Saying goodbye to their parents, Ícaro and Zuri followed Alex on a journey to the kingdom of Úria. Ícaro was happy because this was the country his family belonged to.
A century ago, Ícaro's great-grandfather had moved to Epíria, living in the city of Milena. Since then, his family hadn't set foot in their country of origin, because to go to Úria it was necessary to pass through the customs of the city of Kyrthalas.
Alex had traveled to Úria a few times; it was easy because of his title of Master and because he had a good relationship with Nikol, the leader of Kyrthalas.
This time Alex traveled by cart, as the journey was very long, in fact, they would cross the continent.
On the journey, the boys enjoyed seeing the surrounding landscape. At times they passed near forests, at others through scrubland. Sometimes people were seen walking on the road, other times animals crossing it. Zuri deduced that the people he saw along the way were from the villages that existed around the cities of Epíria. Most of these peasants wore wool tunics that covered their entire bodies. Observing these people, Zuri questioned Alex to resolve his doubt:
"Alex, are these people we're encountering on these roads residents of villages? Judging by the number of people we've already crossed, they don't seem to be from the city; their clothes seem too rudimentary to be from one."
Alex replied:
"Yes, most of these people live in villages scattered across the continent. You must have learned in class, right? That there are villages scattered across the continent."
"I did learn that."
Ícaro joined the conversation: "I've rarely seen these people in the city. From what I've learned, they aren't strong in relation to magic. That's why they live in villages. People who don't possess abilities, among the commoners, go to live in the villages because it's easier to live there."
Alex agreed:
"Exactly, they don't excel in magic. The rulers usually only allow people with notable magical abilities to inhabit their cities. The reason is for military purposes. Whoever is an inhabitant of one of the villages is not conscripted for war, for example," Alex completed.
Besides the peasants, animals of various kinds appeared in Zuri's field of vision. By the side of the road, black panthers and armadillos were seen, and in some trees, tawny owls were found, as well as bats that flew overhead at dusk.
When night fell, Alex pulled the cart over to the side of the road and made a fire nearby for everyone to rest.
He had bought plenty of jerky, as well as rice and vegetables. He was frugal with the meals so that they would last the entire journey. The path between Demetris and Kyrthalas is long, and there are no cities to pass through, so they wouldn't be able to resupply.
One night, with sleepy eyes blinking with drowsiness, Zuri could see Alex with a golden compass. He was near the fire, staring at the compass. In a low, difficult-to-understand voice, Alex seemed to have said: "Should I take them with me?" Zuri barely heard what he was saying and fell asleep.
Dawn broke, and the journey continued. While the cart trembled with the speed of the horses' gait, Zuri observed monsters flying in groups across the sky. They were enormous monsters, larger than a horse, and had the upper body of an eagle and the rest of the body like a lion, and they possessed two wings. What Zuri had seen was a chimera, and there were soldiers mounted on them. Alex noticed that they were coming in their direction to approach them. Alex stood in front.
Zuri, whispering, questioned Ícaro:
"What are those creatures?"
"Don't you know? They're griffins."
As they approached, one of the soldiers, the one leading the group, dismounted from the griffin, and Alex greeted him:
"Good morning! How can I help you? You are soldiers of Kynigari, correct?"
"Good morning! Yes, we are, we are patrolling the region. There have been many reports of robberies around here," replied the noble soldier.
Zuri remembered that the city of Kynigari was near where they were, to the west. Alex's direction of travel was the opposite, towards the east.
"I came from the city of Demetris, and we are heading towards Kyrthalas," Alex revealed.
"You're not unfamiliar to me." The soldier put his hand on his chin.
"I don't know if this name is familiar to you, but my name is Alex, from the city of Epaimir."
"Ah! So you are the famous master of dark magic."
"Yes, that's me."
"Nice to meet you, my name is Draco. I'm a soldier of Kynigari. Sorry for interrupting your journey. We are patrolling because robberies on the road have increased. But you can travel without worry; we should have apprehended almost all of them, and now there shouldn't be any more attacks. But if it were necessary for you to fight, you would defeat them easily."
"Let's get back to patrol, have a good trip." And the soldiers flew away over the forest.
"Wouldn't it be better for us to use griffins to travel too?" Zuri asked with all sincerity.
"It would be, but we don't have the skills to tame those animals, and having them domesticated is a resource that only the rulers have. Most are for military use," Alex explained in his reply.
"But the soldiers just now didn't seem that important?" Zuri observed the soldiers' modesty.
"Yes, very well observed. In fact, it's thanks to the power of Ephina, the ruler of Kynigari. She has the ability to tame animals and monsters, being able to control a legion of monsters. Even the lowest of soldiers can benefit from some animal she has domesticated. They say that even a dragon doesn't escape her powers. I don't know if it's true, but I don't doubt that she possesses this ability; after all, the power of the rulers is a singularity for all of us."
"I understand," Zuri replied with less enthusiasm.
After the encounter, they continued their journey to Kyrthalas.
Days passed, and Alex and his pupils were halfway to the city of Nikol.
Alex, who had said nothing until then, asked a question that would surprise Zuri:
"Zuri, I haven't told you, but we are near the ruins of the city of the Níbira. Would you like to see it?"
"The city of the Níbira?" Zuri became tense but eager to see the place of origin of his people.
Ícaro didn't understand and raised a question:
"But why ask him this? And what interest does he have in knowing the ruins of Níbira?"
"I haven't revealed the truth to you, but I think from now on you should know, Zuri is a Níbira," Alex said, addressing Ícaro.
"Really? I don't believe it; he doesn't use dark magic. How could he be? Can he use light magic?"
"Yes and no. He is capable of using dark magic, but he is inept at light magic."
"And his hair?"
"It was silver-grey, but I dyed it black with chemicals and magic."
"Wow, I'm surprised. So it's no wonder Zuri is so strong, a rarity, so to speak."
After Ícaro's surprise, Zuri nodded to Alex that he would like to visit the ruins of the city.
Deviating slightly from their path, towards the southeast, Alex led them to the place Zuri desired.
In the distance, ruined walls could be seen, and further in, completely destroyed houses. Two days had passed since their detour.
"We've arrived," Alex said to the two.
Leaving the cart and entering through the remains of a gate, Zuri contemplated where his hometown should have been.
Some foundations, which could have been houses, could be seen on a layer of earth. In other places, tall, slender columns still stood, and remains of broken walls a meter high. The streets were quite dusty, but on a hill, marble stones could be seen running along the street, leading them to the highest point.
With the marble stones indicating the way, they reached the top of the hill, where there were ruins of a huge building. Entering this building, a statue stood out among the rubble of a possible temple. The place could have housed an entire village. There were 12 columns in total, some whole, others with only remnants of columns; part of the temple's vault had collapsed, and so Alex and the others walked carefully over the rubble.
Zuri walked alone towards the remains of a statue that could have been 15 meters tall. While observing the monument, a voice whispered in his ear, "It was necessary, it was…"
Looking around and seeing that he was alone, he wondered, "Am I hallucinating? I'm not sick or feverish. It must be my imagination." And he returned to where Alex and Ícaro were.
Alex commented:
"This must have been the temple of the Níbira, a place of worship for Eassed for sure."
"I remember that the people of my tribe said that it is because of the destruction of the temple that the rulers still prosper. Eassed needs to be worshiped again in his sacred temple so that the connection between God and his people may be re-established. They await a savior who will restore the city of Níbira and who will lead all the Níbira to destroy the rulers."
A deep silence fell over them, and a minute later, Zuri completed:
"They thought I would be this savior."
"Maybe you are. Just because it's contrary to what they believed doesn't exclude that possibility," Alex tried to motivate him.
"You're crazy! Me, a savior? I don't have the power for that. But if the savior appears, I will be with him to defeat the rulers. The problem is whether he will accept me as a companion."
With a deep sigh, Alex said:
"You are strong, Zuri, but you are not old enough to realize it yet; you are still young. When you grow up, you will see."
Leaving the decimated temple, they walked through a building next to the temple that looked like a mansion. It was huge and protected by walls; they deduced that it must have been the place of the king or ruler. The gate was knocked down, and upon entering, part of the front wall was broken, and further inside was a hall that was the entrance, and to its side must have been the dining room. On the other side were shelves where there should have been a library, with pieces of parchment on the floor. The writings had slightly strange letters but resembling the current language of Epíria. One could deduce that some would be parchments about magic.
There were stairs on the sides of the main hall, and on the second floor were bedrooms and a hall with a throne in the middle, destroyed by termites. It must have been where the king and his ministers met. Leaving the mansion, they could see the city's horizon on that hill. And the city was similar in size to Epaimir.
"It was a prosperous people," Zuri affirmed.
Walking through the streets, one could find squares scattered throughout the city; it must have been the place for the citizens' leisure, Zuri thought. In these squares were cisterns, which, to the surprise of Alex and the others, had crystal-clear water. Alex said:
"Perhaps it can be inhabited again."
Zuri agreed, saying in his thoughts, "It's just a matter of defeating the rulers."
Alex prepared a place outside the ruins to make a fire, and they would spend the night there. After the meal, everyone went to sleep, even Alex, who usually stayed awake longer, lay down earlier.
When everyone was asleep, Zuri got up and went to the ruins to pray. Kneeling and putting his joined hands near his forehead, he began his prayer:
"Eassed, god of my fathers and creator of all things. Attend to my prayer and bring relief to my people. I know that you are always present and that you are our protector, and it was by your hand that your chosen people, the Níbira, have not yet perished. Please bring our savior and rebuild your city and your temple. Do not be absent while we suffer, but with a strong hand, destroy the works of darkness, the works of Dev-Rah. May your name be praised and worshiped by all peoples, for you are the true God."
Concluding his prayer, a voice arose in his ears, "Your destiny… face him, you must…" Zuri then looked around and saw nothing. "Hearing things again," he imagined.
Returning to where they were camped, he was surprised to see Alex sitting near the fire.
"You went there to pray, didn't you?" Alex asked.
"Yes!" Zuri replied. "I still believe that Eassed will do something to save us."
"That's why we are traveling. You don't know, but Úria, which is our destination, possesses scrolls with prophecies from the prophets who followed Eassed. They are very old prophecies, but we believe that the time for them to be fulfilled is approaching."
"Alex, thank you for bringing me with you. I know that you don't just want to teach us, but that we can help you in your missions."
"Yes! When we arrive in Úria, I will reveal everything to you. Now rest, leave this for another day."
Zuri went to his mat and lay down. The moon was beautiful, shining like a star, illuminating the entire view; it was a full moon night. Looking at the sky, Zuri fell asleep more peacefully than before. "Seeing the ancient city of my people inspired me to move forward and fight bravely against the rulers," he thought.