May my child Alhaitham lead a peaceful life.

愿我的孩子艾爾海森過上平靜的生活。

? The Nation of Wisdom places academics and knowledge above everything else. As such, a scholar acknowledged by others within the Akademiya usually possesses a higher social status. Alhaitham was born to just such a family of well-received sholars. His parents died very early in an accident, and he was raised by his grandmother, a Kshahrewar scholar.

? Alhaitham doesn't have many recollections of his parents. He learned from his grandmother that they were both employed by the Akademiya, with his father being a mentor in Haravatat and his mother, a renowned scholar in Vahumana.

Alhaitham has inherited his parents' intelligence, and he was always the sharp kid amongst his peers, so much so that he started reading abstruse academic journals at around the age of seven. Having noticed his exceptional talents, Alhaitham's grandmother suggested that he attend school early. However, it only took half a day in the Akademiya for little Alhaitham to report this back to his grandmother: Everyone he met there was boring and he preferred reading alone to listening to their meaningless courses. Alhaitham's grandmother saw his parents' talents and personalities in him, and agreed to let him stay home to be self-taught.

abstruse: not known or understood by many people

? To Alhaitham, "to be self-taught" means to read, break down, reorganize, and question. Due to his family background, he was lucky to be exposed to books made of paper. Interestingly enough, he takes more pleasure in reading his grandmother's hard-copy collections than obtaining knowledge from the Akasha directly.

hard-copy:?"hard-copy" refers to a physical, tangible version of something, as opposed to a digital or electronic version.

? As opposed to the Akasha, books are inflexible and rigid, and there is no guarantee that their contents are error-free either. To use such a medium of knowledge is to dance with potential misinformation. The majority of people in Sumeru hate this, but Alhaitham derives great enjoyment from it. It was from reading that he acquainted the ability to learn, analyze,and even rectify, and ultimately, he has learned to question. If the rustic and primitive method known as reading is ever any trouble, it is trouble that?Alhaitham appreciates.

rustic: simple and often rough in appearance; typical of the countryside

? Alhaitham's grandmother told him:"You and your father both like reading. Now, I can't say if the two of you have been given too much share of wisdom or not, but always remember that being different is a gift."

? Knowledge is to be recognized, pursued, and trusted, but one should never forget to question it. Perhaps only those who come to such an understanding will not be easily moved by Canned Knowledge and other convenient knowledge media. And only someone who had already met these prerequisites would have casually read the Akasha manual sealed deap within the House of Daena.

? As Alhaitham's grandmother had said, books contain useless information, and sometimes in large amounts, but his sharp mind will sift through them — and if a book he has read lingers in his memory, it will come in handy one day.

? After his grandmother's passing, Alhaitham managed her funeral on his own, inheriting her properties and her small library. Before she passed away, Alhaitham's grandmother gave him this earnest blessing:"You are such a smart child. Many such people have large egos and a propensity to act on their own. You are outstanding and possess a broader horizen than ordinary people. This is not a bad thing, but you must understand that vain pursuits are but dust, and that you must discern your path with the greatest of wisdom."

propensity: the fact that someone is likely to behave in a particular way, especially a bad way

? Later, Alhaitham applied for the Akademiya and was immediately admitted, scoring high marks in the Haravatat entrance exam. He was informed that his grandmother had also applied for him to be able to attend classes in other?Darshans. Following his late grandmother's advice, Alhaitham has always kept a low profile and a clear mind, and always makes decisions for himself.

? Years later, when Alhaitham moved into his new house, he brought all those books over. While sorting through them, he flipped through a few that he had read long ago. The journals that had well-wishes written on their title pages were from his mother's collection, and the ones with reference materials inserted between pages and notes on the margins had once belonged to his father. On top of them, there was a thick book with an exquisite, emerald-colored cover. On the title page, his grandmother had written thus: May my child Alhaitham lead a peaceful life.