Chapter 2: Off To The Desert (i)

"What was that last night? I've never seen you like that, you always sleep so peacefully."

I could hear the worry etched in Aisha's voice, and I felt guilty about the previous night. She had only just fully come to about an hour to daybreak, and yet here she was serving me my usual breakfast of yam and a heavy mug of hot, steaming porridge.

Despite the harsh after-effects of being exposed to my perfectly polished technique, Aisha had already regained her usual pleasant mood. I smiled, remembering now that she was no wimp on the battlefield herself.

Her steps were slow but purposeful as she moved from one end of the dining table to the next. She set up everything that was needed for breakfast, then took a seat at her assigned place - the first chair to my left - and sat waiting for everyone else to join us.

"I tried telling you that you didn't need to make breakfast today, the servants could have done that" I answered back, trying to steer the conversation away from the events of the previous night. I still wasn't sure whether it had all been just a dream.

"Oh please! We both know you hardly ever eat when anybody else makes your food. And besides, I'm perfectly fine now." She reached her hand over the table and gave my hand a quick squeeze.

I could see she understood that I wasn't ready to talk about my episode. I also knew how caring and understanding she was, but I didn't want to worry her - or get her excited - over some crazy story I didn't even believe in myself. It was for the best that I wait and see how things would unfold.

I squeezed her hand back, then turned my gaze to the door when I heard the approaching cheerful laughter of Makena and Imani, my only daughters. They rushed in, almost running into the chairs as they fought over a hand-sewn doll Aisha had made for them. Their mothers followed closely behind, gossiping about whichever village lady they were interested in today.

Everyone took their seats, and the cheerful banter slowly turned into muffled whispers. It was customary that we express our gratitude to the god of the harvests, lest we suffer his wrath and perish from hunger.

To my left was Aisha, my first wife, and to her left were Kisa, Nala, Layla, and Lerato. It was the tradition that everyone sat in order of their assumed hierarchy in any form of gathering, and meal times were no exception.

Makena and Imani usually sat to my right. In any other home, this would have been considered taboo and deeply frowned upon. It was the sons, the heirs to the father's name and riches, who would normally take these seats. Seeing as I had no sons of my own, I saw no harm in letting my beloved daughters take their rightful place as the heirs to my bloodline - the Saeed bloodline.

After Aisha had said the prayer, everyone dug into their breakfast. I was glad to see that there had been no lingering effects of my mana outburst. The children must have been shielded by their mothers, I realized.

After a rather quiet and uneventful breakfast, I headed to my armory to prepare for my journey. I found all my armor and weapons already laid out on a bench with a note from Aisha wishing me good luck. "What would I do without her," I thought with a smile.

Musa arrived shortly after with his heavily armored guards. They were all on horseback, and I could see through my window that Musa himself was adorned in fine leather armor made from the tough yet elegant scales of a slain mana beast. As usual, he had his long spear in one hand and two daggers on either side of his waist. I quickly finished up and walked out of the armory to meet him and his men.

Everyone stiffened up when they saw me approaching.

"General Saeed!" they saluted in unison.

"At ease. No need to be so official yet, it's boring," I replied.

"Always so laid back, it's a wonder you made general," my brother teased.

"If the council assessed warriors based on how uptight they are, you'd be the general and I'd be the captain," I shot back, then smiled apologetically when I realized he was still quite sensitive about missing out on the previous promotions.

Fortunately for me, Makena and Imani came rushing toward us in their usual playful manner, dissolving the awkward atmosphere that had been building up.

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"Daddy! Daddy! Mother said to give you this," Imani said, brandishing a charm pendant.

"No fair...! I was the one supposed to give it to him!"

"Hey, hey...cut that out. I told you two to stop fighting," I said as I tried to separate the two girls.

"They're just children, Saeed. Children always play-fight," my brother eased. "And hey! I'm so heartbroken...no greetings for your uncle?" Musa teased as he dismounted his horse and gave the girls a warm hug.

"Sorry, Uncle Musa!" Imani said, then went back to arguing with her sister.

"I wish it was playful, they're so competitive," I said with a sigh.

"We should get going, brother. Those damn royals might get pissy if we keep them waiting," Musa said, no doubt sympathizing with his men who were not accustomed to being in my presence. They had been quietly observing all along, but I could feel the nervous air hovering around them.

Right on cue, Ali - one of the stable boys - came into sight as he walked around the corner from the stables with my horse following close behind. He bowed courteously toward everyone, then handed me the horse's lead and walked back to the stables without a word.

"He's still as shy as ever, I see," Musa said as he climbed back on his horse. I could tell he was just trying to make conversation, but I quietly mounted my horse and ushered for the gateman to let us through. His men's horses gave way to let me take the lead as we commenced our short excursion to the castle.

...

Magra was one of the four continents in this world and the home continent of humans. But instead of having a single monarch to rule over the entire continent, the people of Magra had long ago chosen to be governed by The Council, which was composed of a bunch of self-righteous nobles and royals.

The royals and nobles who made up the council were all monarchs of their own territories within Magra. They could decide the fate of their individual territories without the interference of the other royals and nobles or the council. However, all decisions regarding the entire continent were made by The Council, which was regarded as the supreme authority in Magra.

Magra was the smallest of the four continents, but it had the largest number of cities and towns as the humans prided themselves in being the most technologically advanced of all the races. But Arakone wasn't like other typical cities in Magra. Not only was it the biggest city in the human continent in terms of population, but it was also the most economically successful.

Any ignorant observer would assume that the economic success was a result of the large population of able-bodied humans in the city. But after having personally interacted with Sir Horus, Arakone's monarch, I knew clearly that everything good or bad that happened in the city was according to his wishes.  He was astute and decisive, and I was sure that we owed the economic success of the city to Sir Horus.

Despite the beauty and prosperity of the city, there were a few negative aspects of Arakone that I did not like. Nobles and Royals bore a deep hatred for the poorer and less fortunate citizens, and this caused their segregation. A wall had been built to divide the city so as to prevent the interaction of nobles and citizens.

On one side of the wall, there was an affluent and wealthy neighborhood of royals and nobles. Everything on this side was always spotlessly clean and had been engineered with keen precision to ensure a smooth experience for the nobility. Mansions mushroomed throughout the place, but they were nowhere to be seen on the other side of the wall. But perhaps this was no topic for me to empathize on, I realized, seeing as I myself was a noble.

As our horses trotted through the stone pavements of the city, I was frequently interrupted from my train of thought as we paused to exchange greetings with other nobility. It was early morning, the sun had just risen, and everyone was on their way to their assigned stations.

As we arrived at The Castle's gates, I decided to stop lamenting my lack of power to bring about any significant changes in the country and instead focused on the day ahead.

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