Chapter 1: Old Beginnings

Penny

1st of Spring

Penny felt a cool breeze sway past her hair and neck, kissing the cool wetness forming down her back and waist; the last of the chilling winter winds from the Gem sea south before a mild spring would truly arrive in full swing. Under a row of tall, groomed oak trees newly greened, she sat upon the familiar wooden bench shaded under its fresh leaves; working on her crossword puzzle when suddenly Maru nudged her from aside, breaking her focused trance momentarily.

"What?" She asked, being reminded of the girl who was sat with her, not looking up, What's another word for authority's mandate? She wondered, soon getting a harder poke from her right as she finally decided to look up. The girl seemed consumed by something else though, staring quietly over to the river road, watching a peculiar man walk along the banks while he eyed the beach that lay south from where they were.

"Doesn't seem like a Joja delivery man to me..." Maru trailed off, behind the shrubbery they would probably be well hidden, she supposed. Or hoped; Penny didn't want to be a stalker just then, but Maru didn't care it seemed; hearing her enthusiastic friend go on then, "Robin did tell me they were leasing out the old Honey Hill." The man came closer then moved further away along the road over the trimmed hedges, wearing a dark jacket with hair buzzed short.

"The farm?" Penny asked, coming fully off her morning paper that she had started folding, turning to Maru and meeting her through those rounded glasses, "Didn't it already belong to the mayor?" She asked, remembering helping old Lewis with the paperwork for the abandoned lot west a few years ago.

"That's what I thought too," Maru replied, face creasing in wonder, the man was long gone by then, eyes before him and then turning south by the bridge and disappearing from their view entirely soon after. Maru turned to her after a while of watching the tall figure pass; seeming out of place in their lazy town morning. Penny heard an excited voice rise from beside her then, seeing Maru light up with a mischievous grin on her face as she turned to her with a question, "You wanna go say hi?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Penny sighed, starting to get up, "Sorry," she smiled lightly, trying to explain, "I have classes today."

"So what? I have a morning shift too, you know." Maru quickly replied, getting up, "Come on," grabbing her arm, "this'll only take a minute, I promise."

Penny tried to protest but the younger girl was not having any of it, "Okay, stop pulling! Fine, I'll go" she surrendered, Maru took her by the hand then and over they went past the river bridge a few paces down the road, soon the pale sands after a clearing of foliage down south slowly emerging.

"Penny!" A voice called out from behind them, Maru halted in her steps as did she too at once, only, Penny already knew who it was, knew that voice, knew it all too well. The frowning woman had one arm on her hips, watching over the road that led to their trailer east, Penny turned to the younger woman beside her, giving her an apologetic look. Maru smiled lightly, nodding at once and saying no more. Penny liked her for that, would always confide in her patient friend who always understood hence.

Walking over she left her young nurse friend behind, meeting whatever words the old, bitter woman had to parley.

Crane

Crane smelt the dry earthiness and salt that permeated the air around him, the sonorous rhythm of water lapping up to the wetted sand a few yards before him over the empty scenery under a rising sun. The beach appearing an even deposit of whitish sand with the random dark hunk seldom appearing before his sight with the odd shell or carapace was strewn about; giving the beach an abandoned and uncared for feel to it.

"Hello, stranger." A man's voice spoke up, Crane turned at once with some amount of alarm, then sighed inward; reining himself in, trying to relax upon seeing a long-haired man in a deep crimson coat walk up to him, smiling disarming all the while, sensing some of his unease at the sudden intrusion, "you must be the new farmer," he said coming close, turning to the blue horizon out before the two of them, "Honey Hills…" he breathed out the words, turning to him with a smile, "you have his eyes, Mr. …"

"Crane."

The man flashed a set of even, pearly teeth, giving a half-smile, "I know what your surname is," he said, "you are his grandson, aren't you?" He asked, chuckling a bit.

Crane turned back, nodding quickly, "Right," he said, adjusting to the norms then, speaking once more with a practiced outer smile, "Von," he said, giving his first name to the stranger.

"Well, nice to meet you, Von" The man reached out an arm, Crane took it; feeling the man to not be completely out of the shape, judging by his firm grip, "Elliot Townsend, the local town poet, as you might say." He announced with a melodic tone to his words that rose and crescendoed theatrically.

Crane only stared, waiting for more, when nothing came he spoke up realizing it was his turn, breaking the silence held by those light hazel eyes staring him down, "Oh, I uh... I came in today." he ended awkwardly.

The poet seemed not to care, speaking with the same mirth as before, "Ah, meeting the townsfolk are we?" He asked with a rising tone

"I guess" Crane whispered in reply, turning back to the Gem; far into the distance where the blue horizon met the cloudless sky; Fothgen's shore would be over by where he looked, miles and miles away from where the sounds of men dying would still no doubt be heard. Could, still be heard.

Von snapped out of it, felt the pain his nails digging into his palms was providing only moments later, reined some of the control over his senses again after a moment of faltering, and tried to look on. He had gotten good at keeping his eyes open and mind occupied most times, most.

"Well, I shan't keep you, then." Elliot said, arms clasped behind his back as he turned to his right, Von saw one of the girls from the benches back in town come over to them, "It was nice meeting you, I look forward to your trails, young man." Elliot ended oddly, giving him a bowed smile after which he receded, walking back along the sandy shores. A nod over to the short, approaching girl before he walked away entirely, watching the waves crash into the distance.

5th of Spring

In his lucid mind's eye, he was back in hell, him among a squadron of men moving through blasted lands ridden with cavities of dug-out trenches, the constant battery of explosives and armaments of death from above them quaking the earth down below and letting loose soil to come free in foggy plums that slowly pooled finally below their boots. Sweat dripping down his chin as he waited, a tense breath that he heard the people around them hold onto as well, all standing wordless. Then, a tap on his shoulder and he was off, facing fire and bullets in its totality.

Von's eyes opened at once, both alert and in the dark, feeling the cool and warmth of the air and the sweat-drenched sheets below him respectively at once. Another nightmare, he grimaced, jerking up and turning to meet the cool, wooden floor with his naked feet. Sat on the bed he tried to calm himself, his heart racing to the tune of his mind's looping torment; it was still hard to get a handle on it during moments of rest.

After a while he started noticing his darkened surroundings, the single window pane by the hearth to his right showed a starry night, dawn no doubt still hours away. He got up, noticing the small carton box of something set aside, seeing the now empty seedbox old Lewis had sent his way. Crane suppressed a yawn and then rose finally, the door south of him creaking open and a cool breeze meeting his half-naked body, the refreshing nightly air effulging him whole.

The outside porch was out of old wooden boardings made probably decades ago, he minded his steps and moved to the packed earth through the low steps; feeling the grass and soil below his feet as he reached behind his pocket, the last of his pack of smokes coming out before him.

The last of the sticks therein that came free as Von lit it quietly into the nocturnal cacophony of insect and wind, the slow cracking burn of Tabac giving him some respite against his abrupt waking. A light drag over his work that lay before him then, already a batch of parsnips he'd sent the day before, an array of well-ordered potato saplings that had shot overnight, the patient fruits of his labor before him, asking for much more before they were to truly bear fruit.

It was then he saw the blue flames for the first time, a mere smudge from the corner of his eye, turning thanks to his heightened alertness and finding a fleeting flow move and twirl among the trees and grass far within the depths of the unkempt woods westward.

Reaching quickly into the dark cottage he found his jacket, zipping up as he reached for one of the old-looking farm tools leaning against the wall outside; a scythe, two kinds of axes, and a tiller as well, adding the watering can below the porch included the entirety of what old Lewis had been able to procure for him upon his arrival. Reaching for the sickle he moved out at once, the overgrown flora dark and uncaring around him soon as he pathed west, the pale waning moon above making his nocturnal traversal treacherous and demanding. Von turning and squinting into the wood line left, moving carefully as his feet found packed dirt gone hard and stone-ridden soil left abandoned over the years. The path then led on through the thickets and boulders he rounded mindfully, deftly cutting the shrubbery blocking his path to progress further into the darkened woods.

In the dark, he felt calm then; his senses alert as his mind went into a reactive state, away from all its looping torments and painful, ever-present recollections. Five senses freed; feeling the winds and the chatter of insects around him, touching the cool textured surface of the smooth birch as he finally rounded an impassable bunch of pines to arrive at a clearing to his right.

An abandoned glass shelter coming up before his view then. He looked up, seeing the thick. glass roof shattered and collapsed in on itself, the door that led within locked as well.

Then, from the corner of his eye he saw the blue flame again; this time clearer and through the stained panes of many inches thick, quickly turning the broken greenhouse to see something etched among the vegetation towards the cliff face. Von moved slowly towards his quarry, realizing himself to have walked to the edge of the farm then. The slow dawn rising to his back permeated the foliage-ridden scenery with a kind of bluish visibility around him that made everything distinctly clear and distinguishable.

His sickle working all the while as it cut a path through from the paved stones nearby to end up before a gray slab fused into the cliff from the clearing past a clumping of trees, hidden normally it but now came into view. Rounding the family of oaks he finally came upon the grayness that grew larger the closer he came towards the mountainside.

Slowly realizing as he bowed his head in reverence, the side of his index finger kissing his lip and then going to his heart, a silent prayer along with the mark of Yoba as he moved on, finding the stone carving of two intersecting spokes running out of a straight pole. Above it was etchings, old Gotoran from what he could tell; a tongue something completely out his mastery while he stood there for a few moments that passed in silence, all the while reaching out to the smooth, cool granite that was unlike the rest of the rock-face, a murmur riding on the winds passed his ears and drying sweat, the morning warmth slowly coming over him. His tattooed forearm lighting up as his palm rested on the cool granite, eyes closed as he fully smiled, maybe a rare expression on display ever since he'd been back from the fold almost a year ago now.

You're here, aren't you? He asked within, offering a small prayer as he looked up, the words in the cryptic language of old he could barely make out, and yet he felt his old Grandfather clearly, smiling then as he closed his eyes again, feeling his presence, if only slightly, that early dawn.

Then, after a while he heard a movement sound up behind him; the small rush of leaves displacing themselves, a loose step on unruffled dirt, and a second later the old farming sickle scythe was out before him, one arm before the other as he pried his eyes for any threats.

A figure, Von sensed more than saw at an instant; the tool turning and flailing in the air as it twisted and struck true into a dark oak, the old wooden handle vibrating once deeply stuck to the barky trunk until finally coming still. He heard a small yelp, quiet gasps, and then fast breathing. Frowning, he moved quickly, turning the trunk and finding a boy with tears in his eyes, fear apparent in them. He looked questioningly at the pale-haired youth of maybe ten winters with a frown, sat on the recently cleared dirt while wiping his tears and calming down somewhat, Von wondering who the boy even was, before catching a glance at the silver-green shield etched onto a locket around his neck, understanding some parts about the boy then, at least.

The young boy, apparently named Vincent, was sat by the tall, narrow cave entrance along with Von who sitting beside him as well; both leaning against the rock face a bit further away from the hidden granite far west. The field snack he had mixed in while moving this far east into the farm had calmed him down somewhat more; the boy seemed disheveled, darkened circles under eyes and knees scraped and shirt dirtied. A rebel then, Von smiled somewhat, seeing the young boy's eyes glaze over as he chewed with a sizable amount of concentration, no doubt recovering from his famished state, noticing the emerald studded locket over his striped T-shirt at the end.

"Your brother gave that to you?" Von asked, not looking the boy's way, over the eastern skyline the sun was fully out by then, a reddish ball blotting the clouds orange, remembering Tereth then, if even for just the slightest of moments.

"My dad." The boy replied with a voice even and sounding more resolute than Von had anticipated it to be, turning, he saw those dark eyes stare right into him, "I heard my brother talk…" he trailed off, taking a bite, "He was saying you were in the army." Von sighed, so the secret was already out. He didn't know if it was the old mayor or the prying carpenter woman who was to blame, "Mom won't talk about him, she won't even tell me if he's alive." the boy went on, bringing Von back to the farm, "You were in the army too" he said again, reaffirming his words as he stared down, looking pointed at Von's left arm, the symmetrical war-marks; each arm of the many-tailed heron that was a symbol of one's worldly conquest, a Gotoran custom that ran as old as time, back to sticks and stones, if the old books could be believed.

Von watched the boy for a second, many wouldn't recognize the ink work, or its bloody origins, but for some reason he could tell the boy looked at them familiarly, him considering his words before speaking finally, "When did he leave?" Von asked, catching a glance of the intricate shield slung around Vincent's neck; a high mark of honor admittedly, from the Order of Providence and the Shimmering Guard, a double honor, impressive stuff, he had to admit.

"Two years ago, I think…" the boy frowned in concentration, "He said he'd be back in a year, now I hear mother cry every night." his voice grew quiet, eyes hard and looking away, "Sam doesn't care, he keeps saying dad's already dead." he ended, fingering the token around his neck, no doubt finding comfort and assurance in its touch, a part of the person who had possessed it prior coming through, Von could only relate too well.

He sighed inward but nodded, trying his best to be understanding but found himself failing somewhat, so much for the sunny, happy-looking town, he mused, but soon realized it was he who was naive for expecting anything different from Zulu, even here.

The boy grabbed his jacket soon after, tugging his attention back to him, "You could find out," he said, eyes full of determination, a quiet pleading in his eyes and tone, Von understanding a little of what young Vincent wanted just then in the early hours of the morning.

Robin

The copper-haired carpenter from down 24th Mountain Road walked up to find an empty cottage after she had stood there, looking out of place, and having knocked for about a minute or so. Seeing the latch slightly open from before she had come; her irresistible will soon taking over her as Robin couldn't help herself but take a quick peek then, just to make sure the man hadn't hurt himself or something, she told herself.

The inside was dark, the odd gray trunk with spoke wheels that he had dragged along behind him a few days prior before. Robin saw the clasp of it loosed, the heavy padlock over it missing and revealing a little of what was within.

Just then she heard steps, her hand jolting to the knob and pulling it shut, a tad bit louder than she had wanted, turning at once to see the tall farmer come before her from the woods east, seeing little Vincent by his side as well, a dark bar of something in his hands that he was eating, soon paused with some amount fear and shock at finding her there the boy was, Robin quickly noticed.

She gave her best smile to the young, roguish fellow, coming down the porch's steps and facing in front of him, catching a glance at the apparently dirty boy who was by his side, wondering if Jodi had approved of this. This, she frowned, staring and wondering back into those mysterious sea-blue eyes, what's going on here?

"Morning, Robin," The farmer said, the lightest of smiles on that hard, angular face, turning to the boy as he spoke, "Vincent here was out playing all night, it seems. I found him near the edge of the farm." A smile again, this one infinitely kinder than any she had seen off him since his arrival a few days ago, "Don't worry," he turned back to her, "he isn't hurt. But I'm sure Jodi will be worried."

Robin nodded, seeing the boy staring down at the floor that he was finding so interesting for some reason, not meeting her eyes as he walked slowly and came beside her from where he had stood opposite previously. Herself somewhat shocked to see the tantrum-riddled boy comply so readily, taking a bite off that snack bar as he pretended to not be there. Robin found herself then, coming back to the present and remembering her reason for coming down this early into the morning.

"Oh! By the way, I wanted to ask. Will you be requiring additional accommodation for any farm hands, perhaps?" Robin asked hopefully, feeling a cool breeze from the west by Cindersap, turning around to see the ever-present wilderness around the farm, still not even a tenth of the way cleared among the even rows of tilled soil closer here to the old, rustic cottage, she wasn't sure how one man was supposed to manage all this still, no matter how capable the man before him seemed.

Tom wondered for second, rugged fingers on his shaved chin, and then shook his head, being cordial and formal as was his usual disposition, "Thanks Robin, but I don't think that'll be necessary. It's just me here, for now at least." He said, trailing off looking south, then eyes going over to his crops that were behind her, "Morning calls," he finally explained, deciding the conversation to be at an end, turning to the boy before leaving, "I'll see you later, Vince." he said, turning down his gaze beside her.

The boy looked up at once at being spoken to, straightening up sharply, "Yes sir." he replied, eyes meeting those blue ones above him with a strange expression. Robin only shook her head, what's this about? She wondered, seeing the man nod and then say his farewell to her, going over to the cottage grates to bring out an old watering can from within and leave his jacket behind.

Robin saw the man not mind them anymore after their brief exchange, working quietly as he walked over to the pond nearby, preparing for the day's coming toil ahead. Just then, Robin's keen eyes caught a strange tattoo the man normally hid under his sleeves before, frowning as an inkling of recollection came over her, now where've seen that before? Robin quietly wondered as she walked out of Honey Hill beside Vincent with more questions than answers.

Hello, ya'll! A hearty thanks to you for making it this far, you're awesome and I hope you have a swell day ^^

Now, if you liked whatever came before or perhaps the opposite, do let me know! :) I'd be glad to entertain any form of engagement :)

Again, thanks for reading!