Fredrick Clairmount
Fredrick walked along the streets with a gait that reeked of confidence and power. Those who saw him tended to stare. Fredrick smiled to himself. His cloak alone cost more gold than any of these poor souls would ever see in a lifetime. He was once one of those ‘poor souls’, but had worked his way up and out and was now reaping the rewards.
His mother had been a cook at a noble’s house. Fredrick never met his father. His mother used to tell him that his father was an aristocrat in some far off city. As a small child this made Fredrick feel special, important, even when the other children teased him. But as he grew older he noticed that the children of nobles were treated differently from the children of peasants. One of the biggest differences was that the noble children were tutored in reading, writing, math and other strange things. But he didn’t have a tutor. And without one, he’d never learn to read and write. He’d never be a noble.
Angry he went to his mother. Sadly she told the small Fredrick that she didn’t earn enough gold to pay for a tutor. She couldn’t help him. He then went to the Master of the house, something he was not supposed to do. But for this he’d risk his mother’s wrath. The master smiled down at the boy who was trying very hard to be brave, but he would not allow a peasant to join his children’s tutoring sessions. Fredrick was devastated. Unwilling to give up his dream of being like his unknown father, Fredrick went to the tutor himself to plead his case.
The tutor laughed, but Fredrick was not deterred. He cleaned, he tended the tutor’s horse, he hauled wood and water, he did anything he could to prove to the tutor that he was serious. He even convinced his mother to slip him a pastry each morning so he could deliver it to the tutor. After a few weeks of this, the tutor was no longer laughing, instead he began to teach the boy who turned out to be a fast learner.
In time, Fredrick achieved what he had desired as a boy. He had enough gold to last him a couple lifetimes, servants at his beck and call, he could do what he wanted when he wanted¦ but he was bored. He knew what the problem was, the challenge was gone. He couldn’t remember the last time someone told him, ‘no’, ‘impossible’, or ‘it can’t be done’. Fredrick loved those words. They sparked a fire in him that drove him to make impossible’ become ‘possible’. To prove that ‘it’ could be done, no matter what ‘it’ was. He knew what he needed to do.
It was time to move on.
Maya Demeter
Born in Cove, the city of love, was raised by the town as her mother tended the provisioners shop. There she learned the usual cooking, cleaning, tending the garden, but warriors and sailors also visited and she was enamored with the sea life. Sailors taught her to fish and manage herself on a boat. The warriors taught her to take aim with a bow to protect herself. Her mother all the while encouraging her, but always reminding her of where she came from: the small city of love and to never forget that.
Cove is, as many know, not far from an orc fort. This made Cove the target of many raids by the orc. Sometimes those raids included other worldly creatures that completely stopped the commerce for the small seaside village. Eventually, sea farers and warriors would make there way back, but the town just never seemed to make it back to full repair after each raid.
It was after one of these raids, that Maya Demeter lost her mother. She survived the raid, but barely. Maya spent the next several weeks tending to her mother’s every need. But sadly, even with the help of the healers, her mother slipped into the grasp of death, nothing Maya could do to stop it.
This brought forth much rage in the young woman. She had endured many raids and been told it was the way of things. But this time the orcs had gone too far! Maya swung on her bow and quiver, mounted her horse and began her ride to the orc encampment. The town people begged her not to go. “It’s not what your mother would want!” they called. But she rode off in a hurry to meet her mother’s killers.
As she rounded the bend, nearing the encampment, she heard a soft yet strange cry. She dismounted her horse and walked softly to the entrance of the cave. In the pale light of the cave she saw a smaller orc tending to one of the larger brutes. The smaller orc seemed to be crying. While she did not understand the words, Maya, understood the emotions being displayed. Her heart softened and she sighed. The smaller orc heard her and slowly approached. Maya no longer wanted to fight, she had just learned that those creatures were not that much different. The towns’ people were right; her mother never would have wanted this. While she was still angry for the loss of her mother, she left the orcs alone to say their goodbyes in peace.
Was this the way of things? Was it not the orcs fault? The other worldly creatures often times seemed to be controlling the orcs. Were the stories true that other things were at work in this world? While Maya had traveled some with the sailors and warriors, she had never experienced the real world. All she had were tales spun by others. Perhaps it was time for Maya to leave the city she loved and that taught her to love and take some of that love out into the world and see what really was out there. She left that next morning, her bow and quiver ready to fight, her fishing pole by her side, her heart ready to forgive and love. Was this a good combination? Only time would tell…
