Late that night, Ovesto returned after finishing his work.
He summoned Roland to his office and explained the twists and turns of the voting process. Only then did Roland understand exactly what had happened.
"Atrelin Script is visibly losing its vitality, little by little. You could say the Elves were both its making and its undoing.
"The blame lies with those who copied the Elven Race's magical civilization without copying it in full. They started showing off before they had learned even half of it.
"Then, after rising to prominence, racial pride and their switch to the Evil Dragon Faction allowed politics to contaminate Arcana."
After recounting the selection process, Ovesto suddenly brought up some dark chapters in Atrelin's past.
"They cared only about stripping away Elven influences and distancing themselves from those 'Long-Eared Monsters.' To that end, they even introduced Draconic, Abyssal, and Infernal, inventing a jumble of words and grammatical rules until the entire structure became a mess.
"By the time the Empire's leadership realized they had taken the wrong path, it was already beyond repair.
"This historical problem was a legacy of the Magical Dynasty, and its harmful effects persist to this day."
At this point, Ovesto shook his head with a rueful chuckle.
"You apprentice students in Runic Studies all independently chose 'self-created script' as the subject of your graduation theses, and that was also why I took an interest in you. In a sense, both reflect those historical roots and the needs of the current Arcana community.
"But even I never expected you to win the Morningstar Award so soon.
"To be honest, given your present status and circumstances, winning it at your age may not necessarily be a good thing."
After listening to Ovesto's analysis, Roland felt as though everything had suddenly fallen into