Chapter 123: Primordial’s living

Morning came quietly to the Windsky Skyland.

Alden opened his eyes slowly, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling that was white and high and nothing like anything he had woken up to in his old life or his new one. He lay there for a few seconds, letting his brain catch up.

’Right, I’m at Apothesis now.’

He stretched under the blankets, feeling the cool high-altitude air against his skin, and yawned properly before sitting up.

"Good morning, Sir Alden."

He flinched hard enough that he nearly went off the edge of the bed entirely.

"WHO—" He scrambled backward, blanket pulled halfway up, eyes scanning for the source of the voice.

Standing beside the bed was a young woman in an impeccably fitted maid uniform. She had long pale green hair falling over her shoulders and sharp yellow eyes behind thin-framed glasses. Her posture was perfectly upright, and she bowed smoothly without any sign that she had noticed his near-death from surprise.

"I am Maria. Your assigned maid."

Alden lowered his arms slowly. "Oh." He exhaled. "Okay."

He looked around the room, then back at her. "Why are you here?"

"To wake you up," Maria said pleasantly. "It is nearly time for your training session. I have also prepared a warm bath, so please get yourself ready."

She held out a clean white towel toward him.

Alden took it, still looking faintly bewildered.

Then he studied her properly for a moment. Pale green hair, yellow eyes. Not the coloring he had seen on any of the Primordials in the corridors yesterday.

"You’re not a Primordial, right?"

"Correct. I am human."

He glanced toward the door. "Does everyone up here get a personal maid?"

"Not everyone," Maria adjusted her glasses with one fingertip. "This arrangement is specifically, only for human Upper Academy cadets and Spires. Not Primordials."

Alden listened, pulling the towel across his lap.

"We maids and servants are also divided into ranks," she continued, moving to straighten the curtains near the balcony window. "Lower-ranked staff remain in the lower world, usually serving nobles and royalty students in places like Astral Academy."

She glanced back at him. "Those who pass higher evaluations may be assigned to Apothesis. Once stationed here, every human cadet and Spire receives a personal maid. This way, daily needs never become a distraction from their duties."

Alden processed this. "There are ranks for maids too?"

"There are ranks for nearly everything here, Sir Alden."

She said it without any particular judgment. Just as a fact about the world.

He nodded slowly, filing it away. Then something more pressing surfaced in his mind. He had spent most of yesterday either in shock or being cryptically refused information. If anyone here would give him a straight answer about how things worked, it was probably the person whose job was to make sure he didn’t feel completely lost.

"Actually," he said. "If you’ve been here a while, can you explain the hierarchy to me? Who’s above whom in Apothesis?"

Maria turned from the curtains to face him properly. "Of course."

She raised one finger. "At the absolute top are the Four Supreme Lords. They lead the four Assemblies and govern the four Skylands. For us in Windsky, that is Lord Constantine. They hold authority over everyone in Apothesis without exception."

Alden nodded, thinking back to Constantine’s brief exchange with Alarion in the white void. The way Alarion had simply inclined his head and taken a step back.

’That’s why. Constantine outranks him here.’

"After the Four Supreme Lords," Maria continued, "comes Lord Alarion. He is the Head Chief of the academies and the Spires. He is also considered the Higher Authority across the lower kingdoms, including Astern and Calyndor."

"And after him?"

"The Lieutenants of the four Assemblies." She looked at him directly. "For Windsky, that is Sir Ulvakor."

Alden’s eyebrows went up slightly.

’So Ulvakor is third in the entire hierarchy of Apothesis? Right below the Chief Head of the academies and right below his own father?’

He thought about the man with the messy white hair who had waved enthusiastically and apologized for breaking a social script. The one who had called himself Trainer like it was the most casual thing in the world.

Third-highest authority in Apothesis.

Maria kept going. "After the Lieutenants, Spires and ordinary Primordials are considered equal in base status. They share the same level of respect throughout the realm."

She gave him a brief, matter-of-fact look. "And below them are human Upper Academy cadets."

"Bottom of the hierarchy," Alden said.

"Essentially, yes."

He sighed. It wasn’t exactly a surprise at this point. Still annoying to hear stated plainly.

"One distinction though," Maria added, raising a finger. "I said human cadets specifically because Primordials also attend the Upper Academy here."

Alden looked at her. "They do?"

"Yes. But the Upper Academy in Apothesis functions differently from what you experienced below." She moved to adjust the position of a small vase on the desk, straightening it with the precision of someone who finds satisfaction in small corrections. "There are no classroom rows or large group lessons. Instead, Primordial trainers who take an interest in particular cadets will select them personally. Usually five to ten cadets each for one trainer."

"So there are Primordial trainers spread across the Skylands who each take a small group?"

"Quite a few of them, yes. Most are Primordials who graduated from the Upper Academy and returned specifically to train the next generation."

She turned toward him with a small, warm expression that broke the professional neutrality for a moment. "You are fortunate, Sir Alden."

"Why?"

"Because you are being trained directly by Sir Ulvakor."

Alden looked at his hands.

’I know why. It’s not luck.’ He turned the thought over. ’Ulvakor knew me the second he saw me. He started to call me by my full name before he caught himself. They’re all in on something I’m not supposed to know yet, and the arrangement was probably made well before I arrived.’

He didn’t say any of that out loud.

"Thank you for explaining," he said instead. He stood from the bed, towel over one shoulder, and started toward the bathroom door.

Then he stopped.

"Maria." He didn’t turn around. "Do you know me?"

A brief pause. "I’m sorry?"

"Do you know who I am? Beyond my name."

"This is my first time meeting you, Sir Alden."

"I see." He continued walking. ’So it’s only the ones at the very top. Constantine, Alarion, Ulvakor. Whatever they know about me, it seems like the general population of Apothesis doesn’t.’

Which meant it was something being kept close.

"Please don’t dawdle," Maria said from behind him. "The bath will go cold. And after you’re done, head to Sector Seven. That’s where Sir Ulvakor is waiting."

"Got it."