'Eh? Finally! I get to learn about these superhuman sons of b--'
"Excuse me", said a voice, in hushed tones.
Reeve turned, and saw a girl with short, blonde hair. She was average in height, and she was wearing a white tunic, with green, leaf designs. He remembered having met this girl somewhere before, he just couldn't remember where this somewhere was.
"My name is Madalyn and I saw you back at Artemine", the girl introduced herself.
Reeve was surprised. Most people stopped and stared at him, or were afraid of his not-really-ugly face. However, this girl took the liberty of actually calling out to him. Now that he thought about it, she was the student he had met at Artemine when they were returning from the tests, who was talking to Lady Kyrra about an assignment. So, that was the somewhere. "Hello, my name is Reeve. How are you?"
"I am well. So, you like reading about magic?" she asked, still speaking in hushed tones. She was asking because she had seen him focus on the book 'The origin of magic'. Of course, she didn't know he just wanted to know about the Ancients.
"I'm just curious", he replied.
"Umm … So … would you like me to teach you magic?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Eh? Why would you …"
"In return, I want you to join the temple of Malum", she explained, interrupting him.
'Oh, so it's a marketing ploy? It seems she's a noob at this… I mean, who approaches people without a pamphlet and just straight up gives such an offer? I know she did but … Anyway, since I don't know anything about the gods, I'll stay as far away from them as I can. Now, how can I decline her offer without hurting her feelings? Let's see …' Reeve thought. "Well … can I think about it?"
"Umm … okay. When you make a decision, you can come to the temple that's near the school and ask for me from the administrator", she spoke, before turning and leaving the library.
'That was weird … very weird…Anyway, the book!' Reeve thought, as he pulled the book from the shelf and returned to his seat.
A long time ago, humans could not use magic. They had it in them, but they just could not use it. There were creatures like dragons which could use magic the moment they were born, but humans could not. However, a group of seven very powerful individuals appeared, and their appearance forever changed the fate of humanity.
'Wait, what? They appeared out of thin air?' Reeve thought.
These seven individuals started teaching humans how to use natural magic. With time, they became known as the Ancients of magic, because they could use magic which was unnatural. Humans could not use any other type of magic, but the Ancients could. They even made several natural spells which could be used to defend humanity against calamity.
'Eh …So … they're not humans?'
However, as with all things, the humans began to use these spells to fight against each other. One human began to conquer the others, forcing them to submit to his will. Those who refused to submit were killed, and soon, he began to rule over the various continents.
'Oh … are all humans so … eh … what's the word for it… dark? Every story so far has some idiot who's trying to conquer the world or something stupid like that…'
When the Ancients realized that the humans were using the spells to kill each other instead of saving themselves, they decided to withdraw their support from the humans. The took away their spells, and wiped the memories of those who had learned them.
'Wait, what? They could do that?'
After that, the Ancients never appeared again, even when humans were being slaughtered by the dragon king. However, they once helped the humans by forging weapons which could be used to kill the dragons.
The humans ended up establishing ranks of magic. Those who were advanced, called the S-ranked mages, started various establishments for helping fellow humans. These establishments were known as guilds, and many other humans began to join these guilds.
'Oh, so that's where the guilds came from?'
All creatures are born with mana, including humans. In order to use magic, mana is a requirement. Without mana, it is impossible to use magic. Mana also exists in nature, for example, in trees and grass. Even with advanced magic, mana cannot be seen in its raw form. However, humans can convert this invisible power into visible effects through the use of spells. For example, one can use spells to move various rocks.
This is a fundamental truth, which cannot be denied. The reason why magic has become widespread among the human beings is due to the teachings passed by the Ancients a long time ago. Even though they took away the destructive spells, they still left their teachings. Of course, as humans grew powerful enough, they made their own spells.
'Eh… This …' Reeve was confused and shocked at the same time. Most of what he had read didn't make sense, and as he closed the book, he stood up to leave the library. 'So, the Ancients came out of thin air and began teaching humans how to use magic? And then humans being humans, they decided to use magic to kill each other and do more destructive things, until the Ancients decided to say Sayonara… Of course, the Ancients are still alive, according to the funny deity. Which begs the question: Where are they? It also begs the question: What are they?'
Reeve left the library in a daze, as he was thinking about magic and Ancients and all the other crap he had read in the library. By the time he left, the sun was setting.
Now, in the palace, Pectus Volo was sitting on a throne reading a letter. His facial expression distorted into various shapes, as it seemed like what he was reading was unfavorable.
"Your majesty, you've been summoned by the council of elders", said an old man, who had come into the throne room.
"Argh! What do they want now?" grumbled Pectus.