Backstory

“What are you working on up there?”
 
“Arrgh!” was my eloquent response, and I dropped the three screws I was holding between my teeth. I had to snatch
them with my free hand before they fell 10 feet to the floor, possibly hitting the prettiest girl in the clan. Brea kin
Ravenpass was standing below me with a bemused expression. She is smart, confident, and the only girl my age that
likes to talk to me. Of course, she and my older brother Quaid are secretly in love, so that may have something to do
with her interest in me. I recognized their infatuation early, so I’ve been in the inner circle of their plans for a year. I
don’t see why she likes Quaid so much. He’s not as handsome as all the girls say, or as smart as the guys claim.
 
“I’m building a rotary display for that stack of fancy rugs over there. Riann says I have to work on selling them,” I
explained. It really should be obvious what my contraption is for, but I guess it does look a little like a war machine
without the rugs installed.
 
“Does it work? I thought the traditional display of floor rugs is in a pile, just as they are currently. Are you sure Riann
didn’t mean for you to work on your merchant skills, like pleasantly talking to customers? The rugs do look very fancy
and nice, so you should be able to sell them easily for a good profit.”
 
I grinned. “It will work as soon as I get a few more parts I need. And anyway, I think Riann got the rugs for cheap from
some guy that was in legal trouble with the Dratharcans.” Riann is my older sister, and basically the perfect merchant,
which makes her the star of the household as far as my parents are concerned. She can deduce a customer’s fears and
dreams within a few minutes of meeting them, so she had Quaid and Brea figured out instantly. Too bad that Brea’s dad
and Pa have disliked each other since the dawn of time. Riann is the mastermind of the plan to get the two lovebirds
hitched without Pa and Brea’s dad coming to blows.
 
And here she comes now. “Oenghus, please stop giving away family secrets to potential customers. No one needs to
know how I acquired those rugs. You really are hopeless at selling things. Also, what the hell is that?”
 
“It’s a new display for the rugs. It rotates vertically to show off many of them at the same time. I just need a few more
gears to get it working.”
 
She looked dubious. “Maybe I can sell it as an obscure Dratharcan torture device. We’ll profess ignorance about what
exactly it does, and leave that to the customer’s imagination. Get down from there, please. I’m going to give you some
money to buy ingredients for a nice lunch for us. Brea and I are going to discuss strategy. By the way, what is your plan
to explain things to Ma and Pa when they get home?”
 
Yeah, that was going to suck. My family has a tradition of sending all children to Dratharca for a serious, cosmopolitan
education. My siblings excelled of course, but I hated almost all of it. SO MANY BOOKS, and sitting in classrooms
listening to Masters droning on and on about useless trivia like history and philosophy. I did like weapons training,
especially once I started winning all the tournaments, and I really enjoyed my time helping out in Master Bellamy’s lab.
The problem is that I decided to leave instead of staying for another year to graduate. Or rather, I was strongly
encourageed to leave. Even Master Bellamy said that I would never be much of an inventor when I refused to do
calculations or detailed plans before starting my work. He’s wrong, though. I just need time to fiddle with my
inventions until they work out. Look at my flying belt! It works, mostly…sometimes.
 
*****
 
So now I’m digesting a very pleasant meal. I did a great job with the ingredients, even Riann says so. She and Brea are
bonding, talking about how great it will be to be sisters. I didn’t get my gears, though.
 
Weylin the Smith started talking about being able to feed his wife and kids when we were negotiating the price.
Everything soured when I reminded him that his wife did not need any extra sandwiches. I have some ideas on how to
make the design work without the extra gears, anyway.
 
Riann: You never answered my question about what you are going to say to Ma and Pa. They’re going to be home
tomorrow evening. Quaid will be back, too.
 
Me: I guess I will have to man up and tell them the truth. They’ll be mad, but it was never going to work, them trying to
turn me into a Dratharcan.
 
Riann: Arrgh. You weren’t supposed to turn INTO a Dratharcan, just be able to fake it so you can do business across the
border! I don’t like your plan. I need the parents in a good mood when we announce Quaid and Brea’s love to them.
We need to find a good excuse to get you out of town for a while.
 
Brea: I can help with that. There is a traveling healer staying with us that needs a guide further into the Weald. She is
interested in finding locals that can move or detect things with their minds. I know that you have plenty of knowledge of
the countryside, so maybe you can help her.
 
Riann: You have to be POLITE to her, though.
 
Me: I can do that. I am polite to plenty of people. I would like to stretch my legs, anyway.
 
Brea: Oenghus, if all goes well, I will be your sister soon. I care about you, so please take this advice to heart. You are a
talented young man, just not in the way your parents want. I know that if I were in danger, I would want you protecting
me, even over Quaid. You have a good heart and a firm sense of justice, even if you don’t always show it. What I’m
trying to say is that you need to find your direction in life...your cause. Then everything will fall into place for you.
 
Me: Advice? You’re the same age as I am! But…fine, I’ll think about it.