The setting sun cast long shadows across the verdant fields of LongTu village. Wang Sa, his ragged clothes clinging to him with sweat, stumbled into the village square, his heart pounding. He had been fleeing a band of angry merchants, victims of his latest swindle, and had lost himself in the maze of green. LongTu village, with its quaint houses and the peaceful murmur of conversation, offered a sanctuary, a place to hide until the heat died down.

  A cunning glint entered his eyes. He could play the part of a hapless peddler, robbed and abandoned by bandits. The villagers, simple folk, would surely take pity on him. With a practiced air of weary resignation, he approached the well, where several women were chatting.

  "Good evening, kind souls," he rasped, his voice roughened by fear and exhaustion.

  A plump woman, her hands busy with a bundle of herbs, looked up and offered a sympathetic smile. "Oh my! What happened to you?"

  "I am a poor peddler, lost and alone. Bandits, they took everything – my wares, my money, even my fine set of traveling knives!" He recounted a dramatic tale of his "heroic struggle" against the bandits, embellishing the story with vivid descriptions of his "narrow escapes" and the "tremendous bravery" he had displayed.

  Another woman, her eyes wide with concern, asked, "Did you see their faces? Were they local bandits?"

  "No, they were strangers to these lands. Rough men with no respect for honest folk like us."

  Wang Sa goes on to talk about his travels. The villagers, captivated by his tales of the outside world, listened with rapt attention. He spoke of the wonders of the MagiNet where one can find information on just about anything, of the dazzling displays of MagiTech that illuminated the cities, of the great beasts that soared through the sky. He regaled them with stories of the Heavenly Court, of the magnificent palaces and the powerful nobles who ruled the land.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  "Is it true that the nobles have giant flying beasts?" a young boy asked, his eyes shining with wonder.

  "Indeed, they do," Wang Sa replied with a solemn nod. "They soar high above, their scales glistening in the sunlight."

  Slowly, cautiously, Wang Sa wormed his way into their trust. He offered "valuable advice" on farming, captivated them with "prophecies" based on the flight patterns of birds, and even attempted a few rudimentary magic tricks (which, predictably, ended in minor disasters).

  One moonless night, some days after Wang Sa’s arrival in the village, he crept out of the meagre shelter he had been offered. He intended to "borrow" some supplies from the villagers' stores. However, his attempt at stealth was thwarted by the sight that met his eyes.

  In the soft glow of the moonlight, he witnessed MeiEr, her hands glowing with an ethereal light, gently soothing a wounded calf. Water shimmered and danced around the animal, easing its pain. Then, KuiFong, with a grunt of effort, manipulated the earth, forming a small, protective pen around the calf.

  "Wang Sa, is that you?" MeiEr's voice was soft, yet it pierced through the silence of the night.

  Wang Sa recoiled, his blood running cold. Magic. In the hands of these simple villagers. He had been conditioned to believe that magic was the exclusive domain of the nobles, a divine gift reserved for the elite. The very foundation of his worldview, his entire understanding of the hierarchy of power, shattered.

  "You... you can wield magic?" he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.

  MeiEr's eyes met his, and she nodded slowly. "Yes, Wang Sa. Magic is within all of us."

  Terrorized, Wang Sa fled LongTu village, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and disbelief. He had stumbled upon a secret that could shake the very foundations of the Heavenly Court.

  In his panic, Wang Sa lost his way. After a few months in the wilderness, desperate for food and drink, Wang Sa stumbled into a town far from LongTu village. Fuelled by fear and the local ale, he had blurted out his secret in the crowded tavern – the existence of a village where the common folk wielded magic.

  The news spread like wildfire. Soon, it reached the ears of the nobles in the Heavenly Court. Incredulity, disbelief, and a touch of fear washed over them. Magic, a divine gift, was supposed to be their exclusive domain. The very foundation of their power, their claim to divine right, trembled.