19 A Game of Chess

"Why, oh why, do you torment me so?" Complained Jadelere as he poured himself his third glass of wine in the last hour. The crease in his frown had become far more pronounced than when Jack had first met him. "What have I ever done to you?"

"You're still saying that?" Asked Jack whilst his blue eyes flashed with feigned innocence. "Need I remind you the first words you taught me?"

"Divines save me from this purgatory… How long will I have to suffer because of that one mistake?"

"Until my anger subsides." Replied Jack as he casually glanced at the chess set placed neatly between them and the pieces neatly arranged on it and where it was apparent at a single glance that one side was overwhelming the other. However, it wasn't Jack on the losing side. "Or until you can beat me."

"I've long given up on that." Mumbled Jadelere as he sighed heavily. "What I want to know is when are you going to stop challenging me to these games? Do you have any idea how humiliating it is for me to always lose to a three-year-old child?!"

"Not really, no. I've never lost."

"That's exactly my point!" Jadelere banged the armrest of his seat in anger. "You. Have. Never. Lost." He began tapping his fingers nervously. "Never. That's not normal! It's completely abnormal! You're a fucking monster!"

"This again?" Sighed Jack. "I'm no more of a monster than you."

"No, you're a damn monster. A terrible creature from the depths of the Abyss that's come to torment me." He said as he let his head drop in solace. "To call you an intellectual prodigy is an insult to you, and an insult to the word prodigy. You're a genius beyond recognition; and yet you insist on never ever showing that to anyone but me! That's what makes you a monster!"

This all went back to a few months earlier. Ichabod had insisted on Jadelere taking charge of Jack's lessons. At first, it was planned that Jack would learn basic mathematics as well as reading and writing. Jadelere was to see to it that his education would be successful.

However, no one would have expected the speed at which Jack learned. Just like Jadelere had said, to call him a prodigy was tantamount to insulting Jack. He devoured knowledge as if it were breathing; and his mathematical and logical prowess was staggering to the extreme. After a few short months, Jadelere had decided to teach Jack how to play chess in the hopes of humbling the boy as it had become apparent fairly quickly that the boy found profound studying a pleasure, and not the least bit challenging.

The plan backfired on Jadelere and he was immediately crushed under Jack's superb skills. No matter how many games they played, the end result was always the boy's victory; no matter what strategy Jadelere had planned, Jack always responded with creative and dumbfounding ways to exploit even the tiniest of weaknesses. Jadelere gave up on ever beating jack after twelve consecutive losses. The boy, however, loved the game and insisted on playing it every day.

But that wasn't what filled Jadelere with desperation. What he truly found maddening, was the fact that in front of Ichabod and everyone else, he only showed a fraction of his intelligence; even failing to answer some simple problems that Jadelere knew full well that Jack could solve with his eyes closed and an arm tied behind his back!

In fact, Jadelere had been quick to praise Jack to high heavens and insisted to Ichabod that he was a genius seen only once every hundred thousand years. However, all evidence pointed to the fact that he was a slightly more capable child. No one actually believed Jadelere even after all this time.

This made him want to cry but have no tears to do so.

"Let me put it in terms that even you could understand" Said Jack whilst casually glancing at his fingers and touching their tips against each other in a manner that reminded Jadelere of his own teacher; which greatly irritated him.

"Could you not say things like that?" Mumbled Jadelere again.

"Firstly," Continued Jack whilst ignoring him. "what do you think would be the result of Ichabod having an intellectual prodigy as a foster son? Hmm? The answer is that, in the best-case scenario, I'd be ostracised from Groamburkian society; they'd never be able to accept me. The worst case would be me being assassinated by Ichabod's opponents, just like a chess piece that needed getting rid of."

"You have a point." Pensively commented Jadelere. "What else?"

"Secondly, there's a good chance that I would be conscripted into the service of a government office. That would be terrible as it would put me in harm's way; there's nothing more dangerous than being actively and publicly involved in politics from a young age."

"Arguably, it would be a good thing as you could grow in those kinds of environments."

"Uncle Jadelere, we both know that wouldn't be the case; don't insult my intelligence by suggesting otherwise."

"Quite right." Sighed Jadelere. Ever since he began teaching Jack, Jadelere felt that he had sighed more than ever before. "But it still surprised me that a three-year-old child would have such a firm grasp on things. Who are you really?"

"And that's the third reason. Who am I really? Am I really just a child?" Asked Jack rhetorically. "Would you believe me if I told you I wasn't?"

"Strangely, I would." Seriously responded Jadelere. In fact, he had been asking himself that very same question for the last few months, but he simply couldn't fathom the existence that was Jack. "And, strangely, I wouldn't."

"That makes no sense."

"Aye, it doesn't, but neither do you."

"Touché." Agreed Jack. "But I'll answer that question of yours if you answer mine first."

"Alright, I'll bite." Nodded Jadelere after a moment of thought. A part of him wanted to confirm whether this child was truly something beyond a normal boy or not. "Pray tell, what do you want to know?"

"Where do babies come from?"

"Go choke on an echidna, Abyss spawn!" Jadelere cursed almost without helping himself. Almost. "Enough with the crap, it's time to go back to our history lesson." Jadelere wanted to change the topic before Jack could derail it even further and so he brought the subject matter back to the history of their world. Although Jack wasn't supposed to learn history until much later on, it didn't make sense to keep it out of the syllabus . "Do you remember what I taught you yesterday?"

"Of course I do."

"Fucking smart-aleck, enlighten me." Cursed Jadelere, knowing full well that the boy could probably repeat yesterday's lesson verbatim; but he still wanted to put up a front and act the part of a diligent teacher and move as far away from the topic of childbirth as humanly possible. The notion of Jack not being a normal boy was very far away from his mind.

This was, certainly, Jack's intention. A simple exercise of mental manipulation to divert Jadelere from the conversation. A successful one, at that. However, Jack understood that this was only temporary and that he would have to devise a more permanent solution to this particular predicament. However, for the time being, he had decided that having at least one person aware of his capabilities would allow him to access better quality information than the originally designed syllabus, which was why he'd chosen Jadelere; partly out of coincidence, and partly given the man's intellectual capacity.

"It is now the seventh day of the second month in the year 1472 since the establishment of the Alacian empire which dominates the continent; which is further divided into twenty kingdoms which owe their allegiance to the emperor. We live in Groamburk, which is located in the easternmost corner of the Alacian continent and is found in the Tamborian kingdom. Also, it's ranked as the lowest in all twenty. It was founded 160 years ago alongside the kingdom of Else after the Inuca kingdom split into two."

"Very good. What else?"

"The Alacian empire was founded after the first emperor, Alacianus the First, waged war across the continent and united all the countries under his banner. This has come to be known as the Glorious Unification according to the history books, but it's more accurately described as the hundred-year war; which was filled with atrocities and other genocidal acts performed by Alacianus the First, like the slaughter of the desert nomads to the North and the complete destruction of the Inuca kingdom…"

"Alright, yes, I can see you remember." Interrupted Jadelere. "But you would do well to not repeat those last few things to certain people. The history of the empire is a dark one, indeed, but they don't want anyone publicising it, especially not children."

"I understand, uncle Jadelere." How could he not? It was precisely the dark history of the countries on Earth that had caused his demise all those years ago.

"It's good as long as you understand." Nodded Jadelere, misinterpreting Jack's pensive expression as rumination instead of nostalgia. "Today we'll talk about the Church of Divines."

"Okay!"

"The Church of Divines predates the Alacian empire by, at the very least, two thousand years. Although no one really knows who founded it or under what circumstances, it's a fact that it's the predominant religion in the Alacian continent. In fact, its influence reaches far beyond our borders and some even say that it comes from another continent altogether. What we do know, however, is that their creed lies on the worship of the Twelve Divines, each one representing a single Star, as well as a concept."

"A concept?" Interrupted Jack. "In what way?"

"A good question, and one not often asked." Nodded Jadelere. "Concepts, according to the Church of Divines, are facts of the cosmos attributed to the Divines. Let me explain by describing the Divines themselves so that you understand:

"There is Naosh, the champion of balance and order, she reigns as the supreme of the pantheon. Darius, the enforcer of justice, his sword shines upon the righteous and vanquishes evildoers. Arteus, seeker of knowledge and enlightenment, lord of wisdom and logic. Zenios, overseer of trade and commerce, champion of the free market and investment. Tonius, Divine of construction and machines, innovation and practical development. Stelios, master of mercy, piousness, and righteous rule by might and merciful forbearance. Ragnar, lord of peace and conflict resolution, statehood, and lawfulness. Daiana, mistress of love, passion, compassion, motherhood, and marriage. Qiyana, lady of the elements and natural order, enforcer of the laws of nature and the natural state of affairs. Varuth, lord of the hunt and the food chain. Hecaria, she who guides the souls of the departed onto their path towards the afterlife; whether that is to the depths of the Abyss or the cycle of reincarnation, only the Divines themselves know. Sectario, Divine of healing, he fights disease and pestilence all over the cosmos. And, finally, Fucalt, the patron of merriment and celebration; where there is joy and wonder, his presence can be felt.

"Do you understand now what the Church means with the word 'concept'?"

"I think I do." Answered Jack after a moment of pondering. "The Divines represent aspects of life, aspects that everyone is met with almost every day. From these concepts, the Church is almost omnipotent in the way it can dictate people how to live each and every day. They're involved in everything, from teaching to trade, to warfare and peace agreements, and governance. It is truly a beneficial state of affairs."

"That is correct."

"But there's more." Added Jack before Jadelere could say anything else.

"Oh?"

"By giving it the name of 'concept', rather than terming it what it is, in other words, an aspect or facet of life, they grant their theology an added element of tangibility. As 'concepts', the divines become irrefutable elements of our every-day lives. In the technical sense, it's effectively constructing a reality using the right words."

"You're absolutely right. Absolutely right!" Exclaimed Jadelere as he vividly pointed at Jack with his finger, almost spilling the contents of his fourth cup of wine all over the chess table. "By using the right words, they have changed the global perception of the Divines' existence into a palpable entity that influences the very structure of our society."

"But why would they do that?" Asked Jack, playing up his naivete once more.

"Why wouldn't they? Like this, they have power, wealth, and influence. It's almost perfect." Happily explained Jadelere, having finally found something he knew that Jack didn't. "You see, the Church has an incredibly complex hierarchy that can be found in all corners of the Empire. Even Groamburk itself isn't exempt of this, much to the dislike of many, such as myself, that don't believe in the Divines. However, we don't publicise our atheism too vocally given the consequences of incurring the Church's wrath."

For the next two hours, Jadelere spent his time diligently explaining the power structure of the Church and how it was intricately interlinked with the administration from the empire, so much so that the Church could easily influence the political matters of the kingdom of Tambor, and even the empire, at every level. Nothing ever got done without the implicit agreement of the representatives of the Church.

All of that was of great interest to Jack, who could only suspect that the Alacian empire had been established with the Church acting as its backer. If that was the case, then the influence that the Church of Divines held was gargantuan.

However, he didn't speak of these ponderings to Jadelere as he knew that some things were best left unsaid.

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