Stories from the Past

"The Continent of Verlassen, a large heap of land that stretches miles and miles away. It was a breathtaking continent, until "it" happened. The Split happened roughly 12 years ago, right in the middle of the Human kingdom, the kingdom of Syndis. It covered roughly from the Border of the Human and Elven Kingdom, right until the border of the Dwarvish coastline. It was a long while away from the Human capital, but it was still able to cause havoc and chaos."

"But it was not "The Split" that sent fear throughout the continent, but it was what came from the "The Split", the undead, vampires, and Elementals to name a few, these monsters, that are usually seen in the dungeons or in the lost lands, are now in the territory of the Humans, the Elves and the Dwarves. There were even completely unknown monsters that appeared, every Human, Elvish and Dwarven kingdom, despite some hating each other to the core, joined forces, for they all knew that if they didn't combat this threat, the continent of Verlassen would be a wasteland now. But despite their best efforts, they couldn't stop the increasing amount of monsters that rose up from the depths of "The Split", they merely limited their approach, but even that came at a great cost. The Kingdoms that were in close proximity with the Split, all turned into wastelands."

I say closing the book which had the title (The Syndisian Encyclopedia).

I then look at the group of children sitting in front of me. 

"Now! This wraps it up for today! Tidy up your tables and arrange your things, your next teacher will be arriving soon. So make sure not to be noisy, right?"

They all nod silently and do as they are told. Meanwhile I stand up and stretch up my sore body, telling a story to a dozen 6 year olds sure does put a strain on my body. I put the book back on the small bookshelf just beside the door. 

"Alright! I'll be leaving now! It was nice meeting all of you!"

I say as I prepare to leave, but to my surprise a child asks me a question.

"Will you really not be teaching for the whole year? After all you're better than Mr. Winston."

I chuckle a little bit at the words the blonde boy said.

"Unfortunately that will not be the case, I substituted Mr. Winston for today since he called in sick, but it is likely he will be returning tomorrow." 

Nearly everybody was not satisfied by my answer, but they knew they couldn't do anything. 

I wave at them and say my goodbyes as I walk out of the room. A few steps later the room erupts, well it was to be expected, after all they were kids. So it was completely normal for them to behave that way. I greeted a few other teachers as I reached the front desk, the school I substituted in was fairly small. Its youngest students range from 6 years of age, while their oldest reach around 12-13 years. It had only about 2 classrooms, and a faculty room, of course you can't forget the restrooms. 

I ask the cashier for my salary for today, in which she lazily gives me 1 silver coin. I thank her and exit the building, I get the first breath of fresh air in about an hour. I check the sky, and the sun looks like it reached its summit a couple of minutes ago. As if on queue, my stomach rumbles, asking where lunch is. I put the silver coin on my small pouch. 

After all, the currency wasn't that complicated, to put it simply.

100 Copper = 1 Silver

150 Silver = 1 Gold

Pretty straightforward, although a single gold coin had the value of 100 Silver coins, inflation from the war against "The Spilt" made it rise to 100 more silver, but after the war it lessened to 50 less silver. 

I reached the small market center of Roste, which was the village I reside in. I visit a few stalls greeting the usual stall vendors that sell a variety of things, from food to weapons all the way to low quality potions. I stop at a vendor selling a wide variety of foods, to which I buy a loaf of white bread and a few eggs. I place 10 pieces of copper on the table and thank the vendor. I then headed home, my "house" was a small cabin, it wasn't that big but it was enough to house a few people. 

Opening the door I step in the house, and as soon as I enter I am greeted by the usual greeting I receive.

"Good afternoon, my lord."