Emperor of Legendia

Next morning, the city was as peaceful as ever. Most of them were still fast asleep as three days after the celebration was declared holiday. The Brimble Society’s people were the first ones to show movement as always since they have to make sure they catch enough fish for their escalated sales during the holidays. Children gathered around the famous lake to play their routine games. Brimble Society was built over a lake which was formed as a result of the waterfall descending from River Keto. Although connected by roads and ways for carts and horses, most of the commuting was done by the boats. When the first Emperor found Legendia, he sat down with his best architects and built out a fishing society for the fishermen; a cluster of houses built over lakes capturing the serenity and beauty of nature. The Urbas Society, meant for merchants, farmers, scholars, poets, blacksmiths and various artists, lived far across the lake on the other side of the city. They preferred to stay away from the Brimble Society as they said ‘The city smells fish’. It’s true indeed. As soon as one enters Brimble Society, it must be necessary that he is used to the smell of fish. But the beauty of this society is nowhere comparable. Urbas Society also boasts plenty of blossomed gardens all around. Farming of exotic fruits and vegetables was practised here since the beginning giving it a touch of colourful society.

Crevol waited in the Grand School for the arrival of his students. The Grand School looked a simple block of cube from the exteriror, with an entrance in the centre of the front lane-facing side. It comprised of just one massive huge room wherein Crevol conducted his lessons. The chairs were set in a circular manner and there was a space left in the centre for the teacher to occupy. Soon, students aged six to ten arrived eagerly to get the front chairs. The main purpose of Grand School was to enlighten the kids with knowledge of the worldly matters, including the history of Legendia and other major cities. They were just given a brief outline of magic. Learning magic was indeed a very tough field. Personal tutors for learning magic used to be appointed in the olden days for children of fifteen and above, but most of the students would stumble half way and give up on pursuing it further; as it is no piece of cake. Only those with strong mind and desire succeed in the ten year magic studies. But becoming a wizard like William Zimon needed a lot more years to spend in order to acquire such powers. However, such wizardry was to be taught by highly skilled wizards. This Grand School, however, was confined to non-magic studies only.

Yoyo Mathew and Albert Squirrel walked in with their son and daughter respectively. The two served as soldiers in the army who were under Marco’s command. The duo were labelled as love birds by their fellow men; as they were always seen together, day and night. Albert had a gentleman’s charm in his appearance; thin moustache, clean shaven, neatly combed hair and a polished speech. Yoyo on the other hand had a mischievous character and a foolishly adorable look on his face. His clean shave threw a light on the many freckles on his thin long face. He had a childish smile and a hasty speech.

“Hello, Mr. Crevol!”, Yoyo and Albert greeted Crevol with a firm shake while their children hurried down the second row to grab a seat.

“No training today?”,Crevol asked.

“I wish!”, Albert chuckled, “The king suddenly tightened our training schedule. I wonder why.”

Crevol breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. The room was filled by all the students in no time and Crevol started to walk back down the aisle and the murmurings calmed down

“So... can anyone tell what we covered the last time?”

A hand rose. Crevol nodded. “We... umm... last time... umm... were told about how Rovania, Venozulae, Yarolin and err ... yea.. attacked Legendia when Lord Alen Zimon was the king. But now, they are friends with us... er I mean ... like... allies... umm yes...”, the girl from the first row finished. Crevol smiled, “Very good! So shall we start with the next topic?” The class responded with less enthusiastic voices.

“You surely don’t want the routine topics today, eh?”,Crevol let out his cracked laugh while the class eagerly awaited for his next obvious question, “So would ya’ like to discuss on something ya’ want?”

The class erupted in applause and cheers. Crevol laughed harder, “Ya’ lot have become smarter day by day... making a fool out of the old man, eh.” The children giggled.

“So young lads and lasses... bring it on!”

An eight year old boy was the first one to attack, “Sire, I was just wondering, if you could tell us something more about our king. I mean we were never told about his childhood, his upbringing, his personal past.”

“Ahh, ya’ mean you want to peak deeper in his world, eh?”

A dozen of kids nodded. Crevol tried to straighten his bent back and moaned. He motioned his eyes towards a mirror in the centre on one of the walls right across the circle of rows. He moved towards the mirror as taps of his stick echoed the room. He saw his reflection in the mirror. “Do ya’ know what this is?”, he turned to students. “No!”, they said in a chorus.

“The Merlin’s Mirror!”, he said. “It was ordered to be brought from the treasures, long back when this school was created. And as it comes from the treasures, you can imagine its importance. The frame of the mirror was golden in colour with some ancient inscriptions on it in some language. The mirror was long, almost as tall as Crevol. Rest, it seemed like it were any other mirror glass.

“What does it do other than –..”

“..reflecting yourself?”, Crevol cut off. “It shows us what we will to see. Like say ya’ want to see your father, your home, your city or some tree, any tree or any person... you can ask this magical mirror to show the true nature of the same.”

“What do you mean the true nature?”, someone asked.

“Like, for example, if someone’s face is burnt or scarred, yet ya’ll see the un-burnt or unscarred face of the person. If you want to see an ancient city but only ruins remain, the mirror will show how it looked before it was destroyed or damaged.”

“Can we see the dead?”

“Indeed.”, Crevol sighed, “But it is considered to be ill-mannered to see the face of the dead without an important reason.”

“Now...”, he turned to the mirror and said, “William Zimon!”

The reflection of Crevol started to disappear and was replaced by a smiling young man holding a grey wand, dressed in sapphire robes. It seemed as if he was dressed up for a special occasion. The colour of his hair was dark black back then and much shorter, combed sideways and much smoother.

“This was from the time when he was declared a magician by his master.”, Crevol said. “Ninety years ago, the former king, Alen Zimon and his queen, Beatriz Zimon were blessed with a son of miraculous personality whom they named ‘William’. Fifteen years later, the couples were again blessed with a son named ‘Perth’.

“The king has a brother? I never knew that!”, Albert’s daughter interrupted.

“Because he was dead long before ya’ were born my dear. Perth died in a battle during the rule of William Zimon.”, Crevol paused, “The battle took place against Saberon. It was a fierce one. This being William’s first battle, he struggled a bit against the strong army of Saberon, until he decided to use a very lethal weapon from the treasures. Perth was said to be dead before William used the weapon. Like many other bodies, Perth’s body disappeared upon the use of the weapon and no one was able to recover his body. The loss of the thousands of bodies of our brothers led William to decide that he shall never use the weapon again. His brother died and he grieved for quite a while...”

The class was perfectly silent, wanting to hear more.

“Ya’ see, unlike us, our beloved king had to suffer a lot compared to the worldly pleasures that rest of his kinsmen enjoy. Let’s go a bit back in time.”, he continued, “Our king had to suffer the loss of his mother at the age of eighteen. Alen kept the kingdom strong and steady until a time arrived when he left the world for William to take charge of the throne. He certainly was left alone with no family but he did not break. He sees his family in his people. Day by day the king gained more power and prudence and he was given the title of the ‘Undisputable Ruler of all times’.”

A kid from the last row raised his arm.

“Yes?”

“If he is so powerful, why doesn’t he destroy the Dark Lord? My eldest cousin says that thirty years ago...”

“-Enough!”, Crevol cut him abruptly, “Ya’ kids are too small to talk about such things. Talking about him is said to have a strange effect on kids ya’ don’t want to know about. It is dark arts that are not to be related with any of my sessions. And better ask your foolish cousin to keep his big fat mouth shut unless he wants to be turned into a donkey.”

The students giggled and Crevol asked them to leave. He sank into the chair as the room emptied with students gossiping anxiously. He closed his eyes... lost in his own reverie. Before drowsing to sleep, he muttered “Merlin’s Mirror” and the smiling Zimon vanished, displaying the crooked old man snoring in his chair.