The weeks flew quickly past.

The winds began to pick up and the leaves were starting to change colour. Forests around the Eastern region gradually turned into hues of bright orange and red, and the crisp fall air made the season all the more inviting. There was bustling in the estate as the servants prepared for the cold wintry season that was about to come.

With that, it was autumn. 

Evanthe sat in her study as she examined a particular passage on the decades-long war between Qaiyaron and Arodia, her facial expression scrunched up, concentrating. 

"Well?" Tutor Wiktor tapped his pointer on the board patiently. 

"This doesn't make sense. Why would this text suggest that Arodia initiate the decades-long war? We've always known that the Qaiyans were the ones who didn't agree to the separation. They were the ones who started the war," 

Tutor Wiktor had just started a new topic on Arodia's History, but he did it with a twist. He also introduced several Qaiyan texts during the lessons which surprised her. Not that she had any grudges towards the empire, but from a young age, Arodians were taught to regard the Qaiyans and anything related to them (especially texts they've produced) with a pinch of salt. There was a lot of distrust and suspicion when the two nations parted from each other. But that was decades ago. They have managed to set aside their disagreements and achieve lasting peace.

There were always differences, but once long ago, Arodians and the Qaiyans were one and the same. 

"Leave that thought out for a moment. What was the reasoning the author gave?" 

"That we're not god-fearing citizens? That the gods punished the separators and that's why the founding families are such a mess? This is obviously propaganda,"

Evanthe rolled her eyes.

The text had so much talk about religion. It was entwined with the very empire itself. The Qaiyaron empire is ancient, and with it, comes old traditions and myths. One of the foundations that shaped the nation was the belief of the gods and their divine power. While Arodians worshipped the same gods, the tradition in the kingdom was merely ceremonial than having the actual faith. Some scholars even found the loss of religion in the Arodian Kingdom signified the gradual shift to distinguish themselves from the Qaiyans. It was no more about the importance of the faith but the formation of an identity as a person of a nation. 

"That is certainly true. But stop thinking through an Arodian narrative, and understand what the Qaiyan text is trying to tell us,"

Evanthe squirmed in her seat, leafing through the manuscript feeling annoyed. What was the text trying to tell her? It was all separation is bad, separators will be punished, etc. She did not find anything notable about the text at all. 

The Qaiyaron empire had always faulted Arodians for the separation. But it was inevitable. There was a clear divide in the factions when they were a singular state. One thought that with the gods they can do anything, and the other had become more 'progressive' in their ways. No longer were they reliant on the gods, but moved with self-autonomy. 

Evanthe sighed.

"The Arodians were greedy. They desired more than what the gods gave and wanted self-sufficiency. Without the gods, the Arodians lost their way to attaining enlightenment. They were cut off from the spiritual universe. Thus, the spiral of darkness covered the eyes and the hearts of its people and the war began," She turned and looked at her teacher.

"How's that?"

Tutor Wiktor continued tapping the board with his pointer.

"Why do you think the writer wrote extensively about their gods? Why did they not focus on the factions?"

"Because that's what they were brought up upon. The belief of the absolute," 

"But weren't Arodians part of the empire before? What was the difference?"

Arodia wanted power without consequences. They didn't want to be chained down by religion, she thought.

Evanthe knew what her teacher was trying to tell her. But she didn't want to believe that that was all Arodia was built upon. She didn't want to deem that the only thing driving the Arodian Kingdom to success was its struggle for power. And the subsequent erasure of its once important religion because it did not mix with their ideology. That sounded like the narrative her tutor wanted her to make. 

"They didn't believe enough in them I guess," Evanthe shrugged not wanting to go further.

Tutor Wiktor sighed. 

"Look, when you learn, you don't discriminate. There's never what we do is better. Nothing we learn can always ever be the right one. And that means questioning its very existence. I hope in future lessons you will refrain from this train of thought,"

He packed his materials neatly into a pile and placed them in his wooden box, indicating that the lesson was over. But before he left, he gave Evanthe a few scrolls that looked withered and aged. Evanthe looked at the written script and realised it was in the tongue of the Qaiyans.  

"Give these a read. I want you to know more about the empire. Lose yourself as an Arodian for a second and about us as two nations. These were texts before there was even talk of the partition. The history of Arodia and Qaiyaron was never separate but a shared one. It would be a waste not to know,"

"But I'm not even good at--" Evanthe started but was interrupted by her tutor.

"So learn. I'm giving you a period of five months. When winter ends and the first sign of spring begins, you're going to tell me about Qaiyaron and its people. In doing so, you'll learn more about your own people," Tutor Wiktor gave her a nod of encouragement.

Evanthe groaned.

Five months?

That was way too short to learn a new language! For all she knew, Eomer and Eugen had Qaiyan linguistics class as House Cernat sometimes had dealings with Qaiyan counterparts thus pertinent to understand-- but she didn't have to do such things. She didn't have to cross borders and do business. And what's worse, she had to learn it all on her own?

"Of course you can come to me when you need assistance, but I will need something in return," He took out more written script that was in the foreign tongue and grinned slyly at the young girl. 

"What, I have to read more of these if I approached you for help?"

"Yes,"

Evanthe quickly rolled the scrolls and stood up, eager to leave the room. 

"No thank you, I don't need it! I'm going to start right away," She rushed out of the study, leaving her tutor on his own. 

He chuckled as he watched the young mistress leave, amused by her actions.