Wenzel's eyelids slowly opened and he looked out to the side through the hazy glasscreen. As always, he hadn't gotten any sleep. On the contrary, his "kind-of-dozing" during the journey had only made him even more tired than before. Sitting across from him, Aurel was reading a book, on the cover of which it read "Harald the Fearless". It was a fairly well-known heroic tale, that he probably had to concern himself with for his reading lessons. When he saw something like this, Wenzel always remembered his childhood. Back then, the maids had always read him hero tales as bedtime stories. It had always given wings to his imagination and made him dream of going out into the world, experiencing something like that himself.

  The carriage creaked and rumbled and one could feel even the smallest pebble they drove over. Aurel looked up for a moment and saw his younger brother, who like him was neatly dressed up in his best clothes, staring at him. "Something up?" he snapped. "No," Wenzel replied in his usual tersely manner. The two of them were on their way to Meglarsbruck. They would be visiting their parents today, since it was a public holiday and tomorrow would be the Lord's Day. This opportunity did not usually arise, as there were only very few days off from school each year. The concept of holidays or "a longer time off" did not exist in Ordania. They worked all year round, except on public holidays or Sundays. This meant that they only saw their esteemed parents very few times a year.

  The horse-drawn carriage they were travelling in had windows, which Wenzel looked out of all the time, but he didn't get much of an experience of the areas they were passing through. Although, it was unmistakable, that it was extremely dry this year and all the meadows and fields were completely dried out and brown. As they drove past, farmers working their fields could be seen from time to time, but through the dirty windows Wenzel couldn't see them well at all. And as soon as the things, that caught his eye properly came into his field of vision, they disappeared again. Wenzel would have loved to simply stop by in many of these places and take look around, perhaps even speak to the people there. He wanted to undertake something. Well, actually he wanted to go out on an adventure!

  For Wenzel the journey felt terribly long, but a few hours travelling time wasn't that bad. Olemar, the town where their boarding school was located, was just a little south-east of Meglarsbruck. Now they were almost there! When Wenzel started seeing the tall towers and the huge city wall in the distance, he became very excited and pressed his nose to the glass as he looked out of the window. As they steadily approached, the towers of the temples and battlements of the high walls grew larger and larger until they had finally grown so high, that he could not stretch his head far enough upwards to see their highest points. Their coachman stopped the carriage briefly to let the gatekeepers check their papers. All around them was a bustle of people going about their business, running to and fro in all directions. Merchants, farmers, noblemen and especially many soldiers, as Wenzel came to notice.

  The carriage set off again and they entered the city. After passing through the gate, rows of huge columns with long vertical notches and beautifully ornamented capitals could be seen to the left and right. Both boys, being capitvated by the columns, couldn't stop themselves from gazing at them. Of course, they didn't realise that just a few decades ago, each of these columns was topped by beautifully crafted statues of saints. But now there was something else to see on them: Long flags with the symbol of the Ordanian Confederacy were attached to the pillars. The black griffin on a golden background was unmistakable. The carriage carried on, rocking on the bumpy stone pavement and crossing the large bridge over the Duhn, the river that flowed through the metropolis from the north-east. Various flags and festive decorations could be seen everywhere and it was only now that Wenzel noticed how clean the streets were today, in contrast to how they usually were. "What are they celebrating today?" he asked Aurel. "I'm not quite sure. Something about the military or a battle," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. The vehicle continued its journey through the imposing, monumental cityscape. The large residential and representative buildings of the former imperial capital were built along wide avenues where only the country's upper classes could afford to settle.

  The two brothers would be arriving home soon. For this reason, Aurel pointed out to Wenzel once again that he should behave well in front of his parents and whether he had not forgotten the etiquette, that was required of him. "Does he think I'm stupid?" was all the slightly offended boy could think of in that moment. Finally, they arrived at their parents' estate and the carriage came to a halt. The coachman knocked on their window and loudly announced: "We're here, fellas!" The two of them quickly grabbed their bags, which they anyway had only packed their essentials in, and hopped out. It was a hot, cloudless summer's day. The two climbed up the stairs to the large entrance portal and knocked vigorously several times. The sign on the door read "Althun".

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  A young lady, whom they knew very well, opened the door for them. It was Mrs Wolke, one of the house servants here. "Welcome home, young gentlemen! Your parents are already waiting." The two of them entered and handed their luggage to Mrs Wolke, who kindly took it from them. Her smile lifted Wenzel's rather depressed mood for a brief moment. The two were shown into the reception room. Of course they knew where it was: the second door to the right of the main staircase. They went there and sat down on the bench. Shortly afterwards, their parents entered the room. Their father, Bertold, was a small, narrow-shouldered man who would often be quite pretentious and, as Wenzel perceived it, arrogant. In respect to the latter, Aurel was very much like him.... Their mother was a delicate, fine-limbed woman who was, as one might say, finicky. Her name was Hildegard and she was usually rather taciturn.

  Both boys got up and positioned themselves at the right distance from each other. The usually lax Aurel tried to stand as straight as possible and so did his brother. They both bowed slightly while saying: "Greetings, dearest father and dearest mother!" While this was going on, their father was already eyeing them from head to toe. Their parents then replied with a rather simple unceremonious greeting. Bertold turned to his eldest son, "Son, is there anything important to report?" Aurel collected his thoughts for a second, made sure he looked his father in the eye when he spoke and then replied: "The school situation is largely unchanged, father." He immediately took a piece of paper out of his pocket. It was the "school report" about their grades. He handed it over to Bertold and added: "My average grade is 1.6 and Wenzel's is ....well, suboptimal."

  The gentleman read the two pieces of paper carefully and took a close look at the grades. "So, your grades are basically just as bad as last year," he turned to Wenzel with a very serious look. "And that's despite the fact that you promised me to improve." Wenzel visibly slumped. He almost didn't dare looking at his father. "Yes, I apologise, father. I did my best." He looked over at his older brother. Said brother hesitated for a moment, but then confirmed to their father that Wenzel had indeed studied for school. Bertold, however, seemed uninterested. He stepped closer to Wenzel, lunged out and gave him a resounding slap in the face! "Then he may try even harder. I cannot accept that kind of performance at school." - "Yes, father," the boy replied. Aurel then was briefly praised for his school achievements. For the entire time, their mother just stood by and watched stone-faced. She remained silent.

  Afterwards, the family sat down at the table in the dining room. They were served venison ragout in gravy for lunch. Everyone adhered to the rules of etiquette when eating, but they also chatted during the meal. They just tried to express themselves as refined as possible and behaved in a cultivated manner. Wenzel hardly had anything to say. This was pretty normal for him, but of course it also had to do with the disciplining he had just received. So it was primarily Aurel and Bertold who led the conversation at the table, but only about a few trivial little things. But then Aurel brought up a topic that Wenzel disliked as much as his performance in school.

  "Oh, yes, father, I almost forgot to mention, that Wenzel now has a friend." Mr Bertold's surprise was clear to see and he asked: "Really? Who is it?" Wenzel was startled and wanted to end the conversation as quickly as possible, but he couldn't stop them. "A boy from Camenia," Aurel revealed. "But he has very good grades and seems to come from a good family." Their father wrinkled his nose and replied: "Hmm, in that case we might have to take a look at the boy to see if he is suitable company for Wenzel." Wenzel no longer knew what to say or do. There was only one thing he was 100% sure of: He was furious, no livid with Aurel! Why had he told them that, when he knew what their parents were like? Why?

  When everyone had finished and the table was being cleared, their mother then informed them of something. "Now, please, don't go to your rooms, you two. We barely have time before the parade is getting started. Pack up what you need. We're all going together." - "Parade? What parade, mother?" asked Aurel. But her husband intervened and answered for her: "You don't know? Today is the big celebration of the victory over the Kasharian uprising in the year 441, exactly 20 years ago. When our army finally pacified the rebellious Kashar Lands again. It is a huge event!" He seemed very enthusiastic about it. Unsurprisingly so, as he was obviously a staunch supporter of the Alethic Church and the current ruling house, which even someone like Wenzel noticed. So they set off for the parade.