ALL NOVEL 168 – The Norse People
Chapter 168 - The Norse People
“I’ve been a teacher at this academy for 25 years and a refugee on your continent since I was 23. I’m a former priestess of the Holy Church of the Theocracy.”
These words caused a stir among the students. The tension in the air was palpable. The Theocracy was one of the greatest threats to our people, even more so than the Song Dynasty. While the Song Dynasty wanted to conquer the entire world, the Theocracy sought our complete eradication. To them, we were demons that needed to be exterminated.
Maybe coming to this academy is more interesting than I thought…
“Because I’m a former priestess of the Theocracy, even though I’ve been granted refuge on your continent, I’m forbidden from leaving the city of Apsalon without authorization. If I cross the gate on my own, the guards are authorized to kill me,” Natasha continued, pacing in front of the class.
Chloe leaned in and whispered to me, “This is different from what we did with Sifu…”
“Remember that Sifu hardly ever leaves our territory, and when he does, he’s always accompanied by someone from the duchy to avoid misunderstandings due to his appearance,” I replied.
Sifu was a special case. He had been taken in as a young man, after fleeing persecution from the Human Empire decades ago. My grandfather personally went to the king at the time to request Sifu’s adoption into our family, risking committing a crime by sheltering a True Human. With permission granted, Sifu was raised as an equal in our castle. He told me that, before his arrival, my grandfather had crossed the border to sabotage a True Human plan. At that time, my grandfather, an earth Combat Mage, found Sifu’s monastery under attack by soldiers of the Song Dynasty. He managed to save the young monk and brought him to our continent. The monastery’s inhabitants had been sentenced to death after refusing to share the secret of focusing Aura in the hand with the Song Emperor of the time, making Sifu a fugitive.
Natasha picked up a book, holding it before the class, and said:
“This is the book of my religion, the foundation of the Theocracy and the reason why they hate all of you.”
A book? How could a simple book be the reason for so much hatred?
The students began to murmur, intrigued.
“To my former people of the Theocracy, you are demons of a race called the ‘Norse,’” she continued, opening the book and quickly flipping through its pages.
“This book tells the story of my people, chosen by the Illuminated Ones.”
Illuminated Ones?
In my race, we didn’t have gods, only sacred concepts. Family was the foundation of the Evenharts, so to us, family was the sacred harmonic concept. Our prayers were directed toward the well-being of our family, and we used the word ‘Sacred’ to bless. For example, we could request a ‘Sacred Rain’ or a ‘Sacred Harvest’ in our prayers for a good crop.
“The Theocracy follows the words of the Illuminated Ones written in this book, which is why they persecute your people,” Natasha explained.
I quickly raised my hand, something I rarely did.
I need to know. I need to understand what these Illuminated Ones are.
She looked at me and smiled. “Go ahead.”
“Professor, who are these Illuminated Ones?” I asked, eager.
“They are beings who, a long time ago, gave knowledge to my people. They were the ones who warned us about the demons called ‘Norse,’ who would come from the sea to invade our lands,” she said.
Beings that brought knowledge? This reminds me of Prometheus from my old world. Could there be deities in this world?
I needed to know more about these Illuminated Ones, to discover what they truly were and where they might be.
Before I could ask more questions, the Headmistress approached Professor Sinclair.
“Now it’s my turn to add to the lesson,” announced Headmistress Victoria.
Wait! I still needed to know more about these beings!
The Headmistress waved her hand toward the board, which displayed an image of our continent.
“Unlike the Theocracy, we don’t believe in deities like the Illuminated Ones,” Headmistress Victoria began.
Deities! She really used that word!
Suddenly, my head began to throb with an intense, almost unbearable pain. It was as if something inside my mind was awakening, something I knew lay dormant deep within my consciousness.
Stop! I screamed internally, trying to control the pain that seemed to want to spread, as if the guardian within me was stirring. My senses began to falter, growing hazy as I struggled to maintain control.
“We here are more like the Song Dynasty in this regard. Our belief is focused on governance. The Dynasty believes in the leadership of the Emperor and his family, while in the three kingdoms, we believe in the leadership of the Ducal families and the kings who govern them. The closest we come to a spiritual belief is in prayers for good harvests or a raise…” the Headmistress concluded, laughing lightly at the last line.
She continued manipulating a book, changing the images on the board.
“The three kingdoms are governed by the founding families, which include even the ducal families. These families led their tribes at the beginning of our history. Elves, in particular, are the most ‘religious’; they believe in their royal family to the point of being willing to give their lives for them. To them, the royal family is the living memory of their people. To harm someone from the royal family is to guarantee the fury of their entire people,” the Headmistress explained.
I glanced at Syvis, recalling how I had called the Elven princess an idiot when I first met her.
My aunt and mother had already explained a bit about the history of our Evenhart family. I learned that our ancestor, along with some families, settled in the wild lands, creating the ‘Evenhart Legacy’ and founding our territory. But whenever I asked about the origins of our magical people, no one could give me a clear answer.
“This is where the knowledge of our continent meets Professor Sinclair’s. According to her culture, we are considered invaders. For them, there never was a magical continent. To them, our continent simply appeared," revealed the Headmistress.
WHAT!?
My mind collapsed with this revelation.
How could an entire continent simply appear?
The headache returned with full force.
Damn it!
I tried to focus on the lesson, but a strange sound echoed in my mind, and I saw the white serpent slithering in the shadows of my consciousness.
Professor Sinclair spoke again.
“To my people, you simply appeared on our lands, like demonic beings who bend nature to your will. You were considered a blasphemy. The Illuminated Ones warned us that the demons would have the power to imitate nature, creating water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, plants, and light. Your appearance was also seen as heresy, with some of you having pointed ears, others resembling animals, and the most demonic of all were those who looked human,” Professor Sinclair explained.
The Headmistress then showed an image of a drawing in a cave. On the cave walls, there was a painting depicting the ocean, with a gigantic white-scaled line.
“The serpent…” I murmured, incredulous, as I recognized the creature.