Chapter 3 - Zara: A Lesson in Life

"Twelve hundred years ago, the Last War began. All the countries of the world battled for dominance with great and terrifying weaponry. The war lasted for almost a decade, until all nations involved were without resources. The world settled back into peace. But the peace was not to be. Militant groups that had been hiding revealed themselves and destroyed the governments of every major country in the world. Anarchy ensued, and religious organizations clashed with the militant groups in a fight for dominance."

"Eventually, the religious factions joined together and began organized attacks on the militants. Thus ended the Last War. But the differences in faith could keep the religions unified no more. What followed is what we now call the After War. It is sometimes known as the Holy War. Zara, are you paying attention?"

"Of course Kala-sensei."

"Well, you should pay more attention to me and spend a little less time taking notes. Now, where was I?"

"The Holy War, Kala-sensei."

"Yes, right. The multitude of religions that once existed in the world were thrown into chaos. Entire religions were eliminated. Others that had previously had little following began to strengthen."

"Eventually it became as we know it today, with the surviving religions being Christianity, Catholicism, Shinto, Buddhism, Wicca, and, of course, the Followers of Saetan."

"Is it true, Kala-sensei, that Shinto was once a religion that worshipped the dead of long past?"

"Yes, child. Our religion was once different than it is now. Over the course of time, though, the influence of the other beliefs, especially the long dead Tao, altered it so that we now follow it's literal meaning, 'the way of god.' In truth, the only thing that seperates us from the Christians is our use of Heiho-Ki and the fact that we actually follow the tenants of our religion."

"The surviving religions each chose one of the dozens of languages to further seperate themselves from each other. The Christians chose Ersatz, which was once known as English; the Catholics: Passala, which was previously Italian; those of our own Shinto religion spoke Yamato, which used to be called Japanese; the Buddhists, followers of peace, also chose the Yamatoan language; and the Wiccans spoke Srutan, previously German. The Followers of Saetan chose the ancient Latin and did not change the name of their language as the others had.

"After three hundred years the Catholic Empire began to fall. The Christians were next, and the others quickly followed suit. Religion had failed as a governing body, and anarchy reigned again. It was not until a hundred years later that a man named Dewvron gave the world a government once again. Dewvron created a feudal system of lords that would oversee and care for the people. He made it so that these lords would answer directly to a higher authority such as a king or emperor. Most important of all, he outlawed the study, creation, excavation, and ownership of any item belonging to the technology that had begun the Last War. These items are now considered to us to be Forbidden Technology."

"Dewvron then seperated the world into countries, claiming Untala, which was once called America, as his own country. He later divided the continent further still, into seven countries. Peace settled in. The religions intermixed once again, and language once again became based on residence rather than religion. The exception to this is Latin, as the Church of Shai'atan refuses, to this day, to allow any not of their church to learn the ancient tongue. But, becoming more populus than the religions, athiesm spread. The religions each became weakened, but still exist in moderate numbers."

"And that is the way the world is today, my young pupil. We shall cover each area in greater detail in future lessons. You are now dismissed."

"Thank you, Kala-sensei," Zara said, and got up to leave. She paused at the door, and turnedto once again face her new teacher. "Kala-sensei? Do you know the other three of the four languages?"

"Why, yes I do. Why do you ask?"

"Would you teach them to me, Kala-sensei?"

Kala smiled warmly. "Of course I will, child. We shall begin your language studies immediately after your first lesson in Heiho-Ki. I am impressed by your desire to learn. Now off to lunch with you."

After Zara left, Kala lost himself in thought. The child was strong in the power, that was to be sure of. The only insecurity in her training was her teacher. Kala didn't know if he would live long enough to teach her everything he knew. This was essential, as Kala had seen the pupils of the other instructors and knew that Zara was the only one who could possibly claim the title of High Priest. "High Priestess, in this case," he whispered to the empty room. Another factor was that at twelve, she was so much older than the other students. Kala would have only four years until her exodus. "Well, only time will tell if it is possible."