In the year 2345, a group of seven men left Skar-Zhul. They held a completely different view on how a city should be governed. While Skar-Zhul operated as a democracy, they believed a city should be ruled from the shadows. The true leaders should remain unseen, simply giving orders to a king who would obey them. With the goal of building their own city, the seven men ventured out from Skar-Zhul.
"Once we rule a city, we'll have to give ourselves code names, right?" asked the smallest of the group. He had red hair and a missing front tooth that had never grown back.
"Yeah, that sounds so cool!" said another. "Chaggu should be the one to come up with them!" Everyone agreed.
Chaggu was the one who would become the Keeper of Silence, fifty years younger and no different than before. "Hmm, let's go with: Keeper of the Silence. He's the leader, the most important of the sages, the one who has to make the crucial decisions."
"Whoa, that sounds so cool, Chaggu!" the smallest one shouted.
"Well, you still need to create six more. Can you do it?" asked another, a tall man with messy black hair.
"Yeah... I just need some time!" Chaggu replied.
They walked for many days, and as they went, Chaggu managed to come up with all the other names. Everyone was surprised that he could invent them all by himself. After many days, they reached a huge cave. Inside, there was a small village, so tiny that it didn't even have a ruler. The seven men stayed outside, sleeping just beyond the entrance.
"Do you think we could rule over this?" one asked.
"Yeah, and I've already thought of a way, so there's no need to worry," Chaggu said, confident.
The next day, the group presented themselves to the villagers, who were surprised to see visitors. An old man, the village leader, stood before them. "Whoa, outsiders," he said. "Please, come with me." He led them inside his house, the largest in the village.
"I wonder why you've come here... and from where," the old man said, happy to have guests.
"We come from Skar-Zhul," Chaggu said. "We came to bring help to your people. We want this village to grow! It will be useful in the fight against the Krukins."
The old man's eyes widened at this. "Whoa, really? You came here to help us, this small village?" He had always hoped his village would prosper.
"Yes. We were sent by the government of Skar-Zhul... but we need power to make this city grow," Chaggu said. The others behind him understood this was the crucial moment.
"As you wish, guys! I'm sure all the citizens will love to work with you. You will help us a lot!" the old man exclaimed. "What do you need?"
"Well, we need a room for ourselves... preferably underground, so the seven of us can start working," Chaggu said.
The old man created some rocks with a flick of his hand. "My power allows me to create any rock... I don't know if this might be of any use..." he said, fearing he couldn't help.
Chaggu had an idea. "Oh, don't worry, it's perfect! We just need some people who can dig underground to help us create a room." The old man immediately agreed.
After a few days, the room was built, made entirely of rocks. But thanks to the village leader's power, it was soon filled with obsidian. "We did it, guys!" Chaggu said, and everyone cheered.
But the smallest one, Lahyim, was coughing. After the room was finished, he passed out. The few village doctors said he was sick.
"No... Lahyim, you can't die here," Chaggu said, as the others stood behind him, on the verge of tears.
"Don't worry, guys, it will be alright!" Lahyim said with a smile. It was the last time they saw him smile. The next day, he died.
The whole group was devastated. Their dream was shattered; one of them was gone. What could they do?
Chaggu had a power: he could make people ten years younger. For others, it only worked once, but for him, he could do it as much as he wanted. However, to make someone younger, he needed a lifeless body. The spell also allowed the memory of the person who died to completely replace the other person's, and they would become ten years younger.
He thought of something. The old man had a son, who was set to be the next leader, but the old man himself was on the verge of death. The group kidnapped him while no one was looking. To the villagers, it seemed the old man simply died. Thanks to one of the sages' powers, he could make people believe lies, and the doctor was made to lie, so everyone believed him.
The unconscious body of the old leader was brought into the obsidian room, right in front of their friend's body. The old man woke up, confused. "What? What is happen—cough—cough—" He could no longer speak well; he was in a bad condition.
"Everything will be alright... you don't have to worry anymore," Chaggu said, as the others stood beside him in their black capes.
"You're crazy! I can't believe I was such a fool!" the old man said. His legs gave out, and he fell.
"Don't worry... everyone will not remember you anymore... everything will be alright now..." Chaggu said, using his magic. Lahyim's consciousness was brought into the old man's body, and his was eliminated.
"Whoa..." The old man was ten years younger and had become Lahyim.
"Guys..." Lahyim smiled. He had always been the most evil one, and when he realized their plan had worked, he was happy. The sage with the power to make lies become truth then made everyone believe that:
The Seven Sages have always ruled over Therya. They were always there and were the guides for everyone. They were the ones who gave orders to the king, and there was a messenger who helped them but was bound to them and could not move freely.
After some years, one of the sages died, and they had to figure out what to do.
"So? What should we do now?" asked the Eye of the Eclipse.
"We will go and search for other old people on the verge of death... they will become the next sages," said Chaggu, who was now the Keeper of the Silence.
"Gacchu... we trust you with our lives," said the Eye of the Eclipse. Everyone agreed; Gacchu was the only one who could keep them alive.
"So in these 200 years, things have continued like this," said the Keeper of the Silence. Both Kael and Allocen were shocked. "We can't tell the truth to the people... not after this much time."
"So you're basically asking us to stay silent?" Kael said.
"Yeah... you've understood the real story of the city. We can't tell everyone how we came here and took power."
"But we can't... the people need—" Kael began, before Allocen interrupted him.
"But as I can see, you were able to make this town grow rapidly. If it was that small village and now it's this huge... you all did a great job," Allocen said, getting up to think. "Maybe we shouldn't say anything, Kael. Therya works perfectly fine like this, and it will keep going this way."
The Keeper of the Silence was happy to hear that. "Thank you, guys..." he said, getting up. Kael was the only one still on the ground, so Allocen helped him up.
"Well, now we should go. People will notice we've been away for too long," Kael said. He and Allocen started to walk away.
"Thank you again, guys... we really appreciate it," the Keeper of the Silence said, smiling. The other sages removed their capes and smiled too. It was the first time all the sages had removed their capes at the same time, a moment in history no one would ever know about.
Kael and Allocen left the cave. It was now evening. "Well, I guess I'll be heading home. I need some rest. Bye, Kael!" Allocen said, walking away.
Kael then went to see Lara. He had to tell her what he had just discovered. Maybe I shouldn't tell her everything... well, let's just say that the old man escaped and died while walking. I mean, he had no one close to him... yeah, that should work, Kael thought.
"Oh, really?" Lara said, saddened by Kael's story.
"Yeah... his legs couldn't hold him anymore, so he decided to kill himself," Kael said. "I just asked Allocen to bury him," he added.
"Well, thank you, Kael. I know I can always count on you," Lara said, smiling warmly.
"Don't worry, Lara," Kael replied, waving as he walked away. He returned home, but now he knew the truth of Therya. Everything built beneath his feet was so important and had so much history... he never expected that.
That same night, Jarko woke up. He had been unconscious for about eight hours. Next to him was one of the Seven Sages.
"Jarko, you're awake!" the sage said.
"Yeah... man, that fight was great... but that guy is so strong... he can't be defined as human." Jarko thought of the battlefield, which was completely covered in his spikes.
"Why do you say that? You were able to defeat him," the sage said.
"It's not that... it's just that it was like he didn't only have earth magic... but something else." In this world, people with earth magic can control every type of rock, from obsidian to dirt, but Allocen couldn't. The sage looked at him, confused.
"I'm saying it was like he was using two types of magic... he also had magic that could drain my energy... I'm lucky I passed out," Jarko explained.
The sage, after realizing everything was fine with Jarko's body, left the room. 'At this point, I wonder if he's even human...' Jarko thought, getting up. No one but him had noticed Allocen's special magic, not even Kael.