Two Minds - A test run of initial chapters

Discussion in 'Community Fictions' started by ln_, Jun 22, 2016.

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Whats your initial opinion ?

  1. Nah ! not my cup of tea

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  2. I might read it

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  3. Looking forward to more

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  1. ln_

    ln_ All hail Master Roshi

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    Dear NUF,

    I am trying my hand in writing as well.

    I am just trying to get a feel of how these chapters look. Please take a look and let me know your thoughts.

    Synopsis: There are two different worlds, one is a scientific (almost earth like with totally different political, geographical situation and slightly different in advancement) and another is a Qi- cultivation world. Both worlds exist in the same universe. There are parallel stories in both worlds and they will connect in the near future. How the protagonists of both worlds react and work with each other .. that is the story.

    TOC:
    Chapter 1 [direct]
    Chapter 2 [direct]
    Chapter 3 [direct]
    Chapter 4 [direct-ue]

    LN_
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2016
  2. ln_

    ln_ All hail Master Roshi

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  3. ln_

    ln_ All hail Master Roshi

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    Chapter 01 - Ugoet Institute

    Our story starts at Planet Taraday, the tenth planet of the Beneger System. To be specific, it starts in the country of Vertz which is situated in the northern hemisphere of the planet.

    The country of Vertz was a relatively small country but was still one of the few aristocracies in the age.

    In front of one of the most prestigious destinations in this country, the Ugoet Institute stood a thin child of seven years, wearing plain clothes and carrying a rucksack. He had an letter and it stated:
    The gates of the Ugoet Institute lead to its famous driveway, 'the enlightenment drive'. While this term could be termed as an exaggeration, it definitely was magnificent. This was because, the drive was designed and constructed by the royal family when it was at the peak of its power.

    The gates themselves looked majestic and domineering. They stood tall at 13 meters and were 10 meters wide. The gates were were made of multiple columns of tungsten which was plated with pure gold. The central column of each gate was quite thick and was oddly not perfectly vertical. This was because this column represented the neck of the animal whose head was depicted on the top of each gate. This animal was none other than the holy giraffe, the epitome of beauty and veneration in the Country of Vertz.

    There were numerous statues and fountains on the path each more extravagant than the prior. The final fountain on the path was so grand that its water streams could be seen from outside of the gates. The water stream changed color and shape every so often and was a mesmerizing beauty in its own right.

    The driveway was surrounded by tall trees on both sides and there were numerous giraffes that were enjoying their pleasant and docile lives. There was a elegant walkway between the trees and the driveway which was almost a path of flowers. There were numerous flowers of varying colors with bees buzzing about. Every few steps would have an Elkwood bench. There were numerous butlers and maids roaming about, seemingly in a hurry.

    When Ridq saw this scene unfold before his eyes, he had a perplexed expression in his eyes. He was still contemplating if all of this was a dream. He wore tattered clothes and looked poverty stricken when compared to even the lowliest maid in the vicinity. This was despite him wearing the best outfit he ever possessed in his life. He looked around at the people arriving. There were quite a few children around his age. Each of them wore extravagant clothing and were surrounded by several other people fawning over them.

    Ridq had no idea on what he should do. He glanced at the letter and the gate alternatively. Sighing deeply, he moved towards the walkway. It was at this moment that a guard, who he had assumed to be a statue, moved to block his path.

    "Son, you can look but not enter."

    "Why ?"

    The guard looked pitifully with kind eyes at the child. He himself was a commoner and did not know how to explain about the reason. While publicly, the Institute did not discriminate between the social classes, the guard had only seen rich looking children with their own entourage of butlers and maids enter the driveways of this Institute.

    "One cannot enter without their master's seal."

    "What is a master's seal ?"

    "The students of the Ugoet Institute can hire their own servants. These servants receive a master's seal from their respective masters for the duration of their contract. If you can become a servant of one of those kids over there, you can get a master's seal. However, (sigh) I am not very optimistic of your chances."

    "Oh! but I got this letter asking me to come here. Can you call this 'Lingu' person ?"

    "Lingu person ??!! Damn boy ! Have some respect. That is the Honorable Sir Ingo to you. Let me have a look." he said giving Ridq a slight knock on his forehead.

    Ridq handed over the letter with shaking hands. This was perhaps his most frightening experience. He had been quite introverted since childhood and had no choice but to come here today.

    "He he. Looks like you are a student. Child, this is a heaven sent opportunity. You must be quite smart. Go ahead inside. If you need any help let me know. Though I may not be able to help you much ... Ridq, huh. Good name. If you need to find me, just ask for Zioprt, okay."

    Ridq was taken aback. This kind gesture meant a lot to him. He was quite happy at the guard and thanked him courteously with utmost sincerity.

    "Thanks Mister Zioprt. I really appreciate it."

    "hehe go ahead boy. It is nice to see a commoner here once in a while. If you need help in finding places to shop or something, let me know. In the town, my wife runs the grocery store in the fifteenth street. Tell her that her beloved man sent you and she should give you a good discount, hehe ."

    Ridq liked this cheerful guard but could not decipher his sly smile. He however felt something weird about his laughter. He had some difficulty in finding the right way to respond. Should he also laugh like the man. Should he remain quiet or would that cause the old man to think he was rude. Should he reply politely. He seemed confused and started to show a worried expression on his face.

    Zioprt looked at him curiously. "Boy, something on my face ?"

    Ridq shook his head vigorously making Zioprt smile.

    "Young ones today are quite timid. Don't worry boy. Go ahead now and find me later."

    Ridq nodded and ran through the opened gate.

    This was the first time since his birth that Ridq had felt so alive. He had lived in a different place almost every year since his childhood and had no real friends. He was after all an orphan of war. Till today he needed to be polite to even get the slightest morsel of food. To see such extravagance in front of his eyes was something he could not believe.

    Is this going to be my new orphanage ?, he thought. He did not really did not know what exactly an academy was and how it was different from an orphanage. The Matron from his orphanage had told him to go to this Ugoet Institute and that he would be staying there from now on and shoved a letter into his hand. She did seem to be a little kinder than before and arrange for a suitable transportation for him. However, he took it as standard procedure just like it had been when he was shifted between multiple orphanages in his prior years.

    Ridq stood enchanted by everything he was seeing. He almost forgot himself in his thoughts when a cough from behind jolted him back to his senses. A short and stout man looked at him with disdain in his eyes. Ridq however was trying hard to control his laughter. This was not because the man prideful face adorned a very eye caching and odd looking style of facial hair. In fact this style was known as 'side whiskers' where the side burns extended well beyond the jaw bone included a robust mustache, making it a popular style among the aristocrats. What was funny to Ridq was that on the left whisker was a multicolored petal from one of the flowers in the garden. The man's plump face, bald head, short stature and side whiskers with a multicolored flower adoring it along with his high and mighty attitude made Ridq unable to control himself and laughed out loud.

    The man's eyes flared at the ridicule and he looked at his private guards at his side. Among his guards was a tall, rather muscular, red haired, freckled woman who looked at his face, blinked twice, and started laughing profusely. The man was now distraught and his eyes narrowed as he looked questioningly at her.

    In between her laughter she said, "a flower, your beard, ha ha ha ha.", as she held her stomach and started waving her sword around.

    Everyone around got tensed up looking at her sword and immediately kept their distance from her in fear of being cut by her. The man asked for a mirror from a maid in the group and brushed off the petal.

    "Thats enough Alisha !", he said with a sigh and the red haied woman finally stopped her laughter. The other guards also helped to calm her down and she wiped the tears that were flowing from her eyes as she kept saying, "too funny, too funny. I keep telling you to shave that fluffy thing you call a prestigious style. Prestige with a flower on top. Ha ha ha ha."

    It was at this moment that Ridq noticed their clothes. The man and the laughing woman were wearing purple clothes with the symbol of antlers carved in gold in their left chest region. The others in the private guard were wearing blue clothes with gold antlers carved in their left chest region. Looking at the elaborate embroidery as well as the impeccable workmanship, it was evident that these people were not simple.

    Ridq immediately stopped laughing and a sense of deep anxiety set in. He knew he had committed a major blunder today. While he had never seen such aristocrats, he knew his social standing was among the lowest. His earlier experiences in the orphanages had taught him how social status was very important. Today he could even face beheading and death.

    Thinking this, he grew pale. He saw that he was standing in the middle of the walkway and immediately stepped to the side. He pointed his right hand to his chest and his left hand towards the institute and performed a slight bow saying,"Please go ahead my Lord. Apologies for my insolence. I plead you to forgive me without seeing your status. I am only an orphan. I am sorry for my behavior."

    Of course his language was not flowery and his basic etiquette was naive. He was merely imitating some of the actions he saw his Matron perform when he was in the orphanage. His education hardly contained etiquette lessons.

    The man looked a little displeased, whispered something to the nearby guard and continued towards the Institute. The guard went to the other side and waited for the group to depart.

    "Alisha, Annarosa, lets go.", he said while still unconsciously rubbing his beard with his hand.

    Among the group was another younger red haired girl whose facial features resembled the red haired woman. She looked inquisitively at Ridq and ran ahead to hold the hand of the tall red haired woman.

    Once the group left, the guard approached Ridq , stared at him and slapped his face, saying, "know your standing. How dare you laugh at the Lieutenant commander of the second army's fifteenth division ? This slap is just a warning. If not for the kindness of the lord, you would be dead." The guard did not give Ridq a second glance and left immediately.

    Ridq spat out a tooth and looked in fear at the blood that flowed from his mouth. His face started to swell a bit and he found the nearby fountain to wash his mouth. It was the second grand fountain in the walkway and was a beautiful work of art. The base was a beautiful white and the water was crystal clear to show a painting of a mermaid holding a jug. This painting almost gave a three dimensional feel as if the mermaid was trying to catch the water flowing from the fountain. Now, on the forehead of the mermaid was a milk white molar tooth of young boy and the clear fountain water was gradually being permeated with the color of blood. The young boy however showed no worry as he found the cold water to be quite soothing to the pain.

    However, the surroundings immediately quietened at the actions of the boy. Everyone who was anyone knew this fountain. It was called "The mermaid's dilemma". This masterpiece was being defiled in front of their eyes and they stood petrified.

    LN_
     
  4. ln_

    ln_ All hail Master Roshi

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    Chapter 2: The world beyond
    Meanwhile, in the Rhondia System's only habitable planet, Planet Ray.

    Somewhere in the middle of a forest called heart-flame woods....

    Suzy was walking along with her father in the middle of heart-flame woods. She was a stunning beauty and had just turned 16. Anywhere else, she would be have to fend off boys from proposing to her everyday. However, keeping her father's company ensured that these events never happened.

    Her father, a man who hardly looked human anymore, was someone who could only be described as a mad scientist. He was obsessed with finding the true meaning of cultivation and knowing why the different races of the continent evolved in the way the did.

    Cultivation was the methodology or set of growth mechanisms that one followed to evolve into higher beings. This was the scientists' definition. In most other circles, it was also called a pursuit towards immortality. However her father always called it rubbish.

    She did not know how to describe her father. He now looked like a beast because his back had a huge shell that almost looked like a tortoise. His face was almost human except his nose was as sensitive as a dogs and he had a much more denser beard than the average human. His hands were still human-like though both his hands and feet were webbed. His entire body had been covered in red colored scales. As if this were not odd enough, his head was bald and the red scales on the scalp shone like they were meticulously polished. He did wear a white cotton coat which was perhaps his most human like attire.

    In this world, it was not uncommon to have some weird appearances due to the path of cultivation. However her father seemed to have become quite extreme in his appearance. Nobody in their right mind would ever recognize him as a human being. However in Suzy's mind, he was the best and most intelligent person alive.

    Ever since her mother had died, he had brought her up and taught her everything she knew. He had tended to her care and she knew how much he cared for her. There was once a time when she was afraid of the dark and he invented a mechanism based on the firefly just to keep her room mildly lit at night. He never remarried and dedicated all his time to his obsession with research.

    Presently, the man and daughter walked on a road and none could have seen a stranger sight. The figure of the girl was alluring with black hair, black eyes, a rosy complexion on her cheek, perfect cheekbones, straight-edged nose, small pale pinkish lips and an upright jawbone. Her chest was quite full for a girl of her age and they jingled as she skipped behind her father. In this world, there were some devices like the brassiere, however they were more like a luxury than a necessity and the old scientist did not have the slightest idea on these matters.

    So the girl skipped and her pair of wonderful fleshy breasts danced proudly beneath her robe as she followed her father who had a shining red head, literally.

    "I will be finally showing off in this meet. Roscoft will have to suck it up and see the results. What beastmen ? They are merely humans who follow the same stupid set of cultivation manuals.", he said aloud.

    "I, Thory will show them all why MY theory, that those bastards rejected so profusely ten years ago, is ultimately correct. Suzy, don't you think your dad is great ?"

    "Of course, father is the best.", she knew her dad enjoyed being praised by her and she always said that with a smile.

    "We should take a break. After that perhaps we can practice your combat a bit. You must have improved, right ? And you need not hold back. My defense has become somewhat crazy because of all these body modifications."

    She cooked a scrumptious meal for the both of them and laid the table. The meal was primarily composed of fruits and vegetables. Her father had always avoided meat and he said there was a much lesser possibility of contagious diseases if one were to avoid animals. Suzy took these to be the words of the bible and almost never ate meat.

    The father-daughter pair finished their dining and started the combat practice.

    Dundee was the best archer in heart-flame woods. It could even be said that he would be among the top archers of the entire Gin Empire. He was the successor-in-line of the [Fog's Consort].

    The Fog's Consort were a reclusive group and most of their history has been unknown to the lands. It was said that they were responsible for the Gin Empire's ascension to power a millennium ago but there are no historical evidences to prove this fact. In fact there seemed to be no known relationship of any kind between the Gin dynasty and the [Fog's Consort].

    The Fog's Consort also had a repute of being a black organization that was involved in banditry, assassinations and kidnappings. They were an enigmatic organization and had always been part of folklore in this region.

    It was unknown to the rest of the world that the heart-flame woods hosted the central village of the [Fog's Consort]. Dundee, who was followed by a group of ten grey elites was making his daily rounds and target practice. The grey elites were the best of the younger generation and had a great possibility to enter the ranks of the shadow elites when Dundee became the Lord Commander of [Fog's Consort].

    Dundee had worked very hard to get to the position that he had. His shadow skills had reached the pinnacle in the younger generation and he was revered by all. [Fog's Consort] had a tradition of electing their young champion every year. If the same person is named as theyoung champion for five times in a row, he can challenge the successor-in-line. The winner becomes the next successor-in-line. This process continues till the Lord Commander dies at which point the successor-in-line becomes the Lord Commander and the current year's successor becomes the successor-in-line. Of course, this is the ideal condition. Many times there have been immense disputes because being the young champion for five times in a row is no easy feat.

    It was said that in the past four generations there was no successor-in-line when the Lord Commander died. The new Lord Commander had to be elected by a battle royale between the young champions in the prior decade.

    However, Dundee was different. He was the young champion for the last five years and became the undisputed successor-in-line. His position was secure for at least five years and if history was a guide, it was almost assured that he would be the next Lord Commander as long as he lived to see the day.

    Today, Dundee was performing his standard training along with his personal guard. He was surveying the eastern route which was a route used by several people to pass through the heart-flame woods. It was standard practice to see if any fights had broken loose or if any strong influences were making their way into the region. He did not have to do it himself since there was a survey team, [Haze Eyes] that was supposed to perform this task. He was simply learning this role to see how much his skills were lacking in this regard compared to the professionals of the [Haze Eyes]. He was always like that. Always wanting to test his skills, always trying to understand everything about [Fog's Consort]. Many elders found him to be a pain in the ass, but there was no helping it. Ever since he was named the successor-in-line, there was no other choice but to submit to his eccentric desires.

    Dundee was a shadow archer. His eyes were could see immense distances. They were perhaps his greatest gift. However, he had never thought himself to be blessed until that very moment. He saw the girl with black hair and black eyes. She looked like an angel in his eyes. He just wanted to stand and digest the sight as if it was the most important thing in the world.

    However, the girl was suddenly panting and a red colored creature was attacking the girl. The girl was moving in amazing speeds and attacking that abominable creature from all directions but the creature seemed unaffected by it. It swiped its hands and hit the girls beautiful face. A small stream of blood tricked from her left cheek.

    Suzy finished wrapping all the utensils after their meal and prepared for the practice session. Her father had created a very special cultivation manual for her from all his research. He had said, "You are a girl and your mother would chase me around the world if I tried protecting you with scales and shell laden skin. I do not want for you to become a tough bodied muscled maiden or a poison practitioner since they could cause complications when you have children. So I tried hard and made this manual for you. You need to practice this and I can be satisfied that I did my best as a father to protect you."

    Her manual given to her by her father was titled the [An antecedent to continuous reconstruction: essentials]. Well, her father's naming sense was quite bad so she named it [Self-heal manual].

    This cultivation method did not bring her additional agility or strength. It did not increase her vision or provide her with specially strengthened body parts. Her father told her that she needed to practice flexible martial arts to use the opponents force and that should be enough. However, with increase in her cultivation, her healing speed and limit would increase. Her training with her father was precisely to see how much she could make him waste his energy and how long she could persist while being injured.

    Her father liked to document these under various conditions, various places etc to check if an environment with fresh air helped in aiding the healing speed, if the seasons, time of the day etc had any effect and such. She was always glad to comply and her muscles had become quite flexible due to the continuous avoidance practice she had to do with her father.

    Today, she started with rushing towards him and jumping to use his shoulders as a lever and twist his neck. He avoided it by punching upwards. She bent backwards and performed a gracious summersault.

    Her father immediately threw a stone at her position and she bent her knees, went into a curled up position performed two wheel rotations. Using this momentum she leaped towards her father's hand. She intended to pull his hand while kicking his knee to make him fall head first.

    However, he opened his scales and they became sharp as thorns. It was a move that used a lot of his energy, so he could not perform it often but at critical moments it was quite useful. She tried her best to twist midair so as to not bet pierced all over. Despite her best efforts, her face got scratched and she recovered her balance. There was a stream of blood on her face but the wound had already closed and in a couple minutes, her skin would return to its flawless appearance.

    She was about to start her next move when she felt a tremor run through her body. He father's face became pale and there was a black arrow passing through his head. She did not know what to think. She stared for a second as her father slumped to the ground with blood all over the place.

    She yelled, "Father !!!!!!!!!!!, Father !!!!!! Help !! Somebody Help !!!!!! Father !!!!" and started to cry uncontrollably.


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  5. ln_

    ln_ All hail Master Roshi

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    Chapter 3: Lingu Ingo
    Ridq was standing in front of an old man. The old man wore a beautiful dark blue robe which was embroidered with golden leaves all over. He had a white hair and was clean shaven with no mustache. He held on to a cane whose stock was made of polished dark brown wood and the handle was made of gold in the shape of a giraffe's head.

    The old man stood facing the window, let out a deep sigh and looked at the shabbily dressed Ridq. His glassy green eyes showed signs of immense fatigue though he stood with an upright back and had a normal well-toned physique. His face did not have any sign of wrinkles except for the deep black circles near his eyes. This old man was someone with immense power in the Ugoet Institute. He was the very person who had sent Ridq his admission letter, "Lingu Ingo".

    Ridq looked around the lavishly decorated room. Though he had been brought here by the disciplinary committee, he had been more mesmerized than scared all the way. The whole path he had taken had been carpeted, gave off a very pleasant smell and was well decorated with paintings, flowers, sculptures, and many more things he had never seen in his life. He did not know how he, an orphan got into such a place.

    He thought, "Perhaps, in this place, I could get three meals a day like my very first orphanage. The ones after that only gave two meals a day and breakfast was quite horrible. I hope I can get better food here."

    Of late, he was getting more hungry frequently and was terribly dissatisfied with the quantity of food he was given. On most days he would have to go to bed with a still growling stomach. There were days when he almost begged for food. He hardly had any friends to begin with and the constant hunger ensured that he was quite tired to go play any physically tiresome games. Of course, in his last orphanage, the Matron seemed to be a decent lady. She did not beat them or restrict them from drinking water as a punishment or anything of the sort which made it much more pleasant experience.

    However, he was very happy when he saw this Institute. Though he was being reprimanded, glared at and pulled by a bunch of guards, he was not very scared. He did not care much about punishments. In the past, his punishments had included kneeling on the hard floor for an entire evening, not being allowed to drink water for a day, being hit on his knuckles with a cane, being caned on the hand, foot and bum among other punishments. In some of the orphanages, there were just too many children that severe punishments were enforced to just keep everything in order. Even talking back would be treated as a serious offense. Hence, Ridq was not afraid of punishments as long as he got a piece of chocolate or some sweetened water at the end.

    Lingu Ingo was tired. This year was going to be one of the toughest years of his life and perhaps his last year at the Institute. He had forcibly stayed behind despite his age because of a personal reason. He looked at the boy and smiled faintly. He knew he had to be tough and perhaps scold this child to set him straight. However, he just couldn't find the motivation to do such a thing. He smiled because he could see the boy drooling unconsciously looking at the piping hot samosas and cup of lemongrass tea placed on his table.

    (sigh) "Child, do you want to eat a samosa with a cup of tea ?"

    Ridq looked at the old man's smiling face and couldn't react. He then looked to his sides and back to find no one else present. He was bewildered. There was never a circumstance where he had been treated this nicely. He had never even seen such gorgeous looking cutlery let alone delicacies like samosas. While he knew what tea, tea pots and tea cups looked like, they were meant for important guests in the orphanage. He had never had the chance to drink something as like tea and that too in such a beautiful cup. If he broke something like this by accident, he would face really severe punishments.

    He looked at the old man and despite the great temptation, unwillingly shook his head.

    The old man saw the hesitant boy and his smile grew wider. His immense years of experience were not just for show. He knew the longing in the boy's eyes. A feeling seldom seen in the pompous rich kids that formed the majority of his student base. It was refreshing to see someone so enamored by things that he had started to take for granted. He had also lost most of his appetite with age. He really wanted to indulge this boy, at least for the moment.

    "Ha ha! Go ahead child. I was not going to eat them anyway. Sit down and eat while its still hot."

    Lingo Ingu patted Ridq on the shoulder and reassured him. Ridq was slow in the beginning as he watched the old man cautiously but caution was then thrown to the wind once he tasted the delicacies. He loved the taste of lemongrass tea. Little did he or the old man know how much of an impact this little gesture meant for Ridq.

    Ridq was actually wincing with pain because his mouth was hurt. The samosas were hot and although they were tasty, he had just been slapped by an armored soldier.

    "sssss!" he winced but did not stop eating.

    The old man noticed and questioned. "I heard you lost your tooth on your very first day." and chucked.

    He then took out a silver box from his pocket. While the overall box was made of silver, it was covered in a brown leather casing. It was rectangular shaped, 5cm x 3cm x 0.5 cm and the brown leather casing was quite exquisite with perfect seams. It was quite ingenious since it had a small clever mechanism on the right side. A nickel lever which when pulled opened and pushed a small quantity of the powder contained within. In normal times, the nickel lever folded into the magnet on the side. When used, it simply had to be pulled from the magnet and it would be perpendicular to the box. Pushing it downward operated a spring which in turn opened a small slot at the top-left corner of the box and pushed a small amount of a brownish powder out.

    Lingu Ingo moved his left arm such that his palm was almost parallel to his stomach and poured the powder in between the thumb and the wrist. He then inhaled the powder into his nose. This powder was precisely dried tobacco, also known as 'snuff'. It was a popular habit among the nobility and upper class society of Vertz. The method that Lingu Ingo used was also quite popular among the civilized upper class to the degree that the place he used in the left hand to hold the snuff was medically termed 'anatomical snuff box'.

    Ridq looked at the old man's actions curiously as he hurriedly swallowed his previous bite. He had never seen snuff before, nor had he heard about any powder that could be inhaled into the nose. This was a habit of the upper stratum after all.

    He fumbled and replied, "Its okay. That tooth was shaking and bothering me for quite sometime. I had tried to pull it out but it was very painful. It is actually more comfortable now .." and took another bite.

    Regardless of the cut in the insides of his mouth, he was determined to eat. He felt it would be a sin if such delicious food was left uneaten. It was a determination that only those who truly witnessed hunger could have. Even if the insides of the mouth were cut and quite sensitive to the spices as well as heat, it was an opportunity which might not present itself again.

    He heard the old man laugh out loud.

    "You were to be punished you know. Well, alright, who can question me. Anyway, boy, when you go out make sure you look a bit remorseful. I know you had bad luck today but don't repeat such things again."

    Ridq nodded in between his bites.

    "What you did today could have got you killed. Disrespecting a noble is an offense and the person you insulted was no ordinary man. Even if he had killed you on the spot, I could only send people to clean the academy from the blood of your corpse."

    Ridq's face grew pale.

    "Don't worry. I understand your circumstances are special. To make things worse, this entire year is special for the academy." (sigh. What am I doing ? I cannot talk about these matters with a child.)

    "You need not understand the politics but you had better learn some basic etiquette lessons fast. Or you would really die before you know it. Simple things like recognizing a noble and how to greet will go a long way in your future."

    Lingu Ingo pulled out a silk handkerchief and sneezed into it.

    "Now, I expect you to be on your best behavior. This is a place to learn and perhaps a great opportunity for you. While, you cannot always come to me with your problems, there will always be some teacher to help you."

    Ridq made a mental note of this. He really felt great gratitude towards this old man.

    "Your fee and your expenses have already been paid by your benefactor. So you need not worry about that. You will be provided with the same facilities like all the other normal students of this academy."

    Ridq stared and stammered, "fees ?? ... benefactor ?? .. I .. don't .. understand ? .."

    "You need not worry about those. As I said, your circumstances are a bit special. But I must remind you that you have been very lucky to get this opportunity. Study hard and you would have a future that others can only envy."

    Ridq was quite dazed but nodded in reply. "Yes .. sir .. I will."

    The old man smiled warmly at the young lad. "Remember boy, even though I like you, I am a Baron. The next time I see you, I expect the proper greeting. Tomorrow, go meet Mrs. Johite at the cultural studies department."

    "Yes sir"

    "Now you can leave. Remember to be prudent next time."

    Ridq stuffed the rest of the samosa into his mouth in a single bite, got up bowed slightly and left the room.

    The old man returned to his position near the window and gazed outside. Perhaps I can use this boy a bit..

    Ridq stood in the walkway and could not remember which direction he was supposed to go in or where he was expected to go. He could not go back to the old man's room, could he ?

    He was also dazed at the words fees and benefactor. Someone paid money, real money for him to get here. How many copper coins did they pay ? One could buy up to 10 kilos of rice with a single copper coin. This place must have costed atleast 5-6 copper coins a year for a person, maybe even 10. Ridq was shocked at who would be the great benefactor who would spend so much for him.

    And why would they spend so much just for him ...

    LN_