Chapter 2: Strange Ceremonial  

<It is a lie that the possibility of man is infinite. Look at yourself if you need evidence. But don’t worry. Bander is with you.>

Ra-Bander from 300 years ago. Excerpt from Liviath, Sword of the Sun.

.......

The Roman family of the Tian Kingdom. Famous for its physical prowess.

They are famous for two things.

First, anyone born within the Roman family is strong.

Second, they are strong, but not many are born.

People born in the Roman family had high Bander Ratings, also called an Ancestor’s Blessing, which was a measurement of fighting prowess. These people were genetically designed to fight. All who were born in the Roman family were proven warriors.

A <Grand-Bander> had been born into the family, a rating which required several years of training even for a master to achieve.

God was fair and did not bless the family with many children. The family was strong but small.

A second boy was born into such a family that became huge news within the Kingdom of Tian. Many nobles from around Tian gathered at Roman family’s provinces to congratulate the birth of the baby. It was the third day of the party.

The lord of the Roman family, Count Kain von Roman, mumbled in his mind.

‘Ugh, this is tiring. It’s already been three days.’

Count Kain von Roman. 13th lord of the Roman family and a <Grand-Bander>.

Grand-Bander was the dream of many warriors and knights in the world. Even the Tian Kingdom, which was one of seven Great Kingdoms of the world, only had three active Grand-Banders at the moment. Grand-Banders had very high Bander Ratings – some were born with it, while others needed years of mental and physical training to even qualify to try out for it.

The average age of a Grand-Bander was sixty-five, but Kain was only fifty-four, much younger than the average. Yet he had his weaknesses. He was a great warrior, but he did not have extensive experience at making friends and it was hard for him to enjoy a party like this.

‘Who likes this party?’

Roman ranted in his mind as he faked a smile at the people that were passing by. He didn’t smile as much normally, so him smiling was enough to give the impression that he was enjoying the party.

‘I think it was better when I had the first...’

It really was a rare occurrence to see the Roman family have a second child. That gathered all sorts of nobles from around the kingdom to give their congratulations.

“Haha! Count, long time no see! The air of the capital is so refreshing! It’s all thanks to you. I wouldn’t be able to visit the capital if it wasn’t for you!”

“Oh, welcome, Count Celaine. Thank you for coming.”

‘Ugh, how did he come all the way over here from Taran?’

Count Celaine was the lord of Celaine Province, which was seated right next to the Taran Kingdom. He used his geographic advantage to conduct trades with the Taran Kingdom and his province flourished upon the profit. He was far from the capital and he always claimed to be neutral over the factions between the King and the nobles. He was hated by both sides and he never visited the capital unless there was something really important.

The second birth in the Roman family was just that important.

‘No... he wouldn’t have come just for that. He probably came to see how the factions are changing these days.’

Kain realized what he was really up to. The Tian Kingdom was at war internally between the <Royalist Faction> and the <Noble Faction>.

Marquis Narasha led the newly-formed Noble Faction.

Swordmeister Kiraine led the old Royalist Faction. Uncle to the King, Kiraine was one of the strongest warriors in the kingdom. He was not interested in the politics, but his name was enough to bring the Royalist group together.

Marquis Narasha was also a <Grand-Bander> warrior. Born in Narasha Province where it neighbored the militarized kingdom of Kharan, Marquis Narasha had become a Grand-Bander at the age of fifty-five. His charismatic power and rank were able to gather many Noble families together into a new faction against the Royalists.

Two factions were now almost equal in their influence.

Count Celaine visited Roa-Tian, the capital city of Tian Kingdom to see if he could take advantage of the situation for his own purposes. The birth of the second son of the Roman family was a good chance for him to visit as there were many Nobles gathered in one place.

‘I guess a lot of these people have similar motives.’

Kain believed that Count Celaine wasn’t alone.

‘But at least it’ll be over by today. I hope Sian isn’t having too much of a hard time.’

Kain was concerned about his second son. The party was now almost over and there was only one final ceremony remaining for the newly-born Sian von Roman.

It was a ceremony to check on the Ancestor’s Blessing.

<Ceremonial>

This was held by all Noble families who gave birth. In the past, it was only meant to pray for the baby’s well-being, but after the Exalted Magical Council created the Great Magical Rune, it changed the ceremonial completely.

The particle that allowed one to overcome their limits and train infinitely.

<Bander>

The Great Magical Rune allowed one to read the Bander possibilities within the body.

Kain was curious about his second born’s rating as he watched the preparations take place. Bander Ratings were impossible to achieve through training from scratch. Therefore, the rating declared during the ceremony indicated talent. The higher the rating, the better the chance for the baby to become powerful.

‘Well, he’s one of the Romans... I guess he’ll get at least 50.’

The Sword of the Sun, the most famous warrior of all time, had a record of 85 Bander Rating. Kain himself had a 55 Bander Rating and his first son Rian had 60, higher than his father’s.

Considering the fact that most Grand-Banders had a little bit over 50 Bander Rating and ordinary Nobles only had about 25, it was an amazing feat.

As Kain thought about different things, it was almost time.

‘I should call my wife and the kid.’

The Count left the party grounds to call his wife and the son while the 3rd Class Magic Priest sent out by the Exalted Magical Council to prepare the rune began the ceremony.

“We will now start the ceremony for Sian von Roman, the second son of Count Kain von Roman, the Guardian General of Tian Kingdom! Please give your congratulations from the bottom of your hearts!”

The message given by the senior priest was done quickly. It had been much longer in the past, but it had been shortened as it was boring and not significant to the actual ceremony. What was important was testing the <Bander> rating.

“We will now activate the Great Magical Rune. May the Ancestor’s Blessing be with the newborn!”

People looked down to the rune on the ground and up to the baby on top of it. The baby was awakened from his sleep as Kain took him up from mother’s arms onto the pedestal. He was round and chubby, but he looked like Kain.

The Magic Priest finished his blessing and activated the rune. It began to glow, surrounding and covering the baby. Light particles began moving through the baby, flowing in and out of the baby, checking on all parts. The light then died out as if it had lost all the energy from within.

It was almost over.

When this was done, the number that showed the Bander Rating of the baby was supposed to pop up with a bright light in the sky. This feature was added by the Magical Council to make it more visually appealing to the people.

But something strange happened. The result that should have popped up by now still wasn’t there.

“What’s going on?”

People were mumbling amongst themselves.

The Magic Priest looked troubled as he came running to the rune and the baby. It was an unexpected emergency.