Kael stared out the window, his mind drifting as the sounds of the classroom faded around him. Outside, a flock of birds swooped low over the fields, their wings casting fleeting shadows against the afternoon sun. He often let himself drift away like this, into a world of imagined freedom and adventure, one far beyond the small confines of his village.
In his daydreams, he wasn't just a boy helping on his family's farm—he was a hero, one of the powerful legends he'd heard about in stories, fighting monsters and saving lives.
"Kael!" a sharp voice interrupted his thoughts. His heart skipped as he turned, meeting the stern gaze of Master Orin, his history teacher.
"Could you tell us what year it is?" Master Orin's eyebrow arched in faint amusement, though his tone held its usual iron edge. Kael scrambled, his face heating as the entire class turned to
look at him. "Um… I think… uh…"
A few of his classmates stifled laughter, but Master Orin only shook his head. "It's the 200th year since the Meteor's Fall," he said, his voice slow and deliberate. "Two hundred years since
the event that reshaped our world." Kael forced himself to sit up straighter, trying to catch up as
Master Orin continued, his voice rich with the solemn weight of history.
"Two centuries ago, a meteor struck the earth, bringing with it something that our ancestors could never have anticipated," Master Orin said, his gaze sweeping across the classroom,
each word deliberate and heavy. "Its impact unleashed unimaginable forces. A new energy—a force we now call Essence—poured forth, seeping into the soil, water, and air. It touched everything: animals, plants, even the insects. And slowly, it changed them."
Kael's thoughts drifted back, less daydreams now and more fragments of stories he'd heard from his parents and neighbors—the darkened forests where plants seemed to grow like twisted guardians, animals with scales like iron, and insects that swarmed with a ruthless, unnatural intelligence.
"Entire species were altered," Master Orin continued, his voice now a soft rumble, "and the animals became something else. Stronger, larger, and far more dangerous. The plants became aggressive, and the smallest insects… well, let's just say some villages were lost overnight to their swarms. Essence had turned our world into a living battlefield."
Kael listened, more captivated now, even as the horror of that transformation settled in. He had always known about the monsters, but Master Orin's voice made it seem as though the event had just happened, the fear still fresh and raw.
"But Essence did not only change the beasts," Master Orin said, his tone shifting. "The energy affected humans too. Some of our ancestors were able to harness Essence, to turn its power inward and use it to fight back against the creatures it had unleashed. These people became the first heroes, defenders with powers beyond what anyone could have imagined."
Kael felt a familiar tug of excitement. The heroes. He had grown up hearing their names in old stories, figures who had once risen to stand between humanity and the horrors that
Essence had unleashed on the world.
"They were legends," Master Orin continued, "people who could command fire, manipulate earth, summon storms, and even heal with a touch. They pushed the monsters back,
brought safety to the scattered villages, and protected the places where people tried to build new lives. And though peace came, it was a fragile one. The monsters never stopped
coming, never ceased to grow in number and ferocity."
The classroom was silent now, everyone leaning in, captured by the same hope and dread Kael felt. This wasn't just history; it was the world they all lived in, a world constantly at the edge of another attack.
"That is why the Guilds were created," Master Orin continued, his voice softer, as if to let them process the weight of what he was saying. "Each generation must rise to meet the monsters, to learn to control Essence and defend humanity. But the heroes of old… well, they grow fewer with each passing year. The power of Essence is difficult to control, and not everyone is gifted with it. The world is changing once again, and monsters continue to spread. Which means," he added, his gaze shifting over each student in the room, "the next generation must step forward."
Kael's heart pounded. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Master Orin. The old teacher's gaze lingered on him for a moment, and Kael felt an unexpected surge of pride, though he quickly looked away. It was foolish, he knew. He was just an ordinary boy from an ordinary village. He'd never been a strong student, and his family depended on him to help with the farm. Still, there was a tiny ember of hope—just a whisper, really—that he might be one of the few.
The final bell rang, and Master Orin dismissed the class with a wave. As his classmates streamed out of the room, Kael gathered his things slowly, savoring his last few moments in
the quiet classroom. Even as he headed toward the door, Master Orin's words lingered, filling him with a strange, restless energy.