17 The reality of the world

"So, Miss Rachael, the elementors who have done great deeds or qualify as powerful are promoted to the rank of a 'Knight' then, is that right?" Sai recalled what he understood. The seven had been in the castle for almost a whole week and Liam told them that they will be sent away to the academy soon.

"Yes, and I have been telling you for a week, Young Master, that you can just call me Rachael." Rachael slightly pouted as she glanced at Sai. She seemed to be in her late teens and had straight blonde hair that hung down to her waist, with green eyes that can allure any man, but none of the boys were actually in the mood or situation to make a pass at her.

"Hmm, so Rachael, how many Knights do you think there are roughly in this kingdom? " Clint leaned forward from the comfortable sofa he was lying on, as he voiced his doubts.

"I would say around 800-900."

"What!? That's it? Didn't you tell me that our kingdom has around 10 million population? According to you, there are at least 1-2 million elementors, out of which half are in the army and the other half are mostly employed in the cities and by other agencies. That's quite a landslide in the number of knights, for sure." Ian exclaimed as he got out of his chair and walked around contemplating the information he had received.

"Who would have thought that Lord Liam was the king's brother? No wonder he had so many knights at his disposal." Reeva sighed as she remembered the sight of knights standing still in the hall.

"And above the Knights are the Paladins who are less than 70 in number, you say." Aiko tried to recollect something as she said those words.

"I didn't see anyone like that with Lord Liam, don't we have any Paladins here?" Aiko asked in a slow tone.

"There are four paladins guarding the city. Half of the paladins guard the great cities, while the rest hunt for demons and dark creatures as they guard the boundaries. The Paladins are almost the same rank as Lord Liam and can be only ordered around by the commander or the king himself."

"And do you remember what I told you about the dark injectors? They are the people who smuggle dark Qi inside the kingdom, but in truth, they are only innocent people who are manipulated and used by other kingdoms to smuggle the dark Qi without their knowledge. That is the reason why dark injectors or anyone who is suspected of being a dark injector is captured immediately and treated with extreme hostility." Rachael went on explaining things just as she had been doing from the last week.

"Training people with good enough Qi is the first priority to any kingdom right now. The stronger you are, the more significant you are to this world."

"So it's a power-thirsty kingdom like any other, huh?" Sai could feel how general and common it was.

"I told you most of the things you people need to know but I guess its time for me to tell you the actual reasons behind the hunger for power."

"Yes, our kingdom and also our neighbouring kingdoms are hungry for power, they have always been, but not as much as you are seeing now. The desperate need for power we are witnessing now isn't for dominance but it's rather for survival, young masters and young madams."

"Survival?" Leo who was standing beside the window finally had a change in his expression as he walked towards Rachael.

"The world I told you about till today was just the better parts of it. But just like a coin, even the world has two different sides to it. Hundreds of years ago the ancient families sealed away those dark forces to as far north possible, deep in the icy glaciers. The ancient families' descendants died mysteriously one after the another since the last few years.A few months back, the last descendant drew his last breath."

"And according to the ancient texts, the seal on those dark forces would break once the ancient line of the family disappears."

"So what you are saying is that every kingdom in this world is actually preparing for war against a common enemy, the so-called dark forces?" Leo raised one of his brows with utter seriousness on his face looking straight into her green eyes.

"Yes, we are not certain if the seal has been broken yet Young Master Leo but the ancient texts were never wrong in anything they said. So it is most likely, valid to assume that the dark past is going to come back and haunt us once again."

"Don't you have anything else to tell us about those forces?" Sai furrowed his eyebrows together with his face tense.

"We have absolutely no information on the dark forces. All the ancient texts on them were either destroyed in the great wars or must have rotted away, after all, they were written centuries ago."

"This was the last thing I wanted to tell you before informing Lord Liam, that we are done."

"I hope you become strong and important to this world." Rachael flashed a bright smile before getting up to leave.

'Thud' It was the sound of the door closing after Rachael exited the room and immediately heading towards Liam's study room.

"I guess we have to get stronger." Sai said with absolute seriousness on his face to which Leo turned around.

"Why?"

"What do you mean by 'Why?', Leo?! You heard her, right?!To protect the world, of course!" Sai yelled back yet Leo.

"I had a feeling that you would go off track, Sai."

"Did you forget why we decided to become an elementor, did you?"

"It was to...go back home. I am sorry." Sai's face paled away as his eyes fell to the floor.

"I want us to become powerful but I don't want you all to forget the purpose of that power. We are doing this only to get back home, do not forget that." Leo said with a deep voice to which everyone nodded in agreement.

"I am sure Liam is going to send us away as soon as possible, now that we are done knowing the things we needed to." Leo went back to his usual spot by the window where slow winds gently caressed his hair.