The Banquet of Alodis was occurring in the castle during the evening. It is the biggest event of the season that takes place annually in Eden, Kallondona’s capital. Its affairs include all people of considerable wealth, rank, position, and assets. Every person from the Chief Advisor of Agricultural Affairs, yes, it’s him again, to the Spymaster of Kallondona made a point to attend the event. It was a cultural event that honored the moon goddess and patron of knowledge, Alodis.
Alodis was the beloved goddess of the country. Legend goes if you find the moon’s favor, a sliver of knowledge as big as the size of the moon phase would be given to you. She was said to bless students and seekers of wisdom and there was nothing more valued in Kallondona than the pursuit of knowledge. Alodis was portrayed in distinct shades of midnight blue, silver, and gray. It is believed that Alodis visits in the shape of a fox with a silvery coat and slanted grey eyes. It is then no wonder that the country’s emblem was foxes, and they could be found anywhere in the castle from the architectural designs to the iron framework of the king’s bed.
There is also another legend that sprung from Alodis’ image. It is said that every few millennia, Alodis’ spirit takes the form of a human. However, the human is unaware that they contain Alodis’ essence. They are completely their own person with their own character. Their features also do not betray the fact of Alodis’ presence. The endowed person is completely normal other than the fact that they are blessed with considerable knowledge and talent. It is often remarked when a scholar at the Genesis Academy has distinct academic success, that they have the mark of Alodis about them.
There was considerable risk to being discovered as the human endowed by Alodis. It was said they possessed the power to change their country’s fate for better or for worse. Being blessed by Alodis did not change the potential for a human to act selfishly and destructively. The greatest conquerors and cutthroats in the world’s history were said to be blessed by Alodis. They had the power to completely diminish their country’s power to the point of wiping them out. They formed many enemies if discovered. Enemies who were willing to kill them in an attempt to prevent them from intervening in a country's welfare.
It became an unspoken rule in most countries, Kallondona, most of all, that a suspected Alodis human was to be sent to the capital city and they were to live there observed by king and country. This prevented them from being easy assassin targets but also kept them under observation. Anyone who was talented with knowledge was often accused of being inhabited by Alodis. This is the explanation as to why most scholars and students could be found in Eden. The brightest scholars and thinkers of the time inhabited the city like flies on a pig’s corpse. They were inescapable and very, very noticeable.
Scholars and students in Eden could be spotted by commoners and citizens alike by their distinct hooded cloaks and armguards. The hooded cloaks bore a color from the eight distinct schools of knowledge: Agriculture, Apothecary, Astrology, Reform, Upholders, Workers of the Faith, Trade, and the Mystic Arts.
Students and scholars of the School of Agriculture could be found draped in tan tunics with deep umber cloaks. Their armguards, pieces of armor that protect the arms and possessed the sole purpose of identifying specialization or apprenticeship, were a deep tan to complement their tunics. Agriculture School students could also be found with all manner of weeds and vegetable sprouts hanging from their pockets. Students in the School of Apothecary wore tunics of heather green with cloaks of emerald green. Their armguards were a vibrant orchid purple. Students of the School of Astrology wore sky blue tunics with periwinkle cloaks. Their armguards were pearl white. As for the students in the School of Reform, their dress consisted of scarlet red tunics with grey cloaks and red armguards. The School of Upholders wore black tunics with navy blue cloaks and grey armguards. Workers of the Faith required their students to wear lavender tunics with white cloaks and silver armguards. Any student at the School of Trade possessed royal blue tunics, light blue cloaks, and black armguards. Last of all, students in the Mystic Arts wore white tunics, royal purple cloaks, and silver armguards.
As for the purpose behind the eight different schools, they each represented a part of Kallondona’s knowledge. Agriculture consisted of the knowledge of earth, plants, pedigree of animals, and cultivation of nature. Apothecary taught the knowledge of medicinal plants, concoctions, art of healing, and poisons. Astrology represented the knowledge of the stars, the meanings behind astral symbols, and the will of the gods. Reform showed students the interpretation of the law, civil citizenship, the art of debate and rhetoric, and the governance of the law. As for Upholders, it taught the consequences of rule breaking, the upholding of the law, protection, and civil service. Workers of the Faith taught the practices to honor the gods, rune reading, and the art of translating ancient texts. Trade consisted of negotiation, economics, barter system, languages, and the art of civility. Finally, Mystic Arts taught the practice of magic, stealth, weapons, the divine path, and the way to intercede with the gods.
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In casual conversation, the schools were referred to as Alodis’ Eight. Students after passing the combat trials from the age of eleven seasons would be sorted into their specific school. After mastery of the basics their school imparted to them, they would choose a specialization and one of the masters to apprentice with. Their specialization would be shown on the left armguard in the form of a symbol. Their apprenticeship on the other with their master’s insignia. Every student after completing their apprenticeship and specialization would have their master’s emblem removed and replaced with one of their own designs. They would be elevated to the position of master and would receive the benefits such as the ability to travel, a place on the Art of Knowledge Council, and a spot of land, although most new masters chose to continue to inhabit Eden.
Symbols for specialization in the schools of knowledge were limited. Every school has four symbols, four areas of specialization. Agriculture’s symbols consisted of a leaf (farmland), tree (earth), rose (plants), and bird (animals). Apothecary was a bottle (medicine), three stripes (healing), spiral (experimentation), and bone (poison). Astrology was star (study of the stars), Orion’s Belt (astral symbols), torch (will of the gods), and a circle (planets). The symbols of Reform were scales of justice (interpretation of the law), an x (debate and rhetoric), chains (governance of the law), and a shovel (civil citizenship). Upholders had symbols of a dove (protection), interwoven lines (punishment), lantern (upholding of the law), and civil service (glove). Workers of the Faith had a fire (honoring the gods), the letter a in rune (rune reading), arrows pointing at each other (translation), and water (atonement). Trade had symbols of wheat (barter), a coin (economics), the word for speak in Kallodonan and Tiurne (languages), and open hands (negotiation). Last, Mystic Arts consisted of an arrow (divine path or future), a dagger (weapons), a black square (stealth), and hands pointed upward (intercession with the gods).
Any gifted pupil, commoner or noble, was forced to participate in the combat trials to prove if they were gifted enough to enter one of the schools. The king, no matter how royal, was forced to participate by his father at eleven seasons. It was an absolute disaster as the king not only did not pass but made a complete ass of himself and of all schools of knowledge. There was even a respected lady elder in sight who declared in front of all company “That there is no way this heathen prince has an ounce of Alodis in his bones. Maybe Jiguran, the god of fools!” The king’s father at the time openly winced and scrubbed his face with the back of his tan, bony hands. It was no wonder that the tale spread to all of Kallondona of the king’s witless fool of a son. As time progressed, his antics grew, and his reputation was beyond prepare. The only way to have fixed it was an act of a god.
Regardless of his skill, the king was forced as a prince to fulfill the tradition of royals obtaining basic mastery in all areas of knowledge. From the time he was eleven to twenty-two seasons, the king had been in each classification of knowledge. To his father’s continual shame and his instructors’ increasing frustration, the king became a habitual wall starer. He never made eye contact and appeared to be constantly daydreaming his hours away. If he was not staring at the wall, he was skipping classes to gamble in the local taverns in Eden. He was eventually forced to pass due to his royal heritage and not for his depth of understanding.
Was it any wonder that his citizens thought he was a fool?
As the Banquet of Alodis carried on through the night, the stares and murmurs followed the Kallondonan king wherever he went. Mocking comments were often made about the king’s drunkenness, raunchy behavior with women of court, and his ineptitude to fulfill the role he was born into.
Halfway through the banquet, the king, standing at the head of the main table to reached nearly forty paces, reached for his goblet of red wine. After taking a big sloshing gulp, he proceeded to smack the side of the goblet with a silver spoon.
“Can I have your attention?” the king said smiling with a leer.
The nobles’ conversations quickly dispersed until they all turned to face their king.
“Thank you for honoring Alodis by attending this celebration. I know you did not come to honor me” the king laughed drunkenly. Some of the braver nobles smirked at this declaration. The wise ones simply did not acknowledge this breach of social etiquette.
“By happenstance, I am king and hopefully by the will of Alodis will remain. May your nights shine with the glory and wisdom of Alodis’ moon.”
The nobles, after hearing this little speech, looked askance at each other and saluted their sovereign with their glasses. The meal went underway again and conversation resumed fervently.
The Banquet of Alodis was meant to inspire wisdom and the pursuit of knowledge, but instead it ended with a salute to a foolish, drunk, young king.
But maybe Alodis imbues her spirit in the people she thinks others will doubt to protect them? It is a thought to consider for the noble scholar and student.