User blog:Haroldosaur/Work In Progress Manuscript

So basically this is the manuscript I've been working on that has Iamos and co. in it. :P

I thought I'd share some of what I've written so far to see what y'all think of it.

PART 1

“Some beautiful paths cannot be discovered without getting lost.”

It was, on the whole, a sight not entirely unwelcome that awoke Iamos Wilder from his slumber. It admittedly could have been more comfortable – his ribs felt like they were being crushed – but this did little to dull his mood as he caught sight of the inquisitive eyes of his younger sister, Azura Wilder, turned on him. As he showed signs of consciousness, a beaming smile appeared on her face.

“Good morning, big brother!” She practically sang, leaning close to Iamos’ face as she announced her words.

“Your breath smells.” Iamos deadpanned in response.

“How rude!” His sister blanched as his statement and leaned back. “I’ve already brushed my teeth this morning!”

“I was kidding, Azura. Don’t worry about it.” Iamos rubbed his sister’s head affectionately as he sat up. “And how might you be this fine morning?”

“I’m doing well, thank you very much.” Grinned Azura. “Just be careful with how you speak, brother – that sounded close to olde speech.”

“And so what if it does?” Rolling his eyes, Iamos slid his legs out of the bed covers as he continued to speak. “It’s not my vault my vocabulary is extensive, due to reading a lot.”

“That may be, but you should probably get a handle on that – unless you want an agent of TheDude to come for you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Iamos acknowledged, beginning to dress himself. “So, what’s happening today?”

“Oh, not much.” Answered Azura. “Just come down for breakfast, because Rainer is waiting.”

“Call him “master”, Azura, not “Rainer”.”

“You know he hates being called master.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that we should be respectful of his status.”

“Shouldn’t we also be respectful of his wishes?”

“Social conventions come first.”

“And how would you know so much about social convention? Last time I checked, you couldn’t even make eye contact with someone you didn’t know!”

“Oh, don’t bring that up.” Muttered Iamos as he finished clothing himself, sliding his violet shirt over his chest, before placing a light brown jacket over his shoulders like a cape.

“Fine I won’t. But hurry up, big brother, or Rainer’s going to be angry!”

“Good point. Come on!” Iamos grabbed his sister’s hand and the pair ran out of the door and down the antique wooden stairs of the house. Past the painstakingly crafted bannisters and over the cheap carpets, it took seconds for the two of them to arrive in the kitchen.

“Ah, you’re finally awake!” Rainer greeted them. “Good, good. Come, Iamos, sit down. You two, Azura.”

However, Iamos did not obey his master’s command as he would normally have done – he was too busy staring at the person who was eating a hearty breakfast besides Rainer.

It was the girl.

“So… she’s still here then?” He eventually managed to say.

“Oh, yes.” Rainer nodded.

“I see. Can we… talk about that? In private?”

Rainer’s brow furrowed. “If that is what you wish.” He rose from the table. “We’ll be back in a minute, Daiyu.”

The girl nodded, and Iamos and Rainer walked through the hallways until they were out of earshot. Once Rainer had affirmed that this was the case, he leant down to his apprentice.

“Now then, Iamos, what is it you wish to talk about?”

“Well, it’s about that girl – what did you say her name was, Die-you?”

“Daiyu.”

“Yes, thank you. Anyway, as you know, she tried to steal from us, and I had to catch her, and then you showed up, and… I don’t know… master, how can you be so sure that you’re doing the right thing? I know that you believe that circumstance forced her to steal from us, and I’m sorry if that’s the case, but I don’t understand how you can forgive her so easily for what she tried to do.”

Rainer stroked his chin, pondering Iamos’ statement.

“I see. You believe that we should not be so quick to trust this girl, considering when we met her she was attempting to steal from us.”

“Precisely sir.” Iamos bowed. “I just… would have thought that the matter would need to be given more time.”

“I understand where you’re coming from Iamos, but how about you listen before judging, hmm?” Rainer tipped his head to one side inquisitively – an endearing, childlike gesture of his. “I talked to young Daiyu last night, and questioned her motives, motivated by the same thing that motivates you now – I wanted to see if we could trust her. Well, the truth is, I believe we can. When I spoke to her, I was made aware of how she considered stealing a last resort, and has been travelling across the Cheinir Empire for years – yet, she can count how many times she’s stolen on the fingers of her hands. Most of her times is spent earning what she owns through work, or doing odd-jobs for people in exchange for supplies.”

“So… circumstance, then?”

“I believe so. In any case, I have insured that she will never attempt to steal again – I have simply changed her circumstances.”

“Ah. Thank you master, for your clarification.” Ignoring his master’s reprimand of “Rainer”, Iamos nodded again, and smiled – though this facial expression quickly faded when he had another thought. “Wait a minute. When you say “changed her circumstances”, what do you mean by that?”

“I’ve given her a home here, of course.” Rainer shrugged as if it were the most obvious course of action. For a few long, terrible moments, Iamos was shell-struck.

“WHAT?!” He eventually managed to half-shout, half-splutter.

“Well, we did have the attic to use as a spare bedroom, and it’s not like we can’t feed or care for her…” Rainer pointed out as Iamos continued to lose all usage of his jaw. Eventually, he managed to say:

“It’s one thing to forgive, but it’s another thing to give her a place in our home? Master, I don’t understand how you can trust her so willingly-“ He was cut off by a knuckle rapping his temple.

“It’s RAINER!” The aforementioned man snapped, withdrawing his fist. “And I’ll tell you why I trust her. Because I believe that she trusts me.”

This cut Iamos off.

“We talked for a good amount of time after you had retired, you know.” Rainer chuckled. “And in that time, that girl – who hasn’t a friend in the world – opened her heart to me, and entrusted me with all of her burdens. And so, it seems the least I can do is trust her in return, and grant her this simple kindness. This is something that we owe to everyone.”

“You can’t do something like that for every person who opens their heart to you.” Iamos muttered, knowing even as he spoke that the dispute was lost. “Practicality aside, it doesn’t seem wise.”

“Is that so?” Rainer chuckled. “In that case, let me tell you a quick little story. One night, near a beachside town, there was a terrible storm and a tsunami. Whilst the townspeople were unhurt, a great deal of fish were washed up all along the beach and were left suffocating in the air. When one old man noticed this, he began to pick the fish up one by one and throw them back into the sea. It was not easy work for the old man – his joints were aching after years of living, and his muscles were worn down. But he still travelled along the beach, making slow progress, and throwing the fish back into the sea. A little while later, another man came across the fellow and scoffed at him. “Foolish old man!” said he. “There are thousands of fish all along this beach. What difference does your effort make?” The old man, perspiring with said effort, lifted an enormous fish and heaved it back into the waves, where it swam off; free once again. After this, the old man turned to his heckler and smiled, before saying:

“It made a difference to that one.””