Darius opened his eyes and gazed around himself. Xela seemed stunned by his sudden awakening, which told Darius that he likely had spent almost no time in reality.
Darius noticed that the other fellow that came with them had furrowed brows and a tough expression as he grit his teeth. To Darius' left, Gunner's eyes were already opened, displaying a bored expression.
Darius' lips twitched. There was no doubt in his mind that the half-giant had 100% passed a cruel and bluntly fair judgment on all parties, without caring who they were to him, even if it might have been another version of Darius or Xela involved.
The Itemancer noticed that the third batch of people rose to their feet and left the tower slowly. They were those who had failed the Test of Fortitude, leaving only four people in the room.
Darius then watched the incense in his and Gunner's burners being swapped out once more. It was now a bright blue color that looked calm and refreshing. The incense lit itself and sent its smoke wafting into the nose of the final two.
Both men closed their eyes and entered the final test, the Test of Vision!
What did it mean to have Vision? To have Vision meant that one had the ability to think about, or plan for the future, with imagination or wisdom.
As usual, compared to the previous tests, the difference was clear.
Mettle = Rebuild. Will = Persevere. Fortitude = Firmness, Grit. Justice = Fairness and Reason.
So what was Vision? It was right there in the definition, Wisdom, and Imagination.
Darius awoke in a small caravan that seemed to be carrying some goods. When he looked around, he saw that he was at the head with his family nearby.
Everyone looked saddened and beaten, with Deia wearing an expression of fury. When he inquired as to what was wrong, Deia gave him a strange look before speaking about the recent destruction of their kingdom.
However, she sent Darius a hand signal asking if his mind was taken over or he had acquired some type of amnesia. Darius then signed back that there was a supernatural phenomenon going on and that Deia should act as usual.
Deia made no more signals and seemed to become a cardboard cutout of this mental world, bringing her husband up to speed.
They had migrated some of their core family and people to a new area in Ludo where Darius had established a point of retreat in his earlier years. They would rebuild and regain their former glory before seeking revenge for their losses.
After understanding this, Darius was satisfied. This one was quite simple, especially for him who had established a territory on Fallon that already reigned supreme as the number 1 place to be on Faust.
Even without Transmutation, he had the Material element on his side. Darius was quick with this one. Once they reached their destination, he erected various buildings and created a top-tier modern settlement within hours, shocking everyone.
Before anyone was allowed in, they had to form a line to receive an infusion of information from Darius. He only put in the bare minimum needed to 'educate' everyone and it took about 2 seconds per person.
Before receiving the information, they gazed at the modern settlement with confusion, but once they opened their eyes after receiving the information, they looked at it with understanding and familiarity.
It took Darius 3 days of work to educate everyone and get the settlement populated properly and in an organized manner. When it was time to infuse his family with info, he gave his children a bit more, yet fed Deia everything.
She was made aware that she was a mental construct for himself in some test, but she didn't break down. His wife only giggled and told Darius that she would help him pass.
She also promised to soothe his soul since the real her was out of his reach, and she understood his pain.
Darius then taught his people the magic of Ludo, which was the ability to manipulate the sands. Sand Arts were the way of Ludo, and without it, the people of the continent would never have been able to make a living on such a barren wasteland.
Darius had the highest quality Sand Arts in his mind and he imparted them to everyone. He also encouraged fertility and procreation, as they needed numbers.
He eased his people's need for resources with his magic. They were blessed with an endless amount of what they needed, allowing them to focus solely on training and procreating.
Darius didn't stop there, but took the newborns to school and educated them in various topics that would seem useless like the arts, maths, and science. He expanded the settlement many times as newborns flooded the place, with some subsidiary settlements being created.
By the time 50 years had passed, the total amount of people had multiplied by a great amount. After all, Darius had offered extremely lucrative rewards to any man or woman for having more than 10 children.
Instead of going back for revenge, he continued expanding their entire empire slowly but surely even surpassing what they had before. By the time their enemies and the other states could even fathom what was going on, a behemoth was gazing at them.
However, instead of descending upon them with fury, hatred, and murder, they rather initiated peaceful talks and wished to recognize the sovereignty of one another, preventing arbitrary wars for territory from occurring in order to promote peace and growth.
This baffled the others, making them believe this new state to be a paper tiger, weak and foolish. They plotted behind the scenes, yet after a short surprise war, they ended up thoroughly beaten and squashed, their rules and dynasties replaced by those with more 'wisdom'.
These new leaders adhered to the budding international policy and engaged in trade with the new state. After being hooked to their style of governance, their products of trade, and the level of Sand Arts used, they were quickly mirrored in this new system without a way to break out.
This was a golden era for the lowest denominator of society as food was assured and opportunities to rise were abundant since the entire Ludo was yet to be tamed.
The future was bright and anything seemed possible!
