Chapter 1 - Nobility is Earned

I hold my sword not forgetting the form I was taught; I focus my eyes on the opponent In front of me making sure not to miss any subtle movements. Suddenly, he vaults towards me. I dodge to the left seeing that his sword was coming towards my head. He suddenly stops midway into his strike and does a side swipe instead. His movements flow like water and I barely have enough time to raise my sword to block the attack. *Guffaw* I suddenly let out a groan from that impact. As I am now forced to slide more to my left leaving behind skid marks on the dirt, I try and regain my balance, and chant in my mind “Wind: Feet:01”. The heat in my body suddenly flows to my feet and wind currents lift my feet up slightly off the ground. As I regained my balance the man kept charging at me, this time I am prepared to counter. His right arm holding the sword swells up, and again strikes with a wide arc, I duck to dodge his attack. I put strength into my arm and swing, but it seems the man’s movement is faster, and he ended up with a strike coming for my head again. This time I could do nothing but watch as it happens.

Wack! “Ow, Father is that some way to treat your youngest daughter, you know you don’t have to hit me so hard.” As I dropped my sword and crouch down on the ground while I cradle my head.

"Hmph! Lilith in a real battle you would have died, I am trying to train your instincts right now. In an actual fight your enemies will not hesitate to kill you." He sheathes his sword and looks at me with a stern expression and says

“Besides Lilith, you are a Dimir, A Noble Duke sworn to protect Humanity’s existence in this world.” The pain slightly subsides, and I can finally look up at my father’s face again, the current head of the house of Dimir, Loyd Astolfo Dimir.

"Father, why do we have to be constantly fighting? Wouldn't it be better to just become friends with everyone and live in peace?" He smiles at me while he stretches his hands to caress my head and says to me.

"That would be great, however, the things we are currently fighting are not something we can reason with, for they are Judgment. The annihilators of the creations.”

“Father, if they are the whole world’s enemies, why can't we cooperate with the other races? The Fairies who are accustomed to using magic, The Dwarves who make interesting trinkets, The Beastmen who are proud of their strength."

My father looks at me with his gentle eyes and stops caressing my head. "Because of the pain and suffering each one of us inflicted on one another, we are currently only doing trade with one another to try and show peace. But everyone is still wary about one race betraying the other. The ancient war was done by our ancestors of old. Who vied to become the supreme ruler of this world, the gigantic black pit in the middle of the world is the price everyone had to pay for that war, the true dragons are the ones who suffered the most with their demise.”

He looks at the mechanical clock on his wrist, one of the creations of the dwarves. He then proceeds to yell at a nearby servant to clean up the courtyard where we just fought. The servant bows his head and with a chant fixes the mess of the courtyard. “Now Lilith, it is time for your magic lesson, I shall be heading to the main office to do some work now.”

I nod my head as I finally stand up from my crouching position. As I left the courtyard one of my personal maids and acting guard came up to me. Nia, she hands me a towel and a fresh batch of clothes for me to change into.

“Nia, has Professor Randol arrived yet?”. She smiles

“Yes miss, he has arrived and is waiting in the study area, please change into your new clothes first before you head over there.”

Nia is always smiling, but do not be fooled by her. I know that she is a she-devil in the inside. I made her angry once by stealing her pudding. The face she made then was the scariest I have ever seen her. If looks could kill, she would have killed me a hundred-fold.

I head to the study room after changing my clothes and as I enter the room, I see Professor Randol silently reading a book. I curtsy towards him and say, "Good day Professor Randol, I see that you are as early as usual." He smiles at me as he returns with his bow, his green long hair falls to the side as he does it.

"Good day to you to Milady Lilith, it would sadden me if I was late for our lessons.” His wrinkled old face and his smile to boot reminds me of my grandfather living in the north.

"Then let us make haste, and not waste any more time. I think today you promised to teach me about the current findings about magic." He smiles brighter, I sit opposite of Professor Randol and he proceeds to talk.

“Yes Milady, today's lesson will be an overview of magic. Do you remember the chants and reasoning behind the chants?” I reply with a knowing smile

"Yes, there are usually three parts for the chant, The type of spell, the target, and the level of strength.”

“Correct Milady, however, the target does not necessarily have to be yourself it can also be others. This requires a different type of chant line” I ponder this for a moment and ask

“If this is the case how would the chant work for targeting others? Does the Chant become longer?” He put his left arm up and points at an unlit candle on the table.

“Type: Target Object – 01 – Ember” The spark suddenly appears on the unlit candle and small ember flame lights it up. I nod in understanding.

"So, in this case, the major change is the positioning of how the spell works. It now becomes target, level, and spell type." He nods at me, but his smile disappears and speaks resolutely

"However Milady, remember that the targeting system we have is not perfect, concentration is needed because it is prone to either self-harm or friendly fire. I used my finger as the concentration point of the spell and imagined how the spell should work. Many factors may affect this. If I used a stronger level of the spell, I must imagine how much stronger it is, not to mention keeping in mind how much mana you have. Milady can you imagine what would happen if the spell I just used went out of control." I shudder at the thought and look at him with a serious look and say.

"The spell you used could at the bare minimum burn your hand, in the worst-case burn me." He nods

"Correct Milady, however, that is not the only one, if I made the spell stronger and lose control, I could burn myself alive or if I did not have enough mana, it will use my lifeforce instead." He now looks disheartened as he continues

"We are able to use such spells, but other races can as well. The mana they possess is stronger than what we currently have.” He looks outside the window and his face mellows down, he speaks softly now

“But we were not yet forsaken, we have numbers on our side, we found a way to create magical tools to supplement the mana we lack.” He points at the walking cane that he usually has with him.

“My cane is imbued with magic stones, though replenishing it is costly, but the price is well worth it if I am able to use stronger spells. Speaking of mana, Milady do you remember how you can gauge your mana?” I smile and say

“Yes, the mana can be roughly guessed with the amount of heat that you feel in your body, you can also gauge with the chant (Vital-System-Check). The downside of using the Chant over just feeling it is that you would not be able to use any mana for 30 minutes." He nods with approval

"Correct, in a usual everyday life thirty minutes of not being able to use magic is a trivial matter. In combat it is crucial that a person must be able to gauge their mana, or else they may be killed. Even a second of not being able to cast your spells will lead to death." He looks back at me with his gentle eyes

“Milady, I understand that holding one of the great Duke names Dimir, also means holding position to be the next queen.” My ears perk up

“Yes, someday I may become either the Shield of the human kingdom, or the Sceptre of the kingdom.”

I puff my chest up, but soon I realize how inappropriate it is, and lower myself down again. “Professor Randol, I understand that I may become the next queen, but I am not of royal blood. How am I able to become queen?" He smiles at me with a grandfather smile

"That is the rule of the human kingdom. The first creators of the kingdom decided that, having a singular ruling entity will not work as the bloodline continues. The abuse of power and self-interest will block the progression of the kingdom. To prevent this from happening a new queen/king will be chosen among the five Duke families and those people who show promise to be a leader.” I look at him inquisitively and continue

“Does that mean even the peasants could become the next king or queen of the central kingdom?”

“Yes, Milady that has happened a few times in history, that is also why the nobles do not treat peasants so badly either and instead treat everyone with a degree of respect. Besides, could you imagine what would happen to a kingdom that has oppressed its people” I think for a moment and recall something that was written in one of the old history books

“A revolt?” He smiles

"Precisely Milady, and in our current situation we should not fight amongst ourselves, but instead fight for humanity." I nod

"But if that is the case why are their still fights amongst nobles?" he shakes his head

"That cannot be helped that there are arguments that cannot be resolve with just words. Therefore, Duels were created to settle such disputes, it comes in forms of fighting or hunting. But the annihilation of fellow kinsmen is not allowed. Every able body must be used for the protection of the human kingdom.”

“But what about those who have done bad things?”

“Milady they end up trialed or killed, during the current situation unrest is the worst thing that can happen. Do remember though Milady, for the survival of the kingdom, the humans live that will be used to keep it intact will not matter. We will try and mitigate the worst possible situations, but we as humans must be prepared to give ourselves up to stop our own demise." Fathers words enter my head

“If sacrificing 100 will save 1000 he will choose to sacrifice 100 even if it meant being part of that 100. That is what it means to be titled as a Great Noble family”