A Theory on Godhood: An Overlord Story

Chapter 15: Humble Beginnings

Northern Forest of Tob, two hundred years before Ainz Ooal Gown

Frode silently stalked through the forest, crouching along the brush as he stalked his prey of the day: a fully mature elk.

His bow was at the ready, an arrow knocked into place and ready to be fired once he got into position and took aim at the animal's heart.

For about three days and two nights, he was after this particular specimen. The people of his camp eagerly awaited his return with fresh meat, for their supplies were running out.

Their camp was closer to the border of the forest, aptly named the "Forest of Tob", which he and the other of the refugees learned passing through some unnamed town on their way there.

The younger man frowned, recalling the sequence of events that led him and his family to the forest, and all the sorrow and anguish that encompassed.

Previously, Frode and his family, which included his mother, father, and younger sister, had lived on the outskirts of a prosperous and fertile batch of countries, the most prominent known as Inveria, located near the center of the continent that housed other kingdoms like Re-Estize, Baharuth, and the Slane Theocracy.

Their village rested on that border between the three superpowers and the collection of countries around Inveria, serving as a marker for travelers. A fair amount of people passed through, bringing prosperity to Frode's home.

On the maps they were able to look at during their journey, however, this meant that Inveria was closer to the bottom of the map, or not on the map at all, since the locals primarily focused on the three kingdoms native to the region.

That was not to say the continent itself was small, but rather that the mapmakers of the three kingdoms had a rather narrow view of the world around them, in more ways than one.

A majority of Inveria's population, a modest five million, were of a special collection of people known simply as the "Rainbow-Eyed People", known best for their superb magical and elemental affinity, as well as for their namesake: their uniquely colored eyes. That did not necessarily mean all rainbow-eyed people lived in Inveria, for they were spread out across the surrounding countries immediately around Inveria.

Just about everyone who fell under this category was gifted in the ways of the arcane, their abilities taking closely after whatever element they were most attuned to. Those elements could further diversify into more niche categories that were related to their primary elemental affinity.

A rainbow-eyed caster might have an affinity for earth, but be able to cast spells that more closely resembled crystals or gems, or another with an affinity for fire might be able to cast magic that was closer to smoke.

Robes of certain colors would be worn to denote these affinities, to better understand the abilities of a rainbow-eyed mage. Whether it was Fate itself intervening or just plain coincidence, about half of Frode's group were brown, with the other black.

Brown was used for earth, just as blue would be used for water, red for fire, and white for air. Those same colors would be used for the other specialities of magic. Black, on the other hand, was usually used to denote a mage who fell outside of the elemental affinities, or for someone who practiced...darker arts, like necromancy.

Necromancers were not unheard of, and given how magical the rainbow-eyed people were, it was expected a few might specialize in it. That didn't mean that certain stigmas against necromancy went away, and in the countries around Inveria, necromancers were frowned upon and their existence a product of the eccentricities of outside forces.