Dima suddenly interrupted his interlocutor, the guy was still under the impression of the miracles that Lia had shown him.
"Can you tell me about magic?"
"Hmm, why do you ask?" Asked Hin with undisguised curiosity, in his head he had already prepared a couple of theories where Dima could have encountered magic in the walls of the monastery, and there were not so many options.
"One of the healers helped me after the training, I can't even remember when I felt so good." Hin only smiled slightly, knowing perfectly well who Dima was talking about.
"Okay, but let's keep it short, we have a more important topic. Earlier I told you that our world used to be full of magic," Hin paused to inhale smoke, and let a small cloud continue.
"After an unknown event it disappeared, but not completely as you realised. Some people can still successfully use it, the number of them is very few, and their powers are weak, compared to those described in ancient treatises wizards, but even so they are a valuable asset of any clan or association, regardless of its purpose. The powerful actively seek out the gifted and lure them to themselves by any available means."
"Sometimes, not quite by ethical methods," a spark of indignation and anger flashed in the abbot's eyes, the monk's gaze became so heavy that Dima instinctively squirmed in his chair. Hin slightly recoiled from his emotions and continued.
"These are usually village witches and wizards who have one spell. Next are the 'Duo' - These masters have two spells in reserve. 'Troe' - The true masters who have three spells. And the rarest of all, rare as black pearls - 'Cheo' have four spells. - Dima listened attentively, Hin's story interested him more than ever, for the first time this world offered him something that on Earth he could only dream about."
"Also mages could grow in skill, for example, a healing spell could be improved by its master in several directions. Heal several people at once, do it much faster or even grow limbs."
"The most curious thing is that no one can clearly say what group the magician belongs to, even the grey-haired masters who have devoted their entire lives to the magical craft will not give you a clear answer to what group they belong to themselves."
"The point is that a mage grows in skill throughout his life and sometimes achieving significant successes he can unlock his potential and increase the list of spells by going one step higher. After all, in most cases from birth mages possess only one spell."
"Finally, we should mention their specification. Combat mages, - are valued everywhere, their purpose is clear and without unnecessary words: fire pillars, ice storms, streams of sizzling energy and all in the same spirit. Familiar to you healers, well, here I think everything is clear." At this phrase Hin shifted his gaze to the boy and smirked cynically.
Dima, realising what he was hinting at, decided not to show it. Only a slight reddening of his face gave him away. 'Modest,' Hin said to himself and trying not to laugh continued.
"Mages craftsmen, artefactors, alchemists and others use their gift in crafts, the product is usually also endowed with magical properties, and is therefore highly valued."
"Others who do not fit these requirements are classed as a separate group: and their abilities can sometimes astound even such impenetrable sceptics as myself." Hin interrupted and scratched the back of his head, Dima, taking advantage of the pause, hastened to insert his five kopecks.
"I have one more question, are you vegetarians?" Hin visibly tensed, and looked at his interlocutor with incomprehension.
"Decipher!"
"I'll paraphrase, vegetarians are those who do not eat meat, I've been here for three days and I've never seen meat even close, did the Chorus forbid you?"
"If only it were that simple, the Choir could always be agreed upon, and he never threw meaningless bans." The abbot sighed heavily and looked down at the table.
"We are just poor, that's all." Dima with such directness almost fell off the chair, the guy began to feel that he was being fucked somewhere.
"Hin explain, you are the ruler of the whole autonomy, I personally saw chickens, goats and other livestock in the yard, either there is something wrong here, or you are not telling me something."
"I did not say that we do not eat meat at all, just that the time has not yet come livestock will gain enough weight only by the end of summer. And it's not economically feasible to slaughter them now, and it's about our situation that I wanted to talk to you." Dima took a lighter and cigarettes out of his pocket and lit a cigarette, saying with all his appearance: 'I am listening to you attentively.
"Now the kingdom is ruled by King Tun, the eldest son of the previous king, but right now we will talk about his father - Kiner. Our kingdom existed for an incredibly long time and nothing changed from century to century: the clans fought, the monks prayed, and the peasants fed everyone. But on Kiner everything ended, I will not lie, there were reforms before, but Kiner swung at the very foundations of the existence of the kingdom of Haro."
"By his decree he compulsorily bought all the lands into the ownership of the state, and this step had far-reaching consequences. In a nutshell, the nobles who received the money mostly squandered it and were left with nothing, it was so bad that Tung had to introduce rice rations."
"What?"
"Every nobleman in arms is entitled to sixty kilos of rice a year. And prefacing your question yes, their duty to protect the kingdom has never been abolished."
'Very interesting feudalism without feudal lords, - this is definitely something new'. - Dima thought to himself.
"And why didn't he get killed, I think many people guessed that there was some kind of a mess?"
"You flatter our noble class, most of them are like hungry jackals, just waiting for a chance to grab more. But yes certainly some realised the point immediately and soon rebelled."
"And?"
"And then came into force the reform of the army, which our past monarch carried out earlier, the thing is that before during the war in the active army were called up only nobles, and they provided for themselves and prepared for the war almost from birth, the king with the consent of the other clans only pointed out the direction in which to move with a metre shiv. But after the reform, a system of regular conscription of commoners was introduced. This system didn't work for long, but its results were enough to suppress the rebellion of dissenters."
"And what did your former manager do afterwards? - Dima was already clearly tracing the parallels with his home world, only one word on his tongue modernisation. 'Russia, Prussia, Japan, now Haro - history is cyclical you bitch.'
"He began modernisation - master builders, scientists, military men were brought in from Migard. But he didn't manage to finish - he died, and his son, a lover of luxury and festivities, didn't care about his father's plans. The whole enterprise withered away, and the new monarch did not distinguish himself by anything except his own stupidity and regular raising of taxes."
"So why don't you take him down?" Dima was ready to explode in a fit of indignation, it seemed to him that he was surrounded by idiots.
"I told you that our kingdom is a vassal of the Ruyen Empire, damn Kinere managed to distinguish himself here... Nobody knows how, but he managed to marry his son Tun to a princess of the ruling dynasty of Ruyen, thus Tun became a part of the imperial family of the Ruyen Empire and that's it, the circle is closed."
"The commoners robbed by high taxes will not be able to stand up to the king, the nobility that has become thinned and impoverished will not be able to get out of this state either, taxes are increasing and reforms are not being carried out. And even if they unite, which is extremely problematic, the nobles despise the commoners, and they reciprocate."
"Stupid idiots, you're in the same boat and you can barely make ends meet." Hin was literally shouting, his face covered with veins - this question was very painful for him.
"And even if they unite, the Ruyen Empire's expeditionary corps will arrive here immediately, and there won't even be a memory of the rebels."
"It's a puny situation, so what do you suggest?" Both men were smoking like locomotives during the whole conversation, Hin stared at Dima and pointed his finger at him.
"You!"
"I'm what?"
"You!" The abbot repeated.
"Can you explain?" Dima asked with confusion in his voice. Hin grabbed the boy by the arm and rolled up the sleeve of his jacket and pointed to a strange symbol.
"You will be the symbol of salvation, the one who will unite people under his command and lead them forward."
"And you haven't forgotten about Ruyen, I'm a handsome man, but I can't convince them not to kill us all." Hin only laughed and continued.
"Dima, you have arrived at a very good time, eight months ago the Emperor of the Empire died, he had plenty of heirs, and three great families have claimed the rights of their offspring to the throne. While things were more or less quiet, they were probing the strength of their opponents."
Hin scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, how quiet, two months ago, 500 officials were killed in the palace, for unknown purposes, and to summarise, in these eight months, about two thousand people have lost their lives."
"But the most interesting thing will begin very soon, namely the civil war. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that the hot phase is about to begin."
"This is our chance, our window of opportunity, which we must take advantage of."
Dima looked at Hin, the man was literally glowing with enthusiasm. The guy raised his eyes to the ceiling, many thoughts were running through his head, but he was able to single out one that united them all. 'Chorus, I see you decided not to leave me any chance at all, to sit out... but we'll swim out.' - For the first time Dima felt the weight, heavy as a rock - the weight of responsibility, in front of his eyes as on a film flashed: the beggar peasants, Lia and her story, the face of that bandit Min and everything that happened to him in this strange world.
When he exhaled deeply and opened his eyes, he looked at Hin with a predator's gaze and said.
"What's your plan, I'm waiting for the details?"