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It was an average day in the mountains of Tibet. The air was nice, the sun was shining, and Mountain Kinabalu was in the distance. Most people expect that there is nothing at the top of the surrounding mountains except cold weather. However, there was a village of people at the peak of one of these mountains. They are known as the Darga Clan. The village was a mix of Arabic and Tibetian people, some being mixed. Surrounded by the many brick buildings of the village, there was a moderately sized palace at the top. Inside one of the rooms, a Queen was busy digging through a book shelf while her seven year old son was watching her curiously.
"Come on. Where is it?" The beautiful woman asked herself as she looked through the books in her bookshelf. "I could've sworn I placed it here somewhere."
The small boy was standing there, patiently waiting for his mother. "Amma, what are you looking for?" He curiously asked his mother, gently tugging on her dress.
The woman looked over at her son when he asked the question. "It's a surprise habibi." She explained to her son before checking the upper middle row of books before signing in relief when she pulled out the book, and placed it on a nearby table after dusting it off.
The small child looked at the book in amazement. The book was red with a symbol which was a black diamond with a grey circle inside it, and said diamond was surrounded by one grey triangle for each of the shapes sides. "What is this for?" He asked, tempted to open the mysterious book to see what was inside.
"It's a spell book. It has been handed down for generations, and was last used by my grandmother who casted a spell that makes the book indestructible." She explained to the child before carrying the book in her hands. "We haven't used it since about fifty years ago, but I want you to have it. Since you're going to be the future King, I think you're going to do great things with the magic." The mother said before handing the book to her son.
When the seven year old was handed the book, he grabbed it and stared at it with wonder in his eyes. "Woah. This is amazing! Thank you so much!" He exclaimed as he hugged the book.
The Queen smiled softly as she watched how happy the Prince was with his new spell book. She could tell her dear son would have a very bright future. She couldn't wait for it.
.
Suren Darga.
The teenager was definitely atypical from usual people his age. He was the Prince of the Darga Clan, the child of Den Darga and Nyima Darga, and was currently learning magic from his spellbook.
He and his parents, the King and Queen, had tan skin with brown eyes and black hair like a lot of the people in the village. The robes and dresses the family wore were a nice red color with small gold accents. Suren liked his position as a Prince. Life in the palace was peaceful, people respected him, and he helped improve the village for the clan. It was expected for him to also be excited to become the future King of the clan with his sixteenth birthday right around the corner. And yet, he always wanted more.
Suren was currently in the public library of the village with guards standing outside and inside of the building to make sure the Prince was safe. He was currently looking up a bunch of places around the world. From Argentina, to Turkey, to America, and to Iraq, far away places fascinated him. They were so beautiful, and new to him. Even though the teen liked his kingdom, he wanted to get out of his comfort zone and explore the world. When he heard one of his guards, he quickly changed the tabs to one about gemstones.
"Prince Suren, are you ready to head out of the library and back to the palace?" The guard woman asked as she stood next to him, and looked around the area to make sure there wasn't any danger nearby.
Suren nodded softly as he closed all of the tabs, and shut off the computer. "Of course." He soon exited the building with the guards, and walked back to the palace. Since he knew his father would most likely be busy right now with his afternoon meetings, he decided to go look for his mother. He walked to the royal family room, and knocked on the door.
Nyima was currently signing some important papers, and looked over at the door when she heard a knock. She quickly opened the door, and waved hello to Suren. "Are you in need or some more magic lessons dear?" She asked, kind of excited since helping her son learn magic would be way less boring than signing papers. Besides, she needed a little break.
Suren nodded softly at his mother's question. "Yup. Hoping to advance out of the intermediate spells soon." He remarked as he and the Queen walked to the room where they practiced magic. They entered the room, which had the spellbook on one of the two mats. The Prince quickly sat down on one of the mats, and opened the spellbook.
"Which spell do you want to practice today?" Nyima asked as she sat down on the other mat, and watched her son flip through the pages of the book.
Suren started to think about the question as he read through the few intermediate spells he had yet to learn. A levitation spell caught his eye, and he showed it to his mother. After all, he hadn't learned levitation yet, and it would be a very useful skill to learn.
Nyima looked over at the spell, and gave a thumbs up to her son. She straightened her back, and began to explain to Suren how the spell worked and was pronounced. It is well known that a wrong pronunciation of a spell can lead to the spell either not working or working in a different way than expected.
Suren began to try his best to pronounce the spell in his head since he knew from experience that spells can get out of hand if pronounced wrong. The higher level the spell is, the more catastrophic the result would be depending on which spell it was.
"Do you want to close the book until you get the hang of the pronunciation?" Nyima asked as she saw how quiet her son was.
"Oh, thank you for reminding me." Suren smiled as he closed the book and began to pronounce the spell. He stayed focused as he did this for about a minute or so. "I believe I'm ready for the spell." He said to himself before opening the book back up. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Pix qcwipj pizmxexi." The teen said slowly before getting surrounded by a sea green colored magic aura, and began to make himself levitate a few feet off of the ground.
Nyima smiled sweetly and clapped for her son doing the spell successfully. "Well done! Soon you'll be able to levitate me and Den. Heck, maybe even a Snow Leopard one day." She playfully remarked as she watched the Prince levitate.
Suren smiled at his mother's applause as he looked around in amazement. He was finally levitating, he had always been interested in the idea of levitation back when he first got the spellbook. His wonder was interrupted when he heard some talking outside of the room. It sounded rather far away and familiar.
Nyima excitedly got up from the mat, and stretched. "Your father is back." She said before opening the door, and waiting for her son to come down.
Suren lowered himself back onto the ground, and walked out of the room with his mother. He followed her to the front door of the palace and saw his father saying hello to some of the guards.
Den Darga soon finished talking to the guards, and happily looked over at his family. "Guess who's done with their meetings for today?" He asked before going over to his family and giving them a big hug.
Suren and his mother hugged him back and smiled brightly. Even though Den was the King of the Darga Clan, he still made sure to make time for his family. They were as close as peas in a pod.
Den soon let go at the hug and looked over at his son. "Excited for being the future King tomorrow, birthday boy?" He asked while ruffling Suren's hair.
Suren chuckled softly when his father messed with his hair for a little bit. "Of course I am baba. Who wouldn't be excited to pass on your legacy?" He said as he fixed his hair.
Den smiled at hearing Suren's answer and looked over at his wife and son. "Are any of you two ready for some dinner?" He asked, not sure what else to talk about since the meeting was kind of dull.
Nyima and her son nodded, and followed Den to the dining room. Soon enough, the family ate some dinner thanks to the plentiful amount of chefs they had.
During dinner, Suren noticed his parents were talking about how excited they were to teach their child how to be King tomorrow. They discussed how he seems to have a bright future as King. The teen tried not to listen too much as he was busy eating. He spent the rest of the day practicing the levitation spell more while both his parents were most likely busy in their rooms, preparing for their child's gifts. After successfully levitating the two mats, Suren decided to call it a night as he lowered both mats back to the ground, and closed the book. After placing the book back in it's spot from before, he walked out of the room. He looked over at one of the guards in the hallway. "Sim-jah nahng-go." He said to the guardsman as he made his way to his room.
"Goodnight to you Prince Suren." The guardsman said back to the boy as they looked over at him. Soon, he went back to minding his own business.
Suren nodded softly as he heard the guard speak, and walked inside his own room. After changing into his sleepwear, he stretched before lying down on his bed. Even though it was night, he couldn't sleep. And it wasn't because of excitement, it was actually because of nervousness. Even though a part of him wanted to be King, another part of him felt so pressured by his parents. He knew they meant well, but it felt like he might disappoint them if he refuses to be King. He didn't feel like being King now, he kind of wanted some alone time for self reflection. Perhaps exploring the world at his own pace might make him able to choose to be King or not. He wondered if he should tell his parents about this or not throughout the night.
Suren wanted to do what he wanted, yet he was afraid to let people down.
.
Today was the day. It was Prince Suren Darga's 16th birthday. The sky was cloudy yet beautiful, the sun was shining, and the palace was currently as quiet as a mouse. Suren yawned softly and stretched as he woke up. After changing into his royal robes, he walked over to the door as he expected his parents to be patiently standing there, ready to wish him a happy birthday. When he opened the door, it wasn't a surprise that his assumption was right.
Den and his wife were standing in front of the door, holding out a couple small gifts in their arms. When they heard footsteps coming closer to the door, the King and Queen quickly placed their presents on the floor before Suren opened the door. "Happy birthday son!" They both exclaimed with joy before hugging the Prince.
Suren smiled as he hugged his parents. After a little bit of hugging, he pulled away before getting the small gifts from his parents. They were mostly small little knick knacks or that were neat like candles, bead bracelets, a singing bowl, and some silver colored jewelry. "Thank you for the gifts." He said to the two before placing the gifts on the nearby dresser. Of course, this wasn't all the gifts he would be getting today. His mother and father were only getting started.
The parents patiently waited for their son to put his gifts away before leading him to the dining room. Once they arrived there, the family ate a lovely meal that included a lot of Suren's favorite foods like Tu, Kefta, Shrimp, Laping along with apricot juice. While the royalty were busy eating, some guards entered the room, carrying and placing bigger gifts for the birthday Prince. Once all the guards left, there was a pile of fifteen larger gifts in the center of the dining room.
Suren soon finished all of his food, and walked over to open the size of gifts. He heard his parents offering to open the gifts for him, but he declined. He wanted to open these gifts himself. The fifteen gifts were stuff like new clothes, a bunch of books, puzzle sets, and buildable ship model kits. "I love these gifts so much! You're the best!" He exclaimed happily to his parents as he put all the discarded wrapping in another pile next to the opened gifts.
Nyima and her husband smiled at seeing their son's excitement. After calling over some guards to put away the gifts and to throw away the discarded wrapping along with the dirty dishes, the royal duo got up and walked over to Suren. "We have one more gift for you. Follow us to the balcony." She explained before she and Den walked out of the dining room.
Suren looked over at his parents before following them out of the dining room. He looked down as he walked, already knowing what the last gift will be. He was currently arguing with himself if he should tell his mother and father about his wariness about being King so soon.
Den and Nyima soon arrived at the balcony. It looked over the stairs that led to the palace, and the village buildings below. The King turned over to look at his son once he arrived at the balcony as well. "Look below us Suren. There are so many wonderful people in the Darga Clan. Artists, builders, bakers, musicians, monks, and so much more people." He began to explain to his son.
Suren nodded and began to listen when his father talked about the people in the village. He adored the people in the village. They were sort of like a smaller and less close group of friends to him. He couldn't help looking away from the village, and focused his eyes on the beautiful surroundings. Before he could get too enamored by the mountains in the distance, he quickly looked back at his father before he could notice.
"These people deserve a great King. And even though I am a good King myself, I believe it's time to pass the torch to a worthy successor." Den said before turning over to face his son, and taking off his iron crown which was in the shape of a horned skull. He knelt down in front of the Prince, and held the crown up. "Suren, it is time for you to become the King the Darga Clan deserves." The man in robes said, expecting the sixteen year old to take the crown from him.
Suren looked in awe at the crown. The thought of his father thinking he was worthy enough to be King made him smile softly. Yet, it only put more pressure on him. He worried that if he refused to take the crown immediately, he'd not only let down the villagers but also his parents. But he wanted to take his time with such a life changing decision. After a few moments of thinking about everything, Suren took a deep breath, and looked at both of his parents. "Mother, father. I don't feel like I'm ready to be King yet. I need some alone time to think about this massive decision.' He told his parents, fully expecting a disappointed reaction from both of them.
Den was shocked by Suren's answer as the King got up from kneeling, and put the skull shaped crown back on his head. "It's alright Suren. We'll just see if you want to become King next birthday." He reassured his son, thinking he'll be staying at the palace while elaborating his decision.
Suren sighed in relief that his parents didn't seem disappointed, yet felt a hint of annoyance when Den just assumed he would be ready next year. "I don't know when I'll be ready baba. I don't think being stuck in the palace or village will help me decide. I want to go explore the world on my own to help me decide. I want to use my magic for good instead of keeping it all to myself and the clan. I want to be a hero..."
Nyima was surprised by Suren wanting to leave on his own this young, and as a possible superhero no less. Then again, it made sense to her and husband when she thought about it. Suren always loved books and documentaries about other places, and had extraordinary powers. With his kind heart, it would make sense of him to be a traveling hero. "Are you sure you want to leave so soon?" She asked, worried that her son might get hurt during his travels.
Den was also surprised at this. He wasn't sure what to think, but when he looked at his wife started to understand Suren's ambitions and reasonings more. "When will you be coming back?" He asked after his wife finished her question, worried that his son would disappear out of their lives.
Suren nodded at his mother's question, completely sure about his decision. "I'm not sure when I'll be coming back, but I assure you I'll come back. I'll leave the village tomorrow, and when I come back I'll be ready to make my decision." He explained to his parents before hugging them.
Nyima and Den hugged their son tightly. They felt relieved when their son said he'll come back. The two trusted him in making this decision. After the family pulled away from the hug, they walked back inside of the palace. The King and Queen watched their son head inside his room. "I knew this day would come, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon." Den thought to himself before he and his wife went over to the guards to see what was on their schedule today.
The parents of the Prince couldn't wait for tomorrow.
.
The noon sun shined through the windows of the palace as Suren got himself ready to leave by packing essentials into a backpack. Since he knew his Princely robes wouldn't be ideal for traveling or as a hero outfit, he decided to make a new outfit. He wore a modified guardsmen top with a sea green version of the Darga Clan symbol, a red cape, some dull green pants, and guardsmen shoes. He spent all night carving a ram skull helmet out of ivory to complete the look.
There was a knock from the door of the Prince's room. Den and Nyima were standing outside of the room, preparing themselves for Suren to leave. "Can we come in when you're done?" Nyima asked as she and her husband were anxiously waiting for an answer from their son.
Suren noticed the knock on his door while he was packing his things. "Of course." He told his parents from the other side of the door. He began to pack his backpack up with some renminbi yuan to use for paying for things, portable food to eat, the ivory skull, some water bottles, and his spellbook. He closed the backpack up, placed it on his back, and stood up before going over to open the door.
When the door opened, Den and his wife looked at how their son was ready to leave with a hint of sadness, but also a little dash of hope for him. "We're going to miss you son." The King told the Prince.
Suren looked up at his parents before quickly hugging the two. Even if he was ready to go off on his own, he would still miss his parents dearly. "Promise to look up news about me doing hero work while I'm gone?" He asked as he continued to hug the two tightly, still unsure about what his superhero name would be.
"Of course we will habibi." Nyima and Den assured him as they hugged their son for one last time. Eventually, the husband and wife reluctantly let go from the hug, and looked on as they watched Suren make his way to the palace exit, "What do you think will happen next?" The Queen asked her husband, still unsure of how long her son will be away.
Den shrugged softly at his wife's question. "I don't know my love. Let's just pray that Suren stays safe." He told Nyima as he watched his son walk out of the doors of the palace with a heavy heart. All they could do was hope.
As Suren walked through the village, he looked back at the palace one last time. He waved goodbye in the direction of the palace before turning back around, and making his way out of the village. The prince was amazed as he began to make his way down the small mountain and saw the beautiful surroundings. This was it. He was free to make his decision about being King while exploring the world and doing good. Even if Suren wasn't sure where to go first or what his superhero alias would be, he was sure about one thing.
He had a lot of time to figure everything out, and he was going to use it.