The story about this world's gods was well known to everyone, even those living outside the kingdom. It was their most important founding myth, as people believed that the land, they were living on was the original place, where everything happened.
Before the races were created, the world belonged solely to three primordial dragon gods - Riwan, the golden one and the protector of humans, Argenis the silver dragon and the creator of Great Forest and magical beasts, and finally Noir, the majestic black dragon, and the superior to all demons.
Three dragons lived in peace and were great friends. Nature back then was rich with an abundance of edible fruits and plants. But after living for thousands of years, the dragon longed for another company. That's why each of them decided to create new races and gave them all of their best skills.
This is how Noir becomes a creator of demons, Argenis sides herself with the magical beasts and Riwan is said to be the father of all human beings. As he created many people, he ultimately chose one worthy man, who became his companion and rider. It was Alviraz, the founder of our kingdom.
For many years, all races lived in harmony. But the peace wouldn't last long, as both Noir and Riwen had fallen in love with Argenis. What started as a rivalry between two dragons soon turned into a bloody war of races.
Ultimately, the golden and black dragons fought themselves to death, leaving the silver goddess behind. It should have ended there, but the resentment of the black dragon corrupted the hearts and minds of demons. They couldn't accept the fall of their god and swore to exterminate all of the humans. Argenis, who could no longer watch the bloodshed, created the Great Forest to isolate humans from demons.
She enchanted the forest and till today, one cannot wander into the forest recklessly as they will become lost and never find their way back. Magical beasts hide in their goddess' haven, leaving demons and humans on both sides.
The magical border could not last forever and eventually, both races found a way to cross to another side and this is how the battlefield in the west came into existence many years ago.
The goddess was enraged. She wanted to keep the world at peace, but the creations of her dear friends kept disturbing it. She cursed the land surrounding the Forest, taking all the life from the ground away, making the west isolated and difficult to inhabit. The soil was drained and not even weeds could survive for long. Humans gradually left the area, leaving only a few cities in the vast land behind.
The puppeteer ended his story, and the children grew silent.
"Then… if we ask the silver goddess, can she return the land to us?" One of the youngest boys asked shyly, while other children started to giggle.
"O-of course! If we pray to her every day, I'm sure she will be moved by our sincerity and make the land healthy again!" The performer smiled awkwardly.
Unlike children's naivety, all adults were aware of the bitter truth. The Forest spell was like cancer, eating away the land of their kingdom for centuries. No matter how much divine power they tried to pour in, everything was futile.
They stayed in the city until the next day, as Ash needed a proper rest. He was a strong war stallion with unbeatable stamina, but since he carried two people for several days already, they couldn't risk moving ahead. The majority of the journey was still ahead of them, but once they crossed the mountain, Suin was sure that the danger of encountering Randel's knight would be close to the minimum.
"What are you thinking about?" Luan asked her. She was lost in her world, since the dawn, when they left the city and moved west.
"Mister, do you think the myth about dragons is based on a true story?"
There wasn't much mention of dragons in the book 'The Flower of Alviraz'. It touched on the subject here and there but didn't state anything concrete. Suin knew from the story, that Forest was like a paradise on earth. Abundant with peaceful animals, wise magical beasts, and food, it provided comfort to everyone living there.
But everyone she met in this world said, that the Forest was enchanted. People were forbidden from going in unless they were accompanied by the swordmaster or a high-ranking magician. However, magicians were proud and always locked themselves in the tower conducting the research, while the swordmaster was the highest rank anyone using the swords could obtain and hadn't appeared in one hundred years or more.
The difference between the book and reality was striking to the point she wondered if reading the story was to her advantage at all. The characters mentioned were so different in real life, starting with the sh*tty personality of Blaine, or the spoiled Charissa.
What if even the Forest was one big lie? Will she be okay living in the west?
Not like she has an opportunity to rethink her decision, as returning to the county would be the biggest nightmare ever.
"Does the myth matter?" Luan asked, her breath tickling her earlobes.
He was right. Whatever happened back then, has nothing to do with people today. The dragon gods were long gone, leaving behind only the descendants who waged the war against each other as long as the written history was recorded. No one knew of the original reasons anymore. Fighting was just a part of their lives and even the economy was strongly tied up to the events beyond the Forest.
War was like a terror hunting them, but also a necessity, as the cash flow in the kingdom would collapse if the battlefield disappeared. To make nobles profit a lot from the fighting, people like Luan and count Randel will have to suffer and risk their lives every day.
It was unfair, yet it was a kind of contract society agreed upon.