Amongst a vast green grassland, six apparitions were sitting calmly. Well, one of them was sleeping as if he had been deprived of it for a long time. The rest of them were looking at each other or looking around, glancing at it curiously. David, Henry, Harold, Zverius, Cerebius and Klubius were sitting on a picnic carpet with a basket which was full of fruits and some bottles filled with blood. All of them were wearing casual clothes which humans of this era would. David took an apple out of the basket and smelled it and smiled.
"What a bliss! Fresh apples are such a delicacy!"
Cerebius glanced at him and puffed, crossed his hands. Whereas Klubius was looking at Zverius with a hint of curiousity in his crimson eyes. Soon Zverius cleared his throat and spoke, his voice pleasant and mesmerizing as usual, everyone looked at him except Harold since he was in deep slumber.
"So let's begin our discussion on reincarnation spell. Since Henry and David are new to these concepts so I'll try to keep it simple to understand. However, you are free express your opinions and questions."
Zverius turned to David, his face almost shining like silver due to the bright sunlight falling upon his otherworldly handsome face. He almost seemed like a heavenly spirit who had descended into this mundane living world. He smiled cheerfully at David and added:
"First things first, before we begin...let me clarify that this is an artificial world which I had created in past for some other reasons which even I don't remember. It eons ago after all! Anyways even if humans stay in this world for eternity still they won't grow old!"
Hearing this Henry choked the cool water he was drinking, Zverius laughed at Henry while Klubius and Cerebius stared at Zverius in annoyance. David was still in process of finishing the delicious apple but he made sure to pay attention to Zverius's explanation. Cerebius rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.
"Zverius, this isn't a time to joke around. Be serious!"
Klubius nodded to Cerebius's sincere remark, Zverius looked at them as they were some naggy aunties. Zverius scratched his head and continued where he stopped. His expression grew solemn, coldness appearing in his captivating violet eyes.
"This is a long story, so pay attention! Since time immemorial Zardens and humans have coexisted but this coexistence has never been equal or friendly. The main reason for this was because of a fact that Zardens can't survive without human flesh. Zardens have always preyed on humans, so it was believed that humans began to live in groups or rather civilisations due to the fear of ruthless Zardens. As humans adopted themselves to civilisations, Zardens did the same but both of the societies had significantly different social structures. Of course, there were similarities but differences were quite apparent. Both formed kingdoms but they were different in many aspects.
In Zarden society... the concept of money didn't exist because if a Zarden desired something then he or she just stole it from humans or weaker Zardens. It was a vile and cruel society where the weak perished and strong nourished. However, even in these times there were some Zardens who envisioned productive relationships with humans so both sides signed a pact. According to which humans would provide clothing, cosmetics, infrastructure and healthy human flesh to Zardens and Zardens will protect them and won't kill their children. Many humans had their doubts about this lousy pact but still they had no choice but to agree on our terms. There had always been nine Zarden kingdoms in which there were several kingdoms ruled by humans. The human kingdoms had to always consult Zarden royalty before taking decisions because this was under the pact.
Whenever Zarden kingdoms clashed against each other, humans were always the first one to be crushed. Infact there had been many instances when the Zarden kingdoms hired humans and pitted them against each other and relished the sight of humans killing each other. We Zardens had superior strength, wit, speed and not to mention the crimson energy which always doomed the humans. For centuries such hypocritical pacts were forged but hardly Zardens followed it. They exploited their powers and killed millions of innocent humans over several centuries but...one day a huge change occured! Six humans appeared out of nowhere and started slaying Zardens one after another. They called themselves "The heavenly elemental emperors", their strength was immense and almost boundless. They didn't spare any Zarden and wiped out half of the Zarden population in a mere decade but even they met their demise. However, before that they passed their power which was ability to wield crimson energy to a dozen of promising humans, all of them were on their peak of youth. And this is how Crimson mage society was born, they fought for the sake of humanity and their resistance saved countless lives. As time passed, the number of crimson mages increased vastly but Zardens didn't stay idle either, they too increased their strength and number. They organised disciplined armies and enforced strict laws to abide. Eventually the time for a major destined clash emerged. The nine Zarden kingdoms pledged their allegiance to each other and so did the several human kingdoms which were united under the banner of crimson mage society who now consisted of thousands of fierce mages, it was a time for a war which would decide the destiny of both species. The war lasted for couple of years and resulted in the victory of Zardens. Humanity especially the mage society suffered from great loss yet they survived despite the staggering defeat in war, actually their resolve for protecting humanity strengthened. But it wasn't enough to stop the anarchy caused by Zardens and once again humanity's fate was in hands of cruel Zardens. The situation between the mage society and Zardens didn't really change much. The Zardens always possessed the higher ground but it was soon going to change because of a certain individual. I was born in this everchanging beautifully cruel world and that's how humans took a breath of relief. Slowly I gained power, sure it took me centuries but eventually I arranged a coup against my father who was a Zarden monarch. I became a monarch and killed almost all of the Zardens who desired to torture and trouble humanity. I spared only a few hundred Zardens because they shared the same dream as me which was to live peacefully with humanity. I also discovered that killing humans was unnecessary and a litre of human blood per year was enough for a healthy Zarden to satiate hunger. I established friendly and diplomatic relationships with humanity and crimson mage society. For some centuries things went smooth but slowly the mages turned selfish and greedy for power, they no longer possessed the drive to protect humanity, after all the Zardens weren't a threat anymore.
There was nothing which was a threat to humanity so they lost their purpose, eventually making them greedy and selfish. They also didn't fully trust us but since they didn't stand a chance against us at least not me so they laid low but soon their greed, disdain and selfishness grew uncontrollable which led them a path to betrayal. Prince of Calamities also played a major part, he manipulated them. And one day we were all poisoned by them but thanks to my preventive measures I survived."
Zverius grew silent, as a deep scowl appeared on his face. His violet eyes radiating resentment and anguish. Cerebius and Klubius had similar expressions, David was looking at a bottle of blood, lost in his thoughts. A few moments in tranquil silence passed prompting Henry to ask, his voice hinting towards suspicion.
"Why didn't you kill Zarius? I'm sure that you could've accomplished that."
Zverius looked at Henry, smiled apologetically and shook his head.
"I wish I could've but unfortunately he can't be killed by those who are stronger than him, at least not without a great price."
Henry blinked a couple of times, he still had his doubts but he chose to trust Zverius's words not because of any instinct or his kindness. Henry was a very distrustful person, he wasn't frightened of these strange beings. How could he be? He had years of hellish training and near death experiences but still he didn't waver. One thing which he was afraid of was losing his friends especially David. He owed his happiness to David so he couldn't let suspicious beings linger around him but it seemed that these beings could be trusted. He was sure that the Prince of Calamities was certainly a problem and a big one at that. Also not to forget how much fear he instilled in Cerebius and Klubius. So he was sure that Cerebius and Klubius were a lot better than Zarius. After all, none of them harmed David or Dylan even if they could've. There were plentiful of reasons to trust them but that didn't mean Henry was going to put his trust blindly in them. He was still wary of them.
David seemed perturbed about these Zardens, he was curious but not too serious. Perhaps he didn't understood the magnitude of the situation. David glanced at Zverius and asked:
"I presume that reincarnation spell will come in play here."
Zverius slightly nodded and said somberly:
"Let's now talk about the reincarnation spell."
As Zverius said those words, all of them except Harold who was sleeping peacefully looked at Zverius with solemn and somber expressions. Why wouldn't they? This spell casted by Zarius was going to bring a huge change, perhaps a dire crisis which would change the world entirely!
To be continued....