Chapter 118 -
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News of a terrorist that infiltrated the University spread the next day.
 
The name of the people involved and details of the actual event were withheld from the public due to security reasons, but almost all students in school already knew that it was about Dorin and his friend.
 
“Wait, what was the name of his friend again?” they asked each other. “The real pretty one who had a different hair and eye color each day?”
 
“I think it was Ariel?”
 
“No, wasn’t it Ellen?”
 
Most of the students couldn’t remember for sure, except for the ones in Dean Alcione’s Magic Defense class that evening.
 
“Our Magic Defense class was really the best!” they told each other. “We actually fought against a powerful enchantress – an actual silver tongue, none the less! And we even lived to tell the tail.”
 
“But what if Elazar Ravante decides to come back and drag Dorin away with him?” Johan asked as they ate lunch together on a Sunday. “What if he suddenly comes out of nowhere and puts you to sleep and erases your memories so he can manipulate you again?”
 
“That’s what the mental exercises are for,” Mordecai said with a smile as the two spheres shared a meal on a long table in the dining hall. “As long as he learns to control his mind magic, then Elazar’s attacks on him won’t work as well as it used to.”
 
“Yeah, thank you for helping me at that department,” Dorin said with a mouth full of fruit.
 
“Would you like some more?” Eurydice the Dryad held up a wooden fork with a sliced melon at the end. She had been feeding him from a bowl of mixed fruits she prepared herself.
 
“N-no, thank you,” Dorin raised a hand to stop her. “I don’t think I could take another bite.”
 
[I still can’t believe Eirian was Elazar Revante] wrote Sebastian. He had been sulking since he heard about the news from his friends. [I can’t believe I was wasting away in a lecture while you had a face off with the world’s greatest enchanter of all time!]
 
“I can’t believe he was able to subdue Lord Alcione!” said Margarette who sat beside him.
 
[It’s a basic skill for enchanters,] Sebastian wrote as explanation. [It is easier to manipulate a person when you know their whole name, and silver mages in particular, has the ability to know a person’s real name, especially long lived silvers who have access to your family tree.]
 
“Okay... I’ll try to understand that,” Margarette said with a chuckle.
 
“Well, Elazar was definitely a difficult opponent,” said Xander who held an eating Dagon in his arms. “We never could have won if Lord Ombra wasn’t there.”
 
“And he never would have intervened if Elazar didn’t hurt Dagon,” Johan pointed out.
 
“Eirian was just surprised when her hair got burnt,” said Dorin.
 
“There you go again, trying to defend Eirian!” Johan frowned at him. “Good thing Benette was there to help wake Dagon up, or I wouldn’t know what else that Lord Ombra would do to your friend,” he added.
 
“Yes, master Benette’s healing powers are truly exceptional,” said Boulvar who sat near the end of the table with Venet. “I am forever in your debt for saving my life.”
 
“I-It was nothing...” Benette said, his face turning red. “A-and please... I would prefer it if you call me by my first name...”
 
“Oh, right, Patrice, right?” Johan asked in front of him.
 
“Y-yes, please... rather than Benette...”
 
“That’s right, Benette is your father’s name, Patrice fits you so much better!” Xander said beside him.
 
“Oh, and by the way, Dorin,” Patrice Benette smiled at his friend, “your Aunt Althea asked me to tell you to come visit her soon. She said she’ll be in her office all evening tomorrow.”
 
“Got it!” Dorin said with a big smile. “she’s been calling for me again, all of a sudden.”
 
Patrice and the rest haven’t told him yet about his aunt’s encounter with Eirian, after all.
 
“But you know, I’m still a bit confused,” Johan said with a frown. “Just who was that Elazar, and why was he dressed as a girl?”
 
Mordecai burst out laughing, then tried to calm himself.
 
“Elazar Ravante was the son of the last Ravante royalty, he was the last of the silver mages, and the heir of one of the three great houses of the kingdom,” Xander explained. “He has been alive for about three thousand years.”
 
“T-thousands?!” Johan asked with disbelief. “How is that even possible?!”
 
“The Revantes are related to elves and have inherited their long lifespans,” Mordecai explained.
 
“And saying he’s the last of the silver mages...” Johan gave a quick look at Sebastian who stared at him. “I mean, what happened to his family?”
 
“Haven’t you studied about the Dark Revolt yet?” Dorin asked him.
 
“Nope. I think we’re still in the Black Lands...” Johan squinted.
 
“You mean, Afran, the Kingdom of the Black Sands?” Mordecai corrected him.
 
“Yeah, that place. They said our ancestors originally came from there?” asked Johan. “All I know is that people from there used to go to our mines to buy ore from us. They weren’t as bad as they say they are on the history books.”
 
“Well, that was in the past, after all,” said Xander. “Anyway, the three great houses are the House of Alcione of the Red Rose where the emperor and I belong to, the House of Ravante of the Charming Moon where Elazar belongs to, and the ruined House of Heilig of the Thunder Gods where the lightning mages used to belong to.”
 
Xander and Johan looked at Dorin, so did the rest of their friends.
 
He was too busy trying to avoid a fork full of fruits from Eurydice to notice.
 
“As you well know,” Xander continued, “The last mistress of house Ravante just passed away recently, leaving the family without an heir, but in truth, House Ravante have been without a proper heir for centuries, ever since Elazar Ravante gave away his lands to protect the inhabitants of the Dark Forests.”
 
“Wait, I don’t think I get it...” Johan said, the crease on his forehead getting deeper.
 
“You see,” Mordecai stepped in, “The Ravantes used to own all the land around this University,” he explained. “This continent was called Beronia then, and the silver tongues were well known to be great scholars. When the Mad king invited all the Ravantes to a banquette, the then young Elazar was left at home because of some illness...”
 
“He wasn’t ill, his powers were too strong that even his parents couldn’t control it,” Dorin suddenly spoke up.
 
“Oh, did Eirian tell you about that?” Mordecai asked him with interest.
 
“No, it was Damien Wolfsbane who told me the story,” Dorin replied. “He said Elazar was a once in a lifetime Ravante whose powers at a young age exceeded even that of his parents who were both silver mages. That’s why they decided not to take him to the banquette.”
 
“And a good thing they didn’t, since the Mad King killed all the Ravantes that day,” Xander continued.
 
“No he didn’t,” Dorin interrupted once again. “He killed all the men and kept all the women, he wanted to have silver children from them, so he locked them all away and –“
 
“What blasphemy are you talking about?!” Venet suddenly exploded from the end of the table. “It is true that the Mad king was, well, mad, but a royal from House Alcione would never do such a thing!”
 
[And what makes you so sure?] Sebastian’s slate almost smashed into Venet’s face. [Don’t just believe your history books which were heavily edited by the Alcione family to hide the skeletons in their closet]
 
“There are skeletons in their closets?” asked Johan who looked more confused than ever.
 
“Well, what makes you so sure that that was what actually happened, then?” Venet snapped at him.
 
Sebastian looked at Xander and Mordecai who kept their silence.
 
[Do you have anything to say against what Dorin just said?] he asked the two.
 
“No,” Xander slowly shook his head. “I am also familiar with the real accounts that happened during the Dark Revolt.”
 
“So, can someone give me a short summary that I can easily understand?” asked Johan.
 
“Well, as I was saying,” Dorin continued, “The mad king took the Ravante women against their will and forced himself on them to get silver mage children, problem is, only two, pure blooded, Ravante silver mages can have a silver mage child gifted with the silver tongue, so of course he didn’t get any. Also, most of the women killed themselves or simply died due to the torture and humiliation, but there was one who survived and gave birth to a child. He wasn’t a silver mage, though, but it was said that Elazar took care of him as his own, and that they started this University together.”
 
“Yes, that much is true,” Mordecai said, nodding his head.
 
“So, that Mad king just got away with the shit he did?” Johan asked, wide-eyed with anger and disgust.
 
“Of course, not,” replied Xander. “His brother, Prince Reginald, killed him after finding our what he did. He then became known as King Reginald the Kinslayer. He stepped down later, and gave the crown to his younger brother, Remi.”
 
“Oh, I think I remember Dorin and the rest talk about them before,” said Johan. “So, what happened to Elazar and his nephew?”
 
“Curiously, there is not much known about Elazar’s nephew who was the Mad King’s son,” said Xander. “Only that he looks more like an Alcione than a Ravante, and that he was very fond of animals. They say Elazar left the Ravante House to him when he came of age, then he decided to travel around the continent after establishing Aubrianne University. He only returned when there was a dispute about land that the empire wanted to develop in the Dark Forest.”
 
“Ah, that’s when Elazar came with an army of magical beings to defeat the empire!” Dorin said excitedly.
 
“In the history books, though, it simply said that Elazar brought representatives of the Children of the Elements to make a peaceful treaty with the Alcione empire,” Xander said with a laugh. “It’s funny how they try to make everything look like the empire was always at the winning side!”
 
“Your highness...” Venet looked at his prince worriedly. “If your father or his men hear you talking like this...”
 
“Oh, don’t worry too much!” Xander told him. “It’s thanks to Elazar’s treaty that we are now in a neutral ground for all nations. No military power is welcome here, likewise, even the Empire have no power against us as long as we’re within the University city.”
 
“Really?” Johan looked at Dorin. “Then maybe that’s why your mom cursed you to stay in here until you graduate!”
 
[It’s not a curse, it’s a geis] wrote Sebastian.
 
“Anyway, according to the treaty, Elazar forfeited all the lands that the Ravantes own, in exchange, the Empire promised not to set foot beyond the walls that surrounded the Dark Forest,” continued Xander.
 
“He then turned Aubrianne University which was in the center of their lands, into the Royal Aubrianne Imperial University, and made it into the neutral grounds we have today.” Mordecai supplied the rest. “The same treaty was probably the pact that Elazar mentioned to Lord Ombra. That’s why he couldn’t do anything against him, since he was their benefactor.”
 
“Woah, but if Elazar was truly that great, then why is he such an asshole right now?” Johan asked in disbelief.
 
“I guess we shall never know,” Mordecai replied. “As we already said, no one really knows what truly conspired in the past, aside from the people who actually lived through it.”
 
“And we can’t really take Elazar’s word for it, after all he did to us,” Xander added.
 
“I guess he’s the only one who would ever really know the truth.”