A bustling city can be seen in the distance. Its borders were protected by thirty meter stone walls lined with the occasional guard towers armed with ballistae. Squads of guards can be seen patrolling along the walls, occasionally glancing down at the five, wide and towering gates below.

The gates were filled with people going in and out of the city. Carriages of different shapes and sizes lined up for inspection as they pay their entrance fee to the city shortly after. A large number of people on foot can also be seen entering the city, some looking young and hopeful for city life while others looked wrinkled with age and labor and looked like they were returning after a long period of work.

This was the capital city of the largest Human Empire of the western lands, the Union Empire’s City of Caliron. This was where the royal castle grounds were located and where most of the nobles of the Union Empire resided. The city was constructed in layers, forming a total of five layers in ascending order. Of course, the further up you go the more luxurious the establishments and the better the lifestyle becomes.

It was built this way to separate the hierarchal classes of its residents; those who mostly resided from the lowest fifth level to the fourth were of the lower class, while middle-class people and lesser nobles lived on the third level, the higher nobles occupying the second level and lastly, the royal castle and the royal family were located on the first level.

Although the city itself was built in a way that is strictly based on hierarchy, it was showing signs of prosperity. The markets were filled with all types of goods; food was plenty, and from the huge crowd gathering in the market squares of the city, it looked like the majority of the people can afford most of the products here. Besides, a lot of the human kingdoms were structured this way as well, where blood was the most important asset of a person. One would always be limited by their background the moment they were born.

In the throne room of the royal castle, five men were gathered in this behemoth sized hall. The sides were lined with pillars decorated with all sorts of engraving and the walls were painted with all kinds of artistic paintings and murals. Chandeliers littered the ceiling, brightly illuminating the large hall while not a speck of dust was evident on the floors.

In the middle of this room was a large throne the shape of an eagle spreading its wings; it was enough for ten people to comfortably sit upon. It was made of pure gold, decorated with the most precious of gems and amber, it was even giving off traces of mana as it was laced with high quality magical crystals! It was the symbol of the pure luxury and power of the royal family.

A middle-aged man sat upon the exaggerated throne with his right hand on his chin. He looked like he was thinking about something as his brows were slightly creased.

“Your Majesty, we have heard reports from the scouts located in outer borders of the High Imperial Empire. A figure was seen leaving the illusion barrier and fled due south at high-speed.”

A man who looked to be in his early 40’s reported respectfully. He was clad in silver-white armor that shone brightly. It was carved with intricate patterns that radiated a blue magical aura; it was easy to surmise that it was a piece of magically enchanted suit of armor. An insignia of a golden eagle with outstretched wings was carved in the middle of the armor’s chest piece; this was the royal symbol of the Union Empire.

The middle-aged man on the throne looked to be lost in his thoughts. He turned to his side to look at an old man standing not so far away from him. He was wearing a green robe adorned with all sorts of magical enchantments. On his hands were several rings that gave off magical signatures every now and then. It was obvious that this old man was a Grand Mage, and a high-level one at that.

The old man understood the gaze of his king and immediately answered, “The Imperial Empire of Ven-Teraggan has been known to be mysterious but terrifyingly powerful. Our lack of knowledge of their true power was lost in the annals of time and has always been a reoccurring problem for many millennia. But if we have learned anything in all these years, it is that they have never done anything without a cause. It might be worth investigating this matter, Your Majesty, King Harold.”

After the Grand Mage’s wizened reply, the King Harold XI turned to the Warrior clad in armor and asked, “This.. figure, what did they look like?”

“Well.. that is the case for my urgency, Your Highness..” the general swallowed a gulp of saliva and continued, “The figure was reportedly clad in robes as white as clouds, with a mask covering their faces. An insignia of a winged book stabbed with a sword was seen on their back..”

“Battle Mage!” King Harold XI almost jumped from his high throne.

The old Grand Mage also squint his eyes in surprise. He looked to the King and said, “My King, it seems that this matter is more serious than we thought. If they have deployed a Battle Mage then something should have caught their interest. This piece of information would have surely circulated throughout the other Kingdoms and Empires as well, we must act in haste.”

The King nodded as the Grand Mage voiced his advice, he immediately commanded, “Send a relatively large force to the edge of our borders. Always monitor the movement of the surrounding kingdoms. The Battle Mage seemed to be heading southwards to the Free Kingdoms, this might be troublesome.”

King Harold XI, looked to the huge windows at one side of the huge throne room and continued, “Whatever it is that the Imperial Empire must be looking for, we must have no matter the cost.”

“But My King, what if it is really located in the territory of the Free Kingdoms?” the general asked in response.

“A bunch of disorganized nobles cannot possibly do anything to us. Turn everything upside-down if you have to.”

The King narrowed his gaze at the general, making the latter shudder, “Remember, no matter the cost.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” the general bowed deeply and left the throne room at once while still feeling the lingering gaze of the King at his departing back.

Seeing the general and his compatriots’ retreating backs, he looked once again at the Grand Mage at his side, “Elardo, can you capture that Battle Mage for me?”

The Grand Mage Elardo with his eyes closed responded to King Harold XI, “Anything is possible Your Majesty. But if anyone found out about this.. there will be some consequences.”

“I am quite aware,” Harold got off his throne and started walking towards a window, only stopping once he was in front of it. “Our magical technology concerning the production of a Battle Mage has always been snail-paced. It has been thousands of years yet our empire’s Battle Mages cannot hope to even compete with one of theirs. This is for the future sake of the Empire. We need..”

Harold turned from the window and looked at Elardo with eyes filled with determination, “... Live samples. Do you understand what I mean?”

The Grand Mage Elardo now with his eyes open replied, “Then I should be working hard for the Empire.”

King Harold XI nodded and stared over the sight of his city from the throne room’s window for a very long time.

Just as the Grand Mage Elardo deduced, the surrounding Kingdoms and Empires also got word of the mobilization of an Imperial Battle Mage. They quickly deployed action companies all around the edges of their borders in hopes of taking a peek of what could’ve caught the attention of the High Imperial Empire itself.

One could also conclude just how all of the Kingdoms of Men feared the High Imperial Empire; with even just a single one of their Battle Mage stirring quite a commotion among all of them.

------------

Back in Gerald’s Village, Arterion wasn’t aware of the ripples that are happening around the Kingdoms of Men. Well, it is better to say that the whole of the Free Kingdoms do not have an idea what was going on.

With his clothes changed and his body clean, he walked towards a two-story house made of wood near the stable he just bathed in. The house looked plain and simple; maximized for cost and comfort as opposed to looks and luxury. It was quite well made and did not look crude at all, as if a capable carpenter built it.

He knocked on the door made of the same wood as the house, and shortly after he was let in by the same girl that handed him the clothes earlier. Her face still has a pinch of red but other than that, she had mostly recovered. Arterion noticed just how pretty this girl was up-close. Hers was a beauty different from that mysterious woman that oozed of seduction and flawlessness; it was more innocent and charming, one would get the feeling that she must protected.

“Oy kid, come let’s eat! There’s plenty of food here, come eat your fill.” A voice resounded from what looks to be the dining room of the house.

Waking up from his amazement from the girl’s looks, it was only then that he realized that his nose was being assaulted with a delicious smell. It was the smell of roasted meat and warm bread! There were also traces of the smell of a savory soup. His stomach immediately grumbled, which prompted the young lady to chuckle.

Arterion’s face reddened with embarrassment as he clutched his stomach. He made his way to the dining table filled with food just by following the smell. He always had five good senses, but if one asked his opinon on which sense was the most developed, Arterion would probably say it was his smelling.

It was also his smelling that made him find that mysterious tree and that apple. Thinking about it, he didn’t know why he was attracted to its scent, or why the smell of it reminded him of home. Shaking off the thoughts of the past, he found himself sitting on a chair that Gerald pointed him to.

“Kid, this is my daughter Mila. I’d say she’s around the same age as you. She handles the work around the house by herself, so I was hoping you could help her out. There’s an empty to room on one of the shack out the back that will be your room from now on. Now eat!” Gerald gestured to Arterion as he proceeded to munch down on his food.

The young lady, Mila, was still staring at him and not touching the food at all. Arterion assumed that she already ate considering it was already midnight. He looked at the food in front of him that just a few days back was too luxurious for him to even think about, let alone eat. For two straight years he had been eating nothing but grain porridge mixed with jerky. It was the most common food fed to slaves as it was not expensive but can also keep them nourished.

“Why?” Arterion couldn’t help but blurt out. His voice was as low as a whisper, but Gerald stopped his chewing and looked at him.

“What do you mean why?” Gerald replied then picked a piece of warm bread that he immediately started chewing on.

“I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. Giving me new clothes and a place to bathe was already good enough. Why let me burden you further by giving me a seat in your dining table? Isn’t this too much?” Arterion asked as his eyes were starting to redden and grow watery.

He knew the rotten ways of men as he witnessed and was sometimes even subjected to it; the years of suffering left him numb of how people can be as kind as they were cruel, especially to someone like him. Even before he was a slave, he had always been unfortunate, yet here he was now reveling in this time of rare fortune.

Gerald stared at him for a moment then continued eating, he said, “I know you’ve been through a lot, but there are good people in this world of ours. They are not many but they are still there. There will simply just times where you have to rely on others to receive fortune that you don’t have, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Now eat, the food will get cold. I have tons of work for you tomorrow so you should be energized and ready for a new day.” Gerald finished talking and urged him to eat once again.

‘A new day..’ Arterion thought about the phrase. He then took some food and started wolfing it down.

Arterion did not notice when but at some point while he was eating, tears were falling down his face. He just couldn’t believe everything that was happening right now. That he was lucky enough that at the moment of need, a kind man like Gerald passed by and took him. He couldn’t be grateful enough.

“Th-thank..you..” Arterion said in a muffled tone. It wasn’t known what caused the muffling; whether it was the food in his mouth or because he was sobbing quietly.

Gerald just looked at Arterion throughout the meal all the while sighing in his heart. This kid was just the same age as his daughter but it was clear that he had been through so much more.

The meal passed yet the feelings of that moment shall linger on Arterion’s hearts forever..