They say that in the decades following the end of the Archon War, relations among the various races reached a relatively peaceful state.
The second golden age of the Gael Continent had arrived.
Humans, elves, demi-humans, beastfolk, and even dragon-kind—all showed one another remarkable goodwill.
And it’s said that back then, there was a lush and warm great forest, home to countless animals and magical beasts, as well as a reclusive community of elves hidden deep within.
In truth, magical beasts weren’t the evil beings they are today. They were originally ordinary animals, only they had happened to acquire a fair amount of magical power.
Animals and magical beasts never quarrelled or fought; they lived together in harmony.
Though strange things had been happening ever since animals first encountered magical beasts, everyone had grown used to it—magical beasts generally had much shorter lifespans than ordinary animals and were more prone to illness.
“My childhood friend passed away? No, we were having such a good time just a moment ago…” Such sorrowful words were spoken every day, and their once-free lives grew increasingly strained.
Seeking answers and a solution, the animals and magical beasts went to plead with the elves.
“I’m sorry, but even we cannot fully resolve this. Yet that is precisely why we must all strive to adapt, to face a brighter future, and to create a way to prevent this in the years to come.”
Hearing the elves’ words, the animals and magical beasts understood. They resolved to cherish every day they spent with their friends… and gradually, their free and peaceful lives returned.
Funerals happened every day, but so did celebrations of new life—as if the departed magical beasts had boarded a ship of rebirth in the afterlife and sailed back to the living world.
Then, one morning, a young girl in a hooded cloak and woollen sweater paid a visit to the tranquil forest.
She called herself a messenger of peace, an ordinary mortal seeking a quiet life. The animals, who cherished harmony and were full of curiosity, soon warmed up to her.
The first thing they noticed about her was the colour blue—she had long hair as blue as the sky, wore a sea-blue sweater, and even her favourite colour was blue.
Life went on as before…
Until the very first magical beast passed away right before the girl’s eyes. Only then did the animals tell her the truth—they had wanted to keep this sad news from their new friend.
“I see… so that’s how it is. Do you want to know why magical beasts decay so quickly? Let me explain.”
The girl gathered the animals together and began to speak.
The magical power gathered within magical beasts originally circulated through a network of “mana organs” that formed magical circuits within their bodies. Under normal circumstances, this magic wasn’t fatal.
But as days and months piled up, the mana inside the beasts couldn’t be released in proper amounts and became congested. This eventually aged the mana organs and even caused the circuits to rupture… The magic kept leaking and spreading into the beasts’ flesh, altering their physiology and ultimately making them unable to adapt to their environment—leading to death.
The animals thought the girl’s analysis was remarkably sound, and they pleaded with her to find a solution.
“…I wish I could. All right—here’s what I’ll do! I’ll teach the magical beasts some simple magic. That way, they can release their built-up mana and also improve their daily lives. And the reason I can understand your speech? That’s magic too.”
Overjoyed at the news, the animals bounded around her in delight.
The next day, the chieftains of the various magical beast clans came before the girl and begged for what they called salvation.
“O messenger of peace, please grant us the way to salvation.”
“Chieftains, thank you for trusting me enough to come and give this a try. If this works, it could break the thousand-year curse upon magical beasts… ahem—pardon me, I was trying out a different way of speaking just now.”
And so the girl began teaching the chieftains the fundamentals of magic—
In her view, magic was a kind of special incantation born from the caster’s thoughts, guided by mana to interweave and become the vessel for the spell. Then, by muttering a few technical phrases, one could make the magic take effect…
But the girl had never attended a magic academy. She didn’t really understand the mechanics behind it—she only knew that this was how she’d always done it.
Though the chieftains failed many times, they didn’t lose heart. For the sake of their race’s future, they tried again and again.
“In short, try to see if you can manipulate the movement and size of the wind. Don’t be too tense, or your thoughts will become jumbled… Focus calmly on what you’re envisioning.”
The chieftains nodded one by one and attempted to make the wind blow the dead leaves away, but nothing seemed to work.
Then, in that fleeting, hopeful instant—
One withered leaf after another began to float, slowly and haltingly drifting toward the wolf chieftain.
“It worked! You’ve harnessed the wind, Wolf Chieftain!”
The girl hopped and skipped with excitement, then turned to the other chieftains.
“Don’t worry—I’ll teach you more, like water magic… Actually, why don’t you all head back for now? I’ll figure out the best approach. And if you run into any trouble, call for me right away.”
Perhaps, with the girl’s help, the fate of the magical beasts could truly be changed.
“Wolf Chieftain, please pass along what you’ve learned to your kin, so they can relieve their own built-up mana as well.”
The chieftain nodded, and the others likewise bowed in gratitude to the girl.
…
“It’s not me—I didn’t turn them into this! Everyone, really—trust me!!”
…
In the quiet night, the girl was feeling quite pleased with herself over the lessons she’d prepared, when suddenly she heard the mournful cries of animals.
“What’s happening?!”
Knowing it must be urgent, she flung the door open—and there were several tiny birds hopping anxiously on the eaves, a pack of wolves howling mournfully before her house, and standing in the middle, a massive bear cradling another bear in its arms, as if it were its cub.
“What happened?” she asked again. The wolves before the great bear all prostrated themselves in a gesture of supplication, and the bear bowed its head.
“Please save my child!”
Its voice was deep and low, and every word revealed its desperation.
The girl immediately took the cub and laid it gently on the ground. One look told her this was a symptom of worsening mana corruption.
“If I’m not wrong… I hope this method works.”
Bears generally symbolise the earth—perhaps they were also close to the element of earth.
The cub had already lost consciousness and couldn’t use magic on its own to expel the excess, and even if it learned now, it wouldn’t be able to drain the mana back to a sustainable level in time.
The girl straightened the cub, placed a hand on its back, hesitated for a moment, and then began to chant.
“May your body be as I will… There—this should temporarily connect to its mana circuits.”
Since the patient was still unconscious, she would act as the conduit herself and directly release its mana.
By resonating with the mana circuits, she could connect to them and directly draw upon the mana inside the linked magical beast—
Though this method had rarely been used before, the girl was about to employ it now to treat a special condition.
“…I don’t know any high-consumption earth-element spells, though. Honestly, the only thing I can do is condense a meteor in the air and drop it on the ground…”
And this was just a cub—could it withstand such a massive one-time mana output? Every method came with its own consequences.
The girl was just a traveller, after all. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded with resolve, deciding to give it a try.
The bear and the other animals watched her with a mixture of hope and worry—hoping for good news, yet anxious about what she was about to do…
By then, the girl had already switched to a different approach. She adjusted the path of the mana circuit, redirecting it toward herself. Her idea was to transfer the excess stored mana swiftly into her own body through the circuit’s realignment.
That was her plan, and she put it into action. Not long after, the ailing cub’s face began to regain its colour. Its eyelids twitched—and then it opened its eyes.
“Father? What happened to me?”
Hearing its son’s voice, the great bear immediately scooped it up and spun around several times in joy.
—What exactly had happened?
Why had the cub suddenly fallen ill?
What would become of the forest’s fate?
Look forward to the true birth of Black Forest!
This is a novel that lay sealed for centuries.
Legend has it that it was adapted from the author’s true-life memoirs…
