War, Elements, and Magic

CHAPTER 3: LIFE IS TOO SHOR… - 1651 EG

One can never take a simple sentence and expect to get one meaning out of it. One cannot cause violence without expecting push back. And war is and will always be a waste, but deemed necessary in the eyes of man.

Not that I think I'm above it all. I'm not, and neither were my brethren, who constantly fought amongst themselves and with their own family, causing mayhem and wanton destruction wherever they pleased. Despite that, they still attempted to put a smile on, pretending that the countless lives lost weren't the fault of their mishaps.

The point I'm trying to get at is, despite contradictions, ironic situations, and other idiotic scenarios, the world keeps on spinning.

Sub-Chapter 2: Class Days

"Everybody, please stand up." the teacher said as the entire class got up on their feet.

Within a few seconds, with all of our fists clenched, and one hand over the heart while the other was behind our backs, the class stood still, with the Riktan Anthem echoing through the long halls of the school. After a few minutes, the music ended, with the entire classroom saying in unison, "IRD SHALL BLESS RIKTA FOREVER". Soon after, yelling and chanting could be heard from the outside.

"Alright class," Ms.Akela announced as she straightened her glasses. "You don't need me to tell you twice that most of you don't even have this project done. With that in mind, use this period to actually finish them. You won't get this same chance tomorrow. So please, for Ird's sake, make use of this time. Alright?"

"Yes Ms. Akela." the entire class said together.

Nodding in satisfaction, she sat herself down, with everyone ripping out papers from their desk, most of them blank. I took a look around, with one person on the other side just waking up as he jerked his elbow back. He took one glance at the board, and that at the pile of papers at his own desk. Compared to everyone else, he looked very confused.

Shaking my head, I stood up slowly before walking over there."Do you need help?".

Lifting his head back up, confusion was written all over his face.

"Huh?".

"Do. You. Need. Help?" I enunciated as I looked over at his papers, which were full of scribbles.

He took at his paper and then at me.

"Y-yes, please. I already have most of the question finished, but the last one is a bit weird"

I snatched his paper from his desk as I asked,  "So, what was your project on?". As he stammered, I took another glance at the folder under the paper I grabbed. I could only make out a couple of letters, as the guy suddenly covered it.

"What's that you got there?" I said as I pointed to the paper sticking out.

In a hushed voice and his eyes averted, he whispered, "Uhhh…..Nothing"

I shrugged as I took another look at his papers. 

"Fine," He conceded as he revealed a part of the paper. "I'll show you, but first, promise you won't tell anyone about this."

"Why do you want to be so secretive about it?" I said in a slightly hushed voice.

"Because not everyone is going to 'appreciate' it. After all, if people see it, they'll either try to burn it or start a riot."

"Go on".

I swung a seat over as he gestured for me to come closer.

"It's because of what I found, Specifically, the casualties''. He rifled through the file before stopping right in the middle of it. 

"You know how the public has been told it's a total of 50 million over the course of this 165ish year war, right?". I simply nodded.

"Well, according to this.", holding a separate paper in his hand, he turned his body to where only I could see it. "Over 400 million Riktan soldiers have died".

As I took a double-take at the staggering number, It made me wonder how many more things were being hidden.

Cautiously, the guy checked around us. After a few seconds, he was satisfied to the point where he looked at me and said "That's not the only problem, the thing is..."

Cutting him off, I mumbled, "Shouldn't this be reported to someone perhaps a bit more influential, than say, me?".

"I don't think anyone in the government is going to listen to us if they're the ones hiding it".

I looked around us before propping up my hands. "That's a fair point. Though, that still leaves the question of how you got it".

"With this being one of the only schools in the Nation, and where most of the 'Wealthier' families are located, it would be a fair bet to say a government official's son would have a chance to pop up".

Laying back in the chair, my curiosity started to shift into wariness.

"Don't tell me you stole this from your father's office?"

He averted my glare as he closed up the file. I let out a groan as I sat back up. "Before you get us placed in jail for both suspicious actions and illegally holding government documents, what's your name?"

"M-Mark. Mark Ritchey. Earth Bender".

"It's nice to finally be acquainted, Mark".

"Same here...".

"Kenneth Po. Lightning user 'Extraordinaire'". The anxious look on Mark's face changed slightly to a grin.

"Kenneth, hmm... Wait, you said a lightning user?!? What even is that, you shoot lightning out of your hands or whatever?"

"That's actually exactly how it works."

"Huh… I mean, I guess I heard of them, but haven't met one in my entire life.".

"You said it yourself, this school has very rare people."

"I said rich kids, not freakin' lightning users!"

I hushed him, putting my hand over his mouth. "Shush! I'm not very keen on telling everyone that. So if you could be a bit quieter about it, it would be appreciated."

He quickly opened his hands and pressed them together. "Of course, sorry about that.. Anyways, was there anything else you wanted to know?" Mark said as I handed him the paper from earlier.

"Why do you even have that paper here, instead of, say, your room?"

After closing his folders and placing them inside his desk, he said "It wasn't much at first. My father's usually not that open about work. When I caught a look at them and asked him about it, he gave a 'Don't worry about' response.  Of course, the curiosity got me wondering what the full paper was. And it led me to look more in-depth about it here, where my father can't peek over my shoulder every other second".

My mind tried to rack around what would happen if the info got out. There were already riots taking over the streets outside. I knew it wouldn't be pretty either way if they had that kind of number to protest about.

"Anyhow, do you think you could help me answer the last question now?"

I looked blankly at his desk, gazing at the last question again before realizing what started the entire conversation. Instantly, I started to laugh a bit, with Mark also beginning to as well. 

"Sure, why not?".