“We aren’t going back?” I asked the following day after breakfast at the family residence and my father shook his head.
“We are staying one more day. I wanted to show you more of the city. While my father wanted to orient the people towards war and fighting, I married your mother to preserve the peace we have here. Building this city up as a center of culture, not just trade,” he explained.
“Would war do that?” I asked.
“Yes. Skills would be replaced. People would take more survival and fighting skills. Knowledge and talent that had accumulated would have been lost. There are tradeoffs of course, but I made the choice to marry your mother for the people, not out of any selfish desire. We are no longer in the time of the old Eldarin Empire, but a new age, one that all of humanity should fully embrace,” he explained.
“Protecting all of this is no simple matter. Just like a plant, culture needs to nourished over a period of time. Come,” he said. I followed him outside along with our entourage. We made our way to a large open plaza. Various stalls had been set up and people were hawking their wares. We got several looks, but no one came near us.
I noticed that several of the stalls sold food and women were in charge of them. “Husbands are often farmers and their wives are cut throat business women, isn’t that right Helga?” The Duke had stopped in front of one stall selling apples.
“Of course Duke Burnstock,” the woman said and bowed her head deeply.
“Helga here is from a long line of farming families. They specialize in apple trees and an amazing apple cider, but do grow some other crops. Two apples please, and a crate to the estate,” the Duke said and placed a single gold coin on her stall booth. We were each given an apple.
“Thank you, Duke. Of course, I will arrange for the crate brought to your residence before noon,” she said. We continued onwards.
“You know her personally?” I asked.
“Noble skill that helps me remember names in a territory I control. While I might be near the top of nobility, humility and understanding are important qualities one must never forget as a leader. Too many people think that all it takes to rule is a fist, but I find actual understanding is far more important than any social or combat skill,” he said. I could understand why my mother married this man now.
It wasn’t just for his money. That was a consideration of course, but my father didn’t forget the people beneath him. The farmers and peasants who made all of this possible. The people my mother came from. She had never forgotten her humble background and I was sure no one else let her forget it either.
We made our way to a large stage and took seats that were set up for us. “Today is the annual poetry reading competition,” he said.
“Poetry, really?” I asked since that was considered a worthless skill.
“I know, it is probably the single most worthless skill out there. But there are groups of people who compete. While we haven’t had an elite bard come from this Duchy it is only a matter of time. Perhaps one day, there will be a legendary bard,” he said. People gathered and there were several older people gathering to read their poems to the crowd.
“It is something older people do when their stats start failing them, but we do occasionally have some young competitors. It is a way for older people to compete and be active in their twilight years without intensive labor. Too many nations follow the Eldarin Empire’s history of casting aside elders who have worked hard their entire life. Something I find distasteful,” my father explained.
He then got up and made his way over to the enchanted stone that would project his voice across the plaza. “Welcome citizens of Burnstock City.” There were cheers at this. “I know you didn’t come to hear me speak. So let us start the 47th annual poetry competition,” he declared and went back to his seat.
Contestants went up by age and each had one minute at most so everyone got a turn who wanted to speak. The oldest went first.
“Great dawns the morn. The golden stalks glistening. The wind sways the plants, but they remain upright. Forevermore this golden field,” the first old man said. I felt slightly moved up the poem and clapped along with my father. The old man moved off the stage and the next old man replaced him.
Everyone cheered as they listened to their neighbors, friends, and family members. I was glad I had the apple to snack on. A servant was on hand to take away the core after I was finished. Eventually the few younger contestants showed up. A young girl about my age was the last one to compete and she strode resolutely forward onto the stage. The applause for her was no less than for the first old man. She hesitated for the longest moment as the crowd quieted down. For a moment I thought she was too afraid to speak in public.
“A humble beginning. A young farmer. A terrible attack. A great descent. A spell sword. A triumphant legend. A heroic supreme. An eternal Warlady,” the girl said. The crowd cheered and the applause was massive.
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“What do you think?” my father asked me while leaning over.
“Calling her an eternal Warlady is a bit much do the negative history of the Eternal Emperor. But it took courage to read in front of such a large crowd,” I replied. My father nodded at this.
“Any favorites?” he asked me.
“The man who had the poem about flowers, his imagery was striking and almost made me see flowers, and his skill was the highest level from what I could tell,” I replied, and my father nodded at this. He then got up to speak.
“Thank you citizens of Burnstock. As usual, I shall now reward the three winners in no particular order. First, is Han, his imagery with flowers is breathtaking as usual,” my father said. There was a round of applause as the old man came back on stage and accepted a small pouch of coin.
“Second, we have Henry. While playing an instrument is stretching the bounds of the competition, it was quite entertaining,” my father said. A middle aged man came on stage to accept his award as the crowd applauded.
“Finally, we have young Denise. Her bravery will hopefully inspire her to an even greater future,” my father said. The young girl who had gone last, hesitantly got back on stage. My father shook her hand and gave her a coin pouch.
“Thank you everyone. May the System guide you well,” he said, and the crowd cheered loudly. My father beckoned me, and I followed him off the stage as we made our way back to the family residence.
“You started that competition?” I asked.
“One of the first things I did when I became Duke. Dereck won’t be continuing the contest,” he replied heavily.
“What, why?” I asked.
“While he doesn’t share the same vision as my grandfather, he has his own opinions on how things should be done in the Duchy. More focused combat schools. Less focus on the arts,” my father said with a slight sigh. “Ultimately poetry has no value.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, since that was true. Poetry was completely useless. “But ultimately, things change. In the future, I plan to convince everyone of my grand vision of a better tomorrow. While poetry might seem useless, it is a sign of a happy and prosperous society,” my father explained.
“It was lovely. And everyone was quite happy,” I said.
“Their smiles are what makes my day. It is easy to kill and destroy, but much harder to build up and create a community where all people can thrive. Not just the nobles,” he explained.
“How come I didn’t know all of this?” I asked.
“It isn’t something to brag about or flaunt. Each bit of happiness, is another ember for our fire that is called civilization. No matter how strong you become, never forget that one lesson. Even your mother understands this as well. Without everyone in society, from the peasants to the nobles, nothing would function and it would all break down,” my father explained.
We walked back in silence to the family residence which was very close by. All these places had been near the city center. Dinner was quiet affair, since we didn’t go out to eat. My father had given me a lot to think about.
My parents had a lot more depth to them than I realized, especially my father. As we went back to the estate the following morning, I didn’t know what to say.
My father finally spoke up midway through our journey. “Thinking about getting a Poetry skill?” my father asked.
“No. There are countless tier 1 skills out there. I need to focus on what works best for my build as a spellblade. It doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good poet,” I replied.
“I always felt that the softer skills have much more use than people realize. There are tales of such individuals, but it is the rare person who can push so far with their skills, since there are no legacies to pass on,” my father said with a smile.
“No legendary poets or bards in the past?” I asked.
“Very, very few. Only a few legends leave behind legacies. Many are never passed on and are lost to time. Especially higher tier skills. I had hoped to set a new direction, turning this Duchy into a cultural hub that would be eventually rise up to compete with the College of Advancement and the Last Bastion. An ambitious plan, but too ultimately doomed to failure,” he said.
“Why doesn’t Dereck want to do it?” I asked.
“He prefers things move in a more martial direction. I had hoped I would have been able to share enough of my vision with him, that he would carry on my legacy, but he has chosen not to. It would have taken at least three generations to get the project off the ground and begin to show results. Now I know how my father felt all those years ago, when I ignored his advice,” he said.
“You mentioned a big project? Can you share what it will be?” I asked.
“It isn’t ready yet. Things are still being prepared. But if I am successful, the world will be much better. Too often people don’t remember the past or look towards the future. I plan to do both,” he said, which wasn’t an answer but I wasn’t about to press him for a more detailed answer.
Now I truly didn’t know what to say. There was a lot more drama happening on the other side of the family than I had known. My father looked at me, seemingly hesitant, but just gave me a smile, not saying anything.
It was nice to spend time with my father like this. While it was sad that the poetry contest was ending, things changed. It was a bit surprising since I thought Dereck was close to our father, but it appeared he had his own ideas on how to run the Duchy.
Well, I was glad it wouldn’t be my headache. While it was nice to see how other people lived and gain an understanding of the peasants and common people, my path had been set and I had chosen to stay on it. I would follow in the footsteps of my mother to become a spell blade.
It was frustrating that it was taking so long to get to magic and spells, but I needed a proper foundation first. Everyone kept repeating that a strong foundation was the best way forward for someone my age. While I understood that in my head, in my heart I wanted to go into the dungeon using magic to carve my path forward.
Getting a day to train under an actual legend was amazing. I had really missed the training sessions I had with Squire Sabin. While they had been exhausting, I had progressed in so many skills and my physical stats. The Mind stat might help me process and retain information to learn skills, but the more I learned, the more of a chore it felt like.
Squire Jessica and the other people who had told me so were right. Taking a break from whatever skills I was focusing on was incredibly important. While I kept promising myself to work hard, it was a struggle to keep up that determination day after day working on the same skills.
My father knew exactly what I needed. A trip to the city, some physical training, and a relaxing day listening to poetry.