WIND CLAN - SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTHWEST - THEOR 145
They had just settled the camp for the night. Astrid was now five, so dad had given her the responsibility to arrange the blankets and food. She very proudly did all of that. The tent was not that big, but it was the best of the tribe! Grandpa was the chief, as dad would be, and then as she would be after him. Everyone was treated very well, from family members to servants and slaves, but it was only natural that they had the best part of every deal.
She was sleeping with her parents and her two siblings. They were both very young, so they could not make their own bed yet. She finished her task with a lot of attention, before she heard that grandpa would not eat with them, because he had an emergency. She was quite disappointed, but she knew that tribe matters were more important.
Her dad was giving the last orders of the day while her mum was checking the accounts in a corner. A few slaves brought the meal while others attended on her younger brother and sister.
Just when her father entered the tent, Astrid ran for him.
"Why can't grandpa eat with us? Is it bad?"
"I don't know, but I don't think so. I would have been called if it was anything too serious. We'll know tomorrow morning."
"But you're the next chief! How is it that you don't know anything?"
"The person asked for it to stay confidential. When there's a potential deal, you must comply to all the client's desires. At least he must get the impression that you're doing so. Your grandfather should tell me everything once the client leaves."
She did not always understand everything her father said, but she nodded her head anyway. She then tried to think about the lesson in dad's words. Trade was not a simple thing, she had to learn quickly so she could help grandpa!
The tribe was of course always on the road, so vegetables were pretty rare. They ate meat from the livestock they raised. Her father had once told her about farming, but she did not really understand. He also told her that the fruits they sometimes ate came from"trees". He showed a drawing from a book to her. She found it a bit funny, but she was eager to know about the world outside of the wind clan.
After dinner, she went to bed and mother went to her side to read her a story. It was the end of nebule, fall would come soon. Reasonable people start the day when the sun comes up and go to sleep when the sun comes down. She knew she had to enjoy staying up late before the days became shorter and shorter.
Her mother always told her the story of Cloth. At first, he was a young and poor little boy of the wind clan. However, after years and years of hard work, good trading and many adventures, he became the wealthiest merchant of Hakk!
That night, mum was telling her about when he entered a mine of the earth clan to steal the heart of a mountain!
Astrid listened to her very cautiously, and then asked.
"The mountains have hearts? They're just like us then?"
"We have hearts of flesh and blood, trees have hearts of leaves and sap, mountains have hearts of jewels and stars, she answered smilingly. Mountain hearts have the biggest value! They are very, very rare, because there are not many mountains, and each one of them only has one heart. However, mountains are not like us; if we take their hearts, they do not die. They do if you break them, thought. The wind clan was once filled with mountains, but our ancestors thought they would make more money if they sold the hearts in several pieces. That is why we now have nothing but flatland."
"But that means Cloth will kill the mountain! Cloth is a hero; he can't do that!! It's horrible and bad! And if he was gonna get rich by being a merchant, he didn't need the heart, did he? Mum, were our ancestors right to break the hearts? Have you seen some mountain hearts yourself?"
A lot of questions filled her mind, and she knew mum could answer anything.
"Can I become an adventurer too? Can I be even wealthier than Cloth was? Do baby mountains exist? Has grandpa stolen a heart once? Is stealing a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Wow wow, slow down, slow down. First, Cloth was not the one to break the mountain heart! Listen to the end of the story before asking silly questions. He stole a heart of the earth clan. Then he sold it back to them, and they took care of it. The earth clan still has many mountains. You see, he protected the mountain while making benefits! It took him loads of efforts to find this heart. If it hadn't been him, it could have been someone with bad intentions, so it's normal to ask for compensations. Our clan's saying is to always first think about benefits. Only then can the clan flourish. We always grab a good opportunity, but we never hit someone who's already weak on the ground, see?
Then, if you want my opinion, we're far better in our plains! I wouldn't want a life in the mountains. But more importantly, Astrid, do not ever question the actions of your elders. It is not your place to do so. Learn from their good deeds and don't repeat the bad ones. But don't ever say it if you think they're wrong! Filial pity is what holds this world together and prevents it from falling into chaos.
And finally, sweetheart, we are nobles, that means our role is for the clan, not just our family. This is a big responsibility, you can't escape it easily and go on adventures without worrying about anything. However, we of the wind clan always stay free! We find ways. You can be whatever you want to be, if you work hard enough."
"But what if doing something bad can save someone we love? Are benefits more important than eeeeeeeverything else? If an elder asks me to do something wrong, should I do it?"
"It is not just financial benefits that I'm talking about. What is most important is to calculate everything correctly. You have to consider anything that can happen, and then ask yourself which result is better for you. Being evil is bad, but saving someone is good, so you could say that the two together cancel each other and are neutral. So you must see with what may happen next if you're winning or losing.
If an elder asks you to do something that you think is wrong, go seek advice to someone from the same generation, or even better, to someone older. For example, if your father or I ask you to do something you think might be wrong, go ask your grandfather and do what he says. The elders know better than you what is right and what is wrong."
"Will you teach me how to calculate?"
"I will. But now go to sleep, it's already dark outside. And when the night is dark the eyes are…?"
"Closed!"
"Good girl. Have nice dreams."
"Thanks mum! When dad and grandpa have finished to calculate the client, will you tell them goodnight for me?"
"I will."
…
The next morning, as usual, she went to pull out the fire and to fold the blankets. She then heard her father and grandfather calling her. She ran out, happy to hear that grandpa was back.
Out of the tent, next to grandfather stood a girl. She was about Astrid's size, with long ash-black hair in a braid that almost reached her legs. Her skin was as white as the clouds, her eyes were ice blue. It was the first time Astrid saw someone who looked like that! It was so different from the honey or dark skin, silver hair and black eyes of everyone in the tribe!
The girl looked a bit afraid, she was somewhat hiding behind grandfather's back. Astrid felt a twinge of jealousy from the girl's proximity with her grandpa, but also was captivated with the girl's appearance. She didn't know who it was, so she decided to make a good first impression, just in case.
"You asked for me?"
Grandpa took the girl by the shoulders and said:
"Astrid, this is Lin. She's the granddaughter of a good friend of mine that I almost consider my brother. She'll have to come live with us, and I'd like you to treat her as your own sister, okay?
Lin, this is Astrid. She will show you how everything works here at the camp. I know you are tired and not used to walk a lot, but you'll be fine in a few weeks."
It was a mission granted by grandpa, so it was of utmost importance to Astrid. How would she calculate, thought? Mum hadn't taught her yet. Well, it should be okay, she'd ask later.
She looked at Lin and smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Lin. Come, I'll show you our tent."
She reached out her hand to her. She wondered if she would take it, if her mother had taught her politeness as hers did. She decided it would be her first test to this new sister. She didn't show her intentions, thought, as dad and grandpa never showed their intentions to their clients.
Lin took her hand, with so much delicacy that Astrid barely felt it. Then she said "thank you very much" with a soft but filled with determination voice, while nodding her head.
Astrid looked at her father and grandfather one last time to get their approval, but she was so excited to have a mission that she did not really linger to see their reaction. She started taking Lin around and proudly showing her their way of living. She realized how soft her hand was when she grabbed it with force, afraid that she would not be able to follow her otherwise.
After a while, Lin started panting and asked to stop.
"I'm so sorry. At home, the only "physical" activity I did was to carry books from the library to the study…But I'll do my best not to be a weight to you! I'll adapt quickly, promise."
"Why do you carry books all day long? Dad says that some books have market value. Others are useful to learn things, but they're not as important as the Elders' advice or your own experience. So I don't see the point in carrying them back and forth. They won't bring you well water, nor put up a tent, nor look after the herd."
"I don't carry them all day long. It's just that in my home, your most important mission is to learn everything you can. Books are just as knowledge itself; they are precious, you must take care of them, and they must be available for everyone. That means that as soon as you're finished using one, you have to bring it back to the library."
"Well, if you're tired, I'll go ask mum if she has something else for us to do. Don't worry, I'll teach you everything you need to know, and as father says, "You don't become a merchant as the sun rises", so I'm aware that you won't be able to do everything like me tomorrow morning."
"Thank you in advance for your patience. I'll quickly learn to be useful."
On the way back, Astrid was much calmer. She started asking Lin about her age, her family, and mostly why she came to live with them. She had loads of questions, but she tried to keep them for herself for now, giving Lin the time to answer.
"I celebrated my seventh birthday a few weeks ago. You're five, right?
As for my family, I can't say much. Your grandfather has forbidden me to tell you everything, but I've also been told that you'll be chief one day, so I can't lie to you.
Oh but I can tell you this! I'm from the water clan, that's why I don't look like any of your tribe's people. Well, some wind clan also have black hair – thought not the same black – but none has blue eyes like me. Some of you also have a paler skin, thought most of you don't."
She was not quite convinced with Lin's answer, but it was grandfather that sent her, and she was older than her, so she did not object. However, as soon as she heard she was from the water clan, all her doubts were replaced by excitement.
"Please! Tell me about the water clan! I want to know everything there is to know! All the small differences and why there are some!"
Lin smiled, but her smile was somewhat sad.
"Our lives are so different, I can't tell you everything in a day, but I'll answer your questions one by one if you wish.
What would surprise you most, I think, is that we don't have any camp like you do. We always stay at the same place, in houses made of wood. Other clans have houses made of stone, I read."
"So you always look at the same scenery? How do you do commerce if you never move?"
She giggled.
"We move a bit to visit our friends or the people in our land, but that's all. Most people don't live as merchants, and the ones that do come to us.
Our lands are filled with water courses! You can't walk ten feet without seeing one. Some are as thin and deep as my arm, other so big that it would take days to walk through them, and so deep that we have to take boats. We have livestock as you do, but we also grow rice, as well as some vegetables.
What you also would not know about is cities! Many houses, hundreds, thousands of houses in the same place, big, big houses. You'll see some one day for sure, there's a lot of commerce there."
"How do you earn money then, if you're not all merchants, farmers or artisans?"
"There are so many ways! Politics, medicine, sewing, counselling, forge, protecting, farming, music, magic, … Actually, there are so many classes that it would take me half a day to explain a tenth to you! You're the only clan that relies on trade only, actually. But you do have classes beside that, they're just secondary to you."
"And you? What profession are you destined to be? As you know, I'll be chief!
By the way, if there are thousands of people, isn't it too much for your chiefs to handle?"
"The "chiefs" aren't alone you know. We have our princes and princesses of clan that supervise everything – you have one, too –, everyone in the clan has to listen to them, they're the biggest authority after the King and Queen, but other people supervise smaller places, and so on.
As for my class, I don't know. I love to study, learn things so I can advise people! But here, I don't know what I would be able to do. My brother told me once that politics and commerce are a bit alike. He taught me politics, I'm pretty good at it – thought not as much as him. But I'm good to calculate and foresee the turns of events!"
When Astrid heard the word 'calculate', her heart made a jump. Lin had to teach her! However, something still felt off.
"I could not imagine staying in the same place all the time… Without movement there's no life…"
"To me, moving all the time looks tiring, and a lost of time! You can do so many things with the time you spend doing nothing but walking…"
Hearing this, Astrid felt upset. She would show her! She could not manage to keep smiling when she thought about her last sentence. It was the opposite of what the Elders had taught her. This way of thinking seemed so sad to her. Very solemnly, she said: "Know that in these plains, if you don't keep moving, you die."
She did not quite understand this sentence, but she heard it a lot in adults' conversations, and she thought it was fitting quite well here. Then she kept her mouth shut and walked straight forward.
Very quickly, Lin started running to catch up, and very delicately put her hand on her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Astrid! I was just saying what I've been taught in the water clan! I didn't want to upset you, I just haven't been educated the same way you have. I've also been taught to listen to my elders, thought, just like you, so now that I'm here I'll be sure to adapt, don't worry! No one can adapt better and quicker than a water clan member! Even if it means losing this identity to become a wind girl. I'll learn to love moving and learn how important it is! Just don't be mad at me, okay?"
Well, she did seem quite sincere. Grandpa trusted this girl, so why shouldn't she? They took each other's hand and walked in her mother's tent.