And so, everyone in my group, now including Glaive and Alyssia, started hurrying up towards Quaran. Right now, it is night time and I have to admit that I don't think we are going to arrive at the city soon. I mean, it is already night time on the 13th Day, meaning I can't sign up for the Proving and we can't move at night as moving on a mountain at night is pretty much impossible.
We were so close though. I think the guards said that we were literally only around 400 meters away from Quaran. Oh well, it seems like I won't be participating in the Proving this year. This is pretty bad as it is setting my plan backwards by an entire 2 years. But, 2 years shouldn't be too long when I have my entire life ahead of me, right?
It is night time so, I shouldn't be worrying right now. I should be getting ready to sleep so that I will have enough energy to explore Quaran when we do get there. Since we are so close, we should be arriving tomorrow, meaning that I will be able to watch some other kids compete in the Proving if I am lucky enough.
Ok, time to sleep now.
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Good morning!
Yeah, it is going to be a good day today! I thought some things out right before I slept and decided that I will be making sure to watch the Proving. There are lots of advantages for me if I do watch it as it will give me a good idea as to what they are actually going to be testing us with, and I can train accordingly. I will also be able to see how hard it is to actually succeed so that I will be able to motivate myself to do better.
As Luke said to me before in one of our meetings about war strategy, 'If you know yourself and you know your enemy, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.' He said that it was a quote from someone who is famous because of a book he wrote about war strategy on his world, which fascinated me as the person who wrote that book must have been an expert at what he does.
So, to make sure those teachings didn't go to waste, I committed many of his learnings into my memory, so that I can remember them and apply them to a situation that is similar to the one in the book. The quote I just remembered also goes on to explain other things but, this is how I understand it.
The part where you understand both yourself and the enemy means that if you do that, you can win any battle as long you try hard enough. If you only know yourself, then every time you win will come at a cost as you had no idea what the enemy is like. Lastly, if you don't know yourself or the enemy, you will surely die every time you fight as you don't know the extent of your abilities or the extent of the enemies' abilities either.
I really like that quote as it will really help me on my quest. Even though I like it, I never read the full thing as we only heard about it in discussions with Luke, meaning that I don't know the name of the author or the name of the actual book. I wish I did as I would have loved to read more from it.
Going back to the subject at hand, I will make sure that I will follow the teachings that I have learned when I do eventually, and inevitably, start training for the next Proving in 2 years. I will definitely make those 2 years a good learning experience!
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"We have finally arrived. I am getting a bit tired of all of the cold so I am glad that we get to stay in the warmth of the city now."
"Me too."
"Well, Alex, welcome to the Mountain City, Quaran."
"Yeah. This place looks very cool."
I am not kidding when I said that this place looks very cool as I meant it. It has a giant wall all around the city, and it looks to be made entirely from stone. That means, people from long ago have actually built this wall using both magic and manpower. Now that is something that is cool to look at. Plus, this is the first major settlement that I have went to aside from Vulcan, which means that there must be lots of new things here.
I will also be able to meet the people who I will be living with the entire time I will be staying here, which are my uncle, aunt, and cousin. I am very excited for this. So many new things, experiences, memories, training, and even the place where I pass the ceremonial test of power. Let's see what you have in store for me, Quaran.
"Alright, now that you we are here, all you have to do is to get in line and register yourselves to get in. After that, I will be leaving you as I still have to do some things with Alyssia and fulfill my end of the promise I made. This might be the last time we meet each other so, goodbye!"
"It was an honor to have met you, Sir Glaive. May fortune be with you always!"
"Yes, may fortune be with you as well. Oh yeah, I forgot to ask your names."
"Oh, my name is Eli and this Nadine. The ones to your right are Kendric, Coral, and Ivy. The ones to your left are Silas, Tertio, Cyrus, and Waylos. The child's name is-"
"My name is Alexander Noxien Zetranos. You can call me Alex for short."
"I see. Then, Alexander, I will remember your name and the names of your guards as the people who helped me save Alyssia. Oh, I forgot. May I ask why you came to Quaran? If you came for the Proving, will you be staying here?"
"... Yes, I plan to do just that."