"Alright, kids. Take your seats. It!s time to start our History class.
The children who were cluttered in their own little cliques scattered back to their own desks. There were two Grade 6 classes in Royal Tea Academy. Class Chamomile was one of them and it is where Icarus and Violetta belonged while Claude was part of the other one, Class Jasmine.
Icarus sat in his assigned desk right in front of the class. He didn't mind it at all since sitting right beside him was Violetta. He felt blessed to be so close to the princess and know her personally. He was in love with her ever since he first saw her. They knew each other since they were little along with Claude. That was due to his mother being a minor noble in Vallia and she was one of the country's Five Pillars.
The Five Pillars of Vallia were the six strongest Vessels that have the ability to wield the country's Five Imperial Regalias. Their influences were great. They were all honorary Five-Star Generals, the highest rank in the army, and they were all influential enough to be able to advice the King.
Everyone had high hopes for Icarus and Claude. Claude's father, Daedarius, was also one of the Five Pillars. The two young man were expected to take up their parents' mantles once they grow up. There was no doubt that Claude will soon follow after his father but the same couldn't be said to Icarus. Violetta, on the other hand, has expressed her interest on also becoming a Pillar once she grew up. It was a promise the three of them made when they were young. A promise that Icarus may not be able to fulfill.
As Icarus fawned over Violetta in his desk, the lights of the classroom turned off and the projector on the roof lit up the front of the class with a presentation. Everyone's attention shifted to their teacher in front of the class, an old Eastern man, Mr. Zi.
"Long time ago, Gods and monsters walked the Earth. Each had their own origin, their own story. However, the two races were at odds at each other. Gods saw monsters no more than animals. Some even considered them as demonic creatures that should've never existed. While monsters were fed up with the tyrannical dominance that the gods imposed not just on them but also the other inhabitants of Earth," ventured Mr. Zi as he walked back and forth in front of the screen showcasing interpretations of the ancient races.
"In the event known as the Ragnarok War, Gods, their creations, and demigods waged war against the monsters and demi-humans. Powerless, humanity was caught in between the two forces and suffered heavily. Well, what do you children think happens next?"
"Isn't it obvious?! We kicked their butts!" A smug kid yelled out from the back.
"Are you dumb? Our race wasn't even part of the war," a nerdy girl sporting round glasses disagreed.
"Unruly children, were you not taught manners?!" The old man snapped at the two of them.
Icarus slowly raised his hand.
"Tch, finally someone a child with self-control. Next time, you buffoons raise your hands when answering and asking a question," lectured Mr. Zi, "Go on, Icarus, tell us what you think."
"It was a stalemate, sir," answered Icarus and continued, "They were killing off each other with no sign of progress so they looked for an alternative."
"Hoh, impressive," commended Mr. Zi as he stroked his long beard. "He is right. Both sides stopped the senseless killing and proposed another way of conflict."
Mr. Zi clicked on his remote and the screen switched into a picture of a giant Coliseum filled with beings.
"Instead of an all-out war, both sides proposed a tournament where the strongest representatives of each side fight to death. The victors had the right to exterminate those who lost. This was known as the Tournament of War. There are clear accounts of the first six battles. However, the seventh and last one has been lost for centuries. Whatever happened in the final duel, dismantled the Tournament and both sides went back into an raging war. They fought and fought.... and fought each other into extinction. In the end, the victimized bystanders, humanity, was all that was left of intelligent beings."
"Now that we have covered the ancient history, let's move on to Essences," Mr. Zi turned off the projector and the class lights flickered back to life.
The old man help up his pointer finger next to his lips and blew on it. Much to the children's surprise, flames came out of his mouth instead of air, promptly lighting up the tip of his finger like some kond of lighter.
"This is my Essence and as you can see it allows me to breathe out flames," explained Mr. Zi. "I have the Essence of the Basilisk, a monster that has a reptilian, dragon-like body with a head of a rooster. I'm sure most of you children have awakened your essences... if not all of you."
Mr. Zi eyed Icarus with suspicion. The young boy immediately looked away. The old man still had his Essence activated so looking back at him would feel like looking at the Basilisk itself. Icarus had no doubt in his mind that he'd wet his pants if that were to happen.
"Essences are the lingering life force of those who perished in the Ragnarok War," Mr. Zi shook the flame off his finger and continued his lecture. "A human is destined to a certain Essence when they are born. It isn't just random luck for you children to have your own particular Essence. The lingering power of a god or monster chose you to be its wielder."
"Richter," Mr. Zi addressed the blonde handsome boy at the back, "Tell us your Essence."
Richter looked at his teacher with slight confusion and smirked, "It is Baldr."
"Ah, Baldr, huh? Impressive," nodded Mr. Zi, "As you all can see, Richter was destined to obtain the Essence of Baldr, the indestructible God. Richter is a noble from the Astyria Family. His uncle is non other than Daedarius Astyria, one of the strongest Vessels in Vallia. He could only obtain this kind of Essence because he is a noble, a direct descendant of heroes who created and protected Vallia during the Age of Gods and Monsters just as most of you. Nobles will almost always be blessed with strong essences because of their bloodline as opposed to nameless commoners. However, there are normal people who have rose to the occasion and proved themselves equal to nobles. That is why hard work is important."
As Mr. Zi mouthed off about Essence, Icarus lost focus to a bunch of girls bickering behind him.
"That's probably why Paulie so weak. I heard he only got into Royal Tea Academy despite being a commoner because his father is a rich businessman," whispered the girl behind him to her friend.
"Yeah, what's his Essence again? Drop Bear? Hehe!"
"That monster is just an oversized Koala with intelligence from Ozdralia . Hardly qualifies as a monster if you ask me."
"Wow, the bullying is real..." Icarus thought to himself as he glanced at the fat boy near the window.
The girl behind Icarus was none other than Natalia, the second prettiest girl in Royal Tea Academy after the Princess. She was a noble and a rising child model. However, Icarus knew no matter how pretty she was, she was nothing short of a manipulative bitch.
"Tch, I'll just ignore them. Sucks to be Paulie. Can't let my presence go out of control or else they'll target me instead of him."
With that, Icarus dismissed the chatterboxes behind and focused on Mr. Zi once again. His lecture was far from over.