The highways in the Kingdom were a heavily invested infrastructure. Not only were they used for trading and traveling, they were also used for mailing – the only way to communicate over a long distance. Carriages and wagons were the most common vehicles for transportation, mainly pulled by horses, and occasionally donkeys, mules, and oxen. Well-trained horses, using Mana and skills, could sustain a speed of over ninety-five miles per hour or one hundred fifty kilometers per hour for about an hour. Nevertheless, heavy wagons and carriages typically traveled slower for safety reasons.
The families got onto a highway soon after lunch. The right lane was mainly used for exiting and entering the highway, so they quickly changed to the middle lane, which was congested with many other heavy wagons. Nathan was looking to the left from his bunk bed in the wagon, watching the fast lane where mounted horses raced toward their destination at incredible speed. Strong Mana could be felt from the racing horses, combined with the pounding sound of galloping, making the sight quite majestic. People depended on hand signs and the Divine Spell: Light Orb to signal lane changes.
Farther away, Nathan could see many buildings on the mountain to their left, where some of the streets were staircases that allowed people to walk up to their houses. Horse and bicycle rentals were very common along the road.
Unlike the busy and lively highway, the family was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, still lingering from their recent turmoil. The happiness brought by the French fries had faded away already. No one had spoken a word in the last fifteen minutes.
"Is this the youngsters' first trip to Silverlake?" David asked Patrick in concern.
"Yes." Patrick said with the same gloominess as the children.
"Perhaps I should introduce them to the key landmarks." David suggested.
"Please David. I would really appreciate it if you could do that." Patrick said.
"No problem!" David said as he slowed down his horse to the back of Patrick’s Wagon, where he could see the children through the window openings.
"I've never seen children looking so down outside of the orphanage," David mused, thinking of ways to brighten their spirits. "I'll retract that. Even the kids at the orphanage aren't as gloomy as these little ones." He then carefully rode his horse to the side of Patrick's wagon in the right lane.
“My name is David. What are your names?” David asked the children politely and gently.
“Arielle.” “Ashley” the girls answered. Nathan was on the other side of the wagon and he didn’t answer.
“What about the lady and the gentleman here? I am David. What are your names?” David rode to the back of Maya’s wagon and asked the children inside it.
“Thomas” “Chana” they answered and curiously examined David.
“Welcome to Silverlake City Nathan, Arielle, Ashley, Thomas and Chana,” David said with enthusiasm, his voice empowered by a Wind spell. Nathan climbed to Arielle’s bed and looked out from the window after his name was mentioned. “Do you see the lake to the right?”
The families’ wagons were driving on a lifted highway on the side of a mountain, right next to the lake, which stretched all the way to the horizon.
“This is the famous Silver Lake. The city is named after it,” said David. “Do you know the story behind the lake?”
“No.” Ashley said, tilting her head in curiosity.
“Okay, here you go," David said with a warm smile, his eyes twinkling with enthusiasm.
A long time ago, this was a war torn land occupied by demons. Violence and betrayal were common occurrences. After one of the many betrayals, this land experienced a violent aftermath, and its people suffered. The merciful Goddess Liliana saw the suffering in our land and decided to save us. On the day she arrived with her Saints, her holy light shone on the lake, turning it Silver. From that day onward, the lake was called the Silver Lake, and this city was called Silverlake City.
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“Even now, Goddess Liliana is watching over us,” David said, proudly introducing his homeland's religion and history to the next generation. “On your left hand side, on top of the mountain, do you see a white castle?”
The children scrambled from the right hand side of the wagons to the left. They saw a majestic white castle on top of a mountain peak. The early afternoon sun shone on the castle with a bright silver light, reflecting its holiness onto the city and the children. Despite being quite far from it, the castle still appeared gigantic to the children, hinting at its real size.
“Yes! I can see it!” Ashley said as if her gloominess was slightly dissipated by the holy light.
“That is the Silver Castle, which houses the Holy Church of Goddess Liliana. That is also where the Royal Palace and the government offices located. All of our Kingdom’s Saints have residences inside the castle. All dukes and marquesses own properties within it as well.” David continued with enthusiasm. The children's eyes opened widely as they gazed upward towards the Silver Castle, in awe with the Kingdom's elites, a sight they shared with all of the common folks living below it.
"Thanks to our Kingdom's Public Examinations. If you want to work or live there one day, study hard children. Be it Knighthood, Politician, Academic, Engineer, or whatever, at the top of all fields are nobles that live there. You still have a chance to do it." David continued, giving hope to the children.
Nobility ranks in the Kingdom, from highest to lowest, were Duke, Marquess, Count, Viscount and Baron. The Public Examination system caused an explosion in the number of barons. In order to give a job to everyone, nowadays, all who worked for the government were nobles in name, with most of them barons being mundane office clerks, firefighters, etc. whose goals in life being retirement and pension. Viscount was the lowest rank that could administer land and collect tax, but were typically referred to as village chiefs in the countryside, with heavy workload but little official pay. Nowadays, only counts and their superiors were referred to as nobles outside of official settings.
Of course, there were many who decided not to work for the government. These people, after passing the Public Examination in their expertise for a certification, would register with one of the guilds and find a job in the private sector. This career path offered higher salary but without pension or employment security. Depending on their achievements, ranks awarded by guilds were convertible to nobility ranks in social settings. Honorably nobility titles were often awarded to the highest-ranking guild members to recognize their contributions to the Kingdom.
David continued to introduce the city to the children, including famous restaurants, entertainments, shows, historical sites, etc. Before they knew it, the wagons arrived at their new home.
Their new home was a duplex on the side of a four lane road. It was a two story wooden house divided into two mirror imaged units with a shared wall. The front doors of the units faced North. There was a driveway on its east side that allowed access to its backyard and barn. Nathan looked around and he noticed that all houses near it had the same floor plan. The four lane road was moderately busy. “This is a residential area, so the roads will be quiet at night.” David reassured the families.
Patrick and Maya drove their wagons onto the driveway and into the spacious backyard. Inside, they saw two other wagons that carried their new furniture into the house; and the backyard still had room to spare.
“Hey David, perfect timing, we just finished.” A muscular man in his forties greeted David politely.
“Thanks Ron, I really appreciate it. I’ll see you again on Monday.” David replied professionally.
“See you. Good night and have a good weekend.” Ron said, leaving the house with his workers and wagons.
“Patrick, the duplex were just cleaned and you can go in without your shoes. I also asked the cleaners to include toothbrush, towels, etc. in the bathrooms. So, you don’t need to unpack the wagons.” David said with a louder voice so that Maya could also hear. “I also asked them to get dinner for you.”
With a new house in sight, everyone started nodding off. Even the adults had trouble keeping their eyelids up.
David then gave a set of keys to Patrick. “Thanks David.” Patrick said with a faint smile. “Nathan, why don’t you take Arielle and Ashley inside. Wash up, eat and go to bed. Remember to bring your pajamas and keep your bandage dry. Ask Arielle to wash your hair for you.”
“Okay!” said Nathan and the children started moving.
“Maya, please rest with your family. Let’s talk tomorrow.” said Patrick as he handed her the keys to her new home.
“Alright, good night. Patrick.” Maya said as she went to get Harold.
Patrick then paid David for the duplex in cash. It took them a while to count all the money, during which the children ate dinner in silence. David left immediately after they were done. After Patrick changed Nathan’s bandages and cleaned the wound on his left arm, he washed up and went to bed without eating his dinner.
It was still 7 pm at night. The exhaustion from the journey weighed on the families with the darkness of the night. With the smell of new bed sheets, an unfamiliar ceiling, and a noisy street, they fell into deep slumber. Patrick's untouched dinner sat lonely on the dining table in the dark.