Adam sat on Annas makeshift throne in the large hall. He wore a white linen shirt and matching linen pants.
He held the large book in hand, and on a side table was a small wooden chest. In front of him were all the sisters and the slaves Anna had bought. They all sat on the floor like little children in front of their teacher during study time.
Adam opened the chest, and it was filled with gold and silver coins.
He picked one up and tossed it into the air before catching it
"it's quite heavy" he thought to himself.
On one side of the coin, a harp was engraved into it and on the other was a coat of arms with a staff and a sword. Around the edge of the coin was the text "As Carved by Edric Ashburn the World Carver, and The First Head of the Circle Of Mages."
"I'm guessing the bronze drum has a drum engraved on it. There must be a reason behind the musical theme."
He held the coin in his hand, flipping it between his fingers before dropping it back into the pile.
He then picked up a silver coin and inspected it. It had identical engraving to the gold coin on the back. The only difference was the front which had a bell engraved on it, rather than a harp.
"Circle Of Mages...There is a lot I do not know about this world, but that's why I gathered all of them here."
He tossed the coin back into the chest before turning his attention to the group of women sitting in front of him.
"Since you all know my past, then you all know that I lack all understanding of the world outside. I want to know everything no matter how small you may think it."
"Since none of you has a map, then I shall ask you all to draw me one."
"I also want a drawing of Agatha from each of you. I want to get a good likeness of her."
"Which one of you has the most knowledge about this world, its history, legends and myths?"
The group slowly turned to Anna.
"Your Grace" She stood up and bowed.
"I shall start with the most agreed-upon history, but since it has been passed on for thousands of years, there may be a lot of things that aren't correct.
"The story goes that a long, long time ago when the world was young, and all was happy Merdian was a place filled with magic and many races gathered here from far and wide."
"All the races lived here, the Elves dwelled in the large Forrests, creating beautiful and never seen before kingdoms. The Dwarves carved great cities into the mountains from there, rivers of gold and jewels flowed down.
Even the High Elves and The High Dwarves often visited from their mysterious lands across the waters.
( Adam took note of this, he need to ask more later)
Our race was much younger than theirs. So they all took care of us, helping us grow, teaching us magic and blessing us with great gifts.
But Humans grew greedy and ravenous, always wanting more. The High ones held back their blessings and their gifts, no longer accepting requests, and this turned the humans against each other. Soon it was a free for all, with the blessings as the spoils.
They used the magic that the High Ones taught them to wage wars against their own kind, spilling blood across the lands and wreaking havoc across Merdian. Soon the sounds of song had changed to screams and horror, and the embers of war now grew in all corners of Meridian.
It wasn't long before they turned their swords and staves to the other races and even went so far as to anger the dragons.
The High Elves and The Dwarven Kings, disappointed with Humanity, left Meridian and returned to their lands. The High Elves could not stand for Humanity's greed. They could not understand why they did not see the value in the short lives given to them.
But the High Born were too kind. Before the left, they gathered together humans they thought were good, and between them, they chose four humans that were close and dear to their kind and gave them great gifts, gifts that fit their nature. Praying that they will be able to bring peace to their kingdom.
Thus the four great Saints. Xol, Ilara, Orin and Cressida. Each one was given great blessings and great gifts.
The High Elves shared great magical knowledge with them, and the Dwarven Kings shared their talents in using their hands before leaving.
The Four fought bravely against the great dragons, sending them back to their homes in the north. They then brought peace in Meridian, but that didn't last long as a darker, sinister power had made its way to our shores once the High ones left.
They fought against the dark beasts and the other foul creatures that came with the darkness. They made peace with the other races, but the other races were still wary of Humanity, so they agreed to split Meridian in half, the south for the Humans and the north for the other races.
They built three large Heavens for Humanity, the three great kingdoms, and humans lived in peace for hundreds of years.
It was a great blessing. Cressida, who had not taken any kingdom for herself, merely wandering Meridian, healing the sick and spreading happiness to everyone.
The remaining three came together and decided to build a large fourth Kindom, right in the centre of theirs. It was to be Cressidas, and she decided to build a large Academy right in the centre.
She said that she had gone far and wide and had seen many who didn't have access to the knowledge the four had to share. But with an Academy, they could instil not just knowledge but a mindset, so Humanity would not fall into their greed.
They built a great City and a great Academy that still stands today, The Eledrin Magical Academy.
Time went on, and generations passed, but the four Saints always remained. It is said they grew tired and lonely, being the only ones that did not age.
The Four had kept a tight hold on Humanity, and they believed that they had created a lasting peace and a great thirst for knowledge.
They decided to leave Meridian and go where the High Borns lived, but they knew that they would not be able to return once they left.
The four choose successors to pass on the great gifts, and they soon vanished into faraway lands, never to be heard of again.
Peace continued, but with each new successor, tensions and problems arose, cracks appeared in the everlasting peace that the four Saints had built, and soon, the embers of war could be felt.
And then a great change occurred. There were no longer successors but Kings and Queens and their royal families. The great gifts became heirlooms.
The four Kingdoms were soon at each other's throats, and a great war was looming. It is then that a young queen, who held Cressidas' great gift, saw that if Humanity fought each other, only the darkness would come out victorious.
She stated that she would give up her kingdom to be split between the remaining three only if they swore not to fight amongst each other. Her one main condition was that they would not interfere with the academy in any way. The three realised this was the best-case scenario. As long as she did not side with the enemy kingdom, they would gladly agree to her demands.
The three remaining kingdoms agreed and split the kingdom of Cressida amongst themselves. That is why today, we have three great kingdoms instead of four.
The Kingdom Of Xol in the west, The Kingdom of Orin in the East and Kingdom of Vaia in the South and right in the centre is the City Of Eldrin, where the academy stands.
---
"The Circle Of Mages runs the City Of Eldrin. That is currently the only power that can stand toe to toe with the three kingdoms."
"There are other academies, each kingdom created their own, but none can compete with Eldrin as it is the largest and longest-standing academy, it has the greatest magicians as their teachers."
---
Adam sat and listened for quite some time. Other Sisters also shared what they knew from the cities and kingdoms they came from.
After listening to all their stories, he finally told them to stop as he had enough. But he had made a decision. He was going to leave the island and head to the academies.
"How does one get into the academy?" He asked
"Your Grace, any academy will accept you immediately. In fact, they will probably compete to be the ones to recruit you."
"oh, why is that?"
"Your light magic, your Grace, light Magic is considered one of the strongest types of magic out there, and there are very few light mages who currently exist."