Anymer had noticed a change in the boy. It had been subtle, at first anyway. He swung the splitting maul again, sending two halves of a log splintering in opposite directions. His body was well used to this chore – he had, after all, been doing it since he was a boy; and even more so since he married Frae. This thought brought a smile; it had easily been the happiest thirteen years of his life.
And this was how it was, the body did the work, and the mind wandered. This is how it always was for him, he probably did more deep thinking than anyone, besides his Frae, gave him credit for. Granted, he did tend to keep his thoughts to himself.
But that boy… Bregoàn had always had problems. Maybe not problems, per say, but he didn’t have any friends. His animals did not count. Not that they weren’t good for him, but it is the not the same. But he was different, and children did not understand different. Anymer chuckled; Men and Women don’t understand different.
His oddities led him to spend a lot of time alone, with his pets, or out wandering the plains. Anymer expected that. But now he was more worried. Recently, it seemed as though his excursions no longer provided the escape that he wanted. He always had come home late – but cheerful, or at least content, even if he had left distraught. But what had changed?
Anymer brought the maul down hard on a particularly troublesome stump. A knot turned the blade aside, and into the earth. He grumbled as he reset both log and maul for a better strike. This time a satisfying crack resulted.
Wait, hadn’t it been right around the time they had told him of the new baby? Of course… but he had seemed so exuberant; he practically terrorized his pets with his hugs. It couldn’t have been an act, he had even thought a noble name – if it was a boy. Had some other thought derailed his excitement?
There was something else. Bregoàn had always been a reader. He had already read every book in the village, and since then Anymer had been bringing back books from any larger town he visited, whether for supplies, or official business with the Guard. But he had always been content with whatever history of Rohan, or tale of the lore of the plains he had brought back. Now he had a request: Something about wizards. And not an old wives tale of wizards, a real book on wizards. As if there was such a thing.
Now, Anymer did not disapprove of wizards. He had never seen one, but he knew that they were supposedly good beings. But still, it was better not to get involved with such things – not when they are so far beyond knowledge. He had not had the opportunity to look for such a book; nor had he decided whether he actually would.
He looked around at the split logs scattered from the chopping block. It had gone fast, as it always did with such thoughts on his mind. Bregoàn would help him stack it… as soon as he came back. He sighed, he really needed to talk to that boy. The dusk was already falling and the first star had sprung into the sky, before the familiar form of the boy came traipsing through the dusty courtyard.
