Posts from The Empire of Reimia (3)

Yes, you can.

Talia Neriss watched with sadness as the body of her husband, Vomir, was lowered into the ground. Unfortunately, she couldn't even see his face one last time and now only saw a closed coffin – Vomir’s colleagues said that it was better for her not to look at such things, for her own good. The great Vomir Neriss, terror and worst nightmare of evil creatures (of all kinds, though few remained, but still persistent in their desire to undermine the Great Empire), was burned alive. What added strangeness was the rumor that Vomir belonged to the Cult of Flame, which, according to those same rumors, did not burn – but since Vomir wasn't particularly talkative about his beliefs, other Remian officers decided that there was no need to pay attention to this. The culprit has been found, the fact of magic use is obvious, and justice has prevailed...
However, Talia knew perfectly well that her husband had indeed been a member of the Cult of Flame – she herself belonged to the cult, although she was not an active devotee. In addition to the understandable feeling of irreparable grief, what happened caused her a vague sense of anxiety and a slight suspicion that the Remian military were deceiving her. Talia swayed the small suitcase containing her husband's "inheritance," an artifact that gave him strength, and tried to put all these thoughts out of her head. It was better not to think about anything at all; a tragedy had occurred, an irreversible one, and life would never be the same again. Perhaps Argal, her eldest son, would become a support for his mother...

***

"I’m just saying it’s weird," said a somewhat shy but handsome and strong-looking young man as he tried to explain something to his mother. “Dad… couldn’t have died like that…”
“Argal,” sighed Talia. “The most important thing now is for you to follow in your father’s footsteps and protect us all, as he once protected us. Yes, it’s difficult and dangerous, but we, all your sisters and your brother, are counting on you, and… I won’t force you,” concluded the woman with a tone that clearly indicated that refusing now would be tantamount to death.
“Well, I mean… I can do it. I’ll endure. It’s just strange,” Argal opened the suitcase and looked long at the silver bracelet shaped like a thorny plant. Sharp hooks were visible on the inside – wearing such a thing would be painful, but removing it without dislocating his hand seemed impossible. After hesitating, Argal unfastened the bracelet and fastened it around his wrist, gritting his teeth from the sensation of the hooks digging deeper than their length. His mother immediately moved closer and began wiping away the blood with a towel.
“There, you’re a man; bear it a little, and then…”
Argal smiled weakly. The blood surprisingly stopped flowing quickly, and a pleasant warmth emanated from the bracelet, which rapidly increased.

***

After the tragic death of her beloved son, Talia completely lost her mind. With an absent gaze, she wandered around the house, saying that this was impossible, that this family bracelet was absolutely harmless to people, that Vomir had been the purest person, not harming a single soul in his life, and that his artifact, created by ancient Enclasians, only harms evil. Many times, she opened the ill-fated suitcase with the firm intention of doing something, but each time, at the last moment, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
About a month later, the eldest daughter, who was twelve years old, disappeared from the Neriss home. Due to the tightly closed windows, the smell of burning lingered in the house for a long time.

***

"Miya, I understand that you are scared, but you must do this... Someone among my children must carry on Vomir's legacy. Those two… there was something wrong with them. They were probably not human, yes. I don’t know how it happened; it shouldn’t have happened like this, but Vomir’s artifact does not harm humans. It protects humans... It gives them the opportunity to shine. Yes, it is a candelabra, and its owner with a pure heart is a candle. Yes, a candelabra and a candle. And you will shine, Miya. I promise you that you will shine."
Xenomia screamed, begged her not to do it, tried to pull her hand away from her mother's grip, but she was only ten years old; what could she do? She was dragged into the room where her older brother and sister had burned alive, and she understood that this was most likely the end; she needed to break free, run, escape forever, and never look back. When Talia took the bracelet out of the suitcase, due to the inconvenience, she was forced to loosen her grip, and Miya decided that this was her chance. But suddenly, a thought struck the girl so clearly that she stopped struggling. Her little four-year-old brother, Alik... If Xenomia runs away now, her brother will be next. At that moment, Miya didn't think about whether her death would save her brother; she was just very scared and couldn't resist anymore. With tearful eyes, the girl watched as her mother put the bracelet on her, not even reacting to the pain.
When Xenomia turned sixteen, she was finishing preparing for admission to the Imperial Military Academy. Although she felt the need to learn the wisdom known to her father, there was another important reason – it was practically the quickest way to get out from under her mother’s care and subsequently take her brother with her. Miya did not feel anger towards her mother; she tried to understand the circumstances, but this did not negate her fear—especially for Alik.
Miya’s diligence and the influence of the bracelet bore fruit in the form of excellent exam scores, which were reinforced by the fact that enough people knew the girl’s father. Xenomia packed her things and left her home—to return someday.

Traits

Family heirloom (candelabra)
Mercy

Candelabra
A thorny bracelet that is almost impossible to remove (and may not be safe for life).
The bracelet punishes the owner with excruciating burning for every serious transgression (justified or accidental killing of a person, theft, etc.) – for some time, from seconds to tens of minutes, the owner becomes incapacitated.
For a "inhumane" transgression (intentional murder, renunciation of part of one's humanity, etc.), the owner is punished with death.
In exchange, the bracelet reveals the inner strength of the owner, transforming spiritual characteristics (as understood by the creators) into physical ones and positively affecting learning speed – as intended, contrasting the abilities of evil creatures and humans who use unholy arts.

Xenomyia

Best value for the price.

Why do you come up with such complicated names? Which, moreover, don't even sound that good, even though the art might be decent. It's like naming a beautiful girl Galina.

Galia is carrying water.

In my opinion, this expansion has some good names, especially when compared to the full real-life names.

According to the rules established by Kamiya Ren, the academic year in the empire was to begin in April and, naturally, the Reime Military Academy was no exception. Students who had already received their acceptance letters and academy uniforms arrived ready to start their studies and embark on a completely new life. All that remained was to find out which class list your name appeared on and proceed to the correct classroom.

Next to the lists of names on the information board was information about the academy's teachers, presented by the journalism club.

	Yuki Kamiya, 31, history and culture The first son of Kamiya Ren and, consequently, the older brother of the current emperor of our country. Although this information is not hidden by anyone, few people nowadays know that Yuki Kamiya was supposed to become the next ruler of the empire, but by his own wish, he yielded the right of succession to his younger brother. The reasons for such a decision were never disclosed, but it is presumed to be related to his desire to study history and work as a teacher, as well as the incompatibility of his personal system of beliefs with the structure of the empire. According to information provided by "Secrets of the Empire" magazine (interview #27, 830), Yuki Kamiya holds the opinion that it is necessary to limit the power of the monarch and introduce democratic principles into the society, culture, and political system of the empire based on the approach described by Larian Twice, a prominent political figure of the second half of the last century. At the same time, the monarchy as such should be preserved as a symbol of the country's unity, with roots reaching back to centuries of history and the very foundation of the country in its current form. To the question of why he yielded the title of emperor to his brother instead of using it to achieve these goals, he answers that he did not wish to impose his ideals on millions of empire residents using tools inherited from a system whose liquidation he advocates for. According to Yuki Kamiya's approach to his own subject at the academy, history sometimes needs to be seen and felt firsthand; therefore, in the past, he traveled extensively to familiarize himself with culture and history, first only within the empire and its former territories, and later in other countries. In addition to history, he is interested in fiction, calligraphy, and kyudo. From 829 to 834, he taught at Calvad University of Higher Technology and Humanities, but this year, for "unknown reasons," he transferred to the Reime Military Academy. If rumors are to be believed, he maintains warm relations with the emperor and antagonistic ones with his sister. He is married and raising a son and a daughter.
	Relgar Muscari, 45, weaponry own mastery Rank in the empire's armed forces — brigadier general; he went on an unplanned "leave" due to disagreements with senior officers, and thus ended up as a teacher at this academy. Relgar Muscari's career growth began in 809 when he was twenty years old. During a brief military conflict with the Ixian Empire, although he was a simple soldier at the time, he showed heroism and tactical ingenuity in defending the capital and its residents from elite overseas detachments, demonstrating a high level of competence in military affairs, an excellent ability to command, and unparalleled knowledge of weapons and military equipment. As a result, after the cessation of hostilities, Relgar was promoted in rank and entered personal service under the emperor. However, he could not immediately begin performing his new duties, as an eye injury sustained during a duel with the Ixian emperor made him unable to serve until recovery. Many historians do not recognize this bout as a duel per se since it began and ended in an instant, but we consider it fair to draw readers' attention to the fact that at that time, the overseas ruler had known no defeat and was rightfully considered one of the strongest warriors not only of modern times, but of the history of our continent in general. Therefore, we simply note another moment of heroism from the life of one of the most brilliant officers of the empire's armed forces. The Muscari family has a long history with the armed forces of the Reime Empire. Its members have often held various officer positions over the centuries. Relgar's ancestors participated in the rebellion against the tyranny of Archon, resisted the power of Reisen, and supported Sonata during her illegal ascension to the throne. This fact, combined with Relgar's rapid career growth, caused a number of ill-wishers to emerge. Married to an Astian woman, he has three children; details of his personal life are not disclosed. He became addicted to tobacco in his youth and to alcohol after the assassination of the previous emperor.
	Avion Craig, 28, engineering and technology An extraordinarily gifted but somewhat asocial self-taught engineer from the eastern regions of the country. Despite his family's poverty, he loved reading complex scientific literature in his city library and always found ways to build something, even from scrap found in landfills. By age sixteen, his high intelligence and capacity for invention did not go unnoticed, and he was hired by one of several Reime companies engaged in the development of ephemeral technologies. In this new place, he could provide not only for himself but also for his family; furthermore, he could devote himself to his favorite work where no one would distract him. After working for this company for five years, Avion, who previously knew nothing of economics, realized that the payment for his work at this company was disproportionate to the value of his labor and the product he produced. Being a man who, while not greedy, was proud, he demanded from the company director a twenty-fold increase in his salary based on his own calculations, to which he naturally received a refusal. Deciding not to tolerate such treatment, Avion resigned the very next day and soon encountered human cruelty for the first time. Without the intellectual power of the hardworking Avion, this company quickly went bankrupt, leaving its director, who was its sole owner, with nothing. In retaliation, he ambushed Avion in the evening, crept up behind him, struck him on the head with a club, and dragged him into the now-vacant company building. There, Avion Craig was subjected to hours of torture until police officers freed him in the morning. As a result of this incident, the young engineer had to undergo quite lengthy treatment, but to the surprise of psychologists, he bore what happened to him rather easily, and physical injuries were his main problem. This story ended with the death sentence of the criminal and its swift execution. Having recovered from the consequences, Avion Craig decided to found his own company, but soon realized that managing a business was not for him and abandoned the idea. Ultimately, he entered government service and over time found himself at the Reime Military Academy, where he was provided with a personal workshop and practically unlimited resources to realize his ideas. In exchange, he had to compile regular reports on the results of his research as well as teach students. And while he could accept the former as a necessary evil, the latter causes him great dissatisfaction to this day. Unmarried.
	Astilba, 43, magic Life behind the safe walls of Visteria was not for the inquisitive Sorceress, so she left her homeland with one single goal — to gather as much knowledge as possible about magical sciences that were not available in the vast libraries of Visteria. Initially, she planned to limit herself to the magic of Tiaral, but the failed Ixian invasion of the Sarseid Empire forced her to change plans and head across the ocean, where new discoveries awaited her. After a long sea voyage and arriving at her destination, Astilba soon encountered a number of problems. Firstly, the industrialization of the countries on this continent led to once-widespread magic taking a back seat, and now those who practiced it were extremely few. Secondly, in the more developed north, according to international treaties, it was forbidden to practice magical sciences without being a member of the Mages' Association. Naturally, she could have done this in secret, but that was not only risky but also contrary to her views. In other words, since she had come to foreign lands, she should play by the local rules. Considering various options, Astilba travels to Reime, where she obtains an audience with the emperor and tells him about the goals of her visit to this continent. In response, Kamiya Ren offered a recommendation necessary for obtaining membership in the Association and access to the empire's magical archives, but in exchange required her to teach the empire's young talents. This contract was concluded for a term of thirty years. Astilba continues to fulfill it to this day, working as a teacher at the Reime Military Academy.
	Maya Notchaft, 19, melee combat One of the most successful graduates in the history of the Reime Military Academy. During her years of study at the academy, she held the position of student council president and served as the leader of her class during military exercises and competitions between academies. In the final of the international Competitive events, her class lost to representatives of the Larian Military Academy named after Sonata Reime, but Maya Notchaft was named the most valuable player of the tournament. She was loved by both teachers and peers. After completing her studies, despite being very young for it, she was recognized as a sword master. This spring, she begins her work as a teacher in the same academy where she studied herself. Unmarried.
	Mari Kamiya, 29, combat training Mari was born and raised in the empire's capital in a middle-income family. Until she was sixteen, she lived with her parents and two younger brothers, maintaining warm family relations with all of them. At age sixteen, she entered the Reime Military Academy and graduated with honors. After graduating from the academy, Mari joined the "Hegon" organization, named after the second king of Reime. This organization engaged in mercenary work, but unlike the traditional field of mercenaries' activity, it helped not the parties to a conflict in exchange for reward, but directly civilians who fell into trouble during wartime and peacetime. Funding was carried out through voluntary donations from various countries, including the empire. Naturally, despite the selfless intentions of the organization, its employees often got into scrapes, entered armed conflicts with mercenaries, bandits, marauders, and sometimes ungrateful wards. Thus, combat training was extremely important for those who worked in this organization. After five years of working at "Hegon," Mari decided to leave the organization. This work was undoubtedly a noble cause, but Mari felt she had already seen enough wars and tragedies; she wanted a peaceful and happy life, she wanted to become a wife and mother. After returning home, she moved to Calvad, where she began teaching military science at one of the local universities. At one of the teachers' meetings, she met Yuki; they started dating, married after several months, then had children, and after a couple of years, they moved back to the capital.
	Phisalis, 43, medicine Phisalis's main areas of work in the medical field are surgery and toxicology, but he is more than competent in other medical professions. Despite this, for a very long time, medicine was merely a secondary science within his sphere of interests; before his skills were recognized within the empire, Phisalis gained worldwide fame through his contribution to the development of botany. His work "The Plant World of Tiaral" collected information on all plants of the overseas continent, including such rare information as the influence of these plants on the human body and their possible applications in medicine. He arrived in the empire after completing the aforementioned book in search of his childhood friend — Astilba. Learning that she did not plan to return home anytime soon, he decided to stay in the empire and study the local flora. He began working at the academy first to support himself in a foreign land, but then settled in and made it his primary occupation. After a couple of years of living in the empire, he also opened his own clinic, which over time began to attract people from all over the country and later from abroad. Realizing that he could not handle such a volume of work alone, he began accepting only patients with exceptionally severe illnesses and injuries. Despite the fact that life in Reime turned out to be more comfortable for Phisalis than he had initially assumed, he still plans to return to his homeland. As he confessed in the only interview he agreed to over these years, "there is nothing closer or dearer to the heart than one's native lands."

But can female teachers wear such outfits? Latro and Moriner won’t be thinking about studying.

Let’s thank the Emperor.

What kind of training is it? Is it definitely for military service, and not for something else?

The first day in a new place was always a nerve-wracking experience, and usually carefree Moriner couldn't sleep a wink that night. He was troubled by all sorts of thoughts, and only with the first rays of the rising spring sun did he manage to fall into a brief, deep sleep. Arriving at the academy building half an hour before classes began, Moriner looked around in amazement at the crowds of students bustling here and there: handsome young men in neatly pressed suits, and girls who looked as if they had just stepped out of the covers of fashion magazines. He even felt a little uneasy. With difficulty, he made his way to the information board, quickly found his initials, then scanned the other names and the list of teachers, but almost immediately forgot everything, except perhaps those with the imperial surname. After that, the young man straightened his neatly worn uniform as best he could and hurried to his classroom.

Looking around in admiration, Linnea still couldn't believe that all of this wasn't a dream, but reality. She was actually inside the academy, and not just as a visitor admiring it from the outside during another trip to the capital, but as a student.
However, reminding herself that she would still have time to admire the local interior, the young Reimi girl headed to the information board and studied the list of classes with interest, trying to find her own name among the many names and surnames. After that, she took the time to familiarize herself with the names of her future classmates, after which she shifted her attention to the article about the teaching staff next to the list of classes. Fortunately, she had arrived a little earlier than the scheduled meeting time.
To her disappointment, however, Neia discovered that the article contained no new information for her – she already knew everything written in it. Sighing in disappointment, the Reimi girl headed to the classroom assigned to her.

I regret creating that girl... so many hot teachers...

You'll have to take an interest in the hot instructors.

I'll continue after I finish the last quest.

Parfinora found out which list her name was on and went to the correct auditorium. HURRY UP, ARZA.