The Huntsman of Adamos (Quartet)- draft

CH A BLIND LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER

“What was it like in the old kingdom, before the Cataclysm? Did you fight in the great war against the Xelusians? Where did you live? Where you always a woodsmith? Did you work for the great high houses of old?” Yuli was full of questions.

“There will be plenty of time to badger him when he heals,” Fleur admonished him. “Sorry about him, he loves history. My son is practically obsessed with the pre-cataclysm kingdom and the lost houses.”

Rieth smiled, and in swift strokes admitted, ‘I was apprenticed to a forester when I was young. I had a natural talent that no one else in my family had. Because of my skills, I have worked for or with several of the high houses. I still do. I did my term of service in the great war, but I did not like it, many I knew died. The old kingdom was a difficult place to live for those who did not have rank or wealth. Work was hard for unhoused and unranked citizens.’

“Thank you for answering, but Yuli can wait until you’ve recovered, if you don’t mind. He is more curious than his cat,” Fleur teased her son.

“I don’t mind. What about you and your eyes?” Rieth wrote and Yuli read. “Isn’t there someone else to do the work? How do you keep the Lighthouse and teach if you are blind?”

Fluer grinned and held out her hand and took the tablet from Yuli. “As a disabled veteran, I get assistive devices.”

She clicked an image of his identity and travel papers, then tapped the device, the surface raised up slightly over the letters and she ran her fingers over the raised parts. “I see, you have worked on Olympia, Dauntless, and most recently Aetheria.”

She grinned at his surprise. “It’s cool, isn’t it. But the polymer uses a lot of power to keep the surface elevated, so I have regular books in braille for reading and teaching from. I just use this for reading messages sent to me, and grading school work.”

Rieth was thoughtful for a minute then asked the question he was dreading. ‘Does your husband live here?’

Yuli hesitated as he read, but Fleur patted her son’s hand. “I was never married. We planned to be joined after the war. But... but I survived, and he didn’t. I was severely injured when Meridian 3 was attacked, I should be dead. When I woke in a healing sarcophagus, the war had been over for more than a century, and the Relic Refugees had been rescued. It was a miracle I survived at all but I was blind, and I was pregnant with Yuli. We came here with my elderly Aunt Meara. She ran the café and tended the Lighthouse, I helped her. When she passed, I took them over.”

’I am sorry your aunt died. Family is all we have. I lost my family except my brother. Briel is a metalworker and sword maker. Thank you for keeping me alive. You fight very well.’ Yuli read Reith’s words aloud then responded, “Mom is a master swordswoman, she fought with the guardsman corps up to the battle of Meridian 3. My father Yuriel was an archer, who died in the final battle of the war, but Mom was already asleep with me in a sarcophagus.”

‘I am glad you both survived. Did you know the Oracle or the Guardian? I have heard so much about them.’

Fluer looked down as her right hand touched something hidden under her shirt. “In a manner.” She answered evasively. “I have brain damage from my injuries... I have forgotten a lot.”

Rieth coughed, and she tipped her face toward him. “Does your throat hurt? I can make you more of the tea Callie sent.”

Rieth nodded once and Yuli revealed, “He said yes, I’ll get the numbing tea.”

Rieth wrote, then pushed the button before putting the modified tablet in her hand. ‘I think you knew them well, but don’t want to talk about it in front of your son.’

Fluer read the words with her fingertip. Her voice was quiet. “There are some things that are better left forgotten. My life before I became a warrior is one of them. You’re from the old kingdom, you remember what it was like for the high houses to own those of low houses or those who had no house. I was one of those who was owned and that is all you need to know. I left that life and became something more than a concubine.” She held up her head proudly, but her chin trembled. “People are worth more than their birth. Yuli only knows that I was a warrior, and now I am a teacher and business owner. He doesn’t need to know the rest, my shame isn’t his burden to bear. That’s why we live here, away from the old attitudes.”

His heart broke for her, that she believed such falsehoods about herself, he wrote, ‘Secret safe. People’s hearts are their worth, not their birth. The past doesn’t matter, it is gone, only now matters.’

Tears filled her eyes as she felt what he wrote. “Thank you for understanding. Things are hard sometimes. A never-wed mother, even one who is a decorated war veteran, is still frowned upon by our people, but it’s less out here in the settlements. That I haven’t married causes a lot of unpleasant gossip, never mind that I am scarred to the point no one would ever want to marry me. You can understand why I keep what I was before I became a warrior hidden. I must protect Yuli from my dishonor. I was property, but he was born free.”

Rieth reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’ll... never... tell...” He whispered harshly as tears gathered in his eyes. Her pain and shame were like knife to his soul, he hated that she thought so lowly of herself.

They held hands until Yuli came back with the tea. “Mom, he’s crying. Are you okay, Rieth?”

“He tried to speak,” Fleur answered quickly, placing the cup in his hands. “He’s quite chatty.”

Sipping the warm numbness gratefully, Rieth wrote, ‘Thank you for the tea, Yuli. And yes, Fleur, I liked to talk and sing, now I shall have to learn to whistle.’

Yuli chuckled as he read it and Fleur favored them with a tolerant smile, then she changed the subject, “Can I ask why you were traveling in midwinter besides your commission? It is treacherous in the Southern Seas during this time of year. Sudden ice storms catch ships and sink them, blizzards blow in from the sea and bury everything in snow. We call them Southwesters or Southeasters, depending on the direction they come from.”

He scribbled, ‘Got the commission. Came to select wood personally. I want the most choice. The best hardwoods are harvested in winter before sap flows. I sailed down for the end of winter harvest on the last fall charter. I have been working on odd projects to pass the time. There were no ships at that time of the harvest.’

“That’s because of the ice risks. We don’t just get float ice and ice storms. We get ice bowls.” His confused look had her explaining the weird phenomenon. “The bowls are... well, they are like pockets of super-cooled fog. They float on the surface of the water and the edge curves up like a giant bowl. The droplets freeze instantly to any surface, several hand-thicks (inches) of ice can build up in minutes if a ship sails into a bowl. My cousin Vole is the Master and Commander of the Oceania Southern Fishing Fleets; they were losing or rescuing dozens of ships a year to them. So, for three to four month, sailing below the twenty-fifth is forbidden unless it is on a vessel with thermal decking to stop ice buildup.”

“I love sailing,” Yuli said then he made a face, and complained, “But I got really seasick last year. Now, every time I go out with Nick and Nevin, I have to take pills.”

‘I get seasick too.’ Rieth admitted, ‘After the trip here, I never want to sail again.’ Rieth yawned, making a pained sound as he handed the tablet back to Yuli, the tea was helping but also was making him tired.

“We need to let you rest more. It has only been five days since you revived. Is there anything I can get you? I have printed books, and music recordings. We don’t have vid broadcasts in the archipelago and most of our audio-cast are weather related,” Fleur offered kindly.

‘I am tired of bed, could I sit in the main room?’ He wrote hopefully. ‘I have sleeping clothes in my pack.’

“You sound like mom.” Snickering, Yuli dug out a loose shirt and pants.

‘Is being out of bed a problem?’ He wrote.

“No...” Fleur started, but a giggling Yuli interrupted, “You’re not under healer’s orders.”

Exasperated, Fleur snapped, “Shut up, Yuli.” To Reith, she revealed, “I have recurring headaches from my injury. I am supposed to stay in bed, but I hate it.”

Fleur began to help Rieth dress, being extra careful to ease the flannel over his bandages. He hissed in pain as he tried to stand, and her arms wrapped around him with surprising strength.

“We’ll help you walk. Your wounds are slower to heal because the brigands used cursed weapons. I have been putting water of light on them, but it may take a week or two to heal completely. You’re lucky you’re from the old kingdom.” Fleur said softly as she and Yuli helped him down the hall and flight of steps.

As they settled him into a chair, that was at an angle to the fireplace and a broad window, she added, “Seriously, Rieth, you’re lucky to have revived at all.”

Rieth caught her hand as she tucked a blanket over his legs and held it to his cheek. “Th-thank you.” Then he coughed violently, and it felt like his throat was being cut open all over again.

“Gracious, Rieth, don’t talk. Yuli, get his teacup. I’ll make more numbing tea.”

After she hurried toward the kitchen, their dog Fang sat his giant wolfhound head on Rieth’s lap. He ran his hands over its ears, drawing little circles at the base of them. His jaw trembled as he remembered training the enchanted beast to be a protection and assistance animal for a disabled person as a favor to Asha. He thought it had been for a blind human on Jura or Terrearth. He couldn’t believe the dog had been for her mother, and the feeling of his niece’s betrayal burned again. That would have been the year Yuli was born.

His heart ached, he had missed his son’s infancy because of the pain he had caused Yuli’s mother. Looking down at Fang’s large brown eyes, he wished his honor had not made him treat Fleur so terribly. He believed they had reconciled when he went into the dust but when he went back to help at the Cataclysm, she looked at him with hatred. He had carried her wounded body back to the future only to have her die in his arms. He had held her soul in this world with every ounce of his strength, so she would revive, but it wasn’t enough because she believed his love was a lie. He knew the only reason he survived was because he still carried a remnant of her light, and the old protection enchantment was still working. She was right, he should be dead.

Looking out at the snow, he wondered if he could get her to fall in love with him again. The wind was blowing the frozen precipitation almost vertically and yet none was clinging to the walls or windows. Their house was very well built, and his magic told him the walls had been carefully enchanted to resist the weather as each stone block was laid. He suddenly remembered he had felt the same enchantment at the Northwestern Castle on Aetheria. He knew Kaleth had built this place for his Daisy, for their Daisy. Only now Daisy was gone and only the broken, struggling Fleur remained. His guilt ate at him as fresh tears came because he knew he was one of the ones who had broken her. Fang whined slightly as Fishlover the cat jumped to his shoulder with his rumbling purr. Rieth soaked in the comfort of Fleur’s pets. Quickly, he wiped his tears, as he heard Fleur and Yuli coming from the kitchen with his medicinal tea.

Staring out the blowing snow, Rieth could faintly see they were on a hill and there was a village by a cove below. Above the area, the sweeping beam of the lighthouse warned ships of the shoals in the poor visibility of the storm. Fleur handed him the cup with a smile that was opposite Yuli’s concerned expression. Rieth put his finger to his lips and gave Yuli a wink before sipping the herbal warmth of the numbing tea. Fleur went out to another room, and Yuli settled down with a book. Rieth recognized it as one of Kaleth’s favorite adventure writers. Reaching over to the shelf, he pulled one written almost two centuries ago on another world about a culture that didn’t exist anymore. The entire book case was filled with books written before the Harvest of Terrearth. He felt slightly sick with the knowledge that she didn’t remember who they lost during that time and how she had fought to save as many as she could. Putting the book back, he looked out at the storm, it was bad but the one inside Rieth was worse.

Rieth hadn’t realized he had dozed off until he felt Fishlover jump down and then climb onto his feet. A regular tablet computer with stylus was on a small table next to his tea cup. Outside, it was dark. He ran his fingers over the intricate stitches of the afghan.

“Mom made that.” Yuli revealed.

‘Where is your mom?’ Rieth scribbled.

“She went up to check the lighthouse and to make an elderly neighbor a hot dinner. Can I get you anything?” Yuli was half way through his book.

Rieth asked for his small hand carving tool pouch and a piece of wood from the fireplace stack. He quickly carved a knot on the log into a bird in a nest. Yuli watched him work fascinated, asking almost the same questions he had asked as an adolescent. They heard Fleur come back in and busy herself in the kitchen then she brought in a tray. She had made a rich beef bouillabaisse with mushrooms and savory herbs. His was pureed smooth but it still hurt his throat to swallow. He sipped it all, after days of tea and thin broth, it was wonderful even if he could taste the pain medicine and sedatives hidden by the flavor. Fleur and Yuli ate their beef and mushrooms over homemade potato mash, which he managed to coax a few painful bites of from Fleur.

‘Your cooking is excellent,’ he wrote and Yuli read.

“Thank you,” Fleur responded with a smile. “It took a long time, but I learned.” Rieth raised an eyebrow at Yuli’s snickering.

“Auntie Meara used to say Mom was such a bad cook when she was younger that she could burn boiling water.”

“Enough of you telling my secrets, brat.” Fleur scolded her son, but to Reith she loudly whispered, “It’s true.” Then she laughed, and it sounded like music. In a normal tone, she added, “Becoming blind was the best thing that could have happened to my cooking.”

Outside the wind turned hard but the house didn’t shudder. Yuli looked up from his meal, his eyes glowed slightly. “It’s shifting, Mom. We are almost through the backside, we should have sun in two days.”

Rieth schooled his expression so his shock didn’t show and sipped the last of the gravy from his mug. He had not been able to use his weather magic until after he was a century old. He wondered how much magic Yuli had, and how much Fleur had left because they both seemed to use it unawares all the time.

Fleur was saying. “Finally. I can’t wait to feel the sun on my face.”

“Look what Rieth made,” Yuli put the carved piece in her hand as he gathered the dishes.

Her quick fingers soon realized the design. “It’s lovely, I should hate to burn it.”

“Make... another...” Rieth whispered just as a loud knock hammered on the door.

Fleur rose and went to the door. Rieth could hear a man’s demanding voice. Fang lifted his head off the rug and growled. Fishlover hissed from where he lay at Rieth’s feet.

Yuli came back in the room, and whispered, “Easy Fang. Fish, no marking. They don’t like Protector Corbin. You should pretend to be asleep. Or he’ll stay here all night.”

Rieth arranged himself to look like he was asleep, then meditated so he would feel like he was slumbering. Yuli had sat down on the rug with Fang as a backrest and opened his book. Fish just glared at the entry with the malevolent green eyes only a cat could manage.

“Please, Fleur, this is a dangerous time to live alone, perhaps you should surrender your lighthouse duties and move to...”

“No! The Veterans Lighthouse is mine to keep.”

The man’s voice tried to placate her. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that I worry. You’re blind and Yuli is just a child...”

“Corbin, you’re being ridiculous... I was a warrior before I became a lighthouse keeper. I am still perfectly capable of doing both our jobs despite my condition.” She declared with firm confidence.

The protector made a grumpy sound and stomped through her house toward the living room.