Transmigrate to another world

"Okay, that's why you've been around the whole time. By the way, thanks for the warnings."

Mericel says "You're welcome. It was in my own best interest though, you die, I die remember."

"True, but it sure wasn't easy to get to me."

Mericel says "True, as a soul I have very limited options outside of a soulscape."

"Is there anything I can do to change that?"

Mericel says "I don't think so. As long as you have this soulscape I can easily go and talk to you, but that's about all I can do to interact with you."

"Well, as you learn, maybe we can work something out. As far as learning, can you tell me about this world?".

Mericel says, "Sure. What did you want to know?"

"I don't know anything about this world and knowledge is power. I need to know about the kingdoms and politics, what races there are and how they interact."

Mericel says "So, basically everything. Well, I'll tell you what I can."

Mericel concentrates for a minute and then a map appears floating in the air next to him. It points to the northwest realm.

Mericel says "This is the realm of Revalia, my home, and where you

were summoned. This is where the capital is located. Therefore, you are somewhere below it as far as I know."

He then waves his hand to point to the realm east of Revalia.

Mericel says "This is the Empire of Gundar, they are the oldest kingdom and probably the most powerful. They tend to treat the other kingdoms as inferior, they would probably conquer us all if they could."

Mericel says "Here, below the empire is the kingdom of the beastmen, though it is not really a kingdom. It is made up of the tribes of beastmen, but they have no central authority and tend to act independently. The only reason they have not been conquered is how fearsome the beastmen are in battle."

Mericel says "To the west of the beastmen and south of Revalia is the Free Union. They are ruled by a council of merchants and business is most important to them. They have the most freedom when it comes to laws, though."

Mericel says "And here in the middle, where the four kingdoms meet, is the neutral city-state of Illium. They act as the commercial and diplomatic center of the four kingdoms. Illium is also the base for those guilds that operate in more than one nation."

Mericel says "As for races, there are only humans and beastmen. There are different types of beastmen, but I don't know them all. My father discouraged any interest in them, even banned them from the castle."

"Yes, I know your father's opinion of beastmen."

Mericel says "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

Mericel says "This area above Revalia and the empire is wild ruled by the mana beasts. Same with this area below the Union and the Beastmen, it goes beyond this map, but no one knows how far or what is there."

Mericel says "There are also two island nations but I don't know their names or anything about them. That's all I can think of, anything else you'd like to know?".

"What is life like inside Revalia, is it safe, how do they treat the peasants?"

Mericel says "Inside the kingdom it is not totally safe, there are bandits sometimes and occasionally mana beasts or other monsters come into the kingdom. Most of the villages and towns are fortified but the countryside can be dangerous."

"So there are many military patrols and outposts throughout the country?".

Mericel says "Not really, the larger towns have a platoon stationed in them. Most of the rest of the army is stationed on the borders."

"Is Revalia under attack from the other nations?"

Mericel says "No, we have had peace for fifty years or so. A little over five years ago, when my mother, the queen, and my older sister, Amercy, died, many people fled the country. They feared what the rule of a king would be like."

Mericel says "To clarify let me tell you a bit of our history, Revalia was founded five hundred years ago by people fleeing the empire. The empire at that time was quite corrupt and harsh on its people. One of the emperor's daughters led the people here to found a new nation."

"That was Emberly, wasn't it, the first queen?"

Mericel says "Yes, and since then we have had an unbroken line of queens, until now. Many believe that my father murdered my mother and half-sister in order to take the throne. I didn't believe it at first, but now I do, since he was willing to sacrifice me."

"That reminds me, do you know why he would try to summon all the heroes early?".

Mericel says "He told me it was to protect Revalia because the other nations were about to attack us. Now I think it's the opposite, he wants to attack them. So he summoned the heroes and will convince them that he is right and use them against the other nations."

"So he wants to conquer the other three kingdoms and rebuild the old empire with himself as emperor?".

Mericel says "Well, he wants to conquer the empire and the free union. I'm pretty sure he wants to annihilate or enslave the beastmen."

"Well, I don't intend to let that happen. Do heroes influence the war that much?".

Mericel says "Yes, an average hero is worth a hundred men easily. A great hero would be worth a thousand men or more."

"So, without heroes your father wouldn't stand a chance would he?"

Mericel says "That's true as far as I know."

"Well then we just have to remove the heroes from his control."

Mericel says "How will you do that?"

"By convincing them or killing them."

Mericel says "So, you plan to fight my father?"

"More than that, I plan to kill him. I already promised to do that even before everything you told me."

Mericel says "Even though it's what I want since I'm bound to you, I didn't want to force you into anything."

"Don't worry about it, it's my own choice. Now, what can you tell me about the terrain around the capital, and how heavily patrolled it is?"

Mericel says "Well, the city itself is heavily patrolled, of course, but as far as I know only the roads are patrolled outside the city. why?"

"Because, as far as I know, the only way out of the underground is going to be down the river. I want to know what to expect outside."

Mericel says "Well, the capital is surrounded by forested hills. The forests have a pretty bad reputation, so not many people go into them. There are two roads out of the capital, one goes southeast towards Illium, the other goes southwest towards the port city of Durendall."

"Southwest, is there a river flowing in that direction?".

Mericel says "Yes, I think so. The road follows it for a while if I remember correctly. why?"

"Because, if I'm not mistaken that's where the river goes down here. If so, that's where it should come out."

Mericel says "Just so you know, there are no free beastmen in Revalia, only slaves. Once you're out you'll probably run into trouble. If father knows you're alive I'm sure he's put a big bounty on your head."

"I'm sure he has, but I'll deal with it once I'm out. For now I have to pick up my camp and a few other things. Thanks for all the information but I'm out of questions for now."

Mericel says "You're welcome, it was nice talking to someone again. I'll be here whenever you need to talk to me."

"Thanks, I'll definitely be back. I want to try training here."

After saying goodbye to Mericel I make the soulscape end. I wake up from meditation and open my eyes to see Ruby sitting there looking at me about a foot away.

Ruby says, "Welcome back, master!".