The First Cultivator

The cleaning took longer than expected, but it was soon completed. The boys left shortly after. Feeling rather gross, Azura immediately went to soak in the tub. After vigorous scrubbing, which included removing noodles from her hair, she spent the rest of the day practicing fine control with her ki. A quick meal, and it was bedtime. It had been a long day. As soon as she settled down, the door opened. Her mother came in wearing her sleeping clothes.

"What's wrong?" Azura asked.

"Oh, nothing," her mother said, moving to the bed. She then began poking Azura.

"Hey!"

"Move over," her mother chided.

Azura did so, and her mother hopped in, putting her arms around her daughter.

"It's been a long time since I held you while you slept… I guess I feel nostalgic."

"Okay," Azura said, not sure what brought this on.

Her mother was silent momentarily, then began rubbing Azura's cat ears. She hadn't done that in a while.

"You know I'm proud of you, right?"

"Yeah…"

"You could have been rich with all the mana beasts you've killed. Instead, you gave it to the kin… and, well… I guess I hadn't realized how powerful you've become."

"Mom, what's this about?"

"Oh, nothing. I think I just realized today that you're all grown up. You don't need me anymore."

Azura snuggled in closer, enjoying the feeling of her mother's soft fur.

"That's not true… How would I feed myself?"

Coralline laughed. "That's true, my little pig-kin." She kissed her daughter's head as they both fell asleep.

***

Headmaster Rufus of Dageth Magical Combat Academy looked over the message from Deepmere and considered it. It was a small country with an even smaller capital on the far western side of the continent. In times past, it was one of the four great nations; now, it was a joke. Multiple civil wars and territory being lost to its neighbors had done it no favors. It was a dying ember of its former majesty.

Previously, the only item of interest in the area was their mage-only policy. It had been a strange choice. Typically, less than half of the population would be mages. When Deepmere exiled non-mage humans, others were quick to snatch up the cheap labor. Rufus chuckled. The fools. It was hard to get mages to plant crops or clean sewage. Ultimately, they had to entice nulls from the local kin villages to assist. This way, they could keep their mage-only policy while having low-paying workers, which every nation needed.

Things had started to look up for the dying nation. No longer. In the end, it wasn't war or strife that caused its continued downfall, but the mists.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The mists… now there was a concerning issue.

Where had it come from? How does it spread? What are the creatures that dwell inside?

The last one, he had a partial answer. There was some type of mana corruption that seeped into mana pools, altering any living creature. It was speculated that creatures with dormant mana pools were affected, but very slowly. The trouble was that no one knew anything for sure.

After over a decade of slow growth, the mists had reached the Fortress of Fortunia. The last bastion against this plague. If it were likely that it would end there, Rufus wouldn't have bothered even considering the proposal. The fools at Deepmere thought what they were giving up was valuable? Ha! Some backwater land was nothing. They flaunt it like having access to their worthless nation was some privilege.

However, the mists did change everything. Rufus didn't doubt that once done with Deepmere, it would spread beyond. It was better to fight in Deepmere than near his lands. There were also the slaves… Slavery was frowned upon but accepted on the continent of Asluin, yet to declare that they would enslave all the kin in Deepmere… It wasn't too important to him. They were just one species of demi-humans in an insignificant country. Races without magic were constantly exploited. That was why the dwarves had gone to ground centuries ago and refused to deal with the surface folk. The magicless humans were treated better, but not by much. Regardless, this wasn't his problem. What was, was this proposition.

Rufus leaned back in his chair and thought some more. Easy access to slaves, free land, and an opportunity for combat experience against the spawn. That doesn't even consider the chance to stop the spread of the mists before it threatened more of Asluin or, more importantly, Dageth.

Rufus sighed. Damn, those councilors. They knew he couldn't refuse as much as he wanted to.

Rufus crafted a message spell signaling his acceptance and began the preparations.

***

Supreme Elven lord Mistveil sat with his fellow councilors as he relayed the missive from Kelfina. Kelfina was a decent enough mage, he supposed. But her true talent lay in information gathering. Which was why she was sent to Deepmere in the first place. This business with the mists was new and, therefore, troubling. His kind lived for hundreds of years and had records dating back several millennia. Yet nowhere in those records was there anything that resembled the mists. That was alarming. He had even consulted his brethren on the other four continents to search for any records of these mists and the abominations residing within. Nothing. Deepmere's proposal offered a chance to stop this threat before it could spread. It also extended the elven influence in Asluin. They must indeed be desperate.

"Are there any objections to the proposal Kelfina has suggested?" Mistveil asked.

"Do they truly intend to enslave all the nulls?" A finely dressed elf asked.

"They will enslave the kin," Mistveil clarified. "I believe their own people will be spared."

Ulvandia chuckled. "There aren't many magical non-humans in Deepmere. They began a policy three decades ago to exile or sterilize any human who didn't have magic. It was cruel but effective. The entire nation is almost entirely composed of mages. They rely on the kin to do most of the manual work. This step does make sense from their elitist perspective. Are we able to purchase the kin as well?"

Mistveil turned toward her. She was old for an elf, yet still beautiful with long blonde hair and pale skin. Elves didn't age like the lesser races. They would stay youthful for centuries, then, in their last year of life, quickly wither and die when their bodies could no longer sustain the magic flowing in them. One downfall to this longevity was, well… perversion. Boredom was often an issue for the long-lived. This was doubly true for the wealthy. Ulvandia was well known for her tastes…

"Yes, I believe they will offer reasonable rates for kin once the subjugation is completed."

The elven woman flushed, her excitement evident. Mistveil felt sorry for any kin that fell under her control.

"I am perfectly willing to lead the expedition to Deepmere. I'll be sure to arrange for our interest in the capital."

You mean grab your pick of kin for playthings, Mistveil thought, but kept his expression blank. It didn't matter to him. Besides, Ulvandia was powerful. Her house, Arachne, was also exceptionally wealthy. She could arrange everything nicely.

He nodded to her. "Are we in agreement?"

Various signs of agreement came from all those present.

And just like that, the fate of the kin became sealed.