The Untamed

Chapter 11: Lesson One

   In the days that followed the meeting with Seyth, much happened. For starters, Clyde couldn’t believe that he had to stay in some apartment while the sisters invited Anya to live in the castle with them. So while she was able to live in a luxurious room, Clyde was left in some raggedy apartment. There was a bed, bathroom, and a fridge. Other than that, the room was utterly bare. His only source of entertainment was the one window he had. There was an empty apartment that was right next door to his… It was a miracle, that as dull as this entire apartment complex was, that the room next to Clyde’s was the only one left that was available.

   He unloaded all of his belongings from his backpack and simply tossed its contents to the floor. Without a closet, he figured that he could put his clothes under his bed. His toothbrush and toothpaste were tossed in the bathroom and the fridge was left empty. He still had his twenty-three dollars and seventy-four cents, but as he quickly learned, dollar bills were not accepted in Endnark.

   In fact, he learned a lot of things about Endnark. In the days that passed, Kassy continued to explain how life around the island worked to both Clyde and Anya. (Jassy stopped by once in a while.)

   After that, Kassy explained the role of the advisors: the most hated people on the island. According to Kassy, they were nothing but nasty people. They only advised the king to do what they wanted – not what was best for the island as a whole. When Anya suggested that the king should just fire them, Kassy shook her head.

   “He can’t. They’re appointed for life and they can’t be removed. I don’t know all the details of these politics, but it’s much deeper than what I’m telling you. So for now, let’s just drop the subject.”

   Then, he came to know about the currency of Endnark. Kassy showed them the gold coins that were called “Gold Coins” distributed depending on the student’s grades. There was no concept of paper money and when Clyde showed her the dollar bills, she was so astounded and she couldn’t speak for minutes. After recovering from the shock of paper money, she explained that there was no concept of banks and the reason behind this was that there were several Kin across the island responsible for keeping an eye on people’s belongings. If anyone was caught stealing, they would be thrown in the dungeons. Plus, if anyone ever needed money, they could have their own Kin bring it in a blink of an eye.

   When learning that there was actually a prison here, Clyde had to ask where it was and how it was guarded. The reply was a stern one, telling him that the dungeon was hundreds of feet below the ground and that it was guarded by special Kin. She even explained that Kin – when Tamed – always follow their Tamer’s orders, so naturally, if the Tamer is thrown in the dungeon, the Kin must also be dealt with appropriately.

   One of two things are bound to happen. One, the Kin is also thrown in the dungeon and a special necklace is placed around it to suppress its powers. Or two, another Tamer can simply come and tame the Kin.

   “It’s usually the first option,” she said.

   Once that subject was dropped, she taught them about the schooling system. Academically, the island had K-12 grade and had one university.

   Thus, they were both quickly enrolled. Anya was only put into the academic one while Clyde was placed into both of them. Again, he couldn’t believe his terrible luck on this island. He imagined himself getting away from all of these things, not closer to them.

   The entire system was all organized. Since there were people from all parts of the planet, it was only fitting that there were many schools and many Kin that were teachers. According to Kassy, the Kin, although not as intelligent as humans, tend to be swift learners. Almost every Kin knew almost every human language – making them effective teachers.