Chương 1: The Beginning
In the Clover Kingdom, the noble House Caliban was getting ready to receive their heir as the wife to the current head of the house was giving birth.
On this night, only 4 people were within a dark room, receiving the baby. It wasn't a matter of celebration, as the dedicated butler and wetnurse had a shadow cast over their faces.
However, for the parents, they were overjoyed, even knowing the fate that would befall their house.
"Wahh!! Wahh!!"
A baby's cry resonated within the room. However, what they didn't notice was the calm aura that the baby permeated, calming the people around him and setting their minds at ease.
"Let me see my baby boy." The blond woman said, as her husband approached her. The man had long white hair that flowed behind his shoulders and down the length of his back, stopping halfway, gentle features adorned his face coupled with a dim expression.
The woman took the baby into her arms, looking at her child with a loving but sad smile on her face.
"You're such a beautiful child, Merlin… I'm sorry. It pains me to know that we won't be able to be with you and watch you grow up. But know this, no matter what, we will always love you from the bottom of our hearts. Always." The mother said as tears began falling down her face as she kept smiling.
The father approached the child and placed a finger onto the baby's forehead. A low glow permeated through the room, as a stream of knowledge poured into the baby's subconscious.
The butler moved forward and said, "My Lord, My lady, the curse is going to take its effects soon. We need to proceed."
The mother looked hesitant, but the father grabbed her hand and reassured her. Steeling her reserve, she handed the baby over to the family butler.
"Please, take care of him, Sebastian. Please…" The mother said weakly.
"I will look over him as though he were my own son, my Lady." Sebastian, the family butler said, taking the baby into his arms. Looking down at the boy in his, he couldn't help but feel his presence become lighter, as a calm and soothing feeling permeated into him.
Opening his violet eyes, the baby, Merlin, looked up at Sebastian's face in wonder and around the room. Sebastian took one last look at the couple that he served, and left the room. The baby kept staring at his parents as he was taken out of the room, tears falling from his eyes even if he didn't know what was going on. The fading cries of Merlin echoed through the dark halls of the basement, away from his parents.
In the darkroom, only the current head of the Caliban house and his wife were present, as they awaited their fate, a dark shadow looming and encompassing the room.
In the Caliban household, there exists a curse. Generations ago, a baby was born in House Caliban. The baby, however, was sickly and wasn't long for the world. The couple grew desperate and resorted to forbidden magic in order to save their child's life.
However, in their desperation, they were instead cursed in exchange for allowing the baby to live. This resulted in every child born always being a male, and the parents both dying shortly after its birth. However, the baby would always have immense mana within it as a trade-off due to the parent's sacrifice in keeping the baby alive, transferring to him.
This same exact curse was taking effect on this very night after the birth of Merlin. The parents hugged each other as they slowly felt their heads get lighter, and their breathing softer.
Looking into each other's eyes, they whispered words of love to each other. With that, the two closed their eyes for the last time, breathing their last breath.
A dark shadow enlarged over a portion of a wall behind a candle, as a dark red sinister grin manifested, looming over the couple.
In a different room, Sebastian, who had greying hair but a muscular build was contemplating as he watched after the next heir to house Caliban as its only living member, Merlin, who was being tended to by the wetnurse.
His thoughts go back to the first time he was put under this situation 40 odd years back, having been there to witness the birth of his lord, no, former lord.
Now, he has to live through the experience once more.
"The fate of house Caliban now rests on you. You are its only living member, however, I know that you are destined for greater things, I can feel it within you. Make your parents proud, and be the pillar of house Caliban for the years to come. Stay strong and true to your heart, young master Merlin." Sebastian said in a whisper next to Merlin, who turned his little head over to Sebastian.
Merlin stared back at the grey-haired Sebastian, then slowly closed his violet eyes as he drifted off to sleep.
What Sebastian didn't know, however, was that the young Merlin was able to understand every single word that he was saying. The information that his father passed down onto him contained knowledge of the curse that was placed into his subconscious as well as the so-called 'benefit'.
As he drifted to sleep, the flow of Mana within Merlin soothed and integrated within him, encapsulating around him, as though a parent would nurture their own child.
Not just the nearby surroundings, but it seemed that Mana all over the Kingdom was celebrating the child that was born as its own.
In a deep forest, inside of a dark and empty castle, sat a woman on her bed as she stared out into the night sky. Her pink hair flowed past her teal eyes with dark blue teardrops underneath them.
"This feeling…" Slowly standing, she closed her eyes and spread her senses around her, to the surrounding mana, spanning the entirety of the Witch's Forest in which she ruled.
"T-The mana is… Shaking?" Her eyes widened, a look of confusion and intrigue flashed across her face. Racking her head, she wasn't sure what to make of this phenomenon, only muttering, "An Elf?"
...
It had been 5 years since that fateful night. Standing in a library, a young boy with long white hair that extended to his shoulders and violet eyes was running his fingers along with the various books that were placed upon the shelves. He wore a white robe with a black shirt and black trousers.
(A/N: Appearance is similar to Merlin from Fate, just a lot younger with shorter hair.)
He had soft facial features that made every girl want to fawn over. Just standing before him, anyone would end up letting the tension out of their shoulders. While also possessing a carefree expression and smile, he mutters, "I already finished all of the books within the library. I wonder if there are any more interesting one's outside."
The door to the library then opened, as Sebastian, the family butler, entered the library and bowed.
"Master Merlin, you have guests," Sebastian said.
Merlin groaned and said, "Can you not send them away? It's tiring to deal with these people. They are all so boring with their constant plotting and bootlicking. It's not remotely enjoyable."
Sebastian didn't respond to him and merely stayed in his bowing position, with one hand in front of his chest.
(AN: Sebastian's appearance is what you would imagine it to be, similar to Sebastian from Overlord.)
Merlin turned away and his violet eyes subtly glowed. To him, he could see the flowing waves of every colour of the spectrum surrounding and wrapping around him. Raising his hand, he ran his hands through the flows of Mana, watching as it happily caressed his arms.
House Caliban. Although each generation would only have 1 living member within it due to the curse, it is still one of the most powerful noble houses to exist, being one of the 4 royal houses to exist within the Clover Kingdom. This is due to the heir of each generation of House Caliban possessing immense magical strength and potential.
The lower noble houses would often try to coax their way into House Caliban in order to obtain the heir's favour and further their interests. House Caliban mainly deals with the construction of magical artefacts, a secret art that is only passed down through each generation through unknown means to the public.
Sighing, Merlin turned to Sebastian and saw the flow of Mana around him. Compared to Merlin, Sebastians Mana is as though he had dipped a single toe within a large ocean, while Merlin himself is surrounded by an endless ocean.
Interrupting Merlin, a loud knocking sound came from the front door of the mansion.
"Which house are the guests from this time? They seem rather impatient." Merlin asked, returning his eyes to their normal state.
Sebastian got up from his bow and stated, "They are from house Vermillion, master Merlin. Lady Fuegoleon is here with her children, Mereoleona and Fuegoleon."
Merlin's eyes widened as he said, "Wait, Mereo is here? Why didn't you say so sooner! She's always fun to be around with, although a bit too energetic." Merlin then waved his hands and disappeared from his position. Sebastian sighed and said, "At least the young master doesn't use his magic outside where others could see him. Otherwise..."
Reappearing once more in front of the front door, with the loud knocking still persisting, Merlin grinned.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Merlin said, opening the large door and coming face to face with a young girl, the same age as Merlin, with blue eyes that had red marking around her eyes and wavy vermilion coloured hair.
The moment he opened his door, the sunlight shone down on his head, turning his hair from its white pigment into a rainbow hue.
"Took you long enough!" Mereoleona said with a large grin on her face, focusing on Merlin's hair a bit longer. Her mother behind her shook her head.
"These two really wanted to come over and play with you again. I must apologize for not letting you know beforehand, but I never got the chance since they practically dragged me over." Mereoleona's mother said, bowing slightly. Compared to her children, she had a different appearance, sporting blond hair instead of her children's Vermillion coloured hair.
"Merlin!" A short boy at the age of 3 appeared next to Mereoleona, waving his small hand in greeting. He had purple eyes and short vermillion hair shouted as he stood next to his older sister.
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Authors Notes:
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