The King rubbed at his temples. He was in a terrible mood. Even when trying to focus on his work, he had someone breathing down his neck every few minutes. The guests who’d witnessed the earlier catastrophe were not pleased. He had a headache trying to think of a way to appease them.
He heard a knock on the door. He wanted to tell the visitor to go away, but that wouldn’t be appropriate. Instead, he ignored the knocking, hoping that the useless guards he had outside the doors would lead the visitor away.
But he could still hear the unceasing knocking. He had enough and permitted entry.
“Come in.” When the person entered his room, he knew why the guards didn’t push him away. Wei stood at the door with teary eyes, his eyes fluttering open. The King, knowing that it was all an act, sighed.
“What is it Wei?” Wei carefully closed the door, giving the guards a shy smile. As soon as the door was closed, he looked at the King coldly, wiping away the tears.
“I should’ve known there was something off with Rael that day. Did you honestly deny him the right to the cure weeks before his awakening? Did he spend all this time dreading death? I know you don’t care much for Rael but this is too much.” Wei clenched his fists, glaring fiercely at his father.
The King tapped on his desk, staring at his paper. Wei acted like the sweetest prince when he was the fiercest one of them all. Not even Heath dared to talk to him like this. But that only brought a smile to his face.
“Wei, I gave him mercy by even allowing him to be born. As the law states, illegitimate children are to be terminated as they’ll die sooner or later. Rael was born and he lived peacefully with his mother. Had it not been for Clara, he would’ve died today without ever knowing the reason why.”
“But he didn’t.”
“That doesn’t change the outcome. I’ve been more than kind. I allowed him the title of a prince, food and clothes far superior to aristocrats, and resources from all across Urel if he so wishes for it. I’ve gone far beyond what’s expected of me, so why should I save his life when he’s already in debt to me?” The look of disgust on Wei’s face was evident. It only made the King's smile widen.
“So tell me, why would I save Rael—?“
“Because that’s the responsibility of a father.” The smile on the King’s face faltered. He looked at his son. And he frowned.
“I did not choose to be a father to him.”
“Neither did Rael choose to have you as his father. But I guess that thought didn’t cross your mind when you were fucking a commoner—“
“Wei.” The King, Per, warned. Wei let out a mocking laugh.
“It’s funny. You blame taking in Rael on Clara. Sure, she went too far by indirectly killing Rael’s mother, but so what? Cheating on your pregnant wife, you had to reap what you sow at one point, right?” Per blinked.
“As a man, sometimes you have to satisfy your urges even if your wife is pregnant—“ Wei cut him off, snarling.
“Don’t excuse your actions by being sexist! I’m asking you why you impregnated a commoner, forced her to have a child, watched as she was murdered, and then indirectly caused the death of her child! You call this being considerate? You’re only stroking that ego of yours by pretending this isn’t your fault!”
“Wei,” Per warned once more. Wei forced a laugh.
“It seems that I’m close to the truth. Maybe that’s why you’re feeling threatened.”
“Leave.”
“Is that what you told Rael when he asked you for help?”
“Do I need to call the guards on you?” Wei lifted one finger.
“I’m getting tired of seeing your face so I’m leaving. But know this—“ Wei looked back. “I’ll never forgive you if Rael were to die.”
Wei opened the door, tears in his eyes as he slammed the door shut. And this time the King knew it wasn’t an act.
Al sat in his room. He had been studying the materials that his tutor had given him when he heard a knock on the door. The person outside didn’t wait for a response as he walked in.
Al stared at his older brother who smiled at him. Al forced a smile.
“Hello, brother.” Kain didn’t respond as he left the door wide open and plopped down on the bed. Al didn’t notice the hand gripping his pen tighten.
“Could you please leave? I’m trying to focus here—“
“Those math questions are too advanced for you.” Al’s face stiffened. But he didn’t let his surprise show.
“I think it’s a good idea to challenge myself at times.” Kain gave him a side glance.
“Really? Even if you spend several hours on just one question?”
“Yes?”
“What’s the point? You’re not even that smart.” Al closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Did you only come here to insult me? If so, I’m not in the mood.” Kain shook his head.
“No, I just wanted to say that grandma told me to tell you that you received letters.” Al dropped his pen.
“Grandma is here?”
“Yeah, she decided to surprise us.” Kain grinned. Al didn’t have the strength to smile and he stood up.
“I guess I’ll be getting my letters then.” Kain stood up.
“I’ll go with you, I might’ve had some too.”
The two brothers walked next to each other. Attendants saw the two and greeted them.
“Good evening, Prince Kain and Prince Al.” Kain smiled and greeted them back while Al merely smiled.
“How are you today Prince Kain? And you Prince Al?” One of the attendants who were familiar with the two began chatting with them. Kain replied, just as happy to see them.
Nearly all of the attendants who passed the two greeted them on their walk. Al stared at them. They were only this friendly when Kain was with him. Al didn’t care though, he liked the fact they minded their own business.
Kain led the way, speeding up. Al had a hard time catching up with his shorter legs. He looked down at the ground and stared at Kain’s shadow. Standing behind him, his shadow covered Al who was at least a head shorter than him. Kain turned.
“Hurry up Al!” Al shook his head. And caught up as the knights opened the doors to the dining hall. As it was lunchtime, he saw his entire family sitting around. The one at the head of the table turned and looked at the two.
“Well aren’t you late.” Ivette turned her head and smiled. Kain looked happy to see his grandmother while Al froze in place.
“Where are the letters?”
“Letters?” Ivette tilted her head. She was far too old for the gesture to look cute. Kain paused. And then he sheepishly laughed.
“I just wanted to get you to eat lunch with everyone for once. It’s been so long, you’re always away in that summer estate when grandmother is here.”
“Maybe he’s shy around me?” Ivette teased. Al averted his gaze.
“It’s merely a coincidence. And if you wanted lunch, you could’ve just told me. There was no need to lie.”
“Oh, but it wasn’t a lie. You got a letter from someone.” Kain picked up the letter that had been camouflaged by the white tablecloth. Al looked at the name.
‘Rael Vandergarden’.
His tense body relaxed a little. He took a deep breath.
“It seems that I have important matters to attend to, so if you’ll please—“ Al stopped when he saw the look on his grandmother's face. And he reluctantly took a seat next to his father.
Almost as if sympathizing with him, his father patted him on the shoulder. Al stared at his plate of food with a blank expression.
“Kain, have you grown taller? It seems that you’re becoming more and more like my boy.” She turned to Al who was minding his own business. “Al, you should eat more and become as tall as Kain.”
He answered in an almost robotic, rehearsed tone. “Yes, grandmother.” And he sighed to himself as he sat through the insufferable lunch meal. Ivette had a soft spot for Kain as he resembled her late husband. She liked to spoil him and compliment him. But she did it whilst reprimanding and scolding Al for the smallest things.
At first, it didn’t bother Al. But over time, he began noticing the difference between him and Kain. His brother was naturally talented in academics while he still struggled with the basics. Kain liked to train in his free time and Al spent his free time being with friends.
So Al tried to become more like Kain. He started studying more, he even picked up a wooden sword and tried training like Kain did. But he could never be like Kain. Even though his grandmother kept comparing the two, they were opposites.
Before Al knew it, he’d developed an inferiority complex toward his brother. And it made conversing with Kain hard since he became aware of all the flaws he had that Kain didn’t.
Al abruptly stood up from the table. Ivette tsked.
“How rude, standing up while—“ Al was out of the doors before she could finish speaking. He was tired of dealing with his grandmother. He would leave for the summer estate to escape her, but now that she was coming unannounced, he wanted nothing to do with her. This surprise lunch showed that his grandmother was still as insensitive as before.
He didn’t want to silently suffer because of it. If he had to rebel to do it, so be it. Al headed to his room, staring at the letter. As he closed the door behind him, he began opening the letter. It was rare for Rael to send a letter. Of course, he sent letters when he wanted to notify him. But that had only happened a handful of times.
He began reading the letter as he slumped down on the bed.
‘Dear Al,
By the time this letter reaches you, it’ll be too late. I only wanted to say thank you for being my friend. Goodbye.
Signed, Rael Vandergarden.’
Al read the letter five times before it finally clicked. He sat upright and ran out of the door. He nearly bumped into Kain.
“Oh Al, I wanted to apologize for what grand—“
“Not now!” He ran past Kain. He gasped for air as he kept running, before stopping a knight who guarded the entrance to the castle.
“Give—give me the fastest carriage that’s available.” The knight looked bemused.
“But only his majesty can give permission—“
“It’s an emergency! Whatever father says, I’ll take responsibility for it!” Al looked at the knight who frowned. And then he relented.
“Alright. But be sure to—“ Al was out of the door before he could finish.
Running to the carriage, he saw one of the carriage drivers. Al explained the situation to him as he tried catching his breath. The driver was befuddled but he agreed. Even though he’d been there to inspect the carriages, he suddenly received a job.
“Where are you headed?” Al went inside the carriage known for its speed and placed a hand on his face.
“First, the Knighteye estate and then the Reiss estate. After that, you’ll take the fastest route to Urel.” The driver grinned.
“What a coincidence, I know a path that can take us to Urel in only five hours.” Al’s eyes lit up.
“Perfect, you’ll receive a handsome reward for all of this at the end.” The driver grinned.
“That’s good enough for me.” And then he sped up the carriage which made Al nearly fall from his seat.
There was no time to waste.
Heath scribbled down notes. He was in “Magical Theories”, or MAT for short, and the professor was discussing the implications and complications of magic when it came to diseases.
“The River Cough began as a light cold where the affected coughed. But when a few magicians caught it and tried curing it with light magic, it mutated and became a magical virus that causes your body to empty itself. I’m sure you understand why it’s called River Cough.” He showed images of a person coughing. The next images showed the person’s insides slowly spewing out of them.
Heath’s nose wrinkled. But he wrote it all down as the professor went more in-depth. The Bloody Dawn, Crawling Urge, and Jenkens were renowned illnesses or ailments that affected the world at one point. All three of them nearly wiped out mankind, and they were just as deadly as the last.
The Bloody Dawn was a condition where the person hallucinated until they eventually reached the bloody dawn. Once the dawn descended, they collapsed to the ground, dead. While seemingly harmless, anyone who touched the infected got it too. They soon would begin looking for the bloody dawn that called for them.
When nearly 12 million people died all of a sudden in only a week, magicians grew suspicious. The ailment had to be caused by something, and they soon found traces. At the bottom of Henn Lake, crimson blood floated to the top. When they drained the lake, they found a wounded Merman who had been bleeding out thanks to a greedy fisherman who tried trapping him. But the merman wasn’t ordinary but a powerful knight of the Ocean King. Furious over this, he cursed those who drank his blood, and the Bloody Dawn was born. The magician appeased the merman’s anger by healing him and returning him home.
Date: The Age of Attainment
Casualty: 20 million.
Crawling Urge was a virus that spread slowly. It originated from the hollow crawlers, giant spiders that possessed toxins high enough to kill ten grown men. A group of adventurers stumbled upon the spiders and managed to kill them all, but one teammate had been bitten. Thankfully, a healer managed to remove all of the poison before it killed him. Or so they thought. The sole adventurer, high on adrenaline from surviving, visited a brothel to relieve his urges. After a month, the brothel had to close down due to a lack of employees. And the issues began to spread over many cities.
Crawling Urge was spread through bodily fluids. It was originally the toxin from a hollow crawler but mellowed down thanks to magic. It wouldn’t have spread had it not been for the adventurer who visited a brothel. This brothel spread it to their visitors, who spread it to others. Those inflicted by the ailment gradually felt worse, until they were bedridden. It took three months for the ailment to reap its first death, and many followed after it.
There was a lot of research made on ways to stop the disease, but it was near impossible. The virus had long since assimilated with those affected. With no solution, nearly 120 million people all across the world died.
Date: The Revelation Age.
Casualty: 132 million.
Jenken Henry was one of the strongest mages in the world, holding the title of one of the ten archmages. He specialized in support and long-range attacks. But his specialty was curses and hexes. All he needed was the name of his opponent and he could curse their heart to stop beating with a snap of his finger. Stealthy, powerful, and loyal, Jenken was a legend destined for greatness. But one day, Jenken vanished. Anything associated with Jenken vanished into the air. The only thing he left behind was dust particles. Slowly, as time went by, people forgot about the legendary archmage.
But his name appeared once more when a young boy fainted and stayed in a deep sleep. Soon, several thousand fell into a deep sleep. But they woke up shortly thereafter.
But with their eyes glimmering with a faint red light, they opened their mouths wide and began attacking anyone near their vicinity. Half alive, half dead, they craved the taste of human flesh. The jenkens arose from their slumber and began hunting for food. And Jenken, who was responsible for this atrocity? Nowhere to be found. This tragedy continued for years.
The jenkens had tough skin, immune against most magic, and possessed intelligence. Even mages were slain if they got surrounded. Had it not been for Charlene Jean discovering how vulnerable jenkens were against fire, they might’ve killed all of mankind. The jenkens, at one point, were rumored to have reached three million before Charlene and a group of pyromancers put a stop to it.
Burning the fleshes of their fellow humans, washing away the blood of their friends and lovers, those mages lived through a period known as hell on earth. Even though most jenkens were killed, there still existed a few. But after fifty years, those too vanished. Because Jenkens Henry had died. His body was never found.
Date: The Dark Age.
Casualty: 700 million.
Heath stared at his notes and stretched his fingers. The professor had talked a lot and he’d tried his best to follow, whilst using textbook examples. Professor O finished his explanation.
“—and that’s why it barely affected us. Of course, hadn’t it mutated in the first place, no one would’ve died. That’s what’s harmful with magic.” Professor O glanced at his clock.
“Ah, look at the time. I briefly want to touch upon one more illness before you leave. It’s an illness that still hasn’t been cured and continues to terrorize the world to this day.” A few of the students perked up, curious to hear the answer.
“Mein.” They deflated back to their chairs. Professor O shook his head as he looked at them. “Mein is a strange illness that only targets nobility with common blood or vice versa. It’s existed longer than what’s recorded in history, even past the Dark Age. Strangely, there hasn’t been a single cure to it.” Professor O paused.
“Well, there is a cure but it’s been monopolized by a certain country.” Heath thought he imagined the professor glancing at him. “But the issue at hand is that there is no solution or even a hint from where the illness originated from. But is it possible to remove the illness? Stop it? Slow it down? Or even transfer it to somebody else?” The Professor asked them questions that none dared to answer. They were too advanced, no, too hypothetical to even guess from. The Professor ended the lesson shortly thereafter, reminding them of the test next Wednesday.
Heath walked out of the classroom. Heath wanted to return to his room and relax. But when he went outside, taking in the fresh air and sunlight, he found himself waking up. He stretched his arms.
“I wonder…” Heath felt a sudden urge to return home. He rubbed his head. Had he become sick all of a sudden? Why did he want to go back home? He hated being there, constantly lying and suffering for it. But this past year, the annoyance he usually felt was gone. It had to do with his youngest brother. Strange, eccentric, and quite the troublemaker, he brought chaos to Heath’s everyday life.
But Heath didn’t dislike it. He looked up at the sky. Usually, he didn’t want to return early, but he wanted to see Rael once more. He stopped walking and paused. He turned around. Hiding a small smile, he thought to himself; “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see me too.”
Heath began making plans to return home.
The Tyre Carriage stopped outside of the castle. They waited dreadfully for permission to enter, and soon the carriage drove through the opened gates, parking. Al hurriedly left the carriage and Weiss and Claus were out just as quickly.
They exchanged looks and walked up the stairs to the doors. The knights opened the doors and they walked inside. An attendant waited for them there. Al narrowed his eyes. He recognized her.
“Are you here for Rael?” The three nodded. Peri gestured with her hand.
“Then follow me.” She led the way as the three followed her. Weiss finally asked; “Hey, was the letter genuine? What if it’s fake?” Al glared at him.
“Why would it be fake?”
“For attention?”
“He’s not you, so no.” Weiss gaped.
“Low blow. That was a low blow.” Claus snorted as the two argued with each other. Peri stopped by a door. She opened the door for the three and they quickly entered. The room was simple with few decorations. On the bed, Rael looked to be resting peacefully.
Sitting right next to the bed, Wei was grabbing Rael’s hand, his expression indescribable. He looked up, snapping out of his thoughts.
“Ah, you guys must be—“
“His friends, yes.” Al was quick to respond and walked to the bed. He stared at Rael for a while.
“Why…?” His voice cracked before he could get more words out. Wei shook his head.
“I— I don’t know everything but…” He gritted his teeth. “I know that father has the power to save Rael.”
“What? Then why hasn’t he done it?” Wei didn’t respond, so Claus replied.
“It’s because he’s an illegitimate child, Al. There are laws enforced to prevent them from existing, yet Rael managed to survive this long. The King won’t help him if it costs him too much.” Wei nodded sadly, confirming it.
“Even though we come from the same father, our treatment is contrasting.”
Silence filled the room.
“How much time does he have?” Weiss spoke. Wei looked at him before turning back to Rael.
“I don’t know. It could be several days or… seconds. I’ve tried asking my father for help but he’s unwilling to listen.” Wei didn’t notice the tears falling down his cheeks. Al bit down hard and looked away, Claus glanced out of the small window, and Weiss stared at the unconscious Rael.
Rael was still alive, he wasn’t dead just yet. But the one in power, who could help them, had turned his back on them. Helpless, they tried to occupy their thoughts so as not to think about the ticking clock.
And how quickly time was running out.
Mmmmmmm good