I kept staring at my mom.
“Why? Not even a day after we were fighting about it?”
“Trien, you know why. Me and your dad just couldn’t afford it and we couldn’t let you go to the city alone. How could we? You’re 18 and have lived here since the day you were born. Of course, we wouldn’t let you go alone to Rhawa. Do you know anything about city life? Where to go and what alley not to go to? Who’s out to rob you down to your underwear and who’d just swindle you of all your money? You don’t know cities, nor me and Dorum. Not enough to feel safe there, at least.” Mum said, voice slightly rising “But your uncle, he’s lived most of his life in cities, he can guide you, he can take care of you enough to at least make you a proper city dweller. You know we want a better life for you than farming your whole life. We know it’s a big chance for you to reach a better destiny and, well, your uncle’s promise to take care of your basic needs in the city makes us feel safer”.
My breathing became slightly ragged. I kept shifting my eyes from Mum to the river and the bank on the other side. Absently I noticed that the bare trees were already sprinkled with small green buds.
“This…” I started feeling a small inkling of anger “You don’t trust me at all, you think I am completely useless that I can’t take care of myself? That I’m a complete dunce, whose only skill is to till the rows come each spring?” My voice getting higher.
“No, dear,” Mom sighed “We know you’re not stupid. Have you never noticed that I keep your literacy grading paper on the top of our bed? You’re our hope, you always were. You’re the only one in our family who can read and write. We hoped to get you to the village school next year, didn’t we? But the only thing on your mind is to learn the secret arts, it always was. But I’m scared, your dad is scared. There’s nothing good to come from associating with Bloodburns. How many villages have they burned? How many people have they killed? They’re a blemish on our society, drunk on power and fearing no repercussions.” Her voice was getting faster and faster “But… I just know that you won’t stop thinking about it regardless. It doesn’t matter to you, does it?”
My mind was going into overdrive, thinking about mom’s words. I knew all that already, this was not the first time it was brought up in our fights, after all. But why now? Is my uncle’s promise to take care of me so trustworthy to Mom? Or was it that Mom and Dad just lost all hope dissuading me? Still, Mom and Dad also know that learning secret arts leaves you with a good chance to rise through the ranks in the government of the kingdom. They always have a use for different kinds of secret arts in their missions, be it spying or hunting down the bandits. Which when I think about it, is the main reason they could’ve changed their mind. It was always the only point they never had any kind of refute to. Getting a high-paying job or assignment would make their lives easier, as well as mine. Being a farmer is spine-breaking work, with no safety of walls to hide behind and at the mercy of nature’s whims.
Either way, I never trusted the villagers’ hushed and fear-riddled voices talking about another village being burnt down, or the people going missing by the secret arts wielders. What was the point for the Bloodburns to do it? What’s they get to have from killing poor farmers? It always felt like just another superstition of the uneducated. Still, sometimes the news about signs of black sludge left at the burnt villages or wiped out by a plague would be found. Before I could reply or finish my thoughts, Mom spoke again.
“Just think about it, okay? Please, think about it hard and long. Really think if it is all worth it.” Saying that Mom took the finished washing the shirt in her hands and turned to face home, “and finish all the laundry. My hands will fall off if I keep doing it any longer.”
After that, I was left alone with my thoughts. I took the next piece of clothing and started washing it. Do I do it? The deal was too sweet to pass up. I wouldn’t have to scramble as some kind of servant or latrine boy. Wouldn’t need to work for a handful of coins for years, just for a chance to take the entrance exam. I have read the pamphlet of the academy before, once caravaneers passed our village and one of them kept one, because of the striking colors. Terms of the entrance actually allowed a one-time fee waived for the relatives and recommended people from the senior students, which I was pretty sure uncle would be at this point.
As I finished the laundry, futilely trying to dry and warm off my frozen appendage I almost stumbled into a flying rock.
“More flying rocks from our island shore, huh?” I’ve turned my head to see Omin’s slightly smiling face. “It keeps breaking apart more and more, I think you shouldn’t trust the fool-fences that much anymore, Trien. Never know if the next piece to crumble off would be the one under it.”
I forced a smile at my brother. “You’re probably right, Omin. Have you heard what me and Mom talked about?” I wondered out loud, hoping for a negative reply.
“I have. And before you ask me, yes, I think you should go for it” Omin proclaimed.
“But what about you? You’ll be left alone here, with no one to talk to except for parents and old Yao. Wait, not even him anymore.” I winced at my tactless remark.
“I know and I’m okay with it, it’s not like I ever wanted to learn Blood Arts. That was all you and is your dream, not mine. I’d love to visit Rhawa, though. Maybe even apprentice myself to a carpenter or a tea master” Omin let out a laugh, “If you do decide to go, tell me first. I want to talk to my parents and make them agree to let me go with you, as well. I hope uncle didn’t mean to extend his invitation of care only to you.”
“Of course, of course. Are you free to go take a walk? I need to think about all this and, uh, that might sound weird, but you make it easier when you’re around.”
“Oh look at my little Trien, so dependent on his perfect older brother” Omin laughed out loud, “Of course I’m free, wouldn’t be here otherwise, now would I?
I glared at him and turned around, only to take 5 steps and bump my head into a flying rock I saw earlier.
“Ow… Stop laughing.”
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I shaded my eyes looking at the Sun above. It’s going to get extremely hot again. It’s been 2 weeks since Mom presented me with the choice. I made up my mind about a week ago, after long talks with Omin and parents, well mostly Mom, Dad was abstinent from conversation as usual. I decided to go, and Omin somehow got their approval as well, which surprised me, but Mom’s explanation kind of made sense? She would feel safer, if I’d travel with my older and more responsible brother, finding a way to needle me even on an unrelated topic. She also liked the idea of him getting an apprenticeship to be a skilled worker, rather than a farmer. Either way, we were in a state of preparation for about a week now and were set to leave in 2 weeks, after helping parents and other villagers with spring planting season, especially taking over old Rou’s small plot of land he took care of. We had no free hands or new families to relegate it to, so it was decided to be split between 3 families, including ours until a new family moved in or someone in the village got married and moved from their parents’ house.
“Hey, stop spacing out and get your hands back into the dirt, Trien!” Mom yelled.
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Two weeks passed in a rush of preparing for our departure and working on the fields from dawn to dusk. It felt like there was some kind of haze before my eyes, still not fully trusting that my parents agreed to let me go, or maybe because I still couldn’t fully believe that I was finally going to learn Bloodburning.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Caraveneers told us in one of their last trips to us about seven years ago to acquire ox furs that our island in the kingdom archipelago is one of the smallest, but even then the distance is significant for one traveling on foot. There’s no real infrastructure supporting the transit between our village and Rhawa, as there are no benefits the city can receive from it. None of the Gale Bridges connecting the islands in the archipelago are close to our village, with us being the northernmost island and the village located in the North of the northernmost island.
The trip to the Rhawa supposedly takes about 4 days on foot, less so on a horse. Unsurprisingly, we do not have enough resources to afford a transit and the village doesn’t raise any horses either, as they consume too much grain and no one in the village rides horses, or has any need to ride one really. Plus they are one of the animal breeds that can notoriously be born with a natural affinity to the Secret Arts, which they cannot control properly without a serious effort of experienced trainers. Too many stories of farms burning down or shadowy figures appearing at night to murder the especially tyrannical owners. Working horses on the farm is viable, of course, but basically useless, when you can have oxen with their milk, fur, and the amount of meat. They still dip in the grain stocks noticeably, but you can also just graze them even in the winter, compared to the local horse breeds that aren’t used to it. Regardless, we were to go on foot and were preparing travel food, travel clothes and waiting for a more presentable public dress for me and brother from a local seamstress, using what me and Omin scrambled up over the years helping out villagers with odd jobs.
I stood up from my bed, sneaking a glance through a boarded-up window in my room, which probably used to have glass in it, instead of several planks of oak. The sun was already coming up and I heard a pleasant sound of sizzling eggs and the smell of fresh baked bread. Just one day left until our departure, huh. I went downstairs just to see that only Mom was there, already plating the food.
“Morning” I sleepily grumbled “Where’s dad and Omin?”
“Out to get some milk from Rosenwalts, their cow just hit two years old and started lactating.” Mom said, smacking her lips.
“Huh, it’s already been two years,” I went silent for a moment, “Listen, Mom. I know what you said about allowing Omin to go, but is it really okay? How are you and Dad going to cover the farm and the harvest?” This was gnawing on my mind ever since they agreed to let Omin go. Dad and Mom weren’t getting any younger, pushing to 50 and harvesting the whole field with just two of them would have a very bad effect on their bodies.
“It’ll be alright, don’t you worry about it, dear. We already spoke with Rosenwalts and Lee’s families. They agreed to help us out in turn for some of the harvest since we helped them out last year after they lost a whole field to the locusts. And since you’ll two be moving out, we won’t have to plant that much next year, what with two less mouths to feed. We can also borrow old Rou’s ox, for the next harvest since he passed away. The village chief has it right now, but he decided to give it out to families in need, instead of just giving it to one family.” She took a long breath “Of course it’ll be difficult without you two, but… I believe in my sons to do the right thing and help out their old folks after their training” Mom muttered with a soft smile.
“Stop, you’re making me homesick already and I haven’t left the house yet” I grumbled in reply, but with a slight smile tugging at the sides of my lips with Mom letting out a constrained laugh.
I finished gobbling down eggs and cheese combo and went to the trough to wash my wooden bowl.
“I’ll go check on Miss Lee in a bit, she said the dresses should be done by today midmorning.” I informed Mom.
“Okay, just make sure to get back here, so you two can try it on and check the sizing properly. I don’t trust you to tell apart a collar button from a jacket button.”
“Okay, okay, stop nagging.” I threw her an annoyed look, “Since we’re pretty much done with planting, I’ll just go catch on some more sleep.”
I stomped upstairs, shaking my head, and decided to actually catch a bit more sleep. Continuous non-stop planting has left me feeling tired all the time and I needed to be ready to leave tomorrow in full strength.
When I woke up the Sun was already slowly approaching its zenith.
“Ah, damn. I’m late” I ran out of the house, barely looking around. Miss Lee hated people being late. I ran through the stalks of green-gray grass already peeking out of the last remnants of snow. I ran through stomped down dirt roads of the village, dodging an occasional cow in futile attempts to find something to chew on in the dirt. All around me were worn-down wooden buildings, more like huts actually. Most of the buildings in the village were very small wooden huts, sometimes with a straw roof, sometimes with pressed-down grass, making them fade into the background sometimes in the summer.
“Hey, Trien, come he…” An old man from the village hollered at me, “Busy! Later!” I yelled back and ignored the annoyed curses yelled back at me. I ignored it and finally made my way to the Lee’s residence. A small hut, just like any others in the village. I dusted my linen shirt and pants and went inside, after knocking on the door.
“I’m sorry for being late. Are the dresses ready?” I asked with a huffed voice.
“Not even hello or good morning, huh, you little shit?” Whatever, can’t bother with straightening your lack of basic manners today. There, on the table, take it and get out, unless you want me to help you with a healthy whooping.” Miss Lee shot out at me after I went inside. I quickly picked up the dresses, almost making them fall through my shaky hands, mumbled quick “Sorry, thank you”, and ran out of the building towards our home. Whew, never a pleasant experience dealing with Miss Lee. She’s always in her “take-no-bullshit” attitude and I don’t generally handle altercations easily, except when it’s fighting with my parents, I guess. What’s done is done, I put her out of my mind to run back home and check the dresses out.
Three hours later and after a lot of putting on the new clothes on and off, moving around, waving legs and arms around, and a lot of “hmm” from Mom, Miss Lee’s creations were finally approved.
“You’re definitely sure it’s not too tight around the shoulder here? It feels like it’ll snap as soon as you make any sudden move.” Mom kept letting out contemplation sounds, and then saw the exasperated look on my face, “Okay, okay, if you say it’s good, then it’s good. Don’t worry about the payment, we had a favor to turn in with Lee’s, and the rest won’t take much coin.”
“My dear young brother sure is getting big, look at those massive shoulders, he’s a real man now!” Omin poked at me and snickered, “Looks good! And we have matching colors and stitches, so even you will recognize in the crowd.”
“Crowd? What crowd?” I asked with a slight surprise.
“In the city, of course. There can be as many people as in our village in just one traveler’s inn. What do you think cities are like? Fields and farms with barely anyone? Hmph, you hick!” Omin proclaimed with fake arrogance.
“Alright, alright, all good, Mom? I want to get a full night’s sleep before departing tomorrow.” I asked Mom. I could feel my cheeks slightly burning after my last question.
“Yeah, go on, dear. You too, Omin. You’re the one who needs to look over him.”
“Nightie-night” I mumbled out while covering a deep yawn. Nervousness from having to meet Miss Lee and several hours of try-ons I felt exhausted, so I went to bed.
The next day started out with me feeling rested from a good night’s sleep. It was weird because I thought I would be more anxious before our time to leave. Like I felt anxious whenever I planned to confess to Miss Lee’s daughter Jenah. Yeah, that never worked out, she called me a useless waste of space and prohibited me from staying near her to not share the same air, which was pretty sobering for my feelings. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I guess.
Breakfast was largely quiet, aside from the sounds of four people destroying the exquisite breakfast of flatcakes with some wild honey.
The same quietness kept until we neared the ravine, which informally crossed the borders of Northern Pastures village and the outside world. Me and Omin hugged Mom and shook hands with Dad, before crossing the bridge and turning around for the last goodbyes.
“Don’t dishonor our family name.” Was the only line delivered from our Dad in the whole morning.
Mom stared at his unchanging face with visible anger, but then her facial lines softened and she looked towards us. “Please stay safe, don’t trust anyone you do not know. Go straight to the academy and find your uncle. Don’t ask random people for the way, ask the guards. You have the money in your…”
Crack. The ground started shaking and the ravine beneath started forming a spider web of cracks with deep purple and red gusts forming and streaking out of the cracks. Crack, crack, crack. The sounds kept a simultaneously quiet and loud staccato of spreading web. One last crack and with a boom the ravine stopped cracking. The snap of the bridge ropes followed the staccato of the cracks. With the last boom, we started drifting off from our parents further and further, higher and higher above them. Or rather their part of the cracked-off island drifting off the mainland lower and further away, just like the flying rocks I too often hit with my head, while not paying attention.
“Mom, Dad!” Me and Omin cried out at the same time.