The coming winter's chill ca early and Kai's ho had the hearth going constantly. In his ho's dining room, Kai, dressed in thick outdoor clothes, watched as his father unrolled a worn parchnt across the dining table. The map crackled as it flattened and Garrett blew a layer of dust off the surface. He laughed casually.
"It's been a while since I've brought this out."
Garrett ran his hand over the carefully drawn lines, his brow furrowing in thought.
"I suppose, since you'll be assessed soon, you should know more about the world." His voice was gentle, but there was sothing behind it.
'Is he being cautious? He never brought this out for Mari. Heck, this is the most he's spoken to in months.'
Kai leaned in, his eyes widening as he inspected the intricate drawings. He'd never seen a map before, not in real life, and not one that wasn't digital. In this world, the village was the only world he knew, but this parchnt spoke of sothing greater, sothing far beyond his knowledge.
'I should have been more focused on learning about the world, but I was so focused on my training... It's fine. I still have plenty of ti.'
"This," Garrett pointed to the very centre image. A large cityscape and the most detailed image on the entire map. Below, the na 'Forne - The Citadel' was written in a large, bolded text, "is the Citadel."
"Isn't the citadel where you and mum said Mari might go when she finishes her training?"
"The very sa, yes, that is the heart of Iria. It's been around for a thousand years. That's what the records say, at least."
"Scholars have only found texts dating back five hundred years. Our known history is only that long, I'm afraid. It's where the Grand Council resides, the ones who oversee everything. It's where the priests, the scholars, the affinity masters, the guild masters all live."
Kai ran his fingers lightly over the long-dried ink. "Have you been there?"
His father nodded, though his expression darkened slightly. "Only once. For your grandfather's funeral. It's an impressive place with towering spires made of white stone that forces you to cover your eyes when the sun is bright enough. The streets are always busy, filled with scholars, traders, and knights. But it wasn't for ."
Garrett's hand moved outward from the centre of the map, gesturing to the surrounding areas.
"Surrounding it are the Eight Provinces, each with its own specialty. People are usually born with an affinity suited for their holand, but sotis, a child is different. When that happens, they're taken to the province that best fits their abilities."
Kai frowned. "Taken?"
Garrett laughed dismissively. "No, no. Not like that, not against their will. It's considered a great honour. To be chosen ans you'll serve Iria in the way the gods intended. But... it also ans leaving your family behind."
Peter woke up in the other room, crying for warmth or food, possibly both. Garrett looked towards the bedroom where Lila still slept.
"I've got this one!" Lila yelled.
With a gentle sigh, Garrett turned his attention back to the map and gestured to the northernmost part.
"The Iron Mountains: harsh lands of stone and snow. The people there are warriors, blacksmiths, and miners. Those born here are strong, their affinity often tied to endurance, strength, or talworking. If you et soone from Ironhold, you'll know. They're built like stone and just as stubborn. Most of them are shorter, stockier in appearance."
Kai's eyes moved downward. "And here?"
"The Verdant Hollow, to the south. That's where you'll travel to for your assessnt, just like Mari. They have the most beautiful scenery in all of Iria, with lush forests, fertile lands, and rivers that stretch for miles. The best healers and herbalists co from there, blessed with the ability to nd wounds, cure disease, and understand nature like no one else."
He tapped the west.
"Emberre: a land of fire and industry. They're the artificers, the ones who craft machines and tools that make life easier. Their specialty is with invention, tal, and the forge. So say the best weapons and armour in all of Iria co from Emberre's workshops."
Kai's gaze drifted to the east.
"And this one?"
Garrett's mouth pressed into a line. "Celestine, the province of the Lightbringers. It's ho to the most devout people. They are a heavily religious area, filled with priests, paladins, and those with holy magic. The Citadel holds them in high regard, believing them to be blessed by the gods themselves."
'I'll take note to never, ever go there, then.'
Kai shivered, rembering the day Father Aldric forced Mari to destroy Bert with her light magic.
Garrett continued, pointing to the northeast.
"Therinus: the province of the Scholars. If knowledge exists, they've written it down. They control the archives, study old texts, and decipher the mysteries of the past. Most never leave their libraries."
He shifted his finger southeast.
"Stormveil: where the Elentalists co from. Those with an affinity for the elents. Fire, water, air, or earth. I hear so even use elents that most don't, like lightning. Their magic is volatile, powerful, and often unpredictable. Most battlemages and magic-wielding adventurers are born there."
Kai blinked. "That sounds like dangerous magic."
'It's not like I know nothing about it, though. My cold magic is getting pretty good.'
Garrett gave a wry smile. "It is. That's why they train from childhood. The wrong kind of storm could wipe out a village."
He moved his finger southwest.
"Duskwatch: a province known for its Seers. They deal in secrets, illusions, and foresight. The Citadel watches them closely since there are rumours that so of them can see into the past or even the future. Pretty interesting stuff, honestly."
Garrett's finger landed on the last province, northwest of the Citadel. It took him several breaths to continue this ti.
"Dreadmyre: A land of fog and superstition. People there have strange gifts, but there are tales that the land is completely overrun with arcane beasts and that the citadel can't even ta it."
Kai hesitated. "Isn't that sort of..."
Garrett exhaled.
"Dangerous? Many think so, but if even the citadel and all of their resources cannot ta it, what are we to do?"
He leaned back, watching Kai absorb the information.
"And what's beyond the provinces?" Kai asked, while tracing one of the smaller marks on the map.
Garrett smiled faintly. "Villages like ours. Free settlents that exist outside of the Citadel's direct control."
He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "Not everyone lives under the Citadel's rule. So villages exist on the outskirts, in the wildlands. We're still part of Iria, but the Council doesn't interfere much with us. We tend to and fend for ourselves, trade with rchants who pass through, and keep to our own ways." He sighed. "But that also ans we don't have the sa protections. We're lucky to have people like Rael and Father Aldric to protect us here, you know? Usually, they would find work elsewhere with their incredible gifts."
Kai nodded slowly, taking it all in. He had always thought of their village as his entire world, but of course that wasn't the case, and now it seed so small.
'Well, I guess I never left my state back in my world. Too much of a hassle, and too expensive.'
"Have you been to all of these places, Father?"
"Oh, no. Just Ylthara for my assessnt and like I said, to the citadel."
"Hmm, okay." Kai pondered over the map and soaked in all of the details, "and what's beyond all this?" Kai pointed to the edges of the map, where the land cut off into empty space.
Garrett smiled. "Water. Endless stretches of it. We're landlocked by the sea."
Kai's brows furrowed. "So... nothing is out there?"
"There's definitely sothing," Garrett said, tilting his head. "Traders co from a place they call Sala. It's a desert land, far across the waves. They wear long robes to shield themselves from the sun, and they bring spices, fabrics, and gold we don't have here. They have much darker skin than we do, and so of them are quite beautiful. Their language is unfamiliar and their customs strange, but they've been trading with us on the main continent for generations. I t one at your grandfather's funeral who taught him much about their ways."
"Why don't we travel to them?"
"We aren't a seafaring lot. The rough seas caused by our two moons have destroyed enough of our ships to give up on that desire for now. The Salans, as we call them, have advanced seafaring knowledge that they haven't shared with us."
"You know a lot!"
Kai found himself a sense of newfound respect for the man who beca his father in his new life. His mind swirled with images of golden sands and robed figures carrying treasures from faraway lands.
"Thanks, son," Garrett smiled wearily, "and there's another people beyond the ocean," Garrett added after a pause. "Not... humans."
Kai pivoted his head to stare at his father.
"What do you an?"
His father exhaled, shaking his head. "I know very little. Only whispers. No one in our village has ever seen them, and I doubt even the Citadel knows the whole truth. But so say they're different from us in every way. Not just in looks, but in the way they think, the way they are."
"Are they really real?"
Garrett tapped the map absently. "Maybe they're just stories, or maybe they're real. Either way, I wouldn't count on eting one, especially since your grandfather never did."
Kai sat in silence for a long mont, absorbing everything. The world was so much bigger than he had ever imagined.
'I wonder if he's telling this just in case I need to leave the village, though. Does Garrett think I'll need to run to safety just like that traveler?'
Garrett smiled, reminiscing. "I wanted to be a historian once. Like my father." His fingers traced a line along the map, his thoughts seemingly elsewhere. "I wanted to travel, to learn the truth behind these stories. But then I t your mother. And, well..." He chuckled. "So dreams are set aside for more important things."
'Ah, so that's why he knows so much.'
His eyes watered slightly as he looked at Kai and then to Mari at the windowsill, who pretended not to listen in.
Kai looked up at him. "Do you regret it?"
Garrett's eyes softened. "Never."
Kai turned back to the map, running his fingers over the inked borders once more.
He looked to the west, where the traveler had ntioned to go if things ever beca dangerous for him.
"And what's here?" Kai asked, pointing to an illustrated mass of buildings.
"That's just the ruins of an old city that existed long ago. Your grandfather ntioned that a war happened there hundreds of years ago and nobody has ever tried settling there since.
'Nobody? A whole uninhabited city? For hundreds of years?'
"Well, that's everything. Almost everything I know about this world, at least. Anything else, you'll need to find out yourself."
Several thoughts filled Kai with unease and kept him up all throughout the night.
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