Regiments and Ruin
1280 Words
The Academy Towers rose like spears of marble and glass against the sky.
Their shadows swallowed the grounds below, where hundreds of cadets gathered for balloting, voices overlapping in anxious excitement, shoes scraping stone, banners snapping in the wind.
Karl moved through the crowd like a ghost.
Students from every field of the Citadel filled the square: scholars in crimson-lined cloaks, technicians in black uniforms threaded with copper sigils. Between them walked beings Karl hadn’t seen since his arrival; horned Tieflings with ember eyes, squat Gnomes with humming gadgets strapped to their backs, broad Half-Orcs, and towering Dragon-born whose scales caught the sunlight like polished steel.
His pulse quickened.
“System,” he whispered. “Identify.”
Translucent wordings formed into existence above the heads of those he focused on, labels only he could see:
Tiefling.
Gnome.
Beast-man.
Half-Orc.
Dragon-born.
Karl exhaled slowly.
This kingdom is mostly elves, so these beings must be from other lands. Other kingdoms. This world is bigger than I thought.
“Karl…”
He turned.
Eric stood behind him, Olenna’s timid friend, shoulders hunched, hands nervously clasped.
“Have you gotten a regiment yet?” Eric asked.
Karl shook his head. “No. How do I get one?”
Eric winced. “Uh… that’s the thing. I don’t know if you can. You’re not really a student here.”
The words landed like a blade between Karl’s ribs.
“But...” Karl began. “I've met General Cedar. He knows I’m here. So that shouldn’t-”
“Karl Wilhelm!!”
The shout tore through the assembly.
Every voice died.
“The individual known as Karl Wilhelm will be joining General Rodric’s regiment!”
For a heartbeat, the world stood still.
Then the square erupted.
“What?!”
“How does the human get assigned to a General?!”
“He’s not even a real student!”
“Where’s the damn human?!”
Karl instinctively withdrew into the mass of bodies.
Eric leaned close, eyes wide. “Do you know what that means?”
Karl swallowed. “What?”
“You’re in the same regiment as Tywin Regalis.”
Karl’s heart slammed against his ribs.
Of course.
It just had to be him.
“Dammit,” Karl muttered.
Eric forced a shaky smile. “Look, Generals only pick the best students. And Lord Rodric is the strictest of them all. If he chose you despite your… circumstances, then you must matter to him.”
Karl clenched his jaw.
His mind drifted back to the dungeon, back to Rodric's words:
"Knowledge of your power. Of that stone, we spare your life and you tell us everything we need to know”
He closed his fist.
So this was the price.
Eric gave his shoulder a gentle pat. “You’d make a great sorcerer, Karl.”
Karl managed a thin smile.
Then-
“Human.”
The word thundered across the assembly.
The crowd parted as if pushed by an invisible tide.
Tywin Regalis stood at its center.
He wore a flowing scarlet robe, embroidered with golden dragons that coiled along the seams. His bright orange hair burned beneath the midday sun, and his presence alone bent the atmosphere around him.
Behind him loomed Rocco, his unassigned bodyguard.
Tywin stepped forward with lazy confidence. Girls fawned over him. Boys stared in open awe.
Karl’s hands curled into fists.
Eric grabbed his arm, then released it when he felt Karl trembling harder than himself.
“Word on the street is,” Tywin said smoothly, “you’ve been assigned to my regiment.”
His lips curved into a cruel smile. “Is that true?”
“Yes,” Karl replied.
Tywin tilted his head. “And why is that?”
He leaned closer.
“What did a monkey like you do to earn it? Which of the higher ups did you suckle?”
Laughter exploded from the crowd.
Karl’s blood boiled.
“We don’t have to do this, Tywin.”
Tywin’s grin widened. He spread his arms theatrically and turned to the onlookers.
“Did you hear that? The monkey speaks my name. This lower life form doesn’t even know how to address his betters.”
More laughter.
Tywin faced Karl again.
“So tell me,” he said softly, eyes glittering. “How should I punish you? I’ll be nice, give me ideas. Because you won’t like the ones I’m thinking of.”
The crowd began to murmur eagerly, feeding on the cruelty.
Karl spotted Olenna struggling through the bodies, trying to reach him.
He inhaled sharply.
"I’m not a child. I’m not a helpless loser. I don’t need saving."
His system window appeared:
Strength: 45
Speed: 50
Agility: 50
Intelligence: 50
Perception: 20
It assessed Tywin's stats relative to his:
Strength: 61
Speed: 52
Agility: 51
Intelligence: 74
Karl let out a slow, dangerous breath.
"He is still stronger than me, but thanks to my training with the system, this would be a much closer fight"
He dismissed the window and dropped into a fighting stance. Green mana ignited around his fists.
"I don't care if I lose, if I can deal serious damage to the untouchable Tywin, everyone will have to respect me"
Tywin chuckled.
The students roared.
Karl lunged first.
He became a blur, his punch firing like a cannon.
Tywin caught it with one hand.
The impact detonated outward, a shockwave ripping through the assembly and forcing spectators back.
Karl froze.
His system flared red.
Tywin’s stats were climbing:
Strength: 69… 75… 89…
Speed: 78… 82… 101…
How is this possible?!!
Tywin countered.
Karl crossed both arms just in time. The blow drove him backward, stone cracking beneath his feet. He held his ground through sheer will.
He summoned his dagger and slashed in a rapid storm of strikes.
Tywin brushed them aside with his palm, as if swatting flies
Karl growled and feinted, thrusting forward, switching hands at the last instant.
Tywin caught the blade between two fingers.
Snap.
The dagger shattered.
Karl’s breath hitched.
Tywin’s mana surged, his eyes glowing with a predatory light.
The punch came like thunder.
Karl’s world exploded.
He was launched into the air, seized mid-flight, smashed into the ground, then hurled into a nearby tower. His body struck stone with a deafening c***k, carving a crater into the wall before he slid down, leaving a smear of blood behind him.
Cheers erupted.
Tywin walked toward Karl’s broken form.
“Had enough?” he asked casually.
Karl couldn’t answer.
“…Too bad,” Tywin continued. “Because I was just getting started.”
Flames spiraled into Tywin’s palm.
“Stop it!!”
Olenna burst through the crowd and threw herself over Karl, shielding him with her body.
“Please, stop!”
Tywin was ready to fire.
“Hold it!!”
Two armored guards crashed into the scene, weapons drawn.
Tywin sighed and dismissed the flames.
“Lord Regalis?” one guard asked carefully.
Tywin straightened his robe. “A misunderstanding, my family will cover the damages.”
The guards bowed. “Understood, my lord.”
They withdrew.
Tywin leaned down so Karl could see his face.
Karl forced his swollen eyes open. Blood streamed down his forehead. His breathing came in ragged gasps.
“I’ll see you again, human,” Tywin whispered.
Karl glared back through the pain.
“You won’t be so fortunate next time,” Tywin said softly. “Just... don't die before I kill you myself.”
Tywin turned and walked away.
Karl lay trembling in Olenna’s arms, the cheers still echoing around him, while something cold and unbreakable began to form in his chest.
Not fear.
Resolve, motivation, stronger than any he had ever felt before.
- Writer
