1 Prologue and Chapter 1
Prologue:
In a void, blank of any signs of life, a small light emerges from the depths of nothingness. It begins to slowly beat at a steady rhythm, its glares brightening with every pulse it makes. For hours it beats in the empty void, until, at last, it finally explodes into an array of different colors, lighting up the previously desolate void.
"W-where am I?" A voice comes from the light as it circles around, examining its immediate surroundings before tentatively floating away from its original position. It travels around the void, exploring frantically, before eventually stopping when it finds nothing other than darkness.
"So this is where we go after death? This desolate, lifeless hole of nothingness? Alone… Forever?" Defiant, it flies around vigorously, looking for something -- anything -- that shows a sign of life.
"Only a select few come here, mortal," a voice booms from all directions, full of power and authority, causing the ball of light to jump in alarm..
"Who are you?" The voice asks, confused, having recovered from its shock.
"You need not know my name. I only come to inform you that you have been chosen: chosen to be reincarnated."
"... Pardon?"
"Must I repeat myself?"
"No, I heard what you said, but if what you are saying is true, for what reason was I chosen?."
"Don't feel special, you were chosen not for your own merit, simply out of luck. Now as we do with all who are chosen, you may have a single request fulfilled before your rebirth."
"Could I ask what kind of place I am going to?"
"Fantasy, by your old world's standards."
"I see… I have made up my mind, is it possible for me to have limitless potential? I wish to not be chained by my limits, but instead, be able to break past them."
"You are smarter than most of your kind, mortal. Very well, your request has been granted. I shall wish you luck on your journey young one. Mayhaps one day you could join our ranks."
"Sorry what-" But before it could continue, a portal appeared from thin air and sucked the soul away, sending it off to its next adventure.
---
"My lady only one more push!" a voice cries frantically to a screaming woman.
"AHHHH!" inside of a fancy and elegant room, a beautiful woman is laying on a bed, sweaty, with a tired expression on her face.
"I can see the head, my lady just one more time!"
"AHHHH!"
"Congratulations my lady! it's a healthy male heir for you and the House of Puma!"
"Let me see my son," she requests, her voice barely audible, exhaustion hitting her to the core. As the bundle is handed over to her, she cannot help but cast a small, weak smile, gazing upon what she thought was the most beautiful baby she has ever seen. The door is abruptly opened as her husband, a tall, well-built man, walks in, hands fidgeting, his face bearing a fearful expression. He anxiously glances over at the woman, worried about his lovely wife's health, but soon smiles in relief upon seeing her smile in return.
The man's smile only brightens further as he walks up, seeing the bundle of life wriggle around in his wife's arms.
"What should his name be, dear?"
"Santis. Santis, heir of House Puma. He will grow up to be a great man, fit to be the next lord of this house."
With that, she hands her son over to her husband, closes her tired eyes, and drifts off into a heavy slumber.
(E/N: And boom she dies. jk)
---
Chapter 1
-time skip 4 years-
My name is Santis of House Puma, born in 512 BF (before foundation) to Charles and Maria of Houses Puma and Tituis in the Griteron Empire. For a bit after my birth or rebirth, I guess you could call it, I wondered why I had no surname. I assumed that nobles were given last names. However, it seems that having a last name is seen as something that must be earned through large merit, and very few have the ability to. If I remember correctly, only three as of now have a last name, these being:
Crown Prince Otto Feydis. He led the army in the war against the neighboring Brudia Empire, winning over their opponents by an extremely large margin while suffering very few casualties. For his merits, he was given the last name Feydis, which meant warborn in the ancient language.
Lord Kyllan Bender of House Ascar. He was the most important figure in the Crown Prince's army against the Brudians. He himself killed three generals and captured another two, crippling the opposition's leadership. For his merits, he was given the last name Bender, which meant primal or predator in the ancient language.
Lord Nathan Celtigar of House Parne. He saved the Dukedom of Brune from a pandemic, coming up with a cure just before it blew out of proportion, saving thousands of lives and preventing a potential fallout from occurring. For his merits, he was given the last name Celtigar, which meant holy doctor in the ancient language.
My house was founded by Ashter Puma. According to history, he was one of the best warriors of all time, having reached the level of Holy Knight before his death despite being a mere commonborn. He joined the military at the age of 16 and, with his power and talent, quickly rose through the ranks of the military, becoming a general within only 12 years. In the year 207 BF, his army was sent on a mission against the Yirid Dynasty to destroy it for the crimes it committed and the shame it brought upon the crown. Apparently, they even committed genocide inside our territory and offered no explanation for it!
He and his army then destroyed the Yirid Dynasty, conquering the entire land for the kingdom. The king of that time awarded him with the Dukedom of Cale, the last name Puma, which meant "panther" in the ancient language, and the title of Duke. This formed the House Puma 300 years ago.
Enough talk about history. Today is a big day for me; my fourth birthday. It is a big day for every child in the kingdom, as this is the day where their talent and elements are revealed. You see, every person has a soul, and the color of their soul is revealed through a holy crystal.
All children are required to take this test upon their fourth birthday, regardless of whether they're noble or not. For some, it could be one of the greatest of their lives. For others, it could be the most devastating. However, It is not the end of the world for the ones who have a bad magical talent as there are not one, but two talents: one which represents physical talent, the other which represents magical talent. Physical talent has no way of being measured, however.
The magical talents are split into 6 categories, there are as such:
Grey: cripple, has no magic power.
Red: Little magic power, only able to conjure the simplest of spells
Blue: Average magic power, this is the most common, it is neither good nor bad.
Purple: Good magic power, people who have this soul color are considered rather talented.
Yellow: Outstanding magic power, anyone who has a yellow soul color are the geniuses of the kingdom.
Gold: Very few people ever have this soul color, perhaps 1-3 in a generation. Anyone who has this color is something akin to a god-given gift to the kingdom.
The elements are as follows:
Water
Fire
Earth
Air
Shadow
Sub Elements such as lava can be used if one has a combination of the elements required to make it, for example, lava would be fire and earth.
I wasn't too worried about the tests I needed to take though. I did ask for limitless potential from the god I encountered before my rebirth, after all. I still was a little worried, though; I couldn't help it. My results from this test could decide my entire future.
My family, though, put much more merit in physical prowess. My father was only a blue soul color yet still reached the rank of advanced knight, which was quite an achievement.
(Power ranks:
Beginner mage, Beginner knight. Split into 9 tiers
Intermediate mage, Intermediate knight. Split into 9 tiers
Advanced mage, Advanced knight. Split into 6 tiers
Arch-mage, Holy Knight. Split into 3 tiers
Grand-mage, Sword saint. Only one person ever reached this rank, the founder of the kingdom, not much is known about it
?, will be explored more in the future)
This world is not all great though, in fact, it just recently came out that the Lord of House Follard disowned his son after he was found to be a cripple. Many people, actually most people, simply accepted this. It was common after all.
Discrimination among soul color was prominent. In fact, my family is one of the only noble families who don't care too much about it. Out of the 67 noble families, only 3 don't openly discriminate against those with red or gray soul colors.
Most people feel mages are superior, and I don't blame them; in terms of power, they are. If a mage and knight of the same tier would duel, the knight would almost certainly lose. That doesn't mean that a high-powered knight is anything to scoff at. In fact, an advanced knight could fight hundreds of beginner mages and a dozen intermediate mages without too much issue.
I am currently looking at a priest and a crystal ball on a pedestal. This is it, the event of a lifetime. I can't help but be a little nervous. My father, seemingly noticing my nervousness, put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and smiled soothingly.
"Don't worry too much Santis, even if you are a cripple it is fine. You can still be a great knight."
"Yes, Father." My relationship with my parents was quite close. They were loving, caring, and very supportive of me.
"Santis of House Puma, step forward and place your hand on the crystal please," the Arch-bishop of the church said in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I stared up at the looming towers of the twelve gods. Their stone eyes glared down at me, their piercing gaze forever etched in my memory. I closed my eyes as I drew in another shaky breath, praying for them to stay by my side and ensure me a victory.
"Rukhsar, God of Creation; Biher, God of the Earth; Ignis, God of Fire; Sienta, Goddess of Winter; Fyasis, Goddess of Air; Wodeyar, God of the Hunt; Ewris, Goddess of Destiny; Itasis, Goddess of Animals; Ytyx, God of Nature; Iqamos, God of Judgement; Oclotl, God of the Night; and Dettia, Goddess of Hope, I pray for your blessings upon me."
Once finished, I stepped forward and nervously put my hand on the crystal, and, almost immediately, the once grey crystal exploded into the color gold, shining brightly. The gasps of my father and the priest erupted from behind me, and I couldn't help but release a sigh of relief that I had been holding in the entire time.
