It was a starry night, adorned by a beautiful full moon. The cold night breeze brushed gently against my face. It was refreshing.
I was leaning against the railing of the open balcony that belonged to the guest room , one of the finest in the whole house.
Well... this was more my room than a guest room. Over the years, I've stayed here so many times that I consider it my second home.
Chirr!
Suddenly, the creak of the door opening pulled me out of my thoughts.
Alice stepped in slowly, wearing loose pajamas.
"Did I wake you?" she asked softly.
"No, don't worry. It's still early," I replied, barely turning toward her.
"We all noticed you've been kind of down since lunch. Is it because of the slums?"
"I see… sorry for worrying you all. That place just brings back memories that... well, they make me a bit melancholic," I said with a faint smile.
Without saying a word, Alice walked up to me and wrapped her arms around me, as if trying to comfort me with her warmth.
She doesn't always show it, but she can be incredibly kind and sweet… especially when it comes to me.
We both turned to face the sky.
The Lower Districts...
A place deeply tied to the history of the Evans Clan.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, it was one of the most prosperous and beautiful regions in all of Nexus. Until...
Like most great clans, the Evans were formed millennia ago, born from the union of several powerful families. These families abandoned their original surnames under different circumstances and chose to become one ( the Evans).
The most elite among them rose as paladins of their time.
One of them made his home and ruled over what was then called Brigantum in the Lower Districts.
But then...
For reasons that were never fully explained or maybe just purposely hidden ; George, one of the most powerful paladins of the era, rebelled against the clan. It took a joint assault from the leader and all the other paladins to take him down, along with all the rebels in Brigantum.
As punishment, all support was cut off. They left only the bare minimum for survival... enough to live in misery.
The borders were sealed. No one could leave.
The city was isolated from the rest of the world.
That magnificent place quickly became a slum, barely suitable for life. Nowadays, it's often used as a prison for weak criminals who committed monstrous crimes.
Disgusting.
And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Many within the clan believe it's unfair for innocent people to suffer a punishment for something that happened thousands of years ago. Plus, it makes no sense to have a place like that in one of the most important planets in the galaxy .
Nexus, the heart of the Evans.
Over the years, several attempts have been made to abolish it. None have succeeded. Mostly because many still see it as a symbol; proof of what happens when someone tries to rebel. They believe that's why the Evans haven't faced another uprising in millennia.
Maybe there's some truth to that.
But it's hypocritical coming from people who constantly plot to put me in life-threatening situations, just to keep me from becoming a paladin. Even though, if I succeeded, it would only strengthen the clan's military power.
At least, unlike what happened with George, they've stayed "within the rules" ; still following orders, at least on the surface. It's unlikely they'll do anything that would truly weaken us all.
Their obsession with galactic power comes from a very real possibility. we could actually achieve it. The Evans have more paladin-ranked members than any other clan.
While most clans have two or three, we have nine ; some of the strongest among them.
And yet, our territory isn't significantly larger than the others. We've expanded little by little through the triannual meetings. But many believe it's not enough. That if we pushed harder or even sparked a conflict .
we could take far more.
Some even think that if we allied with one or two other clans, we could wipe out the rest and divide the galaxy. And, of course, in that division, the Evans would claim the largest share...
And we're not the only ones who think that way. The other clans do too. That's why they've grown wary of us over the years, strengthening their forces, building alliances. Many in our clan fear they're plotting to unite and take us down.
And that fear only keeps growing.
That's why things have been so tense at the meetings, or so my father says.
Because of all this, the extremist faction within the family has grown more determined to seize control. They believe that if Alice and I become paladins, and the pacifist faction takes full leadership, we won't take action against the other clans—giving them the perfect chance to strike us together.
Still, they won't openly rebel. They know internal conflict would weaken us… and others would take advantage of it.
It's a complicated situation...
"What did you think of the mission? Honestly... I thought it would be worse," Alice asked, breaking the silence again.
"That's because we're a lot stronger than they think," I said. "I understand why my father was concerned at first. The gap between a strong novice and a weak rank 3 may be wide, but it's not impossible to bridge. If that weak rank 3 were to face several novice or strong Apprentice ,depending on the numbers, it could become extremely dangerous."
"This mission would've been more suited for a seasoned rank 2 or 3 not the kind of weak, inexperienced rank 3 they assume we are. Still, since we're going together, the risk drops a lot. I guess that's the argument the extremists used to convince the others to send us. If we succeed, it'll be an achievement. And if we fail… there's a chance one of us ends up dead or badly hurt," I said, lost in thought.
"Yeah, that makes sense... but who cares? We're way better than they think. We'll finish this quickly especially before that rank 2 even shows up," said Alice with a confident smile.
"Yeah. We will," I replied, smiling back. She always manages to lift my mood. She always has… especially after...
Forget it.
I'll get all melancholic once we actually set foot in that place.
Because beyond the history the Evans have with that zone...
I have my own.
Alice broke my thoughts by touching my shoulder. When I turned, she pointed toward the bed, then leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"Wanna?"
She gave me a playful smile.
Well... my father did say we should use this time to relax, right?
We're going to be busy for the next few days.
And I am a son who listens to his father.