Three days later in the Druskin kingdom, enjoying his days with a slow and relaxed pace once again, attending the occasional upper echelon events of royalty to pass the time and witness the people who had many responsibilities yet held themselves high, he found aspects of himself in these people, and it was a pleasant experience to witness their squabbling, as they were usually quite harsh in their interactions, after all, they all had their own massive ego to take care of, if they did not keep their ego in check properly, with the influence they had, many people would suffer, they were the rulers of kingdoms after all, and it was good for Zol to be in touch with the relevant information being exchanged between the most globally aware individuals that Zol knew.
Zol lived in a world called Zreka, it was truly a twisted world to it's core, all knowledge seemed to be forbidden knowledge in the sense tbat it brought you no further progress towards whatever it is you really want to accomplish in life, seemingly for Zol, that was fighting, but lately with the extent to which he was enjoying his relaxation and comfort through out the passing days, lately he had been question even his need to fight at all, though he had a firm feeling, and evidence to back it up with his recent situations, that he would end up fighting an even stronger opponent some day, but all he could do was hope that day was not today and carry on with his activities.
"Lord Jarken, you truly do not have a single shred of intelligence in that ugly head of yours! I can hardly take you seriously just looking at you but having just claimed to now control even the land of Rel? I hardly find it amusing your attempts to show off by LYING to compensate for your lack of leadership skills!"
Zol overheard a very heated interaction between two noblemen, each wealthy young men, with the word ego hardly being enough to describe the vanity that they indulged in and flourished for the sake of an impression or appearence. Realizing of course that the young Lord Jarken likely wasn't lying about his newfound ownership of the town of Rel, allowing him even more generational wealth via the taxes he imposes on the city for their "protection" from the constant wars, only persisting due to this very attitude, it was the people who sat back constantly in luxury in high class society who were actually so out of touch with reality that they do not realize the weight of their actions and start wars over petty reasons that grew into a hatred between two people of power so immense and combined with the fact that they were extremely out of touch with reality and the value of a human life, they sent hundreds, or thousands, ten's of thousands, upwards of 38 million warriors have been confirmed dead this past week, a number that continues to rise every week, Zol realized now that he may outlive the world he was living in, and decided that he should do everything in his power to protect it, as long as he was living here and enjoying every moment of life he could. The young Lord Yalo, who was the one just speaking such rude words towards the actually respectably attractive Lord Jarken, regardless of Lord Yalo's potentially sensitive ego, as he was similarly handsome, though he still seemed to feel the need to say such things seemingly to look for recognition or acceptance from the onlooking crowd, Zol saw through his subtle glances of apprehension towards a few powerful gazes nearest to him. About to step forward just as Lord Yalo finished speaking, all of these thoughts crossing the warlord's mind in an instant, he stopped his decision to interfere before he even lifted his foot as another member of the royal scene interjected instead. Zol was sure that the man had something better to say than he did, although he was going to try his best to help them reach an understanding together, and believed it was very possible with his grace, it is graceful in and if itself to be able to hold oneself back if another believes they can do the job better, then one should let them go ahead and try, Zol was confident he could still patch things up between the two even if this new man, who was quite undeniably attractive, unlike the previous two young Lord's.
"Calm down you two, there is no need for senseless bickering, the lovely ladies now have sour expressions, look how you've ruined the mood Lord Yalo, oh and if you weren't aware, Lord Jarken did in fact acquire the land of Rel."
The expression on the poor young mans face was surely seen by all paying attention to this spectacle, and it was truly fitting that he could not maintain his composure, resorting to his own facial expression becoming sour and thus his small sense of favor in the eyes of the ladies who witnessed this scene fading. These things happen, Zol whispered in his ear as he patted him on the back and walked him away from the scene, there was something to be said about the mercy of death after a battle of wills, seeing as though it can be painful for some to bear the weight of a true loss, a loss that seemed inevitable even after trying their best. Zol could tell, although the egotistical display was a bit pitiful, this young lad needing some cheering up. Giving a wise word or two to young Lord Yalo, Zol decided he had seen all he needed to see of the royal scene for the day and left to his comfortable home on Sefa Avenue.
Entering in his carriage, he sat back and thought as he felt out the skill of the carriage driver, a smooth ride despite the occasional bump or slight rattle, Zol found time to quiet his mind after being so engaged in the details of the recent get together of the worlds mightiest figures, he did not simply listen in on bickering between tightly wound men who believed themselves to be special. Zol was of course acting with purpose and intention, as he always did, even though he found relaxation in the enviornment of the specially prepared venues of extravagant scale and detail, and of course the choir followed up by the musicians who were developing a new sound of music they called, jazz. An interesting sound, Zol found it always pushed the boundary of how funky one could get with their style, this was not a bad thing, sometimes to win one must do anything necessary, with the exception of giving up anything you do not believe is deserving of giving up to achieve what you desire, luckily, Zol had been strong enough so far to maintain everything that he desired successfully, so as to not cloud his judgement of the way of things.
Bringing his mind back from the details of music and it's potential correlation to a fundamental aspect of the way of things and how he managed to unlock the secrets of the black hole technique, he reminded himself of a few key details he overheard in tonights party, although under the guise of a serious congregation, Zol found a way to enjoy himself regardless of how serious everyone was, so it felt more like a party to him, these key details were first and most importantly, the fact that thr most recent calculation for next month's casualties in the ongoing wars was risking nearing 59-60 million as compared to a previous estimate of 44-45 million. The idea of millions of people dying did not please Zol, he wondered how he could possiby have a chance at accomplishing world peace as he felt potentially it was something to add to the list of things to do, though it was nearly tied for second place in importance in Zol's mind.
Zol also had overheard that his new favorite author was publising a new book soon, Zol had already read all of his work, still finding novelty in reading the same story time and time again as he drifted off to sleep. Though he was ecstatic at the idea of more from his favorite author, he just had to get to the book store to purchase this new book! He wondered about what he might possibly write about this time, he was always surprising Zol with the quality of his stories, he wasn't quite sure how he did it, but author carefully crafted his words in such a way he wondered at times who could have possibly composed such a perfect set of words as he sat back and hesitated to read more as he found himself doubting himself rather than the authors ability to convey meaning.
Brushing off thoughts of the talent of this author and enjoying the breeze from the slightly cracked window in the carriage, he saw that he was now nearing the local book shop where the very book he was looking for would be sold. Only now speaking up to the driver, Zol said firmly.
"Stop here."
Without question, used to this Warlords temperament by now, the driver slowly to a stop without a large enough slap of the reigns to cause any discomfort as the speed gradually came to a halt, just outside the book shop. Not wasting any time, Zol entered the book shop and walked directly to the new release section, spotting the prize.
Titled a whirlwind of clarity, Zol knew he was truly in for some intellectually challenging and introspective prespectives for certain. With a slight underlying excitement, though slight, of great depth and quality, feeling almost as if it was nourishing his soul to savor his feeling of hype for what was to come when he arrived home, comfortable on his chair with his favorite sandwhich... he could almost pass out now thinking about it... so relaxing...
Though he needed to walk up to the counter and talk to cashier... why did he feel a strange sense of unease? Confident as always regardless of any slight intuition, Zol walked without a moments hesitation with his book up to the cashier and maintained his usual eye contact that seemed to burn through people's fears and illusions, though this time, locking eyes with the knowing female working the register, he wasn't able to percieve an ounce of hesitation in recieving such a powerful gaze. Placing his book down, Zol said with a smile:
"How are you today?"
"I'm fine thank you... oh! Slayt! I am in love with this authors works! It really works the mind."
Surprised, though he rarely was by anything other than himself, he found the confidence in this cashier baffling, Zol had lived his life under the impression that any sense of confidence had to stem from a sense of being able to accomplish what you believe yourself able to. With Zol believing the quality of his thought's to be potentially considered worthy to be held in high regard, seeing someone, so much younger than him, having gained a confidence seemingly deeper than his, utulizing similar tools for introspection, that being the book they both found to work the mind, Zol was simply fascinated.
"I find the same qualities in this authors work, I'm glad someone is able to see the art that is crafted through his words."
Zol responded with a knowing smile, though the beautiful young lady did not give a hint if surprise in the least, only remaining undisturbed in her thoughtful gaze as she carefully and gracefully wrapped the book in the customary ribbon wrapping. Though Zol was disturbed, he lied to himself, believing for a second that it wasn't any unusual for such a person to have such a composed demeanor whilst seemingly outperforming him in any sense. He felt the absolute need to question her further as to why she was so graceful...
Before he did though, he thought carefully and realized something, things are only as beautiful as you can see them to be, confidence is only as much as you're able to recognize your place in the world, not based on any accomplishments, what is the point in a title or an accomplishment if you're not there to enjoy it, and it almost seems as if we can lose ourselves from moment to moment if we're not careful, that is why it important to pay attention to every single detail in life, because it all perfectly collides to allow one the exact amount of insight into the way of things you were ready to comprehend.
Having came to another solid conclusion of peace for the say, Zol decided to not question the peaceful and graceful lady, worried that perhaps being too eager to peak into the mysteries or some things could yield unsatisfying results as compared to the sweetness of imagination of the possibilities that need not even happen, if one desires to do so. Perhaps the composure of the lovely lady speaked for itself, it would be impossible to doubt that even reality could be sweeter than imagination. With that thought as he exited the book store, eager with excitement, Zol opened the wrapping of the book on the carriage ride home, opening to the first page and beginning another epic adventure, so potently written you question if the author could continue the ferocity of his words.