“For glory and honor.”
— Motto of the Imperial Family.
The land of Edoria was one that held countless millennia of unwritten history.
Long ago, long before the age of starcrafts and light energy, there was a cataclysm that nearly tore the world asunder. Doors to different, forbidden dimensions were torn into the barriers of space and time that surrounded the world, and from within them poured entities of monstrous proportions.
These entities, who would soon come to be called “the Void Legion”, brought a plague that dug into the very marrow of Edoria. It warped and twisted the world at its very atoms: plants mutated into strange, bloodthirsty entities, and animals turned into deadly, raging beasts. They spread across the face of Edoria, nearly decimating the civilization of the zerg.
Under the iron leadership of the Gunnhildr clan, the tribes of the zerg banded together under the flag of one empire, rising in unity to strike back at the Void Legion in devastating blows. They created strongholds, territories that contained the heart of their civilization — territories that soldiers defended to death. Thus came the age of the Void Wars.
The Void Wars was an age shrouded in shadow and mystery. Little records remained to tell the tales of this dark age. The zerg trawled through decades of endless war and bloodshed. Warriors were born to die on the battlefield. Monsters from the Void Legion continued to pour into the world, intent on swallowing it completely. The zerg were the only vanguard standing between Edoria and complete decimation by the Void Legion.
Till one day, the regnants and generals of the Void Legion disappeared. Their forces, now without leaders, scattered and were driven back by the zerg.
Some historians said it was the work of the Insect God, who came to intervene for the sake of his people. Others murmured that the emperor had conducted a forbidden ritual that sacrificed the lives of thousands, sealing the Void Legion back into their dimension with a power soaked in blood. (Though such rumors were rare, and only whispered about in the darkest parts of the empire). Others still were adamant that mysterious forces were at work — that the Void Legion was merely biding their time till the day they would strike back.
Whatever the truth was, one fact remained: the regnants and generals of the Void Legion were gone. The monsters and mutated beasts were driven back, relegated to the Wastes at the borders of the empire. Yet they continued to multiply; try as they might, as the years went on, the zerg could not cut them down by the roots. Those who tried to venture further into the Wastes all ended up getting overrun and killed by the hundreds of monsters residing there.
And so the zerg were locked into an eternal battle with the beasts, defending the empire from their grasp, for thousands of years…
Gabriel opened his eyes, blinking.
Felix was nudging him awake, his grinning face dangerously close to his. “Hey, sleeping beauty~ you alright there? You were talking in your sleep.”
“Get your ugly mug out of my face,” Gabriel mumbled half heartedly, batting Felix’s golden-haired head away. Felix laughed, a sunny grin brightening his features, as he obligingly scooted away. Gabriel frowned, trying to remember the dream he’d had — but already it was slipping away, like sand through his fingers.
A huff came from the seat in front of them. A head of long, dark violet hair tied up in a messy bun poked around the seat, scowling at them — or at Felix, to be more specific. “How are you so perky?” Jasper hissed, face scrunched unhappily. “This isn’t a vacation!”
“Aw, come on, Jazzy,” Felix said. If possible, Jasper’s face wrinkled even more at the nickname. “It might not be so bad!”
“We’re going to the military for community service,” Jasper said flatly. “On the holidays. The winter holidays. It is going to be that bad.”
“My brother will be there,” Felix said, with all the faith in the world. “And my female father, too! They’ll take care of us.”
“I don’t think that’s allowed,” a voice cut in. Dorian appeared at Gabriel’s side a moment later, completing their motley crew of four — he had apparently left his seat to join their little huddle. A frown adorned his fine features, his golden eyes pinched together in thought.
Felix’s face immediately fell. “What? I can’t see my female father?”
Dorian immediately shook his head at that. “No, I mean– we’re going to the military for community service. Our family won’t be allowed to help us. But you can still see them, I think.”
“Oh,” Felix immediately perked up, “That’s fine, then.” He paused, a rare look of contemplation washing over his honest, open features. “I wonder what we’ll have to do?”
“I heard we’ll have to help at the military infirmary,” Jasper said dully, looking like he would rather swallow a fly. “Maybe sweep some floors. Clean some vials. You know, the things females do.”
“Oh,” Felix said. He hesitated, then, “I’ve never… I’ve never used a broom before.” He actually looked worried. “Do you think they’ll teach me?”
“I heard that most males just pretend to break their fingers or legs during their community service to get out of doing actual work,” Jasper said, looking wholly deflated — an unusual sight given his usual righteous confidence. “You could do that.”
Felix looked scandalized. “Are you planning on doing that?”
Jasper drooped, staring sorrowfully at the floor. “Won’t be pretending if I actually break a bone punching Verriere’s stupid brick face.”
Dorian snorted.
“I can hear you, Verania,” a voice sneered from the other side of the cabin. A dark eyed male glared over at them, face twisted in contempt. “Funny, I seem to remember wiping the floor with you last time.”
“Can it, Verriere,” Jasper sneered. Gabriel subtly poked his arm in an effort to remind him to calm down. Jasper merely sailed on. “Or are you forgetting who gave you that black eye?”
Keiran Verriere sneered even more, face twisting unpleasantly. “Heh.”
Jasper matched him sneer for sneer. “Heh.”
The two of them he-he-he’d at each other for a while before they seemed to get tired of it and looked away, matching scowls promising vengeance.
Gabriel hunched his shoulders, feeling a spear of guilt lance through him. “‘M sorry, everyone… this is my fault.”
Jasper immediately shook his head, leveling a stern glare at him with flashing orange eyes. “No. No. If anything, this is that idiot Verriere’s fault!”
“Wanna die–?”
The cabin descended towards another round of squabbling, while the stone-faced military females on guard pretended to be deaf.
You see, the reason why all these males were crammed into one cabin in a starcraft guarded by stone-faced military females was quite simple. It began one fine winter day, the day before winter break. The air carried the slight buzz of anticipation that came everytime vacation rolled around, bringing the promise of sweet relief from endless essays and homework — for females, anyway.
Most males didn’t even bother to do their homework, preferring to turn in blank pieces of paper. After all, their only goal at the academy was to marry a rich female and live comfortably at home — they had no need for jobs or grades. The headmaster had once dully remarked that “these males are quite clean, ah, even the ink has been dyed white by them”.
Ah, but the narrator digresses. It began one fine winter day, the day before winter break. Witnesses in Ianthus Imperial Academy reported that Gabriel Alarie (one of the imperial consort’s many, many illegitimate children), had decked Keiran Verriere (nephew of the current reigning Chief of Rhesaenia, the Eastern Territories), across the jaw with a haymaker.
It was a rather impressive haymaker for a male who probably couldn’t even break a chopstick, one of the witnesses reported. The two had then proceeded to tussle on the ground until their friends came in and jumped into the fray, perfectly embodying the phrase, “good brothers die together”.
These friends made for a rather hefty list. On Gabriel Alarie’s side we had Dorian Caladri, whose parents hailed from two of the Five Major Noble Houses of Edoria; Jasper Verania, who, although from commoner origins, was the younger brother of Kelius Verania, the rising star of the north; and Felix Sulina, a commoner male who was honestly just there to (enthusiastically) support his good brothers in a time of need.
And then on Keiran Verriere’s side we had Alex Alethus, distant cousin of the current reigning Chief of Thranen, the Northern Territories; and Arlo Iovus, son of a minor noble hailing from Rhesaenia.
One might say that the odds were unbalanced, seeing how Gabriel’s faction outnumbered the other. Yet — and this was another big melon that had passersby feeling quite full — the males in Gabriel’s faction all turned out to be D-level males, while those in Keiran’s turned out to be A-level!
D-level males, picking a fight with A-levels!!!
In Edoria, male zerg were treated favorably due to their rarity. After the mysterious cataclysm thousands and thousands of years ago, males became dangerously rare. As a result, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that all males were put on pedestals from the moment they broke out of their shells.
However, this treatment only went so far. Males were divided into levels, from E to S: E being the lowest and S being the highest. The higher their level, the higher their pheromone levels. The higher their pheromone levels, the more effective their Soothing for female insects.
The average male was B-level. A B-level male could barely soothe an A-level female’s Madness. A C-level male scarcely hung on by a thread. As for D-levels and E-levels? They were practically at the bottom of the refuse heap — or as far as the bottom went for males, anyway.
They could barely soothe a B-level female, which was the average level a female needed to become a soldier on the battlefield. Naturally, more attention went to males that were of higher levels, though lower level males weren’t neglected at all — they were still guaranteed a house and comfortable life at home if they were to marry a female.
Gabriel’s faction had quite a low sense of existence at the Academy. Females who got into Ianthus Imperial Academy were either of aristocratic origin or of higher levels. Most of them got into the Academy by dint of sheer grit and hard work, passing grueling tests both mental and physical in order to qualify for the Academy’s roster. Males, on the other hand, merely had to submit the required documents in order to enroll in the Academy.
Such was the privilege of the rare.
Given that Gabriel’s faction was completely composed of D-level males, it was no wonder that they flew under the radar so completely — even though they were males, they were like blades of grass in a sea of flowers. Many B-level and A-level male insects had gathered in the academy. Most females at the academy would naturally pay more attention to them — after all, a D-level male could do very little to soothe a higher-level female. It didn’t help that Gabriel’s faction kept to themselves so much; they never drew attention to themselves, never approached a female. They blended in so well to the academy that it was almost abnormal.
Keiran’s faction, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. They were a gaggle of higher-level males, all belonging to the A-level. The higher the level, the rarer it is — the zerg’s rankings, male and female, followed this rule. Given the male zerg’s rarity, the slope of an A-level male’s rarity was quite sky high. Naturally, they had become accustomed to fortune and favor since the moment they broke out of their shells. Everyone at the Academy knew who they were; how could they not? These males were always making a fuss, harassing females and causing a ruckus and bullying bugs on campus. They were the paragon of male arrogance and privilege. Of course, that didn’t impede the treatment they received at all — they were A-level, after all. No matter what, survival came first.
And the fact remained that a female soldier needed a male’s pheromones to survive. The higher the level, the better.
The incident caused quite the massive headache for the headmaster of Ianthus Imperial Academy. None of the males’ families could swallow the insult of their precious male cub (no matter the level) getting assaulted by those heinous bugs (the identity of the heinous bug changed depending on the bug talking). The news was rather sensational, after all: a group of D-level males and A-level males, fighting! How exciting!! A D-level male threw the first punch? Even more exciting!!!
It was common for a male to beat a female. That was nothing new. Males fighting males, however? Such a thing only happened once in a bloody moon. The news swiftly spread throughout the entire academy and expanded throughout the entire network of the zerg, arriving at the desks of the families of the males in question. The punishment for a female harming a male ranged from whipping to execution, but a punishment for a male harming a male… Well, that was a bit difficult…
It didn’t help that most of the males came from such well-connected families. Their families called for punishment, but how could the headmaster punish them? It was the last day before winter break. They couldn’t very well keep the males at school over winter break for detention. Expelling them was out of the question. And the families would complain that giving the culprits extra homework over winter break was too light a punishment. The headmaster could sorrowfully feel his rich dark hair turning gray as he thought.
It was then that the headmaster got quite the brilliant realization. The emperor had just passed an edict, one that declared that males who had gathered a sufficient amount of demerits on their record would be sent off to do community service.
“Community service” meant any number of things, from passing out flyers in public settings to sweeping floors in the military. Basically, it was an excuse for females to get free sightings of the ever-so-rare male insect. For morale, the emperor had said, smiling darkly as he signed off the edict.
Such an edict naturally rocked the entire empire, with countless males voicing their protests. The heads of the Male Protection Association itself made a move, outraged by such disrespectful treatment falling on the heads of the noble males, but they were swiftly shut down by the emperor.
Word said that the males spent more time throwing tantrums and making trouble than actually serving the community, however. The headmaster conveniently ignored this fact. That would be the military’s problem, not his.
So the headmaster proposed his plan, fought a battle of wits and courage with the males’ outraged parents, and eventually eked out their approval (some more enthusiastic than others).
And the males were rather unceremoniously kicked out to do their time with community service at the Edorian Military Headquarters, the stronghold of Edoria’s military force.
