The Sovereign System

CHAPTER ONE

The sky was gray as stone, and the land beneath it was filled with bodies. The dead and the dying, all sprawled out in their armor. Some lay in piles, where a single blast of energy had ended them, while others scattered like dolls, struck by lightning, wind or flame. 

The only living things on the battlefield that dark evening, were the black craven birds that circled the battlefield, and two figures dressed in rags. A boy and a girl, they each carried a tattered bag, while searching among the bodies for good metal or coins or even affinity stones. Anything that could buy them another week of food.

“Hey, look at this one,” said the girl.

She held up a helmet, twice as large as her head, and waved it at the boy. She was standing a few paces ahead of him, smaller in size, her blonde hair as dirty as her clothes.

“It’s damaged,” he said, almost immediately.

There was a slight dent in the side, where a sword or even a lightning blast had caved in the metal. It was a gift of his, seeing what others didn’t.

“Welp.” She dropped the helmet. “Look at this one.”

He came closer, as she crouched beside another dead soldier. His blue chest plate had been split clean through, probably by a very huge sword.

“His armor looks expensive,” she said. “Do you think he’s a northerner?”

The boy nodded. They were the ones who always wore shiny armor and things like that. He wondered why they still came this far south, though, to come die in senseless battles like this one.

She took off the dead man’s helmet and twirled it in her hand. “This one could fetch us a gold coin.”

He snorted. “In another town, maybe. But we’re stuck with Rallin, that greedy bastard, and he’s only going to offer a few bronze coins for that.”

She smiled sadly, but her eyes still twinkled. “We can just steal something else from him.”

“That was very risky, Mira, and I’m not doing it again. I’m serious.”

They had almost been caught, and he had been frightened out of his mind. Because the price for stealing in Taichen village was hanging: child or adult.

“Fine.” She rolled her eyes and went on searching the bodies.

They had shared these scavenging runs for the better part of seven years, ever since they found themselves displaced by the war. Their home was a cramped space under some abandoned market tables, covered with what clothes and rags they could find. That was the fate that befell most orphan non-users (or rats, as they were heartlessly called): people without affinities or abilities.

And like most of the downtrodden, these two had their dreams. Scavenging enough money to leave the village was one step toward that life they desired.

“You know what I was thinking?” Mira said.

“What?”

“We’ve saved up ten gold.” She touched the pouch tied to her waist. “So, we’ve still got-”

“Ten more coins to go,” he sighed. “I know.”

It was all she ever talked about.

“Think about it,” she said, dreamily. “You and me in an academy. Training against the best of them. Topping the leagues. Becoming an Ascendant.”

He smiled faintly. The dream was becoming far-fetched to him the more years passed by, and he was starting to think it was a coping mechanism at this point.

But he did not have the heart to tell Mira. Sweet, kind Mira, who always saw the brightness this gray world, in the injustice that they were being served. There were times he thanked the heavens for crossing their paths.

So, he said, “Yeah. We’ll show them.”

She smiled, and went back to scavenging.

A distant rumble of thunder rolled across the plains. He looked up, frowning at the sound. Mira hadn’t heard it. 

“Oh, look at this one, his armor isn’t cracked…”she was saying.

But he had stopped listening. Something distracted his attention, a faint glow half-hidden beneath a crumpled cloak.

He drew closer, his bare feet sinking into the muddy ground. A strange pressure weighed on his chest, like standing close to a fire without heat. Could it be…?

Carefully, he shifted the cloak aside.

And there it was. An affinity stone.

This one was shaped like a hexagon, smaller than a coin, pulsing with purple energy. He had only heard stories about affinity stones, that they were rare gemstones that could amplify a user’s power. They were not objects to be discovered by chance- indeed, kingdoms had gone to war over them.

And here, one was lying in a battlefield. Fragile but incredible, powerful. He could feel it, even at this distance…the raw energy, the promise of power. He could almost hear it calling. Heart pounding like a drum, he reached down and closed his fingers around the stone.

The world shattered in an instant.

Heat and cold flashed up his arm, followed by blinding hot pain. Images slammed into his head, too fast to detect, flashing and burning like lightning. A thousand sensations invaded his body and his throat closed up in a strangled scream.

Then he felt his body hit the ground, but from a distance. A single voice called out his name, but he could barely hear…

Visions and voices crashing and overlapping in his head…his arm froze and burned all at once…a wave was invading his body, taking over his soul…

And there was a flash of light…

[HOST DETECTED]

flash

[INITIALIZING….]

flash

[LEGACY TRANSFER COMMENCING….]

flash                         

“KAIDEN!”

He felt a sharp pain on his face, sharp enough to jolt him back to reality.

He blinked hard, and everything returned slowly…so slowly. Mira was standing in front of him, holding what looked a helmet, probably what she slapped him with. And she looked afraid.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” she yelled. “Soldiers…Soldiers are coming!”

“What?”

She grabbed his arm, pulling him toward a cluster of broken wagons.

And he turned just in time to see a group of horsemen arriving at the battlefield.