Chapter - 01

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Five years have passed since the coup de tat which caused the fall of the Empire. Out of its ashes rose a free but unstable country. People were scared and confused. After the old regime was overthrown, some people were relived that the tyrants were no more. Some thought the opposite they felt unease under the new rulers. Some others had mixed feelings. The surrounding countries too had their own thoughts on Germania. Some wanted to take advantage of the panic and mayhem while some others wanted to sit and watch, looking for the perfect opurtunity to act. Germania was surrounded by threats on all sides.

It was the second month of the year was 12021 of the holy calender. The human kingdoms in the world of Iseria followed the 'Holy Calander' which had twelve months and each month had 30 days and divided into four weeks, each week having thirty days. Spring marked the beginning of the new year while winter marked its end.

The empire has greatly withered in these past years. Firstly after the coup d'etat, a new government came to power which consisted of nobles and some other influential people who had played an important role in the freedom struggle against the Steins empire. But when these people came to power, most of them were in experienced in governing the entire empire. As a result, local unrest and mismanagement became wide spread. Robberies, crimes, burglaries and civil neglect soared. On the other hand the Elves, the Dwarves and the Were-Beasts declared their ancestral homelands independent and separated themselves from Germania. The new government tried to take back those lands but with their battered army and close to non-existent resources, they could do little against them due to lack of manpower and resources in the months just after the fall of the Empire. The army was in shambles and the treasury was as good as gone. By the time the new government somehow managed to gain somewhat functionality, the country had been reduced to nearly half its size. Many neighbouring countries had also attacked and occupied large areas of Germania taking benefit of the unrest. The government was helpless. Famine diseases and poverty were wide spread in the country. The government tried its best but the deaths were in the thousands. An once flourishing country was slowly crumbling. Germania needed a miracle.

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The city of Helmsberg its the last city on the Eastern border of Germania. A little over a 100 kms east of it is the border with the neighbouring country of Iglasia. Despite the suffering country, this city is still somewhat stable mostly due to it being the centre of trade with Iglasia.

It was a normal spring morning, new year had just passed a few days ago. On the road leading to the eastern gate of Helmsberg, A lone human figure was walking. It was hard to guess wether this figure was a girl or a boy because it was covered in a black fur cloak while a hood covered its head. As the figure approached the gate, it looked at the gate and spoke in a deep tone.

"So finally i am back...... Five years....that long has passed hasn't it.....five long years..... Master.... I have returned....".

The voice was that of a young boy. As he was speaking, A torrent of heart wrenching memories flooded his mind, but he gritted his teeth and moved on. Honestly he didn't want to comd here again, he had lost everything in this country. He had suffered a lot in this country. If possible he would never step on these lands but there was that one chain which bound him. His only restriction his only attachment in this bloody country.

His dearest person, the only one who ever cared for him, was buried here. And he who had returned to these lands after five long years, only did so since he had to visit that person's grave.

The town of Helmsberg was surrounded by a brick wall around three metres tall. The wall had four large gates in the four major directions. Many carriages which were mostly of merchants and also many people on foot were entering the town. There were guards who were checking the people entering the town. The boy sighed under his hood. He hated unnecessary troubles. When he neared the gate one of the few guards who were guarding the gate stopped him. The boy looked at the burly guard who was wearing full plate armour and had a large longsword on his hip.

"Oi show your Identification before you enter. And show us your face." (Guard)

The boy shrugged inside. He would have preferred to keep the hood on but....he didn't want unnecessary trouble, so he took of his hood. The hood revealed a young boy in his teens with an androgynous face with pale white skin and silky raven black hair. His left eye was crystal blue in colour while a black eyepatch covered his right eye. Although he looked so young yet his height was around five feet, quite tall for his age. Over all his appearance could be called breathtaking. The guard was stunned to see such a pretty boy and stared at him dumbly. 'From his looks, the boy must be from some noble family? But why would a noble walk around like a poor traveler ?' the guard thought.

"Sorry, but i don't have any identification. You see i came here from a far away village..." the boy slid his cloak and showed a sheathed sword which was held by a leather belt to his waist, it had a peculiar shape. Long and thin and slightly curved. The guard had never seen such a sword before,"...to become an adventurer. So i want to register at the Adventurers guild."

He said in a calm voice. The guard shoom his head and looked at him suspiciously after hearing this. Turns out he was not a noble. Black hair was quite uncommon in these lands. Although a country in the far east was said to have many people with black hair. But that didn't trouble him much.

"Oi brat...arent you too young to become an adventurer? Youre not some idiot who ran away from home did you ?"

"I belive thats none of your business." The boy chided coldly.

The guard furrowed his brows. This brat dare be so cocky ! Over the two decades he had been a guard, he had seen many such brats who had ran away from home thinking that they could become adventurers only to end up dying on their first quest. But strangely he could not read this boy. His tone was refined and calm. And his face didn't give any hints of anxiety or tension. In fact it lacked any expression. The guard looked towards the boy trying to size him up but found nothing, they boy was like a statue, he showed no emotions at all. Defeated, he sighed.

"Fine then, young man, remember the life of an adventurer is not easy. Just don't die too young." (Guard)

"....I will keep that in mind." The boy quietly responded.

"Well then go straight along this street and after a couple of minutes you should see a large building with a blue roof. That is the Adventurers guild." (Guard)

The boy nodded and moved on leaving the guard to resume his work. He lifted up his hood again since his hair attracted unwanted attention. Something he wasn't overly fond of. As he walked along the street he looked around the buildings and people of Helmsberg. The architecture was similar to gothic European with subtle differences. The society itself was similar to the one of Europe of the Middle Ages, albeit due to the progress of magic the level was a bit higher. Sadly due to magic taking the limelight sience never got the chance to expand. The general populace mostly wore coarse clothes of thick cotton and like while occasionally some rich people like merchants and nobles wore high grade clothes. He could see people half dead and dying in the dark alleyways and the poor quality of life.

"...Nothing has changed has it...."

While thinking of how the lives of people hadn't changed over the years, and further detoriated, he reached the guild. It was a three storey building made of bricks and painted with white paint. A privilege only few buildings had in this era. It had a roof covered with blue tiles and a large sign of a Shield and a sword hung just over the, quite large, doorway.

The boy stood looking at the building for some-time as if contemplating whether to go in or not. But finally he decided on the former and pushing apart the doors he entered the guild.

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Capital City of Germania, Rigel

The Royal palace.

The palace which was once home to the Steins family now served as the home of Governor Freidrich Ils Waldheim and his family . Despite being man in his seventies, Fredreich was a well built man in his time . Though time had reduced his features to a lean old man yet his eyes still had that vigor of years ago. His white hair and moustache only reminded him how old he was. After the fall of the Steins Empire, Freidrich who was a Duke back then and also a leading person in the freedom struggle was to be appointed as the new king. However he declined saying "I am no king and I wont become one just because others tell me. Though i will guard the throne of Germania till its rightful owner returns." Saying so he had taken the title of Governor and acted as a ruler for the past five years. Yet the pains of age were showing their effect on him.

He was currently lying on his bed with a group of maids waiting at one end of the room and many physicians were checking his vitals. His health had began falling from the last year and inside Freidrich knew he hadn't much time left. Despite being given the best medicines available his body could not keep up. It was old and it wanted rest. Eternal rest. In fact it was purely his indomitable will to keep his vow that Freidrich was still alive.

Freidrich who was rested on a pile of pillows looked beside him and found his trusted friend and the Prime-minister Lorenz Rontegen by his side. This man in his late forties was like a son to Friedrich. And To Lorenz Friedrich was like his own father. Lorenz noticing his gaze, signalled the Physicians to retreat so that they could talk freely.

"How is the situation in the Country Lorenz?"

On hearing the first question Lorenz sighed.

"...You never change do you Sire ? Even though you are gravely ill, the first thing you ask is still about the country....."

Freidrich smiled. This poor Prime Minister had on more than one occasion told him to worry more about his own health which the Governor had gracefully ignored.

"You know thats who i am Lorenz. Now tell me"

"Fine... Frankly speaking, the situation is not at all good. The famine relief is severely lacking in the western areas due to shortage of funds and the skirmishes going on with the local militants. On the other hand the agriculture revenue is dropping alarmingly. And there are many more problems all over the country. However, the most worrying is the Western Xi Empire, they have been constantly expanding their army, and a lot of movement has been noted at our boders with them, I fear they want to attack us soon....We are trying our best but...."

Lorenz's brows furrowed and he frowned. The odds were all against Germania. Since the freedom struggle the country had faced severe hardships in almost every field. At this rate within a few more years Germania would surely crumble.

As he tried to continue, Lorenz noticed that the Governor was looking outside the large window towards the setting sun as if in a trance. After a few moments Freidrich asked him..

"Tell me Lorenz, what is the date today.."

"...11th day of the first month year 12016.... why?..."

Fredriech didn't answer and once again stared of into the distance. Lorenz sighed.

"Well then sire i should take my leave now. Please take care. I will visit soon."

Freidrich nodded without looking at him and Lorenz walked away. But before he had reached far he heard a faint mumble from the Governor.

"... a little more time.....just a little more time....... I hope...."

He didn't know what the old Governor was saying but Lorenz knew that the Governor definitely had some thought up his mind. And that something was very important.

"Just what goes on your head...i can never know..." Smiling faintly he left the room.

After a few minutes the door of the Governor's room was once again opened and a young girl walked in. She was around 16 years of age may be lower. Her long straight platinum-silver hair went down till her waist. While her face was very beautiful, her blue eyes had a strict aura in them. Her skin was fair and healthy. Her figure was well developing with right curves at the right places and a slim waist. It was no doubt that she would be a top class beauty in a years or two. She was wearing a blue uniform which consisted of a long sleeved shirt and a miniskirt while her chest shoulders, arms and legs were mostly guarded by metal armour, while leather armour covered her abdomen and thighs. She had a two handed longsword attached on her waist. The maids and Physicians bowed when they noticed her enter. While Friedrich smiled gently.

"Grandfather!" The girl ran towards the old man.

"Ah my little Claudia has come to visit me !" Freidrich smiled as he saw the lovely little girl running towards him.

"Grandpa! I have returned!" She kneeled on one leg an bowed her head giving a Knight's salute.

"Stupid girl! How manh times have I told you donot play those formalities on me! Come sit beside me. Now tell me how did it go?"

The girl, Claudia sat beside him on his bed softly then calming herself she began.

"It was as I thought grandpa. I easily qualified in the test and was promoted to Grand Knight! Big Sister Celestia was as also promoted to Great Knight!"

"Good good good. Both my dear grand-daughters have become so strong grandpa is so hapoy" Freidrich laughed heartily. He felt ss if his worries hsd lessened a bit.

The human kingdoms followed a ranking system for their warriors and mages. The ranks for warriors would be :

Novice Knight

For the mages, it was :

Novice Mage

The ranks of Knights were divided on the combined basis of their battle skills, strength, mana capacity, and techniques. While the Mages were divided on the basis of their, Mana capacity, Casting speed and Spell power. Speaking of Mana, it is a mystical force which is the basis of all magic. Magic itself is a phenomenon that can bend the laws of nature. Every person is born with a set potential for harnessing mana. For the normal human, the potential is negligible. Only one in ten thousand has enough potential to walk the path of a mage. Being a warrior is easier, though some high level warriors have large amount of mana, most warriors can do just fine with low levels mana. For mages the more mana they can store in their bodies, the better. Warriors focus on buidling their physical bodies and honing battle techniques. In general a mage is many times stronger than a warriro of the same rank in terms of attack power, but mages hsve wesk physique, so if a warrior can close in on them, then they would mostly loose.

As such and since the mages were much rarer than warriors, Mages are deemed more important. In wars they are positioned at the safest points to provide ranged support while the warriors fight the main battles. The government conducted exams each year all over the country where those who practiced magic or trained to be warriors tried their luck. If one passed these exams then they could enter the academies where they would get further knowledge and grow stronger.

Freidrich smiled and patted her head, he was very happy with Claudia's result. Becoming a Great Knight, which normaly took a person at least 30 yesrs, at such a young age was definitely a genius. Claudia smiled and closed her eyes as she enjoyed being spoiled.

"Mhhm but grandpa, Big sister Celestia is so much stronger than me. I am just so so compared to her....."

Freidrich lightly nodded. Celestia, his other grand-daughter, was truly a genius among geniuses. She had already reached the level of Grand Knight at the age of 18, she was now the best among the young generation. Few could match her within Germania.

"Don't be sad little Claudia. You are younger, than her, you will grow much stronger with time. While its true that you may never sosr higher than her, but you will definitely somedsy stand shoulder to shoulder with her. I believe it."

Hearing these words she smiled and earnestly nodded.

"Ill work very hard Grandpa!"

"Mhhmm. Speaking of Celestia, where is she ?"

"She......went to the cemetery.....to pay respects to Uncle and Auntie....."

They both became quiet. Looking out of the window the old man sighed. Celestia Waldheim. A girl revered by all of germania. Be it her heavenly beauty that was unofficially ranked second in the entire kingdom or her martial arts which ranked the first in the kindom's young generation. She was in a league of her own. But most people did not know, that under this image of the perfect woman, the world had of her, she was a very sad and lonely girl. Her mother had passed shortly after her birth due to some complications. Her father raised her with love and care, but he too perished in the freedom struggle.

Fredreich thought of his beloved grand-daughters and worry filled his heart. Although these too were growing well and were pretty strong, but with the way things were, he did not know how long things would be so pesceful.

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As the young boy entered the guild he saw many armed men and women present inside. Their weapons varied from short swords to broad swords, axes, bows, spears, maces etc. Some had heavy armour on while most had leather armour on them. There were also some people wearing light armour on robes and carrying staffs. In the corner of his eye he saw a bar like area where many burly men were drinking and making merry. But as he entered all eyes focused onto him. Not minding those gazes he swiftly made his way one of the reception counters of the guild. A woman in her late teens was working as the receptionist. As she noticed the figure before him she was a bit surprised to see a figure clad from head to toe in a black cloak. She could barely make out the face under the hood, but she snapped out of her surprise and gave him a business smile.

"How may I help you ?"

"I would like to register as an adventurer"

The boy simply stated his purpose. But as soon as he said that he noticed that there was bloodlust being aimed at him from somewhere.

"This never gets old huh..." He sighed.

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