"I've created thee, the greatest of creation. Thou art put forth the body, mind, and soul. Like me, you possess incredible capacity. Thou just need to tap into thee."
A group of dozen of young boys, ranging from ages 12-15 is singing a poem from a book. Everyone is holding a sword In front of their chest, and the other hand is holding "The Book of Justice", provided by the church for its young believers on their Divine Guidance Routine. Here, they teach them all about the proper way of living as honorable Justician.
In front of the group is Pastor Rodrigo who is kneeling to a humongous 3-storey tall statue of the God of Justice, Justicar. Pastor Rodrigo's eyes are closed as he mumbles a prayer. His hands are in form of a fist parallel to each other while touching his chest.
That's the Pose of Equity. The given posture of the God of Justice to its followers.
'The doctrine said that no matter what happens, disrupting someone in that pose is sacrilegious and an unforgivable transgression. But why is that?' Tommy thought.
He's standing in front of the statue, offering the same chant as others. The church calls this chant "The Ken" and in Aresian "ken" means knowledge or insight.
To make the story short, "The Ken" is a chant every Justician "has" to master. Not mastering or forgetting The Ken will lead to you being ostracized by others of the same faith. To the point that every Justician's banter would end on who can recite The Ken in the fastest and most concise manner.
Tommy raised his gaze to the blinding white statue of Justicar. The statue depicts a handsome and almost nude man with just a single cloth hiding his sensitive part. He has his hands crossed out on his chest. The right is holding a long sword, the same length as his body, while the left is holding a shield. The mightiness of the stature makes it so that anyone who looks at it long enough will feel like the statue is alive and gazing at them from above. The Justicar is the shield and the sword of the people.
Tap, tap
Suddenly a boy with short hair and ridiculous bangs, in Tommy's terms, tugged Tommy in the ribs. He pointed at his book and signaled Tommy to continue reading.
This boy is Borromeo Tithes, a new friend he met just 3 months ago after his Conferment. Another boy at the same age as Tommy who's attending the weekly Divine Guidance Routind, albeit against his will - His words.
Tommy looked at Borromeo, and then at the figure of Pastor Rodrigo kneeling once again. He then shrugged. He wishes nothing but the time to flow faster so that he can continue playing with his lovely Lute from home.
...
"Child be careful! Be sure to come back before dusk!"
Felicity's words echoed in his ears as Tommy rushed out from the door.
The light from the sun glitters orange to blue as day becomes merely hours away from the night.
While running in the forest, he's carefully shielding a pear-shaped stringed instrument. The instrument has a vaulted back, a fretted fingerboard, a head with tuning pegs, and 6 courses of string with 1 being a single string for a total of 11 strings. This is the lute his parents gave him on his 12th birthdate. Something popular in the royalty, something expensive, something he cherished.
With an excited face, he sprinted forward, treating the forest like the back of his hand. Finally, he arrived at his destination. The old tower.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Caw! caw! caw!
A dark black crow can be seen flapping its wings on the top of the tower. It watched the sudden visitor.
When Tommy gazed at it, for a moment his face looks emotionless and his eyes vacant. Then he suddenly shook his head and snapped out of his reverie. He smiled and waved at the bird.
"Thank you for coming Mr. Crow! I've prepared a new song for you!"
Tommy slowly walked towards the moss-covered tower. He sat and rested his back on its walls.
"Thum, thum, thum, dara, thum, thum, thum~"
The heavy thumping sounds of the strings resounded in the opulent forest. The background Ding! Ding! sound of the Sanctum bell that only he can hear added rhythm to his oversimplified pluck. He's still a beginner with 3 months of experience with the lute after all. His uncle Fred who taught him also ain't particularly the best musician. All he can sing is "Here comes the beer!".
"I saw it in my dreams,
A golden dragon is burning,
I see it in my sleep,
How'd come to this?
The angels have fallen,
A new champion was born.
With a swipe of his fingers,
Blood has turned into storm,
Rebooooorn, on, on, on, on...."
Caw! Caw! Caw! Flap! Flap!
Before the song finished, the crow interrupted the song as it issued a flap and lingers in the sky for a few seconds then left.
Tommy watched as it leave, then mutter the words "But I'm still not finished singing..."
Tommy took his time walking in the forest, humming some tune and piecing random words into poetic sentences. The blue moon is already in the sky surrounded by twinkling stars when he exited the forest.
At the periphery of his vision, he noticed someone sitting at the top of the hill.
And thus he changed direction and inquisitively gazes at the person.
Surprisingly he saw Mary, his best friend, someone he has spent his childhood with, hugging her knees and gazing at the sky, looking lonely and lost.
Mary and his family came to this city 7 years ago. Her father William Rileycor is a jewelry merchant while her mother is a beautiful commoner. They are respected in the south sector because of their generosity, giving food to the poor and charity to the orphanage. They are a humble and wealthy family.
Tommy had only seen her father twice and on the opposite occasion. First is when he made her cry on the first day they met, 7 years ago. And yesterday, when William Rileycor donated a big amount to the Church of Justice, saying it was for the education of the children. He couldn't forget the smile from the fact of Pastor Rodrigo that time, hypocritical...
"I saw your father at the church this morning." Tommy sat beside Mary, enduring the cold razor-sharp breeze of the river. The scenery at the top of the hill can only be described as "breathtaking". At the bottom are thousands of yellow lights from every house. Some have faint smoke coming from their chimney, the west side welcomes a huge bonfire that even at this distance, the tip burns brightly. The palace in the north is the most magical. 3 Light Towers of blue, orange, and violet look like a miniature sun, its light piercing the foggy darkness of the night. The palace is the symbol of safety for the people of Ares. As long as the palace and its mighty metal walls stood, peace will never vanish.
Subsequently, the sky is like the desert of stardust. No space is left enclosed as stars shone dazzlingly in the evening night sky of Arbaria.
"It's not only the Church of Justice, he also came to the Church of the Mother of Learning and Iridescent Moon Monastery," Mary said, still looking at the amalgamation of stars in the sky.
"Is that so?" Tommy muttered looking while gawking at Mary.
More than a minute passed as both of them sat without making any noise, just looking at the sky. Tommy moved his body, the nostalgic silence made him unconsciously lay down on the lamina of grasses.
Suddenly, Mary opened her mouth.
"We're leaving town soon."
"...Why?" Tommy asked with his eyes closed.
"Because Dad said so... He said sales here have lessened, royalty grew tired of his jewels," Mary said while frowning.
"That doesn't make sense. Who else would need jewelry but royalties? Cause peasants don't. And what place in the whole continent has the most royalty? Obviously the capital! So why would he change place? Tell him to give you a more believable reason." Tommy snorted.
Mary looked at her, "That's also what I said to him. But he's firm with his decision! Tommy, please persuade him, I don't want to leave this town."
She looks sad and on the verge of crying.
Tommy felt heartbroken due to this. 7 years ago, he took a vow to never make a girl cry again. And so he said,
"Alright, I promise. I promise I'll persuade Mr. Rileycor to stay in this city. This City is the best City after all!"
"Really?"
"Really!" Tommy thumped his chest.
"Then promise it to Ruby!" Mary held her ruby necklace and brought it close to him.
Tommy looked at the shining jewel and felt something from it.
"Careful, If you promise something to Ruby, you must accomplish it, or if not, something bad will happen to you."
"What!? Come on don't jinx me like that! You're scaring me."
"(Chuckled), just kidding." Come on say it.
Tommy hesitated, then said, "I promise I'll make Mary and her family stay in this city. I promise."
"Good," Mary said, satisfied.
"By the way Tom. Do you know that the 3rd Prince's Consort will arrive tomorrow in the city? You should watch it with me! I heard they'll be coming from the south gate!" Mary said excitedly.