[23]

“Monster, is a blanket term we give for most things that thrive in the Ruinlands. Before anything, you must understand that this is a gross simplification designed to categorize a type of threat you will face in the Ruinlands. There are things other than monsters out there, and many of them are just as, if not more, dangerous. Savage beastmen tribes will hunt you, demon worshipers will trick you, and fireblood dwarves will ride you down on their warthogs for slaughter. We do not know every threat of the Ruinlands; it is a constantly developing landscape. So, I implore you to remember that this course is not comprehensive enough to make you an expert. Hubris will get you killed. You must always be learning, researching, and sharing the knowledge you discover on your excursions,” said Instructor Rewan.

The lecturer had our attention from the moment he entered the room and introduced himself. It was not his resonant voice that captured our focus, but rather, his race. Instructor Rewan was the height of a man, but the similarity ended there. He was willowy thin, with large pointed ears and grey skin. The pupils of his eyes were the color of blueberries, but three times as large, giving a slightly owl like appearance. Long white web-like hair drifted down his shoulders, reacting to the slightest movements in a hypnotic sway.

None in the class could confess to ever having seen Rewan’s race, but all knew for certainty what he was: an Alvar. Alvar were the most reclusive and rarest of races in the lands of the Gods, but they cast an enormous shadow. Not just for their arcanotech, either; which was a recent development limited to where they lived, the kingdom of Ergentein.

It was their history that left us in awe. Before the Godswar, the Alvar had been the premier magic users in the world, topped only by the Mage Kings. Only through their sacrifice had the world not ended in ruin. Ainu, the God of Magic and Order, commanded the Alvar to cast a spell so terribly powerful that it cost him his life. With Ainu’s death, the Alvar’s spell stripped the world of free magic and the ability of all living things to cultivate it, giving us the Soul Ledger system. It left the Mage Kings weak, allowing them to be banished to the Hells. The primordial titans, which the Mage Kings had summoned from some other plane of existence, likewise found themselves banished from our reality.

Alvar saved us all, and it cost them everything. Ainu was their god, and creator, and they loved him to the depths of their soul. Without his presence in their lives, they gave up their immortality, refusing to live in a world without His glory. With His love gone, their ability to feel joy perished, turning their skin to an indifferent grey. They were a race in mourning that could never heal from their loss.

Instructor Rewan did not wear the robe of an instructor. Instead, he wore the ceremonial black garb of grief. A drab garment on the colorless skin of a being that had lost all purpose. Yet, continued, despite despair and hopelessness, to make the world a better place on behalf of a memory.

None could be in his presence without reflecting on the blessings the gods had given them. Even the most ignorant person among us, like Reynold, I presumed, was struck momentarily introspective amidst the Alvar.

“To that end, I have assigned you each a list of monsters. You will locate your list under the Assignments section of your soul ledger, just after Quests. After this day, you will give the lectures to your peers. I expect you to be knowledgeable and ready to speak about a new monster each time we meet. Every one of you will give a lecture that must include the physical description, eating habits, strengths and weaknesses, and likely habitat of the monster you are covering.” Instructor Rewan said.

Against all reason, someone raised a hand, interrupting the Alvar.

“Yes?” Instructor Rewan asked.

Reynold’s giant friend Tedric spoke, “What if we don’t?”

What an asshole.

The Alvar looked at him, gigantic eyes narrowing in the slightest show of emotion. “An interesting question, Tedric.”

Tedric looked surprised that Instructor Rewan knew his name. I am sure everyone felt similarly.

“I cannot fail you for doing poor work, nor prohibit you from attending the course. The Gods entitled all of you to be here. However, what I can do is twofold. First, if you do well, I will award you with contribution points. The depth of your research and quality of the knowledge you disseminate will either help or hurt your peers. I will announce that your lecture, absent or not, is adequate or lacking. If lacking, it will force your fellows to make up for your deficiency by doing extra research on their own time.

Second, know that at the end of the year you will all be responsible for an excursion into the yellow zone of the Ruinlands. You will divide yourselves into teams of four, and may not return to Ashmere for your second year until you have completed certain Quests. Each instructor has a rating system that we judge you on, and those teams with the worst ratings will get the worst quests. They will not necessarily be more difficult, but they will involve doing unpleasant things for the least amount of awardable essence.

Understood?” Instructor Rewan finished.

Everyone nodded in confirmation, but from the looks of alarm I saw reflected around the room, I was not the only one that did not know about the excursion. They planned on sending us out there after only one year!?

Most knew we divided the Ruinlands up into regions, based on proximity to the border of our Kingdoms. We considered near the border the green zone, followed by the yellow zone. The yellow zone was exponentially more deadly than being near the border, even though it held the weakest of Ruinlands threats. Scattered among the yellow zone were forts, said to be miserable places, filled with those who failed to ascend from touching a Godstone. People under Geas that were devoid of use and faith in the opinions of the Gods. Like I, or everyone else in the room might have been.

It was the job of those in the conscripted forts to keep the lanes of the yellow and green zone clear. And of course, to hold out against encroaching threats from the still more dangerous orange zone.

Beyond that were the red and black zones, which grew not only more distant, but ever closer toward the heart of the once great Mage King empire. Few, if anyone, know what horrors and abominations of magic still dwell within that arcane ancient place.

Instructor Rewan spent the rest of the class discussing his expectations, before releasing us early to get acquainted with our topics of research. We were told to go to the Ashmere tower to copy the necessary materials for our lectures. He made it a point to reemphasize that the best information would come from multiple sources.

As we began trickling out of the auditorium, my eyes caught sight of Elaine walking up the aisle by herself.

My feet began heading toward her before I had time to think through what I was doing.

“Elaine?” I asked, stopping just by her side.

“Hmm?” she said, biting her lip. I could tell something was bothering her, but I pushed forward with my agenda, anyway.

“I hate doing this, but I need to ask a favor from you.” I said.

“Oh?” She gave me her full attention.

“It’s… of a personal nature. Do you think we might meet after dinner tonight to discuss it in private?” I asked.

“Sure! See you then,” She smiled and left.

I caught Reynold and his stitched face, as well as Tedric staring daggers at me from across the room. I was not sure if they somehow overheard our conversation, but either way they clearly did not approve of me having one.

Purposely, and with great exaggeration, I rolled my eyes at them and headed back to my crew of friends.

“It’s impossible to not be able to read!” Joy said a little too loudly, aggrieved at something Raxx had said. “The moment you ascended, the soul ledger imparts the ability to understand words in written form from any language that you know!”

“I didn’t say I couldn’t read,” Raxx responded with a yipping laugh. “I said I don’t read.”

“Now, now,” I said, wagging a finger at Raxx. “You don’t want to be lazy on your team. You heard what Rewan said: we are going to depend on you, Raxx. Any weakness you have is a weakness Joy and I will also have. That is unless you planned on trying to find someone else to head out into the Ruinlands with?”

“Bah,” Raxx mumbled something under his breath. “Fine, I’ll do the stupid reading thing. Let’s go to the library before I change my mind.”

Joy and I shared a triumphant smile behind the Harak’s back.

But my enthusiasm did not last.

My thoughts soon returned to Elaine, and how I would later ask her to help me arrange a marriage with Angelina. What would she say? Would she care at all? Deep down, I wanted her to protest, but I knew it was unlikely.

Elaine might even agree that it was the best course of action for me. A sickening thought if ever there was one, which I stomped down.

It did not matter. Elaine was not mine, and how she felt was irrelevant. I would not make the mistake of taking kindness for interest again. Sabine had etched that lesson into my soul. If Elaine protested, she would have the chance while we are alone. Until then, I would do what is best for me.