Volume 1: «Preparation»
Chapter 4: «Power Structure (Part 1)»
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After breakfast, Aaron went up to his room. Bradomir had business to attend to; he had to go to a meeting in the city. This gave Aaron the free time he needed to spend on reflection. And there was much to think about...
— It is now nine hundred and fifty-seven," said Aaron thoughtfully as he settled down on his bed after a hearty breakfast. — It's both good and unsettling at the same time... I am too weak at the moment, and the next war of the great clans will begin in the ninety-sixty-first, in June, and will end in six years. That war will be won by the great Vyse clan, which will completely destroy its opponent, the great Vis clan. The only good news is that none of the other great clans will interfere...
As he pondered his next steps, Aaron contemplated the world in which Andrew, the man he had, in fact, used for his own purposes, lived... It was a different universe, but a neighboring one... Besides, Aaron had absorbed a human soul, so the worlds they lived in were much the same, there too — the moon, the sun, the four seasons, twenty-four hours in a day...
For the most part, everything in his world was the same or very similar, for example, the animals and plants were the same, maybe with slight differences. However, there is a key difference between both worlds... It lies in the fact that in Andrei's universe there is no magical energy.
In his universe, there are no people capable of killing a dragon by themselves... First, because it simply does not exist, because it is a magical creature, like many others that Andrew has heard of, but always considered them a fiction, a fantasy... Secondly, because in that world, humans are ordinary animals, except smarter than others.
Their personal power is limited to their physical bodies, which are already limited by the laws of the universe. Therefore, the journey of humans from Earth, from Andrei's home world, as an object of study is quite unique and fascinating.
— Things are very different here... — With a sigh, Aaron concluded. — Personal power, thanks to the presence of magical energy, has taken the progress of mankind in a very different direction. Technologically, Aarsorun is a wild world, living according to the medieval notions, though the abilities of some individuals are so great, that for the earthlings we are like gods...
Another important difference is that Aarsorun has a very different way of life. The territories are not divided by countries and peoples, but by clans. There are only three classifications for clans — small, medium, great.
The entire world is divided, with the exception of some territories, among the twelve great clans. Each of these clans has subordinate clans that already exist in their territory — the middle clans. And then there are small clans that serve the middle clans.
Thus, a clear hierarchical chain is built, in which ordinary people who are not members of any clan, simply do not participate in the process of organizing the life of society ... All laws are adopted by the clan that owns the territory. It is true that these same laws cannot contradict the provisions that have been adopted by the Council of the Great Clans.
Of course, many people don't like this arrangement, but they simply have no choice, and it's impossible to overthrow the clans' rule a priori... The strong cannot lose to the weak — it's an axiom...
Because of the existence of magical energy, personal power, quite often, exceeds collective power. For this reason, one might even say that there are four kinds of sentient beings on Aarsorun: ordinary humans, knights, mages, and demigods.
Ordinary people are people who are unable to use magical energy. They are basically no different from Earthlings, except a little stronger than them physically, due to passive absorption of magical energy. Ordinary people make up the vast majority of Aorsorun's population.
Knights are people who can use magical energy in a limited form, they can control it inside their bodies, but external control is beyond their control. Knights concentrate magic in their bellies. They are the most common type of users of magical energy.
Magicians are people who are able to manipulate magical energy, giving it various properties and forms, but they have no control over it inside their bodies. Magicians concentrate magic in their heads. They are much less common than knights. For every ten knights, there is only one mage.
Demigods are people who have awakened a divine spark. The divine spark comes in five forms-fire, ice, lightning, life, and death. Demigods are able to manipulate magical energy both inside and outside their bodies. People in this category can act as both knights and mages at the same time. Also, they have the ability to convert magical energy into the energy of their element, which increases the power of magical manipulations involving that element many times over. Demigods concentrate magic in the heart, the birthplace of the divine spark. They are extremely rare. It is believed that the blood of the gods awakens in such people at the age of eleven.
There is a certain gradation among knights, mages, and demigods, each of these categories is divided into three types. Knights — small knight, medium knight, great knight. Magi — small magician, medium magician, great magician. Demigods — small demigod, medium demigod, great demigod.