[Below is an interview with renowned Witch Hunter 'Degenerate' Gaven]

{So tell us a little bit of yourself, Gaven.}

"Sure~ Sure~ So, as you may know, I hunt witches for a living. Not just any witches though, I only go after the most notorious of the bunch."

{Can you tell us a bit about your recent kill?}

"Hmm... So I was called by the nearby kingdom of Olisfield, the one famous for their Hule meat?"

{Aye. Any self-respecting noble has tasted Olisfield's Hule cuts once in their lifetime.}

"Good good! So, what happened was that there was this nearby witch... what was their name again?"

{Could it be Selis?}

"Right right! Selis Duskbloom! A true beauty that one~" 

"So, apparently the kingdom had a drop in production this year. Like a big, big drop. They figured it must've been the witch's doing, so in I came."

"Selis hid her home pretty damn well, with illusion spells, natural camouflage, all that stuff." 

{But you still found her eventually, right?}

"Hah! Of course, I did! Who do you think I am?" 

"It was like a burning a newborn witch. Her hut was nestled near a lake, so I figured I'd wait for her to show herself to make sure she was there."

"She did make me wait quite some time... I believe it was 6 or so hours. Dunno what she was doing in that hut for that long, but whew~, the payout was sure as hells worth it."

"Out came the prettiest damned lady I'd ever seen. Hah! And to think she was a witch! If I had seen her on the streets, I'd think she'd be a fine young noble from some powerful family!"

{Do you think, Sir Gaven, that you would have taken her as your wife had she not been a witch?}

"Of course! No hesitation! Too bad that most of the pretty ladies are witches... a true travesty upon this world."

"But no matter, I laid the array, did all of the proper preparation and whatnot, which by the way, will be explained in my newest book, 'A deep dive into Witch Hunting' for all you young aspiring nobles!" 

"And I caught her. A shame I had to kill her in the end, she was lovely to sleep with."

"But, a witch is a witch. Her screams were still delightful to hear though. The kingdom of Olisfield has reported that their yearly Hule birth rate is at an all-time high now, so I consider my job to be pretty well done there."

{Mmm... thank you for using a bit of your time to conduct this interview for all of the aspiring young nobles out there who wish to get into the field of witch-hunting!}

"No problem! More witch hunters make my life easier after all! Hah!"

[Interview ended here]

Although our Empire may have outlawed witch hunting, unlike our neighbors at Achdelle, witches are still far and few between, and few like to converse with us humans.

But we have gathered what we can from the bits and pieces that are available to piece together the story of Hestia, The Eclipse.

...

Hestia The Eclipse is said to be one of the great first gods, formed directly after the Primals themselves. This meant that other than the primals, none can possibly challenge their immense strength. As we know, however, the majority of primals have gone insane, with the few remaining refusing to interact with the world as a whole.

Therefore, the great first ones are said to be the true rulers of the world. If the rumors are true, and Hestia is truly a great old one, then it can explain why witches are powerful beyond belief, without the concept of levels, and how all documented witches within history share the common theme of fire magics.

Indeed, Hestia's powers are not limited to the phenomena of the eclipse alone. An eclipse exists because of Hestia, and is Hestia's main source of power, drawing from both the fiery heat of the sun and the freezing cold chills of the moon. 

Most witches throughout history have their powers containing either of the elements shown, either the unbridled furious flames of the sun or the calm tameness of the moon, their flames are shaped in each their unique ways.
Without evening mentioning the catastrophic effects of an eclipse on non-human monsters, the Eclipse in of itself is a bad omen for many. 

Based on this fact alone, it could be seen that Hestia is one of the more 'active', if not the most 'active' great first gods, with her influence the result of countless witch births, and the destruction of many kingdoms and empires throughout history.

But we cannot talk about Hestia, without talking about her blessed. Witches are the receivers of her blessings, and it is because of that they are so dangerous. Few friendly witches have given their story on this matter, enlightening us to a great truth that dispelled many 'facts' commonly accepted before.

Witches are not system-less. They simply have an improved system, one not limited by levels nor level caps, and a mysterious way of gaining strength, which they would not elaborate fully on. Something about adding points to various 'attributes' and skills.

No wonder that given time, witches can quickly go from a pest that a kingdom is trying to squash to an unimaginable threat that razes the entirety of the kingdom to the ground.

That is why we must make the witches our friends. Open our walls to these powerful women, and entice them with safety and a permanent residence. By doing so, we can effective deter the majority of all other kingdoms to not try anything against us, for that will anger their ire. Even if we are branded as heretics, the safety of our people comes first.

Therefore, I put forth the action that the great kingdom of Laria does not move forward with the notion of allowing Witch hunters on our grounds. 

This is an approach similar to healing a wound by cutting off the limb. There is no winning against a witch. Do not doom our kingdom like many others before us.

- A document written by an old Arch Duke of the Kingdom of Laria. It was originally written as a lecture for the academy present on Laria, but was quickly reused when the Arch Duke heard the news of the King deciding on the future of the relationship between Laria and the Witches. 

It was declared a national treasure of Laria, the heretical kingdom of witches a few decades ago. This was widely accepted to be the document that pivoted Laria from a small, third-rate kingdom to a major superpower that none dare mess with. 

Now, the Laria kingdom employs a whopping 23 confirmed witches in various positions of power and nobility.

[Below is a few pages found in a discarded journal at the foot of Yggdrasil. The owner was never found.]

Day 167:

The grooves along the tree's bark, which I have been using to climb it so far, have significantly thinned. I don't know how much I can keep going.

But I am determined to keep going. It has been more than a hundred days now, and if I look over the ledge, only the distant clouds like floating islands look back at me. The last time I met another human was 50 days ago.  Every time I gaze up, I see nothing but the massive trunk made of glowing rainbow material, dimming even the stars. The width of the tree itself stretches from horizon to horizon, and its height is unimaginably tall.

So far, the weather has been placid, so the climb has been surprisingly comfortable. It is highly unlike my previous attempt.

My instruments tell me that I am roughly 5000 kilometers above the ground right now, so if I fell... I am not surviving that no matter what. 

The fire is going out now, I will be going to bed. 

Every step is one step closer to either proving or disproving the myth of the legendary civilization resting amongst the tree's great branches.

Good night.

Day 168:

It rained today, the rains battering against my tent, which made a fire impossible. 

I made some more progress, and I am now roughly 5100 kilometers above the base of the tree. The grooves within the tree have gotten much thinner now. The only thing I am scared about is slipping on the material, and plummeting to my death. 

My shoes are not adequate for this kind of travel, it seems. The soles have almost worn out, and I am far too high to make the journey back. 

I can only hope that my shoes hold. 

Day 169:

Nothing was done today, I am waiting for the rain to stop. It seems like a storm is approaching, and I spoke too soon.

Day 170:

The storm is clearing up now, with the last trickles of rainfall stopping in the last hour. Wish me luck.

[Day 171 to 179 is unreadable due to the ink smears, likely from water damage. From this point on, we could only piece together what the journalist meant.]

Day 180:

My tent is gone. An unexpected waterfall from higher up on the trunk tore my tent and sent it plummeting down below. [----------------------------------------------------------------------] Sleeping outside isn't as bad when it is sunny though.

The height is 6000 kilometers from the base of the tree. The map I obtained earlier suggests that there could still be a functioning town at 10,000 kilometers from the base.

The air is getting thinner now, but the mana density is much richer.

I can only hope it doesn't rain at an inopportune time.

Day 181:

[----------------------------------------------] At [----------]00 kilometers now. The sun is [------------------------], and its quite warm.

[Unelligable].

Day 182: 

[Ink has been smeared all over this page.]

Day 192:

Most of my gear is gone now, and I believe that it's only a few hundred more kilometers up this damned tree until I reach the town. 

Hopefully, the map is still right. My shoes have since broken, and trying to walk with broken shoes in this wet weather is most uncomfortable.

I am now 9600 kilometers above the base. 

Good luck to me.

[Days 193 and 289 are gone from the journal entirely. It seems to have been ripped from the spine of the journal, but we cannot determine whether or not it was the journalist who did it or some vandal.]

293:

I should have never entered that cave. I should not have touched that stupid carved pedestal. 

My instruments tell me that I am now nearly 13200 kilometers from the base of the tree. The only way I can possibly go from here is up. 

From here, small branches began forming from the trunk. The grooves here are so thin I have to hug the trunk in order to move. The smaller branches do seem to hold though, and I have to just secure myself before going to sleep.

Below, all I can see is endless seas of white clouds. Now with the clouds gone, I can clearly see the top now. A beautiful canopy of golden leaves adorns the crown of the tree, with its taller branches stretching far into the horizon.

It is a view to die for. 

And it will probably be the last view I ever see.

If anyone else ever manages to get this journal, just know that to get up here, you need to go to the East side of the tree, at roughly [The elevation seems to be purposefully blotted out by ink.]

I will continue to climb, even if it's the last thing I do.

[The rest of the journal has been ripped from the journal, seemingly deliberate in intention. Although this may prove that civilization does exist high above the branches of Yggdrasil, this could just be attributed to a variety of other factors.]

[We do now know, however, that there exists a sort of device that teleports you to around 13000 kilometers above. A few secretive exploration teams have been sent, though none has yet returned with any news.]

[Following is a short lecture on the history of Theius the Last Empire, recorded by a student's memory crystal, by renowned historian Brian Halflame at the Prestigious Royal Academy of Fovola]

While it is easy to confuse Theius the nation and Themius the person, please do not. It will be points off your assessment if you get it wrong. 

There are a lot of myths about Themius, even to this day. Although, not all of them seem to be related at a glance. Tell me, has anyone heard of any myths related to him?

... 

No?

Well, let's jog your memories a bit. Everyone should know the legend of Eoseryon, yes?

Good. For those who have not been paying attention, Jake, Eoseryon is a mythological man who pieced the land together after a great war tore it apart. Using his lightning, he cauterized the lands and sealed them together.

Its a common myth that mothers often tell to their kids, especially in the common household. But Eoseryon has ties to the accomplishments of Themius, made into story form.

Now, Themius himself is unknown by many, including us historians simply because there are not enough remaining records to describe him. We only know that he founded the empire by marrying into an obscure kingdom when he won their princess's favor by supposedly presenting a slain dragon.

From there, he saw the potential laying just below its surface, revolutionizing their tactics in war, infrastructure, and production, and with the luck enough to last a few generations, he figured out that there was a hidden Ley Line just beneath the city.

Who can tell me what a Ley Line is? The first to answer gets extra points.

Go, Aliza.

...

Indeed, a natural spring of mana so condensed that it turns into a liquid, flowing deep below the land and eventually emptying out in sacred pools. 

Using this, Themius mounted the world's most advanced army to date. With unknown magics and tactics, he easily breezed past the surrounding kingdoms. Only when he had taken over half of the western continent did the remaining kingdoms band against him.

But at that point, it was too late. Themius was said to be a charismatic man, and he certainly showed it in his actions. He won over the hearts of millions of peasants, convincing him to take up arms to fight for his empire. 

This, in combination with other factors, eventually led to his decisive victory and grand, united Achdelle. Though many say his ambitions did not die there, for he looked towards other continents to conquer. 

The details here are not clear, but it seems like he was either assassinated or slain by a grand foe during the preparations, which immediately led to turmoil within the empire. He had sired 12 children, and all 12 wanted a piece of the empire. Anyone could guess what had happened next, with the grand Empire of Themius lasting a grand total of 1356 years, before collapsing into 12 smaller nations. 

Well. That is all for today, come back tomorrow for a short test on the history of Achdelle from the Shattered Stars period to the grand age of Themius. 

Class over.