Misread Fates

Ch. 2: Training, Adolescence & Obsession

Bruin's parents kept their promise to give him every possible tool he could have to survive his oncoming fight.

His mother negotiated with Miranda, the medicine woman of the village. As long as Brunhilda made her a nice casserole once a week, Bruin could sit by her side and learn when she treated the townsfolk of the area. In the meantime, Brunhilda gave him private lessons, teaching him how to treat burns and bite marks, having done the job herself before settling down with Bruin's father.

When he turned 10 his father pulled a favor from an old drinking buddy of his, Guillermo. They'd survived a chaotic youth together, and straightened up their acts in parallel. While he was a fate interpreter, Guillermo was a knight in the King's Guard and lived in the city near the castle. He convinced his old friend to teach Bruin how to fight. Helrich had a few wealthy clients in the city and would take Bruin with him, leaving him with Guillermo while he was there.

Guillermo was skeptical of this arrangement. He was used to his squires staying with him and devoting their lives to training, not going back home to finish their chores. And Bruin was starting young. He anticipated a fidgety young boy who forgot lessons the moment he went home but was pleasantly surprised to find the Bruin would continue to practice any drills he gave him, and seemed to retain knowledge fairly well from lesson to lesson.

But there were bits that Brunhilda and Helrich could not plan, dedication from Bruin that was unexpected for as young as he was.

His father got him one encyclopedia on monsters, magical and surreal. He found it from the same collector of books he'd typically go to in order to research obscure or lost family histories.

Bruin devoured it whole and then craved more. Despite the terror that he felt, the monsters still fascinated and excited him. It was beyond survival, he thoroughly enjoyed seeing the scales and the claws and finding out how many stomachs they each had. He even enjoyed all the little gory details about how they tore apart or lured their victims even if he knew it could happen to him someday. They were just interesting animals.

He read it under a gnarled old apple tree that grew at the very edge of his parent's property. He spent sun-dappled mornings there going word by word, with his encyclopedia next to a little dictionary, translating the words into smaller ones that fit into his vocabulary. His mother had to drag him away from it to do his chores.

He'd constantly pester his father for new editions while scouring old libraries. He read one after another after another after another.

The boy never stopped.

If he wasn't looking over Miranda's shoulders as she made a poultice, he was reading about monsters. When he wasn't doing that he was doing his drills, and when he wasn't doing that he was doing random chores around the neighborhood to use as strength-training exercises. He could always rely on someone needing wood-chopped or their gardens weeded or their gutters cleaned. He'd accept anything that kept him moving, that made him more aware of his body. It was the only way he connected with the community

His mother worried about his dedication veering into obsession. He didn't attend many get-togethers in the village or talk to many kids his age. He was clearly growing into a focused boy who was very helpful to people, but in all things, he was fairly withdrawn.

She brought it up to him while he was helping her weed in the garden,

"You know there's going to be a life after you meet your monster, right? What are you going to do after that?"

Bruin shrugged, he didn't really have an idea.

"I suppose I'll figure it out then. Maybe I'll keep studying monsters; there are people who do that."