This world is filled with an energy called "Ether." Ether itself isn't solid but incorporeal, but it's still visible, and even without the sense of sight, it could still be felt in the atmosphere.
This means that even a blind person could sense it; they could even navigate the world solely by the presence of Ether, even if they couldn't see it.
Ether isn't present where there are inanimate objects; therefore, a blind person, instead of sensing Ether, would feel the lack of Ether.
There's a saying that goes: "A blind person with Ether consciousness sees two colors: Ether and black." This means that wherever they don't sense Ether, something else is occupying that space, even though Ether is almost invisible.
The distance at which Ether can be perceived varies from person to person; however, it depends largely on how many cores they have.
This world is indeed incredible.
The city where Kael was born was located in the northeastern part of the Elvadeir continent. On the map, it was neither too close to the border with the unknown lands nor too close to the king's castle; it was somewhere in between.
Faulkner City was a city of knights, not in the sense of personality, but rather one that raised knights and offered their services to the king in exchange for a certain reward.
And although in this world there was a certain social status, such as "nobility" or "commoner," it didn't really matter that much. This social status had been maintained since before the discovery of aether, simply because the nobles recruited every talent they saw.
Anyone can become strong over time; after all, who doesn't want someone completely obedient and stronger than themselves under their command?
That was a very common thing in this world. Strength doesn't guarantee money, but someone's talent does. Talent is recruited and given to a noble to serve, and that would guarantee that person a better quality of life.
But Kael was born a noble; he didn't have to offer his services to anyone, not even the king himself, unless he showed great talent.
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The sky was blue with white clouds of different shapes occupying the space. Sunlight filtered through the cloudless places, landing on the ground.
Looking down from the sky, a city was visible. It was Faulkner City. There were numerous houses and buildings, some low and others tall, of different structures.
Outside the walls surrounding the city, there was plenty of vegetation and trees, as well as some hills. Among the vegetation, a monster was found.
This rabbit looked like a rabbit, however, unlike a land rabbit, it had sharp claws on its front paws, each about 20 centimeters long. One of its ears was cropped, and its eyes were closed.
It was about a meter tall.
The rabbit remained still, its single ear moving occasionally, trying to hear sounds.
Monsters, by closing their eyes, could perceive the movement of the ether, just like humans; it was instinctive for them.
About five trees away from this rabbit, another monster was located.
This one looked like a wolf; it was dark gray in color, had two eyes, one on its forehead; the eye on its forehead remained closed, and was about a meter and a half tall.
It saw the world through its two eyes, and the eye on its forehead sensed the ether around it. It seemed as if it had a double consciousness: one to sense the ether around it and the other to observe the world through its eyes.
This wouldn't be possible for a human; a human could only perceive the ether around them when they closed both eyes. However, animals mutated, becoming monsters. Just as humans were endowed with intelligence, some monsters were also granted privileges.
The wolf advanced toward the rabbit, slipping through the undergrowth, slowly at first, then beginning to run.
The rabbit didn't stay still; its eyes were closed, so it could feel the wolf's shape approaching, advancing toward the wolf. Soon, a fight began.
The rabbit jumped onto a tree trunk, then leaped toward the wolf's neck, its claws penetrating its neck. However, this didn't immediately kill the wolf; blood dripped from its neck in torrents.
The wolf tried to bite the rabbit. The rabbit withdrew its claws from the wolf's neck and nimbly dodged its bite, gaining some distance.
The wolf attempted to charge at him, believing his weight would restrain the rabbit.
However, the rabbit was too elusive. He dodged the wolf's charge and slid past him, his sharp claws penetrating the wolf's belly. The wolf could no longer resist and fell. The rabbit outpaced the wolf in agility and lethality.
The rabbit proceeded to enjoy its meal, its claws digging into the wolf's belly, holding on, its teeth tearing at the skin and flesh of the belly, then swallowing, blood dripping from their mouths, staining their white fur, their meal continuing.
The animals mutated, becoming omnivores.
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Faulkner family mansion.
Behind an office piled high with papers, as well as a wooden jar of black ink and a quill pen, a man was found. It was Drakon Faulkner.
Drakon had a stocky figure, wearing rather simple clothes; despite the clothes, his muscles were noticeable beneath them. He was quite serious, reading the contents of a letter.
Soon, someone knocked on the door:
Knock! Knock!
"Come in," Draken said without looking up at whoever entered.
The person entered. He appeared to be about 50 years old, wearing a dark green tunic with white robes underneath.
—Good morning— the old man said, his tone respectful and serene. —Lord Drakon, Lord Kael turned five a few months ago. He will soon have to dedicate his place in the family—
Drakon gave him a glance before looking at the contents of the letter in his hand.
—The king is organizing an expedition to the northern region. Our objective would be to clear the area of monsters— Draken said, his gaze calm —I plan to take Kael on the expedition. It would be good for him to see a battle firsthand, just as I did with Lila and Eryon—
—That would be an excellent idea, sir—
Kael was in the training room. Ever since he was a baby, he had come to watch Lila and Eryon in their friendly duels, in order to learn a certain battle style. But today he wasn't here to observe; he wanted to practice.