During that lesson, Faluel taught them how to recognize the signs indicating the residence of a local Awakened Lord and how to ask for their assistance. On top of that, she also instructed them about all the rules of the Council to which strictly abide while interacting with an Awakened before moving to a more interesting subject.
"According to lore, a violet core is not the most powerful that an Awakened can refine. Some people claim that it's possible to achieve a white core and that it can bestow upon its owner not just a long life like it happens for normal Awakened, but eternal youth.
"According to those rumors, Baba Yaga is one of the few known Awakened who has mastered the secrets of the white core. Sadly, there is no way to verify such claims because Baba Yaga never lets anyone use Invigoration on her and she is quite elusive."
"Then why do people think she has a white core?" Lith asked.
"Because even an Awakened Dragon doesn't live as long as she did, nor can afford to fight seriously against a Guardian and live to tell the tale. Baba Yaga is so ancient that she met all the six original Guardians and she gave birth to all the greater undead that live on Mogar.
"They are so many and they lived among us for so long that even though they are an artificial race created by her necromantic powers, the undead are now recognized as one of the four races."
The Ernas sisters had met Baba Yaga in person, making everything Faluel said about her feel more like a fact rather than a legend.
"Before moving back to the white core, what can you tell us about her? Is the legend about her true or just a myth?" Phloria asked.
"Do you mean the story about her going into seclusion and coming out centuries later just to find Mogar changed beyond recognition? Because that's just a cautionary tale that Baba Yaga spread herself to teach mages the value of their time.
"The problem with beings so ancient is that most of the information we have about them is only what they want us to know. All I can tell you is that she was already there when the Guardians were worshipped as gods and that she learned from them, becoming one of their priestesses.
"Even though her race of origin is unknown, it seems that at a time she underwent several world tribulations. Plants, humans, and even undead hope this story to be true because it would mean that even them can become Guardians." Faluel said.
"What about Lith?" Quylla asked.
"Lith is part Emperor Beast so he doesn't count." Faluel shook her head. "As I was saying, Mogar had chosen her as a potential Guardian candidate and it's because of this that Baba Yaga allegedly entered into seclusion.
"Tribulations only happen when you face events that shake your very soul, so a quiet life means no chances of tribulations. This way, she managed to reach the white core that made Baba Yaga not only eternally young, but also powerful enough to escape Mogar's will and fight on par with the Guardians."
Seeing her class gasp in amazement and a dangerous light appear in Lith's eyes, the Hydra rushed to say:
"Please, take my words with a load of salt. They are legends that might likely be spread by Baba Yaga herself to be left alone. The only people that know the truth are Baba Yaga and the Guardians who allegedly fought against her."
"Speaking of facts, instead, Baba Yaga is one of the few living mages who knows how to craft a mage tower and how to dismantle an enchanted item to upgrade it without having to redo it from scratch by using something called Creation Magic.
"According to lore, she enhanced both her tower and her Horsemen so many times that they gained the ability to upgrade themselves. It's the reason why the Horsemen are so powerful and have been tasked with finding a solution to the undead's weak points.
"Unlike other cursed objects whose abilities are fixed at the moment they were crafted, the Horseman can alter themselves just like they alter their hosts or their chosen.
"As for the white core, I can only tell you what I know for sure. A white core is more powerful than a violet. Through the ages, Awakened belonging to all races and even Eldritch Abominations have tried to capture Baba Yaga several times.
"They were all considered experts with bright violet cores, yet they always failed. Even the Awakened offspring of the Guardians never managed to subdue her, not even after luring Baba Yaga away from her tower.
"Just to be clear, like us lesser Dragons are better than normal Emperor Beasts so the pure bloodline is better than us. An Awakened Dragon that reaches a bright violet core can be considered as powerful as a natural disaster, yet they fared no better than anyone else.
"On top of that, only in rare occasions did Baba Yaga kill one of her pursuers. Why she shows mercy or not is something no one knows. Based on those facts, the Council thinks that she has a white core that grants her power far greater than violet but inferior to that of a Guardian.
"It might actually be similar, especially if Baba Yaga fights nearby her mage tower, but again, it's just speculation. Whenever Baba Yaga and a Guardian fought, she always ran away after a few exchanges.
"If you ask me, I think that it's only thanks to the tower that she didn't get obliterated. Guardians have too great of a power to be challenged by a single person. Moreover, if she really was that strong, she would have built a country for her children." Faluel said.
"Is a mage tower that good?" Phloria tried and failed to not sneak a glance at Solus.
"No. It's much better." Faluel's words made everyone clench their teeth and hands to not look at Lith in awe.
"A mage tower is like an extension of its master, boosting their abilities past their limits with no side effects. In close proximity of their tower, a mage can outmatch several of their peers at the same time with ease and even defeat someone stronger, better equipped, or both.
"A mage with a tower is feared by everyone, even by violet cored Phoenixes or Dragons. At the same time, however, a mage with a tower is also constantly the victim of ploys to get them away from their tower and kill them.
"Mage towers are like any other artifact, once their owner is dead, they are up for the taking."
"Is that the reason why we never heard about mage towers except in legends?" Tista asked.
"Indeed. Ripha Menadion was the last mage to successfully craft her tower. She never hid it or shied away from any challenge, and look how she ended. We don't know how she died, but it didn't happen of old age, that's for sure." Faluel sighed.
"What do you mean? If a mage tower is that powerful, how could Menadion possibly be defeated?" Lith had waited years to ask this question without it arousing suspicions.
"The same way most violet cored individuals die, be them Awakened or not. Killed by those they trusted the most.
