With the flow of the seasons and the leaves shifting from a vivid green to a sunburnt orange, Yohan's years in the Academy would start today.
It was an auspicious day, as the autumn equinox marked the beginning of the colder seasons for the people and for Yohan, his enrollment into the famed Academy.
In front of a mirror in their home's cleaning room, Yohan was brushing his teeth with the Miswak, which are the tree twigs from the Salvadora Persica tree that are the oldest and most effective natural toothbrushes.
He was currently thinking about his future and his present.
The political situation in the Kingdom has been worsening, and trade networks have been blocked here and there, affecting his family's livelihood as his father was a trader.
Through pretending to be asleep, Yohan has overheard much information about the predicament their nation was in.
Although information flow was suppressed, his father received word from his friends and his mother, from the nobles she was working for.
To the south of the Muzdahir Kingdom, a year-long drought has negatively affected farmland, and the olive plant, from which olive oil, the main culinary fat of the country is extracted, has had the lowest yield in the history of the kingdom, causing immense shortages in the north, where they currently live.
Olive oil was also used to produce soap, and in the poorer regions of the north where supply has effectively run dry, disease has started to run rampant again due to the lack of hygiene.
Further contributing to the situation, cities near the northern border have been annexed by the Vesantium Empire, and have had their populations massacred by the nation that was supposed to be the protector of the kingdom.
The Parsath Grand Satrapy to the east stood up to propose a protectorate to the kingdom, but due to their rich and elite traveling to the kingdom in the summer and causing havoc by raping, killing citizens and destroying property, they have a horrible reputation among the peasants.
Throughout all but the capital, Hasseima and the seaside cities, revolts have turned violent and both internal and external conflict have bordered on war.
One of his parent's conversation which struck him the most went like this.
"Ariel, I'm afraid that, if it continues this way, we'll have to move to either the Vesantian's or the Pasarth's territories..." His father spoke as he was sat on their dinner table with his two hands cupped and supporting the weight of his head.
His mother was standing and with red eyes, she responded "Do we have to? I'd do anything for his safety, but I have a promise to keep, Noah, I have a promise to keep."
His father was also tearing up and unexpectedly, he rammed his fist against the table and screamed "I KNOW WE DO, ARIEL. BUT, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO KEEP IT, AND....They're all dead anyways..."
Yohan, who was eavesdropping through the half-closed door, jumped in fright at his father's outburst, and almost revealed his presence but he speedily concealed himself again.
"Noah....I wasn't expecting you to say that. I always hoped that...Yohan would be able to accomplish it, along with the other girl from the ceremony, but that is so selfish of me. The previous 'Queen' wasn't able to do it, so what is a 'Bishop' going to change anyways?" His mother collapsed to the floor and was breathing heavily.
Yohan was right about to go help her up, but his father already did, and the two hugged each other deeply before his mother said with a dry voice and melancholy he had never before seen on her face "Noah, let's go check on Yohan, shall we?"
Hearing that, he tiptoed to his room and closed his eyes and started breathing in regular intervals to pretend he was asleep and his parents didn't doubt anything and kissed his head and then left the room.
With only the sound of crickets and his heartbeat left, Yohan wondered.
'What promise are they speaking about? What is it that they couldn't do but that I can maybe do, and what does the girl from the other day have to do with all of this?'
Remembering many instances from his childhood, his parents, especially his mother, were always a bit elusive and tight-lipped when it came to certain subjects and as he grew up, it only came to frustrate him more.
And, he of course remembered the girl from the other day, as she was probably somehow connected to one of the 'Missions' he saw the other day, which advised him to 'Support the Queen' and was likely one of the secrets to the reasons behind him being in this world at all, and how to find the 'breach'.
That night, pretending to be asleep soon turned to real sleep, as all of his questions were left unanswered, and were probably going to be for quite a looong while.
That aside, the Spirit Academy was apparently the safest place in the entire kingdom, harbouring the nation's future talents and being, accordingly, heavily guarded.
His parent's safety was the factor that worried him the most.
His mother should be pretty fine, considering she only moved about in the capital and the situation should remain pretty stable.
Yet, his father, who frequently traveled around the country for work, would be in danger in the future, and Yohan felt helpless as he couldn't do anything about it.
After brushing his teeth, he went to his room and found that his mother already packed him some clothing and other essentials in a straw bag.
The school wasn't actually too far, being only an hours distance away in a carriage, but considering the student's age, which ranged from very young to relatively young, they would be living in the dormitories there and have their daily needs fulfilled by the school.
His parents would be allowed to visit him on the holidays and he could also come back to his family home.
His mother, who was sitting on the bed, opened her arms out wide and hinted for him to come sit.
Yohan sat down and she hugged him and started speaking to him in a harsh, but loving tone.
"Yohan, from today on, you'll be exposed to the real world, and although the Academy will protect you, don't forget that pests and weeds can still grow in a greenhouse. No matter what happens, keep your head held up high, and never forget about your dignity, respect your seniors and friends, help those that you can help, be kind to those who deserve it, don't listen to strangers and remember us."
"Mom, I know, I know..." Even though he instinctively acquired all of these lessons, it was still different to have someone take the time to tell him what he should do, and it was a luxury compared to his past life, and one he wasn't going to experience for long, thus he cherished it while he could.
His father was waiting for him in front of their house, and after a last hug, he held his belongings and looked to his mother as he was leaving the house, and she was waving at him.
In front of the house, his father was standing, with a....carriage next to him.
He told him "This is the carriage I travel with. Come on, Yohan, I'll teach you how to ride it"
The two sat in the front seat and his father informed him "These two horses have gone through thick and thin with me. Their names are Dan and Dina."
He then gave them some food and the horses suddenly started galloping through the city, and his father masterfully evaded any buildings or people and directed the horses to a paved road outside of the city, which presumably led to their destination.
He then gave the lead to Yohan and showed him how to alter the direction and speed of the horses and he got the gist of it pretty fast.
Riding through the farmland and forest at the speed of a car, this was very fun.
As the terrain got more rough and uneven, however, his father took back the lead and navigated through the land.
What seemed like a flash later, the empty surroundings were replaced by an occasional castle and the farmland was being worked on by sun-kissed farmers.
Soon enough, gigantic fort walls greeted their sight and Noah stopped the carriage in front of an outpost station.
Two guards came to us and they ordered "For authorized entry, provide official documentation."
His father took out a paper from his bag and showed the guards, who carefully analyzed it and nodded to each other before telling him "Entry approved for Yohan Yerzog. You can go now."
Yohan looked at his father, who jumped at him and gave him a suffocating hug, saying "I think your mother told you everything you need to know, my son. Please take care of yourself."
As he struggled out of the hug, Yohan said "Father, please be safe on your trips..."
Noah looked at him dumbfoundedly before putting on a thin smile and telling him "Yohan, act your age while you still can. Soon, worries and responsibilities will be the only things you can think of."
He nodded confusingly and the guards harrumphed in impatience.
"Goodbye now, my son."
"Goodbye, father."
The Academy was surrounded by a moat and the guards screamed to the outpost station on the other side and they then brought down a bridge.
Yohan walked in slow steps, anticipating his new life that was just a few dozen steps away.
His father encouraged him "You can do it!"
With newfound determination and perhaps to avoid the excruciating farewell, he ran towards the entrance and just like that, the bridge was once again a gate and he couldn't see his father anymore.
Here he was, in a garden of sorts.
He heard steps approaching him and turned around.
It was a woman wearing a dark-blue robe with the golden symbol of the Divine Spirit embroidered on it.
She held a certain scholarly air about her and was holding some books in her hand.
The woman then spoke in a formal and penetrating voice.
"You should be Yohan Yerzog. Welcome to the Spirit Academy."