Morning Lesson
They get back together in the living room. There, they sit together around a tiny square table made out of wood and painted in black. Both sit on their knees, on a pillow especially made for this. Master Yi takes various paper rolls that he puts on the table but he doesn't unfold any of them. Kazuki prepares an inkwell and some paper to write down what his master say.The lesson will begin soon.
"Alright, Kazuki. Listen well to what I'm going to say. Don't hesitate to interrupt me and ask questions if necessary."
Kazuki nods to his master's words. His eyes are focused on the papers he holds in his hands and on the old man's face . His attention is turned to his Master, watching with sparkle in his eyes his incredible master perform his lesson.
"- The land where we live, Kazuki, is called a continent. There are various continents. We do know that there are others outside of our borders but we don't dare to go there.
- Why ?
- Well, the people living there don't really like us.
- Why ??
- Well, it is complicated. But to make it short, they think that they are better than us and that their beliefs are superior. Well, not all of them despise us.. Some are genuinely kind and understanding of others having different opinions.. But they don't interfere in what the bad ones do.
- Why ???
- You know what ? When you're older, we'll go there together. There, you'll be able to see it by yourself. The proofs given by your own eyes are way better than a thousand words."
The kid nods in excitement and the old man resumes where he left the lesson.
"- So, the continent we live in is called Chìyù, or also nicknamed the "realm of vitality". It owns this name because of all the various and luxurious plants and the numerous animals which live there. It is one of the places with the highest proliferation of its biodiversity.
- Biodiversity ?
- It is the variety of plant and animal life in the world.
-Oh I see! So Does it mean that there are a lot of different plants and animals in Chìyù?
-It does indeed. There are a lot of different and unique species that you can meet across the lands."
The eyes of the kid shines bright at this new information. It is the best thing he could hear right now. He has always been close to nature, being surrounded by it since the beginning. He loves walking across the forest, observing plants and animals or even interacting with them. To his eyes, it makes the world even more wonderful. There is so much to see that he doesn't know yet. More plants and more animals to simply enjoy.
"C-CAN WE SEE THEM?!"
The old man is a bit taken aback by his student's sudden scream. But after a short moment, he softly smiles at the kid waiting for an answer with stars in his eyes.
"Well.. Not right now.. However, when you're older I'll take you on a trip around every known land. And who knows? Maybe we'll discover new things along the way, until we finally come back home."
The young boy starts to jump around the room, making joyful screams. Master Yi is preparing himself to scold him. The kid stops to jump and looks at his master right in the eyes.
"I can't wait to be older!"
Such youthful innocence in those eyes unarmed the old man who couldn't get mad at him for diverging from the lesson. He simply clears his throat and calmly talks to Kazuki once he get his attention.
"-Can we continue the lesson, please?
-Oh yes, of course! I'm sorry, Master.. It's just.. It's so incredible.. I can't wait for it!
-Haha! I saw it, young boy. However, please try to keep your focus on the lesson and keep taking notes."
Kazuki nods and takes back his feather to write on the paper what his Master says.
"So, the lands of Chìyù are separated into multiple territories.
-Territories? What is that?
-Well.. A territory is a part of the land which belongs to a population. So Chìyù is divided into different parts of lands which belong to one population or another. The limits are defined by the different populations living on the continent."
The master watch has Kazuki write every word on the paper. The old man nods in agreement with his student's good work. He keeps talking while paying attention to Kazuki's feather moving on the paper.
"- To make it short, we live in the Union of Qiánlíng. Around this union, there are multiple free states which aren't part of the union, such as the lands of Lóngyù or Yūgenkoku.
-Is there something different about those states?
-Well.. Lóngyù is said to be the home of very powerful monsters such as dragons.
-Like in my books?!
-Some of them, yeah. And for Yūgenkoku, it is considered to be the most beautiful land of Chìyù. The landscapes and the nature here are indescribable for a human being. But we won't focus too much on them. We can talk about the other lands later if you want to. But what interests us is Qiánlíng. To understand why it is like it is, you must first know how it is ruled and the reason why. Well, this territory is a Union. Qiánlíng never was Qiánlíng until thousands of years ago. There were way more different territories than today. Those differents populations would fight each other for the lands, until one day a stranger came and fought the leaders one by one. He won every fight and asked them to help him fight something more important than each other. They helped because they lost. But after the fight, some became friends and decided to start a union. They fused their lands and Qiánlíng was created. There were only 11 when they founded the Union. They chose one of them as the Supreme Master and the other formed the Council, which consists of the other members of the Union and some powerful or important figures in the Union. They extended their territory, taking more states under their control by adding them to the Union. However the original Union remained the same. They created something called the "Master's Alliance", which gives to the other leaders the title of "Master" as they come under their leadership. The Supreme Master and the Council lead the Alliance, which is the organization leading Qiánlíng. Do you still follow?
-I.. I think so..
-Alright, I let you five minutes to make sure you got everything you need and we'll continue."
Then he waits as Kazuki is checking on his note and sometimes asking questions about a word or a missing information. They indeed take 5 minutes to do this task. Once it's done, the old man starts talking again.
"So, the Alliance has a hierarchy which is directly linked to how the lands are divided. First of all, the Supreme Master. He is the one leading Qiánlíng, he is the head of both the Union and the Alliance and the leader of his own state within the Union. Right after him comes the Council, which advises the Supreme Master and can take actions against him if necessary. The members of the Union contrôl their own state but at this task they are equal to the Supreme Master. And below them come the Masters. There are different ranks of Masters. The Temple's Masters. They rule over a region under the lead of the Union. They have under their control affiliated temples, which are sub-groups, and clans. Affiliated temple's Masters can rule over a part of the region, but also clans and other affiliated temples. And finally Clan's Masters, which can rule over a small city or a village. They can also lead smaller clans. To give you a more simple image, it's like a tree. The trunk is the Supreme Master. When it grows, it develops branches. And while it grows, branches divide themselves more and more into new parts. Well, it's the same unless it can grow indefinitely compared to a real tree."
The old man waits and watches his student taking his notes. Once he seems to be done, Master Yi gets up.
" Alright. That's all for today. It's a lot already, but I'm sure you'll be fine with it. Now, I let you check your notes. Once it's done, you can rest and take a break until I prepare lunch."
With those last words, he packs his stuff to work with Kazuki and leaves the room. During this time, Kazuki reads his notes and changes what seems wrong. It is not because his master is not there that he'll cheat. He is still trustworthy Once it's done, he leaves the room and goes downstairs. He goes outside and once there, he starts running and shouting, playing with his imagination alone. The rest of the morning is passing by really fast. Nothing exceptional happened. It's like nothing is happening.