Location: Grand hall of Eche
As the eccentric lecture rampages on with her teachings in front of all of us, I take the time to form my thoughts.
Through this one class, I have learned quite a bit about this place. First, they all speak the heroes song, after seeing so many of them speak it I can confirm it is simply the universal language down here.
Secondly, it seems they all think the humans were completely wiped out, and everything on the outside has frozen over.
And from other statements they have made, I can rightfully assume they have all been living here since before Victoria froze over and became Fimbulwinter.
This has made me extra cautious in regard to protecting our identity. Because we are their only key to the outside world, and if we are not careful we could even start a human-beast war like in all of my childhood books.
However, I doubt they could do anything to the human nations which have advanced much further since the time humans were the slaves of the beastkin.
Still, this brings up another issue, as to how a civilisation that has been left alone for over 2000 years could be so small. If anything they should be one of the biggest groups of people in the world.
When I was falling I did see that this place was big, but no bigger than a large city, it wouldn’t be comparable to a country. Which by my calculation would struggle to even house all of those people if they just kept breeding unrestricted.
The next thing I noticed, is how regressed their education is. This isn’t really that unexpected due to them being sealed in Fimbulwinter, but it is kind of funny that the prideful teacher in front of me is completely wrong in a lot of these topics.
Though I will say that their knowledge in regard to wonderbeasts is unbelievable, all forms of crafting in regard to wonderbeasts require an extreme level of understanding of how they work internally, and the fact that I have been constantly learning new things will help me quite a bit.
Something hits me on the back of my head, so I turn around and look at a group of boys laughing among themselves and mocking us. Ignoring them I turn around and refocus on the lecturer.
The third thing I have realized is that there seems to be a pretty blatant hierarchy within their society. The fact that some kids who seem to be the children of the richest parents are able to essentially command other kids.
The kids are running around for them to get them stuff like food and water, in the middle of class, and they are messaging their bodies while also taking notes for them.
Even though this is a large classroom, people are all in these big groups, because the kids in power simply commanded them to listen to them. but one thing I take particular notice of is that the ones being commanded, tend to be more animal than human, the Fanalis.
They are really annoying, but at the end of the day they're the ones who would get us in the most trouble so I guess I will just put up with it.
Suddenly they throw a note that hits Dillion on the head, it was tightened to a rock so it hits him a bit harder, and after it does he picks up the rock and sees that something is tied to it.
With both me and Suzuka watching, Dillion opens the note, and in the note is a poorly drawn image of Dillion over two dead bodies, and written on the note is you should have joined the devils you disgusting monster. Seeing this causes Dillion to cry a bit.
Dillion's parents don’t seem to be around, and by how attached he is to his brother I had a few ideas, but this seems to confirm it for me, and at the same time their actions to him fill me with anger as well.
But before I can do anything Suzuka grabs the stone and in the moment the lecturer looks away she gets up and turns around then throws the stone at full force.
The boys scream and get out of the way, and the stone hits the wall leaving a crater, and shakes the room a tiny bit.
One of the boys gets up and says, “HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME!”
The lecturer stops and the class focus on us. The lecturer asks, “Is something wrong?”
“She threw a stone at me.”
Suzuka with pride says, “I did not, and if I did do you really think of someone with frail arms like myself who could make such a crater?
At first glance, one would say Suzuka's arms are frail and dainty but if you were to touch them you would feel the ridiculous amount of muscle within and that she is just relaxed.
“SHE IS LYING!”
With confidence and pride, she says, “I am not, that is a fact as true as the fact of the whiteness of my tails. But if we are talking about who has been assaulting who, I have quite a bit of evidence that you have been constantly throwing objects at me, and it is everywhere around me.” Then with her tails, she holds all the objects the boy and his friends have thrown at us.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
I instantly start to laugh, and say, “You know he might like you if he keeps trying to make up reason to talk to you.”
Embarrassed and angry, he says, “I am not!” However, his rampart emotional state doesn’t make it come off as convincing.
Suzuka playing along says, “Ah I know it is hard to be so enthralled with a person with the fear of rejection embedded in your very soul, but I fear your utter and uncontrollable obsession with me won’t make you suffer in class.”
A few laughs go out towards him and this makes him even angrier. Pulling out a weapon from his side, he says, “I won’t let you in this life or the next ever get away with insulting me in such a manner.”
“Then how should we insult you, I am open to ideas. Though you make it so easy that they just keep coming.”
Dillon starts to giggle a little, and then the deer says, “That is enough!”
The teacher in the front of the room says, “Ciaróg silence! Are you not a member of the red branch, in all things you do I expect excellence and to disturb my class just to flirt with a Fanalis is the pinnacle of disrespect to not only me but your ancestors.”
“But I have been paying attention.”
“So prove it, what is the answer to the sum I have on the board.”
The boy stares at the board trying to figure out the answer.
The lecturer is a spider beastkin, with long spider legs attached to her back. She uses them to write across the giant board, which would otherwise be impossible without some sort of ladder.
Still, despite having such a large board, she tries to maximise the space on it making her writing small and detailed. Due to this Ciaróg is having quite a bit of trouble deciphering what she has written.
So I say, “1834.”
“Correct, unexpected for a Fanalis,” The lecturer says with a surprising amount of joy. “But still that was the answer to the first section, what about all the rest?”
“Oh I know the answers I just wanted to give Ciaróg some help, he is a member of the red branch and the least a dirty Fanalis like me can do to assist him,” I say turning my head back and giving him a smile.
The lecturer says, “How helpful of you, now Ciaróg go ahead he has given you a head start.”
Ciaróg sits there staring at the board for an embarrassingly long amount of time, which causes giggles to go out through the classroom. So I say, “2334.”
“Correct.”
Ciaróg slams his hands against the table, and says, “I was just about to answer.”
“Sorry I simply don’t have all day, so I needed to hurry this up. Now can the class resume as normal miss?”
Ciaróg then holds up an amulet, and says, “ On the name of the O'Loughlin family, I command you to continue the questions.”
The lecturer says, “You do realize you are invoking your family's name into this, if you fail I am sure there will be consequences. So I suggest you back down from this.”
“You heard me woman, do as I ask.”
The teacher sighs, as if she has already accepted his fate, then says, “Ok I will ask you both a series of questions about topics and the one who answers the most wins.”
I grab Suzuka and pull her to my side, which causes her to say, “I am going to throw up, please let go of me.”
Holding back my sensation to deck her right in her face, I say, “I am going to need you to read some minds since I won’t be able to answer any questions about knowledge of this land.”
“I would rather see you fail and get embarrassed.”
This annoying little girl.
Ciaróg then says, “What is taking so long do you beasts need to mate!”
With rage so tangible, she says, “Though in this case I think I might hate him more, than life itself.”
And just like that the battle begins.
She at first asks a series of arithmetic questions, all easily answered.
“221.”
“4.56”
“8.45”
“8.32”
“71%”
“7892.”
“7”
“2”
“85”
Dillion says, “How is he doing all of those so fast.”
Suzuka then whispers to Dillion, “It is because he had no friends so he put all his time into studying.”
I am going to punch her incredibly hard after this, and that’s a promise.
Next were questions about this civilisation.
“What caused the battle of Míorúilt?”
“During a period where the government lost power, Fianna bands of warriors plotted to overthrow them.”
“Correct.”
“What was the great fire of Tuirlingt?”
“The minister of defence 300 years ago, was seen eating the gentiles of an animal still alive by one of the druids, and so to make sure no one found out. He set a great fire and used the opportunity to assassinate the druid, yet the druid had already told a great number of people.”
“Correct.”
Suzuka uses her tails to shape the answers for me after finding them out by reading people's minds, despite how she asks she is definitely useful to have around.
These questions are also rather useful when it comes to figuring out more information about this place, in fact, this is the best outcome I could have hoped for.
“What is an Alpha wonderbeast?”
“All wonderbeasts have parts of them that are the signifiers of their strength like size, due to a mutation or cannibalism, some wonderbeast's signifiers are greater than others, and this causes wonderbeasts of the same species or even other species to follow them. Those superior wonderbeasts are known as alpha’s.”
“Correct.”
“What is a behemoth wonderbeast?”
“A wonderbeast that is one of a kind. They are completely asexual and other wonderbeasts can be spawned from them, and even if they were to die they will somehow appear again over time, no one knows how this is possible. Each one is over 60 meters tall, and are all considered walking calamities.”
“Correct. Now for the last question tell me what this symbol in the lost language means.”
Looking at it, I whisper, “Isn’t that from the heavens song?” These guys must have come across some of the texts for the heavens song, and now consider some form of lost language.
“It has two meanings depending on the way you read it, Wall, or protector.”
The teacher looks surprised, and says, “How could a Fanalis possibly know that? But still, regardless it is correct, Iancu has answered 72 questions, Ciaróg has answered 5, Iancu wins, and with that, the class comes to an end.”
Getting up, I hug Dillion and say, “It’s a victory for us!”
He is excited and jumps around as well. As he does this I look back in at Ciaróg who is all alone as his allies have gone away, and he simply sits there in despair.
Don’t really feel good about seeing that expression, but you reap what you sow, and that smile on Dillion's face feels real good.
“Now it is time to carry out my promise.” I punch Suzuka in the stomach so as not to hit her mask, and she retaliates by kicking me across the classroom. This causes a fight to break out between us.