Elise had started to really like Gustav as her new teacher. He was the greatest teacher she had ever had. His classes were not boring. He had energy, for lack of better words. He didn't seem, unlike one of her previous teachers, to be barely alive while he was teaching. No, it was as if teaching was a kind of fuel he had to have in order to live. Although she knew most of the things he taught, there was always something new in his lessons.

There was just one small problem. The daughter of the lord was, for a lack of better words, boring. A week had passed and so far their conversation had been limited to the bare essentials. Elise wanted to talk to her and start a real conversation. But unfortunately Jacobina always ignored her. Slowly but surely it was getting really annoying.

"Why is she so childish?" thought Elise and looked angrily at the young girl who was deeply engrossed in a book, "And why does she ignore me? We should become friends. Having friends is great. She's such a stupid girl."

"Maybe it would be a good idea to find out what she likes?" said the angry voice, "Steal a cat from the market, a trader's horse or a dragon egg and give it to her. She likes animals."

"No! Stealing is bad," Elise replied, "I will never steal from anyone."

Stealing a cat or a horse was perhaps possible, but stealing a dragon egg was suicide. Was the angry voice trying to kill her?

"So ... you could also just go into the forest and tame an animal," the angry voice replied, "Animals are really very weak, and I could be very nice and help you tame them."

"No. I don't think it's a good idea to go into the forest. Yesterday Alex told me that a handful of mercenaries had not returned. Maybe there's something very dangerous there?", Elise stated.

"Maybe," said the angry voice, "or maybe not. How should I know?"

Elise ignored the snide comment and refocused on the few pages she had left to read. But she had obviously done so too late.

"Elise?" asked Gustav, "have you finished reading?"

"Almost," she replied, "two more minutes."

"No more daydreaming," he said, adding, "I know it's boring, but everyone needs a solid foundation to strengthen their node."

Elise knew that. But she doubted she would get a bad node. The angry voice hadn't promised much. but it had claimed that it would help her get a good node. The angry voice never lied, but her claims were quite brazen. She had claimed that the nodes Elise would get were going to be very powerful.

"So my node is not good?" asked Jacobina suddenly, "The birds ..."

"Jacobina," Gustav replied, trying to reassure her, "your node is not bad. It's just unconventional and at the moment very, very limited."

"That's just a word you adults use instead of saying weak," she said angrily, pouting.

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“No, no. Please calm down. Have you ever thought about what effects your node could have? Certainly not.”

"I can talk to animals. They help me sometimes," she replied. "There's nothing else, you old ..."

"You should stop right there," Gustav said, a sad smile on his otherwise neutral face, "Why do you think your node is no good?"

"Because it lacks - I suppose - everything that nodes are known for."

"No. It doesn't. It's a pretty powerful and rare node. Jacobina, a good fighter may win a battle, but an army wins a war. And I'll tell you why. There's a reason why monsters and mercenaries move and fight in groups. With your node, you could perhaps tame demonic beasts or monsters. You could command your own little army. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"But I don't like fighting. I'm not good with a sword. I don't have any real magic and I've never won a fight against Sis or Mum," Jacobina said, folding her arms.

"I don't think it's the best idea to compare yourself to your sister or your mother," Gustav replied, "I don't know any child your age who could beat them."

"Not even her?" asked Jacobina, pointing to Elise. "Big Sis told me that she beat up the niece of the headmaster of the Association."

Elise read the last words and put her book away. It had been quite interesting to find out that some dragons had helped people centuries ago. Unfortunately, the book had not revealed why these powerful beings had done so. She looked up and sighed, loud enough for Jacobina to stop speaking.

"Alex," said Elise, "she can do magic. And she has a really cool node too. But I don't know what my node does. It wouldn't have been a very fair fight if she used everything she knows. She held back and just fought me with her skills."

"Then you did win in the end because you were a better fighter than her," Jacobina stated angrily.

"I learned from the best," Elise replied, "my teacher was the Red Lion."

Jacobina seemed confused, so Elise added, "We read a few passages about him."

"Did we?" Jacobina asked, "I don't remember doing that."

"The separation of the colonies from the Greater Anglian Commonwealth? Surely you remember that?"

"No?" the girl said, shrugging her shoulders, "Everything I read was ... boring?"

"I read that some soldiers, my teacher was one, were ordered by the Queen to fight there to force the colonies to become loyal. Didn't really work out in the end, as I hope you know. That's common knowledge that any aristocrat should have. If I, a simple girl of humble beginnings, know this, why don't you?"

"Because. History. Is. Boring," the girl replied, "It is so far in the past that it is useless information."

"You may think so," said Gustav, "but many clever minds disagree. I understand that war and battles are not things that interest you. Still, it is important to know what happened in the past."

He paused and looked at his watch before muttering, "Three more minutes? Should be doable."

Then he continued, "I hate making speeches. It's something the Major General usually does, and I'm not him. But let me explain something very important. We are very lucky. We are not the first to have arrived in this world. All those who have lived before us have seen happiness and suffering. They experienced brightness and darkness, but also love and hate. They indulged in war and peace. In short, they saw a thousand different aspects of life. But a single life can be very short. Many people went to their graves taking with them the secrets of their success, the experiences they had or the knowledge they found. Yet through history, we can walk through these silent deserted lands, the ruins of the past and the remnants of war. We can learn."

He shook his head, "No. We have to learn. We must learn not to repeat the mistakes made by those before us. By doing that, we can all evolve as a whole. We get some lessons by studying the pages of history, by researching the lives of those who lived before us, and by reflecting on ancient texts. We then hopefully become wiser than our elders."

"In short, history is the best teacher?" asked Elise after he had finished speaking.

He nodded before looking at his watch. Their last lesson for the day should have ended a minute ago.

"Indeed. Though I have a better summary," he said, smiling, "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

“I get it. I get it,” Jacobina said and rolled her eyes, “But our lessons are over for today. And I have an appointment with the stables.”