The Fireborn Chronicles 2: The Blazing Guardian

Chapter 11: The Angel of Linseed Flowers

What had been an encounter between strangers became a reunion party of sorts.

Valter was reminiscing of old times and Guren was openly listening to him. Lili would chime in several times, Eva was surprisingly talkative, and Silva and Sebastijan said very little.

"The man spoke like a salesman," Valter recalled, placing his pipe on the table after one last puff. "Every time he came by my house, he was lookin' to barter for somethin' of mine. Or he would shove his wealth in fron' of me instead. Either way, he never hesitated to get friendlier with us all because we lived by each other."

Guren nodded, while Lili was pouring him some tatra tea which he graciously accepted. She offered a cup to Silva as well, but Silva declined. While tatra tea seemed desirable, Silva wasn't fond of tasting the alcohol in it.

"Thank you," Guren told Lili. "Bartering? What kinds of things did granddad want from you?"

"Ah, it's a bizarre story," Valter replied, peering at the stone figurines on the fireplace. "It happened so long ago, but I remember it clearly. I was harvestin' my good wheat for the day, when I sees this large, strange-lookin' man in a fur coat and hat walk up to me and ask for my attention. Now I say, what's a man able to afford a fur coat and hat want wit' a poor farmer like me?"

In response, Lili grunted and took another sip of her tatra tea, even though she disapproved of its flavor. "We were not poor," she acclaimed. "We were struggling with the rise of taxes and four hungry mouths to feed. We also had to lower our prices of crops and livestock due to those damned underground farms."

"Nothin' we can do about that, Lili," said Valter. "We live in a world of magic an' greedy noble born. Anyhow, this man comes up to me with a straight face and asks if my linseeds are up for sale."

"Linseed flowers," Silva blurted in. "What exactly are they used for?"

"Oil painting," Lili responded with her eyes lit up. "Once a linseed is ripened, it can be dried an' pressed into a yellowish oil. This oil can be mixed with coloring pigments or be used as a drying oil for paintings. This is essential to use when you're oil painting."

Silva repeated those words in her head, remembering Myriiel's explanation about oil painting. It was much like Lili's, but Silva never knew the oil came from linseed flowers. Was that the reason why she was so fascinated in the field before?

"Turns out his wife loved to paint," Valter continued after Lili was finished. "An' those linseeds were in high demand an' hard to find in markets. This fellow takes one good look at my field and immediately takes out his money."

Matylda loved to paint, Silva thought. I think the art supplies I got from my birthday were originally hers. That's why they were all crammed in that closet.

Valter began to laugh, finishing his tatra tea in the process. Soon, the atmosphere turned giddy from his laughter, and everyone had smiles on their faces, even Sebastijan.

"So, I says, you want to buy some of my linseeds?" he recalled. "Olaf says, how 'bout I buy the whole field for ya? Ah, that really made me mad."

Suddenly, Valter's face turned somber, and Lili turned her head toward the kitchen window. She gazed at the heavens, with eyes of a melancholy, bluish white. The mixture of the clouds and the sky had reflected off her pupils.

There's...a peaceful sadness in the air, Silva thought. I feel it spreading from the linseed field. Blue and white make up the clear skies.