Learn

The young Prince Kai went back to his room with a long face. He just came back from a dreadful tutor class. The pouting prince took his stuffed toy jester to his bed and starts talking to it.

“Why do I need to study things which my brothers are good at, Archduke Stan?” He stared at the rugged toy as if it would speak to the dainty prince with a deep voice. The jester looked like he is a wise and noble Ottoman Turk with a headdress larger than his head.

“Sar, the Crown Prince is proficient in studying economics. He already goes with Father during meetings. Rei is good with martial arts that every time we dine with other nobles they always talk about how good and how fast he learns various types of weapons. Those two could run a state---if not an empire.”

 The scrupulous young one stood up from his bed and start changing from his multilayered apparel of clothes to his silky and comfortable nightclothes. He then continued talking about his brothers, now the younger ones. Archduke Stan was left sitting on the bed.

“Rigas, despite being one of the thin ones, loves learning about farming and botany. Plants always grow larger and have an abundance of fruits if he planted them. Father even gave him a greenhouse garden enough to grow a large tree. Kral, the second half of the thin brothers, is focused on becoming a doctor despite being too young. He often takes Rigas’ plants for his studies and even learned how vegetables could prevent illnesses. Father even followed his advice about focusing on food for prevention.”

He took Stan to his small workplace table in his large room. It is filled with writings about fairy tales and historical tales of the world except from his kingdom; he never even bothered to segregate which was fiction or not.

“Kinnick, since he is the youngest of all of us, all he does at the moment is to play and I wish he could stay like that.” Kai thought about that since as of lately, he saw Kinnick demolishing his toys and creating a new one from it. He might grow up creating inventions.

He picked one of the written stories from the table and showed it to unemotional Archduke Stan. It was a story from the famous Reaperr Fairy Tale collections.

“The rest of the world are writing their tales, encrypting on the white paper while our Nation only uses paper for the most important things and tales are only orals. I wish I could write my fantasies on paper and let the people read.”

In their kingdom, writing should only be for the laws and religious texts. His tutor classes may teach him how to read and write yet the topics are not of his interest. He already memorized the Constitution of the Kingdom top to bottom and could have recited it in one take. Kai wants to read about the deep history of their rich kingdom and their wonderful folk tales and epics.

But he could not do that as they are forbidden to be written, only orally. He finds it absurd that the stories he wants to know vary from every people in the kingdom. The picky prince wants a single version.

When the young Kai found out that the other kingdom writes stories, he felt excitement as if a bright kid found the shiniest toy from a store. He felt enlightened to the point his strict father, the King, gave up and bought books filled with tales. Of course, it requires learning different languages and writings to understand those books. And as of the age of 14, the enthusiastic Prince Kai can speak, read and write more than 9 languages and some of their perspective dialects.

“Should I ask the king what I truly desire?” he asks the jester toy.

The ambitious prince dreams of being the first person to record tales in his kingdom. Slowly, he starts to get sleepy around his prized possessions. The prince closed his eyes to know he has shared with Archduke Stan what he felt that day and shared about his dreams.

The next morning the juvenile one had a stupefied day as he received a surprise test about the vegetation of the kingdom. Without any reading materials, it was required to memorize everything. All he can remember was the name of the trees and none of the flowers.

Thankfully, he had written and enumerated what he needs at the moment on the other day. Writing in their language and writing system is sacred so he had written it in a system from an adjacent kingdom. Without knowledge, it looks like scribbles and doodles; or the prince had not practiced how to write neatly. Nonetheless, his skills helped him during tests aside from hoplology or weaponry study since the physical body is being used.

He realized later that he could remember something that he had specifically written so he started to take notes. He may be retaining lessons but that isn’t his interest. The tutor took it as a lack of interest and just doodling out of boredom, despite acing. He finds the jejune Prince Kai ruffled in his own world.

The tutor’s keen observance had reached to the strict King but was deeply saddened. What could have made one of his sons uninterested in learning?

The King then asked the prince on the dinner table.

“My son, I want to know about your progress? Do you want something at this moment?”

The prince took this as an opportunity about what he truly desires. He might never have another chance to talk to his busy father as the kingdom’s busy with healthcare and food security.

“I want to write…”

Everyone at the dinner silenced. They opened their ears as they want to listen but it causes the dainty Kai to be anxious. He continued,

“…and let the people read it. I never saw history written in paper or even folklore.”

The King is focused on him.

“Our writings in the kingdom should only be for laws and religious text. It will be unrighteous if you, a prince, will not follow the law that we put out. We face the future, not the past. Remembering them will pull us back.”

“Why can’t we have a different system of writing aside from sacred one? Why can’t we make a new one?” The prince's queries were dodged by his King. His deafening silence means no.

The downhearted prince went into his room again with a long face.

“Why can’t it be easy?” he asked Archduke Stan as he holds it but all Kai received was a stare.

“It finds it hard to learn without jotting the lesson down. With the amount of learning I need to do, especially as a prince, I need something that I could go return.”

He picked one of the famous tales overseas. It was written by A.C. Hans, A Little Maid. A tale about royalty leaving her current world for something she wants to be with. To be with her lover. There are various versions of the ending of the story: one is the lover marries and the maid vanished like the wind once the sunlight touched her, and the other is the lover recognizes the maid and marries her, defeating the villain in the process.

“Archduke Stan.” The prince called the attention of his toy.

“Should I take the tale as a piece of advice? If I follow what maid did, will I vanish or will I have another chance of sunlight?”

The little jester only stared back at the prince but the prince nod as if he gave a clear and definite answer. Kai showed a bright smile and ran towards his worktable.

The jester toy was with Kai since he was still a tot. Since the parents rule the kingdom, they may give everything but their time to him. Archduke was the only one by his side. He knows the prince's likes and dislikes, problems, and rants. Kai just reports his day to him.

On the working table, he starts writing not in any existing system and gave a specific sound per character. He started with the vowels and then the consonants. The prince realizes that writing requires showing the writer’s emotion and stars creating marks for questions, statements, commands, and such.

The entire night, he created writing for the kingdom that can be used for everything by everyone.

The good-humored one starts his day, going to the town’s plaza. He picked his papers and pens to show what he created. The guards were asked to stay a little distance from the prince as he wants to be near people. The prince sat on one of the long benches near the town’s white gazebo. There are people of different ages that stay there, most are children and old people. These kinds of people know beautiful stories that are worth to be written.

Some old people noticed the prince and went to him to know what is he doing and the prince know it is an opportunity. The first thing the prince had written was the history of the kingdom and the surrounding regions. The kingdom is a paradise of greens as it is said that their forefathers love growing and use vegetation; they even protect and learn how to easily grow them.

The kids appeared and the amused prince wrote what they told him. A monster of the dark eats young children. If the kid misbehaved during the day, the monster appears when they don’t sleep at the right time. The prince thinks he should use that to Kinnick when he misbehaves.

In return for the tales, Kai teaches the young and elders how to read and write in his system. The folks were delighted to be taught as the prince does not know that his subjects don’t have this type of learning. People of the kingdom just keep track of their every day by their minds. The prince was astonished by the memorization skills. It was just the nobility and the priests being taught to write laws and sacred texts.

Prince Kai left the plaza with a promise to the people that he will return for more stories and writing lessons.

The accomplished Kai went to his room excited to tell Archduke Stan what happened.

“Guess what happened? Town’s folks have so much to share. I have written their stories on paper.”

He immediately went to snatch the toy from its place to his work table. The prince began rewriting and translating stories from his collection. These may help as materials to read better. He is a prince and does not back from his word.

Kai returned to the plaza when he was free on tutor classes. Young children start to write by themselves with the elders slowly read their stories. He shared with them one of his favorite stories, A Little Maid. The people gloomed when they learned about the sad ending but felt satisfied on the other.

“My prince, if you rewrite the tale keep the version of the story with a happy ending. It is to give hope to the readers about life. The story might be quite discouraging if the risk was in vain,” said a beggar who’s an avid learner.

The prince smiled and kept that in mind. “I guess so; it might help the readers how to think about their lives.”

Kai kept on returning to the plaza and the learners’ population grew. It began in the capital city and spread up to the municipalities and villages within the kingdom. People start using writing; even shops and stores start to have signage. Tales about the history and folk stories, also about the everyday lives were recorded on paper. Almost everyone starts using it.

It was not too long until numbers can be written. Because of that, the written arithmetic came next.

It was not also too long until the nobility found out the literacy of the people. They find reading and writing by people quite alarming and dangerous rather than congratulating them. Writing may be a useful tool for conspiracy and revolt.

The talk had reached the King. Without knowing to whom it began and how it works, his majesty banned them.

The people were truly displeased as they weren’t using writing to something that could hurt the kingdom. They protested as they were only used for their daily lives. They were caught and restrained whenever someone writes. It was cruel when all they want is to learn.

“Archduke, why won’t the nobility like the people learn to read and write?” the prince asked the Ottoman jester.

Kai is saddened by the news on how his work endangers his people. He didn’t mean it to instill fear in nobility but for people to learn. Despite the happenings, people want him to still meet them.

“I think I need to speak to father about this, should I?”

The convinced prince went to march with Archduke Stan to the King. The King is in his working chamber where he does the meetings. Sometimes, The King’s children go there for their specific tasks and guidance.

“The people might use it as a tool.”

“The people desire to learn.”

“It is in our language but in a writing system which is different from the laws and sacred texts.”

All he heard from the chamber were the advisers, the other nobilities, and the Crown Prince debating. The King’s listening and acting as the judge of the debate. It was on fire as no one will step back. Prince Kai can never step at that moment. He has no part in it.

Kai stepped back and left to the plaza. All he can at the moment is ask the people to stop as he was the one who started it.  He saw the people protesting.

“It is our right to learn” was written in one of the papers that have been carried in the protest.

They are eager for knowledge and they would defy the crown for rights.

Suddenly, Military Guards came and starts catching people present on the plaza. Those who fought were beaten, guards instilled fear in kids and elders, even Prince Kai was not spared. Royal Guards confiscated everything that the people brought that day. From the papers, inks, and personal belongings. Archduke Stan was also taken.

Kai realizes what they are going to do but it was too late. The guards will be burning it. The things confiscated were placed together in a pile and showered with fuel. Everyone was screaming for mercy, elders were crying. Those things were supposed to be part of them. All he can do is sob.

The pile suddenly bursts and is engulfed in flames.

The king appeared and found the teary-eyed prince, he was in great shock why is Kai in the crowd. The order to catch and burn did not even come from him but the Head of the Royal Guards. He appeared just to know the ruckus in the plaza.

He dispersed the crowd and the guards were to be interrogated. Everyone went home sad after what happened.

On the chamber, the King personally asks, “Why were you there?”

He did not ask in a strict tone but an endearing tone.

The prince answered, “The writing system came from me. I thought it would be good for everyone to read and write.”

Prince Kai thinks that his life is like the tale, A Little Maid but with a sad ending. He lost something and now he might lose. But the king hugged the young prince.

The King knows that he is like his brothers.

“Sar fought with me about how unequal and discriminate the nobility to people on their wages. Rei was born with a curved spine. With his condition, he shouldn’t be on the battlefield but he wants to learn how to use a sword, then bow and arrow, then spear, and so on. Kral and Rigas rebelled by planting on the palace grounds. Those types of plants attracted some of the insects and pests.” The King laughed.

Kai did not know that his brothers did that. He was too young during the two older brothers and he did not know who brought plants into the palace ground until now.

The King continued, “Lately, Kinnick gets angry at me when I try to reassemble his toy to its original state. He thinks differently from us. And then you, your steps even made the people protest as they thirst for knowledge. You brothers are different and have the power to change the kingdom.”

“I might have changed something but is it necessary to lose something close from your heart? I lost Archduke Stan as he was burned by the guards.”

The King was concerned as it was indeed close from his heart. He needs to reassure the Prince.

“I know Archduke Stan is still here. He is the one you tell your day, all your problems. I know that he wants you to reach the dream you want. He is not a sacrifice, he is still here. It’s just you don’t need him physically anymore.”

The Prince was confused about what his father meant.

“You can still talk to him by writing. How about you teach me how that works?”

The King lifted the ban on writing and let everyone learn. From the poorest to the nobility were being taught. The Kingdom even created a formal education about writing. Aside from the prince’s system, the sacred text was also taught but still retain its function for important writings. Books are being produced and imported. Stories are being recorded. The newspaper found its way not too long.

The accomplished prince seats on a bench on the plaza, writing his day.

“Archduke Stan, tutor is not dreadful for me anymore…”