Emptiness

Chapter 1(c)

Zeta Country

Gavero City:

He could feel his control slipping away little by little, but he cannot let it go. He had to control this, he absolutely had to. Everything was entirely upon him and he had to be the best of the best. For that, he had to hold this. He must hold this.

But the reality wasn’t one to bend to our will and determination. He lost control of his power and his Egav was little more than none. He lost grip on it, but he didn’t dare to open his eyes, not wanting to face the disappointment of the people. He would rather die than give up on this.

He flared what little of his Egav again, but it was of no use as it failed him again. Frustrated and angry tears threatened to leak through his eyes despite him not wanting anyone to see his weakness.

He prayed for his family’s safety and waited for his end, not willing to give up this task. It was foolish, yet he could not bring himself to abandon these people who trusted him.

Just when he expected to be buried under the soil, there was no such thing, but silence, even the common people who were whispering and yelling had become silent. He opened his eyes to see what was happening. He realized then that everyone had been silent in awe of his grandfather’s utterly breathtaking Egav.

His grandfather, Zengan Ura from the family of Uras who ruled the country Zeta for centuries.

Zeta….

A beautiful country that’s economy depends mostly on agriculture and farming. You could not find a well-developed country anywhere other than Zeta. Zeta has well-maintained roads unlike other countries, connecting almost all the villages and cities it has. You could find all sorts of transports from bullock carts to tongas carrying food to different parts of the country throughout the year. Most of the farmers grew four types of crops in a year regarding the season, thus making people of Zeta never know the cruelty of starvation or the harsh reality of insufficient food like it happened in some countries during winter.

There was a saying that originated long before, ‘You can never find a beggar in Zeta.’ This country has an abundant supply of food products that it exports almost half of it. Bulls were among the animals the Zeta people were grateful for because of their enormous help in transporting and also in agriculture.

That was why new species of bulls were bred that has more strength than the average bulls along with the donkeys.

Kogi Ura, who centuries before started the breeding of new species of bulls, that was why the royal family kept that tradition and has their own species of the bulls that were bred even now, named Kogan after Kogi Ura.

Kogan, a species of bulls standing proudly was the symbol of the country and you could see it in the official flags of the country. The bull in the flag hadn’t changed even after centuries.

The main reason for the country’s dependency on agriculture was due to the four rivers running throughout the country, even reaching the corners of the village supplying them along with the soil’s fertility that also plays a major role in this. But, the people of Zeta were the ones who utilized the rivers and used wheels to draw water from them to irrigate the fields. The royal family helped them by making wells all over the country to support irrigation and also providing loans when the yield was not profitable.

Every country has its drawbacks. Zeta’s main problem was the abundance of rainfall. Too much of anything was good for nothing. These rainfalls raise the level of water in the rivers, resulting in floods. Even though the royal family had built dams for the people, it still wasn’t enough sometimes. That was why the people of Zeta requested help from the royal family whenever they were suffering due to the flood.

He had accompanied his grandfather on this task after getting the request letters from the locals. After the flood destroyed their homes; the people were desperate for any help. The huts and buildings were buried under the soil so they had tried to help in the recovery of this village, just out of their capital city, Gavero.

Vabeo….

‘Vabeo favors Uras.’

They earned that saying because of their family’s unique power of bending the surface of Vabeo to their will. More accurately, they had control of the soil. He didn’t want to always rely on his grandfather’s power that was why he volunteered to do this task; he had kept his Egav in control, raising the soil while Ura’s military unit arranged the huts back. But it was of no use…

He could not hold it for long. He could only manage this situation for almost half an hour. It wasn’t enough..

He, Nolen Ura, the crown prince of the Zeta country, the one whom the entire nation was watching and depending on him to lead them into a good future. How could he disappoint them?

As Nolen watched his grandfather guiding the soil with one hand while using another to guide the ruins of huts and buildings to rearrange as if it was easy as breathing to him. He could not help but compare his pathetic display of Egav before with his grandfather’s. Granted, he has years to even catch up to his grandfather’s level, but he could not help but feel bad about himself.

As he tried to push what little of his Egav on even more tasks, he stopped when his grandfather glared at him. He bit his lips to not break down over this. His grandfather, the one he wanted to acknowledge his power was glaring at him at his pathetic display.

He moved away from the spot, not wanting to waste time pitying himself, and decided to help in whatever way he could.

Mercos, the star has finally started setting and he was exhausted. He trailed behind his grandfather, not noticing his concerned looks, and climbed the carriage pulled by the royal bull species Kogan. It was faster than horses and they were both exhausted to ride the horses.

In his exhausted state he hadn’t listened to the murmurs of the commoners about how a nine-year-old had this much power and how despite being a prince had come for their help. He didn’t notice any of it and fell asleep in the carriage, but his grandfather heard everything the commoners said and smiled proudly at his grandson.

………

As he finished his evening drill of sword practice and physical activities he was met with his sister Anaika, who was, by the looks of it, was waiting for him by the entrance of his room.

He sighed without meaning to, knowing he had failed to keep his promise of buying something for her from the village he visited today for rescue tasks. He had forgotten all about it amid his duties. Yet, it was no excuse to forget his brotherly duties.

Judging by the pouty lips and downtrodden eyes, he knew that without fighting, he had lost this battle.

He reluctantly promised, “I will take you to that village next month.”

Her eyes shone like a gem and the smile could rival the star Mercos. She hugged him in return and he hugged back, despite knowing that he had been manipulated.

“You're the best brother. I will take my leave brother before the maids assigned to me notice my absence.”

Like a storm, she came and went, leaving silence behind. She had asked him yesterday whether he, the crown prince of this country could buy her anything she asked and in his foolishness, he puffed up his chest and told her that he would. She had asked for a simple doll of a Kogan carriage. And if he failed, he had to bring her to that village. He had agreed, knowing that he could never forget something his sister specifically asked for.

Women were not allowed out of the palace, especially the princess. In the Ura royal family, they are prohibited to go out unless they had a special permission letter that has signatures of several authorities or they’re escorted by the king or crown prince.

He knew now that she had calculated that he would forget all this in the chaos of the flood-damaged village and had anticipated his failure, asking him to bring her out.

He shook his head and nodded at his personal guards who were guarding his room and signaled the servant to close the door not before asking the servants to leave his room.

He flopped on the bed in tiredness all the while thinking about the lecture he would get from his grandmother and grandfather tomorrow about how he as a crown prince doesn’t have time for indulging his sister’s demands. Sometimes, he worried about how his sister Anaika always got things she wanted, exactly the way she wanted.

Something caught his eyes when he finally decided to sleep. He got up towards the nearby table and raised the cloth covering what might be a plate and was delightfully surprised, seeing his favorite sweet. He didn’t like sweets much except this one.

As the crown prince, he wasn’t allowed particular dishes in his diet, to maintain a healthy body as his grandmother was very concerned about his health. Knowing that, none would dare to go against the order of his grandmother, he knew of only one person who had the authority over his grandmother.

His grandfather…

Reading the little note beside the plate of sweets, he found himself glowing with pride after reading ‘Well done’ written in his grandfather’s beautiful handwriting.

It was hard for him some days and he lived a strict life unlike any children of his age he knew because of the war.

The war…

The war had ruined the country and wrecked his family. The war had cost him his dear father, leaving him the crown prince and his grandfather as regnant while the enemies were still licking their wounds, ready to pounce on them any day. But, he still had his family; his country hadn’t fallen even now.

He could endure anything, almost anything as long as he had this, his family, from his grandfather to his sister. These little things rejuvenated him from all the hardships he had to go through every day.

He was ready. He, Nolen Ura was ready for anything fate threw at him.