Wizards of the Otherworldly Court: Alicia Part 2

Chapter 19.2: A Ritual to be Grounded - Contact

Azhure: Enjoy

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"I'm going now, mom!" Richter exclaimed, waving his right hand as he hemmed his leather satchel containing his lunch safely on his shoulders with his left.

"Be safe on the road, dear!" his mother said back at the front of their house, also waving with her left hand as she was holding a basket of cloth on her right.

Today was just like any other day for the boy; waking up from his bed by the sound of the bell tower to signal daytime and eating breakfast served by her mother. Then, he would help with chores as his mother worked as a seamstress, making clothes from things all around the world and then selling them as his mother said - that's also why his shirt looked good. Only once the bell tower rang its bells again to signal one hour before school did he go out.

"Mornin', Richter!" A gruff but cheerful voice came from one of the stalls. It was the father of a girl he liked selling fish. "A fine day today is, eh?"

"Morning, mister!" Richter waved at him as he skipped along the way, letting the sea breeze ruffle his black hair.

His mother told him his black hair was a rarity in the kingdom of Coastline. Most people have caramel hair like this mother; most of the nobility and royalty had blonde hair or pale cream matching the sand or so the saying went. His mother said it was the color of the ancient heroes of Qantasia with brown in second place and was something to be proud of as something he inherited from his father.

Thinking about his father, he didn't remember much about him. He was only a baby when he died six years ago, his mother told him he died in a war when many princes were fighting each other to see who got to be king which ended with the neighboring kingdom invading. While his mother grieved, she was worried about their future as his father had been the backbone of the family of three, and his income barely supported the family. With him gone, It could only get worse from there.

But it didn't.

"Here's your shipment, sir!" a wolf beastfolk practically sang as he lugged a crate to a plump man before a tavern. As Richter looked, there were at least three more crates still on the wagon.

"Finally!" the tavern owner huffed, heaving the load on his hands. "After his majesty lifted all the stupid restrictions, you'd figure getting hops from the other side of the ocean wouldn't take this long."

"Yeah, I wonder," the beastfolk chuckled, his ears twitching as he scratched the back of his head.

The war ended when the invasion was repelled and the one who led the kingdom to victory was Albert von Coastline. His win was everything everyone hoped for as he then went on to become the new king. Richter's mother told him he was the only one who cared about the common people like him and his mother and so was supported by the people. Because of that, it was in his camp that heroes like Jonathan, a hero descendant like him, rose among the people and delivered victory.

As the new king, he showed his wisdom as Richter grew up. Unlike the new king, the other princes and nobility were bad to the people and put big tariffs on everything - Richter only understood that it made everything expensive -, but king Albert got rid of them and punished the bad people who made them, making everything better. Before, his mother could only make clothes from poor materials, but now she can make them from all the best around the world and sell them better, making her not worried anymore.

"Wait, was that building always there?" wondered a fox beastfolk, his orange tail swinging left and right staring at a shiny new building on the side of the road. 

 "I don't know, but I think Bell Conglomerate built it," another fox-eared man rubbed his chin before pointing his finger. "Look," he said. Dodging a passing carriage, Richter could see the familiar rusty bell wrapped in a light-blue cloth above the entrance.