Chapter 7 The Great Era of Neva.

Rasmus was looking through the shelves in the bookstore for books that he might find interesting. When he looked at a certain book which had a black cover, it piqued his interest and he decided to check what kind of book it was. "I knew you would be interested in that book, Count," A slit-eyed old man stared at Rasmus with his hands on his back. "The Great Era of Neva, an era of the most influential and powerful families tried to conquer the whole world." Rasmus looked at the cover as he brushed off the dust from it before he read the title of the book. "You startled me, Henry," Rasmus's voice was quiet as he turned his head to look at the old man. The old man chuckled weakly as he nodded and walked toward Rasmus. His weary and skinny body had no sign of flesh in between his skin and bones. "I thought coming back to my hometown was a huge mistake..." The old man looked around at his book collection. "But now I'm grateful that finally there's someone interested in my collection." Rasmus didn't say a word and let the old man continue to speak as he looked at the shelves that had been collecting dust. He realized the old man no longer had the strength to take care of his own collection. "Back when I was still a scholar, everyone treated a single paper of knowledge like gold. Everyone would fight over that paper and would digest the new knowledge they got from it, then find a new perspective of life," the old man smiled faintly with his eyes closed. "But here, the books are covered in dust, unwanted and ignored..." "The wise are humble while the fool is arrogant," Rasmus responded as he opened the book and read the first page. "But it can be the opposite sometimes." The old man chuckled weakly as he nodded in agreement. "Would you like a cup of tea, Count? My days are numbered, and I would love to have one last valuable conversation with someone who seems to have seen the world differently," the old man slowly turned his head to look at Rasmus. "Especially about that book you're holding. The book that holds truths that even the wisest minds have struggled to grasp." "With pleasure," Rasmus smiled softly as he nodded. Rasmus sat down at an old table and began to read the book that he had taken earlier. He took his time to read each sentence thoroughly, and it was Kyros's habit to read and understand the author's character through their writings. The old man sat across from Rasmus, enjoying his tea and trying to remember the content of each page of the book. He had read that book countless times and he still couldn't understand the reason behind the conflict between the influential and powerful families in Neva. The book of the Great Era of Neva was about the 4 powerful families in Neva that happened 400 years ago. The families were the Suncrown, the Kingswell, the Langley, and the Servil Union. The Suncrown family was the most powerful family in the Central of Neva and had over 9 kingdoms that supported them. The Kingswell family was the most influential in the West of Neva. It was supported by 4 kingdoms and a league of wealth which was a league of the most influential merchants around Neva. The Langley family was the sole ruler of the South of Neva which got complete support from all the families that existed in the South of Neva. Lastly, the Servil Union was led by Servil, a woman who raised and fought for the status of women in Neva and turned them into formidable warriors. Although Northern Neva wasn't mentioned that territory had its own conflict that everyone knew about. It was a battle against a powerful tyrant who tried to conquer Northern Neva, and it had its own book. The book stated that the spark of the conflict began when those 3 families produced an heir. Asher Suncrown, Aleksandre Vayne, Roman Ardentis, and Servil were born into Neva in the same year. They were geniuses of their time in terms of strength, strategy, and politics. The four of them enrolled in the Gratlan Academy, the most prestigious academy in Neva. "The Gratlan Academy..." Rasmus muttered to himself as he kept his eyes on the page in front of him. "Yes, the floating island where the Council of Neva meets annually. The island of the great where heroes who unified the world and named it Neva. Only those who are chosen can live up there," Henry nodded as he stared at his own reflection in the teacup. "My father graduated there..." Rasmus hummed and remembered the memories of his father. Henry nodded slowly as he took a sip of his tea. Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Rasmus continued to read about the beginning of the conflict based on what the author wrote. Unfortunately, there was so little evidence as to why they chose to fight against each other. The words from Professors and the Chancellor were the only ones who witnessed those figures debate and argue about the system that ran the world. The event was so intense that nobody dared to stop them and chose to watch and listen. That moment was the only moment during their enrollment in the academy where those figures would be in the same place and talk to each other. That was their only encounter with each other before they decided to go their separate ways and focus on their studies. "A broken system?" Rasmus muttered to himself with his brows raised. "Unfortunately, that was all they knew. As to why they ended up debating about that and believed the system was broken back then is still unknown," Henry responded as he looked at the page that Rasmus was staring at. "They were prominent figures who had critical minds, but why they chose to go against each other when they could forge a better future?" "Their ideologies," Rasmus lifted his head to look at Henry. "That's the only possible answer. Even animals only need one leader, and that's why wolves or lions tend to fight each other for that position and take everything from the other." "Of course, but they chose violence and created chaos, harming those who were innocent and powerless. They weren't that kind of people, and the author stated that it wasn't the only case," Henry pointed at the book in Rasmus's hands. "The answer lies in that debate where they were arguing about the broken system. Since there was nobody there from the beginning, it will remain a mystery," Rasmus nodded, agreeing with what Henry said. "But the author or everyone at that time might be wrong about these figures," he added as he looked down at the book he was holding. "What do you mean that they might be wrong?" Henry furrowed his brows as he tilted his head and stared at Rasmus. Rasmus gave a faint smirk as he flipped the page, letting the silence take its time. "Before I answer your question, how about I ask you a similar question to you? What do you think about my father? The former Count of Blackheart family, Erglade Blackheart, and my mother Aristoria Blackheart?" Rasmus stared into Henry's eyes with a sharp gaze. "You believed those figures were respectable, and so was my father before he decided to raise his banner against the royal family. What made them and my father different when all of them suddenly became a completely different person?" He raised his brows and intertwined his fingers. Henry was taken aback by the question and he didn't know what to say. As a scholar and a wise man, he didn't want to jump to a conclusion without thinking about it thoroughly. "The answer might be because it was necessary," Rasmus revealed before Henry could find the right answer. "They knew what others didn't..." he added and showed a serious expression.