Magic was everywhere in the Estiria kingdom. Everyone had it and used it alongside the everyday technology that made their lives a little bit easier.
For many, that was as far as magic went. It was nothing more than a tool to make life just a little simpler. For some, though, magic was more. It was like a blade, one to be sharpened and used rather than hung up on the walls as mere decoration. These were the people who wished to become Arcane Knights and join the force, evolving their magic and battling dangerous beasts or exploring vast dungeons for rewards.
But… what happens when you have someone who wants to sharpen their blade, but they're born with a useless sword? Well, that's what Olivia Lot was. At least, that's what everyone in Fri village would say if you asked about her.
Mages were judged on how many spells they knew, how strong their spells could get, and how many they could cast back to back. That last one was why she was considered so useless by everyone that she knew, and had led to her failing every exam that required the use of magic, not just combat tests.
"Olivia!" Bruno let out a sigh of relief when he finally found you. "There you are! Bro, you weren't answering your phone; I was getting worried when you just ran off!"
"Sorry," Olivia mumbled and placed another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. She was outside of an ice cream shop, a place she often went to when she was feeling down. The sun had long since set, bathing everything in the colors of twilight, and most stores were shutting down, but this one was always open. "What are you doing here?"
Bruno made a face and folded his arms. "Bro, I came to check up on you. You just ran out of the school!"
Olivia looked away, feeling ashamed. "Yeah." She mumbled.
Every major city had a magic academy, and even most towns had them. Fri was where Bruno and she grew up, and it was too small to have its own school, so they had to go to Lotus's academy for the past six years now.
As the name suggests, magic academies served as a place where a mage could learn the best way to use their magic. They didn't offer just combat and, in fact, had many different subjects they taught. Ages twelve to eighteen were allowed to attend the academy for free and could take lessons in any field they desired, from history to math to even combat. The schools were there to help teach and train students and prepare them for the real world and how they could use their magic in their everyday jobs.
Water mages often went on to become firefighters or would join the navy, while earth mages could take lessons to become architects and create the buildings of tomorrow. Combat classes could be taught, but despite everyone having magic, most people didn't actually take these classes and would instead spend their time looking into a different program. Those that did take these classes, however, had only one goal in mind.
To become an Arcane Knight. And should that fail, to join the military. And should that fail, to become a police officer.
Most kids wanted to be real-life superheroes, and with magic, they could. At least, until they realized how truly hard it was and how insanely lucky you'd have to get. Olivia was neither strong nor lucky, and in fact, many could say she resided all the way at the bottom.
"Did you pass your exam?" Olivia asked meekly.
"Yeah," Bruno said awkwardly, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I did. But listen! It's not over for you yet, Olivia! Sure, you might have failed the test in the academy, but there is still a whole other test for you to take! Don't give up."
"Yeah…" Her answer didn't brighten Bruno's mood.
The boy looked very worried for her, but he just couldn't understand how she was feeling. Bruno was one of the lucky ones born with a powerful type of magic and a near-bottomless pool of mana. He could cast way more than three spells.
She didn't know why, but as she looked at her friend, the image of that boy with the scar came back. Both that man and Bruno had the same vibe. She had only bumped into that stranger once, but she had been able to tell he wasn't your average citizen. Unconsciously, she compared Bruno to him.
Bruno was a tall, athletic-looking eighteen-year-old boy with dark skin and flowy brown hair. He had an ever-present smile and wore a long brown cloak around his body. He didn't bother with a shirt, instead showing off his muscles, which were large and bulky from constantly working out, despite the fact that his food portions weren't that big. In his fingers, he twirled his lengthy wooden wand very casually. He was healthy and powerful. The kind of person that would be a drill sergeant's dream to have on their team. He'd make a great Knight one day.
"Oh, I just had a good idea!" Bruno beamed and reached into his pockets, pulling out his phone. "I totally forgot about this since I was looking for you, but you're not going to believe what happened!"
"What is it?" Olivia asked, taking another bite of her ice cream. Bruno flipped the phone over and showed her his screen. He was in a group chat with a couple of boys from the academy, who all lived in the same village Bruno and she did. Most of their texts were nonsense, but there was one section that drew her eye and made her gasp. "Seriously?"
"Yep!" Bruno nodded and stuffed his phone away. He reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Come on, bro! No more sulking! Let's go see them!"
"I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Olivia grinned. "After all, the Arcane Knights are passing through!"
Olivia let out a giggle and allowed herself to be dragged by her friend. Now that she was looking around Lotus, she noticed the city had gotten a lot more lively. The streets were full of people, and the skies had dozens of magitech airships and drones flying around. An event was about to start soon, one she would never forget.
"Hey! Bruno!" A voice called out, and the two of them looked up to find a younger boy with ginger hair waving toward them from a nearby alleyway. "About time! Hurry up; they haven't arrived yet!"
"Yo, Nev!" Bruno walked forward and clapped hands with the other boy.
Olivia walked a little further behind, her smile no longer present. Nev's grin vanished as he turned from Bruno and then shot a look at her. "You brought Olivia?" Nev asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course I did! She's my bro, just like you, and the others are all my bros!" Bruno declared, wrapping his arm around Olivia's shoulder and dragging her over. "Come on, Olivia, let's say hi to the others!"
"Right," Olivia said awkwardly, and she did her best to ignore Nev's glare as the three of them stepped into the alleyway. "Hey." Inside, waiting for them, were two more people she wasn't excited to see.
"Seriously, Bruno, you brought your girlfriend?" At one end of the alleyway, a boy with dyed blue hair snickered, a bit of lightning dancing out of the tip of his wand.
"Don't be rude, Trent." At the other end of the alleyway was the leader of Trent and Nev. It was Ash… "Bruno would never be caught dead dating someone as useless as her."
"It's good to see you, too, Ash," Olivia said sarcastically. She felt her blood boil a little as the boy gave her a mocking smirk, but she did her best to ignore it.
Bruno was her good friend and practically a brother. He was also friends with Ash, whom Nev and Trent always flanked. Unfortunately for her, she had the pleasure of growing up in the village with all of them.
"Come on, fellow bros!" Bruno placed his hands on his hips. "We can all play nice, right?"
None of the boys bothered to answer, and luckily for Olivia, she didn't need to worry about them saying anything else, as a moment later, a loud horn buzzed through the air. She felt her eyes light up, and she stepped past Bruno and Trent and looked toward the city gate next to Ash. "It's starting." She whispered.
Lotus's gates swung open, and the streets were filled with dozens of people, all loudly cheering and waving their wands and phones through the air. A large black car wheeled forward through the gates, its flag proudly displaying Estiria's symbol atop it: a strong-looking lion made of many different colors that all swirled together in a strange dance of dots.
Behind the carriage, eight more cars drove forward, each having the roof pulled down, allowing the people to see the driver and, more importantly, the person who sat in the back.
To put it simply, they were all breathtaking. Each one was dressed in either stunning armor, long flowing robes, or perfectly stitched leather. Some carried long staffs, while others had swords, and others had heavy guns. Their cars all had flags, each showing off a different symbol, but the one who rode in the front stole the show.
It was a young-looking woman in her early twenties. She wore some rather heavy-looking silver power armor that was so advanced some might think it was from the future. Her hair was a golden color, and in one arm, she held a flag that had the symbol of a sun on it. In her other hand, she wielded a massive lance, taller than any person, with the end of it speared through some sort of beast. A very dead one. It was covered in fur and looked like a giant ape, and at one point might have looked intimidating if the woman wasn't simply parading it around as she and the others rode through Lotus. She sat on a seat that was raised, putting her above everyone, which gave the people a clear view of her as the car she was in drove along.
Everyone knew who they were.
The Arcane Knights.
There were things in their world that were unexplainable. Strange lands where trees reached past the clouds, literal oceans of blood, flaming rain, and beasts that no mortal could ever hope to battle against. When it came to these bizarre phenomena, only one group hoped to match them.
The Arcane Knights, Estiria's most potent warriors, were a branch of the military who specialized in hunting monsters, exploring dungeons, and putting an end to dangerous wizards. They were the closest thing to real superheroes.
These Knights were on a quest, traveling to many different cities throughout the lands and showcasing their most recent triumph. The ape monster that was on the woman's lance was in actuality, a powerful monster that had nearly wiped out a city but was stopped by the Arcane Knights before it could happen.
Cheering filled the air as Lotus celebrated alongside the Knights as they drove through the streets. Each Knight was practically glowing, and even from where she stood in the alleyway, Olivia could feel the arcane energy practically dripping off each member. Not only were they the strongest magically, they also had the most advanced tech that could put anything the military had to shame.
"They're just as stunning in person as I thought they'd be," Ash noted. "Of course, I'd expect nothing less. They are the saviors of Estiria, after all."
"So cool," Trent said, practically drooling, and he had his phone out recording everything he could.
"That blonde one is so hot," Nev said shamelessly.
"Those are my future bros." Bruno punched his hand into his fist and beamed from ear to ear.
Olivia stared ahead at the Arcane Knights and felt her lips curve. "Amazing. Simply amazing." It wasn't the first time she had seen an Arcane Knight, since Knights were like celebrities and were constantly featured on the news or would go to places to do charity events, but this was the first time she got to see so many powerful Knights gathered together in one place. It almost made her forget how badly she screwed up all the tests.
The people who stood before her were the best of the best. Real superheroes.
She was just about to run forward and get a closer look, but Bruno grabbed her wrist. "Come on, Olivia. You know, we're the last people those kinds of guys want to talk to. They're actual celebrities; we're just total nobodies from some backwater village. Don't give them a reason to get mad at us."
Olivia nodded her head slightly and pouted a bit. Her pout then faded when the woman with the lance looked over at her. Despite holding a massive weapon up with one arm, the armored woman still managed to keep a relatively peaceful and kind smile on her face and nodded to her many fans, one of whom was Olivia.
Olivia grasped at her heart and gasped. "Oh, she nodded in my direction! She totally nodded at me! I could die right now!" She watched the Arcane Knights make it to the end of the city block, where they turned to keep going. Most likely, they'd be heading for the next city, where they'd drive through it and do this all again.
Once the Knights were entirely out of view and the cheering began to slow, the excitement faded, and they all calmed down. "I've read about the Arcane Knights." Ash rubbed his chin. "I'm glad we got to see them. It motivates me more."
"Yeah!" Trent nodded his head rapidly. "Hell yeah! Uh, what's it motivating you to do?"
Ash's smirk grew, and he folded his arms. "It motivates me to join them. Just like Bruno is planning on doing."
Bruno chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Aw, shucks, you found out that I was going to sign up?"
"Seriously?" Nev raised an eyebrow. "You think you two can become Arcane Knights? We're all from a lame village that has never produced anything great. Arcane Knights are like nobles and stuff. I know we all took the combat lessons, but that was just to become a town guard or something. Sure, we killed monsters in a simulation, but fighting them for real is a whole other matter, you know."
"I will become an Arcane Knight." Ash declared, his eyes filling with determination.
Olivia quietly nodded her head. "Yeah. Me too!" She realized she said it out loud a second too late as everyone turned to look at her. She awkwardly stepped back. "Whoops."
Nev and Trent laughed, and Bruno looked away, a little embarrassed. Ash, though… Ash looked mad. "Seriously? You think someone as useless as you can be an Arcane Knight?" The boy sneered again. "I would have thought seeing actual Arcane Knights would have put you in your place. Especially after the already embarrassing performance you showed earlier today."
Olivia felt her blood start to boil again, and she clenched her teeth, stepping forward. "Hey! I grew up in the same village as you did, so there's nothing putting you above me!"
"Of course there is." Trent jumped in. "Ash's magic is awesome, but yours stinks!"
"Yeah." Nev laughed. "Imagine an Arcane Knight that can only cast a couple of spells."
"Bros," Bruno trailed off. "Can we not?"
Everyone ignored him, and Ash reached into his pants pocket and produced a slender-looking white wand. His smirk was back, and he stared down at Olivia. "You think you and I are equals? How about we put your theory to the test?" He declared. "I challenge you to a duel. How about it, little orphan?"
"Olivia, don't—" Bruno began, but was cut off when Olivia nodded.
Her eyes were filled with anger, and she stepped away, taking a few paces. "You're on." She reached into her pouch and pulled out her own wand. "I'm going to take you down a peg!" She turned back and glared at Ash. "I accept your duel!"
Ash's lips twitched, and his look of rage faded. He now held a smile, one that she really wanted to slap off his face. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life."
He was probably right.
Meanwhile, across the city, the rest of the Knights continued on. In the back of the car, the woman with blonde hair stared out across the crowd at her adoring fans. She kept waving her hands and kept her smile up, but something was wrong. She could feel it in the air.
Someone was watching her.
Her eyes scanned through the crowd, and she finally found the person she was looking for. Or at least she thought she did.
She saw a young man. One with messy raven black hair and a jagged scar across the left side of his face. A moment later, though, she blinked and he was gone.
"Is something wrong, my lady?" Another Arcane Knight, this one in thick, bulky stone armor that was shaped like a bull, questioned.
The blonde woman forced her smile to stay in place, and she kept staring out at the crowd of cheering people as they turned yet another corner. "No. Nothing's wrong. Let's just leave this city and hurry up to the next. I'd like to get this parade over with."
There were some interesting people in Lotus today.