Enwyn
Have you ever woken up to a question in your dreams?? Have you ever wondered who dictates destiny, who or what makes destiny such a weird thing to understand? Growing up I never quite could understand the concept of destiny and what it meant for one to have a different destiny than the other. My father was a baker by trade well known in our small town of Aidna. Aidna wasn’t much but it was home , I remember my dad was the first one up setting up the logs in the huge oven to start the first bread of the day . Me and my brothers used to wake up to the smell of the freshly baked bread, well actually the whole town woke up to that smell. In a rush mum prepared us breakfast and we had to eat as fast as we could so we could start helping out dad in the shop. My dad used to shout at me especially because I used to hide under the table where the bread used to sit, and I used to steal small pieces of bread, eat the crust and leave the rest on the table. Then when the local shaman came along to get his share of the bread he used to tell me off. Then suddenly I hear this huge roar, followed by my name and I used to laugh my head of as my dad chased me half way through the town. Then when he catches me I used to give him an innocent face and tell him” Dad no one makes bread the way you can. I can never resist it. Sorry dad”. He would laugh his head off and tell me, son one day when I’m no longer around you will own the mill and the bakery and you will learn all the secrets of our unique tasting bread.
The days roared by and as they passed my dad grew older and we grew bigger and bigger, though I still couldn’t resist the taste of my father’s bread but he couldn’t catch me now cause I could run faster than he could when he was at his best. One day dad woke me up earlier than usual and I woke up half drugged from my sleep and grumpy because the sun wasn’t up yet and the smell of bread was absent. He was different that morning as if he wasn’t my father anymore, he told me son it’s time for you to step up and be the man of the house, from today you’ll start your initiation into baking. Later after that talk dad sent me to the great mill to meet my uncle.
CHAPTER 1 HONESTY, LOYALTY AND TRUST
My mind was racing with ideas of what might this baking secret be. I was soon to learn that all I grew up to be was a cover up to the real thing. The mill was 2 days journey away from Aidna but its windmill could be seen from even further then Aidna. I was travelling lightly with a small back pack my dad used to carry tools in. All I had was some bread for the journey 2 smoked goose eggs and a big fat sausage to eat. Being a big boy as my dad used to say I ate alot and after the first 3 hrs all my food that had to last for the 2 days was gone. The journey was quite peacefull, lush country side, open air and the fields of grain that spread as far as the naked eye can see. When it got dark I decided to camp by a small farm and as soon as the farmer saw me he recognized me and asked me “hey son why don’t you spend the night with us inside?” with that smile on his face. I was nodding “ yes thank you sir you’re so kind “ and he replied “ oh don’t sir me son I’m just a humble farmer with me family trying to make a living here” , then he asked me again “ you’re the baker’s son are yah?” “Yes sir” I replied. He quickly pulled up a blanket out for me and gave me some hot soup. I was over joyed to know that people like this family still exist, how kind and generous he was. At the break of day I woke up to the sound of the farmer’s wife calling for breakfast. It was then that I decided to go ahead to the mill to see my uncle Ren so I gathered my bag said my thanks and left for a 12 hour walk to the mill. As I came closer to mill I started to realize how big it was and as it turned to the wind I was captivated by its beauty.
When I arrived uncle Ren was waiting for me outside and welcomed me with open arms. Uncle Ren grabbed me by the shoulder and told me “son today is an important day for you and us” I replied “why uncle?” whilst trying to catch my breath “what’s the big deal about becoming a man? Every boy will grow to be a man”. Uncle Ren told me “ everything will make sense once I get you in the mill but you have to vow that whatever you see inside the mill you must not tell anyone about it” . My heart was racing and suddenly I didn’t know what to think anymore so I said “yes uncle, you have my word”. “Good” uncle replied “so let’s go in my son, after you”.
The Mill looked like a small fortress souring high in the sky, it was build with solid cobblestone . It had to small towers on the front and the huge supporting tower in the mid section of the structure. This supporting tower was catering for the actual wind mill structure which was as big as the sails of ships in the pictures of story books. The structure was quite old, but what I could notice was that it had runes all over it. Small herb like plant was growing between the stones and there were no windows however, on the rear wall of the left tower I could notice a lot of bird like holes which were made nests for the sparrows. By the entrance stood two statues of what seemed to be centaurs of the old age each holding long spears pointing to the north and the door was big enough for a horse rider to pass mounted on his horse, on the door laid a triangular emblem of a loaf of bread and rose passing through the bread, the emblem was hardly recognizable as the rock was worn with age and 2 hands were holding this triangular emblem also worn with age. On the side was a small garden with red rose bushes growing wildly and a small stable which could hold 2 horses but it had no ceiling as it collapsed with last winter’s rains.
Uncle noticed me looking at the whole structure and noticing the details so he grabbed my shoulder again and pushed me gently inside. As we entered the door opened on its own and looking outwards towards one statue I realized that the eyes on one of the statues lit up in a bright green gaseous light. It was then that I realized that this was no ordinary mill but rather an enchanted one .
As we stepped in we came to a huge hall and uncle Ren seemed as if he was quite familiar with the place so I allowed him to lead the way. The hall was 2 to almost 3 stories high and was an architectural piece of art with an enormous 4 tier chandelier lighting the whole room. The floor was all carpeted in red as if royalty lived in it, there were no cobwebs or any sign of aging in the Hall, no cracks in the stone or rickety flooring. My eyes couldn’t stop from looking in all directions seeing all the odd looking smudged pictures on the walls. Uncle Ren caught me gazing at one particular picture and he walked back towards me and asked me” do you know what that is?” I told him” yes it’s a centaur in full plate armor wielding a kind of bright red flaming sword and stampeding on what seems to be a manticore”. Uncle Ren nodded and said “ son you are right, that centaur is the legend centaur named Trux” as I heard my uncle talk I was caught by a day dream or a vision of this picture taking life and as uncle talked the picture came more clearly to life and as the vision faded uncle was still talking about Trux. When uncle stopped talking I was still lost in my thoughts, when I realized I was day dreaming and uncle had stopped talking, I told him “ sorry uncle Ren but all these new stories and myths of different races of humanoids make me feel like I’m a nobody”, uncle laughed at me and said “myths?, my boy they are as real as you and me and if someone says either way they will realize soon enough that they are true” he added “ kid I can clearly see that you have never been out of Aidna”.
Uncle Ren was a solitary man he had no family to call his own. He was considerably tall and muscular and his voice was firm and load. He had long hair and a small girth beard, and he had green eyes that could see past my thoughts, they were quite scary to stare at. Uncle ren was my dad’s brother and when my grandfather died they sp[lit the business into the milling and baking. Uncle choose to take the Mill as he was more proficient on milling then on the actual baking techniques my father has. The Mill has been in the family for generation and there is no clear indication of how old it actually is. Father used to say that he thinks that the mil used to be a small fortress or a garrison but no one really knows.
When we got out of the hall uncle showed me to my new quarters. I was quite impressed at the high ceilings every room had, but apart from that I really loved having a huge bed and all for me. Later after allowing me to settle down Uncle called me down to the kitchen for supper. Uncle Ren was known to be an amazing chef back in the days or so I remember dad saying. When I got down to the kitchen I realized we were not alone in the mill as I used to think but there were 3 other people working with my uncle.
When I showed up the others were startled with my presence but uncle Ren quickly started the introductions. “Dean, Draven and Irafas meet my nephew Rees “uncle said, as soon as I heard my name I was standing straight at full attention waiting to see if they react. Dean and Draven looked at me then after 5 seconds started to laugh. Dean said “so you’re here to learn to arts aren’t yah kid” and Draven turned and said “ of course you dumb ass , what do you expect ?” then they turned on each other in a friendly brawl . I couldn’t stop from laughing , seeing these two man brawling and making fun of each other , calling each other names , uncle Ren with half a smile told me not to pay any attention to them cause that’s what they do all day . Irafas was the only man inside there that didn’t even pay any attention to the noise the others were doing. When the brawl was over we all sat down to eat. The table was huge and all filled with bread, turkey, mash potatoes and a strange looking black stew.
Dean and Draven were quite ill mannered and they grabbed 3 pieces of bread and dumped them into the stew. Irafas was quit and remained calm; he took his fair share without making a sound, and then left the room. Uncle Ren said “never mind him Rees he’s a strange elf always keeping to himself and never smiles”. Dean and Draven stayed to watch me and all of a sudden Dean asked me “ so has your uncle told you what your training will be ?”, Draven turned on uncle Ren “ Ren , what plans have you got for the kid ?”. Uncle Ren turned to me and said “ Rees when you wake up tomorrow you and I will go for a walk and I’ll talk to you and set things straight for you my boy “. After supper I was quite tired so I rushed to my bedroom fearing Irafas would show up but he didn’t. It didn’t take much till both my eyes were shut but I kept sensing that I was being watched.
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