Skymender shook his head and walked back to his room. He stayed there until he was hungry again, and left promptly.
There were clocks everywhere, and Skymender was able to easily tell the time wherever he went.
He went to bed early and woke up before he needed to leave. He spent his time getting dressed and reading before leaving his house. He walked to the Education Building, seeing others along the way. He was early, but not even close to the earliest. Around half of the people were there before him.
Skymender sat in the same seat as before. So did everyone else.
At exactly 8 AM, the Imperial Scholar entered the room. He looked around for a moment.
"Good. Nobody is missing. Let's begin. Today, you will be receiving your badges."
The Imperial Scholar picked up a box from the ground and sat it on his desk.
"Everyone come up and get theirs."
Everyone stood up and walked towards the box. Due to him being the farthest away, when he got there, there was only one badge left, his.
It had his name on it and a number below it. The number was currently two.
"All of you start out with two points. One for being alive, and the other for reaching the Imperial Scholar Camp Campus. These are the easiest points that will come to you. Unlike yesterday, you will learn something not philosophical, but more school-like. Everyone take out a notebook and a writing utensil."
Skymender reached into his bag, which had been in his dorm, and took out a notebook and a writing utensil. They were different from most papers and writing utensils he saw, the writing utensil being small and compact, while the paper was stacked on each other and connected with rings.
It was modern, very modern.
The Imperial Scholar spoke. "Everyone here speaks the same language, English, but not everyone speaks it the same. There are different accents, different dialogues, and even different words in different places. Therefore, we will study the most primitive, and also the most original form of english. It will be studied properly, as it was always intended to be."
The Imperial Scholar spoke of spelling, grammar, and even new words that most had never heard. He explained ancient myths about the origin of English.
"Some say that English dates back thousands or tens of thousands of years. Some say that English did not even originate with humanity. Stories tell of gods giving humans the ability to express themselves, being eventually called English. Other stories tell of ancient beings, making random sounds to express themselves, and over thousands of years creating language."
Many had heard bits and pieces of such stories, but the Imperial Scholar managed to make it fascinating.
He went over specifics and technicalities until the sun began to set.
Finally, he asked a question. "Why is English the only language? Assuming that others can be created, which is proven by the existence of English, why is there no other language? Some say that English is the way of the Universe itself. That it is the truest form of expression. However, I find myself more partial to believing in what some would call a fantasy. Perhaps, this is intentional. Perhaps some truly almighty being altered the thoughts of humans in order to allow just one language. There may be code languages or made up words, but there is only one language of origin, English. I want you to think about this question tonight as you lay awake. What is the most believable to you?"
With this, the Imperial Scholar ended his lecture. His words indeed made everyone think, including Skymender.
Although he had learnt an awful lot today, the last question stood out, rattling around in his brain. He even skipped dinner, not feeling hungry.
He sided with the Imperial Scholar, believing some sort of mythical almighty being could have altered the thoughts and ideas of all humans. However, was such a thing true? It was hardly even believable. There was little evidence of such a being. The most mythical things in the world were the Temple and Swordmasters.
Swordmasters were as mysterious as priests and priestesses, but above both of them was the god of the Temple, Yhwh.
Perhaps he was that almighty being, or perhaps there was someone even above him. Perhaps he had been another ordinary human at a time, his brain and thoughts long having been altered.
These were naturally things that he, a young mortal, shouldn't be thinking about, but he thought about them nonetheless. He continued further down his thoughts until he fell asleep. He still woke up on time. After all, no matter how deep in thought he was, he was not an idiot.
The next day, he returned to class. The Imperial Scholar arrived at the same time as always and spoke.
"So, what did you all think about last night?"
Nobody volunteered, so he looked around. Finally, he pointed at Skymender.
"What did you think about?"
Skymender spoke after hesitating a moment.
"I thought about the idea of altered thoughts, and eventually, I came to the conclusion that perhaps Yhwh, the god of the Temple, could be behind it, if it was true of course."
The Imperial Scholar nodded.
But Skymender continued. "Then, I thought that perhaps Yhwh had once been a mortal human like us. Maybe from birth, even his thoughts had been altered. Perhaps there is an almighty being that we cannot imagine living in the Universe."
Skymender's thoughts silenced the classroom for a moment. A few people looked at him like he was crazy. A few others simply seemed surprised.
The Imperial Scholar spoke with a smile. "Most stop thinking once they reach the point of Yhwh. However, those who think even deeper will come up with a myriad of possibilities. Just as important as intelligence and talent is imagination. Think about what others can't, imagine what others dare not, keep going until you reach the end, then go even further. Perhaps there was a being before Yhwh that changed the thoughts of everyone. Perhaps this beings parents were even stronger than him. Perhaps he is dead, perhaps he is alive. Maybe he had existed since the beginning of the Universe. Maybe he will exist until the end. Maybe a being will one day rise up and kill that being, taking his spot. Perhaps that person could be standing in this very room."
The Imperial Scholar came to a sudden stop. "Think about what others cannot."