Priests

Characters; Legor, Samuel, Gritto, Harmonia, Hellin, Alice and Rhinne.

Centuries after the Heroes had sealed the Black Mage, there was a threat in Maple World. The seal had been weakening over the years, and through tight calculations in Omega Sector, the moment that he would reawaken was impending, closer and closer. Leafre prepared for the moment when the Black Mage would return, and all hell would break loose.

However, five people rose up. While many would call them far from heroes, they rose up to the challenge. Volunteering to send themselves to death, they left Leafre to draw close to the Temple of Time. And there, they sat in vigil.

All five of them were rather ordinary people. Two elves, three humans. One of each class. Their original names had been lost for centuries now.

Sitting in a circle, they awaited the Black Mage’s arrival. And when he appeared, weak from the seal and weak from centuries of stasis, the five took their chances. They immediately resealed him, fighting his power off and giving their lives to save Maple World.

The Transcendents of Life and Time watched the entire event, congratulating them. The two of them, holier beings, used their powers to bend the rules, and revived them as their own race. All of them revived, blind, but without any reason to see. All-knowing, all-understanding, with the ability to assess, to become. They had become prophets themselves, beings of great power, without any limit. And yet, despite the World Tree’s efforts, they could not survive for long.

Their first moments in the world led to their deaths rather swiftly – the power in their bodies could not stabilize in the normal air. And thus, Rhinne and the World Tree bent reality to make a forest for them.

At first, there was an absurdly complicated name for the forest. Rhinne had titled it the “Aetherimantra,” representing the holy air and words that were common in the forest’s trees.

When the Chief of Leafre had heard about this Aetherimantra, he immediately sent word to those of importance – specifically, to the Victoria Island Instructors. Through him, they began to organize a process. Those deemed worthy by the El Nathian Instructors would be sent for assessment by the holy five. And those that passed would get a glimpse into the powers that they called fourth job.

Because they were the only ones able to do them, and no other power came anywhere near as close … The five of them were the only ones that could bring the Adventurers such power, such an amazing ability to fight … Because they were the only ones to be able to administer that sort of power, they were regarded as priests.

And as the name Aetherimantra faded out of use, a new name came up. Forest of the Priests, they called it. And in a way, it fit more than Aetherimantra ever could.

These five, once nobodies that sacrificed themselves to save the world, now named names that are known around the world … They are nothing short of true priests.