The world of Alankeith isn't hugely different from our world when it comes to its geography, consisting of seven similar continents. However, unlike our world, this is a world of magic.
In a world where humanity lives alongside magical beings and possesses the ability to use magic, humanity prospers but also suffers from the existence of equally harmful creatures.
Because of such harmful entities, among the seven continents, only four are inhabited by humanity. Even among them, one is only half-inhabitable by humans.
The uninhabited parts of the world are covered in poisonous and destructive dark energy, and they are inhabited by monsters born from such energies.
But even in such a world where humanity lives in only around half of the lands, humanity strives as three great forces exist: The Ekhart[1] Empire of the West, The Islamic Caliphate of the Middle East, and The Kurogane[2] Empire of the Far East.
The story begins within the land of the Ekhart Empire. It is a strong entity in the land of Alankeith, undisputed in its continuously growing military power. It has managed to expand its authority further than any empire, to the point it is cut into five sections: North, East, West, South, and the Central Capital. Each is ruled by a duke, while the Central Capital is ruled directly by Emperor Ekhart himself.
The East is ruled by Duke Reinhart, it is the most prosperous section of the empire, mostly for being riddled with natural resources but also for its wide and productive lands. This makes it the main supplier for not only the main capital but also the North, which suffers from the exact opposite of this blessed land.
The North is ruled by Duke Crisis, the first line of defense against the Dark Forest—uninhabited lands covered in dark energy, riddled with humanoid monsters seeking nothing but bloodshed even among themselves. The North is always suffering from harsh cold weather and a severe shortage of supplies, as most of the lands are cursed with the forest's dark energy, making them barren. Being far from the capital adds to the difficulty of acquiring basic human needs.
The South is ruled by Duke Greirat, the coastal section of the empire. Though the lands are stricken with severe heat, the inhabitants of the South are more than used to it thanks to the Nirod Sea. Because most of the empire is used to colder weather, this part is considered a tourist spot, and most high-ranked nobles have vacation mansions built in this section.
The West is ruled by Duke Hildegar. It is the section most similar to the main capital, being the nearest. As this section is mostly self-sufficient, it is highly regarded and is the section the emperor is most wary of. But thanks to the loyal ducal line of House Hildegar, this worry stays as nothing but a side thought.
In the Central Capital lies the great academy built long ages ago. It is the academy that produced Raykard Ekhart, the great emperor behind the expansions of the empire and the founder of the Ekhart Empire: The Great Elriyan Academy.
Around this time of the year is when the academy starts taking in students to start the new year's classes.
As the entrance fees are tremendous, it's almost impossible for anyone to enter other than rich nobles and great merchants. However, since the academy looks out for talent regardless of riches and nobility, each year it gives scholarships for promising students. Therefore, it opens its doors for applicants to appeal to the discerning eyes of the academy's best professors as they judge whether each student is worthy of a scholarship or not.
18th Nonus, 1329 – Early morning
On the road south of the capital, a small merchant's carriage was heading towards the capital. Inside was a merchant and a young man he had picked up along the way.
As the carriage went, the merchant struck up some small talk with the young man with him.
"Really, what a long way you were taking, young man! What would you have done if I hadn't offered to take you with me? Surely you wouldn't have managed to reach the academy on time on foot. Why didn't you hire a carriage?"
"If I had that kind of money, I wouldn't be going for the scholarship program now, would I? But you are truly a godsend. As you said, I really wouldn't have gotten there on time since I miscalculated the way"
As the carriage went on its way for a while, it stopped without warning.
"What happened?" asked the young man.
"Oh no, it seems luck isn't really going either of our ways. There are bandits ahead!!"
"You needn't worry" said the young man as he went down from the carriage.
The old merchant thought the young man was capable of dealing with the bandits.
If he aimed for the scholarship program that only took in rare talents, he would be able to deal with some bandits. But even then, the merchant was worried for such a young man.
"Are you sure about this? We can just escape, I'm sure –"
"You don't need to worry too much. After all – luck is at least going OUR way" said the young man as he stood with the bandits.
The merchant was scared and shocked by the ambush and was thinking of any way to get out of there with at least his life. The bandits had already surrounded him; some were valuing his merchandise and already thinking of what they were going to do with it, and some were busy enjoying the fear on the merchant's face.
"You really bled my damn ears with all this talking of yours. I almost rushed the plan to kill you" said the annoyed bandit who had ridden with the merchant.
"Please, at least spare my life and I promise I won't be of any bother to you" said the merchant.
"I don't need your promises. Dead people ain't a bother to me after all"
Just as he was losing hope and had decided to wait for his death, a young woman showed up from the forest.
She was a young woman with silver hair going down to her shoulders, deep blue eyes the color of a clear sky, a firm body, and a beautiful and weirdly mature face for an obviously young woman who seemed around the age of 15.
As soon as she came out of the forest, she took out her compass, looked at it briefly before putting it back down, and continued walking down the road without paying any attention to the situation folding in front of her, a bandit then called out to her.
"HEY! Where do you think you are going? Stop!" shouted one of the bandits.
The girl looked back to them over her shoulder, seemingly annoyed.
"What do you want?" asked the girl in an annoyed tone.
"What do you mean by what?! Get over here and give us everything in your possession and we just might let you go after making some use of you"
The girl stood in place for a few seconds as she tilted her head, not understanding what he wanted, before her eyes slightly widened as she understood the situation in front of her.
"Oh, you all are bandits!"
"Of course we are, are you stupid?!"
"In that case, how about you let me go, and you all get to live another day? This is an exclusive offer since I'm in a bit of a hurry" asked the girl with an innocent smile on her face as she turned around and walked away, not waiting for their answer.
"You damn –!" said a bandit as he moved to attack the arrogant girl.
"Watch out!" shouted the merchant.
As soon as the bandit closed in on her, she turned around and dodged the bandit's attack and followed with a kick to his jaw that instantly knocked him out.
The girl then looked at the merchant, whom she just now noticed did not belong to the bandits, as she spoke.
"Hey, you there, I need your carriage since I'm in a hurry to get to the capital. I will take out those idiots, and you help me rush to the capital. You good with that?"
Amidst the shock of everyone, the merchant clung to the faint hope in front of him as he shouted back.
"Anything, anything I can help you with!"
"Sdelka est[3]" said the girl as she smiled and started walking towards them.
The girl then moved towards the bandits slowly before immediately rushing at them. She kicked the first one in her way in the face, knocking him out too.
"Catch her!" shouted one of the bandits as they all attacked her.
The girl moved swiftly among the oncoming attacks. She moved just exactly enough to dodge the attacks of the bandits as she made use of their openings to deliver attacks to the face, knocking each of them out with one attack.
Just as most of them had fallen and she had realized one of them was missing, she noticed him taking the merchant hostage.
"You better stop exactly where you are" said the bandit as he held his sword at the merchant's neck. He held him and continued "I will be boarding this carriage with him and leaving. You better not move an inch till I have left"
"Come on, I wasted all of this time for the carriage, and I'm already late too. How about I leave with the merchant and carriage and I let you all go?"
"You think I'm an idiot? I will –"
"Honestly, yes, quite the major one too" said the girl as she smiled mockingly.
"You damn bit– wait, this magic circle under your foot!" said the bandit as he noticed a red circle of magic under her foot.
"Too late, good night" said the girl with a smile.
As the bandit tried to slash the merchant, he realized he couldn't move his body before losing consciousness.
As the bandit fell to the ground, the merchant fell to his knees in fear as the girl walked up to him.
"Alright then, let's get a move on"
"Wait, we should tie them before leaving"
"I have no time for that, and I'm sure they have more allies around. They will be freeing them anyway before any knights could arrive"
"Then –"
"The only realistic option is to simply kill them, though I can't do that. Killing people is a bad thing, right?"
"Yes, you are right, then let's do as you say and leave quickly"
The merchant got back on the carriage and the girl also got on, as they departed.
"Let me ask you though, why would you trust a stranger on the road like me?" asked the girl.
"Just helped me? You just saved my life! And honestly, I was just betrayed by the trust I put in a stranger, but I can't give up on the good in people because of one man"
"Good in people? What a nice thing to say"
"Ah, since we will be traveling together for a bit, I'm Cale. And you?"
"I'm Eleonora"
The merchant seemed a bit confused, waiting for her to continue.
"I'm Eleonora. Just Eleonora. I have no family name"
Having only her first name didn't necessarily mean she was an orphan, but just that she wasn't of noble status as only nobles carry a family name while commoners are only referred to by their own name.
"What? I was almost sure you were a noble with how beautiful and dignified you are. But then again, a noble wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere here with no carriage. Excuse my misunderstanding"
"Don't worry about it, I will take it as a compliment," said Eleonora with a smile.
"Oh, by the way, Eleonora, do you not have a bag on you or something?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Surely, you didn't travel through the forest with only the clothes on you and a compass, right?"
Eleonora looked away without answering as she later mumbled.
"Let's just say, I didn't prepare well"
Cale was surprised by her unexpected answer and he laughed at her till she looked at him with an angry but embarrassed face at her mistake.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, let's get you to the capital"
Cale rushed the horses and after short while, they emerged from the forest and could now witness The Central Capital and The Royal Palace, which was so great it could be seen from outside the capital.
[1] Equivalent of The United Kingdom
[2] Japan
[3] "A deal it is" in Russian