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Arc Chronicles Chapter I Part One
I always knew my life was going to come back to bite me, but I never thought I'd go to prison. That bastard cellmate of mine stuck me in the back with a shank on my way out.It was a tale as old as time. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Before I was arrested, I was a traveling salesman. The company I worked for paid for gas, gave me a stipend for food, and paid me peanuts. I barely had enough to eat most nights and I sure as hell wasn't saving money.Still, life on the road beat prison. A cop pulled me over. I fit the description of a pedophile who had assaulted a young girl. I was a Texan, born and raised, but the Californian jury didn't show me any mercy. They locked me up and threw away the key.I spent two years in prison as a know pedophile and sex offender. Everyone hated me. I had no friends to watch my back. I don't know how I survived. My lawyer was a public defendant, but he never gave up on me. He fought for me to the end and I'll never be able to thank him for i
Arc Chronicles Chapter I Part Two
When I turned five months old, I could crawl. I almost cried. For months I had been at the whims of my mother and the maids if I wanted to move. They had to carry me everywhere. Otherwise, I was left to stare at the roof of the room for hours on end. The freedom to move on my own power was something I hadn't considered before my death, but it wasn't something I would ever take for granted again.By nine months, I could walk. Relearning was a pain, but it was worth it when I didn't have to drag my knees over the stone. My new mother took great joy in watching me walk. My father, on the other hand, didn't seem to have time to watch me walk.By the time my first year in this new world came to an end, I was starting to understand the language. There was still a huge gap in my knowledge, but I could follow most conversations.From my language acquisition, I learned more about the world around me. I learned I was Calixte Arc, the third prince of the Aquitaine Empire. My father was Francois
Arc Chronicles Chapter I Part Three
One of my favorite things to do was explore the castle. Ever since I started watching Game of Thrones, I had been obsessed with old-world architecture. The stone streets of Kings Landing, the Red Keep, and the free cities. It was a completely different world from the one I had grown up in and never getting to see Europe was my biggest regret.Game of Thrones Season 3 ended on a high note. The Red Wedding and the Lannister consolidation of power. It was a shame I would never get to see Season 4 and beyond, but I was practically living in Westeros. 1920s Westeros.The palace was huge and even after two years of life, I still hadn't memorized my way around. Luckily, as a prince, servants were lining up to get on my good side, so I always had a guide.My home was called the Phoenix Palace, and it sat straight smack down in the center of Aquroya. Aquroya was the imperial capital, the fantasy equivalent of Paris I suppose. Though I guess I shouldn't keep calling it a fantasy, since it's my
Arc Chronicles Chapter II Part One
Chapter II Part OneWhen I turned two, my mother convinced my father to allow me to study the healing arts, but I had to learn the more traditional forms as well. So the day after my second birthday, a full mana examination team was summoned from the city. It was imperial law that every child was tested for mana when they turned five. Any with mana was recorded and any commoners born with mana were forced to sign up to the imperial draft in the event of war. Children of the aristocracy were exempt.Most people born with mana in Aquitaine ended up becoming healers. It was a far safer profession than the military anf tended to pay very well. Every nation had signed a treaty to not attack healers, so even when they served with the military, it was considered a safer.The man who came from Aquroya wore a white lab coat. He brought a machine with him that was large and clunky, hardly portable. According to him though, that machine was the portable version."Please, take a seat here, your h
Arc Chronicles Chapter II Part Two
Chapter II Part TwoA week later I was out of my sickbed, and working under the High Healer and one of my father's Imperial Knights.The High Healer would oversee my training in the healing arts. Despite my mother's boasts, he outstripped her in almost every field. He was the most accomplished healer in the empire and arguably on the continent."We will begin this lesson where all novice students start. The first law of this art states that it is impossible to heal from a distance. This is an unbreakable rule of healing. We, healers, stitch wounds, cure disease, to grant relief to the suffering. To do this, we manipulate our mana to a fine point and use it to help our patients. Only by physical touch is it possible to share mana, your highness. That is why it is our one unbreakable law."To start with, I will teach you how to sow basic skin wounds. You must keep in mind that this skill will only affect light cuts. Deeper wounds require different skills. Before we can start on the basi
Arc Chronicles Chapter II Part Three
Chapter II Part ThreeWhen Master Kieten began teaching us geography, my jaw dropped. The map he unfolded was a familiar one. A very familiar one. I had heard about the war with Prussia, the fall of an empire, and the rise of the fantasy Soviet Union, but until that moment I hadn't laid eyes on a map.The map was far too familiar but so different at the same time. There was Europe, Asia, Africa, the middle east, Australia, Antarctica, and North and South America.Aquitaine occupied the place that France had on Earth, only it was a lot larger. Aquitaine had colonies in Africa, Asia, and North America.I couldn't find any country I was familiar with in the America's. Not even fantasy versions of them. It was seemingly colonized by several European and Asian powers... Even Egypt had a colony. Was Egypt an independent country?I looked at the top of Africa and there it was. Egypt. Officially the Sultanate of Egypt. It occupied the territory of Egypt in my world, Libya, as well as the midd
Arc Chronicles Interlude I
Interlude 1Bernhard took a deep drag from his cigar. The small room slowly filled up around him and it wouldn't be long before everyone was there. Then he had to sell them on it. These were some of the most influential people around Prussia and without them, he wasn't going to make it very far.His political party was small and without support, it wasn't going to go any further. At the moment, its small nature hid the truth from the Aquitese and Britannians. If one of these men betrayed him and told the occupation forces about this meeting, that was the end. He'd be dragged before a Britannian court and sent into exile or prison. If he was lucky.If he was unlucky, Bernhard would be tried before an Aquitese court. The best he could hope for was hard labor at one of the labor camps. They might just shoot him instead and save themselves the trouble.The door closed at least and the eight people in front of him looked on expectantly. Before he could say anything, Johann Eggeling spoke:
Arc Chronicles Chapter III Part One
Chapter III Part OneMotion pictures were gaining popularity and becoming widespread when I was seven. The radio was the dominant form of media and it had a long life span remaining, but TV and movies were on the rise. The advent of the cinema in this world was down to, ironically enough, my father. He wanted to distract the people and movies were a great distraction. It was only a matter of time before he discovered the propaganda value of film.It was in one of these films that I first saw it. The flag of the old Prussian Reich was lowered and a new one was raised above the Reichstag building. A single Iron Cross dominated most of the flag. It was in black and white so I couldn't see the colors, but I imagine the cross was black and the background was red. It invoked imagery of a certain German state.Above the building, letters slowly focused into view: Greater Prussian Reich.The words below it read GLORY TO THE STATE SOCIALIST PARTY.When the reel ended, the lights switched back