A Tale of Crown and Country

Tavin

 By the time Tavin wound his way through Brekka's streets and down to the miserly Riverside docks the sun was up in full force, though in its best efforts it did nothing to cool the sting of the water-driven winds that cut Tavin's cheeks as he huddled by the city walls.

The docks were busy by now. Sailors, fishermen, and men of the like had been up for hours. Most boats had set sail already. Out on the wide river, they would dredge up depths of the water to search for fish. It was a strange profession. So far from the cooler waters of the ocean Tavin had heard so much about, fishing was an oddity to all who travelled here. To Brekka it wasn't just a necessity of nutrition nor a meagre profession. To Brekka, and to Reightneir in general, it was an homage to the god Loitrand, who's generous gifts to the people were repayed by receiving them with honour. Fish, just like the deer, cows, chickens, moose, and birds who populated the country, were given by Loitrand for the people to sustain themselves with. In thanks, Reightneirians ate them with pride. And so began the strange profession of fishing in a river not meant for the job, in a land where water froze three quarters of the year.

But that also meant Brekka had invested a great deal of resources into building better ships. Copying from the Vastranese (and altering a few details) the Reightneirians who had studied abroad returned to develop these ships for the calm waters of the river. And so by default, there was at any one time at least one ship travelling in each direction, solely for the purpose of travel.

All Tavin needed to do was buy his passage on one of these.

At the far end of the docks, he could see a group of people huddling together. Their coats were not worn and their shoes bore no holes. They carried baggage. Couples and families stood together. Tavin counted maybe twenty people of all ages. This, he presumed, was a group travelling beyond Brekka's walls.

Tavin wandered over to them. His heart raced and his mind ran a million miles a second as he hoped and prayed to Rukta that this was a ship about to leave in the direction he so desired. As he approached the group, he shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and tried to fit in. He sidled up to the edge of the group, and pretended to belong. The travellers chatted amongst themselves, waiting for the signal that they should gather their belongings and join the crew aboard their destined ship. Tavin caught tail-ends of conversations and soon gathered from the bits and bobs that these people were, in general, heading downriver, towards Allriya.

"Listen here!" someone shouted over the hubbub. The crowd immediately silenced, and Tavin turned his attention to the speaker. "All passengers line up here. We'll be off soon as we can."

People began assembling their baggage and their parties, and rifling through coat pockets. Several of the men and women around Tavin produced small pieces of parchment which they held tightly in their hands. Tavin's heart beat faster. His head felt light and his hands began to sweat. He wiped them on his pants and left them out of his pockets. The cold air hurt but it was better than letting them sit in his pockets wherein he was sure the warmth would grow to his cheeks. It was the same feeling he got when anyone challenged him to a duel at school, or when he was preparing to tell Mother of his plans. It was not his favourite feeling in the world.

Slowly, people began shuffling into a haphazard line leading to the assigned ship's decks. Tavin stole in beside an elderly couple who couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other besides the cold. Tavin was glad for their distraction: he feared he would melt into a pile of anxiety if not for them. Maybe he would thank them once he got aboard.

It wasn't that Tavin couldn't find where to pay for the ticket everyone seemed to be holding. Not all, though his heart had raced faster as he panicked about where to do so. No. It was that he had seen the price on the ticket. The price of passage to the other side of the Teblaus Mountains. He could not afford that and still continue on towards Allriya. It would drain him of his entire savings. The fact that he couldn't pay caused his knees to shakes and his head to grow faint. Tavin was not used to such worries, and he was not a rule-breaker in the least, nor was he adventurous. This was something Fenwur would do. Of course Fenwur would be confident enough to do so: he was confident enough to do anything. Even to capture Atryada's heart. Stop that, he told himself. It's not particularly helpful at the moment.