The little town's newest member was quite well known, even though there weren't many people, to begin with. The population didn't exceed more than 100 people, children included. So realizing their little place had gained another young resident didn't take long. The church itself was devoted to the Order of Nature, which was a smaller yet known religion. It was more present in the west of the continent, but even then it would have to bow down to the Order of Light that was everywhere.
Since it was different from the commonplace religion some folk turned their backs on it, but most were fine with the church being there. Some churches asked for weekly donations or support to keep the place going, but the Sister rather avoided asking for money. It felt strange to her and she felt that she needed to rely on herself to live, spreading that way of life to her family.
Her family all lived by the same philosophy since they didn't know much else. They each helped on the fields or pinch in somewhere where help was needed, they weren't always paid in coins but rather food. These two things were synonymous for the children anyway, they wouldn't gain enough for any big purchases and the basics of living were already expensive enough.
The priestess wasn't smart enough to work a job next to her priest duties, but that didn't make her oblivious. She had heard enough about the dark side of humanity through confessions and stories. This drove her to teach the children a thing or two about the world, when it came to countries, politics, or economics she was comparable to a beginner. But she had a basic knowledge of math and knew a language or two. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.
The lessons were always held after the morning breakfast when they had lost their morning drowsiness. Most of the time the children barely paid any attention or lost concentration, only the more grown-up ones tried to grasp her words. What was surprising was that their newest addition was quiet. He would cry on occasions when he was hungry or desperate for attention, but otherwise, he was a normal child. The fact that he was almost mesmerized by her words showed the family a new side to their little sunshine.
It didn't take long before Lucas could start to speak due to her language lessons. He didn't have the most talent when it came to the illogical way language worked, but he showed his potential in math. Logic flowed through his mind connecting one dot to another, basic calculation wasn't a problem anymore. Education was a controversial topic in Aurora. After all, what would history lessons do in a world that was controlled by the strong, might makes right was an open secret. As long as you were powerful enough, you could do anything, so studying things like politics was seen as an unnecessary thing only useful for the weak or nobles who couldn't awaken to magic.
Still, it only seemed like a smart choice to educate the kids. Bringing the kids outside for a subject not interesting for many, math. She didn't have any paper, for that was exclusively used by the rich, so she would make do with lines drawn in the dirt. 'A line on the ground or on paper are the same anyways.', was her line of thinking, simple but positive.
Everyone loved to play outside, playing with sticks or imagining scenarios they could only dream of became reality after some time playing outside. Children had impressive imaginations in the first place, so giving them something as beautiful as nature for a companion was the greatest for them.
"All right everyone, sit down.", she had to constantly remind them why they were outside in the first place. But few had eyes for her boring lessons, they'd rather stare into the sky, seeing objects in clouds.
Starting the lesson with a sigh, she looked at who was actually paying attention. Gregory wanted to help the family out as the oldest one, so he paid attention, he understood some things but was rather built for more heavy work. The other ones paying attention were Lucas and his sister. "Okay, let's start simple, who can tell me what seven plus six is?"
Greg placed his hand under his chin before confidently looking at his big sister, showing he had solved it. Yet she wasn't really expecting Gregory to answer, she mainly asked this question because it was one that Tris couldn't answer last time. So to check if she practiced a bit more in her spare time. Sadly, her demeanor said anything but confident, she was holding out her fingers and kept losing track of how many she counted. Waiting patiently in hopes of her finally figuring it out, but then out of nowhere came a sound.
"Thiteen", with his still a bit slurred speech, Lucas answered. She was baffled at his response, he had calculated such a thing at such a young age, even Gregory was proudly smiling. "See? I told you he was smart!"
The priestess couldn't help but laugh before shrugging her shoulders, not knowing what to say. He was years younger than his sister, yet he found it first. "That's right Lucas, good job.", and she gave him a peck on his forehead. Lucas was too young to process emotions as complex as love, but the attention did make him happy. Stirring his enthusiasm to keep answering correctly.
Every time she asked a question, Lucas got faster and faster in answering, even surpassing Gregory. He would always shout the answer in hopes of getting another compliment or reward, but he went too far. "Lucas! If you want to answer, stick your hand up, you need to let others answer as well!"
The priestess wanted everyone to learn and respond, even though most weren't paying attention, her shout did bring the others to become quiet as well. She was the big sister in the end and held the most authority, hearing her voice grow louder everyone became silent, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere. This was broken when a single hand went up in the air.
The little sister had found it! Looking at her with wonder in her eyes, she urged her to respond, "Yes, go ahead."
"23!", she didn't react immediately, she was busy with Lucas and forgot the answer, but it didn't take long to see if Tris was correct. The others hadn't even heard the question, but they knew Tris well enough to know that she wasn't the sharpest when it came to math. An awkward smile replaced the frown on her face, "Uh, almost, Tris, almost, I asked for three times seven."
The group started to laugh, even though they also deally know the answer. Only Gregory, his little sister, and a single other stayed quiet during the cackling. Lucas' hand was raised in the air, stiff like a pole, he sat and waited. After being lectured he felt bad, almost to the point he wanted to cry, yet he didn't. He didn't form complex thoughts yet, but a single question was posed in his mind. 'Why would you cry?', it felt like he was talking to himself through his mind. This calmed him down, realizing he could still win her affection if he followed her rules, so he sat there, arm raised, not saying a word, waiting.
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The daily life of the residents was slow, challenging, but satisfying enough to keep going. Some had to work from early in the morning until late in the evening, like the farmers trying to make sure their cattle didn't starve or dry up. Others, like the coin changer, had an easy life, he merely had to make sure he followed the law and keep his misuse of it under covers. Even the mayor of the town, which didn't mean much in practice, was cautious of the man and made sure to be on his good side.
Lucas and his little family didn't have any jobs, the only one with an actual position was the Big Sister of the group as a priestess. Still, she didn't receive many donations and her being a preacher of an estranged religion, didn't make it any easier.
Not that it dampened the moods of the children, they didn't have any toys, yet they simply didn't need them. Their imagination was large enough to keep them entertained. Not long after Lucas started to live in the little borough, he came into contact with the other children from the town. Playing tag or hide and seek were the basic forms of entertainment for him. Sadly, things changed at a certain point when the son of the coin changer realized his father's power and standing.
With his father pushing his son even further to become a strong man who leads others, he started to create his own little circle. The man was a bit taller than most and always tried to look as clean as possible, covered in black. He had a tiny mustache that curled up in an almost full circle. "Damian, listen closely, you are the son of the most powerful man in this village, you need to act like it.", he was always very stern, even to his own wife. "I want you to stop playing around and start your studies."
Damian understood somewhat that his father was the subject of jealousy by a lot of the townsfolk, but he didn't know what to do about it. He liked playing around, but the serious face of his dad made him think twice. He had a sad look on his face, to think he would lose all his precious friends for some boring books really didn't sit well with him. His father looked at Damian and saw the internal struggle, although he was stern, he didn't hate his family. On the contrary, he loved them, but he simply couldn't show it in a meaningful way. "Listen, Damian, I know you don't like studying, but you need to learn a lot about this world if you want to survive. This world is ruled by the strong, it's as simple as that. If a mage decided to decimate our home, there won't be any consequences for them. The strong are always right, and if you can't become strong, you need to become smart. Handling paperwork or keeping this economy in order will help this country, you'll be protected then."
Damian didn't understand everything, but the idea that any mage could simply come to this town and destroy it without any repercussions did scare him a bit.
"I'll allow you to keep playing if you can pass my little tests.", wiping away his previous fear he focused on the bright side.
Things seemed to be looking great for Damian, if he did well, he could play, but what he didn't know was what would happen if he failed. Since he was so distracted by his playmates he forgot to take his studies seriously. The punishment of failing a test was brutal, his father had given him a chance, yet he failed his expectations and now had to suffer the consequences. Getting hit by a fist or a whip was the choice he was presented with each time he failed a test.
Time passed and Damian could only reach a certain score on each test, barely giving him respite from the possible punishments. He was constantly clouded by the scene of his father whipping him, he couldn't even enjoy the normal playtime anymore. Looking at the orphans and how much fun they were having, Damian started to get jealous.