(Narrator: Ijan) Mehtapish (Turkish) region, one of the four principal regions of Balad-alqamar alongside the Qamariyyah (Arabiyyah), Mahi (Persi), Ay and Chandi (Central Asian) regions. It has a vast and rich culture. The Aytuman İmparatorluğu (Ottoman Empire) was one of the most expansive and time-honoured empires, lasting from 1299 to 9822 (1299-1922). At one point in time, it even extended into the Qamariyyah region. However, it ebbed into Mehtap by the Second War of Migica. Their culture was rich and varied, an amalgamation of the Qamariyyah, Mahi and even Fýsik and Cieloan cultures. And at this instance were to advance into this region of rich history.
(Narration switches to Marinus) Ijan drove throughout the night in the dark forest; the rest of us fell asleep; even Vibhuti leaned towards Ijan and slept. By morning, when I woke, the rest were in dreamland. The time was 10:30 a.m., and we were near the border. During the day, the is muy weak, so we passed through with no problem. Ijan used an illusion to make us appear to be like Qamariyyun. After half an hour of driving above the forest, we reached the skyway of Mehtap-krallığı, one of the countries in Balad-alqamar. There was less traffic than last time, so we breezed by. I noticed that Ijan was wearing some earphones, probably jamming to sick tunes or just the news. I wish he would like the same songs I do; we could become besties- oh my first best friend.
It took us five hours, but we reached Kamer (real-world Istanbul). The city below us was beautiful. It, like every other city, had organised highways and skyways. It had beautiful houses in various shades of purple. People were up and about the streets going for errands and things like that. The plans were in shades of purple over here, not blue like back at Aqua-patriae.
We stopped at a nice hotel, and Ijan booked us two duplex rooms. We took the smaller one as there were only the two of us, while the girls took the bigger room. As we settled, Ijan hit the showers immediately. Poor guy, he just walked through days of darkness and mud for days, and drove ten hours straight; he’d definitely be worn out. I took the lower section as he claimed the upper one and ordered a bed extension for his height. When he came out of the shower, he changed into a different but similar white button-down and black pants, then got into bed.
(narration switches to Vibhuti) Meanwhile, in our room, I claimed the top area cuz there is a desk to study : (. I took out physics and started solving some questions. Evanthia just came up to take a shower and asked, “What are you doing there?” And Tejasvi, who came up, answered for me, “She is studying so she can become an awesome robo-scientist and help me in my dream of being a warrior by making me test robots.” I chuckled and said. “Yeah, Tejasvi, in a way you're right.” I then then I turned to Evanthia and said, “I am preparing for this exam in Agni-deshah called the ARIT-JEE, in which if I get into the top percentile I would get into my dream college ARIT-Thee in Thee.” “Cool.” She responded and headed into the bathroom.
I didn’t know how much time had passed, but when I was stuck on another tricky question and I was going to skip it, a deep voice with a thick Qamariyyah accent said from behind, “You are proceeding with this incorrectly.” I turned back to see it was Ijan, and he scared the flame out of me. He sat down beside me and showed me the right way to solve it, and I noticed my silly mistake. Like that, he assisted me with three to four other problems. As I was done, he said, “I assume you are preparing to appear for the ARIT-JEE.” “Yes,” I responded. “I want to study robotics in ARIT-JEE.” “Well, I perceive it is an outstanding college; you will get numerous opportunities,” He commented. “Yeah, I love building stuff, so I want to become an engineer, mainly in robotics,” I said. “I believe you will succeed.” He commented, which made me blush. “So, what do you do?” I asked. “I am currently a freelance software developer and part-time gardener; however, I applied for a permanent position at Quantum Tech in Layla. Well, this is only in theory; I still have to submit my portfolio to the firm.” He replied nervously. “I believe you will succeed too, so what do you want to do there?” I asked. Then he proceeded to talk about advancements in technologies which would detect the quantum state of an atom. He talked about it so passionately. He said that technology and quantum physics are his two passions, and their amalgamation in one field is the best field for him. I was fascinated too. I asked many questions, and he answered them patiently. Like this, we talked for at least two hours.
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It was now 18:00 (six o’clock in the evening), and Marin came up to us and informed us, “Hey guys, we are going for sight-seeing her, aka shopping, so vámonos; we need you guys.” So, we went together in an illusion Ijan cast to make us look like Qamariyyah. We walked across the streets. As we were passing by the streets, we found a dondurma stall. I knew I wanted some ice cream. I tugged at Ijan’s shoulder and pointed at it and said, “Win that for me.” He nodded, pleased, paid 50 paras on the stall platform, and said to the stall owner and said, “Give me the extra complex one, chocolate please.” And everyone gasped as he went on war. The seller nodded grimly then asked, “You’re sure.” Ijan nodded, and they and he had to sign some papers or something; then the seller placed the chocolate scoop on the rod and showed a trial round. He was fast, like really fast; it appeared like he was moving at lightning speed. I almost felt to second guess, but Ijan had math up his sleeve. As the seller moved the rod for the actual round in one fast move Ijan caught the ice-cream cone and everything. Everyone cheered over his victory. The seller looked impressed and crowned ice-cream king while everyone chanted, “Hail the ice-cream king.” He then flicked his hair to the side and gave me the ice-cream.
Marin, inspired by my monarchy over Ijan, asked Tejasvi if she could win him one and Tejasvi, after a lot of persuasion and cries from Marin, gave it a try. The seller moved fast, and he took his height as an advantage. Tejasvi was short and was just jumping up and down in vain. At last, the seller brought the rod, and she caught it; she rejoiced just to see that it was empty. She smiled as she crushed the cone and said, “Give me my ice-cream, you jerk.” So, he did so in fear, and she smashed that ice-cream into Marin’s chest and said, “here.” While the seller gave Marin one regardless.
We also had cobbed corn, excluding Ijan, as he said that his teeth were sensitive. I loved it; it reminded me of the corn I would eat during the raining season in Agnideshah. I miss home, but I love exploring the world around me. And we also did a lot of shopping. Ijan bought a set of Mehtapish tea set, which the shopkeeper proved its strength by standing on it, and it did not break. I bought some lovely dresses with beautiful designs. Tejasvi bought a shamshir (sword) to replace her old one, which broke in our fight with the giant. And Marin bought a set of Kamış pens for his art. After shopping, we headed to a café to enjoy a cup of Mehtapish tea. We all chatted for a while.
After our day of fun, we headed back to our hotel. I packed the dress I bought into my luggage. As saw Marin, busy drawing something, from the window between our rooms. The next day we continued our journey towards Qammar.