Legend of Arcana: Legacy of the Forgotten

Chapter Three: School Festival, Part III

My name is Jeanne Sera Bradford. A noble lady hailing from the cold northern region of the Empire, Weisstoria.

Ever since I was born my parent had deeply ingrained in me that we the Bradford have a deep obligation to the empire and that it is a torch that would eventually be passed on to me.

Back then I didn't really understand the burden the title Margrave carries but I have been told by the many servants that my family name is synonymous to that of the empire's shield. We are the warden of the north, the keeper of the sacred land of which the goddess herself, Entalphy, once descended during the final years of the great strife which is now commonly known today as the after calamity.

As the sole child, I understand that they had deep expectations of me, and by the time I reached the age of four, they had already begun searching for renowned educators from all over the empire in order to train me in many different subjects such as etiquette, stewardship, and most importantly swordsmanship.

Eventually, on my seventh birthday, by miracle, my affinity with mana would soon be discovered, and following that, of course, was the start of my magic training.

With diligence, people soon began calling me a genius and that I had great talent as well as vast potential. They all emphasized to me that someday when the new dawn arose, I would eventually be one of the great pillars that would support the empire.

I didn't really question my parents' true intentions or what grand ambitions they both had in store for me, as long as I was praised for all my hard work, I told myself that it was all worth it. It was also safe to say that at this point in time, I didn't really have anything resembling that of a friend, I was completely isolated.

Day after day, my training only continued to get harder and harder to the point that I could hear both my mind and body screaming for mercy.

I once considered giving everything up, but the thought of disappointing my parent and the fear that all my hard work would be all for naught kept me pushing even harder.

"I've already come this far to give up!" Was the word I always tell to myself.

Thinking back then, I truly was just a naive girl. Nevertheless, I also wouldn't go as far as to say that my parents didn't love me either.

My father although very stoic had always been the first one to praise me after a long and arduous training. My mother on the other hand would always try and find time to visit me and bring me some snacks during classes.

It is everything that I could wish for, a normal and happy life.

—that was until one fateful day.

*********

It was just like any normal afternoon, after finishing all of my studies, I felt a little adventurous and went out of my way to sneak out of the mansion to explore the Engardel woods that I kept hearing from the servants located running along the main road between our residential manor and the city of Acherdam.

There are many legends surrounding the Engardel with the most famous being the very sacred land of which the goddess Entalphy descended.

Out of curiosity about the place, as soon as I arrived, I instantly entered the woods without any hint of caution.

Wandering around the forest ground aimlessly, I paid little to no attention to my surroundings and was focused more on exploring my new environment dissuading me from realizing that I had already passed over the same fallen tree trunk several times.

With no proper experience in traversing a forest, I inevitably found myself lost in the middle of nowhere without any clue on how to get myself back.

I was beginning to be worried.