Chapter 4 - For the Clan

Lind's life took a turn for quick change after Granny's promise. His mother had been wide eyed and meek in front of Granny, but Lind saw a spark of joy when she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He smiled a bit but a little worry was now gnawing at his insides. His world was going to change from the comfortable life he had been living until now.

Lind was closing in on 6 when he was brought out for the first time by Granny to the exit of the herb garden. There were so many people! All ages as would be expected, but Lind noticed that the quality of dress varied greatly. Extensive silk robes marked powerful individuals, but the people wearing that could be as old as Lind himself! The rest word the simple open vest and pants he did but even these could have markings that stood out.

Men and women with swords or spears stood at periodic points or marched through halls with an emblem of crimson in the shape of a bird in flight. Lind knew that was the insignia of the Frey clan and assumed these were the armed soldiers. He was pleasantly surprised to see men and women were equal in this job. Medieval societies tended to relegate women to second class citizens, save jobs like healer as his mother held.

Lind had passed 3 more herb gardens near his own courtyard but then Granny brought him to an area where shouting was heard. Lind saw young boys to youths training hard to some fitness routine. The action suddenly made the excellent condition of everyone clearer to Lind. Everyone he had seen seemed to be in excellent health, even if gray was in their hair.

Granny was an oddity with needing a cane, but she was likely much older than anyone he had seen. Lind tightened his grip on her free hand and she smiled down at him while signaling a massive man leading the youngest boys in the routine. Lind guessed they were at his age or slightly older. They were in perfect sync as their arms moved though mock combat as they moved their legs in a bit of an odd pattern.

"Mistress." The massive muscled man knelt to Granny and Lind suddenly had an inkling how important she was. The amber eyes of the instructor glanced at him in curiosity, but that was all. The class did not break stride and kept going. They yelled in unison at several points but did not stop what they were doing.

"Garnt. I have brought you a helper. His name is Lind." Granny put an odd emphasis on his name, but Lind did not notice. He felt nervous as Garnt looked him over again and nodded as if he understood something.

"I see. If I may?" Garnt stood up and a feeling of pressure came over Lind. He felt his knees shake, but this was for his mother and the Frey clan. He sucked up his courage and looked deeply into the amber eyes. The feeling somehow increased, what was it? Lind forced his face to stay focused on the instructor and he kept standing as best he could.

The shaking could no longer be hidden, but Lind did not flinch. Finally, the pressure disappeared. Garnt's eyes glinted in satisfaction from what LInd could see as buckets of sweat poured down his back.

"He is a good lad!" Garnt patted Lind's head. Granny smiled down at him as well. "Are you willing to work hard and serve the Frey Clan with all your heart?" The words were music to LInd's ears.

"Yes sir!" Lind bowed firmly but it was too much for his legs. He fell forward but was caught by Garnt. Laugher boomed above his head. Lind looked up sheepishly but Garnt was tearing up from his laughter.

"He will be fine in my care, Mistress. Is there anything else?" Granny shook her head but then leaned over Lind and beckoned him close. Lind walked over to her, he was glad he could move without stumbling after that embarrassing moment.

"Follow Instructor Garnt's instructions and I will come when your day is over. After that, you will have to come and return on your own. Can you do this, Lind?" He saw her worry, but he smiled to reassure her. He puffed up his chest and smiled.

"I will put my all into helping Instructor Garnt!" Granny smiled as she began to move off. Lind bowed to her as Garnt did as well. Lind then turned with expectations on his face for his first duties.

"Let's start with the practice weapons room." Lind followed him but then noticed a chage in the training yard. The boys there were still practicing, but many were looking at Lind strangely. A few were curious, but most looked at him like that Tian man had. Disgust, hatred, and general dislike. Why?

The room was just off the training yard and full of wooden versions of weapons. The size was clearly adjusted for small children. Lind tried lifting a simply sword and nearly strained himself. They were heavy!

"Ha! Don't worry about those right now. What I need is back here." Garnt led him back to an area with pads and helmets strewn everywhere. Lind saw loose string as well that was frayed on more than a few of the items. He suspected this was his first job.

"I can see you grasp my need. Normally, these are address at need, but since we have a spare set of hands, I will use them!" Garnt picked up some of the pads and brought them over to a table Lind could barely see the top of. The string was heavily frayed. "I want you to unthread anything that looks like this and use from the new spindle here. Observe carefully.

Lind watched as the pads were unstrung from each other. He could easily see the chest and back pieces but the legs and arms were similar. Lind noticed the leg pieces had a bit of curve to them as Garnt threaded the pads together anew. It was fairly simple.

"No problem!" Garnt looked at him in doubt but shrugged and pointed to the pile.

"I expect these to be ready for the afternoon. After that, I will show you what I need cleaned for now. We will go from there." Lind nodded and got to work. Time flowed like a dream as sweat drenched his small body.

His smaller fingers had trouble with the large pads, but he used the floor to make his life easier. The table was just too damned high. Lind was curious though. At first, the pads felt fairly heavy, but they seemed to get lighter despite his body feeling very tired. Was he getting stronger or was he having delusions?

The afternoon came quickly and Garnt came in with a group of boys. All of the boys looked at him in disdain but Garnt was smiling as the pile of newly threaded pads was ready. Lind was tired but he could go on easily.

"Nicely done! Take these to the rest and get ready for afternoon cultivation." Lind's ears perked up at the last word. Shouldn't that have been training instead? Lind shrugged it off as the boys took the pads. Their disdain was replaced with reluctant grunts of acceptance. None of them so much as nodded at Lind.

"Come with me." Garnt led Lind back to the courtyard. Lind saw pairs form up as they donned the pads. Considering how heavy each pad was, the whole set made for good resistance training, but wasn't it too soon for little boys to do this? Lind pushed it to the back of his mind as he saw the small mess of the yard.

"All right, while the class cultivates, you will clear this area for weapons practice. You have until that bell rings." Garnt pointed to a stand with a bell at the top of it. There appeared to be a drip of sand falling even as Lind looked at it. Once the sand fell enough, it would tilt the container and ring the bell. It was one way to tell time, Lind supposed.

Lind nodded and got to work clearing up the area of debris and smoothing out the sand. He listened to the shouts of the boys and heard a few impacts now and again followed but cries of pain. Lind was not sure why they did this so young but maybe it was setting up the habit for later in life. People who start young, keep up good habits later in life.

Once again, Lind earned Garnt's approval. The boys, on the other hand, continued to show disdain to Lind. There was now an exception, however. A boy that was a little taller than Lind and had bright silver eyes with blonde hair seemed familiar but Lind could not place why. Even so, Lind's first day came to an end with some sweeping up of the outer training area.

Lind was happy to be of help to the clan at last. He was not sure why people disliked him so much, but he just ignored it and continued his new life. Lind spent 4 days cleaning or repairing the training equipment for Garnt and still collected herbs for his mother.

No one aside from Garnt spoke to Lind, but he was fine with that for now. He still listened to the conversations as he had before. Mostly, it was simple bragging or what little boys always try to do. Lind smiled at the microcosm of life seeing the popular kids, the introverts, and so forth.

His new life felt fulfilling but there were oddities. Adults would look at Lind with disgust or disdain but never did anything to him. The guards never did so, but they often seemed to watch him until he was out of their sight, even if they were just patrolling. Lind thought that was normal until other boys from the class did not seem to get the same treatment. The only exception was the silver eyed boy.

Lind saw others look at him in similar disgust but no one discussed why. No one would tell Lind the reason and it was bothering him, but he did not want to upset his mother or Granny by asking. For now, he was happy to expand his life to the outside complex of the Frey Clan.

Lind enjoyed seeing all the people, even if they did not enjoy him. He noticed a few things that maybe clued him in, but he was not sure. Most of the Frey clan shared similar characteristics, but there were some like Lind that had lighter hair or other features that stood out.

Eyes were the most distinctive to Lind. He shared his mother's dark green eyes, but the silver eyed boy was hardly outside of normal. There were gold, silver, amber, and a myriad of other colors just for eyes.

Lind was noting things down in his mind. He had noticed that his memory seemed to improve far beyond his previous life. Things he had long forgotten were getting clearer as time went on and he was able to organize his new knowledge extensively. It was odd for a 5 year old, but he just enjoyed the experience.

This new life continued for a few months until something unexpected happened. His mother had to leave. Specifically, she had to go to a meeting in town for a few days that was required of her as part of her job. Mira wanted to take Lind with her, but he had duties now. He had to stay.

Granny came to the rescue and Lind held back his worries as his mother headed out. The courtyard felt colder without her singing or the smell of her concocting pills. Lind was glad of the disdain after only a day of the empty courtyard. He gathered herbs normally for his mother when she got back.

It was on the second day that something came up. Lind was in the training yard sweeping the debris off of the wooden paths when some servant was sprinting to Garnt and whispered a few words that made the large man pale quickly.

"Stop cultivation! Return to your homes immediately!" Lind froze. What had happened? Garnt looked at him and came over while the servant followed behind. Lind noticed the servant had a golden emblem as opposed to the usual crimson he was used to.

"Lind, your mother is not at home right?" Garnt knew this, so why was he asking?

"Mom will be back the day after tomorrow, do you need something?" The first part made Garnt clearly frustrated but his eyes perked up at the last few words.

"Do you have preserved medicine for breathing issues?" Garnt seemed to be so full of hope but Lind knew his mother had left nothing behind. He was about to break the news when he saw the servant boy, a tween, equally hopeful with tears in his eyes. Lind just could not break them the bad news.

Lind thought for a moment, pretending to think about stock, but instead he was wondering what could be done. He had helped his mother make things for simple ailments, but this seemed serious. Before destroying hope, Lind decided to take a risk.

"I would need more information. I do not want to give false hope." Lind spoke the truth, but omitted the lack of prepared medicine. LInd assumed they asked the other alchemists, but his mother was known as the best. She was grade 2, while the rest he had learned were grade 1.

Garnt seemed lost for a moment but then nodded. He whispered to the servant and then beckoned Lind to follow them. Lind hoped he really could help whoever it was. For some reason, as he followed Garnt, Lind saw the young girl he had saved on Earth. Why was that memory coming back to him? It could not be that bad, right?