Sovereign of the Ashes

The Northern Witches Council was nestled deep within a range of snow-capped mountains in the Northlands.

Although the Northlands were not the coldest place in Magus World, they undoubtedly had the harshest natural environment among all top-tier and major powers.

Most Magus Civilization factions preferred to establish their domains in regions with milder climates and abundant resources.

This principle extended even to Rank Four mages when selecting locations for their divine towers.

Yet, the Northern Witches Council was an exception.

This top-tier power, composed almost entirely of female spellcasters, had long been regarded by outsiders as “mysterious,” “powerful,” and “xenophobic”.

However, unlike in the ancient era, the Northern Witches Council no longer outright rejected outsiders as they had over a hundred thousand years ago.

All civilizations evolved, and the Northern Witches were no exception.

Amidst the snow-covered mountains of their domain, outsiders like Sein were frequently sighted among the mysterious witches clad in their signature dark blue robes.

Even so, these outsiders were rarely permitted to enter the seven tall towers at the very heart of the Northern Witches Council’s territory.

Though not all were soul towers, they symbolized the council’s absolute authority and the core of their order.

It was only after arriving in the Northlands that Sein realized just how accurate the world’s perception of the northern witches truly was.

They were, without a doubt, silent, aloof, and extremely xenophobic spellcasters.

On top of that, they were especially repulsed by men!

Not long ago, Sein had been in the Alveroth Empire, immersed in its thriving spellcaster culture.

The freedom to openly exchange magical theories had left such a lasting impression on him that he often found himself reminiscing about it.

Yet, the Northern Witches Council was the polar opposite.

The aloof witches rarely spoke to strangers.

They only engaged in conversation when interacting with fellow witches of equal status—and even then, only sparingly.

When Sein traveled through the Ylli Knight Alliance about two to three hundred years ago, he met a Rank Two witch named Marylou.

This witch, a master of astrology, had once given him a prophecy—one that had misled him greatly.

It turned out that witches like Marylou, who were relatively thick-skinned and unafraid of striking up conversations with strangers, were exceptionally rare in the Northlands.

The vast majority of northern witches refused to engage with outsiders, let alone a man.

The harsh, frozen climate of the Northlands had given rise to many specialized branches of hydro and cryo elemental magic.

For instance, not long after arriving, Sein had the honor of witnessing the so-called “Blizzard Spell”.

Spellcasters who had mastered this type of magic were known as “Blizzard Mages”.

At a glance, Blizzard Mages seemed similar to Elementalists, yet they were not quite the same as true Elementalists.

Of course, Magus World had far more diverse spellcaster paths than that.

During his time in Sky City, Sein had also read about an even more special discipline—“blood magic”.

Spellcasters who specialized in blood-based elemental powers were known as “Blood Mages”.

Blood Mages were not unique to Magus World; this highly specialized energy system had also been mastered by many extraplanar creatures.

The Demon Clan—which Sein had studied extensively—had certain branches that could harness blood-based power too.[1]

It was rumored that the supreme leader of Netherworld, a large-sized plane within the Magus Alliance, had also mastered the power of blood.

Nevertheless, both Blizzard Mages and Blood Mages remained a minority in Magus World while Elementalists continued to be the dominant magic users.

Even major spellcaster categories like Bloodline Warlocks, Summoners, and Witches could not compare to the Elementalists’ overwhelming supremacy.

For hundreds of thousands of years, the Magus Civilization had been firmly ruled by Elementalists.

Perhaps in the distant future, a new category of spellcasters would rise to prominence, just as the once-mighty Magus profession had all but faded into history.

Despite his curiosity and initial interest, exploring the Northern Witches Council had ultimately left Sein feeling disappointed.

It wasn’t that the witches lacked high-level magic.

As one of the oldest parts of the Magus World, the Northern Witches Council had an even longer history than Sky City, and the knowledge hidden within must have been immeasurable.

Unfortunately, none of it was accessible to “outsiders” like Sein.

First, he was an Elementalist, not a Magus.

Second, he was a man, not a woman.

Either one of those would have been enough to make his time in the Northlands difficult.

Still, things could have been worse.

One or two hundred thousand years ago, the Northern Witches Council had completely barred foreign knights and mages from entering their lands at all.

The Magus Civilization’s knowledge of the Northern Witches Council was largely limited to the surrounding areas of the Northlands and its outlying forces.

It was worth noting that, as one of Magus World’s top-tier factions, the Northern Witches Council had an extensive network of small and medium-sized forces, as well as several large allied factions on its periphery.

These dependent forces were deeply intertwined with the Northern Witches Council in terms of power structures and strategic influence.

Relationships like these were common throughout the Magus Civilization.

Even extraplanar creatures, despite their relative ignorance, understood that joining the Magus Alliance meant aligning themselves with a powerful patron.

The power dynamics within the Magus Civilization were far more complex than most could imagine.

Sein simply was not on the right level to see the full picture yet.

Take, for example, the Elemental Gate Council—a mid-sized faction within Magus World, founded by Sein’s grandmaster, Feylis.

Half of its members originally came from the Pyro Secret Society, making the connection between these two factions undeniable.

Although the Elemental Gate Council had been the main initiator of the Wild Gorilla World War, by the time the war expanded to that star domain, half of those who reaped the spoils were actually members of the Pyro Secret Society.

Similarly, the old empires in the Magus World—such as the Alveroth Empire and the Byrne Empire—were not isolated powers.

Beyond their own immense strength, these two top-tier empires had a vast number of vassal states, consisting of smaller empires and kingdoms that depended on them for protection and survival.

To participate in the internal power struggles of Magus World, one had to be at least Rank Four or higher—only then did one qualify to stand among the true players.

When the time came, Sein would not need to form his own faction—instead, other powerful figures from major forces would take the initiative to recruit him.

Given his ties to Lorianne and Feylis, Sein would most likely join the Elemental Gate Council.

Master Lorianne was not part of the Pyro Secret Society but she was a member of the Elemental Gate Council.

On the other hand, Feylis, Bernice, and Gregory were part of both the Pyro Secret Society and the Elemental Gate.

Having hit wall after wall in the Northlands, Sein could not help but lament his decision.

If he had known this, he would have chosen to visit the Stargazing Heights instead—where the atmosphere would surely be different from the Northern Witches Council.

Just as Sein lowered his head, contemplating whether he should explore the other factions on the periphery of the Northlands, a war summoning order suddenly caught his attention.

1. Please take note that there is a term change for ”Demon” and ”Devil”. For more information, please visit the footnote of Chapter 910. ☜