Fairy Tale Town 2

The mage stared at her steadily. "It seems our systems of magic are vastly different. You need to adapt again."

Fairy Tale Town 2

"In Kanado, spellcasters who use arcane energy are called arcanists, while those who believe in the Light God and wield divine arts are called divine casters. This has been the most widespread classification on the continent for nearly three hundred years. Terms such as mage and priest may only be found in scattered fragments of ancient books that have yet to be destroyed."

"Believe me, Elur, if you rashly call a divine caster a priest, he will fly into a rage. Priests are merely low-ranking clergy of the church—you can find them in any small rural chapel. Divine casters, however, are respected high-ranking clergy who serve in the central church of every diocese. High-ranking divine casters answer directly to the temple."

"As for why mages were expelled and judged evil, that cannot be explained in a few words. Besides, I am a mage. Are you sure you want to believe everything I say?"

Odovish's tone barely changed. This was not the first time Elufiel had heard the phrase "evil mage" from him, yet she could detect nothing beyond faint mockery.

"Odovish, first of all, I do not believe there is any distinction of high or low, noble or base, among spellcasters. Every profession exists for a specific reason. Mages deal damage to enemies, priests are the foundation of healing, warriors charge fearlessly, knights protect the team, and rangers gather intelligence and carry out assassinations. Those are the rules I know. I have my own judgment. I will not easily place my trust in one-sided claims, nor will I arbitrarily decide that either side is wrong." That was what Elufiel told the mage. She did not know what had happened in this world, but she would watch with her own eyes and listen with her own ears until she found the answer.

"You will find out," Odovish said. "But before that, can you tell me what drove you mad? I need to make sure nothing unexpected happens on the road ahead."

An embarrassed look crossed Elufiel's face. The warmth of the room had made her skin no longer deathly pale, but that was all. A healthy flush would never appear on her face. "Well, it is a racial affliction. Where I come from, the High Elves descended from Night Elves all suffer from magic addiction. Those elves who suppress it by draining magical energy formed the Blood Elf race. And I am a Blood Elf."

"Blood Elf?" Odovish repeated the term, which did not exist in the common tongue of Kanado.

Elufiel nodded. "Yes. The elven language you mentioned before is similar to our Thalassian, the language of the Blood Elves. We call ourselves Sin'dorei. I suppose the elves here are different from those where I come from as well? Could you give me a brief introduction? If I get the chance, I would like to see the elves here."

Odovish pulled out a stool and gestured for Elufiel to sit. Then he put away the white crystals supporting the magic array, walked to the door, and rang a bell. "Don't rush. I will explain everything you want to know, but before that, you may need some food."

At the mage's words, Elufiel thought of another problem. She took out a gold coin and asked, "Can this be used?"

After ordering the meal, the mage sat across from her. He took the gold coin from her hand and examined it for a while. "This is your currency? The pattern is very exquisite. In Kanado, unmarked pure gold and silver coins are accepted by every nation, though they must meet certain quality standards. This can be used after a dwarf remelts it."

"That's good. I was worried I'd become penniless." Elufiel smiled.

Paul, the innkeeper, soon brought over the food: mushroom cream soup, two portions of roasted meat from some unknown creature, and some dry bread.

After the innkeeper left, Odovish set the crystals back in place and explained, "Roasted rabbit legs. Green Forest produces a kind of short-haired rabbit. Its meat is exceptionally delicious, and it is one of the local specialties."

Elufiel tried some. "It tastes a little like juicy wolf meat."

Odovish watched Elufiel eat with focus and said in some surprise, "I thought elves preferred vegetables. The elves of Kanado are broadly divided into two kinds. One is the Light Elves. They have pale skin and pointed ears, and their features resemble yours, though their ears are not as long. The Light Elves are further divided into Moon Elves, Forest Elves, and others. Some excel at archery, while others specialize in nature magic. Druids are a profession unique to elves. The Light Elves now live in the Elf Forest of the Sunset Mountains, west of the continent."

"Mm, clearly I am not like them. What about the other kind?" Elufiel asked.

Odovish said, "The other kind is called the Drow, also known as Dark Elves. They live in gloomy underground cities. They are slimmer and smaller than Light Elves, with blackish-gray skin and red eyes. Drow are usually white-haired, though some have other muted hair colors. Ancient mages proved that Light Elves and Dark Elves share the same origin. The Book of Magic records that the Dark Elves were cursed and exiled by the elven queen. Bearing deep-rooted hatred, they grew strong again in the underground cities. The underground cities are now the absolute domain of the Drow."

"What made the elven queen curse and exile them?" Elufiel was fascinated by the elves of this world.

"To this day, it remains a mystery. Even many elves do not know, but the hatred has been passed down generation after generation. Still, Light Elves rarely travel the continent now. Only the dangerous and savage Drow remain widely known. Every year, many mercenaries venture into the underground cities, and some Drow come to the surface after accepting assassination missions." Odovish seemed very familiar with these matters. Not only did he explain the basics to Elufiel, but he also expanded into many other topics. Finally, he asked, "What about your race, Eluer? You said the Blood Elves descended from Night Elves. Why did that happen?"

Elufiel thought for a while before telling the mage a story. Though it was already a simplified version, it still took quite some time, including the two of them checking the meanings of certain words.