Book 1, Verse 21

“So, Shinko, you were born and raised in a monastery?” Niels asked absently while we passed through a clearing in the forest.

“Yes; what is this forest called?” I interrupted his flow so that he wouldn’t ask any more questions about my “upbringing.”

Niels looked at Vivian.

She shrugged, and he sighed in disappointment.

“I’ve always called it ‘the forest;’ it doesn’t really need a special name.” Vivian explained.

“It’s called King’s Wood because it gets more dense around Kuzges, and also because this is where Mandl was first thought of as an idea by its first ruler.” Niels said factually. “It’s a neat little story.”

I kicked at a loose stone on the path while we kept walking.

“Suppose that I didn’t know that story.” I said with a smirk. “Mind telling me how it goes?”

Niels whistled appreciatively.

“Wow, you really were hidden away. I figured every priest would know that story.”

“Yeah, so did I.” Vivian said confidently, then leaned in next to Niels and whispered something confidentially.

Niels rolled his eyes and looked at me.

“Apparently she doesn’t know the story either.” Niels said plainly as he pointed at her over his shoulder.

“Niels! You weren’t supposed to tell him!” Vivian sounded betrayed.

I smiled a little bit as Niels took a breath and began telling me and Vivian about the story of Mandl’s conception.

“Before Mandl, there was a country called Faren; its history is long and exciting but we don’t have time for that. The first king, Alexander the Humble.”

Vivian and I both snorted when we heard the name.

“Yes, it seems like a contradictory name, but it was a posthumous one. During his life, he never really cared what people called him; even after he could be rightfully called a king, he let everyone in his castle address him as a ‘fellow servant.’”

“That’s strange.” Vivian commented.

“Well, Alexander was a deeply religious man.”

Of course he was; thank you, history, for constantly slapping me in the face with religion.

“That wasn’t even the only strange thing about him.” Niels paused, looking for the right word.

As we walked along the forest road, a pair of birds flew overhead, and in the distance, we could hear the wind rushing through the trees.

“See, he came onto the scene as a young man, about your age, Shinko. Apparently he was gifted with extreme strength, more so than any warrior who had been seen in that age. Artistic renditions of him depict him as bulging with muscle and being frighteningly tall; a veritable mountain of a man.”

This Alexander guy sounded like a beast; no wonder he founded a kingdom.

“He founded Mandl in response to, in his own words, ‘Faren’s appalling moral condition.’ See, Alexander had some very strange ideas for the era he was born into; he was against slavery, treated women as near-equals to men, and in a time when the church was viewed as a threat, he offered it sanctuary in his new country–”

“So was this during the church pact?” I said abruptly, intrigued.

“Don’t interrupt me!” Niels snapped his fingers and a burst of wind slammed into my face. “We’re in a place where my magic is much more potent than normal; don’t tempt me to use it.”

Vivian stuck her tongue out at Niels when he wasn’t looking, then glanced down at me and whispered.

“Elves tend to think being in forests boosts their mirra;’ I think it’s a load of manure.” She said with a smile.

I giggled with her, before returning my attention to what Niels was saying.

“Yes, Shinko, this took place soon after the formation of the church pact and the discovery of magic; some twenty years or so. Alexander was actively against the church pact, and demanded an audience with the high queen of Faren so that he might try to convince her not to agree to it.” Niels shrugged. “She ignored his pleas and labeled him an outlaw.”

Vivian muttered something under her breath in response to that, but I couldn’t quite hear it.

“Once Alexander was an outlaw, he fled to these very woods, along with his small band of followers, and together they founded Kuzges, the capital of Mandl. Legend says that Alexander initially refused to be the king, but his followers essentially forced him into the role.” Niels sounded unsatisfied. “Personally, I don’t believe that, but it doesn’t change much in the grand scheme of things.”

I tilted my head as we passed through a portion of the road that had overgrown vines on it. Niels casually flicked it away with a wave of his hand, magically making the vines shrink away from the path.

“To make a very long story short, the queen of Faren eventually focused so many resources on the capture of Alexander that she left herself vulnerable to a declaration of war by the neighboring country of Rillew; in a swift two months, Faren’s capital was destroyed and its land was assimilated into the Rillish empire. Alexander took advantage of the war by bolstering his forces to the point that he had a somewhat respectable standing army and a decently sized capital city. It’s a shame that his last few weeks were occupied by madness.”

“Madness?” Vivian and I jinxed each other.

“Yes. During the final weeks of his life, Alexander was overtaken by a bout of insanity. He claimed that he was from another world, that he–”

All the noises disappeared.

All sensory feelings went numb.

I couldn’t hear, feel, or smell anything.

My vision quickly began to darken.

I forced myself to hyperventilate. Breathe in and out, Shinko. Faster!

Vivian and Niels turned around, concerned.

“Shinko?” Niels asked, confused.

“Hold on! Let me help you!” Vivian bent over a little bit so that we were eye-to-eye and she placed her hands on my shoulders. “Shinko, calm down.”

Her beautiful blue eyes met mine, and the panic that I felt mere moments ago began to wear away. Not entirely, but enough for me to see that she was trying to help.

“Good, good. Okay? Are you going to be fine?” She didn’t let go of my shoulders.

I nodded.

She let go of my shoulders slowly. Niels stepped forward past her and examined my face.

“You look pale; even more so than usual.” He looked at Vivian knowingly. “With such a fair complexion, it’s a miracle he hasn’t burned in the sun.”

“I-I heard that.” I muttered.

“Ah, good.” Niels said, but his voice wasn’t completely jovial.

He looked up at the sky. The sun was still a good way above the horizon. He shook his head slowly.

“Why don’t we set up camp now? I haven’t traveled in ages and neither has Vivian. We could use the extra time to figure out how to do it correctly.”

“That sounds like a good idea. You can sit…” Vivian looked around, standing on the tips of her toes so that she was even taller than normal. “On that conveniently placed stump!”

She pointed towards a nearby clearing, and I saw the stump. I walked over to it and sat down.

Niels and Vivian both occupied themselves for the next hour trying and failing to set up decent tents and start a fire.

I would’ve helped, but I was too busy thinking.

Alexander, the founder of Mandl, was from another world?