Primogeniture

Chapter 4 - Reality

   The Historian countryside was peaceful and vast as ever. Farms and forests filled the countryside, Emrick was laying on hay in the cart he hitched a ride on. Looking up at the night sky, the stars littered the sky. It was a far cry from the night sky he observed from inside his room staring out from his window. Many farmers use magical pets in the form of horses to carry their products across the countryside. The magical pet is a familiar that is summoned using nature magic. People do not sleep at night, some farmers take shifts working twenty-four hours a day to maximize production.  Usually, they would use larger carriages to transport their products but due to the dangers of night raids, the farmers use smaller carriages with smaller familiars. 

   Emrick's eyes were wide open, showing his heterochromia and his body was motionless as he thinks about his situation. A boy from the palace who has never stepped out of the palace grounds is now facing the world. He has never made any friends and has no family who he can rely on currently. What sort of life has he been living? He thinks back to the countless books he has read when he was small and from the time he was imprisoned in the underground library. Certain books tell a tale about the outside world and some books presents poems about the peasant life. Was he about to live such a life ? Why did he just leave without any advice ? His master's words were just a path but the path he walks down in dim and treacherous. What was he suppose to do ? Who was he suppose to trust ? How was he suppose to sneak onto a ship to Maxia ? 

   Food, shelter and clothing. How was he suppose to obtain these commodities ? He thought of all of this as the carriage he was on came to a halt. He panicked and had to get off, he then got up from his laying position and jumped out from the back of the carriage. The farmer saw him and shouted at him in anger. The distant shouting was amplified by the silence of the night. Emrick ran down the road, he had no sense of direction and did not know where was back, he was unconsciously running in a random direction until he came upon a road sign at a junction.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Historia City -------------- 20 km      <---

Stormridget Palace ----- 50 km      --->

Sluggard Port ----------- 100 km     ↑

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   At the T-junction, he dropped to his knees. Sluggard was 100 kilometers away, it would take a few days before he could reach there. He will probably thirst to death before then. If he goes back to the palace, he will no doubt be killed and his mother will probably be cut off by the Historian royalty and she will be left for dead in Lirus. For now, he is just missing after being caught up by the mercenary attack. The road back to the palace is cobblestone-paved and the road ahead is a dirt road. The first step is always the hardest, his legs frozen in place. What kind of person will throw themselves into the unknown ? He just needed a little push, the farmer from before was running at him from the direction he came from and this made his mind go into a fight or flight state. He fled, his legs drove him forward, the farmer was the catalyst and fate led him into the unknown.

   He ran and ran until he lost the farmer, the farmer gave up halfway chasing the boy as the boy seemed to not tire. Emrick ran on adrenaline, he periodically looked back to see if the farmer was still after him. When he saw he was in the clear, his legs gave out and he fell forward on his knees again. Where was he ? The road led him into a forest, he was surrounded by trees and bushes. He could not make out anything without light and he heard noises in the rustling bushes. He snapped his fingers and a small fire appeared on his right palm. The creatures of the night scattered around him in fear of the flame. He turned and observed his surroundings, then he heard a twig snapped behind him and immediately jumped into the air using force magic and saw a black animal pounce below him. The animal was vicious and Emrick was its target. Emrick dropped down and landed on his feet, the fire on his palm went out but he could feel the beast's eye locked on him. Its black fur gave off an intimidating silhouette and it was agile on its four legs evident by the sudden pounce a few moments ago.