Chương 9: Men's Buisness

Arien still wasn't sure what his first birthday or the System's acceptance of his name meant in this world, but the change in his family was impossible to miss. Previously, he had assumed that his brothers' and father's indifference came simply from a lack of interest in a baby. But after he received a name, they began paying far more attention to him, bringing him colorful stones, twisted sticks, and other small "treasures." He accepted them with childish laughter, appreciating the thought behind them.

One night, even his father took him out of the house on his own initiative, while Mari was busy washing and tending to a minor wound Dod had brought back from working in the fields. Terry's calloused hands lifted him up and set him on his shoulders, and Arien had to cling tightly to his hair to avoid falling onto the hard ground. The man didn't seem to notice. Once outside, he began pointing out the constellations one by one, naming them as he smoked his pipe.

"Lazil, Ferra, Nuwada." Arien pointed a small finger at the sky and tried to repeat the words. Unfortunately, knowing a word and convincing a one-year-old mouth to pronounce it correctly were two very different things. The result was barely recognizable. Before he could try again, the wind blew smoke from Terry's pipe straight into his mouth, sending him into a coughing fit and making his father laugh.

"Ow! Don't pull my hair so hard," the man suddenly muttered, wincing.

"Naughty brat. Maybe you are from the Abyss, huh?" he teased. From then on, Terry occasionally took him outside after dark, pointing out constellations and telling stories hidden among the stars. Those brief moments became Arien's favorite part of the day. They usually ended when Mari came looking for them, muttering about the cold and Terry's complete lack of common sense.

His mother and sisters, on the other hand, constantly watched over him, inventing games and offering him food so often that he sometimes felt like a pig being fattened for slaughter. He had less time to practice mana, but his understanding of the language improved quickly. Between overheard conversations and Terry's evening stories, the world slowly took shape—though he could rarely tell where history ended and legend began.

A few weeks later, Sari mentioned to their mother that even Alia had already been saying simple words at his age. Arien took that as permission to stop pretending quite so completely. The first word he truly chose honored his mother. They were alone in the barn, where he sat on the ground, playing with the hay or patting the damp muzzle of the cow Mari was milking as she went on with yet another string of village gossip:"… I thought I'd laugh in his face. Eight coppers for a sack of salt?

Those merchants are getting greedier by the day. Squeezing the last coin out of a person. But I didn't let myself be fooled. I got it for the usual price in the end. You should have seen his face! He had no idea who he was dealing with—""Mama!"

"When I told them—…" The woman stopped, looking at him, the steady rhythm of milking breaking off. Lazy answered the interruption with a loud moo.

"What did you say, my dear?"

"Mama!" Mari's whole face lit up. He smiled back. After everything she had done for him, giving her this moment felt right. She sprang from the stool and scooped him into her arms, holding him tight.

"I was so afraid I'd lose you too. Or worse, that you'd be Abyss-touched. Even your brothers, who went to the gods before you, were much stronger when they were born. But now... now I believe you'll survive. Maybe you'll even become a man of the gods one day," she whispered, smoothing his hair.

"Wouldn't that be something?" After that, the rest came quickly: Sari, Alia, pretty, stars. Even Lisa eventually earned the honor of having her name pronounced correctly. His brothers and father, on the other hand, had to endure increasingly creative variations of theirs. His increased energy never faded after the ceremony, nor did the strange improvement in his coordination and ability to learn. Whatever had changed, it hadn't been temporary. A few weeks later, an unfamiliar voice called from outside.

"Mari, dear, how good to see you!" The voice transformed the house instantly. Terry nearly choked on his pipe smoke, Wod released Dod from whatever arm lock he had trapped him in, and the girls exchanged identical looks of alarm.

"Damn it," Terry muttered.

"Dad, please don't leave me behind this time," Dod pleaded from his knees. Terry swept a grave look over his sons. After a moment's consideration, he nodded.

"Boys, with me," he ordered, like a general leading his soldiers into their final battle.

"Nessi, good to see you too," came Mari's reply, clearly pleased.

"Come in, everyone's home. I even bought that good wine from Ribenne especially for the occasion." Sitting on the packed earth floor, Arien watched in fascination as his father and brothers somehow tried to put on boots and jackets at the same time.

"Dad, what about us?" Sari asked.

"I can't help you," the man replied, lowering his eyes as he continued wrestling with a boot. Before Sari could answer, the squeal of unoiled hinges echoed through the room. Every head turned toward the door, through which stepped a rather large woman wearing a red dress and a dark green headscarf. Her hazel eyes sparkled with the kind of curiosity that usually preceded a particularly good piece of gossip.

"My dears! How lovely to see all of you." She beamed warmly, the very picture of a friendly village aunt.

"Terry, sweetheart! Are you heading somewhere?"

"Uh..." the man stammered.

"The field," he finally said.

"I need to go check the field."

"At this hour?"

"Well, what can you do, Nessi," he declared in a somewhat steadier voice.

"Men's business. I'll take the boys with me, alright, Mari?" Mother did not look particularly pleased. She stood with her arms crossed, eyeing her husband skeptically.

"But of course, dear. If it's men's business," the woman answered for Mari in a sweet, syrupy voice. Terry didn't even wait for Mari's answer. He muttered a hurried farewell and practically bolted out of the house, Arien's brothers right behind him, with Dod still carrying his boots in his hands.

"Umm, we'll go too," Sari said, trying her luck. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"To the field, sweetheart? Those are men's matters."

"Uh, no... not there. To the barn. Yes, we need to go to the barn. The cows."

"The cows, you say?" the woman asked skeptically.

"It's rather cold outside. Won't you poor darlings freeze?"

"No, Auntie, it's not that cold. We'll be fine," Lisa declared, hope shining in her eyes.

"Well then, my dears. Just come back as soon as you're finished. I'd love to hear what my favorite girls have been up to." Arien watched uneasily as his sisters dressed and disappeared through the door one after another. Something was definitely wrong.

"Sari," he said nervously as she passed. His sister looked down at him, then back at their "aunt."

"Mom, I'll take Arien with—""Absolutely not," Mari interrupted.

"Arien stays." Something flickered in Sari's eyes, but after a moment she merely crouched beside him.

"I'm sorry, little brother, but you wouldn't remember any of it anyway." She kissed the top of his head. Oh no. Now Arien wanted out more than ever. Whatever had made the rest of his family flee the house, he had no intention of staying behind to discover it alone. He planted a hand against the packed earth floor and pushed himself upright, swaying from side to side. One step, then another. Maybe this time he'd make it. Sari! Wait! I'm coming— He stumbled and he squeezed his eyes shut as he started to fall.

Instead of hitting the floor, however, he felt a pair of hands close around him and lift him rapidly into the air.

"Oh, what a precious little darling he is!" He opened his eyes. The new aunt had saved him from the fall and was now holding him at arm's length, examining him closely.

"Look at that, he can already walk!"

"Yes, he's wonderful. I'm telling you, he'll become the next priest someday," Mari confirmed proudly.

"You said the same thing about Wod," the woman pointed out, settling Arien onto her shoulder.

"Oh, you know how it is. He was my first. What did I know back then?"

"And now he's off attending to men's business."

"And the girls are tending the cows." The two women exchanged a meaningful look before bursting into laughter. And they laughed for a long time, clutching their stomachs. Arien had never seen his mother laugh like that. She suddenly looked ten years younger.

"What do you think the boys are doing right now?" Nessi asked, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Wandering around outside and congratulating themselves on how clever they are."

"Mhm. Geniuses." She shook her head dramatically.

"Get the wine, woman. We've got the house to ourselves for at least a few hours." The wine appeared, and with it came the gossip. Less than an hour later, Arien's brain felt as though it were overheating. Not long ago, he had complained that no one around him ever discussed anything serious. Now he could barely keep up. Names, marriages, debts, arguments, rumors and scandals came one after another, with barely enough time for him to understand one before Nessi moved to the next.

She ran the local tavern and seemed to know everyone within twenty miles. Sooner or later, every piece of gossip in the area apparently found its way to her. Mari looked perfectly content to let her share all of it.

"Oh, speaking of children, what about this little rascal?" Nessi suddenly asked, turning her hazel eyes toward him.

"He's grown so much! I still remember him as a tiny screaming brat when you gave birth to him. They say children born at the peak of the Surge often show extraordinary talents. Have you noticed anything special?"

"He's such a calm, well mannered child," his mother replied.

"And he has such intelligent eyes. Sometimes I feel as though he understands nearly everything people say around him."

"That's wonderful, Mari! Mine inherited their intelligence from their father—if you don't beat the lesson into them with a stick, they won't understand a thing."

"But there's something else," Mari said hesitantly.

"Yes?" Nessi asked, leaning toward her friend.

"But this stays between us, Nessi."

"Of course. You know I would never—""No, Nessi. Between us. The same way your little incident with Hort stayed between us. Or that summer with—""All right, all right, I get it." Nessi's face suddenly turned bright red.

"There was a moment during the test…"

"Oh!"

"I haven't even started yet!"

"Sorry."

"You know, the first part lasted a little longer than usual, but everything went smoothly."

"The first one is always the worst. What about the second? Was it some strange color?"

"There was... a problem. The crystal wouldn't light up."

"Oh no! Maybe it was defective?"

"Unfortunately not. It worked perfectly fine for both the priest and Terry."

"Then how—" Arien, who had started paying close attention some time ago, felt the woman's uncertain gaze settle on him, as though he might suddenly bite her. Maybe I should.

"Varix had already started talking about taking Arien away when he spoke his first word. And what a word it was."

"Really?" Nessi practically leaned out of her chair with anticipation, nearly knocking Arien off her lap.

"Sul."

"You're joking!"

"I swear by the Allfather, I'm not making it up! I thought I'd misheard him myself. But the most important thing is that the crystal worked then. And Mother Most Beautiful in Heaven, what a light it was. Like a late summer sunset."

"Amazing! And what did Varix say? That's practically a miracle!"

"Later, Varix claimed something must have been wrong with the crystal and sent for a replacement."

"And he's a priest of Sul? A child's first word is the name of the Allfather, and he doesn't see a sign in that?"

"That's exactly why I'm telling you. I thought the same thing! Maybe I should visit the temple in Ribenne?" Arien froze. Had his mother lost her mind? No more temples. No more tests. Who knew what kinds of powers priests in larger settlements might possess?

"I think it's still too early for that," Nessi said after a moment, and Arien relaxed a fraction.

"Besides, Varix might take offense."

"But I should do something. Who knows? Maybe he could rise even higher than a village priest someday. He really is different. Just look at him now, listening so carefully. As if he knows we're talking about his future." Arien stiffened. Was it really that obvious? Then again, how was he supposed to know how a one-year-old child was expected to behave?

"Maybe he has an innate ability?" Nessi suggested. Arien's attention sharpened at once. The word ability caught his attention. He had heard it used that same way countless times in Terry's stories.

"They say children like that are sometimes born, and it has nothing to do with the Abyss. Do you remember that boy from Ribenne they were talking about a few years ago? The one who discovered Fezraan earlier? One of the merchants told me he saw him in Jakara. Apparently, the local nobility paid his family a fortune in exchange for twenty-five years of service." So he had been right. Fezraan was the System. And apparently, early access could be valuable enough for nobles to pay a fortune for it.

Arien forced his face to remain blank. No one could learn how much he had already seen.

"The money would certainly help," his mother admitted after a thoughtful pause.

"But I would rather see him serve the Gods. There is no nobler path."

"He's only a year old. Wait and see how he develops before you start making plans. There might not even be anything to talk about."

"Arien." His mother addressed him directly in a gentle voice, and he looked up uncertainly.

"You'll make your mommy proud, won't you?"

"Mama," he stated, forcing as much enthusiasm into his voice as he could manage. He did not like this conversation about his future one bit. Before Mari could continue, a timid knock sounded at the door. The door opened a crack.

"I just wanted to get..." Sari's hesitant voice came from the doorway.

"Oh, Sari, my dear, come in. I just remembered there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Yes, Auntie?" the girl asked uncertainly as she slipped into the room, still keeping one hand on the doorknob.

"I've heard rumors that you were recently swimming NAKED in Winder Creek—and with boys, no less! Tell me everything!"

"We weren't naked!" the girl shot back indignantly, her face turning scarlet.

"Ah, so you're admitting that two weeks ago a group of ten children went swimming in the river?" Arien blinked. He hadn't even known Sari had gone to the river. Mischievous glints appeared in Nessi's and Mari's eyes, while Arien looked on with sympathy at yet another victim caught in the women's snare.