"Remember students, this is all on your exams next week!" Professor Aldric's voice cut through the room. Some students groaned; others quietly scribbled the exam date into their books. "Mira! my office now!" Professor Aldric scolded as a Student named Mira jolted awake.

  "Mad one died under the full Moon!" Mira blurted out in a delirious state as she jerked awake and promptly stood up which earned her giggles from her classmates as she recovered from her state of inertia, she sat back down head red with embarrassment as the class continued with their lesson.

  "Now who can tell me the incident at eastpoint?" Professor Aldric said as students raised their hands since this was a material that they have learned many times due to The Church had made these lessons mandatory, offered freely to ensure every child learned the story of the Mad One.

  "You! answer the question" Professor Aldric points at Mira, "The town publicly burned the Mad one's banner and had rioted which resulted in the Mad one deploying a token force of his army to take care of the riots which only escalated and it ended with the Mad one executing every clergy members and nuns before using his magic to erase the town from the map." Mira read from her notes as she answered the professor's question

  "Good that is correct, "As we all know," Aldric recited, "Eastpoint was one of the three divine signs that united the Five Kingdoms against the heretic." Professor Aldric said, his voice pleased but also practiced as Mira sat back down as she stared out the window pondering something that never made sense to her, why would the Mad one destroy a trade city that fueled one of their capitol being a 'Fueler city' as they called it.

  Soon enough, the bell rang, and students packed their bags and headed for lunch.

  "Mira, stay here," Professor Aldric commanded.

  Mira remained in her seat, displeased. Her stomach growled, but she knew better than to defy the order. One by one, the classroom emptied as students funneled toward the lunch hall, until only she and Professor Aldric remained.

  Then the door opened.

  An Inquisitor entered, followed by their guards. They crossed the room and sat across from Mira. She stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor as she heard the familiar clinking of the guard's armor and the Inquisitor's hard leather boots reverberating off the floor.

  "Please, relax, child," the Inquisitor said calmly, pulling out a chair and gesturing for her to sit. "You aren't in trouble."

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  Mira slowly sat back down, her posture stiff and uncomfortable. The Inquisitor adjusted their robe and produced a small notebook, opening it with practiced ease as they flipped to a empty page as Mira sees the other pages had already been filled with clean and highborn cursive writing.

  "Tell me," they said, "has there been any suspicious activity lately? Any talk of heresy?"

  Their voice was steady. The guards leaned against the wall, bored and clearly used to the routine as they shared snacks with each other and Professor Aldric as they watched, ready to act when needed but not fully on edge.

  "W–well, no," Mira stuttered. "I haven't heard anything."

  Her hands rubbed nervously against her leg before she forced them still.

  The Inquisitor smiled faintly and wrote a single line in the notebook.

  "And in your daily life," they continued, "have you noticed any signs of heresy?"

  Mira bit her lower lip. "W–well... there have been some symbols showing up. None that I recognize from the Church."

  The Inquisitor's brow furrowed slightly as they leaned forward. Mira instinctively pushed her chair back an inch.

  "Where are these symbols?" the Inquisitor asked.

  "At Thirty-Ninth and Forty-Second Street," Mira replied quietly. "Behind the cleric's lab."

  Her foot began tapping against the floor again. The Inquisitor nodded and wrote the location. Mira meanwhile was questioning if she remembered it correctly since she may have gave the wrong address or mistaken a church symbol as heretic which would definitely end up with her being in very hot waters or very closely watched by the church.

  "Thank you for your cooperation, Mira Willow," they said. "You may go to lunch."

  The Inquisitor stood and exited the classroom with their guards. Professor Aldric soon followed, leaving for his own break.

  Mira remained seated for a moment, her appetite long gone. By now her usual place in the lunch hall would be taken. Someone else would be sitting there, laughing, eating, pretending nothing had happened.

  She finally stood and stepped into the corridor. Conversations quieted as she passed. Not completely—but enough.

  She wasn't the type to be questioned by Inquisitors.

  Her head felt heavy as she walked, as though the air itself had thickened. She replayed every word she had said. Every hesitation. Every detail.

  But beneath the fear, something else lingered.

  Confusion.

  It didn't make sense.

  If the Mad One truly reduced conquered lands to wastelands, why build fueler cities at all? Why invest in trade routes? Why strengthen infrastructure that benefited more than just himself?

  And the children—

  They taught that he mistreated his own blood. That he was cruel even to his daughters and sons. Yet the same records claimed he treated hostage children from rival kingdoms with strange mercy.

  Why show kindness to enemies' heirs but not to his own?

  And if he truly was the monster they described... then why did descendants of his followers still whisper that the Church were liars? That the so-called Mad One had been a saint forced into sin?

  Mira tightened her grip on her books.

  Either history was missing something.

  Or someone had rewritten it.