The scene of an old man raising his hand to say goodbye surprised the boy hidden behind the wall, causing him to lose strength in his arms that held him against the wall and fell to the ground resting on his backside.

"Did you notice me?" With remarkable anxiety, the young man rushed to get up while using his hand to ease the pain of the fall. Shortly thereafter, he only ran toward the square with obvious concern that the old man would alert the guards.

Once he had distanced himself enough to get rid of any unforeseen events, Arlhen looked around again to see that no one was following him. When he finally confirmed that he did not get into any trouble, he could not help but throw a deep sigh in an attempt to calm his agitated emotions.

This was not the first time that he had eavesdropped on the exhibits of the different guests that were arriving, but perhaps if the first time one of them could locate him without much effort. It was not that he had made any mistake in hiding, but that the man in question was a figure that very few in the region could cheat.

Of course, Arlhen was aware of the old man's reputation even before daring to eavesdrop. But as a person preparing to become a scholar, this was an opportunity that rarely happened in life. So he risked reaping great benefits at the cost of being discovered.

And the results were worth it.

At least this was what the dark-haired young man thought as he walked with firm steps towards his next destination, which was none other than the most popular market within the city. Although there was another variety of places where he could buy the items he needed, simple common sense led him to choose the one closest to his position ...

Arlhen's life was not very different from any other person-that is according to his own words. He had parents who gave him all the love possible, they facilitated the studies to meet their goals and financially supported their needs.

In the first instance this kind of thing did not represent anything strange, but the reality was that such a lifestyle differed a lot with the average person.

To start; Despite the existence of educational centers for the general public, these were limited to providing a basic education. So attending such classes was not enough for one to be considered a scholar, much less to call himself a "student."

There was not much logic behind this, since scholars - people who dedicated their lives to pursuing knowledge - were very rare within the region. Thus, we only needed to apply the law of supply and demand to understand the reason for the current situation.

To this was added the second reason behind the small number of "students", which could be summarized as: Knowledge is not for everyone.

The common thought that predominated in the population was the quality before the quantity, this being the main reason why the scholars only took a few individuals as their students -the curious thing is that these were always children of great families-.

Of course that did not mean that low-income people could not try to study on their own, but in reality there were very few who did ... One example of this was Arlhen himself, a "student" who had no other teacher than himself.

"Student" was a term used to refer to all those with the qualities to apply for the noble Rodof academy. A center of study with a wide reputation that was characterized by graduating the best scholars, the same ones who were later requested to work as great public officials.

You could say that joining the noble academy meant securing your future ...

....

The boy looked at the open double doors that welcomed the market, which could also be called a series of shopping streets.

The first thing that someone would notice when arriving at such a place would be the great multitude of people who moved towards different directions, hindering the circulation of products and congesting the establishments.

The stores were not too big, you might even call them the type of stalls they found easily. As they were spread out parallel to the street, they allowed one to enjoy a wide range of objects while walking without reservations

Once he was inside, Arlhen could not help but pay attention to the various men in uniform patrolling the surroundings, who apart from a light blade holstered in their waists wore amber garments. Perhaps only the character written on the right side of the chest is the least striking of these.

Since it was a market with a good reputation in the city, it definitely had an equally prepared security force. Because of this, crimes did not happen very often and the danger was barely discernible.

This is how the businesses that the large families had within Athame operated. They were dedicated to charge a tax to the merchants to settle down in their territories and in exchange they offered a service of security, cleaning, water and among other things.

-Joven, do you want to buy fruit inebria? A salesman's voice caused Arlhen to wake up from his thoughts.

Of course, this only caused him to focus on his goal, since he had no intention of acquiring such an item that the man promoted. Thing that was none other than a berry that contained alcohol and was consumed as an aperitif.

-Baby, what do you think if you take buffalo meat? -Other article that I did not need, or rather I already had too much of it.

-Little friend, what are you looking for? We have fish egg cups. - That was a food that required a proper preparation beforehand, being very popular because it contained high nutrients for the development of the body ... Arlhen did not come to look for that either.

Finally the boy managed to reach one of their destinations, a huge establishment that had its own premises. This was not strange since some merchants were looking to expand their business.

"I want keron oil for a month," Arlhen said to the woman who was attending behind what appeared to be a kind of shelf.

-All right.

Keron oil was in a nutshell the most common fuel that could be found to fuel various artifacts. Due to its low production cost and high demand as a result of technological expansion, it was a household necessity product.

This article that originated through keron fruit could satisfy the high demand of the public with great ease. The reason was because the trees producing this only took about a month to complete their life cycle, making them very popular for their rapid development.

While thinking about that, he could not help remembering some books and comments he had recently compiled. According to that, there were some large cities that were already beginning to look for other sources of energy, among them was air, water and electricity.

«How surprising would that be?»

-That is all. Thank you very much. Arlhen handed out five thin rectangular silver tablets before leaving. Needless to say, these were the coins that were used to exchange for goods.

Once she finished with her parents' assignment, she remembered the rumors she heard about her friend when she tried to visit her that morning.

"Thea must be very sick to even try to talk to me ... Those symptoms that her parents described seem very strange, I hope it's not serious ... It's been a long time since I could not see her, not after that happened ... Is it really okay? ... Since I'm in the market, maybe I should ... »

The relationship between Arlhen and Thea was almost as extensive as their age. So much so that Arlhen did not remember an exact moment where they were not friends, since ever since he had use of reason he always shared a strong bond with her.

It was a friendship that arose from childhood and full of infinite promises in its development, one where they shared their dreams and leant on what they could. So many times she helped him to study while he sought to buy books that would serve them both.

Thea was a girl who also sought to become a scholar, specifically to get a position as an official in government affairs. But very different from Arlhen, she failed to pass the exam that enabled her to apply to the noble academy.

From that day forward; He did not get to meet Thea, feeling that somehow their relationship had become estranged. However, that was not an excuse for Arlhen not visiting her in the mornings whenever she had the opportunity.

The reason was not only because they were simple friends but also because they were both engaged. After all, with how well they were getting along, it was no surprise that the opportunity to talk about marriage was presented, which neither of them refuted since they were not far from reaching the right age to get married ...

"Here it is," the boy commented as he carefully inspected the words written about the establishment: Medicinal Pavilion.

- Welcome, young man! Do not hold back, go ahead. Our pavilion has the largest variety of medicinal plants you can find in this city. -One of the men who work in that place received Arlhen.

- This ... Well, the truth is that I have a friend who is a little sick. I do not know much about medical prescriptions. So I was hoping that you can help me in that. -The discomfort produced by ignorance was notorious in the words of the child.

-Of course, that's not a problem. Could you describe the symptoms that your partner has?

- Apparently she has the temperature too high, continuous nausea and a lot of fatigue ...

"High temperature ..." The server remained thoughtful as he analyzed what Arlhen had said. Well, I'm sure what you need ... But, those symptoms are very strange.

-What does that mean?

- That the materials are not so easy to find. The price of the items can be a bit expensive. Do you have enough money to pay for them?

-I see ... I carry an average of three hundred silver coins with me, is that enough? -asked the young man while using his hand to hit the bag at his waist.

-Of course yes! A big smile appeared on the man's face. Wait a moment that I will bring the plants next to the recipe to consume them

Arlhen kept waiting with a calm expression until the server returned from the warehouse. However, he could not repress the slight flashes of concern that arose within him.

Although he did not show much interest when he answered the man who was attending him, the amount of money mentioned was not small in any way. If it were not because Arlhen took his savings for almost ten years, it would have been impossible for him to even buy the cheapest object in such a place.

-First I will inform you about the plants you will need. This is a purple herb of five years, its healing properties can greatly reduce the effects caused by high temperatures, "said the man while showing the object in his right hand. Then he took the other wooden box to his hand to show the next article. This is an agar root, quite useful to combat nausea ... If you use these two plants according to the recipe here, you assured him that your partner will recover from that fever saliva in less than two days. Once he had finished explaining the properties of these herbs, he put them back into the small wooden boxes. The price of the first is ninety silver coins while the other is one hundred and forty.

Medicine was perhaps one of the things where less progress was made. No, you could not say that that was exactly the case. Actually the problem was in the excessive price that had the articles with medicinal properties -which were mostly plants-. Not only were all of them mostly difficult to cultivate but they also required very special environments to grow, in addition to a certain time that was not exactly small ... This was something that with all the current technology could not be changed, leading to a stalemate with respect to medications.

-E-okay, I'll take them. -Although Arlhen hesitated for a moment due to the excessive cost of the products, he was encouraged to buy them after carefully analyzing the benefits that could bring. After all, nothing was more important than Thea's health ...

"That friend of yours must be quite lucky," the man commented with a laugh as he made the exchange. If you need something else, you can visit us whenever you want.

-I will do it.

After Arlhen left the medical pavilion, he continued walking the streets while admiring the lively mercantile environment. Without much money left and with the opportunity to be in a market, he thought of looking for some books to prepare for the ever closer admission exam.

During his journey he did not find many things that caught his attention, feeling increasingly disappointed as time passed. However, just when he thought it was the right time to return, his eyes caught a strange scene.

There, not far from his position was an alley ... Of course, if it were just that then there would be no problem. But the strange thing about that street was that it was absolutely empty, as lonely as the moon in a night sky without stars.

The curious thing for Arlhen was that people did not even turn around to take a small look into that strange alley, it was as if they ignored the existence of that place. Such actions created a lugubrious panorama that contrasted with the animosity that was enjoyed in the vicinity.

- This was always here? -Although he lived fourteen years in the same city, the boy could not remember the existence of that street. What is this? -. The surprised Arlhen asked himself once he noticed the rapid heartbeat of his heart.

Maybe I was curious.

Most likely were his instincts.

Maybe it was destiny.

Captivated by that strange feeling in his chest, the young man with dark hair began to walk with slow steps. His eyes - which a little while ago shone with wisdom - were now devoid of all sense, giving him the appearance of a man being seduced by the greatest of his desires.

Several minutes passed since he started walking on the increasingly dark street. But even so the road seemed to show signs of coming to an end, becoming increasingly distant with each step forward.

By the time they spent enough hours, the previous mercantile environment became non-existent, being replaced instead by a huge tunnel with no bottom.

When the days were fulfilled, the world seemed to have completely lost any trace of color.

Thus, what later became months became years, what later became years became decades, and what after decades became ... So, it continued to wander in the nothingness ...