章 56: The South

The moon shone dimly, the night cloud curtaining its light.

"Ha… I see," Hubert stood from his place of comfort, his bottom cold and numbed from the splashes of water.

"Aadish will be punished, I promise," Tianna said, her voice changed, once playful, now focused.

"Then do it right this time, or else, I'll see it as you giving me permission," Hubert said, his voice carried by the night wind.

That night, he found himself sleeping in the cave, forbidden by his master to travel in the guise of darkness.

Struggling, his eyelids trembled slightly as he forcefully closed his eyes. Yet, his effort ended in failure. Now, he stared upon the ceiling of the cave, ragged and unbalanced, some spiky and some part of it not.

His eyes gleamed of the moonlight that came from the curtain of water. The sound of water was like a symphony in the darkness of the cave. The torch blew out, its coal charred white.

"Tomorrow…" he muttered to himself, thinking of the possibilities he could achieve.

Raising his arm, his attention fixed at his open palm. A palm that was just like any other palm, ordinary.

But what laid inside was terrifying, incomprehensible and unknown. Something that outcasted him from the rest of them, all of them.

Emptiness, endless and abyssal, in himself, in his mana mind.

"Friend, huh?" Hubert once thought of the darkness of the void as his friend, but he knew, ultimately, that it was only something he reverted to in his desperation.

"Ha, haha," laughing, unbelieving of what he did, not only did he fool himself, but also his real and existing friends.

"Stupid…" his voice echoed against the cave's rugged terrain, aimed at himself.

Hubert looked to his left, the rows and rows of books, each in the rows of bookshelves. Only now did he realize the magnitude of knowledge that was provided for him. Even touching a book, as his old self did, was something he couldn't have dreamt of.

Now, he found himself surrounded by it.

"Yet… I don't understand myself," his voice came, tired. The books did him no good.

"Or is it my own understanding and ego that made me… Hubert,"

No one knew.

"Sleep, Hubert," Tianna's voice carried by the night wind.

"You're far away, and yet, you still see me," Hubert replied, knowing his words reached her.

"I'm all seeing, after all, at least in this place,"

"Ha, sure," Hubert responded, slightly reminded of what happened between him and Aadish.

Beaten and almost killed. A part of him thought, and his brows curled and anger returned, blazing as intense as the fire of hell in his eyes. But another part diverted his attention and reminded him of his fault.

"I don't understand," Hubert muttered to himself.

Tianna heard.

"I thought you were too tired to talk earlier. Was I wrong?" Tianna asked.

"No, you're right. I'm just bothered by what happened,"

"Is it… about Aadish?" Tianna asked, again, her voice hesitating. Seemingly, the topic was a hard one, even for her.

"Yes. I thought you could see wherever I was in this academy, but you never stopped him, even when death was at my doorstep," Hubert explained. Contrary to the meanings of his words, his tone was calm and reserved.

He knew the wrath was useless for him. At least, for now.

"..." the silence replied.

"I see… just, forget it," he said, then rolled onto his side, hiding his face that was now toward the domineering bookshelves.

"There's a reason for everything, but this is not the right time to tell you," Tianna added, it was clear there was something far deeper than her shallow words.

"Tch, what's so good about Aadish anyway?" he said, his eyes once again closed in his attempt to fall asleep.

"Do you really want to know?" Tianna asked, her playful voice returned.

"Don't play riddles with me, master. Tell if you want to, don't if you don't want to," Hubert exclaimed, fed up with the twistings of her words, his tone harsh and almost authoritative.

"Well… this is a well known fact, I'll explain it to you in a second," Tianna said, her voice then disappearing.

Screech

Drape

Hubert's eyelids were closed shut, his mind now almost half asleep, finally, the harmony of peace was within his grasp. But it seemed that Tianna had other plans. The sounds of things, screechings of wood against rock and draping of cloth echoed behind him.

Curiosity slowly infiltrated him, little by little. Then he had enough, his face was mildly red from the frustration of insomnia, and with messy hair from using the rough pile of straw as his pillow, he turned around.

"What is-" he asked, stopping his words.

Whoosh

Wind blew, the torches lit up. Lined and ordered, they stood neatly on the rocky ground, all leading and lighting to one place. A table that was flipped to its side, then draped with a cloth of white.

"Storytelling?" Hubert muttered, the sight made him reminiscent of the festivals in his village of Penfirth. Where all the boys gathered, side by side, and watched as performers performed.

Some used the village deck as a stage, actors and clowns, kings and queens, troupes and stories would be showcased there. Some used simpler methods of silhouette telling, this was one of them.

"Now, shush. Let. Me. Cook," Tianna said confidently. Then, from the corner, came a quill, floating in the air.

"Typical of your methods," Hubert remarked, seeing the incredible that wasn't as incredible as before.

The quill's stroke was clean against the white cloth. Each of the strokes were precise and accurate, calculated and intended. Lines and points were created on one half of the cloth. Until then, the map of Creopia was finished.

"Creopia…? No, this was not it," Hubert knew, an instant glance notified of the familiar borders, but a deeper and more introspective one made him realize the map was different.

"Correct!" Tianna responded playfully.

"North, west, central, east and…" Hubert stopped, hesitating.

"South. The south isn't here," Tianna finished.

"What…? How is it not there?" Hubert asked, and the lack of history lessons in his life was evident from his confusion.

"This was a map of the year 512 according to the Astian Calendar. 15 years into the reign of King Gregorius," Tianna explained.

"Gregorius…? Wait, Instructor Vinc mentioned him once before. What has this got to do with him, though?" Hubert asked.

"You'll see,"

The quill moved again, its strokes were quick and fast, unlike before. Its finish produced the same quality as before, though there was a complete difference between this map and the one before it.

"Annexation of the south. The map of the kingdom of Creopia, 522, 25 years of King Gregorius's reign," Tianna mentioned.

The map was changed. Before, the map consisted of the northern misted mountain, the western roughed mountain range, the central plain and the eastern sea. Now, an addition to it has been made, the unending desert.

"Wh-what…?" Hubert was shocked, amazed by the large amount of territory that was amassed during Gregorius's reign, but also confused of the relevance with his trouble with Aadish.

His eyes stared, blankly and confusedly at the drawings.

"Let me continue, Hubert, don't give me that look,"

"A-ah! Yes, go on," Hubert responded.

The quill moved, and in an instant, the ink that was on the cloth was sucked into the quill once again. Then she drew once again. Her ink was black, but her result wasn't. What she drew was in the shape of a round shield.

The shield was scaled and colored in brown, and etched on it was the symbol that was colored and glittered by the best of orange.

The symbol of a dragon, without legs and arms. With a mustache so long that it was the length of its own body.

"Wha-what is that?" Hubert asked.

"Shush, ask questions later! Continuing, the three previous lines of kings couldn't do, in the span of a hundred years. King Gregorius did in a mere 10 years. 10 years of brutality, bravery and honor, all left on the field of battle. It was all possible because of this, the sole reason of the King gaining the title - Conqueror,

The Knighthood Order of the Northern Wind," Tianna stated.

Hubert's mouth left slightly agape, the annals of history intriguing him.

"Their way of fighting was crude, much like the southern people. Horse archery, traps, guerilla warfare, anything that the south created. They adapted, took and improved, effectively defeating the king of the south back then,"

"The-then…?" Hubert asked.

"Then you should shut your mouth and let me finish this. Anyway, they became the sole protectorate of the region. One that maintained order of the south and prevented revolts of people. It was this sole reason that the south is still with the kingdom of Creopia,"

"What about Aadish, then?" Hubert asked, now realizing his question had been unanswered since the start.

"Shuush! Let. Me. Continue... The order was previously known by its name, northern wind; it was created to mock the Goddess of Wind, Water and Truth in the south. Now, the order had changed its name, especially after one specific event, known by all of the nobles at that time," Tianna continued.

"..." Hubert listened intently, his fist slightly clenching, excited by the sudden rush of knowledge into his brain.

"Now… it is called, the Knighthood Order of the Southern Dragon, respective of the southern culture. In its ranks, one of the most influential figures, the vice grandmaster of the order…"

"Who?! Quick, tell me!" Hubert asked, his curiosity unquenched.

"The Baron of Soondi, Varun Soondi, titled, southern lesser dragon,"