Man of noble virtues all deserves respect. The withered youth had remained in Gael’s tomb for countless years to atone for his sin, so it seemed that his virtues were impeccable. Ovid sheaved his sword away but did not approach the man, maintaining a great distance between the two as he said respectfully, “I still don’t understand why sir would say the downfall of the elves as your sin.”
The youthful man laughed weakly. He said, “This is not a complicated story.”
A figure of such age undoubtedly has countless stories, even if he had been trapped for the vast majority of his life, something interesting would inevitably come out of his mouth. Ovid was very calm and said softly, “Sir, please explain.”
The man was silent for a while before he recalled, “Back then, humans were not very sophisticated in their use of magic. Even Alexander, who would wear bearskin and live among animals, did not have any talents for manipulating mana. But the man was desperate for eternal life, and the elves were the most powerful race at the time. The conflict between Alexander and us elves were inevitable.
“The conflict was heavy and bloody, and many elves scholars were captured and killed by Alexander. The many human civilizations at the time wanted to wipe out the elves for good and take their place.”
“Alexander also acted ruthlessly toward his fellow man, so of course, the rulers of the human civilization rejected him as well. At that time, I was one of the few elven scholars did not think badly of the man Alexander. Once, to cultivate my spirits, I decided to met the man.”
“Alexander and I first met at the outskirts of Aeon forest. Perhaps I was too sheltered at that time, and I judged Alexander to be the weaker threat toward elves since his only pursuit seems to be knowledge and immortality. Beliving that we were kindred spirits, after our first meeting, I bestowed him the elven manuals to magic.”
The man was as withered as a corpse, blood spilling out of his mouth and ears as he spoke. Although his expression was as collected as before, there was an undeniable sorrow in his words.
Ovid sat down cross-legged in the middle of the burial chamber. He looked at the man and thought of the story he had told him of the distant past. He said after a moment of thought, “It is always good to pass one’s knowledge.”
The man’s lips twitched upward and he smiled with great difficulty. His eyes wet as he looked at Ovid. He said regretfully, “You must not be very like by your sovereign if you want to give away state secrets. I guess less and fewer people are aware of the dominance the elves held at the time, or else you would not speak of these words so lightly.”
It has been a few months since Ovid had his original world, the idea of international scientific effort was still prominent in his mind. In the end, it was because the world was secretive, that it had stagnated for ten thousand years.
The man’s eyelids closed like wilting leaves. He seemed to be thinking of the arrogance and pride he had felt in his younger days. It did not disturb his mental state, for he had thought over it many times already during his imprisonment. And then, he spoke in a soft tone, “At that time, elves were the only race capable of sustaining Starategos and Polemarchos in their army at any other time. Our soldiers too were of much higher quality, entire battalions would be made of Lochagos.”
“At that time, the most powerful human army had only a few Deacons, not to even mention Priests and Bishops. With this advantage, we elves also had the ability to produce many scholars and philosophers, becoming a hegemony for all expect dragons.”
“If not for the rise of Alexander, and his pure-hearted devotion, I would have never given him the ability to manipulate mana. In the end, both man and elves suffered the consequences of my decisions.”
The man sighed once more, his stomach that was exposed to the air seemed to be full of pity as he said, “After Alexander killed ten million humans and enslaved ten million more in his conquest to unite the empire, he built the bridge in Aeon forest. In his conquests, he burnt down many libraries and cities, expelling the golden elves to an unknown part of the continent to ensure us elves would never rise again.”
Ovid felt a wave of anger as he hears the mans’ words. While he was apathetic to those that had already died since their soul has already departed. But the destruction of knowledge will affect the advancement of the world as a whole.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
“You said Alexander only thirsted for immortality and knowledge. Why did he choose to invade the elves?”
The man stared in silence for a long while before he finally smiled, revealing two shallow dimples. There was a myriad of emotions in his charming smile.
“There was nothing wrong with my judgement in Alexander. He truly sought immortality, and the whole world also thought that too. There was no one that held the belief that Alexander held any ambition in politics after he refused a noble title from the mightiest kings of the time.”
The man looked at Ovid and said, “Unfortunately, the definition of immortality for Alexander is different from everyone else in the world.”
Ovid looked at him puzzledly, “Isn’t immortality just eternal life?”
The young man replied, “Immortality for Alexander is an external legacy that will not be forgotten a million years into the future.”
Ovid was shocked, with a slight frown, he said, “Why can’t he be satisifed with eternal life?”
The young man lamented, “I asked him this exact question then.”
Ovid listened attentively.
The man smiled, “At the tomb of Saint Gael, in this very room, he said, ‘Will I, Alexander be satisifed with that?’”
There was a moment of silence.
“And then?”
Ovid asked. He supposed that every story had a continuation and an ending.
The young man said, sounding very old, “The rest… is history.”
Ovid replied, “History is not science, the story varies from one to another.”
“The story has an even simpler ending.”
The man’s voice grew even older. He said, “After Alexander became a saint, he went and united all the human kingdom and tribes. Since elves still surpassed him then, he went and conquered the elves.”
He did not want someone to hold a greater legacy then him, so he burnt down all the legacy they had.
This was just a simple statement, and the story was simple as well. However, the simpler one put the shocking past that resulted in annihilation and an entire civilization being buried, the more alarming it was. After one hundred thousand years, only the man imprisoned by the sacred grove stands witness to what happened. Even the descendants of the elves do not remember it.
Ovid looked at the man’s deep-set eyes. “Then who are you, to be able to give Alexander the manuals that allowed him to conquer the world?”
The young man freed and then raised his hand from the tree roots without effort. He extended his finger. The joint beneath the skin over his finger was scary and looked worse than a crow’s leg overlooking a battlefield. However, the aura that excluded his palm was scholarly and warm. It was benevolent, like a dove descending from heaven.
The aura wielded in the man’s hand was abnormally strong and concentrated but was softer than a feather. The organs flowing out of the man seemed to glow with a clean brilliance that one can forget it was stained with black blood.
Ovid stared at the man’s hand reaching past the eagle and could feel the aura coming within. He was shocked speechless and his mana perception caused him much pain. The power the man exhibited was of a state so high it could not be measured. It was the strongest he had seen in this life.
The phoenix is the king of all birds, yet the owl is lord of the night’s domain.
“I wanted to spread wisdom throughout the world. Yet I was not ready for the thunderstorm I caused with my desires for universal advancement.”
The boy looked at the heart of sacred grove and looked at Gael, “I am the king’s teacher.”
“I am the Sage Glafx.”
---
To the south of the modern-day Juliana Empire is the Aeon forest. It was the heartland of all elves and protected them from the raids launched by countless monsters from the Straton Confluence.
It could be because of its abundance and natural resources, that a great many cities and settlements sprouted in the forest. In one of the hegemony city many years ago, a boy was born. Before his umbilical cord was even cut, the wisest of owls, Minerva, had shaken its vast wings twice. As such, he was named Glafx.
The child was exceptional since birth, as his parents were both court physicians, he had an intimate relationship with the king of the city. After he grew up, he similarly received the position of a court physician and had healed the king many times. When Glafx was sixty, a prince was born, and he was made to be the boy’s teacher in life.
The prince was Gael, and naturally, the two had developed a close bond. When the late king had died suddenly, and Gael ascended the throne, Glafx was made to be the librarian of a great collection of books.
After entering the library, Glafx studied for three months without coming out. And on one stormy day, he finished all the books and became known as a sage. Saying goodbye to Gael, he began to tour the world, and debated many philosophers and advised even more kings.
Glafx’s words were as eloquent and wise as the immortal owl Minerva, attracting many scholars from around the world. This caused Glafx to circulate around the world.
On his thirtieth year of touring the world, Glafx was invited to advise a king. Even before the meeting, Glafx saw the dreadful conditions the king’s subjects lived under. In front of the king’s court, Glafx walked up and killed the decadent king.
The king’s subjects surprisingly viewed him not with content but rather invited him to take the throne instead, reasoning that all the descendants of the decadent king were illegitimate. Glafx rejected the offer, gave the city a system of democracy, and left.
In the eyes of the philosophers and kings, as well as the common masses, Glafx was a perfect individual. Not only was he well versed in the classics and a sage, but he had also travelled the world and knows the suffering of the people. He was an individual of great moral integrity, an exemplary paragon.
To many, such a person could not have been the results of reading many books. He was definitely born this way under the starry skies.