Chapter 8: A night of thought and tales.

The veil of the night has covered the town of Manda, and most of the activities have seemed to cease on the streets, with the exception of locations such as the few taverns that are open and still bustling with customers of various backgrounds who decided to kick back and relax after a hard day of work. Back at the barracks, the scene was somewhat lively, there were a few parties who sat outside, doing their own activities, whether it be conversing over some spicy curry potatoes and a drink, packing their items for tomorrow's expedition, or maybe just sitting down as they admire the mystical and beautiful night sky in which its colors combine a blend of green and blue hues with a touch of cyan, complimented by an array of stars that jot the aerial landscape.

As for Diacrao, he was not beaten into tiredness by training, not yet, at least, as he sat by the stone firepit alone and watched over the dancing flames, recollecting his thoughts on the events that has happened this past few weeks as his eyes glanced over the warm fiery blaze. The ladies had gone to bed early as they planned to wake up early, meanwhile, he was unsure about Conrad's and Kadungon's whereabouts, but he didn't pay too much mind about them.

It has been three weeks, but yet the party has yet to walk at a steady pace and achieve some sort of success in the hunting grounds for newbies, let alone venture out in the nation that they know little about, despite their stay.

He also can't help but notice that the party's relationship seemed more distant and rag-tag, despite the friendly demeanor of some members, he still feels an air of distantness and lack of connection among the members. He thinks this had some part in causing the lack of coordination among each member in battle, and in the same vein, it seemed like their inability to properly communicate had caused their roles to be hazy.

As his thoughts wander, he finally recollected his thoughts on his training and how he came to be a swordsman. While everyone discussed and agreed on their roles, Diacrao was given the liberty to choose any roles that he deem fit, and so in his exploration of the town, he stumbled upon the Guild of the Blades, in which he was tempted to become a swordsman. He thought being a versatile warrior who could serve as a vanguard and a striker is pretty effective, but the only downside is that they will only be trained with swords.

The Guild of the Blades were fanatical in their way of life and scorned the use of any weapons except for the sword. Diacrao never inquired about their aversion towards any weapons that aren't a blade, which he found odd, but he wasn't prepared for a long sermon detailing their aversion. Regardless, he was placed under the tutelage of a skilled swordswoman named Akida. She was elegant, as she was deadly, graceful as a swan, and cunning like a fox, she strikes as quick as a snake and cuts as deep as a wolf. The pair developed a master-student relationship, and she was a really strict woman who valued discipline and ensured her pupils understood the disciplinary codes. Her training was brutal, but it was necessary, he thought. She wasn't all mean and no smiles though, for she did give a fair share of encouragement and compliments to not discourage him, something that she would do with her other students as well.

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"To be a good swordsman, you must have the mindset of one, and be ahead of your enemies in many steps Diacrao! You're still a freshie, but with enough training, you will take over the world with your sword!" 

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Her words of encouragement uplifted the swordsman, but it certainly did not heal his sore body after going through harsh trainings that left him in a deep state of pain.

The equipment he was given wasn't the best. A worn padded armor set with some old boots, but at least the short sword provided was as good as new. He is not shocked if the weapon was passed down from a previous soldier who had died in battle, but frankly, it did not matter. He wonders if his other teammates shared the same fate as him.

"Hey Diacrao, still not asleep yet?" a familiar voice said behind him as it broke the male's state of focus on his thoughts. As he turned behind him, he saw it was Kadungon standing behind him, before seating at the opposite end of the firepit, facing Diacrao. "Hey man, nah I'll head to bed later, just thought I might sit down here. Say your training just finished? You're still dressed in your armor." Diacrao questioned as he noticed Kadungon was still dressed in your armor.

Kadungon was much more armored than Diacrao, donning a full leather armor set under his gambeson armor. with patchworks of metal parts such as an armguard and a leg guard. But he was still far from being an armored tank, for his current armor could only withstand some damage, and he is absent from any form of protective headwear, barring a finely crafted metal circlet that he donned, etched with local inscriptions that he could not really understand due to his illiterate status.

The language spell that was cast only allowed the foreigners to understand the speech of the locals but does not grant them the ability to read or write. If they want to learn, they will have to burn more money, which isn't ideal in their situation. If they were stable financially, he would likely consider learning how to read and write.

"Oh, actually I was helping an old man with a broken cartwheel and spent quite some time talking with him too. He was a really nice guy." the big guy replied as he gave a hearty smile to the swordsman. "Well that was nice of you man, you surely have a big heart. You guys must've had a hell of a lot of things to talk to, despite you being a newcomer." Diacrao responded as he took an iron tong and grabbed a filled wooden cup with water and proceeded to place it above the fire.

"Well actually, he did most of the talking, I was listening to him speak. He knew I was a foreigner based on the leather dog tags that were issued to us when we signed up. I found out that the main soldiers don't have that, they are issued metal tags. I guess that is how we are separated and identified." He said as he paused to take a quick cough. "Anyways, he was telling me about a lot of personal stuff, but he also shared with me a brief history of the republic and the surrounding politics of this land, it's gonna be long, you wanna hear it?"

"Sure thing." Diacrao agreed to listen as he took the heated cup and placed it on Kadungon's side. The big guy smiled at Diacrao's response. "Awesome, and thank you for the drink bud, i really need it." He responded as he gave a big hearty smile.

"Alright, so the old man I met is named Chitundu, a pretty aged man. He rambled a lot about his personal life and how he wanted to be a soldier, but his parents didn't allow him and forced him to carry on his family's tradition." Kadungon started by giving a brief introduction of the stranger in question, which piqued Diacrao's interest. "So what did he do?" to which he asked, curious about the man's profession.

"Well he's a glass bead craftsman, he makes elaborate and colorful glass beads in the heart of the town. He then assembles these beautiful beads and forms them into jewelry, collars, bracelets, headband, or anything literally! And he sells at a decent price too. He's quite an entrepreneur himself and seems to be doing well."

"Wow, that was great. He seems like a pretty nice guy. Did he go on a lot about the republic too?" Diacrao asked as Kadungon took a quick pause to sip from the cooled cup of water, before continuing. "Well yes! When he noticed I was a foreigner he decided to give me some insights on the republic's formation and the politics around the land that they refer to as Axeyriaa."

Finally, they are now coming to the meat and potatoes of the conversation, Diacrao was curious to know about the world around them and its politics, but he never paid mind to it as he was often focused on self-improvement, training, and usual chores.

"The old man mentioned that the Mkasi Republic is one of the three republics among the Zanziyi Republics that declared its independence during the dawn of the Xeyrian Civil War sometime about 20 years ago, alongside another kingdom by the name of Vorzhica that neighbors the republics of the north." Kadungon started the lore as he was told by the old man.

"Zanziyi Republics? Vorzhica? why did the Xeyrian Empire even allowed this to happen?" Diacrao was clearly confused at the explanation Kadungon gave, and hope to get more answers about it. "Alright so bear with me man, it's gonna be a long one."

Kadungon continued his tale; "So I asked him about what Zanziyi means, and he told me it was used to denote people who came from the western lands beyond the Zanzi Sea. The coastal people came from many kingdoms and city-states, each with their own culture. They came to this region a long time ago, back when it was ruled by an empire called the Kharash Empire, which welcomed the merchants as they settled by the northwestern coasts. Some of them have been elevated into prominent positions in politics." He paused to take a sip from his cup.

"As for the Kingdom of Vorzhica, they are a kingdom inhabited primarily by people of Saqari descent, White and swarthy-skinned people who were slaves of the Adrasid Khaliphate to the North, hailing from the regions of Vandalis, but quite a number of them have come to seek refuge within the Kharash Empire, either through desertion or by being liberated by a venerated Kharash King, Valraac The Chain Breaker, who also freed Zanziyin Slaves too. I'm not too sure about him, but he is said to have been highly venerated among the people's of Axeyriaa, even by the people's of the Xeyrian empire who traditionally had rivalries with the Kharash empire."

The history that has been shared so far has been no short but amusing, it gave him some sense of knowledge about the land he is currently in. Just like a curious child invigorated with an energy of interest, he pressed Kadungon to continue further.

"He mentioned that the Mkasi republic is separated from the other two republics by the Bogro Mountain range, but they still remained connected by maritime activities which is much more quicker and profitable than the rough Mountain terrains. He didn't tell me much about them because he said it has been some time since he traveled."

The glut of information was really valuable, but Diacrao still had an unanswered question that he was curious to know about. "So how and why did the republics and the Kingdom declare their independence? wouldn't they face some resistance for this?" He reiterated the previous question again, hoping he would get an answer about it.

"Ah, the old man told me he didn't know much about this. He believed that the respective leaders didn't want to be plunged into the devastating civil war and probably made an arrangement with respective leaders for this to happen. But he told me it was just a guess. That is about what he told me when we reached his home and he gifted me some food and two silver for the help." Kadungon ended the long session, to which Diacrao's surge of interest just came to an abrupt end, rather sad that it did not continue further.

"Damn, just as it was getting interesting, at least he was kind enough to give you some money," Diacrao replied as he turned his gaze up to the sky. The crowd of people within the compound was starting to decrease as it seemed like people were already heading to bed, and it was time for them to do so as well. "Well, I guess it's time to hit the hay man," Diacrao said as get got up from his seat, stretching his back after

"Damn, I gotta shower and do the laundry... hope it gets dry in time for our journey tomorrow. Goodnight man, and thanks for listening, sleep tight!" Kadungon said as he drank up the remaining water as he got up too. "Uhhh, I don't know man, the straw bed is getting kinda annoying now, but it is what it is." Diacrao referenced the uncomfortable bed they had. The Auxiliary soldiers live in shared rooms with double-decker beds that could fit up to 4 people in a room. In Diacrao's case, the three guys only occupy their rooms.

Regardless, it was time for bed, and they should get some rest before going forward to resume their duties once again.