"There once lived a man, born to a mortal but blessed with powers divine. Conjuring the Infernos of Flames, he dispelled the darkness plaguing our star. As a reward for his efforts, the gods granted him a holy Stone—the Crystal, which he was to guard at all costs, for it would become the cornerstone of his divine rule and bane of the scourges of his lands."
- The Cosmogony of Holy Fundamentalism Order
***
Only when the Mages reached the Silver-Tier would they become truly above the limit of men and be something more. In such a case, many would learn how to conjure something like a permanent Shield Membrane around their bodies, which would render any arrows and projectiles useless.
Unless the said projectiles were not made from some rare metal that could pierce through the shield, or from Anti-Magic materials that could effectively render it useless.
"As much as I hate to admit it... Tevinter would only be fading away. We grew so complacent in the Imperium that we started ignoring everything in favour of pride, and how has it served us? While the Imperium stands, it's plagued by rebellions, riots, and internal problems. Mage Lord Lineages are too interested in playing politics, and instead of getting stronger and developing, they are spending too much time in schemes and sabotage..."
Only after leaving the Tevinter Imperium, Vanderin Drakon realized something that his youngest son knew very well.
The Imperium was rotten to the core.
Initially, he had hopes that his grandson would want to take over the Tevinter.
With his talent and blessings, it was only a matter of time.
But Kordillus shot it down almost immediately.
"High-blood Tevinter society is notoriously decadent, clinging to the remnants of its illustrious past. Blight, Exalted Marche, and a centuries-long rebellion and riots have taxed the Imperium's resources significantly, though vestiges of the Imperium's power, art, and architecture still stand, carefully preserved by a nation proud of its history and achievements... but don't things don't really mean anything..."
Septimus Drakon, contrary to his father, was more critical of the Imperium because of how everything was done in there, and it was a hellhole for anyone who wasn't either a Mage, a Classmaster, or rich.
"Indeed... while Tevinter is notoriously seen as decadent and wealthy, it is not really the reality for the average citizens of Tevinter. The poverty runs in the lifeblood of the Tevinter, and nowadays the capital Minrathous is even worse."
Vanderin realized that the prosperity of the nation comes from the citizens.
People can exist without the nation, but the nation cannot exist without the people.
That was a sentence that his grandson was very often repeating.
"Well, if not for the Supremes, who knows what the fate of the Imperium would be."
The younger son of the Drakon Patriarch said, as the Tevinter Imperium was literally being carried on the shoulders of the few Supreme-Tier Mages. Your average Supreme-Tier Classmaster could live for around five centuries naturally if one didn't account for any special traits or rituals conducted.
"That's true, but from the five Supremes of Tevinter, three are already with one leg in their grave, and the other two are barely interested in politics. Most of the political power is being congregated in the hands of the Magisterium, which has spent too much time squabbling with each other."
Vanderin Drakon as the Patriarch of one of the Mage Lord Lineages, and he even met with some of the Supreme-Tier Mages of the Imperium on some occasions and understood the inner workings of the Tevinter very well.
"Well, I should get going to find the boy and tell him that he could lead his glaives onto the battlefield for the first time."
The Patriarch of the House Drakon stood up as he left the office of the High Chancellor of the State Governmental Office and went to find his grandson. Meanwhile, Septimus returned back to the work, as there was a lot of work to be done.
Soon enough, the coronation of the new Monarch of Orlais would take place, and with that, an entirely new era for Orlais. The establishment of the Kirin Tor and Circles of Magi would solve the problems with Mages around the Kingdom doing nothing, and upon the coronation of the new King.
Septimus knew that his son wanted to expand the Prime Estates considerably, and his son also planned something that was even more radical.
He wanted to completely abolish the traditional Noble Titles and replace them entirely with the Sanctioned Aristocratic Titles. Right now, the Orlais Kingdom has a hybrid between the traditional nobility and Sanctioned Aristocrats.
Septimus knew that the moment his son acceded to the throne, all nobles would become only of the second kind. He understood that his son viewed the nobles as leeches on the Kingdom that were just enjoying the privileges and giving back nothing.
For that, the Council of Heralds was established, and with that, the concept of the Royal Sanctioned Aristocracy. Right now, to this day, there are already tens of people who have received various Noble Titles and are Royal Sanctioned Aristocrats who will replace the traditional nobility.
And either the traditional nobles adjust to the new reality of the Orlais, or they will fade into the annals of history together with their so-called nobility.
***
After ending the training, his uncle ended the training sessions for the entire day, and Kordillus and Ciri went to the extensive gardens of the future royal castle of Val Royeaux.
Both of them were actually spending a lot of time together, and in the eyes of many, it was only expected that they would marry. Something that his parents approved of for both political and personal reasons, while his grandfather was especially delighted.
The Elder Blood wasn't any secret among the House Drakon, and his grandfather was delighted that such a powerful source of Magic would be integrated into the House Drakon and passed to the next generation.
He was aware that if Ciri reached Supreme-Tier, she would be essentially an unparalleled Classmaster on the entire continent of Thedas. They spent a lot of time walking around the city, or if they preferred some silence, they would go to the royal gardens.
Most of the royal gardens were actually the work of his mother, Castana, who enjoyed taking care of the plants. She had some of the rarest plants across the entire Thedas in the garden, and the canopy that they were creating together was especially beautiful.
Even though Ciri was rather loud for most of the time, she actually enjoyed the peaceful nature of the Royal Gardens of Val Royeaux. Both of them were sitting in the solace of the Royal Gardens and enjoying the peaceful time, which was pretty rare.
"You are quite silent today."
Kordillus remarked when he saw Ciri playing with some plant leaves in her hands.
"Are the memories of the Wild Hunt troubling you again?"
For the past four years, they spent a lot of time together... either training or studying, and even in their free time, there were actually not many people to whom Ciri could talk or anything.
She was also on the run for most of her life from the Wild Hunt as the group of murderous elves was pursuing her through several worlds, and only due to Fade, which was covering the continent of Thedas, she found some kind of peace.
If not, she wouldn't have remained here for the past four years.
Avallac'h was one of the few, but she knew that he was as bad as Eredin, just that his methods were different from those who were more brutish. The fact that she knew that he had some unhealthy obsession with her ancestor, Lara Dorren.
If he had previously been useless in the development of her Elder Blood and held the information related to the White Frost, she would have killed herself.
"Hmm..."
She nodded slowly as he understood what she was feeling.
Fear.
Nobody was above the concept of fear as long as they were sentient beings.
"Do you remember 5th of the Fundamental Principle?"
Kordillus asked her after some time, because if there was one thing that he wasn't very good at, it was providing emotional support to people. That was the area that really needed some serious upgrades, he had to admit.
She looked at him, remembering the teachings of the Orange Fundamentalism Bible, which was the holy book of the Holy Fundamentalism Order.
"Fear is the mind-killer."
Such was the 5th Fundamental Principle of the Holy Order Principia.
It was related to the Litany Against Fear.
"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
The Litany Against Fear was a litany spoken by many highly educated people within the Holy Fundamentalism Order who understood the teachings of the Orange Fundamentalism Bible and who faced danger or fear during their everyday lives. The litany helped focus their minds in times of peril.
"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."
Kordillus recited the altered version of the litany as he gently held her hands and looked straight into Ciri's eyes.
"Here... in Eos, you don't need to fear either the Wild Hunt, Aen Elle, or the White Frost, as it's protected by the Fade and Maker. And once you are strong enough, they won't pose any problem... and don't forget that you are not alone... everything that you will face, I will face with you, and any burdens may fall on you, I will carry them together with you."
Perhaps Kordillus would cringe when he said those words, and even part of him felt a weird mixture of being uncomfortable and vulnerable?
But he got over it, because right now, he only wanted to make Ciri feel comfortable as he knew that Wild Hunt and its threat were something that was deeply disturbing her.
He understood that fear, as he had it too.
Initially.
Fear that this life was just a passing dream.
That he would wake up in the mundane Earth and return to his first life that he abhorred with everything that he had.
To the society that he hated, that was boring and a life that was without anything to be eager for or to alife without any perspective.
Fear was a dangerous thing.
It killed
It destroyed.
"Sometimes... I feel that I just cannot help or to do anything. Like I am useless and everyone is just protecting me..."
Heariíing that he knew that she most probably wanted to do more, but at the same time, she was limited by her strength. When they started training and educating her in Magic, the development of her Elder Blood was somewhat lacking.
Powerful Bloodlines like that were complicated enough to control, and at the same time, Vanderin Drakon wanted her to have a very solid Magical foundation before she actually started delving into more advanced Magic.
And she also started her Magical studies relatively late.
"Listen... you are not useless... just need more time development b..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt her lips against his own as she kissed him passionately, which he, of course, returned. They never really officially defined their relationship, even though it was evident to anyone who had seen them that they were a couple.
Despite that, Ciri wasn't really prepared to talk about it openly, nor was Kordillus, who didn't even know where to start with it and hoped that Ciri would take the initiative on that one.
Both of them were equally awkward about it, and they just enjoyed each other's company and never spoke about it openly. They spent several minutes kissing as their hands went all around the place.
It took a lot of effort to stop.