After finishing the journal, Freak had decided to start calling himself Gwydion. Not because it was really any better then 'Freak', after all, it really meant slave, and there was no way around that. But it sounded so much nicer, and he knew he had to get used to it, as Master Manannan only ever called him that. The simple fact was, for all purposes, he was Gwydion now. And although he was young in age, only just 7, he had never really had a childhood. So Gwydion didn't cry or rage at his life, he adapted and learnt and did what he could to make it better.
On day four of being in the strange world he found himself in, Gwydion got up with the sun and filled a large pot of water from the spring. He stacked the wood and after a number of tries, managed to light the fire with the flint. Slowly, the kitchen warmed up, the early morning chill letting go to the rising sun and growing fire. The large pot of water slowly heated, and Gwydion spent the time feeding the chickens 10 handfuls of feed. By then the water was warm, and he used it to wash. At first he had considered taking it upstairs, rather then stripping in the wash room, but Manannan wasn't awake yet, and if yesterday was normal wouldn't be awake for hours yet. So Gwydion washed and put on yesterdays cloths which he had washed and hung up to dry the night before.
Then he made breakfast for himself, with eggs and toast a slice of jam and butter spread. The burnt toast and extra egg he put aside for Master once he appeared. By that time it would be cold, a crime which at the Dursley's would get him thrown in the cupboard without food. But here he had already eaten, and he wanted to see what would happen. How would Manannan punish him? Would he be beaten again? In the mean time, he snuck some bread and salted meat up into his room, hiding it with the journal as a just in case. Master woke up and demanded his breakfast, which Gwydion gave him and braced himself for what was to come. Master grunted and said, "Empty my chamber pot, dust the painting in the hall and mop the kitchen."
"Yes Master." Then Gwydion watched in amazement as the wizard stood and with a swish for his robes, strode from the room. Wasn't the wizard going to punish him for serving so little, and cold and burnt? Did he not punish, or did he not notice the food? Gwydion thought it was the second option. The simple fact was Master had beat him for cheek that first day.
Gwydion quickly did his chores. The kitchen really didn't need mopping, not after he washed it down yesterday as well. Once done, he stood awkwardly in the kitchen. He had finished reading the journal, so what did he do now? Gwydion made his way up to the top of the Keep, and watched as Manannan looked around the surrounding countryside with the polished brass telescope directed out a window. It was clear that from here, Manannan spied upon the poor occupants of the area. Gwydion stood listening on the stairs to the wizard. Master had grunted, clicked his tongue, and muttered to himself. He was spying so intensely, he hadn't even noticed Gwydion, even when the boy jumped after Master exclaimed, "Those little devils! What are they doing? I can't believe they would do this! They know my rules!"
The wizard grumbled, "They are going to regret this!" before he turned and scribbled a note down on a piece of paper. He held the paper up and a look of intense concentration crossed his face, before the paper erupted into purple flames. Gwydion almost jumped forward to help, but Master had a tiny happy smirk when the paper disappeared. It was clear that he had wanted that to happen. Master went back to the telescope and a few minutes later chuckled and said, "Very good, my little pets. Lets see how a little correction helps."
Gwydion shuddered. There was something in Masters tone which spent fear spiralling down his spine. Gwydion backed down the stairs, and turned and fled. Having nothing else to do, he went into the study. On one wall was a large map. Gwydion traced the lines of the coast, the rivers and mountains. It took a moment to realise this was the world he found himself in, a world called Sierra, which had one large land mass and dozens of tiny islands. The land mass was divided in three, the north called Tanalore, and south called Serenia while the centre was called Mordavia. He couldn't quiet understand why they had these three divisions, as there was no obvious areas described to each. It didn't make much of a difference, as each city was basically its own country, for example, he might be in Tanalore, but he was really a part of the Land of Llewdor, whose capital was the small town he could see from the mountain top called Port Bruce. Trading routes tracked back and forth. Port Bruce looked like an important hub of trade, a place to replenish supplies when sailing between the north and south. It was also one of the easier routes into the centre, which was called appropriately the Endless Desert. Almost directly north of Llewdor, past a large swamp called the Bog of Eternal Stench was a city called Elstree in the Kingdom of Évreux. Elstree was right against the mountain range with a small notation of (outer) under it. Looking around the room Gwydion spied a book with 'Kingdom of Évreux' on the spine. He flipped through the pages, taking in the carefully handwritten script, and blinked a few times. The book talked about goblins. At first Gwydion had thought that calling them Goblins was the same way that Vernon used to called Mrs Suzuki at number 9 a Jap. But then he found a drawing of a Goblin. The small grey-green creature with beady little eyes and large noses. The drawing was sneering, and the description said that they could be vicious when crossed. He went back to the start of the book and started to read. According to the book, the Kingdom of Évreux was also known as the Goblin Kingdom. Elstree was actual the 'outer city' to the Goblin Kingdom (most of which was hidden deep in the north mountain range) ruled by King Jareth. The book had a long boring history of the region, and sections on crops, resources and trade. One chapter was on architecture, with a special note that the goblins had built a large labyrinth to protect one of their old cities, before moving to Elstree for better fortification. The goblins were well known for their ability as warriors and about half the book was just various wars their had waged, mostly against the fairies which lived in the forests and swamp in their lands. According to the Goblins, the fairies were an invading force, while the fairies claimed the plains around Elstree were an independent kingdom of theirs. Some of the book talked about the laws of each group, which were in opposition, like if celebrations must include yellow flowers (fairy laws) or must not include perfumed plants (goblins).
After that Gwydion found a book called 'Laws of Sierra', which he mostly didn't understand at all, but the chapter titles and short introduction gave the idea that each land, kingdom , republic or sovereignty had its own laws, normally enforced but the ruler or rulers from their capital city. Before Manannan had arrived some time in the last 100 years, Port Bruce (and therefore Llewdor) had been ruled by a Council of Elders, which Manannan must have replaced. Most other places had Kings and Queens, whose words were absolute. The book also had a section on 'fundamental' laws, but by that stage Gwydion was hungry and decided to go make lunch. Manannan stomped down the stairs, and for a moment Gwydion though he might demand lunch, only of the wizard to go into the study and close the door. Gwydion headed up in the tower and peaked through the telescope. When Gwydion put his eye to the glass, it amazed him how near everything seemed. He could even see squirrels climbing faraway trees. It was no wonder that the wizard knew all. He spent the rest of the afternoon peering at things, watching in amazement.
For dinner he made roast pork and potatoes with relative success, before crawling into bed, his mind playing back on the goblins. He wondered what other magical beings existed in this world.