"I have a long story to tell you Dorian Stormsky."
"That's not my name." Dorian interrupted. "I am just Dorian. I don't have a family name. I am an orphan."
"Listen closely, dear prince, it is of utmost importance that you try to understand and remember everything which I am going to tell you." Nox replied.
"Magic has existed in this world as long as the world itself has existed, some even believe it to be the reason of the world's existence. But the ancient mana existed in a raw and volatile form. But then thousands of years ago, no one exactly knows when, a human called 'The Linker' was the first one to command mana, perhaps even the best one to ever do it. The Linker had innumerable achievements but the best of them is considered to be the 'Link', which is the major reason of the growth of magic to this degree today. It is a system of sorts, or maybe it is an extension of his magic or perhaps a sentient being. You must understand everything regarding The Linker is shrouded in mystery, very few details being crystal clear.
People like me, who can control mana, are called Awakeners. Every Awakener has one thing in common, a mana core in their body. The mana core gives an Awakened control over a certain amount of mana and their own unique aspect in addition.
Also, strength of each mana core is represented by the number of layers. For a peak Awakened, the maximum possible layers are five. The only known exception being The Linker. Based on his achievements his mana core is calculated to be around nine layered. But many modern day Awakeners consider that to be a myth as even reaching a five layered core is a far-fetched dream for many. In fact the number of Awakened with a five layered core are barely more than a dozen. But every single one of them is a powerhouse.
An Awakener with a one layered core is called a D-rank Awakener. One with a two layered core is called a C-rank Awakener. Similarly, three and four layered cores would mean B and A-rank Awakeners, respectively. Mine, for example is a four-layered core.
Awakeners with a five-layered core are far too powerful to be ranked. Their strength is simply incomparable to other Awakeners. Still, for the sake of convenience, they are called the S-ranked.
Each Awakener, with a core of three layers or above can independently visit the mundane world under some terms. Awakeners with less than three layered cores, on the contrary, are not allowed to venture out of the City of Magic, Nephtis."
This was a lot of information to take in for Dorian and Lily who were already dead-tired from the evening's trials. Unconsciously, the pair had started chewing on the food as they forced themselves to focus.
"Nephtis is the City of Magic, the home of Awakeners. As you might imagine, The Linker was the first human to set foot in Nephtis. Now, it is home to about two hundred thousand awakeners. Every year, humans from the mundane world whose mana cores got awakened, or were about to get awakened, are taken there, educated about mana and guided until they are ready to walk their own path.
Awakeners of B-rank or above, although only being less than a tenth of the population, hold various positions of power across Nephtis. Each human with a five layered core is powerful enough to be a calamity on the mundane world. Even the weakest of them were at least continental level threats. Each of them is given the title of 'Lord' and each Lord and their followers form a clan. Strength of a clan is mainly determined by the strength of its Lord. Each clan is a body of authority in Nephtis, dividing the city into smaller territories. But despite that the true ruling clan has been the clan Stormsky.
Stormsky clan has been ruling over Nephtis for almost as long as the city has existed. The clan has always produced strong Lords but the real reason behind its continued rule is that Stormsky clan is said to be the bloodline of Linker.
Stormsky's undisputed rule has kept the City of Magic in order for centuries now but due to the recent demise of its last Lord, the city is facing complete chaos. Some clans respect the bloodline of Linker enough to wait for Stormsky to produce a new Lord. But other clans have already started fighting amongst themselves for the throne. Although the battles currently at an extremely small scale, invisible to the public, if things keep escalating as they are, soon the Lords of the City will be at war. And a war of that scale will spell ruin for Nephtis."