Oh, dear.
Oh, dear. Oh my.
God.
I'd heard His Grace had arrived at the academy but never in my life would I have thought that he'd spontaneously appear right in front of me.
'Where even did he come from?' I found myself wondering as I stared at his flaccid gaze through the shine in my shoes. 'What even is he like? I know he's powerful, but-'
"Relax." I heard a whisper.
Then, I looked up to see His Grace holding up his palm in a calming gesture.
I took a moment; perhaps too many than I should have, but I slowly stood, took a deep breath, and looked His Grace in the eyes; my heart beating a thousand paces a minute.
He was… shorter than I imagined. Nearly a full head under me, despite being around my age. A boy with dark brown skin and locks that hung past his shoulders like a lion's mane. He had a bulbous nose like that of His Imperial Majesty's, with a pointed chin that cradled a thick pair of lips and lightless, piercing eyes that held no hint or trace of emotion or compassion.
In fact, if it weren't for his dress, the ears pointing through his hair, and the striking resemblance to the Necro King, I'd have assumed His Grace was just another student of Corvus Academy.
'Ah!' I suddenly; and quite madly, spasmed into a sudden panic. "Where are my manners?'
"Edward, Your Grace." I feverishly bowed. "Edward Pascal."
Again with no hint of emotion, His Grace subtly nodded after hearing my words and looked away for a split second before turning back to me with a newfound interest.
"Okay, Edward." He nearly whispered again. "What do you do?"
"Uh." I stuttered. Struggled to keep pace with my racing mind.
'How could I answer that?' I pleaded to the sole voice echoing in my head that demanded a solution. For we all 'did things' at Corvus Tower that could be considered a hobby or profession. Many were fighters. More were magic practitioners. Others were scholars. But I was neither good nor bad at any particular thing. I learned, but not enough to call myself a scholar. I fought, but only enough to defend myself. I made things, but only a means to an end.
Not nearly at a level high enough to boast or brag about in a situation such as this.
I knew that I was none of those things. I just… was. But still… His Grace needed an answer, so I respectfully bowed again having settled my mental debacle. "I am a jack of all trades, Your Grace."
"In that case, tell me what you can about Epethia." He demanded with no delay or acknowledgment of my answer. "How do they see us? How do we see them?"
"Uh." I stammered again as my mind began panicking. Searching again for a suitable answer to give His Grace within a reasonable time frame.
'Aren't you supposed to be the one to know that, Your Grace?' I pleaded to him- or rather my mental self. 'I've spent my life in the tower and I'm barely older than yourself. I've never even seen the southern coast. Let alone an Epethian. But…' I stammered again. "Uh… I only know what my family has said in passing, Your Grace."
His only response was a droll of a blink that said all that needed saying in place of words. And I quickly found my mouth continuing to stammer on and make a fool of myself.
"T- That they resent us for our fertile lands and prosperous life, Your Grace," I said alongside a heavy breath. "And that such resentments should instead be placed on Epethia's Emperor."
He stayed silent for a few moments before nodding vacantly to himself. Squinting at veritably nothing with what I thought was a humorous smirk in the corner of his mouth until whatever he was pondering had been settled, and he turned his cold, analytical eyes back to me.
Steeling my spine in an instant.
"I see." His Grace nodded again, his lips wrapped upwards into a warm smile. "Thank you for your time, Edward."
With that, The Grand Duke of Odissi turned away, waving over his shoulder before he began perusing the aisles. Plucking books from the shelves by the handful to be swallowed whole by the amorphous pool of darkness surrounding his feet.
He turned to me once half the aisle had been looted and seemed to be surprised that I was still standing, staring. Evidently lost or confused as to what to do next.
"Don't let me disturb you." He chuckled lightly through his nose before backing into a shadow hugging the corner. Leaving with my lonesome once again.
***
'Jeez. He's still here?' I chuckled to myself, seeing the ghostly visage of Edward still staring blankly at the bookshelf I'd been perusing.
With a shrug, I moved back through the walls and floors of the academy returned to my 'room' to look through the books I'd gathered.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the library held a wider selection of literature to choose from in comparison to my home. While the estate's library was focused mostly on Deapouan history, magic, and heroic tales, the boarding school's library contained all the obligatory texts about academics and the basics of magic, as well as information about greater Maru.
Out of all the books I gathered, I placed the highest priority on two books, one of which based on the Magus' of history and the other, titled 'Three Emperors, Two Kingdoms.'
The first started with what the definition of what a Magus was; and by extension, an in-depth explanation of the ranking system used by the guilds and militaries in both Maru and Nonus.
The rankings started whenever an individual attended the awakening ceremony or was otherwise screened by the Guild Association. Regardless if they were deemed strong enough to attend the academy or not, that individual would come to be known as a Wizard or Witch Initiate, and would be granted every right a knighted individual had; regardless of prior class or status.
An Initiate would be granted a promotion to a Page upon being granted entry to the magic academy. And upon graduating, they'd become a Novice; equivalent to a 2nd Lieutenant in the a standard military or to a Baronet from a political standpoint.
Unlike the prior ranks, a Novice Witch or Wizard had the right to travel across the realms of the Mortal Plane and join parties, guilds or militaries as they saw fit or until they chose to do otherwise.
A proper Witch or Wizard; or 1st Lieutenant, was comparable to a baron and was able to lead a party of up to five rather than simply joining one. And a Master Witch or Wizard; same as military Captain or Viscount, was considered the minimum rank needed to become a Guild Master. From there, one would rise to a Grandmaster Wizard; akin to a Major or Count, before being promoted to an Arcane Wizard.
Only after rising through the ranks of wizardry; or sorcery in my case, would an individual be granted the title of Mage. Humans containing so much power and experience that they were considered as royalty; as sovereign entities; as entire guilds, nations, and militaries concentrated into a single being. They were special forces operators compared to foot soldiers. Guided missiles compared to pistol rounds. And the border between the two was the Magi. Equal to a full bird Colonel in any military as well as a royal Duke or Prince. It was only at this level that an individual was allowed to take on solo contracts from another entity, known to the guilds and militaries as quests and orders respectively.
From there, one would later become a proper Mage, Master Mage, Grandmaster Mage and Arcane Mage; equivalent to a 1, 2, 3, or 4-star general; or a Grand Duke to a High King.
The last obtainable rank was the Magus- A mage with enough power to rival or even surpass the military might of an entire empire or country, or someone recognized by an existing empire to have the power and authority of a king or emperor.
The section went on to state that the most notable requirement to become a Magus was to permanently change a continent-sized region on the Mortal Plane.
Hundreds of individuals had risen to such a rank and passed throughout the 1500 years or so of recorded history. Many of whom had multiple affinity cores or otherworldly magical abilities. Like light; blades; barriers, even silver. And of course, death.
Still, there were only five such humans holding the title of Magus today: Everandus Cole, Jamettus Deapou, Augustus Epeth, Eligius Silva, and Marcus Lux.
Possibly even more interesting however, was the second book. One that explained an extensive history between the Deapou and Epethian Empires that ran much deeper than I initially thought.
Apparently, grandpa Lich and Emperor Deapou had been childhood friends from the uncivilized lands of Phaegrath. And like many others during that time, they were born into a life of conflict. It was within the throes of war, that they met James Epeth, a skilled mage with the strange affinity for barrier magic and the current Empresses ancestor.
With the reopening of the Youtera portal in the 13th century came the elves and their seemingly infinite knowledge. Through them, those three were able to rise to new heights and helped ebb the thousand-year tide of war and suffering that had been plaguing Maru since the portals first opened.
James, with the help of the elves, had used his barrier magic to seal off the entirety of Ulai from the rest of the world. Trapping all but the weakest monsters on the island while Jamettus and Everandus were tasked with cleansing the current lands Phaegrath and Epethia respectively.
The effect of the former's campaign was that Phaegrath was turned into an exotic wasteland of cooled volcanic rock, causing the landscape to become abundantly fertile over the years. Which over the centuries, turned the continent into a vast jungle expanse, and later into a monster-infested wilderness as the weaker monsters migrated across the oceans and invaded the continent again.
The effect of the latter's campaign however, was that the entirety of the largest continent on Maru as well as the future island of Deapou had been rendered into an inhospitable wasteland.
After the war, Everandus and Jamettus returned to Deapou and the latter used his lava magic to cake the land in a field of molten earth that cooled at a relatively quickly pace in the ambient atmosphere to give way to the fertile land filled with massive trees that existed today. With the marvel of enchantments given from the elves alongside Emperor Deapou's magic and the Necro King's Army, towns, cities, and an entire empire were constructed in record time and then split between the two long-time friends. Creating the Empires we see today.
James however, felt left out. And pleaded with Jamettus to do the same for the ravaged lands of Epethia. Though he tried, the methods used in Deapou failed in Epethia due to the tropical climate. Causing more harm than good. In the end, only a comparatively small region that stood west of the James mountain range was spared from the ravages of death magic. Leaving the vast expanse to the east of the mountains to form an inhospitable landscape of savannas and deserts over time.
'I don't see why he didn't move to Phaegrath.' I snorted to myself, closing the book. 'It's a tropical paradise for crying out loud. And with barrier magic, it'd be the safest place in the world.'
Rolling my eyes against the emperor's evident stupidity, I turned my eyes to the pile of other books I'd pulled from the shelves. Particularly to one that appeared to be the second edition of the book on mana wells that my grandfather first gave me.
Inside it detailed the mana wells of otherworldly creatures instead of humans and gave a somewhat vague detailing of their abilities. It started with things I'd already known, the abilities of the other creatures. Of orcs and goblins controlling plants and bone respectively, of vampires controlling blood and demons feeding off emotional energy.
Evidently, however, after a few of the higher-tier creatures were slain, their mana wells would remain intact and could be used by humans as external wells to temporarily increase their magical output. Though it said nothing more than that, however, excepting that they're sought after by powerful mages and nobles alike, and thus can fetch a fair price on the black market.
As far as the size and in turn worth of the wells, those belonging to the native magical beasts of Maru were among the weakest. Followed in turn by the orcs and other beasts from the Betrarth. Followed by the vampires and demons from Vagua, the elves, and other denizens of Youtera. And lastly the divine beasts of Nonus.
'So, I was right.' I commented to myself, closing the book. 'Wells can be expanded. Though, according to my grandfather's words, it sounds like it'll be a risky endeavor.' I knew that it was a lost cause regarding myself. Remembering my father's words, my Well was a size thirteen at a diamond density. As large and dense as they came. My vassals however had far smaller and less dense wells. And thus I was sure this… forced expansion, would work on them.
I just had to learn how it worked.
From there, I spent a few minutes parsing through my thoughts before eventually deciding to find where I can buy one of these mana wells myself. With an allowance of three thousand gold coins a week that'd been in place since I was five, I wasn't pressed for money in the slightest.
Which meant finding a black market was the only issue.
The most likely place would be in Odissi, I assumed. It seemed the obvious choice, being the trade capital of the Empire. Though my skepticism made me ponder if it was instead hidden in some remote area of the countryside instead. Or perhaps somewhere on Deap Ridge, probably hidden in plain sight.
A sudden knock came from the door, forcing me to throw my thoughts on the back burner and scry through the shadows to see Jaimess standing by my door.
"The Necro King requests your audience, Your Grace." He bowed the moment I opened the door.
Ugh.
"Very well." I sighed heavily. "Let's go."