Chapter 51

THE ANCIENTS OF MADARUKA

  Delimira didn't get the proper answer she was expecting and the displeasure was clear on her face. She was simulating what she would have done had she faced the bizarre attack in Gazel's place. The last attack just didn't look dangerous but she could feel the menace that froze her on spot. She was not able to gather any confidence to take it head-on.

  Hans took her dissatisfaction as her thinking that he was looking down on her in their previous fight and did not use this attack on her but before he could clear this up she instantly asked something else from him,

The last thing, I mean that crying spell would have killed Gazel, right?

Hans apathetically replied,

Pretty much, yeah.

She got angry at him all of a sudden and chided him loudly,

Are you out of your damn mind, stupid? Concordia can only protect you until you abide by the rules. The moment you break them, you will get abandoned.

  Hans wanted to refute her words but she was right, in the heat of the moment, Hans could only see Gazel and nothing else, it was not like they were mortal enemies that he warranted death, but the sudden rage came out of nowhere and he even allowed himself to get hurt, which never happened before.

  He belatedly realised that things would have gone pretty bad, after all, Gazel talked like his background was way higher than others. if Aredhel did not intervene, he would be in deep shit right now, so whatever he felt toward Ardhel for intervening in the fight vanished like thin air.

And just to make sure how much he would have been in trouble, he asked her,

Just who was that jerk, anyway?

  She sighed, this was the day when she had to speak most of the time and it was only because of this short fuse in front of her. Hans, unaware of the fact that by pure luck he had skipped the huge problem, looked at her with more anticipation.

Listen, you ignorant kid, Clandor have a diarchy system, the royal family with Elven Council rules it. The council mostly lost its power when many of the elders died in the Elven War but they still have powerful positions in Clandor.

Hans skipped the part where she called him an ignorant kid and asked her in return,

So, killing him would have provoked that old Council, right?

  Hans had heard about the purge of the Elven Council in the War against Parv but it seems there were things he did not hear from Samwell in Ghost Isles. so he asked Delimira since she was so willing today,

But I heard King Samson killed all of them.

  Hans did not know when he said Samson’s name, there was subtle admiration in his words which was clearly showing on his face. That made Delimira and Chris a bit uncomfortable again. She asked him in return,

Why do you say his name with that admiration?

Hans instantly replied without thinking much,

He is sorta my Hero.

You don't have the faintest idea what he did?

Hey, My Hero needn't be a good guy, no matter what you say, that man single-handedly dominated the world…

Chris completed Hans’s words,

And died a lonely death by betrayal.

Hans turned towards Chris who unexpectedly interjected, and replied to him,

Didn't I tell you, a bad guy lives all his life as he wishes just to die at the end and good guys live all their life in the struggle just to be victorious at the end. If I can, I would live like him where the world would be at my feet...

Chris said with anger,

Then you will be betrayed like him too, you fool. having power is good but having unnecessary power is very bad.

  Hans didn't make fun of him, because there were some repressed feelings in his lashing out. It seemed he was not the only one who was interested in his so-called father, Chris knew much more about him for some reason but it was also clear that it was not a good reason from his expressions, so he just looked at Delimira for answers.

She said to Hans quietly,

Just never mentioned anything related to Parv in front of us.

But…

Ahann…

  Hans had to give up because she was forcefully stopping him and their guest lecturer just made the entrance. A middle-aged lady in her late thirties, donned in white robes with a beautiful smile on her face, was in front of them. It was two days since Hans saw his grandma, so he instantly became happy and forgot about the intense conversation.

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  Almost every student here has heard of her, she was the former high priestess of the Yudwin temple, the religion followed by most of the Genas' people. But this was not the only reason for these just teenagers to know about her. Concordia pressed the fact that Rudolf returned to the School with her wife in admission this year.

  Apart from being the Dean of mages, she was the divine healer who can heal any type of injury, past or present and in these two days she healed many of the disabled people who almost ended their careers because of work injuries. She instantly became famous and her title of Iron lady got replaced with the divine healer in the student’s minds.

This is all the first years know about her so Sierra introduced herself

I am Sierra Edenberg, your dean of Mages, a World mage [8 circles] and the only one of divine mana.

  There are many people possessing the capabilities of healing through mana, it's an innate ability which was not influenced by any mana family but divine mana was on another level. Sierra calmly smiled at the student looking at her in awe and said to them,

I am not here to teach you about anything grand, but just to converse with you all about your future. Concordia is a new start for all of you. I hope you will not only learn here but will also make memories and bonds for a lifetime. Studying is necessary but you need to have people, whom you can trust your back with. Understand?

The student replied in unison,

Yes

She continued,

Can any of you tell me What your future will be after graduating from Concordia?

A student who wore glasses and looked like an intellectual person raised his hands and stood up to answer.

The knight Association for Knights and mage tower for mages.

Sierra nodded but this answer was not satisfactory for her. She asked again,

I am looking for a more descriptive answer, anyone else?

But no one tried to answer it, of course, some of them knew but hesitated, so Sierra took the charge and answered them.

You could go under the Knight Association or Mage Towers or Concordia Union,

  The Concordia Union was like an almost unachievable dream for any aspirant here because it was the place for the elite of elites. First. it was very difficult to enter and second, it was hard to grow within, since every one of them was the best of the best. If Knight association and mage tower boasted the numbers, the union didn't even need to boast of the quality.

Seeing the disheartened faces of the student she added,

It always looks hard until it's done and a child’s job is to dream, you need not think like adults and rationalise things. Dream big and work yourself towards it to achieve it.

Sierra looked at the staring faces of the children and said again,

I am not promoting the Union but I have seen their power first-hand many times. It's always impossible until the Union steps in. so try to enter the High academy where you will be nurtured as a member of the Union.

  It was not some hidden thing for students, Concordia provided education on two levels. The first part was the school for four years where some selected few grow up to grade sixty or fifth circle but after graduating few of them got chosen for the high academy where the real powerhouses like Rudolf were made as a part of the Union.

The student who answered before raised his hand for a question and granted permission,

So, Dean Sierra, how can I be a part of the Union?

Sierra nodded, she was expecting this question and answered,

You know about the graduation test, right?

The student shook his head in denial so Sierra explained,

Before red demons, the test was different but now, you will be given some tasks that you have to finish in Deadlands and if you become an overachiever there, you will be invited to the High academy.

  The students kept asking things about their future and the conversation between her and them continued for a long time. Hans noticed that Chris was not as enthusiastic as before. He whispered in his ears.

Hey, cheer up.

  But Chris kept his head down. Hans didn't understand him this time, for a guy who idolised Rudolf was showing not any interest to make an impression on his wife. Contrary to him, Delimra was actively participating in the conversation.

She was in the middle of asking something,

Can I ask you something personal, dean Sierra?

I will answer that after hearing it, Ms Winters.

Delimira cautiously asked,

How can I become more powerful than the ancients?

  The whole class became silent and Sierra was startled for a moment. Ancients were the secluded people who lived in Madaruka, the farthest of the north in Genas, with unending lifespans. They hardly interfered with normal people and held the power akin to gods. So aiming to surpass them was like a fruitless endeavour and a bitter memory for her.

Sierra answered her,

I did not surpass them yet, Ms Winters.

Delimira hesitated a bit but asked again,

But.. but. Your son did?

  Hans got flabbergasted, she just told him not to mention Samson in front of Chris and now she was asking about him in front of the whole class. He turned towards Chris and his friend also betrayed his expectations. Chris was focussing on Sierra like he was also eager to know about it.

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