Chapter 302 - I Haven’t Heard that Name for a Long Time

Chief Elder nodded and invited Vaughn and Zenia to his office. He told everyone to leave the room. He instructed his young apprentice to guard the door to his office and not to let anyone in.

"What is it I can do for you?"

Vaughn took out the half-sphere from the inner pocket of his coat and placed it on the table. He removed the cover, and the half-sphere began to emit a faint glow.

Chief Elder's eyes widened when he saw it. Zenia did the same.

"Where did you get that?"

"It was placed inside the huge jar near the door of our bedroom. The jar seemed to have been sealed, but someone broke into our room. They must be looking for that half-sphere. I did not find anything more intriguing than that half-sphere inside the jar."

"So that's where that jar was placed. That's the other half of the Sphere of Destiny."

Chief Elder did not want to explain further. He believed that Vaughn would not ask anything further when he would not say anything more than what he told them.

Vaughn noticed that Chief Elder did not want to discuss the half-sphere, but he believed that their lives were nearly put in danger because of that thing. He should think of something and make Chief Elder spill everything about that half-sphere. 

"Chief Elder, if I did not detect that something was amiss when we returned that time, I may not be here standing in front of you right now."

Zenia looked at Vaughn and was amazed at how her husband could pull off such a statement with a straight face. He already told her that the men may have escaped in a hurry when they heard that someone opened the door. Those men must have detected that Vaughn was way stronger than them and got scared so they left in a hurry.

Chief Elder sighed and had no choice but to tell them everything.

"Alright, I will tell you about that Sphere of destiny but promise me that you will forget about it afterward. The less you know, the better. I will just tell this story to you as a form of apology."

Chief Elder took a deep breath and started the story.

Master Monsat and Master Mardox are blood-related brothers. Unfortunately, Master Monsat chose to cultivate dark magic. Master Mardox was the elder brother, and he was against using dark magic.

Their family had been keeping the Sphere of Destiny for many generations. No one knows about the exact power of the Sphere, but their late father gave half of the sphere to each of his sons. Their father did that because he was afraid that one of his sons might get enticed by the power of dark magic – it happened in their family before.

When my master, Master Mardox, became bedridden he entrusted the other half of the Sphere of Destiny to me. He told me to safeguard it and don't let his brother get his hands on that other half.

My master told me that the Sphere of Destiny must be whole to activate the Orb in Prazia. Only the Sphere of Destiny or the rightful heir can activate the Orb to break the seal that was keeping us trapped in Maecaea. There are other continents beside Maecaea. When the seal is broken, we are free to explore other continents. But, my master feared that it might be dangerous to go to the other continents. He believed that the person who sealed Maecaea did it to protect us.

Master Monsat somehow must've learned about the power of the Sphere of Destiny, but the half-sphere cannot activate the Orb. It needs the whole sphere. 

When Master Monsat learned of Master Mardox's death, he began searching for the other half of the sphere. I was afraid that they might learn that my master left the half-sphere to me so I escaped from Prazia and started a new life in Shadora. I heard that Master Monsat also passed away not long ago. Marquis Edmond is Master Monsat's lead disciple, and I heard that he is good at tracking people down. He must've gathered some lead that I'm here in Shadora.

"I thought the heir can activate the Orb to break the seal. King Odhran should be able to do that, can't he? I mean he's the current King of Prazia."

Zenia found the story interesting. She also felt that the Shadorans she had interacted with must've influenced her already – she was becoming gossipy.

Vaughn just kept quiet. He somehow guessed the story behind the Royal Family of Prazia. It was no better than that of Tissuria. He was glad that his wife was born from a loving, protective family. 

Chief Elder sighed and had no other choice but to tell the story from the beginning.

"Are you sure you have time for this? The story is long and boring."

"We have plenty of time. We already finished the things that we need to take care of in the morning."

"Well, I've warned you."

Chief Elder began narrating another story.

The next King of Prazia must be someone who possesses magic. I was sure back then that Third Prince Joram would be the one to inherit the throne. The current King of Prazia, King Odhran, was the Crown Prince of Prazia back then. 

But, the people of Prazia knew that it was a useless title since Prince Joram would eventually sit on the throne as the new King. The Ancient Scroll dictates that the one who has the most powerful magic among the Princes will be the next King regardless of his position.

Prince Odhran was the first-born son of the King of Prazia, and he was the only son of the Queen. She insisted that the title of Crown Prince must stay with Prince Odhran even though the elders already tested him and found no presence of magic within his body. 

The next ruler of Prazia must possess magic to activate the Orb, which can give an enormous amount of magic energy to help the Kingdom prosper. Prince Joram was the son of Second Consort, and the Queen insisted that her son should have the title of Crown Prince.

The King did not have a choice but to do what the Queen had asked. The Second Consort died from a mysterious illness, but a few months later the Queen died of the same illness. No one knew what caused it. But days before the Queen died, she told the King that Prince Odhran should marry the daughter of Duke Lavarone.

Prince Odhran did not want to marry the Duke's daughter and protested to his mother. But, the Queen was adamant about that marriage. There was a rumor that Prince Odhran had a lover in Tissuria, but we never verified the identity of that woman.

When the Queen died, The King of Prazia had decided to name the Third Prince as the next King. Prince Odhran did not want to give up the throne and colluded with Master Monsat, who initially believed that Prince Odhran was the true heir so he stopped searching for the other half of the sphere. He believed that Prince Odhran would grant his wish of using the Orb to break the seal. 

After some time, Master Monsat introduced his apprentice Marquis Edmond Quivel to Prince Odhran. It was Marquis Edmond who became close to Prince Odhran. They made a pact to help each other out. Master Monsat was glad at the turn of events. He gave Marquis Edmond Quivel the title of Dark Magic Lord to lead the Dark Magic faction. Master Monsat's health was already failing. 

Prince Odhran and the Dark Magic Lord became close allies. Prince Odhran introduced the Left Minister of Tissuria to the Dark Magic Lord. Their alliance grew stronger as the years went by. The health of the King of Prazia at the time continued to deteriorate until he finally died without naming the next King of Prazia.

To make the people believe that he had magic in his body, Prince Odhran sought help from Master Monsat. He promised Master Monsat that he would do everything in his power to help him in any way he can as long as the people would believe that there was magic in his body.

The elders found out what Prince Odhran wanted the people to believe. The elders knew too well that it was impossible for Prince Odhran to have magic. His body was not built to contain magic. Prince Odhran asked Marquis Edmond to help him get rid of the elders. The Marquis willingly carried out the plan and slaughtered all the elders. Ever since then, Prazia had no more elders to guide the King and the people.

Master Monsat was already bedridden, and it is possible that he no longer knew what his lead disciple had been doing. Many of the people did not buy the idea that Prince Odhran had magic. Chaos broke out, but Prince Odhran had Dark Magic faction on his side. There was also the Left Minister who hired people to concoct different types of elixirs and potions, which I believe could bring more harm than good.

In the end, Prince Joram had decided to flee to spare the lives of the citizens. 

"I don't know where Prince Joram went. I also learned that Master Monsat saved a boy whom he believed to be the son of Prince Joram. But, the Dark Magic Lord was against it. He must've feared that the son of Prince Joram might take away the throne from King Odhran. He knows that King Odhran cannot activate the Orb, and the son of Prince Joram will likely take what is rightfully his when he returns. He doesn't want Prince Joram's son to return to Prazia, and the best solution for him to carry out his plan is to find the other half of the sphere."

Zenia looked at Chief Elder suspiciously. He narrated it as if he was there the whole time.

"How come you know all of these?"

Chief Elder grinned, "The Shadorans are lovers of gossips and juicy facts. Do you think that they limit themselves within this Kingdom? You have been here for a few days, and you should know how they really are."

Vaughn and Zenia shuddered at Chief Elder's revelation. Could it be they were using a different and more effective way of spying? 

"Chief Elder do you know anyone named Dantes Astoria?"

It was Vaughn who popped the question. The Chief Elder looked at him with sadness in his eyes as he smiled.

"Ah, that is a name that I haven't heard for a long time."