Chapter 11: Invitation

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Invitation

Rowan returned home from the library, the afternoon sun casting long, golden shadows across the front porch. As he stepped into the living room, he immediately noticed an official-looking envelope resting on the dining table, sealed with a thick wax stamp bearing the city crest.

Written across the front in sharp, black calligraphy was his full name: Rowan Vance.

Rowan set his satchel down and picked up the letter. Sliding a finger under the flap, he opened it and pulled out a heavy sheet of parchment stamped with the official seal of the City Council.

[ CITY COUNCIL OF SOL-AETHEL — OFFICIAL NOTICE ]

To: Rowan Vance

Subject: Invitation to the Sol-Aethel Awakener’s Academy

Greetings,

On behalf of the High Council of Sol-Aethel and the Executive Bureau of Lord Valerius Vane, Archduke of the Eastern Basin, under the supreme authority of the Viridian Empire, we extend our official congratulations on reaching your fifteenth year and unlocking your System potential.

Every young Awakener who steps across the threshold holds a vital piece of the Empire’s future. To foster your talents, refine your unique abilities, and guide you toward your designated path within our guild hierarchies, you are formally invited to join the incoming cohort at the Sol-Aethel Awakener’s Academy for the upcoming academic term.

Reporting details, class placement assessments, and orientation schedules are enclosed below. Please confirm your attendance at the Grand Aqueduct District Bureau by the end of the week.

May your foundation be strong and your roots run deep.

Signed,

Office of the Regional Governor

Under the Seal of Lord Valerius Vane, Archduke of the Eastern Basin

Sol-Aethel Executive Bureau, The Viridian Empire

Rowan traced the embossed emblem on the paper, his 16 Intelligence instantly running through the strategic math.

The Academy was the single largest hub for resources, rare seed samples, high-grade fertilizer formulas, and official guild backing in the entire sector. Enrolling would grant him access to testing grounds and market channels he could never reach as an independent civilian.

On the flip side, it meant stepping under the direct scrutiny of Academy instructors and high-ranking Awakeners. Showing off too much would draw dangerous questions about how a supposed farmstead class was producing legendary-grade yields—while hiding his power entirely would waste the Academy’s immense privileges.

He needed to play it smart: display just enough talent to secure top-tier funding and resource access, while keeping [Domain: The Virgin Soil], his 10:1 time-dilation nursery, and the ancient predecessors’ logbook completely off the radar.

Rowan folded the letter, slipped it back into his jacket pocket, and turned toward the stairs.

It was time to head up to his room, cross the marble threshold into the Primordial Garden, and finally see what his predecessors had written on the first page of that soft parchment book.

***

Rowan closed his bedroom door, listening for the quiet click of the latch engaging before turning the key in the lock. Walking over to the window, he pulled the heavy curtains tight, blocking out the bright afternoon light filtering in from the street outside.

Sitting at his desk, he set his digital tablet down, loaded with all his linguistic notes and cross-referenced translation keys. He took a steady breath, centered his focus, and reached into his inner mind.

[Domain: The Virgin Soil]

Space around him folded with a silent, subtle ripple. The bedroom walls dissolved into shimmering wisps of green and white light, replaced by the cool, invigorating breeze of the Primordial Garden.

Rowan stepped through the glowing marble archway, landing softly on the plush, emerald turf.

Around him, the domain felt even more alive than before. The 10:1 time dilation meant the crops in his nursery were already standing tall, their leaves glistening with condensed mana dew under the radiant light of the giant central tree.

Walking straight past the nursery toward the massive trunk at the heart of the island, Rowan took his seat at the smooth wooden table. He picked up the parchment logbook, laid his digital tablet next to it, and turned to the first page—ready to uncover what Malakor, the First Keeper, had recorded centuries ago.

Rowan traced his finger beneath the fading golden glyphs, carefully matching each character against the translation matrix on his tablet screen. With his Wisdom (16) and Intelligence (16) operating at peak clarity, the hybrid proto-script began to yield its hidden meaning paragraph by paragraph.

Rowan read the translated text aloud in a low whisper, letting the weight of Malakor’s ancient voice resonate through the clearing:

"If you are reading this, young Keeper, you have already noticed the disparity between what the System labels as a ’farmstead’ skill and what this domain truly represents. Do not be deceived by the classifications of mortal guilds or imperial courts.

The System does not create life—it merely measures it. The garden you stand in is the remnant of the Edenic Strain, the original uncorrupted botanical matrix of the realm. When the world shattered into eras, the true seeds were lost to history, replaced by diluted, fragile strains that require endless artificial mana to grow.

Within this domain, three fundamental laws prevail:

The First Law (The Soil): Any common seed planted in this soil will eventually purge its weak lineage, mutating upward toward its ancestral Edenic counterpart.

The Second Law (The Flow): Time within this sanctuary bends to the heartwood of the Great Tree. What takes a month under the sun of the Viridian Empire requires mere days within these borders.

The Third Law (The Spring): The waters of the Primordial Spring do not merely hydrate; they cleanse the spirit, expand the vessel, and awaken latent traits in both plant and cultivator.

Guard this knowledge well. The rulers of empires and the High Barons of the Guilds seek power through steel and magic, but he who holds the source of life holds the destiny of worlds. Begin with the mundane, nurture the soil, and let the Edenic Strain awaken."

Rowan leaned back against the smooth wooden chair, taking a deep breath of the domain’s crisp, mana-laden air.

Malakor’s words confirmed everything he had speculated at the library. His class wasn’t just a basic farming ability—it was an ultimate origin talent capable of elevating common crops into legendary, ancestral variants. When he entered the Sol-Aethel Awakener’s Academy, even his simplest yields would dwarf anything produced by the grand noble houses of the Viridian Empire.

Closing the logbook with care, Rowan stood up and walked toward his nursery plot, eager to see how his tomato, pepper, squash, and wheat seeds had begun their transformation under the Edenic laws.