CHAPTER 2.5: TALES ABOUT THE FIST OF THE NORTH LANDS

***A few hours before the secret meeting of the ‘Holy Coalition’ in the War Room ended…***

Maddie led the human rulers to a huge hall where the time-reckoning device known as an ‘hourglass’ was placed prominently at the very center of the room.

“…”

The monarchs were impressed by its strange appearance, made better by the gilded wooden frame adorned with colorful gems, as well as the golden sand trickling steadily down. Two maids were on standby, ready to turn the handle once Maddie ordered them to.

“What in Chersea is that?” someone among the royal crowd gasped, “It’s a thing of marvel!”

“Aye…worthy of this holy place,” said another.

Maddie’s lips couldn’t help but draw a smile. She then took the most prominent spot in front of Chersea’s rulers, and addressed them, “Your Majesties…” she proudly introduced, “…may I present, the ‘Hourglass’!”

“Ooh!” the monarchs chorused in amazement.

“What does it do, Your Holiness?” asked the King of Calabria. His eyes were focused on the golden sand that was trickling down the device.

“Starting today, Chersea will enter a new age!” Maddie declared, “I pronounce the beginning of ‘Time’!”

“’Time’?”

“Yes, Your Majesties. Time is a measurement of passing seasons, though it’s more standard than our ‘long sleep’. Beginning right at this moment, we will never use ‘long sleep’ in our time-reckoning, but we’ll use the word ‘day’.”

The monarchs, though interest could be seen in their eyes, were utterly confused, “Err…Your Holiness, can you please explain to us this ‘day’ and the connection of it to that ‘hourglass’?”

“Well…according to the one who proposed this system, a ‘day’ is composed of 24 ‘hours’, and an ‘hour’ is what passes after one turn of this device.”

At Maddie’s behest, the maids turned the ‘hourglass’ around.

“Why did you turn it, Your Holiness?” her friend, King James of Nerfes, asked her.

“As you need to remember from now on, once the sand in the upper part of this device was exhausted, we’ll turn it around and start the trickle once again. This is an equivalent of an ‘hour’.”

“So, if we apply what you told us, 24 turns of that ‘hourglass’, would make up a day?” another monarch tried to confirm.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And what benefit will it give us if we standardize our time-reckoning?”

“Y-Yer…Your Ma-Majesties!” Maddie was waiting for this part of the question and answer, that she stammered, “As we all were used to, we measure the ages that passed by the number of seasons, as well as when we take the ‘long sleep’. However, I agree with the person who proposed this to me in saying that our seasons are erratic in pattern and duration, and anyone could take a long sleep whenever they want, putting chaos into our system.”

“Hmm…that sounds just right. Sometimes we would have to come again for the Holy Congress when we just finished it,” another king raised the issue, “Not that I do not want to come, but when there’s nothing much that had really happened, there’s nothing to solve nor talk about in the congress.”

“Yes, you’re right, King Marcus!” the King of Calabria interjected his opinion as well.

“So, Your Holiness, how do you propose we do our time-reckoning with this device?” James asked his friend.

“According to the person who proposed this to me, we should measure our time like this: 24 ‘hours’ (turns) is equal to a ‘day’. 30 days would equate to a ‘month’, and 12 months would be called a ‘year’. That way, not only we could systematize our time-reckoning, we could also fix the problems related to the passing of seasons, such as attending the Seasonal Mass, the Holy Congress…and the payment of wages to the people as well!”

“Ooh! That’s a really great idea, Your Holiness! Especially the wages part.”

“Isn’t it? For example, for every 30 days, you’d pay your employees their standard wage, and they would render a specific number of hours in service to you so that they could properly take their rests.”

There was a noticeable silence between the monarchs when Maddie mentioned the word ‘rests’.

Good thing James was quick to support her, “Ahem. Your Holiness, I could see the benefits of this ‘hourglass’ in measuring time. So, how do I make one for my kingdom?”

Maddie’s eyes suddenly sparkled with delight, “That’s great to hear, James—I mean, Your Majesty! I knew you’d say that, so I had several smaller copies made for your perusal, should you be interested in this great device!”

The maids then distributed the smaller hourglasses to the royals. Along with it came the written instructions on how to use it, including taking reference to the time at the ‘official hourglass’ in front of them.

Once they received their own device, the royals began reading and watching for the time. They wanted to have this system implemented as soon as possible, so they waited for the sand in the Saint’s hourglass to get exhausted, so they could turn their hourglasses, too.

“Whoever proposed this thing to you, Your Holiness is a genius!” someone told Maddie.

“Isn’t that right?” she proudly smiled, “He’s the smartest person I knew!”

“Let me guess…” James had a sarcastic expression on his face, “It’s Kuro.”

“Yes!” Maddie was quick to admit.

“Kuro? Who’s that Your Holiness?”

“Well, have you seen my Paladin Captain? That’s him! The man they call the ‘Fist of the North Lands’.”

“Huh? The Fist of the North Lands? That brave man? He invented this thing?”

“Not only did he invent the ‘hourglass’, but Sir Kuro is also the only commoner who fought in the Tri-Skill tournament, and actually won as well!”

“A commoner? In the Tri-Skill of Nerfes? Why that is unheard of!” a king then turned to James, “Your Majesty, did this really happen?”

“Are you doubting Her Holiness’ words?” the King of Nerfes didn’t hide his irritation.

“N-No…my apologies,” the doubting monarch quickly relented.

However, Maddie never paid attention to their brief exchange. She continued to tell stories about Kuro, “The Fist of the North Lands not only is intelligent, but he is also a brave and skilled warrior! He faced two-hundred Imperial legionnaires in Hagena who were engaged in illegal slave-trading and defeated them.”

“Wow…facing the 200 legionnaires alone. Such courage…” a monarch commented.

“Ei, don’t you remember?” another ruler told him, “The bards sing that Sir Kuro socked the Imperial wee lad in the face! If that wasn’t brave enough, I don’t know what is it called! And he’s even a commoner!”

“If he can do that, then facing the legionnaires is indeed easy.”

Maddie then further added, “He also saved me from that assassination attempt back in Amaranth! In retrospect, I owe my life to Sir Kuro!”

“Your Holiness…you sound like you really adore this man.”

“Well…” Maddie blushed, “Not really…we fight some—”

“Ah! This device is great!” the King of Calabria suddenly exclaimed, ecstatic that he finally realized what he could do with the ‘hourglass’, “Now I could properly distribute my servants’ wages and have some money left!”

The talk between some of the human kings and Maddie was interrupted by the King of Calabria’s antics. However, before they went their ways, they told their Saint…

“That man, Sir Kuro, though he may be a commoner, his heart might be that of noble, Your Holiness!”

“Aye. Don’t you think of marrying him into your family? Chersea would be in good hands with such talented persons at its helm,” the monarchs told her before they bade goodbye.

At that point, Maddie was furiously red. So bewildered she was that she remained as stiff as a pole for some time, only brought back to reality by her maids.

“…”

And it didn’t escape James’ attention.