Age of Adepts

The Garan Continent.

As one of the only two large continents of Faen, Garan was a rich, lively, and beautiful world.

When one looked into the distance, they could see that Garan was covered in a dense, verdant sea of forest.

The ancient trees in the forest were tall and mighty. Each one measured up to several dozen meters in height, while their treetops easily stretched for hundreds of square meters. Leaves grew in abundance upon the trees, while vines wrapped everywhere. All sorts of strange unknown birds of a variety of colors perched on the branches and chirped delightfully. The dense foliage of plants and trees filled the dark and silent space of the forest; it was hard to find any place to stand.

It was almost impossible for an ordinary person to travel through this forest!

This place was a rural, fringe area of Garan close to the shore.

The tall, ancient trees appeared much less dense here. Even their height seemed to be considerably less impressive. Sharp cliffs and treacherous reefs were everywhere along the shore. The sound of waves beating against the rocks and the beach was almost deafening. It was an intense and exciting sight.

The tumultuous surface of the sea shone and sparkled brilliantly. Jade seas, blue skies, green waters, and a vast forest. Roars and bestial cries rang out from the woods every so often, a sign of the pulsating life and hope in this breathtakingly beautiful scenery of nature.

Just then, several black dots appeared in the depths of the forest. They hovered right above the canopy of the forest, rapidly approaching the beach.

It was a squad of the Elven Empire’s special Silver Pegasus Knights.

Lithe elven knights rode upon tall and handsome horses who had a large pair of wings and were covered in a layer of soft silver armor.

The silver pegasi were as their name implied. Their bodies were brilliant silver from the armor, clear for all to see even with dozens of kilometers of forests obscuring their silhouettes. Wide and flat hooves, long manes dyed silver, fast and agile bodies, and those broad wings that allowed them to ride the wind and freely traverse the blue skies.

These pegasi were wondrous magical beasts born near a particular magical spring in the depths of the Great Fantasy Forest. They had the appearance of horses, the speed of eagles, and the elegance of unicorns. Thus, the forest elves specially tamed these magical beasts and turned them into the mounts of some high-grade knights. In doing so, they formed the most eye-catching flying squad of the elven empire– the Silver Lightning.

They might not be as ferocious as griffins or as strong as hippogryphs, but they possessed the fastest flight speed in Garan, as well as the flashiest appearance.

Showy appearances might not be of much help in combat, but the Silver Pegasus Knights were still voted–with a massive lead–as the combat profession most beloved by the girls of the Elven Empire. Almost no elven girl could reject a Silver Pegasus Knight inviting them to a romantic glide above the canopy to witness the beautiful sights of nature.

As such, from every aspect, the Silver Pegasus Knights were the most elite and popular iconic armed force of the elven court!

The Silver Pegasus Knights and their reserve, the Pegasus Knights, usually only patrolled near the elven court; they rarely came so far out to the shore to do their work. However, their appearance here today meant that an important member of the royalty was somewhere nearby.

Two Silver Pegasus Knights and three reserve Pegasus Knights formed this particular party.

As the Silver Pegasi reached the edge of the forest, the leading Silver Pegasus Knight pushed against the saddle and leaped from three meters above the canopy.

Silver Pegasus Knights usually only wore light silver mail and wielded light weapons to reduce the burden upon the pegasus. They also carried some throwing spears and plenty of arrows in the horse’s saddlebags.

The Silver Pegasus didn’t pause for a single moment. It extended its wings and quickly galloped back into the sky while the knight lightly fell to the ground.

This Silver Pegasus Knight possessed the lightest and most agile movements in the world. His lithe body immediately leaped backward after a brief step upon a tree branch. He somersaulted several times through the air and landed firmly upon a cliff at the edge of the shoreline.

”Hegus, wait for me.”

The other Silver Pegasus Knight that came with him apparently didn’t have such agile movements and limber body parts. He could only pat his pegasus, have it circle the sky, and finally decelerate and stop above the cliff.

It was only now that the Silver Pegasus Knight carefully jumped onto the cliff.

He landed slightly heavily, and his silver boots stepped on the edge of the cliff. Countless pebbles and rocks instantly fell off the cliff and landed in the waves, the bubbles, and the reef.

Cold sweat ran down Cidaris’ brow as he patted himself on the chest and stabilized his breathing. It was the first time he had gone out on a mission. The elf then strode to Hegus’ side.

The first Silver Pegasus Knight that had jumped off his mount had already taken out a telescope reflecting silver light and was silently scanning the horizon of the sea.

”Hegus, you are really brave. It’s so high, yet you jump. Are you not afraid of falling into the ocean and feeding the fishes?” Cidaris teased his companion as he ducked his head out to look at the dark rocks and tumultuous waves beneath. He patted himself upon the chest once more.

With this height and dense concentration of rocks, anyone would die if they fell from here!

The two Silver Pegasi joyfully chased each other above the nearby canopy now that their knights had gotten off their backs. The other three Pegasus Knights drove their newly-tamed pegasi downward and landed on an empty spot. They quietly waited for further orders from the two knights.

As noble Silver Pegasus Knights of the elves, both Cidaris and Hegus were handsome men. Their bodies were tall yet lithe. They had firm muscles, good complexions, heads of grassy green hair, soft, sharp ears, and blue eyes.

They wore light silver mail upon their bodies, silver faulds of the same color on the bottom, silver leather boots on their feet, and carried two silver scimitars at their waists.

Cidaris’ skin was somewhat white, and his delicate face had a certain youth and childishness to it. His eyes were bright and flashing, with a memorably bright and warm feeling to them. Hegus was equally handsome, but the shape of his face was sharper and harder. His every move and action carried with it a trace of sternness and experience unique to military men.

Cidaris mumbled a few more words softly but didn’t get any response from his companions. He couldn’t help but ask curiously, ”What is it, Hegus? There is no mist at sea today; you can see everything at a glance. What are you looking so hard for? Are you worried about the human slaver ships?”

Hegus silently put down the telescope and replied with a solemn tone, ”I’m not worried about humans. I’m worried about… those witches.”

Cidaris batted his eyes as if he didn’t quite understand.

”I’ve also heard. It’s finally reached the time of the Calamity of Witches! The witches will probably be making the long trip to harass us once again, but the past few times have been a lot better. The witches seemed to have figured out how powerful we are. They’ve been putting most of their strength on the side of the humans. Our losses these last couple of times haven’t been too big.”

Compared to Cidaris’ indifference, Hegus appeared to be extremely anxious.

”Cidaris, you don’t know,” Hegus hesitated for a moment before finally gritting his teeth and speaking, ”I visited Priest Tia a few days ago.”

Cidaris immediately turned concerned upon hearing the name Tia. He yelled without raising his volume, ”You’ve gone mad. How’d you dare to make contact with that madwoman? Don’t you know that people have been calling Tia the Black Witch behind her back? It’s said that the elder’s council are already preparing to vote to expel Tia from the Great Fantasy Forest. Do you intend to have the elder’s council set their eyes upon you by talking to her at this point?”

”Relax, Cidaris, relax; let me finish,” Hegus sighed and said, ”Personally, I don’t think there was anything wrong with Priest Tia’s actions.”

”Nothing wrong? To research the powers of those otherworldly witches as a follower of the Great Saoirse. Is this not a sin?”

”It’s been a thousand years since those wicked witches broke into our world. Have we been able to expel them? No! We’ve never managed to do it in the past, we can’t do it right now, and we will probably not be able to do it in the future. Why? Isn’t it because they possess magical powers that are far superior to ours? That which they call magic.”

Hegus sighed.

”If…if things could truly go as Priest Tia envisions it to be and the followers of the Great Saoirse can all learn that powerful magic, then we forest elves might actually be able to become the rulers of the Faen plane.”

Cidaris couldn’t help but shake his head after hearing Hegus’ explanation.

”Hegus, I think you’ve been deluded by that Priest Tia. Don’t believe what she has to say. What ’power is neither good or evil,’ what ’it only depends on who wields it.’ Don’t believe her, Hegus. In my opinion, all powers in the world are divided by good and evil. The power of the witches might be immense, but that power must be able to bewitch minds and corrupt souls. Why else are they capable of such evil and horrifying things?!”

Hegus was silent for a long while. Finally, he spoke again.

”Do you not wish to know what Priest Tia obtained after researching the books left behind by dead witches?”

An ominous feeling rose in Cidaris’ heart when he heard his companion’s heavy tone.

”What did she tell you?”

”She said that the witches that invaded our world are only a branch of a major force in that fearsome World of Adepts. The increasingly frequent Calamity of Witches is a likely indication that something has changed with the witch forces there. More and more witches are entering our world!”

Cidaris couldn’t help but gulp. He asked nervously, ”Then what does that mean?”

”It means that our world has become the main target of the opponent. It is very likely that even more terrifying and evil enemies will appear during this year’s Calamity! A blood moon… Tia said she saw a blood moon.” Hegus was practically shouting at his companion while gripping him by the collar when he reached the end.

”Blood moon…”

Cidaris’ face instantly became flushed white.