Chereads / Hestanar: Rise of the Mightiest Empire / Chapter 19 - Language Class

Chapter 19 - Language Class

As Kent handed out the various parchment paper to the students, he called out the names of the students from a sheet of paper.

"Iva,"

"Ah yes!" A girl sitting near the back row called out in she was flustered at the fact the lord, or teacher, called her name out so suddenly.

"It's alright, this is just a name call," Kent said in a calm voice.

"As for the rest of you, when I call out your name, please answer with a 'here'. Now, do I have Yedda here?"

"I'm here." Another girl called out.

Kent nodded whilst he grabbed a quill to scribble away on the name sheet.

"Do I have Prescott?"

`

"Excellent, full attendance for the class," Kent said putting away the name sheet.

The lord finally marked the students in class. In total, 41 students were in the classroom, which is quite big.

Kent looked at the numerous students that sat behind their tables. He noticed that perhaps some students were a bit uneasy in this environment, but he paid them no heed. He was confident they would grow comfortable as the lesson progressed.

Kent stood at the very front of the classroom, behind him was a massive wall covered with parchment paper.

With one hand Kent pointed at the quill he was holding in his hands. "Student, this you see in my hand is a quill, you use it as a device to write words on paper."

Then he pointed at the parchment paper behind him. "As you can already tell, what I have given you is parchment paper for you to write on, which is similar to what I have behind me."

Kent grabbed his quill, and with a graceful eloquence, he wrote delicately a series of strange symbols and shapes on the gigantic, wall-hung parchment paper.

`

שלום

הֱיה שלום

נתראה בקרוב

`

After he finished writing, Kent looked back at the awe-struck students. They were all leaning forward from their seats, busy scrutinising every single detail of what was written on the board. Though they couldn't understand what it meant, they were still extremely curious.

Kent pointed at the very top of the page, where only a short phrase of words existed.

"This is the word for that stands for {peace}. Which is the word you often say during greetings. Whenever you say hello or hi, this is the word."

Then Kent pointed at the second line:

"As you might or might not have noticed, this phrase is the same as the one on top, but with a few extra symbols behind it."

Students nodded at what Kent spoke, they all realised that the second phrase is just like the first phrase.

Kent continued speaking when he saw all the students were paying attention. "The second part of the phrase stands for {a shortage of}. So, if we put the definition of the two phrases together, we have the word which stands for goodbye."

Then Kent pointed to the last phrase. "Now what we have here is…"

'

The class continued this way for a while. Kent wrote different phrases in the native language before explaining their meanings and how to pronounce them.

After explaining 10 or so common greetings and phrases that are often used in the native language., Kent stretched had to do some stretches due to his sore shoulders.

"These are some basic phrases that you all use daily. In a moment, I will hand out squills for you to practice writing. But students, please don't rush ahead. Follow my directions."

Kent went behind the teacher's desk that was at the very front of the class. He fumbled behind the desk for a moment before reappearing with a box.

Kent approached each of the tables and handed out a single white quill accompanied by a small cartridge of ink.

From the corner of Kent's eyes, he could see many students excited to try out writing with a quill. Although some students were busting in their seats, fidgeting with anticipation, they still had the restraint to wait until Kent permitted them. – something he was quite pleased off.

The young teacher arrived back at the front of the classroom. He grabbed a quill and dipped it in some ink before addressing the eager children.

"Now students, grab your quill and hold it like me."

"Follow my strokes. And remember, when you write in Monisan, the language is written from right to left, up to down."

Kent grabbed his quill and started writing the basic phrases on the front parchment board. Though with a much slower pace than before to allow the student to observe.

"Also, please follow the order in which the words are written. It will be hard to correct bad habits when you get used to it."

All the children were busy imitating Kent's previous demonstration, absorbed in copying down the phrases written on the front board.

As Kent finished writing the greetings for yet another time, he walked between tables and chairs to observe how the students were doing. He looked over their backs and viewed the children's efforts in scripting alphabets for the first time.

Kent had expected their handwriting to be horrible at first. After all, this were the children's first time. However, the young lord didn't expect their attempts at lettering these short phrases to be THAT bad.

Some children put too much pressure on the parchment paper, making a massive tear. Another student accidentally sneezed whilst writing, causing his stroke to extend off the paper and onto the table. Another child's handwriting was incredibly shaky, Kent could barely figure out what that student was writing down.

For these students that made mistakes – could be corrected, Kent ensured he gave them his absolute best guidance. He pointed out what they did wrong and how to write better. He even went through the correct grip on the quill pen just to make sure their calligraphy skills would improve.

Kent was a bit frustrated at the children's uncoordinated handwriting, but he could only carry on with a smile. With practice they would become better, it was no use rushing them even though Kent wanted to.

But one student did surprise him, for their handwriting was neat, not even one smudge of ink was left hanging on the parchment paper in excess. Their letters were straight and precise, not a visual mistake could be identified at first glance.

Kent was quite impressed, so impressed that he walked over behind the student secretly to observe. Even when Kent stood behind the child, the student was fixated on their paper and their pen, putting their heart and soul into every stroke.

Her handwriting was slow, much slower than the others, but much more elegant than even Kent's own handwriting. Time seemed to slow down whilst the lord quietly observed behind.

Finally after what seems to be a millennium, the student did a fist pump mid-air after copying down all the phrases on the board.

Being quite proud of her work, the girl immediately went to their close friend that sat next to them to show off their masterpiece.

But the fact that every student was staring in the student's way made them realise something was distinctively off. For one, why in the world is everyone in class looking at her. And second, where is the teacher?

Then, behind the girl spoke a soft voice.

"Nicely written, Ms Sofia." Kent praised.