Castra looked at him as if he were an idiot. Michael shifted his gaze away from the woman.
Well, I'm not a local in this world. I know nothing. I will learn them though.
"A powerful Mage," Castra laughed. "You could say she was a powerful Mage. However, all elves have a high affinity with Mana, so she was not unique."
"An elf," Michael said, jerking. A stupid motion that sent lances of pain shooting through his body. "She was an elf?"
Michael's eyes glinted. Elves were real in this world? Elves had to be one good thing about arriving here. He might have a chance to meet a beautiful pointy eared woman without any blemishes in her body. It was all Michael could do not to drool.
Castra clicked her tongue. "Why is it that men always get excited about Elves? They aren't even that beautiful."
Michael Blushed. Even Liam had colour in his cheeks.
"I…" Michael said, "I wasn't—"
Castra raised one hand, stopping him short. "Spare me your lies boy, I know what you were thinking."
Michael's blush deepened.
"I did not know Laras Windsnow was a Mage," Liam blurted out.
"Not many people do," Castra said. "Considering what happened to her, the empire tries to keep it a secret."
"What happened to her?" Liam said. "The events surrounding her death are a legend. I find it hard to believe them, though. She shattered her own Magicore to bestow commoners with magic? Stupid is what that legend sounds to me."
Castra sniffed loudly. "Destroy her own Magicore? No Mage in their right mind would ever do that. Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl. The pain it must cause…"
Castra shuddered.
"How did she die then?"
Castra's eyes moved between Michael and Liam, as if searching for something. Both of them had asked the same question at the same time.
"But if you want to know the truth about Laras Windsnow. Well then, I shall tell you the truth I know."
"Over four millennia ago, the demon kind first appeared on this continent. At first, all the empires on the continent, the Mandalin Empire, the Elven Empire and the Goblin Empire took them as a minor nuisance."
Goblin Empire? So Goblins weren't just some minor monster in this world, but a proper civilization who had built their own empire? Michael wondered what the Empire built by these green dwarfs would look like. And whether Goblins were even small and green in this world.
Michael opened his mouth to ask Castra more about the Goblins and their Empire, but the woman went right on, giving him no chance to ask his question.
"They learned of their mistake when a massive army of demons knocked on their door. For over ten years, they fought against the demons, losing more and more territory. It was in the eleventh year of the war that Laras Windsnow discovered their weakness. For all their strength and power, the demons could not become a Mage. They could not channel the power of Mana."
Something about the story did not seem right to Michael. When he understood what it was, Michael frowned. "How can you know the exact timeline? If it happened four thousand years ago?"
Castra glared. Michael decided not to interrupt the woman again. Those eyes could crush a person's spirit. Castra answered his questions nonetheless, even if she sounded like a hissing snake.
"Four thousand years may be well over a hundred generations for ordinary people, but for Elves and powerful Mages, it is no more than five to ten generations, if that. There are reliable records on the Black Coral Academy and other great libraries."
Powerful [Mages] live longer than natural lifespans? So if he became powerful enough, could he live a long life as well? The information tingled his stomach with excitement. Now there was more reason to become a powerful [Mage].
Someone brought a second dose of pain killing tea for Michael as Castra narrated the history of Laras Windsnow. Michael sipped the tea gratefully. The pain of his half healed injuries had just begun to swell up again.
"At the time, Laras Windsnow was the adviser to the Emperor of the Mandalin Empire. She petitioned him multiple times to make the knowledge of magical arts public. A Mage is the best defence against Mage, Laras knew this. As the demons did not have Mages of their own, if the Empire could cultivate their own Mages, they might win the war. The emperor, however, in his pride and greed to maintain his control over the magical arts, refused her plea every time."
This was getting interesting. Michael parked up his ears to listen to every word Castra said. He did not think he would get another chance to learn so much about this world. He could not waste this opportunity.
"Frustrated, Laras spread the knowledge of magic to the commoners through a book. She could not allow the Emperor's pride to destroy the Empire she had worked so hard to protect."
Castra let out a heavy sigh before continuing. "Angered by her actions, the Emperor ordered a public execution to make an example out of her, to show the world consequences of disobeying him."
That certainly would not go well for the Emperor, Michael thought.
"The Emperor was a fool. For all his power, he did not understand the hearts of men. Hearts of the people he ruled over. Laras became a martyr, her death sparking a rebellion."
Ah-ha, Michael almost exclaimed. He knew it.
"The people toppled the Emperor and a new Emperor ascended the throne, magic becoming public in the empire and throughout the world. So no, Laras did not destroy her own Magicore, but she died to make magic public."
Michael shook his head sadly. Laras had died to ensure the defeat of the Demons, yet they were still out there, threatening the Empire. There was still a tension between the Empire and the mankind. He had learned at least that much from Liam.
"Laras must be sad in the heavens," Michael muttered. "Knowing her efforts were in vain."
Liam glared, shooting daggers with his eyes. Oops! He had not meant to say that out loud.
What Michael had not expected was the vehemence from Castra. She stood up like a compressed spring set loose, toppling the chair behind her.
"In vain?" she hissed. "In vain? She did not… Her death was not in vain. It was because of her, you and I can learn magic. Had it not been for her efforts, the war would have ended by now. Demons, the victor! If not for her, we would be living in a world ruled by demons. Demons who treat other races as a dog on a leash. No, far worse than that—like a thing to be used. Not a person."
Michael's eyes widened. She was talking about slavery, wasn't she? Slavery, Michael thought, was the most disgusting practice in the world. No one deserved to be enslaved. No one!
Michael shivered at the thought of losing his own freedom. It was not right to leash people. It just wasn't!