I Reject Quests

The Educator furrowed his eyebrows. "This sounds really complicated. In other words, you were abandoned by your parents, grew up in your orphanage for a while, then met your parents and found out that they were Yvadians. Am I following you?"

Famin was a bit surprised to see him pick up the facts so quickly. "Yes. That's the gist of it. I stayed with my parents for a while where I was taught the teachings and prayers of Lord Kursh but soon enough, I was again abandoned. It affected me deeply and since then… nevermind." He stopped speaking as soon as he started getting emotional.

He doesn't like speaking about himself.

The Educator nodded his head for some reason and tapped his pen on the desk two times. "There seems to be a lot of negative feelings inside of you. One of my jobs as an educator is also to support you emotionally. I can help you with that but for that, you need to be open which I'm not sure you would be comfortable with?"

"I'll think about it later, Sir." Famin didn't reject in a straightforward manner because he felt that his educator meant well.

"As expected. Anyhow… so, would it be wrong for me to presume that you don't have any respect for your ancestors?"

"I don't have any strong feelings for them." Famin replied honestly. 

"Okay. That makes it easy for me to talk about the topic I was going to discuss." The Educator said that, taking out a thick book and then fixing his glasses, he said. "If you want to revise the topic that I'm going to teach you now, refer to the guide book. Also, try to be selective with choosing what portion you should read."

Famin obediently nodded.

The Educator flipped the pages and lightly coughed to clear his throat. "Have you heard of the Flower of Mutation?"

Famin thought for a second, then answered. "From Nihan?"

Nihan was the most important religious text for Yvadians.

The Educator gave a small nod. "What if I told you that the tragedy that came with Flower of Mutation actually happened?"

"That's not possible. If it did, there would have been records and evidence… and…"

"What if I told you that there is sufficient proof?"

Famin frowned. "It's hard to believe… because if it were true, no one would dismiss it as a myth or legend. It simply isn't talked about."

The Educator showed an amused expression. "Your response is understandable but the "approach you took to get to your conclusion is amusing. Never mind. Yes, the Flower of Mutation did happen. Repeat after me. Flower of mutation did happen."

"Flower of Mutation did happen."

Famin did as he was told. He didn't have any reaction to the silliness because he was used to it. Initially, he felt embarrassed but eventually, he thickened his skin.

"Okay. Let's get into the background first. What is the event we are discussing about?"

"Um? Flower of Mutation?"

"Incorrect. I'll get there. But no, the event we are discussing is related to the Mitvatianian tribes coming into power. I'm sure you have heard about that, right?"

"Of course. The Mitvatianians were formerly small tribes living in the outskirts of the south-eastern part of the Green Continent. They were known for their surprisingly urban mindsets and weapons in warfare. In approximately 2734 CE, they decided to politically unite themselves even with the fairly large cultural and social gap.

"A single tribe was as strong as a low-tier province. There were approximately twenty-four of them. All of a sudden, they became a powerful overlord of that era. Neighboring kingdoms and empires felt threatened by their unity and took drastic measures. And then---"

"Wait. Explain why they took drastic measures." The Educator put forward a question.

Famin casually answered. "The empires were in a state of constant back and forth war with the Great Nation of Kulberg, which was, at that time, controlled by the Dictator. It wasn't an all-out war but several thousands of battles took place within the span of three years. Usually, when two provinces or tribes unite themselves, they expand their territory.

"The nations surrounding the small area where the tribes lived couldn't afford to have border disputes when they were already in a war. Initially, messengers from various nations were sent to the tribes with rich gifts but the tribes sent back the messengers in a sorry state while taking the gifts. This forced the nations to take drastic measures. Um, do I have to explain the drastic measures?"

"Please do."

"There were essentially two drastic measures – One, an increase in income tax and the other, a reduction in imports and exports by 80%."

"That was pretty damn harsh." The Educator commented. "The tribes weren't economically well-off. Their main source of income was agriculture. It was tyranny. On one hand, you had to work your ass off and the total output you get is only 20% and on the other hand, even from that 20%, at least 3-4% of it would be cut in the form of taxes."

Famin nodded, then asked. "But… what has this got to do with any event related to Flower of Mutation?"

"Slow down. We are not there yet."

"Oh…"

"To continue… you have to know about three big figures during that time – Vuo, Pi, and Da. Their names sound unusual but this was how the names were in Mitvatianian tribes. All three of them were respectively the Elders of three most influential tribes among the twenty-four. Vuo was from the Kchalli Tribe, Pi was from the Tpitita Tribe, and Da was from the Goi Tribe. Remember their names and the tribes.

"Now, the 'drastic measures' that you spoke of is called the – Coalition Penalty Act of 2736. 'Coalition' because the empires were in a form of temporary alliance and 'penalty' because according to a vague clause in the treaty between the tribes and the empires, unification was forbidden. Obviously, they couldn't actually take the step to divide the tribes because that would have serious consequences.

"Three years after the act was passed, the overall economic conditions of the tribes turned from moderately good to absolutely terrible. Every month, a family has to die of famine and diseases. Sentiments of hatred towards the 'outsiders' arose. Seeing this, the most important Elders of the tribes – Vuo, Pi, and Da set out to negotiate with the empires. It was given that they hated the empires to the bones but they themselves knew that even with their advanced warfare, they wouldn't stand a chance against more than a few nations."

The Educator paused, then drank a sip of water from his bottle.

In the midst of this, Famin opened his mouth. "Can I ask something?"

"Hm. Go ahead."

"Why did the Mitvatianians have advanced weapons? Did they have, like, a research center?"

"Good question. No, they didn't. There's again a bigger story related but without going too much into it since it would distract us from continuing with the current topic, I'll just briefly explain. Around thirty years before the unification of the Mitvatianian Tribes, one of the tribes found a sort of secret manual. It contained the process of making those advanced weaponry without using anything outside their area. This was also one of the reasons for unification of Mitvatianian Tribes."

"Ah…"

"Anyways, returning to the topic, Vuo, Pi, and Da went to the capital of Longstone Kingdom which was at the heart of Perelex Empire – one of the five, no, four empires involved in the Coalition Penalty Act of 2736. The three of them went there and asked for an audience with the King of Longstone.

"They were refused entry. Seeing that a 'mere' King of a nation was bold enough to not grant audience to the Leaders of Mitvatianians, the three of them raged and started a commotion in the city. Often thieving, public disturbance… they were very childish in their retaliation." He chuckled a little, then continued. "Eventually, the King got annoyed and sent men to bring them to him.

"He could have definitely arrested them but he didn't. The moment he were to arrest them, he would risk a potential war. His one nation alone couldn't handle the retaliation of twenty-four tribes. Even though the three Tribe Elders were strong, they had the numbers on their side. Again, none of the nations back then were in a position to start a war.

"The three Tribe Elders – Vuo, Pi, and Da were brought in front of the King. The discussion started on a heated note. Two hours later, the two sides reached a conclusion. The Coalition Penalty Act of 2736 wasn't reformed or changed. It remained the same. It also made sense. How could he, a mere King, make any significant change to an Act made by four Emperors?"

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Why did the three Tribe Elders go to the King instead of directly reaching for one of the Emperors?"