Further Beyond: Ascension

Odesday, 12th of Septimus, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

Josias focused intently onto the professor giving a lecture in front of the class. It was his third day at the academy, but the first real day of studying. And he was learning quite a bit.

The first two days were mostly orientation for life at the academy. Mostly, it was a comprehensive tour of the academy grounds. The second day was an introduction of the academy itself and its departments, staff members, so on and so forth. Because they were only introductory, Josias and his companions were still able to go home by noon.

However, today marked the first day of a full class. From the morning all the way to the afternoon. Count Lorenz himself had given the first lecture on the general history of warfare in Terradome. Josias was mindboggled by the amount of knowledge the westerners had on their own history. But he was more confounded by just how much that history revolved around warfare.

Just that day he had learned of several major conflicts Feldonia had been involved in. From the wars of unification to the various civil wars and succession crises. But the one conflict that all classes put a large emphasis on was the most recent conflict with the Lowereich Empire.

Called the 'Reicher War' or the 'Lowerian War' among others, it was the conflict that most of the professors were veterans of. It had been about three decades since that war and the effects were profound. The dismantling of the Archioric Empire, the adoption of Protestantism as the state religion, the secession of the colonies among other things. Josias found all of that interesting, but it appeared that most of his class couldn't be bothered.

The current class he was in was to be the last one for the day. It was an introduction to the general structure of army organisation. Professor Rowan Kelly, a veteran knight warrior, explained how much of the material he was presenting was experimental, courtesy of Duke Osgiling's reforms.

A good deal of his lecture was made of comparisons between the 'revised military' and the traditional models. The way Josias saw it, the 'old' method looked very much like how they did things in the Halaklands, minus a few details.

The old Imperial Feldonian armies were made up of knights and aura warriors as its central components. Besides that, much emphasis was put on levied soldiers from among the commoners and peasantry. It was only until Emperor John the Great's reign did a permanent standing army begin to emerge. Even then, it was still mostly supplementary to the various noble knight orders and the royal family's personal household guards.

The way the Halaklands operated, almost every male was trained as a part-time warrior. Warfare and fighting was like second nature, but it was mostly informal fights, skirmishes, and hunts against mana beasts or dungeon raids. The scale at which the western professors taught warfare was unprecedented.

The largest battle during his grandfather's war against the heathens, that of Haumarara, saw only a total of fifteen to twenty thousand on the battlefield. Josias was only a toddler during that time, so he hadn't been able to see it for himself. The adults would always speak of Haumarara as if it was the most colossal battle in history. Perhaps it was, if that history only concerned the Halaklands.

Yet here, Professor Kelly would talk of wars and battles involving tens of thousands of lives like it was nothing. He even talked of a battle he was personally involved in. It was an absurd tale if what the professor said was any true. Apparently, they were fighting ten thousand warriors supported by a thousand werewolf beasts. He and his platoon would've been annihilated were it not for Prince Alfred's arrival with reinforcements.

"...Which is why I will never cease to remind you all that information is vital in warfare. Without it, any preparation is moot." The flame-haired professor said as he looked at each student with a grim expression. Josias nodded his head as he wrote down everything of note from the lecture.

It was only the first day, yet Josias' desk was already full of notes he had written. He didn't care whether or not he could read the chicken-scratch he'd written in hurry, but it always helped him remember information better.

"Now, this information would flow much better if an army had a rigorous command and specialised units of scouts." The professor continued "But even then, as good as a scout may be, they'd never know the terrain better than a seasoned local. Which is why, if one were to truly be prepared for war, they'd have to prepare for it far in advance. Planting spies in key locations, setting up secure supply lines, making sure orders and communications aren't intercepted.

"But, military intelligence will have its own dedicated set of classes with Professor Lewis. Coming back to our initial topic on army organisation, before I end this class, are there any questions any of you might have-...?"

Before the professor had finished his sentence, several hands had already been raised. Josias wasn't one of them. He didn't feel like the professor did a bad job of explaining his points and he still had to review notes later on. Perhaps he could form some questions that he would ask outside of class. Though, maybe he could learn from a few of these other students.

Josias recognised several of the people raising their hands. Mostly because those few people had consistently been asking questions in all prior classes. Some were great questions, while others made Josias question whether or not the person asking them was asleep during the entirety of a lecture.

"Ah yes, what are you curious about this time, Cadet Godwineson?" Professor Kelly pointed towards the ever-enthusiastic Princess Elizabeth Sybille.

Despite her status as a crown princess, academy laws dictated that she – along with the rest of the students – be referred to as 'cadets'. They said it was to promote a feeling of camaraderie and equality among the students, regardless of their backgrounds. A noble goal as any, but Josias found the implementation to be loose and generally unenforced. It depended more on the professor in question.

Professors like Count Lorenz, Professor Kelly, and some others were generally more objective in their view of students. However, a good portion of the other professors had made it clear that they still had their reservations. Josias didn't know if they were perhaps retainers or vassals of some of the students' families, but he could tell there was preferential treatment.

But he couldn't really blame those professors either. From what he could tell from the opening ceremony, the military academy had the highest number of foreign royals in it. Royals from nations Josias had never even heard of before, but he was sure they were prominent.

"If I may ask, professor, you mentioned before about reforms in an institution to be pivotal to the organisation of an army. What would you say is the most vital reform in regards to this?" Princess Elizabeth asked "To clarify, as we have it now, most kingdoms on Terradome still operate based on systems of personal fealty and vassalage. Most wars are still either fought by people levied from their lands or – at best – mercenary forces. What reform of our current systems would you feel is most vital to implement the implementation of these so-called 'modern' armies?"

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Professor Kelly smiled as he nodded. "An astute observation, Cadet Godwineson. And you're correct. Even within our last war with the Reichers, it took up until the final stages of the conflict for us to utilise a more centralised command. Emperor John the Great had tried to centralise power long ago but your ancest-..."

The professor stopped himself before clearing his throat "...the Grand Duke of the Southerlands at the time opposed any major centralising effort. Emperor John the Great had to maintain the peace and so he held off on that. But to answer your question, in my opinion, it isn't really a 'reform' that's needed. Rather, the uprooting of the entire system."

The room fell into murmurs while the professor gave everyone an uncaring grin. Some of the students – nobles, Josias assumed – even scowled at the professor's comment. Uncaring of the reactions, Professor Kelly continued.

"And I will stand by my statement, ladies and gentlemen." the veteran knight's gaze grew even more serious "If the nobles of the land keep reneging on their commitment to the king's centralisation efforts, you can all kiss the dream of an imperial return goodbye. That is why at the beginning of this lecture, I gave you all a short overview on the system of the old Augustan Imperium. A strong realm, united under a single law and a single government. That is what allowed them to conquer the known world.

"And before anyone asks, the Anthroians who currently call themselves the 'Augustan Imperium' are but a shadow of what they used to be. From what I've seen in my travels to their lands nowadays, they're just as divided – if not more so – than the state that is the Lowereich Empire. I would go on to explain my opinions on the failings of their 'themata' system and its clumsy integration into the 'tagmata', but we'd be here all day.

"If any of you wish to learn more, I would highly recommend you taking Professor Grenmill's class as your cross-curricular next semester. Knowledge gained from the Faculty of Law and Governing is a good supplement for a deeper understanding here. Any more questions, Cadet Godwineson?"

"Thank you for the answer, Professor. I'll make sure to take the class you recommended." Princess Elizabeth smiled and bowed her head.

"Now, are there any more well thought out questions…?" Professor Kelly looked around again for any potential questioners. A good minute passed as he looked at everyone. "...Well if that's all then-..."

Another student sitting at the back edge of the room raised his hand suddenly. When he did that, Josias saw Professor Kelly's neutral face turn into a slight scowl.

"...Yes, Cadet Montverde?" The professor didn't even bother hiding his distaste for the student. Josias didn't know any history between them, but he could tell it wasn't anything good.

"I have a question, Sir Kelly…" the lean-built student had an absolutely shit-eating grin and a condescending look in his eyes.

"Professor Kelly…"

"Ah, yes, yes. Professor Kelly." Cadet Montverde nodded but rolled his eyes while saying it "Honestly, I don't understand why we have to keep up this pretense of equality, but it's of no matter. Coming back to my question, all I ask is why…"

"Why what?"

"Why do we even need to bother learning about all this…? All this nonsense about institutional power, government policies, and whatnot. I had expected my father put me in the military academy, not some auxiliary class to those insufferable administrative beauracrats."

"What did you expect to learn here then, Cadet?"

"The real important basics of an army, professor! The real meat and backbone of any military force. The knight orders, the battlemages, the aura warriors. All this time none of the classes even bothered to give these aspects but a cursory glance. Why has most of our time been spent on matters of governments, policy, economics. Does that win wars?"

Josias exchanged glances with his companions. Was this prissy-looking, pompous, blond bastard asleep for the entire class or was he just actually stupid? Josias was half a mind to just call him out, but he decided against it. With the man's confidence, he must be the son of someone important. That level of overconfidence was something only a man who's never been scolded by his parents had.

"For the sake of your grandfather's honour, I will assume you were asleep for the entire class." Professor Kelly rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head before his eyes locked on Montverde's "Because I dare not speak my mind on what my actual thoughts are on hearing such a question."

Cadet Montverde's smiling face was slowly contorting into a glare at the professor's annoyance. He looked like he was about to complain but Professor Kelly had continued to speak. "How about I turn this question back at you, cadet. In your mind, what do you think wins wars?"

"A child could answer that question, professor. Warriors win wars! Won on the honourable field of battle by the sweat of his brow and strength of his arm!" Audible murmurs of agreement filled the air. This only served to embolden Montverde as he continued. "What use are all these institutions when but a handful of four star knights can decimate even an army of lesser mercenaries and levies?

"The reason why we lost the war with the Reichers was simply because of a lack of talent on the part of our knights. For that much, we must admit our wrongdoings. Had we trained harder, we wouldn't have lost as much. Yet here, instead of training our skills and martial prowess, we talk of administration and bureaucracy!"

"The Late Duke of Ardunon thought very much like you, cadet. And why wouldn't he? A fifth star aura warrior and war hero, he'd cut through the Reichers like a hot knife through butter. But at the end of the day, do you know how he died? Through tricks and machinations." Professor Kelly's face no longer had any amiability left to it.

"Just because one man fell for tricks, it needn't mean we must stoop to such levels either. But what did I expect from a class taught by my damned grandfather's bastard? The only reason you're teaching all this is because you lack the talents of a trueblooded knight anyways. It was by my father's magnanimity that you were bequeathed such an honourable position. But to see you squander that opportunity for subpar lessons? I'll see what my father will think of this."

"Yes, we will." Professor Kelly returned Montverde's scowl with one of his own.

Josias couldn't believe the utter disrespect coming from the young man's mouth towards an elder, let alone a teacher. He looked at Prince Christopher but besides a displeased scowl on his face, he didn't seem like he'd do anything. The crown prince looked far more intent on reading the book at his desk . But what was more puzzling was the fact that the professor wasn't really doing anything either.

"...If that's all, then class is dismissed." Professor Kelly didn't seem like he was going to put any more energy into the cadet. He started cleaning up his desk before rushing towards the lecture hall's entrance in angered steps. Before he stepped out, he took one final glance back towards cadet Montverde. "The faculty will hear of this, Cadet Montverde. Let's see which of our messages reach your father's ears first."

With a final smirk, Professor Kelly exited the classroom.

Montverde had briefly stood triumphant when he first angered the professor. Yet with that final line, his face was back to what it was previously. An awful frown that made his otherwise comely face look uglier than a pig's.

"Fucking insufferable bastard." Montverde spat before banging on his desk, causing it to crack. His power fluctuation suggested he was perhaps early into his second star.

"That's coming out of your personal funds, Adrian Montverde." Prince Christopher didn't bother looking up from his book when he said that. While the young noble was evidently seething, he obviously couldn't do anything to the country's crown prince.

"...I'll have someone look into that." Adrian Montverde gave a quick bow before storming out on his own.

If this was what Josias had to deal with for his tenure as a student, staying neutral would prove difficult. Adrian looked an impudent fool. One could only imagine what he'd think of foreigners like Josias or the rest of his companions. If things continue like that, Josias was worried he'd cause an incident by 'accidentally' murdering a noble.

He shook his head off of such thoughts. First things were first. Prince Christopher had to start informing him of things and what to look out for.