Destined

„You are intriguing"

"This is Amarin, member of the council." Consilius patted the shoulder of the younger man in a proud way. "Some day he'll be an elder who writes history, but as for now, he made his way into the council because of his many talents, gifts and his bright mind." I was curious about those gifts and talents, but wondered, why Consilius praised the guy like he was his own son!? Now that couldn't be, because council members were forbidden to have families. They weren't monks, sexual relations were allowed, but marriage and having children was prohibited to prevent corruption and favoritism. No strings, no ties, no special interests other than to serve the best they could to our community.

Being an elder was a commitment for life. I wasn't convinced, that being lonely, not being able to have the love and support of a family, led to neutrality and impartiality. But these rules were old, very old and nobody wanted to change them because they had proven themselves through times and all kind of tides.

I had my own ideas about an ideal council: men and women who were supported by the majority of us by vote. Yes, by vote. I read in our ancient books that there was a time, were men and women were equal after a very long way to emancipation. Once, men and women were voted by the people they wanted to lead. And it wasn't for a lifetime, but only for a few years. If they didn't fulfill their promises, if they were bad leaders with poor judgement, you could vote for somebody else.

Unbelievable, that we lost this achievement. Now, we depended on strength - this was the only valuable currency. Physical and mental strength combined. Whereas mental strength was only valued as the showcase of willpower, not the strength, I would consider a mental power like endurance, resiliency or adaptability. Most creatures would laugh at my definition. In their mind endurance and resiliency were expositions of weaknesses. If you were strong, you didn't have to be resilient! You didn't have to endure anything or adapt to your surroundings. The strong ones forced their way through life and imposed their will on others as well as their surroundings.

This world praised and admired power. It was really incomprehesible how Desa functioned: nothing would really work, if not for us Daonnachd. Why we were the only creatures who could read, or understood how things functioned, nobody knew. Why we are the only beings who could learn how to invent and develop something is still a mystery to me - a mystery, I would solve.

But to solve it, I needed to get my hands on the knowledge of our ancestors. The key to this knowledge was the council. They had the archives of human kind under their rule, closed and hidden for unwanted intruders. How could I convince the council, to let me research? Was there even a realistic possibility to enter the archives?

In my mind I ploted a plan to manipulate the council....but how should I convince the elders to let me inside the archives? A cough and a clear of a throat brought me back to reality. My head snapped to the amused face of ...how was his name? Ah, yes  ... Amarin, the wonderboy! My mind was playing sarcastic little games with me. 

"100 Aureus for your thoughts", a playfull voice whispered. His voice. For a few seconds I was stunned. Is he really toying with me? Gold for my thoughts? „You can't buy me nor my thoughts", I whisper-shouted back, on guard not to raise the interest of the others who were absorbed in their own conversation. With a calculating stare Amarin tried to analyze my facial expression.

„Oh, I don't want to buy you...", his smooth voice muttered. A little bit expectant I waited for his next move. He took a step in my personal space without a care in this world, like it was his right to get that close to me. „I know you", his eyes searched mine in a sensual way, "you are very intriguing. Nobody sees your strength and willpower", he said calmly, „but I do". His strare caught me by surprise; it was intense, all playfulness gone. I gulped.

Before I could even think about a response we heard a confident knock on our front door. We all froze instantly because we knew, there in front of the door wasn't a Daonnachd. We Daonnachd had a certain code of knocking, that we changed regularly. At the moment: first one slow knock, than 3 short, and again 2 slow knocks. We watched each other, silently asking, if somebody had an idea, who the visitor could be.

I moved to the door with confident strides, but as my hand touched the door handle I grew wary. Hesitant, I inhaled deeply. Again a loud knock was heard. With more confidance than I felt, I tore the door open. It was heavily raining. A big body wrapped in a cloak stood there dwarfing our entrance. He forced his way into our house, shocking me with his vehemence. 

(Gaisgeil, as I picture him...but feel free to make your own visual thoughts about him)

All the men, except my grandfather, stiffned when Gaisgeil took off the cap of his cloak reveiling his intimidating face. His cold green eyes judged all the present men. "Elder Consilius", his voice laced with dominance greeted our most important member of the council. They all bowed to the Lord of Desa.

"Gaisgeil", the surprised voice of my grandfather greeted my destined, "what a nice surprise, please, take a seat. May I offer you that chai, you like so much?" I was paralyzed like the other men, when I heard the familiarity between my grandfather and my destined. He called him by his name??? 

Gaisgeil smiled in a friendly way. "Yes, you may, Ascan, your tea always calms me down." Perplexed we watched, as my grandfather laughed, turning around to prepare the tea. As soon as he left the room, Gaisgeils face morphed into an animalistic scowl, turning to Amarin. "And who are you?"