347 The Story of Nine Continents (1/2)
The journey to the nearest town would take a week. In that week, Zero spent it talking with Camie and Truen who seemed to know a lot about Earth already for some reason. The wood elf denied it but Zero knew he was lying. Still, he didn't call out on Truen's bluff. He'd long known that while Truen was loyal to him and treated him well, the wood elf wasn't kind to everyone. Zero didn't mind that too much. After all, Baal and Beelzebub were similar too.
”Truen, you said that there are nine continents on Earth. What are they? Other than humans and giants I mean...”
The wood elf smiled. Camie also listened as the archer explained about Earth's history and how it came to have nine continents.
”I heard this from Schaf, it's a common story that humans tell their children but I don't really know what the truth is,” Truen said and Zero smiled.
”A long time ago, Earth had mountains, rivers and seas where every creature lived together in harmony. However, one day, the creatures on the planet all heard a voice coming from the sky that gave them knowledge. Armed with new knowledge about mana and magic, the creatures begin to explore their new powers and claim territories best suited for their gifts. However, due to disputes over territories, a war happened.”
Zero shuddered. He could almost picture it in his mind how everything came to be. Camie's eyes grew dim when Truen went into details about how the lands were divided. While the wood elf tried to make it less depressing to listen to, the giantess was familiar with a different version of the story.
In Truen's version, the races came together to settle the dispute by signing peace contracts and dividing the territories on Earth. The version that Camie knew from her childhood was different. After a huge massacre that led to the extinction of several races, the remaining races only called a truce when the enraged Gods of the Earth threatened to destroy the planet. Of the known Gods that made a trip to Earth, the Norse Gods were one of them. Hyndla was the goddess that descended and founded Magnus Hilda with her power in society. She taught the giants about the other Norse Gods but the most famous ones that Magnus Hilda still worships till this day are Odin, Thor and Loki.
Zero nodded as Truen concluded his tale.
Truen nodded. ”That sounds about right. Earth is rather interesting, isn't it?”
Zero made a face. ”It doesn't sound like a good peace treaty. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone learnt how to share? It's ridiculous for a race to occupy all the sea or all the mountains or all the deserts. Where can we get the resources only unique to those places?”
Camie smiled. ”This is why guilds exist. Adventurers, traders and even magicians have guilds all over the planet so that these people can travel freely as some kind of global ambassador to fulfil the request of countries that require certain things that they cannot get easily because of the treaty.”
Truen nodded. ”Which is why we are going to get you registered as quickly as possible. If you want to be a travelling doctor, you have to be approved as a doctor and get the permission required for you to be able to pass all sorts of borders and territories. There is currently no greater travel freedom than being registered with a guild.”
The doctor thought about it. ”Is there a guild for doctors?”
Truen didn't know. He honestly hasn't heard of such a guild even if there were guilds for assassins and criminals. Camie shook her head. ”There isn't one for doctors so far. Most healers register with the church and represent their god. We call them missionaries because they go around healing people, praying, exorcism and doing all sorts of good deeds in exchange for alms.”
Zero raised a brow. ”Represent a god?”
The giantess nodded. ”Even in Half Moon village, many of us have religions where we devote our prayers to a god. Some people choose to follow a few gods but most people will follow one that they believe in who will answer their prayers. For example, Lovina prays to Merlin the god of magic and alchemy. The giants in Magnus Hilda mostly pay to Odin the founder god, Thor the god of protection or Loki the god of mischief.”
Zero's jaw slackened. ”Why would anyone pray to the god of mischief?”
Camie giggled. ”Loki is a god of mischief but he is also said to play tricks on only the bad people. Naturally, those who pray to him are asking for help with revenge or a better life. Also, I actually don't pray to these three gods. My family and I pray to goddess Hyndla instead because we ask for peace in Magnus Hilda for as long as possible although our prayers seem to be unanswered. The people of the land are falling ill but nobody has answered our prayers.”
Zero frowned. That was odd. He knew about the Norse gods but the only one he knew survived the massacre was Freya who had later become a Great God. He had an inkling that the gods Earth worshipped played a crucial role in how their land developed and how much they prospered. Maybe the giants were praying to the wrong gods which resulted in the misfortune that they had now but Zero couldn't say that aloud without seeing for himself the actual cause of that plague.