In these two chapters, you will get the answers about Drayce's constitution and the tattoo on his neck.
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Drayce might be an energetic and curious child, but he was rather obedient when it came to Esther. Whatever his mother asked him to do, he always kept it in his mind, following her words like a good kid.
For him, his mother ought to be the most knowledgeable person in the world. She could understand issues with a glance, and she knew every answer to his never-ending questions. The guests who asked to be granted an audience with the Queen would often leave the drawing room or the Queen's study with satisfied expressions, praising the Queen for her wisdom.
That was why just as Drayce strived to be as glorious as his father, he also looked up to becoming as well-learned as his mother.
Despite his age, Drayce was smarter than the kids a few years ahead of him. Though he didn't have a private tutor, he had Esther and his nanny guiding him. He could read and write at the age of three, and on his fourth birthday, he requested that he be allowed access to the Queen's library, which was a small chamber where Esther liked to keep some rare books she collected, most of the books that held the culture and history of the various kingdoms in the entire continent.
The little prince would often borrow a book or two and go to his mother's study often to quietly read them. It was a habit he picked from his mother who loved to read the ancient books in her spare time and then narrate a few things to Drayce which she thought would be helpful for him to know.
He had become so frequent a visitor that soon, Esther even had a small place arranged on one side of her study where he had cushioned sitting arrangement with a wooden desk custom-made for him.
"Saira, place that map on my table," Drayce instructed. Esther had left for the Vermillion Palace today, thus her study in the Queen's Palace was currently only being used by her son.
Without asking any questions, his nanny took and spread that map of the continent on his desk. Little Drayce got on his knees to observe the scribbled names in black ink on the large map.
"Where is it?" he mumbled.
"May I know what Your Highness is searching for?" Lady Saira asked.
"A kingdom."
"A kingdom?"
"Mother told me there is a certain kingdom ruled by a king who is different like me," he said and his tiny finger moved along the map as he mumbled the names of the kingdoms while searching for the one he wanted to search, "Megaris, Duergar, Aarakocra, and Griven are the eastern kingdoms… Abetha, Hatha, Thevailes are the central kingdoms…umm on the north is a barren land where no one lives…" His finger moved to the southern part of the continent. "The southern kingdoms of Othinia and Mivesea, the Principality of Moor, and then the western tribes…? Where is that kingdom? Saira, Saira, does this map not include the western kingdoms?"
Lady Saira leaned forward with a puzzled expression. She's from a noble family, thus she was also educated about geography. "From what I know, the west is the uncharted lands of the barbarians. There are no kingdoms there, Your Highness, and even if there are, they are not acknowledged by the continent."
"Why—"
"Oh, is Dray studying?"
The door of the study opened and Esther entered together with her ladies-in-waiting. Despite being a mother, her beautiful face remained young and she looked more like a princess being escorted by her maids rather than a queen.
After she asked her subordinates to put the papers they were carrying on her desk, she dismissed them before walking towards her son.
"What are you looking at with so much focus?" Esther asked with a smile, her curiosity piqued. Her son did not even bother to leave his seat even though she arrived.
Drayce looked at his mother. "Mother, I am searching for the kingdom that you told me about the previous day."
"Agartha?" Esther asked as she went closer to her son and sat next to him on that cushioned seat. "Let me see." She looked at the map of the continent and pointed at the northern border of Megaris and Thevailes. "Agartha is here."
Drayce blinked. "It's not on the map?"
"It is not. Did I not tell you it is a special hidden place?"
Drayce looked up at her face with bright eyes, as if waiting for her to explain.
Esther decided to satisfy his curiosity. She tapped on the map, tracing the border between Thevailes and Megaris. "You see this mountain range?"
"Yes, I know!" Drayce answered promptly like a student answering a teacher's question. "Some call it the Dark Mountains, some the Great Mountain Ranges, Thevailes calls it the Border Mountains while Megaris calls it the Western Mountains."
"Smart boy." Esther nodded. "Yes, this mountain range divides the east from the rest of the continent. In this map, it looks like it stops as soon as it reaches the Northern Barrens, but in fact, the northern part of the continent has more mountain peaks extending upwards. Sadly, the adventurers and cartographers who draw maps could not travel up north and cross those mountains, that is why they don't know."
"But Mother knows!" Drayce laughed in wonder.
"This so-called Northern Barrens is not really a barren land, just another place separated from this part of the continent by tall mountains that it's not easy for humans to travel. That is why no one has ever drawn a map that shows what is on the other side of those mountains.
"Up north, there are many other kingdoms, and the one you are looking for in particular, Agartha, is surrounded by tall mountains from all the sides thus no humans can reach there with a horse." She put her finger on a certain spot beyond the northernmost territory of Megaris. "Around this part, beyond these mountain ranges, the Kingdom of Agartha is hidden."