Jace’s last class of the day was etiquette, and boy did he have have a bunch to learn. There were so many small nuances in what people did that spoke volumes. For instance if a noble gave you a hand in greeting but only used four fingers to shake your hand, it meant he respected you but does not trust you. I mean why would people even use a handshake as a way to tell them you don’t trust them? Jace shook his head at the thought. After the first twenty minutes the instructor was already exasperated with him. Jace didn’t like changing how he acted around people, and it showed in class.

The instructor told him that he would end up being disrespectful to someone he couldn’t afford being disrespectful to. Jace had shrugged and told the man, if someone was insulted by the way he acted they wouldn’t have gotten along anyway. The day passed and Jace was back in the living room with the rest of his squad. They were hanging around on the couches, James had taken a pillow and used it as a bed in the middle of the table. Grumgar leaned back and stroked his beard, “So you have no idea what the world outside is like and the build-up of countries and cultures?”

Jace shrugged, “Haven’t the foggiest.”

“I’m assuming that means you have no idea?” Cili asked as she plucked a grape from the bowl and tossed it in her mouth.

“You assume correctly!”

James had his eyes closed and was staring at the ceiling, he rolled over to his side and opened an eye. “So you pop up in a new world, and you don’t even bother trying to find out more about the country or world you landed in? Something has to be wrong with your brain my friend.”

Jace chuckled and shrugged, “The day to day matters were going well, I had a goal and just focused on that, the state of the world never really mattered.”

Karl laughed, “You might be right, but now you’re a knight. An elite force for a country at war, it would be best if you knew.”

Cili tossed a grape at Jace, which he caught in his mouth. “Well first of all this country, Krivka, has treaties with a few countries. My people and Grumgar’s, a few of the desert tribes which consist of the beast people. Krivka is not a warmongering kingdom but the country has a lot of resources and ample space. Some countries cannot help but eye what others have.”

Grumgar nodded, “Our countries have a defensive alliance, should the kingdom come under attack. We are sworn to aid in their defence, as they have done for us in the past. The threeway alliance between the elves, dwarves and the human Kivka kingdom has existed for nearly a millennium. We are close knit and the treatie works because each needs different things. The humans have no use for the space in the mountains, so they have no problems with us dwarves living their, same goes for the elves, neither dwarves nor humans care if they live in those big trees of theirs. Not like we were using them.”

Jace frowned and scratched at his beard, “Wouldn’t both the humans and dwarves have need of lumber however?”

Cili laughed, the sound oddly melodic, “If you think you can chop down a Hometree, then I wish you the best of luck. Lumber is actually a business we elves specialize in. We guide trees in their growths and once they are near their end we ease their passing and return them to the world, where they can be of use once more. Eventually they will return to the ground and new trees will grow. It’s a slightly longer cycle than in nature but it is a cycle non the less. The elves make sure the balance is kept, if there is danger in cutting down too many trees we make sure to plant as many more as needed.”

Grumgar nodded, “We dwarves mine the mountains, we have a near monopoly on it. Seeing as the mountains are our home. We sell that to the humans and elves, who sell us lumber and food. Farming under a mountain isn’t a simple thing after all, it is much easier for us to trade for it. All in all each of us is mutually dependent on the others. It is what creates such a strong alliance, that and the fact that we simply get along.” He added with a laugh.

Jace nodded slowly, it made a weird kind of sense. He looked up, “Who are we at war with at the moment?”

Mimla frowned, he scratched at his gills. “The empire.”

Sounds of disgust and anger rang through the room. Jace blinked and eyed his companions, all of them wore an ugly expression. Mimla saw his confusion and continued. “The empire is a relatively new country of a few centuries old. It started when a warrior proclaimed one of the lands further south as his own. The Emperor is powerful, easily as strong as a named adventurer. People claim he is as powerful as Trishla was.”

“Is.”

Mimla blinked, “I beg your pardon?”

Jace smiled, “Trishla IS still powerful, it is not a thing of the past.”

Lily frowned, “I smell a story behind that.”

Jace grinned, “As fun as it is to do every time, I’ll explain it to you guys later, continue with your story Mimla!”

The rest groaned and made sounds of frustration, Cili threw another grape at him, which he caught. He grinned, nobody loved leaving a story hang like that, but it would cause a commotion and he wanted to hear more about this emperor.

Mimla eyed him but eventually continued, “So the emperor is a powerful figure whose goal is to unit the continent. He has already annexed four other kingdoms, he is a man of war, and he is good at it.”

Lily nodded, “The scariest thing is probably how devoted his soldiers are. They fear no death, nor pain. They are focused on the goal of conquering the other countries.”

James nodded, “It would be easier if the man was a Tyrant, but it seems he is a benevolent emperor. He treats his citizens well, even those of the kingdoms he has conquered. There has been no large rebellion under his rule, as the lives of most commoners has improved under it.”

Xivr growled, “He does allow slave trade however, although he has altered it. People in a deep amount of debt can enter slavery for a set amount of time. There are a lot of laws involved that stop mistreating or abusement of the slave. It creates a powerful industry for him to build upon.”

Cili nodded, “The man is smart, he knows building a powerful empire requires a good foundations. He takes his time, after conquering one kingdom, he spends decades securing his rule and making the people his own. Honestly it wouldn’t be all bad to have him rule the continent. He does not discriminate and his people have freedom of religion. By all accounts he is just and fair. But who would give up their country just like that. Especially those with millennia of history. So a bunch of the remaining countries have formed an alliance of sorts against the empire.”

Grumgar grunted, “As much as it irks me to say it the Emperor is a man of his word and a man of honor.”

Lily nodded, “It would be easier if the man was evil.”

The rest made noises of agreement. Jace laughed, “Well should he come here, he’ll have to get through us. Protecting the kingdom is our duty now after all.”

Grumgar chuckled, “Here here.”

Lily leaned forward and eyed Jace, “So now that you have heard about the empire and its leader, spill it!”

Jace grinned, “Trishla is my grandmother.”

The room went eerily quiet, Jace laughed. Yup, he really did love doing this. Grumgar stroked his beard and sat back in his chair, “Well that explains a bit about you. You’ve been in this year for a mere year and a half and are already this powerful. I did wonder how you did it.”

Jace blinked, “Is my rate of growth that strange?”

Karl snorted, “It’s downright abnormall, most people take a decade to reach around level hundred of strength. You did it in barely two. You have never delved with a party not your own, so you probably never could compare. People never go through a layer in one go. They map it out one tunnel at a time. From what I’ve heard you and yours go through the layer in one go, then keep repeating it with less and less people until you can do it by yourself.”

Xivr nodded claws popped out of his padded hand. “I bet the people around you have been either abnormally skilled, or have become abnormally skilled because of you.”

Jace frowned, “That does explain some things, I always wondered why people could become a knight after they reached level hundred and fifty. It seemed easy to do.”

Karl guffawed, “For you perhaps it is easy, most of us aren’t masters of combat. What kind of freakish talent do you have to have to reach mastery in a weapon within two years. It’s absolutely unheard of. Bloody insanity is what it is.”

The others made sounds of agreement. Jace blushed and felt a little awkward. He honestly hadn’t really noticed he had such an abnormal talent. He knew he was talented with the shield, he just didn’t realise HOW talented.

Lily laughed, “You never even realised, I guess when the first person you meet and the one who teaches you everything is the Slow March of Death it screws with your perspective of how things should go. Which brings me to my next question, what is she like?”

The rest leaned forward in eager anticipation, Jace scratched his beard. “I’m not sure what to tell you, she was stern and accepted no mistakes when it came to form or reaction speed. She would stomp the right reactions in me from the moment we started training, she was so powerful I never even felt it was possible to beat her. Yet behind all that power is a soft heart. She’s a softie, she loves puppies and children. Not that big a fan of felines though. Owh and she loves food! She’s a real foodie.”

“She dislikes… Felines?” Xivr asked with a curious yet worried gaze.

Jace rolled his eyes, “Relax Xivr, your a person, not a cat.”

The tiger coughed and averted his gaze, Jace grinned. Cili ran a hand through her hair, “It is something else to hear that one of the most feared individuals on the continent is a lover of furry little puppies.”

Jace shrugged, “No matter how old and powerful a person grows to be, they are still people.”

“Makes one wonder what the emperor is like as a person.” Lily mused.

“Perhaps he likes cats?” Jace said with a chuckle.

Somewhere far away in a throne room that was surprisingly spartan for a throne room of one with such power. A man sneezed as he looked over at his attendant, a beautiful elven woman with lush black hair and an ample bosom. “I really wish you would stop bringing that thing in here Miya, I’m allergic to cats.”

“That is a shame my lord. I love cats. You will have to deal with it.”

“No wait, that’s not how things go, I’m your emperor! I am one of the most powerful warriors in existence!” The man said as he radiated a powerful aura.

“Can’t be that powefull if you’re losing to a cat allergy.” The elf said dismissively.

The man gaped at his attendant. The emperor was not even the master of his own throne room.