Michael
A little over a month had gone by since the hunting party had returned from their journey. Not much had happened in this time, Michael was training the whole day and still waiting for his new tutor to arrive. He knew that his father had sent out messengers a few days after his promise and some of them had already returned not finding who they were looking for. Michael was always getting excited when one returned just to get disappointed, He didn't have any time to obsess over this right now though as he was in the middle of martial training trying to block Geron's blows.
"Left, Right, Top!" The knight slowly gave him instructions on where to block. "No, you need a stronger base while blocking a strike from the top or I will simply break through." They had been at it for over two hours already and Michael's muscles were burning, even though he was continually letting his mana flow through his body, concentrating it in his arms to the best of his abilities. He wasn't very good at focusing his mana, to be honest. While he concentrated on shifting his mana a little, he missed a block and got a hit to the ribs as a reward.
He gasped but managed to keep on his feet, shaking his head to refocus.
"Maybe it is time for a break," Geron concluded but Michael shook his head again. "I can keep going a little more, as you said, I gotta hit my limits to break them." Geron inspected him for a moment and then got back into stance. "Ten hits cycle, slow, you begin."
Michael also lowered into the basic stance and began slowly but carefully repeating the movements he had learned. After completing his ten strikes they seamlessly changed roles and Geron became the attacker, commenting on every strike he did. This training is not meant to teach Michael to determine where strikes would come from but to imprint the right moves into him.
When Michael was on the third cycle, he saw someone enter the training field with his father at his side. The man was small, very small, and donning a long grey beard. He was distracted for just the right amount of time by the strange-looking man to take a hit on the head. This time he couldn't keep on his feet and collapsed on his knees, breathing heavily.
Geron knelt in front of him. "Are you okay?" Michael nodded, he had lost his grasp on his mana from the blow and the muscle ache had returned in full.
"We are done for today, recover for now," Geron said and gave him some water.
After Michael had recovered a little, he asked, "Who is that with Father?" Geron turned around to see who Michael was referring to, he seemed surprised at the sight. "That's a dwarf." Lord Rowan and the dwarf made their way through the training grounds with most of the present people stopping their routines to either pay respect to their lord or stare at the unusual visitor.
Michael got back on his feet, ignoring his burning muscles, and greeted his father and the new arrival.
"This is my son Michael and the one I wrote you about. Michael, may I introduce Solon Gremson, an old friend of mine." Lord Rowan looked rather satisfied with himself.
Michael nodded his head politely. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
The dwarf inspected the young lord with dark brown eyes from head to toe, he was only a little taller than Michael, so it made it easier to keep eye contact. Michael got a little nervous at the dwarf's inspection, from the stories he had been told when he was small dwarfs were a grumpy and reclusive race, fueled by greed and distrust toward others.
After a moment the dwarf bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, young lord." His voice sounded well-mannered and not as harsh or grumpy as Michael had imagined a dwarf to sound like. "Your father has told me some things about you in the letter he sent but I would like to get to know you myself."
"Of course, but I would like to wash up a little first."
"How about we meet in an hour for lunch, there we can talk in peace just the two of us," Solon proposed.
Michael agreed and asked Geron to inform Sola that he would have to cancel today's afternoon lessons.
An hour later Solon and Michael were sitting in the dining hall in silence. Michael had a feeling that he should just wait for the dwarf to speak, so he waited. Solon looked old, his hair gray his face lightly wrinkled but his eyes alive and vibrant. He was dressed in simple travel clothes and made a modest impression.
After 30 minutes of sitting in silence, Solon finally spoke. "You seem to have patience, that is good. I had feared you would be impatient like your father, but it seems this was unfounded."
Michael cleared his throat, "I spend a lot of my free time alone studying, so silence is no stranger to me."
"I must say I was really intrigued by what your father wrote me, a substantial personality change and growth of maturity because of a violent mana affinity awakening. I never heard of such a thing, at least not that it was a positive change, I have seen people go mad but not grow as a person." The dwarf ate in between sentences. "So why do you need a new teacher."
Michael was sure that his father had explained it already but guessed that this was also part of the evaluation.
"I want to learn everything I can to help protect my people, and Sister Sola who is currently my teacher, can't teach me everything I need to know. She says herself that she is neither a teacher nor a scholar and my growth would be better with someone who is."
"You don't need me to learn how to protect your people though, there are many knights here that can teach you the way of the sword so that you can go out and slay monsters." Solon looked like he was more absorbed by his food than the conversation but something in the back of Michael's mind was telling him, that this was only a facade.
Michael frowned, how could he explain his thoughts, even to himself they seemed so foreign sometimes. "Monsters are not the only thing that the people need to be protected from though, bad leadership and a lack of competence through ignorance were the cause for far greater disasters than monsters have for the last hundred years." He blinked not knowing where this sophisticated answer had come from.
The dwarf put down his cutlery and looked him in the eyes. "Are you really Michael Rowan?" The tension between them could nearly be cut by a knife, it wasn't like when his father got angry but more natural. Michael sat there for a couple of moments thinking about the question that he had asked himself multiple times already. On many occasions his thoughts felt like not his own, they just appeared out of nowhere, fitting to a certain subject but they didn't feel like thoughts more like suggestions.
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"I am me and no one else. The whole situation confuses me as well but that is everything I can say." He held eye contact with Solon until he leaned back. "Alright, then let me introduce myself properly for now. I am Solon Gremson, I have wandered this world for nearly 80 years now, from the far north to the deserts across the sea. I have dedicated my life to the acquisition of knowledge, and I will for now take you on as my pupil. Do not disappoint the faith your father has placed in you." His serious aura had dispersed, and he now smiled warmly at Michael.
Michael's eyes sparkled and he asked excitedly, "I bet you have a lot of great stories to tell."
"Haha, yes and you will probably hear many of them, as they contain lessons for the future."
"Where are you from, are there dwarfs living nearby, I never saw one before."
"My home is the dwarven kingdom of the Ereic Mountains, maybe 500 kilometers to the southeast from here, it is in the same mountain range you can see when you turn your eye to the south." A warm expression came over Solon's face as he thought about his home.
"What is the most memorable thing you ever did?" Michael was now fully engrossed with his head coming up with all kinds of questions. Solon leaned back on his chair and grabbed a simple pipe out of his bag. "That is a very hard question, but I would say wandering with the giants of the north to see the mountains of pure ice is one of the top experiences. They shined with the sunlight like a thousand diamonds and at night green lights filled the sky rivaling their beauty."
They kept on talking for another hour until Solon had to excuse himself.
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Solon
The cold wine went down Solon's throat as smooth as silk. He had been on the street for too long again and had nearly forgotten the finer things in life.
"Good?" Cedric Rowan was sitting next to him in his private chambers. "The best thing I had in a while," he admitted. "How is the smoke?"
Cedric nodded while he puffed on his pipe. "Very exotic." Solon laughed wholeheartedly. "I hope so I carried it around from the far east."
Solon looked at him, he had aged quite a lot since the last time the dwarf had seen him, with many more scars and a harder expression in general. "15 years, huh? How is everything around here?" Cedric sighed and said lost in thought, "Yeah, 15 years. I have to deal with these damned nobles all the time, with their cocking around, intrigues for influence, and general self-importance. Governing this land is just a pain, sometimes I curse the day Johann granted me these lands and I accepted. 13 years of peace since we tore the Twin Mountain Kingdom down. I am not made for this Solon, I never was."
Solon inspected the man, he looked tired all of the sudden, just fed up with everything. "It's true, you never had the patience, Talia sure did but not you."
"I did it for her you know, I knew I would never be happy with this position, but I wanted her to have a good life, I wanted to protect her from everything. In the end, fate is cruel, and death came in a way I had no power over." He looked over at the dwarf. "We could have used your knowledge back then. I do not blame you in the slightest, but we really could have used you."
"I know but I didn't want to see the carnage, I had even back then seen enough bloodshed for two lifetimes."
Cedric frowned at this and then said, "But why did you never come back? Not even to visit?" The dwarf smiled and took another sip of the wine. "There was nothing for me to do here. There were things to learn and places to see elsewhere. You know me I could never stay still without a purpose."
Cedric leaned back and chuckled, a sound that reminded Solon of old times. "What do you think of your new purpose? Will he keep you sedentary for a while?"
Solon looked out of the window for a while, appreciating the great view of the landscape and stars. It was at least better than looking around in the room. Cedric had always been a minimalistic person, putting low value on art or other kinds of decoration, that he hadn't killed himself. This room mirrored this very well, with a huge bear pelt covering the ground and simple furniture filling the room. Solon was sure that the drapes and flowers that spotted the room here and there were not Cedric's idea.
"He is a curious boy. He possesses a lot of patience and seems very intelligent. I will stay and teach him as long as he doesn't give me a reason not to. I am growing old, maybe it is time to settle down as well."
Cedric laughed loudly and said, "You are what? 140 years young? The brightest days are just in front of you." Solon joined him in laughter; they were both at least a bit tipsy already.
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Michael
Michael was changing in his room after martial training, the afternoon lesson was now delegated to Solon and Michael would leave soon. He was looking forward to the lessons and wondered what they would start with, maybe stories of faraway lands or the secrets of the world. Michael could barely keep his excitement in check as he left his room. Geron was already there and brought him to his teacher's room.
Solon greeted them in front of the room. "Follow me, young lord." He began walking down the corridor and Michael was glad that there was finally someone he had no problem keeping up with. "Where are we going, aren't we going to be studying in your room," Michael asked the dwarf.
Solon smiled cheekily. "I have used most of my life to travel and experience things, do you expect my lessons to be carried out by brooding over a stack of books?" Michael nodded; he hadn't thought about it that way. "Just theoretical knowledge will make you knowledgeable but it will also narrow your mindset and make you unskilled, so I will have you try out many different crafts and have you apply everything you learn to the best of our possibilities. I have already secured funds from your father's steward; he wasn't too happy though."
Michael chuckled a little and then realized that his initial question hadn't been answered yet. "But what are we doing today?" They turned into a corridor that Michael had never been in, but he could smell food, his teacher kept quiet until they reached a large open doorway with servants running in and out. "Today I am going to start teaching you how to cook." He entered the kitchen and Michael followed him confused and asked, "Cooking? That seems not that important for me to know."
Solon smirked at him with an amused expression. "I thought you wanted to learn everything." Michael got red and nodded. "Yes, I want to but with the time we have don't we have to put priorities on important things first?"
"It is true, though we have a lot of time in the next couple of years, we will have to leave some things out because no one can learn everything in the short time of a couple of years, but cooking is an important thing to learn even though you don't realize it. If you get a report of a certain amount of grain being stored, how many people can that feed, and for how long? How much food does a person need to survive? What do your peasants eat? All things you will get a special insight for if you know how to cook, also if you are out in the field or traveling being able to cook at least simple meals is pretty important."
"I understand, I am sorry I didn't think about it that way." Solon turned to him and held a thick finger into his face and said strictly, "Don't ever apologize for asking a reasonable question. Think about how much this question has taught you already, if you hadn't asked and just taken my opinion then you wouldn't have seen the reason in this field of study and maybe put less effort in. In my lessons ask any question you have, and you shall receive an answer, there are very few dumb questions in the world that are not worth asking."
They continued on until they found a certain man, whom Solon approached. "Good day, is everything prepared?" The man bowed and guided them to a remote part of the kitchen where the ingredients were placed already. Solon thanked the man and he quickly left with a worried gaze toward Michael.
Michael frowned but before he could have his mood soured, Solon interjected, "Don't worry about that, they will see soon. You have holed up in privacy for months now since the rumors started, so they had no way of judging you differently, but this will change now they will see you put in effort, and they will learn to respect you for it."
With a smile, Michael then listened to the introduction of food and the basics of cooking and once they had finished, they even shared their work with some of the kitchen staff. Even though they were reluctant at first, after seeing Michael himself eat the food and the first brave servant trying it, they indulged in the high-quality food, that they would normally never get to eat.