Eldrik Drasborn sat in the classroom of his noble family's estate, though nobility was a worthless symbol to them. No longer were they seen as the descendents of Alexander Dragonsoul, Sixteenth Hero and Slayer of the Sixteenth King. Now they were lower than durt, a commodity that commoners and nobles alike consoled themselves by insulting. He was facing that hated instructor of his, Rosh Thornheart.
"Today, young Drasborn,", he emphasized the name in a pittying tone. "We will be learning about the history of your family. While you may know some of it, your family might not have told you everything due to their crumbling status. After all, they do need to stay the night to avoid complete annihilation!"
The bastard was enjoying the act of attacking him with impunity. Eldrik couldn't do anything to the man, who was a level 30, category 2 Summoner of the Past. He could summon a weakened, spectral form of the Shambas or even one of the Vanguard warriors, and even that would deflect Eldrik's strikes harmlessly. Against a Baazhh-hearted bastard like him, he could only lose. For now. He would try to let this session finish qquickly so that he could move on to something more tolerable.
"Now then. It all started in the year 1916, when the sixteenth invasion of the Shamba Legion suddenly struck. Usually, the Baazhh only invade our world in large hordes every two millennia, so this attack surprised everyone. At that time, the Vanguard were glad, though, for although they were surprised by the invasion, the latter was weak. So they managed to keep the fighting within the mysterious bounds of the Uncategorized Expanse, outside the core territories and the tamed lands. Any questions?"
"No, instructor.", Eldrik answered coolly.
"Ahem, any questions?", the man stressed.
"Oh, I see what game you're playing, you Baazhh. Treating me like I have the attention span of a cat, are you now? Fine, I'll play your little game for now.", the young noble seethed internally.
"Clearly, it didn't go well, as everyone keeps speaking of the Second Calamity that was the sixteenth cycle. So how did the situation turn from a comfortable march toward victory into the dire state that the books speak of?", Eldrik pretended to be curious, hoping that the Baazhhfaced instructor wouldn't catch the sarcasm or use it against him.
"A very good question, young Drasborn!", he mangled the name slightly until it sounded suspiciously similar to Drossborn, the kingdom's favorite insult to Eldrik's family. "Finding the war going easier than the last cycles, the human generals let their guards down and thought that the Baazhh leader was too foolish and too desperate to wait for his armies to fully assemble throughout the rest of the millennium, so he'd unleashed them prematurely. But something happened that shook the humans to their cores, and made the highest-category classers of that generation tremble in terror. Calling it the Second Calamity wasn't wrong on your part, you must be a little smarter than I thought!"
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"Get haunted by a thousand Baazhhhes, prick!", Eldrik growled internally. On second thought, what kind of shamba would he become if it were to actually happen? Would he turn into a Shamba whose power rivaled the strength of Baazhh Lords? Yeah, some of the human insults were a bit ridiculous and terrifying, especially the Baazhh ones.
"And what was this event that shattered the soul of humanity so, instructor?", he asked.
"You're becoming a poet, eh? A little dramatic too! Maybe that can work out for you, as you reclaim the honor of your family by praising the royal family!", he laughed, not even trying to hide his disdain.
"That does it, Baazhh! I'm gonna hunt you down when I get my powers next year, got that? I'll kill you faster than a cat kills a Baazhh!", he thought, though people would laugh at his ineloquence in mentioning the Baazhh so much.
"Using your own terms, this thing that shattered the soul of humanity came from the Wild Dungeons! Some of them were far into the Uncategorized Expanse, unaware of humanity or the immorality of their actions. They saw the act of letting the Baazhh hide inside their domains as nothing more than another source of power. As I said, they hadn't received the wisdom humanity has to offer yet. But the other half," his voice dropped into a low growl.
"The other half betrayed the human race, willingly, consciously and intentionally letting the Baazhh enter them. Not only that, they even empowered them and gave them intel on the humans! That's almost as despicable as a human who hailed from the greatest hero of the cycle's bloodline willingly summoning a Baazhh and unleashing a plague upon the kingdom!"
"Lie all you like, Thornheart. Lie all you like, kingdom of Etheria. I know my great grandfather didn't do anything wrong, certainly not summoning a Baazhh, let alone betraying humanity by destroying them from within! I'll get to the bottom of this. I'll befriend dungeon cores if that's what it takes to become powerful enough to unvale your trickery! I don't blame the dungeons for helping the Baazhh against us if all their delvers were a bunch of Roshes, the self-righteous pricks. Yeah right, because you didn't torture the dungeons every day by destroying some of their cores and bleeding the rest dayly for your gains. I would probably help the Baazhhes against the delvers if I had the power.", he thought resolutely. He didn't reply to the instructor's villainous words, and kept listening.
"The Baazhh and Shambas multiplied exponentially due to the dungeons' demonic efforts, and the humans were suddenly surrounded by forces they weren't ready for. But where there is darkness, light shines. A party of heros distinguished themselves in the human army with the lucky powers they developed. One of them was the party leader, the man known as Alexander Dragonsoul. He had found a dragon egg and hatched it by chance. Using his dragon powers, he slaughtered the Shamba Overlords one after another, his power increasing exponentially with the strength of the enemies he slew. Until he finally defeated King Baazhhé BarKal and was hailed as the Sixteenth Hero!"
"That's right, keep striking our honor, Baazhh Brother! Now you're ruining my ancestor's reputation by attributing all his wins to lucky powers? Not his determination, skill and courage in the face of adversity?"
"I sympothize with you, son. After all, I would also be angry at my ancestor ruining the glory of my more distant ancestor! But fret not, for everyone has a chance to rebuild, even if it is as slim as the world being a monster!", he said in a fake, consoling tone.
"I hope you die by a dungeon that I helped empower!", he prayed. Unbeknownst to him, his wish was going to be granted soon enough.