In the heart of a distant, vast, and magnificent world, where magic and peculiar phenomena were commonplace, lay a gorgeous city. The jewel of the Franca empire, named after the first princess of its founder, Rose De Franca.
The artistic architectural style, booming economy, and robust, mighty walls housing hundreds of soldiers and defensive war machinery made this city the pride of the empire.
Within the palace, vast enough to encompass an entire village with its tall towers adorned with beautiful mosaic windows, servants scurried about, preparing for one of the biggest and most important meetings this world had ever seen. Kings and Emperors were scheduled to arrive in less than one hour to decide the world's fate in an extraordinary meeting.
In one of the palace's chambers, a young woman paced nervously, attempting to adjust the speech she had prepared to convince the world's rulers to make the only choice that had to save the world.
Despite her young appearance, in less than an hour, she would confront this world's elites over the greatest threat they had ever faced.
In a world where strength was valued above all, how could an individual, appearing no older than twenty-five years old, convince those mighty rulers to choose her plans? One that most would dismiss as crazy, no less.
However, she was convinced that their only hope to survive what was to come relied on it.
"Breathe, Elisabeth. You can do it! You can convince those old fogies." She murmured, mustering courage before her stressful speech. "For the world's future, you have to!"
Knock, knock, knock.
"Your Highness, it is almost time. Should we head to the great hall to welcome them?" the palace's head butler asked from the corridor, his gentle voice relieving a bit of her panic.
Taking a deep breath, Elisabeth instantly composed herself and answered with the dignity befitting royalty as she opened the door, "Yes, please. Lead the way."
Simultaneously, in front of a massive stone structure, servants bowed and guided the first arriving guests.
The structure, a technological marvel mixing alchemy, enchantments and deep study of space, was called a Gate. Used for long-distance travel, it granted the nobility swift access to distant lands.
The mana hummed as a blonde, middle-aged man stepped out of it accompanied by two people.
Standing over two meters tall, with a stern, shaved face and wearing a luxurious costume, he scanned his surroundings warily with his deep blue eyes, his right hand resting on the pommel of his beautiful sword. His bulky physique promised a world of pain to any threat to his liege.
"At ease, Marquis Mathias. Nothing will happen. After all, the world's rulers are gathered here," said King Leon, an old man who looked well beyond his seventies. Despite his advanced age and long white beard, his pale grey eyes emitted the sharp glint of wisdom of an old sage.
"This is my duty, your highness. I swore to protect you no matter the location," Mathias replied with the strictness expected from someone with his demeanor.
"Come on, you're always so serious. What are you expecting to happen in the palace of the Franca Empire? Especially when the world's rulers are all invited? A terrorist attack? Stop your paranoia and enjoy the meeting." The third person, a mischievous-looking blue-haired lady who appeared no older than 30, said in a taunting tone.
Her elegant dark blue dress fluttered in the wind as she fixed her cape embroidered with complex magic symbols, representing her rank as the captain of the royal mage order.
Before Mathias could respond, King Leon interjected, "Enough, Alice. We didn't come here to enjoy. Save your rivalry for later." Then, he gazed at Mathias reassuredly. "Everyone answered the call to discuss the world's fate, not start a world war. Let's head in. I'm eager to discover what solutions will be brought to the table."
Simultaneously, a young servant approached them, asking to be followed to the great hall, where they would be served beverages and wait for the last guests.
They marvelled at the architecture and art as they strode into the great hall. Magnificent, engraved marble columns supported a high ceiling adorned with colourful paintings depicting the glorious past of the Franca Empire.
Colorful lights danced everywhere in an enchanting spectacle thanks to the intricate mosaic glasses as they progressed to their seats.
A charming young woman seated at a large round table in the middle smiled at them before focusing her attention on the net guesses.
She appeared no older than twenty-five, her hazel eyes and long, elegantly braided blonde hair catching the light. Adorned in a white ceremonial dress embroidered with sumptuous golden patterns, she exuded an air of grace and regality.
After a few minutes and with every seat filled, the young woman stood up, her voice echoing gracefully in the large hall.
"In the name of the Franca empire, I, Elisabeth De Franca, welcome you, kings, emperors, and nobles of the world to Rose. I have invited you today to discuss what is to come and what countermeasures and contingency plans must be made to avoid the worst."
"My ability allows me to peer into the future. I have seen a war, the greatest that has ever occurred since the beginning of time. I have seen death and destruction everywhere. Nothing and no one still stood after its ravages. That is why the presence of every ruler is necessary. We won't be able to overcome this crisis without working together."
After these revelations, even though everyone knew more or less what to expect, the hall erupted into boisterous exchanges.
Despite knowing why they were invited, hearing about a disastrous war from the mouth of the world's most renowned oracle shocked them. Especially when said war was supposed to leave nothing standing behind it.
"Who is going to start it? Tell us his name! We'll kill him right here and there, avoiding the catastrophe!" someone shouted, forcing the loud chatter to calm down with his question.
If they could prevent the impending death and destruction scenario by eliminating the culprit in advance, why wouldn't they?
Elisabeth shook her head, her eyes closed as she explained, "Unfortunately, the menace is veiled in shadows, escaping my sight. Perhaps the culprit has strong anti-divination artifacts, has abilities to escape divination, or isn't born yet. Regardless, we still have a window of twenty-five to thirty years before the war, give or take."
"We must allocate significant resources and bolster our military prowess to confront this threat head-on!" declared the emperor of a renowned nation, his voice resounding with authority and determination.
"That's an excellent idea. We should also establish schools accessible to commoners, where they can learn magic, become mages, and be integrated into our military," King Leon proposed, his expression bright with optimism.
However, his proposition was met with scornful glances from the other rulers. In a world of nobility, who would even think about letting commoners mix with nobles, especially in schools?
"I never thought I would hear something so outrageous. Do you truly intend to turn commoners into mages for recruitment? Are they to be elevated despite being inferior to even the lowliest noble? Did you finally become senile, old man?"
A heavy silence descended in the hall. The man who insulted King Leon was the self-proclaimed Beast Emperor of the Beast Empire, located on the southern continent.
He was on the brink of unifying the entire continent and stood as the most war-driven ruler on the planet. The Beast Emperor exuded pride, even arrogance, embracing the philosophy that proclaimed 'might makes right'.
"It's merely a logical proposition. No need to be vexed, even if it doesn't suit your fancy. You resemble a child denied dessert for the evening. Quite endearing," King Leon retorted, his lips forming a mocking smirk. Who was he to endure public insults from a mere brat?
"Pfft," Alice, the mischievous mage, couldn't stifle her laughter, earning a deadly glare from the Beast Emperor. He would have torn her apart if they weren't in the midst of this meeting.
King Leon glanced at her, his expression shifting to one of admonition, sensing trouble stirring in the air like a gathering storm.
"Please, everyone, calm down," a neighboring kingdom's king began, his voice amiable yet firm. "While King Leon's proposal to allow the formation and recruitment of mages seems sound, it carries significant risks that we cannot ignore."
"Consider the ensuing chaos if commoners flooded our cities seeking official magical education. It would disrupt our supply chains and threaten the stability of our realm."
"Moreover, we must acknowledge the sheer numbers of the common folk. Even if their magical abilities are inferior to ours, granting them access to such power poses a grave threat to our control."
He emphasized their superiority by insisting on the worst part, making King Leon frown.
Nurturing commoner mages, no matter how weak they were, without the means to monitor them to ensure they wouldn't abuse their powers, commit evil deeds, or rebel over a large territory didn't seem that great of an idea to any of the rulers.
It would be too much work for too few benefits. After all, they wouldn't be strong enough to make a big difference, anyway.
Every ruler nodded, agreeing with him as Elisabeth's voice suddenly resounded strongly.
"If I may have your attention. I have a plan. You may not like it, but it has the highest chance of success."
Everyone turned to gaze at her, waiting to hear the plan they wouldn't like with curiosity.
"In order to survive the future great war, we must take drastic measures. We need to summon warriors and train them before we run out of time."
They unanimously agreed. They didn't like her plan.
"Are you for real? After the commoners becoming mages, we have the summoning of aliens as a proposition..."
"King Leon, I can't hold my laughter in anymore." Tugging at King Leon's sleeve, Alice said, tears welling in her eyes.
"I'm still wondering why we took you with us..." Mathias muttered in annoyance after hearing her.
King Leon ignored her and asked, his eyes gleaming in interest, "Why would we summon warriors? Isn't it easier to train our own?"
Elisabeth responded, her voice filled with enthusiasm, "We discovered an old magic ritual that allows us to summon several million otherworldly human souls. They will then be reincarnated in our world with their memories sealed until they reach the age of thirteen, becoming authentic inhabitants of our world."
"Past that age, their memories will be merged, forcing the awakening of a unique talent based on their personality and life. In addition, they will also be able to see their status, allowing them to improve the areas they are lacking. In short, they will have a unique talent like the nobles and a tool allowing them to progress much faster than any warrior from our world."
"What about the price?" Beast emperor asked, tapping on his desk in thought. Such a potent ritual couldn't be free.
"Half of our world's life force will be consumed to fuel the spell. I know it's a lot, but the world will end up destroyed if we don't. Despite the steep price, the world will slowly recover," Elisabeth answered.
"How are we going to control those warriors? Are we just going to summon the equivalent of several million nobles equipped with amazing tools and let them loose in the wild?" a long-eared king asked with concern.
"Do not worry. We have that covered. Along with the summoning ritual, we found and deciphered another spell. This one allows us to detect sealed memories within creatures."
"With that spell, our kingdom's mages can search for them from the moment we proceed with the summon until they turn thirteen. After that, each kingdom can train, monitor, and control the warriors they find however they want."
After the shocking revelations, the Kings and Emperors inquired for further specifics regarding the plan for the next few hours, filling the hall with boisterous discussions.
"What do you think about the plan, Alice?" King Leon asked.
"I'm not sure. I have never heard about that ritual. However, as a mage, I find it disheartening to lose half the world's life force to use it. The potency of our spells will be halved," Alice replied with a frown.
"According to Elisabeth, it is our best shot at survival, though," Mathias said, not wanting to be left out of the conversation.
"Mhhh, that's indeed a plan no one likes. However, it is true that having millions of controllable warriors with special talents and rapid development in less than three decades is indeed tempting. I need more time to make a choice".
Seeing the day turning into night after pondering and discussing for hours, it was decided that the final decision would be taken the next day.