With Anice in the lead, the two set off for the east side of town. As he’d done all throughout their walk, Alistar goggled at their surroundings as if they were a figment of his imagination. Life in Mayhaven was acutely different than life in Crystellum. Here, people laughed, smiled and socialized with one another. Everybody was beautifully dressed, and compared to what he was used to, even the simple clothes of the poorer folk gave off a warm and comfortable feel.
In Mayhaven, the children ran and played, laughing as their parents joked with talkative guards. Everybody seemed to get along. At least he thought so, until he caught a glimpse of a strange man in passing. He was shorter than most by at least a head’s difference, and his somewhat plain appearance lacked distinction, or at least it would have if not for the small horn protruding upward from his forehead. The horn, or what was left of it, resembled the stump that remained after a tree had been cut down. Most people ignored the man, but many cast irritated glances in his direction, and some exchanged words of disapproval with those around them.
When Alistar pointed it out to Anice, she laughed.
“It’s to be expected. He’s an Inverted, after all.”
“Inverted?”
She drew up close and whispered in his ear. “You know, descended from demons? Father’s the only lord in the kingdom who’s willing to grant them living rights on his lands. Can you believe that the Church once threatened to brand him a heretic?”
“Uncle Caedmon?”
“Yeah, so he had the Inverted cast aside their faith and convert to Lucianism.”
“There are other religions?”
“I don’t know. Apparently? Anyway, Papa made use of the words of scripture to make sure that they were left alone. Our uncles and our grandfather weren’t happy with him, but who cares what they think?”
“I’ve never read anything about demons. What are they?”
“You really don’t know anything,” she puffed. “They’re the scary monsters that used to cause trouble everywhere.”
At this time, they were following one of the smaller roads that branched off from East Street. Soon after they passed the horned man, the buildings trailed away and a great hill came into view off in the distance. Lush grasses covered the crest, a small cluster of maple trees sitting at its centre. The soft incoherency of a man’s voice occasionally drifted down with the wind, from where a large group sat in the shade beneath the trees.
Alistar followed Anice up the steep incline, which set his legs afire before they reached the top. Most of those gathered were children, some several years younger than him and some old enough to be considered adults. An old man was speaking to the silent group, a trio of young women standing at his back in a way that somehow seemed unfriendly. The speaker was the only one seated in a chair, a clever assembly of cloth and wooden posts that made it possible to fold. Most of the children sat in front of the man, but a small group stood secluded off to the side, a few of them glancing about as if they wanted nothing more than to leave.
Once the man finished speaking, a gangly youth raised his hand and asked a question. After answering, the man noticed Alistar and Anice standing at the back of the group. Alistar almost laughed at the surprise he showed upon seeing Anice.
“Miss Silverkin, it’s been quite some time.” He scratched at the wrinkled skin of his head, which was as bald as a newborn’s. A ripple of whispers swept throughout the congregation, but the quiet voices were quickly stifled. “Though you have other options, it would be nice to see your face in class more often.” He noticed Alistar hovering behind her. “Ah, it seems that you’ve brought a friend with you this time.”
Alistar was startled at the man’s appearance. His skin had a heavy green tinge to it, and was pocked with swirly black markings. Otherwise, he looked like a regular old man in his loose trousers and long-sleeved shirt.
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“He wants to learn,” Anice exclaimed. “He sort of grew up under a rock, and barely knows anything, so I brought him here.”
Stepping forward, Alistar bowed with as much grace as he could muster and said, “My name is Alistar. How do you do?”
The man inclined his head. “Kindly met. I am Enquin Herst. I teach those who are willing to learn, so if that’s what you’ve come to do then you’re in the right place.”
The eyes of all the other children were suddenly on Alistar, as if he were the last of an entire species. Just then, a few of the kids standing off to the side waved at Anice, who let out a surprised gasp and ran up to them in a hurry. She hadn’t even spared him a second glance.
Left alone, Alistar struggled to calm his nerves under all of the watchful gazes, and focused his attention on the old man that sat on the other side of the sitting children.
Once the chatter had diminished, Mr. Herst began to speak. “You’ve come at a good time, young man. Today’s agenda is strictly review. We were just going over the most well-known individuals of the Inverted Wars, specifically Aglain of Lahn, or Aglain the Betrayer. I’m sure that you’ve heard the name, but tell me, what do you really know of Aglain himself?”
For some reason, the old man was singling Alistar out from the rest of the group. “I’ve never heard the name. I don’t know much history.”
“How could you not have heard of Aglain?” someone smirked.
A friend of the first speaker said, “I knew Aglain’s name before I knew my own.” The two boys shared a laugh.
“Hmm,” the old man mumbled. “If not Aglain, surely you know of Saint Limnin?”
Uncomfortable and embarrassed, Alistar shook his head. He regretted not looking into the many history books that Caedmon had in his collection.
“I see. If you’re not familiar with either of them, then you have a great deal of learning ahead of you.” He looked around at the class. “Since today is review, why don’t I start from the beginning?”
As one, the crowd groaned.
Anice and her friends, who were sharing whispers amongst themselves, seemed uninterested in the discussion.
“Now, now,” the man hushed. “It never hurts to reaffirm what we know. So, Alistar, was it? Answer me this. How many people do you think there are in this world?”
“I don’t know. Many thousands, to be sure.”
“Many thousands indeed,” laughed Mr. Herst. “In this vast world, there’s no way of knowing the answer to such a question. All we know is that, however many there are today, there used to be many, many more. Long ago, there were hundreds of kingdoms throughout the continent, and they were filled with all sorts of people. Tell me, do you know how many kingdoms there are today?”
“Twenty-one.”
“Well done. Yes, there are twenty-one. These are all that remained in the aftermath of those terrible conflicts.”
Alistar was ignorant of war, and found it difficult to believe that so many people had killed one another for whatever reason. He couldn’t imagine all of those that he’d seen throughout the town attempting to harm each other, let alone at the same time.
“Why did they do it?” he asked. “What’s the point in killing each other like that?”
“It was to save humanity from the Drunaeda. Do you know of them?”
Alistar shook his head. He’d heard the word a few times throughout his life, but had never understood its meaning.
In a slightly tired voice, Mr. Herst explained, “These were heretics that made a pact with the great devil, Drune. They gave up their humanity in exchange for tremendous power, which made them bloodthirsty beyond the point of reason.”
One of the young women behind Mr. Herst suddenly spoke up. “When he says Drunaeda, he’s talking about the demons. What are properly called, ‘Inverted.’”
A girl a few years older than Alistar added, “They were scary monsters that used to eat people. They tried to kill all of us, but we fought back and won. How can you not know this?”
Alistar ignored her and stared at Mr. Herst. “What does this have to do with the two you mentioned earlier?”
“Saint Limnin was the one who rallied the human race, and fought on the frontlines throughout the conflict. He worked closely together with Aglain of Lahn, the strongest warrior of the time, and together they saved all of mankind. It’s because of them that we can all live peacefully like this.”
One of the three women behind Mr. Herst suddenly gripped the silver necklace that hung from her neck, specifically its oval headpiece. Everyone present wore one of these, except for him, Anice, and her friends.
“There’s something I don’t understand. If these Inverted peoples were as violent and evil as you say, how were they able to work together? Did they end up harming themselves?”
The man considered his question, the look in his eyes bittersweet. While he was grappling with an answer, one of the young women spoke up on his behalf.
“What does it matter how the demons governed themselves?” She cupped her necklace. “All we need to know is that they were murderous monsters that worshipped the devil, and if, Lucian forbid, by some misfortune you are ever to meet a full-blooded demon, you must run. That is the lesson that you should take away from these talks, if anything else.” She, along with the other women, drew ovals in the air over their chests, murmuring a quick series of hushed words. The surrounding kids followed suit, as did the old man.