The Central Kingdom within the Chorus continent has a total of six leaders, one of each race. These races have had their history of heinous war and bloodshed with one another, but during a peaceful period, they came up with a treaty. The treaty was simple. They would each take care of their kingdom and not intervene in the other's affairs. This way, they could have peace between the nations. However, this only created a grace period between the six races. After that, war raged again, and the six races were at each other's throats.
It wasn't until the Yal, a race known for their beauty, presented a solution. In order to keep the peace between the nations, they decided to unite the different kingdoms and create a new empire. This proposition was regarded as lunacy until humans decided to go along. Then, later on, the other four races saw how the Yal and humans were prospering and decided one by one to join. First, it was the Delgards, a race known for their brute strength and large stone physiques. Then it was the Ragrums, Neenies and Bosgen. Years went by as the six rulers of the Central Kingdom thrived, and peace was kept. Thus a coregency was born, and the Hall of Monarchs ruled over the kingdom.
However, there was one problem. There were still people who were fighting. These people were known as the Outlanders. They refused to join the Central Kingdom and fought against them tooth and nail. The Outlanders mainly consisted of minor races and wanted to keep their kingdoms and autonomy. These small kingdoms are still independent to this day, with a growing hatred towards the Central Kingdom. But as the years went by, they became quieter and less pronounced, as if time itself had healed the wounds of war.
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"This is the Servants Hall," Clara gestured proudly. It was a decent-sized room with a long table with a small chandelier hanging above it. It was a general-purpose room for eating, working, and socialising. "And this is where you will be eating your meals."
"Thank you," Sky said as he looked around the room. It was certainly nicer in the Servants Hall than eating in the room he was provided. However, some unfamiliar faces presented themselves.
"You must be the new servant," One of them said. It was a large man with stone-like features. His skin was cracked in some areas, and he had a large, bulbous nose.
"Yes, I am," Sky responded. "I'm Sky."
"Welcome, Sky. I am Damien, one of the servants here. This is Ada," He gestured to a short, rotund girl with rat-like features. "And this is Markus," He said as he gestured to a man with long cat-like ears and a very hairy body.
"Pleased to meet you all," Sky said with a smile.
Seeing these servants wasn't as much of a surprise to him as their appearance. During his time in the slave carriage, he saw many people of different shapes and sizes. But seeing them up close was a whole other story.
"So, where are you from?" Ada asked as she sat down at the table.
Sky remained quiet, unsure of what to say. He was hesitant to explain his origins, but then he thought it would be best to give a vague explanation, "I'm not sure. I've forgotten my memories, but I was found outside Belvoir Forest by the Galfeld family."
"Ah, that explains it," Damien said with a nod. "They're slave traders. We've seen a lot of people from them."
"That must've been horrible," Markus said with a frown. "Losing your memories like that."
"It's not so bad," Sky said with a shrug. "I was moving along just fine until..." Then, Sky drifted off, thinking about his experience with Avis and the system. It wasn't until he found himself outside of the forest that everything started falling apart.
"Until what?" Ada asked.
"It's nothing," Sky said with a shake of his head. "So, what do you guys do around here?"
"We help out where we can," Damien said. "I'm in charge of the weapons and armour, Ada here is managing the finances with her big brain, and Markus is handling the food and supplies."
"I'm just one of the house's maids. I do the cleaning, laundry and things like that. You'll see Nola around here. She's the head of the maids." Clara chimed in.
"So, what will my duties be?" Sky asked.
"You'll find out soon enough. Master Nightbride will assign the tasks that you will be doing. But I suspect you'll continue gardening until then." Clara explained.
"I see, thank you." Sky said. He was anxious about what he will be doing. Gardening didn't seem like something he would need to do daily, and if he did, he was sure it would only take an hour or two.
Sky continued to converse with the four servants until a wave of tiredness overcame him, and he excused himself to go to bed. It had been a long day, and he was looking forward to a good night's sleep. However, Sky decided to visit his soul space and practice a little before going to sleep.
The green trees, bright ocean sky, and sandy beaches of his soul space appeared before him. It was still as beautiful as ever, and he couldn't help but spend some time admiring it. Something about his soul space made him feel at ease and allowed him to think more clearly.
After a while, Sky decided to summon his darkness attribute. A black aura of thin wisps escaped his hand and dissipated in the air. He wanted to try something different. So far, he had only focussed on the manipulation aspect of both his attributes. What he didn't consider was using them both together.
Sky released the darkness attribute through his right hand and gathered the ambient nature attribute in his left hand. He brought both attributes together, and, to his surprise, they cancelled each other out. It was like trying to put fire and water together.
He tried again, this time with more focus and control. The black aura and the green river slowly converged before cancelling out. Sky tried multiple different ways before deciding to change his direction. He had been so focussed on attributes since he got them that he forgot about the most essential aspect. Ether. Ether was the combination of all attributes; at least, that's what Avis taught him. Ether consists of all attributes but darkness. Darkness is the enemy of all, and Sky was capable of not just utilising it but harmonising it with an opposite attribute. One that didn't come close to the nature of darkness.
'The world flows like a current of water. If one wants to go against the current, one must use their own strength to swim upstream. But if you let the current take you, it will eventually take you to your destination. The same can be said about ether. You will be quickly exhausted if you try to go against the flow. But if you only guide ether, it will do all the work for you.'
Sky closed his eyes and ignored his sight. He had been relying too much on seeing ether instead of feeling it. He could manipulate what he could see, but that wasn't good enough. He needed to feel it the same way he could feel nature. His soul space slowed as his focus deepened. Then, almost as if time stopped itself, he started to feel something within his surroundings. He couldn't understand what it was, but he knew it played an important role.
Soon enough, Sky collapsed from his meditative position and fell fast asleep. His body was exhausted, but his mind was at peace. It felt like he had just run a marathon and needed to rest.
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