"Care to have some fun?" she asked, waving him over by curling four of her fingers back and forth.
"Uh… No thanks."
A short while later, Mikhail reached the large clearing in front of Grand Elder Maya's home. It was desolate, the only thing making movement being the sedges getting gently swayed by the morning breeze.
It was a stark contrast when compared to the bustling atmosphere of the Weekly Gatherings, but Mikhail didn't pay any mind to that, instead choosing to jog through it and reach the foot of the plateau on the other side.
He could feel flutters of excitement as he ran up the stairs cutting through the plateau. What would await him after having this talk with Grand Elder Maya? Would he finally start making progress on his path to power?
Would he learn more about Evolution?
He was really interested in finding out, and thus, in no time at all, he found himself at the entrance of the building, looking in at the spacious room lined with fancy looking benches and ending with a raised altar.
And as soon as he stepped foot inside, he could hear a voice call out to him, its sound reverberating with a strange echo.
"Come upstairs."
It was the Grand Elder's voice, and she had spoken in Manakel.
Thus, he climbed the staircase up to the seventh floor, going to those ginormous golden double doors he had embarrassed himself with the last time he was here.
And luckily, the Grand Elder had left the door ajar for him.
He entered without much fanfare, taking in a familiar scene.
She sat towards the far edge of her red carpet, almost as if she hadn't moved since the last time he had seen her. And just like last time, Mikhail walked over and sat down across from the Grand Elder.
"There is a vast amount of knowledge that you will need going forwards, especially in regards to your path to power. However, we need to start with the world around you. Unless, of course, you remember your time as a lackey of the Demon Clan?"
Mikhail scratched at the back of his head nervously.
"I uh, can't say I do. I remember a much happier life than the one described in the textbooks."
Grand Elder Maya knit her eyebrows, seemingly trying to parse out the truth in that statement. Her expression then relaxed as she let out a deflated sigh.
"What do you know about the layout of the world? Give me as many details as you can remember from the textbook you've been reading, if you'd be so kind."
Mikhail nodded.
"Well uh, for one… There are six tribes, and one clan, that rule this world."
Mikhail began narrating what he knew to Maya, leaving out no detail to ensure she knew that he knew plenty about the world around him, and that they could get to work on the really juicy stuff.
He first explained how there were the orcs, who lived in a lush jungle that brimmed with life in the southeastern quadrant of the world.
And he also explained their general appearance, including how their skin colors ranged through varying shades of green. How they had tusks growing from their jaws. And how even the scrawniest of them were still really beefy by human standards.
He also explained how they thrived by cohabitating with nature, incorporating their homes into the landscape. How they treated plants with a great deal of respect.
And then there were the Goblins, who lived in the rocky mountaintops in the northeastern quadrant of the world. Their skin colors were varying shades of yellow, and they generally had short statures and long beards. Those beards included the women, too!
They also had pointy ears, and long noses that could be mistaken for a spike coming out of the middle of their faces. They thrived by taking control of nature, creating technological marvels!
And then, there were the Elves.
They were tall and generally lanky, and they lived in the tundra of the far northern central quadrant. Their skin color generally varied through different shades of blue, and they had pointy ears like the goblins.
And their most striking feature were their six monocolor eyes. They were born with an inherent talent for magic that the other races could only be envious of, and they thrived by using those gifts.
Next during Mikhail's explanation were the Mermen.
Their scales came in all sorts of colors, and they had no visible ears.
Their fingers and feet were webbed, and they had gills on their necks that clamped shut, disappearing to the naked eye, so that they could breathe on land. Various fins adorned their bodies as well. They thrived in the southwestern ocean, which was supposedly connected to every river in the world.
Finally, there were the Avemen. They were bird-like people who were well known for their singing, their colors, and their innate ability to fly. Their wings were their arms, though you wouldn't know at a glance.
When on the ground, their arms look like a human's, albeit far more colorful. However, their arms would expand into wings when they were flying. They lived in a snowy mountain in the northwestern quadrant.
All these peoples were a part of an overarching species called the Pnuema. They all had deep ties with each other, forming a tightknit and interconnected global community.
The only threat to their wellbeing were the beasts, and the Demon Clan.
Mikhail finished his explanation at that point, and Grand Elder Maya nodded with a smile.
"Good, very good! You've certainly done your fair share of studying… Now, what about us humans, hm? I can't help but notice how you excluded your own kind in that lengthy explanation of yours."
"Uh… We live in the far southern quadrant, in a savannah bordering the Manakel Desert."
"Correct again! But, tell me, is that all you know about your own kind?"
"I know what we look like."
"Anything else?"
Mikhail sighed.
"...No."