asured footsteps echoed through the empty corridors of the Imperial Academy, their sound carrying lightly off the stone walls and high vaults. The space, so recently filled with the voices of students, now felt unusually quiet and austere.
Kael walked forward, his head slightly tilted back as he thoughtfully studied the ceiling, where frescoes depicting artisans and warriors stretched overhead.
“I need to understand which crafts hold the most value here…” he thought to himself without slowing, then almost imdiately continued: “I can certainly pursue alchemy… and magic inscription.”
His thoughts flowed smoothly from one to the next.
“Gilsh has already chosen his path. He’ll definitely beco a blacksmith.”
Recalling his persistence, Kael smiled faintly. Along with that, the image of Lissandra surfaced in his mind.
“She has the Soul Form of the Venomous Basilisk. She could also pursue alchemy…”
For a mont, he pondered, then his amber eyes glinted slightly, and a sly smile touched his lips.
“Or help Gilsh in the forge…” he murmured quietly, turning the idea over.
After a few more steps, he shifted to the next thought.
“Roselle… Soul Form—Fla Shade. Suited for both the forge and combat…”
He frowned slightly, continuing the line of reasoning. “If I apply the knowledge of the Dolmin Dinsion and their forging techniques…”
But almost imdiately, he shook his head, cutting himself off.
“No… First, I need to understand the limits of the Blood Dragon Empire’s knowledge,” he murmured more calmly.
His thoughts settled into a clearer pattern, and continuing forward at the sa steady pace, he added quietly, “There’s no need to rush in this matter…”
“As for Girren…” Kael continued inwardly, shifting his gaze ahead. “He's a pure combat mage with terrifying potential… Once the Empire examines his soul, I’m certain it will cause quite a stir.”
With that thought, he stopped before a familiar door. The plaque still read 317.
Kael knocked briefly.
“Co in,” ca the response from the other side.
Adjusting the sleeve of his uniform, he pushed the door open and stepped inside, imdiately directing his gaze toward the center of the hall.
“I’m ready, Lieutenant Valeria,” he said calmly.
At that mont, the woman withdrew her hand from the black surface of the board. The lines drawn with mana had already ford a clear structure, and what stood before Kael was not just a drawing.
It was a large-scale map of the continent.
The upper portion was occupied by a broad band of icy wastelands. It stretched from west to east, separating the rest of the landmass from the northern seas.
Below lay the lands of the Blood Dragon Empire. They covered nearly the entire central and western parts of the continent. The territory was continuous, without internal divisions. A dense network of rivers ran through it, mostly flowing from north to south. Between them ran roads connecting the main hubs.
Particularly notable was a sea slightly above the center of the continent, along with an island not far from the shore.
“So that’s where the Capital is…” Kael thought at once, looking directly at the island, which seed tiny compared to the rest of the continent.
Farther south began the lands of the Beast God Horde. They stretched along the entire southern coast. The shoreline there was deeply indented, with inland seas and large bays. The river network was sparser, and the roads were scattered. There was effectively no clear border with the Empire—between them lay a wide “neutral” zone. But Kael understood perfectly well that those lands were a war zone, where territories constantly changed hands.
Shifting his gaze slightly, Kael noticed that the eastern part of the continent was cut off by gray mountain ranges. It was a continuous mountain massif, stretching from north to south in a wide band.
Thus, the continent was divided into four zones: the northern icy wastelands, the central lands of the Empire, the southern territories of the Horde, and the isolated eastern region beyond the mountain barrier.
Outwardly, Kael feigned shock and undisguised interest.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, stepping closer, and, as if seeing such a thing for the first ti, murmured in the imperial language, “Could it be… This is a map of our world?”
Valeria gave a short nod and replied with a hint of approval, “Exactly.”
She imdiately added, pointing toward the front row of seats, “Sit down. We’ll begin with the basics.”
Kael moved to the indicated seat without delay. Sitting down on the bench, he did not take his eyes off the map, continuing to study every line.
“I’ve only seen its ancient versions…” he thought to himself, comparing what he saw with what he knew. “The north was occupied by the Primal Elent Empire… the center—the Moon Mage Empire… the south—the Abyssal Shadow Empire…”
His gaze slowly moved across the new borders.
“Now…” he narrowed his eyes slightly, taking in the changes, “the lands have been completely redistributed…”
At that mont, Kael felt Valeria’s gaze on him.
He quickly turned and t her calm, red eyes, which held a certain strictness.
“How much do you know about our world?” she asked seriously.
Kael hesitated for a mont, considering his answer. His thoughts raced through possibilities, discarding anything that might raise suspicion.
“In Lasthold, much knowledge was lost,” he finally said. “I know that there were once three empires of human mages. But around seven or eight hundred years ago, a catastrophe occurred that destroyed them.”
He paused briefly, continuing in the sa calm tone, “So people fled across the mountains. One such group of refugees founded my ho city.”
Valeria blinked slowly, then let out a heavy sigh.
“So… you know practically nothing.”
With those words, she stepped closer to the map. Her fingers lit with a faint spark of mana, and she began to draw lines quickly and precisely.
“Then we’ll start with the basics,” she said. “Our world is called the Human Dinsion.”
Her hand moved with confidence.
With several sharp motions, she outlined a vast hexagon around the continent. Judging by the boundaries, not only the continent but also a significant portion of the surrounding ocean was enclosed within it. Only the upper edge did not pass through the ocean, but along the icy wastelands in the north.
“It consists of one vast continent and an ocean that stretches all the way to the Divine Walls.”
The mont Kael heard this, his mind began to work just a bit faster.
“So… they know about the Divine Walls as well…” he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes slightly. “I wonder how deep their knowledge of the true structure of the world goes…”
Kael tensed slightly, then, bracing his hands against the desk and leaning forward, feigned genuine surprise.
“The Divine Walls?” he said, frowning. “What do you an?”
Valeria answered without pause, tracing one of the edges with her finger. The line beneath her touch glowed softly.
“They are the boundaries of our dinsion, imposed by the Gods themselves. No matter which direction you sail in from the continent, sooner or later you will encounter an impenetrable wall of space.”
Her finger slowly slid downward, leaving a thin trail of light in its wake.
“They appear like mirrors, stretching infinitely upward and downward. And the shape of these walls forms a perfect hexagon.”
“A hexagon?” Kael repeated, tilting his head slightly.
“A six-sided shape, simply put,” Valeria explained briefly.
Kael drew in a quiet breath, as if processing what he had heard, and carefully asked, “And what… lies beyond these Divine Walls?”
This ti, Valeria fell silent for a mont. The light on the map pulsed faintly, reflecting in her eyes. The question seed to trouble her as well.
“That is a sacred secret,” she said, a little quieter than before. “A secret known only to the Emperor and those closest to him.”
Then her hand moved again, and she pointed to the lower edge of the hexagon.
“But what is known for certain is that the world does not end with the Human Dinsion. The Beast God Horde ca from beyond.”
“From beyond the southern Divine Wall,” Valeria added.
Her fingers lingered at that point for a mont, then she continued, “And it was precisely this event that beca the downfall of the Three Ancient Empires.”
The mont those words were spoken, Kael’s jaw dropped slightly, and his gaze froze for an instant on the edge Valeria had marked. He looked as though what he had heard was beyond everything he knew.
But it was only an act. In his mind, he was already forming a chain of conclusions: “At the very least… they know that sothing exists beyond the Human Dinsion…”
For a fraction of a second, he closed his eyes, turning his awareness inward, into his own mind and mory…
✦ ✦ ✦
In the next mont, it was as if he were standing in an endless golden hall, stretching infinitely into the distance. Towering bookshelves rose upward and outward, fading into a light mist. They were packed with volus—old and new, of varying thickness, with darkened spines and barely visible symbols on their bindings.
The mont he focused, the space ca alive.
Hundreds of books tore free from the shelves. So fell, others hovered in the air, and then all at once surged toward him as if drawn by an invisible force. As they drew closer, they opened on their own, pages flipping rapidly with a dry rustle.
From these phantom books, fragnts of pages began to separate. They did not tear—rather, they detached cleanly, as if prepared in advance. Each fragnt took on a precise hexagonal shape.
They were maps.
Different ones. So crude and schematic, others rendered in ticulous detail. In so, only the outlines of continents were marked; in others—rivers, mountain ranges, and even inscriptions, barely legible on aged paper.
The fragnts began to move, drawing closer to one another.
So hexagons imdiately found their matches, their edges aligning perfectly to form larger sections. Coastlines connected, mountain ridges continued, and rivers flowed seamlessly from one fragnt into another.
Others hovered apart, surrounded by emptiness, as though nothing lay beyond them.
And the more Kael strained his soul and mind, the faster the process accelerated.
More and more fragnts joined, forming a complex, expanding structure.
Within Kael’s ntal space, a vast puzzle was assembling—a map ford from fragnts of hundreds of books he had once studied in the Divine Library.
This map was made up of countless hexagons. It even resembled scales laid out across a surface.
The lines between the ‘scales’ shimred faintly, binding them into a single whole. But the closer to the edges, the more of those “scales” were surrounded by emptiness.
Kael slowly lowered his gaze to the bottom edge of this construct—to one such scale.
This fragnt contained a map almost identical to the one Valeria had drawn.
“There are many Dark Dinsions around us…” he continued the thought, observing the void around it.
He shifted his gaze slightly to the side.
There, two hexagons were already joined, forming a separate zone. Their edges aligned perfectly, and the script upon them was in the language of the beastfolk.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Kael narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the symbols.
“In the future… the beastfolk will have several Dinsions under their control…” he thought calmly, comparing it with fragnts of his mory. “But how things stand now is unknown.”
He paused briefly, shifting his gaze to the void between the Human Dinsion and the Dinsions of the beastfolk.
“To invade our lands, they had to pass through one of the Dark Dinsions… Which ans the beastfolk cannot be underestimated.”
In Kael’s mind, images flickered for a mont—distorted creatures, lands steeped in ruin, and storms of chaotic, unstable mana…
✦ ✦ ✦
In the next mont, Kael opened his eyes, as he returned to the lecture hall.
Before him was once again the dark board, the softly glowing lines of the map, and Valeria’s calm figure standing slightly to the side. A faint vibration of mana still lingered in the air.
Kael straightened slightly, taking a slow breath, as if processing everything he had heard.
“Fortunately… right now they cannot strike us with their full strength…” he thought calmly, keeping an interested expression on his face. “Only part of their army is in our dinsion…”
His gaze moved once more over the hexagon drawn on the board, and he continued the thought:
“To create a breach in the Divine Walls, one must be a Mortal Monarch.”
For a second, a strange, calculating light flashed in his eyes.
“Which ans… there is at least one beastfolk mage in the Human Dinsion who is equal to the Emperor.”
At that mont, Valeria narrowed her eyes slightly.
Her gaze lingered on Kael a little longer than usual, as if she had sensed sothing amiss—not in his words, but in the shift of his expression.
“The shock vanished from your face too quickly,” she said evenly. “Are you hiding sothing from ?”
Kael froze for a fraction of a second, then imdiately composed himself. His brows twitched slightly, and an awkward, almost guilty smile appeared on his lips.
“I’m sorry…” he looked away slightly, as if embarrassed, and exhaled softly. “I just got lost in thought.”
He ran his fingers along the edge of the desk and he continued at once, as if trying to explain himself: “I was thinking… what if we captured one of the beastfolk… and tried to extract information about what lies beyond the Divine Walls?”
Saying this, he gave a short laugh and scratched the back of his head slightly, as if realizing the naivety of his own idea.
“But then I realized that…” he paused, choosing his words, “sothing like that has probably already been done.”
Kael looked at the map again, then at Valeria, straightening slightly.
“And most likely, you simply don’t tell everything because I don’t have the necessary status to access that kind of information.”
He gave a slight shrug, composing himself.
“Anyway… I just got carried away thinking. Sorry again.”
For a mont, a flicker of interest crossed Valeria’s gaze.
She tilted her head slightly, as if reassessing him, and said quietly, “You have a sharp mind, boy. And your thoughts… have rit.”
With those words, she took a few steps forward. Her movent was smooth and confident. Coming closer, Valeria, without ceremony, braced a hand against the edge of the desk and sat on it beside Kael. The fabric of her uniform slid softly against the wood.
She pointed at the map. The tip of her finger glowed faintly, and the line along the southern edge brightened for a mont.
“When we finish this war and destroy the beastfolk who have invaded the Human Dinsion…” she said, without taking her eyes off the map, “it will be ti to explore what lies beyond the Divine Walls.”
She fell silent for a mont, then shifted her gaze to Kael.
“If this truly interests you… grow stronger.”
Her voice beca firr.
“Help the Empire win. And then, perhaps, you will have a chance to see the boundaries of the true cosmos with your own eyes.”
She straightened slightly and added more solemnly, “The Empire honors those who bring it victory. And it honors their desires.”
With those words, Valeria lazily flicked her hand.
A smoking pipe with a dark, polished mouthpiece appeared in her hand at once. Nearby, a small bundle of tobacco hovered in the air, held in place by a thin thread of mana. The leaves swayed faintly, as if stirred by an invisible breeze.
Without looking, she turned her wrist slightly, and the tobacco drew itself into the pipe. With a light motion of her finger, Valeria packed it into the pipe.
“And now… let’s move on to more grounded matters.”
Runes glowed softly across the surface of the pipe. In the next mont, she took a draw, and the tobacco crackled softly.
Exhaling a dense cloud of violet smoke, Valeria nodded to herself and pointed at the map.
“As you can see, across the center of our continent, from the far north to the east stretches a wide chain of impassable mountain ranges.”
Kael gave a short nod in response.
“The Central Dragon Mountains.”
Valeria inclined her head slightly in confirmation.
“Exactly.”
She turned her gaze back to the map, shifting the pipe slightly aside.
“The western half of the continent has always been safer,” she continued evenly. “And richer in resources. In ancient tis, it was divided among the Three Empires.”
“And the eastern part…” she paused for a mont, “consisted mostly of steppes and deserts. Only the north and south of that half held real value.”
Taking another draw, Valeria slowly exhaled smoke to the side without interrupting her explanation.
“The passage through the mountains was always difficult, and constant landslides and the migration of beasts constantly destroyed the few safe paths. That is why such a route was poorly suited for regular trade.”
She turned her head toward Kael and added seriously, “That is why, in ancient tis, the east was more often reached by sea, by ship.”
Kael tilted his head slightly, tracing the route with his eyes, and remarked calmly, “Then why did you co through the mountains this ti?”
Valeria gave a short smirk.
“Because the northern ocean is bound by icy lands all the way to the Divine Wall.”
She let out a hoarse chuckle and explained, “All ancient trade routes passed through the south of the continent. But now it is fully under the control of the Beast God Horde.”
Kael fell silent for a mont, continuing to look at the map as if comparing what he had heard with fragnts he already knew.
“Judging by that…” he said, narrowing his eyes slightly, “in ancient tis the south was under the control of the Abyssal Shadow Empire.”
Valeria nodded without hesitation.
“Correct.”
She took another draw and added:
“When the Beast God Horde struck, the Abyssal Shadow Empire was the first to take the blow… and the first to fall… And with it, all the trade routes to the east collapsed.”
Kael leaned forward slightly, a note of genuine interest entering his voice: “What do you think… could there still be cities like our Lasthold in the east?”
Valeria fell silent for a mont. The smoke from her pipe slowly dissipated in the air, and her gaze lingered sowhere on the southeastern part of the map.
“It’s hard to say…” she replied after a second.
Then a faint smirk crossed her lips.
“But I think we’ll find out soon enough.”
With those words, Valeria straightened her shoulders, and her voice imdiately regained its usual firmness.
“Enough theory. It’s ti to move on to taking notes on the history of the Blood Dragon Empire.”
She lightly hopped off the desk, landing lightly on the floor, and headed toward the other side of the lecture hall.
Kael did not hesitate. He opened his notebook, took out a crystal quill, and, bringing it to the page, infused it with a small amount of mana. The tip imdiately glowed with a soft light, ready to write.
anwhile, Valeria began, pacing along the front row, “It is said that around eight hundred years ago, the Human Dinsion was under the influence of three gods: the God of Shadow, the Lunar God, and the God of Seven Elents.”
She stopped, turning slightly toward the map.
“They were the patrons of the Three Ancient Empires… and ensured their prosperity.”
Without lifting his head, Kael was already writing down every word. The light of the quill reflected softly in his eyes, and the lines ford neatly and quickly.
Valeria continued without pause, as if reciting a long-morized text, “But about seven hundred years ago, sothing strange occurred. The ancient chronicles say that the Gods stopped responding to their flock.”
She took a few more steps, and her voice grew slightly quieter, yet harsher:
“Only the God of Shadow continued to answer the Abyssal Shadow Empire for so ti. However, the records indicate that his influence was also weakening. The blessings grew fewer… until he disappeared entirely.”
For a mont, silence settled over the lecture hall, broken only by the faint scratching of a quill against paper.
“We call this period the beginning of the Age of Decline,” Valeria continued, turning toward Kael. “The following century was marked by the degradation of the Three Ancient Empires.”
She tapped her finger lightly against the desk, as if emphasizing the importance of her words.
“Internal conflicts began. Struggles for power and resources… and the gradual destruction of the old order.”
Kael’s quill moved at a frightening speed, as if it moved faster than his own thoughts.
“So that’s how it was…” he noted calmly to himself, without slowing down. “But why did the Gods abandon their flock?”
Valeria turned and began walking back the other way. Her steps slowed slightly, and a weight entered her voice, as if what ca next was more than re history to her.
“And at the point of greatest decline, a catastrophe occurred,” she said without raising her tone. “A catastrophe that destroyed the ancient civilization.”
For a second, her gaze lingered on the map, where the southern lands were marked more heavily than the rest.
“Around six hundred years ago, the Beast God Horde invaded the Human Dinsion.”
The runes on her pipe glowed softly as she took a short draw.
“With their power, they subjugated the wild beasts of our continent and led them forward.”
She lifted her gaze slightly, as if recalling blood-soaked battlefields, she added, “The Horde grew before our eyes. A wave, sweeping everything in its path.”
Silence settled over the hall once more, with only Kael’s quill gliding across the paper.
“When the Abyssal Shadow Empire fell, only so of its mages managed to retreat north,” Valeria continued, as she continued walking. “The rest… remained there.”
She took a few more steps, then added, “At that point, the Moon Mage Empire and the Primal Elent Empire were forced to unite.”
Her gaze grew colder.
“From that mont, the war began. A war that continues to this day.”
Kael’s quill paused for a mont, and he lifted his gaze from the notebook. This ti, the interest in his eyes was no longer feigned, but genuine.
“How did you manage to stabilize the beastfolk’s advance?” he asked.
Valeria responded with a stern rebuke, “Do not interrupt, student. Your task is to take notes.”
She did not even stop, rely shifting her shoulder slightly, and her voice grew sharper.
“The first phase of this war lasted about thirty years. During that ti, human mages retreated… and lost more and more territory.”
“Without the support of the Gods, faith in victory collapsed. We received no new knowledge, did not develop…” she added, pressing her lips together. “In truth, we were rely surviving.”
Valeria calmly pointed her pipe toward Kael as she spoke, “It was during this period that most refugees attempted to flee through the Central Dragon Mountains. Among them were your ancestors.”
Kael said nothing, only lowered his gaze back to his notebook and continued writing.
“I’d better stay silent for now… I’ll figure everything out gradually…” he noted calmly to himself, quickening his quill once more.
For a mont, silence fell over the hall.
Even the crackle of tobacco in the pipe grew quieter, as if the very air had stilled, as if listening for what would co next. Valeria’s gaze changed. In her red eyes, sothing else flickered—not cold severity, but a deep respect… almost reverence.
The harsh lines of her face softened. A faint, unexpected warmth touched her lips.
She lifted her head slightly, as if addressing not only Kael but sothing greater.
“But the point of greatest decline…” she said slowly, “beca the point of triumph.”
A restrained solemnity entered her voice.
“A mysterious mage appeared. He offered the fragnted human army the chance to kneel before a new God.”
Kael’s quill did not stop, but his gaze sharpened for a mont.
“So this is where the God of Blood and War rises…” he noted calmly to himself.
Valeria, not noticing the change, continued as if envisioning those legendary events in her mind: “There were those who refused. Those who clung to the old traditions and hoped for the return of the forr Gods.”
She shook her head slightly.
“But there were others.”
Her voice grew firm again.
“Those who agreed did so… for the sake of victory over the beastfolk.”
With those words, Valeria raised her hand and briefly pointed to her red hair.
“Those who chose to kneel received a gift from the God of Blood and War,” she said with visible pride. “A special bloodline… and powerful Canons of Magic.”
Her fingers lingered for a mont near her temple, where crimson strands glead softly in the light.
“These mages beca the ancestors of the modern Imperial Branch.”
Valeria’s voice grew stronger, filled with inner force, and her eyes shone.
“They were the first to turn the tide of the war. They managed to unite the scattered human armies… and began the resistance that has lasted for hundreds of years.”
Clear inspiration showed on her face. Her smile widened, livelier, almost youthful—a sharp contrast to her usual cold restraint. In the rays of the sun, for a mont, it even seed as though her figure was surrounded by a glow.
Kael’s gaze lingered on her face for a mont.
“This blend of ferocity and femininity…” he thought to himself. “An incredible woman.”
And the mont Valeria caught that look on herself, her expression faltered for a mont. She realized she had let her emotions slip, and even seed slightly embarrassed.
But quickly composing herself, Valeria gave a short cough and returned to her usual strictness.
“But much has changed since then,” she continued more evenly. “Today, even the direct descendants of the Ancient Empires have embraced the faith. All of us are the obedient flock of the God of Blood and War.”
Then she gave a faint snort and added, “Though so old traditions are still preserved…”
With those words, Valeria began walking toward Kael.
“Besides the Imperial Branch, there are others,” she said. “The Lunar Mage Branch and the Primal Elent Branch. They also possess imnse influence and power, yet acknowledge the supremacy of the Imperial Branch.”
Without stopping his writing, Kael lifted his gaze for a mont and then asked, “And what of the Abyssal Shadow Branch?”
Valeria fell silent for a mont, then shook her head almost imperceptibly.
“Alas, they suffered losses that were too great and could not withstand the weight of ti. Of the direct descendants of the Abyssal Shadow Empire, only a small group of mages remains, who now hold almost no influence.”
As she spoke, she tapped her fingernail lightly on Kael’s desk.
“That concludes our brief overview of ancient history. We will examine these events in detail in future lessons.”
After waiting for Kael to finish writing, she pointed slightly below his last lines and said, “Draw a line. Next, we will move on to a brief overview of the current state of the Human Dinsion.”
Valeria turned and stepped away a few paces, as if separating the finished topic from the next. Then she continued in a more even, almost instructional tone, “At present, all human regions are united under the rule of the Empire. Each province has its own strengths.”
She approached the drawn map and began drawing new boundaries within the territory of the Blood Dragon Empire.
“So regions specialize in particular schools of magic, forming entire traditions. Others take advantage of their terrain, focusing entirely on specific crafts.”
After a brief pause, Valeria added, “In every province, the Empire has established schools for young mages. Their task is to identify talented children and select the best of the best. Those selected are given a chance to enter the Imperial Academy…”
✦ ✦ ✦
At the sa ti, while Kael was delving into the structure of the Blood Dragon Empire, beyond the main building, life was far less calm.
Along the path leading to the student quarters, a group of young n and won moved forward. They walked freely, unhurried, talking loudly and laughing, not bothering to hide their mood. Their voices carried the confidence of people accustod to their position.
At the front walked Valkeris.
He leaned on his cane, but moved with confidence, setting the pace. His gaze was fixed ahead, and a satisfied, almost lazily predatory smile played on his lips.
“I hope the won of these savages turn out to be compliant…” he muttered, tilting his head slightly to the side.” “I have an irresistible urge to spend ti with soone new today…”
His words were quiet, yet clear enough for those walking beside him to hear.
Laughter imdiately followed.
One of the girls rely covered her mouth with her hand, holding back a smile. There was neither surprise nor condemnation in their reaction—rather, it was simply familiarity.
At that mont, a cold, unkind glint flashed in Valkeris’s eyes. He paused for a mont, as if already imagining how the evening would unfold, then his smile widened, and he continued on.
User Comments
0 comments from readers