"Our continent are divided into various empires and kingdoms and a few independent territories.
There are the two empires, the Drakorith Empire and the Solmyria Empire.
There are the Six Kingdoms of the north that formed the Six-Kingdom union.
When talking about the independent territories, we have Velmora – the merchant city; Zarenth Port – Jewel of the Southern Sea; Sanctaria – an independent theocracy revered by the whole continent; Krovenreach – the slayer's heaven; Duskwatch – hidden in a canyon, this city is ruled by crime lords and assassins; and lastly, Zentharia – The World's Heart, or the headquarters of the World Government."
The teacher started telling about the various principalities around the world.
As most of the trainees were tired because of the training they did and the boring lecture, they fell asleep, but the teacher didn't mind them; she, as if a broken record, continued her lecture.
Seeing this, many of the trainees started sleeping. And soon the whole class was sleeping.
Kael was also tired and wanted to sleep, but he knew if he wanted to learn about this world of his, he had to listen to the lecture, as this was the only way for him to learn.
After telling about these places, the teacher started drawing something on the board present there.
She first created the outlines, then slowly but precisely drew the inner lines, and lastly filled in the name. And after drawing, she moved out of the way for the student to view, even though only Kael was watching.
'A Dragon.'
The thing that the teacher drew was like a winged dragon.
'Is this the map of the continent?' Kael wanted to ask, but remembering what the teacher said at the start of the lecture, he waited for the teacher to continue the lecture.
"This is the map of our continent," and the teacher solved the query Kael had, then she continued as she pointed towards the various parts of the map.
"Up north is the six kingdoms' union; the part that looks like a wing and some part of the torso with the Rathspire Mountain Range acting as the border are the territory of the Solmyria Empire."
The teacher created few pointed marks as she marked the Rathspire Mountain Range.
"The Drakorith Empire covers the rest of this torso and extends along the lower part of the map.
As for these independent territories, they are like city-states scattered around the continent."
"That's it for today." And the teacher left the class. Since the next class was also supposed to happen at this same hall.
Kael, who was also tired after the morning's training, fell asleep like the rest of the class.
***
Orridan Vrax was appointed to teach the basics of magic to the new batch of trainee grunts, and today was supposed to be the first day.
Orridan was a very strict and disciplined guy, and when it was time for his lecture. He went to the lecture where it was supposed to happen.
As soon as Orridan entered the hall, he saw everyone sleeping. This made him angry, as he doesn't care what they do outside of his lecture's time. But during his lecture he can't accept such behaviour.
"These little runts." Angered, he extended his arm, and soon a magic circle appeared in his hand, and soon it finished forming.
"Water prison." He muttered, and all the trainees were trapped in a water prison.
Though normal water prisons just have their outer layer created with water, Orridan modified the magic circle in a way the water prison had water inside it, submerging the trainees in water.
*gasp*
*gasp*
The trainee woke up as their body jerked suddenly due to both the air being cut and the water entering their body.
The trainees moved their bodies; they kicked the water around them, trying everything to get out of the situation, but to no avail. Only when Orridan noticed they were about to lose consciousness. He released the spell.
The trainees took deep breaths as soon as they came out of the spell.
"Enjoyed your sleep?" Oridan smirked.
"Hello everyone, I am Orridan Vrax, your instructor for basic magic." Orridan introduced himself.
"You just received your first lecture; that is discipline. If you are not disciplined, your next punishment will be even worse." Orridan waited as he waited for the trainees to digest his words.
"Now take your seats; we will continue the next lecture." Saying so, Orridan started writing something on the board while the trainees took their seats.
Kael quickly took his seat, but in his mind the situation was replaying, as for the first time he felt the sense of death, as he felt helpless; this situation further solidified his goal of getting stronger.
Soon he removed the thought and focused completely on the lecture, as he knew magic would be an important step for his path, a stepping stone that would help him rise very high.
"Before learning about magic, we must understand what mana is." Orridan said he started his lecture.
This time, the whole class was focused, completely opposite to the previous class where everyone was sleeping. It had two reasons: one, the punishment they just received, and second, the subject itself, as all the trainees were interested in magic; everyone wanted to shoot fireballs, fly in the air, etc.
"Mana is like the breath, the life force of the world; it is present in everything, living or nonliving.
Mana is a form of energy; it can neither be created nor destroyed but can be transformed into various forms." Orridan continued.
"The Mana present inside is different from the one present outside, as every individual has their unique mana."
"As the mana present outside, in the atmosphere, is neutral, we absorb it through various ways: when we breathe, through our skin pores, and even through the food we eat. Then it enters the mana core present inside us and is transformed into our unique mana."
"Now any question?" Orridan asked the trainees.