Kapitel 6: THE KINGDOM OF ATKINS

Edmund's parents had constantly been pestering him about what poisoned him but when he always had nothing to say, they stopped and decided to let the issue be even though they wanted the answers so badly. He himself had also been trying to recollect his past but all his efforts had been fruitless as he couldn't even remember a single event from his past. The worse part of was that he couldn't tell people about it because it would make him sound insane. Never had anyone of his age ever complained of slight memory loss not to talk of a total one like his, to the extent that he didn't recollect his name.

He had now spent a month and was beginning to get familiar with a lot of things. For one, he learned that his family was one of the large extended families in his community. The grand patron was the head. He was his great grandfather. He had given birth to seven children, five males, and two females. The females who had gotten married and had lived their separate lives. His grandfather Rima was his second son. He got married to Becha who birthed five children. His father was his third son while Ayan's father was the fourth. Ayan's mother had died after his birth and his father had solely brought him up. This made them grow like brothers since they were their parents' only children.

In this family of his, farming was their occupation. Each family had something they were peculiar within the kingdom. For example, some families were known to be good hunters, some were known to be textile designers, some were known for animal rearing, and some were known for their extreme swordsmanship which was the type recruited in the military. Their lineage had previously occupied several powerful positions there which made it easy for them to get in.

The military was considered the most powerful occupation. They were the second most well-paid after the traders, this made it extremely difficult for one to get in. They were two branches of the military. The first was the GUARDS and the second was the SOLDIERS. Each had different ranks and positions. The lowest rank in being a guard was to be a DISTRICT GUARD while the highest was being a GENERAL OF ROYAL GUARD. The lowest rank in being a soldier was to be AN AVERAGE SOLDIER while the highest was to be the CHIEF GENERAL.

Another thing he now knew was the means of exchange. Three currencies were being used, GOLD, SILVER, and BRONZE. A Gold equaled a hundred silver and a silver was equal to a hundred bronze.

Edmund had also learned about the various kingdoms and their territory. A kingdom was just like a subject state, it had to be under a particular dynasty. A DYNASTY is an empire that consists of several kingdoms. While an EMPIRE is a kingdom that must have gained the autonomous power to survive on its own and was free from external influence. As for Edmund, he was a citizen of the kingdom of Atkins. Atkins was one of the kingdoms under the great GIZA dynasty. Unlike other kingdoms under this dynasty, Atkins was a minor kingdom, they had been forced to surrender a few decades ago after treats upon treats of a bloody war. They were just a surviving EMPIRE when the great GIZA dynasty had shown interest in their fertile land blessed with rich resources. Atkins had a lot of gold and GIZA was aware of this. Even with that much wealth, they couldn't buy mercenaries to defend themselves as no one could dare stand against the great GIZA. They had a low population, so their soldiers wouldn't have been enough to fight such a war. Some months after surrendering, their king got appointed as a minister in the capital city and was replaced by a governor chosen by the dynasty. This was done possibly to prevent revolt. Their chief general refused to surrender and rode to take on the dynasty. Since that day, he was heard of.

GIZA was one of the few dynasties located in the southern part of EUROPE. The other three were ATHEL, ZIRI, and FEDOMIA. It was the second most powerful of the four. The first being ZIRI and the least being FEDOMIA. They were also some great Empires and an example of that was the SAHEL. They decided not to conquer smaller empires and maintained a friendly relationship with all the dynasties. Though some nations didn't love to be under dynasties, other nations saw it as a means of protection and had personally agreed to it under great dynasties.

The most relevant thing he had learned in the past month was that females became women at the age of 18 and were allowed SUITORS upon attaining such age. Every year the maidens in the kingdom were to come out to exhibit themselves. Men would come to the festival on that day and choose the one they considered for a wife. They would then go on to discuss with the lady's family and if they agree with one another, a family meeting would be held followed up by their marriage. It had been an old tradition that had been established in Atkins centuries ago and had lived on. As ridiculous as it sounded, a lot of females loved this tradition, it normally brought affluent suitors to them. And it benefited them as they considered the maiden's consent before accepting any proposal. It was against one of their laws to force a maiden into marriage.

It could be said that he has achieved a lot with the month. He had learned how to ride a horse and had now gotten used to the community river. Although his horse-riding skills weren't as good as any of his friends, it was at least far better than when he first rode his horse. In the past month, he had made it a daily routine to take his horse down to the mountains and practice. He was satisfied that his efforts paid off and had even begun to take a liking to horse riding.

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