Book 1 - Keith

Chapter 1 - Prologue ( The Test )

In a great castle, located in the middle of a gigantic city, a young boy was restlessly sleeping. He was tossing and turning inside his bed, constantly mumbling. Outside his room, every so often, the sound of great thunder crashing through the sky could be heard. The rain was slamming against his window; it was such a heavy storm that it was almost impossible to see anything while outside. After a few hours of struggling against the storm, the glass window of the boy’s room –which only nobility possesses –finally ceased its struggles. Giving way to the tyrannical storm outside, the glass shattered inwards through the interior of the room. The child was startled awake, screaming alongside the sound of thunder and shattering glass.

The first thing the boy checked immediately after screaming and waking up was the bed located opposite of his. He was used to the reassuring smile of his older brother facing him when something was off, but instead, all that faced him was an empty bed. He was confused for a split second why his brother wasn’t in his bed in the middle of the night, but just when he remembered, the door to his room was slammed open.

“Keith, what happened?!”

Choking back his tears because of the fresh memories that were brought up again at the sight of the empty bed, the boy –Keith, was unable to respond properly. “T-The window,” he stammered, pointing at the window.

“Oh, it shattered,” the older man grumbled. “This won’t do, there’s glass all over the floor. Fortunately, none of it hit you. Come,” he said, waving his hand. “Let’s get you out of here, you should be able to rest in one of the many guest rooms.”

Keith turned to look at the only person whom he could truly trust. He was considered tall, standing at nearly 2 meters high. He had broad shoulders, and his renowned great sword was hanging at his waist. This ex-knight was called Dillim. His name shook the continents years ago, when he was in his prime. He was the most famous knight at the time, mostly known for his strength, while his unwavering loyalty came close second. He was the king’s most precious knight at the time.

Dillim walked towards Keith, and stretched out his hand. “Come.” Dillim was a man of few words, his ever-serious face was a perfect match for that behavior. Keith raised his arm, and quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Have you been crying? I told you many times already, Keith. Men don’t cry.”

“B-But… no one has found brother yet,” Keith mumbled. Keith would turn ten in a few days, but in these ten years, he had always relied upon his older brother. Every time Keith would ask someone where his brother disappeared to, they would just smirk. Remembering their behavior, and how long he looked for his brother on his own without results, he couldn’t help but to grow furious. “They weren’t even looking for him! Even my other brothers didn’t care!” He yelled.

For a split moment, a sad look could be seen flashing through Dillim’s eyes. “It’s useless Keith. He has already gone away to a far place.” He knew that Keith wouldn’t yet fully understand what happened to the brother he was so close to. “It’s better if you forget him, you will meet him again eventually.” Dillim had to swallow down his upcoming grief. Even though the past years had hardened him, he still couldn’t bear to fully tell Keith the truth.

“Really? Like, really, really? You aren’t lying, are you? I will really see him again, right?” Like most kids, Keith’s mood was very vulnerable to fast changes. Instead of his sad appearance after waking up, he was starting to brim with a little bit of enthusiasm again. He wasn’t sleepy at all after waking up because of the shock, so he continued speaking as fast as a hawk would go down to catch his prey. “Hah, I know where he went! He’s probably secretly going on a journey, trying to improve his skills!” Keith was back to his usual appearance, brimming with vigor. “Humph!” he hummed, “I knew brother was afraid of my talent! He’s scared that I will easily surpass him when I continue learning the sword.” Keith was filling in the gaps of the story Dillim provided him, letting his imagination run wild.

“Get up, this mess of a room isn’t fitting for a prince to sleep in.”

Keith eyed the left hand Dillim was still holding up. He had heard from his older brother that the mighty Dillim had once fought singlehandedly against a dragon to protect his father, but he lost his right hand in the process. His brother had gone on about how he was quickly kicked out from the highest Royal Knight division. Dillim had been the strongest knight without doubt, but with the loss of his dominant hand, that quickly changed. But because of his previous splendor, he was eventually assigned to protect Keith.

Keith stood up from his bed and smiled at Dillim. “Okay,” he beamed, giving Dillim a wide grin. He then proceeded to grab his hand and they walked out of the room.

***

In the morning after the storm, Keith was sleeping quite deeply. The previous night’s conversation with his sworn protector, Dillim, had already given him a peace of mind.

“Wake up, ‘bad luck thirteen’, you have to dress up appropriately and clean yourself before you stand in front of the King. You can’t let us brothers lose face.” A voice came through the door of the guest room, waking up Keith. Shortly after, his 7th brother came barging in. “Even though your talent will probably be at rock bottom, you will still look like a prince at least. I hope they’ll send you away, then I won’t have to fac–” firing insult after insult at Keith, his 7th brother suddenly quit talking mid-sentence. He had felt an ominous presence behind him, immediately shutting him up.

“W-What do you want?” He looked behind him and saw Dillim standing there. He didn’t say anything, but his presence was enough to shut up the 7th Prince. “Hah,” he sneered, “It’s not like you can do anything to me,” the 7th Prince said, walking back the way he came. He avoided Dillim and ran out of the room, leaving a few mocking words on his way. “J-Just get him ready, he won’t be able to do it properly by himself anyway!”

“Why won’t you ever say anything in return Keith? You know you have to stand up for yourself. Don’t let your brothers walk all over you,” Dillim said, reprimanding Keith. Dillim’s expression hadn’t changed the moment he came in, observing everything with his eternal poker face.

“B-But Dillim… they’re my brothers. I don’t get why they would say those things to me. We all have the same father. Why do they keep calling me ‘bad luck thirteen’?” Keith just eyed the sheets of his bed. He had struggled with the same thing a lot of times through his nine years. He was the 13th Prince, but because of the church’s influence, most of his brothers would call him ‘bad luck thirteen’.

“It’s because your brothers are fools,” Dillim said. He was the only one who Keith had ever heard badmouth his brothers. All the other people in the castle would only flatter them. The only one they stayed away from was Keith. This was because he was unlucky to be born as 13th. He was still too young to understand why and how the church had influenced people to hate this number. The only thing he did understand was that people didn’t like him. He understood deep inside, that it wasn’t because they didn’t like his character, but because of the number stuck upon him. He was a little bitter, because he couldn’t understand why the people around him wouldn’t give him a simple chance. But nevertheless, he had never shown any of his somber thoughts on his face. He was always considered an explosion of enthusiasm, but because of the superstition, people only regarded this as odd.

“The only brothers who weren’t, have all gone away on a journey,” Dillim continued. Keith’s favorite older brother –the one he couldn’t find –was also included with them. He had never believed the superstition regarding the number, and always supported Keith. Dillim knew all too well, but Keith was far too young to understand that the brothers ‘who had gone away on a journey’ had all been victims in the struggle for the throne. It was because of this that Dillim lost the previous prince he was sworn to protect. That’s why he was assigned to Keith later. “Get out of bed. You will have your audience in a few hours. You must pay your respects to the King.”

“Yes, Dillim.” Seeing Dillim’s ominous face, he quickly jumped out of bed and dressed up. He picked up a simple robe which a servant had already readied for him. He had once heard from his brother that Dillim didn’t used to be like this. Keith was told that Dillim was always vigorous and positive, always finding the best solutions to problems. But deep in his heart, Keith had always been a little afraid of Dillim, so he had never dared to ask him if that was true and why he had changed.

Keith left the guest room he had been sleeping in, and quickly walked through the big corridors. There were a lot of decorations on the walls, from famous swords and shields, to the most magnificent dragon bones. The castle was located in the royal capital of Lirix. Although Lirix was one of the smallest countries of the continent, their military power was equal to the biggest country. This also had to do with the fierce struggle for the crown. Every generation was the same, all the princes would engage in a blood bath, with the most fierce and vigorous prince ascending to the throne.

Keith reached the room he was looking for, and walked in after knocking a few times. A few servants were waiting for him there, with a lot of clothes behind them. Keith could feel the warmth coming from a bath filled with hot water behind another door within the room too. “Ah, the Little Prince has finally arrived,” a servant said. “Let’s get to work.”

What followed was that the servants started to try out different clothes on Keith. They were the ones responsible for the garments of the people who would have an audience with the king. After washing Keith, they quickly dried him up and selected the most fitting attire they could find on him.

“You look very dashing, Prince,” an older maid said, smiling cheekily. Keith didn’t know what to say, and simply mouthed a silent ‘thank you’, while starting to blush. The maid knew Keith was vulnerable to these kind of compliments, so she liked to tease him. A majority of the people would not like to interact with him because of the number that he could never escape, but some of the servants liked to talk to the boy. This was because he was so different from most of the other princes.

After they had finished washing and dressing him up, they waited for him to finish eating. A servant had come in a while ago with a simple plate of food. Keith consumed his food with vigor, anticipating his audience with the king. After he finished his food, the head servant entered his room. “It’s time”, he announced. “Dillim, Little Prince, please follow me to the King.”

Keith was urged by the head servant to follow him, and they left the room. Keith was very nervous, he was constantly fidgeting and had his head lowered. He had only met the king a few times, and most of them was in the presence of his brothers. He couldn’t remember ever speaking with the king in a one on one situation.

They finally reached a colossal door, which would normally remain in an opened state, but it was closed today. Every time there would be a ceremony or special occasion, the door would be closed. This way, the people who would enter the room lying behind it, could make a grand entrance.

The head servant’s hand lighted up, and he waved his hand at the door. The big door shook a little, but then it proceeded to slowly open. Keith felt a light tap on his shoulder, and was urged by the Head servant to enter. He stumbled a little bit, but after Dillim placed his left hand on his shoulder for a moment, he found the courage to walk steadily.

Keith entered the Royal Throne Room, and steadily walked on. There were a lot of familiar faces to his sides, while there were a lot of unknown faces too. Most of the nobles had come to the Palace for this special occasion. All of the royal family was present too. He could see all of his brothers standing to the far-off side of the king. They all seemed to be smirking at something, silently joking with each other.

After he had shortened the distance between him and the king by half, Dillim suddenly halted his approach, and knelt down. Keith knew he was supposed to walk on until he would only be separated from the king by a few meters. He closed the distance, and took a split moment to observe the king.

He appeared to be radiating an aura of total domination. As if he would destroy everything in his path. He looked to be in his younger thirties, but he was already nearing fifty. He had clear blue eyes and was calmly sitting on his throne. He was wearing a beautiful crown and cape, but there was one thing that was even more noticeable. It was his infamous weapon, the ‘Emperor’s Sword’. It was a family heirloom that was passed down from generation upon generation, and no one knew of the exact origins of the sword. But when wielded by the Dominus bloodline –the royal blood line, it would be able to unleash a wrathful aura along with incomparable sword energy. Of course Keith had heard about this magnificent weapon, but observing it in person was still different. It sent shivers down his spine.

When Keith came to, he quickly fell down on one knee. “The Thirteenth Prince, Keith Dominus, pays respects to the almighty King! Long Live the King, Long Live the King!” He quickly chanted. He had waited for a split second before kneeling down, but he had heard of servants being cut down for less. Luckily, he had only been enchanted for a split second, which people very easily linked to his rumored lack of intelligence. They all thought that because of the number thirteen he was doomed to fail at everything and that he probably had been born with a low amount of wit.

“Hmm, so Little Thirteen will almost turn ten,” the king boomed. His voice almost felt like it was empowered magically, that’s how deep it sounded. The sounds pierced everyone present, and some people’s faces even turned ashen for a moment. “I hope you will make a fine candidate for the throne, Little Thirteen. It’s finally time for your test. Prepare yourself.”

All the princes of the Dominus bloodline have to partake in an ancient test. It had been passed down from generation to generation. This way the potential successors could be filtered from the garbage. The king would heavily invest in talented sons, while completely neglecting the other sons.

A servant hastened to Keith’s location. He was carrying a sword with both his hands, and urged Keith to take it. This was the Sword of the Tested. It would be able to ensure that the one being tested would be able to awaken his full potential for a split second when in danger.

The servant handed over the sword to Keith, and sped away. Keith tested the weight of the sword in his hand, it was too heavy to swing multiple times, but it was still quite bearable to simply lift it up. Keith knew what was to come. He was about to be tested by his father.

It was a cruel test; the current king would use the Emperor’s Sword to strike at the prince being tested. If they managed to awaken their potential because of the Sword of the Tested; by dodging, parrying, or blocking the strike completely, then they would be regarded as heavenly princes. Those princes would be looked up to everywhere they went within the capital. The king would also fully invest in these princes. All to ensure that his military will stay the most powerful.

Everything in this kingdom was ruled by strength. Unfairness didn’t exist, it was simply strength that mattered.

Keith was ready.

He had waited a long time for this test to come. He had always appeared joyful on the outside, but deep inside he had always yearned for recognition from his father, his brothers, and everyone else. This test was the ideal way to show everyone what he was made off. That he was more than a simple number thirteen.

Keith took a stance, feeling how he transferred his center of weight on his feet. He took the sword in both hands, and readied it above his head.

“Come,” Keith said, his eyes shining.

The king just grinned and then he simply swung his sword. There was no special technique, no magical incantations, and no mysterious symbols. It was simply a single sword strike from more than 10 meters away.

The Emperor’s Sword shined in the king’s hand for a split second when he slowly swung it. It looked like even the air was forced to avoid the sword, and everything was forced to give way to this tyrannical object. Right before the sword lit up, a prince nodded at an old man in the audience. The old man only looked gloomy, but he still nodded back. The old man’s hand lit up for a split second, transferring some mana to a certain spell. He then waited for the moment the sword would light up, and already aimed his spell at Keith.

A crushing energy had manifested itself the moment the king swung the sword. It looked like a beam of light in the form of a straight line. It was directly flying at Keith, parting the air in its way. Keith knew that it would be incomparably difficult to completely block or avoid the energy. There have only been an extremely small number of heavenly princes in every generation. But if a prince was able to block most of the force, and then endure the rest with his body, he would still be considered a top tier prince. These princes all had high potential.

Keith knew that he had to at least fully block the energy, or a big part of it. If he would only be able to deflect a small part, then he would be considered someone with low potential. This is something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Seeing the sword energy nearing him, he yelled with all his might. Then he struck down with his sword, his idea to clash with the energy. But never would he have thought that suddenly his whole body would stiffen. He wasn’t able to move at all, and the sword energy passed below his arms –which were still raised high. The sword energy directly struck his chest, making him spit out blood, and dropping the sword he was just wielding.

He flew backwards a few meters, dropping heavily to the ground.

“Garbage!” The king yelled. There had been a high amount of low potential princes who would only be able to block a small part of the sword energy. But there had almost never been a prince who wouldn’t block anything at all, and would simply be struck down.

Dillim rushed towards Keith in an instant, and as soon as Keith hit the ground, Dillim had already reached him. “Quick! A mage, heal him!” Keith was already convulsing and more blood was spit out by him. If no one would resolve his current situation, then he would die within a few minutes.

The same old man who interacted with one of the princes in the crowd, left his place and gracefully walked towards Keith. When he was about to reach him, Dillim menacingly looked at him and inquired with his gaze.

“No worries, no worries,” the old man chuckled calmly. “I am a certified mage, if you don’t let me handle him, then he will die without any doubt.”

Dillim quickly made way for the old man and slightly bowed. The old man put his palms on Keith’s chest, and silently started chanting. After he finished his chants, his hands lit up in a split second. Shortly after, the light was transferred from his hands to Keith’s body. The old man watched the gaping wound on Keith’s chest heal, while he softly whispered, “I’m sorry Prince, this is the least I can do. He forced my hand, you see.” He mumbled it so softly that no one had heard it. They all thought it was part of his chant.

Seeing how Keith’s wound was healing at a fast rate, a court mage who stood behind the king exclaimed suddenly, “What fast speed! He’s absorbing the energy and turning it into life energy at an extremely fast rate! Even though that mage has transferred energy to him, it can’t suddenly be converted that fast! But he’s quite quick!” The court wizard stepped forward and spoke directly to the King. “Sire, he has no combat potential at all, but I think he might be able to become a wizard! Please let him be my disciple!”

Normally, the wizard wouldn’t have even bothered to look at Keith. Most wizards thought that they stood the closest to God, that’s why they were all heavy believers. But looking at the potential Keith might have, he forgot all about the number thirteen he was branded with.

The king turned towards the court mage and viciously looked at him. “What are you saying? Mage? Discipline? You, filthy mage, do you want me to lose face?!” He yelled heavily, then he continued, “Do you think that the Dominus bloodline will shelter a mage? HA! Dream on!”

The court mage realized the mistake he had made. He had been extremely cunning and clever to make it to his position. The Dominus bloodline had never sheltered a single mage, and to even rise in ranks as a mage at the side of the king was extremely difficult. But now that he proposed to make a prince a mage, he knew that he had said something that might have caused unrepairable damage.

The King’s sword flashed, and right at the moment the court wizard was about to drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness, the sword reappeared. The only thing dropping to the floor was the lifeless body of the mage.

“Hmph,” the king snorted, “A true emperor’s weapon is the sword! There have been no mages in the past who have ever accomplished something as great as someone of the knights from my bloodline. Do you really think our blood line will drop so low to pick up something like magic?”

Magic was heavily looked down upon in the country Lirix. They had some uses for magic, but real warfare was made by the soldiers, who all wielded melee weapons. All the people in the country that picked up magic were generally looked down upon. Not necessarily because of its might, but because of its principles. There were other countries where magic was the main weapon, who were just as strong as Lirix, but the points of view differed completely. The king had no doubt that the minor inconvenience the court mage’s death would cause him, was worth striking him down for suggesting that an heir would become a mage.

Dillim was already holding Keith, frowning heavily. He thought that now that the prince miserably failed his test, he would surely be abandoned. Maybe the king would even kill Keith, because he might feel like he would lose face if it became known that one of his princes is utmost garbage.

That moment, someone suddenly spoke up. “Father, we might as well follow his suggestion.” When the king heard that, he started to heavily frown upon his son. “Wait, let me explain,” one of the princes said, before quietly continuing, “We should send him to a foreign country to study magic. That way we’ll be able to have a country owe us a favor because we’re letting them hold a prince hostage. But we can simply abandon him, because he’s garbage anyway. Then we’ll finally get rid of that bad omen, the number thirteen might bring us bad luck at any moment.”

The one who spoke, was the 2nd prince. He was a heavenly prince; having completely blocked his father’s strike when he was nine years old. He was also the most promising and charming prince, thus his arrogant father actually considered most of his opinions. When he realized his son was almost as cunning and vicious as he was, he started to favor him even more.

“Alright, you heard him,” the king said, waving to the ministers standing behind him. “Take care of this matter. You’re all dismissed. I’m leaving first, for I have things to attend to,” he said to the crowd. “Also, someone take care of that mess over there, I don’t want his blood to dirty the throne room’s floor.” The king’s voice thundered through the room, while he stood up and left through a door in the back. His personal quarters were located there.

Dillim scowled at everything that had transpired, but he was still content. He knew that Keith would be used as a bargaining chip, and abandoned when deemed unnecessary. He was able to hear the 2nd Prince talk through his superior hearing. But if Keith would be sent away, then it would be possible for him to escape the fight for succession of the throne, and this way, he could escape the same fate as his less fortunate brothers. It was strictly forbidden for the princes to commit fratricide, but sometimes they still managed to find a way that didn’t implicate themselves.

Keith had a serene look on his face, even after receiving that dreadful blow. He had received a sufficient amount of energy and his wounds had already healed. The energy felt like a bliss and he was peacefully sleeping.

Little did he know; that this was the event that set him upon his Martial Road, shaking the whole world with his path.

****

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.

Some things may still seem strange, but I will explain them in more detail in due time. If you have any constructive critiscm, I would love to read it.

-Tensaiz