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After getting married, Karina took a break from the schooling nonsense. Her wedding was announced to the school in a little corner of the newspaper. All schools ran their own little presses. Most of the news printed were exaggerated gossips. The one in Karina’s school was no different. Those who ran the newspaper were allowed to make money, they were always looking for the next scoop. It had been a busy weekend, and Karina’s small wedding was not something that sold. Good news rarely warranted the public’s interest.

Marduke was not a fan of the newspaper nonsense, but he allowed his idiots the freedom to choose. He also did not make a big deal when they printed slander about him. In the old days, talking and writing nonsense about the King was a good way to get yourself hanged by the papilla. With free press, the newspapers were slowly getting out of control, even without the invention of the camera.

It was on a sunny day when Karina said to Letholdus, “You know, I have been thinking of opening up a little newspaper of my own.”

“Et tu, Karina?” asked Zibanu frowning.

The pair were sitting at the table eating breakfast with Vaikus, Vindkald, Marduke, Inana and Zibanu. Vindkald on that particular day was in the form of a chair, while he sat on a chair.

“If it will amuse you, then go for it,” said Letholdus, “Though it really feels like a pointless venture if you ask me.”

“Well, I figure since you took the truth of the world so well, it was a good a time as any to spread the word. The truth will set you free as all, and I am not enamored with the idea of people being prisoners,” said Karina.

“They are not prisoners, my dear sister. It is just not advisable for them to wander about space, without a helmet as all, it is not healthy for them,” said Marduke.

“Yes, I suppose it would be irresponsible to just throw them out into the strange unknown,” said Karina more to herself.

“It is for them to decide as all, but only if they have adequate information,” said Marduke.

“That I shall provide. Nothing but the truth for my readers,” said Karina enamored with her own idea.

“To be safe, you should just write the truth, but not give them any physical evidence,” suggested Marduke.

“How so?” asked Vindkald.

“You know, if you get too carried away, then the Auria master might just do a global mindwipe, or may decide to start over again, and starting over is something I don’t agree with,” said Marduke.

“What is starting over?” asked Letholdus, “Sounds ominous.”

“It means everyone dies,” said Zibanu.

“Relax, nobody dies when the master decides to start over. You just get put inside a pickle jar, and when the rearrangement is done, you get to come back, fresh as a newborn babe or maybe as a newborn babe,” said Vindkald trying to help Letholdus feel better.

“How many times have you started over?” asked Letholdus.

“Me?” asked Karina, “I have nothing to do with it. From what I hear, this world cycled about 37 times. The cycling kept the humanoids from making a mess of everything. It did not affect the lesser creatures.”

“I am sorry to be so unworthy,” said Letholdus feeling alluded to, “And how many times have we had this conversation?”

“Gosh! You are so gullible,” said Karina laughing, “You were born after the cycling was interrupted. You have Berthame to thank for that. He made the world ever so interesting with his life. Since he was the first determining factor to be born in this world, it became impossible to cycle. From here on out, things will be moving forward, for better or for worse.”

“Determining factor,” said Letholdus, “Sounds interesting. So, if you are an amassing King, who does great things you become one.”

“You don’t become one, you either are one or you are not. Even a person who lives the most mundane of lives, can be important, based on the ripple effect of his actions. So, an action as simple as buying a loaf of bread can be crucial in the grand scheme of things, but we are not aware of it, because most humanoids cannot think fourth dimensionally, except if they are blind,” said Karina trying to explain things to Letholdus.

After rambling a bit about seeing time and the blind mercenary Fornas, Letholdus pretended to understand so that Karina could go to school. Ever since Letholdus married up, his father had a new appreciation for his son. He no longer had Letholdus wearing a silly sign wherever he went. In a sense, Letholdus was finally getting some much-needed respect.

While Karina walked, she notice a fellow following her. She turned a corner and walked towards a café. She sat down on the table. Eventually, she said with her mind, “If you have something to say, you better get around to it.”

The fellow following her was Janus. He sat down before her and he said, “I read the lesson plan for today, and I thought I would speak with you in person, instead of before the others.”

“If it will please you,” gestured Karina to a cup of black tea that was place before Janus.

Janus sat down, but he refused to touch the tea. Sighing, Karina said, “What a bother.”

“So, what I must say is a bother?” asked Janus.

“Yes, indeed. I can see it right now, as clear as day, and regardless of what I say, I won’t be able to prevent the unfolding of today’s events,” said Karina with her eyes cyan color.

Janus had never seen Karina with eyes of that color. He had seen the change occur in Marduke, only once, when he was wee small. He had heard from his father that Marduke had second sight, but that is not the proper way of calling it. Due to the bizarre, quantic nature of his father, Marduke’s eyes at times were like those of 4D beings, and he was able to perceive time, with all its twisting, and winding possibilities. Those with true foresight were able to tell, which of the many paths people were going to lean towards. The rest just fell under the realms of possibility.

“He doesn’t love you; you know. He is just settling, because he doesn’t want to live alone, and you just pity him,” said Janus.

“Pity is a strong word, but as far as it concerns you, it is a stronger feeling than what I am feeling for you at this moment,” said Karina with disdain.

Janus departed after hearing this. Karina sighed, and sipped the black tea. She rested her chin on her hands, as she pondered on how things had become such a bother. Aside from stupid lessons, and occasional pep talks, she had never done or said anything to try to earn the affections of her pupils. Even so, there was the occasional oddball that sent her letters and flowers from time to time. It did not matter how many times she destroyed the letters and gifts, it never seemed to end. This was part of the reason why she married Letholdus. He was of a family of influence, and she knew that his father would not allow the bugs to land on the prize his son had supposedly won. The trick had worked, and for the last couple of weeks, Karina had experienced some sense of normalcy. What she had not counted on was Janus’s infatuation, turning into a fixation. It was quite vexing, and trying, but what could Karina do? In the end, she decided to do as her brother Ahi, and let things unfold. If things went sour, she was strong enough to just laugh it off. As for Letholdus, he was a big boy, so he could manage.

Still, to be certain, Karina had gifted him a Hamadryad dagger. They were typically native to the Northern continent, but one had stowaway in Brunhilda’s bag, when she was traveling to Veragerung with her papa dragon, Muldred. She had heard that Ahi had returned to Saturnastra, and she was eager to pester him with her gibberish. Over the surface, the dagger resembled steel, with the nice ornamentation and whatnot. Still, one only needed to hold it to know that it was wood, instead of iron. The fact that it floated also hinted at its true nature.

Letholdus had accepted the gift, without giving it much thought. Since wearing ornamental daggers was a fashion type of deal, Letholdus started sporting the dagger Karina had given him. That day, Letholdus did not have anything particular to do in the afternoon, and so he decided to go to Karina’s class, more out of habit than necessity. He dine with his mother as he did every day, even though he now lived with his wife. During this visit, his mother was chastising him for not taking his wife to live with them. Adolfus did not mind at all, since in his mind, a person of lower means should move to the home of a person of higher status. Based on Karina’s baubles alone, Adolfus wagered she had a hefty fortune, at least in jewelry alone.

Letholdus pondered what his mother said as he made his way to class. When Karina arrived to class, she was disappointed to note that her little husband was not there yet. Neither was Lucian and Janus. Due to the title of the class, a lot of the other regulars had decided not to appear. The only people in class were Mico, Carmenta, Casimir and Babysel. There was an unwelcome visitor as well, in the form of the Pitbull Malarkey. He had followed after Karina when she entered. Begonia was so used to her dog staying put, that she had not noticed his departure. Karina fed Malarkey a piece of bone, with raw meat. The dog then proceeded to eat it with gusto. Only the sound of teeth snapping on bone and meat could be heard inside the classroom.

Eventually, Babysel said, “How can you ever tell if people are supposed to be coming or not?”

“I don’t know. I just guess as all,” lied Karina.

“The lesson of today is about how truth sets you free, right?” asked Babysel.

“Yeah,” said Karina resting her chin on the desk.

“Well, so set us free, why don’t you,” insisted Babysel.

“I can see time as all, sometimes,” explained Karina. She added, “Here, let me draw you a picture.”

After explaining a bunch of mathematical concepts, Babysel said, “Alright, I get it. You are a wizard seer.”

Karina sighed, and said, “If you say so. Who cares, even. Even if you know where you are going, sometimes it is impossible to change the course of your direction.”

“Like a horse being led towards a cliff,” said Mico.

“Or like a train,” suggested Casimir.

“Yes, like a train,” affirmed Karina. Karina did not bother to explain the meaning of a train. Trains in those days was what people called the awfully long veils, that trained behind the dresses.

What Karina did not know at the time was that Casimir meant, actual locomotives. In the end, Karina sighed and said, “Well, let’s just get started with the class as all. The others can just read the story notes about them.”

“What do you mean by the truth setting us free?” asked Babysel.

“In what way are we prisoners?” asked Casimir.

Karina brought out a tiny bird inside a cage. She opened the door for it, but the bird did not head out. Mico said, “Aha! We are so used to our little cage, that we do not realize we have been set free.”

“Yes, and no,” said Karina. She reached her hand inside the cage. The bird perched on her finger, and then got out of the cage. It flew around a bit in the classroom before returning inside. For the rest of the class session, the bird kept wandering about a bit, and then returning to its place of comfort. Karina had bought the bird in a store. It had its wings plucked. Karina had fixed the wings, and allowed the bird to fly about as it willed. Still, after an incident with an owl, the bird would wander about in the neighborhood, but would return to its cage to eat in safety, and then sleep at night. There were no owls inside her little cage.  

Karina told the story of the silly bird to her students. When she concluded her story, she said, “So, what is your takeaway from this little story?”

“Well, I suppose fear keeps us from exploring,” suggested Babysel.

“There is a different between fear and being careful. There is nothing to be gained from going into dangerous, unexplored areas,” said Mico.

“Back when I was younger, I used to get into similar scrapes. Then one day, a creepy silence demon came onto me, and took my light. Ever since then, I have been afraid of even my own shadow,” said Carmenta.

“Oh! Yeah,” said Karina, “About that silence demon.”

“There is no point in talking about him,” said Vindkald. He added, “And besides, losing one’s light is part of being an elf. You get a random number of years as a pretty elf, and then the rest of the time you spend it with photo sensitivity. You still live longer, and look as fresh for far more time than a normal human.”

“Time is relative, Herr Vindkald,” said Mico, “For some creatures, a moment is like infinity, and for others, a lifetime is a second. In the end, it doesn’t matter how much time has passed, we can only live in the present. No amount of time will ever be enough.”

“Being unsatisfied about stuff is part of the living condition, for some people,” said Karina.

“What? You don’t mean to tell me you are satisfied with your life?” asked Mico. He added, “Don’t forget truth is the theme of this class.”

“Since there is nothing to either gain or lose, I suppose I will speak candidly with you Mico. Yes, this is not how I imagined spending my time on this world. When I was wee small, I wanted to fight evil, and be loved by many, but then that wore off pretty quickly, due to thankless bastards, like you, no offense. Since I was unsatisfied, I then proceeded to collect talents. I wanted to be able to do absolutely everything. Being skilled, did not bring me happiness either. From then, I tried other things here and there. I won’t get into details. The point is that I eventually found my peace, by coming to terms with my anxiety,” said Karina.

“Oh! Anxiety. Sheesh! Tell me about it. There is not a day when I don’t worry as of lately,” said Babysel looking at Periwinkle, “I talk about it to the listener, and it doesn’t help one bit. Still, it does help my little babe relax, and go to sleep, and then I can finally allow myself to chill.”

“So, then why did you marry Letholdus?” asked Casimir.

“Because he doesn’t bring me any problems, and always offers polite conversation. There is nothing I hate more as of lately is people who disturb my peace. Which is my longwinded way of telling you, that you are on thin ice with your nonsense, Babysel,” warned Karina shacking her fist at him.

“Mm,” said Babysel sticking out his tongue, “You are no fun.”  

The pleasant conversations continued for a couple of minutes. Eventually, the peace was shattered by a person opening the door, without softly knocking. The unexpected visitor caused Karina’s heart to jump up. The visitor was her brother Rimaru. There was a gleam on his eyes, and a slight smirk on his face. He said with an undisguised smile, “Your plaything killed one of your students.”

“Oh, bother!” said Karina sighing in disappointment, “I was hoping, that the silly dagger would keep him out of problem, and instead, I have gone and made him into a murdered.”

“Well, sometimes people don’t act the way they are supposed to when they are put in a stressful situation,” said Rimaru smiling. He added, with a look of sadness, “Oh! Wait! The healer was able to revive him. Nothing like 700 bolts, to kickstart the heart.”

“What happened?” asked Babysel, “Who got ate? Was it Janus or Lucian?”

“What about them?” asked Carmenta.

“Yes, I am not up to date on the gossip in town,” said Mico.

“Well. You know that both had a thing for Karina,” started Babysel when he was interrupted.

Rimaru then said, “It wasn’t so much of a thing, as a type of fixation. Humans are prone to those types of nonsense. Lucian was cured of his monotony by getting an exorcism. Lucian seemed to have forgotten all together of his Karina fixation, up till he heard of the wedding.”

“I guess you can spend all your time teaching values, and stupid nonsense, but in the end, people will always act in accordance with their true nature,” said Karina sighing. She added, “I sometimes wonder if everything I did for people really mattered or not.”

“Don’t let it bother you, my sister,” said Rimaru, “Afterall, we were not put on this world to help others.”

“And pray, do tell why, why ever did we come here in the first place, Rimaru?” asked Karina starting to lose her temper a bit.

“You know, why,” said Rimaru.

“To be a bother perhaps, a plague, even,” said Karina echoing Rimaru’s thoughts.

An earie silence entered the classroom, and sat down silently among them. Karina silently sighed, as she waited for Vaikus to go on his way. Vaikus did not depart till Rimaru left the classroom. In many respects, Vaikus did not have to say or even gesticulate to let his desires be known. With Rimaru gone, Karina said, “Well, I better see what is left of Janus.”

“Yeah, you do that,” said Vindkald getting up and leaving the classroom. It was kinda loud for him to do so, because he did not bother to change his current form, which was a wagon wheel. The way he rolled downstairs caused quite a bit of noise, which was punished by Vaikus wrapping himself around Vindkald to force him to be silent. When the darkness around him resided, Vindkald was in the form of a very quiet looking mouse.

Vindkald sighed and chirped. He then left to look through the books to see if there was anything that could be remotely considered new. With a big enough database of information, one eventually reaches the problem that everything starts to resemble everything. Vindkald had always dreamed of running into an original thought or idea. It was while browsing the library that he found it. It was a little doodle drawn on the page of one of the math books. It had been partially erased since it was drawn with the pencil. The drawing was crude, but it at least was something new.

Meanwhile, Karina was making her way towards her house. Her husband was there, in addition to Flamen, the father of Janus. She could just picture it, her brother making excuses, or throwing Letholdus under the bus. When she opened the door, everyone had a somber, waiting type of look. Flamen got up, and he came to Karina. Taking her hand, in his, he said, “Oh, Karina, you must forgive my son. I don’t know what came over him.”

“I am the one who is sorry. I should have just stay home, and not interact with anyone who were not people,” said Karina sighing.

“Don’t speak nonsense girl. Janus has been odd for the last couple of days, always mumbling to himself. He kept saying that he recognized someone, and that he finally saw the truth of the matter, and the Gods know what else,” said Flamen.

“So, if Janus is crazy, then why are you here?” asked Kanon entering the room. He added, “Get him a listener, and a healer and go home and hope for the best.”

“Well, our King’s healing abilities are said to be much stronger than the average healer, so… Please, my lord, help my son,” begged Flamen. He would have kneeled, but then it would have been too hard for him to get up.

The poor man had aged decades over the course of a couple of hours. Such is the nature of sudden griefs. Karina and brother came to Flamen’s second home. Normally, Flamen lived within the temple, but he had a secret second home. He went there when he wanted to be a regular type of person. Using blessings, he would put on a new face. He thought that people were not onto his little ploy, but everyone in Veragerung new of his other persona. The only person who was truly oblivious was his self-centered son Janus. As of lately, Flamen had been visiting the bar, more and more in disguise.

For reasons he could not understand, he was being gripped by a terrible, overwhelming despair. The only thing that had changed in his life was the introduction of independent newspapers. Those that reported on news from afar, tended to paint bleak pictures of the outside world, and that made Flamen feel sad. Since Flamen felt ashamed of his son’s actions, he took the injured lad to his second home. By now, everyone knew that Janus had fought with Letholdus in a duel. It had started with a knife fight, but had escalated. The alley in which the battle took place still showed the burnt marks, and the pieces of timber, and ash. Anyone who passed by there would have imagined that one of the dragons had caused a mini fire. Still, the nature of the damage had come through other means.

While Marduke walked with Flamen, for a bit in silence.  

Eventually, Marduke was compelled to say to the man, “I must offer my most sincere apology.”

“You need not apologize for your sister,” said Flamen, “What my son did was his own fault.”

“I am not talking about that nonsense. No. I have just seen you a bit sad as of lately, and I now think I know what is the problem,” said Marduke, “Look, sir, there is a limit to how much you can do as a person, you need to learn to make peace with problems that cannot be helped. Once you learn to shut the outside problems off, then you will be a happy man again.”

“You may be able to do that, my Lord, but it is not in my nature to pretend nothing is happening,” said Flamen realizing what Marduke was apologizing for.

“Look, here Flamen, you can’t take what people say seriously, even when a fellow is certain of the truth, that truth is not set in stone, and it can easily be distorted based on what a person thinks they saw,” explained Marduke.

The pair continued on about nonsense, while Karina was abstracted. She was meditating on her life choices, and trying to see what had led her to such a mundane existence. As of lately, she was gripped with a certain type of boredom, and she found everything, and everyone tiring. She kept thinking, over and over: What am I going to do with my time?

Eventually, the trio reached the door of Flamen’s little house. It was a nondescript, 2-bedroom home, with a small kitchen, a washroom, an attic, and a wine cellar. Janus was in the attic, which was a study bedroom with a small bed. The bedroom had a single candle, for light, in addition to the small round window. Since it was close to dusk, the attic had a warm red glow.

Karina and her brother found Janus, with his bedsheets tight, in order to limit his movements. As soon as he saw his father, Janus said, “I have to pee.”

“Sorry, my apologies,” said Flamen after locking the door behind him. He unstrapped his son, and then he handed a jug for Janus to do his business. Janus seemed rather tired looking, with an unhealthy, bluish tone, like that of a drowned man, and he seemed quite sweaty, with shallow, rapid breathing.

Karina yawned, while Marduke became abstracted during those proceedings. When Janus concluded his business, he said to Marduke, “So, you come to see the monster.”

“Nonsense, Janus,” said Marduke petting his shoulder, “You are a very valuable citizen. I came here with my sister, with the intention of helping you. We do not punish crazy people, rather we treat them, as we would do any sick person.”

“But the thing is…” started saying Janus.

“Don’t think much on the matter,” said Marduke pushing Janus back to his bed. When Janus was lying down, Marduke tucked him in.

“I don’t really know what came over me, really,” said Janus, “For some reason, it’s just… I don’t even remember anymore.”  

“There are some things that cannot be helped, my dear Janus,” said Karina finally speaking. She added, “The more you ruminate on the past, the worse things might become for you. Just forget about it, and focus on your future, it is the one thing in life that we have some degree of control over.”

“But, please, if you can explain to me the reason why, maybe I can understand,” insisted Flamen, beseeching his son to tell the truth.

“If I explain myself father, you will never look at me the same way,” said Janus, “Once I feel more at ease, I will self-exile to atone for my crimes. Once, my heart stops being heavy, I will return.”

“As you wish, Janus,” said Marduke departing.

Flamen gave a despairing look at Karina. Guessing what was the problem, Karina said to Janus, “If you leave, you will make your family unhappy. If Letholdus is the problem, he can go away with his father for a bit. He will be allowed to return home, once you made peace with whom, and what he is,” said Karina.

“That monster should be destroyed before he has a chance to harm anyone else,” muttered Janus under his breath. To Karina he said, “Yes, he should travel abroad, it would be the best for everyone.”

Karina sighing said, “If it will make you happy.”

“Yes, very,” said Janus.

Karina changing the conversation, said to Janus, “So, what do you plan to do with your time?”

“I don’t know. I probably will just help out in the temple, preach to the masses, feed the hungry, you know the works. Anything to keep the mind occupied from myself,” said Janus sighing.

“Yes, helping others is a good way to shut out the little voices inside one’s head,” said Karina.

The pair talked of nonsense for a bit till Janus fell asleep. During the conversations, Flamen did not leave the room. When Janus was snoozing, Karina left the attic followed by Flamen. He said to Karina, “My apologies for being a terrible host, would you like some tea?”

“Sure, why not. I haven’t anything better to do with my time as of lately,” said Karina sitting down.

Flamen started mixing the leaves, and then brewing them. After he concluded the tea, he served it to Karina. He asked, “Milk?”

“Sure, and two scoops of sugar, please,” said Karina.

Flamen poured Karina the milk, and the sugar, before sitting down on the table to face her. He took the teacup to his mouth, but did not drink. He stopped a moment short because he heard pacing on the attic. Sighing, he said, “That boy is going to be the death of me.”

“Only if you let it bother you,” said Karina.

“I am not like you people, I can’t rip out a piece of my heart, like it is toenail, or a tuff of hair,” said Flamen.

“You are only saying that because I agreed to exile Letholdus for your son’s peace of mind,” said Karina. She added, “I know what I am doing. Given it a couple of years, and it will be Janus who begs Letholdus to return to Veragerung.”

“But can you really wait that long, and what of Letholdus’ poor mother, Lady Amrita. Have you thought of her? She would be devastated without her boy,” said Flamen. He added, “And what would they say about me. They will say the King is playing favorites. We cannot have a return to those days when the victim was punished, and the perpetrator was allowed to roam free.”

“Relax, Letholdus was also at fault. He should not have agreed to duel in the first place, but I did not wed him for his ability to make good decisions under pressure,” said Karina. She added, “I could go on, but it is mean to speak ill of a person who is not there to defend himself. In any case, Letholdus has been suffering from a bit of a wanderlust. This incident could be a good excuse for him to finally travel abroad with that father of his. As for Amrita, I suppose I could give her a grandson to preoccupy herself with.”

“You are a monster,” said Flamen flatly.

“So, I have been told,” said Karina finishing her tea, “But it is this family of monsters that have giving your little Kingdom peace and stability, don’t you forget it.”

After saying this, Karina departed.