Chapter 7 - Summoner Village

"Nero Ramus, you have survived Ten winters since my daughter created you. Though you already have a Wolf as your summon, it is the tradition of our people to make contracts with at least three or Six beasts in total. Once that is done, you must challenge a warrior of an equal number. If you are victorious, you will be accepted as a Warrior of our village. Will you honor this tradition?" The Chieftain of the Summoner village of the Wildlands asks Nero who is kneeling.

Both are wearing primitive leather and painted bone-carved animal masks with eye holes. Nero has a white Wolf mask, while his Grandfather has a Black Ram. He is very fit and muscular for his old age. They are inside the Chieftain's hall with guards protecting the entrances and a hundred villagers seated at long tables filled with food. Among them is the young woman who helped Nero.

"I cannot honor this tradition," Nero answered with a resolved tone.

An awkward silence fills the hall of this refusal.

"Is it because you wish to leave here and take revenge for your father?"

"I do."

"Nero... You are too young to be thinking of revenge... especially against the Emperor and his assassins."

"Forget it... give up... move on... let it go... I have been hearing it all since I arrived here two years ago. I know the Empire is too strong! I have seen their mighty Gladiators, Legions, Praetorian guard, and Magical War Beasts. But I still desire to take down those assassins and kill the one who ordered them to kill my Da. Even if it is the Emperor himself!" Nero declared with fierce eyes and rage in his voice.

"If you do so... the Empire will declare war on those who sheltered you. They will send their best to destroy what is left of our people."

"I have seen the power wielded by Summoners. You all can easily take on a few Legions of the Empire with the numbers you have."

"It is not the Legions I am worried about. What do you think forced our ancestors into the Wildlands?"

"Before he passed, the old Sage mentioned that Royal Battle Mages of the Empire forced our ancestors out of our homeland several centuries ago. But he spoke as if he had witnessed it himself. I thought he was losing his mind at the end of his life."

"The soul of the Sage is not truly dead. He is a Soulmancer who reincarnates with all his memories intact. Yes... Soulmancy is forbidden. But I will still share what he taught me and the rest of his village during his life with us. When I was young, the man claimed his first memories were from the Age of Ancients. Though I didn't believe it, he shared many details of my family history with ways to prove his claims. It was enough to safely say I believe his origins and abilities."

"So you believe his claim that my Da is... I mean... was an immortal?"

"Maybe it was him, or it could have been an ancestor of your father who resembled him. But it might help if I start at the beginning of the story. During the Age of Ancients, Seven Humans were cursed by the Seven Demons of Sin. Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth. The curse made those Humans live beyond their natural mortal life, but they could still be killed if their abilities were sealed. As long as they had a direct living descendant... the curse would awaken again, and those descendants would spread chaos until they learned to control the curse."

"Age of Ancients? How old is that?"

"I am no historian, but the Sage painted a timeline for us. You can see it there on that wall. But since you can't read our language... I will name the ages and explain."

Ramus pointed at a painting Nero had seen for the last two years. It was a story, but Nero had never taken an interest in what it had to say before.

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"It starts with the Age of Fire, followed by Water, then Ice, and finally the Age of Ancients. The Sage says that Humans were primitive savages in the first three Ages. This is according to the Dragons who ruled during the Age of Ancients, the Ancestors of your white-haired friend who brought you to us. That was when the Sage was born over 5000 years ago. It was followed by the Age of Legends when most of the Dragons disappeared, and Humans with the power of deities appeared. That was 2000 years ago. Then came the Age of Conquest, which lasted 1000 years. Small Kingdoms went to war to form Empires. The ancestors of this village originated around that time. Finally, we arrive at our current Age of Empires, which has been going on for the last 700 years."

"My Da did say he was a descendant of a famous hero from the age of Legends."

"A Hero to the Empire... a villain to those he slaughtered. Regardless of how old your father was. The descendants of the Demons of Sin decided to support the Kingdom that would later become the Empire you know. They were the ones who destroyed our Kingdom and forced us to escape to the Wildlands. They are the ones we fear the most... they are pure evil. That is why I urge you not to sacrifice your life for his revenge."

"But Da wasn't evil! Don't call him a Demon!"

"Have you ever wondered how my Daughter ended up with him and you?"

"She came to the Capitol, they fell in love, and she became pregnant with me."

"That bastard dared to make a love story? Listen to me, Nero! Summoners stronger than our best warriors in this hall dreamed of revenge on the Emperor. Do you know what happened to them? They were hunted down by your father and turned into slaves. That includes my Son and Daughter. He had his way with her and sired you. Since her blood is in you... it is the only reason I accepted you into my village. Do not make me regret accepting you, and heed my warning."

Nero was stunned by these revelations. He tried to remember his mother's love for his father. But his memories of her were stuck in a Villa and never allowed outside. His Da told him it was to protect them from assassins who targeted the families of the ones who served the Emperor. So Nero accepted it as the truth, but his mother always treated it as a prison. She would tell him stories about her childhood in the wildlands and her dream of returning there one day to show it to him.

"If what you say about my Da is true. Why did he try to bring me here?"

"I had sent a letter pleading him to return my children. He replied they both were dead, but he would bring you to me. That was a day before you showed up here alone and with that white Wolf pup in your arms. Here! Look at the handwriting if you don't believe me."

Ramus grabbed a pouch from his waist and pulled out a small scroll with a message. Nero's photographic memory compared to the writing, and it was a match. It conveyed an apology for what happened to his children and the hope that Ramus would accept his grandson as consolation. It even mentions that the Emperor had sealed his powers as punishment, and Nero's life was in danger because of the curse.

Nero felt like someone had slapped him with a truth bomb. A few bits of the last conversation with his father finally made sense.

"You carry half my blood in your veins. One day it might awaken and give you some of my abilities. Though you will have to hide it, otherwise the Emperor will seal it like mine."

"Our power is a threat to the Emperor. We should be glad that he let us live in exile."

"Hahaha! I admire your ambitions, my son. But I hope you can lead a simple life of a summoner and never have to worry about the Emperor."

"If you do, I will enroll you in the Spell Academy of Trinity Island."

Tears fell through the mask at the recollection.

"Do not shed tears for that Demon in my home. Even if you do not wish to be a Warrior of this village. I still require you to swear not to leave and pursue revenge."

"I... won't leave unless I develop a Magic Core."

"Magical Core? You think you will become a Mage?"

"If I do, I want to study at the Spell Tome Academy of Trinity Island." Nero requested with a determined expression.

"Well, as long as you don't attract the attention of the Emperor or his assassins... but once you leave, we will not welcome you back here."

Nero felt uncomfortable with that condition. This village had become his home over the last two years. Though there weren't any children his age, everyone was either a few years old or too old to play with him. Only the mysterious Dragon Girl with White Hair and Red eyes would play with him whenever she visited the village to buy food with coins from dead civilizations. But the other villagers were kind and treated him like one of their own. They fed him and built a small shelter for him to live in. So it hurt to think his life with them would end if he became a Mage.

"I understand... Grandfather."

Nero had always addressed his Grandfather with the title Chief because the man kept a distance. But now he felt they truly cared for him and wanted to show that he did too by addressing him properly. Even though the Ram Bone Mask hid the face, Nero could tell there was a smile behind it.

"I won't let you waste your time waiting for a Magical core to form. I will teach you how to hunt beasts, build shelters, and fight with a Bow. If you don't become a Mage, then at least you can become a hunter for the village."

"I would like that... very much."

End of Chapter 7