Avarice

Kingdoms depended on the gods for protection from distant lands, and in return, all the gods asked was for their allegiance.

It was completely normal for people around the continent to build shrines for these gods, and sometimes the gods would bring gifts down to the mortal world.

This relationship between mortals and these otherworldly beings lasted for a millennia.

In some cases, true friendships were forged between them, which in turn brought more benefits to both sides.

Over time many kingdoms began discovering ancient relics from the battles in the past. These relics, they would keep as souvenirs in their treasuries.

The gods didn't see this as an issue due to the lack of knowledge on how to use these relics, and they continue to let the kingdoms collect them.

What the gods didn’t know, was that many kingdoms did know how to use these relics, but purposely hid that from the gods.

Over time, every kingdom in the continent had their own vault of relics, leading them to become less dependent on the gods.

The gods failed to catch onto this matter, and lived carefree lives in the Azure Sea.

Many years passed before the gods realized the strange behavior of the mortal kingdoms.

Many of the gods attempted to brush it off as not a problem...

But due to the increased greediness shown by the world, the gods grew upset with the state of the world.

As the world grew more advanced through the discovery of ancient magic, so did the arrogance of those who lived in it.

Associations throughout the world began posting more daring jobs that normally only the gods' disciples would handle. Many believed as they came into these mythical powers, the need to depend on the gods to protect us diminished drastically.

All of this activity added fuel to the tension between the factions, with the gods urging the mortals to surrender their relics. But, before they could take proper action, something they didn’t plan occurred.

In year 1039 of the Locfaiion Calandar, the humans, elves, and beast folk of the Prilosean Empire, led a campaign into Spirotnce, the Azure Sea, known as the realm of the gods and declared war.

They believed the information they had collected on the gods would give them the advantage in a surprise operation… they were wrong…

“Mayday! Mayday! We’ve lost our engines, we’re going down! Unknown sou-”

“Sir, we’ve lost Division 6… they just… vaporized…”

“Dammit! How did we let it get to this? I thought the gods were peaceful!”

“Well they aren’t peaceful now. Stop thinking about the past or else we’re all gonna die!”

“You’re right… Division 4 let's head out!”

This battle was deemed the bloodiest day in history, as all 6 Divisions that were sent out that day, were annihilated in minutes by the gods.

This day would later be known as Ephasience…

After the war, the races of the world began to wake up, and realize how wrong they were.

But… despite knowing their mistakes, it was too late, as the gods were enraged by their actions.

Kingdoms pushed for peace, but their pleads fell on deaf ears, leaving them with no choice but to fight.

Kingdoms came together and began researching ways to harm the gods… until they found it.

The minerals found in the Azure Sea were rich in minerals, and when ingested, even in small amounts would give the body enhanced senses for a short time. Leaving kingdoms with the idea of giving vast amounts of this mysterious water to soldiers.

Although these soldiers were blessed with fantastical abilities, the majority of them died within 10 years of ingestion.

These super soldiers… were later called the Risaoiren.

In this world's culture, the name Risaoiren was a direct protest to the gods.

For years following the first Risaoiren, mages, scientists, and many other scholars of the world desired to find a way to eliminate the death sentence that came with becoming a Risaoiren.

For this purpose alone, the now shattered Prilosean Empire, attempted to pick up the pieces of their past in order to regain the trust of the world.

With this thought in mind, the Prilosean Academy of Magic and Science was founded to gather talent from around the world, and to provide the citizens a future to look forward to.

For years the academy thrived and succeeded in producing talented mages and scientist.

They continued the agenda of finding a way to halt the inevitable death that came with becoming a Risaoiren, but were ultimately unable to discover ways to prevent this.

With the continued failure, and no hopes of succeeding, the idea was eventually tossed, as the academy shifted towards the primary goal of training future mages for battle.

Risaoiren candidates were always selected from top performing students in the academy, and this was ultimately the goal for many, even if it meant throwing their lives away. As this was one of the highest honors for citizens of the Empire.

-------------------------------------------------------------- Time Skip------------------------------------------------------------

In calendar year 1175, the 100th opening ceremony for future mages and scientist was upon us. Bringing in a record number of new students, nobles and commoners alike.

A voice then echoed the reception hall, confusing the new students...

"Greetings! To the future mages and scientists of the world!"

As the students looked around for the source of this voice, heavy footsteps echoed from the opposite end of the room.

"In this academy, you will be placed in numerous trials aimed at developing you magical abilities as a mage. This facility is not meant for the weak, as the next 4 years of your like will be a constant battle for survival. We want to ensure that the mages produced from this academy, are truly worthy of representing our empire in this never ending war against the gods."

The students were silent as they observed the silhouette of the being in front of them.

"Now, before I formally introduce myself, let's step right into business and begin measuring everyone's potential. These readings will determine your starting point in our sch-"

Everyone was interrupted by the sound of someone running through the halls and panting. Running into the room was a young female elf, with sparkling amethyst eyes, and dark silky hair. 

Everyone was shocked, as for many, this was their first time seeing an elf in person.

"Sorry I'm late everyone... I'm Airi!"