Chapter 11: 370 BC Catching Some Breath

When Sal returned the next time to Britannia, Loandom had turned into a village with mixed heritage. There were still druids but now there also were mundanes living beside them in harmony.

Sal strived through the streets, looking for the old part of Loandom. There were not many streets but it still took him some time to find his childhood home again. The house had changed. It had gotten a wooden door and a bench was sitting in front of it. In front of bench and door, two men were standing, arguing.

"I wish to travel, uncle", the younger one said in that moment. "I am a staff maker and my profession is also needed elsewhere! They cannot all come to me to get a staff! I need to travel like father… !"

"You are too young, Dewin! Ask me again when you have reached the winter after next", the older one replied.

"I am a druid, uncle! Father would have let me go if…"

"Your father is dead and I will not let you go out there alone so that you can get yourself also killed!"

"I am old enough… !"

"You, Dewin, are a child! You know nothing of the world and its dangers! I will not get you killed! Your father would have slain me if I did!"

"But…"

Sal finally decided to interrupt the argument that seemed to go no were.

"I am home, atr", he greeted his father, the older one of the opponents. Myrddin Emrys turned when he heard Sal's voice and suddenly he smiled.

"Salvazsahar", he said, "you're back!"

The other one also turned to look at Sal, his eyes curious about the stranger that Salvazsahar was to him.

Sal bowed lightly to the foreign man to greet him - a bow that indicated, that Sal was the older one of them.

"Well met!" he said. "I am Salvazsahar ap Myrddin Emrys." It was traditional to name oneself the son of one's father - there was less interest in the magical name of a family then the name of the father. Sal found it odd but he had learned this strange custom as soon as he was back home in Britannia and had adopted it to not stand out too much.

"Well met!" the other one replied and bowed a little bit deeper. "I am Dewin ap Lleidr Ollivannder. You are this Myrddin Emry's son?" He asked, pointing at Myrddin.

"I am."

"And you have been traveling?"

"I travelled for years" Sal answered sincerely. He saw how the young man in front of him scrutinized him and tried to estimate Sal's age. Finally the young man seemed to come to a conclusion.

"So he let you go and I have to stay?! That does not sound fair to me!" Sal was sure the young man in front of him had underestimated Sal's age - of course, since Sal was looking like thirty-something of age, this was no surprise.

"You must have travelled alone way before my age today!" Dewin concluded. "And he let you go!"

Sal just snorted when he understood that the young man had decided to use Sal's "youth" to get Myrddin to agree to let him go.

"He let me go" Sal answered casually. "When I was more than a hundred of age - I am quite sure he will let you go earlier than that. You aren't his son after all."

Now Dewin gawked at him.

"May I ask…" he finally said, but trailed of before stating his question. Sal still knew what Dewin had wished to ask.

"… How old I am?" he finished the sentence. "I don't know. Something around three hundred years of age."

Dewin stared at him, then he blushed.

"Forgive me for judging you a lot younger" he said. Sal just shrugged. He knew that in this time the old were the wise and being old was a privilege and not a curse.

"Do not worry" he answered the younger man. "I do not hold it against you."

The young man nodded and Sal turned to his father.

"Why do you hold him here, atr?" he asked Myrddin. "He seemed to be a wise lad. Don't you think that he needs the experience of making staffs for his profession? Being here will not help him to get better in his work - there are far too less druids to aid him with that."

"He has completed his blood-awakening just yesterday" Myrddin answered. "He still is too young to travel alone."

"Then why did you not go with him?" Sal asked interested. Myrddin just sighted.

"I am an old man, Salvazsahar. I am weary of travel and I could not let the lad go by himself. He has no experience with travel. He will not survive out there for a mere day without one showing him how to."

Sal knew his father was right. Dewin Ollivannder had no experience with travel - someone who did not know what to look out for would definitely fail. There were too many dangerous places and creatures in the world to survive without the knowledge of them. And then all the other, little things like finding a place to sleep, conservation of food and a lot more - also more important things like medical care and being able to fight. Most children learned to fight - but just a few learned how to treat wounds.

"So he has to stay" Sal said, looking at his father.

"If I need someone with me - why don't you come with me?" Dewin said in that moment. "Uncle trusts you, you are his son after all and you are definitely old enough - when you would come I would be able to go without uncle arguing against it."

"I returned home today, Dewin" Sal reminded the lad. "I haven't even set a foot into my childhood home until now."

Dewin blinked and blushed.

"You haven't, forgive me" he said.

Myrddin just sighted. "I know you are eager to travel the world, Dewin. But you are too young to travel alone…"

"And there is no one that would travel with me" Dewin finished Myrddin's sentence sullenly. Myrddin just sighted.

"Forgive me, lad."

Sal just sighed.

"How about arguing about travelling or not travelling tomorrow? I am sure Dewin will survive in this town for another day" he finally said. Dewin just bowed to show that he was alright with Sal's suggestion.

This evening Sal and Myrddin were catching up. Sal learned that Dewin's father had died two years ago and that Myrddin had taken in the lad after that. He also learned that Dewin had the idea to sell his staffs not just near Loandom but everywhere in Britannia.

"You should not stifle his dreams, atr" Sal finally said. "When he wants to go - even if he is young - he should go."

"You know I cannot let him go alone - and he still should wait a bit. He has just finished his blood-awakening yesterday. His body needs time to adjust to the changes" Myrddin answered. "I cannot let him go now."

Sal just inclined his head to show he had listened to his father and bowed to his wisdom.

"But you also should let him go to live his dream" he said again to his father.

"You plan to go with him and keep him save" Myrddin said now smiling. Sal just inclined his head again.

"I will" he answered. "But I also want to stay here for some month before going. I will speak to Dewin tomorrow. I will ask him to wait some month. After that I will go with him and travel through Britannia."

"So you are not weary of travel, my son?" Myrddin asked softly. Sal just smiled.

"I will have to travel for many years until I find a way home. I am not allowed to be weary of travel."

And so he and Dewin started to travel through Britannia just half a year later. They travelled for over ten years, returning every few month home to Loandom. While they travelled, Dewin started to teach Sal how to make staffs. Sal had asked him if he would do so because Sal had started to be interested in them after he had gotten his oak-staff - another reason had been that Dewin soon needed help to make all the staffs he was asked to do. There were few staff makers in Britannia and a lot of druids were in dire need for a fitting staff. So Sal also learned to be a staff maker just to aid Dewin in his work.

After the years travelling they returned to Loandom and Dewin started his business. Sal aided him the next decades. He also aided Dewin's son and grandson but finally, 245 BC, he could not stay still anymore. So he went to his father and told him good-bye.

After that he travelled east until he reached the sea, crossed it and returned to Europe. It was time to start his search for a way home again…