Chapter 1: Princess Jade

The world of Thaven, a diverse world filled with magic, technology, as well as monsters. On the eastern continent lies a coastal kingdom by the name of Muterra, a mid-ranked country in terms of military strength and economic power and this is where this story begins.

Whoosh

Powerful streams of air currents could be heard barrelling past trees as a hoverboarder zoomed through, caring very little about the noise they were causing.

"Yahooooo!" The rider, a beautiful young woman with long blue hair screamed out in joy as she increased her speed, dodging trees, and other obstacles with her piloting skills. This young woman was Jade.

"Princess slow down, please!" Dragging behind her were two hovercrafts sporting well-dressed men each armed with swords at their sides. These men were the royal guards, sworn to protect the royal family of Muterra. Jade was the 7th Princess yet appeared nothing like you'd expect. She was a complete tomboy and free spirit; she hated the restrictive life of royalty especially those fancy dresses she was always forced to wear. No, she much preferred dressing up like a guard or knight as she willingly threw herself into danger and adventure.

"Hahaha slow down, I haven't even gotten started yet Collin!" In response to her reply Princess Jade further increased her speed, far beyond what her hoverboard was supposed to fly at. Technically she'd be breaking the law with this speed, but she was a Princess, hard to really press any charges plus they were currently far from any civilisation.

Jade smiled and focused her eyes as she dashed faster and faster through the trees, performing tricks and twists whenever she found an opportunity. This forest was one of her favourite escapes, far away from the royal castle and the hustle and bustle of regular life. Here she could truly be free, fly as far and as fast as wished. Leaving her guards in the dust.

"Haaaaaa why did I even bother." Collin sighed but smiled at the same time, he was already used to his Princess's antics, but he still had a job to do.

"Speed up, try to stay as close as possible." He gave an order to the pilot sitting next to him. He couldn't force his princess to stop but he could stay as close as possible to protect her from a few possible accidents.

The pilot winced, he was already given this hovercraft everything he had, and their current flying speed was already beyond his piloting skills.

"Sorry captain I can't make it go any faster." The pilot replied in a depressed tone. Their hovercraft and Princess Jade's hoverboard ran on mana. The pilot was fairly accomplished with his mana reserves, but could he really compete with the prodigy that was the 7th Princess….no way in hell. Each hover vehicle came with mana crystals that could support standard flying speed and movement. But to move like the wind, or even faster relied solely on the mana of the pilot.

The 7th Princess Jade was known for being one of the greatest prodigies for magic talent that the Kingdom of Muterra had ever seen. Even the old farts in the mana tower paled in comparison to her. At the tender age of 11 she had already surpassed her magic instructor, forcing him to quit out of shame. Now only the grand mage, the highest ranked magician in the kingdom was fit to teach her.

It didn't help that their vehicle wasn't exactly designed for their current terrain. Although it was smaller than ships and other vehicles, within a dense forest it was really out of its element.

"Haaaaaa" Collin let out a deep sigh before ushering the pilot out of the driving seat so he could take over. The moment he did Collin filled the mana engine with his own mana, giving them a significant boost, still slower than Princess Jade but enough to keep her in their sights.

As if taunting, Jade continued to perform flips and twists with her board, dashing forward whenever they got too close.

"Hahahahaah" Jade laughed out loud, she was having so much fun right now. This was her escape, for the past few days she'd be forced to study boring and dull books about the kingdom's history and politics, it didn't help that her teacher was a complete ass. Eventually she had enough and stormed out the window and flew away, leaving the man red in the face and cursing from the window.

'Being so talented certainly has its problems.' Jade internally complained. Ever since her talents were revealed she'd been receiving the very best education the Muterra Kingdom had to offer. Her father the King was always full of joy and praise whenever she passed a test or showed up her tutors and that used to be enough, now however…

A little under 6 years ago when Jade was 12 years old, her father, the King passed away. He died due to illness, a genetic problem with no cure but it wasn't sudden. The king had already taken measures in regards to the kingdom and his successor so everything worked out in that regard but for her, it was devasting. Her father was her rock, her everything, the only one who really understood her and didn't try to force her into becoming something she wasn't. She slipped into depression, only coming out of it when she remembered something her father used to always say to her.

"Jade my beautiful daughter, you are special, you'll bring greatness into this world I'm sure of it." He'd always ruffle her hair and laugh after saying that. She kept this phrase close to her heart and used it to fuel her talents. She surpassed so many magicians, helped create a plethora of magic devices to help improve the welfare of her people and was loved by the populace for it. Unfortunately, not everything worked out because of it.

Jade subconsciously slowed down her hoverboard and frowned as she remembered the reason, she was out here in the forest. After escaping from her history teacher, she was summoned to the throne room by the kings guard. Jade couldn't refuse no matter how much she wanted to; she was still royalty after all.

She was escorted by the kings guard into the throne room where the current king along with many of his current advisors and her siblings were waiting. After her Father passed, her eldest brother was coronated as per tradition. Her eldest brother was how do you put it… mediocre at best. He wasn't good in anyway or bad, Muterra was on a strong rise in terms of technological advancement and commerce but when her brother took over that stopped, and the kingdom even receded in some areas. Which in a way wasn't that bad since kingdoms always required periods of expansion and contraction in order to survive long term and the man himself wasn't evil or corrupt just…. bad at his job.

With her showing off such impressive talents in not only magic but in governing and being so well liked by the people it started to change their relationship. Her brother the King grew incredibly jealous and paranoid, it didn't help that certain nobles that preferred a mediocre king were constantly making the relationship worse to protect their own interests. King Damien's rule became even worse and the people of Muterra had started to wish for a new regime. They had gotten used to their lives improving and Muterra becoming a larger powerhouse in terms of a nation.

Jade always dreaded having to enter the throne room and engaging with Damien. She wasn't a little girl anymore, she couldn't just throw a tantrum or even insult him in the open, he was King, and she was a Princess.

"7th Princess of the Muterra kingdom, Princess Jade is here your Majesty." Jade performed the standard curtsy of royalty that her station demanded, making sure to not make any mistakes. Last time she did that, Damien had ordered for her to be taught noble etiquette from the basics and from the harshest teacher in the palace. She learned how to act pretty quickly after that. Her history teacher was another of Damien's passive aggressive actions, the teacher was incompetent and nit-picky about everything.

Damien had Jade remain in curtsy for a while, she could only rise with his permission, and he enjoyed having her lower than him, it stroked his petty ego.

"You may rise Princess Jade." Eventually he allowed her to stand while smirking. Some of his other siblings and nobles present frowned but didn't speak out. Others were also smirking; Damien wasn't the only one jealous of Jade's talents and popularity.

"Thank you, your Majesty." Jade spoke with eloquence and placed her hand over her heart to show fealty even though inside her mind she was imaging beating the crap out of him.

At this point she still didn't know why she was summoned. Looking around the area she saw that nearly everyone important had been summoned all except her magic teacher as well as the more influential members of government that supported her and not Damien.

'Is this some kind of set up?' She was used to her brother's jealousy but something about this situation made her feel uneasy, she felt a shiver down her spine and a cold sweat started to develop. Worry was clearly showing on her face, which didn't go unnoticed by Damien.

He smiled evilly towards his younger sister; he was going to enjoy this.