Prologue
I woke up and suddenly realized I couldn't speak. What had happened to me? I had awakened as a newborn in another world.
The Kingdom of Trangdar was my new home. I was born to a loving father and passionate king, Arthur, and a sub-human queen, Eleanor. Sub-humans are individuals forbidden from holding prominent roles in society. They are denied basic rights, such as clean water and education, due to the presence of the "holy gene."
This holy gene is a mutation in the standard DNA structure that grants a person a stronger, automatic faith in God. Over the past century, the presence of this gene led to the emergence of miracle workers. Driven by fear, the oppression and subjugation of these individuals began, resulting in the derogatory label of "sub-human" in our present society.
My mother, Eleanor, was trained by the former Queen Patrosha—Arthur's mother and my grandmother. Eleanor had originally been sentenced to execution for stealing medicine to cure her father's ailment. Her father, Lotjed, was the royal family's head of security despite being a sub-human, and a close childhood friend of Queen Patrosha. Because Patrosha was an only child and could never legally marry a sub-human, she chose to remain unmarried and rule alone.
Queen Eleanor grew to be a profound figure in the world of medicine, utilizing her holy gene to its fullest potential. She became a modern-day anomaly, which occasionally caused King Arthur political friction with his people.
Oh, I forgot. My name is Devin, soon-to-be Prince Devin Trangdar. It has been seventeen years since I first awoke in this world. Yes, I possess the holy gene. It remains publicly undetected, hidden from the kingdom by my father because I am his successor, and the laws strictly state that a sub-human can never rule Trangdar.
My eighteenth birthday is just around the corner, and I will finally be announced as the prince.
Chapter 1: My 18th Birthday
My eighteenth birthday. Day 57k 19 on the Imperial Calendar. Every cycle is 400 pars (a year equivalent with 400 days instead of 365. Five rees, consisting of 80 pars each, make a cycle).
My elder sister, Queen Bridget (24), had just arrived from the Kingdom of Colstar. It is a kingdom far away, separated by many distant lands and vast seas. Her marriage was arranged to foster better trade relations with Colstar, the kingdom loved by the ocean.
It is an amazingly scenic place, surrounded by water, where all movement in and out is done by ship. They specialize in the trade of marine species, underwater herbs, the provision of pure water, and aquatic technology. They have the purest waters in the history of this world. Most kingdoms treat their water before use, but Colstar's water can never be contaminated (maybe a blessing from God, although I'm skeptical about that).
One thing that makes me different from any other sub-human is that, although I have the holy gene, I don't have faith in God. Even though the gene grants miracles from time to time, faith is supposed to be compulsory.
Anyway, back to my sister. Queen Bridget of Colstar only agreed to the arranged marriage because she had always loved the kingdom blessed by the ocean. Colstar was the only kingdom where sub-human subjugation never occurred. Of course, she was in fact a sub-human, so she couldn't lead Trangdar anyway.
Preparations were being made in the ballroom for my special confirmation day. A confirmation day is when an individual is given an official title... I can't wait to be Prince.
The celebration began at 13:00, which was early afternoon. With music playing, members of trade-contracted kingdoms were all dancing and singing, and my sister was drowning herself in booze. Elegant as she may be, she loves booze more than she loves me.
The Mortipian royal family had just arrived. This included my best friends from the United Educational Institute (UEI): Ferran and his twin sister, Fenrys, the pride of Mortipia. They are the only scholarship recipients in the entirety of the UEI. The United Educational Institute is the top institute in the Northern region and accepts all humans from any kingdom in the North.
Ferran Mortipia was granted a Frazer scholarship. Frazers are racers who use racecycles and participate in race tourneys with the aim of achieving the title of Top Frazer someday. Trangdar lacks technologically, so Frazing hasn't really become an established sport here. Even so, I know I'll be a natural at it.
Fenrys Mortipia is a publicly undeclared sub-human. She is on an intellectual scholarship (obviously helped by miracles). We study a lot together, and she reminds me a whole lot of my mother, Eleanor. They are both highly motivated and are both profoundly sub-human.
After we exchanged pleasantries, we laughed, ate, and conversed a great deal until it was time for my confirmation. I was called up by my dad, King Arthur, and I delivered my confirmation speech:
"I believe in the Kingdom of Trangdar," applause followed, "I believe in the people, and I believe in and value the relationship with our neighboring kingdoms. As Prince of Trangdar, I vow to serve this beautiful nation. I vow to give my all until the day I can give so much more as your king." Applause intensified.
After my speech, Bridget gave a speech in her drunken state. She received applause as well as a few laughs. She was loved by all, indeed.
As the celebrations neared their end, Count Sapien approached my father, seeking an audience. Count Sapien was the monarchical ruler of Cypris, the nation lost to the dark. He began speaking to my father before I was called upon.
Apparently, he wanted me to perform the holy gene detection test in front of everyone.
Although a strange nation, the Cyprians have a closer relationship with God—almost cult-like, in fact. They have long since killed off all sub-humans in their domain and have the lowest population in the entire North.
What they use to make up for their population deficiency is an abundance of venom research. They infuse their warriors with venom, making them behave and fight like feral beasts. They can rip humans apart with their bare hands. It is an incredibly dangerous nation, but who wouldn't want access to that power?
King Arthur was confused and asked for his reasoning, to which Count Sapien replied, "I sense God's blood flowing in his veins." Venom, the holy gene, God's blood... it was all the same. This God should have never influenced this world. I had never believed the cultish fellowship of the Cyprians had any substance to it, but I suddenly became wary.
"Is there actually something to the Cyprians?" I thought. "How did he sense it?"
King Arthur denied the request and instructed security to escort Count Sapien off the premises. Count Sapien muttered that regret would follow.