The magic descended from beyond the heavens, and it is not an inherent thing of this world--such a shockingly absurd argument, if brought forth in the academic circle of the magical realm, would surely immediately ignite a storm of denunciations and criticism.
Magic is truly too commonplace a thing, like air, soil, and water. Very few people would delve into its existence or its origins. However, if someone were to claim that magic is a divine gift, not native to this world, many people might find it hard to accept.
Horn originally thought that Amostar Brein would be shocked to the extent of being unable to speak and would vehemently dispute its claim. After all, every great mage has a profound understanding of their own path of magic and would not easily believe unverified history.
However, Brein's response was far less intense than Horn had imagined; he merely politely said,
"Can you elaborate?"
Horn paused for a moment, turning around to stand before a star chart panel on the side wall. With a voice imbued with a hint of weariness, he said,
"In the distant ages, I cannot pinpoint the exact time, Mr. Brein. Perhaps it was tens of thousands of years ago. Back then, the land was desolate, nature lacked magical creatures, and human civilization and intelligence were yet to be awakened. Then, on one day with no forewarning, a world filled with magic suddenly descended from the stars."
No one knows why it has come here. Perhaps, it was just drifting in space, accidentally touched us and stopped on our existing star.
The magic world is not directly visible. It does not belong to the real world, but any living being can feel its existence and sense that it is pouring some mysterious power into our world.
In the years that followed, due to this mysterious power, our world underwent tremendous changes. The most intelligent humans on Earth were the first to learn how to harness this force, and the animals, nurtured by this power, also underwent wondrous transformations, with the forms of magical creatures spreading across the land."
Horn noticed that Brein was listening very attentively, without showing any absurd expressions, which made it very satisfied. So, he continued,
"--It is regrettable that this world filled with magic, its fate is to drift in the starry sky, it will not stay in a certain place forever."
After a long period of time, it began to drift away from this originally barren land, and its departure was a great disaster for the creatures that had become accustomed to the presence of magic. The beings gradually lost their magical abilities, and only the most gifted among them could retain their powers. But losing all this was only a matter of time."
Mythic Age - Ancient Era - Medieval Era - Modern Era
The words flashed through Amostar's mind.
As the magical world drifted away, ordinary people gradually became the rulers of the land, and the wizarding civilization began to thrive.
"Do you know about the Saints, Mr. Brein?"
Horn paused in his narration and asked Amostar a abrupt question.
"The title of the Saints has many layers of meaning. You must mean that it refers to the honorific given to individuals with great magical power during certain historical periods, including the Middle Ages and before, correct?"
Amostar calmly said.
"Yes."
Horn nodded slightly.
"After the magical world began to drift away from our own, gradually, ordinary people could no longer perceive its existence. However, there were some gifted lives that utilized the magical power existing on the Earth to nourish their souls, and powerful souls birthed spiritual force, thereby establishing a connection with the magical world. From then on, they had nearly limitless magic."
Horn watched as Amostar Brein appeared to be deep in thought.
"At some point, the magical world accelerated its departure from our world, and now it is incredibly far away from us. Therefore, it is no longer possible to become a Saint, Mr. Brein--"
"The period you are referring to--"
Amostar looked at the fresco and then said,
"It must be the Battle of Arthur and Merlin driving away Morgan le Fay. This earth-shaking war caused great changes in the magic on the Earth, thus causing the magical world to accelerate its departure from our world?"
There was a moment of silence, and without waiting for an answer, Amostar looked at Horn and saw a startled horse face.
"Hahaha--"
Amostar chuckled softly, his voice deep and rich.
"What's wrong? You look surprised?"
"You know," Horne said in surprise, "I thought I had read about this in the history of wizardry, Mr. Brein. There is no record of this history anywhere, how did you know?"
The young Amostar Brein in front of him really surprised Horn.
The young Amostar Brein before him truly astonished Horne. He knew about the centaurs protecting the Druids because of following Clea, and perhaps he saw through Miss Klios' disguise because he discovered some clues. It was likely that his reason for not choosing to fight in the castle was not to harm the young wizard. But how did he come to know about that hidden history?
It's worth noting that there are no records of this history in either the wizarding or muggle histories!
But Amostar spoke as if he had a thousand questions, and once again he asked casually,
"So, after the destruction of the Isle of Avalon, was it Merlin who settled you all in this forbidden forest?"
After that decisive battle, Merlin was the only surviving wizard.
King Arthur died in that decisive battle, the Queen of Avalon, Morgan le Fay, met the same fate, and the dark presence lurking in Morgan le Fay's body has been confirmed as one of the most evil and powerful dark wizards in recorded magic history, the dreadful Voldemort, who had no known whereabouts and may have not died.
After that war, in the time before Merlin completely disappeared, according to Amostar's current investigation, he had made some preparations.
He found Voldemort's lair, located in the Arcanian Temple atop the North Sea, and transported the temple along with Voldemort's discarded double-wand to the island of Avalon that had been 'tainted by death' during the war. Then he established a secret realm, sealing both Avalon and the temple together.
The underworld beneath Knockturn Alley and the Black Stone Tower within it were likely also established during that period. And according to the legends of the underworld, the Black Stone Tower was where Merlin finally buried himself, and opening it could grant one supernatural power.
This is clearly absurd, but Amostar has his own speculation on why Merlin built it, but his speculation still has some issues.
The old centaur was shocked to the point of fear.
Just moments ago, in the temple above, Brein had been asking the centaur why they did not continue to stay on the island of Avalon but instead migrated to the forbidden forest. But it was obvious to him that Amostar Brein knew everything about everything; he even suspected that Amostar Brein had secretly sneaked into the centaur's sacred sanctuary!
Looking at the frightened old centaur looking at himself, Amostar Brein shook his head and smiled. He had no intention of explaining to the centaur why he knew all of this. However, his heart was still heavy. From Horne's expression, Amostar knew that his guess was correct.
After the destruction of the Isle of Avalon, Merlin must have found some place for those magical creatures that once lived there. But he chose to leave this group of centaurs in the Forbidden Forest. It was an era before the four founders were born and before Hogwarts was established. What possible reason did Merlin have for leaving a group of centaurs here?
Amostar stood in front of the third door, with a sense that his doubts would be answered within.
(Chapter ends)
