Lament of the Slave

'You're not from around here, are you?' Mr. Sandoval wasn't the first to ask me this question. Not many did. Yet I've always dreaded it, or more precisely of the time, the truth of my origin comes out. Not everyone will see it as Deckard, who didn't give a fuck.

Racking my brain on how to tell him, the librarian beat me to it when he raised his hand to stop me. "You don't have to tell me. I'm just curious."

"I'm sorry." I blurted out immediately, choosing caution. When the old man raised an eyebrow, I realized I had been too hasty with my reaction.

However, his puzzlement quickly turned into a warm smile. "You have nothing to apologize for, miss. A lot of people are running away from their past, wanting to forget and start over." That wasn't my case, but I kept my mouth shut. "In my opinion, you're much braver than many of the heroes I've read about in books," he said what I understood was praise. 

My ears made a strange confused motion while I lightly cocked my head. Me being brave? "What makes you think so?"

"You know you lack knowledge, knowledge that I think even a slave like you should know, hence my question earlier. But let's face it, nobody's perfect. Not me, not you. No offense meant, miss," added the librarian quickly, and I listened, unbothered by words that others would find cause to fight, wondering where he was going with it. 

"A lot of the heroes I read about were too...most would think arrogant, I say cowardly. Whether they were commoners or noble blood, young or old, inexperienced or seasoned, they met their demise just because they were too weak to admit such shortcomings. You don't, you're trying to learn, and that makes you brave in my eyes."

Was I, uh, brave? Seriously? Could what I was doing even be called that? I was just trying to stay alive, learning how to do it. There was nothing brave about that. Or was I wrong? 

Giving it some thought, I figured it was a matter of perspective. For example, the training with mossbears. The librarian would see it as bravery, Rayden a necessity for the safety of the city. For Sah, my interaction with them was a threat to the Empire's security, while Deckard saw it as an excellent opportunity for training.

"Brave or foolish," I muttered out loud without meaning to, chuckling.

Mr. Sandoval nodded, stroking his beard. "At times, it's hard to tell these two apart."

"He couldn't say either," I remarked, amused by the memory of Esulmor woods.

"Who? If I may ask?" inquired the librarian. "Esu?"

"No, my...mentor," I said, considering for a moment whether to give him the name. "Deckard. I don't know if you've heard of him." He had his library, no reason to care about the outside. What's more, if my memory serves me right, he didn't like seekers.

"Oh, young lady, I'm not the bookworm you think I am," he said without any malice in his voice. Rather, it amused and intrigued him. "Do I know who Deckard is? Without a question, the most famous solo seeker in Castiana."

Was he? Now that I think about it, everyone I met knew him or had heard of him.

"The man who first conquered the 100th floor of the labyrinth alone, who solo dived to the one hundred and thirty-second floor in the following years, just to stay stuck there. He has been looking for an apprentice ever since. Now you're telling me it's you?" he asked me in wonder, not giving me a chance to respond. "That's worth another mention in my chronicles."

"Yes, you can write it in," I said, seeing his pleading look. Sooner or later, me being Deckard's apprentice will be an open secret.

"Appreciate that, miss." He nodded, satisfaction gleaming from his eyes.

It's more likely to be sooner. Sighing, I scratched the back of my neck to get rid of the strange feeling that tortured me. "So, what year is today?"

"Oh, we glossed over it, didn't we?" The librarian realized he never answered my question, quickly sorting through his thoughts. "As with every era, today's is called the Current Era. The future will tell us what it will be known as when it ends one day, just like the previous one."

"And that one is...?"

"The Great Unification," he said, finishing my question and not waiting for the next one. "It began with the end of the war between humans and beastman, followed by uniting their scattered tribes and forming the Terran Federation. It was not a peaceful time by any means. Skirmishes occurred here and there. Some nations still organized raids on Terran settlements, hunting for slaves. 

“However, historians agree the era ended with the attack of mind mages from the south on Sahal. The Mind Wars, they call it. A pretty apt name, considering what was at stake and a terrible time to grow up in," he said ruefully, remembering his childhood. Given his age, I'd guess he was born in the middle of the war. "At the height of that one hundred and thirty-five-year war, people feared their neighbors, suspecting them of being mind slaves. It is surprising how quickly people's mindset has changed when it is only eight years since the end of it"

Yeah, that's what the public was supposed to think. The reality, in my experience and in the words of the Imperial Chief Healer, was different. The mind mages were still there, just hidden, waiting for their opportunity.

Not telling the librarian that. I did the math. "So today is the year 143 of the Current Era? Is that right?"

"You're not wrong." The smile returned to Mr. Sandoval's face.

Year one hundred and forty-three. I rolled the words around on my tongue, in my mind, trying to adjust to it. Yet, it sounded strange to my ears accustomed to higher digits. For most of my life, at least the part I can remember, I lived in the twenty-first century. Now I have returned to the second. The period in which the Romans ruled the known world.

I know, stupid to think of it that way, couldn't help it, though.

So I asked whether there was something like a major year at Eleaden, the sum of the years of the eras, or at least year zero. It would ease my mind and make it simpler to navigate through Eleaden's history.

"An intriguing question that many have asked," said the librarian, stroking his beard. "If so, that would be the year of the creation of the labyrinths."

"Oh, how were they created?" That really caught my attention. Who was Traiana? Was she a real person? When I was near her, that's how she appeared, like a real soldier trapped for eternity on the battlefield.

"When and how is unknown, lost in the Ancient Era. One thing is sure, though. Back then happened something that shattered the civilizations of the time and gave rise to beasts and monsters. It took humans and other races centuries to stop being just prey and even longer for them to build the first city-state. Iyad Wita and its formation mark the end of the Age of Beasts, the beginning of the Dawn of Men." Mr. Sandoval explained to me, thrilled that someone was listening to him. 

"So, shouldn't year zero be..." I paused, realizing the problem. "You don't know when the Ancient Era ends, and the Age of the Beast begins, do you?"

"Quite right. You should be a scholar, miss," the librarian said, giving me a smile. "That period is more fluid, shrouded in the unknown. Hardly anything from that era has survived."

"Except for the labyrinths," I noted.

The librarian confirmed with a nod. "Except for these structures, which are the biggest clue we have and quite possibly the cause of the Fall."

Fall? What was that? The librarian immediately understood my puzzled expression. "That's what they call the fall of civilizations. It is not known exactly what happened then, whether the labyrinths were really the cause, hence just Fall."

Fall, another new term to remember among many others, like the names of the eras that didn't ring a bell. Though, I've been creating a timeline in my mind, albeit with a few missing periods.

It should go like this.

• Ancient Era
• Age of Beasts
• Dawn of Man

Here's one of the gaps, missing an era or two.

• Rise of Runes

The second missing period.

• Great Unification
• Current Era

Despite my lack of knowledge and the Fall, Eleaden's history seemed longer than Earth's. Yet, civilization was centuries behind, seemingly stagnant. What was the reason for it? After all, Eleaden had the System and the mana, endless possibilities.

The thought of mana on Earth sent chills down my spine. Free energy, what miracles would it bring? Rapid development of new technology. It would revolutionize medicine alone. What else? Modern spatial tools. I would give anything not to have to lug around bags of groceries or my purse. But the world wasn't all roses. I wasn't that naive. New energy, new weapons, new wars, even bloodier than before.

It was no different here. Eight years since the last war. There was a conflict brewing between Arda and Sahal, and who knows what was in the north. This brought me to a question I had meant to ask for a long time.

"What happened to the Terran Federation? Why did it collapse?"

The librarian laughed. "You have a fascinating mind, miss. It brought you from the Fall to the collapse of the Federation. Events separated by millennia."

All I could do was shrug. If I wanted to explain it to him, it would require telling him about Earth.

"Anyway, I don't think I'm the right person to answer your question," Mr. Sandoval pointed out. 

I didn't say he was, but who else? "Who should I ask, then?" The Imperial Chief Healer would certainly know more. However, going to him with such a question was daring. Deckard spent most of his time in Fallens Cry, Sah was out of the question, and I didn't want to bother Rayden or anyone in the barracks any more than I already did. The only one I could think of was Byron, the innkeeper. Perhaps he heard something from his guests. There were terrans among them.

The librarian smiled, stroking his beard. "That's an easy question." 

Was it? 

"Terrans, of course. Ask terrans," he said flatly.

Sure. They were the first ones I thought of. The problem was I didn't know many of them. Ria and Timmy were just kids, I'd probably have to pay to talk to Rezso, and the terran companions at Broken Heart would hardly speak to me now.

My only option was to ask a stranger. Big fat no to that!

"Couldn't you at least tell me what you know," I urged the librarian. "So I don't look like a complete idiot." Despite his beard, I could see a grin flash across his face before he thought. 

"Why do you think the collapse happened?" he asked instead of answering. 

There was no need to think too much about that. "There's a threat up north. That's all I know." Was it the Black Sorcerer controlling the orc armies? I had no idea. It might as well have been a cloud of hungry locusts.

"I don't know much about what's up there. You'd have to ask the Imperial Agent," he gestured to the library, and my hand went to the back of my head. "What caused the collapse of the Federation was not some unknown threat, though. It was monsters and beasts fleeing from it. The sudden tide caught the northernmost tribes of the Federation unprepared and swept them away. No one escaped from the border villages and towns. A few have managed to flee from cities further south. It wasn't until deep in tribal territory that the Federation managed to slow the tide and evacuate the cities."

"They didn't stop them?" I asked, pondering whether the terrans were so weak or the monsters and beasts were so many.

He shook his head. "No, despite their best efforts, not at that time. It was only when the five northernmost tribes lost their entire territories did they stop the tide. A bitter victory it was, costing many lives."

"But the Federation was still functional," I remarked, noting that he hadn't mentioned its collapse.

"For some time," the librarian nodded. I'm not an expert on politics or war. My domain is books and the tales in them, but if I understood correctly, the constant pressure of monsters and beasts from the north put considerable strain on the Terran forces. Now and then, they were forced to retreat, never able to recapture lost territory. The growing number of refugees has further taxed their resources, leading to tension inside the Federation." Mr. Sandoval took a breath and looked at me with a sigh. 

"You know how humans are. We fight amongst ourselves all the time. It only takes a stupid reason to start a war. There is much more diversity among terrans than among humans. So it's not hard to imagine what happened. Old wrongs surfaced. That led to quarrels and disputes. You know how that turned out."

"The collapse of the Terran Federation," I said, lost in thought, oblivious to the librarian's reply. "Why didn't the Sahal Empire help?"

"They weren't obliged to and mostly because they still fought mind mages." The lack of bitterness in his voice at the mention of them struck me now that I knew the times he grew up in.

"Didn't the Mind Wars end eight years ago?" I objected before I thought my words through.

Mr. Sandoval only confirmed what I had concluded. "The collapse of the Terran Federation did not happen in a matter of months, nor did it take place yesterday."

Not saying a word, I waited for him to continue.

"The first village fell, on the twelfth of Bliss, year 128 of the Current Era. The collapse occurred four years later, in the winter of the third of Regret."

If I did my math right, it was three years before the end of the Mind Wars. The Empire could hardly help them, even if the Federation wanted to.