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Chapter 10: Culture Shock

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To continue some derived lessons from my previous life:

Lesson 7: Try to be more Accepting.

In the spirit of Acceptance let me proclaim that I am not a Human in the body of a Vnora; I am a Vnora of the Knora with the memories of a Human.

Perhaps the Norr may be able to relate to the human form but having experienced the body of a Knora I can only see humans as feeble, wretched and pathetic; not worth basing your paradigm on.

In the body of a Vnora I have Power a human mind can never comprehend. My previous life is relevant only in that I can draw lessons from it. The science of this world is at the level of mid 20th century Earth; though it’s called magical science. It is all too obvious that the magical component of the science is at a level that to some extent exceeds 21st century Earth. The availability of Magic has made certain scientific avenues redundant and in so doing stopped certain developments.

According to the memories of my genetic father guns were made redundant by the fact that they can’t penetrate the demonic aura of the primary threat, internal combustion engines lost out to Ether Powered engines and radiation somehow reacts with the ether to transform into harmless light energy. The local star is a blue Super-giant and is apparently responsible for the ambient Ether. Consequently most of the technology is Ether Powered and most of the weapons are Mana Powered.

It always bothered me why the people of this world didn’t develop nuclear weapons to counter the hordes of demons; the answer being there are no radioactive materials anywhere in the system because of the Ether being produced by the local Sun. That means the pervasive Ether makes it near impossible to enrich materials anywhere near weapons grade, and even if you managed to build a nuclear bomb there’s no guarantee it would actually work against the stronger demons.

The people of this world have not been sitting on their hands waiting for a saviour and have steadily pushed the magical research forward to develop Mana Powered weapons. The success of holding off the demon armies for 500 years is proof of their effort, but they know that if they are to flourish they have to take the fight to the demons on the Orrba continent. Sealing the World Gate is the only way to guarantee victory. Although there’s a possibility the demons can open another gate.

I for one think the only way to beat the demons is to find their natural enemy; if demons are real then the angels must be real.

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After that Ranking Contest there was a large feast where the Knora showed some of their more uncivilized side; getting stupid drunk and flaunting public displays of affection.

Here’s the thing; I can understand a little PD or some kissing and hugging and even some groping.

But that’s not what we’re talking about here.

Oh no!

That’s not what was happening right before our eyes like it’s the most natural thing.

Have you ever seen wild animals getting busy?

That’s when it hit me that the Knora are more beastlike; having cultural practices normally seen in wild animals with no sense of modesty. I finally understood why my genetic father and all the other races regarded the Knora as primitive barbarians. The behaviour of the Knora can easily be misconstrued as reminiscent of animalistic tendencies. The love for hunting is a predatory trait, the competitive rankings are in a sense a competition for the best mate and the public copulation is what it is.

The public sex I witnessed on that day helped me understand that the Knora had no sense of modesty and there was no religious nonsense to prohibit that kind of behaviour.

On closer examination I understood that the married Knora didn’t participate in public sex, and the culprits are the unattached Knora; primarily young Knora. The ones participating in the public orgy are 11 to 20 year olds; Knora about to depart for the tour of duty in the military for the mandatory 4 years of service, those returning from 4 years of Orro Federation military service and those still enjoying the freedom from the undoubtedly harrowing time in the Orro Federation military.

Mother understood our shock at the spectacle and properly explained that only the Royal Family is prohibited from participating in these orgies because there was a requirement to preserve the quality of the Royal Bloodline. That meant that almost every Knora would participate in these orgies at some point in their lives. Even if someone got pregnant it’s not a big deal in the female orientated society since the male doesn’t get to choose the females in the harem; they’re chosen by the female head of the family.

In fact getting pregnant was an easy way to get your mandatory 4 years of military service deferred for 3 to 4 years. For the most part the average Knora starts the 4 years of Orro Federation military service at age 15 and returns at age 19 to rejoin the Knora culture. The Knora elders encourage the girls to have at least 1 child before they leave for the dangerous duty; leaving a young child with their grand parents. In this dangerous world survival is not guaranteed; so leaving an offspring is recommended.

Those with a Super-Attribute normally don’t have children before the 4 years of Orro Federation military service because they have a higher survival probability and are likely to be married to higher ranking Knora families upon their return. A high rank during the 11 year old ranking contest is likely to earn you a marriage offer from the Knora Nobility. It is therefore rare for those with a Super-Attribute to participate in these public orgies and they are usually more reserved in their behaviour.

So as both a Royal and a Super-Attribute I’m not expected to participate; I’m actually forbidden from taking part in orgies. I suppose that I should be disappointed but I’m yet to hit puberty so I’m not interested in copulation; my Knora physiology suppresses sexual desire until puberty and that means I don’t even get the slightest hint of an erection. Having the memories of an adult human male I must say that not having to deal with sexual urges is a relief; no desire is much easier to deal with.

While on the subject of sex I’m gonna put it out there that after witnessing the public sex I can’t see how a Knora male would be able to have sex with a human size female; that rules out the Gvern, Norr and Habu as potential sexual partners. I suppose I should have known that there would be a compatibility problem given that the average Knora is 275cm tall; that’s over 9 feet tall. The Members of the Royal Family are slightly taller at an average of 287cm; likely the result of generations of taking in the strongest males.

About the compatibility problem; it has to do with the size of the genitals of an adult Knora male. Having seen the fully erect ones I’d have to say they’re about 55cm long and maybe 15cm thick.

So in a word grotesque!

Not the kind of thing that can fit inside the muff of the other humanoids without doing some major damage.

The Knora females take it in stride though.

Damn-it I should have noticed given that the tip of the adult tail is over 10cm thick!

Somehow not having reached puberty I’m oblivious to such things; as if my mind simply disregards this stuff.

Talk about childhood traumas!

This is some fucked-up Shit!

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About the training provided by my older brother Ulvid to my nephew Kodis and me since the ranking contest; it’s torture.

I let the easy going demeanour of Ulvid fool me into thinking if would be better than Ovis. Ulvid is different but very serious about his responsibility as an older brother and mentor for the Royal Males.

Right off the bat Ulvid told us that from that moment onwards he would be our master and we are now his disciples.

I was all excited until master Ulvid said that a Royal Male has to have Stamina in Abundance and started us running around the palace grounds in training armour.

Any guesses as to why we need Stamina in Abundance?

That’s right; sex!

Royal Males have to be able to perform for the high ranking females that become our mates, and I mean perform on demand.

So everyday mornings are training with Ovis and after school Kodis and I run.

School; right!

The Knora weren’t able to find the paraplegic Gvern but hired retired Gvern adventurers; considered outcasts by the proud Gvern Conclave.

Before that; I have to say that I’m completely Jealous of Kodis.

I can’t remember ever being so envious of another person; even in my previous life.

Why? You ask?

Because Kodis is a cheat!

I didn’t think there were cheats in this world but Kodis definitely has a cheat skill; The One Loved by Women.

It’s not just Knora women who somehow thing Kodis is cute and cuddly but from what I’ve seen all humanoid women love Kodis. So I can conclude that being liked by women has nothing to do with having Super-Attribute since Kodis doesn’t have one and has a normal 【Full Might】 skill. Yet somehow even Ovis and mother are completely enamoured with Kodis and they treat him far too differently to the other royal males. There aren’t as much expectations from Kodis; he’s allowed to be who he is.

The person himself says that when I accept that amongst the Knora a male is actually a female in human terms I’ll be more comfortable in my own skin and be able to let the Knora females love and protect me.

That guy Kodis was a man in the previous like but he’s taken to being cute and cuddly like it’s something natural. He’s smaller and doesn’t have a lot of muscle so he’s sort of cute for a Knora male. The girls at school have all gone gaga over Kodis.

Anyway school has been an eye opening experience. The memories of our genetic fathers created the impression that we had all the magical knowledge we would ever need; that was wrong.

It turns out that the magic of this world has moved forward in ways the 17 arch-mages never predicted.

The Inter-Dimensional technological aspects of Psionic Magic led to the development of Inter-Dimensional Pockets which became the primary use of Psionic Magic. Through Inter-Dimensional Pockets it is possible to store elements injected with your Mana and summon them as and when needed. Consequently element summoning through Inter-Dimensional Pockets is the primary form of elemental magic. The Inter-Dimensional Pockets are inscribed and attached to magic items.

The materials for making magic items are elements imbued with Mana.

The Mana injected into normal elements dissipates over time so the bones of animals are crushed into powder and mixed into elements to create magical elements.

There are no magical metals on Orro and the thing that gives metals magical properties is animal bone powder. As a result animal bone powder differs in value; older and more powerful animals that produced a lot of Mana during their lifetime have the best quality animal bone powder. Things like small fish, rodents and small creatures that have a relatively short lifespan have the lowest quality animal bone powder. The trade in animal bone powder is similar to that of Mana Cores.

The Knora don’t normally sell their animal bone powder and choose to hold on to the animal bone powder for construction of buildings and production of tools. Since the Knora are the best hunters of the Orro Federation they supply 40% of all the animal bone powder; only 35% of the total annual Knora animal bone powder output. Through this the Knora are able to make sure that at least some of the initial magic metal production such as magic steel is done by Knora and benefits the Knora Enclave.

The Bones of Animals are therefore critical to national security and the Adventurer’s Guild which supplies 50% of the Bones of Animals is perhaps the most powerful organization after the Federal Government. The National Adventurer’s Guild is an association of regional Adventurer’s Guild that are primarily controlled by regional merchant organizations or regional governments as in the case of the Knora Enclave. The Knora Enclave fully owns and controls the regional Adventurer’s Guild on Knora Island.

The Knora are traditionally weary of foreign influences and are resistant to attempts by the other cultures to make inroads into Knora society. Not even wealthy Knora families have been successful in transforming Knora Culture into the more modern lifestyle lived by the other humanoid races. The Knora live a communal lifestyle and Knora law prohibit private ownership of land and does not consider land property; you can own property on the land but not the land itself.

The Royal Family is considered stewards of the land and the palace controls the land around it in the way a municipality controls the allocated land. The result of not having land owners is that Knora Nobility doesn’t have as much power as those in other territories of the Orro Federation. Knora merchants have been trying to overturn the situation for centuries but the Royal Family has consistently stood in their way since every Matriarch sees herself as the mother of the nation.

What we are learning at school has been enlightening; it came as a shock to discover that parts of the Orro Federation allow a limited form of slavery or indentured servitude. Slaves are primarily those who commit crimes of some sort and rather than imprisonment slavery is imposed as punishment for the duration of the sentence and indentured servitude is imposed on those who owe money to the state. Slavery or indentured servitude is achieved through the use of Psionic Magic inscribed through tattoo ink made from high quality Animal Bones.

The Knora Enclave doesn’t approve of Knora enslavement and only someone truly stupid would try to buy a Knora slave because such a person would soon find themselves assassinated. It’s an open secret that the assassinations are sanctioned by the Knora Enclave, and as such the Knora are exempt from slavery or indentured servitude. Consequently Knora who commit murder are sent to the frontier to fight the Demons and other crimes are punished with extended terms in the Orro Federation military.

The school building is about 4 times the size of the palace and sits at the bottom of the hill whose peak is the palace. I’m told that a lot of bone powder was mixed in with the earth that formed the bricks that went into the construction so that self repair enchantments could be inscribed into the building. The fact that the school is on palace grounds means it will forever fall within the jurisdiction of the palace; local officials from the Capital can’t interfere with the running of the school.

Half the students come from the capital and the rest of the 250,000 comes from all over Knora Island. I’m told that the other cities are building their own schools but nothing at the level of what mother built. The full Knora make up about 11% of the student body even though the school is called the Vnora Academy of Magic. Mother says calling it the Vnora Academy of Magic was the only way to get around the Knora aversion to institutional standardized learning and thanks to that she’s been able to sneak in more than a few Knora.

Apparently the Knora aversion to institutional standardized learning is a consequence of Dvern enslavement of a substantial portion of the Knora population some 3,000 years ago, and the Dvern of the time taught the Knora that they were created to be Dvern slaves. It took countless wars to finally liberate all Knora from Dvern domination; largely thanks to the assistance from the Svern. Again it took a long time to pay off the debts to the Svern as well as breed-out the Dvern indoctrination.

And that’s why the Knora resist the influences of other cultures with a passion.

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