Zatheusyl had a much shorter history than what Asher had originally anticipated. It was also unusually tame without any natural disasters nor irresponsible leaders that brought destruction and ruin. It was all roses and daisies, but it would've been almost impossible to achieve such glory without ever suffering from any casualties. It was from these casualties that people learned how to properly manage and protect a country.
"Excuse me, Professor Smickle, but how could our nation survive all these years without any type of controversy?"
It was interesting, to say the least. No disputes nor wars; just peace. It's difficult to think of a country that hasn't had any bitter discussions or bad blood both inside and outside the country.
The classroom was mostly empty except for Asher, Dashiel, Aziel, and Prof. Smickle. Today was the first day where Asher could attend history class without having to leave and he had learned many new things; things that didn't make much sense to him. Possessing the knowledge of his other life made him compare what he had learned about history in general and how it was never as simple as it seemed.
Dashiel stood about five feet away from Asher while Aziel waited for them by the door. It was apparent that Aziel didn't feel any comfort being around Prof. Smickle, which was rather strange seeing as he wasn't that bad of a teacher. Asher actually enjoyed this lecture and felt the need to ask him a few questions after the class had ended, hence his previous question.
Professor Smickle was putting way his things as he snorted at Asher's question. "Our nation was blessed by the great Goddess' protection. I mentioned that in the previous class, but you had left because you were feeling unwell."
Asher narrowed his eyes in confusion. He had noticed Professor's Smickle attitude was much different than his demeanor during class, but he didn't think much of it. His need and want for information outweighed whatever the professor would do or say to him.
"Is that it? We are being protected by the Goddess. Then, if that statement is true, how could we have developed this quickly? With her protection, there wouldn't be a need for us to grow to such an extent to protect ourselves. If anything, our knowledge wouldn't have been as advanced as it is now because there would be no need for it since we possess the Goddess' protection."
The professor took his bag before shaking his head as if he had been asked a stupid question. He dug his hand into his bag and randomly took out an old, thick book. "It is because the Goddess has wished for us to achieve what our nation has achieved. Go read this book and don't ask me such stupid questions again. Inform yourself."
"But wait, it still doesn't make sense!"
Asher was left alone in the classroom with his two friends and a relatively thick book in his hands. It was overflowing with random notes diving deeper into certain topics involving Zatheusyl's past. The old book seemed to have been treated with great care in the past before falling into Prof. Smickle's hands. It was a disappointment that this wasn't the book that was being used during the lecture seeing as the original owner of the book had spent a lot of time researching these topics.
Putting away the thick book into his bag, Asher walked out of the classroom with his two friends. They always had some time left before lunchtime after attending class, so Zyair had advised them before to talk about the topics spoken during class as a way to revise the material.
"Did you ask Smickle what you asked me?" asked Aziel with his hands behind his head. Asher nodded and sighed.
"I did. Unfortunately, he's a big believer of the Goddess' protection, so it was all for nothing."
"He's usually like that. Why else would he have been chosen as my teacher? It was obvious that they wanted him to brainwash me into devoting myself to the Goddess."
Dashiel shushed Aziel as his eyes wandered around the hallway. There were only a few students outside of class and none of them had listened in to their conversation.
It was actually interesting seeing Dashiell like this. Usually, he was very loud and didn't care much as to who he pissed off or annoyed. However, whenever it involved Aziel's identity, he was always the most cautious person there was. It was his way of caring and worrying over his friend's overall safety.
Going back to the topic at hand, Asher frowned. He felt his mind stir with unanswered questions. "It just doesn't make sense. Zatheusyl only has 500 years of recorded history. The people from the past already possessed advanced knowledge and that knowledge is still being used to this day. Was a part of history just not recorded?"
"It's plausible. However, seeing it through the lens of what I've been taught as the Child of Divine, the Goddess gave the people the instruments, knowledge, and created the foundation of Zatheusyl itself. That was when Zatheusyl was founded and they began the documentation of what we now know," replied Aziel as he racked his head trying to remember what he was taught long ago.
Hearing this, Asher still wasn't convinced. "However, there is no documentation of how they unified the people and founded Zatheusyl. There was no documentation of the process they went through. Why wouldn't they document something so important? It was as if it already existed in the first place and the people were already in possession of knowledge without the interference of the Goddess."
Aziel said nothing against Asher's claims as he also found it slightly weird. He had never questioned it before because he was the Child of Divine and had felt the presence of the Goddess within him, so he believed it to be true.
As Asher and Aziel discussed what they knew, Dashiel did everything in his power to not be involved in the conversation. Seeing a tall and muscular teenager try to make himself appear smaller was a funny sight to behold.
The white-haired teenager scoffed as he grabbed Dashiel by his sleeve. "Can't you help me quench our hedgehog's curiosity? I'm the one doing all the work!"
"Oh, would you look at that! It's lunchtime!" Dashiel made sure to make himself scarce as soon as Aziel tried involving him in the conversation, making him sigh in frustration. He glanced back at Asher and beckoned him by tilting his head.
"Zyair has always been interested in these things so you can ask him all about it. Let's just follow the doof before we lose him."
"As if we'll ever lose him in a crowd," replied Asher as they laughed together and walked to the cafeteria.
Thankfully, things have died down since the first day of being here. Asher could eat and laugh with his friends freely without being constantly watched by others. If anything, it was Zacharia who was the center of attention nowadays.
Staghaven High wasn't a school that accepted just anyone. They accepted only those who prove themselves worthy of being here. This included noble children from high society to commoners. You had to keep proving yourself worthy of being here by scoring good grades on written and practical exams. Despite that, children with parents from high social standing were exempted from this, Asher being a prime example of this. Most students still try their best to achieve the best grades as it will bring them many benefits in the future.
One of the many known facts about this school was that they never accepted anyone who came after the admission period had ended. Poor you if you came just a minute too late. You still wouldn't be allowed the opportunity to enter the school and everybody knew this. Zacharia was the first case of a student being allowed to attend Staghaven High after the admission period had ended. Moreover, the school had already started giving classes to its students. It's evident that people would be curious as to what made Zacharia so special. Unfortunately for them, their curiosity wouldn't be easily satisfied seeing as he distanced himself from his peers since day one.
This was to the extent of Asher's knowledge. He hadn't talked directly to Zacharia since the incident of his assassination. They were also unable to begin Asher's elemental training because of the other teachers' insistence on helping Zacharia get up to date with class material. This always interfered with the time Asher had chosen to practice the little ability he had.
Asher walked alone and sat on one of the many tables as Aziel and Dashiel went to bring them food. They began taking turns to bring the food over after a small discussion they had that led them to meet Zyair's villainous side. It was their turn this week to bring them the food.
Shortly after, Zyair made his way to the table and sat beside Asher. He smiled and opened his mouth to greet him, but Asher beat him to it by asking the same question he asked before that had been pestering him for a while now. Zyair thought about it for a few seconds as Aziel placed the food in front of them.
"Did you ask him your question?"
Asher nodded in reply to Aziel's question, his gaze never leaving Zyair's pensive expression. Zyair finally looked at Asher and said, "It's weird indeed. I took the course last year but that thought never came to mind."
Zyair was the oldest of the four, being only one year older. He was the most knowledgeable of their friend group and was the one the others went for advice or help, so it wasn't strange that Asher would go to him and ask him such a question. What was strange was the fact that many students including himself hadn't questioned the knowledge they were taught, not even once.
"It's especially strange when you compare it to how long the Xestal Empire has existed for."
"Xestal was founded over 100,000 years ago, and that's not counting the years they spent trying to unify their land. Everything has been documented. However," Zyair paused and took a bite out of his lunch. "There's a gap in their history that lasts for a few hundred years. It's just a huge chunk of history that was either not recorded or erased. Coincidentally, the documentation picked up again during the time when Zatheusyl is said to have been founded."
"It's something straight out of a movie..." whispered Asher as Aziel and Dashiel played together by throwing small bits of food at each other and laughing amongst themselves. "Do you think both of them are connected?"
Zyair didn't answer for a few seconds. He calmly looked over at his two friends that were behaving childishly while eating. His silence made Asher await his answer even more.
"Wouldn't it be interesting if they were? Unfortunately, I don't know much of Xestal's history since I only just started taking the class. However, I can say that if that were the case, hiding that information would've been no easy case."
"Both countries would need to be involved and work together for countless years. The question would then be, what were they hiding in the first place?"
Asher couldn't ponder over this question since Zacharia appeared behind him. He leaned backward in surprise as he hadn't noticed when Zacharia had entered the cafeteria, much less when he made his way to him.
Zacharia ignored the people that were seated at the table and only spoke to Asher in a bright tone. "Asher! How have you been?"
Being faced with Zacharia's bright expression was something new to Asher. Nonetheless, he smiled back and hoped for the best.
"How are you, Lord Zacharia? I take it that you've been well?"
Zyair took the lead in answering Zacharia, trying to create distance between him and Asher. Aziel and Dashiel noticed the change in atmosphere and narrowed their eyes suspiciously towards Zacharia.
"I have. Thank you for your concern," replied Zacharia, his tone cold yet noble. His expression still held it's warmth, but after their interaction, Asher could only see devilishness hidden beneath Zacharia's smile.
Unbeknownst to them, people were stealing glances and secretly wishing to be Asher. What Asher didn't know was that despite his friends not having the noblest background, with the exception of Aziel who was the Child of Divine, the three were incredibly skillful and well known throughout the school.
Dashiel was skilled in the use of weapons and his physical abilities. He had also made one or two valuable weapons and many students tried asking him to make their weapons. Aziel was above average in his physical abilities, but he was most known for his looks. The students didn't know of his identity as the Child of Divine; so they didn't know just how valuable and special Aziel was. Unlike the other two, Zyair was average on both his physical abilities and elemental prowess. He was, however, very smart and had gained the respect of many professors in school. The three of them had their strengths and weaknesses, but together they made the ultimate team. Then, Asher appeared. People were disappointed that these three young men were getting involved with the most useless person in school. Others were envious that a person such as Asher was able to become their friend.
One student in particular gritted their teeth as they glared at the smiling Asher. They were beyond mad and envious. This person had always tried their best and excelled in many of their classes. All they wanted was to create connections with one of these people. The student couldn't believe that they lost their chance of involving themself with them all because of a lousy student called Asher Pierce. Now he was even involved with the hot topic, Zacharia? The student stood from their seat and stormed off, their eyes glinting dangerously.
"I hope you don't mind me borrowing Asher for a while?"
"Do you need any help? We are in the same grade, you can ask me if you have any questions."
"Thank you for your offer, but no need. Asher promised to answer any questions of mine, and I want to take him up to that offer."
The ambiance surrounding these two juniors was tense. Only those sitting at the table were able to sense the growing enmity between Zyair and Zacharia. To others, this seemed like an amiable greeting between two skilled young men.
Not wanting things to escalate, Asher stood up and smiled at Zyair to ease his worries. "I'll be back soon enough. Make sure to protect my food while I'm gone."
Asher followed Zacharia out of the cafeteria. Zacharia gave out the image of being a good person by the way he smiled and chatted with Asher. Once they left the cafeteria, his warm expression was wiped off of his face. His current expression was one that he was already used to, making Asher relax.
"Your new master will be coming over tomorrow. You have been given permission to leave school grounds with him," said Zacharia as he handed Asher a simple bracelet. The bracelet was a thin metal chain that had a black stone. The boy put it on without asking any questions.
Zacharia stared at Asher and narrowed his eyes. "Things won't be easy. You have to make the most out of this training."
Asher nodded as he tightened his fist. He had never felt more motivated to work on himself and improve himself before, and Zacharia noticed this.
"Is there anything I'll need?" asked Asher and Zacharia shook his head.
"Only your will to keep training. I will also go with you, but I'll be arriving later."
Once again, Asher nodded. Zacharia bid his goodbye and left Asher to return to his friends and enjoy the little time he had left before things got serious.