First-person POV, one month after the Chiefs' meeting.
Central Mountain City, Simte Academy Presentation Hall.
"Welcome everyone. You are the second group of Simte Academy members", I greeted everyone loudly from the hall's stage.
"You, like your classmates from last year, will have the privilege of learning the knowledge our ancestors longed to understand, and you must use it for the good of the people, the greatness of the Suaza kingdom, and to bring honor to the gods", I explained to everyone.
Clap, clap… Clap, clap, clap.
"Thank you very much for the applause. I hope you have the same enthusiasm for learning… You can go and get your papers. I wish you luck", I said, bidding everyone farewell.
10 months later, Chuta's House Meeting Hall.
"Young Chuta, the ministerial candidates are already waiting outside", said a young woman's voice. "Thank you very much, Chuquy. You can let them in", I said warmly.
"As you command, young Chuta", she said as she turned to leave the room.
"You can call me Chuta; you are my older sister, after all", I said ironically.
"I like it better this way when we're in work situations", Chuquy said formally, but she couldn't help but smile slightly at the affection I showed her.
"As you wish", I said reluctantly. "It will never change", I thought as I watched her leave the room.
Chuquy was my parents' firstborn child; she is a year and a half younger than Upqua, my older brother. Her name means rainbow, as on the day she was born, a large rainbow connected the peaks of the mountain range. She, along with my mother, were the ones who spoiled me the most when I was a baby. However, when I began to speak and effectively demonstrate my knowledge, I unintentionally gave her a small shock, changing the way she saw the world.
I didn't consider that she was only a six-year-old girl, and I began to talk to her about the world beyond the mountains, the oceans, and even space. Driven by her curiosity, she spent days gazing at the stars, trying to refute some of the things I had told her about what the world was really like, but no matter how hard she stared, my words echoed in her head. Chuquy was a genius in full bloom. If I hadn't had my perfect memory and only had my basic knowledge, with just a couple of years of guidance and a few lessons, we could have achieved the same things we've achieved so far.
She has spent the last few years mentoring a group of young people who have helped us make all the progress we've made so far. Some of them even showed enough skill to compete directly with those born with natural talent in some areas. They all shared the same knowledge as the young people who had now been studying at the academy for two years. Some of them taught at the academy, while the rest were part of the research group directly under my command.
These young people, called the "first wave" by my sister, along with the natural talents discovered at the academy, were responsible for the progress of recent years. Now some of them would become part of the ministry that would be formalized at the leaders' meeting next month, while some of them would take over important industries or form key cities within the kingdom.
"Welcome everyone", I said to all the men and women who entered the meeting. "You were 12-year-olds before, and now you are 16-year-old adults", I thought as I noticed the physical changes that both the women and the men had undergone.
"Now the meeting will begin", my sister announced, closing the door to the hall.
"First, for the recent graduates of the academy, I would like to introduce you to some people you don't know", I said as I looked at a group that had formed from the members of the research group.
"They, along with their teachers, are the ones who indirectly helped you develop some of the advancements you were part of. These people were the first to be taught this knowledge and have more experience than the rest of you, but that doesn't mean they have the same talent as some of you", I said, biased in my assessment of those present.
"Now that I've introduced and explained the presence of everyone present, I will now inform you of the reason for today's meeting", I said loudly, drawing their attention. "You are all the candidates selected to be the prime ministers of each area you will govern in our kingdom. Now you will be given a simple test, which will determine who will be chosen", I explained to everyone, seeing their reactions of surprise and a touch of anxiety.
"However, that doesn't mean you won't have opportunities to hold a similar position", I said in a calm tone, seeing that they were becoming more anxious than I expected. "If you look here, you can see that this is the map of our Suaza kingdom, made up of five districts. It's a large territory, the largest of all the neighboring ethnic groups… But that doesn't mean we'll remain stagnant in these territories; in fact, we'll only continue to grow", I commented, pointing to the original map of the kingdom.
"This will be the map of our kingdom for years to come", I said, unveiling the same map I had shown the Chiefs at last year's meeting. Everyone was surprised by how large the territory was compared to the one shown on the previous map.
"As you can see, it will be a difficult task even for me to manage such a vast area, so we're going to segment the territory into ten zones, each with a governor who will need to receive guidance from you, their ministers", I explained calmly. "Everyone will have the opportunity, but don't be overconfident. Only the most qualified will be able to fill these positions, and every year, there will be new students, very capable of competing with you for these positions", I said, encouraging them to continue expanding their knowledge.
"Young Chuta, will the ministers only offer advice to the governors in the future, or will they also be under their supervision?", one of the members of the research team asked. "That's an excellent question", I responded, delighted by the man's curiosity. "At this meeting, we will establish the kingdom's ministry, whose leader, or as I call him, the Prime Minister, will be me. The selected ministers will become the kingdom's prime ministers, but their positions may change if someone proves more capable or if they remain in their positions for an extended period", I explained to everyone.
"We will now proceed with the evaluation", I said, noticing there were no more questions. My sister began distributing the tests to each person.
An hour later.
"Congratulations to everyone for obtaining such good results. Furthermore, your scores were so similar that we had to take more time to deliberate", I expressed to everyone, feeling very satisfied with their achievements. "I will now proceed to appoint the Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and the people who will be part of a special ministry we will call the Ministry of Innovation", I added with an enigmatic smile as everyone present watched me with attention and anticipation.
"First, for the Ministry of Education", I announced, surprising everyone. "The minister will be..." I said, creating tension in the atmosphere.
One month later.
"Happy birthday, Chuta", said a voice that woke me up in the morning.
"Uh-huh... Thanks, Chuquy", I replied in a tired voice after a yawn.
"You prepared everything last night for today's meeting", she commented, seeing the documents on the table in my room. "Are you ready?", she asked with a hint of unease.
"Yes, today I'll tell you that we'll practically have control over regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and part of region 10", I replied calmly.
"You say that as if it were something trivial", she exhaled, annoyed.
"It's just one of the steps that will lead us to growth in the future", I commented casually.
"I heard you talking to Upqua the other day. Is it true that you're already in contact with the people from the center of the ocean?", she asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, we've already been in contact with them; they have several internal problems", I began to explain. "They dominate all the islands, but they divide their territory into something similar to the regions I plan to establish in the kingdom. Each region is led by a Chieftain, but each island also has a leader who is a Chieftain... It's a somewhat complicated situation", I added after recalling the information I had received from the groups of explorers and missionaries. "I understand", Chuquy commented, pondering the situation. "Do we already know their language?", she asked.
"Yes, we do, at least most of us do", I replied.
"Could we approach them through their religion?", Chuquy probed again.
"They have a main god and an evil one. They are gods quite like ours, and they also believe in spirits like the forest people and the northeast coast", I explained.
"They will surely join us in the coming years", she stated casually.
"Only if the gods favor us", I corrected her.
"You don't need to act like this with me", she said ironically. "I know they gave you the knowledge, but they surely didn't ask you for something as noble as uniting all peoples", she explained in a neutral tone.
"You're right, they didn't ask me to unite the people", I acknowledged my sister's words. "But they did show me what will happen in the future. There are communities with the same knowledge I'm passing on to you, but they've been in conflict and evolution for years, and now they want to expand beyond their own territories… Soon they'll mobilize with expansionist intentions, and if we're not ready, we'll only be an obstacle in their way", I told her in a serious tone.
"Hmmm… So that's why that man was talking about the weapon that possesses the power of the gods", she said after reflecting on my words.
"Madness? Are you referring to Faoa?", I asked in confusion.
"Yes, I'm talking about him", Chuquy said with a distasteful expression. "That man who went mad because of the knowledge of the gods", she added.
.
----
.
[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Hello everyone.
We're back in the timeline before the short Tales section.
Chuta begins with the last meeting (it won't be narrated the same way anymore) before the exploration.
As an unnecessary fact of the day, the Inca Empire, named after its leaders, the 'Inka,' has a very broad debate about the years its leaders ruled. Each historian has a different view on the number of years and specific periods due to the lack of records of this culture.
Read my other novel called The Walking Dead: Vision of the Future.
You can find it on my profile.]