LIVING | 하루토

4 - The Golden Rule

"they will smell their own kind's blood soon. let's get moving," he panted as he stepped back into the vines, gesturing for the shield of vines to lower with his hands.

he climbed onto asha's back and gripped the leash firmly.

"are you hurt anywhere?" he asked before pulling on the leash.

"n-no... but my ches-"

"then, hold still." he demanded as i gulped, wrapping my arms around his firm waist as he instructed asha to sprint forward.

his voice still low and cold, as if he had no emotions.

what is this guy's deal? if he can't even let me finish my sentences.. what's the bloody point in asking!

asha dashed through the dense & dull woods, but the piercing pain in my chest was still very much present.

"agh.." i groaned under my breath as my eyebrows furrowed, trying to reduce my own pain for everyone' s sake.

we were going at full speed, the cold wind dancing around in my hair.

the path was rocky and often bumpy, causing me to grip onto his waist tighter. i.... had never ridden on a horse before, so everything just felt so surreal.

but i still had no idea where i was until we started going slower, and walked into an area of a small hut surrounded by... animals wandering around in the dull greenery.

dull...

dry...

my eyes traveled up and down, desperately trying to figure out where i am.

where have i heard of such dry flora before? Cepil's greenery was never this dry. everything's always lush, grown with love, and properly taken care of according to each plant's requirements.

come on, yena! think! in the books i've read.. remember where it's dry... come on, come on, come on! remember!

and then it finally dawned upon me.

"ALIN!" i exclaimed loudly as i entered the man's hut. maybe that was too loud..

he shot his head towards me.

"this... i'm... this is the land of Alin." i said, trying to regain my composure.

"in the books i've read, only Alin has such dry and dull flora. there is no other area in this place that could ever flourish and survive under such conditions... your people. people here... t-they're.."

that's right! why didn't i think of this sooner?!

the reason why the man could possess such tremendous magic of both nature and that powerful orb is because...

"they're hybrids!" i looked up at him, everything finally making sense as i connected all the dots around me; the obvious dots i had failed to see at first.

from what i've read, the land of Alin is the nearest to Cepil but it's still a bit of distance away from one another.

Alin— known for its healing magic & strong defence.. which is why he is calm about ogres and danger, since they probably face it a lot... but can fight it off well.

Alin's defense is so strong that no ruler of other lands dare go near it. it'll only be as if they're asking to be defeated.

and.. the most important part about what i know of Alin from the books; they're the land of hybrids.

Cepil is an older land than Alin since Cepil was established about 7 years before Alin officially established his own land. during these 7 years, technology and reproduction advanced rapdily. as such, people in Alin came to be hybrids of different kinds of magic and unique mana.

the hybrids have endless possibilities — but it is similar to Cepil. their magic builds Alin into what it is today; it allows Alin to thrive, just like how our magic allows Cepil to thrive.

they're the land of healing, but i have never gotten their healing to finally free me from this curse of a heart.. the reason behind this is simple.

according to 'the great lands' book,

long ago, it was said that two powerful rulers— Alin and Cepil, were great friends and ruled one land together; the land of Blea.

people of Blea befriended one another, shared meals, traditions, & lived harmoniously. until during the eve of new year, it was heard that Cepil had fallen even more ill after being under the care of Alin's friend, a renowned sorcerer.

it's believed that the sorcerer did this in order for Alin to finally have more powerful magic.

during the two rulers' long friendship, Alin witnessed just how powerful Cepil's magic was over the 4 elements (earth, fire, water & air). he thought that if he could possess such magic alongside his healing and defense magic, he could rule everything with great power... and be the sole ruler of Blea and eventually other lands.

Alin soon grew jealous over Cepil's magic, greed swallowing him whole. he longed for greater power than ever before. he thought if he could combine the 4 elements and his healing, would he possess the greatest powers of all and live eternally.

soon enough, jealousy and greed overcame Alin, and thus ordered the sorcerer to poison Cepil instead of heal him.

Alin had turned a blind eye to his friendship with Cepil. all he knew was that he needed more.

more power.

Alin and the sorcerer could carry out this plan smoothly because... the people of Blea trusted one another and the two rulers' friendship.

ever since Cepil died, hell broke loose between the people of Blea. properties were destructed, riots broke out, and even innocent lives were lost. Alin denied all accusations of poisoning Cepil. trust was broken.. and most importantly, the friendship had been destroyed.

as the social unrest continued on for a gruesome 4 weeks, Cepil's mother finally decided that she had had enough and used her strong earthly magic to separate the land into two.

this was to hopefully ease the fights & destruction.

ever since that day, the two lands had became one another's greatest enemies, making it an oath that no body was to ever trespass the latter's land ever again for fear of betrayal and death— this was then addressed as the golden rule.

it was said that if there was anybody caught breaching the golden rule, would they be punished unmercifully.

and that's how the land of Cepil and Alin came to be what it is today...