In the 276th year of the San Calendar, everyone had begun to explore the world. The age of the sea had come, and exploration had expanded far beyond the Stormy Sea. Everyone believed that beyond the known world, there were unknown continents and new worlds that had yet to be explored.
Vessels sailed under the patronage of an aristocrat or a king, carrying the signs and banners of all of the great kingdoms. Adventurers set out with honor, wearing the emblems of a royal family or a church.
The three major churches gradually occupied the whole continent of Alen. With increasingly fierce competition growing among them, the churches also turned their eyes to the world outside the Alen Continent.
Many crazy people even tried to cross the ice sea and go to the ice land in order to see the end of the legendary world. Sadly, most of them never returned.
Edward was now at a large port in the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro. At the moment, a fleet that consisted of hundreds of boats was waiting to depart. In this era, besides the major kingdoms and churches, only wizards could assemble such large fleets.
A wizard mentor, who was beside Edward Kelermo, glanced in the direction of the Black Forest and the wizard tower. He then asked with great reluctance, “So, we’re giving everything up?”
Edward said, “My mentor, Bohr, once told me that Anthony, the great sage, once said that knowledge was the source of the wizards’ power. As we still have our knowledge, we have not truly given up anything.”
Edward looked out into the distance as he spoke. Over the vast sea, a flock of seabirds spread their wings and flew. The vast and boundless ocean had a tendency to make people feel passionate and ambitious.
“In the distance… That’s everything we want. That is our future! I am not wrong, and you are not wrong!” When Edward said this, his eyes looked very wise. He then he looked up and shouted, “Set sail!”
As a loud horn blew, the sound of sails being pulled and wheels turning increased. In the distant Hailuga Kingdom, they had developed steam boats that were powered by propellers, and they were even ready to develop and refine steam-powered and steel war boats! At that time, they would become the real king of the sea. But at present, steam boats had not been popularized yet.
The great fleet was heading east. Wizards in long robes were standing on the deck, holding the side of the boat and looking out into the distance. Some of them were young and some were old, but they were all looking forward, a bit confused and fearful of the future.
There were not only wizards, but also the wizards’ family members, as well as ordinary people on board. This was the first fleet, which would soon be followed by a large number of people, as well as a large number of wizards who went to Yala to build their kingdom.
As they travelled, the wind blew the sails and the water stirred up waves. The sun shone on the sea, reflecting a bright red off the water.
Now, in the middle of the wizard tower, Catherine stood alone at the top of the tower and looked at the distant sea. Although she could not see the team that was led by Edward Kelermo, she knew that they were leaving here and embarking on a long journey.
The original bustling wizard tower suddenly became empty, while crowded streets and various towers were also abandoned. Even busy wizard shops had been closed.
The wizard’s base camp, which had been in operation for nearly three hundred years, had also become empty in an instant. A large number of buildings had been demolished, libraries were vacant, and countless wizard servants and magical beasts had disappeared.
Even the railroad steam cars had stopped running. Under the rising sun, this place looked desolate, leaving only the lazy red dragon dozing at the foot of a mountain. Moreover, the black wizard tower and the black mountain ridges had a hopeless atmosphere under the sun’s light.
Most mentors, wizards, and apprentices had chosen to follow Edward Kelermo in pursuit of their futures. However, there were still many wizards who were reluctant to leave the wizard tower.
For Catherine and the rest of the wizards, Edward’s pursuit of the future was not what they wanted. For them, the wizard tower was an integral part of their lives.
After all, this was where all of their memories had been made. Within the tower were decades and even centuries of the traces of time, which were filled with classmates, friends, relatives and lovers. Even if everything else passed away with time, the wizard tower was eternal.
Catherine stood on the balcony of the tower as the sun slowly rose. A deep loneliness was etched on her face. Her blond hair and delicate facial features seemed to be immersed in the memories of the past. She was like a guardian of the past memories.
The future of the wizards! Will it really come?
—
In the extremely cold Amos Icefield, a statue of a giant knight with a sword stood on the cliff. In the snowy wind, many orc wizards exited from Colossus College and tipped their hats to the tall statue. A line of orc wizards, apprentices, and their families all stood in the ice world that spread to the horizon.
Felix Bliss, who was the fox wizard and also the dean of Colossus College, looked solemn and serious. “It’s time to start!” he said. “Let’s go!”
All of the orc wizards boarded boats along the coast and headed for the Swirl Continent to the South, where there was a much warmer and more comfortable environment than the Amos Icefield. But, for the orc wizards of Colossus College, their beliefs didn’t exist in the South.
Colosseum College and the wizard tower, which were both funded by the Sean City-State Alliance and alchemists, had assembled a large fleet to begin their journey to the future, and the whole world had changed dramatically because of this journey. The Yala Continent and the Swirl Continent, because of the arrival of the orcs, had become much more populated. In fact, the whole world was undergoing many subtle changes.
A few months later, the wizards and Edward Kelermo finally arrived in the north of Yala. They then traveled all the way to the eastern lowlands to establish their own kingdom.
With the arrival of the fleets, they began to multiply. At that time, a large number of merchant boats from the Sean City-State Alliance and the Kingdom of Rosa d’Oro also arrived.
Here, they established wizard systems, where everything was managed and controlled by the wizards. Years later, a kingdom was finally established, which was named after Edward Kelermo by his surname, in memory of his mentor and the second master of the wizard tower, Bohr Kelermo.