Chereads / Children of horror / Chapter 3 - The school and the scholar of yore

Chapter 3 - The school and the scholar of yore

After helping Mary out with the dishes, the both of us left the house together for school.

St. Velistine royal Academy, a upstar private academic institution with a hollow history of six years, although only a limited amount of people know that this institution exist, those who knew, expected great prospect for the academy's future.

St. Velistine cater some of the most influential families within the country, most of its students are sons and daughters of famous, rich, and powerful individuals, the institution houses military grade security, making the school one the safest place in the country, has advanced facilities thats not available in most other standard academic institutions, and a high competency for all it's staff no matter how minor.

Despite all of that, the schools atmosphere isn't suffocating, rather the atmosphere of it's campus is surprisingly comfortable, and although the most of the school's student body are of high birth, hardly any sort of discrimination where against those students of lower birth, in fact, even the staff treated us students equally.

This school was created six years ago by a certain daughter of royal blood, after inheriting all the richest of one of her only remaining family member.

The history of this country is rather chaotic, in modern times, the country experience peace and prosperity, operating in a republican system of government, but twenty years prior, this country was of a anarchical country, ruled by one king.

Having been born after the change of government, I personally didn't know how difficult it was for the Country transitioning to a completely different form of government, all my knowledge of the past are mostly from books and what where taught in school, and most of those materials seemed fabricated, personal experience of the days gone by was strictly forbidden by the government officials, divulging of such information to the younger generations are harshly punished by a large fine or otherwise death for the perpetrator, indiscriminate of age, social status or age, and legal social isolation for the youth who learned of the pass.

According to history books, the rulers of the past are depicted as unfeeling, selfish tyrants, in most of the citizens eyes, however, the republic was the true tyrants, and although not spoken in history, from the sentiment of the adults of today, I imagine them having experience something terrible to not openly be hostile towards the council leaders.

Bloodshed was probably spread throughout the country, but for my part, it's just my own conjecture.

But with great difficulties, the country filled with turmoil, was slowly stabilized, and in modern times, became peaceful, for better or for worse, yet the peoples resentment remain.

Because of such past, the country's citizens harbor much hate towards the upper management of the country, and by extention, whoever else who held a certain amount of power.

Because of this, children of high status where usually harassed by the masses, and although a number of laws was established to prevent such harassment, not only did it not deter the people, but it seemed that an uprising was slowly being formed, it didn't came to fruit, however, as it was instantly and silently crushed, in exchange the laws that prevented the people to vent their resentment was also abolish, though somewhat limited, the people was granted the right of limited freedom of speach, although they are not allowed to talk about the history of the republic, they are free to disparage the current government as much as they want, but at least most of the people's harassments are limited to verbal harm with physical harm being absolutely forbidden.

Still being resented, the children of power, who, by themselves, have no faults of their own but being born with a silver spoon, sawed the resentment their parents planted, having lived of such twisted society, the children of those in power at the time experience their own world view to be equally twisted.

But before it became a problem, however, a lone child of royal descent save those children of power, ironically if I may add, by gifting them a world where they could belong.

Having experience the same difficulty as the other party, the only remaining member of the fallen royal family device a plot to acquire a land to govern on her own and built the academy years later from the ground up, of course those who held power was doubtful of her intentions, but thinking logically and after being influenced by her innate charisma, she was able to create her academy, but soon the princess of a fallen kingdom soon disappeared following the naming of the institute, rumors says she was killed off by the elites of the country, fearing her for starting a rebellion, other rumors state that the princess simply helped her country from total ruin one last time before leaving it for the neighboring nations, while some state that she concealed her identity and status and stayed at the academy as a member of staff or that of a commoner student.

For what truth the rumor states, not one can say what facts not said, for reasons unknown, the existence of the princess was covered in fog, her name, her age, her face, not one, seemed to remember, forgoten in it's entirety, it was as if the image of said princess was not but a hollow dream, as a certain rumor spread, the title of the phantom princess was hail with naught but her own tale.

Or so a certain poet of a student sang for a project they didn't pass.

Anyway it took some distance, a twenty minutes ride by train in fact, St. Velistine royal academy is found at the outskirts of Valen metropolis, where me and the twins, and most of the students of the academy lived, the capital of Axety republic formerly known as the kingdom Valesyph.

Although the academy houses it's own dormitory for the use it's students, Mary and Helen's parents decided against them staying at the dorm for varying reasons, and although I wanted to move from the twins' home to the academy's male dormitory, I was not allowed to do so, though I can get the permission if a set of conditions is met, those being...

1. Befriend Helen

2.talk to Jessica heart to heart

3.get Mary to agree

After hearing the conditions from uncle Mora... I give up, the first and last one aside, the second condition... Seemed utterly impossible.

I don't know why it was at that order, but after hearing the second condition, gave up, I understood uncle mora's intention of wanting me to have a better relationship with his family but...

As Mary and I reach a fork in the road, we said our goodbyes and walked different paths, but before we could completely separate, Mary called out to me from some ways as if remembering something.

"Brother Evan, today, if you face yourself inconvenient, head at the great atop the hillside behind the astronomy club's planetarium cum observatory, take heed to come at the destined time, not to late yet not to early, if your mistaken on your destiny, your misfortune may come multiplied. " as her words ended she nodes at herself seemingly proud of what she accomplished with an emotionless face, then continued on her way, not looking back.

I gazed at my emotionless looking cousin's small back with a thoughtful look.

Mary Ars, in the academy she doesn't have many friends, for the reason of her being creepy in the way of not knowing how to show any facial expression.

Although it seemed off putting for the majority of the student body, there was another reason she doesn't have many friends.

In this academy, there exists seven unsolved mysteries called the seven wonders, although originally made up of some wild rumors and nonsensical scary stories, these seven in particular are proven to exist yet unsolved, although many academic institutions have their fair share of campus lore as well as their own seven wonders, the St. Velistine royal academy's seven wonders is a really headache inducting mystery, many a student tried their hands solving the case, yet none seemed any closer to the hidden truth, though there was one clue in solving one of the mysteries, that being the first mystery of the seven, 'the girl who spoke in riddles' rumors states that if one is able to solve her mystery she would give a clue for the next mystery on the list, but to solve her mystery, one needed to complete a chain of riddles woven by her, if completed, she would give her challenger a final riddle, and the answer said riddle is the answer to her mystery.

The mystery of 'the girl who speaks in riddles' goes like this according to a certain poet of a student...

The scholar of yore who speaks in tongue, the mysteries of lore they sang,

They speak of truth yet lace them with lies,

Yet we listens to them, with awe and surprise,

They spout of past untold, of time we don't belong,

Of a time of our life, where we wish was wrong,

They spout the present, whatever what's happening now, as we listen we couldn't help but frown our brow,

Tis' was true, what happened just a moment,

You can't help but stay silent,

They spout about the future, for us to bare,

Yet they demand we sing along, it's only fair,

One by one, we sang along with quivered fright, yet if we sang to loudly, the mysteries we feared the most bite,

If treaded with care, we'll sing the tone right,

If we sang it all true, we'll see the light,

But be warned challenger, if you completed all the riddles true, the next scholar of yore might be you.

The poem, for me at least, was easy enough to understand, although a bit messy, a bit forced, the meaning in the words was quite obvious, from what I understand, the riddlers are tricky, although, spoke of words as facts, those facts might be a lie and we wouldn't know it until it's too late.

The riddlers have the power to speak of our past, present, and futere yet for us to learn about the later, we needed to answer one riddle from the riddler.

The first time I heard the so called 'scholars of yore' having this ability, I thought it was nonsense, now though...

The riddlers can give an individual a set of riddles to mole over, some even encroaching the domain of the other seven wonders, if we messed up. With those riddles however, we might get into trouble.

And lastly if we completed the entirety of their riddles, we might become the next riddler.

Actually before 'the girl who speaks in riddle's' ever existed, the being known as scholar of yore was 'the certain poet of a student.'

In the past, for the sake of disproving the rumors surrounding 'the poet of a student' and their mysterious power, Mary and I worked together, and long story short, we finished all the riddles they gave us, then he spoke something I din't quite remeber, the next thing I know, that guy disappeared and somehow Mary turned strange.

At the moment Mary's the physical manifestation of the first wonder... Or that's what I like to say, but a few years back, I caught Mary reading a two stacks of fortune telling books, having saw her studied furiously at something I deemed useless... I was disillusioned.

First mystery solved...

It's probably just a culture past down by one leader of the occult club to the next, and the chain riddle part was probably some kind initiation ritual to become the occult club president, Mary and I just so happened to have completed that ritual by mistake, probably because Mary is quite adorable, they crowned her the next head of the occult, Mary, the girl who speaks in riddles, and I'm ignored because I'm me, that moment was a case for celebration, however, because at that moment, Mary finally found herself some friends she can spend her time with, prior to that, we were always tied with each other's tale, scarcely separating from each other, now, although she didn't spend as much time with me from before, Mary seemed to looked happier than how she did in the past, for me that's enough.

Anyway, her riddle's straightforward, I'm going to be inconvenient in the near future, if that happens, I need to go great tree over the hills behind the astronomy club planetarium cum observatory, go at a specific time or else.

Keeping that in mind I head out my own path alone.