CHAPTER 01 The Great war of Urbanza

and the struggles of Clara

Attack them! Don’t let those bastards to lay hand on any of our fellow
soldiers, these lines were said by the leader of the 26 th battalion of the
army of the Great Walderein Village and they turned into his last words
when a flying demonic creature pierced through is chest during the
infamous great war of Urbanza.
The war was between the demonic
creatures of the infamous Forest of the Black Oak and the combined
army of the 119 strongest villages of the world. The scenes of the war
seemed like the scenes from hell itself. Dead bodies of millions of man
were lying here and there. Even women and children were not spared.
For the soldiers fighting there, it was hard to see the ground clearly
because of the blood and dead bodies lying all over. Yet, amidst all this
carnage, the great nobles and rulers of the villages remained
untouched, watching from the safety of their fortresses.

Soldiers who were blessed with magical powers were participating in

the war in a very large amount, common man with no powers were
fighting alongside them. Even weak and children were forced to
participate because of the falling manpower. Riots were common in
countryside. Even in the big cities, people were living the life of
suffering. Revolts and protests were holding in each street. Only the
soldiers and the wealthy royal nobles were able to manage two meals
each day.

Between all those chaos, two soldiers conversed to each other about the
incidents of the war. Their talking was about the magical world in which
they were living, horrors of the demonic creatures of the great forest of
the black oak and the three different right palms on humans which
classify them as three different human species.

The palms were classified as kami, shi and the common palm. Kami
palm and shi palm had special symbols on them which were known as
the symbol of kami and the symbol of shi. The common palm didn’t have
any of the symbols. Those symbols appeared at the age of 13 on some
selected children. But those symbols contain two opposite meanings.
The person on which the symbol of kami appeared was considered as

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blessed and develops a magical power of different kinds within itself.
The person with kami symbol often served as the soldier for the village
or a private warrior. Whereas, the person with the symbol of shi was
considered as a curse to the society as the person turns into a demonic
creature on the same night of the occurrence of the symbol. Millions of
these creatures ran away into a forest in which oak trees were found in
fear of dying by the hands of the blessed soldiers. The evil and negative
energy of the monsters made the oak trees of the forest black in color
and locals started calling that forest as the forest of the black oak

KAMI

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 SHI

Scene from the Great War

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4 The forest of the black oak
 The war against the demons was launched by 119 villages, with
soldiers from all the villages taking part. They had only one goal—to
eliminate all the demons in the forest so that they would no longer pose
a threat in the future.

Amidst all the chaos, a high-ranking soldier of the Walderein army

married a fair-looking local village girl named Clara. However, they
lived together for only a short time. They had planned to spend the rest
of their lives together, as the soldiers of the mighty villages were
winning the war against the demons. The couple was enjoying their time
together until the leader of the 28th battalion—the battalion to which
the man belonged—summoned him. The army of the mighty villages had
been struck by a massive ice storm across the battlefield, wiping out
nearly 70% of their forces. This completely changed the situation of the
battle; the soldiers who had been winning were now struggling. Many
local villagers believed that the devastating ice storm was the result of
the anger of the great ice god who resided at the centre of the forest.

Following his leader’s orders, the soldier returned to the battlefield,

where he tragically died of fatigue and hunger, as the ice storm had
completely cut off the soldiers' food supply After seeing the situation
worsen, the village leaders called off their armies one by one.
Depressed by her lover’s death, Clara attempted to end her life by
jumping off a cliff, but some local villagers stopped her. They convinced
her to live, telling her that she was like a daughter to them. She had
married a man blessed with the symbol of Kami, and they believed that
the child in her womb was also blessed and could bring prosperity to
the village, as no other man in their village was blessed with the symbol
of Kami. The villagers did their best to convince Clara, and upon
learning that she was pregnant, she agreed to abandon her thoughts of
suicide.

The village leaders called off the war, which had resulted in the loss of
their mighty army. However, the surviving soldiers managed to seal the
monsters inside the forest with the help of powerful magic of the
blessed warriors. Meanwhile, the people of Clara’s village began
treating her like a queen. Even in the difficult times of riots and famine
caused by the war, Clara always had enough to eat. The entire village
was driven by greed for the blessed child growing in her womb. Though
Clara sensed this in some corner of her heart, she had no choice but to

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accept their treatment, as it was the only way for her and her child to
survive in times when even the wealthy faced hunger.

In the great village of Walderein—the strongest village in the world—

the old and weak leader sat on his chair, contemplating the devastating
consequences of the war. "I warned them that
Kuzer was too strong to handle. We should have waited for the right
vessel to appear and defeat him. I knew the outcome of this war from
the beginning, but they didn't listen. Poor me, I couldn't even send Zodd
to their aid. I should have sent him. If he had been there, he could have
ended the war in an hour. But I had no knowledge of Kuzer, so I
believed my decision was right. And yet, my decision has led to the
deaths of so many innocents. Was I truly right in not sending Zodd?"

These were his thoughts before a man wearing a formal coat, pants, and
a hat called for him.

Time passed, and Clara gave birth to a healthy baby boy. From the very
beginning, the child was loved by all. He was joyful, playful, and
intelligent, with a calm behaviour and a sharp presence of mind. The
villagers named him Mandris. Seeing his exceptional abilities and
strong physique from an early age, they assumed he would one day
become a blessed man. As the special treatment Clara once received
shifted to Mandris, she remained happy, knowing her son was receiving
good care by the village people. Mandris gradually grew up, and soon,
his thirteenth birthday approached.

Meanwhile, in the great village of Walderein, people slowly recovered

from the devastation of war. The conflict had wiped out nearly 35% of
the village’s total population. The destruction was evident in the riots
and famine that followed. However, with time, the villagers overcame
hunger and unrest, and the village regained its strength. No one
suffered from hunger anymore, and there was plenty for everyone.

Yet, the one who had not recovered from the war’s effects was the
village's old leader, Jinn Kurosetchi. He was a tall man, as tall as a
young oak tree, but he appeared weak and frail. He had a habit of
keeping his eyes closed at all times, yet he could see everything clearly
through his divine magic.

Jinn sat in his office when a man with long hairs dressed in samurai
clothes, holding a katana, knelt before him and informed him that Zodd
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had arrived with news. Jinn summoned Zodd, who stepped forward from
the shadows, knelt before him, and said...
“Master the last vessel of Tier died almost 12 years ago during the great
war of Urbanza in the Prophara village when he was an infant of only 3
weeks and we do not have any clue about the current vessel and he
could be of any age between 0-12 years or he may not have been born
yet. We should wait till he become 13 years old but this could take time.
We knew that the father of the last vessel was previously a vessel so I
checked him and found out that he was vessel of tier’s spirit too but we
have no clue about the current vessel and I suspect that Kuzer will plan
attack us and start the Great war mentioned in the prophecy soon. I
may have the power to defeat him but if he had Bihimuth with him, he
could create huge trouble.”

Upon listening this, Jinn stood silent for some time and then replied that
they must conduct the summit of Ashes and informed Zodd that most of
their army had ended during the great war of Urbanza and most of the
strong soldiers from the army had gone to make Marteer free from his
curse as he was the only one who knew when Kuzer is going to attack
and when they could find the right vessel of Tier. Jinn also remarked
that he is the only one who could withstand the might of Great
Bihimuth. Zodd replied that he would go for Marteer after finding
current vessel of Tier.

In the village of Clara, everyone was happy as the 13 th birthday of

Mandris was coming. Everyone was excited to see the symbol of Kami
on the palm of Mandris, Clara was happy too. But no one knew that
their happiness was soon going to vanish soon. Something was going to
happen which will change the life of Clara and Mandris completely. Just
after the night of Mandris’ birthday passed, something happened to him
which no one ever predicted.

The villagers had organized a grand celebration for Mandris' thirteenth

birthday. Everyone was happy and eagerly waiting for the night to end.
Clara enjoyed the party with her friends, and as the night progressed,
more and more people gathered around Mandris. Everyone was excited
to see the symbol of Kami appear on his palm. The leader of the small
village even declared that if the symbol appeared, he would make
Mandris the king of the village.

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The night passed slowly, and as time dragged on, more people gathered
near Mandris, anticipating the long-awaited moment.
As soon as the final minute of the night passed, everyone turned their
eyes to Mandris’ palm—but there was no symbol. They waited for a few
more hours, hoping for its appearance, but it never came. The villagers
were unwilling to accept this reality and decided to wait even longer.
However, a local villager, frustrated and angry, finally shouted:
"The symbol usually appears in the very first minute after midnight!
Since no symbol has appeared on Mandris’ palm, it means he is not the
blessed one!"

Hearing this, the crowd became angry. People started raising their own
opinions—some claimed that Mandris was cursed since no symbol had
appeared despite his father being a blessed one. Others whispered that
Clara was cursed as she had a child with a blessed man yet didn’t gave
birth to a blessed child. Some believed the symbol had failed to appear
because Mandris was born during the anger of the Ice Lord, while
others thought it was punishment because his father had fought in the
war against the Ice Lord. Some were saying that Clara and her child
was a waste of food and money that the villagers had spent on them
over fourteen years. Although their opinions differed, they all shared the
same thought—anger toward Mandris and Clara. The villagers began
calling them cursed and started humiliating them. Those who had once
supported Clara, providing her with food and shelter, started treating
her with disgust.

As days passed, the hatred of the villagers only grew. Clara, who once
had plenty to eat, began suffering from malnutrition. Mandris, who had
once been adored by everyone, was now forbidden from entering
anyone’s home. Their situation worsened over time—Clara barely had
enough clothes to cover herself completely in the harsh winters.
Mandris, who was joyful and playful, stopped speaking to everyone
except his mother.

Over time, Clara's body became frail and thin. Her old clothes had torn
apart, exposing most of her body. Their suffering reached its peak,
desperately Clara cut off four of her own fingers to eat, just to keep
Mandris alive. Despite her own suffering, Clara made sure Mandris was
always fully clothed for a very specific reason—he bore the symbol of
Kami on his back.

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She kept this a secret, knowing that the last person to have the symbol
on their back came from Prophara village—one of the strongest villages.
That child had been taken away by soldiers and forced to live in the
leader’s mansion, separated from his family forever. Clara refused to let
that happen to Mandris and so, she kept her secret, determined to
protect her son at any cost.

Mandris slowly developed a feeling of hatred towards the system of

symbols which had bought suffering to him and his mother. Mandris
was keen to stop that system of blessed and cursed.

The situation of Clara and Mandris worsen overtime. Clara who was the
only one who took care of Mandris had fallen sick during the winter
nights as a result of her partially naked and uncovered body. The young
and fair looking girl started looking old, weak and sick. Mandris started
stealing food from bakeries to feed himself and his hungry and sick
mother. He didn’t let anyone to know that he was the one who was
stealing the food as that could rose the anger of the villagers to a new
limit. One day when Mandris was stealing some pieces of bread from
the bakery, the baker caught him and started beating him. The baker
broke his arms and legs and crushed his head in his feet. He broke
many of his fingers and started punching the little kid with his full force.
He tore all his clothes and Mandris has fallen unconscious. The baker
who was already filled with the feeling of hatred towards Clara and
Mandris had decided to kill both of them.

Just before he was going to stab her baking knife in Mandris chest, his
eyed falls onto the huge symbol of Kami on the back of the Mandris. He
fell confused for a few seconds at first but then concluded that Mandris
was a highly blessed person. He concluded this by seeing the huge
symbol of Kami that he bore. This made him happy and angry on the
same instant. He was happy because Mandris was a blessed child and
he was angry as Clara had kept that hidden from the village. He had
decided to reach and kill Clara and to take Mandris with him.

He reached the small cottage of Clara with some of his fellow friends.
The baker carried unconscious Mandris on one of his shoulder and his
friends carried torches in their hands. They reached Clara who was
lying on the floor then. Through the little corner of her eyes, he saw all
of them but she was surprised to see Mandris with them. Mandris who
was partially conscious at that moment had his complete body covered
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in his, he could barely speak and see anything but still he was shouting
“Please don’t kill her” as loud as he can. After seeing her child’s
condition, Clara became angry and started cursing the village people
and the baker. She started crying and started requesting them

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11 The forest of the black oak