Chapter 3: Geography

"As you know, our Seabright city is considered the second capital or some also call it the coastal capital of the Empire. What you may not know is that we are connected to the Blood Ocean, which makes up our entire eastern border. "Mrs. Parker explained and waited patiently for questions.

"Miss is it true we are close to the savages?" a girl in the back asked, her voice shaking, her fear of the unknown apparent.

The old woman frowned at the question. "Yes and no," she said firmly." We are indeed close to our southern border, but not so close that we would be in danger should conflict arise." She said as most students expressed a sigh of relief. "More importantly it's a great misconception to call our neighbors savages. The Desert Albaqaa Alliance is a nation not weaker in either culture or military might in comparison to us. Their customs may differ, and they most definitely are a nation full of Warriors, a lot of which are Ascended, they deserve more respect than what you all are giving them." she said with a stern look.

As they heard that the eyes of almost all the children shined. Their teacher had just mentioned something they, as well as most people in this world, admired – the Warriors. They were a group specialized in dealing with the most dangerous of tasks in this world. From excavating underground mines to adventuring in unclaimed lands of the Wilds to sadly being used as strategic weapons in wars.

"Can you please tell us what our relationship is with them, as far as I know, Dad does business with them so they can't be bad people?" asked Ciaran.

This was one of the many reasons the old woman had mixed feelings for the little gremlin. On one hand, he was a brat who did whatever he wanted with complete disregard for rules and proper etiquette. On the other, as he demonstrated right now, all he craved was knowledge. Unlike his peers, he didn't even flinch when the hot topic of the Warriors was brought up, instead, he wanted to know about the lesson she was currently presenting.

As much as it pained her to admit it, academically speaking, he was her best student. Of course, if she knew his grandfather had been telling him stories about them from the time he was two weeks old, so much so that the Ciaran was sick and tired of hearing about it, her high opinion of him might have dropped, but alas she knew not.

"We will discuss the history of our nation as well as politics in a different class Mr. Clades. That being said you have nothing to worry about; the two nations are currently quite friendly to each other. Perhaps you can tell us why." She poked at the boy's knowledge, curious to see if his father had taught him something.

"Dad said he mostly trades food for shiny stones, but dad also likes to learn things so I bet he also learns things while he is there," said the boy with genuine enthusiasm.

Elizabeth Parker was happy with his answer; she was also very pleased that he nailed the most important aspect without even knowing it." Well said, let me elaborate on that. Our nation, as we have already learned, is mostly stationed on flat land, meaning we, make a lot of veggies and animal products. You can observe this if you go a little outside the city where our farmlands are stationed; they are so big they can fit a little more than six Academies inside themselves." She said and observed her students looking at her with wonder.

"You can also observe it in the cafeteria where you can always find fresh fruit and vegetables, sadly thanks to us being near the ocean you can also find a lot of fish and the smell that comes with it" she joked and enjoyed the sound of their youthful giggles.

"That being said let us answer your question in full. A nation rich in agriculture like ours with lots of fertile lands can provide a desert nation with lots of resources with several benefits, including economic, social, and environmental advantages. Firstly, the desert nation can benefit from the agricultural products that the fertile land nation can provide. The agricultural products can include crops, livestock, and other food items that are not easily produced in the desert. The desert nation can trade its natural resources, such as minerals, oil, and gas, for agricultural products, which can help improve the economy of both nations."

"This type of trade is called comparative advantage, where both nations can produce a particular good at a lower opportunity cost than the other nation." She said and looked at them. When she saw that she had lost about ninety percent of her students she cursed herself for explaining things in big words to small children and took the easy way out. "So yes, what your dad said was right, food for shiny rocks," she said a little flustered.

She looked at her notes and tried to simplify them as much as possible. "Secondly, the exchange of goods can help improve the social relationship between both nations. The exchange can foster a sense of mutual understanding and respect between the two nations, which can create a foundation for future collaborations. This collaboration can extend beyond the economic realm to the cultural, educational, and scientific spheres. Or in even simpler terms, we trade goods and we become better friends with our neighbors." She said satisfied with the lack of confusion. "Actually while on the topic it's good to mention that since the last fifteen years, our relationship with the Desert has only gotten better, in large thanks to Liam Clades, the Master of the Sea." She said as her students' eyes shined and wondered in admiration towards a certain young gremlin that perked up his chest and smiled with pride.

"All that being said, there is also the third and last of the important benefits of the trade, the exchange of knowledge. The agricultural practices of the fertile land nation can help the desert nation learn new farming techniques and technologies. The transfer of knowledge can help the desert nation improve its agricultural production, which can lead to a reduction in food insecurity and malnutrition. Additionally, the desert nation can learn how to optimize its use of water resources and conserve soil, which can have a significant impact on the environment. In exchange for that the Desert provides us with a lot of valuable knowledge, the specifics of which you will learn in due time." She said and unexpectedly hears a few sighs. It seems Ciaran's thirst for knowledge was spreading. To mitigate the situation, she praised the kid for his intuition, which seemed to pacify the class.

"Ok let's talk about our final neighbor, the Kingdom of Auroria, home to the Northerners." She said and prepared herself for a hard topic." Unlike the south, our relationship with the North is very shaky. For now, we are at peace and no major wars have been fought for the last two years, but as you know we were at war with them quite recently." The Kingdom of Auroria is a mix of plains and mountains and unlike us and the Desert they don't lack much, they have both food and strategic military resources, thus trade with them is a little more complicated." She said as she could feel the pain in the hearts of some of her students, as some of their family members had fallen victim to the war. She disliked the feeling to her core 'Damn icicle lickers she thought'. "The border we share with them is mostly consisting of impassible mountain ranges, filled to the brim with Ascended beasts. The few places that allow passage, from our nation to theirs, are guarded by giant fortresses equipped with modern machinery and staffed with our bravest of soldiers." She said in hopes of giving the young children a piece of mind.

As she was pondering how to further assert the kids of their safety the bell rang, giving them their freedom and saving her from the awkwardness. Less than five seconds after the bell rang the still atmosphere was broken by Clara, who went to Ciaran and told him he had looked like a peacock with a splinter up its nose during the lecture. The never-ending bickering began as Mrs. Elizabeth Parker left the classroom to go to the teachers' lounge to unwind a little. Usually, it was the beginning of her terminal headache, but strangely today the sound of the tigress and the monkey going at it brought her a sensation of peace.

As she got to the teachers' lounge she carefully opened and closed the door after herself, and then she took off a seemingly ordinary trinket- a bracelet that looked like it had been both from a peddler for cheap. Not a moment after the woman changed her worn-out hair with many gray hairs burned with the color of deep red. In her eyes, flames seemed to come to life as they shined with a faint orange light, and if one was looking from afar they would see wind forming around her hands.