Avalyne Empire Stories

5th Story - Eris

I was the weakest.

As the daughter of Marchioness Grail, I was expected to become a great noble or knight. Whichever I awakened as, it did not matter so long as I achieved greatness. That was the sole responsibility that my family had foisted upon me, but it was also the only thing I could never give them. I was a dutiful daughter and a supportive sibling to my younger brother, doing my best to please my mother whenever possible.

She was kind to me and trained me in all sorts of different things. Etiquette, swordplay, ballroom dancing, and even things that we generally left to the servants like cooking. My repertoire of skills were incredible, and though I was never a master of any, I certainly wasn't bad either. The trouble came when I finally awakened.

Thanks to my small, almost fragile build, I wished dearly for Aluvsha to grant me his gift and mark me a noble not merely in title, but in every sense of the word. Unfortunately, the only nobility I would ever possess resided in my blood. Against my wishes, I awoke as a knight. My family never looked down on me despite the fact. Rather, their expectations only increased.

Expectations that I could not hope to meet. Of course, I had devoted my utmost effort to all the lessons my mother gifted me throughout the years, but nothing could deny the reality of my unsuitable figure. I was small and thin, my muscles more defined than large, and the force they could exert lacked greatly in comparison to other knights of my age. After I became a squire, I struggled desperately to keep up with my peers, and with my inability to wear armor or wield a greatsword, I was nothing more than dead weight to my knight order.

Even now as I somehow stood before the Imperial Academy's gates that loomed before me, I knew my place hadn't been earned. I would've been happy just attending Avimorne Academy in my home duchy, but of course, my mother wouldn't have it. "Only the best for my children", she'd said. Thanks to her connections, getting me into the Imperial Academy wasn't an issue at all, but unfortunately for her, I'd be nothing more than a laughingstock here.

After all, this was where people with real talent congregated. Of course, you'd need connections as well, but you couldn't be admitted through connections alone... Unless you were me, I guess. I don't know what my mother did to grease the gears of bureaucracy, but I sure as hell didn't want to know either. As weak as I was, I didn't need to know anything about the shadier side of society that might put a hit on my head or something.

I released a sigh, preparing to seal my fate for the next four years.

"Oh, look who's here!" A familiar voice came from behind me. "If it isn't Eris, the most useless knight of our generation!"

"Fuck off, Liam." I turned to face one of my longtime adversaries and two of his snickering friends. Liam had been on my ass ever since we became squires, and it sure didn't seem like he was going to stop anytime soon. He flashed me an arrogant smirk as he ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair, and for a moment, I was nearly overwhelmed by the urge to punch him in the face.

Not for calling me useless, of course. Remarks like that didn't really get to me, but combined with all the other shit he put me through over the years, it kind of adds up. I took a deep breath and calmed my nerves. Besides, even if I actually did punch him in the face, I doubt it'd do much damage anyway.

"Still, what the hell're you doin' here? Didja go beg your mom to get you in or somethin'?" Liam laughed.

"Must've!" One of Liam's friends laughed. "After all, how the hell would she get into the Im—"

For a moment, everything stopped. It was as if the world itself refused to continue moving. An aura greater than anything I'd felt currently dominated the academy grounds—No. The whole of the world. An unfathomably vast aura of domination washed over me demanding complete and utter subservience. Liam's knees buckled as he fell to the ground. His friends followed suit not long after.