In the continent of flatus, comprises four major kingdoms: Vertus, which is located in the southwest parts of the continent, Regalia shares a border with Drathin in the northwest parts of the continent, and the kingdom of Corus is located on the eastern border of the continent. These nations hold a considerable amount of displeasure with each other, going as far as hiring assassins to cause uproars. Kings and royal families are regarded as the highest status in Lumia. To gain that title, Kings must be the strongest in their respective domains, if one is defeated by a prince from their own or neighboring territory, they must step down. This code of honor has been recognized and followed faithfully for centuries.
A king's royal chamber is typically used for secret meetings between high ranking officials and the kings of the four nations. This occurrence however, is quite rare, requiring dire circumstances to be held. In the kingdom of Regaila this very meeting is being held. To prevent battles from occurring, scientists created spatial projections, resembling shadow-like figures. They dudded it: Mirage, this tool projects their figure in an illusive manner, allowing them to be "present."
A man sighed heavily, his gaze grim.
"Vincent, begin the meeting…"
Vincent, who was his servant nodded, expression solemn.
Bltzzz
Sounds of "Mirages" emerged, reaching his ears.
The royal chamber was a massive office, chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the room was painted in a beautiful light green, on the walls paintings from various artists were propped up, weapons varying in size were also propped. And in the center, a massive marble round table was placed, sitting there was the man from before, gazing at the mirages.
"Hmpf, isn't this something ehhh? You ordered a meeting? What's it now?"
"I left training to be here by the way…"
"Hurry up! I have things that require my attention!"
"What? After that knight almost defeated you, all you've been doing is training."
"Oh shut up! You couldn't defeat the lowest level of monsters, sienile fool!"
"Why you… Just wait until my son defeats you."
"Hahaha! Right, I'm so scared of the terminally ill prince."
The man sitting at the table frowned, clear displeasure on his face.
"Enough you fools! This is serious! They're on the move!"
The banter was silenced, room tense.
"What? How did you come to that conclusion?"
The man that started this meeting, slammed his hands on the table and stood.
"Those…. Monsters! They killed my younger brother!"
Gasps from all over the room echoed, as solemn expressions began to etch on their features.
"Do you know what happened to him?"
"In my territory, near the canyon side, he was killed."
"Wait the canyon that was destroyed yesterday? They were behind that?!"
"Yes, he was killed in the process… This marks the day we declare war on them."
He looked at the various conflicting expressions, anger boiling.
"You expect me not to seek vengeance?!"
They were silent, not uttering a word.
"Hmpf… Fine, I'll do it myself…!"
He shut the meeting off, debating his next move.
'I swear on the name of Regaila, I will avenge my brother!'
…
The breeze was fridged, far too cool for the season.
"Why is it so cold? It's usually humid here, especially since it's the middle of the torrid season."
I entered my room, grabbing a tattered brown sweater.
"Hopefully this does the trick. Even though there's visible holes in it."
Outside it began… Snowing?
"This is strange… What's happening with the weather…?"
Mothers gaze was tense as if a premonition was coming forth.
"Hey mother, why is it snowing? According to the season this shouldn't be possible."
"I don't know, this is odd indeed."
…
Floating in a kaleidoscopic space was Liam, he was motionless, eyes shut in deep meditation.
'My pocket dimension is becoming unstable, in the following days, it may be impossible to reside here.'
He snapped his fingers and reappeared in his grand library, buried under a pile of books.
'How interesting, master Razu, you truly intend to eradicate that mystic. To send that monster here, I wonder what he's thinking.'
…
In an underground training room Kaz stood panting, his aura flaring violently as he swung his sword, destroying the dummy in front of him with great difficulty.
'These dummy's Liam reinforced with defensive magic are somewhat durable.'
Grabbing a towel, he exited the training room, heading outside.
'It's far too stuffy here, I should get some fresh air. Wait, why is it snowing?'
His advance halted, as the phenomenon before him seemed unreasonable.
"Wait, does this have something to do with that message Liam sent?"
He remembered the conversation he had with Liam before, eyes slowly widening with realization.
'No, it can't be, they wouldn't send him, right?'
He quickly ran towards the library, slight panic etching into his expression.
'Damn mages association! Always going to the extreme!'
Kez reached the library, frantically ringing the bell he always kept on him.
Dunn Dunn
Liam appeared, irritation evident on his face.
"What do you want? Insufferable…"
"Did the mages association send Leonard, wielder of the tundren wyvern?"
Liam's eyebrows rose, intrigued.
"That may be the case, if so, I fear this city will be destroyed in the upcoming battle."
Keep gritted his teeth, glaring at him.
"If only you handle it beforehand we wouldn't have to worry about this! Are you too weak? What's holding you back?!"
Liam drawled, sighing in faint exhaustion.
"You're a fool. Why would I dirty my hands? I only fight when it's necessary."
Kez clicked his teeth and turned away.
"I'll step in if the damage starts piling up, you owe me one."
"I owe you nothing, foolish brute… But that intrigues me, when will they be arriving?"
…
'Training sucks, it may be worse than mothers rabbit stew. Train hard she says, ya right.'
I trekked through the snow covered field, making my way towards the city.
'According to scientists, if one trains their senses enough, "mana sense" will naturally follow. With that in mind, going to the busiest part of the city should work.'
I gazed at the dark clouds drifting through the sky, snow flakes fell relentlessly, as though it wasn't a natural occurrence.
'It still shocks me, how could it be snowing? And for it to gather this much in such a short amount of time. Could this be the work of an awakened?'
'But why would an awakened come to a backwater city like Versol? Could they possibly be meeting with the nobles here? If that was the case, why change the weather?'
As I pondered, the city came into view.
"I'm nearly there-"
The words died on my lips, the scene before me was strange, the usual bustling city mirrored that of a ghost town. Snow blanketed every inch of Versol, as horse carriages were left abandoned.
'What's happening here? The city is empty?'
Suddenly, blood curdling screeches pulsated and echoed throughout my entire body. My vision swam as I starggered back.
"What is happening?!"
I held my stomach in pain, retching out various insects and blood. Darkness swallowed me whole as whispers from the unknown resounded constantly. My organs began failing as I collapsed to the floor unconscious.
Waking up in my room I shouted, cold sweat dripping off me. I frantically looked around, realizing I was in my bed. Glancing outside the window, snow was piling up. I grabbed my head in bewilderment, trying to prevent a panic attack.
'What was that?! I thought I died! Am I going insane?! Wait, mother! Maybe she has an explanation!'
I hurriedly got up out of bed and raced towards the living room. Just like before, mother was gazing out the window, staring at the sky intensely.
"Mother, did I leave the house earlier?"
She ripped her attention away from the widow and stared at me for a moment.
"No, this is my first time seeing you today. Are you ok?"
This revelation shocked me to no end, the world around me felt as though it was spinning, I glanced at mother, a small smirk placed on her lips.
"Sleep well, Roy…"
Her tone was ominous, her eyes becoming spirals void of emotion.
Once again I woke up, heavily disoriented.
"What is happening? Is mother doing something to me?"
As I spoke those words she entered the room, rabbit stew in hand.
'Ugh, her accursed rabbit stew greets me again.'
Her gaze softened as our eyes met.
"Roy are you ok? You've been resting for 11 days."
My eyes widened, not believing her words.
"11 days?! How is that even possible?!"
"I don't know, multiple doctors and physicians came to visit to no avail. They diagnosed you with chronic exhaustion."
I stared at my palms pondering.
'Come to think of it, something feels amidst, as though I'm forgetting an important detail. My body also feels oddly drained, though that could be a side-effect of sleeping for the equivalent of 264 hours.'
After placing the rabbit stew next to me on a shelf she exited the room.
"Get better soon, Roy."
'This doesn't make any sense, nothing makes sense anymore. The interaction with mana, finding out mother is a mystic, wait, she's a mystic! Aren't they hated by mages? That could be the reason she was kicked out of their association. I'm getting side tracked, due to these strange events my life hasn't been normal for the past 14 days.'
"Mother is acting strange, I understand staring at the snow, but ever since we met the knight she's become more… Mysterious. It's frightening, especially her gaze when I passed out… Maybe I'm overthinking it."
I entered into a meditative position on my bed and began concentrating.
'I should continue my training to obtain "mana sense." Though, something feels off. Why is this process easier? Usually it takes well over ten minutes to get anywhere.'
Flashes of silver streaks painted the room, inside of them were stars. Those stars radiated a bright blue hue, calming my nerves.
'What is this?'
The energy swirled around the room, blanketing it in a warm energy.
…
5 minutes before.
"Excellent."
Laura opened a secret compartment under a dresser, holding a sphere of purple energy.
"This should be a good exchange, hopefully that elf will comply."
She fished out a coin and infused mana within it, flicking it up, she watched it spin wildly. After a couple of seconds, the coin was consumed by a dark cloud, moments later Cain appeared.
"Like my new entrance?"
He smirked, thinking highly of himself.
"Sure, but it's far too flashy. It contradicts your class."
"Huh? I don't wanna be like you, mystics are too far gone."
Laura's expression quickly soured, as she muttered something about hating elves.
"So what'd you summon me for? I have things to attend to."
"Impatient are we? That's unlike you."
Cain clicked his teeth, irritation showing.
"You're the only person that openly shows their hatred for my kind, it's annoying."
Laura chuckled before revealing the sphere from earlier.
"This is why I called you here today, I want to exchange it for an item."
Cain's eyes widened, as he looked between the object and Laura.
"What do you want?"
Laura smiled gleefully, mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Give me a vial of dragon's blood by tomorrow."
Cain clutched his heart, fake tears falling from the corners of his eyes.
"You greedy…"
He once again looked at the purple sphere, cursing inwardly.
"Tch! Fine, I'll get you by tommorw."
"Looks like we have a deal."
They shook hands, Cain mourning his pockets.
"I'm leaving, you're quite clever Laura."
"Of course I am, mystics have to be."
Laura handed Cain the sphere, a moment later he vanished in a wisp of black mist.
"With this, everything will go as planned."
…
1 day later
Odin glanced at Leonard, fear etching its way into his features.
"Leonard, calm down…"
Icy wind swirled violently around Leonard's frame, yet his eyes seemed vacant. His expression was crazed, extreme bloodlust leaked off of him.
"Odin… Vioken hungers… We haven't feasted in weeks…."
Odin took a step-back, sweat dripping from his brow.
"Is that so, well we're nearly there. You've already set up your element, I'll let you handle this one alone."
Leonard's smile widened to an eerie degree, frightening Odin further.
"Good…"
He stretched forth his arm and the wind around him gathered into a pillar. Shortly after, a magic circle appeared under him. Runes from an ancient language were inscribed in the circle, since his magic aptitude is ice, the circle is blue in color.
"Roar, Vioken…"