Change of Perspective

[Location: The Town of Galma - Kingdom of Tevell]

[3 week and 1 day have passed]

Many things were going through my mind at that moment, the fact that I could read a language that I had never seen before made me very restless but knowing that this language was from the Ancients and was taught by the god of this world left me completely speechless. but above all, one question was the one that repeated itself the most in my mind.

-Zyrus: Why can I understand this language?

-Conrad: Haven't you noticed yet, boy?

He looked at me almost telling me as if I already knew the answer so I began to review everything I knew so far about the Blessing. How I got mine and that led me to think about what I knew about the First Hero and how it was that Conrad told us that this book was written by him so I deduced that the First Hero could also understand this language.

-Zyrus: The Blessing...it's the Blessing that allows me to understand the language.

-Conrad: Correct, from what is written in this book, there are many blessings in this world granted by beings of great power to mortal beings.

-Celes: Like, a spirit of the forest giving a Blessing to a boar.

-Conrad: Hmm...that's a good example.

I was feeling somewhat intrigued to know even more about the Blessings and especially mine so I thought this book could help me understand even more.

-Conrad: I could teach you more if you wish.

-Zyrus: Please!

The old alchemist was scared by my instant response about his offer, for some reason he wanted to know more about it and why I felt so connected to this relationship with the Blessing.

-Conrad: Ohohohoh... I see that this whole topic has caught your attention, very well, I'll teach you more, but by now you must be tired from the journey.

He got up from the table and took the book back to its place while Sophia and Aria cleared the table.

-Conrad: Sophia dear, you could prepare rooms for them if you would be so kind.

-Sophia: Yes Master.

-Aria: I'll help too.

After cleaning the table the two sisters left the store, Celes saw me worried while I was lost in my thoughts on the subject of the Blessing.

-Celes: My Lord, I...I had no idea that I couldn't read our language.

-Zyrus: Sorry for hiding it, even though I can speak the same language, this writing just seems to me to be meaningless dashes.

-Conrad: Well, I think it's time that you also start learning to read it, boy.

-Zyrus: To learn it?

-Conrad: If your destiny is Gainsworth to be able to return to your world, it will not help you if you do not understand what is written in the books.

-Zyrus: How is it that you...?

Again he was able to deduce my intentions without having told him anything, he knew I was going to Gainsworth but also that he wanted to return to my world, it's almost like he was reading my mind.

-Conrad: What other reason would you have to come to the border, I figured it out the moment I found out you came from another world, surely someone told you that in Gainsworth you would find the way to return, right?

-Zyrus: Yes, that's true.

-Conrad: Well, as I said, it won't do you any good if you can't understand what is written in the books, well, I can give you a quick class but during your journey you will have to continue learning on your own.

I was surprised by how kind Conrad had been to us, he wondered if he was like that by nature or just because he knows who I really am, I really didn't give it much importance. We rested the rest of the day, I told Celes that she could take the day off while Conrad taught me to read and write the language but also taught me other things, about this world.

-Conrad: You have only seen a small part of this world, look at this.

He put on the table a large scroll which when opened inside was the map of the entire continent of Vesperia, it was detailed with various emblems that marked the different kingdoms and their limits with the others.

-Zyrus: Incredible, the continent is huge.

-Conrad: Right? You can see how the continent is divided into all the kingdoms that make it up, but the 8 great kingdoms are the ones that have the greatest influence on the continent.

-Zyrus: The 8 great kingdoms...Tevell is one of them right?

I was able to identify the emblem of the Kingdom of Tevell in the southwestern part of the map and that it was one of the few kingdoms on the continent with access to the sea.

-Conrad: Precisely, along with Tevell, the other great kingdoms are Drolum and the presence of the Arcane City of Gainsworth and the Magic Academy that was founded by the son of the First Hero.

-Zyrus: Yes, I remember that Celes told me about it during our journey.

"That city was our final destination and it also has a strong connection with the First Hero"

-Conrad: Then further northwest, the Kingdom of Gesian, formerly had a large commercial presence but the current king is, well, he is a child in the body of an adult and he believes that only he is important.

-Zyrus: Not a good place to live then.

-Conrad: Hehe no, but to the east is the Kingdom of Wolgast, it is one of the kingdoms with the greatest advances in terms of military technology and its current king is considered a genius in the art of war despite his young age.

"A kingdom with great military technological advances and a strategist king, if I were a king, I would hate to have them as enemies"

-Conrad: More to the center, by the mountains is the Dragon Kingdom of Dragstar, it is said that the first king formed a sacred pact with the mother of dragons and now both races live as one.

-Zyrus: How incredible! A kingdom where there are dragons! I would really like to see one in person!

-Conrad: Ah, I would also like to have that opportunity, well, let's continue. Further east of the mountains, where this great lake is, is the Kingdom of Thera, where the most incredible thermal baths are located and here its queen is considered a goddess by its inhabitants due to her eternal beauty, it is... how to say it.

I could see at that moment how Conrad's face was blushing and he got nervous when talking about this kingdom.

-Conrad: Well let's say it's a place you should visit sometime...alone.

-Zyrus: Why do you say I should go alone...oohh...I got it.

From his expression and strange attitude I could understand that it is a kingdom out of the ordinary, I felt strangely excited about it and even wanted to visit it but I shook my head to return to the matter at hand.

-Conrad: Well, yes, let's continue. Further east in this great desert is the Beast Kingdom of Ferus. Unlike the rest of the world, here the Beastmen are free in their own kingdom far from the intervention of the Church and its "teachings" since they are protected by the burning and deadly desert that surrounds their entire kingdom.

"A kingdom where beastmen didn't have to worry about being enslaved, it's good that such a place exists."

-Conrad: And finally, the Holy Empire of Cedora, since the current Emperor took the throne, has dedicated his entire life to expanding the lands and power of his empire by taking small kingdoms around it.

-Zyrus: The Empire took over the home of Celes, Zeorian not long ago.

-Conrad: Ah yes, I had heard about the fall of Zeorian, it must have been hard for her, but speaking of Zeorian, they were also about to reach the status of Great Kingdom if the Empire had not attacked

"I remembered the day I heard in the tavern of the capital about the fall of Zeorian and how the Empire used the excuse of demons to attack"

-Conrad: Speaking of which, look here, near the lands of the Empire, the Holy City of Salona, headquarters of the Church of Divinity, from where the Archbishop rules the entire continent from the shadows.

"The reason for the suffering of many on this continent was sitting on his throne of power surrounded by flatterers and followers"

-Conrad: And finally, this black area almost surrounded by mountains to the southeast, the Demon Land of Gunrax, another growing threat.

-Zyrus: There is no doubt that there are many threats in this single continent, I imagine how the rest of the world will be.

-Conrad: Difficult to know my boy.

I looked at the map with all the areas there were, around the big kingdoms there were many small kingdoms but among all of them there was one that caught my attention.

-Zyrus: What is this kingdom here, the one between Tevell and Gesian?

Conrad: Hmm? this one here? ah, the Kingdom of Rusta or what is left of it, used to be a prosperous and beautiful kingdom, a king who spent his life for his people, only to have his lazy and arrogant descendants end up destroying it in the end .

-Zyrus: How was that?

-Conrad: Taking advantage of what his predecessor achieved, his descendants claimed that achievement as their own and demanded more from the people, their current king, useless, ended up causing a civil war that ended up destroying what little and nothing was left, now it is nothing more than a shadow of what it once was.

-Zyrus: B-But how come it still exists? Has anyone claimed those lands?

-Conrad: it turns out that the king of Gesian is a childhood friend of the king of Rusta, in exchange for ceding most of his land, he allowed him to live in that space and sends him supplies monthly, what a stupidity.

"Without a doubt it was, I don't know how it is possible that something so beautiful that you build a lifetime is destroyed by your own offspring"

-Conrad: Well, let's finish for today, tomorrow I will teach you more about the Blessing, for now go to rest.

I had learned a lot about the Vesperia, there were so many things that I had not seen yet and it gave me a better perspective of everything that surrounded me, I thanked Conrad for his teachings and I left the store and outside it had already gotten dark.

-Celes: My Lord, did you finish your classes?

-Zyrus: Yes, Conrad taught me many things besides writing.

She had been waiting for me outside the store and she told me that she spent the rest of the day with Sophia and Aria getting to know the city and helping people with Conrad's potions.

-Celes: I'm glad to hear it, there are still many things that I also don't know about this world.

-Zyrus: Well, you have also taught me a lot, I don't know how I would have managed without your help, Celes.

As we walked she mentioned to me that Sophia and her little sister went to prepare dinner in the house where they lived, so she led me to Sophia's house and like many other structures in town, this one also had damage everywhere.

-Aria: Zyrus, Celes, welcome to our house!

Little Aria was waiting for us at the entrance of the house who then invited us to enter her home and like the exterior, the interior of the house had structural damage but it did not seem serious and there was no risk of a collapse.

-Sophia: Ah, welcome, dinner is ready.

We sat at the table while Sophia served dinner, which had an aroma of homemade food that I hadn't felt in a long time and with that dinner we chatted and I told them about what Conrad taught me. In that I began to think about what I had planned for tomorrow about leaving for the border, I decided to delay the departure a bit to learn more about the Blessing with Conrad.

-Celes: So, will we spend another day here, My Lord?

-Zyrus: That's right, of course if they allow us to stay.

-Sophia: You don't even have to ask, you are more than welcome to spend as much time as you need.

We thanked Sophia and Aria seemed to be very happy since it seems that she had generated some kind of affection for Celes so after eating, Sophia showed us the rooms where we would sleep. Once we said goodbye, we went to rest for the long day tomorrow.

"This is the first time I feel this way, wanting to know more about this world, more about this power, more about myself"

The next morning after breakfast we were getting ready to go to Conrad's store but just then we heard some not very pleasant noises coming from the town that made Sophia very uncomfortable and Aria hid behind her.

-Zyrus: What's going on?

-Sophia: No...I had forgotten that it was today...

-Celes: What happens today?

-Aria: The bad guys in white are coming...

From what we had been told before, those bad guys in white were the White Knights who came from the Church and surely came to collect the tributes from the town.

-Sophia: Aria, stay home and don't come out until I get back.

-Aria: But, sister!

She didn't want to be separated from her sister but Sophia was worried that something bad would happen to her, I looked at Celes and she immediately understood what I was thinking.

-Celes: Don't worry Aria, I'll keep you company until your sister returns.

Aria seemed calmer with Celes' company and Sophia would be calmer too, I accompanied her more than anything out of curiosity to know what these White Knights were like. Sophia took a bag of coins from her house and we headed to the place of the noise and I stayed behind while she continued.

-White Knight: Hurry up! bring more supplies.

-Scared Villager: B-But sir, if they take more of our supplies, we won't have enough for the rest of the town.

-White Knight: Silence!

As I saw it, a group of guys in full white armor and blue cloaks were forcing the villagers to hand over their supplies and money, some were trying to bargain to keep something but it only resulted in physical abuse.

-White Knight: What? this is all?

-Middle-Aged Villager: S-sorry it's all I can give...I need to save for my children.

-White Knight: And you think that your children are more important than the security of the town!?

Before the guy in armor attacked the poor intimidated woman, a hand rested behind the white knight who stopped the Knight's aggression.

-????: Come on, come on, we're not here to hurt people, we're here to help them, remember?

-White Knight: Co-Commander!

A middle-aged man a little smaller than the other knights, with short black hair and a thin mustache, he did not wear a helmet like the rest and wore a distinctive tabard, that knight called him commander and therefore the leader of these white clowns.

-Commander: I understand that you are worried about your children, but if due to lack of supplies my men cannot defend the town from an attack of demons.

The support commander crouched down and put her hand on the woman's shoulder as he looked at her with piercing eyes.

-Comandanter: (sigh) Poor your children who could be victims of those demons just because you decided to think more about them than about the Town.

Clearly that seemed more like a threat than a request and finding herself cornered the woman had no choice but to hand over more of her few remaining supplies, as the collection continued Sophia happened to drop her share luckily she had no problem.

-Zyrus: So these are the protectors of the town, the White Knights, huh?

-Sophia: Once a week they come and take a large part of the town's supplies, leaving the rest with very few resources.

For Sophia and the rest of the town this had already become something common and they just had to accept it, although as much as I would like to help them this was already something that was out of my reach. Once we got back to her house, Aria and Celes weren't waiting outside, she ran to hug her sister and Celes looked at me, that was enough for her to understand how serious the situation was.

-Sophia: Thanks for taking care of Aria, Celes.

-Celes: It was not a problem.

Sophia and Aria said goodbye while they went to do their daily tasks and that we would see each other at Conrad's store, so we both went to Conrad and when we entered we ran into him and another person who seemed very familiar to me, because of those clothes and that hair there was no doubt that it was Duane, the merchant I met in Valestian a few weeks ago.

-Duane: Well, well, this is a face that I did not expect to see again so soon.

-Zyrus: Duane!? but what are you doing here?

-Conrad: Ohohohoh I see that the two know each other.

-Celes: My Lord, who is he?

I explained to Celes about Duane and how I met him and after talking Duane told us that he had come for some business that he was going to do in Drolum.

-Zyrus: In Drolum?

-Duane: That's right, unfortunately my plans were delayed by those White "Clowns".

-Celes: What happened?

-Duane: It turns out that they closed the border gate due to a report of demon activity that came from Andacia and they fear that it will leak to Drolum, so no one enters or leaves Tevell until they reopen it.

-Zyrus: Are you kidding!?

Hearing how the border gate was closed just when we wanted to cross was quite an ironic surprise, I explained to Duane that we also wanted to go to Drolum for personal reasons, which caused Duane to laugh due to the irony and similarity of the situation in the that we were

-Duane: Well, then we'll be stuck here until they open again, luckily I opened a little makeshift shop on the doorstep and let Mizell run it while I visited my old friend.

-Conrad: Ohohohoh I'm glad to know that little Mizell is still with you after all these years.

It turned out that Duane and Conrad knew each other from before and it was Duane who asked Conrad to open an alchemy shop in this town to help people with their potions.

-Duane: Well, it's time to go back, it's good to see you again Conrad oh and Zyrus, have you already used the elixir I gave you? how did it work? very good, right?

Knowing what had happened to the elixir that day in the mine I couldn't tell him the truth so I just nodded nervously, Duane smiling and withdrew back to the border gate.

-Conrad: Well, if you're ready, we can start.

We both agreed and after removing the old book from its hiding place, he asked us to accompany them to the backyard of the store.

-Conrad: Very well, now it is time to begin, I will begin first by explaining to you what a Blessing is.

We sat down in a box that was there and Conrad supported the book on one of it, proceeded to open it to the first pages and then start the lesson.

-Conrad: As you already know, a Blessing is a gift granted to a mortal being by a great power entity but the way in which they are manifested are different from each other.

He began to go through the pages of the book while watching and listening to his explanation with great interest.

-Conrad: According to what is written here, these Blessings are granted only to those who are found worthy by said entity.

-Zyrus: So you say that I am worthy of this Blessing? And who was the entity that gave it to me?

-Conrad: The truth is that since you were summoned like the First Hero, you have a unique and special Blessing.

-Zyrus: What do you mean by that?

-Conrad: Unlike the Blessings granted by entities of this world, yours was granted to you by an entity outside of this world.

I knew that my Blessing was different because I was able to understand the language of the Ancients but I imagined that it was because of the Summoning Ritual that had been granted to me by what they had told me in the castle.

-Conrad: Actually Zyrus, contrary to what many believed, the Invocation Ritual did not give you your Blessing, it was Divinity itself who gave it to you.

Both Celes and I were stunned by what Conrad had told us, that my Blessing was granted to me by the god of this world, a silence had taken over the place while the wind ran through our bodies.