The Empires Rise

"And why would you want to know if there is something that I haven't been telling you?" Is his immediate response.

"Well, it would help me if I knew so I could take the appropriate steps to ensure our survival." I retort.

"While that is valid, other than the information from the system, what could have possibly led you to think that I was holding something back from the family?"

"Honestly, there isn't anything I can pinpoint that would have led me to think about it. One thing to note is that I am not the only one here who could make observations. I can see that several other warriors in the settlement are giving you respectful glances—almost like you have earned their respect."

He responds with a sigh that matches my own when I know I have been caught. "Why did you have to be the most observant member of the family?" Knowing it is a rhetorical question, I wait for him to continue. "You see, Drake, there are many things that I shouldn't tell you. Not that I am not allowed, but as my wish to keep the family safe, I have chosen not to tell anyone. I will tell you a little so you do not pry further."

- Ilpheus Taldrit POV -

Looking at my son, I think hard about all the life experiences I have had to get to this point. I know I will not be about to skirt the topic since this system has mildly exposed me to what I can do. I started to tell him about my early years and one of the most important secrets of our family, but before doing so, I needed to cover one specific topic.

"Drake, let's start by talking about our planet's history. Do you know why so many people have names from mythical beasts or persons, and only when they graduate?"

"Based on your question, I think there is a different reason than what I was told in all my schooling."

"That would be the correct assumption, but why?"

"I think it would have to involve either bloodlines that have been passed down?" He responds to my question, confused.

"You wouldn't be far off the mark, though something that isn't taught at the schools is that a procedure is done after graduation. During that procedure, you are knocked out, some of your blood is drawn, and they check to see if it has activated. Those with active bloodlines are brought away and taught how to control them. Those with inactive bloodlines go about life as if nothing happens."

"Wait," he stops me from continuing. "What do you mean by active bloodlines? And what does this have to do with your secret?"

"My son, let me finish before you ask questions. Plenty will be answered by you just listening," I scolded him. Once everyone has been segmented into active and inactive, their schools are vastly different. You experienced inactive bloodline schooling; let me tell you how they teach bloodline control. For each person, control can be very complicated or straightforward. It all depends on the bloodline that would be active in that person."

"For those with aggressive bloodlines that cause harm to their owners, they are required to be in almost constant meditation or sedation until the body learns to stop fighting itself or until they die. I am sure you have heard of several of your friends from school going off to the military and not coming back?" I ask him.

"Yeah, but if I remember correctly, not that many joined the army. We were in a time of peace, so it never made sense why they would be needed to go into the military."

"That is part of the secret. Those that went perished from their bloodlines that they couldn't get control over. The parents are made to sign NDAs and not share the news of their offspring passing."

"That is terrible," I see him look at me with concern.

"It is, but it is for the best since we don't want to cause undue panic among the population. If it is aggressive enough, one bad bloodline owner could cause the demise of entire cities. This is only for the worst-case scenarios. Those with mild bloodlines can quickly overcome this burden and start to control it to a much higher degree. Your sibling has one of the rarest bloodlines found on our planet, but they could only use it for healing."

"What is their bloodline? And how do you know they have one?" Drake asks me impatiently.

"Asking for someone's bloodline is very improper. While I know you wouldn't know why that is the case, I will get to it later. Back to what we were talking about. Bloodlines require refining, but once they reach a certain purity point, they can manifest some of the abilities these mythical beings had. From higher cognition to high physical strength. Those with obvious markers of bloodlines are typically placed in different cities that are specifically made for them until they can control their physical appearance to that of a more baseline human of our world."

Stopping now, I wait to see if Drake has any questions. And as I expected, he does have a couple, "How do you know these things? How does this relate to the secret you would tell me about?"

"I'm going to start with the second question first. This information is relevant because I was an instructor at one of the bloodline universities. I helped many different people from our world control their bloodlines and get back to their normal selves, or as normal as they could be."

"So, being an instructor makes sense as to how you could know all this information. I am stumbling upon what your bloodline could be that would cause the warriors to view you respectfully and how the system would think you were a candidate as an instructor."

"Again, asking for someone's bloodline is rude in our circle. You should never approach someone from our planet and question their bloodlines. I will tell you that part of my bloodline concerns my health and age."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you telling me all the jokes that your friends calling you ancient might not just be jokes."

"Oh, those were jokes, but only by the standard that I am over 500 years old. I handled a blade for longer than you have been alive, and I know how to protect my family."

"That doesn't make any sense, though. How could you possibly be that old? Did our civilization sprout up so quickly in the last hundred years?"

"Yes," I answer straightforwardly. "Once people were able to control their bloodlines further, they were able to make leaps in technology that we thought would take several more centuries. Food became something overflowing in abundance; all forms of science could take leaps in their development with the help of people accessing their bloodlines and making discoveries based on those properties."

Seeing Drake's confused face, I know it is time to end this talk. "That is all I can tell you for now, but just know that not everything is as it seems when it comes to the people of our world. You will learn more as you become more active with your magic. You might even surprise everyone because, as far as we know, no one from our world has had the option to pick the mage class yet." Having finished what I wanted to say, I bid him a good night and headed to bed.

- Drake's POV -

To say my mind has been through the wringer would be the understatement of the century. Thinking about all that has happened, even in my limited time on my planet, makes me realize there is so much more going on than anticipated. Shaking my head, trying to get it from spinning with the information provided, I headed to bed for the night.

Upon getting into bed, I hear a faint tap on the windows of my room. Opening up the curtain, I find that Ritotorous is sitting outside.

"Where have you been all day?" I ask him.

He responded, "I was just checking the area around the settlement and seeing if there was anything I could kill for some meat."

"Why don't we do that tomorrow and see if anything is worth killing after the night? Most of my team and family agree that I shouldn't go too far from the settlement in case of an emergency."

"They aren't wrong. I would want to have the healer close in case someone gets hurt or has another problem with the settlement. This is going to be a rough day for you, though. As I was passing the training yards, I heard that Laxreal had big plans for your training. He will see if you can develop some spells without skill books. We know it is possible with minor things, but spells will be a fun experiment to watch."

I can tell he has a malicious grin based on how it comes into my mind. "Maybe I should get some sleep as well. I just heard the craziest thing, and I don't know how much of it is true."

He cocks his head at me, "What did you hear?"

"My father is 500 years old, and while there wasn't mana back on my planet, bloodlines were prominent. I was part of a group in the population without an active bloodline." I'm still trying to understand such a vast development.

"Hmmm, now that you say something, it did seem like your father was quite proficient with the blade for only having just received it. His age would make some sense. Do you know how long it had been since he had to use the blade last, or was that not brought up?"

Thinking back to the conversation, I don't remember him saying anything about how long it had been or how long that period was prominent. I shake my head, "No, he didn't say anything, but from what I know. I was raised in a time when technology was advancing rapidly. People were getting more in-depth with using their bloodlines and what information was inside to study."

"That does help a little bit from my knowledge of mythical beings. Several tinkers and engineers had all sorts of gadgets and do-dads. I don't see it as impossible for them to get information or at least have an intuitive grasp of the knowledge to advance things. It would be tough to do so. They aren't the most active of bloodlines, meaning the person with the bloodline would have to have such exquisite control over it that they could get that information."

Taking a deep breath, I start to think of all the implications. I remember bits of my childhood where Xelyphe was out of the house. Being told they were studying at university made sense to me, but when they came back. They were a leading doctor at a hospital in the capital. At the same time, it wasn't far for my family since we were raised there. Many different hospitals were vying for them. It would also make sense why they would inform me to be careful about all the tests and things. They would have a clearer picture of what was happening with the government.

All of these thoughts in my head start to make it spin again. I go to sit down, and Ritotorous settles next to me. "Drake," I hear from him. "I think what you need to do right now is meditate. Calm your mind; if you keep this up, you will have a breakdown. A lot is happening, and it won't stop for a while. So, while you have a moment like this, I think it would be good to meditate, and maybe you will get some answers you weren't expecting."

Since he is the one to send me on this second head-spinning revelation, he does what he thinks is right and tries to help calm my mind. "You are right. I do need to calm down. It is just hard for me to think about what this means."

"What this means for you are two things. First, you have more powerful people than you would have thought nearby to help you. And with their vast knowledge, you can easily lean on them and learn. Second, it means that there might be a hidden bloodline deep inside of yourself. There might be a way to awaken it while you are here. If that is the case, then all the better, but don't get bogged down in the details. The past is in the past, and we can only plan for the future. There is less than one day left before the settlement is attacked. So focus on that while meditating and what sort of spells you might be able to develop to help."

With that last statement, he flies up to a perch installed in the room specifically for him before nestling in and getting ready to sleep.

Thinking one more time about all the history hidden in plain sight in my world, I take a deep breath and expel it. It's time to focus.