THE LAND OF THE SUN (1)

09 Seedmonth 1007 AF

Arial and his friends spent a week planning their journey and started preparing. After all, this is not some normal quest.

Helia went to the library to search through maps; she had been taught to read and write as a child in the House of Zephyr, and Arial had learned that she was also skilled in arithmetic.

The daughter of a merchant lord, Arial had mused.

Lisa worked hard refining her swordplay technique, while Kyle focused on trying to pay attention in class, honing his skill.

The news that the four of them had accepted a hard quest quickly spread through the Academy and become a buzz.

During dinner in the Hall one day, Harald Alan sat himself down at their table. He look at them and then he said

"I hear you're taking a hard quest? Don't you think that's just showing off?"

The gaggle of friends behind him sniggered.

Arial cast an eye over his choice of companions.

There is Arago Asturia from Renasia, looking like a trickster with his crooked smile.

Then there is Reval Verman, the third son of a minor noble in Vern Empire, with no rights to his father's title who have been following Harald since day one.

There is also Varrick Cora, another son of a minor noble. Avil Corazon of the House of Corazon, one of the two ruling families of Renasia and the first son of a high lord, was still giggling inanely.

And West Palais, who Arial noticed had not so much as smiled, and stood a little behind the rest of the group, staring at the floor.

Arial could not help but disapprove the companion around Harald

This is his companion, he mused.

A companion that will only serve to give aid to this child worse quality.

"Though this would be great for the Academy," Harald continued. "I mean, they even let the children of commoners learn here. I hope they do perish!"

The moronic gang laughed again.

Arial looked at his friends.

Kyle and Lisa's heads were bowed, their mouths tightly closed. They never acted that way with Arial.

But of course, he thought, they had grown up together.

Harald was an unfamiliar noble, and an arrogant one at that, and his friends were just the same.

Not to mention they are surrounded by the sons of noble Lords, great and mighty Houses while they are son and daughter of a commonfolk.

Inside the Academy, no one spoke much about social class and about noble lineage. But one day they would graduate, and outside the world was still the same as it ever was. Nobles and commoners.

Royalty and peasants.

His friends' willingness to submit angered Arial; he had spent too long in his previous life bowing and obeying the word of nobles, no matter how ridiculous it seemed.

He jumped up and pushed Harald from his seat, sending him crashing into the Purple Faery table.

He slumped to the floor and stared at Arial in shock, his friends no longer laughing. Out of the corner of his eye, Arial thought he saw the corners of West's mouth twitch into a grin.

"What do you think you're doing?" Harald roared, eyes still wide, his veins stood up. Arial ignored him and turned to Kyle and Lisa.

"Hold your heads high."

"I said, what do you think you're doing!" Harald shouted again, clambering to his feet. He was not used to being ignored.

"I am the son of Alderam Alan, the high lord of the Dukedom! I order you to come here!"

Several of the older knights glanced their way, but did not interfere.

It was the way of the Academy to let students handle their disagreements by themselves. Harald was glaring at Arial, livid.

And then he is enraged

He tried to throw his plate, but before his hand had even reached the table Arial picked up a fork from beside him and launched it, narrowly missing Harald's forehead and piercing the stone wall behind him.

The sound of the fork piercing the stone wall was like a sword clashing with a mace, reverberating in the Hall, and the crowd gulped.

The fork pierced the stone and stuck itself into the stone. Everyone could see what would happen if that fork was aimed at Harald head. He would have died almost instantly.

Harald's eyes darted from Arial to the fork, and back to Arial.

"You want me to come to you? Make me!" Arial bellowed.

Nobody around Arial dared move.

After a moment he returned to his seat and continued eating, all eyes still staring at him.

When he had finished, he stood up and took a step towards Harald, who flinched.

"Too afraid, huh?" Arial sneered and then he turned and walked out of the Hall.

"I will not forget this, Arial Vermont!" Harald shouted as he left. Arial ignored him.

"What the hell was that?" said Kyle, rushing out after him with his sister.

"I don't like the way they treat you," said Arial.

"But what he said was true," Lisa said quietly. Kyle dropped his head once again.

"There's nothing special about noble blood," said Arial.

"Only idiots like that believe there is."

"Don't you believe in the Divine Right of the King?" Helia piped up, catching up with them.

"Divine Right? From whom?"

"God," the three of them replied in unison.

"Which god?" asked Arial.

"The God of Light, of course," said Helia. "Is there any other god?"

Arial chuckles and then he said

"Seren worships the Fierce god," Arial said, sighing. "Renasia believes in the Sun Emperor and the Water Princess. Zettel believes in the Night Mother and Dawn Father. Cora believes in the Hooded Old Man, while the Anjou and Ranoans also have their own Gods. So which God decides who gets Divine Right?"

Kyle, Lisa and Helia fell silent. Lisa rubbed her head, while Kyle shrugged.

"Do you believe God exist?" Arial ask them.

"It exists" the three of them said.

"How do you know?" He ask again

"All the other said He exist so he must exist" Helia said while the other two nodded.

Arial knew he was wasting his time.

They were just children; they were much too young for a real philosophical debate. Arial was about to head to his room when Lisa turned to him.

"Do you believe in God?"

Arial thought for a moment, before replying, "I do."

"Which one?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I know He exists." Arial remembered the blinding light that shone in the library.

"Knowing He exists is not the hard part. The hard part is finding Him. Is He the god of Light? The Hooded Old Man? The Night Mother and Dawn Father? Is He all of them, or is He none of them?" Arial noticed Lisa's face was looking more confused by the second.

"That is a question for another time, another day," Arial finished, and left to go to his room with his thoughts.

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