Chapter 5: Stories

***Nict State Free City, Tri***

***Azir***

"Uuuhhh…"

My head hurts. It's been almost a year since I came into this world. I think I'm able to hold a decent conversation now.

But reading all the books and scrolls in my parents' library all day still takes a toll on my mind. I massage my temples and try to remember everything important.

This city is called Tri and belongs to the Free Cities of the State of Nict. There are six cities like ours that are forming a hexagram. The names of the cities are in order: Mono, Di, Tri, Tetra, Penta and Hexa.

Free cities are protecting Nict's borders. They all rule the smaller towns and villages around them. That's why each city is pretty much its own nation.

In the center of the hexagram is Nict, The Capital.

Each city is ruled by one of the great clans. Mono is controlled by the Siorda who has the power of a perfect memory.

Di is ruled by the Anja who are basically pyromancers.

Tri belongs to my clan, the Zait. Apparently, my father is the governor of the city. My clan can form mana according to our wishes. If I understand my mother correctly, sis is nothing more than what I call life force. The people of this world seem to have a great misunderstanding about the nature of magic.

Tetra is under the control of the Veit, who can enchant artifacts and people with ease.

Penta belongs to a clan called Eddin. They can heal with a touch.

Hexa is ruled by the Tinn who are able to move things with their minds.

Finally, there is the capital which is held by the current dominant house. The Gejene are the current rulers. The ruler of Nict changes according to the house that wields the most power at the moment. Although the Gejene have held their position for more than five hundred years. The Gejene has the innate ability to transmute any matter from one state to another.

There are smaller clans with other abilities as well, but I don't want to remember them.

None of these abilities are impossible to obtain by mages from other clans, but they are still something of a symbol for your power and your clan. All mages are able to cast spells with enchantments, runes, or magic circles.

There is a group that is called black or rogue magicians. They perform magic that is seen as evil and are therefore hunted. Summoning magic belongs to this category, as does taking someone else's soul or making blood sacrifices.

The Free Cities of the State of Nict are located on a huge landmass. Nict lies on a fertile plain with many hills and good access to all kinds of resources. To the west of this city is a large ocean and I found hints that there is another continent beyond the horizon. But the information I've found on this is scarce.

To the north is a long mountain range. The Dwemer Kingdom resides there. Their people are a little different from us and have darker skin. They build their cities deep in the mountains. We are in a bad situation with them and neither of us lets the other pass through their territory. So we don't know what's behind the mountains.

To the east are the Great Grasslands. They span many months of travel. Behind them lies another great country called Quinn. But it's hard to get past them because the Nomads live there. They attack everyone without decent protection and act like savages.

To the south is a conglomeration of many small nations and kingdoms. None of them come close to Nict's power, so we don't bother with them. Of course there is negotiation, but since our geographical location is very good, we don't need much to master them.

Nict's power and security come from the ancient teleportation portals that connect the seven cities to each other. Thus, every city is indeed a great city, even if it is hundreds of miles away. No one remembers where the portals came from. They're just there.

That way, if one of our neighbors attacks a city, we can always reallocate food, water, and reinforcements in the blink of an eye to any other city.

Now that I think about it, isn't this world very badly explored? It's hard to imagine that no one has ever tried to travel the world. I sit and look around. I think I've read all the books on history and geography so far.

My mom is out of the house, so I can't ask her to tell me more. She wanted to buy clothes for the new addition to my family. Hmm... A little sister... I doubt she's a good sister. Especially with the matriarchal social structure of Nict. I need to make sure she doesn't become too spoiled.

So that means I can only ask my dad. I don't have a deep relationship with him. He probably never accepted me as his son, unlike his mother. Maybe he feels differently about my little sister? But doesn't that mean I'm going to be excluded? I was alone on the ice for so long that I totally forgot how great pleasant relationships with other beings can be.

So when my sister arrives, he'll probably be very happy and focus his attention on her. I have to build a decent relationship with him before then, or there will be a wall between us that will be hard to overcome.

I stand up and walk out of the library. Her office is just two doors down the hallway. I reach in and look inside to find him on his desk. He never closes the door to his office and stays there almost all day. Maybe he's to avoid contact with me?

A few steps lead me to his side, but he's too absorbed in his work. Then I pulled his clothes off him.

"Dad? I have a question."

He looks down and winks at me.

"Ehm, right?"

I keep holding onto his clothes to stabilize myself.

"I just thought about the geography of Nict. Why is the world so poorly explored? There are at least a thousand years of history in our library, but most of it consists of uninteresting discussions between clans. I haven't found anything about how Nict graduated."

Yoran frowned.

"That's because the Free Cities of the State of Nict came from the ancient Nict Empire. People say that most of our great artifacts, such as the city portals, were created at that time. The emperor and his family ruled over all of Nict. We even controlled our neighbors and were said to have had contact with sea peoples. We had contact with countries far from here because our ships were strong and made long voyages."

He scratches his cheek.

"All this ended when the emperor's wife bore him twins. They looked and acted exactly the same, so that no one could keep them apart. This created a division within the empire over who should ascend to the throne. Both brothers fought each other and led the Empire into a civil war like never before. We don't know much about that time and what I tell you is just hearsay, but by the end of this war our Empire had lost its former glory. The Free Cities of the State of Nict formed from what was left. We're still reeling from the war, and even after a thousand years of rebuilding, we don't understand many of the artifacts left behind by our ancestors. War is also the reason why we are in bad shape with our neighbors."

"The reason for Nict's unity is the Portals. Without them, we would be only seven independent countries. Well. To make a long story short. After the civil war, there was nothing left. No records were left and most of our knowledge was lost and people mostly took care of themselves. The emperor's line had become extinct or had fallen during the fights, or assassinations. Maybe. Their unique feature was that they could master all magic after a single glance at it. Have you ever looked more closely into people's eyes?"

I close my lips.

"They are divided. Mine are silvery gray like yours, and Mom's is blue."

Yoran nods.

"And it's said about the emperor's bloodline that his eyes shone in all colors, depending on the angle you were looking at them. Anyway. The emperor's bloodline disappeared. There are no people like that in Nict, or it would create an uproar. Some factions would certainly try to get that person back into a position of power."

As he spoke, I climbed onto his lap and took a look at his work. It's just taxes and reporting. I pick up one of the leaves.

"How did you and Mom meet?"

***Free City of Nict State, Tri***

***Yoran***

I laughed at Azir's question.

"At the academy for magical studies. My former clan was the Anja clan. I was allowed to study there even though my magical abilities were small. I'm only able to conjure small flames and I get tired very easily. My strengths are my skills with the spear and my talent for leadership. When I met your mother, it was love at first sight. Although she wasn't interested in me at first, I tried everything to get her attention."

"I even hit a guy who made a move on her. He was very proud of his magical power, but I simply assaulted him with my fists. There's no point in magic if you're not quick enough to cast a spell before the enemy plants his fist in your face."

I laughed.

"In the end, I managed to impress his mother and we got married. So I became the governor of Tri to help her."

Azir points to a column of numbers on my tax report.

"There's a mistake here."

I arch my eyes and look at the report.

"Hmm. Well, I didn't have time to see them..."

Azir pulls the next leaf from the pile.

"That's wrong too! There are too many mistakes for just two sheets!"

"Well, that's..."

I erase the numbers and try to calculate them again

"...Like I said. I'm not done yet. How about you go back to the library and I'll do my job."

But Azir doesn't move and watches me as I try to correct my calculations.

"Dad? Are you really bad with numbers?"

He takes the pen away from me and starts putting the tables together like someone who already has years of experience.

I feel my face turn red. My son must not see this side of me! So embarrassing! It's hard enough to be a good role model for a genius like him.

"It's not like I'm bad! I just need more attention than other people. Numbers and letters tend to move when I focus on them. It's frustrating."

Azir looks at me with pity in his eyes.

"Dad. There are glasses for cases like this... go to the healer Laney and have her make some glasses with lines on them for your problem. It's easier to concentrate that way."

I frowned.

"Where did you learn that? I don't think I've ever heard that before."

Azir freezes.

"No? I do not know. Maybe I read it somewhere? I spend a lot of time in the library. Just pick up the glasses and we can modify them together. And when you're done with your job faster, you can teach me your skill with the spear!"

I bend down and wipe a tear from my eye. My image as a father took a serious hit today. I stroke her head. I hope he doesn't spend too much time with me or he'll find my other faults.

"Maybe when you're a little bigger."