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On the first floor, in the guest room, two girls were resting. One of them was called Anna Arcer, she was fourteen years old, and the other Susan Arcer, who had recently turned thirteen.
The sisters were knights in magical potential. They did not have a special desire to train, because they did not even study at the academy. However, this did not prevent them from living in luxury and idleness, because they were born in the main bloodline, albeit a small, but very rich Arcer clan...
This clan differed from other vassals of the Moiser clan, primarily in that the history of this family has been going on for five centuries, while their master has only three centuries. During its rise, the Arcer clan was a middle clan that was deposed from its position due to the lack of demigods and magicians in the lineage. Like a curse, with each new generation, the chance of someone other than a knight appearing in the clan became less and less.
It is extremely difficult to maintain the position of the middle clan when in your family there is only one, gradually aging, demigod, as well as two magicians, while all the rest are all knights ... And do not forget about such vassals who have more demigods than you , and there are ambitions to take your place.
The average Moiser clan, for example, is experiencing similar difficulties, although they are still far from collapse, even if they have only one demigod — the head of the family, but he is still young, and twenty-two magicians are also in the family, which is quite solid for an average clan ...
Most middle clans, experiencing difficulties in terms of the personal strength of their members, often try to bring someone from the outside into the family. This can be achieved by concluding political marriages, adopting talented children, and carrying out, with their direct participation, competent selection.
Only twelve mages of the Moiser clan are members of the main bloodline, the rest were accepted into the clan, and do not have a drop of native blood.
The most embarrassing situation for any clan is when the only demigod in a family, for a generation, appears in a secondary bloodline, which includes children born from a woman of the clan and a man adopted into the family. In such situations, there is a redistribution of power within the family, and a conflict of interest appears.
Therefore, most clans, especially those that are just beginning to degenerate, try, unnecessarily, not to take demigods into the family, but choose magicians, although the blood of the first would be much more useful if you want to stop the process of degeneration. It's all about power, a demigod from the outside can simply crush the entire clan under him, if he has the proper mind, ambition, and power.
However, clans like Arcer, who are almost degenerate, don't have much choice, otherwise they may even lose their position as a minor clan. With such a development of events, the family will lose the last thing that remains outstanding in it — its huge wealth, acquired through a long existence, which can shame even some middle clans.
They need a demigod in the family, and the ultimate dream for them in this case will be a situation in which they can lure a demigod woman into the clan, who, in the event of the birth of children, will give offspring of the main bloodline. A demigod man from the outside is the last measure, since in such a situation the power in the family will most likely be transferred to him and his offspring.
Few people know, but twenty years ago, the Arcer clan, which at that time was still considered average, and the Moizer clan entered into an agreement.
Coincidentally, the Arcer clan, which had only one demigod left, needed to refresh the family, for which they desperately needed a demigod woman so that the power within the clan remained unchanged.
At that time, the Moiser clan did not experience any difficulties, they had four demigods, which was more than enough for their needs. Alas, after some time this number was greatly reduced ... However, at that time, the powerful Moiser clan decided to lend a hand to the degenerate, but extremely wealthy Arcer clan.
A rather cunning plan was drawn up, according to which the Arser clan refuses the title of the middle clan, justifying its position, master, the great Vis clan, by the unworthiness of occupying such a high position. After that, the Moiser clan takes him under its wing as a vassal.
In return, the Moizer clan was supposed to help get a demigod woman to marry the son of the head of the Arcer clan. At that time, they had, just in their vassals, a newly formed, small clan. Bradomir Bach had only one daughter — the demigod of lightning.
His wife, who was the most ordinary person, died in childbirth, and the man after that decided to live the rest of his life as a widower. In general, at that time the Bach clan did not look like an attractive vassal, it was a small family of only two people. The loss of such a small clan is not a problem at all, it can always be replaced with another one...
But something that no one expected was wedged into the grandiose plan of the two clans — the hopeless obstinacy of both Bradomir and his daughters, who immediately refused a political marriage. The old warrior who lost his wife was simply not ready to let his beloved daughter leave the house, and she, in turn, was too freedom-loving to let others decide their fate.
After some time, Ilmira Bach met a young demigod of fire, who happened to be passing through the city of Urich, he was a traveler, and in a sense a scientist who studied magical creatures. Feelings quickly appeared between young people, and literally a month after they met, they got married. Einar decided not to return home, but wanted to stay with his beloved, joined the clan, took the surname Bach.
Bradomir had nothing against such a development of events, the main thing for him was that his daughter stayed with him, and everything else did not bother him much ...
However, the Moizer clan and the Arcer clan took the incident extremely negatively, but did not dare to report it, because they did not want to make themselves an enemy in the person of the two demigods of lightning, and now also the demigod of fire who joined them ...
After some time, the newlyweds had a first-born, son, and heir of the Bach clan, he was named Balthazar, in honor of a friend of Bradomir, who saved his life in the war by sacrificing his own. Following him, two years later, a girl was born — Jane, she was named after the late grandmother, mother of Ilmira, and then six years later, after a significant break, the last child was born — Aaron, Einar decided to call him that, in honor of his father.
It was a peaceful time, Bradomir was happy to watch his family prosper, how his grandchildren grow up. Then, when Balthazar was eleven, he awakened the divine spark of fire, just like his father. And then, two years later, Jane, like her older brother, awakened a divine spark, but already ice ...
Looking at all this, the Moizer clan, which lost three demigods over the years, some due to an accident, some due to illness, and the Arcer clan, which, it seems, was able to find a replacement for Ilmira, but did not end up with any one new demigod — could not feel anything but hatred towards such a lucky family...