Authors Note: Okay if there was one chapter that I want the most comments on, it's this one. I was unsure how I felt after writing it so I decided to just post it and see what you guys have to say. If you raise good points and have a good reason why something doesn't work or feels wrong I will probably edit this chapter until I'm satisfied before moving on.

Thanks and enjoy the chapter.

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Chapter 10

Beista’s Royal Castle. Its design was a wide base that slowly added upon itself, growing taller and finally culminating into a central tower. The building was made of a white metallic stone, which seemed to sparkle when hit with both sunlight and moonlight.

Inside the Castle lived the Royal family as well as the Imperial Guard, who was responsible for their protection. There were also offices for the nobles who occupied government positions to use.

The current King was a man named Michael Ganar. He was married to Laura, who was his queen. Despite having been married for more than 10 years, the couple still didn’t have any children, and both were approaching the age of 50.

This wasn’t a problem however. Unlike other countries, Ganar had a unique way of determining the next King or Queen. Instead of having a child to inherit the throne, the King or Queen would choose a successor from anyone they saw fit to lead the country.

In most cases the child of the King would be chosen, as they would be taught from an early age to take up the responsibilities. But sometimes a situation would occur that forced the King to look elsewhere, such as an incompetent child or the inability to have one.

In the event of another taking up the mantle of leadership, they would assume the last name of Ganar. This was the case of Michael’s great-great-grandfather who was chosen to become the King.

As Michael knew he would just keep growing older, he had to start looking for a proper successor. But unfortunately he couldn’t find anyone to be suitable or showed promise in becoming a great leader.

To make matters worse, the current affairs regarding the country and its neighbors demanded his full attention. Due to this, he couldn’t afford to look for and mentor a potential candidate.

In a large room, was an equally large round table. Sitting around the table were the heads of each governmental department. A few feet away sat a slightly larger chair that was elevated above the rest. Here sat the King, Michael Ganar.

He looked over all the men in the room before speaking. “Everyone, I have called you all here to discuss some concerning issue that may very well affect the future of our country.”

All the men had serious expressions as they continued to listen to the King.

“First is the disturbing report that was found in the Nishka territory. I will have Commander Tulfrey give the report.”

At the call of his name the Commander of Internal Security stood up. “Thank you, your Majesty. As all of you probably know, our neighboring country Nerim has recently been building up their military for the past few decades. This has caused us a slight concern at what exactly their aim is, until now.”

The Commander picked up a document lying in front of him. “These documents found in the Lord City of Nishka, show that the recent unrest from the citizens and the increase in attacks to outlying cities by marauders are not in fact a coincidence, but a deliberate ploy to weaken our countries infrastructure.”

The men began to murmur among themselves and some faces turned grim at the news.

“The worst part is that our very own nobles were behind this scheme, as this document was found in the home of Count Helbridge. At this time it is unclear as to what exactly happened to the Count, but we can infer that he was one of the major backers of the Nerim scheme.”

Another man interrupted his report and asked. “How do we know that the Count was not framed to put suspicion on every noble? If the Trevino’s aim was to cause distrust among us, this would be a perfect way to do it.”

The Commander nodded. “You do have a point, but the evidence and testimonies gathered so far has indicated that the Count had made these decisions using his own connections. Until we find something that indicates otherwise I don’t think baseless speculation will be of any help.”

An older man with grey hair interjected. “If this report is accurate, then this implies that they are preparing for a war.” He was one of the Generals of the army. His name was Faren Velcose.

The next man to speak was the head of Agriculture. “But why now of all times to start a war? We have been neighbors for hundreds of years, and while yes, we have had small skirmishes in the past it was never something to the extent of a full blown war.”

He was right. In all of Ganar’s history, it had never had a major war with any other country. There were plenty of opportunities during Ganar’s more unstable times in the past to be invaded, but it never happened.

The Head of Commerce spoke next. “Perhaps they are tired of going through us to reach the sea? Their goal may be to conquer us and have direct access to the ocean.”

General Velcose spoke. “Rather than guess at the reason for the invasion, we should prepare our borders. Unlike them, we are not ready to respond to a sudden invasion. As of now, I’d estimate our border forts to hold out for at least three or four months if they are not reinforced.”

King Michael nodded in approval. “Then I will leave the defense to you General. Be sure to report any movement the Nerim's army makes. If at all possible, I’d like to resolve this peacefully, but if it’s impossible we must be ready.”

The General stood up and saluted with a fist to his chest. “My liege, it shall be done immediately.”

As he turned to leave, the King stopped him. “Wait there is one more important matter. It is dealing with the church.”

Michael motioned for the woman to step forward. She was an elderly woman with wrinkles on her face. She wore a simple white robe with a few golden embellishments around the edges. She was a priestess belonging to the Faith of the Five Gods, the most common religion found around the world.

While most people believed in the Five Gods equally, some chose to worship a single one, usually the God that was the creator of their ancestors’ race. There was also a sect who believed in a Sixth God. These people were frowned upon in society, and depending on the place, sometimes persecuted. The only ones who had it worse were the people who didn’t even believe in the Gods.

The men around the table were curious as to what the church had to say. Usually the church tried to disassociate itself with government affairs.

The woman cleared her voice and began. “Roughly three months ago we have received divine revelation through our oracles that new a Champion has been named.”

The men grew excited. Champions of the Gods were known to change the world. Each of them crossed their fingers in their mind, hoping that the Champion would be a citizen of Ganar.

The King poured cold water onto their hopes. “Don’t get excited. Priestess, continue.”

She had a complicated look on her face. “While normally the church would be celebrating such an occasion, this time was different. Each individual oracle for the Five Gods said there was a Champion.”

“How is that possible?!”

“There has only ever been one Champion at a time before, what does this mean?”

The Priestess continued. “We were just as baffled as the rest of you. We went through painstaking verification processes to make sure each oracle had indeed received a revelation and we came to the conclusion that none of them were wrong.”

Unease filled the room. Everyone didn’t know what to make of this news. Was it good? Was it bad? The lack of an answer was the reason for the current mood.

King Michael tried to relieve some of the tension. “The Royal Historian will work with the church and try to see if something like this has happened in the past, or at the very least, give us a hint at what is to come. Until then work like you always have before. The next meeting will be held in exactly one month from now. Everyone is dismissed.”

Everyone left the room. The King still sat in his chair and mulled over his thoughts. The possible war, the naming of five Champions, the lack of a candidate to be King, he didn’t want to deal with any of it.

“But that’s a part of what being a King means…” Michael rubbed his brow and stood up. At times like this he knew exactly what he needed.

After confirming that his schedule was clear for the rest of the day, he headed to his lovely wife’s room.

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Principal Logan Marrs was sitting in his office going over some finance reports and having a cup of coffee. After making sure there were no errors, he signed the document and pushed the papers to a corner of his desk and brought out a book about magic theory that had just been published this year.

“I wonder if there are any interesting theories this year.” He said to himself as he flipped through the book.

Logan loved to learn about the unknown. It was half the reason he became the Principal to the Military Academy. He was able to read many books that a normal person wouldn’t be able to get their hands on.

It also gave him plenty of free time. Other than making sure the school runs smoothly, and to occasionally discipline some troublemakers, there wasn’t much he had to do in terms of work.

A knock on the door alerted him that someone came to see him.

Without looking up he called out. “It’s open.”

“Excuse me. I heard from Yumi you wanted to have a chat with me. If now isn’t good, I can come back later.”

Logan looked up. What greeted him was a person dressed in a full set of ornate armor. The light from the window behind him made it shine brightly. Logan was confused at first.

Do I know a knight like this? No, wait. That glow in the gaps and this magical energy in the air… This is definitely a spirit. He said Yumi told him to come so that means only one thing.

Logan set the book down and stood up. He walked to spirit and extended his hand out for a handshake.

“You must be Calgar, correct? My name is Logan Marrs. I’ve heard about you from both Yumi and her family. I’ve been eager to have a chat with you.”

Calgar took his hand and they shook. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Marrs.”

He shook his head. “Please just call me Logan. Here have a seat, and let’s talk.”

Calgar sat down on the sofa and Logan sat down opposite him.

Calgar asked. “I’m surprised you wanted to talk to me, is there any reason in particular?”

“I’ve always been fascinated by magic my whole life. I want to discover its secrets and understand how it works. This includes spirits, as they are the ones with the closest connection to magic. I heard from Reinhardt that you are a very old spirit that was even around during the time the Gods walked the planet. Naturally it got me curious.”

Calgar thought a moment. “I see, you seek out knowledge about the things that you don’t understand. I don’t mind telling you about the past, but in exchange, help me fill in the gaps between then and now.”

“Ah yes, it was mentioned that something happened to you and you went into… how to say it, a hibernation of sorts? Alright, let’s exchange information then. I’ll go first. Records vary and some magicians believe that we have advanced magic to a higher degree than in the past, but I have to wonder if that’s the case. Since you were around then, what are your opinions?”

“The magic of today pales in comparison to the past.”

“I knew it! Can you explain some of the differences?”

“Rather than that, the concept of magic has changed too much for the mortals who use it. Back then, magic was more a part of your being. You could use it as easily as breathing. It let you make your will a reality. Now it is seen as a tool, separate from yourself. You treat it like a foreign entity.”

Logan was absorbed in the conversation. In the middle of Calgar’s explanation he had grabbed some paper and a pen and started taking notes.

“Interesting! To think at some point in history we began to distance ourselves from our own magic.”

Calgar asked. “I’ve been wondering this for quite a while now, but what exactly happened to the six races? Everyone I have come across seems to be a variation of the Callidi.”

“Ah, the reason for that seems to be when the Gods left, the races started intermingling with each other. The children would be born with half the features of the two races except for the Ventrises and the Callidi. These two would always bear children that looked similar to their own races, albeit with a few variations.”

Logan leaned back against the couch and took a sip from the cup that held his coffee.

“Time passed and soon the majority of the races were of the Callidi and Ventrises. Of course some of the other races exclusively mated within their own race but they were soon outnumbered. These groups tend to keep to themselves and cut off contact with the rest of the world.”

“So that’s what happened. It explains why I haven’t seen the others then.”

Logan nodded. “It’s sad that they want to isolate themselves, but at the same time I understand why they made that decision. They are just trying to protect their bloodline from dying out. Or maybe they see mating with another race as a betrayal to their God?”

Calgar was quiet. He then decided to ask the question that bothered him the most. “Logan, why do the mortals only think there are five Gods? I’ve read what books I could about the history of the world and it always says there are only five.”

Logan looked back at him and narrowed his eyes. “Are you implying that there are more?”

“Isn’t it common knowledge that the six races were created by the Gods, with one race to each God? Doesn’t anyone question why there are six races and only five Gods?”

Logan sighed. “Many people have had the same thoughts. The pure blooded Iusties claim that they were created by the God of War, yet in no records does it show that there was ever such a God. We have records of all the other Gods and their influences on the world, but not this so called War God. This is why the church denies his existence. Calgar, are you saying he exists?”

“He exists, that I am sure of.”

Logan scratched his chin. “Then can you prove it? Without hard evidence, I can’t just believe what you say. “

“Aren’t my words all the proof you need? Why accept my earlier explanation, and then doubt me now?”

“The biggest problem is the lack of evidence. There were records that hinted to how magic was used in the past, and your explanation fit what I had already speculated. But as for their being a sixth God…”

“If I brought a person before you and claimed they were the sixth God, how would you know If I was telling the truth?”

“Well, I wouldn’t, but I would want you to have them show me a god-like power to convince me they are genuine.”

“A power such as…?”

Logan furrowed his brow. “I don’t know! Have them create life! Move continents! That sort of thing!”

Calgar shook his head. “Just because someone didn’t write a book on it, doesn’t mean it never existed. To think that the reason people think there are only Five Gods was because of that…”

Logan countered. “Then why are their only five Champions? Shouldn’t there be six if what you say is true?”

“The sixth God died shortly before the other five left the world.”

Logan was getting a little angry. “So now you’re saying there were six, but now there’s five? Are you messing with me?”

Calgar looked him in the eyes. “Do I look like I’m messing with you?"

There was a long silence between them. The sound of a bell rang out from the clock on top of the school, breaking the silence.

Logan ran a hand through his hair as he got up. “Looks like its lunch time. Shall we stop here for today?”

Calgar nodded. “That’s fine with me. I should get back before too many students come-.”

The door suddenly opened and a woman walked in.

Logan turned to her, annoyed. “You can’t just barge in here, who do you think you are?”

“[Somnus].”

Without another word, Logan slumped down on the couch and was fast asleep. Calgar braced himself for an attack but the woman just stared at him, her eyes scanning up and down his body. He was about to use magic, when he noticed the magical energy surrounding the woman. He knew who this energy belonged to.

In a weak voice Calgar called out. “Auromi… is that you?”

A radiant smile appeared on her face. She approached and gently embraced him while he was still dumbfounded.

She then looked up and with tears in her violet eyes, said. “I’ve finally found you at last my beloved War God.”