You kids watch where you're going!" a saleswoman shouted.
The kids ran forward, not even stopping to listen to what the woman had to say. They seemed focused on reaching a specific destination. They ran past merchants, sellers, buyers, and blacksmiths.
"You're not catching up, Lisa! Ha ha, you're too slow!" Maxwell shouted.
"Just up ahead... the finish line!" he yelled, referring to a nearby stall.
"Wooooo! I'm the first! I'm the first!" Maxwell cheered, gasping for air.
"It isn't fair," Lisa panted, gasping for air excessively.
"Woooooooo!" Maxwell mocked her.
"You were ahead when we started racing... this isn't fair," she said, gasping and pouting.
"Wooo—"
"Oh, Lisa! Maxwell!" a woman called out. "Thank God both of you are here. Come—come help with the setting up."
Lisa said, while gasping and sweating, "Mummy, please, a moment... we are catching our breath."
"Oh, come help!"
"Mumm—"
"Death chop!"
"Aaaooocch!"
Maxwell hit Lisa's head hard.
"Brother, what was that for?!" she began wailing, putting her hand where Maxwell had hit her.
"Shhhhhhhh," he hissed, putting a finger to his lips. "Mummy said let's go help. Why are you telling her to wait? That's disrespectful. Go and apologize."
"Okay," she whined.
They both walked to their mother's stall and bowed their heads. "Sorry, Mama."
"Don't worry, Lisa, I ain't mad. Just carry those crates and put them on the table over there."
"Okay, Ma'am." As she reached for the crates containing carrots and other vegetables, she asked, "Brother, when will we go to school?"
"Soon," he replied, after finishing his tasks.
Time Passed"Hoo! Ahhh! Finally done," Maxwell exhaled, wiping his forehead.
"I'm tired. My legs feel like noodles," Lisa groaned.
"No time to rest," Maxwell said, picking up his satchel and handing Lisa hers. "C'mon, let's get moving. You know what Mister Abnimo would do if we come to his class late."
"Okayyy," Lisa whined. "Oh, Mother, I forgot to tell you! This morning before coming here, we went to the King's castle."
"Oh really? So, how is the King?"
"We couldn't enter this time," Maxwell explained.
"Why?" their mother asked.
"A guard said today is a special day."
"A special day?" their mother wondered. "But I don't remember today being a special day."
"Yes! Yes! Mother, when we went to the castle a guard said today—" Lisa lowered her voice, looking left and right mischievously. With a grin on her face, she leaned into her mother's ear. "Mum... the guard said today the Queen is going to have a baby todayyy."
Their mother's eyes glistened. Immediately, she beamed with joy. "Hehehe! Haha! Today is a special day indeed!" she said out loud.
"Mum, shhhhh! Don't let anybody know, it's a secret!" they both whispered.
Other salespeople stared at them suspiciously. Their mother leaned in. "Why? Isn't it supposed to be a good message for everyone?"
"No, no, Mum, let it be a secret."
"Fine, fine," their mother whispered back, a playful glint in her eyes. "Your secret is safe with me. Now get going before Mister Abnimo makes you stand in the corner for the whole lesson!"
"Bye-bye, Mum!" they shouted.
"Wait, wait!" their mother called, tossing an apple to both of them. "Here you go. Just go and come back safely, okay?"
"Okay, Mum!" they responded.
"Those are my kids," she said, smiling as they disappeared.
Lisa and Maxwell ran all the way to school, passing the same woman from before. "These kids won't stop running," she grumbled in annoyance.
The kids bolted for their school: Valhm Academia. The school was split by two stone wall blocks—royalty in the tower, commoners in the shed.
As they saw their teacher entering the classroom with his books, they knew they were late. They bolted faster, reaching the entrance just as he did.
"Sir Abnimo, please... good morning!" they greeted him, panting and sweating.
Mr. Abnimo was an old man in a loose vest. He nodded and sighed. "Good morning. Get inside quickly and find your seats."
He stepped aside. Lisa and Maxwell hurried past into the room filled with children sitting on benches. Luckily, the front bench was empty. They sat down just as Mr. Abnimo dropped his books on the wooden podium with a heavy thud. The room went quiet.
"Alright class, get your charcoals and slates ready. Today we will be learning our history."
"Yea! Story time!" the class cheered.
Mister Abnimo blinked twice. "No, not a story. History. Pull out your slates." He cleared his throat. "History," he repeated. "Not a story. Though sometimes they sound the same."
A few students giggled. He turned and wrote slowly on the wooden board: THE AGE BEFORE ASH.
"Long before your fathers were born... before your grandfathers... there was a time we called the Age of the Apex."
The class quieted.
"Back then, humans believed they ruled everything. The seas. The land. Even the skies. They had tools we no longer possess. Weapons that could break cities. Machines that could think faster than ten scholars combined."
Lisa raised her hand halfway. "Sir... if they were that strong, why are we not like them now?"
Mr. Abnimo looked at her. "Because strength does not mean safety. One day, something arrived. It did not send a message. It did not ask permission. They were beings unlike anything described in our bestiary. They hunted humans."
"Like wolves?" a boy in the back asked.
"No," Mr. Abnimo said quietly. "Wolves can be understood. The Apex became prey. Their powerful weapons failed them. Their cities fell. And when humanity stood at the edge of extinction... something else appeared."
He tapped the board. "Humans with abilities beyond explanation. Strength beyond reason. Some called them blessed. Others feared them."
Maxwell whispered, "Like the Royal Knights?"
Mr. Abnimo didn't answer directly. "They fought back. And after years of ruin... humanity survived. But survival comes with a cost. Years later, ash began to fall from the sky. The skies darkened. Crops failed. Rivers turned grey. And that is when the Age of Kings truly began."
Mr. Abnimo's gaze drifted toward the castle in the distance.
"Not long after the Age of Kings was established, something we still cannot name arose. This force wasn't like anything we knew. It was a struggle itself. Living, moving, devouring everything. People who survive called it a devil"
Lisa's eyes widened. Maxwell gripped the edge of his desk.
"But from that chaos, the royal house gave birth to a boy. Vincent. Lord Vincent Von Thorson. Born into a world of ash, yet he was freedom incarnate. He saved those who remained. After that, humanity lived in peace again, but most of what was lost never returned."
He walked to the front, letting the words sink in well.
"And now, the castle waits again. The Queen... she will give birth very soon. We must be ready. There will be a celebration. But never forget... back in those days, humanity thought itself weak. Even we commoners believed we were nothing."
Then, slowly, he raised his hand. Flames erupted from his palm, curling in a controlled spiral of heat. The students gasped. With a swift motion, he clenched his fist, and the fire vanished.
"Even when we are common, we carry treasures within us. Hidden strength. Hope. Power. And one day... those will rise again. The Queen will give birth very soon. Prepare yourselves. This is only the beginning."
He set down the chalk. The silence in the shed was heavy with wonder and fear, while outside, the distant towers of the royalty block glimmered in the morning sun.