The Foolish King
1186 Words
Chapter XIV
The angst of pressure brought by Qionar’s another futile scheme spoils Khanis’s—the current chief of Lauran—perfect plan. The arrogant Prince Qardolan must be planning something to empress the Queen again.
“That fool! He thinks he can take me down ” Khanis pondered loudly. He knows Qardolan will never stop until his foolish dream of killing the hideous prince of Shuixron will succeed. But he also knows that Qardolan is as stupid as what he appears to be. He is the remaining son of the great Elven king who eradicated the gathoms from the world, yet, the one that holds the title of a crown prince is Qardolan. He will not wait for anyone to attest his claim to the throne, he will establish himself as the rightful king of the new Altagan, and Shuixron will bow to them.
Khanis believes that a true ruler uses strategies and not feelings in winning a war. And it seems that Qardolan is an infant to that. His obsessive determination of avenging his parents will never go anywhere. The only way to defeat Shuixron is to use the real enemies of Shuixron; the magic behind the scroll.
“Father” the Prince’s Cousin ‘Prince Aheim’ enters the chamber where Khanis is standing keenly upon gazing outside the Lauran’s view
“go to Qionar Aheim, and see what they are up to this time. I will deal with the Queen about this”
“Father, I heard Lamon, the son of Arman is participating as well”
“of course, Shuixron will do everything to win, Although Lamon is a threat, we can still find a way to defeat their champion”
“but Father, Lamon is not participating for Shuixron—he is fighting for Qionar”
“What?”
The world must have turned upside down, In what sense will Lamon fight for Qionar
“that is nonsense!”
“But it’s true, he defeated the Mourhak to prove his Identity”
“Everyone can defeat a Mourhak”
“Not if you are a human”
It’s true, a human cannot defeat a Mourhak, unless they are sorcerers or a Gathom. But if Lamon is fighting against Shuixron, who will fight for them? Why King Sih Theodoro permitted such treason? Isn’t Qionar their sworn Enemy? There must be something going on. Their Prince will not just sit and watch their kingdom fall knowing that the scroll is the biggest card against him. King Sih will never allow any harm to come near his little demon
“What must be the reason behind this?”
“The Ayah of Arman’s tribe ‘Arayan’. She ran away, she was supposed to marry the prince”
“Arayan?” another card for him transpired. Everything is indeed coming down for him
“Aheim, forget that silly tournament. Let Qardolan do his job. I want you to find Arayan”
“The Qionar must have abducted Arayan and used her to win her brother, and if that so, both of them are not in Shuixron” Aheim reasoned. But with a smile of impious intent, Khanis answered him “you spend too much time with that foolish prince, and you have become foolish yourself”
“but father, Qardolan found Arman in Asca. He might have gone there already”
“I heard. But I don’t think Lamon is in Qionar for his sister. He is looking for Arman” The missing gathom of Ligayun that is more precious that an Ayah. There is no other reason for Lamon to move independently from Shuixron “I know that little Ligayun princess is just hiding on their cavern. Go to Shuixron Aheim and find Arayan”. He knows Qionar is not something to worry too much. It lost its credibility as a great kingdom since the last king died, and that is more than a century ago. Now, Qionar is nothing but a trade asset for the rest of the world. and that the deranged man they once hailed as king knows too much about the truth. He is overqualified for the game, he should be exterminated quickly.
Quamran as an attendant spends more time with Qionar’s former king ‘old Eolk’. In spite of having a warrior-ish appearance, Queen Ainhelier did not showed any interest in him. He was decided to accompany the king since no one else would.
The former king’s reputation as a fool destroyed him as king, and had taken all his people’s respect from him.
“Sir, my knowledge is limited to fighting” he reasoned as the old Eolk offers him a book of Qionar’s geography. He was so determined to teach Quamran his learning since he had built an attachment to him in the short period they've spent together
“But the aspiration for learning is a gift” the Old Eolk said while scanning the books they have gathered inside the four quartered library of Qionar
“My granddaughter is a bright child, yet she refuses to study. All she wanted is to play outside the castle and chase after those rabbits in the woods. Than gaining knowledge. Foolish child isn’t she?” There is no day that the old Eolk wouldn’t mention his granddaughter. Though her stories reminds Quamran of Arayan
“People like her loves adventure and has a great sense of justice, your granddaughter must be a very wise girl”
“She is indeed wise, and yet” he closed the book “her foolishness is as broad as her intelligence” the old Eolk jeered
“forgive me my lord but, what is the problem about it? What she is doing is for her own happiness and is not an obligation” Quamran became persistent
“if she enjoys her life like that, I believe there is nothing you should be worry about, isn’t happiness the goal of life” the old Eolk took a glance on him. Quamran wondered what is the meaning of the Old Eolk’s grin, he simply walks towards the library and fixed the piled books back to its compartment
“you are wrong young man” he turn back to him
“Death is the goal of life, happiness is its reward and pain is its essence, you cannot feel the life without experiencing pain, in both physical and emotional”
Quamran muffled. Analyzing what the old Eolk is trying to say
“besides. One cannot determine happiness without first knowing pain. The happy rainbow appears after the melancholic rain” it is more complicated for Quamran now that he infer it that way.
The two of them continue to roam the contracted part of the library to discover more interesting books “you should meet her sometime” the old Eolk added with a brief chuckle.
- Writer
