ã€ŠMaitbudiã€‹


 The Prologue

    He begged for food along the streets of Sitchan.

    The city was unclean, littered with feces and piss, and it stood on no rivers to cleanse of its refuse. Fermboi had no choice but to sit on the corners of the central market, where the filth was most oppressive but still clean enough that he would have no trouble earning a less dirt-covered meager meal. Most of the time he sat under the Pole of Sitchan, the wooden spear that was about a tall tioburoma tree¡¯s height plus a tall man. It stood twice the height of most houses in the city and the only structure erected higher was the king¡¯s winter palace in the northern fringes of the city.

    On some days he would have the rare passionate nobles give him a small bag of silver or two, and on other days he would have the vain peasants spit upon his face. The situation was similar with his fellow orphans: unkempt with their dirt-dappled faces and clothes, they begged out on the streets and sat for the whole day until they were required to give a common sight to beatings when the melancholic atmosphere of the city needed more appurtenance. Fermboi had kept his distance away many times, but the people seeking a dribble of retribution against the world still found him clutching his knees in the smallest of crannies. What he kept as a clean white shirt would be brown by the week¡¯s end, not through the gradual gathering of dust, but through the acrimonious orders of people to throw him into the mud and be left to the gust. Fermboi did not covet the life; he was not fond of sitting around and waiting for someone to tend him. So he endured.

    When enough coins had been laid upon his dirt-spotted hands, Fermboi would go to the merchant selling the cheapest stale bread. It was not good for his teeth, but it was all that he could eat to breathe. With the usual one meal, Fermboi would wander around the city searching for work. Often he would get none, and the week would wilt without weaving what Fermboi considered as the world¡¯s ¡°responsibility.¡±

    Fermboi recalled the days his father ordered for him to look after the farm. Signaled by the roosters¡¯ cawing, he would leave his straw bed and head out into the small fields his family tended. In the fields were several cows, erethadawns, boardawns, and chicken alongside with thousands of eteroneys.

    First he would tend the boardawns as those sold the most and needed just a little bit of work: a mere handful of the grain feed from the left side of the door to his house with the follow-up arced throw toward the inside of the boardawn pen was enough to get the boardawns squealing at the rain of grain and rush with their wide hooves at the spots that were blottered. With the close proximity of the pen to the feed supply brimming with crushed grain, the boardawns would give him pain when it comes to making sure the timbers still had the ability to keep them reined. He would often need to fell a tree from nearby and that meant being near the erethadawns.

    The way Fermboi liked dealing with erethadawns was by not dealing with them at all. He would do the same as he did with the boardawns, and then move on to getting fresh water. He did not like the way erethadawns exceeded the already-somewhat problematic tusks of the boardawns. His father had been skewered many times before by the long ivories and forced Fermboi to do more labor than he wanted, but when they did sell, the erethadawns made more than enough to compensate for complaints.

    When the cisterns were dry due to his father being lazy, or the well filled with rotten arisus that somehow hit the metal bucket above and never made it back to their caves, Fermboi would walk several thousand steps north to the nearest stream with two empty metal pails, one on each hand. There were no trees in the plains outside Sitchan as farmers cut them for higher crop yield. The lords demanded more grain and so the peasants had to remove anything that would not attain the pain that was deemed even too harsh by those insane. Some people would murder their farming family and either join the robbers of the roads or they would would surrender themselves to the city guards and be put in prison. Many people had already seen the way robbers of the roads were dealt with: their heads on a spike along the roads they robbed. A lot of people found it so off-putting that they started making their own roads instead of using the ones maintained by the king. The same situation would happen and in the minds of the people, it would ring: thievery and murder are not to be tolerated. So those looking for a way out of the back-aching tending of harvest murdered and acquiesced to the city prison.

    Fermboi would take the most direct path from his home and not venture into the roads that were sometimes filled with brigands. The rare thieves could not hide in non-existent trees, so they would lie down near the bases of the torso-high crops by the road and hope that when they jump on an approaching being, they would not be met with armed groups. It did not take a saurdus to see the glint of a man¡¯s eyes and so the brigands had to hide with their eyes not being right at the front of the roads. As his family needed his hands, Fermboi did not wish to endanger his life, so he did all he could to make the path to the stream a unique non-royal road and to his luck it happened to be the most direct one.

    By the time Fermboi would return after his trip to the north, it would be the fourteenth hour of the day, about two hours after leaving to fill up the pails at sunrise. He would fill not the wooden trough that was on the east side of the boardawn enclosure but the overall ground inside it. He would throw over the tall wooden fence and let the dozens of boardawns clamor to wallow and drink. The last time he had concentrated the water, several of the boardawns had slashed each other¡¯s bodies with tusks, causing even more frenzy to those awaiting the second grain hurl of the day. Fermboi did not dare open the gates and he had kept forgetting to ask his father to remove the unused trough.

    Fermboi would do several more trips to the stream up north for the erethadawns and cows, and by the time the twentieth hour was near, he would have finished rounding up the hens¡¯ regular lays. He would take a break for a short hour and start heading towards the eteroney hives on the leftmost side of the land his family rented. Midday was the time of the day when most of the eteroneys were out on the fields and grazing upon the sweet juices of flowers. This meant that it was the safest time to look inside the hive and check if the honeycomb was ready to be harvested. Fermboi had been stung so many times that he had, in essence, become immune to the eteroneys¡¯ rather painful weapon.

    Then Fermboi would return back to where his family of five resided¡ªa small one room stone house. His oldest sister would sometimes be out there, waiting on the front door.

    ¡°You forgot to tend the cows again,¡± Fermboi¡¯s sister once stated, tilting her chin behind him.

    Fermboi looked over his left shoulder. He could see three black and white spotted cows walking back and forth in their pen. ¡°Well, papa says they don¡¯t really sell much, and besides you milk them later though.¡±

    His sister kissed her teeth. ¡°Ferm, you know that¡¯s not what we¡¯re talking about here. You need to feed the cows.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to cut grass for several hours just to feed those dumb animals,¡± he replied, his eyebrows touching together. ¡°Who needs milk anyway, we already have water from Uncle Satrius.¡±

    His sister shook her head to the left and then to the right, her blonde hair swaying like an inebriated man trying to walk. ¡°Ferm, water doesn¡¯t make you strong, not even with the alcohol added in it,¡± she lowered herself to level her eyes with Fermboi¡¯s. ¡°But milk does, it¡¯s what our mother gave us when we were young, don¡¯t you remember?¡±

    ¡°You mean the cow milk is like mother¡¯s?¡± Ferm asked, his eyebrows ceasing to touch each other.

    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, cupping Fermboi¡¯s chin with her left hand. ¡°You do remember mother¡¯s milk right? You were seven when she died, so I¡¯m sure you would remember.¡±

    Fermboi lowered his gaze. ¡°Why do you always have to remind me of that?¡±

    ¡°Of mother¡¯s death?¡± his sister asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Fermboi replied in a soft tone, eyes glooming.

    ¡°Well, I try not to,¡± she said, taking her right hand to Fermboi¡¯s left cheek and pinching it. ¡°But sometimes it¡¯s hard you know? I mean father doesn¡¯t want to talk about her and I can¡¯t talk about it to our other sister because she probably doesn¡¯t even remember her at all. I just want the memory of her to stay with me, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°But father said that mother¡¯s never coming back anymore,¡± Fermboi stated, tears forming in his eyes. ¡°He said she¡¯s dead forever.¡±

    His sister placed her thumbs at the outer corners of his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t cry Ferm,¡± she said, pushing the tears away. ¡°You¡¯re eleven already, nearly a man, you¡¯re not suppose to cry anymore.¡± Fermboi¡¯s tears started to flow onto his cheeks and his sister put him on an embrace. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, when you come back after feeding the cows, I¡¯ll have a surprise for you.¡±

    Fermboi stopped crying and his eyes lit up, forgetting for a moment about why he had cried in the first place. ¡°What is it? Is it another candy apple from the town?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± his sister said with a smile Fermboi had not recognized before. ¡°It¡¯s something much better. You¡¯ll like it.¡± Fermboi¡¯s sister stood up and turned for the door. ¡°Alright Ferm, just cut enough grass and throw ¡¯em to the pen, then come inside for your treat, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Fermboi said, grabbing the cutting tool underneath the grain feed trough.

    He cut the long grasses until the twenty-seventh hour was over, tossed them inside the grassless cow pen, and then headed back inside the house.

    When Fermboi arrived, his sister was adjusting the little decorations that populated the room. A couple were small pottery, but the most prized was a tiny glass statue of the goddess of grain that stood centered on top of the table. Like most farming folk, Fermboi¡¯s family believed it gave luck with the harvests.

    It was quiet with the soft setting sounds of the pottery and the dull squeaks of the wind that encouraged unperturbed archery.

    ¡°Sabrina, I¡¯ve returned home!¡± Fermboi announced as he walked towards his sister who had stopped moving the decorations to face him. ¡°Where¡¯s my surprise?¡±

    His sister started unveiling her clothes, letting them drop on the straw-filled floor. ¡°Sabrina, what are you doing?¡± Fermboi asked with a wavering tone. It was the first time he had seen a woman without clothes. ¡°S-Sabrina?¡± he stammered as she advanced towards him. Fermboi was a little bit shorter than his older sister and he could not help but feel threatened as she walked towards him. Yet he stood still, dazed and confused.

    Fermboi¡¯s particular relationship with his older sister did not stop until she was taken away from him. His family¡¯s land bordered the realm of the Magiars, and although they gave most of their crop to the baron, some of it went to the neighboring Magiar chief in the west.

    Several months before, a band of Magiar men entered Fermboi¡¯s home and brought his current situation.

    Fermboi allowed his eyes to open, but at a snail¡¯s pace. Then he sighed.

    There were no orphanages in Sitchan, as the houses for homeless children were more often found in the northern cities. So when news of the king¡¯s orders to start a personal orphanage reached Fermboi¡¯s ears, he hurtled for the city square for the gathering of his fellows.

    As he reached the city center and slowed, a scrawny young boy approached Fermboi. ¡°Ay Ferm, whatchu doin¡¯ here? For the new home too?¡± the boy asked, before spitting on the cobblestone ground twice. ¡°I ¡®erd the king himself would be here!¡±

    Fermboi looked at the scrawny boy. The kid had the same attire as Fermboi: a dirty, tattered, white cotton shirt for a top and potholed straw pants for a bottom. It was the marker of an orphan in Eteria. ¡°Yes, Torne,¡± he said, looking at his own shirt. He brushed some of the dirt speckles away.

    Earlier, the sons of a grain merchant had pushed him down a water-filled hole on the road. He had saved enough to visit the cheapest baker in the west side of the city and had a loaf of bread fresh out of the oven. It was the perfect morning meal after the tumultuous rain overnight. To Fermboi¡¯s left, a grain merchant and his two sons were passing with their erethadawn caravan. When the father of the two children had stopped to talk to a fellow merchant, Fermboi felt the brunt of the combined blows of two small fists on his back and had his loaf tossed in the air before crumpling his nose on the ground a moment after his cheek had slapped the cobblestone road. He had wanted to seek retaliation, but their father had already come yelling at them. When the two younger children had returned to the caravan, their father said his condolences to Fermboi and gave him a piece of a fruit from Unan. Its skin was dark green, but its flesh was green bordering yellow, and so Fermboi converged his teeth on just the flesh. He had been met with so much bliss that by the time he reopened his eyes and wanted to give thanks to the merchant, the caravan had already passed.

    Not a moment after brushing his shirt, a carriage rolled into the square. From afar, one could tell it was the King¡¯s Carriage for it had ten well-armed guards on each side with pure gold coats and the largest of Eterian Horses. Just several moments after the transport¡¯s stoppage, a man dressed with the finest clothes Fermboi had ever seen appeared from the carriage¡¯s left gold-plated door. Sandy hair and blue eyes on an almost perfect face: the king. The royal family were the only ones with the trait of blue eyes and yellow hair that lived below the remote northern lands where the trait originated. It was what distinguished them from the rest of the people in the kingdom.

    Murmurs started to begin as the man stepped off the carriage stairs at a slow pace. ¡°It¡¯s the king, right?¡± Torne turned to Fermboi with raised eyebrows.

    ¡°Must be,¡± Fermboi stated. ¡°He looks kingly.¡± But Fermboi noticed that the man was missing his crown. Fermboi wondered if the king left it back at the capital in fear of thieves or in humbleness to the upcoming orphanage. Fermboi had heard a lot about the king from his fellow older orphans that wandered the King¡¯s Road and the major cities of the kingdom. The king was said to have great distaste for the lower classes and Fermboi pondered on the fact that an orphanage was soon to be built by the same king.

    The man who stepped off the carriage went out of the stairs¡¯ way and put his head down as soon as he set foot on the cobblestone road. Fermboi wondered if the man was bowing in subservience or otherwise. Fermboi thought about the reason for the king¡¯s bow as the place was not a royal church. Fermboi had heard a lot about the exclusive nature of the royal church and it was not a surprise that it was located way toward the south of the city where everything moved slow and steady under the unceasing sun. With the image in front of him, Fermboi questioned the fact of the king¡¯s authority and thought about if the king¡¯s superiority about their sole god was true. He had heard that the royal family believed in one god named God and he forgot whether the king was equal or above God. In all likelihood, Fermboi figured the king was bowing to God in return for a good blessing on the orphanage; royal family or not, everyone prayed for the erection of a new building.

    ¡°Announcing His Royal Majesty, the King of Eteria,¡± the driver of the carriage declared.

    ¡°So it is the king!¡± Torne exclaimed as the crowd cheered.

    Fermboi had heard that the king was just about sixteen years old. The man who had stepped off the carriage looked about to be twice the purported age. Fermboi wondered if he had been lied to by the other orphans or if they were just the best exaggerators of the kingdom. His chain of thoughts were broken when a much younger man appeared from the door of the carriage.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Fermboi frowned when he saw a boy two years older than him at most appear from the carriage with a smug look. The golden crown atop the boy glistened and glared, and Fermboi was forced to close his eyes for a few moments. The king¡¯s attire, the finest blue silken clothes Fermboi had ever laid eyes upon, flowed free onto the cobblestone floor. ¡°So that¡¯s the king,¡± Fermboi muttered under his breath. The king walked to the middle of the square where an improvised wooden podium was propped up in haste. It contained two layers of ten hard dereset logs, whitened without worry in the south end of the city. Not the king¡¯s liking, Fermboi had observed as the king stepped onto the raised elevation. The king¡¯s guards surrounded the podium with their long spears pointed at the sky. The spears had towered everyone present, and it was at least twice Fermboi¡¯s height. Fermboi felt the sense of control and he wondered if any would dare attack the king with such guards.

    ¡°Abandoned sons and daughters, today you are fortunate enough to witness my face. A face you will probably only see once, as important men such as me are way too busy for the shitiness that you lowly peasants induce,¡± the king announced, his voice deadpan. The crowd, for the most part consisting of tradesmen and farmers on break and orphans who were excited for a home, gasped. Fermboi, on the other hand, had his face reddening. ¡°Despite that, as the good king that I am, I am here to personally show and announce to you the building of Sitchan¡¯s first orphanage.¡± The king took out a parchment from inside his silken clothes. ¡°Here is the royal document that signifies the establishment of the building. It is set to be finished by the next year and I have amply bought the Baron of Sitchan¡¯s personal home as the initial home of the orphans.¡± The crowd gasped again, but this time it was of amazement, not resentment. ¡°The lands around the baron¡¯s former house are also bought out and the orphans are to start working there immediately. The orphans are going to farm and cultivate the land in order to take care of the crops and animals that would be arriving the following days.¡±

    The king¡¯s lips were suspended. The crowd held their mouths opened. Fermboi¡¯s forming fists hardened.

    ¡°The orphans are hereby bound to me as slaves. But not ordinary slaves as they would receive more than half of what farmers earn. These homeless children are bound to me until their deaths and their children would also be bounded to my descendants until the end of their line. The money that they earn are also encouraged to be put into the orphanage in order for it to expand and flourish. That is all, you peasant shits.¡±

    That was it. Fermboi snapped. The king had greeted with insult and built up a false hope and then ended with another insult. He could not take it. Fermboi, like an uncontrolled blaze, waded through the crowd as if the wind was on his back before lunging at the nearest guard of the king. He heard Torne shout but ignored it. Fermboi tackled the guard on the ground, the heavy armor plates paining his unprotected body in the process. The guard had not anticipated an attack and fell off balance despite Fermboi¡¯s considerable lighter weight. Fermboi placed his right hand on his right hip, took the makeshift metallic knife he built months ago and raised it at the guard¡¯s unguarded face. The other guards did not move and the guard that Fermboi had his tool raised on was unabashed. Fermboi was puzzled.

    ¡°You foolish fuck,¡± the king said, turning to see the commotion and Fermboi. ¡°If I was a duke or a baron, you¡¯d have been killed on the spot.¡± Fermboi tried to regain his composure. He realized that no one was restraining him and he questioned as to why he had not sunk the knife deep into the guard¡¯s black eyes. Before Fermboi could think longer, a heavy weight came from above and his knife fell out of his fingers. And before he could assess what happened, he received ten quick punches to the face and a deep cut along his right cheek. ¡°But I¡¯m not a duke nor a baron, I¡¯m the fucking king,¡± Fermboi heard the king whisper into his right ear. From his blurred vision, he saw the king motion for two guards to pick him up. ¡°Now, this poor boy is brave. He is now the leader of all the homeless shits in this city. He is in charge of the orphanage from now on.¡±

    When Fermboi reopened his eyes, he found that he was carried over to the northwestern portion of the city and that most of the crowd followed. It was near the homes of the barons, an area Fermboi did not bother staying in. Orphans near any of the nobles¡¯ homes were most often beaten near death. The king and the rest of his posse led.

    ¡°Now, here is me,¡± the king declared, picking up a brown brick. The king motioned for the two guards carrying Fermboi to put him down. Fermboi could not prepare himself for the fall and his hands grew more pained. ¡°Building this orphanage for unfortunate shits like this boy here.¡±

    Fermboi watched the king stack a bunch of bricks for about an hour before he passed out again from his injuries. Before losing consciousness, he did not know what to make of it¡ªthe king¡¯s actions¡ªthe crowd staying through the whole ordeal. Aside from the king¡¯s entourage, everyone was confused. Not even the barons around the city did such a job. They had others do it for them.

    When he woke up in his first comfortable bed in months, Fermboi still refused to accept the king¡¯s actions toward the orphans as he had a feeling something sinister was beneath it all.

    It was over a year since the king had built his home, but Fermboi still did not see eye-to-eye with its intentions. Although free, and bereft of big, brutish bastions of bravery, many orphans still died by overworking. The orphans who had been brutalized by people terrorizing in the name of bravery were often let to die by the barns. The keepers of the orphanage had cited that it was better for the food to go to those who were able, not the disabled. It was a terrible thing, and Fermboi had prepared to sling his knife in order to bring an end to the strife. Torne had stopped Fermboi from slitting the throats of their caretakers, valuing the status quo over the almost-guaranteed power struggle that would have occurred once the masters of hundreds of working orphans had been killed.

    So Fermboi bided and he was rewarded. At first, he had gathered the orphanage under his leadership and reaped the monetary gain of the estates. Then he took it upon himself to retaliate on the brutes who picked on orphans and managed to consolidate the surrounding area¡¯s control under him. It was not done in the clean way a mother would lick its newborn, instead it was done in a way that, as the prey mother finished giving birth to her child, a predator would pounce right then and force a decision: abandon the future or preserve the past.

    ¡°Do you think his army is larger or smaller?¡± Torne asked as he and Fermboi overlooked the tall hills west of Sitchan.

    Fermboi looked at the banners of the king and gritted his teeth. ¡°Malius said it looked like the king had been fleeing the Toreans,¡± he said. ¡°They look well-rested now though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that boy was too much of a dreamer,¡± Torne stated. ¡°There¡¯s no way he¡¯d have passed the Zhong and the Toreans without losing the bulk of his army. We¡¯d be pinching them in here, and hopefully the Toreans will help us with our rebellion.¡±

    ¡°Do we have anyone in the camp who speaks Torean?¡± Fermboi asked, turning his head around to see his camp. Over a thousand tents painted what would have been a goody-green field, returning it to its grassless color: brown.

    ¡°Nah, but I think we have some that speak Magiaran,¡± Torne revealed.

    Fermboi looked back at the king¡¯s banners. Under the seven banners held high by cavalrymen, three dozen more fell along each banner with armors as fine as bronze could ever be. Lances were the most held, but Fermboi did see that some men looked a little bit out of place with the bronze armor and that they held bows in their hands. Fermboi saw that there was only one row of infantrymen, all drabbed in the same bronze as their horsemen brothers and all carrying spears at least twice their height.

    A large black horse galloped upwards the hill Fermboi stood on. ¡°Do you think Malius was successful?¡±

    Torne nodded. ¡°He looks like he¡¯s smiling, can¡¯t you see it?¡±

    Fermboi shook his head. ¡°No, and I¡¯m hoping they don¡¯t fail me in this battle.¡±

    Torne tapped Fermboi¡¯s right shoulder. ¡°Relax, we¡¯re going to win,¡± Torne said, smiling. ¡°They¡¯re winded and we¡¯re full-rested. We¡¯re going to decimate them.¡±

    ¡°Not annihilate?¡± Fermboi asked. He could hear the nearing horse¡¯s heaving.

    Torne sighed. ¡°You know what I mean,¡± he said. ¡°Baron Fero is really helping you groom, eh?¡±

    ¡°Well we got to be our old masters,¡± Fermboi stated. ¡°But better in every way. How else are we going to govern if we don¡¯t know the laws that protect what¡¯s needed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Torne declared. ¡°Just don¡¯t agitate the poor.¡±

    Fermboi nodded. ¡°Malius, what did the king say?¡±

    The black horse was reined in several steps away from Fermboi. ¡°He invites you to his tent,¡± the thin pale-looking rider said after a deep exhale.

    Fermboi looked at Torne. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get the horses.¡±

    The king looked different. Way too different for Fermboi¡¯s liking.

    ¡°So how¡¯s the bread?¡± the King of Eteria asked. His blonde hair and blue eyes were more refined. And they did not look as arrogant as before.

    Fermboi was accompanied by Torne, Malius, and four guards; they had all taken a loaf of bread the king offered for the sole reason that it looked finer than what they had been having for the past years. The king himself took the first bite. ¡°It¡¯s good,¡± Fermboi mumbled. He gripped his glass and downed it. ¡°The wine¡¯s good too.¡±

    The king smiled and it was not the one Fermboi saw when the orphanage in Sitchan was being built. ¡°Okay, now watch this,¡± the king said, standing up and picking something out of the table behind him. The king¡¯s blue silk was finer than the one Fermboi saw before. The king¡¯s crown was etched with transparent gems Fermboi had no name for and, right at the forefront of the crown, it even had what would be a golden plank of wood standing upright with a second plank just below the top of the first plank posed in its natural state. Before it was a golden crown with a few rubies and sapphires descending from a centralized emerald, now it was a golden crown, but many times more golden than before and with just one type of gem that bore no color, all complementing two particular planks of wood. The king¡¯s voice was no longer the irritated and busy voice that it was before. Everything about the king was different. ¡°This is the lower jaw of a saurdus. Winged lizards from Eteria and the river. Don¡¯t worry about missing them, they¡¯re almost as large as a man and an annoyance to bring down.¡±

    The king approached the long table with a jaw rimmed with sharp teeth. Fermboi and the rest of his company would have been alarmed, but the king was several chairs away from them. ¡°Uh, milord,¡± Torne said. ¡°I thought we¡¯d be feasting and then talking of business.¡±

    The king grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my guards will only come if I yell for help,¡± the king said, bringing the knife-like object over his plate. ¡°Akino, bring us another fresh loaf of bread.¡±

    A young woman emerged from the other entrance to the tent. She carried the same long and large loaf of bread they had pieced before. Fermboi thought of how, for just a moment, he would be able to desire women again. His recent infractions with them had soured his mood. The young woman who carried the bread was about two heads shorter than him and looked as if she had just come out of a wedding with her long, flowing red dress. His desire did not happen, and Fermboi was disappointed with himself. After she placed the bread onto the table, the young woman returned to her previous position.

    ¡°Milord, are you sure a lizard¡¯s teeth is edible?¡± Torne asked. ¡°I heard the giant bugtiansas have edible teeth that grow bigger than a regular man, but I¡¯ve never been up north past Sitchan.¡±

    The king laughed. ¡°It¡¯s no worries, I¡¯m about to just enlighten your minds,¡± the king stated. ¡°Besides bugtiansa teeth isn¡¯t edible, but you can make a boat with it though.¡± The king placed the saurdus¡¯ lower jaw over the bread with the teeth facing the soft, smoking surface. ¡°Witness.¡±

    As the king drove the knife-like jaw over the right side of the bread, Fermboi could not help but feel weird at his situation. In a different time, maybe as soon as the king had opened the flaps to the tent would Fermboi jump to slit his throat. It did not cross his mind before and he wondered if it was because the king had met them earlier without guards.

    ¡°What¡¯s so special about that?¡± Malius asked.

    ¡°Witness,¡± the king repeated as he finished driving the Saurdus jaw from the top of the bread to the bottom. ¡°My princess, do you have us the honey and the maple syrup?¡±

    The young woman appeared once again and carried two glasses of mixture. Fermboi was familiar with the dark brown of the honey. He was not familiar with the dark red of the other glass. He assumed it was the unfamiliar word that the king had said. ¡°Is that from the eteroneys of Torea?¡± he asked.

    The king shook his head as gripped the glass of honey. ¡°It¡¯s not from the bees¨Cerr¨Ceteroneys,¡± the king stated as he dripped the slow-flowing liquid on top of the bread he had separated from the rest. ¡°Okay, this slice is for you.¡±

    The king gave the slice of bread to the young woman. She walked towards Fermboi. He lamented on her fine black hair and eyes and of her young age before placing his thumb over the slice. As Fermboi took hold of the bread slice, the young woman left and went back to the king¡¯s side. Fermboi hovered the glazed slice of bread over the entrance of his mouth. It smelled too good. ¡°What?¡± Fermboi asked after biting down. ¡°This tastes like the domain of the gods. The best thing since roasted boardawn!¡±

    Torne and Malius looked at Fermboi with raised eyebrows. ¡°Is it really?¡± Torne asked.

    The king laughed. ¡°I have six more coming your way with Akino,¡± he said. ¡°It has the tree sap that I was talking about. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s edible and tastes arguably better than the honey.¡±

    The mood in the tent had turned from caution to relaxation, but the men inside knew it had to end at some point.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry men, but we¡¯ve run out of bugtiansa thigh, and I¡¯m afraid business will have to start,¡± the king declared.

    Fermboi and his group stopped their chewing of the meat.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this boardawn,¡± Torne stated. ¡°It wasn¡¯t like the bugtiansa we had.¡±

    Malius nodded his head.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± a man with a scar over his left eye said.

    ¡°Baron Fero,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°I would¡¯ve had Malius stay here and watch over the troops, but we both know he can¡¯t even command ants.¡± The group around the fire laughed, brightening the light of the blaze against the dark night. Malius had rolled his eyes before laughing. ¡°But really though, that animal was something.¡±

    ¡°I agree, Fermboi,¡± Torne said. ¡°And that is why we will beat the king and hunt as many of these bugtiansa as we can for the rest of our lives!¡±

    The men cheered.

    It was time for battle. Fermboi took a deep breath. ¡°Are you ready?¡± he said, facing Torne.

    ¡°He still had that irritating look yesterday,¡± Torne replied. ¡°I¡¯m going to remove it from the world.¡±

    Fermboi smirked.

    The king dismounted from his horse and walked towards Fermboi. Fermboi¡¯s mouth spewed gushes of blood all over inside his bronze helmet. The king removed Fermboi¡¯s helmet and tossed it to the right. Fermboi looked at the king¡¯s blue eyes. Fermboi cried. All the preparation thrown away in a single day.

    Still, I gave him another chance.

 Chapter One

    Chapter One

    Transcending Tyranny

    ¡°Kill the Tyrant!¡±

    In the central streets of Bayla, thousands of people chanted for their lord¡¯s death. Amaru Shapak stood on the wooden podium that hosted the many men he ordered to be executed. His wrists were bound behind his waist with a high-quality hemp rope and it ran down his cut-filled back to tie his ankles. No matter the struggle, Amaru Shapak would not be able to free himself from the restraints.

    As Tyrant of Bayla, Amaru Shapak was responsible for administering the King¡¯s Justice on the citizens of the city. Unlike Igenis where the responsibility of adjudicator and executioner were separate, the title of Tyrant throughout Basilyarhemain gave its holder no limitations as to whom shall be disciplined. This was the original practice when the Kings of Eteria first arrived in Isternyuropa and dealt with their newfound, enormous territory. Amaru Shapak would like to think that he used his privilege for its original intent: to deliver justice in a swift manner and eliminate fragmentation amongst the masses.

    ¡°Tyrant!¡± a female voice from the gathered crowd shouted. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t tried to accept Igenis¡¯ demand, we wouldn¡¯t have a famine for the past half decade. This is all your fault!¡±

    ¡°Yes, the Tyrant has made our sons sticks and our daughters demons,¡± another female voice said. ¡°He should be punished for his sins!¡±

    Amaru Shapak pursed his lips. If the king had not marched with his vassals¡¯ levies towards Heta, Amaru Shapak would not have been forced to employ children whom had no experience in planting. The bushels of grain throughout Basilyarhemain were all levied to follow the basileal army, so all economies headed south. The addition of the King of Thasos exacerbated the drain of local food, and kids too young to even utter their first sentences were pricked off to the closest farms. They should have improved but the younger generation were too occupied to participate in the daily task. Generations of traditions gone just like that because the young headed for schooling instead of laboring for everyone¡¯s food, and nobody could do anything as it was the King of Thasos¡¯ word.

    ¡°Bring forth knowledge and progress,¡± the king had declared as one of his first acts upon accession. Amaru Shapak was not alive back then and still he would have been one of the few to support it despite seeing its ramifications. That is the good part of being erudite, knowing that it could improve one¡¯s life and go beyond the means of birthed status. It is a shame it does not focus on the larger picture: of the effects on components larger than the individual.

    Amaru Shapak opened his eyes and looked at the crowd. Amongst the people that surrounded the podium he stood upon, not one of them were between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four. Those were the ones who were at the outer reaches of his city, the ones in school.

    ¡°Kill him,¡± the crowd chanted, most were too far off to bear resemblance to the word ¡°synchronized¡± but some were in sync.

    There were two other people besides Amaru Shapak who stood on top of the podium. On the left bottom corner was a tall man who had a black shirt draped over his head, covering all but his two black pupils which were only discernible from the rest of the cloth by the way light refracted on it. A giant axe was held in his right hand and the wide trapezoid-like metal tip was two heads higher than him. The other was a smaller man, even smaller than Amaru Shapak, and had a dirtied white robe as his clothing. On his hands was a book containing what Amaru Shapak was being punished for. He stood to the left of Amaru Shapak at the front center of the podium.

    ¡°Murder, thievery,¡± the smallest of the men in the podium said. ¡°And worst of all, rape.¡±

    Amaru Shapak closed his eyes again and sighed. He knew the maid was trying to provoke him into acting on his senses. The murder and thievery charges would have probably been ignored for the other half of the decade even with the famine still ongoing, but the rape charge that became dozens had prompted the honorable fathers to act upon him. Devoid of any extra men for guarding, Amaru Shapak was wrangled away from his castle and brought forth to the city center. Half the day had passed since then and now as the charges against him were declared, Amaru Shapak could not help but wonder what would have happened if he had gone to the Kardia School for their yearly potential examinations. The Kardia School ranked first in the city of Bayla as most of its students outmatched the others. It had done so for the one thousand and five hundred years the school grounds have existed. Its resources were second to none, as all the noble families gave their sons fresh buns in order to pay off duns.

    Every decade, more and more people were becoming students at schools because those who passed the initial potential examinations had an easier time producing families. Although not all descendants of the school students had the abilities their progenitors possessed, a substantial amount of them retained some. So those who learned how to better use the bow or spear had an easier time hunting. Those who learned how to fallow the fields with better made tools reaped more grain and therefore coins. Most important of all, those who learned how to be stronger than others had an easier time dealing with sickness and other dangers to their lives. This made a healthy body a good body and a refined healthy body a great body.

    Amaru Shapak¡¯s family had been part of the initial wave of the families who attended Kardia¡¯s first year. At that time, about a hundred students lived in the school grounds, most of which were from different families as tuition towered the average price of personal tutors. Although not part of the nobility, the Shapak family was nonetheless wealthy. Descended from the Jorahbi Tribe of the Beduwin Peninsula, the Shapak family was filled with merchant sons. When Basilyarhemain extended its rule toward the Jorahbi¡¯s northern neighbors, the Serahbi, the main branch of the family decided to pack their jamals and head north towards the center of Basilyarhemain. As they traded their way past the Provinces of Tajikia, Osmaniya, and Anetaulia, the family¡¯s originally brown skin tone slowly lightened and the traditions from the Beduwin Peninsula soon disappeared. The only traits that they retained were their exceedingly dark brown hair and the practice of having their children kill a thamin as a coming of age rite. The southern lands in the Kingdom of Thasos were the only regions where thamin past the Hayer Mountains grew. Even then, they were not the same thamin as the ones on the northeastern regions of the Beduwin Peninsula. The thamin that lived in Thasos were larger and more dangerous and the Shapak family had lost several otherwise bright members of their family to the horned beasts.

    When the Kardia School was formed, the Shapak family left Yuhas and established themselves in the burgeoning city of Bayla. Back then Yuhas was the larger city and closer to the home of the thamin and so the Shapak family found themselves ingrained. With the introduction of the martial techniques from the Kardia School, the Shapak family knew that hunting the thamin would be once again a recurring ritual instead of a lightly enforced tradition. The dangers of locking one¡¯s ribs with antlers half the height of an average man would soon be dismissed through the honing of arrows or quickening of spears.

    Amaru Shapak was about thirteen years old when he first saw a man die. Inside the royal library, the bookshelves were twice the size of a man with normal height and ladders were used to get to the top rows. He was searching for one of the more advanced books on mathematics in one of the aisles when he encountered upon a fat man reaching for the top row of a bookshelf. Not even a moment after arriving, Amaru Shapak watched as the wooden steps of the ladder cracked and splintered into several pieces. The fat man fell head first onto the marble floor and made a noise Amaru Shapak had not forgotten. A black tome laid open across the fat man¡¯s stomach, its pages facing the fat man¡¯s shirt. Shrieks from observers blared and Amaru Shapak vowed to never let his eating habits get the best of him lest he got hurt.

    Although he pledged to avert dirt forever when he was seven after being sprayed with cow feces, Amaru Shapak begged his father to teach him how to ride horses earlier than usual. He would ride for hours, even coming half the distance between Bayla and Farkas. When out hunting, Amaru would feel the trees, the grass, and the flowers through his nose and know that he chose the right decision to abandon his previous childish deliberations. Amaru Shapak¡¯s love for wildlife was sparked and he concentrated his business on breeding quality horses and other pack animals. He even dabbled in the business of raising the expensive Iuvenis Celerem and sold quite a profit each year. The death of the fat man from the library never stopped lingering in his head and when the slightest plump customer would walk up to him, he had his assistants tend them.

    When he was fourteen, Amaru Shapak lost his father and was forced to take over the family business. Growing up deep inside upper Bayla, Amaru Shapak gorged himself on the amount of books available in the royal library several buildings further up his home. The merchant families were allowed to settle around the base of the hill, below the nobility¡¯s extravagant gardens. With the royal library further up the hill, Amaru Shapak labored each day to get there. When inside the royal library, Amaru Shapak read books on mathematics and prepared himself for the inevitable moment of his inheritance. He did not expect it to arrive two decades earlier.

    While Amaru Shapak was never close to his mother and sisters due to his constant focus on books and praises from his father, Amaru Shapak still did his best to provide for them. Like a good son of the family would. He gave them gifts for their birthdays and even provided for his sister¡¯s dowry in the place of his father. He took them to the many places money could buy. A visit in Igenis once a year was established and sometimes they even headed back to old Yuhas to visit the family members who stayed or moved back there.

    Amaru Shapak sold a thousand horses on his twenty-fifth birthday, the largest ever in Bayla and possibly even the kingdom. This earned him enough money to monopolize the southern harbors at the coastal side of the city and soon his family¡¯s coffers were filled to the brim. With silver overflowing through his hands each time he dipped them inside the wooden, storage chests, Amaru Shapak set out to go even higher than being the sole ruler of Bayla¡¯s southern docks. Just as he hit the age of thirty-four, Amaru Shapak¡¯s escapades led to him halving his family¡¯s coffers in order to buy the votes for the position as Tyrant of Bayla. While some of his family members were disgruntled by his decision, they knew that by having the family head in control of the city their businesses would flourish.

    It was six years since his election by fellow men. In the first year Amaru Shapak reaped the benefits and had his family¡¯s money recuperated. With the advent of an unexpected famine in the second year of his term, Amaru Shapak and his family were not the only ones to be bled dry. With a substantial amount of children attending the schools, the students¡¯ families needed to wait half a decade before whatever skills the students had accrued could help them. This mostly applied to the lower classes as the tuitions for the several schools around the city were not free even though the King of Thasos had it supported throughout his kingdom. All of the students in the schools around Bayla received a monthly stipend that was just enough to fund the objects needed to advance to the next class. The children of the city¡¯s nobility did not escape the impoverished state the rest of the city was receiving. While the lower classes were too proud to ask their sons and daughters to lend them some money for alleviation, the nobility commanded their children to take out portions out of their monthly school stipend. These were used to reimburse the failing businesses of the nobility and to keep the family afloat. If the king was present in Igenis, Bayla would have been relieved of its difficulties as the king was just and caring for his subjects.

    That was what Amaru Shapak tried to do. His personal business and family came first but Amaru Shapak knew that the masses were also central to his prosperity. He even started a carpentering business in order to gather traffic for his other enterprises. Not even that, Amaru Shapak himself took the axe to fell the trees, and the hammer and cat¡¯s paw to shape wooden projects. This was his way of trying to gain what martial ability his father wanted him to have earlier on. Although certainly less than what his father desired, Amaru Shapak knew that it was better than nothing. Sitting on the silver throne atop his castle for most of the time, Amaru Shapak knew his belly grew, but when he went out to help his carpentering business, Amaru Shapak had his physique back to just where he liked it: not too fat or thin.

    Amaru Shapak opened his eyes and let out two drops of tears. It was the first instance since the angry mob brought him out of his castle. He thought he had done the best he could for everything in the world. He did not steal from the city treasury nor did he perform sexual acts with non-consenting women. Amaru Shapak always paid back. He used his own money to refill the city coffers when it would have reached an uncomfortable amount. Every visit to his women always ended with him leaving ten silver coins on their palms when it should have been only two. Amaru Shapak had not murdered anyone on the rise to his tyrant office, he instead bribed the meager moans of those opposed. Amaru Shapak dispensed justice on the men he executed with the fairest trials second only to the ones given in Igenis, even though it was not required. The charges he was given were actions he was not even able to do. When Amaru Shapak was not reading, he was whoring. When he was not whoring, he was hunting. The three activities made up all of his daily free time; there was no room for ordering men to bring unfamiliar women to him or kill his boisterous opponents. Legal and other issues always took almost all of his day. Amaru Shapak had no energy for committing such atrocities.

    The smallest man on the podium closed the book and raised it with his right hand. Amaru Shapak wanted to cry out for mercy but held it back in because he knew the crowd needed someone to blame. If it were not the heavens, it was their lord who was at fault. A single raindrop had not moisten a field for years because Amaru Shapak performed bad actions and angered the gods. Amaru Shapak killed, debauched, and purloined, the activities caused the heavens to revoke their grace on him. Amaru Shapak needed to die.

    The sky readied for the mighty decree of the laity: it grew dark.

    ¡°Citizens of Bayla, here stands the Heavens¡¯ fallen grace,¡± the man holding the book pointed his left index finger at Amaru Shapak. ¡°Witness the result of losing the Heavens¡¯ favor.¡± The man lowered his right hand and motioned for the man wielding the long axe. The axe-wielder approached Amaru Shapak and stood behind his shaking back. ¡°Kneel, Amaru Shapak,¡± the book-wielding man said, pushing down on Amaru Shapak¡¯s head with both hands. ¡°Lest you want to lose the Heavens¡¯ kindness in the spiritual realm.¡± Amaru Shapak knelt and although he restrained his tears¡¯ desire to pour onset, he felt a little bit upset. The gods would not have abandoned him in the spiritual life. He was a good man as he did good things. That was all that was needed to hear the Heavens¡¯ approval ring. Why they have not interjected to save him, he would not know. Why they have not let a lone drop of water from the clouds to plop, he would not know. What he did understand was that the Heavens wanted for him to be a sacrifice. He could not refuse the Heavens. Amaru Shapak felt the axe rise and the back of his neck became cold. The man who held the book already moved back. ¡°The Heavens demanded it!¡±

    Within a blink of an eye, the head of Amaru Shapak was severed from the rest of his body. First it hit the edge of the podium, then it rolled towards the feet of those at the front below. ¡°Praise the Heavens!¡± one of the people on the front row yelled before stepping on the disconnected head of Amaru Shapak. Soon others started doing the same thing. A couple of people reached into the podium and dragged Amaru Shapak¡¯s decapitated body down to the cobblestone earth. Several people tore the limbs from the torso of Amaru Shapak. Some of them started biting on his flesh.

    The white-robed man placed the book against his heart with both hands. He grunted and spat on the podium. ¡°God damn these animals.¡±

    Like any ridiculous regulations, many lost their lives to the antsy summer. With one last washing wave, the weight of fastened spring would fall. Thunder thumped the ground, generating thin and thankless growls from the multiple corporeals around. The horses neighed, the cows mooed, the boardawns squealed, and the chickens clucked.

    ¡°You!¡± a woman pointed at a young girl. ¡°Close the damn doors and windows, do you want to lose this week¡¯s pay?¡±

    The young girl left the room with a brisk pace. Inside the clay-supported room, the master of the house was lain over a high-quality wooden bed that redeemed what was otherwise a plain environment. Its silken sheets seduce comfort, and the dark brown logs that made up the bed frame held the down with plenty of support around.

    ¡°Sara¡­¡± a male voice said after the young girl had departed. Two people in the room were left: a woman on the bed and a man wearing a white robe on the corner of the room.

    ¡°What is it cousin Fokos?¡± the woman on the bed asked.

    Fokos walked towards the bed and held Sara¡¯s right hand. ¡°Sara, I¡¯m¡ª¡±

    Sara twitched and Fokos moved back, their hands disintegrating the hold. ¡°Fasa, get Mother Jes!¡± Sara shouted just as the previous young girl returned to the room. The young girl turned to face the door again and sprinted. ¡°Fokos, help Mother Jes with the bowl.¡±

    Fokos nodded and exited the room.

    ¡°Hey boy, can you hear me?¡± a female voice said.

    Where was that voice coming from. It sounded like a young female¡¯s. A seductive angel.

    ¡°Boya, it¡¯s from me,¡± the female voice stated. ¡°Listen carefully. I¡¯m inside your spiritual domain.¡±

    Spiritual domain, the afterlife?

    ¡°Yes Boya,¡± the voice answered. ¡°Now, listen carefully. You need to start crying soon or the mistresses will start become suspicious and brand you as a devil child.¡±

    Devil child. Crying soon. What is the need for crying.

    ¡°Your name is Ferm, right?¡± the female voice asked. ¡°Fermboi, from Sitchan? Open your eyes quickly!¡±

    Fermboi opened his eyes and he was greeted with three faces. The one on the left was a beautiful young woman¡¯s and she sported a wide smile. In the middle was her contrast, an ugly, wrinkled woman with a frown. To the right was an average-looking man, his black eyes gazing as if right through Fermboi¡¯s soul. Fermboi felt the cold temperature in the room and shivered.

    ¡°Fasa, give me the silk cloth,¡± the old woman ordered the younger one.

    ¡°Ferm, start crying,¡± the female voice said. Fermboi tried to move his head in order to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. ¡°Idiot, I¡¯m inside you. Now start crying!¡±

    Although Fermboi never saw a baby up close due to being the youngest in the family, he did hear their cries when he campaigned against the King of Eteria. The endless wailing of orphaned children. He had heard it enough in and out of the orphanage. Fermboi recalled the memories and tried to sound it.

    ¡°Lookit now, the young ¡®aster is crying!¡± the old woman exclaimed as she placed the silken cloth around Fermboi. ¡°Mistress, what do ya think?¡±

    Fermboi was turned to look at another face. It was an expression he had seen many times before: a motherly face. She looked to be between the young girl and old woman¡¯s age. ¡°Oh, I like his hair, it¡¯s the darkest in the family so far.¡±

    ¡°Mistress, all babies have hair like that when they¡¯re born,¡± the old woman stated.

    ¡°Come on now, Mother Jes,¡± Sara said as she kissed Fermboi¡¯s forehead. Some of her long dark red hair tickled Fermboi. ¡°Don¡¯t ruin my moment.¡±

    ¡°My ¡®pologies, mistress,¡± the old woman said. She signaled for the young woman to come closer. ¡°Come lookit Fasa, look at your younger cousin.¡±

    Sara smiled and motioned for Fasa to come nearer. ¡°You want to hold him?¡± she asked, placing Fermboi on Fasa¡¯s stretched arms. ¡°Careful, Fasa.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Aunt Sara, he looks so cute!¡± Fasa said with a giggle as she pinched Fermboi¡¯s right cheek.

    ¡°Good job, Boya,¡± female voice commended.

    Fermboi was distracted with the unknown female voice and did not cry out from the pain the pinch induced.

    Where was that voice coming from. It sounded distant yet close.

    ¡°I told you I¡¯m inside your spiritual domain,¡± the voice said.

    ¡°How do I get there?¡± Fermboi asked, his mind racing with different thoughts. How can something be inside one¡¯s body. Why is the voice inside.

    ¡°Hey look, you can communicate telepathically with ease,¡± the female voice said. ¡°That¡¯s interesting.¡±

    Fermboi shifted his head from left to right. ¡°Aw, it looks it he wants to come back to mommy,¡± Fasa said as she handed Fermboi back to Sara.

    ¡°How am I doing this?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s interesting,¡± the voice said. ¡°If you want to find out more, you have to come inside your spiritual domain.¡±

    ¡°How do I come to this spiritual domain of mine?¡± Fermboi asked, his mind still trying to figure out what is going on. A spiritual domain separate from the mortal one, the underworlds¡¯ gods had at last shown him their presence. They now pity him for a reason even though he never paid attention to the gods of the underworlds as all his family had focused on were the gods of pain, rain, and grain.

    ¡°Think of going inside your body,¡± the voice instructed. ¡°And no, the gods aren¡¯t showing themselves to you. Anyway, think about when you have to poo.¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Fermboi blurted out.

    ¡°Just do it,¡± the female voice urged. ¡°That¡¯s the only way.¡±

    Fermboi focused his mind and thought about eating a roasted boardawn. Its prickly hairs scalded off by a campfire¡¯s steam, a boardawn¡¯s hind legs would have taken a whole night to consume in full. He thought of time passing and having to excrete the digested food. He felt a sudden surge of light and his vision was met with blinding radiance. He kept his eyes opened in defiance, in accordance to natural instinct. ¡°What in the world.¡±

    In front of him, a young woman stood with arms crossed over her chest, a great contrast to the naked trees and undergrowth behind her. Fermboi tried to pinpoint her age. Ever since he passed the age of nineteen, he never interacted with females younger than him. As a result, he had a tendency to be picky with sexual partners. A peasant¡¯s dilemma, for if he had been nobility the range would have been without bounds. A boy¡¯s trauma, for if he had lived without the memory of his older sister the wound would not reopen. After some time, he arrived to the conclusion that she must be around sixteen to twenty-two years old. His mind tried to guess with precision before recoiling to the baffling situation he was waking in.

    ¡°Who, who are you?¡± Fermboi asked in a confused tone. He then closed his hands and rubbed them over his eyes. He could not believe what he was seeing. The female in front of him boasted a body that set the standards for Fermboi¡¯s definition of beauty. He did not think it could be surpassed. The way her grey eyes were formed complemented her greyer, thin eyebrows and her even greyer, long, fine hair. Silky smooth and almost the exact color of silk itself. Her cheekbones were high and formed twin valleys that accentuated her luscious, light pink lips. Her slightly upturned, slender nose gave her a sense of superiority that Fermboi found intoxicating.

    After focusing on her face, Fermboi looked at her overall appearance. While a big fan of large breasts, Fermboi felt that what the female had for twin hills were more beautiful than all the larger breasts he had seen in his entire life. Neither small nor too big, the female¡¯s chest had two protruding breasts that screamed just about right in Fermboi¡¯s eyes. The perfect size. His eyes gazed lower and fixated on her hips. Slimmer than a nebulosacat, the slender master of the treetops, Fermboi¡¯s mind came upon one of the rarest objects he had seen in his life: an hourglass. With absolute certainty, Fermboi decided right then that after her face and breasts, her waist would be third in attractiveness.

    Fermboi had, in the back of his mind, perceived his perception of the young woman being perfect as far from reality. It was what happened every time he saw an attractive woman beat out the previous one he considered the most arresting. Right then though, he knew that nothing would be topping the flawless female figure in front of him. Her hips screamed birth and her legs put svelte over plump in his mind. In compliance with natural instinct, Fermboi was about to shift his viewpoint to see the last feature of the woman, but she puffed in indignation, a tone that could not be ignored.

    ¡°Boya, stop eye-fucking me or I won¡¯t help you,¡± the female voice commanded. Even with the cursing, Fermboi found her voice alluring and angelic. It started to even sound younger and more ethereal, and it convinced him that it was from the figure in front of him.

    ¡°Help me with what?¡± Fermboi asked, his eyes to her eyes.

    ¡°Learning about what¡¯s changed since you died,¡± the girl stated.

    ¡°I died¡ª¡± Fermboi¡¯s duel with the King of Eteria flashed in his mind. ¡°Then I am reborn? The royal church¡¯s teachings are true?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the girl replied. ¡°You have been reborn in 3005EC, and in the city of Bayla in the Kingdom of Thasos, one of the many under Basilyarhemain.¡±

    Thasos and Basilyarhemain. These were words he had never heard before. He had heard of Bayla before and he was sure that the large number and two letters were indications of a date. Fermboi took a deep breath. ¡°Why?¡± he asked.

    ¡°The¡­¡± the girl began but stopped. ¡°God believed that you should be given another life. You did have outstanding dreams before.¡±

    Fermboi thought of what he wanted to do before he died. He thought of the many: the poor, the weak, and the disabled. He wanted to fight for them after enduring the life-changing event with his parents and sisters. His sisters, his stolen sisters.

    ¡°Boya, you should know that your parents and sisters are long dead. Your friends of the rebellion are also no more.¡±

    Dead. Fermboi was supposed to be dead after the battle with the King of Eteria. Fermboi underestimated the martial ability of the king.

    ¡°Yeah, you thought that that king would be sitting on his ass all day on his throne,¡± the girl stated. ¡°You should have known when he was stacking those bricks that he partook in fatiguing physical activities. No matter now, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t make that mistake again.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. He thought if he could defeat the king, the royal army would rout and he would force the new king into submitting to his demands. He did not expect to be bested in lancing as that was what Fermboi prepared for the most, knowing it would all have to come to that single event. ¡°Yes,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°Okay, stop reminding me of my previous mistakes. Tell me what the hell is going on with me and this whole thing. Also, who are you? You¡¯re a spirit right, do you have a name?¡±

    The girl pursed her light pink lips and unfolded her arms. She raised her left hand to scratch her left temple. Fermboi winced. ¡°Hmm,¡± she muttered. ¡°I don¡¯t have a name.¡±

    Fermboi kept his gaze straight into the girl¡¯s grey eyes and opened his mouth. ¡°Surely a girl like you would have a name.¡±

    ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t have one.¡±

    ¡°Shit,¡± Fermboi cursed. ¡°Does that mean I have to give you one?¡±

    ¡°Look Boya, I may be trapped inside your damn spiritual dominion,¡± the female¡¯s voice had a lower tone. ¡°But I sure as hell ain¡¯t your damned pet or whatever.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I wasn¡¯t saying you were my pet¡ª¡±

    ¡°Save it, Boya,¡± the girl declared, her tone filled with finality. ¡°For now you can call me WIM.¡±

    ¡°WIM?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°Yes, it stands for Woman Inside Me,¡± the girl explained.

    Fermboi winced again. ¡°The hell, that name sounds wrong.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s practical,¡± the girl said with a lightened tone. ¡°Come to think of it, I like the word Alyana. You can interpret it as ¡°My god has answered me.¡± or as ¡°Of the sun.¡± from where I obviously come from.¡±

    ¡°How did you get that name?¡± Fermboi¡¯s voice had darkened.

    ¡°What, is there something wrong?¡± Alyana asked, her eyelashes batting.

    ¡°There¡¯s only about a dozen people in the world who know that name and I know that they¡¯re all dead now,¡± Fermboi stated. Many years have passed, all should be dead. He sighed. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me, I just realized that you haven¡¯t opened your mouth since I came here. You know my memories. All of it.¡±

    Alyana broke into a wide smile. ¡°You¡¯re not a dumb rock after all,¡± Alyana said. Fermboi noted she was using her mouth to speak. Alyana picked up one of the medium-sized rocks under her feet. As she wrapped the imperfect sphere with her right hand, Fermboi had an idea of what was coming next. His expectations were proven wrong when Alyana whipped the rock towards him. He immediately dropped on the floor. ¡°Yeah, I hate rocks.¡±

    ¡°Wow, I thought you were gonna crush it with your hands,¡± Fermboi uttered in a low voice. ¡°And show your supernatural abilities.¡± The speed at which the rock was thrown surpassed any arrow speed he had seen. The time it took for her to even perform the action was speed he had never seen before. He only knew to drop down on the floor because he had been feeling an ominous aura from her ever since he materialized in his own spiritual realm. When he looked behind him, he was not sure if the rock missed him by chance as it was nowhere to be found. Fermboi looked down and saw that small red ants were coming closer to his hands. He stood up in haste. ¡°Wow, my hands are bigger,¡± he said. ¡°Shit, is this my body before I died?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Alyana answered, her eyebrows raised. ¡°It seems so.¡±

    Fermboi¡¯s eyes moved onto his arms. Stilled toned. ¡°Wow, compared to my chubby baby arms, I look like a damned royal guard!¡± Fermboi exclaimed and then his eyes wandered down to his legs and feet. ¡°Oh man, my legs. My glorious legs!¡±

    ¡°Boya, stop fretting about your body,¡± Alyana commanded. ¡°Tell me what you see. Look at me again, am I actually a girl?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see what I see or think what I think?¡± Fermboi asked as he looked at Alyana.

    ¡°No, it stopped a couple of moments after you entered here,¡± Alyana replied.

    Fermboi cupped his rounded chin with his right hand. ¡°Hmm, no doubt you¡¯re a girl with that voice now that I¡¯ve heard it from your mouth,¡± Fermboi stated. ¡°Wait, is your voice and mine the same outside this spiritual realm?¡±

    ¡°Boya, answer my damn question,¡± Alyana retorted with an irritated tone. ¡°And no, I would not know. You¡¯re still a baby right now, remember. And I haven¡¯t been outside your spiritual realm or outside whatsoever. All I know is that I¡¯ve been here since time.¡±

    ¡°Wait, are you telling me you were born here?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°You spent all of your life¡ª¡±

    ¡°Boya, I asked you a question,¡± Alyana restated. ¡°Stop dodging it and give me an answer.¡±

    Fermboi eyed her from top to bottom once again. His gaze lingered on her breasts for a moment longer and he knew that his guess was correct. This time, no pale arms blocked the full view. ¡°Yes, you are definitely a girl,¡± Fermboi declared while swallowing air. ¡°A young woman, if you want to be particular about it.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Alyana sounded before closing her eyes. ¡°The most beautiful woman in the world, no?¡± She proclaimed, opening her eyes and staring deep into Fermboi¡¯s soul. Or soul¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Y-Yes,¡± Fermboi muttered, his stare dropping to the ground. The atmosphere that the woman emitted made Fermboi not shiver or vomit, but experience an untasted kind of fraught. He felt the hint of demise intent in her eyes and scowled at what would occur next.

    ¡°Relax Boya,¡± Alyana directed. ¡°I can¡¯t hurt you in your spiritual domain. I tried earlier with the rock. And no, I didn¡¯t miss, I had a sure hit on your back.¡±

    Fermboi raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth wide. ¡°H-How,¡± he began. ¡°Why would you even try that.¡±

    ¡°Boya, in case you haven¡¯t realized yet, I¡¯m trapped inside here potentially forever,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°I wanted to see if I could leave when you were knocked out or¡ª¡±

    ¡°Or dead,¡± Fermboi finished. ¡°That speed was inhuman. You¡¯re a true spirit, possibly even a demon. Are you sure you¡¯re not a demon?¡±

    Alyana laughed. Fermboi winced. ¡°A demon?¡± she said with an incredulous voice. ¡°Boya, I¡¯m not even remotely a demon.¡±

    ¡°So then you¡¯re a spirit then,¡± Fermboi asserted. ¡°So you know everything about the world right?¡±

    Alyana grinned, her untainted white teeth glistening under the spiritual realm¡¯s sun. Fermboi winced. ¡°Wincing every time,¡± Alyana began. ¡°Boya, you¡¯re lucky I¡¯m not fond of clothing. Besides, it¡¯s just me, these trees, and shrubs here. You expect me to make clothing out of such horrid quality resources?¡±

    ¡°No¡ª¡±

    ¡°Boya,¡± Alyana said, walking towards Fermboi. Before, the distance between them were at least three dozen steps away. Alyana did not cease advancing until there was one step left to complete a face to face.

    The moment Alyana started her first step, Fermboi had his eyes fixated on the ground below him. The grass engulfed his feet and reached the top of his ankles. They disguised the brown, nutrient-rich soil. He saw the same ants that approached his hands earlier. Red.

    ¡°Look up Boya,¡± he heard Alyana say. He refused.

    He felt one of her hands cup his chin. Not a moment after, he was forced to level his eyes with hers. Alyana¡¯s mouth was shaped like the letter O. Fermboi knew what it was called only because his friend, the Baron of Fero, taught him to read. Fermboi closed his eyes and sighed. She lessened the gap between them and Fermboi felt her lips on his. Fermboi opened his eyes and was met with Alyana¡¯s livened grey eyes.

    ¡°Close your eyes again, Boya,¡± Alyana commanded as she caressed his right cheek.

    Fermboi accepted and not a moment after he did, the kiss ended. ¡°Shit.¡±

    Alyana had moved away a step. ¡°Boya, did you not see you were also naked.¡±

    Fermboi glanced down and saw something protruding. It was the cause for Alyana¡¯s movement. He looked up and met her eyes. ¡°Shits, it¡¯s a natural reaction.¡±

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°You did not even feel it rub against my thigh?¡± Alyana asked, her eyes thinning.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Well, we weren¡¯t even going all the way,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°I just wanted to see if it was true.¡±

    ¡°My kissing skills?¡± Fermboi questioned. He felt something touch his penis and when he looked down, he almost fainted.

    ¡°If only one could faint or sleep in this world,¡± Alyana mused as she withdrew her right index finger. ¡°Would have loved to see your face, Boya.¡±

    Fermboi bit his lower lip. ¡°D-Do you wanna try kissing again?¡± Fermboi could not resist.

    Alyana broke into a wide smile. Fermboi winced. ¡°Ha, are you gonna wince when you put it in like you just did right now.¡±

    ¡°O-Of course,¡± Fermboi said. He frowned and then after a moment, a sly smile emerged from his lips and teeth.

    Alyana raised her grey eyebrows. ¡°I don¡¯t like those eyes, Boya.¡±

    ¡°Come on, just another kiss,¡± Fermboi begged. ¡°It¡¯ll be your second time right? I¡¯ll help you improve.¡±

    ¡°Improve for what?¡±

    ¡°When you get out of my spirit realm,¡± Fermboi paused. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you want?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying I could become a human?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to be?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°I mean, isn¡¯t it terrible to be in servitude to someone for a lifetime?¡±

    Alyana broke into a light laughter. ¡°Boya, your ¡°Weak should not be exploited.¡± ideology leaks throughout every word you say. You¡¯re a bad orator.¡±

    Fermboi inhaled for as long as he can. ¡°I hate this life,¡± he stated under his predestined exhale. ¡°First you tease me, then you kill the mood.¡±

    ¡°Boya, you should be happy you took my first kiss,¡± Alyana expressed, her eyelashes batting at Fermboi. ¡°A beautiful creature like me should never have even met eyes with you. I was just curious.¡±

    In all the times Fermboi had been rejected by women, he either resorted to crying in misery or succumbing to the merciless method of satisfying sexual despondency. Fermboi looked right at the eyes of the most beautiful woman in the world with his eyes hollowed and empty. ¡°Those grey eyes don¡¯t lie, spirit?¡± Fermboi asked.

    Alyana spat on the ground. ¡°As if reducing me to spirit is going to cure your now throbbing heart,¡± she spat again. ¡°You deserved it, Boya. You got greedy.¡±

    Fermboi smirked before lunging at Alyana and tackling her down the grassy ground.

    ¡°How the fuck did you move so fast,¡± Alyana began, her lower back twinging from a small rock it hit on the way down. ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing my¡ª¡± She was interrupted by Fermboi¡¯s right hand on her neck. She looked at Fermboi¡¯s face and found no emotion; he would not allow it. ¡°So this is what it felt to the dozen of women you¡¯ve done this to,¡± she said, communicating back to telepathy. She gazed down at Fermboi¡¯s left hand, already guiding. ¡°I dare you to do it Boya,¡± she declared. ¡°When I wrangle out of this, watch what¡¯s going to happen to you.¡±

    ¡°What are you gonna do, spirit?¡± Fermboi asked, his long thin tongue out. ¡°You even said that you can¡¯t harm me. This is my realm. Ah.¡± Unlike his previous acts, Alyana did not cry out.

    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna get the satisfaction.¡±

    ¡°You sure?¡± Fermboi asked. He was met with silence and he felt something he had only encountered once before. ¡°You spirits are human? How can you be human. Is this not a mind¡¯s trick, your human figure?¡± Silence again. Fermboi proceeded and locked his eyes at Alyana¡¯s, his smile wide. Although she did not let out any sound, he could discern the little hint of anger on her eyes. ¡°This is what you get for fucking with me, you fucking fairy shit!¡±

    The winds flew by and the waves broke the shore. The sun in Fermboi¡¯s spiritual domain summited. Those who flew with a beak chirped in the trees and those who swam with a beak deposited in the sand. No words were uttered by Alyana and Fermboi. Just grunts.

    A sweat dripped down Fermboi¡¯s right cheek. ¡°Ah,¡± he moaned, collapsing on Alyana¡¯s twin peaks. He grabbed the right breast with his right hand and played with it, his lips nibbling on Alyana¡¯s left light brown nipple.

    A massive figure blocked the sun out for an instant. The snakes slithered to their burrows. The albichnumon followed their trail. In turn, the ratels tailed.

    ¡°That actually felt good.¡± Alyana expressed her statement by gripping Fermboi¡¯s head onto her chest. ¡°You let go, Boya.¡±

    Her voice had a sinister tone that chilled Fermboi¡¯s spine. She did not say it through their minds. ¡°You really are easy to manipulate,¡± she proclaimed as Fermboi tried to wriggle out of her hold. ¡°I¡¯ll let you go in a moment Boya, calm down.¡±

    ¡°What the fuck is your strength,¡± Fermboi mumbled as he tried overpowering Alyana¡¯s arms.

    ¡°I see this feeling now,¡± Alyana declared as she strengthened her grip. ¡°I can see why men go crazy over it. Your eyes. You should have seen the mirror. A rabid animal.¡±

    Fermboi stopped his struggle and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s a date I don¡¯t know. Theoretically, I could have gone for thousands of millennia without it,¡± Fermboi muttered. ¡°It¡¯s an instinct, you know.¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Alyana said. Fermboi felt her hold lessen. He did not bother. ¡°That¡¯s why I allowed you do it to me. I¡¯ve seen it in your memories.¡±

    ¡°Can we do it again?¡± Fermboi whispered. He did not know what to make of his situation. First, he could not escape a woman¡¯s hold. Second, he could not handle the mental toll.

    Alyana smiled. Fermboi felt it. ¡°You sure, Boya?¡± she asked, her tone doubtful. ¡°You¡¯re a true masochist, huh? Your sister has done you good.¡±

    He lifted his head and looked up her face. ¡°You are mentioning my sister as if she messed me up.¡±

    Alyana caressed Fermboi¡¯s dark brown hair. Fermboi was about to flinch but he was distracted by her voice. ¡°It explains your determination to fight for the weak while raping women like she raped you.¡±

    ¡°Rape me?¡± Fermboi asked, his eyebrows raised. ¡°A woman cannot rape a man. Violate would be a better term, no?¡±

    ¡°Sure, Boya,¡± Alyana allowed. She cupped Fermboi¡¯s chin and brought his face above hers. ¡°Yeah, you seemed to have a lot of practice with your sister,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Almost makes what you had with her acceptable as it made you better with women.¡± She lead Fermboi¡¯s lips towards hers once again. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Boya,¡± she whispered into his ears after breaking the kiss. ¡°You can change your whole past now. No need to be bound to something long gone.¡±

    The sun had gone to the left of their position. The sky was tinged with orange. A young nasalis had been careless and fell right on top of a stomos. The nasalis¡¯ light orange fur brightened the murky water. It splashed its hands around, with its swinging tail baiting even more attention. Two thin rows of teeth clamped on the nasalis¡¯ left leg, dragging it down deeper into the muddy water.

    ¡°You have questions about what¡¯s happening, right?¡± Alyana suggested as she brushed Fermboi¡¯s hair between her smooth fingers. ¡°I don¡¯t know everything aside from what I could discern from your memories and several small ones.¡±

    Fermboi had been entertaining the idea that if possible, he would have liked to stay in that position for all of eternity. On top of the most beautiful woman¡¯s chest. Fermboi paused his thoughts for a moment. ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°What can you tell me about the world. I could understand a little bit of what the old woman and my new mother were saying.¡±

    Alyana sighed and slowed her caress. ¡°They¡¯re speaking Eterian, or the more modern version of it from this city.¡±

    ¡°Could you understand them?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What were they saying?¡±

    ¡°You saw the old woman right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, what about her?¡±

    ¡°She said your hair is messy and should be fixed,¡± Alyana said as she sifted through Fermboi¡¯s hair.

    Fermboi kissed his tongue. ¡°No really, what were they saying?¡±

    ¡°They were just talking about your birth, you idiot,¡± Alyana said as she flicked Fermboi¡¯s forehead with her right index finger and thumb.

    ¡°Ow.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all they said,¡± Alyana assured, resuming her caress. ¡°You wanna go back?¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°To that world,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Leave your inner spiritual realm. You know time is kind of paused right now with you in here.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Time,¡± Alyana pronounced with a delicate tone. ¡°Time is moving more than thousands of times slower than usual for your body as your spirit is in here.¡±

    Fermboi thought about standing up. ¡°But this is my body. My original body. The one before I died.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but even then, the newborn child of that woman is also you,¡± Alyana stated.

    Fermboi paused his thoughts for a moment and looked at Alyana¡¯s eyes. ¡°I think I already know the answer to this, but how can I be my spirit right now if I just experienced pleasuring you?¡±

    Alyana smiled. Fermboi did not wince. ¡°The same way I also felt your seed inside me,¡± she said with an amused tone. ¡°Some of it is even dripping out right now to the shore.¡± Fermboi wanted to turn his head away and look back to see but decided against it. ¡°We¡¯re not the spirit you think we are,¡± she said after a deep inhale of air. ¡°We¡¯re different. I think something between a cross of people and spirits.¡±

    Fermboi lowered his head and rubbed his nose against her chest. Fermboi took that time to take in her scent. It was sweeter than the honey his young self collected. ¡°Damn.¡±

    Alyana¡¯s caress slowed once more. ¡°I think seven thousand years in this world has passed since you arrived,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°It took you seven thousand years to plant your seed here while out there it takes you usually a couple dozen pumps.¡±

    ¡°The hell?¡± Fermboi asked, once again wanting to raise his head in examination but deciding against it. Alyana¡¯s silken skin was too comforting. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°The sun here has a cycle of twelve thousand years equivalent to yours,¡± Alyana announced. ¡°It was just before midday when you punctured me.¡±

    Fermboi overwhelmed his desire to stay on Alyana¡¯s chest. He pulled his torso up with his arms laid atop the ground. He fixed his eyes at Alyana¡¯s. ¡°I am deeply sorry for what I have done. I know I said that it was inst¡ª¡±

    ¡°Save it Boya,¡± Alyana said as she looked away from his gaze. ¡°It was my decision too. I desired it for knowledge.¡±

    Fermboi did not want to accept. ¡°Alyana, I am truly¡ª¡±

    ¡°Boya, I said don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Alyana said with a firm tone, turning her head back to face Fermboi. ¡°Do you want to fuck for a second time for you to feel better?¡±

    The offer was brushed away by Fermboi, he wanted to correct his actions. Her tone was also filled with annoyance, and Fermboi knew that even their first time was filled with angst. ¡°No,¡± he said. Alyana lifted her eyebrows. ¡°I mean yes, but no,¡± he said as he smirked. The smirked disappeared as soon as it appeared. ¡°In truth, I am really¡ª¡±

    Alyana had used her long legs to bring down Fermboi down her chest. His nose hit her left collarbone. ¡°I said save it, Boya,¡± Alyana reiterated.

    ¡°Damn it, why won¡¯t you let me finish?¡± Fermboi asked, gripping his nose to check for damage.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about your action or whatever justification you¡¯re going to come up with,¡± Alyana stated.

    ¡°But I really want to apologize,¡± Fermboi said with a closed nose.

    Alyana sighed in annoyance. ¡°Look here Boya,¡± she said, cupping his chin once again. ¡°If you want to really make it up to me, you have to reach the August Dominion.¡±

    ¡°August Dominion?¡± Fermboi asked, trying to pronounce the first word properly. ¡°Is that like this spiritual dominion or is it some place?¡±

    ¡°The first one,¡± Alyana replied. She restarted her stroking of Fermboi¡¯s hair. She took a deep breath. ¡°There are seventeen mortal ranks, each with twelve levels. First it starts at the lowest with the Rang Dominion. Then it goes up Guwerior, Milites, Magister, Dathapatis, Capitenus, Tagmatarkes, Legatus, Strategos, Noyan, Heneral, Spabod, Ferow, Seyai, Shogun, Imperator, and then August Dominion. Seventeen ranks in all and they increase in difficulty after the previous one.¡±

    ¡°Hold up, Milites, Magister, Capitenus, and Legatus,¡± Fermboi said with familiarity. ¡°I know those ones. Military ranks. The other ones are also military ranks right?¡±

    ¡°Boya, I thought you were trying to sleep,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°It was impossible for me but it should be possible for you I think, so I thought you were doing it. But yes, those are military ranks. You would have known the word imperator if you lived near the coast. They command ships. The other words are from several other languages.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you said mortal ranks,¡± Fermboi noticed. ¡°Does that mean there are ranks not for the mortals?¡±

    ¡°Very good,¡± Alyana said. She ruffled Fermboi¡¯s hair with quick intensity. ¡°There are three holy ranks that follow after the mortal tanks: the Sanctus, Primatial, and Cardin Dominions. They all have seven levels: Ascendancy, Preminency, Comandary, Superiority, Supremacy, Jurisdicy, and Sursury. After that is the last and highest tier: the Divine Realms. This includes the Exemplar, Exalted, Angelic, Palatinus, Descendant, Demigod, Celestial, Heavenly, Glorious Sublime, and Immaculate Eternal Transcendent Realms. Each having also seven levels of: Purview, Range, Authority, Territory, Prepotency, Immensity, and Hegemony.¡±

    ¡°What the hell, that¡¯s so many,¡± Fermboi remarked. ¡°Those can be bended and not fixed, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re malleable.¡±

    ¡°Malleable?¡±

    ¡°Able to bend.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Fermboi said. ¡°Okay so, the holy and divine realm are for non-humans right? That means you spirits?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°Can I get there?¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Alyana said. ¡°You have to work hard though. No mortal has even reached the August Dominion yet.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°Wait, I thought these were military ranks. Won¡¯t the August one be like the king?¡±

    ¡°Oh no, no, no,¡± Alyana said as she clicked her tongue. ¡°These are martial ranks.¡±

    ¡°Martial ranks?¡± Fermboi raised his eyebrows. ¡°That¡¯s what I said, military ranks.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Alyana corrected. ¡°What I mean by martial ranks is that everyone has the chance to have inhuman strength. These are determined by the ranks I just described to you and is achieved through the process of long cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°You mean I have to farm every time to get the higher rank?¡±

    Alyana slapped Fermboi¡¯s right ear like a newborn baby¡¯s swipe at their mother¡¯s face. ¡°Let me finish Boya,¡± she said. ¡°Cultivation is the process of straining yourself so that you advance to the next level. This is usually done by cutting down trees or repeatedly hitting a wooden dummy. The fastest way to get to the next level is actually by defeating demons.¡±

    ¡°Demons like you?¡± Fermboi asked in a joking tone, and although he did not believe demons were real, he knew that they would soon be. After all, he can feel the spirit he is on top of.

    ¡°Yes, boya,¡± Alyana concurred with a sad tone. ¡°These demons ravage the land and although there are armies to fight them, a small group or lone fighters are usually sent to engage them since they multiply by the number of opponents they are fighting.¡±

    ¡°Are you telling me armies are useless and demons are everywhere?¡± Fermboi asked with disbelief. All people had to worry in his previous life were poor harvests and barbaric Magiars along with the occasional plains wolf.

    ¡°No, not entirely everywhere,¡± Alyana corrected. ¡°Most of these demons are locked entirely in caves and cemeteries. They feed off the soul of other spirits and grow.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°Those are too scary, can you do cultivation mentally, like by reading books or something? This sounds like the story of Lego. There are demons in the world but he defeats them through reading ancients texts or whatever.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also that way,¡± Alyana said. ¡°But it¡¯s akin to felling trees or striking sham sheeple.¡±

    ¡°Sham sheeple?¡± Fermboi asked. He had no idea what does words meant.

    ¡°Fake people. Dummies. The wooden dummies I was talking about earlier.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°There are also pills but those harder to acquire as you have to be a Pellet Practitioner and that¡¯s a whole other way of life filled with its difficulties,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Most people just fight each other to improve though, through schools and such.¡±

    ¡°So those schools are essentially arenas,¡± Fermboi determined. ¡°Like the one in Sitchan.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, but in a larger scale and with more free will.¡±

    ¡°People die there, right?¡± Fermboi questioned.

    ¡°Of course, what did you think?¡± Alyana said. ¡°Some people get careless, others want revenge for some reason or another.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to die again.¡±

    ¡°Well, you have no choice unless you want to spend ten years chopping trees just to move up one rank.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying I¡¯m supposed to fight numerous battles to improve my strength?¡±

    ¡°No, you could also meditate.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°You basically sit and clear your mind for a while and then you absorb the world¡¯s energy.¡±

    ¡°Is this like the story of Navita and the gods¡¯ planets?¡±

    ¡°Well yeah, pagan beliefs do have some base in the world.¡±

    ¡°You say pagan as if you were part of another religion.¡±

    ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°The royal church?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°I knew it, only they would say the word pagan.¡±

    ¡°You guys are godless.¡±

    ¡°But we have dozens, if not hundreds, of gods!¡±

    ¡°Godless, as in not having my god as yours.¡±

    ¡°How can you have a religion if you¡¯re a spirit?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I was just born with this thinking.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°I know, it¡¯s weird how I know certain stuff in addition to your memories.¡±

    ¡°Proof that you¡¯re not just my spiritual embodiment?¡±

    ¡°Shit, just think about that, having sex with your own self.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s basically rubbing yourself.¡±

    ¡°Wait what, you mean¡ªI remember now, don¡¯t even say anything.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t done it in the thousands of years I¡¯ve been here.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t make the connection or forgot?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have memories of a girl doing it and I assumed the girl who told you she did it was only joking.¡±

    ¡°Why would my sister joke?¡±

    ¡°Because she¡¯s a funny one.¡±

    Fermboi looked at Alyana with thinned straight lips. ¡°Can we never mention her again?¡± he requested in a sad tone. ¡°I feel like having a breakdown whenever she¡¯s mentioned.¡±

    ¡°The abuse part?¡± Alyana asked. ¡°Or the fact that she¡¯s dead like everyone in your past life.¡±

    ¡°Both.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°I got a new family though, right?¡± Fermboi¡¯s voice had become livelier. ¡°That should be something.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re not bad,¡± Alyana said, jutting out her lower lip. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to fallow a field again.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°It feels really easy to discard everything,¡± Fermboi said with a somber voice. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m having hallucinations right now. I don¡¯t even think this is real.¡±

    ¡°Because it isn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Fermboi asked in a surprised tone. ¡°Are you my consciousness?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Fermboi left Alyana¡¯s embrace and stood up. She did the same. ¡°I never fucked a goddess,¡± he stated. ¡°And I never spoke as if I was an intelligent person?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Iova, please do not send me to Dives¡¯ domain,¡± Fermboi said as he started crying. ¡°Iova, I prodded and pulled for the weak. Why must I be sent in mental hell?¡±

    As Fermboi knelt and closed his eyes, he heard a loud splash behind him. He turned to face its location. A humongous creature with scaled skin jutted out from the ocean¡¯s surface. It removed the ocean from Fermboi¡¯s line of sight and covered all traces of the unknown depths by having its glistening protective plates along the shore¡¯s full width. It was of a darker blue hue of the ocean¡¯s surface. It had two large eyes, both slitted in the manners of a lyzan¡¯s. Its nose were smaller than the eyes but still large enough to fit ten times Fermboi¡¯s whole body along its circular rims. Its long mouth opened and revealed box-like teeth filled with long, pasty green matter. Its ears were nowhere to be found. Fermboi stared at the creature as the sun overhead rose and descended enough times that the stomos who had eaten the young nasalis earlier died and as did its greatest grandchildren, ending their line.

    The towering brute puked. Fermboi tried to put his right arm over his face for protection but he was too slow. Yellow goo covered his body. ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s Jino¡¯s way of approval,¡± Alyana said as she stood beside him. She was not covered with the yellow sludge.

    ¡°How in the hell were you not covered in this goo?¡± Fermboi asked as he looked around him. Everything but Alyana was covered in the yellow muck.

    ¡°This here is the second spiritual creature in this place,¡± Alyana said, dodging Fermboi¡¯s question. ¡°I¡¯ve fought him many times and he¡¯s worthy enough.¡±

    ¡°Y-You w-w-what?¡± Fermboi stumbled on his words. ¡°You mean to tell me you fought this gigantic creature?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s only a small portion of the ocean,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°Not that big.¡±

    ¡°Not that big?¡± Fermboi said in an incredulous tone. He did not want to believe it. ¡°Wait, how many spiritual creatures are in here?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°You, this guy, and who else?¡±

    ¡°Anlago,¡± Alyana replied. ¡°He¡¯s shy and he isn¡¯t really that worth the hassle.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean he isn¡¯t worth the hassle, do you know where he is?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s probably somewhere in the sky,¡± Alyana said as she pointed upwards. ¡°You can ask Jino here to search for him. He¡¯s better in flying than Anlago, even though Anlago is specialized for it.¡±

    ¡°T-This creature flies?¡± Fermboi asked in disbelief.

    ¡°Yeah, you want me to ask him?¡± Alyana asked as she turned to face Fermboi. She smiled at him. ¡°Actually, I think he¡¯ll only respond to you now since he considers you to be his master.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Just go ask him, Boya,¡± Alyana said as she rolled her eyes.

    ¡°Jino is his name, right?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°Is that really his name?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°Or is that the name you gave him?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Nevermind,¡± Fermboi said as he shook his head. ¡°Jino, can you find, um, Anlago, or the flying creature this woman,¡± Fermoi pointed at Alyana, ¡°is talking about? Wait, can you even understand us?¡±

    The ocean-spanning creature made a deep rumbling and Fermboi widened his eyes. Jino¡¯s body began moving towards the sky and water started flowing off his scales. They made a resounding sound as they hit the ocean surface that was covered before. Fermboi had no words for the sight that was the water falling from the increasing height.

    ¡°Boya, I think that¡¯s yes,¡± Alyana said with an amused tone. ¡°That¡¯s called a waterfall, by the way. Some people sit under one to cultivate.¡±

    Fermboi did not reply. He stared at the white underbelly of Jino, a deep contrast to the dark blue everywhere else in the body. It left Fermboi¡¯s mouth open. ¡°What a beautiful creature.¡±

    ¡°I personally like Anlago¡¯s look even though he¡¯s much weaker,¡± Alyana declared. ¡°Don¡¯t expect him to come back for a long time. Anlago likes to hide in the sky¡¯s crannies.¡±

    Fermboi faced Alyana. ¡°Wait, what¡¯s the purpose of having spirits inside me?¡±

    ¡°Most of the time they¡¯re just there to devour your spirit,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°Some play, usually with the dead children. A lot can¡¯t communicate and just wander around. Others don¡¯t care about anything. A small portion also likes aiding their host.¡±

    ¡°Like you?¡±

    ¡°You could say that,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Most of the time it¡¯s for mutual benefit though. Spirits who can communicate clearly are extremely rare too, so it¡¯s not like they make hundreds of people better than others. Usually around a dozen, I think.¡±

    ¡°Wait, if what I¡¯m getting is correct, there¡¯s mindless ones, ones who can¡¯t communicate but are not mindless, and then there are those who are smart and can also communicate?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing the mindless spirits are the demons out in the real world.¡±

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s split in half,¡± Alyana corrected. ¡°Half mindless and half decent intelligence.¡±

    ¡°The latter are the ones who cause trouble the most?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°By the way, you need to be at least Guwerior One to stand a chance against them,¡± Alyana warned. ¡°It¡¯s actually not even that hard to attain, most of the world¡¯s soldiers and guards are that rank.¡±

    ¡°Rang, Guwerior, Milites, Magister, and then Dathapader?¡± Fermboi asked as he recounted how the ranking goes.

    ¡°Dathapatis,¡± Alyana corrected. ¡°You want me to tell you how to easy it is to attain them?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Fermboi replied. He had no idea what the length of progress was supposed to be.

    ¡°All of Rang¡¯s levels can be attained in under a year if you seek it,¡± Alyana proclaimed. ¡°The vast majority of people stay in this rank because they either don¡¯t care enough or they can¡¯t advance enough. Now, Guwerior Dominion is where people get in trouble. Most of the martial students and soldiers are at this rank and stay in it. That¡¯s how hard it is to advance.¡±

    ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa,¡± Fermboi interrupted. ¡°Seventeen ranks and only two ranks have the most people in it?¡±

    Alyana placed her right index finger on her closed lips. Her eyes grew. ¡°Shush,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Stop interrupting me. Anyway, Milites Dominion is achievable in like five years if you¡¯re part of the royal and basileal armies. Magister is the rank where you¡¯ll probably end up at, but I have hope. It¡¯s where most people stop and nobles are usually at this rank. It takes a decade to conquer. Dathapatis, on the other hand, takes twice the amount and usually reserved for military leaders of the border areas between the vassals of the Basileus. Capitenus Dominion takes thirty years and are usually held by military leaders in charge of a sizable city. These people are only under the nobles in total ownership of the city. Tagmatarkes takes forty years and most of them are concentrated in the basileal capital. These are also the exceptional nobles, so you should at least reach this rank. Legatus Dominion contains the commanders near the foreign borders, these are people who have spent half a century cultivating. Strategos is where literally most people stop, noble or not. It takes ten more years than Legatus to reach Strategos Twelve, but that¡¯s more than enough for anything. The elders of the martial schools are all in this rank.

    ¡°Noyan rank is where most royals are at and take around seventy years for a normal person to get to. Royals have better resources for cultivation and usually attain this by thirty years old. It also where most exceptional people cap out. Heneral Dominion takes eighty years and I¡¯m pretty sure most people not of noble blood would be dead at this time. These are the generals of the armies who are deceptively strong despite old features. Some royals are at this rank and they¡¯re usually fifty years old, so they end up being the commanders. Spabod Dominion is only held by around a dozen people and you better thank yourself for the noble blood you¡¯re given as this takes ninety years to conquer and you¡¯d be near death if you¡¯re a common man. Ferow takes a century and this is mostly attained by the royal church¡¯s high ranking leaders who have way too much free time to cultivate. Three people are usually at this realm in one time, with the highest being maybe Ferow Twelve and the lowest Ferow One. Seyai is the requirement to be Head Generals of Basilyarhemain and it takes one hundred and ten years for even the best of all the commoners, so royals around eighty years old are the ones monopolizing the military rank. Shogun Dominion is the Basileus¡¯ rank himself and it takes one hundred twenty years, theoretically, for a normal person and we both know that¡¯s never going to happen. The Basileuses are usually at Shogun One, and only one has ever reached Shogun Twelve, Minamotius the First, and so it¡¯s a dream to even reach Imperator Dominion. I estimate a normal person could take one and a half century to even breach Imperator One. August Dominion should take two centuries to reach, so you¡¯re fucked and I was just fooling around.¡±

    Fermboi had his face saddened each rank after Strategos Dominion. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fun getting your hopes up,¡± Alyana stated with confidence. ¡°You look like the type.¡±

    Fermboi growled and tackled Alyana to the ground. Using each hand, he locked her arms to the ground. ¡°Why give me false hope?¡±

    ¡°So I can give myself false hope,¡± Alyana said with a sad grin. ¡°I want to escape this damned place one day. It isn¡¯t right for me.¡±

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Fermboi said as he loosened his grip on her arms.

    ¡°You want that offer to get rid of your anger?¡± Alyana asked with a sad voice while smiling.

    Fermboi rested his head on her chest and allowed his hair to be ruffled once more. He had his eyes closed while torrents of water flowed from his eyes. ¡°Why did I get reborn and then meet a crazy, manipulative woman right at the start.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s life, Boya,¡± Alyana said as she started singing. ¡°In the land of the strong, there stood a boy who wanted to prove them wrong. The boy said, ¡°Why can¡¯t we all get along?¡± People around him said that he was chanting a song. Of the impossible. Of the irresistible. But nonetheless unattainable. The boy grew and ignored. As he threw himself at distractions, he became bored. So he took the spear, and declared war on his lord. When God Himself came, the boy was destroyed and sent to the void. But God hath mercy and made the boy overjoyed.¡±

    ¡°What a wonderful song,¡± Fermboi said, eyes not wanting to open even though the tears had stopped. ¡°I wonder who it could be about.¡±

    ¡°Some boy, probably,¡± Alyana said as she continued stroking Fermboi¡¯s hair. ¡°You want to go back out there now?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Fermboi replied. ¡°Let me wait a while.¡±

    The sun in Fermboi¡¯s spiritual domain fell and rose more than a thousand times again. The breathing of Alyana, the gusts of wind and crashing of water, and the music of wildlife were the only sounds to Fermboi¡¯s ears.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t accept the offer, I¡¯ll force it on you,¡± Alyana said in a soft voice.

    Fermboi opened his eyes and looked at her. ¡°Really?¡±

    Alyana flicked Fermboi¡¯s forehead with her right index finger and thumb. ¡°Yes, now just close your mouth.¡±

    Another set of a thousand years passed by. Generations of the animals in the spiritual domain went by and what were once a certain creature looked downright different after the passing of time. The stomas had grown larger as the nasalis consumed more of the enlarging fruits. All that was heard were calmed grunts and moans that never wanted to stop.

    ¡°Should I go back now?¡± Fermboi asked as Alyana shifted her head on his chest.

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Alyana replied with closed eyes. ¡°Unless you want to be bored to death with me here.¡±

    ¡°Aside from endless fucking?¡±

    ¡°Aside from that, of course.¡±

    Fermboi placed Alyana¡¯s head on the ground slowly. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going now.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know how to do it?¡± Alyana said without opening her eyes. She had a wide grin.

    ¡°No, and I¡¯m assuming you know?¡±

    ¡°Think about when you have to pee.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that different from having to poo?¡±

    ¡°You can drink your own pee for survival,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°Can you do the same to poo?¡±

    Fermboi shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t believe an angel like you is using these words.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you think noble girls and princesses never discuss pooing and peeing?¡±

    Fermboi let out a sigh. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going now, I think I can feel it.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Alyana said.

    For a moment silence was all there was. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m leaving my angel,¡± Fermboi said as his body disappeared from his spiritual domain.

    ¡°I¡¯m more than an angel,¡± Alyana declared.

    Light blinded Fermboi again. As before, he kept his eyes opened in noncompliance.

    ¡°Oh Aunt Sara,¡± Fasa said with admiration. ¡°He really is too cute. I like the way he moves his arm.¡±

    ¡°Fasa,¡± Sara began. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you wish to betroth my son?¡±

    Fasa blushed and gave an awkward smile. ¡°Oh come on, Aunt Sara,¡± she said with a defeated voice. ¡°You know my father has already set my wedding for next year with the little duke.¡±

    Sara laughed. ¡°Ah yes, I heard he¡¯s a good lad, you should be well.¡±

    Fasa nodded as she pinched Fermboi¡¯s baby cheeks. ¡°Oh look, I think he wants to feed now,¡± Fasa said as she handed Fermboi over to Sara.

    ¡°Hush, my son,¡± Sara said as she positioned her right breast in front of Fermboi¡¯s mouth. ¡°Mommy¡¯s milk is coming.¡±

    Fermboi¡¯s crying stopped when he bit on Sara¡¯s nipple. ¡°Sara,¡± Fokos said with a solemn tone. ¡°I don¡¯t want to say this at this time¡­¡±

    ¡°What is cousin Fokos?¡± Sara asked, looking at Fokos with expectant eyes. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Your husband,¡± Fokos began, ¡°was executed earlier in the center plaza.¡±

    Sara¡¯s hold on Fermboi vanished and he fell on her stomach.

    ¡°What did you say Fokos?¡± Sara asked.

    Fokos gulped. ¡°Amaru has been executed.¡±

    Fermboi looked at his new mother and saw tears threatening to fall. He tried squirming into a better position but it was no use. ¡°Why was he executed?¡± Sara said after tears marred her clothing and spotted Fermboi¡¯s almost-transparent pinkish skin.

    ¡°Charges of rape, murder, thievery,¡± Fokos replied in a mournful tone. ¡°All blankets for the blame on the gods¡¯ famine.¡±

    ¡°Famine, fucking famine,¡± Sara said as she positioned to stand up.

    Fasa had grabbed Fermboi before Sara stood up. ¡°Careful, Sara, you¡¯ve just given birth, you can¡¯t move yet,¡± warned Mother Jes. ¡°Don¡¯t take a step, you won¡¯t like it.¡±

    Sara refused and put her right foot forward. She fell down but was caught by Fokos and Mother Jes. Fermboi started crying.

    ¡°Oh lookit Sara,¡± Mother Jes said. ¡°Your boy is crying and you haven¡¯t given him a name yet.¡±

    Sara widened her eyes and look upwards at Fermboi. ¡°Fatumoyira,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re my fate. You¡¯re your father¡¯s fate. You¡¯ll get revenge on these people, won¡¯t you?¡± Sara resumed her crying and put her right hand on her mouth. She closed her eyes. ¡°No, not revenge. That¡¯s from an ancient age. It is time to forgive and live anew. We will let it pass, but it will never be forgotten.¡±

 Aventina One

    Aventina One

    ¡°Indivisible and unable to be toppled, the brightest son of Eteria marched onwards to the depths of every underworld for a thousand and a half years. But not everything is permissible. When the Walled Basileus fell upon the arrows of a Sula, his forlorn first filius vowed to stagnation. Filled with discontent and growing indignation, the enemies of Basilyarhemain increased in enumeration.¡±

    Torov Dajiv, a Sulan king with Eterian mother.

    ¡°What do you mean I can¡¯t?¡± a young female voice asked.

    ¡°Aventina, I already told you that you can¡¯t come with us,¡± an older male voice said. ¡°Durog, Torov, and I aren¡¯t going to be in a singsong place.¡±

    ¡°B-But Renov--¡± Aventina began.

    ¡°No buts,¡± Renov stated. ¡°Now go with Lasha and play with your dolls.¡±

    Aventina stomped her small shoes on the dewed grass as she pouted at Renov. The small bubbles of water darkened her brown moccasin. Aventina turned around towards Lasha¡¯s house, shoes still stamping on the grass.

    The air around room was still. Several dozen people were only breathing in anticipation. The youngest person in the room, Aventina, had her eyes expectant. ¡°Renov, Aven will come with you during your raid tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°But father,¡± Renov said. ¡°She¡¯s just a young girl.¡±

    The fist of an old man hit the arms of a wooden throne. ¡°She¡¯s fourteen,¡± the old man sitting at the throne stated. ¡°Durog and Torov are both fifteen. And you¡¯re just sixteen. How can you call her a child when the difference between you is a mere two years?¡±

    ¡°Father, I¡¯m telling you--¡± Renov started.

    ¡°Enough, Renov,¡± the father of Renov interrupted. ¡°If she wants to come kill with you, she will. I¡¯ve seen her spear, she¡¯ll be better than Durog or Torov.¡±

    Renov bowed.

    ¡°So you are a good spearer, huh,¡± Renov said.

    ¡°No, you guys are just horrible,¡± Aventina said as she looked across the horizon.

    Aventina and her three brothers, along with two dozen other men, were headed towards Sapor in order to counter-raid. The Sapors had crossed with their father¡¯s lands and with their father bedridden, they had no choice but to go in his stead for retaliation.

    The wind howled as if it was a wolf. The blue sky blimped into a green before turning orange. The water flickered and mirrored like silverfish. The overall temperature was that of anticipation.

    ¡°Any moment now,¡± Renov stated. He stood at the back of the ship, beside Aventina.

    ¡°What makes you say they¡¯ll come now?¡± Aventina asked.

    ¡°Sapors always attack at night,¡± Renov replied.

    Aventina raised her eyebrows. ¡°And how do you know this?¡±

    ¡°I had a Sapor tortured before leaving,¡± Renov revealed. ¡°He said they like to come out at night because it¡¯s unexpected. Like a whale when it lunges for a seagull.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Aventina said.

    The wind continued its howling and the sails of the ship Aventina and her brothers were on soon fluttered with increasing intensity.

    ¡°You ever wondered why the moon has holes in it?¡± Renov asked as he put his right hand over his eyebrows. He peered into the distance. Aventina shook her head. ¡°I think it¡¯s because the Sapor and their cousins angered the Hole God.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s the Hole God again?¡± Aventina asked.

    Renov grinned. ¡°And that¡¯s how I know you don¡¯t follow Auntie Pez,¡± he stated. ¡°What did you do with her anyway?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Aventina said. ¡°She understands. I have no time for learning about religion when I have some military training to do.¡±

    Renov clicked his tongue. ¡°Who gave you the idea to try and become like a man?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t the Maidens what I¡¯m trying to be?¡± Aventina asked.

    ¡°But Maidens are only from the sagas,¡± Renov stated.

    ¡°So then Dira is also not real?¡± Aventina asked.

    ¡°Hey, you do know--¡±

    An arrow pierced Renov¡¯s neck. Aventina widened her eyes then gazed at the men at the front. Several had been pierced with arrows in parts of their body. A warcry came. Aventina turned around and grabbed her spear from behind. Another boat had come close to theirs, onto the right side. While the coat of the boarding men were a strong silver, Aventina¡¯s fellow crewmembers bore the brown fur of the largest bears from the north, into the realm of their Rosa cousins.

    Another warcry emerged and it came from the left. Aventina turned around to see that a short man was over her head, ready to bring down his axe. She tightened her grip on her spear and aimed it up. The enemy who had jumped remained between the air and the ship for several moments before Aventina pulled her spear down and caused for the skewered man to secure his death.

    Stolen story; please report.

    As the loud thud trailed Aventina¡¯s behind, she unsheathed her iron dagger and headed towards the front where most of the fight was happening. She saw that someone was about to stab Durog in the back, and so she sheathed her dagger and sprinted with her spear to impale.

    ¡°Durog, are you okay?¡± Aventina asked as the silver fur-wearing man coughed up blood at the tip of Aventina¡¯s spear.

    Before Durog could reply, a horn was sounded. Aventina looked around her. Only six of the ship¡¯s crew remained. Aside from her, it was her remaining two brothers and the three warriors they brought along. The rest were down on the floor, soaking the wooden material in red. The enemy had their axes and spears pointed at the remainders of Aventina¡¯s fellow crewmembers. Aventina positioned her spear between her and a man raising an axe at her.

    ¡°Azo, come here,¡± a voice said. Aventina felt the voice¡¯s accent. She looked at source of the voice and found a young man that had the left side of his hair shaved. ¡°We¡¯ve got a pretty redhead here, I want her on her knees after you.¡±

    A towering man jumped from the enemy boat to the left and almost tipped the boat filled with dead bodies. ¡°Genzo, you¡¯re retarded,¡± the towering man said as he walked forwards. Aventina did not detect any accent on the man¡¯s use of her language. Aventina and her fellow men were surrounded closer as the tall man approached. She looked up and saw that the giant-like man¡¯s head shone off the moon¡¯s light brighter than the water below them. He looked a few years older than the one with an accent. ¡°Ah, ah, ah. Nobody will kill these six. They¡¯ll be slaves for back home.¡±

    ¡°But brother, we already have a lot of slaves at the moment,¡± the accented young man from before said.

    ¡°Genzo, you already revealed that we speak their language,¡± Azo said. ¡°Now I¡¯ve ought to spare them out of possible kin kindness.¡±

    ¡°Who cares if they know we¡¯re kin, our men aren¡¯t their kin,¡± Genzo said.

    ¡°But I¡¯m the leader of this party,¡± Azo stated. ¡°Am I not?¡± Genzo lowered his head. Azo walked forwards towards Aventina. She kept her spear raised. ¡°Now now, do we have twins here? How come one is fat and the other is a little bit muscular?¡± Aventina looked to her right and found her brothers restraining themselves. ¡°Now now, it doesn¡¯t matter. We have you six surrounded, so lower your weapons before I change my mind.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t surrender, Sapor fuck,¡± Aventina spat. She did not dare move against the enemy. There were two dozen in her vision. Two dozen against six. It was not feasible.

    ¡°Alright, I had enough of that warrior woman,¡± Azo said. ¡°Take her and give her one of our one-man boats.¡±

    Genzo had spoken in another language. Aventina determined it was his first as he did not make the same blunders as he did with her language. Although she was not versed in the languages of the Sapor, she still knew how to discern the differences in the nuances of speech. Aunt Pez had told her it was important in the matters of being a lord¡¯s wife. ¡°Hey, lower your weapons before I rape your warrior girl here,¡± Genzo said as he motioned for two Sapor to take Aventina. She looked at her brothers and found them conceding. She lowered her spear. ¡°Just take her spear, don¡¯t bother with the dagger. She might encounter a wolf or a large antlered deer in her lands.¡±

    Azo laughed. ¡°You already know how this goes, eh brother?¡± he said with a grin. "You only needed one raid with me to understand."

    ¡°I am your second brother,¡± Genzo said. ¡°It is my duty to follow your orders.¡±

    Azo laughed again. ¡°Okay, okay, get the warrior woman out before I have a taste for her,¡± he ordered. ¡°Young woman, if you don¡¯t leave this place in an instant and forget about what¡¯s happened, I¡¯ll have you dragged to my homeland and fed to the crows, you understand?¡±

    Aventina had not resisted as she was brought to a small wooden boat. Her crewmembers did not move, as concordance. She thought about slitting the throats of the two men who motioned for her to get in the boat, but they had already cut the rope.

    The boat had two paddles. As soon as she was on the boat, the voices on her previous ship became silent. Just before her ears would not hear more, a loud cheering emanated from the three ships on the horizon.

    Aventina buckled and looked behind her. The brown boat had hit grains of tan. She covered her face with her hands and cried.

 Bolahulag One

    Bolahulag One

    ¡°The sun marched like a snail and the men paled. We thought we would have been able to best the enemy horsemen. The aristocracy had left the Saberas back home, hoping that there would be no need to drown the plains up to the knee. As soon as the volley eliminated the sun, we knew it was over. We had been played tricks like our ancestors were stressed by steppe nomad wits. It was the common tactic of the Zhong, and so just before the heads pierced our lightened steel, we uttered a song. Although we lost a substantial amount, we held strong. We thought we would be able to handle their actual charge, but oh how we were wrong.¡±

    Legatus Stratios, third brother of Basileus Martius I.

    ¡°A surplus of steel,¡± a commanding voice shouted on a hill overlooking several thousands of bodies. The owner of the voice had five hundred worn warriors beside and behind him. The sun above glistened the man¡¯s shoulders. He held a man by the neck. ¡°Bolahulag, it¡¯s time for you to become a man.¡±

    A chubby boy, just a fist smaller than the man who called him, walked forwards from the ranks of warriors still living. ¡°Father, I do not wish to kill this man, he has done nothing to defend himself,¡± the boy stated. ¡°How can I do something so immoral and live with it for the rest of my life.¡±

    The father of Bolahulag grunted. ¡°Gah, did your mother and her religion teach you these things?¡± he asked. ¡°I knew I shouldn¡¯t have taken in a woman out of my cousins¡¯ tribes.¡±

    ¡°Father, it is not my religion that tells me to spare this man,¡± Bolahulag said. ¡°It is the natural understanding of morality that does so.¡±

    Bolahulag¡¯s father sighed. ¡°Tului, my first son, tell me how old your younger brother is?¡±

    A young man just a hair shorter than Bolahulag¡¯s father put a hand on his chest and straightened his back. ¡°Father Temu, he is but only a moon¡¯s cycle away from thirteen years of age.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Temu asked, scratching the back of his head. His leather armor¡¯s shoulder pads clanged, they were the only metallic part of the armor. ¡°Bolahulag, is that true?¡±

    ¡°Yes, father,¡± Bolahulag said, bowing his head. Although by no means a terrible father, Temu often forgot his children due to the way the tribe kept moving from place to place. Bolahulag had thought that the only actual way his father remembered him was because his mother was the only person in the whole tribe that had larger eyes than everyone. Aside from also himself. Bolahulag¡¯s eyes had earned him several scorns from his fellows. They had given him the nickname ¡°Wide Eye¡± and excluded him from the learning activities most Kongrad participated in. As a result, Bolahulag kept himself confined to his tent at all times, only moving out to defecate in the rivers. His mother had done nothing to push change and she enabled him to consume food without contributing to its gain. She also did not do much aside from drying the clothes or receiving his father¡¯s weekly gifts.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Temu said, cupping his chin and fingering the long strands of black hair that protruded from it. ¡°Okay, master¡­¡± Temu had switched to another language that only three people on the hill knew.

    ¡°King Mistiyudaloy,¡± the man gripped by Temu said with great difficulty.

    Temu loosened his grip on the man. ¡°King Mistiyudaloy?¡± he asked as he took his arm off the man¡¯s neck.

    The man who had been held captive coughed. ¡°Yes,¡± he answered. ¡°It is not an Eterian name.¡±

    Bolahulag let out a large breath. How can this man be king if he is not Eterian.

    ¡°Well, your Eterian is better than mine,¡± Temu said with a smile. ¡°But I still do not understand how you are a king of Eterians. A lot people speak Eterian.¡± Temu paused and looked past Bolahulag¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Well, not here in my tribe. But around this area. How can you still be king. I thought only Eterians were kings, how come you¡¯re a king?¡±

    ¡°May I stand up?¡± King Mistiyudaloy asked.

    Temu nodded. When King Mistiyudaloy had started to rise, Temu¡¯s men had their hands raised or clinching forwards. They did not dare move their axes and spears. ¡°Relax, my warriors,¡± Temu ordered in a tired tone. ¡°I¡¯ve come to spare this man.¡±

    The other men lowered their weapons and King Mistiyudaloy wiped the sweat on his forehead. ¡°Huh, I thought I¡¯d really die here.¡±

    ¡°Well, you will,¡± Temu said. ¡°Unless you tell me why you¡¯re a king.¡±

    ¡°And then what?¡± King Mistiyudaloy asked, his black eyes swirling in fear.

    ¡°And then we¡¯ll see,¡± Temu stated. ¡°Now spit what I want.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± King Mistiyudaloy said. ¡°My people were once like yours, endlessly pillaging the environment. My grandfather had come across a girl when he was taken captive around ten or so at that time. She was a princess of a civilized kingdom while he was just another son of a barbaric warchief.¡± King Mistiyudaloy glanced at Bolahulag. Bolahulag frowned.

    ¡°What is this word ¡°civilized¡± that you said?¡± Temu asked, raising his palm in front of King Mistiyudaloy¡¯s face.

    King Mistiyudaloy brushed his brown hair. ¡°Uh, it is us,¡± he said, pointing at his own chest before turning around and swaying his hand over the dead bodies. ¡°We, the ones who wear steel instead of animal skin, are what civilized means.¡±

    ¡°So dirt-eating wolves?¡± Temu said. Bolahulag snorted.

    King Mistiyudaloy forced a chuckle. ¡°Ah yes,¡± he said. ¡°We are. But, when my grandfather had just been allowed to go back to his tribe, we were not. My grandfather had liked the girl very much and so he sought to win her. This meant usurping his brother¡¯s place as head of the tribe and then invading the lands I now rule over.¡±

    ¡°And what is this land we stand upon?¡± Temu asked. ¡°This is the land you rule over, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± King Mistiyudaloy replied. ¡°It is called Skiparsia. My grandfather had gained it after triumphing over the girl¡¯s father.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, that¡¯s enough,¡± Temu said. ¡°Bolahulag, you¡¯re gonna be King Mistiyudaloy¡¯s grandfather.¡±

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°What?¡± Bolahulag replied in the language Temu and King Mistiyudaloy were conversing in.

    ¡°So you do know how to speak Eterian,¡± Temu said. Bolahulag was about to speak but Temu waved his hand in front of Bolahulag. ¡°Shush boy, get your spear and waterskin.¡±

    ¡°But father!¡± Bolahulag protested in his native tongue. ¡°What do you mean I¡¯ll be his grandfather?¡±

    ¡°Boy, are you daft?¡± Temu said, not switching languages and motioning for people behind Bolahulag to come forward. ¡°Jebe and Berke here are going to assist you and this not-Eterian-but-Eterian king. Get your spear and waterskin.¡±

    ¡°Father, I don¡¯t have a spear!¡± Bolahulag shouted, tears streaming down his cheeks. ¡°Please father, I don¡¯t want to go anywhere else.¡±

    Temu sighed and spat on the grassed ground. ¡°Your mother is not a princess, my boy,¡± he said. ¡°But I will give you the kingdom idea these people have. I owe her that much.¡±

    ¡°Father, how will sending me away from home get me a kingdom?¡± Bolahulag asked in Eterian, his salty tears still flowing.

    King Mistiyudaloy¡¯s face had a surprised look at the scene. ¡°You have a daugher, right?¡± Temu asked King Mistiyudaloy.

    King Mistiyudaloy¡¯s face changed. ¡°Yes, she is around his age,¡± he stated with a smile.

    ¡°How old?¡± Temu asked as the two warriors he called out earlier stood beside Bolahulag.

    ¡°Thirteen years by several days,¡± King Mistiyudaloy replied.

    Temu had a bright smile. ¡°Would you look at that Bolahulag, you now have a wife that¡¯s around your age!¡± Temu exclaimed. ¡°Is she pretty, King Mistiyudaloy?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s as radiant as the sun itself,¡± King Mistiyudaloy stated with a nod.

    Temu raised his black eyebrows. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a saying,¡± King Mistiyudaloy said. ¡°It means she¡¯s comparable to the sun¡¯s beauty.¡±

    ¡°The sun¡¯s beauty?¡± Temu asked in a rising tone. ¡°Are you saying our Lord Tengur¡¯s domain, the endless sky, is eclipsed by the one sun?¡±

    King Mistiyudaloy raised his eyebrows. ¡°Most fearsome chief, how do you know the word ¡°eclipsed¡± and its usage?¡±

    ¡°Answer my question, not-Eterian-but-Eterian king,¡± Temu said with a grin.

    King Mistiyudaloy sighed. ¡°Yes, our culture dictates the sun¡¯s importance over the sky.¡±

    ¡°Eterian or your grandfather¡¯s culture?¡± Temu asked.

    ¡°Both,¡± King Mistiyudaloy replied. ¡°If you would like me to rephrase it, then my daughter is as beautiful as the sky.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Temu said. ¡°You hear that my boy? These not-Eterian-but-Eterian people have a daughter around your age and she¡¯s now betrothed to you.¡±

    Bolahulag had stopped his crying the moment King Mistiyudaloy revealed his daughter¡¯s existence. He had never been called handsome by the girls like the other boys. I have a girl already promised to me. Am I dreaming?

    ¡°Ah yes, chief¡­¡± King Mistiyudaloy began.

    ¡°I am Tumen Temu,¡± Temu declared. ¡°Master of ten thousand warriors and husband of seven beautiful women.¡±

    ¡°S-Seven¡­¡± King Mistiyudaloy said.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Temu asked.

    King Mistiyudaloy shook his head. ¡°Nothing,¡± he said. ¡°A-About this betrothal of my daugher to your son¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Temu asked with a nod.

    ¡°It will conclude your advance to my kingdom?¡± King Mistiyudaloy inquired in a hopeful tone.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Temu replied. ¡°My son¡¯s to have your daughter, be under your care for a dozen years, and be enlisted in your army.¡±

    ¡°F-Father,¡± Bolahulag began, ¡°I said I didn¡¯t want to be a warrior.¡±

    ¡°And yet you came here,¡± Temu stated. ¡°By my forcing. King Mistiyudaloy will force you too. He¡¯ll be my extension in his kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Tumen Temu,¡± King Mistiyudaloy started, ¡°Does this mean I¡¯m entering your vassalage?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Temu said. ¡°You also have to give me ten thousand silver coins per year of my son¡¯s presence under you and thirty thousand after his leave.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes,¡± King Mistiyudaloy said with a bow. ¡°I¡¯ll surely give you the required coins in the next month.¡±

    ¡°No, I want it in five days,¡± Temu stated. ¡°We¡¯ll be here on this hill, looting your fallen men. I¡¯ll be on the biggest tent, tell your men to send the container of coins there.¡±

    ¡°This will surely stop your approach into my kingdom?¡± King Mistiyudaloy asked, hoping for certainty.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Temu said. ¡°And don¡¯t even think about threatening to slit my fat boy¡¯s throat if we do. He may be my son, but he¡¯s just another among my dozens. He does nothing in my tribe, and so this should hopefully help him understand why I planted my seed inside his mother.¡±

    King Mistiyudaloy nodded. ¡°Okay, Tumen Temu, I pledge my protection over you son,¡± King Mistiyudaloy said, extending his right hand forwards in front of Temu.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Temu asked.

    ¡°A custom for friendship,¡± King Mistiyudaloy replied.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Temu said as he used his right hand to grip King Mistiyudaloy¡¯s hand. ¡°In my tribe and my cousins¡¯ we throw the heads of our foes at each other as signs of friendship.¡± King Mistiyudaloy forced a laugh as he moved Temu¡¯s hand up and down. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough shaking.¡± Temu turned towards Bolahulag¡¯s direction. ¡°Jebe and Berke, escort this man and my son to his kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Tumen!¡± both men shouted.

    ¡°Father, please!¡± Bolahulag pleaded. ¡°Let me stay.¡±

    ¡°And do nothing but let your belly outweigh the rest of your body?¡± Temu said. He sighed. He motioned Jebe and Berke.

    ¡°What are you two doing?¡± Bolahulag asked as he was lifted off the grass. ¡°Put me down, you brutes!¡±

    ¡°I trust you¡¯ll keep your word?¡± Temu asked as he looked back at King Mistiyudaloy.

    King Mistiyudaloy bowed. ¡°If you keep yours.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± Temu said. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one of my finest stallions as a gift.¡±

    Bolahulag tried yanking out of the grip of the two men who held him a head above the ground. ¡°Let me go, you brutes!¡±

    Temu raised his hands over his head. ¡°My people, now we can loot their dead.¡±

 Chapter Two

    Chapter Two

    Pictura

    Fatumoyira Shapak learned how to read symbols by the age of three. By the age of four, he had already read his first book, ¡°Saberacats,¡± by Egir Pontika. He hated the scary portrayal of the saberacats.

    Although Fermboi was not a fan of how the saberacats were bound to only one master, he did find them defining the word ¡°regal¡± in his mind. Everyone else around him had compared the creatures as eternal partners of the nobility. He hated to admit it, but his notion of the Eterian people did not leave out the ferocious creature that even towered the tallest man. The image of the beasts weaved in and out of the culture with objects, food, and even gods named after them.

    He had seen the famed, tall nomadic men of the north when he clashed forces with the king and they stood taller than the king himself. Fermboi wondered why such men bowed their heads to a figure who was at least a head shorter than most of them.

    He tried to liken it to the same way the saberacats permeated the south before. His parents, and even the other people in Sitchan kept mentioning how it was to great regret that their ancestors had hunted the saberacats in the plains to extinction. As the people from the Crownlands had demonstrated their ability to use the long-fanged creature with the conquest of the expansive southern wilderness, the people of the south, kin of whomever holds the title of tribe chief, soon began adorning the creatures in many pieces. It was even said that Eteria, the capital city, adopted the practice within its gigantic walls with great fervor. Had it come, Fermboi had even wanted to prevent a sieging of Eteria¡¯s western walls, as it was said to have boasted the most detailed imagery of a saberacat in existence. This was attested by his conversation with the Baron of Fero a day before his only battle with the king.

    Fermboi had dreamed of marching onto the capital once. He was not sure why he felt no motive to do so again. ¡°There¡¯s a different capital here this time, and if I¡¯m reading this right, even the king¡¯s capital is a lower one than that of the Basileus¡¯ and that¡¯s way too far to the east.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but picture it like this,¡± Alyana began, ¡°I¡¯m walking down the street, and I get kidnapped by the local king.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. ¡°There¡¯d be no need to save you,¡± he replied. ¡°I don¡¯t need to conquer a city just to get you back.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± she asked in an offended tone.

    ¡°Because they¡¯d have died from heart attack the moment they saw your face,¡± he stated.

    ¡°Heart attack?¡± she asked in an incredulous tone. ¡°They¡¯d have a cardiac arrest, not a heart attack.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re the same level of pain to the heart!¡± he complained. He had access to medicals books, and so did Alyana. ¡°Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯m too beautiful to merely have such effects on people.¡±

    Fermboi closed his eyes. ¡°Right.¡±

    When Fatumoriya Shapak was five, he was assigned a tutor.

    ¡°Why is he wearing iron armor?¡± Fermboi asked Fasa. They were in the foyer of the Shapak Estate. Sara and a tall, husky old man were conversing several dozen steps away. Sara and the older man were protected by the noon¡¯s rays through the intricate metal roofing of the wooden front door. The roof bore the Shapak family¡¯s sigil: a thamin¡¯s face and antlers.

    Fermboi and Fasa waited for the adults¡¯ conversation. Fasa was already an adult but she still had childlike tendencies from time to time. Fermboi was once an adult, and seven years from now he would be considered also an adult.

    Fasa pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I thought he was rich,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°Why is he wearing iron armor?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s bad about wearing iron armor?¡± Fasa asked. ¡°Do you know the difference?¡± Fermboi nodded. Fasa widened her eyes. ¡°Chinosh, have you been reading those war books again?¡± she questioned Fermboi as she pointed her right index finger at him. ¡°I told you not to read those. They¡¯ll make you think bad.¡±

    ¡°Relax sister,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°I¡¯m only asking because one of my bookies say that bronze is better than iron.¡±

    Fasa paused for a moment. ¡°Hmm,¡± she said. ¡°I think while Sir Kahayte is indeed rich, he is also modest.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Fermboi stated. He had a fleeting suspicion that bronze was rarer than iron. The books he had read so far mentioned the scarcity of tin and copper. ¡°Mama told me he has a pet nasalis, have you seen it? Is it really like orange?¡±

    ¡°Ah, you mean Naranka,¡± Fasa said with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s a goofy one. Usually he¡¯d be on Sir Kahayte¡¯s shoulder, but he¡¯s probably at home right now.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Fermboi said. He had seen illustrations of common animals in Basilyarhemain and he found the nasalis as quite interesting. He swore he saw one lunging between the mangrove branches in his spiritual domain.

    Sara and Sir Kahayte walked towards Fermboi and Fasa. The marbled floor clacked at Sara¡¯s heels and Sir Kahayte¡¯s iron boots. ¡°Fatu, this is Sir Kahayte,¡± Sara introduced. ¡°He¡¯ll be your tutor from now on.¡±

    Sir Kahayte kneeled on his left knee. ¡°Kahayte Nasale, at your service, young master.¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh, oh,¡± Fermboi said with a playful voice. ¡°Moma told me you have a pet nasalis, could you please bring him next time?¡±

    Sir Kahayte smiled. ¡°Naranka?¡± he asked. ¡°I do have him here. Just wait a moment, I think he¡¯s in your garden ravishing the fruits.¡± Sir Kahayte bowed and then left the room.

    ¡°Fatumoyira, now, son,¡± Sara said as she squatted. ¡°Mommy is paying Sir Kahayte lots of coins so you can be a good boy, okay?¡±

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Fermboi nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll see Sir Kahayte¡¯s nasalis, I¡¯ll see you guys later!¡± Fermboi skipped out of the living room and headed towards the garden.

    A large orange-furred creature jumped on Fermboi¡¯s face when he opened the gate to the garden.

    Kahayte appeared after Naranka and laughed. ¡°Looks like he likes you already.¡±

    Fermboi grabbed Naranka¡¯s sides and lifted him off his face. ¡°Oh you little monkey brat, I¡¯ll get you for that.¡±

    Sensing Fermboi¡¯s malicious intent, the nasalis slipped out of his grip and ran around the labyrinth-like garden. It was filled many green hedges that divided the various exotic plant categories. Vines from the jungles of Indaraya, blossoms from peaks of Dorsia, and berry shrubs from the scrubs of Osmaniya were among the plants that littered the estate¡¯s garden. Fermboi chased after Naranka and went around in circles most of the time. As he attracted the attention and laughter of the family gardeners, Fermboi thought of the familiarity of the creature¡¯s appearance. Without a doubt, he remembered seeing it in his spiritual domain.

    ¡°Okay, the word for one in Anetaulian is la,¡± Kahayte said as Fermboi readied his charcoal on the paper.

    ¡°Wait sir,¡± Fermboi said after he stopped writing the word. ¡°What Anetaulian is this?¡±

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re one of the observant kids of this century at six years old,¡± Kahayte remarked. ¡°La is the word for the Anetaulian spoken in Luweya, where the first Anetaulian civilization arose.¡±

    Kahayte walked over to Fermboi¡¯s desk and looked at the paper. ¡°This is the correct spelling in Eterian Script, sir?¡± Fermboi asked as his teacher arrived by the desk.

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Kahayte said. ¡°Young master, they are indeed very easy to convert to the Eterian Script. Okay, the word two is called te.¡±

    Fermboi brushed it all down.

    ¡°My young master, you truly are a master of the brush!¡± Kahayte exclaimed.

    Fermboi had drawn the family estate. He and Kahayte were on the hill overlooking the grand house. It was quiet and perfect for painting. ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± Fermboi said. He too was surprised by how fast his painting skills had developed. He never knew how to paint and that was just one day ago. The practices in his spiritual domain had been essential for the results of today.

    ¡°The shadows and the colors on your canvas image are truly a marvel!¡± Kahayte declared. ¡°Young master, if I may ask, may I have this painting as a portrait for my estate¡¯s living room?¡±

    ¡°Of course, sir,¡± Fermboi acquiesced. He had learned a lot from his tutor, it was time to give back. ¡°Is it really that good?¡±

    ¡°It is!¡± Kahayte said as he traced his fingers along the painting. ¡°At the age of eight, it truly is!¡±

    Fermboi painted animals. Fermboi painted buildings. Fermboi painted Alyana.

    ¡°Now master, this is one of the last things I will teach you before you turn ten and you should master it before the age of twelve,¡± Kahayte said as he led Fermboi to the courtyard. ¡°One of your family guards has given us his spear here for practice, so we best make good use of time.¡± Kahayte picked up the long, thick, iron-pointed stick leaning against the wooden pillar. He handed it over to Fermboi.

    Fermboi felt his hand reflectively clutch. ¡°What do I do, sir?¡± he asked.

    Kahayte frowned. ¡°Do you already know how to use a spear?¡± he asked Fermboi. ¡°Do those books actually help?¡±

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Fermboi said as he turned the spear side to side.

    Kahayte sighed. ¡°Okay, the first thing we¡¯ll review for you is that a spear is meant to keep your enemy away from you.¡±

    Fermboi grinned, it was the only feat he, without a doubt, had knowledge of. Hundreds had died by his spear. He lowered it, he did not want that life any longer.

    ¡°The young master is truly handsome,¡± a young maid said.

    ¡°Are you mad, Tasha?¡± an older female voice said. ¡°You can¡¯t go saying that out loud in public. People might hear you and think you have the hots for him!¡±

    ¡°But I do!¡± the young maid stated in a voice Fermboi found as too affectionate for him. They should not have that voice unless they were family. Then again¡­

    Fermboi cringed.

    ¡°Shush Tasha, you¡¯re fifteen,¡± the older female said. ¡°Too old for the young master.¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s already twelve!¡± the young maid complained.

    Fermboi sighed.

    ¡°Okay, javelins can pierce through two shields even,¡± Kahayte stated. ¡°The reason we learned the spear¡¯s way for two years was for you to grow accustomed to this moment. Normally children being raised for soldiering start spearing at the age of five, but for you as a young head of the Shapak family and possibly a martial cultivator in the future, this is enough.¡±

    ¡°Two years for javelining, sir?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°Is it really that easy to use a javelin?¡±

    Fermboi¡¯s previous command consisted of archers, spearmen, pikemen, and cavalrymen. No one in Eteria practiced with the javelin; it was only prevalent in war-ridden Ovea. Fermboi had only heard of it.

    Kahayte sighed. ¡°I was going to say four years, or until you¡¯re sixteen,¡± he revealed. ¡°But you¡¯ve already done adequate spearing in exactly two years.¡±

    Fermboi smiled. He held back on showing off his spear abilities as he found drawing to be a much better investment of time.

    ¡°Boya, how long do I have to hold this pose?¡± Alyana asked. She was sitting down, atop a hill overlooking the ocean. Her long grey hair fluttered against the cool wind.

    Fermboi had a makeshift canvas made from the bluish purple plant called linum. It was the first time he had seen the linum in a long time. The last time he saw it growing wild and still embedded to the earth was before the Magiar men raided his home.

    ¡°Just a little bit more,¡± Fermboi replied.

    Alyana sighed. ¡°And just how many thousand years more is your ¡°a little bit more¡± supposed to be?¡± Alyana asked. ¡°I bet it¡¯s still crude like last time. You still cannot encapsulate my beauty on such materials.¡±

    ¡°You know,¡± Fermboi started, ¡°This year, or these thousand years are my first time drawing. I¡¯ve never drawn before, unlike using the spear.¡±

    Alyana rolled her eyes to her left. ¡°Oh yes, yes,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯re gonna talk about how you were a peasant and how instead of farming peacefully until death, instead you were cursed with taking up the spear.¡±

    Fermboi paused his brushing. The brush was made from a yak¡¯s tail. Fermboi had to go up the mountains to the north of the island to find furry animals that would make for good paintbrush. He first saw a chila and thought it would have made for a good brush but Alyana warned against harming such a small furry creature. ¡°It¡¯s true, you know!¡± Fermboi proclaimed. ¡°If those damned Magiars hadn¡¯t come to my home, I¡¯d have inherited my father¡¯s role for the farm and I¡¯d have lived peacefully until my death.¡±

    ¡°But then you¡¯d have never met me,¡± Alyana said in a sly tone.

    Fermboi sighed and then returned on brushing. ¡°Of course, I was just joking, meeting you is already such a blessing.¡±

    Alyana laughed. ¡°Boya, your sarcasm is from me.¡±

    Fermboi stopped his brushing again. ¡°It¡¯s true, you know,¡± he said. ¡°All I¡¯ve ever wanted was to not exposed to this world of the strong dominating the weak. It makes me sick. I already knew that the baron of our farm was taking advantage of us, but I needn¡¯t know that even my illustrious king was taking advantage of even more people.¡±

    ¡°Everyone grows up to the reality,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve observed anyway.¡±

    ¡°From whom?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°You,¡± Alyana replied. ¡°Whom else could I observe?¡±

    Fermboi shook his head and resumed making strokes with his paintbrush.

    The sun above rose and fell more than a thousand times.

    ¡°Boya,¡± Alyana said, drawing out in impatience. ¡°When are you going to be done.¡±

    Fermboi flipped his canvas. Several strokes of fine and coarse produced an image that had him grinning as wide as he can. Alyana¡¯s eyes broadened. ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked, flipping the canvas towards Alyana. ¡°It¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t it? Practice does make perfect.¡±

    Alyana left her pose and walked towards the canvas. ¡°Thousands of years of practice,¡± she muttered. She caressed the linum. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    Fermboi walked to her right. He put his left arm around the left side of her waist. ¡°Most beautiful in the world.¡±

    Alyana turned to face Fermboi and grabbed his chin. She kissed his lips and closed her eyes.

    The yellow circle above rose and fell twice the amount of time Fermboi had ever been inside his spiritual domain. He had blocked out every sound aside from Alyana¡¯s heartbeat.

    Alyana pulled away and put the back of her hands on her eyes. ¡°I-It¡¯s not like I¡¯m crying or anything,¡± she said as she placed her head on Fermboi¡¯s chest.

    Fermboi placed his right hand on top of her head. He was taller by just a thumb and they were not lying down. Fermboi felt weird and natural at the same time as he ruffled her hair.

    ¡°Your sword is hitting my thigh again,¡± Alyana grumbled.

    ¡°Is it ruining the mood?¡± Fermboi asked in a playful tone.

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Alyana mumbled.

    Fermboi lowered his left hand to move his sword downwards.

    ¡°Young master,¡± Kahayte said, panting. ¡°It is important to master the sword as well. Especially in the left hand.¡±

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Fermboi had been bested several times already by the old instructor. He wanted to give up. He could not practice in his spiritual domain too as he knew not the way of forging swords. A fierce flint and a sturdy stick were easy to find. Melting ores and casting them was never to Fermboi¡¯s liking. He had only seen it done once in Fero, and decided it was too dangerous.

    ¡°Sir, can we please take a break,¡± Fermboi requested in-between pants. ¡°I think I¡¯m about to give up.¡±

    Kahayte responded by raising his sword upwards. Fermboi hurried his sword above his head. ¡°Good, good,¡± Kahayte said as the metals clashed. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it for today. It looks like your previous fast learning has slowed down. You¡¯re already approaching the age of sixteen, and they do say old saberacats can¡¯t learn new tricks even with their ever-sharpened swords.¡± Kahayte laughed.

    Fermboi frowned. ¡°Come on now, master,¡± he complained. ¡°I thought you said swords weren¡¯t even that important.¡±

    ¡°Now, now,¡± Kahayte said. ¡°I said they were not important in battles among several people. But on one on ones that we have been doing for the past weeks? This is a common sight amongst lords.¡±

    Fermboi took a deep breath. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll definitely practice more,¡± he said. ¡°Sir Kahayte, you said you were a master swordsman, right?¡±

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Kahayte replied. ¡°You¡¯re not that bad, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about. Definitely enough to satisfy banters.¡±

    ¡°No sir,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°I was wondering if you knew how to make your own sword.¡±

    Kahayte raised his eyebrows. ¡°I do,¡± he stated. ¡°Why?¡±

    Fermboi scratched the back of his head. ¡°Well, I was wondering if you would show me how.¡±

    Kahayte jutted out his lower lip. ¡°You¡¯ve never seen Kovak hammer out the swords for your family¡¯s guards?¡±

    Fermboi shook his head. He did not know who that was. A blacksmith under the employment of his family had not crossed his mind. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard the hammer prangs.¡±

    Kahayte sighed. ¡°Of course you wouldn¡¯t have,¡± he stated. ¡°Okay, clean yourself. We¡¯ll go to your family¡¯s armory. It¡¯s not too far.¡±

    Fermboi did not know many attributes of the family. He was surprised to find that his family¡¯s blacksmith was said to be the best in the city. The blacksmith even knew how to make the somewhat curved swords of Torea as his ancestors hailed there. Fermboi had first seen the Torean sword usage during his battle with the king and found them too effective against his lighter armored men.

    ¡°For the young master,¡± the blacksmith said as he handed the tempered sword to Fermboi. ¡°My finest iron sword.¡±

    Fermboi gripped the handle and found it better.

    ¡°You know, you¡¯re cheating the world by this behavior,¡± Alyana stated.

    Fermboi dipped his brand-new paintbrush onto the coconut bucket. He had made the hairs from a nasalis¡¯ tail. ¡°I already won life when I laid you.¡±

    Alyana clicked her tongue. ¡°But that¡¯s different from actually participating in the world through its normal limits.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°What, did you not understand what I said?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying I should play by the rules of the world when I have such an advantage with my spiritual domain¡¯s unbelievable time bending?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°So I see you get destroyed by the world again.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you it¡¯s fun watching people get beat down?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but you¡¯re joking, right?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m lying.¡±

    Fermboi put his paintbrush down on a clear space of his makeshift table. He rubbed his chin with his newly freed right hand, the hairs of his chin following his fingers. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve thinking it¡¯d be a good idea to pretend to be weak even though I¡¯m not.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes,¡± Alyana replied. ¡°Just like when a smart person pretends to be stupid.¡±

    Fermboi shook his head. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°I meant actually acting out that I¡¯m weak. Like, even if it costs me shame or whatever. As long as it doesn¡¯t threaten my life too seriously, I think I¡¯ll allow myself some bed time for healing.¡±

    ¡°And you think this will help resolve your fleeing ¡°weak must be protected¡± ideology?¡± Alyana asked.

    ¡°Mhm,¡± he replied. ¡°I think it¡¯ll also help with me dealing with humbleness.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not talking about humility?¡± Alyana asked. ¡°You keep sleeping naked.¡±

    ¡°Why, what¡¯s wrong with it?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°I¡¯m trying to relive at least this part of my former childhood. I won¡¯t be able to sleep naked freely again in the future. People around me will be too judgemental.¡±

    ¡°True,¡± Alyana replied. ¡°Unless of course you get your own secluded room.¡±

    ¡°People will probably still happen upon me,¡± Fermboi replied.

    ¡°And what makes you say that?¡± Alyana asked with raised eyebrows.

    ¡°Your mention of martial cultivation has me interested,¡± Fermboi stated. ¡°Nobody even bothers with the fifteen year availability. Those are mostly for the ones not willing to learn but just refine. Sir Kahayte has even said so. The age of coming hasn¡¯t changed, and so I might aim for the unofficial actual start at sixteen. Surely there¡¯d be celebrations across the city.¡±

    ¡°Eight years of schooling,¡± Alyana remarked. ¡°Huh, I wasn¡¯t even going to mention schooling at all since it will only hamper your progress due to the taken time from cultivating. But I guess it¡¯ll be more fun if you get beat up more.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not even going to go to school to learn cultivation,¡± he replied. ¡°I¡¯ll just be there for the social interaction, something I didn¡¯t have the opportunity to do so. To think I¡¯d have rather stayed in my tight-knit community.¡±

    ¡°But schools are tight-knight,¡± Alyana stated.

    ¡°Ugh,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°You know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°Making connections with the nobles so you forget about your previous peasant origins?¡± Alyana asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Fermboi replied. ¡°And also banging the female nobles. They¡¯re the only pretty ones.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit unfair?¡± Alyana questioned.

    ¡°See, you¡¯re not even a noble though, you¡¯re above them,¡± Fermboi stated. ¡°You¡¯re divine. An angel.¡±

    ¡°But what about the most beautiful girl in the peasant village,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Is she not pretty too?¡±

    ¡°No one else is pretty compared to you,¡± Fermboi declared.

    ¡°Damn it, Boya,¡± Alyana said with an irritated tone. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°You keep shoving on my face about how beautiful you are.¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s true,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Picture a bright red rosa amongst a field of linum, will it stand out or blend in with the other bluish-purple flowers?¡±

    ¡°They call it wara here,¡± Fermboi corrected. ¡°Besides, I completely agree.¡±

    ¡°Then what are we arguing about?¡± Alyana asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Fermboi replied.

    Alyana sighed. ¡°So you¡¯re just going to give up what you spent most of your previous life doing?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Fermboi said before squinting. ¡°You really think I¡¯ll do that shit again?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Alyana asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t it the right cause?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been thousands of years since my time and nothing has changed,¡± Fermboi stated. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do it anymore. It¡¯s pointless.¡±

    Alyana put her right palm over her face.

    ¡°Sorry Master Fatumoyira, I¡¯m a Budai, we don¡¯t use weapons for spiritual advancement.¡±

    ¡°But why does your father make my family¡¯s weapons?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not using the weapons though, Master Fatumoyira,¡± the boy replied. His long black hair whistled against the wind. ¡°Merely shaping it.¡±

    ¡°Then how are you going to hope to make it to the upcoming martial test?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°There¡¯s forty-two months until the month of Aterius. And a half more by tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s half a year, Master Fatumoyira,¡± the black-haired boy replied. ¡°That¡¯s enough for me to meditate through the Guwerior Dominion.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what rank are you right now?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°Rang Eleven,¡± the black-haired boy said. ¡°I¡¯m at the peak, so it should be smooth sailing from now.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Fermboi muttered.

    ¡°Why, Master Fatumoyira, what rank are you?¡± the boy looked at Fermboi with raised eyebrows.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just Rang One,¡± Fermboi replied. ¡°I just started yesterday.¡± The black-haired boy opened his mouth and did not shut it. ¡°Why, is there something wrong?¡±

    ¡°A-And Master Fatumoyira seeks to get into the martial test in under half a year?¡± the boy had his lips not touching each other as each time they would come close to meeting the gap would widen once again.

    ¡°Relax,¡± Fermboi began, ¡°I heard Rang can be conquered in under a year.¡±

    ¡°U-Under a year?¡± the boy asked in an disbelieving tone. ¡°M-Most people start at four years. W-Who said that?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Fermboi said with a smile. ¡°Just some thick-headed girl.¡±

    Fermboi heard a groan inside him.

    ¡°Master Fatumoyira, do you need more food?¡± the young maid asked. Fermboi remembered her as Tasha. Her long brown hair was distinctive enough. He thought about fooling around with her but decided against it. She was already serving him.

    In the dinner table Fermboi seated, there were three other people: his mother, and an old man with his daughter. The food adorning the table were the most exquisite Fermboi had seen so far. It had more food than when the new Tyrant of Bayla visited.

    ¡°Lady Sara, my daughter and my line are well connected to the Erean royal family,¡± the old man stated, plunging himself on the roasted boardawn belly. That was the old man¡¯s second serving. ¡°Your father and I are second cousins, this is only further strengthening our royal connections.¡±

    Fermboi frowned. His current mother had been married to his new, dead father because her line had fallen out of power in Erea. The man in front of them and his daughter were the cousin and niece of the current King of Erea. They had left Erea to start over in Basilyarhemain. This meant marrying into whatever local family had influence. The Shapak family had become nobility by his late father¡¯s extension as Tyrant of Bayla.

    ¡°My daughter is extremely gifted and has already been guaranteed to enter the Foka School,¡± the old man continued. ¡°She¡¯s no mere princess of the crown.¡±

    As a cultivator at Rang One, Fermboi had felt a strong aura emanating from the girl in front of him. The two adults to their respective lefts contained not even any aura at all. They did not cultivate. ¡°And my son is no mere son of a tyrant,¡± Sara rebutted. ¡°He¡¯s already practicing to inherit his father¡¯s position as overlord of this city. This whole martial cultivation thing for him is nothing but a side gig. How will a fist beat a flying hast?¡±

    ¡°Milady,¡± the old man began, ¡°I also know the spear¡¯s triumph over such silly things, but this cultivation strength is being more sought as time progresses. It lets people know what type of person one may become.¡±

    Fermboi looked to his top left. The daughter looked pretty and welcoming. For a royal, her long black hair did not look well done to the point of exhaustion and her white silk tunic also did not evoke any sense of difference. She was unlike the daughter of the new tyrant.

    The girl gripped the emerald glass cup on her right and took a sip. ¡°Lady Sara,¡± the black-haired girl spoke for the first time. ¡°My father only wants for my younger brother to have a partner in the Medeve School. He fears my younger brother may not survive in his road to becoming one of the school¡¯s top disciple.¡±

    Sara sighed. She turned towards Fermboi. ¡°Okay, Fatu, what do you think?¡± she asked. ¡°This all rests on you. You¡¯ll be a grown man in a month.¡±

    Fermboi contemplated on what the responsibility may be. If the younger boy needed constant protection, then Fermboi would not be able to do his own thing. Fermboi predicted he could go through all of the martial levels inside his spiritual domain without worry. So if the young boy angered higher students or some sort, then Fermboi could take them on. He still had no idea what the personality of what his new brother would be. ¡°Sure, when¡¯s the wedding?¡±

    The old man put down his fork and stood up, causing his glass cup to spill over the grape extracts. The glass cup¡¯s emerald color did not shine brighter than the aged man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Young Master Fatumoyira, I truly thank the gods for your acceptance,¡± the old man said as he picked up the spilled cup and repositioned it to stop pouring. Some of the dark purple fluids had already dripped over the white cloth of the table and onto the wooden floor. The young maid named Tasha had already left Fermboi¡¯s right side and began scrubbing the wet floor. ¡°It is to my regret that, for my daughter to fully realize her potential, she needs at least a decade to become at the top.¡±

    ¡°Lady Sara,¡± the daughter of the old man said as she stood up. ¡°I assure you my womanhood will be preserved in wait for your son.¡±

    ¡°I like her, Fatu,¡± Sara said with a wide smile at Fermboi. ¡°You¡¯ve agreed?¡±

    Fermboi nodded his head. ¡°So what¡¯s my new brother¡¯s name and where is he right now?¡±

    Tasha had finished scrubbing the floor and went to the kitchen for a new jug. She had just returned to pour the newly freshened wine on the old man¡¯s raised cup. The old man raised it up to the ceiling after being filled and nodded. ¡°Bostros doesn¡¯t like using our name, so he¡¯ll probably be using some other family name,¡± the old man stated. ¡°To shame me and the Bedo branch of Erea ¡­ I truly think that boy is reckless and that¡¯s why I need someone to watch over him during his schooling. As the head of my family, even I can¡¯t control him when he isn¡¯t willing to listen.¡± The old man paused and took another swig. ¡°He¡¯s currently starting his practice in the Otari School in Likibri, but he will definitely be in the Medeve School next year for the entrance.¡±

    ¡°You hear that Fatu?¡± Sara said in an impressed voice. ¡°Your new brother-in-law has gone all the way past the Hayer Mountains to pursue this way of life. You better not disappoint us.¡±

    Fermboi nodded his head.

    The rest of the dinner went smoothly. Sara and the daughter of the old man had switched places so that they can further develop their new relationships.

    ¡°So, Parisatas,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°How exactly do you cultivate? I¡¯ve just repeatedly punch a down leather dummy so far.¡±

    The long black-haired girl parted her bangs with her hands. ¡°It¡¯s Parisatis, young Master Fatumoyira,¡± the girl said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m at Rang Twelve at the moment and I¡¯ll surely have a breakthrough next month to Guwerior. You can try sitting outside in the forests and listening to the wild animals¡¯ calls. It¡¯s what I do.¡±

    ¡°That works?¡± Fermboi asked in disbelief.

    The girl nodded as Fermboi watched Tasha follow the head of the Bedo family out of the dinner room and to the hallway of guest bedrooms. The old man had the decency to ask Fermboi¡¯s mother for the permission for the maid. Sara then asked the young maid for the next action. It was the expected. Fermboi raised his chin up. ¡°Huh.¡±

 Derai One

    Derai One

    She likened herself a pauper. A clean pauper, cleaner than the rest.

    ¡°Mother Kes,¡± she said. ¡°When¡¯s the Guild going to give us money?"

    The fat, middling woman wiping the stone table paused her hands. "Should be today," the woman said, resuming her cleaning of the table. "Maybe a little before noon."

    "Mother Kes--"

    A plethora of children, aged from three to ten, burst from the wooden front door.

    "Mother Kes!"

    "Aunt Derai!"

    "We have the guilds!"

    "They''re down by Mister Loki''s shop."

    A large head peered in behind the children. "Oh, oh, oh," Mother Kes said, dropping her wiping cloth on the table. "Derai, this is Mister Bogatsotovo, he''s part of the Biyedne Guild."

    Derai smiled and bowed her head. "Welcome to the orphanage, dear sir." Derai looked at the man with the large head. His hair was a messy black but it was more than redeemed by the jaw he had.

    "Ah yes," Mister Bogatsotovo said, scratching his hair. "Forgive my head hair, I''ve just come from Atar with business." Derai did not know where Atar was. She had only lived in Nermitosk. She did not like it when people mentioned other places. She was not familiar with them. "You can just call me Mister Bogats."

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "Mister Bogats."

    "Mister Boguts."

    "Mister Bogets."

    The children repeated his name.

    It was a name that was recognizable from the first hiss.

    The King of Skiparsia was paraded in a box, opened in left and right, carried by eight tanned men on their shoulders.

    "What do you think of this king''s palanquin?"

    "It''s okay."

    "I''ll bet you one gold it costed one gompothir."

    "I say two."

    "Are you sure?"

    "Yes."

    "King Kiryepki!" the children once more. The adults joined in.

    <hr />

    This is in Nermitosk. Derai is a poor girl, common birth. Her initial story is gonna be about how no matter the wealth of guilds or whatever, the king can take it away. I''ll show this through Fermboi''s POV too. Not sure which one will be first, this one or Fermboi''s. As Fermboi has to go to Igenis first. Can''t show kingly acts in non-royal cities.

    <hr />

    2016-06-17: This is incomplete, have to work on this.

 Monghe One

    Monghe One

    In the southernmost point of the ground, he stood tall and wise; actually, that was a lie.

    "Monghe," a voice behind him said. "Let''s go back to the temple before they punish us."

    "Come on now Bitwen," he complained. The sun''s reflection on the surface of the water is truly beautiful. "I was just staring at the ocean."

    "Well, how do you describe it then?" Bitwen asked.

    Monghe opened his mouth and then closed them. "Well, the ocean is wide and peaceful," he said after some hesitation.

    "What about its color?" Bitwen asked.

    "What about its color?" Monghe repeated. "It isn''t as beautiful as your reds."

    Bitwen blushed and looked away from him. "But what is its color?"

    Monghe''s lips parted and then met again. "Okay, fine," he conceded. "I don''t know its color."

    "Then we must return to the temple to learn!" Bitwen said, grabbing Monghe''s right hand with both of hers.

    I''m not gonna learn culture, Bitwen. Monghe sighed.

    The trek down the mountain was not long. The steep ridges of the mountain had not perturbed either of them. It had been crossed many times by them. They soon walked levelled to the ground, at the gates of the Salamangkero.

    The Salamangkero are old and enigmatic, versed in the world''s secrets, rehearsed in magic''s theatrics, and stronger than any order. Some say they breath fire, like serpents of the sky. Others say they glass everything into ice. Most agree that what they do is incomprehensible. (copy and paste from blade itself.)

    But Monghe knew these were all lies.

    "Do you think Ginon Malakas was lying when he said twin royals were coming to us today?" Bitwen asked as they neared the giant golden gates.

    "Well, you too are a royal, are you not?" Monghe asked as a person atop one of the two gate''s towers waved at them. "Besides, I don''t see any fancy carriages like when you came. He probably just wants us to practice our behavior."

    "Well, you guys do treat me like I''m a baby," Bitwen said, looking down on the gravelled road.

    "That''s because you are," Monghe stated with a grin. The gates opened and Bitwen punched Monghe in his right shoulder. "Ow! Okay, they do have carriages."

    The Salamangkero were not one unified order. They were different subsets between its disciples. Every year, there would be an intramural event in the centermost building that towered the others in the mountains. It greeted the only entrance and exit out of the Salamangkero compound. An amassing group of people littered its front doors.

    "Wow," Bitwen said. "She''s so pretty."

    "Who?" Monghe asked as the four disciples by the door started to close it. Monghe had been watching one of them, the one who was on the right half of the door.

    Bitwen flicked her finger at Monghe''s cheek. "That girl near Ginon Malakas," Bitwen said, pointing at the girl. Monghe could not find her. "Is she part of the Ice Sect?"

    "Hey, you tell me to know about colors when you don''t even know our order''s divisions," Monghe said with a frown. "There''s no Ice Sect, only the Water Sect."

    "Well culture is more important than order divisions," Bitwen said as they entered the crowd. She gripped Monghe''s right hand and lead him towards the front.

    Bitwen, I don''t know what I feel, but it is a searing thong bathed in a bucket. Wait, I have to help Ginon Apoy. Monghe turned to face Bitwen. "Hey listen, I ain''t got time for stuff not related to our order--"

    "My fellow disciples," a tall, middle-aged man said with a raised hand. He stood alone on a wooden podium above everyone else. His voice evoked order. "Today we have gathered to see our new disciples'' abilities and for us to see what our junior disciples have been up to."

    Bitwen nudged Monghe. "Ginon Hangin is always the theatrics, eh?"

    "You!" the man on the podium shouted and pointed at Monghe''s direction.

    Damn it Bitwen, why you gotta whisper right in front of him. Monghe tucked his head down as everyone turned to look in his direction. "I''m just an ember," he muttered. "I''m just an ember. Just an ember. An ember. Ember."

    "Princess of Pilipinas and Baruna," Ginon Hangin said in an irritated tone. "Close your mouth before I take out your voice." Monghe looked at Bitwen. She had begun to open her mouth in the slightest bit, but she closed it as a gust of wind permeated the crowd. "Good, now as I was saying..."

    "Damn that old geezer," Bitwen said as she chomped on her loaf of bread.

    Monghe raised his eyebrows. "What?"

    "Oh, it''s a mummer," Bitwen said with a large portion of bread in her mouth.

    "A mummer?" Monghe asked.

    "Actors for a play," Bitwen clarified. "Don''t tell me you don''t know what a play is either." Monghe shook his head. "And that''s why you got to take Ginon Hangin''s classes or other masters'' classes about culture."

    There''s no need for culture. It didn''t help me off the streets. Nothing did. "Well I''m not a genius like you," Monghe stated as he fingered the rice in his wooden bowl. "I''m still not even good at controlling the candle''s flicker even though I''ve been here a year longer than you. I''m destined to be at the feet of everyone."

    "Well, that''s just how it is," Bitwen said as she held her wooden cup. "Nobody moves up from the bottom."

    "What?" Monghe asked. "What do you mean?"

    "You''re not a noble, right?" Bitwen said as she downed the water. Her gulp was loud. "It''s not like here in Salamangkero. In the real world, you don''t move up a ladder and declare yourself better."

    What in the hell is this girl talking about. Did her native subjects mess with her mind. My mother had told me it''s possible to be richer than a noble. Damn nobility always trying to reinforce their status. Why do I even hang out with this girl, she''s always nagging me about unimportant things. "Really?" he asked.

    "Remember when Pasolius sent you to Ginon Lupa?" Bitwen asked. "At least the scar is fading now."

    It was two years ago. When Bitwen had arrived along with other new disciples. The Crown Prince of Vafia had been part of the year''s only intake. I had managed to move the candle''s flame only a little bit to the left and right. I should''ve kept my mouth shut when he challenged everyone during the games. Damn it. "It''s not that bad," Monghe replied, scratching the scar on his left forearm. "You''re telling me he''s gonna send me flying when I try to get better?" Bitwen nodded her head. "My mother says otherwise."

    "And where was she from?" Bitwen asked.

    "She''s one of the Tohols," Monghe said. "Down south in Indigenia."

    "I know where the Tohols are," Bitwen declared. "They have a different mind there. It isn''t civilized. It isn''t Eterian."

    "Well--" Monghe felt a sharp slap behind his head.

    "Monghe, are you still trying to have our Mediocre Princess?" a voice inquired. The cafeteria had dropped to silence when the smacking sound was heard.

    Monghe had his fists curled until he heard the voice. He did not dare face its owner. "Sorry Pasolius," Monghe muttered. "She''s always the one coming to me." And I don''t mind it somehow.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    Pasolius sighed. "Monghe, I told you she''s mine--"

    "Pasolius," Bitwen said, creaking her chair. "Watch your words."

    Pasolius chuckled. "Would you look at her, eh?" he said. "She''s fierce and not bad-looking at all. I told you she''ll make a fine girl, cousin Shoy."

    Monghe brought his head down to the table. Please be gone. Please don''t let this Shoy be another henchman of his. Please leave me alone.

    "Hey," a soft voice said. "I''m Shoy Tsin."

    "Searching for what?" Bitwen asked. Monghe heard hands shaking. "You done introducing your cousin to me, Pasolius? Everyone here is waiting for you to leave us alone."

    "Hmph," Pasolius sounded. "Let''s go Shoy. I''ll show you the actual girls I''ve fucked. They''re the prettiest in the school."

    "You okay?" Bitwen asked as she caressed Monghe''s back. Several footsteps retreated.

    Monghe raised his head to look at her. "Bitwen, I don''t think you should do that."

    "Protect you from Pasolius?" Bitwen said with raised eyebrows.

    "No," Monghe said. "Scratch my back."

    The silence in the cafeteria lingered for a little longer before someone had laughed.

    "Did you see Pasolius almost knock the head out of that guy?"

    "Who is he, he looks really weak."

    "That''s peasants for you, always starving."

    "Ha, they grow so much food yet don''t know how to use them."

    "Are you an idiot, Tanga?"

    "Well it is my name, my father gave it to me when I was ten."

    "Are you dumb, the reason the peasants are so skinny and lankey is because..."

    You all take what we make. You all steal what we earn. You all kill what we live. Monghe curled up his fists once more.

    "You want to go outside?" Bitwen asked. "Back in the mountains or down by the lakes?"

    Monghe shook his head and stood up, taking his bowl with him. He did not have a wooden cup like Bitwen. They had to pay more for those. Or make them. He did not know how to make them. "I''ve got to help Ginon Apoy," he said. "I''ll see you later."

    Monghe headed out of the cafeteria. The cafeteria was just a straight line of stone wall turned into a box-like shape by two supporting wooden pillars that were in the direction the cooks served the disciples. Its wooden roof allowed water to leak. The center entrance or exit of the cafeteria led to three roads. The one in the left led to the Water Sect. The one in the middle led to the Wind Sect. The one in the right led to the Fire Sect.

    Monghe''s slippers warmed as he walked on the gravelled road to the Fire Sect. This road never fails to bring spring. The trees parted by the road swayed and displayed their new fades. Green buds. A grey squirrel hit Monghe''s right cheek with dirt. Damn these vermin. They''re just nuts. Every beginning of spring. I thought I wouldn''t suffer this nut-digging for the week.

    When Monghe arrived at the vicinity of the Fire Sect, there was a battle going on.

    Am I dreaming or is that girl even more beautiful than Ginan Masara. Monghe rubbed his eyes and blinked several times. She''s real. It can''t be. The girl Monghe''s eyes were fixated upon was dressed in a blue robe with her long black hair tied into a bun. She''s kinda too chinky. Probably another Tsin. Is she part of our sect or is she in the Water Sect. What is she doing here. The girl in the blue robe stood opposite of a boy dressed in the darkest red Monghe had ever seen. Pasolius, what the hell are you doing. Monghe moved closer to the gathering crowd.

    An old man stood between the two disciples, himself robed in white. "Pasolius, Rank One of the Fire Junior Disciples, has been challenged by Sabing, a fresh junior disciple of undecided allegiance."

    The crowd murmured. Monghe kept his lips closed.

    "She''s so slender."

    "Is that girl from the ice branch of the Water Sect, because I''m feeling an icy aura from her."

    "Are you an idiot, Tanga?"

    "What?"

    "The referee just said she''s like us, still to decide by next week."

    "But she''s wearing a blue robe."

    "Maybe they sponsored her."

    "Begin!" the old man in the white robe shouted.

    Sabing did not move and remained standing straight. Pasolius had gone into the fighting stance Monghe was all too familiar with. What the hell is that girl thinking, she''s going to get literally incinerated by Pasolius.

    Pasolius shouted and sprinted towards Sabing, his right arm ready to connect with its target. Several steps away before Monghe was sure the girl would have her beautiful face ruined, Monghe had closed his eyes. He never liked the duels anyway. Not when he''s still weak.

    "What the fuck!"

    "D-Did she trip him?"

    "What the fuck is this?"

    "Fucking what?"

    "Did a girl just beat Pasolius?"

    "A year younger in order seniority too."

    "Was she part of another order before she came here?"

    "How can she easily sidestep Pasolius?"

    Monghe opened his eyes and found Pasolius on the ground. "Sabing has won this duel," the white-robed old man declared. "Alright, shoo! Back to your training lads, it''s almost noon!"

    Pasolius got on his knees and grunted. Then when he fully stood up, he looked up and down Sabing. "This isn''t over, cousin Sabing." Pasolius did not wait for the girl''s reply and headed into the opened red doors of the building they fought in front of.

    Monghe walked towards the old man in the white robe, not ending his gaze at the girl in the blue robe. She felt his gaze and turned.

    "Ah, Monghe," the old man in the white robe said. "I was just trying to convince the young Sabing here if she would rather melt her torpor away and join our Fire Sect instead of cultivating it to glacial-level."

    Damn it old man, when will you stop saying fancy words. You know I''m simple. Monghe smiled. "Ah yes, Ginon Apoy," he said while nodding. "She''ll be a very good candidate. I can''t believe she still beat our Number One."

    "Number One in the outside," Ginon Apoy said, clutching his bald head. Monghe winced, he knew what was coming. "But not on the inside." Ginon Apoy said, pointing only his index finger at his temple.

    "He wasn''t even watching," the girl in the blue robe said as she met Monghe''s eyes.

    "Oh, was it true?" Ginon Apoy asked. "Have you still fear duels? You know a mandatory one is coming in two years before you become a senior disciple."

    "Yes, Ginon," Monghe said, his head dropping to the cobblestoned ground. Those black eyes look as if they''re peering into my soul. Is this girl a witch. Do the Tsin have witches?

    Ginon Apoy laughed. "Aha, it''s no matter," he said, tapping Monghe''s right shoulder. "When I was young, I feared duels too."

    "Is that true?" Sabing asked.

    "Oh yes," Ginon Apoy replied. Monghe raised his head, his eyebrows touching each other. "It''s true."

 Bolahulag Two

    Bolahulag Two

    ¡°Quick, make the damned pit!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°To escape this silly orbit!¡±

    Komoda Sulenius, Basilian playwright, 3000EC.

    "I''m giving your father a thousand men of some of my finest warriors," King Mistiyudaloy stated.

    "For what?" Bolahulag asked.

    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    "It is custom," King Mistiyudaloy said. "Did you not see the foreigners among your father''s army."

    Bolahulag shook his head. "No."

    <hr />

    This is talking about how Eteria abandoned Nyuropernasia. The quotes. Orbit refers to the stress that the people face in Nyuropernasia as a cause of nonstop wars. Komodia means comedy, just omit I. Sulenius is from being born in Sulenia, capital of Basilyarhemain.

    <hr />

    2016-06-17: This is also incomplete. Need work.

 Aventina Two

    Aventina Two

    ¡°Eteria, my life,

    Eteria, my wife,

    Eteria, my knife,

    Oh how cruel must you be to depart us,

    Unsung sons of your image.

    When you left we followed lust,

    In hopes that it pay homage,

    To your wonderful face.

    It was not done in haste,

    But in our own pace,

    In order to find the taste,

    That is our defining ways.¡±

    Etespo Algos, Basilian poet, 3000EC.

    The moon was not brightest it could have been, but Aventina did not mind. She had a long way home and that was the only thought in her mind.

    As Aventina stepped off the boat and onto the sand. Splashes of water wet her legs. Before she took a step, a howl resonated in the air. A moment later, one howl became two, and the two became four. Aventina''s back shivered. She was in the easternmost parts of her father''s land. There were less people in it due to the giant wolves that roamed around. Her father had said that whenever he wanted a new coat, he would head to the east and punch a giant wolf in the head.

    When Aventina tried to get the specifics of how her father would face a wolf stronger than him, her father admitted to using a spear at first to weaken the wolf. Her father would aim at the wolf''s face and not at the body where the fur would be damaged. Aventina had been taught that wolves hunted in groups like her tribe, and so she tried asking her father what he did to the wolf''s reinforcements.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Her father had brushed her away. Told her to get out of the throne room and to play with her dolls. "These are actually not fit for a woman''s mind," her father would say. She would agree for a moment.

    Aventina unsheathed her knife and looked above. Her star sign was nowhere to be seen. She frowned. Although she hunted with her brothers and knew how to find animal tracks, she still had no experience with actual directions. She recalled her father''s mention of a northern star and how it was brighter than most other stars. Aventina saw that all of the stars were equal in brightness. Not one was brighter than the other. Aventina shook her head. She had landed in the shore unfamiliar to where they had left earlier in the morning. It was maybe several hundred steps to the north or south, or maybe it would take half a day for her to familiar territory. Her father''s territory was vast, but it was not borderless. She may enter a different chief''s lands and be taken captive if she did not find her footing.

    "If only my brothers," Aventina began before she dropped on the sand. Torrents of tears that were less salty than the water they flowed into had only stopped dripping once Aventina felt the wind weaken her.

    Aventina stood up and wiped the tears off her face. She took a deep breath before moving her feet forward.

    <hr />

    2016-06-17: I think this is incomplete, too short.

 Chapter Three

    Chapter Three

    Senex

    Fermboi walked along the streets of the southern docks, his light blue attire representing his mood. The smell of rotting waste and new, butchered meat of the place did not take away from his joyful state. It was the only area where his family¡¯s control was still present, but it did not matter. He just needed to buy something from the most expensive but lawful place in the city.

    ¡°Young lad, I got a special item, come and see!¡± an old man croaked.

    Fermboi turned around to see whom was being called. Although he had ignored the cries of beggars, this was the first time someone had tried to haggle a naive person for the day. He wanted to see which fool was going to get duped. The old man pointed towards him. Fermboi looked behind. He only found dockworkers. He pointed at himself as he looked at the old man. The old man nodded. He decided to entertain the old man.

    ¡°Yes you, young man,¡± the old man said. ¡°Come here, I¡¯ve got exactly what you need.¡±

    Fermboi walked towards the old man located between two almost torn down houses. The area looked dark and Fermboi kept his senses wary just in case the old man was part of a thieving group. The man looked ancient and tattered, blending with the cobblestone alley. His clothes looked to be torn by some decently sized parvasaberas. ¡°You got some ancient books?¡± Fermboi asked with a loose smile. ¡°I¡¯m heading to the Aevorum to find some new material.¡±

    He expected the elder to chuckle and go on to a pitch. Fermboi earned a wide grin instead. ¡°Tell you what boy,¡± the old man began. ¡°If you buy this special item, I¡¯ll give you an ancient book. Deal?¡±

    Fermboi eyed the old man with disbelief. ¡°Come on gramps,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°Are you real? I thought you were gonna do a funny presentation.¡±

    The old man reached into his robe. Now that Fermboi had less of an amused mind, he swore that the robe the old man wore was a similar type to the ones worn by the aristocracy back in Eteria. He shook off the thought. Clothes were not metal, they disintegrate with time. The old man stood up. ¡°This book is from an ancient library that is now inaccessible,¡± the old man stated as he took out a damaged book, its leather cover had scratch marks that further emphasized its lightening color as well as blots of stains not alike of brown. ¡°It contains¡ª¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about the Basileus¡¯ Library in Sulenia?¡± Fermboi interrupted with wide eyes.

    ¡°Let me finish, boy,¡± the old man said with an agitated tone. Fermboi noticed that the old man widened the grin. ¡°Habit interrupting,¡± the old man muttered under his breath. Fermboi could not make out the rest of what the old man said because he had an accent Fermboi had not heard before. It sounded like the old pronunciations of Ancient Eterian mixed with the current, more or less Eterian standard that people in Bayla were speaking in. Fermboi determined the man had the possibility of being from some remote mountain area. ¡°It contains techniques on how to perform certain martial actions. You look like a boy about to enter the annual martial test, right?¡±

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Fermboi agreed. The annual martial test in Bayla was soon approaching.

    ¡°Okay, so this book talks about the various techniques and skills one needs to use in order to be effective,¡± the old man declared as he opened the book. Fermboi relished on the smell even though it looked to have been spilled and battered upon.

    ¡°Pst Boya,¡± Fermboi heard Alyana¡¯s familiar angelic voice. ¡°I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this man. He doesn¡¯t feel normal to me.¡±

    The old man was continuing to summarize the book¡¯s content and Fermboi drowned it out. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying he doesn¡¯t feel like an ant,¡± Alyana clarified. ¡°He feels confusing, as if he¡¯s even surpassed¡ª¡±

    ¡°Boy,¡± the old man said with a stern voice. ¡°Are you paying attention? This book will help you in the upcoming month and it comes free with my special item.¡±

    Fermboi groaned. ¡°Okay, old man, what is this special item you want me to buy.¡±

    The old man reached into his robes once more and produced a colorful spherical object that blinded Fermboi¡¯s eyes. It was the size of the old man¡¯s palm and it had many colors between red, green, and blue. The old man chuckled. ¡°Aha, boy,¡± the old man said. ¡°I finally got your attention. Interested now, are ya?¡±

    Fermboi looked at the old man with a disapproving face. The object the old man held was a stark contrast to what he looked like. Dirty and with tattered clothes, the old man was every bit of a beggar seniors without caring families become. If the old man had that object and brandished it outside the relatively dark alley they were in, no doubt the old man would have been murdered on the spot. Fermboi considered it for a split second but decided he was not even that cunning before; he did not want to change now. ¡°How much, old man?¡± Fermboi reached into his money bag and fingered a couple coins. He liked the intricate decorations of the sphere-like object.

    The old man clicked his tongue. ¡°Not so fast boy,¡± the old man said as he waved his right index finger in front of Fermboi. ¡°You have to do me a favor.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. ¡°Okay gramps,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°First of all, I only want that object because it¡¯s shiny. Can you tell me a little bit more before I blindly accept your offer.¡±

    The old man chuckled again. ¡°Ah, of course boy,¡± the old man said. ¡°This here is a special object masterfully crafted by me when I was still in the crafting business. For the past years I¡¯ve forgotten my memories and I think that¡¯s how I ended up this way,¡± the old man said as he brushed his tattered robe. ¡°In short, I do not know what this object is.¡±

    Fermboi looked hard at the old man¡¯s black eyes. Fermboi spat air. He swore he could see a smirk on the old man¡¯s face. ¡°Old man, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re giving me but I¡¯ll take it,¡± Fermboi said after some thoughts. ¡°How much?¡± He still had his fingers inside the money bag.

    ¡°The favor boy, that¡¯s the only cost,¡± the old man said.

    Fermboi took a deep sigh and closed his eyes before opening them again. ¡°Okay gramps, what do you want me to do?¡±

    The old man stood up and approached Fermboi. A feeling of uneasiness swept over Fermboi, but he ignored it as what can a frail, old man do to a healthy, young man. ¡°I want you to join the Arktos Super School.¡±

    ¡°The Arktos Super School?¡± Fermboi asked. Fermboi reached into his mind and searched for the word or anything similar to it.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know about the Arktos Super School,¡± the old man stated with confidence. ¡°That¡¯s okay. The super school is one of its kind. You may know its sub schools: Saharmi, Otari, Foka, and Medeve.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Fermboi recognized. ¡°You¡¯re talking about the recommended way of how to get into the Medeve School.¡±

    The old man raised his eyebrows. ¡°Uh, sure boy,¡± the old man said. ¡°Anyway, I was once part of the Saharmi School but sadly I couldn¡¯t pass the Mearte rank.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Fermboi said. He still had no idea about the martial schools.

    ¡°Boy,¡± the old man said, touching Fermboi¡¯s right shoulder. ¡°I want you to continue on what legacy I should have had,¡± the old man proclaimed. ¡°I want you to carry on my dreams.¡±

    ¡°Okay sure,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°I mean I was contemplating on joining the Medeve School anyway since it¡¯s supposedly second only to the Saberacat School.¡±

    ¡°Good lad,¡± the old man said as he patted Fermboi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Okay, take care of this special item for me.¡± The old man handed the spherical object onto Fermboi¡¯s right hand.

    Fermboi stared at the spherical object. It looked like the material it was made out of contained detailed art images. He tried analyzing what the symbols and depictions were.

    ¡°Boya,¡± Alyana said. ¡°The old man disappeared.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Fermboi muttered as he traced his fingers along the lines of the spherical object.

    ¡°Not even concerned that you didn¡¯t notice his disappearing presence?¡± Alyana asked. ¡°And that he didn¡¯t give you the promised book?¡±

    Fermboi placed the spherical object inside his jacket. ¡°Nope,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s go to Aevo now, I need that language book.¡±

    Fermboi walked back to the road and headed to his intended direction. As he passed by, he heard the usual disagreements between various parties and calls for fish food by the merchants. He was nearing the edge of the southern docks when he was greeted by a large sign that had a quill above an opened book.

    Fermboi wondered why the symbol was not accompanied by words or made out of them entirely. The only people who can read would be the ones going into a bookstore. Fish-shaped signs and balance scale images were understandable and needed by peasants who are lost or maybe unfamiliar with the city but books were not needed by anyone aside from the interested, and those did not include peasants. They neither read nor write, all they do is work. It has not changed, and Fermboi had started to notice he empathized with them less. Fermboi shook his head, took a deep breath, and opened the large wooden door to the left of the sign.

    The bookstore was the only one in Bayla and its status was demonstrated through the saberacat carpet right after the front door. Several saberacats were needed to make it and its existence was only possible through some type of monopoly or old, accumulated wealth. Fermboi looked up and was greeted by the powerful smell of books. He heard a person to his right take a deep exhale. It was a middle-aged man behind a wooden table filled with carvings related to books. Several quills, dozens of books, and hundreds of letters coalesced to form an image that took many days to carve.

    ¡°What can I do for you, young mister?¡± the middle-aged man asked. ¡°We just had a new selection arrive today from Igenis. Copies of the academic works by legends such as Sarius, Teyalo, and King Akerius the First himself!¡±

    ¡°Is one the famous Nueter Foundation?¡± Fermboi asked, his eyes enlarged. The book ¡°Nueter Foundation¡± was one of the books King Akerius the First wrote and it specified how Nueter, the only Eterian city in the continent of Indigenia, came to be. Although some literary experts doubted the authenticity of King Akerius¡¯ firsthand experience in founding Nueter, by tradition and respect for the ancient Kings of Eteria, most educated people celebrated the book as one of the finest in the Eterian language. The Royal Library of Bayla had a copy of the newer translations of the book until Fermboi was ten years old, but it was said to be lost after the constant flooding that year. Fermboi did not plan on bothering one of the clerks for his visit but he had to get his fingers on a book he wanted yet never started.

    ¡°Yes mister,¡± the clerk replied. ¡°Would you like to buy it?¡±

    ¡°Hell yes I do!¡± Fermboi exclaimed, his voice coming out louder than usual. The clerk gave a disapproving frown but smiled right back. ¡°Sorry if I offended you mister, I was just excited.¡±

    ¡°No need to call me mister, mister,¡± the clerk said with a bow. ¡°You¡¯re our guest here and the one who should be called mister. Okay, please follow me.¡±

    The clerk left his station and snapped with his right middle finger and thumb. Another clerk arrived with the same black shirt and pants and positioned himself behind the greeting table. The clerk who welcomed Fermboi earlier made a gesture to follow to the right.

    Fermboi and the clerk passed through bookshelves that were about the size of the ones in the royal library. The bookshelves were twice Fermboi¡¯s height and he recalled not long ago that they were thrice his height before. Fermboi inhaled the stronger smell of the books and felt his mind clear. They stopped at the end of a row and the clerk pulled out a massive tome that required two hands to hold.

    ¡°Mister, if you want to take a look at the book before you buy, we have a private room for our guests in our basement past that door,¡± the clerk pointed to the right. ¡°Would you like to have a sample?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Fermboi blurt out, this time quieter. He walked towards the wooden door and opened it for the clerk.

    ¡°Thank you, mister.¡± Fermboi followed the clerk downstairs and passed several empty rooms before the clerk stopped walking. Fermboi figured the occupants of the rooms liked to read in their minds. His new mother, although not a regular reader, often read by saying the words out loud. Sir Kahayte was the same, and Fermboi figured out how to read in his mind when he found himself talking to Alyana about the ludicrousness of saberacat portrayals in books. The Baron of Fero had once told him that reading inside the mind was a learned trait that took years, but Fermboi had mastered it within a day. ¡°If you would open the door for me again, mister.¡±

    Fermboi turned the metallic spherical handles of the wooden door to the right. He was greeted by a sight that displayed the height and might of reading: a room filled with nothing but exotic-looking table and chair. A long painting hung in front of the door¡¯s entrance at the back wall, accentuated by the tall candle on top of the table as if it were a snake constricting a prey. Although it was not as tall or as wide as the candles in the hallways of the basement, the candle still lit the room with enough light to feel adequate.

    Fermboi took the book from the clerk¡¯s hands. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, mister,¡± the clerk said as he brushed his hands. Fermboi raised his eyebrows at the practice for a moment before turning to move towards the chair. ¡°If you are staying late, don¡¯t hesitate to call one of us and have you prepared some fine dinner.¡±

    Fermboi closed the door and sat down on the chair. He touched the brown leather cover of Nueter Foundation and flipped it to the left. ¡°A foreword on the blasphemers of this world and the many sinners of sins. This book was compiled after my return to Eteria and consists the many entries I wrote as I was in Indigenia. While I miss the jungles and forests of Indigenia, I find the surrounding forests of Eteria quite nice from atop my castle. That is why I have returned, aside from the fact that I have an obligation to rule. Now, I know you all will find it hard to believe, but I truly did go to Indigenia and am willing to confess to sex before marriage in order to add merit to it. For you non-followers of our royal church, I hope you know this does not make me a member of your stubbornness.¡±

    Fermboi spat air. ¡°Here we go,¡± he muttered as he flipped through the pages. Arkerius the First was often called ¡°The Artist¡± or ¡°The Cultured¡± for his vivid descriptions of what he wrote down. It was even said that the masterful painting above the Basileus¡¯ golden throne in Sulenia was created by Akerius. Fermboi did not know what the painting looked like, but Sir Kahayte had said that it was more than twice of Fermboi¡¯s skill. As Fermboi flipped through pages of words and detailed pictures, he forgot time existed.

    ¡°The Coastal Sohols have this odd object where it is said to have the power to expunge the spirit inside a person. I personally held it in my hands when I was visiting one of their villages and I¡¯m pretty sure nothing has come close to it in terms of intricacy and detail. The spherical item shines brightly even with little light. Its beautiful multicolored appearance is further emphasized by the mosaic-like glass that the object is composed of. At first I thought it was some sort of device that recorded their history, but after one of the Coastal Sohols¡¯ fearsome king assured me that even he used it to rid himself of a demon, I knew then that it was a religious property. The fearsome king, Yoruba Itsakar, told me to utter the words ¡°Sha-so-li-shon-tur-pa-yo-ra¡± and at first I thought it was a religious blessing but I felt a heavy feeling leaving my body after saying those words. It was a truly magical object that I wish I had been able to return with me.¡±

    Over his green silken jacket, Fermboi gripped the spherical object he had gotten from the old man. ¡°Eh, why not,¡± Fermboi said out loud. ¡°Might as well do this before I leave.¡± Fermboi took the object out of his jacket and focused his eyes on it. ¡°Sha-so-li-shon-tur-pa-yo-ra.¡± Fermboi placed it on the table. ¡°Well that was fun.¡±

    ¡°I knew that old man was an interesting fellow,¡± a familiar voice said behind Fermboi. He felt her arms envelope his neck. A nibble on his left ear followed. Fermboi winced, an action he had not done in a while. ¡°Boya, turn your head. I wanna see what I look like here.¡±

    Fermboi turned his head to the left and faced Alyana. Without question, her face defined beauty in and out of the spirit world. Her wide grin only amplified it. He would have fainted right there if he was not feeling a forbidding vibe. ¡°H-How the hell did you come outside?¡±

    ¡°That object is truly¡ª¡± Alyana began but her grey eyes darted to the right. The spherical object had become ashes and singed the top of the table where it rested. Her smile melted away. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°I-I-I don¡¯t know,¡± Fermboi muttered as he looked at the same spot Alyana¡¯s gaze fell on.

    ¡°Oh Boya, I can feel my strength vanish,¡± Alyana declared. ¡°Oh what shall I do. What should I do.¡±

    Hearing her voice outside his spiritual domain and mind made Fermboi mad. It was simply too sweet and soothing. The volaticats¡¯ somewhat loud mating calls outside the windows were drowned. The scent of the candle in the room dissipated. Alyana¡¯s voice was better outside his spiritual domain.

    ¡°Stop flattering me, Boya,¡± Alyana said as she freed Fermboi from her hold. ¡°Get up.¡± Fermboi stood up with haste and made the chair creak. He looked at Alyana with expanded eyes and uttered unintelligible words in disbelief. It was the exact same body she had in his spiritual domain. ¡°Get this up,¡± Alyana said as she walked towards Fermboi. She dipped her right hand inside Fermboi¡¯s pants.

    ¡°Y-You want to fuck?¡± Fermboi asked, his voice still quivering.

    Alyana grinned and planted her lips on Fermboi¡¯s. Fermboi grabbed the back of her head with his right hand and used his left hand to grope her right breast. He closed his eyes in pleasure. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s my gift for letting me out in this world,¡± she communicated in their minds. ¡°I would feel bad if I killed you without thanks. You¡¯ve been a good man.¡±

    Fermboi stopped his movement and broke away from the kiss. ¡°Oh no, no, no,¡± he said, backing onto the wall behind him.

    ¡°Yes, Boya,¡± Alyana confirmed as she walked towards him. She walked at a snail¡¯s pace, but Fermboi knew she could go faster than anything. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m gonna die without that device. So now I need a host and you¡¯re the closest human.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Fermboi said as Alyana pressed his hands on her breasts. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a human right now though?¡±

    ¡°No, not really,¡± Alyana said. She placed her lips on his once more and he did not move his tongue like usual. ¡°Did you not hear me? I can feel my strength vanishing.¡±

    ¡°C-Come on now,¡± Fermboi uttered as he broke away from the kiss again. Alyana¡¯s hands kept his head in place and she forced her tongue deep into his mouth. Several moments passed. He was forced to use his mind. ¡°I was gonna do everything in my ability to help you find a way to leave my spiritual domain.¡±

    ¡°I know, Boya,¡± she responded as she laid back against the table. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re doing this first. I¡¯ve taken a liking to you.¡±

    Fermboi felt her hand touch his penis. He looked away from Alyana¡¯s face and down her body. It was bristled. It was never there. Fermboi entered a jungle that was not there from before and gesturing like a creator, he separated it into two before plunging into a now-exposed deep cavern. Alyana¡¯s hands gripped his back. ¡°F-Fuck.¡±

    The hardened candle wax had halved the size of the candle.

    ¡°Come on Boya,¡± Alyana said in a teasing tone. She had clung onto a standing Fermboi. ¡°I¡¯m giving you free reins of your body. Give it to me!¡± Fermboi hands stopped supporting Alyana¡¯s body but she did not fall. ¡°Boya, come on now, what are you doing?¡±

    Tears had started to form on the corners of Fermboi¡¯s eyes. Although he would have loved to weave his fingers through Alyana¡¯s grey curtains and drapes, he knew that the second chance of life he was given was going to be over soon. It was almost as short as his previous one. Four years shorter.

    Alyana unhinged herself and cupped Fermboi¡¯s chin. ¡°Don¡¯t guilt me, Boya,¡± she declared as she squatted. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad, you got to spend most of your time with me, the most beautiful creature in the whole world!¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t that,¡± Fermboi began, but he was soon interrupted. ¡°Ah. Stop.¡± For several moments, the only sounds Fermboi had heard were the sticky, wet sounds that Alyana emitted from her engulfed mouth. He had even put his right hand on top of her head out of habit. ¡°Fuck it.¡±

    Fermboi was not expecting Alyana to be so easy to push down on the marbled ground, but he knew it only happened because she allowed it. He placed his right hand on the center dip of her back and guided with his left. Alyana¡¯s silver wilderness was again entered by Fermboi. He lowered his chest to her back and seized her breasts with his hands. Alyana had turned her head towards him and he shoved his lips on hers. Like snakes in the mating season, Fermboi and Alyana¡¯s tongues twisted and turned to tighten their grasp. For a long while, aside from the moist noises their mouths made, a rhythmic slap dominated the room.

    Fermboi felt his climax approach and hastened his pounding. He felt Alyana¡¯s walls tighten and he accelerated even more. He bit on Alyana¡¯s lips and aggravated his tongue¡¯s movement. ¡°Holy fuck, you¡¯re so beautiful!¡± Fermboi yelled in his mind. ¡°I love you.¡±

    ¡°Your seed feels amazing,¡± Alyana announced with a blissful voice as she moved her lips away from his. Fermboi had collapsed on the ground, his eyes closed shut. Little bits of his seed spreading by the drip. ¡°Oh no.¡±

    Fermboi opened his eyes with haste. ¡°Y-You¡¯re disappearing?¡± he managed to say. ¡°Wait, are you taking over my body already?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Alyana said, her voice low.

    ¡°W-What the hell?¡± Fermboi asked and he lunged towards her face. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me, Alyana!¡± Fermboi cupped her chin, closed his eyes, and pushed her lips against hers. Fermboi had more tears this time around. It seemed his own death was not worth the torrent of salty fluid eroding the marbled floor. He felt her lips disappear.

    ¡°Ever the dramatic,¡± he heard Alyana say. He opened his eyes. She was nowhere to be found. ¡°I¡¯m back inside you, idiot.¡±

    ¡°Alyana?¡± Fermboi asked as his eyes widened.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Alyana¡¯s tone was of irritation.

    Fermboi stood up and grabbed the book on the table. ¡°I¡¯m coming in there?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Alyana replied with chagrin.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll hate you.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Fermboi said as he headed outside the room. The rest of his walk towards the stairs was silent aside from the cold gust of wind coming from one of the doors left opened in the dozens of rooms of the basement. The door being opened was not a bother, it was the window in the room. Fermboi ascended the stairs and took a deep breath. The clerk before was just finishing with another customer on recommendations of the bookshelf in front of them. He tapped the clerk on the shoulder.

    ¡°Mister,¡± Fermboi said as he ran his right hand through his money sack. ¡°This is worth a gold coin, right?¡± Fermboi raised the book in his hand to his chest height.

    ¡°Why yes, mister,¡± the clerk said after turning around. ¡°You¡¯ve enjoyed the sample time?¡±

    Fermboi pulled out his right hand with one gold coin and ten silver coins. ¡°Have the ten as my appreciation for amazing service,¡± Fermboi said as he grabbed the clerk¡¯s hand and placed the coins. ¡°Have a good night. You too, milady.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, mister,¡± the clerk said as Fermboi walked away. ¡°Pleasure doing business with you. Come again in the future.¡±

    Fermboi trod past the long bookshelf alley and the different clerk on the exotic front desk. He opened the over-sized wooden doors with his right hand. Fermboi opened his book and had his eyes down on the last page of Nueter Foundation where he left off. Not a moment after, he felt his head come between two large, spaced objects.

    ¡°Boya,¡± Alyana said with an alerting tone. ¡°That woman is in the third level of Imperator Dominion.¡±

    Fermboi looked up and met the light brown eyes of a woman just a bit taller than him. It was somewhat too horizontal for him. He looked down back on his book and positioned to resume his walk. The full moon above had betrayed him, instead of leading him to safety, he had been led to calamity.

    ¡°Boya, you have to apologize to that lady before she obliterates you!¡± Alyana warned. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Before Fermboi could take another step, he felt a hand grip his right arm. He looked back and saw it was the previous woman¡¯s hand.

    ¡°My boy dear,¡± the woman called, her voice was mocking the idea of caring. Fermboi found it nonetheless sweet. ¡°Why don¡¯t you apologize to your beautiful sister here?¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s how it starts,¡± Alyana muttered to his mind. ¡°You¡¯re getting fucked, Boya. If I was out right now, I¡¯d slam her mouth to the ground.¡±

    ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t be living right now,¡± Fermboi replied.

    ¡°At least I would have been the only one for you,¡± Alyana retorted with an irritated tone.

    ¡°Do you know the words I, love, and you?¡± Fermboi asked as he looked up and down the woman¡¯s body. To say she was the most beautiful woman in the world would be a lie because that woman resided deep within Fermboi. He did find her short, light brown hair somewhat attractive. It was his first time seeing a woman¡¯s hair just above the bottom of her ears. The woman¡¯s high cheekbones exceeded Alyana¡¯s and he was not sure whether he liked that. Her lips came a thousandth close to Alyana¡¯s and that was Fermboi being generous. The rest of her body was covered in a fine, red silk except for her breasts, which Fermboi thought exposed too much cleavage for a proper woman. ¡°I think I poured it out just a while ago.¡±

    ¡°Damn Boya, have you grasp the concept beyond thousand?¡± Alyana asked.

    ¡°No,¡± Fermboi replied. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m a thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand times more beautiful than that woman in front of you,¡± Alyana said with a smug voice. ¡°I probably fuck better too.¡±

    ¡°Right, because we had literally thousands of years to practice instead of her pathetic what,¡± Fermboi said as he looked at the woman with greater focus. ¡°She couldn¡¯t be that much older than me. A decade or so under.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but she¡¯s interesting because she¡¯s at the third level of the Imperator Dominion,¡± Alyana stated.

    ¡°So?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°You never let me finish,¡± Alyana said. ¡°She¡¯s at the third level of Imperator Dominion but is detectable only as the fifth level of Rang Dominion.¡±

    ¡°She has her true strength concealed?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Alyana replied. ¡°You see her pearl necklace? That hides her ranking by one hundred seventy-eight levels.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what does she gain by hiding her power?¡± Fermboi questioned. ¡°Is that the only one of its kind? She¡¯s the only one we¡¯ve met so far with that ability.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I guess you¡¯ll find out soon enough,¡± Alyana answered.

    Fermboi bowed his head and clasp the woman¡¯s hand with his left hand. ¡°Sorry, Big Sister, I was too busy reading my book,¡± Fermboi replied to the woman. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s ¡°Nueter Foundation,¡± right?¡± the woman asked as she walked closer to Fermboi.

    ¡°Yes, Big Sister,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve read that book many times,¡± the woman said, pointing at the book. ¡°I also like that image.¡±

    Fermboi looked down on the book and saw that it had been flipped a couple pages forward. The image drawn by Akerius depicted the position of a man and woman, the one he and Alyana were in a long while ago. Fermboi had a chopped laughed before flipping back to his last known page. ¡°¡¯Tis a funny picture, yes.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s one of the copies I donated here,¡± the woman remarked as she turned her head to see the sign above them.

    Fermboi tried to remove her grip as he turned back to move away. ¡°Not so fast boy,¡± the woman said, refusing to budge. ¡°You¡¯re coming back to my camp.¡±

    ¡°Your camp?¡±

    ¡°Mhm, I¡¯m visiting for the annual martial test,¡± the woman said. ¡°Surely you¡¯re participating in that, no?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Fermboi replied.

    ¡°Good, you¡¯ll be one of my beneficiaries,¡± the woman said.

    ¡°Your what?¡± Fermboi asked. He did not know the word she just said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll sponsor you,¡± the woman declared. ¡°It¡¯s not every day that you see someone from outside the capital interested in His Majesty¡¯s finest work.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Fermboi uttered. He thought the book was quite a common book to read by people.

    ¡°Besides, you knowing how to read probably means you¡¯re a noble¡¯s son, right?¡± the woman assumed.

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Fermboi replied.

    ¡°Who?¡± the woman asked.

    ¡°Uh,¡± Fermboi began.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry boy,¡± the woman said. ¡°I know every noble in this city.¡±

    Fermboi bit his lip. ¡°Amaru Shapak,¡± he answered.

    ¡°The former tyrant?¡± the woman asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Fermboi affirmed.

    ¡°Are you like your father?¡± the woman asked. ¡°Actually, don¡¯t answer that, he died just about twice your age. My condolences.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Fermboi said as he lowered his head.

    ¡°You do cultivation, right?¡± the woman questioned. ¡°Your father wasn¡¯t remotely strong but he still practiced. Your family line has special origins, you know that right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, madame,¡± Fermboi replied.

    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s good,¡± the woman said as she let go of her grip. ¡°Follow my behind, boy. I got things that will help you attain a high score on the test.¡±

    ¡°Uh miss, I have to go home now,¡± Fermboi said as he turned the other way. ¡°It¡¯s nearing midnight, madame, I have to sleep.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the woman said without turning around. ¡°Follow me, boy, if you want a chance in getting the first spot in the test.¡±

    Before leaving the front of the Aevorum, a red parrot landed on the woman¡¯s right shoulder. Then it left as quick as it had come. The woman strutted forward and had her dress scrape the small rocks on the road. Fermboi recalled the dress of the young Torean princess who accompanied the King of Eteria before the battle. She was at most ten years old from what Fermboi remembers of her tallness but her clothes were already three times as long as her height. She had also served him bread, then fruits, then the rare bugtiansa thigh.

    ¡°You know that ¡°girl¡± you¡¯re thinking about just now is your dead father¡¯s distant relative, right?¡± Alyana stated.

    ¡°My what?¡± Fermboi asked with disbelief.

    ¡°Boya, are you daft?¡± Alyana asked. ¡°Did you not read the genealogy books in the royal library?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I did,¡± Fermboi replied. ¡°They didn¡¯t fucking say how the Royal Family of Eteria is related to my current family though.¡±

    Fermboi heard Alyana spit on something. ¡°How do you remember your past memories so clearly and have barely any recollection of the stuff you¡¯re learning now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe¡ª¡±

    ¡°It was a rhetorical question, Boya,¡± Alyana declared. ¡°Anyway, there are two branches stemming from the uniter of the Eterian continent, the one who killed you.¡±

    ¡°Hold up,¡± Fermboi interrupted. ¡°I never got his actual name.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Alyana said. ¡°I can read your mind. Stop interrupting me. Okay, so Petera or Pereta Eter had two wives. One is the little princess you saw before death and the other is another princess that he married fifteen years after your death. This other princess was from Abaria, or Ambria, whichever it is, and she¡¯s the progenitor of all the current kings of Eteria. You know the Baselius? He¡¯s descended from her, albeit remotely. Now this Torean princess of yours, she is the ancestor of the second mainline of the royal family who were appointed as sub-kings of some sort in Torea. Well, one of Nandeska¡¯s son, Nayomi, decided to accompany his younger cousin, King Seratius the First, on the conquest of Magiara. Now this guy¡¯s descendants married their way into the cadet branches of the Erean royal family before one of them, Uwemur, decided to become an adventurer and set south past the Osmaniyan lands. He had three sons, the oldest of which went east to Rutinia and eventually founded the current royal family of Saporia. The middle one went south and founded the Kingdom of Parkorner near the Kingdom of Tsin, from which I¡¯ve no doubt you heard about, right?¡±

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°The current Basilissa¡¯s mother is a princess of both, no?¡± Fermboi responded. ¡°Well, she¡¯s the daughter of the King of Tsin and his Parkornerian princess wife.¡±

    ¡°Yes, okay good, you do remember some,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Uwemur¡¯s last son went west against his other brothers¡¯ wishes. This was because their father had already explored the Beduwin Peninsula and found nothing but endless sand there. He married into one of the local tribes and gave birth to the only blue-eyes-bearing people in that region, like most of the royal family Eteria usually do. This far branch of the royal family is the poorest and they¡¯re mostly confined to their village of now blue-eyed people.

    ¡°Batuta Shapak, your ancestor that decided the family must head for Basilyarhemain, was fourteen years old, two years younger than you are now, when he was exiled deep into the Beduwin Peninsula for being too lazy to inherit the position as tribal head. So your ancestor was about to die when he came across a jamal with a waterskin near an oasis. He had been walking to the oasis for some time to drink the water, but he saw a couple of travelers take a shit in the water before he arrived. He waited until they left, and with his remaining strength, sprinted to the water source even though it was just defiled. He had no other choice. Fortunately, just before he lowered his head, he remembered the waterskin and snagged it from the jamal¡¯s hind.

    ¡°As I said, he was saved by the waterskin-bearing jamal because he would have probably died from the diseases brought from the feces of the previous travelers. He had thought he was the only one in the oasis for some time but quickly realized that if a jamal was with a waterskin, a person must still be nearby. So after gulping down the water in the waterskin, he sneaked around the oasis to find the other person. He found a girl not one year younger than him resting by a palm tree with her clothes tattered and resting on a pool of blood. He went back to the jamal to get the waterskin and poured it over the girl¡¯s bruised mouth. This made the girl open her eyes and that was when Batuta Shapak turned his life around.¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°Why are you stopping there.¡±

    ¡°You sure Boya?¡± Alyana replied. ¡°Follow that woman, and I¡¯ll continue.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯ll see during this story I¡¯m telling you.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. ¡°Okay,¡± he said as he followed the woman in front of him.

    ¡°So, Batuta Shapak and the majority of the people in the Beduwin Peninsula are brown or black-eyed,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°Just like everywhere else. Blue and violet eyes are only from Eteria, specifically the royal family and their blue-eyed nomadic cousins to their north, yes?¡±

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Fermboi uttered and recalled his reading on a book about the royal family¡¯s origins. The reason most people in Seschan and the other Eterian regions found the royal family interesting was because of their blonde hair and blue eyes. Most people bore brown and black eyes and it was said that the blue eyes of the royal family came from their status as members of the nomads in the north. Their blonde hair were also due to this heritage. Eter, the legendary founder of the Royal House of Eteria, was the first of the nomadic Flavians to rule over all tribes. This was due to his taming of huge saberacats that overpowered many of his opponents. He systematically ventured south and founded the Eterian civilization along the middle of the largest river in the world. Some of his Flavian followers returned back to the northern lands when Eter laid down his spear. This signaled the widening distance between the upcoming royal family of Eteria and their Flavian brethren. Eter adopted the language of the people around the site of his capital and that would become the Eterian tongue that further distanced him from his home people who spoke an entirely different language.

    To fix this distancing, Eter had proclaimed that his male descendants would be married to the daughters of whoever was the strongest of the Flavian chiefs. Eter had granted his fellow Flavians autonomy while he focused on his newly carved kingdom because he knew that only Flavian chiefs would be able to contest him. This was because he had taught almost all of the Flavian chiefs how to tame saberacats. This practice persisted to the day Fermboi died, when no one in Eterian continent could realistically challenge the King of Eteria¡¯s armies. This meant that aside from the royal family and the Flavians to the northern fringes, no one had seen or will see a person with blue eyes or blonde hair. Fermboi had read that the royal family also acquired violet eyes after he died and inherited it from the Abarians across the northern sea. The Abarian princess that Alyana was talking about brought the violet eyes from her own family to the Kings of Eteria. Fermboi recalled that even the Abarian princess¡¯ family trait was unique among the Abarians.

    The book he read, ¡°Family History¡± by Anatio the First, went on to great lengths of how no matter the begging, Anatio the First¡¯s mother refused to let him marry one of her nieces, distant or not. Anatio the First was taken to the Abarian continent when he was twelve years old and introduced to his grandfather which, like Petera Eter, had complete control of the people in the continent. This meant that all members of House Avrea had to come to the capital of Abaria to see him be blessed by his grandfather as custom in the continent.

    Fermboi did not like it when Anatio the First went into fantastical detail of how the capital was at an enormous island inside a sea completely surrounded by land. Fermboi would not have even taken the book seriously if he did not have firsthand experience of the royalty. Anatio the First went to absolute detail of how one of the ships carrying his distant relatives had crashed before the shore and forced its passengers to walk through the neck-high water, causing every female formerly aboard to have their bodies completely exposed. Their dresses had been the traditional thin white garbs of the family and when Anatio the First saw several of them just over two dozen steps away, he became a man and was taken back into the castle to have his trousers changed. Then Anatio the First went on a whole discourse of how the pointy ears of the Abarians should truly and only be appreciated with violet eyes. Anatio the First lamented on the fact that some of the non-royal noblewomen in attendance were comparable to their servants in terms of attractiveness as they lacked the violet eyes that he possessed. Fermboi had stopped reading there as he found Anatio the First¡¯s visit to the land of Abaria too far-fetched and a young boy¡¯s ultimate dream. Sometimes acceptance has its limits.

    ¡°Well, this girl, Naruhita, had light blue eyes,¡± Alyana revealed. ¡°She was part of the village which were all related to Uwemur¡¯s youngest son, Eyzabur. Their village, aptly named Eyzaral, was attacked by one of the many tribes under the Arahbi High Chief and she was taken as one of the trophy slaves. She was growing sick as they gave little food and water to their captives, and so her captors were forced to abandon her in the oasis. Batuta and the majority of the Shapak family ate the berries of the sereshka shrub as a tradition. In fact, the only time the Shapak family has not eaten the berries was after the family arrived in Basilyarhemain. This berry is bitter-tasting and poisonous when not prepared properly but they did make for a good snack. A large waterskin and pouch of these berries were the only things Batuta carried aside from his clothes when he was banished and he finished both a day before this event. He had lost his personal waterskin in a fit of desert dreaming. But, when the water passed through the opening of the new waterskin, it brushed the saliva residue that Batuta left. This meant that when it entered Naruhita¡¯s body, the healing properties of the berries helped her a little bit.¡±

    ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be good for my cultivation?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Boya,¡± Alyana responded. ¡°But there are other plants that grow here that have the same healing qualities. You want me to continue with the story?¡± Fermboi nodded. ¡°Idiot Boya, you¡¯re gonna look like an idiot with your nodding there. Nobody is talking to you right now.¡±

    Fermboi chuckled in short, weak bursts. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t do it again. Continue with the story, this woman¡¯s camp must be a day away from the city or so,¡± Fermboi remarked as he continued his steps after the red-silk-wearing woman. ¡°Taking too long.¡±

    ¡°Impatient Boya, always wanting things done as quick as possible,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°Anyway, through the somewhat close relationship of the Arahbi and Jorahbi languages, Batuta had managed to bring Naruhita back to the village. Now, like most societies, when Naruhita was brought back to the village with marks of being defiled, the majority of the people did not want her back even though she was the village chief¡¯s oldest daughter. The village did thank Batuta for saving her and asked him to be her bride.

    ¡°Now this was a couple of weeks after they had been attacked and they had managed to get things back to the way they were, so they had some spare food and other gifts to give as Naruhita¡¯s dowry. I forgot to mention that Batuta and Naruhita stayed in the oasis for a day because Batuta had to track a wild jamal for their food supply. Like all members of your family back then, Batuta knew how to ride jamals as they were required to travel long distances for trade. What he didn¡¯t know was how to survive for himself without other people¡¯s help. Thankfully, he wasn¡¯t a brain-dead idiot like you.¡± Fermboi frowned. Alyana sighed. ¡°Batuta had created a makeshift spear from one of the palm trees surrounding the oasis. He took the leaves and wove them. He snapped the branches and bounded them. Then he took a flint and completed the weapon to set out hunting wild jamals. That my Boya, is an example of cultivation.¡±

    Fermboi was confused. ¡°You mean cultivation of knowledge or martial?¡±

    ¡°No Boya,¡± Alyana answered. ¡°It is an example of how martial cultivation is important. If he had been cultivating with martial practices, he would have been able to carry that girl without the need for wild jamals. He could have killed the domesticated jamal near them and saved time.¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°How were they supposed to get food mobile for their journey?¡±

    ¡°He could have carried a jamal or kamin, or any other animal on his back along with the girl.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and that¡¯s why weak martial cultivators such as you should always strive to be better,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°You¡¯ll never know when you need the physical strength.¡±

    ¡°Okay, you¡¯ve been badgering me about that ever since I sprang forth from my mother¡¯s womb,¡± Fermboi voice¡¯s had traces of irritation. ¡°What was the point in telling me that I¡¯m now related to the Eterian royal family. That happened over a thousand years ago, I¡¯m pretty sure I can¡¯t claim any of the kingdoms held by their branches.¡±

    ¡°Boya, you truly need to brush up on your martial cultivation knowledge,¡± Alyana declared. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna be telling you shit all the time.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°It¡¯d be easier if you just told me since time slows when I¡¯m in my spiritual domain, no? Why should I read books when I can have you read the key points directly?¡±

    Fermboi heard Alyana sigh. ¡°Because, Boya,¡± she began. ¡°It¡¯s not fun watching something completely annihilate its surroundings. Besides, I like seeing you beat up.¡± Fermboi heard a light laugh from Alyana and knew she was grinning in his spiritual domain.

    ¡°Really?¡± Fermboi said with a dejected tone. ¡°How do you not like a saberacat¡¯s utter obliteration of a large prey with their sword-like teeth?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, Boya,¡± Alyana clarified.

    ¡°Then how is it?¡± Fermboi asked in confusion and closed his eyes to think of another interpretation.

    ¡°Damn you Boya, are you half genius and idiot?¡± Alyana said with building annoyance.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Forget it, Boya,¡± Alyana commanded. ¡°What a dumb idiot.¡±

    ¡°Hey now, stop making fun¡ª¡±

    ¡°Boya, why the hell did you close your eyes!¡± Alyana yelled. ¡°Look what¡¯s gonna happen!¡±

    Fermboi opened his eyes but it was too late. ¡°How did you know she stopped moving?¡± Fermboi asked as he bumped to the red-silk-wearing woman¡¯s back and caused their fall to the ground.

    ¡°You dumb idiot!¡± Alyana yelled with a lower tone. ¡°Can you not hear when the shoes of a person stops stamping on the ground? This is why you need to be a strong cultivator!¡±

    ¡°Oh my,¡± the woman said. She had turned her body around to face Fermboi.

    ¡°How the hell did she do that?¡± Fermboi asked as the woman raised her eyebrows.

    ¡°Boya, I told you she¡¯s in the third level of Imperator Domain,¡± Alyana reminded. ¡°Your eyes are too slow for her movements.¡±

    ¡°But I thought she was hiding her true rank?¡± Fermboi questioned.

    ¡°That sea-born necklace conceals her rank and doesn¡¯t lower actual strength,¡± Alyana muttered. ¡°Interesting. You should steal that.¡±

    ¡°How the hell am I gonna steal it from her?¡± Fermboi asked with disbelief.

    Alyana clicked her tongue. ¡°Or you could just make a similar one.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Then how am I¡ª¡± Fermboi began but he stopped communicating with Alyana because he felt a hand wandering down his pants.

    ¡°Oh look,¡± the woman said as she gripped Fermboi¡¯s penis. ¡°It¡¯s bigger than Marty¡¯s!¡±

    Fermboi had a deep frown on his face. He had just emptied himself in Alyana.

    ¡°Boya, stop those thoughts,¡± Alyana warned.

    ¡°How can I ever stop thinking about the shit I do with you?¡± Fermboi asked with a playful tone.

    ¡°Holy shit, Boya,¡± Alyana said. ¡°You really a freak.¡±

    ¡°Freak?¡±

    ¡°A true freak.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who kept begging for my dick,¡± Fermboi stated, his voice filled with pride. ¡°And I¡¯m the freak?¡±

    Alyana did not reply for a while. ¡°Well, it was a natural need and I was trying to see if your body would give me powers to escape.¡±

    ¡°You know I¡¯ll remember what you did today, right?¡± Fermboi asked, his tone darkening.

    ¡°No,¡± Alyana said with a dismissing tone. ¡°I got you under my hand, so you¡¯ll overlook it.¡±

    ¡°Under your hand?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it means instead of me choking on your dick, you¡¯re the one choking on my eyes,¡± Alyana stated.

    ¡°H-Hold up,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°How is my dick comparable to your eyes?¡±

    ¡°You truly are an idiot, huh?¡± Alyana remarked.

    ¡°No seriously¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it, Boya,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Every damn day, you think about me and how I¡¯m the most perfect creature in the world and how you¡¯re going to marry me one day or some shit like it. Stop, Boya. Just stop. Think about that again when you¡¯ve reached the August Domain.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re August Domain, right?¡± Fermboi asked after some silence. ¡°You never told me your true rank.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Alyana sounded. ¡°As if.¡±

    ¡°Then what rank are you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll believe it.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll believe it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I just said, Boya,¡± Alyana said with a sigh. ¡°You truly are an idiot. I read your mind. I know you believe every word I say.¡±

    ¡°Of course I do, you¡¯re the most¡ª¡±

    ¡°There you are again,¡± Alyana interrupted. ¡°Boya, this woman in front of you wants your dick, why won¡¯t you divert your sexual thoughts on her?¡±

    ¡°How could I?¡± Fermboi asked in a confident tone. ¡°When she doesn¡¯t even reach a comparable distance towards you?¡±

    ¡°Boya, just shut up and entertain this woman so you can get some bonuses,¡± Alyana commanded.

    ¡°Uh, Big Sister,¡± Fermboi began. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The woman had started undressing her red silk dress. She tapped Fermboi¡¯s chest and lowered him to the carpeted marble ground, it was another carpet made from saberacat hide. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a good idea,¡± Fermboi stated, knowing it would have no effect.

    ¡°Shh,¡± the woman said as she positioned her mouth over. ¡°Let me take care of your gift here.¡±

    Fermboi heard Alyana cough. ¡°Does it remind you of your actual elder sister?¡± she asked in a curious tone.

    Fermboi frowned. ¡°If you can read my mind, why even ask such questions?¡± he asked in a dejected tone.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I like seeing the results,¡± Alyana said. ¡°Remember when I tricked you literally moments after you were born?¡±

    ¡°And reminded me of how I used to rape and shit?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Alyana said. ¡°You¡¯ll do it soon enough too.¡±

    ¡°How do you figure?¡±

    ¡°Well, this woman is raping you right now,¡± Alyana remarked. ¡°Natural reaction would be is if you do the same to some poor girl.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll do it again with such malicious intent,¡± he said after a while. ¡°Maybe when I¡¯m angry at them for some reason.¡±

    ¡°Like against this woman?¡±

    ¡°You dare me to attack a person in the third level of Imperator Dominion?¡± Fermboi asked, surprised.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Alyana said. ¡°She¡¯s letting you fuck her, so I¡¯m assuming she¡¯s going to let you be rougher.¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Fermbo uttered. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how it works.¡±

    ¡°How what works?¡±

    ¡°Raping being a rougher form of regular sex.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Alyana said with a carefree voice. ¡°You misunderstand. I¡¯m saying rape is another form of sex, just rougher.¡±

    ¡°What,¡± was all Fermboi could respond with.

    ¡°If her juices are leaking, that means she likes it, no?¡± Alyana asked in a singsong tone.

    ¡°Oh no,¡± Fermboi realized. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re arguing semantics with me while I get violated?¡±

    ¡°Who says you¡¯re getting violated?¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    ¡°How can a woman obviously richer and more powerful than you, violate you?¡±

    ¡°What the hell, that¡¯s what violate means, to take advantage of you because of their own advantage.¡±

    ¡°No, violate means that¡ª¡±

    ¡°Stop Alyana, you¡¯re making me have a headache here,¡± Fermboi¡¯s voice imitated the sickly.

    ¡°Want to fuck to cure it?¡±

    ¡°While she fucks me?¡± Fermboi asked in cheered up tone.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been wanting it since I left the reading room,¡± Alyana said in a disappointed voice. ¡°You¡¯re wanting for it to last for eternity.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about our current situation, right?¡±

    ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°How can I not with such a beauti¡ª¡±

    ¡°You treat me like an object.¡±

    ¡°You are a spirit, a tool.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a tool?¡±

    ¡°How am I tool?¡±

    ¡°Your mother is sending you to this test so you can help with the business.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more of being a tool than being to force fuck your captor because you got nothing else to do inside his spiritual domain,¡± Alyana said with an angry voice. Fermboi would have shuddered before if he were not used to it.

    ¡°Are you angry, my dear love?¡± Fermboi asked in a happier voice. ¡°You need a little cooling off?¡±

    ¡°I invited you moments ago,¡± Alyana stated.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to come though,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°This woman is interesting.¡±

    ¡°I know, I pointed it out to you.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean she sucks better dick than you,¡± Fermboi said. He then laughed. ¡°Closed mouth or left hanging?¡±

    ¡°Neither.¡±

    ¡°Then what the hell is it?¡±

    ¡°Gas,¡± Alyana said. ¡°I¡¯m just a spirit, remember?¡±

    Fermboi said. ¡°When do I hear the words I, love, and you, from you?¡±

    ¡°Never?¡±

    ¡°Why.¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t love you?¡± Alyana said with an irritated tone. ¡°I¡¯m a spirit, remember?¡±

    ¡°You always use that excuse,¡± Fermboi said in a worn out tone. ¡°It was my mistake to use it.¡±

    ¡°No it wasn¡¯t,¡± Alyana replied. ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re gonna kill me once I let you out, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m a demonic spirit.¡±

    ¡°I love you.¡±

    ¡°While you fuck that woman.¡±

    ¡°No, while I get raped by this woman.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Am I still invited?¡±

    ¡°You come whenever you like.¡±

    ¡°I want your permission though.¡±

    ¡°You have it already.¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± Fermboi shouted. ¡°Do you like diamond or gold more?¡±

    Alyana spat on air. ¡°Boya, unless you find another one of those spherical objects, and I happen to be in the mood for entertaining your shit, I am not tying myself down to you.¡±

    ¡°You like me though.¡±

    ¡°Like, not love.¡±

    ¡°But I love you.¡±

    ¡°Fuck, Boya!¡± Alyana snapped. ¡°Are you coming or not? Stop with this game.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not coming.¡±

    The woman looked up at Fermboi and removed her mouth. ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Uh, sorry, I was talking to myself,¡± Fermboi said as he made an awkward smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re a crazy boy,¡± the woman said. ¡°No one has lasted this long before.¡±

    Fermboi laughed in random intervals. ¡°Y-You¡¯re very beautiful!¡±

    ¡°You only release with the actual prize?¡± the woman asked as she stood up. Fermboi admired the way she raised herself up. It was elegant.

    ¡°I think this woman is gonna take a long time for me,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°You never revoke your offers, eh?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Alyana replied. ¡°Are you coming in here or not?¡±

    Fermboi focused on getting inside his spiritual domain. When the surge of light finished, he had his mouth agape. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Alyana said in an annoyed tone.

    ¡°You are,¡± Fermboi began, ¡°I-I smell something.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I can smell it.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Alyana repeated.

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°What is it, Boya?¡± Alyana asked with a pout. ¡°Is it the preg¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the candle¡¯s fragrance, wait what?¡± Fermboi asked in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant? How the hell?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Alyana smiled in a way Fermboi did not like. Fermboi knew she was hiding something with the smile. Fermboi could not believe she was pregnant as she was a spirit and he was a human. Fermboi knew she would ask a favor as the conversation goes on. ¡°The pregnaski flower actually grows here.¡±

    ¡°The candle¡¯s scent?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re putting on the fragrance.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s like our only human interaction.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°You liked it.¡±

    ¡°Of course I liked it.¡±

    Fermboi sprinted towards Alyana and tackled her to the ground. ¡°You love me, no?¡± Fermboi asked as he grabbed Alyana¡¯s right breast.

    ¡°No,¡± Alyana replied as she brought Fermboi¡¯s head closer to hers.

    ¡°Praise everything!¡± Fermboi shouted. ¡°You do! I can see it in your eyes.¡±

    ¡°These eyes have lied before,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°Remember?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Fermboi said in a defeated tone.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What do you want now then?¡± Fermboi asked, disappointed at her denial.

    Alyana brought Fermboi¡¯s right ear close to her lips. ¡°I want you to fuck that woman like you fuck me.¡±

    Fermboi lifted himself off Alyana and stepped back. ¡°What the hell, why?¡±

    Alyana stood up. ¡°She¡¯s powerful, you¡¯ll need her.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re only fucking me this time so that I can fuck that woman to see what happens?¡± Fermboi said with a frown.

    ¡°What else, Boya?¡± Alyana asked with a mischievous smile. ¡°You¡¯ve now realize that every fuck I give to you has some use?¡±

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Fermboi uttered. ¡°You¡¯re in my place and yet I¡¯m the one following your shit.¡±

    ¡°What choice do you have?¡± Alyana asked as she cupped Fermboi¡¯s chin. ¡°We both know nothing about this world aside from me having a bunch of extra knowledge.¡±

    Fermboi placed his right hand on her left cheek. ¡°I¡¯m being used by a succubus.¡±

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Alyana said as she ran her hand down Fermboi¡¯s crotch.

    Fermboi placed both his hand on Alyana¡¯s collar bone. ¡°I¡¯m fucking powerless here,¡± Fermboi said as he spat on the ground. ¡°Thankfully I can¡¯t die.¡±

    Alyana smirked as she bent down. ¡°Thankfully, the most beautiful creature in the world likes you.¡±

    ¡°Likes me enough that as soon as she gets the opportunity to become human, she decides to have a farewell sex.¡±

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Alyana sounded, her mouth full.

    Fermboi stood just staring at Alyana¡¯s upward-looking grey eyes. The spiritual domain sun rose and set a thousand times with just Alyana¡¯s head bobbing as the only movement in Fermboi¡¯s eyes. ¡°How many more?¡±

    ¡°A thousand more thousand sets and rises,¡± Alyana mumbled.

    ¡°I wonder how the hell my body out there is dealing with that woman,¡± Fermboi said as he looked up at the sun.

    ¡°You¡¯re fine,¡± Alyana said, communicating with their minds. ¡°She¡¯s just done one full pump.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Fermboi said with raised eyebrows. ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°I see what your body sees,¡± Alyana stated. ¡°Even right now.¡±

    The sun set for the thousandth thousand time. Fermboi muttered incoherent mumbles and grabbed Alyana¡¯s head to bring it closer to the base. They locked eyes. He ruffled her grey hair and brought several strands up near his nose to smell. ¡°Huh,¡± he said as he felt Alyana remove herself and begin to stand up. ¡°Who is in control of my body though?¡±

    Alyana kissed the left side of Fermboi¡¯s neck. ¡°As far as I know, that body is currently brain-dead,¡± Alyana said as she bit on Fermboi¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s weird, I thought nothing worked but that sphere,¡± Fermboi said as he pulled on Alyana¡¯s hair to remove her from his neck. ¡°You¡¯re doing this?¡± He stared deep into her eyes.

    Alyana batted her grey eyelashes while running her left fingers on Fermboi¡¯s lips. ¡°I like your taste,¡± she said, returning on the bleeding part of Fermboi¡¯s neck. Fermboi¡¯s hand could not stop her.

    Fermboi sighed. ¡°What do I have to do to earn your love?¡± he asked in a solemn tone. Tears had started forming on the corners of his eyes.

    The sun set another thousand times. ¡°Let me free from this place,¡± Alyana said with a wide smile. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll talk.¡± Alyana placed her right index finger on the middle of Fermboi¡¯s lips and stared at his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯ll kill me again though,¡± Fermboi said as he averted her gaze by looking to the right. He felt Alyana¡¯s left hand. He was forced to look at her grey eyes.

    A male mironga had arrived on the beach and interrupted the quietness that lasted for a thousand sunsets. Soon the females would arrive and so will the challenger males. ¡°Maybe I will,¡± Alyana said as she maintained the eye contact. ¡°Maybe I won¡¯t. I said I like you. What more could you want?¡±

    ¡°Your love!¡± Fermboi blurted out. Alyana pushed him away and he landed on the water behind.

    ¡°Fuck Boya,¡± Alyana said. ¡°I¡¯m not doing it.¡±

    ¡°With all the things I do for you?¡± Fermboi was raging as he stood up from the water.

    ¡°Like what?¡± Alyana asked with an angry face Fermboi wished he never saw. Her nose wrinkled to the point where he found her looking like the demons he dreamt of as a child. Her now sword-like tooth further emphasized the image.

    ¡°Holy shit, you truly are a demon,¡± Fermboi said under his breath.

    Alyana¡¯s eyes were enlarged and Fermboi blinked to find himself under the water. His instincts kicked in and he tried wrangling free of Alyana¡¯s chokehold. ¡°Say it again,¡± Alyana said with a seething voice. It was through their minds and Fermboi could feel the anger. ¡°Say. It. Again.¡±

    After several attempts of removing Alyana¡¯s hands on his neck, Fermboi rested the back of his head on the sand below. ¡°You¡¯re a fucking demon, spirit fuck.¡±

    Fermboi felt his body being pushed down for what seemed to be eternity as Alyana sat on top of him. Bubbles, scattered sand, and rock littered his vision as he looked at Alyana¡¯s eyes. He had seen it several times from Alyana but never to the current intensity. ¡°I love you.¡±

    Fermboi felt a punch to his left jaw that would have no doubt dislocated it from the rest of his head and flown it a couple of continents away. Fermboi felt a flurry of punches soon after and although it did not pain him, it still left tears on his eyes. He focused his mind and returned to the mortal realm.

    The speed at which the woman thrust herself at on Fermboi increased as he regained control of his body. Fermboi locked eyes with the woman as he brought his upper body halfway up. For a while nothing happened but the repeated up and down motion of the woman¡¯s squatting. The woman refused to make eye contact with Fermboi after he returned. Fermboi had his eyes looking soulless.

    The woman looked at Fermboi¡¯s eyes as her whole body shivered. Fermboi felt his pubic hairs become engrossed with more viscous fluids. ¡°Alright, alright, my niece,¡± the woman said between breaths. ¡°Vazaral, come here.¡± The woman looked over Fermboi¡¯s shoulders.

    Fermboi turned his head. A girl, around his age, with long, smooth-flowing blonde hair walked towards his location. He met her dark blue eyes. She was wearing a light blue dress that contrasted her eyes. It was not as formal as some other dresses as it had a large hood that looked to be twice the girl¡¯s head size in width. Still maintaining eye contact, Fermboi brought his eyes for a quick glimpse on the girl¡¯s chest. Both mounds were nearly the size of her aunt¡¯s and they were not held by the dress at all. The link between their eyes only broke when the girl lowered her head to the carpet along with the rest of her upper body. Her hands were above her head in terms of horizontal position against the carpet and her knees kept her hips above. The hood had covered most of her hair, the rest having flowed on top of the ground with no resistance. ¡°Aunt,¡± the girl had raised her head up to look at her aunt¡¯s eyes. Fermboi had a weak smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m an ordained minister,¡± the woman said as she lifted herself up from Fermboi, causing fluid to dot the carpet. ¡°Fatumoyira Shapak and Vazaral va Vafia, I pronounce you wedded,¡± the woman said as she made a couple of hand gestures. ¡°Vazaral, you saw how I mounted him, no?¡± the woman asked as she gestured for the girl to come closer. ¡°Actually, if young Fatumoyira would kindly stand up here, it¡¯d be easier for both of you.¡±

    Fermboi did not question how the woman knew his own name. He guessed it was due to his father only leaving one heir in the world. He started to stand up. ¡°Fuck,¡± he uttered after fully standing up. His back had hurt from his previous position.

    ¡°Now, now,¡± the aunt of Vazaral said as she wrapped Fermboi¡¯s waist with her right arm. Vazaral was at the left of her aunt, enveloped by her aunt¡¯s left arm. ¡°That¡¯s not how you introduce yourself to the young princess here.¡± Vazaral, and Fermboi were led by her aunt to a large wooden bed decorated with red silk all over. ¡°You guys can use my bed,¡± Vazaral¡¯s aunt said as she nudged the two onto the left side of the bed.

    Vazaral turned to the right to look at Fermboi. He was not there as he had moved behind her. Fermboi pushed Vazaral down on the bed and he was not surprised when she did not complain. Her chest faced towards the soft down of the bed while her legs remained connected to the carpet. Her hips were leveled with the surface of the bed¡¯s height from the floor. He placed his fingers on her shoulders and lowered the dress halfway down to her elbow. Vazaral made her arms closer to her torso. Fermboi continued to pull down until Vazaral¡¯s behind was exposed. Most of the dress lingered just above Vazaral¡¯s knees. Fermboi saw it was already moist and the smell had reached his nose. Fermboi grabbed each of Vazaral¡¯s ass mounds. He slowed his entrance for a moment before adding fresh dye to the bed. Fermboi moved his hands upwards to Vazaral¡¯s armpits and established a strong grip.

    Fermboi turned his head to the right and looked at the girl¡¯s aunt. The woman met his eyes and moved closer. ¡°You want me behind you?¡± the woman asked as she wrapped her arms around Fermboi from behind. ¡°It¡¯ll slow your thrusting and I want my niece to have an amazing first time.¡± The woman kissed Fermboi on the lips. When she pulled away, Fermboi turned his head back to Vazaral¡¯s hind. Vazaral had turned her head to look behind. Fermboi saw a peeved face. Fermboi stopped thrusting and brought his chest down on Vazaral¡¯s back. He then flipped her over. Her hands reached for his head. Vazaral¡¯s dark blue eyes yearned and closed. Fermboi brought his lips to Vazaral¡¯s and closed his eyes.

 Chapter Four

    Chapter Four

    Excitare

    Fermboi woke up to the sounds of several roosters cawing. He was about to sit up when he felt a heavy mass on his chest. ¡°So it happened,¡± he muttered as put his right hand on Vazaral¡¯s slim left arm. He pushed it to the left with little force. He did not want her to wake up. He raised the fluffy red blanket.

    ¡°That was amazing,¡± he heard Vazaral mutter. He looked at her face. Her eyes were not open but her mouth displayed untainted white teeth. Dimples appeared on both ends of her smile.

    Fermboi winced. ¡°Damn it,¡± he said in a low voice.

    ¡°I think my aunt left,¡± Vazaral said. ¡°You want to do it again?¡± Vazaral had opened her eyes to look at Fermboi. Books that described sea life often talked about the color of the ocean and how it looked like wine but with stronger tinge. Fermboi had drank some wine before and they were not the dark blue that Vazaral possessed.

    Fermboi sighed and closed his eyes. ¡°Why not.¡±

    A bell toll was heard and it was the signal for the people to start doing their routine.

    Fermboi unhinged himself after sputtering and grabbed his clothes on the dresser to the right of the bed. It was prepared, by the aunt of girl he had finished with. ¡°You have a lot of stamina for a first-timer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been cultivating,¡± Vazaral said as she stood up. Fermboi looked to the her left and saw that there was another dresser. Fermboi wondered how the older woman could afford two dressers aside from the exotic bed he rested upon. And the saberacat carpet, and the rest of the room¡¯s objects.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°What rank are you then, you took nearly as long as your¡ª¡±

    ¡°I just entered Capitenus Dominion the other day,¡± Vazaral said, cutting Fermboi off. Fermboi watched her put her dress on. He did the same when she was fixing the shoulder straps of the dress. ¡°You want to come over to my house?¡± Vazaral asked as she finished dressing. ¡°I don¡¯t like this clothing. Aunt Azisa made me scramble my dresser for the best clothes. This is supposed to be my wedding dress a few years from now,¡± Vazaral stated while looking down on her clothes. She looked up at Fermboi. ¡°I mean I guess it was my wedding dress last night.¡±

    Fermboi averted her gaze. ¡°Why would I come to your house?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll change my clothes,¡± Vazaral said.

    ¡°And?¡± Fermboi asked, not knowing the significance.

    ¡°I¡¯m following you afterwards,¡± Vazaral declared. ¡°With cultivating and stuff.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Fermboi asked but he already knew the answer.

    Vazaral put on a frail smile. ¡°You¡¯re my husband now,¡± she proclaimed. ¡°It is my duty.¡±

    Fermboi put his right hand on his forehead and sighed. ¡°Okay.¡±

    While they walked away from the tent of Vazaral¡¯s aunt, Fermboi felt the gaze of several males on him. Old and young. After Amaru Shapak had died sixteen years ago, no one knew much about what Fatumoyira and Sara Shapak did. Fermboi had gone unmolested in the streets of Bayla for sixteen years, and he did not like the gaze of the boys similar to his age. He wished for the worry-free life he had planned earlier.

    Vazaral grabbed Fermboi¡¯s right hand with her left. ¡°Let them eat envy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure why you aren¡¯t opposed to your situation right now,¡± Fermboi said in a low voice that carried a confused tone. He turned his head to the right.

    ¡°Aunt Azisa knows what¡¯s best for me,¡± Vazaral stated as she continued looking ahead them. ¡°If this is what she wills, I will follow it.¡±

    ¡°Why do you follow her so willingly?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s what my mother should have been,¡± Vazaral said as she lightened her grip on Fermboi¡¯s hand.

    Fermboi turned his head to face the cobblestone road. He watched as several varying sizes of rocks were kicked forward by their shoes.

    ¡°Hey, watch yourself,¡± Vazaral cautioned. ¡°Or else you¡¯re gonna fall again. Except this time it won¡¯t be a tent flap, but pure marble.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. Vazaral broke the hand-holding to touch the marble door in front of her. She used both of her hands¡¯ fingertips to move the door to the left. Vazaral¡¯s exhales became quicker and shorter bursts.

    ¡°That¡¯s why there¡¯s no guards,¡± Fermboi remarked.

    ¡°No one else but me also lives here,¡± Vazaral said as she stepped in.

    Fermboi considered following but sat down on the marbled outdoor stairs instead.

    Fermboi had been watching a situation develop between an old man dressed in lavish clothes and a younger woman with just a brown bed sheet over her front body when he felt a tap on his left shoulder. Fermboi turned his head to find Vazaral sitting down beside him in a different set of clothes.

    ¡°That¡¯s Count Asatius and his concubine here,¡± Vazaral said as she looked at the direction Fermboi had been gazing at. ¡°Happens every week. Come on now, you¡¯re practicing cultivation, right? Let me see.¡±

    Fermboi eyes met with Vazaral¡¯s. He took in the outfit she had changed into. It was a total opposite of what he expected. He expected her to lessen the voluptuous clothes from yesterday that displayed all the right curves. He did not expect her to hide them entirely with what seemed to be a medeve fur coat. It had a large hood that hid her long blonde hair. The only clue she was blonde at all would be her eyebrows.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Fermboi said.

    ¡°What?¡± Vazaral asked, parting her frontal bangs. ¡°I saw you smile, that¡¯s why I¡¯m wearing this.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s beautiful on you, but you look suspicious as hell.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the point,¡± Vazaral stated. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s my normal attire.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°Really,¡± Vazaral said. ¡°Aunt Azisa told me it¡¯s okay to have a hood on the wedding dress. That¡¯s why it was there.¡±

    Fermboi spat air. ¡°Let me guess, she¡¯s raised you as her shadow,¡± Fermboi stated.

    ¡°Mhm,¡± Vazaral replied. ¡°She hasn¡¯t got a son or daughter yet, so she took it upon herself to take me.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°Oh yeah, by the way, where do you come from? I¡¯ve never heard of your name before and you girls look a little bit different than the rest of us Eterians.¡±

    ¡°Somewhere far away,¡± Vazaral stated, averting Fermboi¡¯s gaze. ¡°Come on up, show me how you cultivate already.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. ¡°Okay, where do you want to go?¡±

    ¡°Wherever you cultivate,¡± Vazaral replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a puny Rang Twelve to your Capitenus ceiling,¡± Fermboi declared. ¡°Do you really want to see how such weak creatures like me try to get stronger?¡±

    Vazaral nodded.

    ¡°Okay, just in case you don¡¯t understand, I¡¯ll repeat it again,¡± Fermboi stated. ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me during the actual test.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me during the actual test.¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°Even though I¡¯m your husband and you¡¯re probably stronger than most people there, don¡¯t interrupt my battles.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it.¡±

    ¡°Uhuh.¡±

    ¡°I might lose, don¡¯t intervene.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Do you got it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I do.¡±

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll start gathering herbs now.¡±

    ¡°Herbs?¡± Vazaral asked in a curious tone. ¡°What do you need them for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to learn how to make some energy-giving stuff,¡± Fermboi replied. He focused his mind. ¡°Alyana, do you know how to make the pills you talked about?¡± Silence. Fermboi cursed himself. ¡°Damn it.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Vazaral asked.

    Fermboi laughed as he scratched the back of his head with his right hand. ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°I swear I thought you were concerned about something.¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m not,¡± Fermboi replied. ¡°Damn woman.¡±

    ¡°Are you cursing me?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Vazaral did not say more and Fermboi took that as a sign to show her what she wanted. Fermboi tilted his chin up. The sun was halfway into its peak. Fermboi looked to the west and had Vazaral follow.

    Their journey was silent aside from the calls of the wind and the replies of the grass. They walked on a dirt road that was, for every other step, spotted with gravel.

    ¡°Hey there young man,¡± an old voice croaked. Fermboi raised his eyebrows. An identical situation happened before. A day before.

    ¡°Oh no,¡± Fermboi said turning around to look at the source of the old voice.

    Vazaral sniffed her nose. ¡°What, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Ten silvers say that this man can¡¯t be detected.¡±

    ¡°In terms of martial power?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I can detect him just fine, he¡¯s Rang One.¡±

    Fermboi sighed and walked towards the old man sitting behind a table that had an arching sign above. It was a half-colored banana. Vazaral followed behind him. ¡°What is it grandfather?¡±

    ¡°Do you know where you are?¡± the old man asked.

    ¡°The Forest of Alom?¡± Fermboi replied as he looked at the old man¡¯s merchandise. A large bushel of shells caught his curiosity. He had never seen such things before but he knew what they were. The shells of some sea creatures.

    ¡°Ah, young man,¡± the old man said with a rising tone. ¡°Those are the shells of clams. Clams from Likibriya in Atra Okainus. Much better than the closer ones in Elra Okainus.¡±

    Fermboi nodded. ¡°And what is it about us knowing where we are?¡±

    ¡°Oh young man,¡± the old man. ¡°I just wanted to remind you where you¡¯re entering.¡±

    Fermboi opened his lips before raising his eyebrows. Then he closed his lips. A breeze blew by, brimmed by brazenness. ¡°Is awf¡¯ly cold ¡®ere,¡± he said.

    The old man raised his white eyebrows before grinning. ¡°I got just the right stuff to combat it,¡± the old man said, moving his arms in-between the bushels of fruits, vegetables, and other food types laid out on top of the table surface in front of him. After a while, his hands came upon a green, oval-like food that looked like it had scales for skin. ¡°Here.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what fruit is that?¡± Vazaral said.

    Fermboi had extended his hand forward. ¡°Is this the churmoya fruit?¡± Fermboi took the fruit from the old man with his left hand and raised it near his face.

    ¡°Churmoya?¡± Vazaral repeated.

    ¡°A young lady,¡± the old man said. ¡°This fruit is ancient and comes from far away, a land long lost, lying lowest like lorn litter along the bed of the river.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Vazaral asked.

    Fermboi had his eyes focusing on the fruit. ¡°How much for the bushel, grandpa?¡±

    ¡°One gold coin, my son,¡± the old man said.

    Fermboi took his gaze off the fruit. ¡°Done.¡± Fermboi put his right hand in his right pocket. There was nothing there. He put it on his other pocket. Nothing there either. ¡°Vaz, you got a gold coin?¡± Fermboi asked, turning around to face Vazaral. Vazaral¡¯s face had grown angry: her eyebrows were touching and her lips were straight. ¡°Welp, there¡¯s always a first time.¡± Fermboi sighed. ¡°Not like it¡¯s the first time in a day.¡± Fermboi shook his head. ¡°Still can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t see this bushel earlier.¡±

    ¡°Not like it¡¯s the first time in a day?¡± Vazaral asked with raised eyebrows.

    ¡°You heard that?¡± Fermboi asked, moving his head backward and raising it a little bit higher.

    Vazaral sighed. ¡°What is this exotic fruit that costs a gold coin for a bushel,¡± she said in an irritated tone. ¡°You can buy a man for a gold coin.¡± Fermboi opened his lips for a moment before closing and straightening them. Vazaral waited for him to speak, but Fermboi refused. ¡°I¡¯ve got only one.¡±

    Fermboi¡¯s lips curved upwards. ¡°Thanks, wife.¡±

    Vazaral nodded as she rummaged through the inside of her silken dress. ¡°Here,¡± she said, flinging the golden coin towards the old man.

    ¡°How come it didn¡¯t make a ring?¡± Fermboi asked as the coin landed on the old man¡¯s hands.

    ¡°I just pushed it instead of flicking it,¡± Vazaral said. The old man had taken the bushel and brought it near Vazaral. ¡°Are you going to hold your stuff or does it have to be me?¡±

    Fermboi opened his lips. ¡°Thank you, young lady and young man,¡± the old man said. Fermboi turned to look at him. ¡°Pleasure doing business with you.¡±

    Fermboi sighed and turned to look at Vazaral. ¡°Thank you,¡± Vazaral said, bowing her head.

    Fermboi bowed. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    While Fermboi was about to lift his head, Vazaral tugged on his arm. ¡°Come on now,¡± she whispered. ¡°I want to hurt that old man for ripping us off. A gold coin for fruits, are you insane?¡± Fermboi grinned at the old man as he was dragged away by Vazaral. The old man waved with his right hand. ¡°Can¡¯t believe I even agreed to give you my coin.¡±

    ¡°So why did you then,¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to lose face,¡± Vazaral replied as Fermboi¡¯s soles hit the rocky road. ¡°That¡¯s why.¡±

    ¡°Face, oh face,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°I still don¡¯t know why you guys care about such lace.¡±

    ¡°You know laces are plants and that you have to say poison after it, right?¡± Vazaral said.

    ¡°Whatever,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°Wait, I thought you were one of them silent girls.¡± Vazaral opened her lips for a moment before closing them. ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    Vazaral stopped dragging Fermboi when they were out of the usual entrance to the Forest of Alom. ¡°You know, I thought the entrance would have more people but I guess everyone¡¯s in the forest, judging from the tracks.¡±

    ¡°Tracks?¡± Fermboi asked.

    Vazaral pointed with her right index finger at the horizon. ¡°You see that?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Fermboi moved his head forward.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go,¡± Vazaral said, sprinting.

    ¡°I got a bushel with me, wait!¡± Fermboi said.

    Hundreds of people surrounded two people.

    ¡°Who do you think is gonna win, the brute or the shining knight?¡±

    ¡°The shining knight,¡± Vazaral said.

    ¡°Me too,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡± Fermboi saw a man with drips of sweat all over his face as the duel went on, and he was not one of the two fighters. ¡°Bayaz!¡± The sweating man looked up and met eyes with Fermboi for a moment before breaking contact. Fermboi sighed. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just see what happens then.¡±

    ¡°Why did you say that word?¡± Vazaral asked. The duel was intensifying: the larger man who bore no armor began to increase the speed of his sword thrusts.

    ¡°What word?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°Ba-Bayaz?¡±

    Fermboi chuckled. ¡°Oh, I read it in a book once,¡± he stated. ¡°There¡¯s this barbaric man from the north with nine fingers and he visits the capital of a civilized nation in the company of a wizard. Actually, you know, now that I think about it, the Bloody¨C¡±

    A dash of light on the top right of Fermboi¡¯s vision erased his concentration.

    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Vazaral asked.

    ¡°You saw it too?¡± Fermboi put his right hand over his eyebrows to locate the source of the light.

    ¡°Came from the slopes of the mountain over there,¡± Vazaral said. ¡°I thought it was an arrowhead gleaming.¡±

    ¡°This place is so sketchy,¡± Fermboi muttered. ¡°Next thing you know that was probably some warning sign or signal for someone. Wait.¡± The man who was sweating before had disappeared. The larger of the two fighters, the brute wearing nothing but his brown shorts, began to crack at his armor-plated opponent. ¡°Oh shit, our knight¡¯s going to lose.¡±

    The brute¡¯s sword clashed against the silver armor to the frequency of minimal retaliation. The man inside the silver armor could only parry some of the brute¡¯s attacks and his armor soon began to dent.

    ¡°Swords don¡¯t pierce armor though,¡± Vazaral stated. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Oh, and how do you know this?¡± Fermboi questioned.

    ¡°I know how to use the sword.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°Want to prove it to me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to get hurt.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a girl.¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t get hurt by a girl.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you wanna fight?¡±

    ¡°Okay, but I warned you.¡±

    ¡°Good, now we¡¯ll just wait for these two fools.¡±

    Vazaral looked at Fermboi, her eyebrows touching each other. ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m not going on that stage.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°I think that¡¯s the whole purpose of that white marble in the middle of cobblestone everywhere. To fight and show who¡¯s better.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but I¡¯m not even that good of a swordsman,¡± Vazaral revealed.

    Fermboi shook his head. ¡°Oh come on now Vazaral, you¡¯re just trying to back out now.¡±

    Vazaral sighed. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s wait for them,¡± she said. ¡°But I¡¯m telling you, even though I¡¯m not that good of a swordsman, I still have my martial cultivation helping me.¡±

    Fermboi closed his eyes. ¡°True,¡± he muttered. ¡°I forgot about that. You¡¯re not going to kill me, are you?¡±

    Vazaral frowned. ¡°Why would I do that?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯ll beat you.¡±

    ¡°Right, as if a Rang One could beat me,¡± Vazaral stated. ¡°An inexperienced swordsman too. I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s the point of us dueling, just so you could prove armor can be pierced by swords?¡±

    ¡°This is why you gotta read books, Vaz,¡± Fermboi stated. ¡°Wait, how do you know I do swords, I thought you said you didn¡¯t believe me?¡±

    Vazaral rolled her eyes. ¡°I was just kidding, I know you¡¯ve never touched a sword before and just want to make a scene.¡± Fermboi smirked. ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve actually wielded one before?¡±

    Fermboi shook his head. ¡°No, but I will.¡±

    The brute and the knight would have fought day and night if not for a large lone stone that stood high above a hill nearby. It had made a thunderous impact on the ground and caused for everyone to shift their view.

    ¡°Well, that rock was bound to fall anyway,¡± Vazaral stated.

    Fermboi turned to his right. ¡°And what makes you say that?¡±

    ¡°I saw it threatening to fall just as we arrived,¡± Vazaral said. ¡°Was worried it¡¯d roll towards us and I¡¯d have to display my martial ability.¡±

    Fermboi shook his head and grinned. ¡°Right, as if you¡¯d somehow stop the rock.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I could,¡± Vazaral said. ¡°If you call splitting it into two stopping it.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡± Fermboi muttered in a disbelieving way, but he knew it was possible. Alyana had hinted it.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a large rock,¡± Vazaral stated. ¡°It¡¯d be easy.¡±

    Fermboi sighed. ¡°That large rock you call is easily seven men tall and wide,¡± Fermboi declared. ¡°You¡¯re not telling me you can kill fourteen stone men, let alone fourteen men.¡±

    Vazaral turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. ¡°Have you no fear of martial cultivation?¡± Vazaral asked. ¡°Have you not heard of the stories?¡±

    Fermboi had had in fact read the stories. Of how mountains could be moved from one horizon to another or how rivers could be split into two to make way for a chosen tribe. ¡°But aren¡¯t those done by those in the Imperator Domain?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°You¡¯re only in Capitenus.¡±

    Vazaral sighed before pouting. ¡°You are so clueless,¡± she grumbled. ¡°You know, if it weren¡¯t for my aunt thinking that you were a good¨C¡±

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± someone shouted from behind Fermboi and Vazaral. A clang of armor was heard. ¡°Why the hell would you push me down?¡±

    ¡°Sorry buddy, the world isn¡¯t fair,¡± a deeper voice stated, about the same distance as the previous voice. Before Fermboi and the others turned their faces toward their previous sight, most had an idea of what happened.

    ¡°Gods damn it all, I¡¯ve lost ten silvers!¡±

    ¡°Ten silvers isn¡¯t even enough for an erethadawn, stop whining!¡±

    ¡°Alright, you two, get the hell off the stage and let others fight.¡±

    The crowd began to shout among themselves as the two previous duelers left the arena.

    The knight, still clad in his armor, headed Fermboi¡¯s way. ¡°I thought I was prophesied,¡± the knight muttered. ¡°Prophesied.¡± Just as the knight went past Fermboi, a strong tap on Fermboi¡¯s left shoulder interrupted what would be Fermboi¡¯s remark on the knight¡¯s prophesied fate.

    ¡°You there,¡± a deep voice said. Fermboi did not want to turn to his left, he knew who it was. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re good in fighting. Me and the second best fighter in this whole place had just spent finished, how about you be the third best fighter?¡±

    ¡°Spent finished,¡± Vazaral mumbled. ¡°What kind of speech is that, and he really thinks my husband is a good swordsman. Am I blind?¡±

    Fermboi was sure that his hearing exceeded everyone else¡¯s as it was needed in order to communicate with Alyana in his spiritual domain. She would often murmur and say unintelligible words when she was not bantering with him. So it was no surprise that the brute did not narrow his eyes like Fermboi did.  ¡°Uh,¡± Fermboi sounded.

    ¡°Why you narrowing your eyes for?¡± the brute asked. ¡°Come on man, I know my skill-checking ability. It¡¯s why I even bothered dueling with that hero kid. He¡¯s somehow better than me.¡± Fermboi looked at the brute. Then at Vazaral. ¡°This boy¡¯s gonna be your opponent? What are you, trying to impress me with combat against weaklings?¡± Fermboi smirked. Vazaral had her eyebrows touching. ¡°He looks pretty with them blue dyes and that¡¯s what¡¯s going to earn you them sighs, fighting a fighter with looks.¡±

    Now that the brute had mentioned it, Fermboi agreed that Vazaral had looked like a boy. ¡°The fuck, I called her beautiful earlier,¡± Fermboi whispered. ¡°Does this mean I¡¯m attracted to boys? The fuck?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you a good time, barbarian boy,¡± Vazaral said. It was in a deeper voice than usual.

    ¡°What the fuck, I just realized she has a deep voice too,¡± Fermboi whispered to himself again. ¡°What the fuck?¡±

    The brute laughed. ¡°Okay, okay,¡± the brute said. ¡°You guys got my vote and since I was the winner, I override everyone else¡¯s. You guys are going on the stage.¡± The brute then raised his right arm up, on his hand was the sword he used earlier. ¡°Everyone listen up. This young man, named¡­¡±

    ¡°Kasovos.¡±

    Vazaral looked at Fermboi with a disapproving face.

    ¡°Kasovos,¡± the brute repeated. ¡°Will fight this young boy named¡­¡±

    ¡°Zilodas.¡±

    ¡°Zilodas,¡± the brute paused for a moment. ¡°So everyone get the hell off the arena and let these two fight.¡±

    ¡°What the hell is he kidding, he¡¯s the same age as those two and the knight earlier.¡±

    ¡°This kid, speaking with such an authority.¡±

    ¡°His father¡¯s probably in the army and he¡¯s just here for the shits and giggles.¡±

    ¡°Damn kids these days.¡±

    ¡°Uh, both those kids don¡¯t have swords, is someone gonna lend them theirs?¡±

    ¡°Wait, how come the brute hasn¡¯t seen that?¡±

    Fermboi looked at Vazaral and shrugged.

    Fermboi and Vazaral went on opposite sides of the square arena. ¡°Alright now,¡± the brute began. ¡°The battle, wait, you guys don¡¯t have swords, what the hell.¡±

    ¡°Give them swords!¡± someone shouted and Fermboi followed the rest of the heads to the left, where the mountains blocked off the sun.

    Two, tall, trepid armored men walked up to the stage and handed Fermboi and Vazaral swords. ¡°Those guys looked scared as fuck, and who the hell is that old man?¡± Fermboi muttered.

    ¡°Commence!¡± the announcer of the arena shouted.

    Fermboi had the same sword as Vazaral: a long double-edged steel blade with etchings of animal-like symbols. Vazaral had hers gripped by two hands while Fermboi used only his right hand.

    ¡°The fuck is that kid doing with the broadsword, does he think he can wield it properly with one hand?¡±

    ¡°The other boy has good form, give me ten silvers for that kid.¡±

    ¡°Kasovos and Zilodas, are these kids named after the legendary warrior canalis of Eteria?¡±

    Fermboi moved his head back a little bit when he heard someone mutter about the reference he and Vazaral had concocted. Then he smirked and lunged.

    ¡°Holy shit, that kid¡¯s blazingly fast!¡±

    ¡°He can carry a broadsword that heavy with one hand?¡±

    ¡°The swords of the duke can be wielded with only one hand?¡±

    ¡°What in the name of the gods?¡±

    Vazaral widened her eyes as Fermboi sprinted at her. She tightened her knees and lowered her sword near her torso.

    Fermboi¡¯s smirk grew even wider as he neared Vazaral and just as the swords were near each other¡¯s reach, Fermboi ducked.

    ¡°Holy shit, that boy was faking a defensive stance and the other boy knew it!¡±

    ¡°Shut up, it wasn¡¯t that fast, this shit is too slow.¡±

    ¡°Look, he¡¯s gonna counterattack!¡±

    Fermboi brought his sword upwards but it only met Vazaral¡¯s sword instead. ¡°She¡¯s fast,¡± Fermboi whispered. He tried to look at her now-hidden eyes but only found a somewhat opened mouth underneath her hood. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m faster.¡± Vazaral had already began her counterattack but Fermboi moved to the right and dodged it.

    Fermboi hurried his back to his original position while Vazaral remained standing in the very same spot she has been for the entire duration of the duel. Fermboi raised his left index finger and gestured for Vazaral to come over to him.

    Fermboi saw her sigh before she obliged.

    ¡°Holy fuck, that boy¡¯s even faster!¡±

    ¡°Fast as shit, more like it!¡±

    ¡°The boy has it in both hands and can still move that fast?¡±

    ¡°The gods have blessed us with the fastest fight of today, that boy is over!¡±

    As Vazaral approached, Fermboi closed his eyes. ¡°When a fast enemy is approaching, it is important to remember whether or not you are faster than them,¡± Fermboi began muttering, reciting a book based on swordsmanship. ¡°If you are not faster than them, then pray, but if you know yourself that you outclass them in every way, then absolutely show them what it takes to be the best swordsman.¡±

    ¡°Is that boy stupid, he¡¯s closed his eyes!¡±

    ¡°Is he praying the other boy will give him mercy, I mean you¡¯re supposed to give mercy but at that speed, I don¡¯t think you can do it.¡±

    ¡°Did I just regain my ten silvers lost earlier, oh yes!¡±

    Fermboi slowed his breath and raised his sword in front of his heart. ¡°Ascend, slash in, again,¡± Fermboi mumbled.

    The metallic tools clashed with the greatest intensity yet, and it brought a little bit of pain in Fermboi¡¯s right forearm. He had shouted the words needed to win the duel but he did not follow through with his actions. He had just blocked Vazaral¡¯s attack.

    The steel sword Fermboi wielded made a sound of cracking. The passive wind invaded the scene.

    ¡°Alright, alright, wrap it up,¡± The announcer commanded. ¡°We can¡¯t have the duke¡¯s swords broken. That Zilodas boy wins!¡±

    The crowd murmured as Vazaral released the pressure on her sword. Fermboi smirked. The two armored men from before picked up the swords they lent.

    ¡°What are you smiling at?¡± Vazaral asked Fermboi with an irritated face.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You could¡¯ve won that.¡±

    ¡°Nah, you were too fast.¡±

    ¡°I saw you could¡¯ve gone faster there at the last moment.¡±

    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re probably dreaming.¡±

    Vazaral punched Fermboi on his right shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me,¡± she said with a growing angry voice. ¡°I know the technique you were about to pull off. If you didn¡¯t move like you did earlier I wouldn¡¯t have thought you could do it. But I know you could¡¯ve parried way better there.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking?¡± Fermboi said with an innocent voice and smile.

    Vazaral rolled her eyes. ¡°If you want to be like that, I¡¯ll be like that too.¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Fermboi shook his head. He was on his third swing to the left when a large hand stopped his head.

    ¡°Kasovos, you¡¯re one interesting man,¡± the brute stated. ¡°Zilodas, congratulations on winning.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Vazaral replied.

    Fermboi turned his head to the left. ¡°I never said I was a good fighter,¡± Fermboi replied. ¡°Did you lose a silver or two?¡±

    ¡°Nah,¡± the brute responded with an amused tone. ¡°I was actually just kidding, I knew Zilodas had it from the beginning.¡±

    Fermboi snorted before chuckling. The brute joined in while Vazaral rolled her eyes. ¡°You never told me your name, I want to know who bet against me.¡±

    The brute¡¯s chuckle became stronger. ¡°You think you can beat me?¡± the brute asked. ¡°It¡¯s Brutus. Brutus the Lank.¡±

    ¡°You used to be skinny or something?¡± Fermboi asked. The brute¡¯s added title countered his physique of bulging muscles and veins.

    ¡°Something like that,¡± Brutus replied. He smirked. ¡°That knight-kid, Milius, fell for it. He thought I was gonna be your lanky warrior opponent and he lost.¡±

    ¡°Well, you did¨C¡± Fermboi began but was interrupted by a loud wailing noise.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Brutus shouted. ¡°Come on now and get to the cave entrance! We need to push the demons back!¡±

    Vazaral looked at Fermboi. Fermboi shrugged. They followed after the running brute.

    The cave entrance was not far from the arena and it was at the base of a mountain. It did not even look like a cave entrance at all for it had a couple of buildings blocking the way. It was the town Fermboi was looking for. Degenimo.

    A crowd had begun to form, all weapons raised.

    ¡°Alright, for the newbies out here,¡± a deep voice shouted. ¡°We kill the demons as slowly as we can. These creatures also know the meaning of pain and when their brethren hear them cry, they¡¯ll retreat back into the cave¡¯s depths. Got it? Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Fermboi saw that only the men at the front were wearing armor. The rest only had their weapons and anticipatory winter clothes, some of which were either too thin or more than enough to slow down a sword¡¯s slice.

    Fermboi had lost Brutus from his sight and so he began walking the other way.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Vazaral asked.

    ¡°What?¡± Fermboi replied with a tired voice.

    ¡°You know you¡¯re more than capable enough to deal with those demons than most of these people, right?¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll probably deal with the demons as they always do¨Cwith overwhelming victory.¡±

    ¡°You know¡­¡± Vazaral began but stopped. She motioned for Fermboi to turn around.

    ¡°Hey you two!¡± the knight that lost to Brutus shouted. ¡°Come party up with me, Oportinius, Mendacius, Salus, and Formidius.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Fermboi asked.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t party up and they see you deserting, they¡¯ll put your head on a spike!¡± the knight declared. ¡°What¡¯s your names? I¡¯ve just come to know these four¡¯s about a moment ago!¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Fermboi began.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter!¡± the knight yelled as he neared Fermboi. ¡°Let¡¯s just go before we get punished!¡±

    Fermboi sighed and followed.

    As Fermboi neared the very entrance of the cave, he had begun hearing unintelligible words. ¡°Are these people speaking Magiaran or are they speaking some sort of Eterian dialect that I don¡¯t know,¡± Fermboi asked, turning his face to Vazaral.

    ¡°How should I know,¡± Vazaral replied.

    ¡°Right, you¡¯re not Alyana,¡± Fermboi muttered. ¡°I don¡¯t know, you have a weird accent too.¡±

    INSERT FIGHTING DEMON SCENE HERE.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not concerned, I¡¯m in disbelief,¡± a fat young man said. ¡°The way he annihilated that demon was unlike I¡¯ve ever seen before.¡±

    Fermboi and Vazaral were in the only inn near the Spiky Hills of Bayla. It was there in the hills where people died from abnormalities within the stomach and overexertion with the heart. Several days ago, Fermboi and Vazaral witnessed four overeager individuals enter the hill gorges and be mauled by the demons that lurked in its confines. Vazaral had noted their level of excitement was unusual and so Fermboi was forced to investigate.

    ¡°Come on now, it was just your regular death demon,¡± another compatriot of the fat young man said.

    ¡°No, the Magiars had a word for that particular demon as it plagued the legends,¡± the fat young man said. ¡°Kisert.¡±

    ¡°Come on now, Darso,¡± the person who swore earlier said. ¡°Next you¡¯re going to tell me that the Kisertet walks among us and is slowly whittling us down.¡±

    Fermboi frowned. ¡°What¡¯s kisertet?¡± he asked Vazaral.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a kisert with the et for Eteria and signaling a little bit more strength,¡± Vazaral replied. She munched on her chicken drumstick. ¡°Our ancestors have really done the Magiars good to add our prefix onto their language. And you¡¯ve already killed a kisert easily, so this one should be no big deal.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal?¡± Fermboi asked. ¡°That boy mentioned something about it walking among us humans.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s right beside them,¡± Vazaral said. ¡°You see that pretty girl over there?¡± Vazaral pointed her chin. Fermboi followed. ¡°She¡¯s the kisertet poisoning the food here. Luckily she can¡¯t outright poison the minds of people.¡±

    ¡°W-Wait,¡± Fermboi said in a concerned tone. ¡°You knew that was the demon when we entered the inn?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve known since we entered this area,¡± Vazaral stated as she took another bite on her chicken drumstick. Fermboi stood up but Vazaral pulled him down. ¡°Let them bed her, we¡¯ll see how these Milites Four handle her.¡±

    ¡°But they¡¯re from the Kardia School,¡± Fermboi protested. ¡°They¡¯re going to be wasted potential.¡±

    ¡°Let them be,¡± Vazaral said. ¡°They¡¯d have been your competition in the Kardia School. Better to remove any potential rivals now.¡±

    ¡°Did you do that?¡± Fermboi asked in a slight fearing voice. The girl in front of him was only around his age and she had already surpassed what thirty years of nonstop cultivation was supposed to produce.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m simply talented,¡± Vazaral stated. ¡°Although your cultivation has already propped up to Milites Five, it is nothing to my Capitenus Dominion that is three ranks away. Sorry, I don¡¯t know how else to phrase it.¡±

    Fermboi put his right hand over his face. It was the first time his wife had said words hinting of pride. ¡°Okay, okay,¡± he said. ¡°So what do we do then?¡±

    ¡°We go to our rooms,¡± Vazaral replied as she drank from the wooden cup.

    Fermboi paused. ¡°The demon would¡¯ve been weakened by tonight?¡±

    ¡°No, tomorrow,¡± Vazaral said, standing up. ¡°They¡¯re not even gonna scratch her.¡± Vazaral offered her right hand to Fermboi. He stood up.

    ¡°But I¡¯m tired from killing the demon just now,¡± Fermboi said in a whiny tone.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± Vazaral said. ¡°And you¡¯re going to lie in front of thousands next week.¡±

    ¡°Of course?¡± Fermboi asked with wide grin.

    INSERT MORE TIME OUTSIDE BAYLA TO TURN THIS 8.7K WORDS TO 20K WORDS, LOL.

    In the southern streets of Bayla, there were parade toll booths that blocked the way to the main event.

    ¡°Okay, so then you¡¯re absolutely sure you don¡¯t need our life insurance?¡± the toll man with crooked teeth said.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Fermboi repeated. ¡°I¡¯m winning it, wanna wager?¡±

    The crooked teeth of the toll man genuined his smile. ¡°Oho, young man,¡± the toll man said with a clicked tongue. ¡°If you win this tournament, my family will treat you to some quality straight from Tsin.¡±

    ¡°You promise, Travis?¡± Fermboi asked with a grin as he walked past the barricade and away from the toll booth.

    ¡°Yes, just don¡¯t die on me young man!¡± the toll man shouted.

    As Fermboi approached the main stage, he could see the impatience within everyone¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Fatumoyira Shapak!¡± the announcer yelled. ¡°This is the third and last call. If you don¡¯t come out now, your match will be forfeit.¡±

    Fermboi walked slowly towards the circular arena. Soon people at the front saw his advance and they made way for him. The arena circle was huge and secluded from the crowd by low chain fences. It would take at least several dozen steps to go from one side of the circle to the other.

    ¡°Is that the former tyrant¡¯s son?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s probably banged many girls, at least one.¡±

    ¡°Yes, like father and son.¡±

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s done, he¡¯s facing the third favorite of the sun.¡±

    ¡°But what can he do, he can¡¯t run.¡±

    ¡°Hey, throw him a bun, he might need it after Fidlos shoves him with fun.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I heard the young master of the Trasos family is a cun.¡±

    ¡°Cun or cunning?¡±

    ¡°Is it cunning?¡±

    ¡°Cun doesn¡¯t exist you moron, that¡¯s why you¡¯re not taking this test.¡±

    ¡°What, it¡¯s a friendly fight anyway, he can still advance with the paper test.¡±

    ¡°Give it a rest, Tes, everyone knows if you lose this friendly martial test, you also lose face.¡±

    ¡°Who cares about your foreign concepts of shame, Xijung, we¡¯re not in Tsin!¡±

    ¡°But we still expect the strong guys to surely win?¡±

    ¡°Shush, it¡¯s a sin to talk about a dueler¡¯s fate at this rate.¡±

    ¡°Well, what else can we do, he¡¯s made us all wait.¡±

    ¡°Fate is a fickle thing, remember?¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°The son of the former tyrant may win by a fluke.¡±

    ¡°Well of course he¡¯ll win, I¡¯ll even go to Malong and puke.¡±

    ¡°Tes, shut up about my sister or I¡¯ll report you to the duke.¡±

    ¡°Xijung, we don¡¯t have a duke overlooking our cities like your Tsin, we have tyrants here.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, say one more word about puking on my sister and I¡¯ll have your ear.¡±

    ¡°Doros, can we give this pal of ours a combined definition of fear?¡±

    ¡°Tes, shut up, already, the Shapak heir has already shown aflare.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right, not even both of you guys can give me a scare.¡±

    ¡°Xijung, you shut up too, the battle¡¯s about to prepare.¡±

    Fermboi drowned the mutterings as he approached. He then went into a serious stance position as he stepped on the white circular painting. His opponent was on the opposite side of the circle. An old man was right in the middle and he motioned for both to come.

    ¡°I¡¯m Fatumoyira Shapak!¡± Fermboi shouted as he approached the middle of the circle.

    Fermboi¡¯s opponent was receptive. ¡°I¡¯m Tetus Trasos, please give me your all!¡± Fermboi¡¯s opponent bowed.

    ¡°Okay,¡± the coarse, aged voice of the old man said. ¡°This is a friendly banter between all participants of the martial test. Please refrain from producing any serious injury.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡± Fermboi and Tetus shouted. They then walked backwards to their original position. The old man stepped to the right painted floor of the circle in Fermboi¡¯s vision.

    ¡°Tetus Trasis versus Fatumoyira Shapak!¡± the announcer shouted. A horn blared. ¡°Start!¡±

    Tetus ran at full speed. Fatumoyira approached the increasing closing distance by walking. Tetus was a few steps away when he gestured for a right hook on Fermboi¡¯s jaw. Fermboi ducked.

    ¡°How the hell did he duck a son of Trasos¡¯ punch?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he in Guwerior Seven, how is that possible?¡±

    ¡°Maybe Tetus wasn¡¯t at full power.¡±

    ¡°Are you stupid Doros, I¡¯ve seen Tetus use that punch against Fita.¡±

    ¡°And looks who¡¯s stronger now.¡±

    ¡°No, still that punch would¡¯ve dislocated a jaw.¡±

    ¡°Nah, that tyrant son is way better, I bet one silver coin on it.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure Xijung, you¡¯ll regret it if he loses.¡±

    ¡°Shut up Tes, you can¡¯t even fight me.¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll just take your silver.¡±

    Fermboi listened to the many different murmurs of people as he skipped backwards away from Tetus¡¯ flurry of punches. Every single one of them had missed.

    ¡°How the hell can you dodge my attacks?¡± Tetus asked, panting. He had stopped with the punches and stood a couple dozen steps away from Fermboi. ¡°You¡¯re not even Guwerior Dominion.¡±

    Fermboi did not respond and instead ran towards Tetus. He did not allow Tetus to counter. He ducked Tetus¡¯ left hook. Then he brought his left fist up the right rib of Tetus. The short black head hairs of Tetus became somewhat long as he was brought upwards before the innate force of nature brought him back down.

    Half of the crowd was silent while some had continued their endless cheering. Half of the endless cheering were for Tetus, Fermboi figured, as they stopped a moment after Tetus started clutching his right side.

    ¡°Fatumoyira Shapak wins!¡± the announcer declared, breaking the development of silence.

    ¡°Tes, give me a silver.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s gone.¡±

    ¡°Doros, what?¡±

    ¡°Tes ran away after the punch connected, he¡¯s probably at Aunt Trela¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, that betting loser!¡±

    Several running steps were heard from the crowd. No doubt the news of the third favorite of the martial test falling would spread like the fire during the driest days of summer.

    ¡°What a bummer,¡± Vazaral said in a soft tone. ¡°You could¡¯ve ended it quicker.¡±

    ¡°Nah, that was just for them to over prepare,¡± Fermboi replied as they walked towards the harbors.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ve arrived at the quay,¡± Vazaral stated as she sat on a wooden staircase near the river. She stared at the water below.

    ¡°Wait, say it again,¡± Fermboi said as he mirrored Vazaral¡¯s position.

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the quay?¡± Vazaral said with raised eyebrows. She turned towards him.

    ¡°I thought it was pronounced ku-wei,¡± Fermboi stated.

    ¡°Ka-wai?¡± Vazaral asked. ¡°That means cute in Torean, I¡¯m talking about the harbor here.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean you just said ki,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°As in the energy that the Monkey King of Tsin uses to fight against his long lost ape brother.¡±

    ¡°You mean chi?¡± Vazaral asked. ¡°I think this is one of the many differences between our dialects.¡±

    ¡°You and your aunt sometimes speak really peculiar,¡± Fermboi stated. ¡°Where do you guys actually come from that has such variation in words? I know some of the villages here in Thasos speak Eterian that¡¯s not even intelligible to those outside of them. But yours seems familiar and not that different, so it can¡¯t be that far.¡±

    Vazaral smiled. ¡°Husband, if I tell you I¡¯m a princess of some faraway land, would you believe it?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Fermboi replied in a quick, sharp tone.

    ¡°Then I¡¯m not a princess of some faraway land,¡± Vazaral stated with a wide grin.

    Fermboi was skeptical. ¡°So what are you then?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a small town girl from southeast of Bayla,¡± Vazaral stated, looking away and back to the surface of the slow-flowing river.

    ¡°Huh,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°What¡¯s its name then?¡±

    ¡°Lapirusia,¡± Vazaral said with confidence.

    ¡°The one with blue rocks?¡± Fermboi asked. He knew there was a mining city south of Bayla that produced lazurite.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s Lazuria,¡± Vazaral stated. ¡°We¡¯re further down.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not that famous or anything.¡±

    ¡°Obviously, because I haven¡¯t heard of it.¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Bayla was not one of the larger cities above the Intima River, so it took six shorter incense sticks to go from the north end and down to the harbors. Three large and thick incenses would also be comparable and one of those passed by as Fermboi and Vazaral stared at the slow-moving Gaster River.

    ¡°Hey look, the sky is green!¡± Fermboi shouted, causing Vazaral to look up.

    Vazaral frowned. ¡°I thought I saw it flash in the water.¡±

    ¡°I know, I saw it in the water too and immediately looked up,¡± Fermboi said.

    ¡°You know that¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen something like that,¡± Vazaral stated. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s a good omen?¡±

    ¡°I saw a flying ship, I think,¡± Fermboi said. ¡°It looked like a ghostly one with the green tint.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Fermboi said, staring at the horizon. ¡°Oh shit, we¡¯ve got to get back, it¡¯s probably my second match as the sun has set.¡±

    Fermboi and Vazaral removed their hanging legs from the edges of the wooden staircase. They headed back to the circular arena.

    ¡°Fatumoyira Shapak, for the love of Mara, please come out quickly!¡± the announcer said. ¡°We¡¯re giving you like seven announcements now because you¡¯ve impressed us.¡±

    Fermboi had arrived by himself near the crowd. Vazaral went somewhere higher for her viewing spot.

    The crowd parted like how the sea god of the Oveans did with the sea using his trident. Fermboi¡¯s opponent looked bored.

    ¡°Are you the boy that defeated Tetus?¡± Fermboi¡¯s opponent asked as the old official motioned for them to go in the center. ¡°He sucks.¡±

    ¡°Are you Fita?¡± Fermboi asked.

    The brown hair of Fermboi¡¯s opponent swayed left to right. ¡°I¡¯m bound to face him in the finals, I¡¯m Palinos.¡±

    ¡°Alright guys,¡± the old man between the two fighters said. ¡°As I said before for each of your previous fights, this a friendly banter.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Fermboi and Palinos said as they retreated back.

    The horn blew and anticipation on the spectators grew.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Pali the number two?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s where Budaism is from.¡±

    ¡°Shut up Xijung, even I know Budaism comes from Ancient Eteria¡¯s Katarachias Mountains.¡±

    ¡°Tes, Xijung, now¡¯s not the time to argue, let¡¯s just watch the fight.¡±

    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s right kiddos, you¡¯ve been talking for the past dozen battles about who¡¯s who, stop talking or I¡¯ll yank yer pants out of you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, elder!¡±

    Fermboi looked back and found the trio bowing to an old woman. He then looked back at Palinos. They both refused to advance.

    The crowd grew still as nothing happened between the two fighters. ¡°Fight, you fuckers!¡± a young voice shouted. The crowd chanted the word ¡°fight¡± with increasing volume.

    Palinos still refused to budge and so Fermboi sprinted. Fermboi threw a right hook at Palinos¡¯ cheek and Palinos had raised his left hand to block.

    Fermboi¡¯s right hand was stopped.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡±

    ¡°What happened to his strength?¡±

    ¡°I thought that boy was a demon genius earlier.¡±

    ¡°I swear I felt his punch before and it was much stronger than now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not even cultivating, how can you know.¡±

    ¡°Magic, Elder Teros told me how.¡±

    ¡°Your old grandfather?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    Palinos had his mouth agape. ¡°What?¡± he muttered. Fermboi threw another punch and Palinos blocked it again. ¡°You¡¯re much weaker now, what the hell happened.¡± Palinos left his stationary positioned and advanced towards Fermboi. Palinos threw a left hook on Fermboi¡¯s jaw and it connected. Fermboi fell on the ground. Palinos frowned. ¡°Holy shit, you¡¯re pretending.¡±

    Fermboi grinned before standing up to punch Palinos. The brown-haired youth did not block it and fell down on the ground. ¡°What the fuck, you¡¯re copying me now?¡±

    If Palinos did not move out of the ground in the average time it took for hares to couple, Fermboi would be declared the winner. He did not want that this time.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re pretending, but I sure as hell aren¡¯t allowing you leave without trouble,¡± Palinos said as he put his arms behind his head on the ground. Fermboi stood in front of him and the crowd waited. Fermboi raised his right feet above the groin of Palinos. The brown-haired boy widened his eyes and shifted to the right. Fermboi missed. Palinos stood up with angered eyes and cried. ¡°You dare destroy my manhood!¡±

    Fermboi blocked Palinos¡¯ punches to no avail. Fermboi¡¯s face had been battered and beaten like a chicken¡¯s egg in the mouths of a saurdus. Fermboi fell on the ground when Palinos put a great amount of force on a right hook.

    ¡°One.¡±

    ¡°Two.¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°Four.¡±

    ¡°Five.¡±

    ¡°Six.¡±

    ¡°Seven.¡±

    ¡°Eight.¡±

    ¡°Nine.¡±

    ¡°Hare fucks!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too early!¡±

    The crowd was disappointed. Fermboi stood up and lunged at Palinos with his own heavy right hook. It connected with the lower left jaw. Palinos dropped on the ground with closed eyes.

    ¡°One.¡±

    ¡°Two.¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°Four.¡±

    Palinos stood up, rubbed his left jaw and stared down Fermboi. Then, with a warcry found only in those who actually were in a war or considered them to be in, Palinos sprinted as gushes of blood poured over his teeth. Fermboi went into a defensive position and waited.

    The back-to-back fist fight went back and forth. The crowd still had their mouths agape at such a sight. The clouds had blocked the sun and completely darkened the night. Torches around the crowd were passed around. The red liquid pools on the arena were varied in dryness.

    ¡°Hey, is this supposed to go until midnight or will it spill over tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Are you a foreigner, your words sound funny.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve come to the city to trade my goods.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what do you sell.¡±

    ¡°Bushels of fine hay from Yuhas.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°So is this supposed to take place overnight?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, it is, it goes until sunrise.¡±

    ¡°So these kids are nonstop fighting?¡±

    ¡°Yes, with great intervals, it¡¯s not supposed to take this long though.¡±

    Palinos grew irritated and put his remaining strength onto a right hook. Fermboi ducked like when an arrow from his previous life penetrated his front men¡¯s shields. Then he raised his right fist to connect to Palinos¡¯ chin.

    ¡°He¡¯s knocked out.¡±

    ¡°They both looked deathly as hell, that tyrant¡¯s son is surely the one with better stamina.¡±

    ¡°Look at how long that took, I don¡¯t think even Fita can outlast that.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying, Fita is definitely stronger than Palinos, he¡¯d wreck that tyrant son a moment after the official gives the go.¡±

    ¡°I agree, I think Fita has been unscathed so far this tournament, he¡¯d already beaten five opponents without a single scratch.¡±

    ¡°Oh boy, I can¡¯t wait for that match.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the tyrant boy¡¯s second match?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he has more to go and I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll make it past the next ones even though he defeated the second favorite.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t the officials stop the fight and declared them forfeit from him?¡±

    ¡°No, although it is rare someone for someone to die during these tests, they never impose a limit.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°The martial schools say that those with perseverance will be guided.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit, I wish I can last that long to chop my wood.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s stopping you?¡±

    ¡°Blocked meridians.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Fermboi walked away from the bloodied arena as the next combatants were announced. He just had four more to go through. He headed for the harbor.

    ¡°We see things as they are, not as we want them to be,¡± Fermboi said as he and Vazaral crossed the harbor market. It was lit at the night show. ¡°Besides, even though we only got one night though, but we can do it twice though.¡±

    ¡°Is that an antidote?¡± Vazaral asked, ignoring Fermboi¡¯s hinting.

    ¡°No young mistress,¡± an old man said. ¡°¡®Tis a potion fit to empower your beauty.¡±

    EXPAND MORE, THERE¡¯S A TRANSITION WITH THE TRAVIS SCOTT- ANTIDOTE REFERENCE.

    Fermboi pondered. ¡°What if we add padded gloves on their hands?¡±

    ¡°The boxers?¡± the man asked.

    ¡°Yeah, maybe they¡¯ll last longer.¡±

    ¡°The user or the opponent?¡±

    ¡°Both.¡±

    GENERIC LINE BREAK HERE.

    *boy-knight barges on Vazaral and Fermboi in their tent outside the cave everyone is about to explore.

    ¡°Zilodas, I don¡¯t know what to say,¡± the boy-knight began. ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful and I don¡¯t know if I swing that way.¡±

    Vazaral rolled her eyes.

    Fermboi chuckled. ¡°Damn it boy-knight, lol.¡±

    The boy-knight said, ¡°What do you mean, this girl has beautiful brown eyes!¡±

    Vazaral has brown eyes like Azisa and Fermboi couldn¡¯t detect Azisa¡¯s true blue eyes as she dwarfed his senses. Only reason he can see Vazaral¡¯s is because of his exposure to Petera Eter. Well, Petera, as the old man that gave the sphere to Fermboi, allowed Fermboi a peek at Vazaral¡¯s history. Nothing will come out of this though. Fermboi will just know he¡¯s fucking royalty and that¡¯s it. It¡¯ll never be mentioned. Maybe Vazaral would become crown princess and then Fermboi can rule Vafia, but nah. Idk.

    after this duel with swords, vazaral becomes the silent tsundere, lol.

    THE ABOVE LINES HERE REFERENCE THE VAZARAL VS. FERMBOI DUEL EARLIER, OUTSIDE BAYLA.

    ¡°Look at those kids with large bellies.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re suffering from protein deficiency.¡±

    THESE TWO LINES ABOVE ARE SUPPOSED TO PROBABLY BE ANOTHER SCENE OUTSIDE BAYLA BEFORE THE MARTIAL COMPETITION.

    Eskailer. From Schuyler. From Hamilton, the play. Alexander Hamilton. Lol. Yeah, so Aventina meets Fermboi a la Angelica Schuyler meets Alexander Hamilton as described in the song ¡°Satisfied.¡± Lmao, that¡¯s my favorite song of the whole thing, I think. Been listening to it for the past two days nonstop. So Aventina¡¯s last name being Eskailer is from Skyler or Schuyler. Aventina is not named after Angelica; I forgot who Aventina was named after, I think it¡¯s an original name of mine.

    I THINK THIS IS A NOTE FOR AN AVENTINA CHAPTER, I MIXED THEM ALL UP AS I CLEANED THEM UP.

    2016-06-16 Notes:

    There are some references here, like Buddhism starting from Pali, Kid Cudi Day N Nite, The First Law Logen Ninefingers, Travis Scott Antidote, et cetera. I think those are the ones I caught right now. The whole work isn¡¯t entirely references.

    Anyway, the martial competition was supposed to be Chapter Five or whatever. I have it in my notes. But eh.

    So the martial competition is kinda like pandering with the reaction speech/dialogue. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve explicitly said this, but I put the sex scenes right at the front so that I don¡¯t have to write more later, id est if there¡¯s a sex scene, it¡¯ll probably just be a passive mention cuz I¡¯m sick and tired of not using ¡°member¡± as a synonym for the length of the penis, lmao. I actually used ¡°penis,¡± I think.

    Anyway, so Chapter One to Chapter ¡°Four¡± here were edited in three hours. I¡¯m gonna post this on RoyalRoadL for more feedback I guess. So the side characters, Monghe, Aventina, Derai, and Bolahulag, they have at most one chapter complete and I think Chapter Three and Four take place after. So I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll upload with the side POVs.

    This isn¡¯t meant to be a parody or whatever. It¡¯s kinda like a glorified shitpost but I¡¯m actually trying to write and there¡¯s some tense errors and whatnot and this ¡°chapter¡± is just approaching exactly nine thousand words. This chapter is the only one unfinished or fragmented as fuck.

    Aight, so ya, to RoyalRoadL people, let me know what you think. Updates are gonna be slow as fuck cuz I haven¡¯t touched this in months and just now am kinda inspired. Meh.

    God bless.

    <hr />

    2016-05-17: Holy, as I posted most of the chapters (all except the wild Chapter Nine which is like 10k words in Google Docs), I realized this is so incomplete. Like most RoyalRoadL/amateur novel works. Damn bruh, what a life.