Chapter 001 | Alister Firestone (1)

Edited 07/04/23

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Capital of Astral Kingdom, City of Gloria…

"You never cease to amaze me Alister…"

"Glad to be of service, my lady…"

Alister bowed, keenly observing the expressions of the woman standing in front of him.

She seemed to be seemingly lost in thoughts.

In front of her lay a wooden table, made of oak wood, unlikely to wrap in sunlight and quite water resistant.

On it was a dress, red in colour as if painted with blood. It had yellow linings etched onto it, from the chest all the way to the back.

"Beautiful…" She muttered, captivated.

Taking a step forward, she stood in front of the table.

"It's so soft…"

Pushing aside the bangs covering her face she gently reached out to touch the dress. Feeling the soft yet firm fabric rubbing against her fingers, a smile bloomed on her face.

"I take it that the previous batch was to your liking?"

Alister spoke with a thin smile, moving towards the table.

"Of course…" She smiled, looking down at her dress.

She wore a light blue dress, gold embroidery etched onto the surface, the patterns coiling together to form a circular pattern that resembled a beautiful, fiery red flower.

Alister had previously designed this dress for her.

"You have perfected your craft well, Alister." She complimented, her light golden eyes having found their way back to the dress on the table.

'It seems that the dress is to her liking.' He thought to himself.

And indeed it was, the woman seemed completely enchanted by the dress.

She only seemed to be interested in clothing that had a certain flair to it.

Something vibrant, something that would always…stand out.

'Though it's natural…' He thought to himself with a wryly smile.

Alister held the dress in his hands as he spoke about it's origin.

"During my visit to the Citadel, I came across the Red Clamleo Garden, the beautiful flower inspired me to come up with this design…"

"Though the flower matures after a long time, it's beauty is timeless…"

"I don't intend on making any copies of this dress." He spoke meaningfully while looking at her.

"You intend to give it to me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The Red Clamleo is the sigil of House of Myhill, is it not?" He questioned with a smile.

"This dress was made for you, my lady."

Placing the dress back on the table he made his way towards the corner.

There stood a tall object covered with a cloak.

"Allow me to show you…" holding the corner of the cloak covering the structure, he pulled.

The cloak slid down onto the floor, revealing a giant mirror covered by an enchanting wooden frame, also made of oak wood.

The mirror itself wasn't something out of the ordinary abet no doubt quite big and costly but that was all.

It was same as all other mirrors, it had only one use, however it was all that was needed.

"See for yourself, my lady."

The woman looked at the mirror as she held the dress in her hands and placed it over herself.

Looking at her reflection, a smile bloomed on her face.

"Thank you for this gift, Alister…"

He smiled.

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Alister bowed as he watched the luxurious carriage leave towards the Noble District.

Around it stood 7-knights, donned in golden armour, riding atop of brown horses, surrounding the carriage as they vigilantly surveyed the road for any danger.

They were responsible for the safety of their liege, Lady Maya, the eldest daughter of the Duke of the Astral Kingdom, and they would ensure that no danger befall her.

Alister turned around with a smile as he felt his left pocket, spotting a satisfied smile.

'She sure is generous…'

He could feel the weight of the pouch that, her lady had ever so generously bestowed upon him as a reward for his efforts.

He was sure that he was now quite well off, enough for him to finally buy a couple of things that he had been wanting to buy for a long time.

Having the daughter of a duke as your regular customer sure made for good business.

Like sheep, many noble ladies would also come to his shop—demanding for him to make a dress for them.

Being the businessman he was, Alister would no doubt make sure to satisfy each of them, having something unique for everyone.

Sometimes he would even make them a custom piece in exchange for some extra gold coins.

By now he had saved up quite a hefty amount.

"I should close up for today…"

Alister was already done for the day, there was no need for him to continue.

He made his way to the entrance of his shop and flipped the sign that said 'open' to 'close'.

Picking up the cloak from the ground he made his way towards the mirror.

He took a minute or two to admire his features, looking at his reflection, as he fixed his sleeves that were previously rolled up in order for him to work.

He wore a plain white short tunic along with brown pants that were fastened with a belt, and leather sandals. A linchpin was clipped onto his collar, resembling a green flower with vines digging into the fabric. A lacklustre golden pendant hanging loosely around his neck, adding more to his charm.

His light green eyes gleamed in the mirror, as he took a bunch of his light brown hair into his palms before rolling it into a bun with strands of his hair falling on both sides of his face.

He had sharp nose and jaw, and was a young, tall guy with a well-built stature which remained mostly hidden under his loose tunic.

He owned a clothing shop to his name which served as both his source of income and his home. The shop itself, previously, belonged to his parents before being passed onto to him as inheritance after their death.

'It's been 2-years now since I came into this world…' he thought to himself as he covered the mirror with the cloak.

Alister Firestone, was a commoner who owned a clothing shop, but that wasn't all.

Alister had a terrible secret, something that couldn't be known by another soul or his life would undoubtedly be in great danger.

You see…Alister didn't belong to this world.

He was a being that came from another world.

It was around 2-years ago, when he had suddenly awakened in this body, having no recollection of his past life, other than the fact that this wasn't his world.

He had inherited the memories of the true 'Alister Firestone' and knew that he had crossed over—to a different world.

This wasn't earth, no…rather it was a much bigger plane of existence, known as—The World Of Vaijia.

This was a magical world filled with all kinds of anomalies and strange phenomenons.

For one, humans in this world were able to manipulate a power that couldn't be explained through science.

They called it—mana.

This power allowed them to perform feats that one would consider otherwise impossible—like controlling the elements, restoring entire severed limbs, summoning the dead and the list goes on and on.

There didn't seem to be any limit to what one could do with this power, even bending reality wasn't out of question.

But that wasn't the end of it, after all—humans weren't the only dominant species.

Their existed creatures that had impregnable scales, large talons and enormously big wings that breath fire from their lungs.

Reigning terror on their enemies as they took whatever they coveted, an unscrupulous bunch—people called them Dragons.

Creatures with a small stature, long beards and unnatural strength, capable of creating machinery of one's nightmares but were unable to handle alcohol, at all—Dwarves.

Creatures that had frail yet nimble bodies, razor sharp ears, and otherworldly charm that completely contrasted the fact that they could fill your body with dozens of arrows before you would even realise, and by the time you do, you would already be dead—they called themselves Elves.

Creatures of hell, one that worshipped death and destruction as their lover, their skin so dark that they blended into the night, they hated all living being and were complete nihilists, people claimed that they were after your souls and called them—Demons.

And lastly, creatures that hated the sun, had pale and frail looking bodies but were anything but that, light was their enemy, moon their lover, they resembled humans but feasted on their blood, they treated humans like cattle and had hypnotic red eyes—Vampires.

Every one of these creatures were sentient, capable of communication and very well attuned with magic.

The technology of this world wasn't worth mentioning as you could just use magic to achieve whatever it was that your heart desired, thus the reason behind them being stuck in the medieval era.

Humans here lived for a far longer period of time.

The average lifespan of a human was 150 years, they bodies would mature at 18, allowing them to awaken their magic.

The amount and potency of the magic one awakened differed from person to person, this in turn created a power gap which later turned into a hierarchical system.

First came the Royal Lineage, the epitome of human mages—they had massive reserves of magic and unseen talent in magic.

There were many human kingdoms, each having their own unique Royal Lineage as the rulers of their land.

After them came the Noble families, divided into 6-categories—Archduke, Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.

Similar to the Royal Lineage, these nobles also had varying degree of magic reserves and unique magic, they were the supporters of the King and had their own specialities and strengths. They also helped manage the lands for their King.

And lastly, the commoners, humans with average bloodline that resulted in them having average magic reserves. Their job was to serve the Nobles and the King, as their subjects, and in return they would be under their protection.

And so many kingdoms were formed, many also waged war against one another in order to compete for resources, while some made alliances in order to coexist.

Similar to human kingdoms, there were other kingdoms as well—The Land Of Vampires, The Nest Of Dragons, The UnderCity of Dwarves, The Nine Circles Of Hell, and The Forest Of Elves.

Conflicts were a part of life, be as rare as they were…

'The Academy-Entrance Examination would soon be conducted, being a commoner I can't apply for a seat however I would be allowed entry as a servant to a Noble…'

Alister pondered as he loosened his belt and crashed onto the soft mattress.

Each kingdom had established institutions that were responsible for guiding the new generation on the journey of becoming a mage, commoners weren't allowed the luxury to apply for a seat within these institutions however Nobles would often have an entourage accompanying them.

An encourage would typically consist of 3-individuals with auxiliary skills such as a maid, cook, seamstress. Their job would be to serve the Noble they came along with, while if they had the aptitude, they would also be allowed to attend the curriculum along with the Nobles.

Alister had spent a whole year getting acquainted to Lady Maya for this very reason.

He had shown her his worth, time and time again and he was certain that she would ask of him to be a part of her entourage, which would be his ticket to the academy.

As the daughter of a Duke, Lady Maya had a very high standing within the Nobles, being a part of her entourage would not only guarantee his safety but it would also allow for him to become a mage.

Alister was born a commoner, he had to work hard in order to achieve his current living conditions, however he wasn't satisfied with that.

Having being born in a world where magic was the reality, he wanted to climb the proverbial ladder.

"One step at a time…" he whispered to himself as he blew the candles illuminating his room, causing it to descend into darkness as he drifted off to sleep.