The Sage's guidence

It all starts with the death of King Ahron. In history, only four main disciples are mentioned, but in reality, there are five: Terran, Kai, Ignis, Aeron, and Ethan. All of them were very loyal to him and considered the best among all his followers. That's why they were given the name 'Quintet'. A few days before his death, he called all five of them and said, "These are four books in which I mentioned all my knowledge, both what I have taught you and what I haven't. I am going to ask you to carry this knowledge to the ends of the world. Let this knowledge reach all mankind. That's the one thing I ask of you all."

Later, when he died, his disciples remembered the words of their master and started spreading their knowledge to people. One day, Ignis wanted to go east to keep a promise to a child. He asked the others to go with him, and none of them showed any disapproval.

When he reached the village, he met the child and fulfilled his promise by telling him the tale of fire and water and answering the question the child had asked him many years before. After that, he was ready to go back, but everything changed. While he was staying in the village, resting in a house on a very peaceful night, he suddenly heard shouting from outside. He went to look, and what he saw was horrifying. The village was burning, people were being slaughtered, and women were being molested. He tried to ask the invaders to stop and begged for the lives of the villagers, telling them they wouldn't gain anything by killing them. Some invaders beat him brutally, but he kept pleading for the lives of the villagers. However, they all died eventually. Those with muscular physiques were going to be sold in the slavery market, but since Ignis was of no use as a slave, they decided to kill him. Their leader came and ordered them to leave him because, despite being cruel, he believed in not killing saints due to his cultural beliefs.

As day rose and night fell, with the sunrise, Ignis was all alone. All he could see was ashes and blood that he couldn't stop. He was sad and went back to the other saints and told them about the incident. All of them became sad and prayed for the peace of the villagers' souls.

They then told Ignis about the war that had started among the kingdoms. That's why tribal people were practicing their fighting skills by killing people and invading villages for money, to protect themselves from the fires of war by running away with enough resources to survive. "It's not your fault."

"No, no! It's my fault. Even with the power to protect them, I couldn't protect them. I could have burned them all instead of letting them burn the villagers, but every time I thought of using my power, I remembered the promise made to Master not to use these powers to kill anyone. I am guilty of their deaths. I am guilty of everything that happened," Ignis said sorrowfully. "How can I even fulfill my role? I should have died instead of them."

Ethan said, "What you have done might not seem right, but even if they were wrong and you were right, every action has its own reasons beyond our understanding. Humans are driven by emotions; that's why Master told us to believe in humanity and let them change their perspective on life. You cannot just run away from your duties. Spreading this knowledge is Master's only wish. He believed in you, he believed in us. You should take some rest and think about it."

Ethan calmed him down. He was a very knowledgeable man and was also the first follower of Ahron. He pledged to stay by his master's side. His loyalty was unmatched among all followers, but his convincing skills were not as good as his master's. Ignis and the others were not as strong-willed as their master. This difference in understanding and ability caused a crack in their beliefs. All four decided to keep those books safe from the reach of humans so they would never fall into the wrong hands. They separated in different directions to keep those books safe in their own ways.

This completely restricted the knowledge of the books from spreading because only those five had knowledge of the mystic arts. Ethan pledged to stay by the grave of their master, and the other four separated to protect the books.

"This is what happened after Ahron's death," said the old man.

"Where are those books now?" Elric asked.

"There are many tales and legends that claim to know the location, but who knows what is true and what is false," the old man replied.

"Tell us what those tales say and where those books can be found," asked Julius.

"According to legends, you cannot just find the books. Each one of them created a relic that tells the direction of one book, but it's not easy to obtain those relics. Remember, they are extremely powerful and have astonishing control of nature. They placed the relics somewhere safe and might have created some tests to find the rightful owner for those books," said the old man.

"Where are those relics?" asked Elric.

"Far away in the south, where water is frozen, and at night when the sky is colored, then you will know you are there. The light will show you the way. That's all I know," said the old man.

"It is not possible. There is no such place," said Julius.

"Believe it or not, there are many things beyond our understanding," the old man smiled. "Now go and rest. Be my guest as long as you want to stay," he said.

"Thanks for answering. I will leave tomorrow for the south," said Elric.

He slept well that night, feeling that he somewhat getting closer to his goal. The next morning, Julius also decided to go with Elric. They both greeted the old man for what he did for them.

"Be careful,"The world is full of mystery you never know what you will see next the old man said