27 27. Laid Bare

Licht Eralith's POV

Did she just call that man master? I switched glances from Grandma to the man, waiting for someone to break this unusual silence and answer the numerous questions that were revolving in my head.

The man had an unusual air about him. Just from his get-go and his aura, not matter how carefree or lax he is acting, I can pretty much tell that he is not just a veteran fighter but also someone from a high stature in society. The tone at which he spoke before was testament of that. No matter how much one tries to hide it, one simply cannot change their habit of speaking, especially those of nobility and royalty. I have a fair share of those in both my lives.

"So he's one of those." He murmured with his sharp gaze fixated on me. Sparing a glance at Grandma, he resumed. "Darcassan, would you mind leaving us be?"

"Not at all master." Grandma replied before walking up to me and placing a hand on my shoulders. "All the answers you have been looking for will be answered by him. After that, it will be up to you on what choice you make."

With that said, she left the dimension using the medallion, leaving the two of us to our devices. Why did she say something like that? In the seventeen years that I have known her, she has never said something meaningless. Especially when she speaks with a serious face. Maybe not at the moment, but her words are definitely going to come of use in the distant future.

"So how should I address you?" The orange-haired man's voice broke me out of my thoughts. Getting up from his sitting position, he stood a considerable distance away from me, enough for our voices to be audible to one another. "As the prince of Elenoir, Licht Eralith or as the Leader of the Elf Tribe, Licht? Coz unlike your granny, I know your story."

"Whichever floats your boat." I answered. If he really is Grandma's mentor then him knowing about my reincarnation isn't something to be surprised about. "Rather, I am curious about who and what you are. Even if my eyes are telling me you are a human, it doesn't feel like you are one."

"I find this form more comfortable to converse with as of now." He casually responded. From his facial expression he seemed to have expected that from me. "As for who I am, my name is Mordain Asclepius from the land of Asuras, Epheotus. We Asuras are what you lessers call 'Deities'"

"The one that gave artifacts to the three races during the Beast Era?" I questioned, trying to keep my shock contained. 'Grandma's mentor is a deity? Then again what exactly are these deities?'

"Even though we are called deities, we are far from something grandeur like that." Mordain answered with a hint of disgust and remorse in his voice. "What I am about to tell you dates back to centuries ago and almost no one except your Grandma knows anything about it. This information will prove handy to you with what's about to come."

'What's about to come? What's that supposed to mean?' I wondered, this time unable to mask my surprise. Numerous questions flooded my mind but I had to remain calm and rational. Mordain has assured that he would be answering all of my questions, so I will just have to hold him to that.

"Despite how you all refer to us as Deities, we are far from Gods or rather we are far closer to you than you think." Mordain started. It almost felt similar to the lessons I was taught in the palace by the royal tutor. "In the land of Epheotus, there are eight races and each race is ruled by a clan that represents. It is obvious to say that the clan that represents their respective race is hailed as the strongest."

The races and their strongest are as follows:

Dragons - Indrath Clan

Basilisk - Vritra Clan

Phoenix -

Patheon - Theyestes Clan

Hamadryad - Mapelia Clan

Leviathan - Eccleiah Clan

Sylphs - Aerind Clan

Titans - Grandus Clan

"So you all are just mythical beasts that can take on human appearance." I blurted out after his narration, making him look at me with an expression as if I had grown a second head. "Apologies. Also why did you miss out on the Phoenix race?"

The term mythical beasts had popped up in my head out of the blue after listening to Mordain's description. Back in my world, almost all of these were hailed as mythical beasts and out of them four were hailed as Elemental Saints. I wonder whether the Beast Will that grandpa talked about with Arthur is something akin to having a bond with a Saint or not.

"Because I have no idea who the strongest clan among the Phoenix race right now is. It was the Asclepius Clan before my fallout with Kezess." Mordain grimly answered. "Yes, I am a Phoenix."

"I see." I answered, absorbing the newfound information. 'So Mordain here is one of the strongest Phoenix from all the Phoenixes in Epheotus.'

"You know that wasn't the reaction I was expecting." The Asura added with a sigh. "Could have been a little shocked or something?"

"With my second reincarnation, hardly anything surprises me." I sheepishly answered, scratching the back of my head. "Who's Kezess by the way?"

"Kezess is the leader of the Indrath Clan and leader of all Asuras of Epheotus, and someone who I used to call my best friend." Mordain replied, clenching his fists. From his expressions, I could easily deduce that whatever he is about to tell is something painful and he still holds regrets for that.

"If you don't feel like it then there is no reason to tell me all of it." I interjected. "I am not forcing anything."

While I am curious about having my questions answered, if it were to cause bad memories for someone else to resurface then I would rather not have them answer them and instead search for it myself. They have suffered enough by going through that painful experience once and I would rather have them not have recollections of it again.

"Don't mind me. Like I said, I will be telling you everything and what I am about to tell you now is one of the many reasons your continent will soon be fighting a war against Alacrya." The former leader of the Phoenix answered with seriousness evident in his voice. Whatever he is going to tell from this point on will be of utmost importance.

A war. This continent is going to be engulfed in another war and from Mordain's manner of speaking, this war will be on a much larger scale than the previous two wars fought in this land. This time it is going to be against an entire continent. I wonder how our side is going to fare in this war? There is almost no sense of unity among the three races inhabiting this land and only talks have been done in the Summit Conference with no significant progress.

Even if Grandfather wants to move on from the past and horrors of the Human-Elf war, Father is still somewhat stuck in the past, mostly due to the loss of his mother and his elder brother as a result of it. In the end, the decision of unification of the three races lies with the current kings who had nothing to do with the war, since it was fought by their predecessors.

Because if the three races aren't united then I don't think we stand a chance against an entire continent. I will have to make use of the next Summit Conference to make a solid point and push forward with the unification or less nothing can be done. I will be hitting eighteen next year and thus will be allowed to attend the Conference according to what Grandpa had mentioned.

"This is something that even predates what you lessers call the Beast Era and is something which even the Asuras have kept under wraps. Only the oldest of Asuras know about this." He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"Long ago there existed 'ancient mages' who can be called the ancestors of modern day humans and elves. They were more magically advanced than what Dicathen is currently and could even be on equal footing with us Asuras. The Teleportation Gates and the Communication Devices are one of the many tools they created."

"Kezess feared their power. He feared their advancement in terms of magic. Upon assuming position as the Indrath Clan leader, he convinced all other Asuras that the Ancient Mages are planning to overthrow them, the rulers of this world and that they need to be exterminated. This wasn't the truth at all. The Ancient Mages did not harbor such intentions."

"Leading the Dragon Race, Kezess wiped out the entire population of the Ancient Mages, wiping them all from the pages of history." Mordain took a deep sigh. "I was against this massacre and that's the sole reason for our fallout. Since the other Asuras and even the members of my own clan were siding with Kezess, I found no reason to stay in Epheotus anymore."

"So the donation of artifacts was just a mere act of making a good name for themselves and turning a blind eye to the atrocities they committed." The sight of my entire tribe getting wiped out resurfaced in my mind. No matter how much I try to forget it, the scene comes back to haunt me in one way or the other. Even though it was the devil's evil ploy, it was my family and people that had to suffer the most.

"That and to keep a check on you lessers so that you don't grow into a threat for us Asuras." Mordain answered. "It also limits the growth of the mage and the teachings of magic passed down from the Beast Era, doesn't even hold a candle to what the Ancient Mages were capable of. Dicathen has simply been pushed back in terms of development."

"How does this relate to the upcoming war you speak of?" Not dwelling too much time on overthinking about the past, I moved to the important matters at hand.

"The leader of Vritra Clan, Agrona Vritra tried to use this information to topple Kezess' position which backfired at him. On false charges, he was excommunicated into the continent of Alacrya where all his followers followed him. There he established his rule and now wishes for the destruction of all Asuras. Your continent will just be a stepping stone for his conquest of Epheotus."

I took a deep breath to collect my thoughts. Not only will we be facing people from another continent but also an entire race of Asuras. "What can we expect from Epheotus?"

"Expect nothing from them. We Asuras had a policy of not interfering or partaking in the lives of the lessers. Agrona is excommunicated so he doesn't even care about this policy and as for other Asuras." He paused as in to pick the right words. "They will try to keep their hands as clean as possible on the pretext of helping out."

From Mordain's narration, I had sort of expected something similar to this from the Asuras. This was akin to what the devil Zagred had done to fuel the hatred of elves towards the humans by using Lumiere's Light Magic to wipe out the entire tribe. There remained just one thing that needed to be clarified.

"In this war, who's side will you be on?"

"Are you seriously asking me after I disclosed almost everything to you?" The Asura had never expected this question to be thrown at him and was visibly taken aback. "Of course I am on your side."

"Why? You who has abandoned Epheotus for good and wants nothing to do with Asuras, why would he participate in this war?" I inquired, eyeing him cautiously. "Are you taking pity on us since we are weaker compared to our foes?"

"It's not out of pity. More like itis a way of redeeming myself." Mordain answered with a slump. "Despite having power I wasn't able to stop the killing of innocent people. I could have gave my all to stop that but I couldn't. Which is why this time I will give my all in helping you, starting with teaching you Creation Arts."

"Creation Arts?"

"The secret arts of the Phoenix race. After all you will be needing special ingredients in order to recreate those three demon swords of yours."