Lina winced internally. She had no idea what either the 'War of the Magi' or the 'Gestahl Empire' were. She quickly analyzed the statement in her mind. If the 'Gestahl Empire' was the problem at the moment, then asking about it would make her seem more clueless than Gourry usually was. On the other hand, if they were recovering artifacts from this War, than that was probably some kind of ancient history. She might be able to fake her ignorance of that to a general disinterest toward history.
Silently praying that the 'War of the Magi' wasn't something from the last few decades, Lina plunged ahead. "Um..." she said, trying not to appear too clueless, "the War of the Magi?"
Arvis blinked, and then laughed heartedly. "Heh, with all that's been going on, recently, I'd forgotten that to most people, the War of the Magi is only thought of for bed-time stories and to frightening naughty children. Tell you what, let me go get you that soup, and myself a chair. The story's rather long, and these old bones won't be able to handle standing to tell it."
Lina smiled to herself as Arvis left. Score one for Lina Inverse!
_-=^=-_
"To understand the War of the Magi," Arvis began as Lina sipped more of her chicken soup, "first we need to go back to a time long forgotten. Our most ancient legends tell of a time when the Gods, both Good and Evil, roamed this world, and waged their great war upon it. But eventually, this great God's War stopped... and the surviving gods left this world entirely, choosing to live in realms more appropriate to them. For a time the world was... well, not at peace, but any troubles from that era were purely human in origin.
"Unfortunately, such was not to last. At some point, exactly when has been lost to the ages, three goddesses returned to this world. Banished, they say, for their fighting. Three Goddesses, each one fighting the other two in a senseless battle in which there could be no winner... a battle that they dragged this world into.
"The Goddesses did terrible things with their magic, warping animals into monsters and forcing entire kingdoms to worship one of them, and fight the others. But perhaps the worst, and most significant effect the Goddesses had, was what they did to humans that caught their attention. A human so noticed would be warped and infused with tremendous magic, transforming them into the nearly immortal Phantom Beasts... or as they are more commonly called, Espers.
"The Goddesses eventually vanished in their own right... some say they managed to kill each other, others claim that they, too, came to peace with each other and returned to the realms of the Gods. But, the fighting that the Goddesses started, humans were more than willing to pick up for its own.
"That was the beginning of the true War of the Magi. Espers held great magic, and that magic was used by humans in endless conflicts. Great powers were developed, devastating weapons, and strange, incomprehensible devises were born. Humans found ways to absorb magic themselves, and the resulting Mage Warriors caused massive destruction. Anyone with of power strove to gain more, and those without were ground beneath their boots. This war for the power called Magic, reduced the world to ashes. Only the vaguest histories remain of the time before, or even during that war. But one thing we do know, is how the war ultimately ended.
"It was the Espers, you see. Once allies, they had become nothing more than slaves during the War. Tired of the conflict, and of being used, the last free Espers fashioned a new world all for themselves, and then freed their brethren. The Espers all escaped to their new world, and then sealed away the entrance, cutting off human pursuit.
"Without espers to provide Magic, the War of the Magi ground to a halt. What little magic remained in the world quickly vanished... within a generation or two, Magic became nothing more than a legend. And without Magic, the remaining civilizations, that all depended on Magic in one way or another, tore themselves apart. Humanity was reduced to wandering tribes, hiding from the monsters, and just trying to survive.
"That, was roughly one thousand years ago. Since then, we have obviously come a long way, recovering how to make iron and steel, how to use steam to produce power... and the world was finally at peace... until recently. And that, is the War of the Magi."
_-=^=-_
Lina blinked as Arvis' tale came to an end, setting the empty bowl of soup aside. So, this world, like her own, had a cataclysmic war that ended one thousand years ago, or thereabouts. That made her wonder if the timing was significant... but that was a thought for another time.
She opened her mouth to ask a question, but what came out was a powerful yawn. Red faced, she groaned as Arvis laughed. "I think that's a good sign you've had enough for one day, Ms. Inverse. Any other questions you have can wait until tomorrow. For now, get some rest." So saying, Arvis took the empty soup bowl and walked out of the room.
Lina debated going after the old man anyway, but realized he was right. Pulling her feet out of the now lukewarm water, she laid back onto the bed. Saying a quick wish to whatever was listening for her friends to be all right, she closed her eyes.
She fell asleep within moments.
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(Posted Mon, 29 Aug 2005 15:55)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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