The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 836: The Faith of The Fallen

[Virestone Reach, The new Dawnstar, Lord’s palace. Prince Leon’s POV.]

The half-built stone palace stood tall on the Golden Hill of the higher plains. Virestone Reach was mostly fishermen’s villages and harbor towns, but the vast open fields were also numerous. The majority of the population were simple farmers.

It may not have much at first glance, but in reality, the reach fed half the sanctuary with its crops. It was a rich region. Leon knew it was more important to the sanctuary than his noble companions believed.

Seeing the progress the capital city of the sanctuary and the other regions had gone through in barely any time was unbelievable. Leon did not care for it all. He knew the boy was a runesmith, and no one could probably match his level of innovation with a title of transcendent.

Making sanctuary his own was a fever dream for only the most delusional lords in his retinue. But Leon needed all the delusional ones if he wished to do the one thing that was keeping him alive.

Reclaiming what was rightfully his. And for that, he needed as many friends as he could get. The person he was waiting for could truly change his vision into something much grander.

There was a knock on the door. Leon took his seat behind his desk.

“Come in,”

Two people entered the room situated in the inner stone palace. One was Leon’s own brother, Maelor. The other was a high priest of the sun temple.

This meeting was happening away from most eyes. If the contents of this were to be revealed, neither side would be left out of trouble. They exchanged greetings and chatted about useless things till finally it was time.

“So, why now did the temple remember we exist?” Leon asked.

The tall priest, wrapped in red and black robes, smiled an annoying smile. Having a woman’s face did not help at all; it somehow made it even more irritating.

“The temple has to remain standing to guide the faith in the world of darkness, no matter the banner or shape.” She replied, “But things have calmed down now. We can do more for the deserving now. That is, if you are still interested.”

“Depends on what you are offering,” Leon said.

“Full support. The public will not stop talking about their rightful prince. All the pathfinders and weapons we can provide. And there is more, a temple secret. The information that won’t be revealed, but it is unmatched even in the empire’s army.”

Just the support of the people would be more than enough to raise an army capable of taking a border region. Once Leon had a hold on the Dawnstar land, raising support against the emperor shouldn’t be too hard. He won’t win, not without some serious deals with the Faerunians or the sanctuary, but winning was not the point.

The emperor would realize he can’t fight his own people while maintaining a vast land – mainland will have a Dawnstar once again. Five countries, as it should.

“Hmm.. and what is the price of this ’Full Support’?” Maelor asked.

Leon cleared his head. This wasn’t the time to dream. If the bastards of the temple had helped them before against the emperor, the land never would have been lost from his father and grandfather’s hands.

“Nothing too much. Only that the faith of the lord almighty remains untainted in all of mainland.”

Leon and Maelor kept looking at her sharp eyes, not reacting at all till she explained further.

“Your Lord Keeper seems to be determined on letting just anyone walk inside a dungeon. The high priest has received divine instructions not to let that happen. Only the purest of blood has the right to fight in god’s trial. If it doesn’t stop soon.. something unthinkable might come to pass. Runebreaker is like an incarnation of chaos – determined to change everything that the world has slowly learned and adapted to survive. He is breaking the natural order.”

“Nothing I can do about that. As you can see, despite being from a sanctuary, we are not the ones shaping its future.” Leon refused.

Fighting the emperor might even be possible for a few feeble seconds, but fighting Damian was just pure insanity.

“It is not what you think. Hear us out, who knows, maybe when it’s all said and done, you might be the one remembered as the king who saved the mainland.”

Leon exchanged glances with Maelor.

“Go on,”

///

[The city of Sanctuary, Sanctum Academy, Lumi’s POV.]

“Come on, come on, gather around now,” Lumi called for the next batch of kids waiting for the admission test.

They were not failing anyone or sending them back, but things like rankings still determined the accommodations and class selection. Lumi had been hired by Lucian for office work, but she, too, was at the end of the day only a student here.

The admission tests included a written test, the same for everyone. Then, warrior class students take physical ability tests while the crafting class takes crafting tests. The special scholar tests were also different, which leaned heavily in the academic section.

There were 7 years of academy that a kid had to go through. Anyone that had 11 years old could apply. For the first five years, the classes were increasingly difficult and were designed to teach as many survival skills as possible. The last two years were a specification class for select professions.

If a person had the necessary age and knowledge, he or she could take a test for any class to skip it. Lumi was allowed to skip four classes along with Elias, and both were now fifth-year students.

There was still a week before the classes would start for real. The admissions were never-ending. Even though the deadline had passed for a while now, people still came from afar and applied. Already, Lumi had learned that 2400 students had been accepted, and more were coming every day.

Not all were going to be full-time students, though. Just like those night classes for adults, most students who can’t make the tests would only be taught the external classes that will be held few hours every day. It will teach things like reading, writing, basic fighting, and things like that. If a student excels in this, he or she might have a chance to earn her place in the academy.