Chereads / Soul Alchemy / Chapter 3 - Chpt 3 - Enter: Samaria!

Chapter 3 - Chpt 3 - Enter: Samaria!

The center continent, between all the other continents, and the "Trade Capital", is Baligdonia. A vast land of swamps and rivers that extend into the other continents, Baligdonia is the richest country by far. It's main city, Balig, covers 2/3rds of Baligdonia. The other third is inhospitable swamps deep enough for barges to travel through. Balig is Baligdonia, the two are interchangeable.

It's also the most progressive, in a corrupted way. Any form of racism between races and misogyny between species is forbidden. It may sound nice at first, but special artifacts are set up all over the city and even within homes that can detect even the slightest bigoted thought, even if the thought is intrusive, and alert the authorities.

So despite the city's council having a member of each general species on it, humans and dwarves are almost always in the slums or prison and fairies and elves practically control the city.

The city does have much to offer however. The Subterranean Library is the largest collection of books in the world, with shelves extending for over a kilometer underground. There is the prestigious Academy Arcane, the largest school for mages and scholars across the world. Any noble can become a wizard or a scholar, and any commoner is welcome to being a mage or a scientist. But the size of the school doesn't mean it is the best. However, The School of Chivalry is within the city of Balig. The School of Chivalry produces some of the greatest warriors and most ascend to knight-hood before or during graduation.

"Sam, you're the best warrior and the smartest student in this academy! The only reason you took scholar classes is because they ran out of things to teach you!" A girl, tall and lean with short brown hair, olive skin, brown eyes, and long pointy ears slammed a book down. She sat at a desk in a small room, containing a bunk bed and another desk.

Across the room, at the other desk, sat a shorter girl. Her skin was pale, her eyes bright gold, hair a lackluster pink, and wings jutted from her back and dropped down the chair she sat in. She laid her book down gently, sighing, "I can't help that I'm a commoner and the rest of the school is majority nobles, Tex." The girl closed her book and grabbed another from the stack beside her.

Tex chuckled, "The majority of the nobles are humans from other countries. You could just accuse them of racism if someone bothers you, and they will probably be executed." The elf girl chuckled, manually grabbing a different book from the stack beside her.

Sam scoffed, "You know I don't encourage the corrupted system against humans. I'm half human, most fairies are." She opened her book.

Tex shook her head despite Sam unable to see it, "You think I encourage it? I have adoptive human parents. Them being killed because of untrue accusations… well it happens to everyone else!" Tex put a pair of glasses on and opened her own book.

"Hey Texa?."

"Yeah… Samaria?" Tex emphasized Sam's true name, since she called Tex "Texa".

Sam turned her chair around and sighed, "I think my father's been lying to me."

Tex spun her chair around and removed her glasses, "How so? You think he's cheating on your mother?" Tex chuckled.

Sam shook her head, "I'm being serious, Tex!… I saw him fill an envelope with money and send it to an address in Forgaorn."

Tex shrugged her shoulders, "That's the human continent. I'm sure he's sending it to a relative."

Sam shook her head again, keeping her head low, "I thought so to… so when I asked father, he denied ever even sending the letter. So I got suspicious and intercepted the note at the post office and… it was to his mistress, and his son."

Tex's eyes widened a bit, "You have a half-brother. Ok, ok, but what are you going to do?"

Sam smiled a bit, "I already did my research. He's a Druid named Camran Finni, last people saw he departed on a ship towards Throbath… I'm going to find him. I have to protect my little brother".

"Samaria Boral, is it?" a man questioned Sam. The two stood on a dock beside a large ship. "What is your purpose to taking a ship to Throbath? Your papers say you are a knight, not a monster hunter. A Knight of Balig, no less. What are you doing here at Karldinsh's southern shorn?"

Sam chuckled nervously, "I'm looking for someone there. If they've survived, that is." She pointed to her papers, "But I'm also a scholar, so you can chock it up to me doing field research."

The man nodded, "Well then, get on board. The fee is paid afterwards, since there is no guarantee either of us, or the entire ship, will survive the journey." He began climbing a rope ladder on the side of his ship, "So good luck, because the sea is infested with monsters near Throbath."