Chapter 31: Lesson: History and Geography
(Mrs. Himeko POV)
"Before we start I was tasked to give you all something as this is the first class you all will be taking this year"
" Each student will be given a pocket watch with a number engraved on the front. These numbers are your current rank in your grade. First years have copper watches, second years silver and third years gold. These have functions that allow for them to wake you up at a certain time, and record the amount of time you are in class. If you wish to use the training grounds as self study, inform the supervisor there and they will get you situated. A certain amount of time is required to pass the year, lacking this time, except for extreme exceptions, will be a guaranteed fail. Fail three years in a row or become sixteen before the end of the course and you will be forcefully removed from the roster. But you all are good kids that won't warrent such extremities right?"
" Wonderful! Onto the class!"
" Okay Class Today we will be learning about the lay of the land and how we've gotten here today. That's right, today's lesson is on The history and geography of Pandora."
" Since it's the beginning let's start from the beginning. Now historians believe that the world was once completely different in every possible aspect. Its size, shape, position, and inhabitants all seemed to have suddenly appeared out of nowhere from a geological perspective, however there are ruins that support theories stating that people existed before the world became how it is today, as well as contain geological anomalies far out dating there surroundings supporting these claims."
"These ruins explain that the world was once much larger and solely inhabited by humans. One day however an object of tremendous power was lost by the gods on this world and had been unwittingly opened."
" From this object sprung unimaginable terrors. The sky tore open while demonic creatures ran wild destroying civilization as it had been known before. The most fearsome of these creatures being the leader of the invasion, an unparalleled evil Lording over Death, disease, and War. It's is said that a glance from this monster could drive a saint mad with murderous rage, a wave of it's hand could split the sky and massacre an army, and a breath could cause any living thing to decay to the extent that only a husk remained. This monster was followed by its seven huntsmen, seven demons the creature made in the image of humanities seven most deadly sins."
" The demons were named after there respective sins Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Sloth, Greed, and Pride. It was unknown who was the most powerful amongst them all, but it mattered not for before man they were nothing more than instruments of destruction created solely for the downfall of the human race."
" As the world almost breathed it's last, the gods arrived, bringing Mana with them and inciting new life to the world, granting the few remaining people the power to fight back. With the help of the gods they were able to destroy most all of the invading monsters and the box in which they were created. The only exception was the strongest among them, the beast named the Harbinger of Decay and It's Seven loyal followers. The gods had made a mistake destroying the box, as it was initially used to seal the beast it not create it. With the box completely destroyed, The Harbinger of Decay gained it's last remaining power, finally rivaling the gods themselves. Unable to completely kill the monster, they attempted to split it's soul and seal it, however the monster bound it's fragmented soul with its seven huntsmen and managed a narrow escape before it was destroyed with it's body. Unable to capture the entire soul, only a single fragment was caught by the gods."
" With the portions of the monsters soul, the huntsmen were empowered, and were granted a form of immortality; constantly being reborn upon their deaths. The only thing killing them would do is briefly remove the power attached to the body the soul attached itself to. The issue as to what to do with the sins and the remnants of the world remained, so the gods recreated it. From the remnants of a dying world a smaller haven, was made to seal the seven sins, and a barrier was erected to ensure the Sins could never escape and retrieve the stolen fragment. The last remaining humans tasked with protecting the barrier and preventing the Harbinger of Decay from reforming. Humanity was gifted the system to help ensure the confinement of the seven sins and the protection of the remaining soul piece."
" The gods gave a final quest to protect the last soil shard to the strongest heros who supported the gods and triumphed over humanity's sins. Of these heros, One was a valiant warrior who stood honest and true skilled in both physical strength and magic he combated the sins of Pride and Greed. One was a Brave and honest soul, with true talent in magic, and unmatched with a bow who defeated Envy and Lust. One was a feral warrior of unparalleled strength that even the gods praised and feared, she defeated the sins of gluttony and Wrath. Then lastly, was the blacksmith that outfitted the others for their perilous journey's, able to craft weapons that were able to combat the sins. He defeated the sin of sloth."
"When the Champions convened to discuss how they would protect the barrier, they fought over how the soul would be protected and by whom. In response the gods split the soul in four and the land was reformed into a four pointed star. Each Champion was given a Cardinal direction, a soul piece, and a kingdom upon which they rule. The center of the star was home to the remnants of the terror, and the barrier to confine the chaos. This was done to protect the soul further and prevent the destruction of the world from fighting amongst champions."
"As the gods left, the world itself spoke, thanking the champions for there assistance. It noticed the conflict amongst the champions and as a gift of gratitude and an attempt at facilitating reconciliation between the four it offered them the chance to change themselves and those under there Dominion to grant strength and highlight their differences. The world thought that these changes would breed acceptance, just as humanities different cultures had before the Calamity.
"The First of the heros denied the gift saying that humanity didn't need changing. The Second Decided to model herself after the forest and the magic in which she was devotedly proud of. The Third simply asked for strength, driven by her desire for combat. The fourth asked for a way to kill a god."
" Conflicted by the vague requests, it attempted to recreate the champions to their desired qualities. The first it left alone as he had asked. The Second modeled after the serenity, grace, and vitality of the forest, Became the mother to the Elves. The Third, was granted strength, stemming from her feral and animalistic spirit, became the mother of the Beastmen. The Final was the Hardest. For the fourth, it granted him strength and tenacity, a bond with the world itself in hopes of allowing itself to be the vehicle used for his desire to split the heavens. He was the Father of the Dwarves."
" The heros met for the final time many years after their transformation. They had yet to see the others and were curious at to what they had changed in themselves. When they met each other again they were shocked. The extreme differences had helped them reconcile as the world had hoped, though it is debatable if this was truly because of the worlds gift or not. Unfortunately, they all still fought, as one who remained unchanged was infuriated at the others. He was filled with rage for the others having abandoned their humanity, and filled with envy at the power they had received, yet he was denied. He demanded for power like the others from the world, but it refused, saying the man's pride had ruined his chance.
" In anger he turned to the creature they had sworn to destroy for the power he desired, in the process destroying the barrier containing it. Without the gods, the champions could not combat the sins who had been focused on their revenge, and one by one the fell, until they had all fallen."
"Chaos began to grip the world again. Realizing what had happened and blaming itself. The world used the last of it's conscious to recreate the barrier and alter the world as best it could to prevent the spread of chaos and divide the races it created. Raising new land in the North east, North west, South east, and South west and building the barrier to allow for the Chaos to roam there as the world lacked the strength to build a barrier as strong as the departed gods."
" The new barrier was unable to keep the Chaos at bay. Miasma and minor creatures from inside the barrier could escape. all the barrier did was prolong the suffering of the worlds inhabitants. In the end the world absorbed all of the Miasma and used the last of it's power to seal the barrier to the state it is in today"
"The world ended up corrupting itself in it's attempts to fix the damage, Creating places called Mana spots, and laying rise to the monsters we see today. The mutations of once normal animals, and the fiendish creatures that are reminiscent of the monstrosities contained within the box."
" And that is how the human, Dwarven, Elvish, and Beastmen continents were formed and how they came to be separated by the Dead zone."
" Now any questions so far? Better question. Did anyone understand a word I just said?"
"" No"" The class recited
I simply let out an exasperated sigh, This was going to take a while.
I almost begin slowly reviewing my entire lecture when a hand raises
" Yes, Alice?"
" What's the Dead zone?"
" Wonderful question! The dead zones are places surrounded with the world's barrier to keep the Chaos inside. The barrier is intangible and typically destroys all things who's origins stemmed from the box, so people can pass through, despite how dangerous it it. Something else to note about it is it feeds off the land so small Demons are able to pass through if the barrier is momentarily weakened and it is deemed a minor threat to the world."
I then walk the class through my lecture again slowly to ensure they can at least act like they know the information.
" Now let's continue, many years into the future the residents living around the barriers changed because of their proximity to the barrier. Humans changed into Shadows, Beastmen into demons, and Elves into Dark elves. Now the Dwarves weren't effected and it is speculated that is because they typically live in mountains and far away from the barrier where they weren't really effected."
" Each species received different treatment from their respective places. Shadows are typically ignored because they don't look any different from normal people really, they are stereotypically taller, paler, and posses dark features. It is also said that they are natural criminals and only love destruction. I can tell you now this is not true. The largest distinction between humans and shadows however are their ability to live within the shadows themselves."
" Allow me to elaborate, In the series of skills pertaining to Shadow magic, there is a skill a skill called shadow walker. This allows the user to completely submerge themselves and others in the shadows. Typically the longer one resides in the shadows the more Mana they are forced to use, This can be particularly draining for a Shadow mages. However, this is not the case for shadows. They are capable of being in this state as long as they desire and can even increase their strength and recovery speeds while hidden. There are stories that there are entire cities that were made in the shadows where almost no one can access."
" Dark elves, similar to Shadows aren't that much different that normal elves. They have darker complexions and darker hair colors, contrary to a normal elves lighter. They also usually have more destructive affinities for magic, but aside from that they are essentially the same. Even still in elvish society they are treated like lesser beings and are the focus of much discrimination."
" Demons are in my opinion the most fascinating of these mutations, but before we begin I need to make sure you all understand there are three types of Demons. The first being the ones from Pandora's box, the second being the mutations of Beastmen and the last being otherworldly demons. The Beastmen solved this by Calling them Terrors, Demons, and Others respectively but it hasn't caught on yet."
"Anyways, Demons. They are Beastmen based off of mythical creatures and demon beasts instead of normal animals. They get along really well in Beastmen society because all they care about is physical strength. They are as strong as or stronger than Beastmen and have a higher capacity for magic. Demons are some of the strongest fighters out there."
" Aside from the races that had changed from the Chaos, the world changed too. The world having absorbed Mana and Miasma developing places called Mana spots. These places are full of Chaos and Mana and are home to large amounts of monsters. Fortunately, they stay within their domains most of the time and Unfortunately, that just means they keep getting stronger, so subjugation forces have to clear them out periodically to ensure they don't kill us all, In the event of a monster raid. The further from the center of the spot you travel the weaker the effects on the surroundings and the weaker the monsters. Mana spots are also how people decided on where to build cities the empty spaces between Mana spots are far less enticing to monsters, repelling them in a way, making them more safe for living. That's where our major cities are positioned."
" Interesting fact about Elysium, We actually are next to the weakest Mana spot in existence, we call it beginner forest, because it is the easiest place for rookies to learn to fight. It is also the only place a person who has had two class changes can reach the center of without death being guaranteed."
" Now onto the continents themselves. First, the human Continent.The Kingdom ruling the continent is called the Holy Kingdom. A rather presumptuous name in my opinion but don't tell that to any officials I'd probably be punished. The Kingdom is made of seven major cities and an assortment of minor settlements handled by nobles. The largest is Haven, the capitol, followed by Providence, Fort Atlas, Elysium, Origins, Remnant, and Scotland. These and one other city are the only ones containing Adventurer's School."
" For the Elves, They refer to themselves as the elvish nation. They live in one massive city centered around the largest tree in the world, that they refer to as mother. It is said that the tree was created by the mother of elves as she was struck down by envy and lust, using the last of her strength to protect her children and the land the gods had given her, repelling them. Not much else is know about elves as they aren't the most friendly with the human nations' envoys."
" The Dwarves live a massive cave systems and built their cities in the mountainous terrain common to that section of the world. Again they aren't the most friendliest of individuals towards humans as well so they often confine visitors to the main city only where they can be watched."
" The Beastmen are the most similar to humans, however they dictate their rulers by strength. Every five years a competition is held to see who is the strongest on the continent. The winner is Granted the choice of becoming nobility, fighting the current ruler for the position of monarch, or to be Granted one request from the current monarch. Aside from main city that there are six other cities under it's control. You all probably won't be going there any time soon, if ever so I'll save you the trouble from having to memorize them. They typically are accepting to different races aside from humans. Just as a general rule of thumb If your human outside of the human continent be vigilant, if your not a pure human in the human continent again be careful."
" Now you all may be wondering Why the other races hate humans?"
" To answer that it is because the envoys of the human nation have brought trouble numerous times over. One attempted to burn down the elves forest, another attempted to steal valuable metals from the dwarves and one attempted to kill the standing patriarch of the Beastmen. To put it simply those were among the dumbest of the attempts, others include mass genocide, damaging food resources, etc. Each attempt was an utter failure and resulted in the entire envoy being slaughtered. The smartest thing they ever did was stop sending and receiving envoys."
" You all grew up here so I'll assume you were all taught better, but there are many people who believe humans are indisputably the supreme species and will try to lord power over those of other races. The two most accepting of the human cities are here in Elysium, and Fort Atlas and the one place all demi humans should avoid is Providence."
" I'll now leave you all with this, Regardless of race, all that matters as an adventurer is ones ability to keep themselves and their teammates alive. Try not to judge others on appearance, this will be the fastest way to lose a possible lifelong companion or lose your life itself."
" Now, enough with the doom and gloom and look alive, for I have finished melting your brains with lectures! Your next lesson will be on magic! Way more interesting! Those who do not wish to participate in the next class are free to use the training grounds or take part in another class going on at this time. You should be able to find a list of possible classes on your timetable."
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