Chapter 41: Old History

Dialogue "sample"

Thoughts 'Sample'

Techniques [sample]

Author notes -sample-

Chapter 41

Old History

"We have little records of that era. But, there was a time, long before the Magus existed, where people did things very differently." Teacher Quentin explained.

"Back then…those who wanted to become more powerful, they would have to train their bodies, following techniques known as body cultivation techniques that allowed them to absorb mana directly into their bodies."

"Tks, a bunch of barbarians, that's what they were!" Charles exclaimed loudly while making a face of disgust.

Siegfried gave him a look. During their classes was the only moment where he could see glimpses of Charles Artois's true personality. Charles came from a very traditional family when it came to magic. Wands and staff...that was about it. They would not respect anyone using more unorthodox methods to cast magic.

"Well, as I said…that was long before people actually learned how to wield mana properly." Teacher Quentin always kept his calm demeanor, no matter what Charles said, which only served to anger the little Lord even more.

"But" The teacher continued. "It is true that those methods are very outdated nowadays. We don't really have any complete body cultivation technique that has survived this long, unfortunately. But there are a few noble families who took on the task to continue this legacy in some way, by blending the old ways with the new ones, in the hope to create something that would surpass both"

"A true Magus should never lower himself to use those barbaric weapons! Body cultivation is nothing but a relic of the past that should be left to rot into oblivion!" Charles exclaimed.

"Charles, we all know already your stance on the matter. Now, would you shut up and let the teacher finish?" It was Edward the one who spoke.

Charles stood up from his seat and gave him a nasty glare. "Aston!"

"You are breaking your mask of politeness too much for one day, Charles." Commented Edward.

That seems to do the trick, as Charles sat back down and decided to read something to calm himself down.

"How come we don't have any complete manual from that time? I know a lot of time has passed, but even in my family home, we have many books from that era about the history and other matters." Asked Iris Castel. She wondered if those old manuals could have something that could help her.

"There is an unfortunate explanation for that. During the beginning of the Magus's existence. In the era that we call 'Magical awakening', there were many powerful families who thought much like Lord Artois. They believe that body cultivation was an unnecessary existence now that they had something that they believe was superior. "

The teacher explained.

"One of those families happened to be very close to the Emperor of the time since it happened to be his wife's family. The wife of the Emperor ended up convincing him that cultivators were a tool from the past and no longer needed. That emperor decided that body cultivation manuals will become illegal and all of them had to be turned to the authorities and destroyed."

"And they just complied?" Asked Hilda in disbilief.

The teacher shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. There was a war between families of body cultivators and families of Magus. However, the Magus families were supported by the Emperor's army…so the war was short-lived. The smaller families who followed the old ways realized that they had no chance to win and surrender their libraries. And like that…we lost a big part of history." Quentin looked genuinely sad about the loss of knowledge.

"That's terrible! The Emperor should never have done that. Those families were his people too." Exclaimed Iria.

"It has been ten millennia since the foundation of the Empire, Miss Monet and we have had many Emperors since then, some of them good and some of them….But there is a glint of hope." The teacher said, catching the student's attention.

"What hope?" Iris asked.

"In this continent, there is at least one place that hasn't been touched since before the Empire existed. In the middle of the three states and the Empire capital, exist a place called the 'Klaive plains'." The teacher said.

Siegfried's eyes twitched at the mention of that name.

'Klaive plains…that's where my kingdom used to be…where all of my men died…'

"Now, we do not know the details of what happened there. But we do know that a small Empire, also known as a Kingdom, used to exist there. But that Kingdom was destroyed during a war and all of its inhabitants died in agony. We are talking about…probably more than a million people."

"That's terrible!…all of those people…" Iria said.

"I read about that place, the Klaive Plains. It is said that is cursed and no one but the highest ranks of Magus should get anywhere near close to those lands." Commented Edward.

'Cursed? why is my land cursed?.' Siegfried looked at the teacher, hoping to get the answer.

"The land is indeed cursed by the accumulation of negative energy. But the most dangerous thing in that place, are the undead." Quentin said.

"Undead? like skeletons and zombies? I already fought a few of those. Sometimes they appear in the town cemetery close to my family home. They are very weak ." Commented Hilda.

"Yes, those and more. When there are a lot of dead people in the same place. The negative energy, also known as 'death mana' accumulates. This nasty form of mana is capable of affecting the corpses resting in that place, turning them into undead. Even a small town, like Miss Vance mentioned, can have a few weak undead appearing once in a while."

The teacher's look became graver.

"However…when it comes to the Klaive Plains…we are not talking about a few dozen corpses. We are talking about a million, or more. Add to that all of the people who went there over the last ten millennia, hoping to find treasures and finding death instead. That tremendous amount of death mana has been festering the place for a very long time, creating undead with a level of power that we can't fathom."