Scalding Sands - Qasr Sultanate Academy
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Mrah... That breeze they're makin' with those big fans feels so good! |
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Right? The sun's rays can be harsh in the Scalding Sands...
But it's also arid, so it's pleasantly cool once you're in the shade.
You should try some of these crackers with blue cheese. They're really good. Eat up! |
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Mrah! Moldy crackers?! Anything but that! |
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I'm still amazed at the sheer number of staff here solely to wait on you.
We have a rich boy like yourself at our school, but he only has one retainer with him. |
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Ooh. His retainer must be super-duper competent!
There's a lot of people at my school that have a bunch of staff. |
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What?!
I'm jealous... Only those chosen by the Dark Mirror are permitted to reside within Night Raven College grounds.
The only way I could serve at my liege's side was to qualify for enrollment. |
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Oh, you work for someone, Sebek? |
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Mmhm. I serve none other than Briar Valley's heir apparent, the housewarden of Diasomnia...
The great Malleus Draconia! |
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Briar Valley? Dad's told me about that place! It's a land of fae famous for its silk spinning industry, right?
I hear they make incredible fabrics and embroidery from special bug cocoons and plants.
Their wares are so rare and prized, even Dad hardly ever gets to see them. |
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Yes, Briar Valley's traditional attire has beautiful embroidery. You're very knowledgeable. |
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Heh heh, it's all stuff I picked up from Dad. |
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Do you know the reason why Briar Valley's embroidery is so splendid?
It's because our artisans have passed down their craft and continued to hone it over generations.
Unlike one foolish human king who was willing to sacrifice his kingdom's spinning industry just to save his daughter's life. |
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Ah, you're talking about the father from the tale of the princess who succumbed to cursed sleep. |
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What tale is this? |
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In a faraway land, an uninvited guest barged into a party celebrating the princess's birth.
That guest was a foul witch known as the mistress of all evil. She cast a curse upon the princess.
On her 16th birthday, the princess would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a long slumber.
Fearing the curse, the king had every spinning wheel in the whole country burned to try and safeguard the princess. |
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Whoa! So what happened to her? |
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To summarize a long story, the curse was lifted after many trials and tribulations, and she lived happily ever after. |
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The tale came up briefly over the course of our magic history lessons.
My takeaway was that any ruler willing to destroy an entire industry for their daughter is a hopelessly doting parent. |
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You think so? Wanting to go to any lengths for your child is just what parents do, right?
There's an anecdote along similar lines about how the Ruler of the Oasis changed the law for his daughter's sake.
Before, there was a silly law that said princesses couldn't marry anyone who wasn't royalty.
But the ruler's daughter loved a young commoner.
The Ruler of the Oasis opposed their love at first, but eventually came to accept it...
And he changed the law to allow the princess to marry whoever she wanted.
Isn't that a great story? |
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Y'know, Kalim doesn't seem any different from usual to me. |
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Agreed. The main difference so far is that he's not enrolled at Night Raven College. |
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For most people, this kind of dream would produce jarring inconsistencies that expose all sorts of vulnerabilities right off the bat...
But Kalim's one of the richest guys in the world.
With the Asim family's wealth, they could probably easily build a school IRL. |
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Yeah, Kalim's the stereotypical ultra-rich guy from manga and anime... |
| He does everything on another level.
| (And the Shroud family isn't...?)
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In Kalim's case, it's less that his imagination is strong...
And more that even in reality, he's this ridiculously rich...
...in addition to having a carefree mindset and never sweating the details. That's serving to bolster the dream. |
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This is a bit surprising, though. |
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What's surprising? |
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That Kalim's forgotten Night Raven College.
He seemed to be enjoying life at school there more than any other student I know. |
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We don't have enough data to draw a pattern from, so this is purely speculation on my part, but...
The fact that Kalim isn't attending Night Raven College in this dream...
...doesn't mean that he was unhappy there. |
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What do you mean? |
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You weren't attending Night Raven College in your own dream either, right?
Was that because you regretted putting your career on hold to focus on academics? |
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Hardly! That's patently... Ah. |
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There, see? People's mental circuitry—their hearts and minds—can be surprisingly complex. |
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Clearly I still have much to learn, if it took you to open my eyes to that fact. |
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Hmm... This could fit what happened with Rook.
A route that avoids a tragedy that unfolds due to attending Night Raven College. |
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What kinda tragedy would Kalim goin' to Night Raven cause...? Ah! |
| Is it what happened over winter break...?
| When we got sent on a one-way trip to the ends of the earth?
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??? |
What's all this commotion? |
??? |
What's going on, Kalim? Nobody told me to expect company! |
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That voice...! |
??? |
How many times must I tell you to always inform me ahead of time when inviting guests?! If you had... |
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...I would have arranged for an even finer banquet and a whole band! |
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