“Kharan? What’s that?” Hearing the unfamiliar term, Connor's expectant gaze immediately focused on his father.
“It’s the name of Sultan Mehmed’s secret guard,” He nodded, explaining.
“Sultan Mehmed? You mean the Sultan of prosperity?” Again, his father nodded.
"Mn, but I don't think it's him..." Cretass put one hand on his chiselled chin, but it only lasted a few moments before his face lit up in realization; turning to their prisoners, he began, "You! did Al... No, he put you up to this?"
Connor naturally picked up on his correction, and although he was curious, he knew better than to ask. Regardless of that, he was also mighty curious of what the two men might say.
"Ptooey! I'll reveal nothing," One of them spat derisively before disregarding the two altogether.
"Hmm..." Cretass sighed, getting back up, "Should've expected this; maybe some milk and cookies would convince you to talk?"
Still, they didn't respond, just staring blankly into the air.
"..." Connor turned to look at his father, his face still the epitome of calmness he was known for. Finally noticing his glances, Cretass waved his hands.
"You can go first. Oh, and don't forget your gear; it's yours now, so take good care of it," He paused, only speaking after Connor was already a bit away, "Call your uncle Ben here; he's probably in the shopping district,"
Connor gave a thumbs up before continuing his trek back...
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It took Connor about thirty minutes to arrive at the city gates, but because of the long line of people eager to enter the city, the sun had already set when he got in...
Walking around, Connor shifted around and through the passersby while looking for his uncle Ben, the guards resident detective. Eventually, he caught sight of the slick brown hair and the chiselled beard all the men in his family were known for.
“Uncle! Uncle!” Connor tapped the man on the back, catching him unawares in the process.
“Oho? Yo! How are ya doing?” Ben let out a jovial laugh when he saw his dear nephew.
"I'm fine, thank you! How about you?"
"I'm doing swell as well!" He paused to let out a little sigh, "What are you doing here? Last I heard, you were out with your pa,"
"Oh yeah! Father needs help; he called for you!”
“Hm? Your father needs my help? Ha! If that stinking troll needs help, the world really must be ending!”
“I’m serious! He caught two men snooping around while we were in the forest! They were part of some group called the Khara— Mmph!?”
“Shh... Let’s go to my place; we can talk with a bit more privacy there,” Connor blushed: he had totally forgotten they were in a public area!
"Y-Yeah, sure,"
Ben's home was a small place, not uncomfortable small, but more of cosy small. It was beautifully decorated after his marriage, and although it didn't seem to fit a man of such herculean proportions, Ben didn't seem to mind it one bit.
Entering the front door, Ben and Connor were met with the light jingle of the bell connected to the door. Walking further inside, Connor couldn't help but notice how strangely empty the living room was. Last he visited, Ben’s husband was always populating either the living room or the kitchen. But Ben seemed indifferent, so Connor held back any questions.
Only after they sat down did Ben speak, "Honey!"
Silence...
"Are you there?" He tried again, only to be answered with the same silence. Ben sighed, and in the most apologetic tone a person with that deep a deep voice could muster, he pleaded:
"Look, I’m sorry for what happened last night, but can you do me a favour and get our nephew some tea?”
-creak!-
Only then did he hear the silent floorboards creak, signifying another's presence in the house.
“Y’know, you were always his favourite nephew...” Connor didn’t have the time to comprehend what was said before he was tackled to the ground.
“Ahh! So you finally decided to visit us! My fawouvite nephew— oh, your uncle's been waiting too long for this!” Who could it be other than his other uncle (and Ben's husband, he'd be annoyed if you forgot!): Samuel Lokk.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Mmph… Y-Yeah! I miss you too ghrrk—! B-But I need t-to talk to uncle Ben!”
"Hmph! Why do I need to care about that big oaf?!" Suddenly, he began to tear up, "...M-My behind's been hurt—"
"Shush! Just... please get us some tea... please?"
“Fine...” He let out a little pout but nodded reluctantly, getting out of their hair as fast as he went in...
“Thank you,” Both Connor and Ben felt relief as they saw Sam walk out of the room.
“...So, What do you know of the Kharan?”
“Nothing but the fact they serve as Mehmed’s secret guard, and he’s not entirely fully in control of them,”
“Who told you this?”
“My father, but he didn't seem too keen to say anymore,”
"Don't worry, you'll come to understand when the time's right,"
"Tch! You guy's been saying that since I was a kid! When is the time 'right'?"
"Hehe, It won't be long now. I think your eighteenth birthday should be a good one, yeah?"
"...I suppose"
“Good... Now then, you said something about me having to go somewhere?”
“He’s at the woods northwest of here; it’s about thirty minutes on foot,”
"Thank you," He got up, headed to the door with a coat, and just as he was about to leave, he opened his mouth again, "Oh, it's past evening, spend the night here, will you? Sam needs some company while I'm gone,"
"Sure!" He instantly agreed, quite happy to spend some time with other members of his family...
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"Mister Constantine, would you please recount what we have learned today?" It was about one week from that day, and life hadn't changed much. Connor still went to school like any other teen. But right now, all he wished for was a giant evil boss to come and save him from answering the question.
"Y-Yes, professor! U-Um..." Fumbling over his words, Connor somehow managed to piece together what he had learnt over the past hour and a half:
"W-We live on Deusterra, a land divided into the four regions by the four cardinal directions. F-Furthermore, these regions are all separated by the World mountains, a mountain belt that basically isolates all the four regions from each other,"
"Why?"
"As it is the only way to travel to all the other regions without crossing from another one,"
"And what are these regions called, Mister Constantine?"
"W-Well... The four regions don't actually have an official name, per se... They are just called the north, east, west and south regions. But the thing is, the residents of Deusterra all have unofficial names for these regions albeit unsupported by the ruling power that controls them: We live in the west ruled by the Hysantinne Empire, but because of the magus society that lives in the Kulerain mountains, the west has been dubbed the Kulerain region. U-Um... The south is a giant desert called the Murukhali; it is home to the sultan of prosperity: Sultan Mehmed II. He rules over the Khalaiya empire, named after their founder, Murukhalaiya,"
"Good! Sit down, please. I will take over from here: Continuing after the south, we move eastwards to the Hoshoko region, named after the league of priests called the Hoshoko, famed for their skill in the arts and Onmyodo... Any questions?"
“Sir!” The second he asked the class, someone's hand shot up immediately.
“Yes, Miss Kalina?” The professor gestured for Kalina to speak.
"What is Onmyodo?" She asked.
"Onmyodo is a type of spellcraft, not unlike our mages, actually. But where ours cast spells using their mana, the Hoshoko priests rely on shikigami vessels, scrolls and talismans to affect the world,"
"Thank you, sir!" Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Kalina sat back down.
"Mn... Let's move on to the next region: The northern regions of Cloropis! Can anyone tell me about this region?" Putting his hands together, the professor asked the class.
-Ringaringaringaring!-
But not even a millisecond later, the school bell rang, signifying the end of class. Everyone, including Connor, cheered. After all, they were now fully-fledged adults! Ready to receive higher education at the capital's college or forge their own paths in life...
The professor just sighed, he couldn't get to the last part of the world, but there was nothing there anyway, so he let it go...
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Connor was deep in thought: he knew trouble was likely to follow him, so it would be wise to travel around the world finding treasures and new skills. He wasn't able to think about it for long, though, as one of his few friends suddenly walked up to him:
"Hey, dude!" He tapped Connor's shoulder, shaking him from his thoughts.
"What's up, Alexi?"
"In a few days, we're planning to throw a giant party! Y'know, to celebrate our graduation from this hellhole! And since almost everyone's gonna be there, you wanna come?" Cutting straight to the point, Alexi frankly invited Connor to the party.
"I don't know..." But Connor was less than willing, trying to find an excuse to not attend the party instead. Unfortunately, Alexi came prepared:
"Look, although you can trick the others with your 'blank canvas' persona. I know you, and it didn't take long to find your painting fetish—"
"Not a fetish, an interest, and it isn't painting, it's calligraphy,"
"—Fine, hear me out: You know how I have a collector for an uncle, yeah? Well... I got this brush from his gallery and..." He didn't say any more; he already knew Connor knew.
Connor was tempted: after all, maybe the book of fate would deem the brush good enough to augment his soul. So after a few more seconds of thought, he finally agreed to the proposition.
"Fine, where's the venue?"
"Honeydew Club; meet me there at six! Seeya there!" With this, Alexi walked past Connor, undoubtedly headed to his house to prepare for the party tomorrow.
'Hum... I wonder if this thing's even good enough for that snobbish book...' He thought to himself as he observed the brush excitedly...