Kingdom of The Far End Land

Chapter One - A Child Memory

My name is Light Sky. I am 3 centuries old. Yes. You heard me right. I've been living for 300 hundred years and still, for my kind, I'm considered young. My life is just about to embark a new meaning. And this is my story. . .

I was born in North Blue State of Far End Land of Great Continent in Year 800. My father was an Inquisitor in Royal Blue Coats - one of the His Majesty Kingdom Guards. My mother was a noble woman from Silver Rose District and she carried the title Lady in her name.

I was brought into the world at a wrong time. We were at war. A defect battalion of His Majesty Kingdom Guards who called themselves The Brown Hats had wage war against His Majesty himself, trying to establish a free Far End Land. And life was never easy in North Blue State as it holds an important harbour in the Kingdom. The Royal Blue Coats were here to protect it at all cost and the state was under martial law, governed by the Wizurai.

Like most of many other families, I was the only child. The Kingdom's decree limited one child per family. Any extra child will be automatically belongs to His Majesty and became a lifetime servant for the Kingdom. My father was the youngest of his three siblings. That was how he ended up in the Royal Blue Coats and he was very proud to be one. But he never wanted to have more children and I was his only hope to become a free citizen.

It may sound cruel but the decree had to be made since Far End Land doesn't have spacious land to grow food with and limited space for settlements . It is surrounded by oceans and its countryside is filled with mountains and hills. The forest were full of animals but there were not so many free citizens who hunt them for a living. Many of the people lived in the coastal cities, fisherman villages and ports.

Since Father was a Royal Blue Coats, our little family lived in a barrack in Pearl Imperial Harbour, one of busiest harbour in the Kingdom. Well, actually, as an Inquisitor, Father was entitled to live in Officer's Mess by the seaside. He also got the privilege of using a horse. A luxury that not so many can have since horses were rare and very expensive to tend and maintain. It was an Imperial War Horse, and Father used it just for official use. The horses were brought in from distant Middle Land, transported on ships which sailed many months before reaching the Far End Land. They were fed with corns and barley to maintain its good form. That was why it was expensive to tend even a single horse. Only His Majesty could afford to do so.

Father. He was a young officer with great ambitions. A brawl with a brain. You could always see the fighter inside his hazel nut eyes, even when he was relaxing, sipping his favourite vanilla tea, specially made by Mother. He might be a fierce opponent in a battlefield, rampaging and went berserk deep within enemy's line and formation, creating havoc and panic with his rusty sword, The Sabre of Awa. I never quite understand why he kept the old cutlass. I even doubt if the sword can cut a single firewood. With his position in the Royal Blue Coats, he could have a very fine cutlass like many other officers. Shiny sharp. But still he used the old sword. Maybe he was just a classic man who loves antics and vintage. I never understood. I was only a child.

Yet, this man of a monster within was so gentle and calm at home. He never raise his voice against Mother and I swear, that they were the most romantic couple I ever met, as if they were falling in love with each other every single day of their married life.

The Sabre of Awa - behind it is a myth and legend.

I rarely got to spend time with Father when he was home. Mother used to tell me not to disturb Father.

"He had a busy day at his office, so go to your room and play with your toy soldiers. And be quiet."

But Father sometimes entered my little room when I was asleep. I could felt his rough moustache and his warm breath, and smelled his musky Old Spice cologne when he kissed me at the cheek. Like being kissed by a tiger.

Sometimes I didn't even realised he was there for I was so tired after spending my daytime chasing chickens and climbing guava trees around our quarter. But when I woke up the next morning, I knew he was in the room since I found my little wooden toy soldiers were neatly rearranged on my dresser, in complete rank and files; lined up in formation. He even made a few surprises several times by adding new wooden toy soldiers into my collection.

Sometimes I didn't see him for months. Mother told me that Father went sailing on His Majesty Battleship, fighting pirates and enemy's armada in open seas. He never told us where he went. By doing so, his mission will always be kept secret. If somebody asked me, I just simply answered, "Father gone for work".

I didn't know whether I hate the sea more than His Majesty himself. To me, both were the reasons why Father was always away from home and us. I didn't understood why people had to fight against each other. If you couldn't live together, then go find another place. The world is so large. So does the seas.

As always, Mother used to say, " You're still a child, Sonny. When you grow up, you'll understand. Time will tell. Time always will."

And she was right. I never understood. I was just a child. I had my own world. Little wooden toy soldiers to play with. Chickens to chase around. And plenty of ripe pink guava to eat. Life was so simple and easy. Free of worries and responsibilities.

Because time is all I have in this entire world.

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