Chapter 3: The Journey North

Uzman had spent his entire life living in the safety of Kolcita surrounded by a loving community. Now he had for the first time decided to venture into the world of Tanga; hoping to gain strength and survive, as Sulmani had charged him when he lay dying.

He stood on a promontory by the Tigresi River that demarcated the Great Duchies of Silicia and Amoria. He had been traveling for three months through the Vinaya forest, The Basin of Izmuth, and the Kano Lowlands. He had kept away from people using his hunting skills for camouflage and knowledge of herbs and fruits to survive. He finally reached a point when he had to make an important decision that would impact his journey forward.

The first issue was to determine what his immediate goals were. The most obvious objective was to get stronger by learning how to cultivate the elements. The second objective was more ambiguous since he had not understood why Sulmani wanted him to know about a Dragon Fire Clan. He had been ignorant about his roots when growing up; assuming like other villagers, that he belonged to the Great Duchy of Silicia. It was thus imperative to gain strength and venture into the Northlands; where he would investigate the clans and understand how they related to his heritage. Uzman was close to his 16th birthday when he would be eligible to take cultivation potentiality tests.

The Imperial laws of Tanga dictated that all men who could cultivate be required to learn at The Unification Academy for the Defense of Tanga. Once a person attained the age of 16, they were considered adults and had to attend the Academy or be conscripted into the army. This rule was only enforced for common-born children since the nobility were too useful to the empire to be wasted as demon fodder. Uzman remembered that this information had been provided by Keeper Zimri in one of his stories in the village.

Thinking about Kolcita usually made Uzman angry and fly into a murderous rage. It had taken him a long time to control the need to go and find Praximus to exact revenge. Not that he knew where to start, or had enough strength to confront a centurion. He now understood why the villagers had always been hostile to all things nobility. During his travels he had seen from afar, the emaciated status of most commoners who were, in most cases, wearing rags and bore forlorn expressions. These were people who had lost hope.

Uzman decided that the best approach was to make his way toward the Unification Academy to assess his cultivation potential. If he failed the test, he would continue northwards to seek out the clans rather than be conscripted into the army. Having made his decision, Uzman took out the map of Tanga and plotted how best to continue on his journey. The main problem was that he had to ford the Tigresi River and join one of the main roads. This would lead to him passing through inhabited areas and some major towns in either Amoria or Silicia.

Uzman had learned to rely on himself and preferred to be alone. It was not that he was socially awkward, but in his current mental state, he did not deem it wise to mix with people. Additionally, he had only mingled with other villagers in Kolcita and did not know the first thing about conducting himself in the presence of nobility. Some of the stories shared by the soldiers back at the village had painted a grim picture where offending the wrong person may lead to lashing or death. He decided to pass through Amoria as it was rumored to be the only Great Duchy whose leaders still adhered to the tenets of cultivation and the ancient code of nobility.

Uzman crossed the river and entered the territory of Amoria. After traveling for a few hours, he started encountering homesteads and other people. The first thing he noticed was that even the peasants were well-dressed and seemed healthy when compared to those he had espied in Silicia.

He continued on his journey encountering more people as he neared the main towns of Amoria. He was largely ignored, apart from some casual glances and howdys from a few polite people he met on the road. Once he arrived at a roadside inn, Uzman decided to seek shelter as night was rapidly approaching. He had learned that people were not allowed to sleep outside and could be arrested for vagrancy in many towns.

On entering, Uzman realized that he looked out of place like a dwarf in a town of giants. His dirty clothes, reddish hair, and blue eyes contrasted with all the revelers in the tavern.

“Boy, do your parents know you are out” boomed a voice dripping with sarcasm.

He turned to confront the man who had spoken and noticed that he was sizing him up while serving a tankard of ale in one of the occupied seats.

Uzman walked towards him slowly. “I am just a traveler seeking a place to sleep and be on my way on the morrow good Sir,” Uzman responded.

The room burst out into boisterous laughter. He turned, confused as one scantily clad lady who was sitting on the lap of another gent shouted.

“Damn, there are still areas where kids are brought up right, even though calling Milko 'Sir', is pushing the bounds of decorum.”

“Never mind them, for calling me sir, I will let you stay. Do you have the coin for renting a room?” The one that Uzman now knew to be Milko asked.

“I think I can manage. Additionally, I would like to have a meal if it is not too much trouble,” Uzman responded.

“You can trouble me all you want after I see the color of your coins. For a night, a meal, and a bath; I will only charge you 1 silver. I might be persuaded to throw in a free drink if you tell me a story. It is apparent that you are not from Amoria.”

“That I can manage. However, I would like first to see the room and take a bath. I have been on the road for a long time,” Uzman responded.

After Uzman paid, Milko called another woman who escorted him up a flight of wooden stairs that culminated in a corridor with several rooms. The woman opened one of the doors and informed him that she would be bringing the bath up shortly. Uzman was surprised by the size of the room and the furnishings. The bed was wide enough for three people, and the bed sheets were made from fine woolen materials. He sat on the bed and ran his hands over the soft wool; he placed the travel pack under the bed and waited for the bath to be brought. After taking a much-needed bath, Uzman went to the tavern and sat near the counter to converse with Milko.

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“So, tell me; boy, what brings you to our fair land of Amoria? It has been some time since I saw one of your kind this far south.”

Uzman was at first confused by the question since he had come from the south. He then realized that Milko had mistaken him for a Northerner and decided not to provide more information than was necessary.

“My name is Uzman, and I would appreciate you not calling me boy. I am on my way to the academy.”

“Are you now? You may be wasting your time as only nobles usually can cultivate. Maybe some of your kind are also god-touched.”

Uzman did not know how to respond since he knew very little about cultivation apart from the wild tales he had heard back at the village. He decided it was better to glean as much information as possible.

“I am new to these parts, and frankly I would be grateful if you can answer some of my questions,” Uzman tried to dissemble.

“Ah! don’t think I didn’t note that you evaded my question. Nicely done, the only advice is not to share information freely and keep away from them nobles. That will only bring trouble to your head. I reckon I can answer some of your questions,” Milko stated.

Uzman spent the evening talking with Milko and getting apprised of relevant political events, the social structure of Tanga, and cultivators in general. He already knew some of this information due to the efforts of Zimri and other soldiers who had joined Kolcita from the other Great Duchies. When talking about the academy and cultivation, Uzman learned that there was currently a truce between the warring Northern Clans and the Great Duchy of Silicia to concentrate on dealing with the increased cases of demon incursions.

When Uzman finally went to sleep, his mind was full of information about Tanga and what to expect when interacting with other people. What he had learned from Milko only made him more apprehensive about his decision to try his luck at the Academy. He also learned that he should stay away from Silician nobles as they liked tricking commoners into servitude. However, he should trust most nobles from Amoria. He decided to take the information with a pinch of salt since Milko himself was not a cultivator, even though, he interacted regularly with them.

In the morning, Uzman continued his journey toward the Academy. He had learned that it was located on the nexus of all the Great Duchies and the Northlands. It was considered an independent territory where all students and instructors were under the direction of the Headmaster and a committee made of representatives from all Duchies. The Academy was situated on the edge of the Cursed Forest so named due to the large number of demon beasts that called it home. The only territory not bordering the Academy was the Imperial peninsula that was ensconced to the southwest, as a stand-alone island.

As Uzman neared Akkadia, the capital of Amoria, the view changed drastically, from isolated villages and small towns to majestic structures in the outlying towns. There were multi-storied buildings with spacious gardens that could be glimpsed behind stone walls. There were guardhouses on raised parapets where well-armored guards could be seen keeping watch. It was a surreal experience for Uzman who had lived his entire life in a one-roomed house; made of wood and thatch roofing. Uzman decided not to enter the Capital City and rather continued on his journey by skirting the massive outer wall as the Academy was just three days away.

The clattering of hoofs was the only warning he had of impending doom. Uzman threw himself to the left on the hedge as a horse-drawn carriage thundered past him.

“Watch where you are going you imbecile,” the driver thundered as the carriage sped past.

Uzman was too shaken to respond. His journey north had been uneventful as he had not met with any risks and most people were of a sociable sort. This was the first time he had seen a horse-drawn carriage ornately decorated and driven by a uniformed coachman. Uzman assumed that was his first interaction with the nobility and it had lived up to his expectation.

Uzman followed the same pattern when traveling, finding roadside taverns to sleep in the evening and journeying during the day. After approximately one year and one month of traveling, he finally arrived at the gates of the Academy. He walked slowly towards the tents that were situated just outside the gate to enquire about the registration process. Inside one of the tents, a man of indeterminate age was lounging on a wooden chair reading a scroll.

“Good sir, may I trouble you with information about the Academy,” Uzman inquired.

The man swiveled to face Uzman squarely, his brows rising in disdain on seeing how he was dressed. “Go peddle your wares elsewhere, I am busy,” the man snorted.

Uzman ignored the putdown and continued. "I would like to enroll in the academy.”

“Oh, do you? You are a commoner, there is no chance you are god-touched. You should know your place and stop coveting the blessings of your betters,” the man shouted getting red in the face.

Uzman was stupefied, he had known to expect prejudice, but he had assumed he would be allowed to at least take the test. Just then an older man entered.

“Master Jones, I think we can close the tents since today was the last day of enrollment for the current year. This will give us enough time to consolidate the list for tomorrow’s orientation,” the old man said.

Taking this chance Uzman shouted, “I would like to be tested, sir.” The old man had not seen Uzman and turned towards him.

“Of course, that is why we are here, come closer boy,” he commanded.

As Uzman moved closer to the old man, Master Jones was glaring at him angrily for thwarting his efforts to exclude him from the test. The Old man took out a clear crystal that was heavily inscribed and asked Uzman to touch it.

“This crystal will attract your Chi and light up if you have any innate ability to manipulate the heavenly energy,” he explained.

At first, nothing happened, and then the crystal started glowing slowly and increased gradually in intensity until it was blinding forcing all the occupants of the room to close their eyes.

“Y....you can release the crystal now,” the old man stuttered. “That is the highest level I have ever seen, and I have been here for many years. You seem to have very pure Chi young man and an outstanding ability for manipulation. The armies of the empire will be lucky to have you,” he continued.

The next step involved testing his affinity for one of the four primary elements that could be cultivated. Uzman was given four crystals and asked to touch each of them. However, none of the crystals lighted up. The two masters looked at each other in stupefaction.

The old man was the first to find his voice “This is highly irregular.”

“What does it mean?” Uzman asked.

“It would seem you do not have an affinity for any of the elements. This is surprising given that you have the highest potential based on the earlier test,” answered Master Jones, his earlier animosity forgotten.

“We will put him with the first cohort and hope that his affinity will develop soon, otherwise we may lose a potentially strong cultivator,” the old man decided.

After Uzman was accepted into the Academy, Master Jones took him to a temporary sleeping area to await the orientation that was to take place the next day and the assignment of cohorts. Additionally, Uzman was taken to the resident outfitter, where he was given three sets of uniforms. One was a navy blue surcoat with the Academy emblem and white pants that were to be used for official functions. Two sets were of white Gis for physical training.

At last, Uzman was content that he had been accepted at the Academy and would start his journey of cultivation.