Thayne sat in the carriage dumbstruck, with each passing second he was going more and more away from his home. Never in his wildest dreams, did he expect them to send him to Timenna. It made no sense. The plan was to use the carriage till they reach the border. Then to take him through a hidden tunnel that the government uses to send spies to Timenna. He will be accompanied by five elite troops under disguise. After reaching Timenna, they will go to a city called dellore where one of his relatives lived. He will live with that relative and join an academy in that city. His father had assured him that this will be safe as they have successfully sent numerous spies across the border.

But he still felt a huge risk with this. They could get caught. Even if they don't, he would have to live in a country as an absolute nobody. And nobody will be scared to laugh at him for his lack of skills. If only he had worked like Noa. But that was impossible. He can never work like Noa. He suspected his uncle had something to do with this. Maybe he shouldn't have told him about the rebels. Maybe the rest of the royals wanted Noa to inherit the throne and unilaterally acted against him. He then hated Roan more than anything in the world. If I manage to get incredibly powerful within this year I could get back at them, he thought, he shook his head, no way that could happen. At best he could prove his worth to them and return as a successful prince. He thought he could do that, Timenna teaches a large number of mages every year. They might be more lenient than teachers of his country. I could start a new beginning there, I would try my best from the beginning of the class.

He wondered what would people think if they knew that the crown prince was sent to the outside world to study. People probably hated the outside world as their mana was sold to them. And the state has punished people for talking about or trying to leave the country. So there was no way they would be okay with this. Well, there was no way they would even find out about this.

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"I know you did this, father," Noa said.

"Bah, You would have inherited the throne anyway, I wouldn't have sent that boy to an unfriendly nation," Roan said waving his hand.

His father made sense, there was no need for him to send Thayne away. It was simply hard to believe that King Liden would send his own son to that country. He couldn't imagine himself in such a situation.

"But, I don't want the throne, I don't want to steal people's mana and sell it." He looked up, meeting Roan's eyes "The way our army handled that rebellion was a ---"

“Don't want the throne?” his father asked, cutting in. Only then did Noa realize how he must have sounded. He looked away.

"Now, child, you don't have to get involved with any of this. Just let army generals do it. You can't run away from your responsibilities. Go now. We will converse later." Noa left. He went to his room and lay on his bed. He didn't agree with this. Since childhood, he wanted to be a great mage and travel the world. He worked hard to improve his skills. He was planning to leave his family in two years. He always wondered if Thayne's lack of motivation was due to his position as crown prince, he was supposed to inherit the throne so maybe he didn't feel like improving his skills. If anyone was sent to Timenna, it should have been him.

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"What was he thinking!" Thayne snapped, hanging half out the window of his carriage as it bounced along the earthen road. A soldier marched beside the vehicle, looking uncomfortable in the afternoon light.

"He is sending me to Timenna for god's sake!!," Thayne said. "We are the most hated people in the world. They hate us"

He slumped back in the carriage before the guard could explain that no one in Timenna know his identity. They were passing through the hills that separated the two nations. It will take days to reach there. He wouldn't have to suffer like this if he was actually talented. He remembered the time when Noa told him about a secret strategy to become a good mage. That was two years ago. When he asked about the secret strategy, he said he will reveal it after he graduated. Maybe he should have asked about that before leaving. He sighed, at least the landscape was beautiful. He has read about Timenna, it was a place of strange plants and animals. He’d thought he knew what to expect. Yet as the hills gave way to deep grasslands and then the trees finally began to crowd the road, he began to realize that there was something no tome or tale could adequately describe.

Mana.

The trees were radiating colourful light and filled with colourful flowers also emitting light. Tiny flowers grew in great blanketing swaths on the ground. His carriage was filled with their light. Flowers were glowing different colours in a large cluster. Even the weeds looked beautiful. He would have picked some of them, if not for the way that the soldiers regarded them with hostility. those guards must feel anxious. He wasn’t the only one who had been sent away from family and friends.

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"You are wrong, you aren't inheriting the throne," Lilia said. "They decided that I'll inherit the throne"

"None of this makes sense, I thought all of this was for me to inherit," Thayne said.

"Yeah. It seems father really wanted him to learn in that country. This was for him,". She said. "This wasn't a political maneuver by your father as we thought"

Lilia was reading a report by the finance secretary. She liked reading reports with Noa. They would find meanings of words they don't understand and explain them if either of them finds it difficult to understand. She was the best person to inherit the throne. She was calm and knowledgeable. Several young nobles had a crush on her. If she knew how popular she was, she'd never shown it. She was a star in royal balls.

"Will he be okay?" she asked.

"Of course, he will be safe. This isn't as dangerous as you think" Noa replied.

"I didn't mean if he was in danger, I meant if he will be okay, mentally." She said " I think he will be sobbing in the carriage. This is a horrific situation."

"Yeah, he will have a hard time fitting in," he said. "You know if I was there, I could have helped him. I know the people, cultures, and society of Timenna."

"Maybe you should send him a letter, give him some tips"

He didn't respond. He wanted to go there. There was no need for him here. An idea began to form in his head. An idea that involved him leaving for Timenna to help Thayne