King Hagan: Behind the Wisdom

King Hagan, the wise ruler of the knowledgeable land of Brightvale, is best known for his strong beliefs in philosophy, wisdom, and learning. Keen on educating his people and distancing himself from his brother’s kingdom of Meridell, King Hagan is known thus far to have no fault but to wish his citizens the best of wisdom (and perhaps disliking his only brother Skarl). But is that all to the clever king we see standing at the throne; an intelligent king whose only wish is to educate the next generation? Or is there a far darker secret kept under the outer genius of the famous King Hagan?

According to the Neopedia, a number of critics have voiced concerns that ingenious King Hagan’s outspoken desire to educate his citizens may come from quote: “a subconscious desire to set himself apart from his brother (and, by extension, his kingdom apart from the land that Skarl rules)”. If so, we must ask ourselves just what the so claimed “King Hagan the Wise” has in store for his people and what the results may be.

To shed a bit more light on the real King Hagan, beyond the knowledge spouting royalty, interviews were sought with the residents of Brightvale. However, many were not so willing to speak of any truths that they knew of (if any), including the passionate few who voiced anger at the inquisitive proposal, saying that it was quote: “Skarl’s kind of thinking” and slamming their doors. With a bit more luck, however, a secretive meeting with a few of the locals was finally arranged.

Through the interview, shocking details of Brightvale’s current ruler was brought to light.

According to one informant, who has resided in Brightvale all her life, King Hagan has, in the past, quote: “gone over the edge with laws and decrees to distance the place [Brightvale] from Meridell. He [King Hagan] made a well-publicized speech a while ago [before the discovery of Brightvale] about how his brother [King Skarl] was going to mess up all the work that’s been done to educate our people if we were found out about by them [Skarl's people]. I assume that's why we had to keep to ourselves.”

This rather startling strategy of King Hagan’s was effectively put to a grinding halt when local travelers stumbled upon the kingdom on 11th day of the Month of Hiding, Year 8. The travelers were reported to have run straight to Meridell Castle with the new findings. However, there are a number of rumors speculating that Brightvale guards had chased them in an attempt to wipe clean their memories of the discovery, in the end having to settle with erasing the parts about the hostile manner of the guards. Other rumors, originating from Meridell, guess that the reason Brightvale had been hidden for such a long time was that King Hagan had hired a whole group of faeries to cast a spell on the entire kingdom to hide it from prying eyes. This theory has been denied with general indignation by both Brightvale citizens and King Hagan, but many still wonder what other secrets Brightvale still conceals.

The recent discovery of Brightvale, though nothing is certain about the speculating rumors, was, according to yet another informant, quote: “very enraging news to him [King Hagan]. He obviously believed quite strongly that this was by far the biggest flaw in his plan to educate the whole of Brightvale. But to the world of Neopia, of course, he had to put on a big, welcoming smile.”

Though Brightvale scholars, the king himself, and even the wise king’s younger brother, King Skarl, were sought for answers on the matter, including information about the previously instated laws of Brightvale rumored to have been a barrier against Skarl, many scholars rejected the offer, one disgruntled scholar saying agitatedly that it was quote “purely based on the biggest pile of dung I’ve ever laid eyes on”. Another scholar, also the shop owner of the well-known Brightvale bookstore ‘Brightvale Books’ said quote: “I do believe there is reason and right to wonder about the blanks and bits of Brightvale. However, I do not see any sense in pushing the matter beyond the point where the presumptions are supported by nothing but rather crude second-guessing and wild rumors. I do not know all the answers to your questions, though I am quite certain when I say this: anyone who goes out of their way to rave about matters they know very little of is about as likely to get to the truth as Skarl’s pet Spardel.” Meanwhile, King Hagan stated that he completely understands the public’s minor curiosity but that quote: “most unfortunately, my wisdom does not seek to shed light on the already brightened horizon”. King Skarl, on the other hand, had this to say:

“Arr, ye heard righ’. Ever since we was kids, ol’ Hagie never liked me much. We was kids, o’ course, but I oughta think tha’ he was righ’ jealous of me good looks. Before we went our separate ways, though, Hagie says, he says to me, ‘Skarl, you dunderhead! Mark my words: I’ll make a kingdom so strong and smart tha’ not even that thick head o’ yours is gonna block out the truth! You’ll see’. Lotta words, eh? Bet you didn’t expect that from perfect lil Hagie.”

As a final shot at the truth, a last word was sought with the group of previously gathered resident informants. Though most voiced certainty of King Hagan’s previously discussed actions as a plot to overrule his brother’s kingdom, none could come up with much solid evidence to back this hypothesis, though all were in agreement that quote “King Hagan is smart, no matter what the evidence comes out as. And we all know, even those who don’t believe a single word against him, that wisdom is, according to his highness, ‘wasted when not wanted’. If you were smart as Hagan, why would you want wisdom? That’s the question you ought to asking.”

On this ominous note, we end this journey on the quest for the truth of King Hagan, behind the wisdom, though undoubtedly, many are soon to follow. The complete truth of King Hagan and his kingdom remains buried beneath accumulating speculations and general interest but the public hopes that the secret will be discovered, as Brightvale has been, in the near future.

*Further comments on this article are welcome to be discussed with the writer.