Chapter 21 : The 5 Eras, the 7 Gods, and the Sinner

Hell.

That was the only thing to describe the class. It was chaotic, children running and screaming around. Yes, from time to time, everybody focused in class and paid attention, but it was only about 10% of the time. Even the teacher didn’t seem to mind. They were in the 2nd grade, yet for some reason there was no order in the classroom. The teacher taught over the class, and didn’t seem to mind all the yelling. The teacher was a young man, who seemed to be in his twenties. He had blonde hair and glasses. His hair was cut short, and he kept himself tidy. All the other teachers simply wore a white buttoned shirt with pants, but he wore a full on attire. He had a long black trenchcoat, he wore glasses and a top hat. He even had a cane laid against the table.

“Now, who can tell me the first Era?”

…

The children kept chatting with each other, paying no mind to him. He paused, waiting for a reply, but received none.

“That’s correct, the first Era was the Era of Creation!” he said enthusiastically.

Kieran could not understand how someone could teach in this kind of environment. This kind of behaviour would get you expelled in the school he was enrolled in back in his home world. He raised his hand, about to ask a question. About halfway through, instantly, the teacher pointed at him, smiling happily.

“Yes? Do you have a question?” he asked excitingly. “Or do you need to go to the bathroom?”

“What’s the Era of Creation?” Kieran asked, still being distracted by all the chatter.

The teacher looked back at the board, crying tears of joy. Finally, there was a student interested in learning. He coughed to hide his tears, and to act non-chalant.

UH-HUM!

“Yes, Kieran, was it? I’m glad you asked! The Era of Creation was the first of many Eras!”

“First, let me explain. In the beginning, God came upon this world. He saw potential, and gave it a chance. He created land, oceans, the skies, everything. He brought life into the world, animals, plants, trees, fish, everything.”

As he was explaining, he had fully turned his back and faced Kieran, and Kieran alone. All the other kids didn’t really mind, some listened, but quickly went back to talking with their friends. It was like a one on one session with distractions in the background.

“Why don’t you sit closer? This way, you can hear me better,” he said as he dragged his own chair out from his desk, and had it right in front of the board.

Kieran stood up and walked towards him, sitting down and listening. Though he didn’t have a notebook or anything to write down notes with, he-

“Oh, and here, you can use this notebook,” the teacher said, handing him a leather book with blank pages inside. He handed him a pen as well to take down notes.

The teacher seemed to truly be in a good mood. This was the first student he had in a long time that actually wanted to listen to his stories and lectures.

He drew on the board the word “GOD”.

“Now, as God created the world, God felt lonely. Though there was life, no one was with God to witness this miracle,” he said as he drew a line down, writing “Lady of the Night”.

“So, the Lord created the Lady of the Night. She was God’s direct agent, and with the designs of God, she created us, human beings. We were created in their images, and so had intelligent minds.”

Beside this, he drew out a line, then wrote “Era of the Subject”.

Kieran raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“Then if God was the God of everything, then what was the Lady of the Night the goddess of?”

“That’s a great question,” he said, as he wrote multiple question marks around the Lady of the Night. “We actually don’t really know.”

“We know that she had creative powers and could create things, but we don’t know what sort of powers besides that she had.”

“Now, after God created us, the world was complete. God created other Gods, just like the Lady of the Night, and had each of them take a certain part of him. There are a total of 7 Gods that each represent a part of God.”

He drew 7 different lines coming from the Lady of the Night, each going a separate path.

“The first God the Lady of the Night created in God’s image was The Everlasting Sun, Sol. He most resembled God, governing over the Sun, fire, and Holy Faith,” he said and wrote down.

“The Second Goddess was The Eternal Garden, Eden. She was created to govern over Nature, Animals, and Life itself,” he wrote on the second line.

“The Third Goddess, the Harsh Winter, Vaelis. She Governed over the Winter, the snow, and the winds. Fun fact, the reason why we have Winter, Summer, Spring and Autumn is because of her. It is said that Vaelis and Sol had fought each other, creating the Winter and Summer. Eden stepped in to mediate it, and created the Spring and Autumn seasons, balancing them out. “

“The Fourth God, the Unforgiving Abyss, Corren. He was the Lord of the Seas, Storms, and Thunder. Most fishermen worship the Fourth God.”

As he wrote, he paused, looked back and asked “Any questions so far?”

Kieran shook his head, writing everything down.

“Alright, let's continue.”

“The Fifth Goddess, the Primordial Knowledge, Sophyra. She ruled over Knowledge, Time, and Space.”

“The Sixth God was the Resplendent Orchestra, Adantes. He blessed the world with Music, Entertainment, and the Arts.”

“The Seventh and final God, the Neverending War, Vorn.”

“These were the Seven Gods created in the image of God,” he said, writing it all down. “This was the Third Era, the Era of Worship.”

As he finished writing, he paused.

“And it was because of these 7 Gods that came the worst Era of them all.”

He drew a line down, writing something.

“The Era of Destruction and Chaos”

“This Era was the War of the Gods. As time went on, the Gods slowly began becoming Prideful. All of the 7 Gods began fighting and arguing. Conflicts happen all the time. It is the reason why in some places, there are hellish landscapes, and in some, beautiful greenery. Some places filled with the neverending winter, and some places empty, with just sand and ashes. Some places filled with greenery, and some places engulfed in flames and lava,” he explained.

Kieran raised his hand.

“How come God didn’t intervene and stop them?”

“That’s a great question, Kieran,” he replied. “God gave everyone free will. Though he did not like all the pain and suffering they caused, he did not hate them. He loved all his creations, but could not bear to see them. At first, he warned them, but they did not listen.”

“Because of this, God abandoned the world, and left, nowhere to be seen again. The world now laid in the hands of the 7 Gods. As the world was destroyed, and the Gods continued on their battles, their powers leaked into the world.”

“Humans began to inherit the powers of the Gods, and fought each other, following the will of the God that they worshipped.”

“Now, because of everything happening, the world was set to die, the human race set to extinction. However, the Lady of the Night did not agree with this, and came to create peace. She mediated the situation, sacrificing herself and offering bits and pieces of herself to the Gods as a peace offering. This was the last time the Lady of the Night was written down, or mentioned.”

“So the Lady of the Night is gone?” Kieran asked

“Hmmm..” the teacher thought for a while before he answered. “Well, yes, and no. You see, though we don’t have evidence that she ever came back, we also don’t have evidence that she ever left us. All we know is that there was no activity coming from her, and so we came to the conclusion that she was gone forever.”

He turned back around and continued to write on the board.

“Now, because Humans were now exposed to these powers, some created kingdoms, clans, and empires. Because of their power, no one dared to object.”

“Is everyone able to use Magic?” Kieran asked

“Magic? What’s that?” the teacher asked. “I don’t know what Magic is, but if you mean the powers, then the answer is no. Not everyone is able to use these powers. Some people are gifted with the ability to feel the Laylines and use them. It’s an extremely small percentage.”

“Is Magic not the term? Perhaps it's called something else,” Kieran thought as the teacher answered his previous question.

“Now, even though some humans were able to use these powers, a few people received “Cursed” powers.”

“Now what does this mean you might ask. Well, simply put, sometimes, due to emotional distress, psychological imbalance, or anything of the sort, the powers will begin to corrupt themselves. They start turning into terrible monsters that know only pain and suffering.”

“Remember the Laktans from yesterday? Those were a result of corrupt powers entering a beasts or animals body. Corruption can mutate one into an unrecognizable monster, it’s truly terrifying," he said, shuddering. As he said that, he drew a line and wrote something down. 

“And now, Kieran,” he said, circling the words he wrote just then,

“We are in the Era of Retribution."

"The Era of Retribution is the current Era we are in. It symbolizes the wrongdoings of the past, and the God's mistakes. The Gods no longer directly manifest themselves in this world, and everything is up to us as humans. Whether we destroy the world or see it blossom is now up to us." 

Kieran simply wrote everything the teacher said down, and was very intrigued. It was an interesting concept and story, he enjoyed listening to the teacher talk, though the chatter in the background was quite annoying.

The teacher stared at Kieran as he wrote down his notes.

"Child, do you have any questions for me? Anything you don't understand?" he asked

"Um.." Kieran paused, "I don't think so, I think I've gotten a good grasp on things so far."

The teacher was fascinated by Kieran. On one hand, he was extremely confused how a mere 6 year old child was able to take in all that information and focus, since everyone else's attention span was extremely short. Yet, on the other, he was joyful that such a student was blessed into his classroom. As Kieran continued jotting down the notes, trying to write down what he could remember, the teacher asked:

"Child, what do you think of advancing a few classes?"

Kieran looked up from his chair, looking at the teacher.

“Advancing a class?” he asked

“Yes, boy. Advancing classes. As much as I’d love to teach you, your potential is extremely high. You don’t belong with the rest of these runts. You deserve to be in a higher class. 5th? No, I think you could be in the 6th grade,” he said

“But I haven’t even done anything to deserve that?” Kieran said, confused. “All I did was write down notes?”

“Yes,” the teacher replied, “but as I’m reading your notes, the way you take down notes, it’s not normal for your age. You take down everything, then analyze it. You write down the lecture, then write down your own thoughts. You employ critical thinking in your notes, and it’s amazing,” he said.

Kieran laughed a little, before coming to a stop and wiping the smile off his face.

“Wait, how did you read my notes..?” he asked.

The teacher looked at him confused.

“Ah, it seems I’ve forgotten to introduce myself,” he said, taking his hat off and bowing to the student in front of him.

“My name is Loretti Anavos, currently the teacher of the 2nd grade at the School of Brindle Village, and a Grade 2 Sinner. Pleased to meet you, my dear student.”