With just one week left until the new year, the Etzikri Charity House was exceptionally busy. On the day after Arthur Hebrew followed Parish and disappeared, on Fire Moon Day, Mrs. Lily was thrown into confusion and panic when she found out he was missing. She even considered going to the Enforcer Hall to issue a missing person notice, but Arthur, who knew the truth, managed to stop her. Meanwhile, George Cavendish fabricated a story, claiming that Captain Dodge had assigned someone else to escort Arthur away under protection, successfully deceiving Mrs. Lily.
School was out for the season, and Arthur and Katerina visited the Pea Bookstore, just two streets away, every day to learn new knowledge. They tried inviting George along, but he was always mysteriously absent by afternoon, with new scars appearing on his face. Whenever Mrs. Lily asked, he would dismiss her questions with vague responses.
Once again, it was a Moonless Day. Arthur recalled that Parish had once mentioned the importance of not underestimating water mages under the Water Moon. Arthur mused over this, remembering Livlan's mention that the moon had shifted to a state associated with natural elements. He began to realize that each moon phase likely corresponded to a different mage's power. In that case, could there be eight natural elements for mages: gold, wood, water, fire, earth, plus thunder and wind? Then what might "nothing" symbolize?
Arthur and Katerina had entered the Pea Bookstore. Bookshelves filled with all kinds of books were arranged in spiraling towers around the store, each tower topped with a label. Arthur casually flipped through the "History of the Human Alliance," which he had read a few days ago, brushing his fingers over the top label. There was no section on mages, as he expected. If mages were known to ordinary people, they wouldn't be mages. After sidestepping a man seated on the floor, buried in a thick industrial book, Arthur moved over to the history section and picked up an old, dusty book without a single illustration on its cover. Today, he would read up on the development history of Brighton City.
King Matthews unified the entire Southern Continent in Year 541 of the Old Calendar. Then, in Old Calendar Year 212, the orcs rebelled. In between, humans had seen three rulers: the Conqueror King Matthews, the Diligent King Eso, and the Pioneer King Day, followed by the Sickly King Dracula and the Ax-breaking King Jeshu after the beastfolk rebellion, leading up to the New Calendar's era of human mage Rhine, whose record in human history was scant—Rhine Hebrew.
Brighton City joined the Human Alliance in Old Calendar Year 129, which left Jeshu as the only one able to claim the title of King, while Rhine could only be recognized as a city lord. The main difference between humans from the Southern Continent and those from the Eastern Continent lay in temperament. Southerners prided themselves on elegance, whereas Easterners were known for their warmth and communication skills. After joining the Human Alliance in Old Calendar Year 114, a massive influx of Easterners arrived in the Southern Continent, shaping its current state. Many Southern children are now of mixed descent, distinct from hybrids—though Arthur had yet to understand what exactly that concept meant.
The book mentioned that Brighton City was originally the size of a small town. With the help of Gaia, the Goddess of Earth and Harvest, they drove away several beastfolk tribes that had inhabited the northwest corner of the Southern Continent, allowing Brighton City to expand. The gods have always been devoted to aiding us, Arthur thought, recalling the myth of mages slaughtering the gods. What exactly is the relationship between the gods and the various races? From what he could see, the gods had always helped humanity grow stronger. So why did they fear us wielding natural powers? The book concluded with a history of Brighton City's grand gates in the New Calendar—New Calendar Year 1, the moon changed; in Year 11, humans and dwarves invented the oil lamp…up until five years ago. This book had not been updated in five years.
There was too little information to uncover the truth, so Arthur shelved his thoughts for now, placing the book back on the shelf. Katerina was still engrossed in a cookbook, so Arthur turned his attention to another book on human industrialization in the New Calendar. Suddenly, a newsboy shouted "Big News! Big News!" as he ran past the store entrance. "That child," muttered the bookstore owner, an elderly, stooped man in his eighties with thick glasses. He shuffled to the door, shouting at the newsboy to be quiet and stop disturbing his customers.
The old man's outburst caused Katerina to wrinkle her brow. Several patrons closed their books and gathered around him to scold him, claiming he was louder than the newsboy. "What's going on, Arthur?" Katerina asked, crossing her arms as she stood beside Arthur.
"I'm not sure," Arthur replied, looking up at her. The only recent event he could think of that might qualify as "big news" was the Orc Chieftains' gathering he'd heard about last month. Since then, he had seen sporadic reports in the newspapers. After the human forces sent a fifty-man reconnaissance team, General Horton dispatched an additional 500 elite soldiers to garrison Sunset Town, and shortly after, the Elves had assembled an archer unit within half a month and joined the local human forces at Sunset Town. But that all seemed distant to Arthur.
"I got a newspaper!" a voice called out from the door. Instantly, the attention in the bookstore shifted toward the person holding it. After letting the gazes gather on him, the customer unfolded the newspaper and read aloud for all to hear:
"On Thunder Moon Day, the human-elf alliance encountered the orc forces in a direct confrontation at the eastern gorge of Sunset Town, suffering a crushing defeat. Out of a 200-man unit, only twelve people and two elves managed to escape to Sunset Town."
What!? The bookstore erupted in shock. For years, humans had dominated the Southern Continent due to superior military strength over the beastfolk and the elves. Although most of the military relied on cold weapons, some officers had already begun carrying long rifles or pistols. Combined with the elves' agility and execution, it was hard to imagine them losing to beastfolk, let alone so catastrophically.
Most people in the bookstore found this news difficult to believe. They overlooked the fact that the beastfolk, who had previously operated independently, were now united, making it dangerous to view them through an outdated lens.
The beastfolk… Arthur's expression grew solemn. Hearing that word made him instinctively shiver, recalling the image of a giant axe-wielding pursuer.
"The paper also says that after a meeting with several generals, Edwards decided to reinforce the troops and issue a military conscription throughout the city. This is a summons."
A summons is a directive issued by a city lord during exceptional times, requiring residents within their jurisdiction to focus on a specific task, authorized by a council vote. The last summons was issued by the previous city lord and called for food supplies. For a moment, the bookstore was abuzz with concerned chatter over the recent defeat, and Arthur and Katerina lost interest in their books, deciding to head home instead.
On the way, the streets were filled with people holding newspapers, discussing either the defeat in the war or the city lord's summons. Occasionally, cries and angry shouts punctuated the conversations.
"I didn't think they'd lose so badly." "What are we going to do now?" "My nephew was in that unit…" "Those damn beastfolk!"
Arthur thought of the fire in Green Village, recalling his parents, their final looks before they died. He looked at Katerina beside him, his voice trembling.
"Katerina, I...I want to respond to this summons."