Armaran chapter 15

Days went by fast as Amina tried to get as much done as possible within the few weeks she had left in Tenera. She focused on school and did her homework with care, but she also helped Mr. Augustin every day for a couple of hours and learned herbalism. She was beginning to learn about the use of some of the medicinal plants as she listened to Mr. Augustin's instructions to his costumers while she was working. Most of the time people were seeking help with a headache or pain in the stomach. Sometimes the headaches were caused by sitting down too much and the pain went away with some exercise or massage, sometimes people had been in the sun too long, and sometimes there was actually some illness behind the aching. Stomach pain was more tricky to diagnose, but Mr. Augustin seldom had a customer leave his shop without some kind of cure. Especially women came for certain herbs, and Amina memorized all of it. She managed to find time to see Tessa once or twice a week as well, but she didn't spend any time with the other children except at school.

Amina wrote to Kros even though she was sure that Jared had already informed him about their plan to travel together. She felt that all writing outside of school was good practice, as she didn't know when she'd return to Tenera. Ms. Slava hadn't yet said a word about how she could keep up her skills while she was away, but she was certain she wasn't going to get a big pile of assignments to take with her. She would just have to figure out ways to practice on her own.

An answer to her previous letter arrived from Kros only a few days before a short note from Jared, where he informed her he'd be in a nearby village in three days. He wasn't sure if he'd have time to come and pick her up on the very same day but he asked her to be ready to go anyway.

On the next day, Amina told everyone her departure was drawing near. The Streckke family thanked her for telling them, but had no more interest in the matter. Ms. Slava was slightly disappointed that she had only a day or two to instruct her, but she promised to arrange some time on the next day after school. Mr. Augustin was despondent, but tried his best to encourage her to explore the world as much as she could. Amina promised to look out for the plants she now knew and, given the chance, collect them.

***

Jared arrived in Tenera in the afternoon. Many of the students were excited as they were expecting another performance with fire, but they were soon disappointed as Jared had come to entertain no one. Some were even throwing nasty glances at Amina on the basis of her escaping the actvities for common good on the following day as she would be leaving.

Amina got her luggage from the Streckke house and bid farewell to the staff. None of the family members were there at that time, and Amina left them a short note, thanking them for the roof over her head and her promise to let them know well in advance when she would return. Then she rushed back to the town and straight to the smithy.

Jared hoisted Amina's sack on the carriage and helped her up on the driver's seat. He then made and agile leap after her and bid farewell to the blacksmith with whom he had been talking to when Amina arrived.

Their journey began leisurely and Amina was eagerly listening to all the things Jared had had a chance to learn though she knew very little about different forging techniques. Their destination was a few hours away and they stayed the night at an inn. In the morning, Jared went on to his business and Amina had time to explore the village. It was smaller than Tenera or Groshna and one of Jared's boss' smithies was located there. Amina walked around the village and some of the surrounding woods. She collected some easy-to-dry plants but left the ones she knew recuired more complicated measures of preservation.

Eventually hunger made her return to town and she ventured to enter the smithy. The pungent smell of hot metal hit her as she entered and it was almost unbearably hot inside. Amina sat in a corner she thought would be safe and watched Jared and two younger apprentices forge and shape the metal into the shape they desired. Soon her stomach hurt so bad from hunger that she had to open her mouth. ”What's it gonna be?” she asked as she wasn't willing to admit how hungry she was.

Jaerd and the apprentices turned to look her way. ”It's going to be a beam for a big carriage,” Jared replied. Sweat was running down his face and his hair was glued to his temples. He said something to the apprentices who nodded. ”Did you go through the whole village yet?” he asked her.

Amina shrugged. ”I didn't go inside any house, so there was only that much to see, but I found some plants in the woods that I recognized,” she answered.

”Would you do us a favour?” Jared asked and, before she could say anything, he instructed her where to get some fine bread and cheap eggs and gave her some money for them.

Amina nodded and went back outside to the refreshing breeze. The coins that Jared had given her were still warm and sticky with sweat but she held them tight in her hand. She purchased the food according to Jared's instructions and returned to the smithy.

One of the apprentices asked her to hand over the eggs and then proceeded to crack them open on a pan and fry them into scramble. Jared took the loaves of bread from Amina and sliced them onto a plate. The other apprentice took some chairs outside. They all sat down in front of the smithy in the fresh air for a light lunch. Jared introduced Amina to the apprentices proprely and they were eager to hear one of her stories. Amina was happy to oblige, and what had meant to be a quick lunch became over an hour of fun chatter. Jared and the apprentices returned to their task, but Jared promised Amina that it wouldn't take more than two hours and then they could head east again. Amina went back to the woods for a while and returned to the smithy again. Jared bid farewell to the apprentices and collected their things from the inn.

Their journey began as joyfully as on the previous day and Amina talked about all the things she had seen in the village.

Jared told her about the two apprentices who were mostly his responsibility. His boss had given him a couple more apprentices who were quite advanced in their skills and worked in different towns, so he would be travelling a lot over the summer. After a moment he got serious. ”Has it been fun to live in Tenera?”

Amina nodded. ”I've learned so many things at school. Miss Slava has even let me read some history. I guess she thought it'd be easier for me because I know so many stories about some historical events. I haven't really had time to read that much yet and I'm not a very fast reader. Oh, and the blacksmith is a nice man, very friendly. Many people don't talk to him unless they need his help with something, but I think it's fun to go to the smithy sometimes.”

Jared let out a laugh. ”Have I had such a bad influence on you?”

Amina grinned. ”It's not bad influence. I think it's much nicer to know people than pretend that I'm better than them because I go to school or if I had a lot of money.”

”That's a good starting point for your life. But have you really enjoyed your time in Tenera aside from going to school or talking to the blacksmith? That healer man seemed to like you, at least.”

Amina nodded. ”Mister Augustin was really disappointed when I left but I promised to go back and help him more. And I want to learn more about plants. I have so much to tell to Emma so she can grow useful stuff in her garden.”

”You still haven't answered the original question,” Jared pointed out.

Amina stared at the road for a while, not saying a word. ”I don't like the Streckke family that much. They have really stupid ideas about what makes you a good person, or civilized and such. But Mister Streckke had arranged for me a place in the school and I get to live with them for free and it's safe there.”

Jared nodded with a serious face. ”They seem like people who know their own value. I can understand if you're not feeling too happy around them. But they treat you well, right?”

Amina shrugged. ”I'm related so I'm not entirely bad. And I like to go to school, so I'm at least making an effort to civilize myself and they respect that. They're not interested in anyone they think is inferior. I think they're still having a hard time figuring you out, because you're very much just a worker, but you've got good manners and you try to imrove yourself as a blacksmith.”

”Miss Slava's school isn't free, right? Who pays your tuition fees?” Jared asked. Amina thought it was unfair. It wasn't his business. ”You know Kros is going to ask you the same thing at some point. Maybe not now, but someday he's going to doubt if you're treated as well as you deserve. And the last thing you should do is lie to him.”

Amina was writhing on her seat. She didn't want to answer the question. Jared had voiced the things she didn't want to think about. There was all that money from the story leather and technically it was hers, but Kros wouldn't let her use it to pay for her school. Eventually she sighed. ”I do get a discount for being an orphan, you know. And I don't really spend money on anything else. Well, a few letters but that's not much,” she mumbled.

Jared patted her on the shoulder. ”I can talk to Kros with you, if you like. I won't let him be so stupid that he would put himself, Emma and their child through harder times than necessary just because he wants to do everything he can to help you. I think it's very wrong that you have to pay the fees yourself, but let this Streckke family have it their way. You're growing up to be a much better person than they are, because you don't value people on a ridiculous basis.”

Amina dared to glanse at Jared. The man she met the first time right after losing her family, when she was too shocked to think about anything. Ever since that moment a sparkle of light on his golden earrings had become a friendly and comforting sight to her. A righteous man, who wanted to help the people he knew, without losing sight of what he wanted to achieve for himself. A man of reason who knew what to say depending on who he was talking to, but who refused to turn a blind eye to injustice. A hero, Amina thought and smiled.

They spoke very little more during that night, before stopping for the night at an inn in a small village.

***

Amina was a bit anxious in the morning. She didn't want Jared to bring up Tenera and its people again – at least not a certain family. However, her fear was for nothing as they began their journey with a couple of other carriages heading the same way. Amina took turns to sit in each carriage, telling stories. The travellers were craftsmen and enjoyed her words, which they heard seldom even on fairs. They travelled together for a few days and then parted on their own ways. Amina was still safe from Jared's prying words. He wanted to hear more stories. Many days passed as Amina tried to remember all the stories of her parents and any other stories she had heard during her life.

”I've sometimes thought what it would be like to be Kahtal,” Jared said out of the blue one day.

Amina started. In itself, the statement was facinating, but it was also dangerous, as any kind of support or adoration of the Kahtal was a taboo. Amina was also terrified where that kind of conversation could lead to.

”Mostly I've been thinking about what it would be like to be a blacksmith with a Keok. I could control the temperature of the fire in my smithy very precisely. It would be really good for some of the forging jobs,” Jared explained.

Amina thought about it for a moment. ”So you'd like to bear a Keok because it would be the best help in your work?”

Jared nodded. ”Have you ever thought which Gahim would be best for you?”

Amina shook her head. ”I've never thought about what it would be like to be Kahtal so I haven't really thought which one would be nicest.”

”I think you could do well with a Panga or a Trua. You could make your voice be heard a long way when you're telling stories,” Jared suggested.

Amina smiled. ”Maybe. But Keok could keep me warm while I'm travelling. And Fansi would be nice if it's raining and it keeps you dry.”

Jared grinned. ”Mehga could help you find and grow plants.”

Amina laughed. She had relaxed in an instant even though the topic was so difficult for her. Jared didn't know about Praie and he wouldn't find out. At least not for now. On the other hand, Amina's trust towards Jared deepened immensely. ”Maybe. But if I had to choose just one... It's really hard to decide. Maybe I'd take Panga. I've met a couple of them and they've been nice.”

Jared was curious and insisted she'd tell him about all the Gahim she had encountered. Amina told him about all the Gahim she had met at the graveyard, and the two Keok, and other spirits she had met while travelling, and eventually about the shy Gahim of Tenera, which she hadn't yet been able to identify.

After Amina finished, Jared thought for a long while. ”I've sometimes seen a Gahim in the woods or near some villages. I haven't had a clue what to do. Maybe next time I'll go and say hi.”

Amina nodded. ”If they don't go away right away, they must be curious. Besides, it's really stupid that you can't say ”Gahim arimma hajahka”. What's the point of making a greeting of the Gahim forbidden anyway.”

”That rule was made by people who believed it was a saying to praise the Kahtal.”

”Well, they were idiots. It's always been a way to greet the Gahim and nothing more.”

Jared shrugged. ”There were a lot of idiotic things happening when the Kahtal were wiped out. The worst being that all of the Kahtal were accused of being murderers and destroyers of all things, even though in Armaran most of them were leading peaceful lives without ever harming anyone,” he said in a sad voice.

”Why would anyone want to kill all of the spirit bearers anyway? It's not like it was their own choice to become Kahtal,” Amina thought out loud.

”Some were jealous of all the power the Kahtal gained with the aid of their Gahim. Others were just afraid of their strength. Many people have a really bad approach to anything they don't understand. And there are always those who will do everything possible to gain power and glory for themselves regardless of the amount of destruction they bring about. Some Kahtal were like that, too,” Jared listed.

”But it's still wrong!” Amina protested.

”You're really Fatil to the bone, you know,” Jared laughed. ”But you're right. It was very wrong towards the vast majority of those who were killed – not many Kahtal, Fatil or their other supporters would have protected themselves or the ones they cared for, if they had been known to have done something bad.”

”And-and-and most of the soldiers who were Kahtal! They were taken to the war and made into warriors! There were a lot of other soldiers, too, and they were all killing people!” Amina shrieked, aggravated.

Jared just nodded to her words and let her let out some steam. ”It's still better not to talk about these things in any villages.”

Amina calmed down immeadiately. ”Yeah,” she agreed quietly. For a moment, she was vexed that one of the Kahtal she had always adored the most, General Stenvil, had been a soldier and killed a lot of people.

”We can't change the wrong-doings of the past, but we can try to make the world around us a better place with our own choices and actions. We can try to help people understand that we don't have to shun or drive away the Gahim, because they haven't done us any harm and they probably still don't understand a world without Kahtal. We can cherish the legacy of the Fatil by listening to the stories, and you of course will tell them on. Many of the stories have been lost forever but we can sustain the remaining ones forever. You can grow up to be a brave woman who cures people and tells them stories by their sick beds to ease their pains.”

Amina smiled. She would tell Jared about Praie some day. But not yet. Maybe when she had grown up. Then, she hoped, life would be easier anyway. Until then she decided to do as Jared had suggested – share the stories and through them the knowledge about Kahtal and their companions.

When Jared and Amina finally arrived in Groshna, Amina had decided to go straight to Emma's garden, but their reunion was so happy and emotional that the first afternoon was filled with nothing but hugs and sobs. Kragu had grown and Amina picked him up gingerly. Praie behaved well, and Amina could relax. She had returned to the one place that had felt like home after the loss of her first home. She would go back to Tenera in time, but perhaps not until autumn when she had no chance of seeing Jared for months.

Even though the long journey and the emotional turmoil of her return had fatigued her, Amina couldn't sleep during the first night. Her thoughts were still caught up in the conversation with Jared – how he had admitted that he wouldn't mind being a Kahtal if he could use the fire of a Keok. Amina thought long about how she could run around Armaran with Jared's help if anyone hostile ever found out she is Kahtal. Kahtal and their families had been mostly eradicated, but not all of their bloodlines. Amina was a living proof of it. Maybe somewhere out there was someone else, or would be some day. Maybe she wasn't as alone as she had thought before, but it might be impossible for her to ever meet another Kahtal. Amina's dreams were filled with spirits who were taking turns to convince her to let them settle in her body and what each of them could do for her or teach her.