The sun had barely risen when I was already on my feet.The kitchen was lively. Liss prepared the tea with care, while Lygni, as always, sat cross-legged, her face impassive, showing almost no emotion.
"Good morning," I said, taking a seat at the table.
"Good morning, Your Highness," Liss replied as she poured me a cup of tea.
"You don't have to be so formal with me, Liss," I said, taking a sip of the warm drink.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I really can't help it," she replied, slightly embarrassed."May I call you boss?"
"That's fine," I said with a shrug, taking another sip.
She simply nodded.
Your Highness.That title still sounded far too strange to me. I couldn't get used to it.
Lygni drank her tea in silence, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
"I had an idea," I said suddenly. "And we're putting it into action today."
Both of them immediately turned their eyes to me.
"Liss, do you know that man from yesterday?" I asked.
She frowned for a moment, trying to remember.
"You mean Obrem?"
"Yes, Obrem," I confirmed. "He seemed dedicated. Is he… literate?"
"Literate?" the two of them repeated at the same time, as if I had said something absurd.
"He can read," I clarified, looking from one to the other.
"Read…?" they repeated again.
"Am I speaking another language by any chance?" I asked.
"Boss," Liss said naturally, "only nobles and members of the royal family know how to read."
I fell silent for a moment.
This world was even more unequal than I had imagined. Something as basic as reading was a privilege reserved for a few.
"Tell me about Obrem," I said, trying to push that uncomfortable feeling aside.
Liss took a deep breath, as if reaching for a distant memory.
"There was a time when our territory was struck by a severe snowstorm," she began."Everything we planted was destroyed by the cold."
Her voice carried the weight of remembrance.
"Many fell ill. Some died.But he… I don't know how to explain it. It was as if he could foresee what was coming."
Lygni lifted her gaze, clearly interested now.
"Foresee the future?" she asked, staring at Liss. "Go on."
Liss moved a little closer to the table.
"Months before the storm, he began warning people. He said the cold would destroy everything.Many didn't listen. After all, who would believe him?"
She paused briefly.
"But those who listened to him stored food, protected their water, prepared themselves."
I swallowed hard.
"When the great snowstorm arrived," she continued, "the crops froze, the rivers turned to ice… but those who followed Obrem survived."
Lygni narrowed her eyes.
"Someone who reached the Bloodline… here?" she murmured, more to herself than to us.
"Bloodline?" I asked, looking at her. "What is that?"
"As I said," Lygni replied calmly, "the Web is a living organism present in everything.Among humans, we gave names to those with greater affinity."
Liss and I listened, completely absorbed.
"The Bloodline is a level that very few reach. It is only possible after a near-death experience—and even then, there is no guarantee."
"Many say that the Web itself materializes before you," she continued."And if it favors you, it may grant a wish or an ability that no one else can ever replicate."
"So Obrem is a Bloodline Master?" I asked. "Liss, did you know?"
"No," she replied. "In this land, few people have affinities. Most use them only for farming."
Now that was interesting.
"But everything in the world has a cost," Lygni said."The balance of the world allows you to go only so far without demanding payment. Beyond that, nature itself restores equilibrium."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Those who reach the Bloodline," she said, "many of them go mad or die much faster.They overuse the Web's blessing."
I leaned back in my chair.
What a revelation.Obrem was what they called a Master of the Bloodline.
A small laugh escaped me, making both of them look at me.
"What's so funny, boss?" Liss asked.
I looked at the two of them as I stood up.
"Come on," I said confidently."This territory will become a fortress in less than a year."