Path of the Wind
folder
Fantasy & Science Fiction › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
12
Views:
743
Reviews:
7
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Fantasy & Science Fiction › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
12
Views:
743
Reviews:
7
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Meeting the People
7
Gerdon looks around in amazement as he enters the Dontenko settlement. He had been listening to Jasco’s stories for more than ten years but the place still seems alien. The first thing you notice is how clean it is. The streets between the buildings are free of mud and refuse and the air smells of wood smoke, trees and clean air. Even the smallest eastern towns carry the smell of dung and the grandest castles have the various consequences of human and animal habitation lying in the corners or alleys. Second are the people. Every person is dressed warmly if plainly and looks healthy and well fed. There are no beggars, no street urchins and they all have light hair. Gerdon’s earliest memories are of fights over his hair colour and rubbing soot on his head to darken it. Here the first thing to make him stand out in the eastern lands is the one thing that makes him blend in with the people.
He finds the inn of the side of the small market place and steers his horse to the stables behind it. A small boy assures him that it will be cared for and if he steps inside his mother will provide a warm meal. Gerdon has to bend to pass under the lintel of the back door. As he straightens he blinks at the dark then finds his eyes stretching wide. He knew that the Gerenti were short people, but the woman in front of him seems tiny. Seeing him staring she raises an enquiring eyebrow. The young man blushes, looking down at his big feet as if seeing the scuff marks on his boots for the first time. Her laughter deepens the red on his cheeks but he can’t help looking up at her with an answering grin on his face. “Is it your first time visiting the Gerenti?” Her accent changes the trading tongue into a softer more exotic sounding language. He answers her in her own language, “Tam mahiya, corobe ye kinde.” Yes lady, excuse this outsiders lack of courtesy. Her eyes widen as she stares at him in surprise.
When they finally stop laughing she motions him to a large chair at the head of the table. “So kinde, what can I feed you?” He returns her smile as he settles himself “Anything mahiya. My name is Gerdon.” She busies herself at the fire and says over her shoulder, “Tihikia Dontenko. So where does a kinde learn to speak to the plain?”
“I learned from a good man with a great respect for it. His name is Jasco Berten.” She nods her head but carries on with her preparations. They share a friendly silence until she returns to the table with his plate and takes a seat next to him. He starts to eat finding the food tasty although unidentifiable. “His name is known as a friend to the Gerenti, although it has only been heard in the Gampo’s songs for a long time. Is he still walking?”
“Yes, but slowly for he is now an old man.” She nods her understanding.
“What brings you here Gerdon kinde?” She waits patiently as he finishes his meal.
“That was wonderful, thank you Tihikia.” She removes the plate and returns to the table with two mugs of steaming tea. The young man folds his hands around the mug breathing in the flavour. The tea smell as good as the food has been, but is equally unknown. He looks up and finally answers her question. “The wind. Its carries the smell of change and opportunity.”
Gerdon looks around in amazement as he enters the Dontenko settlement. He had been listening to Jasco’s stories for more than ten years but the place still seems alien. The first thing you notice is how clean it is. The streets between the buildings are free of mud and refuse and the air smells of wood smoke, trees and clean air. Even the smallest eastern towns carry the smell of dung and the grandest castles have the various consequences of human and animal habitation lying in the corners or alleys. Second are the people. Every person is dressed warmly if plainly and looks healthy and well fed. There are no beggars, no street urchins and they all have light hair. Gerdon’s earliest memories are of fights over his hair colour and rubbing soot on his head to darken it. Here the first thing to make him stand out in the eastern lands is the one thing that makes him blend in with the people.
He finds the inn of the side of the small market place and steers his horse to the stables behind it. A small boy assures him that it will be cared for and if he steps inside his mother will provide a warm meal. Gerdon has to bend to pass under the lintel of the back door. As he straightens he blinks at the dark then finds his eyes stretching wide. He knew that the Gerenti were short people, but the woman in front of him seems tiny. Seeing him staring she raises an enquiring eyebrow. The young man blushes, looking down at his big feet as if seeing the scuff marks on his boots for the first time. Her laughter deepens the red on his cheeks but he can’t help looking up at her with an answering grin on his face. “Is it your first time visiting the Gerenti?” Her accent changes the trading tongue into a softer more exotic sounding language. He answers her in her own language, “Tam mahiya, corobe ye kinde.” Yes lady, excuse this outsiders lack of courtesy. Her eyes widen as she stares at him in surprise.
When they finally stop laughing she motions him to a large chair at the head of the table. “So kinde, what can I feed you?” He returns her smile as he settles himself “Anything mahiya. My name is Gerdon.” She busies herself at the fire and says over her shoulder, “Tihikia Dontenko. So where does a kinde learn to speak to the plain?”
“I learned from a good man with a great respect for it. His name is Jasco Berten.” She nods her head but carries on with her preparations. They share a friendly silence until she returns to the table with his plate and takes a seat next to him. He starts to eat finding the food tasty although unidentifiable. “His name is known as a friend to the Gerenti, although it has only been heard in the Gampo’s songs for a long time. Is he still walking?”
“Yes, but slowly for he is now an old man.” She nods her understanding.
“What brings you here Gerdon kinde?” She waits patiently as he finishes his meal.
“That was wonderful, thank you Tihikia.” She removes the plate and returns to the table with two mugs of steaming tea. The young man folds his hands around the mug breathing in the flavour. The tea smell as good as the food has been, but is equally unknown. He looks up and finally answers her question. “The wind. Its carries the smell of change and opportunity.”