Ari did like sheep, and he enjoyed being a shepherd on the lands of the Laine family. He primarily stayed near the village of Aurele, in the hills that surrounded the seas of golden wheat. The temperature there was much more mild than how it was in the cold southern regions of Henosyria. It was a land of rolling hills, on the warmer end of the preferred climate for the sheep and wheat, but very comfortable with periods of windy days and only slight rainy and dry seasons. Even the winters here were mild, rarely getting cold enough to snow. Miss Colette, the woman who offered him the opportunity four years before, had ensured he was caught up to speed in High Henos on the several month long journey to her family’s demesne. She tried to teach him his letters as well, but with the language of Low Henos having a completely different script than High Henos, the endeavor wasn’t as quick as she would have preferred.
Even now, she would personally come find him with her guards to come teach him things or speak with him. She still saw him as a small boy even now on his nineteenth birthday. Her guards from the journey to her home didn’t like him at first, but they slowly grew to enjoy (or at least tolerate) Ari’s closeness with Miss Colette. Her family were barons of the city of Lainebari, and were granted a hereditary nobility title long before the Kingdom of Henos became the Henosyrian Empire. The people of Henos, or Henosyria, were incredibly varied depending on the region they came from. Ari had only ever seen the southerners that were in Jarod’s battalion, or the natives to the town of Doors Bay, so it was surprising when he discovered that many of the people he considered foreigners from other countries turned out to be those from the different regions of the Henos lands.
Ari had only ever met Miss Colette, as the rest of the Laine family had other responsibilities. It turned out that she abandoned her claim to her family’s wealth and gave up her position within the family to marry Quincy, who turned out to have never visited Krazhnor from what Ari read of his journals that Miss Colette gave him. When she returned with Ari in tow, she was granted a minor position managing a library in Lainebari, but she continued to support herself with the wealth Quincy left behind for her. They often grieved together and conversed to each other of the ones they lost; Ari spoke of Jarod and his parents that he could barely remember, Miss Colette of Quincy and those of his family that passed with him. He never learned how he passed, but from the whispers of the villagers when she would come visit him the rumor seemed to be that they were ambushed by bandits. Bandits that were rumored to be too skilled and knowledgeable about his family's operations.
The two, Ari and Miss Colette, grew to have a sort of sibling relationship. She had just turned thirty four, and made it very clear to her family she had no plans to remarry, and the two had a small celebration together at his large home Miss Colette gifted him when he turned sixteen. It was in the hills beyond Aurele, you could see the outskirts of the town and the flowing wheat fields in the distance. It was originally built by Quincy to stay in when they would visit the region, so they could avoid staying in the city if they simply wanted to come and enjoy the region Miss Colette grew up in. A few of her acquaintances from the library and friends of Quincy attended as well, but it was a very small celebration and none of them seemed judgemental of the relationship that the two shared.
As everyone was getting to bed or returning to their homes on the night after the celebration Ari was approached by a longtime friend of Quincy and Miss Colette. Cyrus, an imposing man of Krazhnori origin, took Ari aside to speak with him in the gardens that overlooked the pasture behind the small manor house.
“Ari, you aren’t close with your ancestors and your roots from what I hear from Collie.” It was a blunt statement made with no judgment or emotions, just fact. As he spoke, Cyrus removed a pipe and lit it with a flick of his fingers that made Ari’s eyes climb into his hair. “I see you appear to be interested in learning some parts of it at least” Cyrus spoke with a slight smile and a flicker of defiance in his eyes.
“How did you do that? Are you one of the Imperial Mages?” I didn’t think they accept-”
Cyrus cut Ari off with a laugh, before offering up an explanation. “No Ari I am not one of the Empires Wizards nor am I one of the Priests of the White Sun. I am, if I am being honest, incredibly untalented in most forms of magic. What little I know stems from the druidism of our people. ‘Krazhnor’Putmosi’: The Path of The Honored Lands. It is a collection of druidic teachings that our ancestors regarded very highly. It was what was used to navigate the desert and find the oases, to avoid sandstorms, and what made the Krazhnori Traders the fastest and most efficient on the continent.” Cyrus took a deep drag on his pipe, the smell of it sent a shiver down Ari’s sign as he recalled this same smell from those deep and buried memories of his time before Jarod. “Your memory is very sharp, you remember things from your childhood that no boy should be able to. I hear from Collie that you picked up High Henos in just four months and learned to read and write both languages in only three months after you arrived. That is one of the signs that one is capable of traveling far down the Path.”
Cyrus offered the pipe to Ari, who looked at it strangely before Cyrus mimed what to do and how to inhale it properly. When Ari did, he came away coughing with tears in his eyes, which put a large smile on the big man’s face as he chuckled quietly. Cyrus took another deep drag before he continued “Quincy was not able to follow the path at all. It is said that those born outside the desert are unable to travel it, and those like myself of mixed descent struggle to get very far. Personally, I believe it is dependent on how closely a person can connect with the Lands around them. In my youth, in the early days before the tension between this land and mine were high, I recall druids who focused on magic that seemed unrelated to the desert. But they were rare.” He motioned at the well maintained pasture, the loved and protected sheep, and the beautiful rolling hills of wild grass and flowers that Ari did his best to preserve.
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“I believe if one is able to love and connect with the land and nature, then they can walk any path of druidism. The secrets of our people’s specific magic may have died with them in the war, but I think you have what it takes to become a druid. Not someone like me who only knows a bit but a real druid.” He looked into Ari's eyes for a full minute and Ari just held his breath unsure what to expect. Cyrus reached into his bag that he retrieved the pipe from and removed a large scroll. “This is a collection of everything I could find about the lost ways of our people. It is extremely incomplete, and even more extremely illegal. This type of knowledge was at first hoarded by the nobility, before it was discovered that there was some form of ancestral connection required to practice the arts. After that came to be known most of what was learned or recovered was burned and any found selling or owning it was executed.”
“If it is so dangerous and well protected wouldn’t there be constant searches on Krazhnori for texts like this? How could any of it have survived and how do you have some with you now?” Ari had a tremble to his voice, and looked around to ensure nobody was here to listen in on them. Once Ari was done checking, Cyrus began to explain. A subtle smile never left his lips after seeing Ari’s reaction.
“I am happy you seem to be taking this seriously. The answer to that is simple. Nobles are greedy and some of them put the information for sale once they saw the direction the wind was blowing. There are plenty of collectors with details and passages, but most of them aren’t complete enough for White Sun Inquisitors or Imperial Investigators to care. I was able to use my trade network and plenty of favors called in to build up this tiny portion of our ancestral ways. The scroll itself I had glamoured by a foreign mage, only those who speak the command word and attune themself to the scroll will be able to read its true words. To everyone else it is a deed, specifically the deed to one of my secondary businesses. A business I am giving you. Go ahead and read it before I tell you how to read the secrets.”
Ari nodded without a word, looking up from the scroll to see Cyrus’ eyes gleaming and the subtle smile transform into a grin as he motioned for Ari to go ahead. The deed was written in High Henos, but in more simple language than what most legal documents would contain. It was a deed to an exploration focused company, Cyrus’ Surveyors. It was a very small company currently based out of Lainebari, it was worth almost nothing but contracted and employed by Great Cyrus Company and The Lainebari Official Library. Ari finished reading before turning back to Cyrus.
“You named your charter ‘Great Cyrus’?”
Cyrus coughed, as he was hitting his pipe once more, before laughing a bit as he explained. “No- my father named it that. Cyrus was the name of the founder of one of the Krazhnori tribes, the one my family is from. Technically it is named after him.” Ari nodded before looking back at the paper, then turned again before asking a more important question. Ari was taking things as they come until now, but this entire situation seemed suspicious and provident for there to be no strings. Before he could voice his concerns, Cyrus interrupted him as he could see Ari’s thoughts written across his face.
“You accepted more expensive gifts from Collie, why are you suspicious of mine?”
“That is different.”
“How? She found you and decided to bring you here and take care of you, primarily because you reminded her of Quincy. Grief cannot explain the entirety of why she has lavished upon you this small fortune. You don’t even need to sell the wool from your sheep or any meat to survive. Even your garden is filled with fruits that you only maintain out of habit. Have you ever asked why exactly she did so much for you? You can’t surely think that it was all because of your connection could you?”
“What do you mean?” asked Ari hesitantly, looking back towards the house where Miss Colette currently slept. A bit of hurt was visible on his face.
“Quincy left a will that directed her to find a young orphan of the war, a sharp one that seemed unnaturally quick. One that I would be able to easily influence towards recovering our people’s lost history, after presenting them with the collective knowledge of our efforts. This scroll in your hand might damn well be the real reason Quincy died.”
After noticing the balled fists and tears welling up in Ari’s eyes, Cyrus shook his head and continued to explain. “Collie loved you like a brother, I know that it is true. But even though she does not know what for and why she was directed to find someone, I think you were the first person matching the description of what Quincy asked for. That and the similarities in appearance between the two of you was enough to cause her to latch onto you. I, like Quincy, am only half Krazhnori but never looked quite as much like our people as he.”
He stopped for a moment then shook his head again. “I am getting off topic, the point is this is your real inheritance from Quincy. From your people. The journals she's been giving you are often filled with his experiences traveling far from home because you need to learn from them so you can seek out the knowledge required to become a druid and hopefully complete the missing pieces of that legacy in your hands.”
Ari stood up and threw the scroll at Cyrus before speaking in a soft but angry voice, shaking with a red face “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for this fancy house and to be forced to carry the burden of the two of you and whatever expectations you have for me. If you want me to even consider this conversation further, you need to get Miss Colette caught up to speed.” By the end of it he was almost yelling, but managed to keep his voice restrained due to how serious he knew the situation was. He stormed off towards the house leaving Cyrus to sit and think in silence.
After a few moments of Cyrus just looking toward the house after Ari departed, he mused aloud “Did I fuck this up really bad or is this kid going to be a pain in my ass every time?”