The Blessed Child

Arrival at the Scholar's Kingdom

Finally, when the carriage stopped, my attention was brought back to our current situation.

We had arrived at the Heart of the blessed land, the Scholar's Kingdom, where lived all the Scholar's that have existed since the death of the last Oracle. (At least that's what our history books had taught us.) 

As someone who had lived in the commoner's villages her whole life, I was blown away by the infrastructure. I had never seen such tall buildings made with such fine stones and marble, (The tallest building I had seen was a church made out of the highest quality wood.) but these were magnificent.

'You commoner, help the ladies take their belongings out.' Barked one of the guards who had aided our travels.

'Yes, my Lord' replied a feeble looking man. He must have been in his late 50s but he wasn't letting his age affect his performance. He with one powerful sweep picked up our bags, bowed to the guards and us and started walking towards the backside of the main building. The guard ushered us to walk inside of the building.

'Why isn't he going through the main entrance?' My younger sister asked.

'My Lady, how can a lowly person like himself walk on the same path as yours?' The guard explained with utmost respect.

I could tell my sister was disturbed by the answer. We knew that commoners or those born into the lower-income groups of the Warriors Clan were looked down upon by the Scholars and the Sorcerers but this felt a bit too much.

'I see.' My sister responded and she reached out for my hand and grabbed it tightly.

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It happened a week ago.

A group of carriages arrived at our village. An older fat looking man stepped out and announced that they were looking for the 'blessed child' and that the search has them believing that the child was in this village.

The blessed child would be a young virgin girl whose mother had passed away.

Our Village's Chief rounded up all the orphaned and motherless girls in our village. Most families not wanting to have to raise daughters would often abandon them at birth hence there weren't many girls to round up. In the small sample of virgin women included my sister and I.

It took five days but they came knocking at our doors and it took two minutes for the fat old man to conclude that the young child was my sister. He told my father and me that she would be taken to the Scholar's Kingdom and trained to became a powerful Sorcerer that was prophesied by the Oracle decades ago.

'My sister is not going anywhere alone.' I argued (Especially with a fat old man who looks like a pervert)

'Sister? Say are you her sister by blood?' Asked the fat old man as he stroke his beard.

'We share the same biological parents' I explained.

'Well, the prophecy only spoke of an only female child.... I don't have all my tools with me...' The fat old man started rumbling.

'You should take them both.' My father spoke up.

'Father?' I blurted astonished.

'I am only a school teacher but my youngest is not of age to travel alone. My older daughter is, however. Hence, she will need to be my youngest's guardian.' My father explained.

'It is the Eldest Scholars Command that only the blessed child be brought back.' The fat old man barked.

'It is the Ancient Scholar's Law that a young girl is forbidden from traveling without a guardian.' My father calmly explained. (The Ancient Scholars words are considered highest in the caste system, even higher than Elder Scholars. And because those who were ranked in the top of the caste valued ranks more than anyone, my father knew that he couldn't argue against the law that had been set by the Ancient Scholars.)

The fat old man looked irritated; but after one of the younger men by his side whispered in his ear, he cleared his throat and said, 'Okay. You two start packing your things we leave at dawn.'

'Also, one other thing, my Lord.' My father spoke again, 'My youngest is only 15 years old hence my eldest will be her guardian until she is of age. That means until the next three years. I hope that it isn't an issue?'

The fat old man looked at him resentfully and then turned away from us without answering.

____________________________________________________________________________

The guard who had been escorting us spoke with a man in robes who had been standing in front of the door with a book seal on it.

He bowed, knocked on the door and went inside. We waited a few minutes; the fat old man and his people had already gone inside before us.

The man in the robes came outside and told us we could go inside.

My sister's hand gripped mine harder.

I smiled and said, 'Lord make my path easy.'

My sister replied, 'Amen.'