"The time to march has come
You watched me with uneasy eyes
I caught the scent of home
Thunderstorms gathered over the distant plains
Chaotic Magic Turbulence trembled
Worry crept into the lines beside our temples
Our ancestors and gods are calling us
The wind rose between the black hooves
..."
One morning, Nila was teaching several girls a song Landen had "composed" for the Mana-Less people of the Left Camp. The song, "Gallop People's Farewell," was much more complex than the previous ones, but the dancing girls learned it quickly all the same.
Nila had needed several days to force herself to memorize the lyrics and tune before she could stumble through the song.
Every evening, Landen sang it again with his sister. For Nila, staying in daily contact with Landen, the lord, was also the best way to safeguard her position.
Her voice was not as lovely as those of the girls who specialized in singing, but Nila was still happy to teach the children, one line at a time.
Of all the children, the fastest learner was a girl named Redbird. She was not only quick to learn songs; the eight-year-old was also quick to learn to write.
Nila had high hopes for Redbird. She thought that, as one of Landen's first Territory Residents, Redbird must be someone he was pleased with in every way.
"Lady Nila?" Nancy came over to take Redbird to her lesson. "May I take Redbird with me?"
Many of the Mana-Less people in the Left Camp believed that Lady Nila, who held a special position, was choosing personal maids for Lord Landen.
In a baron's castle, a baron might have as many as twenty female relatives and attendants, and a viscount would have even more.
Now that Landen had as many Territory Residents as a viscount, it was only natural to select a few clever, obedient, and pleasing maids from among them.
Nancy, however, did not think so. Nobles would not let their servants learn too many words; otherwise, it would be harder for them to hide their ignorance and vulgarity from their servants.
Nancy believed Landen wanted all the children to learn to read so they could work for the territory. After all, Landen had personally rescued these Mana-Less people, so he could trust them more than those who had fled here from other regions. That was why Nancy was training Redbird to become a teacher for the territory.
The children were divided into three classes. Every morning, after getting up, they first exercised, then attended lessons in literacy, arithmetic, and general knowledge. Nancy taught literacy, guiding the students through the alphabet and simple words. Those with some background read simple storybooks.
Makoto temporarily taught arithmetic. She was one of the few people in the territory who knew how to keep accounts, and her lessons mainly covered numbers and addition and subtraction within ten.
Several butlers taught general knowledge, covering the legendary tales of the Human Empire and the Gallop Plains.
As the teacher for all the children, Nancy had a large, round tent all to herself—a rare privilege. During lessons, the children sat inside to study.
As the literacy teacher, Nancy had to teach all three classes every morning. She prepared "textbooks" in advance: sheets of paper with letters and simple words written on them. Each child's task for a lesson was to memorize the letters or words on their sheet.
The children had different levels of knowledge and learned at different paces. Nancy could not simply count through the numbers with them and teach addition and subtraction, as Makoto did. Nor could she take turns teaching them, as the butlers did. She had to teach every child herself, which was exhausting.
That was why she valued the clever Redbird even more, hoping the girl would one day take over the work of teaching literacy to the Mana-Less people.
Near noon, the children got flatbread baked with bits of meat and mutton soup. The soup was naturally left over from the day before, and the meat pies had been made the previous evening. Landen insisted that the children receive proper rations. None of the poultry had made it to the table, and every day the children got half a goose egg or a pheasant egg each.
Albert even considered this preferential treatment wasteful, but Landen was adamant that all the children should have meat, eggs, and milk.
In the afternoon, the children went to different small camps, where artisans taught them practical skills. Some of the older boys also trained with the Reserve Knights, in the hope of awakening their Mana-Wielder Bloodline.
Redbird was a very curious girl, and she was always eager to learn different things from different artisans.
For instance, the old leatherworker taught her how to separate an animal's hide. When removing the flesh, they had to be careful not to damage the hide. If it was a magical beast, they also had to pay attention to the patterns on its skin. The work required both strength and a keen eye. Many children were interested at first, but after a couple of days they would grow bored and lose the desire to learn.
Little Hilt, on the other hand, was the leatherworker's child. Though he had once done nothing but play in the dirt around camp, once he got his hands on the work, he showed a rare talent and enthusiasm.
Little Hilt was now a qualified leatherworker's apprentice. Every afternoon, he helped the adults separate the flesh from freshly slaughtered Long-Haired Sheep. The old leatherworker was very grateful that the lord let the children learn a trade, though he also felt that making Little Hilt learn to read in the morning was a waste of time.
Of course, no matter what the old leatherworker thought, Landen's orders had to be carried out throughout the camp.
Watching Little Hilt scrub sheep hides with the adults by the river, Redbird could not understand what was so much fun about washing blood-smeared skins.
Redbird wanted to go to the dancing girls' tent and learn the farewell song that day. Nila was willing to teach her every day, and Redbird knew she ought to learn faster so she could make Nila happier.
The dancing girls' tent stood beside Landen's main tent. There were always plenty of girls inside, learning to sing and dance. Many Mana-Less parents specifically urged their daughters to go there and try to win the lord's favor.
Yet the fastest learner in the entire dancing tent was a Barbarian girl: Qiu Cao.
Qiu Cao was short, with large eyes. Unlike most of the children in camp, who had Human Race mothers, both her parents were Barbarians. Her mother had died when she was young, and her father had gone on campaign with the Grey Goose Tribe.
Qiu Cao had grown up in the Wandering Badger Tribe's camp. She loved watching dance performances and learned quickly herself, so the dance teachers in the tent were very fond of her.
Qiu Cao's voice was slightly husky, and her dance moves were bold and sweeping, with something of a Barbarian wrestling style to them. Though her movements were comical, her sense of rhythm was excellent, and with a hand drum accompanying her, the dance had a lively energy.
The teachers' dance lessons often turned into solo performances by Qiu Cao. She not only loved dancing by herself, but could also dance alongside the teachers or other students.
When Qiu Cao spun around, Redbird even felt as if a shaft of light had descended from the tent roof and landed right on her head.
Watching Qiu Cao perform her distinctive dance while singing the farewell song, Redbird suddenly wondered whether Nila had really meant it when she said Redbird sang beautifully.
Redbird tried a few of the dance teacher's steps herself, but within minutes she had fallen several times. After one setback after another, she left the dancing tent.
Special thanks to the wonderful Xia Piyong for the consecutive recommendation votes. Your readership motivates me to keep updating. I'll bring you more chapters this weekend. I'm asking again for your comments and recommendations, and I'm grateful to every reader!