Echoes of a Fallen Dawn

Jaune watched as the two women left, then looked back at Kali and Ghira. “You’re not going to let those crazy dogs hurt me, are you?” Kali shook her head. “No, dear, not at all. If the Dreadmaws or Volkhunds were going to hurt you, they would havealready.I know that’s probably not much of a comfort, but I promise that they won’t hurt you. I’m not going to allow my dogs to hurt somebody that I’ve taken into my home of my own free will. We can andwillhelp people coming into the city, seeking a new life. Wehavehad our dogs kill people before but it’s only been burglars attempting to steal our riches and such. People who sought to harm us in some shape, way, or form.” “You’re right; it’s not much of a comfort.” He sighed. He really just wished that he could be in a place where he could have a normal life… He should never have left his family to become a Solaris Knight. He had sent home money in order to help support them, but now, he needed every copper that he could scrape together in order to support himself. Kali’s offer really was generous… He wasn’t going to complain about getting a good salary for what was relatively easy work for him. He might find something else that paid better here, but for now, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Kali gave him a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, dear. You’re welcome to explore the property or go off as you need. Do you have any specific supplies or anything you need?” “Not right now. Though I could definitely use some new clothes…” He shook his head. He hadsomeclothes that he could wear, but he’d been severely limited by his saddlebags and needing to carry food for Quick Ranger as well as himself. He had only a few outfits and hadn’t been able to wash them in quite a long time. Now that he was somewhere he could have room, he needed to have more… He also needed work clothes as well as daily clothes for when he went out on the town. Stablehand business was dirty work, so he would definitely need clothes to cycle through and wash on a weekly basis or so. But he really didn’t have the money to do that… He had barely enough for some food. “Oh, that’s not hard then, dear.” Kali got in her pocket and took out a coin purse, then took out five silvers. He blinked and stared at her, wide eyed. “But I haven’t even done a full day’s work for you!” Kali smiled. “It’s a gift. I don’t expect any sort of repayment. Just use it to get whatever you need in terms of clothes. Keep the extra.” Her amber eyes twinkled merrily in the light. “I— Thank you, ma’am.” He bowed his head. He couldn’t believe he had wound up with such a kind matron. He wasn’t certain about the brick wall of a man sitting next to her, but if Kali was anything to go off of, he would likely be kind too… “It’s really no trouble, dear. Right, Ghira?” Ghira nodded, his face and eyes warm. “She’s right. We really have no desire to make our employees suffer long termorshort term. We give gifts freely because wecan.Of course, we don’t let our employees take advantage of our kindness, but in this case, it’s not really doing that. You have a legitimate need. Being a stablehand is dirty business and you’ll need new clothes for it… Those old, dusty traveling clothes won’t be good for the long term.” “Thank you…” He really couldn’t believe their kindness. He had definitely seen some older servants while he had been heading out to the barn this morning and it seemed like they’d been there for alongtime. He could definitely understand that now. Very few in the upper rungs of the Magisterium would care about a Bound person like him. He wasn’t Unwoven, but he might as well be. He had magic but couldn’t really use it any longer. He’d been almost entirely trained as a Solaris Knight, but now…he could only work with horses. It hurt, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. His injury made it too hard for him to keep up with the Knights and doing any sort of long-term riding. Walking was frankly easier. “It’s really no trouble. Have you already done your work for the morning?” Ghira asked. Jaune nodded. “I took care of the horses this morning.” “Then go out and have some time for yourself. Get whatever clothes you need.” He smiled warmly at Jaune. Jaune nodded a bit. This really felt too good to be true, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He really was glad to have found such kind employers that would treat him well. He had gotten up early and taken care of the horses with the help of the other stablehand. She was teaching him the ropes and what each horse needed. Orchid had refused feed that morning, though, which meant they’d need to ask Weiss what all he needed. He’d just outright refused whatever grain they had given him. Although he’d at least taken hay which was good… He didn’t want Orchid to starve. Unfortunately, Weiss and Blake had left so fast that he’d not gotten a chance to ask about it. “Thank you very much.” He and the Belladonnas fell quiet while he finished up what remained of his meal, and then he went out and saddled Quick Ranger. He headed out to town where he found some half-decent clothes and boots that would help keep him going for a while. He had already done his work for the morning, so he wasn’t entirely certain what to do with himself… He was used to staying for maybe a week or two in smaller towns and then moving on when he felt he had enough to get to the next town. Those smaller towns were very hesitant to allow him in and stay, so that was why he’d come to Elodria… It would be easier to find steady work here. He just hoped he wouldn’t be perceived as slacking… There was another stablehand that helped him which he was glad for… He just didn’t know how to fill most of his time. Maybe he ought to just check the hoof work that had last been done. Horses only needed work done every so often but their hooves could definitely get overgrown. Plus, he wasn’t sure what each horse needed individually, so getting used to their hooves and examining them each and everyday would be very beneficial. Their usual farrier would have to teach himexactlywhat they needed, but for right now, he could figure things out by himself. He picked up Azaryon and headed out to the barn with his tools. They had quite the number of horses here and their manor was large. They had somewhere probably around two dozen horses which was a large amount for a singular family. Granted, one of them belonged to Weiss, but Orchid would still be under his care. The horse had refused his feed this morning which was incredibly frustrating, but there wasn’t much that he could do about it until Weiss came home. He would have to ask her what Orchid usually ate… He didn’t know anything about Solthari Skyborn since they weresucha rare breed. Few people could safely stay in the Aetherreach Highlands from what he’d heard. He could barely barely believe that she had a Solthari Skyborn. They were an unusual breed and not much was known about them… Orchid was still ahorsein the end, but he wasn’t sure if the stallion had any special needs or anything. He started leading the horses into their stalls one by one, looking over their feet and seeing what exactly was going on with them. They were all in good shape and they didn’t currently need any work. Still, it was good to get a look at them and see how they were growing and learning what he would need to do in the long run for them. It looked like they had just gotten their feet taken care of recently, so he wouldn’t need to do anything with them anytime soon. He wanted to know who their main farrier was and what exactly they did for the horses individually… That wouldn’t be the prime concern today, but maybe he could get the farrier’s contact information in a few days and see if they could come over to the residence to show Jaune what the individual horses needed. However, he stopped and paused when he saw an unusual horse, even moreso than Orchid. This horse wasn’t the usual, stocky, muscular warcharger he was used to like Quick Ranger; this was a very slender horse, more deerlike than horse-like. It probably couldn’t bear much, if any, weight on its slender frame. It was a silvery horse that looked almost like moonlight trapped in the furt itself with honeyed eyes. It was honestly breathtaking. It walked over to him and nibbled at his tunic sleeve over the fence. It gave off a soft energy, unlike any horse that he’d ever encountered before. It was very strange. Something told him he didn’t even need a halter. So he opened the gate and the horse walked out—he could tell it was a mare. He nodded to her and she nodded back in quiet understanding. He led her to the barn and to a stall. He looked at her feet which were, thankfully, not unlike any other horse’s except they were far more slender and light. But the overall anatomy wasn’t any different, but he would have to be careful when he trimmed her; the smaller hooves would be easier to pick and potentially harm. After checking all the horses, it was well into midday and he could feel hunger pricking at his stomach again. He went back into the manor home with Azaryon on his arm. He went to the kitchens and asked for a meal which he definitely needed. No, he hadn’t used a ton of work or anything like that, but it was still a fair bit of energy to walk back and forth between the pastures and barn like that so many times. He also needed a rest; not necessarily a nap, but a rest. The meal would provide him with rest and a chance to catch his breath. He sat down in the nook that he’d been at beforehand and had his meal placed in front of him. Kali came in shortly afterward and sat with him. “Oh, hello again, Jaune. How has today been treating you?” “Fairly good. I got what I needed in terms of clothes. Did…you want the change back?” He hadn’t spent the entirety of the five silvers, so he wasn’t sure if she wanted it back. She had said to consider it a gift, but still… The honest thing to do was to return the money to her. He would’ve preferred to keep it for an emergency especially until he got paid again in a week. He had no idea if he’d need anything… But it was Kali’s money, not his. She shook her head. “Feel free to keep it, dear; it was a gift. However much you had left over won’t impact me. Plus, you won’t get paid until week’s end. Just keep it to tide you over until you get paid again, and then you can save it afterward. It’s really not a big deal.” “Thank you.” He paused. “By the way, what’s up with the incredibly strange horse I met? She has amber eyes and her fur is like moonlight.” He hoped he wasn’t overstepping here… He really did need to know about the individual horses. Most were stock standard breeds that didn’t stand out too much; they might even be mixed breeds. He didn’t really know or care. But that mare had stood out for how slender and gentle she was. She responded well to his gentle touch and she hadn’t needed a halter. She seemed just as intelligent as Orchid; those eyes were incredibly expressive and intelligent. He had never seen a horse with amber eyes like that before. It was incredibly strange, but she was absolutely beautiful. “Oh that’s Eirith. She’s some sort of lost, ancient horse breed. Ghira befriended her when he was young, and she’s stuck with him all of this time. She was with him when I met him. She’s a very gentle girl and won’t take to being handled roughly. She’s a very sweet girl. Please do take care to handle her gently. She can’t support my weight and isn’t really a beast of burden in the way normal horses are, let alone the warchargers you’re used to in the Solaris Knights. She’s more of a companion than anything else.” Jaune nodded. “Weiss already asked me to treat Orchid kindly, so I already have it noted. Though…she’s intelligent. More intelligent than the average horse. More like Orchid.” Kali nodded. “Ghira called Eirith’s breed a Dewmane because of how they live in the swamps and the dew on their manes looks like starlight. She’s a very beautiful horse.” Jaune nodded. “She didn’t even require a halter when I took her to and from the pasture. I’ve never seen a horse do that before.” The Radian Equenor was a smart breed, but they were still prone to normal horse things like bolting and spooking despite their extreme amount of training. Horses that weren’t hyper intelligent like some breeds were still prone to normal horse behaviors. He still needed to use reins and a bit with Quick Ranger especially in combat situations… Or at least, hehadneeded it until his injury. He hated that he had never been a full-fledged Knight, but injuries did happen… At least he’d been allowed to keep Quick Ranger. Radiant Equenors were definitely among the most intelligent of horse breeds, but they could still be prone to bolting and spooking. “Dewmanes don’t need any sort of rough handling like I said. Eirith tends to dim if we put a halter on her. She considers it far too rough of handling.” Kali shook her head, ears flapping a little. “She can understand speech and extremely complex commands. But she does need constant human or Faunus interaction to remain happy. Thankfully, Ghira and I are retired, so we can spend a lot of time with her. You’ll also be able to spend time with her as well.” Jaune nodded. “All right then. I won’t be rough with her whatsoever. I’m used to having to be somewhat rough with Quick Ranger. He can understand speech and complex commands as well, but I need to keep him reined and bitted for combat situations. I could probably just use a neck rope with him at this point, but he’s used to that sort of handling due to his training.” Radiant Equenors were good horses and their bloodlines were not sullied by outside lines. Only a certain amount of males produced were able to stay as stallions for breeding. Quick Ranger was a gelding because they simply didn’t need a bunch of stallions, and too many would lead to issues. Their breeding was carefully controlled and their bloodlines kept track of so that way inbreeding wouldn’t occur. Kali nodded. “Yeah, that sort of rough handling would make a Dewmane dim considerably. Wecan’thave you doing that with her.” “I won’t; I promise.” He offered a hesitant smile. Kali’s smile stayed on her face. She really was as warm as one could possibly be. She was a kind woman. A lot of people wouldn’t be willing to give him money to go shopping, or keep what remained in order to tide him over until he got paid again later in the week. She was an extremely kind woman. He would still have to search for work outside of the manor home, but right now, he was happy to just stay here and work for them. “Though it will be a change for me… She’s so dainty compared to Quick Ranger.” Kali nodded. “Yes, she is. I don’t know who bred such a dainty horse. It’s really strange one would breed a horse that can’t really carry much weight at all. Horses are supposed to be beasts of burden, but Eirith thrives on interaction. Ghira always spends at least an hour with her a day since he’s her person. I would appreciate it if you could also spend time with her throughout the day. It can just be for ten minutes here or there, though.” She continued to smile. Jaune nodded. “All right then. I’ll keep it in mind.” It was strange that such a dainty horse existed, but if it was what his job required of him, he wouldn’t say anything against it. He really wanted to be able to make sure he did what his pay was worth. Today had been about getting set up and settled in. It was well into the afternoon now. The horses wouldn’t need to be fed again until tomorrow, at least not with grain. It was still only early spring, so there wasn’t a lot of grass yet. He would need to keep them topped up with hay even in the field, but he had put out enough hay to last them until they came in for the night. Well, he needed to get back to work, so he headed back out to the stable.

Σ

Weiss’ eyes started to blear over as she looked at the documents. She rubbed them, wetness coming from them. These old documents were hard to look at at times and she was really having a hard time keeping her attention right now. She wasn’t sure what time it was or anything like that. It couldn’t be time to leave because Blake would’ve come to get her. This room had no windows since light was an enemy to paper. Granted, more than one book had been so decrepit that it’d turned to dust in her hands. It hurt her heart to see books in such bad shape, but the Emberfang Legion had apparently been more focused on their Echo Archive than their standard one. She really hated how bad this all was. She put the book she was reading down on the table, leaving it open and picked up the illuminator. There was no reason to use flame when those existed. Magical lamps that ran on power beyond her reckoning. She could’ve figured them out if she wanted to—she was a talented enough mage—but she just had no desire to. She’d leave that to the mages who worked with such things. She was just glad coaches existed because traveling by horse in rain sucked. She really detested it. She left the archive and wandered the halls a bit, needing to let her mind have a bit of a break. She found her way to the cafeteria where she saw people scattered about tables. Some were dressed in uniforms, some in civilian clothing. She went over to the serving counter and had it confirmed she could eat there, so she grabbed herself a couple plates, a tray, and piled on the food. She hadn’t eaten since that morning, so she definitely needed to eat something. The sun shone in the windows and revealed it to be past midday so she definitely could use something to eat. She saw Blake sitting at a table and went over to sit next to her. “Hey, is this seat taken?” she asked. Blake blinked but shook her head. “No, go ahead.” She motioned to the chair that was open next to her. Weiss sat down and looked around. “Well, it’s definitely odd to see the military mingling with civilians…” Blake shrugged. “The Emberfangs aren’t super hung up on pomp and circumstances like a lot of other orders. I’ve heardawfulthings about the Obsidian Oath.” She shook her head. “It’s the place where Unwoven go to be broken or die. There’s no in between.” Weiss nodded a bit. “Yeah… It’s sad that it happens. Unwoven couldstillbe useful to their families, but Great Houses especially don’t want to ‘waste’ resources on children that don’t naturally have the spark for magic.” Nytheris could be a great place, but like any society, it had its dark side. Unwoven were considered to be dregs. Weiss was pretty sure even the Schnee family wasn’t immune to sending Unwoven to the Obsidian Oath. She was pretty certain her mother wouldneverhave sent her siblings to somewhere as unrelenting as the Obsidian Oath. Weiss had been born an Astral Weaver rather than a Liminal Mage like the rest of her family, and her mother had accepted that. Weiss could’ve learned to be a Liminal Mage instead, but she had gone after Astral Weaving. At least until she got sick of dealing with the incredible vagaries that came with dealing in fate and nudging things so that way they were more favorable. She wanted a quiet life that dealt with concrete facts, not the movements of the stars and the unknowable will of the Arcanum Lords. “It really is. I don’t think my parents would ever do that, but…” Blake frowned. “You never know. At least me and my siblings were all born with Echo Keeping.” Weiss nodded. “I was born an Astral Weaver instead of a Liminal Mage, but my mother and father loved me all the same.” She was really glad for that. Sometimes, Great Houses would still ostracise children that weren’t born with the ‘correct’ type of magic. She had run into plenty of people that bore the names of Great Houses but were beggars on the street or struggling to get by on day-to-day payment because they’d been cast out of their home for having the ‘wrong’ type of magic. Magicwassociety and falling outside of the bounds of what was acceptable was generally deemed rebellion or disfavor from the Arcanum Lords. It really sucked that people could be so wrapped up and shallow as to not accept people just because they were born a little bit differently… “Well, that’s definitely good. I know a lot of Great Houses wouldn't think or behave the same.” She had heard a lot of things about the Schnee family, though none of it was really good… It was weird to think that this was the family that terrorised other people. She really had no idea what to make of it. Blake’s own family was pretty good and didn’t turn children away. Her mother and father were too kind for that…right? She didn’t want to think lesser of her parents or that they’d turn a child away. Kali welcomed so many people new to Elodria with open arms. She had just hired that new stablehand yesterday and he was new to the city. Until he could find more stable employment, he would be welcome at Belladonna manor for the foreseeable future. Weiss nodded. “Yeah… Thankfully my mother and father are loving people and do their best to help others when at all possible.” That wasn’t what Blake had heard… The Schnee family was infamous for pushing people away and being backstabbing traitors. Apparently, Weiss had had a different encounter with her family. Then again, it might not be so different. They could be two sides to the same coin. Blake just really didn’t know what to make of this. The Schnee family went back as far as anybody could really remember. Weiss seemed relatively kind and well adjusted despite everything she’d heard about the Schnee family. Weiss smiled sheepishly. “By the way, sorry again about springing it on you that I needed somewhere to stay.” Blake shrugged. “It’s really no big deal. Mother is slowly transitioning me into leadership of the household, but for right now, it’s still her home.” It was a lot to take on leadership of the household for Blake. Her mother had been the matriarch for so long. There was so much to handle and she had control of the Emberfang Legion now. Her parents had both retired several years back after slowly weaning off duties themselves. It was a lot to put on Blake, but she had handled them incredibly well. She had been doing the job with the Emberfangs by herself for a good three years now. The household side of things, though… Well, those were coming a lot slower. Day to day required a lot of oversight and Blake really only grasped maybe 20% of the daily duties. “We’re happy to have you.” Weiss nodded a bit, tucking some of her shoulder-length hair behind her ear. “All right… I still feel bad for this, though. I don’t know why I suddenly got kicked out.” “Who knows. People are weird.” Blake shrugged. She wasn’t trying to minimimse what Weiss had gone through. If Blake hadn’t have been there, Weiss likely would've needed to find an inn to stay out. But since she was here long term, it wasn’t exactly economical to stay in an inn the whole time. “We’re happy to have people stay with us long term or short term. If there was one thing my mother taught me, it was keep an open-door policy for people. As long as they’re contributing somehow, they’re free to stay.” Weiss frowned at that and it wasn’t hard for Blake to sense her thoughts.“Youhave a job with the Legion. You don’t have to contribute to the day-to-day runnings and duties of the house.” “Are you sure? I’m not afraid to help out…” Blake shook her head. “No, it’s not necessary, Weiss. You already have a lot on your plate and you don’t need to add more.” Running the house was practically a job unto itself. Kali was slowly putting more on Blake to do, but it would take several more years before Blake could effectively run the household by herself. Kali would be there until the day that she died, though. Blake wouldn’t be without her mother until Xyphos the Deathforger took her himself. Kali was a stubborn woman even if it didn’t seem like it. Blake knew just how intense her mother could be. She both loved and respected her mother as well as feared her to some degree. She was a good woman for certain, but absolutely and utterly terrifying under the right circumstances. “Well, all right then…” Blake smiled, ears twitching. “It’s fine, Weiss; I promise. Plus I have my siblings to help me. Siamion, Castor, and Yasmina are all on their own with their own jobs, but I have Laelius, Soraya, Sprita, and Aviya around. Granted, Aviya and Sprita are still pretty young…” There were some large age gaps in the family but her mother hadn’t had another child for a long time and was well past childbearing age at this point. But the others were around Blake’s age and able to help out around the house. She just hadn’t expected her older siblings to leave the job of running the house toherwas the main thing… It normally went to the oldest child, Siamion this case, but he had left and struck out on his own a long time ago. Weiss nodded. “Alll right then.” She fell silent and focused on her meal. Blake followed her example and they finished up eating. If Weiss didn’t want to talk, no point in forcing it. She just didn’t want Weiss to feel likeshe hadto help out with something that was Blake’s responsibility at this point. Well, not entirely, but close enough. Plus, Weiss probably wouldn’t be here forever; there was no point in pushing her to learn about the running of a household that would only be temporary. A few years, maybe, to get the archive up and organised, but temporary all the same. Weiss was of a Great House, so Blake knew that being with her family would be important. The bell tolled the end of the lunch hour and Blake sighed. Dealing with all of the memories in the Archive was rough… This past campaign had been especially rough on the Emberfangs. So many good men and women had died, and there was nothing they could do about it. Blake picked her tray up and dropped it off where it could be cleaned, then headed back to the Archive. No point in delaying the inevitable really… The Legion needed their memories dealt with and she was the only one that could do it.