Power Rules the World

Keeping a low profile was easier said than done. Ben had made plans to ensure his survival and for that he needed information, about this world and it's people. Getting this information turned out to be difficult. The first stumbling block turned out be language. He did not understand a word that was spoken by the people around him, and they inturn didn't understand him. Fortunately, they attributed this to the intense mental and physical trauma he suffered due the disease. So Ben wisely chose not to speak. His silence for the next few months was also blamed on the sickness. During these few months, he picked up a few words, just like a real child learning to speak. By the time he turned five, he had an elementary grasp of the language. As such, the most significant day of his new and short life thus far, came when he turned 5 years old, the day he started to read and write. His progress in reading and writing was extremely quick. He knew that knowing to read and write would open up new avenues to gain knowledge, hence he had decided to risk drawing attention, by using his superior intellect to progress faster. His instructor, an old bald man by the name Rezen sung his praise for days and weeks claiming that the boy was a prodigy. Ben knew that this wave of attention would die down eventually if didn't attract more. He dived into reading books, any and all that he could find in family library as soon as he could. The information he learned was vital, but not complete. Still he was satisfied.

The continent he lived on was called Terrence, an huge expansive chunk of land studded with numerous kingdoms and empires. His home town or rather city, named Verdant City was situated in the Himmel Empire, in the Southeastern corner of the continent. Himmel Empire ruled by Himmel royal family was surrounded by the Zeng Kingdom to the north, Jade Nation to the east and Nang Kingdom to the south. The empire was flanked by the Pontine Mountain range to the west running in the north south direction in a convex shape literally isolating this small corner of the continent. This small isolated part of the continent came to be known as the Pontine Region. All the four nations existed in peace although there were undercurrents of aggression from time to time. He found very little information about the what existed beyond the Pontine mountain range although he found a few references in some books alluding to the presence of another landmass beyond the western coast of Terrence across the Emerald Sea. Verdant City was loacted in the southern part of the Himmel Empire close to the Misty Forest. It could not be considered a large city in the empire although it was not small either. Four major families coexisted in Verdant city, his own family, the Silvester Family, the McCain Family, the Densel Family and the City Lord's family, the Kandors.

The Silvester Family was once a very prominent family in the empire, located in the capital of the empire, the Herald City. Unfortunately, the family had declined over past few centuries and now located in a distant corner of the empire competing with other families. It reminded him of what his father had once told him, " Power rules the world, you will be swept aside mercilessly if you can't keep up with others."

The thought of his father brought about a wave of sadness in him, he missed his old man dearly.