Snow looked at the huge and complex diagram that occupied most of the cave wall.
Using her daitai, VinWei had covered the dark wall with a thin layer of glistening crystal, and then had engraved a complex diagram of many interconnected boxes using only the tip of her finger. Since Snow could not read, something she had immediately decided that had to be remedied as soon as possible, VinWei had added specific symbols to each one of the boxes containing letters, in order to help him memorize its contents.
"Do you have any doubts?"
Snow shook his head.
"Think you can memorize them?"
Snow replied with a confident nod.
"Very well. Let's see. Who is the supreme ruler of the Empire?"
"The El'Dur. Wen CaiWan."
"And how many wives does he has?"
"Hmm ..." Snow took a few seconds to count them by his fingers. "Five," he finally replied. "The El'Dai, the Dailar, and three Janwan."
VinWei nodded appreciatively. Snow had needed a bit of extra time to memorize those strange titles and what they meant. By the way he had ordered them by importance VinWei was sure he had finally understood the complex design of the Imperial hierarchy.
"Who's this?" she asked next, pointing one small box containing the symbol of a tree.
"El'Gin Wen CalWan."
"And what can you tell me about him?"
"He's the oldest of the El'Gin. He's also the son of Dailar Won LinDou, so his Clan is originally from the Province of Won. He's also a Chosen One. His Tien'Elhar is called Wen GinTin."
VinWei nodded, a proud smile on her face.
"Very well. And this one?" she went on, asking the box right next to the first one.
"El'Lin Wen NimRen. She's Wen CalWan's younger sister. Also from the Won Clan. And she's not a Chosen One," Snow immediately offered before VinWei could even ask.
"You really have an excellent memory," she praised and Snow looked at her unable to understand. Was it really that amazing? Wasn't everyone like that?
"Next … this one," she went on, pointing a new box, this one marked with a winged serpent.
"Janwan Hen KimLay, from the Hen Clan," he replied without hesitation.
"Her son is?"
"El'Gin Wen FeiWan."
"And his Tien'Elhar?"
"HenWan."
"Wen HenWan," she corrected and Snow nodded.
"Wen HenWan," Snow repeated, looking at the diagram. "Are they all called Wen? The Tien'Elhar."
"No. Only those bound to the El'Gin and El'Lin, because they're called Wen as well. Basically, Tin'Elhar will take on their Chosen One's family name. You will be called Nox."
Nox, Snow repeated in his mind. VinWei had already explained to him that he would have to change names, that he could not go on having a common name like Snow. But he still hadn't come to terms with that. He liked his name! Sand had given him that name …
"And these Tien'Elhar … they are all living in the Palace?"
"They are. So are their Chosen Ones, for that matter."
"But there are others."
VinWei nodded.
��The Governess of the Zai Clan, for example, is also has a Chosen One. Her name is Zai MinTar, and her Tien'Elhar is called Zai HaeTae. And, of course, they both live in Zai. To tell you the truth, she is the daughter of the previous El'Dur, half-sister of our current El'Dur."
"Wen CaiWan. His Tien'Elhar is called Wen ElWan, the oldest Tien'Elhar alive," Snow offered and VinWei nodded with a smile.
"That's right. While CaiWan's and MinTar's father was still alive, they held the title of El'Gin and El'Lin, and they used the name Wen. But from the moment a new El'Dur was chosen, all other El'Gin and El'Lin stopped being called like that. They take on their original Clan's name and are given other functions, mainly back in their Provinces. This is mainly to guarantee the safety of the present El'Dur."
"Safety?" Snow inquired, tilting his head to one side, and VinWei sighed.
"I guess it's the kind of thing that would never cross the mind of someone like you. Let's just say that, although they do change names, until the current El'Dur has at least one child of ruling age, meaning sixteen or more years of age, the fact that, theoretically, they are possible candidates to the throne does not change. If something were to happen to the El'Dur before one of his children is of age, then one of his siblings would have to be chosen to take his place.
"This is exactly what happened with our present El'Dur. After the previous El'Dur's death, the one chosen to take the throne wasn't him, but his older brother, Wen LaiWan. Unfortunately, he didn't rule for long. And when he died he only had one son, too young to take his place. So his younger brother, Wen CaiWan, took his place," VinWei explained, adding a few more boxes for the previous El'Dur and his sons. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face Snow.
"Death comes in many ways. It can be from disease, it can be accidental, or it can be brought by other people. And there are always many who hold the aspiration of sitting on the throne."
Snow's eyes widened when he finally understood what she was trying to say.
"And so, once an El'Dur is chosen, those in closer positions to succeed him, are usually sent away."
"But … aren't they all brothers and sisters?" Snow asked, staring at the large number of children that the present El'Dur had, and VinWei sighed again.
"Unfortunately, greed and envy can easily supplant family ties."
"But … they are all Chosen Ones! You told me about the righteous path, and I still can't understand what that means very well. But how can something like murdering one's own brother be righteous?"
"You're absolutely right. It can't," VinWei replied, feeling sorry for the naive pale eyes that kept staring at her in disbelief.
"But didn't you say that the Tien'Elhar suffer when their Chosen Ones deviate from the righteous path?"
"That's right."
Snow lowered his gaze, his shoulders slumping.
"So … they just don't care ���"
"It's not that they don't care. Like I said before, being a Chosen One is a huge honor. It's just that they care for their ambitions more."
Snow's gaze inevitably turned to the cave's entrance, from where the bright daylight poured in.
ZenTar had enclosed that space in one of those bubbles before he left, and although Snow had more or less gotten used to it, it still felt weird. As if he were locked on a completely different space from the world outside.
"If you're worrying about ZaiWin, don't. I never met a less ambitious person in my entire life," VinWei declared, recapturing his attention and meeting his doubtful expression with a smile. "He doesn't care for Palace politics. If it were up to him, he'd never even set foot in that place again."
"But he used to live there, when he was a child."
"Only because his mother was a Chosen One. And maybe that's exactly why he doesn't care for any of that," VinWei wondered. "After all, he saw firsthand what it means to live there, to have to constantly compete to get a higher position. And then to have to struggle to keep it. If it depended on him, he would simply stick to his Province, caring for his people's needs, making sure his land his bountiful and peaceful."
"Why doesn't he, then?"
"I guess because he holds two titles. He is the Governor of Nox. But since he is the only member of his Clan, and he has shown that he is also proficient in military strategy, he was also promoted to the position of Calzai. And, even though the Calzai are mainly tasked to keep the peace in their home Provinces, they are also under the El'Dur's direct command. Which means that, whenever the El'Dur needs something done, as long as it entails moving military assets, he can call upon one of the Empire's Calzai to take the lead of said operation. That's how he ended up being tasked to take the Fortress where he met you, in the first place. Apparently, the El'Dur received information about some illicit activities being conducted from there. At the same time, a group of members from the Demon Clan had disappeared from their lands, near our borders. It was a very delicate situation. The El'Dur even went to the extreme of offering his own daughter to the Demon Clan, as compensation. And so he called upon ZaiWin to go and take a look, and solve the matter as soon as possible."
"So they can never refuse him," Snow concluded.
"Governors first and foremost zeal for their Provinces' wellbeing. But Calzai are the backbone of the Empire's large army. They must obey the El'Dur in every military aspect."
"Then why must he have both titles? Couldn't ZenTar take one?"
VinWei sighed.
"He can't. Calzai must belong to the same Clan as their Governor. Although ZenTar has been estranged from his Clan, he's still a member of the Zai Clan. That will never change, no matter how many years pass. The only ways to completely leave one's Clan is by marriage or by order of the El'Dur.
"Zai already has a Calzai. In order to keep the balance of power, one Province can only have one Governor and one Calzai. Unlike the Governors, that can be removed from their office if the El'Dur decides that they're doing a bad job, the title of Calzai can never be revoked. A Calzai will only stop being a Calzai when death claims them. ZenTar is currently under ZaiWin's command, but who's to say that he won't decide to return home in the future? Then Zai would have two Calzai, which will undoubtedly make them military stronger than the other Provinces. On the other hand, Nox would become weaker."
Snow studied the diagram with a pensive expression.
"So, he really doesn't have any other family?"
VinWei took a deep breath and approached the crystal wall, drawing new rectangles on an empty space.
"He would have, if the El'Dur hadn't made his mother the Governess of Nox, forcing her to leave her original Clan and take on the Nox name. We were just talking about the Governess of Zai, right? About how she is a half-sister of our present El'Dur."
Snow nodded.
"Zai MinTar is actually ZenTar's, LaoTar's and MenTar's mother. She also had three younger brothers, who all held the title of El'Gin at one point," VinWei went on, drawing one box for each one of them.
"JinTar is their current Calzai. He no longer uses the name Zai because, being a Calzai, he will probably never be Zai's Governor. Zai FonTar died when he was young. And then there was Zai FuTar, who also died before I was even born. Like his older sister, he too was a Chosen One. And he was Nox NimTar's father,"
VinWei drew a new box, inscribing some strange letters in it, finishing it with the symbol of the moon that Snow now knew represented the Nox Clan.
"So … he also belongs to the Zai Clan?" Snow was baffled.
VinWei's stern gaze immediately fell on him.
"No. ZaiWin belongs to the Nox Clan. And you must never repeat that, do you understand?"
No. Snow didn't understand.
VinWei sighed.
"Each noble Clan has their own Province to govern, their own problems to solve, their own interests to defend. This makes for a good way to rule the Empire. It is also a way to make sure that, although Provinces can and are encouraged to establish good relationships between them, they remain individual cells. Which means that the probability of two or more Provinces joining hands to, let's say, revolt against the Imperial Family, is very low. And that's the reason why people change their names, to clearly state to which Clan they belong.
"When you say things like that, that ZaiWin belongs to the Zai Clan, you're leading others to believe that, even though he's the Governor of Nox, his allegiance is to the Zai Clan. Which, to some ears, can sound very similar to something like Nox and Zai are joined as one. You'll be basically inkling towards the disruption of a very delicate balance of power. This will not be well seen by any of the other Provinces. And the El'Dur can even accuse ZaiWin of treason, for putting another Province's interests above the one he was tasked to govern."
Snow pressed his lips shut, suddenly feeling very uneasy. That had never been his intention. And he still couldn't understand very well what VinWei was trying to explain to him. But one thing was clear. He had said something wrong. Something apparently so terrible that it could place ZaiWin's life in danger. He couldn't help shuddering, at the idea that he might say something like that in front of other people.
Noticing Snow's cheeks grow suddenly pale, VinWei smiled and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder.
"You don't have to worry so much. This is exactly why we're here. So that you can learn about these things. About what you can and cannot say or do."
Snow nodded, even though that hadn't made him feel any better. The thought that mere words could be so dangerous as to lead someone else to death had never even crossed his mind.
"Hmm … What about ZenTar?" he hesitated before asking, his curiosity taking the best of him, and VinWei smiled.
"Like I said, that annoying man is actually the son of the Governess of Zai. Being the oldest, he was also the one closest to being the next Governor. But he had to abdicate from that right in order to follow ZaiWin."
Snow looked at the smaller diagram of the Zai Clan.
So they were all family, he thought, looking from the box where ZenTar's name was probably written to the one VinWei had told him represented ZaiWin. ZenTar and ZaiWin's mother were actually cousins. Maybe that���s why ZenTar had decided to watch over ZaiWin when his mother had died, Snow wondered. And yet, even more unsettling, was how close they were all related to the current El'Dur.
No matter the case, in Snow's mind the El'Dur was someone just too powerful, too out of his reach. He couldn't even imagine what he would look like! And the mere thought that, in just a few days, he might actually be taken to his presence, left him so nervous that his stomach ached. To think that ZenTar was actually the El'Dur's nephew was so strange that he could hardly conceive it. Worse even, ZaiWin's mother, NimTar, was also the El'Dur's niece. Well, half-niece. But even so! Which meant that, what? The El'Dur was ZaiWin's great-uncle?
Snow felt dizzy just trying to figure out all those strange and complex family relationships. The only thing he could clearly conclude was that they were all actually from the same huge family. So why was ZaiWin so certain that the people living in the Palace would have him killed the first chance they got? Weren't members of the same family supposed to help and protect each other?
Snow had never known his father or mother. The only family he had ever known was Sand. And she had cared for him as best as she could. She had even sacrificed her life, just to put food in his mouth. Even other families he had watched from afar when he was a child. Even while having an argument, or when mothers scolded their children, they still seemed to really love and care for each other. Was the Imperial Family really that different?
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Ahahaha! Confusing, I know. Well, it is a big family. A big dysfunctional family, lol. Anyways, if you have doubts feel free to ask. 😁 Also, for those of you who go through the language section, please don't freak out lol. You are not expected to memorize all these meanings ahahaha. 😁 There's not going to be a test about it. It's just for curiosity purposes. 😁😁😁