In complete silence, the two sat there reading books, but nothing was as Nero had hoped. The books only ever vaguely mentioned the past of the three races.
After Nero put his fifth book aside, he was already about to get up to fetch new ones when Eleanor suddenly spoke to him, "I think this book might interest you!"
Nero, who had been halfway standing, sat back down. He took the book that Eleanor handed him. "It's not the most precise, but it's definitely a start. It goes into quite a lot of detail about the conflict of the three races," Eleanor explained.
Nero read the cover of the book, which was written in simple white letters: "The longest war in world history."
It was an old book, the cover showed heavy signs of use, and the pages were already yellow and brownish. The entire book was written in beautiful handwriting. On the first page, there was a short foreword, in which the author introduced himself as Earl Golier, historian and professor at the University of Hessel. He wrote this book with the firm belief that it was of the greatest importance for future generations to reconcile with the other two dominant races. However, in his opinion, this required knowledge of the past and the origins of the conflict.
The first chapter of the book dealt with the time before the war, when the three races lived side by side peacefully. Although there were already the respective continents where the different races were predominant, namely Huma, the continent of humans, Rita, the continent of the Lizzians, and Okrie, the continent of the Reils.
But before the conflict, it was not only allowed to cross the borders of the other continents, it was not uncommon for Reils to live in Huma, or for humans to live in Okrie, and so on. The cities were filled with members of all three races, who vacationed there, traded, or even lived there. There were no accusations, no prejudice; instead, it was a peaceful coexistence. From time to time, there were even families from different races, which were in no way persecuted.
'This may seem unimaginable,' Golier wrote, 'but this is what is recorded in ancient documents; marriage certificates were even found between humans and the other races. Nowadays, this is not only frowned upon, but it would be considered a betrayal of humanity, and I am sure that it is handled no differently on the other two continents. But does this not sound much better than what we have today? Constant fear, paranoia, and hatred. Do we not all want to return to a time of peace?'
The author continued to write about the shared life of the three races and also went into detail about the council, the rulers, and the glorious city of Krisalis.
'Nowadays, when one thinks of Krisalis, one only thinks of a forbidden and dangerous place where only soldiers and mages are stationed, but back then, this was the name of the greatest and most glorious city in the world, where culture, science, theology, arcane knowledge, and society were at the peak of their time. Today, only ruins remain, which hint at this once so glorious city.'
Finally, the author addressed the conflict, but here Nero was disappointed once again.
Because even Golier could only form theories about what exactly had happened. It was a day like any other, people traded, laughed, and loved. The sun stood in the sky as it did every day, the birds sang, and the cycle continued. No one could have guessed that this would be the day when the entire dynamic of the world would change.
In Krisalis, another council meeting was taking place, but this time it was not a peaceful discussion; instead, a dispute raged that escalated to an enormous extent. To this day, it is unknown what this dispute was about, but the most likely theory has something to do with an artifact that was supposedly found in Krisalis.
Since Krisalis did not belong to any of the three continents, there was no one who had a direct claim to the treasure. What exactly this artifact was, no one knows, if this was even truly the reason or just the talk of confused minds. But one can only imagine how powerful or important this object must have been for it to lead to such a massive escalation.
The author deeply regretted not having found anything concrete about the exact cause of the conflict, but that could not be changed. What mattered was not why, but what happened.
Because a battle broke out in the heart of the city of Krisalis, between the council members and the rulers of the different races. Almost all of them died, except for the ruler of the humans, the ruler and two council members of the Lizzians, and three council members of the Reils, although their ruler was killed.
This was, of course, an unforgivable event, which immediately triggered the escalation of all three races, beginning with the Reils, who naturally harbored the greatest resentment due to the loss of their ruler. That very evening, the entire continent of Okrie was swept through, capturing or executing all humans and Lizzians on the spot. In response, the humans acted, and finally, the Lizzians, who did exactly the same.
Friends were separated, families torn apart, and eventually armies were raised, soldiers sent into war, which of course began at Krisalis.
'Because of a conflict of a few individuals,' Golier wrote, 'the bloodiest war in the entire history of the world began, which continues to this day.'
Suddenly, from one day to the next, humans had to fight against Lizzians and Reils, some of whom might have even been close friends. Anyone who resisted was imprisoned together with the Lizzians and Reils. They were marked as traitors, as disloyal to their own race.
Meanwhile, the war in Krisalis escalated further and further. The three massive armies slaughtered each other in countless battles, and millions died within weeks and months. The city of Krisalis was completely destroyed in the process. For decades, the war continued, with weeks where nothing happened and others where millions died, yet no one made progress. Whenever one of the three races advanced into the territory of another, the third took advantage of it and attacked them from the side. This resulted in a bloody stalemate, which has lasted to this day.
Over the following decades and centuries, the last people with good memories of the Reils and Lizzians died. All that remained were memories of war and hatred. Thus, from the once beautifully united society, three hateful enemies emerged, who, like hungry predators, waited only for a sign of weakness to fall upon each other and tear each other apart.
'But in the end there will be no victor,' the author wrote, 'only two exterminated races and one on the brink of destruction. And the generals, leaders, and even our ruler, long may he reign, know this, yet out of pure stubbornness, none of them yield. They will be the end of all of us if they do not come to an agreement, set aside their long-forgotten resentment, and reconcile. Every day, one hears rumors of spies, traitors, and new small battles. So much blood has already been spilled; when will it finally end? When no one is left standing?'
After that, he went into detail about the current "peace," which consisted of an incredibly fragile balance between the three races.
'An unfortunate event, a wrong command, a wrong provocation, could destroy this balance and start the next great war, and I do not believe it will end this time; instead, we will destroy each other. I do not need to be a prophet to see that, and neither do you, dear reader. We are already weakened, no longer as strong as we once were, because we are consumed by internal and external conflicts. I cannot speak for the Reils or the Lizzians, but humanity will not win this war. Therefore, we must seek peace, a final one.'
Nero read this book with great interest. It was incredibly informative. Yet he wished he had learned more about the trigger of the war.
After that, the author only went into more detail about the most important battles of the war, which Nero only skimmed halfheartedly, his thoughts already partially focused on this strange artifact. It must indeed be a very powerful object if it led to such an escalation, but who had it now? Or was it still in Krisalis, already forgotten?
Nero thought about it. Of course, he was aware that this was only one of many theories, but if it were true and he could obtain this artifact, then it could greatly assist him in his plans. Because if this artifact had once provoked a war at a time when the races were reconciled, then now, when they were practically looking for a reason to fight, it could certainly start another war.
But was it worth the risk? Krisalis was the most heavily guarded place in the entire world because that was where the three continents met. There were, of course, routes across the oceans, but they were too dangerous to cross, because according to Fril, creatures of great power lurked within them. Only very small groups of mages could cross these seas.
Nero could probably make it via the ocean route, but he did not want to go to one of the other continents, at least not yet; instead, he wanted to go to Krisalis. He clicked his tongue because he knew that this would be just as difficult as killing the current ruler of humanity.