The new converter machines glowed like monuments in the center of the Zoner district. Zoner civilians crowded around them, plates in hand, the smell of spices and sizzling meat drifting through the air. For the first time in years, there was hope.

  One man lifted a plate of spaghetti, slathered in thick sauce. He grinned at his friends. "This is joy spaghetti. Because Joy made spaghetti."

  The others laughed. A second man lifted up his own plate, where golden fried fish steamed. "Well, this is catfish... but I call it the divine fish."

  Laughter rippled through the crowd. They broke bread together, passing bites of spaghetti, fish, cookies, and candy. For once, the Zoner territory felt like a festival.

  Among them walked Naggi, her long cloak brushing the ground. Beside her trudged her son, Levy, arms crossed, his face fixed in the permanent scowl of a boy who thought himself too old to be babysat.

  

  

  "Cheer up," Naggi said softly. "You can have anything you want. Food from the old world, Levy. Food your forefathers ate."

  

  

  Levy snorted. "Food is food. I don't care."

  But his eyes darted quickly from stall to stall, watching chocolate fountains pour and hot dogs sizzle.

  They reached a stand where a mountain of sweets glimmered. Naggi picked up a cupcake and handed it to Levy.

  "Here. Try this."

  Levy wrinkled his nose but bit into it. Frosting smeared his cheek, and his eyes widened in surprise before he quickly covered it with a frown. "It's... alright."

  Naggi smiled knowingly. "You like it."

  

  

  Levy turned away, his pride unbending. "It's okaaay"

  Naggi "Braxill, the boy who made this, he's amazing!"

  Levy "He's just showing off that's all."

  Naggi's smile faded, but her tone remained calm. "He shared what Joy gave him, Levy. That's not showing off. That's giving life."

  Levy's jaw tightened. Braxill's name alone felt like a challenge to him. His rival.

  They sat at a wooden bench by the machines. Zoners bustled all around, laughing, eating. Nagi folded her hands, watching her son as he tore into another cupcake.

  "You know," she began, "this world isn't as simple as your father makes it seem. There are Artimansers. There are Artists. There are Knights. But under the same sky, we're all human. Men and women have both done great things."

  Levy rolled his eyes. "Father says artists just complain. They blame everyone else for their problems. They make up lies to feel important."

  Naggi looked down, her voice heavy. "I know what your father says. But that doesn't make it true, you see how the people live here, do they not have a right to basic needs such as food and water, sometimes the people go weeks without food, that includes me, is that alright with you."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Levy stood up, words caught in his throat.

  

  

  She leaned closer. "Do you know what people used to fight about, long ago? On the surface, before the Skylands?"

  Levy smirked, crumbs stuck to his lip. "What? Over who had the biggest muscles?"

  She shook her head. "Over skin color."

  

  

  Levy blinked. "Skin... color? That's a myth. A story artists made up to victimize themselves."

  Naggi's heart ached, but she didn't lash back. She simply said, softly, "No. It's true. In the old world, some humans looked down on others for nothing more than the color of their skin. Or whether they were a man or a woman. It tore nations apart."

  Levy frowned, kicking the bench leg. "That's stupid. People can't be that dumb."

  "They were," Naggi whispered. "And in some ways... we still are, the artimancers don't believe in the strength of women."

  Levy unsure how to respond "But that's different"

  Naggi "How so?"

  Levy "Ummm.....um...I don't know, I have to ask Dad but I know it's different."

  

  

  Naggi "Do you think I'm weak?"

  Levy "Honestly, yes."

  Naggi "I appreciate your honesty, when the day is over I would like to take you somewhere."

  They paused by a small shop.

  Naggi traded a few gold coins for a cone of strawberry ice cream, its pale pink surface glistening under the sun.

  Levy took a tentative lick, then another, the sweetness soft and cold against his tongue. For a brief moment, he couldn't help but smile, the taste cutting through the heaviness of the day.

  Levy was quiet for a long time, licking his ice cream. The sound of laughter from other children, running with ice creams in their hands, drifted by.

  "...So what? Artists and Artimansers are both good for the world?" Levy muttered, not meeting her eyes.

  "Yes," Naggi said gently. "Your father's power and mine may be different, but both matter. Joy gave all people something. Art, science, strength, compassion. It all matters."

  She reached out, brushing a crumb from his cheek. "And you matter most of all to me and I love you."

  Levy froze, stiff as stone. His father never said things like that. Not once.

  He felt a lump in his throat but forced himself to scoff. "Pfft. Don't say embarrassing stuff like that, Mother."

  Naggi chuckled softly. "It's not embarrassing. It's true."

  

  

  Levy turned away, his ears pink. He didn't want to admit it felt good, hearing her say it.

  Levy licked his ice cream. "Mother... who's Joan of Arc?"

  Naggi's gaze drifted ahead, her orange hair swaying in the sunlight.

  "She was a girl they mocked, a woman who led armies when the world said she couldn't. Men called her weak, but she marched through fire, defeating countless enemies and leading soldiers who once refused to follow her. Even when they burned her, she never bowed, she looked up."

  JOAN OF ARC

  

  

  Levy stopped mid-bite, eyes wide. His heart sank a little, the words digging against everything his father had ever told him. Women can't lead... right?

  Naggi turned to him, her tired eyes soft but sharp.

  "Were you in the library again?"

  Levy nearly dropped his cone. "W-well, uh—I... it's a long story, I know you said not to, but it was—B-Braxill! He, uh, turned us into knights so we could walk in! I didn't want to, it just kinda... happened!"

  Naggi's lips curled into a quiet smile. "Mhm."

  Levy looked away, face red, heart confused, the sweetness of the ice cream suddenly hard to taste.

  Around them, the celebration grew louder. Zoners sang songs, men cheered, women danced with children on their shoulders. Joy's miracle had breathed hope into them all.

  Levy shoved his hands in his pockets. "Maybe... maybe you're not as wrong as I thought. About some stuff."

  Naggi smiled, her eyes wet. "The greatest men are the ones who can admit when they were wrong."

  He glanced at her, then quickly looked away. His pride wouldn't let him admit it, but deep down he felt something shift. Maybe his mother wasn't weak. Maybe the world wasn't as simple as his father said. Maybe he didn't know everything.

  Levy bit into the last of his cupcake, muttering under his breath, "But don't think this means I like artists now..."

  Naggi laughed softly, sipping her drink.

  As the night sky glowed with lanterns and music, Levy sat beside his mother, pretending to sulk, but secretly enjoying every second.