A few days later ……
Ervinos Mukuru and Symeon Umpetha stood in front of the grand marble statue of Didaskalos Inkosi, the founding scholar of Sufundiso, and made a promise to help each other achieve their goals. Ervin said his goodbyes to his newly made friend, paid respects to Alcides and then ran through the gates of Sufundiso to rejoin his father. Alex watched proudly as his child ran back to him, even he did not expect the two little warriors to get along so well.
Ervin himself was quite excited to see Sufundiso. Despite making the trip from Paligxulu to Sufundiso fairly often, Ervin was used to immediately leaving and either heading back or to Thalassanqaba before even entering the city.
“Come quickly, child.” shouted Alexander, “We have important work to do in the city this time. Unfortunately, it’s straight to the Heart of Learning for you!”
Ervin's heart shook. School? What kind of sick joke was this, “That’s not funny at all!” shivered the little boy, as his mind drifted to his demonic personal instructor back home.
“I’m sorry, child. I promise to make it up to you next time.” apologised his father, it seemed he was serious. “But there’s no reason we can’t take the long walk there. Look around, and don’t miss a thing. I’ll show you the most exciting streets on the way.”
Ervin slouched down without complaint, he knew if his lazy father was too busy then it must have been something important. They were just entering the main gate now, Alexander was pushing his way through a sea of people, and Ervin could see no end to the crowds.
As they walked through the checkpoint, the young Mukuru was sure there were more people at the gate than there were in the whole of Paligxulu. What caught his attention was the sheer difference between each and every one of them. Flowing blue gowns, purple turbans, men with their beards dyed a dark red, little children shouting at each other through their windows - every corner of the street was overflowing with life. And yet, each person was going about their business like the street was theirs alone, without a care in the world for their chaotic surroundings.
“Father” started the young boy as they walked towards the centre, “How does the Heart of Learning compare to the Diafthoreat Empire’s centre of learning? Can the finest scholars of Ikona compete with the Diaf?”
“You asked the right question!” laughed Alexander, always happy to compete with the Empire. “The Empire used to have a centre of learning in their capital of Noirfort that was considered the Heart of Learning’s equal. But just a couple of years ago, the Diaf Emperor suddenly issued orders to destroy it. After its loss, the Heart of Learning is by far the superior intellectual institution in the Southern Continent.”
“Why in the world would the Diaf do that?” exclaimed a puzzled Ervin.
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“Who knows” chuckled Alexander, “But I hear it's not the only weird thing the Emperor has done in the past few years. There are rumours that his age is getting to him. The Center of Learning in Diaf was run by the Ālim, an important figure for the Lightseekers of the Rihla.”
“Why do the Lightseekers of Rihla oppose the emperor?” questioned Ervin, he had heard of the religious order of light mages that worship Light as the fundamental element of all creation, but had never seen a member in real life. “I heard it was because the teachings of their god tell them to conquer the world.”
Alexander checked his heading before turning to reply. “That’s all nonsense, my boy. The Emperor’s family is also very much ordained by Rihla he relies on them to a great extent. Unlike Ikona, the Empire has far too many mouths to feed. Even though they can use magic to farm, they end up relying on the Lightseekers of Rihla to distribute food, water and medicine when things get tough. They even run smaller libraries where the poor are allowed to gather and receive alms.”
Ervin nodded, the Lightseekers didn’t seem that bad a group after all. “What about the best institution in the world?” pushed the boy, “Do our scholars compare to those in the Tian Mahajanapada.”
Alexander burst out into laughter, thoroughly annoying the poor boy, “Ah boy. Let go of that dream. The Tian Mahajanapada is so far ahead of the Southern Continent in every single way that no one bothers to make that comparison.”
Ervin had expected this answer. The Tian Mahajanapada was a massive kingdom that ruled over the entire Northern Continent, a landmass nearly twice the size of the Southern Continent itself. He remembered his mother once saying that if Tian wanted, they could probably invade and destroy the Diafthoreat Empire. According to her, the only reason Tian did not try was because they saw the entire Southern Continent as a valueless backwater. The stories he’d heard of their capital city of Weidalaya were too fantastical to take seriously.
Alexander walked further down the road, showing Ervin a well-built marble building with several roads shooting out from it. “See that there” called out Alex, “that’s the community centre. In Sufundiso everyone knows how to read, so whenever there’s an important announcement to make, the Lord of Sufundiso simply writes it down, and the officials at the community centre stick it onto their boards outside. And they call me the lazy one?!”
“Father, you’re probably too lazy to build the community centre in the first place” jabbed the little miscreant, never one to turn down an opportunity to call out his father's work ethic.
“Just for that, I’ll get you there quicker, you little rascal.”
“Nooo” cried Ervin, as his father picked him up and started jogging.
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20 minutes into the stroll, Ervin had seen countless things he wished he could see more of - plazas, gardens, playgrounds, and alleyways - all leading to an adventure of their own. “We’re nearly there.” notified his father, “But if you ask me this is one of the best spots. ” he grinned, as he led his son through the bazaar.
The young Mukuru understood what his father meant immediately- the crowd was no less than it was at the gate, and there was stall after stall as far as the eye could see. Spices, toys, equipment, dyes, trinkets, furniture, accessories, and clothes peppered the side walk. Hawkers came up to anyone who made the mistake of making eye contact and tried to sell them their latest product, you could hear fierce bargaining at every stall.
What interested Ervin most was the food and shows, an incredibly sweet smell filled the air as they passed a stand selling fried desserts. A troupe of acrobats was flipping around in cages, and dancers were handing out tickets for their next performance. Ervin was wondering which he was going to see first, and finally started walking towards a theatre show - “The Origins of Life, Adult entry - 10 gold, children entry - 2 gold” read the bedazzled purple sign that had captured Ervin's imagination. “Only 2 gold? I have more than that in my pockets. I’m sure one quick trip wouldn’t hurt!” he thought to himself.
Suddenly he felt a yank from behind, “Just where do you think you’re going, little rascal.” scolded his father, dragging the little wanderer away from his theatre experience
“Nooo” cried Ervin, as his father dragged him out of the bazaar, and into the school district.