Tales of Astora: Legacy

Chapter 76: Revolution

Chapter 76: Revolution

What was a phoenix? Phoenix was a mythical beast known for their immortality. Wearing a cloak of intense fire as well as veins of lava slithering under its skins, this creature was considered to be the most powerful and the ultimate goal of not just every beast hunter but also famer-seekers out there. But finding it would not be so easy as no one has ever succeeded in capturing a phoenix. Why? Because how were you supposed to find something if you didn't even know what it looked like?

Unlike popular belief, a phoenix was not a bird nor did it look like one. In fact, no one really knew or even have the faintest idea of what it was supposed to look like. Over millennia, there were many accounts of witnesses saying that they saw the legendary Phoenix. Yet, for a strange reason, none of them described the same thing. For some, the phoenix had the appearance of a young female human. Others saw a dragon-like creature. And many more disparate descriptions that really didn't help identifying the true form of the Phoenix, accompanied by the fact that there were so many claims about this creature with witnesses seeking fame, only to be unveiled later as a hoax. Yet, some researchers claimed that these testaments could all be true. How was it possible that all these descriptions could be talking about the same thing? Yes, you might confuse a human and an elf if they hid their ears but how could anyone confuse a dragon to a human or even a monster?

Here were the two possible theories proposed by those researchers. The first one was that each phoenix was unique in term of appearance, therefore explaining the multitudes of disparities between each account. The second theory was somewhat a bit odd: there was only one phoenix but the creature could change the appearance to its will or had some kind of shapeshifting ability to bend in with the other races. Perhaps this was a mechanism of survival instinct to avoid being hunted down. While these two theories were quite different from each other, they all shared one thing: a phoenix could very well look like a normal human being as well as a dragon.

In addition, everyone agreed on the one thing that made the Phoenix so special: their ability to resurrect upon death. If the Phoenix's will to live persisted, its body would turn to ashes upon death. From those ashes, a new Phoenix would be born. If you took in consideration this aspect, it could very well explain why the Phoenix was so rare. If they could not die, how come there wasn't more sighting of the Phoenix? But if you considered the existence of only one Phoenix being reborn each time it died, it would make sense that no one has ever found it.

So why were we talking about the Phoenix again? Well, something has happened recently, something big, something very similar to the resurrection of the Phoenix. But instead of the actual mythical creature, it was the world we were talking about.

Today, the old order of Astora has been thrown into disarray. The balance of power has been shifted. From the ashes of the old world, a new one was born. During her declaration to her countrymen and the rest of the world, Empress Morrigan has announced the merging of the three countries Zagon, Caelum and Malatas. The new country, formed by the combination of all these three kingdoms' territories, would be called Valhalla, the Promised Lands of Astora. This enunciation was accompanied with several major global changes and sets of rules.

First of all, there would be no distinction of races in her country. Aside for identification purpose, all citizens, whether of elven or human origin, would be given the same rights as anybody else. Any explicit, violent behavior of discrimination against one another would be severely punished along with the risk of exile. This would apply for any further race who would join Valhalla from now on.

Secondly, Valhalla has declared neutrality in the matter of the demons. In addition, Valhalla would also recognize Ragna as an independent country and called out to cease all hostilities between Ragna and any other country. While Morrigan did not say that all demons were good people and deserved the same rights as the new people of Valhalla, she asked everyone to have an open mind, clear of all prejudices before reaching to a judgment of their own, to have their own opinion about whether or not the demons were barbaric savages like many thought they were. For that, a 'Discovery Accord' has been made between Ragna and Valhalla. To put it simple, citizens of Ragna, although restricted to a small number at the beginning, would be allowed to travel to Valhalla via the Gates. These demons would serve as a social experiment to test the reaction of the public facing the 'terrifying creatures' they have been so afraid of.