Canghill Town, a small settlement with only two main streets—one running east to west, the other north to south—was tucked away in the southern part of the Kingdom of Elandor, under the jurisdiction of Ashford County. Among the many towns in Ashford, Canghill was little known, its name fading into obscurity.
At the leather goods shop owned by the influential Thorn family, the shopkeeper loudly proclaimed, "Insects have chewed it, rats have gnawed at it, the fur's shedding—wild wolf hide, fifty pence per piece."
Seris Velan gritted his teeth, holding back his frustration. There was no point in arguing with them. He extended his hand and accepted the meager fifty pence. Thorn's family monopolized the leather trade in Canghill Town, dictating prices at will. No one could challenge them.
Whispers around town told of those who had tried to enter the leather trade, only to disappear under mysterious circumstances. Some had fallen to "highwaymen" or "robbers," leaving their families impoverished. After such stories spread, no one dared touch the leather business again.
Leaving the Thorn shop, Seris made his way to the town's apothecary to sell the medicinal herbs he had gathered. Three Astragalus plants earned him seventy-five pence, the Kudzu Root brought in one hundred thirty, and a handful of other herbs netted him another twenty.
As he strolled through the narrow streets of Canghill, Seris occasionally reached into his pocket, feeling the comforting weight of the coins. A deep sense of satisfaction filled him—his efforts were starting to pay off.
Up ahead, he noticed a crowd gathering, buzzing with excitement. Seris moved closer and saw a large notice posted on the town's wall, stamped with an official red seal.
He squinted at the text, but the words were foreign to him—Seris couldn't read a single letter of the notice.
At the front of the crowd stood a poorly dressed middle-aged scholar with a pale face and a small goat-like beard, loudly reciting the contents of the notice.
Most of the onlookers couldn't read, but they listened attentively, hanging onto his every word.
Though the language was formal and somewhat difficult to follow, Seris Velan managed to understand the core message.
Mistveil Height Academy, located in the county seat, would be expanding its enrollment next spring. Anyone under the age of fifteen who passed the entrance exam could attend, provided they could pay the tuition of ten silver marks annually. Graduates who passed the final exams before turning twenty had the opportunity to be recommended as local officials or join the military, with a chance to become officers.
"I heard our County Magistrate is a graduate of Mistveil Height Academy" one man said.
"That's true. He studied the liberal arts, but the academy's martial students are even more renowned. General Wilmont of the Northwestern Army also graduated from Mistveil Academy," added another.
A young man with narrow eyes and prominent front teeth lamented, "I was born a few years too early! If I had the chance, I'd definitely pass the exam and become a general. Imagine, riding a mighty horse, sword in hand, leading the charge into battle!"
A stocky, dark-faced youth scoffed, "Triangular Eyes, you? A general? Real generals have broad shoulders and stand tall. You'd be lucky to carry a torch in the vanguard. Imagine—Triangular Eyes leading the charge—people would think Elandor had no one else to send!"
Seris paid no attention to the banter and quietly slipped away, already forming a plan in his mind.
"This is a real opportunity," he thought. "Tuition is ten silver marks per person, so my brother and I will need twenty in total. I've got a few months to come up with the money."
He considered the mysterious space in his possession. Time there passed at more than twenty times the speed of the outside world. "I could grow astral wheat or rice, which ripen in about half a year. One crop could yield twenty to thirty pounds of grain per season. Even if we ate dry food every day, half the land would be enough to keep us fed."
"As for the other half," Seris mused, "I'll need to plant something more valuable. Ginseng comes to mind. With five months left until the entrance exams, there's just enough time."
Seris went to the local apothecary and, for a hundred pence, purchased one hundred fifty astral ginseng seeds along with astral wheat seeds, astral rice seeds, and some basic provisions like rice and coarse salt. With his supplies in hand, Seris concluded his business in Canghill Town, ready to set his plans in motion.
"Brother!"
Seris heard his younger brother's voice echoing through the astral fields as he approached the shimmering boundary of their small home in the stars.
"Why did you just get back? I've already prepared our meal," his brother, Torin, called, his glowing form buzzing with the same energy that filled their home.
Seris smiled, pulling a shimmering stardust-wrapped parcel from his satchel. The package glowed softly, as though it held a piece of the cosmos itself.
"Little brother, you're getting better and better at this," Seris said, waving the parcel teasingly. "Now, guess what's inside. If you guess right, I'll give it to you."
Torin grinned and pretended to think. "Hmm… Starlight fruit!"
Seris shook his head, feigning disappointment. "Really? You're eight cycles old now and you can't guess what's in here?"
With a laugh, Torin grabbed for the parcel. "Stop treating me like a youngling, Brother. Just give me the treat!"
Seris relented, opening the package to reveal a delicate constellation-shaped candy, made from compressed stardust and sweet cosmic nectar.
The two brothers began walking back toward their humble abode, their arms casually slung around each other.
Torin took a huge lick of the candy, his eyes wide with delight. "It's so sweet! Here, you have to try it."
Seris glanced down at the candy, now covered in his brother's shimmering saliva. "I think I'll pass."
"Come on, just take a bite! It's too good not to share."
Giving in, Seris took a bite, closing his eyes as the sweet taste of the astral treat dissolved on his tongue. "Alright, it's not bad."
"You bit its head off!" Torin complained with mock indignation. "I've been saving that part!"
"I'll get you another one next time we go to the astral bazaar," Seris chuckled.
"Promise?"
"Of course! Your brother always keeps his word," Seris said, puffing out his chest proudly.
Back at their simple home, they sat down to a meager meal of celestial herb broth, which was so thin it barely seemed to exist at all. Seris couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as he glanced at the watery broth.
"Little brother, starting tomorrow, things are going to change. We're going to eat real food—solid rations, every meal."
Torin blinked, surprised. "Every meal? Like, celestial grains and cosmic roots?"
"Every day, every meal," Seris confirmed, patting the small supply of astral grains he had stored from his recent trips into the astral market. "We're going to eat like the Starborn themselves! Whatever the celestial lords eat, we'll have too."
Torin looked skeptical but hopeful. "I saw a Starborn envoy eating sunbird meat the other day when I was gathering stardust crystals. They gnawed on it like they were the only ones who could afford it."
Seris smiled, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "In a few days, we'll be eating starbeast, too. We'll sit at the edge of the celestial fields and gnaw on cosmic wings until everyone knows we're no longer struggling."
"Some celestial families even roast sunbeasts for the Cosmic Cycle celebration," Eos said, eyes wide with envy.
Seris grinned. "We'll have one too."
"Where are you going to get a sunbeast?" Torin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We'll buy one," Seris said confidently.
Torin laughed, shaking his head. "You're boasting again, Brother! If you keep that up, no one's going to take you seriously. You'll never find a mate!"
Seris laughed, ruffling his younger brother's hair. "We don't need mates, little brother. We can take care of ourselves, right? We'll soar through the stars, and there's nothing we can't achieve."
Though the two brothers laughed and joked, Seris felt a deeper resolve settle within him. The cosmic opportunities ahead were vast, and he knew their time to rise was just around the corner.
Torin suddenly exclaimed, "Right! Let's never marry. If you do, your wife will steal our starbird legs! Next door, Vega's brother got married, and now they fight every night, yelling loud enough to shake the celestial fields."
Seris felt something off with Torin's logic but couldn't quite pinpoint it. Instead, he chuckled and let it slide.
The two brothers sat at the edge of their home, perched on a glowing celestial stone, each holding a bowl of shimmering cosmic broth.
After their meager meal, they began to talk excitedly about the coming spring, when they would attempt to enter the renowned Astral Academy. Eos' eyes sparkled with hope, dreaming of becoming a cosmic warrior, his sword gleaming in the starlight as he traveled the astral planes.
Later that night, when Torin was fast asleep, Seris entered his private astral space once again. The celestial herbs he had transplanted earlier were thriving in the rich, black cosmic soil. He planted star grain and lunar rice next, covering half the remaining plot of land. In the other half, he carefully sowed ginseng-like celestial roots, their glowing seeds promising future wealth.
Surveying the space, he realized there was still a small, unused patch of land. Seris, ever the farmer at heart, frowned at the thought of leaving any soil uncultivated. "Wasting land in the astral plane feels like a crime."
"Tomorrow," he mused to himself, "I'll venture into the astral wilderness and find more rare plants to bring back here."
The next morning, when Seris returned to the space, he was astonished by the rapid growth. The star grain and lunar rice, which he had only planted the night before, had already grown a few inches, their ethereal stalks swaying gently in the space's soft currents. The celestial roots had sprouted too, their green seedlings radiating a soft glow, just as vibrant as those cultivated in the Astral Groves themselves.
With a grin, Seris marveled at the bounty his mysterious space could yield. He knew this secret power would soon change their lives forever.