rings began to approach the true horror of such unnatural creatures. The one was looking at was more muscular than the most roid-raging body builder, his face was most human except for the tusks protruding from it''s mouth. It''s nose had a ring made from mithril, and it had golden gadges in it''s ears. The horror came, not from ugliness, but from the idea of having to fight it.


    It was riding a warg that was larger than Lupus by one and a half times. Even it seemed to be struggling under the weight of the massive orc riding on it. The warg turned it head toward the spot where we were hiding and began sniffing the air.


    The orc riding it got curious. "What do you smell, war-wolf?" It asked in Argish, the language of the orcs. I only understood it because I was tutored in Argish as well as Imperial, under the assumption that it would be an asset were we to go to war during my lifetime.


    "Nothing, leader. Just some scurrying rats. Nothing important enough to distract from taking the castle by morning." Answered the warg in the same language.


    The rest of the army marched closely behind the orc that was very obviously their commander. The rest of the orcs weren''t as bulky or intimidating, the goblins even weaker than them. About eight hundred in all: two hundred fifty goblins, one hundred fifty orcs, and four hundred wargs.


    They soon passed and we were in the clear. We emerged after about twenty minutes and began discussing our plan of action. We could keep going or we could stop for the night. If we kept going, there was the chance that we would get caught up in the army''s movements. Camping for the night would risk being caught if the army decided to return tomorrow. After I told them that the warg said that they planned on taking the castle by tomorrow we decided to send a messenger pigeon and keep going. Hopefully we wouldn''t return to a ruined castle, or that the potentially defeated force was too large for us to fight.


    We mounted our horses in a formation that set our most powerful attackers in the front, and our most skilled magic users in the back. The apprentices of Atezor and Leviah were in the front with Artenius. I, Atezor, and Wayne were in the second row. Wayne''s apprentice was in the back row with Leviah and Enis, leaving the Captain to bring up the back of the formation. This formation was designed to allow for speed dismounting in case of an encounter with the enemy. The horses weren''t war horses, so they were likely to be spooked and run off.


    the ride had suddenly gone from oppressingly silent to silence filled with tension. No one dared to break the silence. The ride probably lasted all night, we started to get closer to the castle.