Nend Ardhon Chronicles - Complete

Chapter 18 – Class Quiz

They swam in silence until they reached their classroom. Before opening the doors, the Teacher spoke, “I hope you can one day trust in me and your classmates the same way you trust Guyi.”

He then opened the door, and a lot of worried looks were upon Byia. The Teacher went to his desk and addressed the class as soon as she and Guyi were at their table: “Everyone can relax; Byia is still here, and everything went more or less well.”

Sveta Roolyi, the big, dark green female, raised her right arm and asked, “More or less well? What happened after all?”

“The City Mayor was also there. It seems Byia’s bully, that yellow female that pissed herself when we returned from our voyage to the Farm, is the niece of our fine Mayor, and he tried to convince the Principal to expel Byia. I had a plan to prevent that, but Byia took care of everything together with her older brother. I think everyone can see this evening what happened on the National News channel because the reporter Triri Ventbend recorded everything, and she even questioned everyone about what was happening. Byia’s older brother fooled the Principal by pretending to make a call to their mother, and he called that reporter instead. I guess our fine Mayor can say bye-bye to his position as City Mayor, really soon.”

Everyone burst into laughter, with a lot of clapping and cheering. Sveta hugged Byia and Guyi at the same time, with a big smile on her face. “We were all so worried! We thought we were going to lose you two!”

Byia made a huge effort to speak in between those enormous arms around her: “Okay, but let me go! You are going to break me in half!”

“Oh, sorry! Sometimes I forget my strength!”

The Teacher went to the front of the board and signaled for everyone to sit down. “So, today I had a lesson prepared about World History, but hearing about Byia’s ancestor, the famous Senpyia Calla, the Healer, gave me an idea for a fun game of Quiz.”

A lot of grumping echoed in the classroom, making Byia and Guyi wonder why the others were so annoyed. The Teacher smiled and tilted his head. “Oh, come on, give me a chance! It will be fun!”

Sveta Roolyi spoke while gnashing her teeth, “It would be fun if you wouldn’t use this opportunity to give us a grade. Knowing that one wrong answer will make us lose points is no fun at all!”

The Teacher shrugged. “It is fun for me. Anyone who does not like the way I teach is free to go back to the First-Tide class, or the Second-Tide. So, first question: What is the name of the one that stopped the war between the Water-Dragons and the Surface-Dragons?”

Sveta Roolyi quickly raised her right arm. Upon a nod from the Teacher, she said, “Byia’s ancestor, Rigeko Calla, the Peacemaker. She was the one to convince both races that if the war continued, both would be extinct in a few Tides.”

“That is correct. And now, the fun part of the Quiz. We debate a little about each question. For example, what changes occurred in both societies when the war ended? Besides the fact that everyone had more free time to think about other subjects instead of trying to kill a member of the other race. I agree with many Scholars who have the opinion that it was after the war ended that both races made a huge effort to live a more fulfilling life by appreciating the nature and beauty of their Home World. We also began to live in harmony with our beautiful World and abandoned almost all technology that could damage the environment. What do you guys think?”

Silence. Absolute silence and serious looks all around. Then, the low harsh voice of Cruvir Ignyter was heard: “We didn’t abandon technology; our ancestors only stopped using it so much, but it was developed even further. Water-Dragons were always good at thinking about ways to kill other beings; a good example is the war with the Nayga Race, which happened some centuries after the war with the Surface-Dragons and lasted for several Tides. I agree that our ancestors changed a bit, but not as much as the Teacher might think.”

“Yes, I see your point. By the way, what do you guys think about the creation of the Shield Dome that protects our entire World in case of an emergency or the planetary defenses on the moons and smaller planets of our solar system that were developed and implemented during the war with the Nayga Race? Do you think they are still needed or a waste of resources?”

Guyi raised his arm and frowned. “That is a trick question, Teacher. Not only because only a fool would think that there are only Dragons and Nayga in the entire Universe, but those defenses don’t waste any resources. They are fully automatic, kept in sleep mode to save energy, but easily activated by our World Government in case of an attack from an unknown danger, and they use solar energy mixed with Magic.”

“Very well. Sveta, Cruvir, and Guyi are in the lead! Next question: Besides his mysterious disappearance, for what reason was Sergge Calla known when he was working as an Explorer?”

Everyone stared at Byia, allowing her to speak about such a sensible subject. She gave a slight smile and raised her arm. She took a deep breath and spoke. “Besides abandoning that line of work when I was born? Probably the fact that he was an amazing cartographer and his expeditions all over our World made everyone know it a little better. He also drew detailed underwater maps of our colonies and the Nayga Race planets and colonies. Any known and habitable planet around us that has water on it, my father mapped it.”

The Teacher made a big smile. “That’s right. On a personal note, he was also the reason I became a Teacher. I learned a lot by reading his reports and studying his maps. I started to notice there was a lack of knowledge about our World amongst my friends, and I began summarize to them everything that I learned with Sergge Calla’s expeditions.”

The bell for recess interrupted, and the Teacher pouted, “Not fair, right now that this was getting interesting!”

Everyone swam to the door before he could ask anything more.

Outside, Rodhy joined Byia and Guyi and swam around them while she was glancing at a nearby big plant, where Sveta Roolyi was laughing, together with Cruvir Ignyter. Byia disguisedly whispered to Guyi, “A splendid opportunity to tell them about the Guild, right?”

Guyi nodded and swam ahead, escaping a lick on the head from Rodhy. He looked around to check if someone was eavesdropping, and when Byia joined them, he whispered, “Hello, fellow Apprentices of the Explorer’s Guild! Last night, we met your parents, and they even invited us to join their Party. They also told us that you two sometimes go with them on Quests.”

Sveta quickly covered Guyi’s mouth with her right paw while Cruvir looked around to see if anyone heard Guyi’s whisper. Sveta whispered back, “Careful, stupid! No one knows about our side job in this School! Around here, we are just a couple of normal students! Do you mean you also joined the Guild? Why?”

Byia answered with a serious voice, “I want to become an Explorer and find answers for my father’s disappearance. Or better yet, to find him.”

Cruvir nodded and spoke while checking Sveta’s reaction: “We want to help you two, of course. If our parents asked you two to join, maybe you should. You would learn a lot more with them than with only us or by yourselves.”

Sveta agreed and looked in expectation at Guyi and Byia, who spoke after elbowing Guyi. “He has a point. I also like the idea of having them on our side, in case we need an excuse to go on a Quest for a few days.”

“Yeah, but maybe it’s better if they come with us one of these days to meet our parents. You know how your mother is. She will only let you go away for a few days if she knows with whom you are going. But she can’t find out that their parents are Explorers, or she will get suspicious.”

Byia nodded and warned them, “If there is a Quest that we can do as Apprentices, I would like only us four to apply to it. Like that, the money and the recognition for a job well done or failure will go to us, and not to the experienced Explorers.”

Sveta and Cruvir agreed, but then their attention were driven to Rodhy, who was growling while staring to their left. While Byia was trying to calm him, Guyi saw the reason for that sudden growl and swam at high speed towards the cause.

He stopped in front of the awkwardly smiling Lodon Lunn and asked, “I forgot your suspension ended today with everything that happened. What do you want, and why were you staring at Byia? Do you have a death wish or what?”

“No, I… I see that nothing serious happened to her. I heard that the Principal wanted to punish her because of Nayima… I… you see… She said I can’t get near her, but I want to ask her for a favor…”

“Really? Of all people, do you really think you can ask anything from Byia? You have quite a nerve, Lodon Lunn!”

Lodon turned bright red and spoke with a trembling voice, making a huge effort not to burst into tears. “I know… But… It’s my mother… She was so happy the last time Byia was in our house that she asked me to invite her over. I… wanted to ask her if she could go to my house and have some tea in the afternoon… If you could also come, it would be even better, because I told my mother I had some very good friends, and she wants to meet them… I… don’t have so many friends… at least, not many with whom I can share my… problem…”

Guyi heard all that with his arms crossed over his chest. In the end, he asked while raising one eyebrow, “This is not some kind of plan to make Byia forget all that you did to her now that you realized you like her? Because you will have to do a lot more than that, you know it, right?”

“No, it’s not a plan! It’s the truth. I am perfectly aware that she will not forget or forgive me so easily. I can’t deny that the idea of never speaking or being near her again worried me a lot over these last days, especially at night, when I remembered the last time I talked with her was in my room…”

Guyi thought for a while, and he then turned back to see Byia looking at them with a frown. He faced Lodon again and thought of every possibility that could make Byia happy in the long run.

He knew that if Byia didn’t have any feelings for him until that day, she might never develop them. That thought pained him, but if she ever fell in love with Lodon, he could live with that, knowing that she would be happy with another male besides him. He loved her enough to understand that she deserved to be happy, even if he wasn’t part of the equation.

“Very well, wait here. I will be right back.”

Guyi returned to Byia, leaving behind a worried young male who was feeling his heart trying to come out of his chest. Byia asked, with her eyes bright red, “What does he want, Guyi? This is not a very good day for that stupid to annoy me…”

Guyi avoided looking at those frightening eyes by making a slight smile at the puzzled Sveta and Cruvir. “That is Lodon Lunn, Byia’s oldest bully. He has mocked her and beat her up ever since we were two Tides old. It all began when Byia defeated him in a race. He used to be the champion in our neighborhood, and after his defeat, he became resentful. She also defeated me, but instead of getting angry, I accepted the challenge of having a little female as a rival. I turned out to be the fastest young male of my age in the City, all thanks to Byia, and Lodon also hates me for that. We never fought back because if we did, he would die or stay in a Healing Facility for several Big Moons. We began to run away from him as soon as he approached, and he always thought it was because we were afraid of him.”

Sveta asked while clenching her fists, “Probably he just needs a good old s******g. I won’t mind providing that! Just say the word, Byia, and I will make sure that he never bothers you again.”

Guyi quickly shook both paws. “No need; he just wants to invite Byia and me to visit his mother. She is a little ill, and it seems that since she met Byia, she has kept asking Lodon to bring her over again. I thought we could go when School ends. Paullu can enjoy Drezara’s company without us around them, Byia…”

Byia clenched her fists and spoke while looking in Lodon’s direction, “I don’t want to go…”

Guyi stared at Byia’s eyes really close, with a slight smile. “I don’t remember asking you, did I? You will go alright, even if I must drag you by your tail.”

“Why that sudden interest in visiting Lodon’s mother?”

Guyi had a weird smile. “Besides the fact I can annoy him a lot without him being able to say a thing against us? This is just like a dream come true! We can mock him for as long as we like, and he will have to suck it up in silence and pretend not to mind because of his mother. Besides, I didn’t taste those biscuits she gave you last time you were there, and they smelled good.”

Byia looked in the direction where Lodon was, and she spoke while smiling, “I see… I can have a makeup session with him, try a few clothes, or have a tea party… Yeah, so many possibilities… I am in, but I must stop at my house first to get a few things. Hehehe!”

Lodon was nervously looking, and he saw Byia nodding at him with a weird smile on her face. He gulped because he felt something odd was going to happen to him. “I don’t like the way she is smiling…”