Chapter 14

**Inside a certain steamstrider**

"Hey, Erkie, how old are you?" Xain asked casually, still inside his own head as he lounged on the couch, trying to decipher a book written in a language Ercale had called English. "None of this makes any sense," he muttered to himself, flipping through the confusing pages.

*Why are you asking that all of a sudden? And more importantly…* Ercale's voice came through, sounding deeply annoyed. *Why the hell am I still driving this thing!? Weren't you just going in there for coffee!? Its been two and a half hours till then!* he exclaimed, his irritation palpable.

"Just curious, you know," Xain responded, putting the book down and trying to brush off Ercale's frustration.

*Don't ignore me, ape!* Ercale snapped, clearly not willing to let the conversation shift away from his current predicament.

"You're obviously older than five hundred because that's when you were defeated, so how old are you?" Xain continued, pressing on with his question. Ercale let out a frustrated sigh before answering, *Over a hundred,* his tone sharp and clipped.

Xain shook his head, not satisfied with the vague answer. "Well, yeah, obviously, but what's the exact number?" he asked, assuming Ercale was just being intentionally vague.

*When I say a hundred, I don't mean just over one hundred. I mean over one hundred thousand,* Ercale clarified, his voice laced with annoyance.

"What!?" Xain yelled in utter shock, his voice reverberating through his mind, causing Ercale to nearly swerve the steamstrider off course. 

*Don't yell, you gówniarz!* Ercale snapped back, his anger so intense that he slipped into his native language for a moment.

"Sorry, it's just… you're over a hundred thousand years old?" Xain's voice was filled with disbelief and wonder as he tried to process the sheer enormity of Ercale's age.

*Yeah, I am. Why? Did you expect me to be younger?* Ercale asked with a hint of sarcasm, his tone sharp.

Xain nodded, still grappling with the revelation. "Yes, I did! Tha-that's just astronomical," he stammered, Ercale's age still leaving him in awe.

Ercale rolled his eyes, though Xain couldn't see it. *I'm not even that old. There are beings far older than me—those from the 1st and 2nd generations, for example,* he added, almost dismissively.

"1st and 2nd generations?" Xain echoed, a look of confusion spreading across his face as he heard the unfamiliar terms.

*Oh, right,* Ercale muttered, remembering the vast gap in knowledge between them. *I guess Aetheria wouldn't be knowledgeable about stuff like that,* he added, his voice tinged with mild amusement.

Xain's confusion deepened. "What exactly are you talking about?" he asked, hoping for some clarity.

*The different generations and eras, of course,* Ercale responded, his tone as nonchalant as if he were discussing the weather.

"Uh, can you please explain what those are to me?" Xain requested, genuinely curious now.

*Sure,* Ercale said, a note of interest creeping into his voice. *This is a subject that actually fascinates me.* He cleared his throat, preparing to dive into what he clearly considered a worthwhile topic. *Now, where to begin... I suppose the 1st generation would be best. The 1st generation, known as The Generation of Rule and The Era of Fate, existed long, long ago—so long that nobody even knows how long ago it was. But what we do know is that it was a generation filled with rulers and people bound by fate, unable to shape or change the destiny bestowed upon them from birth,* he explained, pausing briefly to allow Xain to absorb the information.

"When you say fate, do you mean their future?" Xain asked, trying to wrap his head around the concept.

*Yes, their future was set in stone, unable to be changed unless the gods themselves intervened,* Ercale confirmed.

Xain frowned in confusion. "Why would their future be set in stone? Did they use special stones or just write them on any stone? And could you just chisel—"

*Not literal stones, dumbass!* Ercale snapped, resisting the urge to facepalm. *Gods, I need to teach you some sayings from my world,* he grumbled, clearly annoyed.

Xain wisely shut up, allowing Ercale to continue. *Anyway, the 2nd generation, known as The Generation of War and The Era of Magic, began immediately after the 1st generation ended. The 1st generation came to a close with the death of fate, which freed everyone and allowed them to make their own choices, no longer bound to some destiny predetermined at birth. Beings from this generation are over a million years old,* Ercale stated, as if it were just another fact of life.

Xain, trying to keep up, couldn't help but ask, "For the sake of my sanity, I'm going to ignore the fact that there are people over a million years old still alive, but how did fate die? And why was the 2nd generation known as The Generation of War and The Era of Magic? Was war and magic not a thing in the 1st generation?"

*War and magic definitely existed in the 1st generation,* Ercale replied, *but it was the 2nd generation that was defined by these things. Unlike the 1st generation, the 2nd generation fought fiercely, trying to claim what remained from the previous era. And while magic was around in the 1st generation, it wasn't well understood. The 2nd generation were the ones who discovered most of what is known about magic today. As for how fate died... well, that's unknown, or more accurately, there's no solid answer, so there's no point in me trying to explain.*

Ercale let out a long, tired sigh. *After the end of the 2nd generation, the 3rd began—my generation.*