A sad time it had been for the inhabitants of this house, Sir and myself were no exception, but that time is like any other, had been going to pass. And certainly, it did.

Even so, the Yenkings and Mr Perses weren’t much more motivated for the matter that is the revolution on the current monarchy, they were uninterested, rather doubting. Except Sir, and thus myself.

“Say now, Periergeia, what are we to do? We are weak! We are of little number! say, what could we do? Are we going to throw away our lives for what seems to be a beautiful illusion? A possibility?”

“You see prince, survival, nay, life, is merely all about probabilities, events that make life are probable, while certainty is an illusion that exists only in minds. All there is to it, is that those probabilities either raise or decline depending on other events of the same tier. Indeed, it is a possibility, but we are to raise this possibility’s probability then as much as possible, by doing all what we can. I’ll tell you what to do to answer your question. So, don’t lose your determination!”

“...lay it out, then.”

“I would, any sooner. But first, I’ll leave the household for sometime, for a travel. Wvi, you won’t accompany me.”

“A travel? You wouldn’t know your way around here!”

“That’s no problem, I would help, prince. you would let me accompany you, right, Periergeia?”

“Of course, I was about to ask for your company anyway.”

“I’ll get geared then.”

“Very well.”

It was Latossa who offered to accompany Sir, and he accepted, good for her, she may have her answers at last. 

...

Latossa, by then, started preparing herself for the journey, so did I. That, and I changed into my old clothes, they are most comforting, and useful surely. I offered her my help getting the gear, I remark that I hate to work, but that was for the sake of securing myself, by snuggling the drug so they don’t realize it was lacking in quantity, I told them for an excuse that it was necessary for the journey, it will be needed for if we ever encounter any enemy, and perhaps we’ll find what cures its effect. I did that much, and then I ceased helping her after few more tasks. I kept the drug with me.

Latossa then prepared the two horses, whose names were Maveros, the black one which was mine to ride, and the one she mounted, Aspero, the blond one.

“Tell me, now that I got the chance to talk to you, what was it to travel in the sea, to ride that vehicle?”

“Astonishing, the whole travel. New creatures I was meeting every now and then, new sides of men I managed to see, and a whole trail of events that incited me to change my own views on the world, and thus of course, myself.”

“Amazing! do you intend to keep travelling?”

“Of course, by travel, I’ll improve my arts, and know more.”

“Arts?”

“Arts, yes! The art of learning, the art of reasoning, the art of creating, and the art of conversing.”

“Would you enlighten me more?”

“Yes, of course! The arts I listed just now to you, are the faculties the mind can grant to the human, grouped all together as tidily as could be.

The art of learning, is an art managing the human to know, by providing the potential to see knowledge, to walk to it, and to acquire it, it can be done either by discovery or instruction; discovery as in learning about the world from nature but and only, using senses and filtering with the other arts to garner the truest knowledge at last, and instruction as in learning about the world from one other person, following the same attire as discovery.

The art of reasoning, is an art managing the human to know, by providing to them the link that makes the way to walk to knowledge, the way that is so bright its light covers the other ways. It can be done by learning the rules of sound logic, and acquiring the skill of neutralism.

The art of creating, is an art managing the human to know, by creating what may make the way to knowledge. It is not done by conscious will, follows no specific time nor space. And within it, lies imagination.

The art of conversing, is an art managing the human to know, by providing them the help of the other human if their arts failed to make the way to knowledge, giving them their way, or completing each other’s arts to make the way desired, it can be done by learning about the other human for a start, for you don’t converse with any who, by having a common language, and by having the one common goal, that is, to discover the truth however it is, rather than to prove one another wrong or inferior.”

“Wow!”

“Don’t you see that the arts are all immerged? Don’t you think it’s fascinating? That an art contains another? It is from the many combinations of these arts that many more sub-arts immerge, such as inspiration!”

“Yes, I do! Oh, to know!”

“You seem curious, why didn’t ask earlier?”

“Well! I felt you were kind of unapproachable! And I’m already kind of shy! But whence you were a plank on your bed doing all those silly baby deeds, I kind of warmed up to you a bit, and I gathered my courage, a courage that was intended to ask you about your journey, and after Banto’s arrival and passing away, it was used on demanding your company.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Well, whatever had happened, happened, there’s no changing it.”

“Indeed.”

Be sure to note that all I was saying to her was stuff I came up with on the spot just to talk to her, I was attracted to her to be honest, and it won’t hurt to do some bonding…

We travelled some much, by some time we were already in the heart of a village that was the first station to this journey, we were looking for a place where to sleep, it is remarkable that this village is poor, just like the seven villages up in the way to the first town. Also, it is remarkable once again that, just like the former travel, we always slept and ate in a villager’s house, they were a generous people.

Latossa suggested that we’ll sleep in an old lady’s house, a lady she was personally acquainted with, and so we headed to her, she -the lady- took some time to recognize the girl, once she did, she hugged her tightly, then welcomed us with a big smile, and invited us inside her house, we did to her invitation, that, after our horses were tied tightly.

In her house, she inquired about the Yenkings, and inquired about me, I took the toll and told her the whole story, with few modifications here and there, the lady then responded with empathy and compassion, she told us to never lose hope in the justice of the world.

This lady seems to know about the Yenkings so much, she even knows about the prince, when I asked Latossa about her, she replied that she was her family’s friend, and also was her and her brother’s babysitter, because Bantobazanes got very sick at a time, and Oxen and Olly weren’t so much at ease at that same point of time. The Yenkings had some kind of quarrel with her because of some reason since the appearance of the prince, “perhaps” she told, “it was over who could have his custody!”. That explain why we didn’t eat at her house from the travel of the hospital, but nonetheless, she was trustworthy.

She presented us, despite her poor state, food that seemed to be steep in price, and gave us as much as comfortable beds as she could have, she was hospitable, that old lady.

It has gotten dark, we therefore went to sleep, and as I got comfortable in bed, I was thinking. We humans are born with random bodies, be it beautiful, ugly, healthy, sick... In random environments, be it respectful, harsh, deadly, rich... and in random times, each time and its say... that is what makes the events that make the life lead forward, so of course, all of those events’ happening, is not of out merit, it is never of out merit, it is only out of luck, luck in its most common meaning, only that it lies on a complex level instead of a simple one, only that it lies on the general instead of the particular. Yet its those events are what makes the person who they are, even their mind itself, for the mind is firstly raw material whose capacity and growth are determined by the body and the environment, then refined by the events of life, and that’s it. And the same applies to values, to which belongs the control of the flow of emotion, that is the motor of action. To illustrate it, if I were born in the body of say, Wvi, in the same environment and time as Wvi, and led the same life as Wvi, I would necessarily think the same as Wvi, I would necessarily feel the same as Wvi, I would necessarily BE, Wvi, I wouldn’t DESERVE to be Wvi.

None is deserving of anything, none. The most lovable, ingenious or strong of the bunch is but lucky, and the least of that is but unlucky. And to dare declare this ‘justice’ or ‘merit’? That is only selfish and greedy, but then again, that is what a human is.

It’s by the selfishness that is the instinct of survival that society is founded. Justice or merit are but ways made to keeping this entity’s existence by distributing power to the ones with the ability to serve it for the time being over those who are without that ability. So of course, it is changing, depending on the form and structure of society, of its individuals, and the time being, and maybe other factors I ought to know, but in short, it is but a relative, particular matter this ‘Justice’.

That in this claimed ‘justice’ lies injustice. That the society formed upon the selfishness of people, would fight that same selfishness, striving to keep its existence, selfishly.

Ironic.

I would never lose my individuality to that, and I think it would more useful to my cause if I don’t depend on ‘justice’, lady.

Then, I dozed.

Latossa woke me up the next day, she said it would be only appropriate if we make this old lady breakfast, and leave without consuming her food, as that was ‘the least we can do’. I agreed, and so we did. I learned how to boil eggs in the process.

On my word, we wandered all around the village, engaged in discussions with the villagers and the merchants, and familiarized myself and her with them. And in all the villages we passed by on our travel, I did the same.

Along the process, I began to compound useful information, about Aversr as a land and as a country, about its people, and especially about its rulers.

I also began to notice Latossa’s weirdly affecting behaviours towards me, that she tends to cling me more and more, her apparent happiness and shyness, and her stuttering in my presence. In correlation with that, I also began to developpe some kind of emotion towards her, and its different than any emotion I’ve ever experienced in my line of survival.

‘I guess this is love I am experiencing’ I thought to myself.

If that was love, then I would say that it is a compound of instinct and virtue. As for instinct, it would be lust. I know since I lusted over some women back in the ‘Island’, and I did fulfil this desire imposed on me by this lust, but it’s notable that once I fulfilled it, those women seemed to me as nothing but strangers. Now granted, I know lust once I feel it, and it was in that love as it gave it its intense and pleasurable character, yet there was something else to it. Something that was, unlike lust, there for always, it was affection, adoration, as in a connection that ties two close friends. That is what will remain after the lust vanishes.

It was only a matter of time that we confessed about our feelings, and so we did, and it appears that our ‘love’ was in fact mutual.