36 The Future

Everything was incredibly busy today. Heron did his best to keep out from underfoot as the servants rushed about, preparing for the gathering that was happening tonight.

Which more or less meant he had holed up in the library, ignoring the chaos in general until he needed to get ready himself. Kur and Elswyth both holed up with him in the fortress of books that was removed from the outside so delightfully.

Instead of researching though, they just sat together and conversed. Admittedly, quite a bit of the conversation had to do with books. Just not ones for research really. This conversation made Heron aware of something that he had not quite fully comprehended – Kur actually read a rather wide variety of topics and it was hard to tell from the books he talked about what was his favorite style of books.

The conversation did turn away from books though, as Heron actually brought up something he had not yet quite said aloud, "It would be rather nice if Amriel could come to accept sorcery." They had been talking about a book written by a sorcerer who had fled Amriel in order not to be found out and killed.

He had hinted at it before, especially to Elswyth. There was no way she did not know this was something he desired. But it was the first time he had said it so clearly.

Kur nodded when he said it, "Wouldn't it? It's awful to kill someone just because of a skill they were born with. It's a part of them, its not like they can actually help it."

"Right?" Heron smiled sadly, "And it's a terrible way for them to live, that constant fear."

"So…" Kur slightly frowned, "Are you, uh, planning on doing something about it. I mean, that is, you are the next king there right? So, uh…"

"I want to change it." Heron affirmed. "I want Amriel to be more open minded about magic. It will probably be a life long work, but I hope that at least sorcery will be accepted easier. That should be easier to push I should think. There are good arguments for it afterall. And honestly, many people have lost loved ones to exile or death due to the laws. So the common folk would probably be rather glad of it and…" Heron tapered off realizing he had gone off on a tagent.

Though to be fair, Kur was more than happy to listen, and Elswyth just had a fond smile on her face. He laughed a bit awkwardly, "Anyway, yeah I plan on making magic safer to pursue for my people."

"I'm glad." Kur smiled his shy small smile, "I rather hoped when I found out your interest in magic that things were looking up for your magically inclined people."

"I hope so too." Heron murmured. He wasn't sure it was feasible. There were so many prejudices and he wasn't sure he could work through them. Oh, he planned on trying. But even if he was the heir to the throne and someday he would be Amriel's king this was centuries of prejudice. That wasn't something that would disappear just because he wanted it to. But he was sure he could at least set wheels in motion.

Perhaps he would never actually get to see his dream realized. It might take generations. He would be quite happy if he could at least get it to where people like Asrar could live in relative peace. He wanted to see his friend be able to pursue love without worrying about putting his loved ones in danger. His future brother-in-law deserved that chance. Such a wonderful young man.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and realized that the conversation had moved on. Elsywth was asking Kur about his little notebook. Heron was also curious about it, but had been afraid to ask because he feared it might be personal.

"Oh." Kur flushed a little, "It's a personal hobby of mine. No need to worry about it."

"I see." Elswyth frowned though, "But you often giggle while jotting in it. So, it made me curious."

"…" Kur cleared his throat, "Anyway, they are probably about done with preparations. So, you two should probably go get ready. Its pretty informal and all but if you feel the need you can dress up or something."

Kur stood up and left after saying that so Heron shrugged and decided to go freshen up a little bit. He did not want to dress up though.

He was a bit nervous because this was the first gathering he had ever attended in Jarenkul. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect.