"So the Emperor is a descendant of God?"
Lise is sitting crossed-legged on the wooden floor of Richard the Alchemist shop's floor. Next to her is Richard, with a thick book in hand. It's not like the little girl can read, Richard just thought it would be handy to teach the little girl with a text-book reference in hand.
They're situated in the shop's drawing room, where noble men were usually invited to sit down lest they decide to drop by and order a specific potion that Richard need to formulate. Since the shop is also his home, every room is decorated carefully with what was necessary to make it comfy: shelves filled with books and plants, trinkets, and stuffed pillows. The drawing room in particular, is covered with sage green wallpaper instead of the usual red-brick wall and has huge windows framed in dark brown frame, adorned with laced curtain made from white silk, allowing the space to be soaked by the warm sun light. Lise loved the layout and she loved the comfy thick rug that is laid out in the center of the drawing room. Here she sits as snug as she can be next to Richard.
He never anticipate a day in his life when he would be spending time with a kid like this. Not when he's an avid introvert and he would rather kill himself than wasting time conversing with another human being, except when he did business. Two things are his primary source of contentment: solitary and wealth. With his business doing well and him living alone, he felt like he is indeed at the peak of human success.
However, just this morning, the little girl came knocking. He thought Lise would want to buy more potion, as she does so more frequently. Instead, she requested him to teach her more about the world, their empire, and 'a bit about reading'.
'Her mother's tolerance to the potion is probably rising. I need to formulate a more potent one soon.'
"No, not exactly. The founding Emperor, Genos, ate a fraction of God's soul as a reward after killing all of the other neighbouring clans' chief. As a result, he became God's vessel and obtained divinity."
"Why would God do that?"
"Because He can. God can do whatever He wants."
"But isn't that evil?"
"What constitutes evil, Lise?" Richard felt silly trying to talk philosophically with an 11 year old, but he knew they are just as capable as thinking deeply as adults--albeit a little more naive. "Would you say God is benevolent after you hear the news of a young boy who miraculously survived a massive flood? Or would you say God is evil for causing the flood in the first place? In chaos, would you say God is the evil perpetrator or the holy saviour?"
"Lise, God is just is. He is beyond our morality."
Lise is silent.
"Fair... Then what can Genos do? Can he do what God does?"
"God is all powerful. He is omnipotent and omniscient. Genos doesn't reach that kind of level of power, but even with a fraction he can do lots. For example, he can sing holy songs and summon birds. He can change the weather, he can rise the undead, and he can curse people."
"Can he shoot lasers out of his eyes?"
"No, he can't... Or can he? That's a great question. I don't think there's records saying he shoots out lasers though."
"Can he like--I don't know, summon thunder and electrocute people? Or bend winds and fire?"
"Yeah he can. Genos is the most powerful human being in our world history. He is basically a deity, but not close to God in terms of power. With the divinity he has, he managed to conquer territories after territories. Everyone bowed and worshipped him when they saw him heal men who had their flesh rotting or summon plentiful rain after years of drought."
"Basically Genos is the strong man who united Kingdoms under our Empire?"
"Yes. Aeternus is our Empire. There's five vessel Kingdom underneath Aeternus: Chrysan, Aerre, Onda, Jenskizi, and Hevanya. The main Kingdom is Aeternus and as a collective we are called the Magnificent Empire Aeternus. Each Kingdom has their own respective Kings and Queens; some have different name for the rulers but ultimately, the big boss is the Emperor. He is given the title 'The Sun of the Empire' or 'Your Holy God's Vessel.'"
"That's interesting..."
"Yes. Genos knew in order to govern effectively, he needs powerful people by his side. They must be powerful but lesser than him. So what he did, is he created magic. He transferred some of his divine power and sealed it in text using divine literature, a language different to our standard language. It is said that divine literature is the language used by the heavens that Genos learnt from God through revelation. This literature is compiled into books which is as a collective referred to as 'Arcane'."
"Genos created a library of Arcane throughout his 3000 years of living. During this period, he had 100 disciples of which he extensively taught magic and how to read Arcane. These 100 disciples then disperse to become great people: some became rulers in their own right, ascending thrones in vessel kingdoms while some dedicated themselves as Wizards, teaching mankind magic."
"Woah, what can the Arcane contain? Just how many Arcane are there?"
"There's 100 Arcane. The thinnest is 10 pages long while the thickest is 30,000 pages in thickness. Each Arcane contain specific topic. For example, one Arcane is titled 'On the Cure for Sickness in the Body and the Mind.' I studied that Arcane in the tower of alchemy."
"O-oh!" Lise eyes sparkles, "So you can understand divine literature? You can do magic?"
"To some extent, yeah. However, what you need to know is divine literature is wide. It contained of two million words and five hundred thousand characters. It is an extremely difficult language and even more so difficult to preserve, hence our empire have its own division dedicated to divine literature and language for preservation. I could understand less then a quarter of the language and it is heavily limited to the topic of alchemy."
"How did you learn them?"
"I was a son for a baron. Though we were not rich, we were a member of the nobility. I have less inclination to get into business but I was more fascinated with magic, so my father gave me a governess and some tutors to prepare me for the Grand Entrance Examination of Magic where my first option was to get into Alchemist. I did well, I passed and I was admitted into the Academy of Mages."
'So Richard is a noble man?'
"Academy of Mages? That's so cool..."
"Hah! I know. Once we graduate, we earn the title 'Mage'. Every mage can do some sort of magic, but not every kind of magic. A mage can study further and became more powerful. These more powerful mages or experts of magic are called Wizards. We are taught by Wizards in the Academy of Mages. Each Wizard's mentorship can be traced for hundreds and thousands of years above up until Genos. It's so cool isn't it?"
"So you're a Mage that specialise in making magical potions to heal and cure people, and this mage is called Alchemist more specifically?"
"Smart girl," Richard smiles, "There are 6 streams of discipline in the Academy of Magic: The Alchemists brew potions, the Warriors fight, the Artificers enchant items, the Seers gather knowledge, the Wardens protect, and the Healers use direct magic to mend wounds and cure sickness. Every one of these discipline is deemed prestigious and anyone who managed to enter the academy became a respected member of society. The walls of the academy acts like fortress and even the wealthiest of noblemen could not pay their son a seat in the academy."
'Academy of Mages...'
Lise stares out the window. Academy of Mages sound so cool, it sounded so elite and prestigious. She know magic exist, she knows some people can wield magic but she didn't know you can be taught magic. She thought only some people are born and blessed with it, like an innate talent gained through the sheer luck of birth. Now it made a whole difference. Now there's a chance she can learn magic.
"Do you want to become a mage?"
"Yes! Yes I do--but," Lise pauses, then she realise she almost forgot one thing.
'But...'
'What about mother,'
"..."
Richard doesn't say anything, he left the poor girl to contemplate with her conflicting emotions. For once, she felt her mother as if she was a burden but Lise quickly shut the thought away.
"Are you a baron, then?"
"No. My father got caught up in a scandal and died of heart attack. Our barony went extinct."
"Oh, so your family went into ruin?"
"Yeah. It happened as I was studying in the academy. I was originally from Onda and I moved here, establishing myself as an alchemist."
"No wonder you talk funny and you have a strange accent,"
"That little mouth sure do talk like a grandma,"
"Heh," Lise giggles and Richard lips quivers into a small smile.
It's nice seeing the ever-so serious little girl smiling. He always see her in distress most of the time and it's only natural, considering she came to him each time something is wrong with her mother.
'I should make more potions for her mother, though it will cost a lot on my end. The materials and the plants needed are quite rare and expensive.'
Richard didn't tell Lise a bitter reality, that she will never be able to get into the Academy of Mages. That even though the academy prides itself with meritocracy, some aspects of the examination made it impossible to pass without the help of tutors and governess: for example the ability to read and write as a requirement for most discipline, something that only the rich and nobility could afford.
'In the end, wealth is still the bridge needed for us to access magic.'
He didn't want to disappoint the little girl. He didn't want to wipe that smile off her face. He didn't want her to feel bitter towards her condition, towards her sick mother.
'Oh Lise, you poor thing.'
'May God have mercy on your soul. May God love and adore you.'