Calix Cato was a powerful mage who could use the darkest of magic without having to pay the price. He was a blood mage. He could manipulate and concur with the blood of his enemies giving him an upper hand in battle.
His enemies called him the 'Dark mage' or 'Malum' fearful of even saying his name, believing with a say of his true name he would be summoned.
His people thought him to be the most powerful of the 'Ten Mages Of Old' They called him their savior, 'The gift given from Lucia' or simply 'The great Cato' Everyone was overjoyed when he helped to win the war against beasts of pure evil. They praised him even more than before. By royal decree, he was given the status of a Duke and his own land to rule and build his legacy.
The 'Ten Mages Of Old' were a group of powerful mages that won the 'War of Death' After the war, they were the people who built academies in every country in Aranea. They did so because they didn't want the future generations of mages to be weak against great evils. They did not want another war to occur so this was the best course of action.
Calix Cato was the sole founder of the Mors Aranea Acadamy with three other founders helping him build it with magic.
Mages did not have a specific religion as the mundanes did per se, they did have someone they wholeheartedly worshipped.
'Lucia' was the name given to the girl who was the first mage to ever set foot on land. They say she descended from the heavens above the day she was borne to Earth. She lived for centuries as the only person with magic on mundane land before realizing that she was being called back up to the heavens. She took an abrupt decision to gift her powers to ten mundanes, bringing to the world the 'Ten Mages Of Old' After she left, the ten mages told stories of her adventures and gifted their magic to promising young children who would become young mages in the future.
After a period of time mages made up 80% of the Earth's population. Aranea was the land where Lucia first set foot, so the land was dedicated to her thanks to her gift given to the mundanes.
Lucia is not seen as a God but as a Gift to the Earth. Mages do not believe there is a 'God' like mundanes do, but they do know that there is someone more important than their existence. Someone who brought Lucia into the world. They do treat her with respect and say her name to receive luck and protection before doing something important just as a mundane would do when worshiping their religion's God.
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Cassian sighed before closing the history book in his hand. It was a book he read every time he was bored which was more often than not. He traced the lines of the words in gold ink. 'The Cato Legacy & The Ten Mages Of Old' it read. The tattered book cover was almost falling off and the pages were in no better shape. This was an old version of the history of the 'War of Death' it was only found in the library beside Cassian's room in the Cato mansion.
The more updated version used as the textbooks in the academy didn't mention the ten mages in so much detail so he preferred this one even if it was really old and dusty.
He was at home because there was a break given for the period of a week. Due to it being Samhain, a big festival to mark the beginning of Winter took place every year. It was also an excuse for the professors of the academy to finally catch a break and recharge their patience before coming back. He wouldn't blame them since most of his classmates were snobbish and entitled mages with no sanity in their brains.
He heard a knock on the door and told the person to come in. It was the family butler Ben.
"Master Cassian, your father wishes you to join the family for dinner today," said Ben.
"I'll be there in a moment," said Cassian.
Butler Ben nodded before leaving, taking quiet steps towards the stairs.
He sighed and mentally prepared for what was to come. He got up and walked downstairs. Opening the doors that lead into the dining hall, he could see his family sitting down at the table.
"Good evening Master Cato," he said bowing to his father. "Good evening Mistress Cato, big brothers," he said bowing toward his mother and his siblings. He waited for a few moments until his father nodded towards a chair and he finally sat down. This was the procedure he had to follow every time he ate with his family. He found it to be a chore so he usually ate in his room every time he came home.
His father must have something important to tell him, for him to specially invite him to dinner. Cassian looked toward his siblings and his mother who remained silent and looked only at their food. He gulped suddenly feeling very anxious. Only the sounds of the locals and folk music could be heard in the background.
"Cassian," his father said. He looked up at his father instantly.
"You are in your second year aren't you Cassian?"
"Yes Father"
"You still haven't shown ANY signs of magic?" He said looking at Cassian with narrowed eyes as blue as the deepest depths of the ocean.
"Not that I know of…" he said hesitantly.
Dead silence filled the wide dining hall. An ominous aura was emitting from one single person. Until a voice spoke up.
"Dorethea"
"y-yes dear?"
"Tell me why this foolish weakling is the one who inherited the blood of The Great Cato. Couldn't it have been my first son or perhaps my second?"
Dorethea didn't know how to respond so she hung her head low and bit her lips in stress.
Cassian felt ashamed and guilty for making his mother experience this situation. He really shouldn't have inherited this power to not be able to use it. He felt at fault.
Cassian abruptly stood up and started to leave but was stopped when he heard his father shout
"Did I give you permission to leave? You foolish boy!"
Cassian felt utter fury now. He just wanted to leave.
He couldn't take it anymore so he opened the doors and left running up the stairs quickly.
Falling onto his bed with a thud he couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation that had happened just before. He then screamed into his pillow with frustration until he couldn't breathe anymore. He then calmed himself and looked at the ceiling above him, wishing for the glass chandelier to fall upon him.
It was rather annoying how he inherited the legacy but had no magic powers to use it. He even had the mark to prove it.
The mark of Cato. A mark behind his head just below his blood-red hair. It was a red spider that appeared one night when he was only five years old.
Since he was five years old…his life had turned into a living hell just because of that stupid mark. That stupid legacy.
It was irritating.