“Kali, what did you score?” Adria asked as we scanned the pages.
“I’m not sure…”
After completing the written portion of the test a few hours ago, everyone got ready for the physical. Since I was injured, I was exempt from taking the physical-based test, which was fine by . But unfortunately, I didn’t get to see anyone else take the test.
Tristian told it was an all-encompassing physical test that included your mana and magic capabilities. First, students did various exercises such as running, jumping, and lifting to see where they were physically. Then those who could use magic were tested on their abilities.
Those that couldn’t do magic tests instead did mana enhancent tests like carrying an increasing amount of weight on your back till your enhancent ran out—pretty basic stuff. I was expecting so live combat but I guess that might be a little much for the first day.
I was trying to find my na on the list but I couldn’t see where I was… I was aiming for the middle, and even the lower end for the servants, but my na wasn’t there. Servants were scored separately from the general student body.
“Kaladin, isn’t that your na up there?” Tristian asked while tugging on my sleeve.
Oh, crap.
“Yeah, I guess that’s …” I said while scratching my head.
“I knew you could do it, Kali! Congrutionalions!” Adria shouted.
“Good job, hard work pays off, Kaladin,” Tristian said with a smile.
There my na was in the top ten servant scores. How is that even possible… I purposely tried to tank my score, but how was I the fifth-best servant? I didn’t even take the physical test. Are these kids just that bad?
The top fifteen servants were so far ahead of the bottom percentile that it was insane. The fifteenth place servant scored 109 out of 400. The sixteenth place servant scored a asly sixty seven… this wasn’t supposed to happen.
“Well, well, isn’t it Sir Relud? I heard you dropped out of the knight academy. Was it too difficult for you?” so haughty voice called out from behind us.
Tristian groaned, and his usual smile faded as he turned around to address the young boy who had called him out. “Dillian Stav… I heard you failed the knight exam for the last two years in a row? Did this academy finally accept you?” Tristian mocked.
“It was just because I was too young! Once I get older, I’ll be going off to the knight academy!” Dillian shot back, red in the face.
Dillian was probably around our age, give or take a year. He had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes and seed to be in relatively good shape for a noble child. Behind him was a girl in a servant uniform that looked like she might be his sister.
“Uh-huh. I’m sure daddy will make sure you get in next ti. What do they say again? Third ti’s the charm?” Tristan snickered.
“You bastard!” the boy snarled. Then he looked right at .
Sigh… here we go again.
“I see now… couldn’t make it at the knight academy, so you’re here to hang out with the enemy, an enemy servant with mixed blood. Do you have no sha, Relud? What would your father think if he saw you with one of them?”
“My father is very aware of what I am doing,” Tristan snapped. “And what war are you talking about? The war that ended before either of us was even born? And Kaladin isn’t an enemy servant. He is a friend. You should do your best to rember that.”
Dillian scoffed. “Whatever. He probably placed so far at the bottom of the board that it doesn’t even have his na on it. A mixed gutter Elf like him? No wonder his family tossed him away.”
I know the best son in the world doesn’t kill kids. But how about chopping their hands off? Say what you want about but leave my family out of this.
“Yeah? Wanna make a bet? I’d wager five large silver that Kaladin outscored your servant, and he didn’t even take the physical test,” Tristian said with a sly grin.
“Fine you got—”
Dillian never got a chance to finish before Adria cut him off. “That’s enough. We are attending the sa school now so let’s not do this,” Adria said coldly.
Dillian, who pretended just to notice Adria as if he wasn’t stealing glances at her the entire ti, bowed his head like a trained dog. “Lady Sandervile, it’s an honor to et you. I am—”
“I know who you are, Sir Stav. Now run along,” Adria said flatly.
“Huh?” Dillian squeaked.
“I said to run along. You are bothering us,” Adria commanded with a shooing of her hand.
Gone was the regular Adria and in her stead was the sa Adria I saw in the Mayor’s office that wanted to attend this school. Dillian was so taken back that he stayed in his bow for too long.
He didn’t raise up until his servant moved forward and bowed even deeper and spoke in a soft voice. “Please forgive him, Lady Sandervile and Sir Relud. My brother can be over-competitive sotis, but he ans no disrespect towards either of you.”
I’m not sure calling a gutter Elf or an enemy servant was competitive in nature, but at least this girl was trying to salvage this situation. It seems she should be the master and him the servant. What a sha this world puts stock on who ca out of their mother first.
“It’s fine. Your apology is accepted, and there is no bad blood between us. So let’s try and get along, okay?” Adria suggested to the girl with a smile.
The girl looked up and smiled faintly back. She bowed a bit deeper and then grabbed her brother by the arm, dragging him along as she walked away.
“Tristian… try not to cause problems on the first day, please…” Adria said with a sigh while watching the two walk away.
“Sorry, he’s just a punk. Even though he failed the knight exam twice, he kept coming around the academy and bothering everyone. And he made fun of Kaladin…” Tristan pouted.
“I know. I never said I liked him either, but we don’t want my dad to send us ho when we just got here. Kaladin is tougher than that. And besides, as long as we understand Kaladin, that’s all that matters,” Adria said matter of factly. But then she turned away shyly. “But of course, we won’t let people make fun of him either… I can’t say anything, so I’ll leave it up to you.”
Tristian returned her smile. “Of course. Just leave it to .”
So that’s why Adria didn’t say anything to the teacher or this punk. She is afraid that the Mayor is going to send her ho if she misbehaves. As the daughter of the Mayor, she has to act accordingly around these people.
Adria ended up placing fifth overall in the student category. The regular student section was much more competitive than the servant section, there wasn’t a disparaging gap, and the top one hundred students all scored over two hundred. She did well on the written portion, but on her physical exam, she crushed it because of her mana control and magic.
Tristian placed second overall with a score of 389. The first-place student scored a whopping 392, and his na was Rosom Dun. According to Tristian, he was the son of a high-ranking official, but that was all he knew.
But that was the end of the activities for today. Tomorrow morning we would wake up and co back to this board where we would find our class placents. Judging by both of their scores, we would probably be heading for the top class this school has to offer.
I was hoping that Adria wouldn’t do so well, but I guess she has been working hard this last year. Also, it’s not like this school wouldn’t put the princess in the highest available class regardless of her scores.
We walked around the campus for the rest of the day and familiarized ourselves with the layout. Reading a map was one thing but seeing things for yourself was better. The outside of the school was simple, but the inside was lush.
The hallways were lined with paintings and fine rugs. It appears that the budget for this school goes into the hallways… Squeaks told that Sandervile wasn’t nearly as well off as Ostela or even Whieland in regards to money. Maybe my ti in the Sandervile mansion has jaded my opinion sowhat.
Now that Adria was free from the masses of people, she seed to be enjoying herself as we walked around the school. Other students had attempted to co up to the three of us but Tristian was radiating an aura of hostility towards anyone who even thought about approaching us.
The only people he allowed through were teachers who gave their kind regards to both Tristian and Adria. Adria would kindly tell them just to call her Adrianna instead of Lady Sandervile, and that was the end of that.
It seed that wearing this white uniform made sowhat invisible to others. People would give a passing glance of interest or indifference. It was usually one or the other, but I paid no mind. It was probably better this way.
I was more excited about the lack of guards here. With such little guard presence inside of the school, it would allow to be freer than I have been in years. Teachers were around, but I doubted they would even acknowledge my existence if I were careful about things.
Of course, guards were also stationed on the periter of the school and they weren’t so far away that I could take advantage and escape from this place. I was still in the center of Sandervile, with three districts separating from the outside world.
But it was a start.
We got bored and decided to head to our dorm room. Even though this place had dorms, it was less like these noble kids living on their own and more like they were being sent to a boarding school. Everything was done for these kids.
Their food, laundry, and other miscellaneous things were all handled by the school. And anything the school didn’t run, we servants were to fill in the gaps. The students were expected to sleep and wake up and follow the schedule. Those were the only expectations placed upon these kids. And passing their classes, of course.
Our dorm room wasn’t even a dorm room either… It was double the size of Adria’s room at the mansion and looked more like a master bedroom fit for a king than a dorm room. I guess this room was specifically designed for the Mayor’s offspring. There was no way the other rooms were like this.
The room was sectioned off into five smaller rooms and one massive room. And there was a sort of common room in the center with long couches and a massive dining table. So extra chairs were set up in front of a wood fireplace. The room didn’t have any kind of kitchen or anything.
Adria would be living in the one massive room that by the ti we arrived, had been completely outfitted to look like her room at the mansion. It was like they just lifted her room and carried it here. Tristian would be taking the room adjacent to her that was filled with his belongings from ho and my room…
“Uh, Kaladin… where is your door?” Tristian asked, who seed just as confused as .
Yes, where was my door?
That was the question on my mind as well. Unfortunately, sobody had gone through the trouble of removing the door from the hinges and leaving the small room wide open to the main common room. Not only that, but the other rooms also had the doors removed and were devoid of furniture. I could only sigh.
I was looking forward to having so privacy. I’ve been sharing a sleeping area with other people for almost four years… I can’t have anything, can I?
I walked into the small room and took stock of everything. It was nice, very nice actually. The furniture was all high quality and the bed looked comfortable. I had a dresser, bed, chair, and desk—all things I would want or need in a room. On the desk was a piece of paper written in Elvish.
Sorry about the door. Mayor’s orders- Sylros
I scrunched the paper up and was tempted to set it on fire in front of everyone. But I bit down on my frustration. How petty can soone be… what’s the difference between having a door and just sneaking out on my own? Ridiculous.
“What did the note say?” Tristian asked .
“No door for , Mayor’s orders apparently.”
“That… that makes no sense? Why wouldn’t he want you to have a door?”
I just shrugged. “It is what it is.”
I also didn’t have much to my na either. In my drawers was an extra school uniform along with a sumr warr weather uniform—two pairs of sleeping attire. Athletic wear. And my mansion uniform. This was everything I owned in this world.
Adria and Tristian both decided to stay in the dorm until dinner ti. I, on the other hand, had made a decision.
It was ti to do so learning.
—
The library was, as expected, extensive, and there was so much paper… rows and rows of bookshelves filled the place, and I was happy to say that the books here didn’t seem useless—no books on how to bake a cake for a noble around here thankfully.
I was in search of a few things here. First, I wanted every book I could find on Vampires and, more specifically, Blood Magic. Next, I wanted a few history books from the last two or three decades. And then after that, anything that seed interesting.
I had about two hours before I had to et Adria and Tristian for dinner. I would have liked to skip out on it today, but I had to maintain my good servant facade. The librarian and the older students eyed suspiciously, but there were plenty of servants in the library, so it wasn’t odd for to be here. My fake status as a servant changed everything for . If I was still a slave, being here on my own would have seen getting punished.
I perused the library and selected anything that seed practical. There were only two books on Blood Magic. A handful that had anything to do with Vampires, but what surprised was the severe lack of history books.
The entire section for history was about half a bookshelf full at the back of the library. And most of the “books” were translated manuscripts that had barely anything to do with history. The others were similar cases of preserved docunts or journals. It was very lackluster and surprising.
Especially since that Deguzman rchant wrote his own history book, and it was a few hundred pages long. Was history being censored by the state? If so, why? Wouldn’t they then want to push their version of history more?
How odd.
Ignoring the things I couldn’t control, I sat down at a small table in the back and began flipping through the selected books. The books on Blood Magic were things I already knew for the most part.
Vampires used Blood Magic, and Blood Magic did sothing to people’s blood... not very descriptive. But what I did learn was that all Vampires could use Blood Magic as they were one of the only races that had a guaranteed ability to use magic upon birth. Also, any race that bred with a Vampire produced a Vampire 100% of the ti.
So you could have Beastn, Human, Dwarven, and Elven Vampires…huh.
The usage of Blood Magic varied from individual Vampire to Vampire, but they were known for being able to enhance their bodies to the extre, making them mighty warriors.
From what I could tell, it didn’t seem like they could use magic in a traditional sense. No Blood Magic mages or sothing. According to this book, Vampires can’t use any other type of magic whatsoever.
This book also ntioned that Vampires used to be even stronger and that you could tell a Vampire’s strength by how red their eyes were. Vampires of old had completely red eyes and were far more powerful than current generation Vampires. So I guess that is where Squeak’s saying “Redder the deader” cos from.
That was pretty much it for that book, and the other book had even less information. The other book focused on slave Obedience Collars and covered topics I was already aware of. Vampires could use Blood Magic to create an Obedience Collar.
A little bit of blood from the master and a little from the servant in conjunction with a slave collar would see a master-servant pact made if placed onto a person. Those under the effect of an active Obedience Collar couldn’t disobey their master.
They also couldn’t harm themselves or their master if given an order. A slave collar could be taken off by an Expert level mage or higher using a strong pulse of mana. However, an Obedience Collar couldn’t be taken off by anybody other than the master. If one tried to take an obedience collar off by force, it would kill the slave.
After that little tidbit, I skimd through more of the Vampire history books and learned so minor things. Most of it was just hearsay, however. So apparently after the Dragon Emperors and The Six defeated Emperor Talgan, the Empire of Nul fractured into smaller countries. These smaller countries warred for years, trying to gain land and power over each other. Many nations fell and rose since Talgan’s defeat, and even today, the northern part of Amoth, where the Vampire’s native land is a warzone.
So far, I’ve learned nothing in regards to my injuries.
No Vampire curses or Blood Magic being used to cause permanent injuries. I’m at a loss on what to do. I’m afraid I’m going to have to get another Vampire to help or get in contact with a high-ranking light mage. Preferably I could just go back to Grandpa…
Going to the Holy Kingdom might be a possibility. The Holy Kingdom of Arotal fought Talgan along with The Six and the Dragon Emperors, so surely there are so records there.
So for my injuries, I’m going to have to take another path. And I’m wondering if sothing in this book can help . I grabbed a book on plants and herbs in central Illyrcium. Most of my botanical knowledge was for plants and herbs native to Syn’nari, which had a completely different ecosystem to the mainland. I flipped through pages and read through anything that could possibly cure injuries, reduce pain, or even…
What is this? Why did Dad never ntion this to ? I read a little more, and I understood. Well, of course, he wouldn’t want his son to take sothing like this.
Consuming this fungus native to the southern lands of the Dark Elven tribes sends the user into an uncontrollable berserk-like trance. The affected individual sees a dramatic increase in both strength, stamina, and combat prowess. However, the user loses complete control of themselves and is incapable of performing higher functions such as using magic or critical thinking. The fungus also has a severe backlash. Once the user cos down from their berserker-like state, they are hit with waves of extre fatigue and ntal fogginess. These can be mitigated by a light mage, however. Repeated usage of the fungus will lead to a state of ntal weakness that even the strongest light mage can not cure.
So a mushroom that turns people into mindless berserkers, huh? I was curious because one of the main points for this fungus is the fact the user feels no pain, and it has a few other attractive qualities. It almost sounds like the start of… mmm probably not. The side effects and the uncontrollable ntal state are too much of a downside for to take it as is.
It seems it’s common for Dark Elves to use this drug in rituals or honor battles. Honor battles? Ah, yes, Dad did ntion Dark Elves fought honor battles with the Dragonkin that also called The Barrens ho.
Even though the Dragonkin live there as well, it seems people still referred to The Barrens as Dark Elf territory. But I wonder what kind of rituals it was used in? The book has it written down as if they are two separate things.
Mmmm….
I didn’t have much ti to think this over since dinner was rapidly approaching. I placed back the books I didn’t plan on reading anymore and checked the herbal book out. To anyone asking, I was simply just following my Elven blood and was curious about the plants of this region. That's what I planned on saying to anyone who asked anyway. Within two hours, I learned more than I have in four years.
This was an excellent start.
—
“Stop right there, you gutter Elf,” a familiar voice spat.
It’s literally the first day. Why can’t you bother soone else, Dillian?
“Yes, sir. How can I help you?” I said as calmly as possible.
Even though I was a servant here, socially, I was still leagues behind this kid… and his little entourage. It seems he left his rational sister at ho and opted for so extra atheads. Dillian had about four other students with him as they surrounded on my way to the Dorms.
“What is a baby-eating monster like you getting all buddy-buddy with Lady Adrianna? Huh?” Dillian questioned.
“Baby-eating monster?” The words flowed from my mouth without even thinking.
I’ve been called a lot of nas over the years. Since I’m a mixed Elf, I get the whole catalog of insults. Gutter Elf is for Dark Elves, knife or dagger ear for High Elf, and even though I’m not a Wood Elf, I still get tree hugger occasionally.
But baby eaters? That’s just… weird. And it must be a relatively new insult since I’ve never heard anyone call that.
“I know you heard the first ti! Everyone knows Dark Elves eat babies. My dad said during the war. The Shadow Dancer rcenaries would steal children and eat them!” Dillian yelled. The others who were trying to intimidate just looked at like I was the devil walking.
“I’ve never eaten a child in my life, nor do I ever want to?” I responded, not being able to hide my confusion.
I was so taken aback by this that I didn’t even feel threatened anymore. I’ve noticed that I am the only full-blooded Elf in this entire school. So half-Elves are roaming around, but they are all servants, so they must just be so noble’s bastard children.
But this was just insane. I get that people fear what they don’t understand, but how did my Dark Elf kin ever get associated with eating babies?
“Lies! It doesn’t matter! How about you just do what’s best for Adrianna and Tristian and go back to wherever you ca from,” Dillian threatened while walking toward slowly. I was sure he was trying to be intimidating, but he just didn’t have it in him.
I would love nothing more than to do just that.
But I couldn’t say that out loud. I couldn’t say or do anything right now. If I even so much as scratched these kids, I was putting my life in danger. This was the difference between being a servant and being a noble. And if it got out that a non-Human slave attacked a noble child… I don’t even want to think about what would happen to .
I watched as the rest of them closed in on slowly but Tristian’s voice echoed through the hall with palpable bloodlust. “Get away from him.”
Tristian, along with soone else, had approached the group from behind. I didn’t recognize the young Human boy next to Tristian, but he was tall with blonde hair and green eyes. He had a placid look on his face with his arms crossed.
“Tristian! I’m doing you a favor. Please just let handle this,” Dillian spoke vehently.
This kid… actually believes this doesn’t he? I thought he was just an asshat noble brat, but the way he is talking, he genuinely believes I’m a baby-eating monster here to kill Tristian and Adria.
“I believe Sir Relud said that was enough, Dillian,” the boy with blonde hair spoke. His voice was calm and even. It was pleasant on the ears.
“But Rosom! You can’t be taking this Elf’s side!”
“What do you have against him? I fail to understand how you could harbor any ill-will to a crippled Dark Elf boy. You claim he is our enemy yet the Dark Elf rcenaries fought with us, did they not? They fought until their commander was assassinated,” Rosom said matter of factly. There was no anger in his voice; he was just stating what he believed to be true. If anything, he seems confused.
So this was the number one student in the academy? And I knew the City-States were in an alliance with the old empire, so Dad did technically fight as an ally. But I didn’t know the bit about the commander of the Dark Elf forces being assassinated.
“But—bu—” Dillian stamred.
“Besides, you inflicting injury on Lady Sandervile’s servant would be uncouth of sobody of your status, Sir Stav. Yes?” Rosom questioned while tilting his head to the side.
“That’s…” Dillian said weakly.
It seems Dillian couldn’t say much to that when Adria was brought up. It was true I could have never stopped Dillian, but other nobles of equal or higher standing could quickly put him in his place. Tristian was standing at the side glaring daggers at everyone while Rosom handled the overwheld Dillian.
Either from anger or embarrassnt, Dillian stord off in a huff. His pathetic group of cronies followed close behind him while Tristian walked over to . “Are you okay, Kaladin?” he asked, worry evident in his voice.
“I’m fine, thanks to the both of you,” I said.
“I didn’t even do anything…” Tristian said quietly.
“It’s nothing,” Rosom said while extending his hand, “It’s nice to et you, Kaladin. My na is Rosom Dun of House Dun.”
Does this guy want to shake my hand? How long has it been since sobody has offered a handshake to ? Taking my surprise with a chuckle he just grabbed my hand that wasn’t holding a book and shook it.
Rosom turned to Tristian. “I’m glad we could find your friend.” Then with a slight wave as he walked away, he left with so parting words. “If those guys keep causing you problems, Kaladin, you should stick with one of us. I’m sure they won’t bother you then.”
No can do. Being able to move around freely is worth more than whatever injuries Dillian and his little crew can inflict on . And this Rosom guy… unlike the Prince of Luminar, I don’t get the sa feeling.
Have I gotten better at understanding people? Perhaps all my ti around these nobles has helped understand people who don’t seem genuine. I feel like this Rosom kid has alternative motives. He probably just wants to get closer to Tristian and Adria, and helping the poor little servant boy makes him look good. That’s the feeling I get, at least, I can’t be sure.
“What was that all about?” I asked Tristian.
“Well, I thought I was going to find you in the library, but by the ti I got there, you had already left. And then I ran into Rosom, and we talked for a little bit and we found you together,” Tristian explained awfully fast.
“You ca looking for ?”
“Well yeah, I had a bad feeling since you were taking so long, so I told Adria I was going to get you for dinner, and it seems I was right,” Tristian said sowhat proudly.
“Thanks for looking out for , Tristian,” I responded truthfully.
“Uh… yeah, no problem. Let’s go eat,” he said quickly.
“Sounds good. Hey Tristian, what do you wanna do with your life?” I asked.
“Huh? Do with my life?” he asked, scratching his head.
Oops, probably phrased that a little wrong for a kid.
“I an like… what do you wanna be when you grow up?” I corrected as we walked together to et up with Adria. And by walk, I an I limped, and he kindly matched his pace with mine.
“Well… I’m not sure. I like practicing and using my sword, so maybe a knight like my dad? Honestly, I’ve just never really thought about it,” Tristan said thoughtfully. “What about you, Kaladin?”
“I just want to live my life, that’s all.”
Tristan smiled. “Yeah, that would be nice too.”
You’re a good kid, Tristian. Much like Adria, if the circumstances were different, I’d like to be real friends with you soday.
Too bad I don’t see that day ever happening.
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