Trigger warning - Bigotry

LUDZ

Ludz shook his head. Vince was not making this easy. His constant rejection of their reality almost made him wish he hadn’t convinced Handi to give Vince a chance. Handi was cautious at best to newcomers her age. She didn’t even like Fiu when he first arrived and they were children.

He sighed. Ludz put down his bowl by his feet and picked up the stick they used for the first. He poked at it, making the fire burn bigger and brighter in the growing night. The flames hissed. The silence made him feel comfortable. Better than arguing.

“Where’d the little kids go? Shouldn’t they be eating?” Vince asked, his voice was strong but pompous. His first impression of Vince wasn’t good. He reminded too much of the rich aristocrats he had been dragged to perform to. It was difficult for him to bite back the bias, but he tried to keep in mind how he had come to the island, scared and alone. 

Vince had finished his bowl and another one, losing his wariness of eating after tasting how good Fiu’s cooking tasted. 

“They’re not ready yet,” Ludz said, though if they took much longer he may have to drag them out to eat, or at least Fiu would. The sooner the kids did their performance the sooner he could get out of this awkward dinner. Fiu began picking up empty bowls, he didn’t look ready to ruin his sister’s fun either.

“They do this sort of thing every so often,” Fiu explained. Fiu’s voice had a calming effect on everyone. It was soft and understanding. Even when he was angry he never raised his voice and could express himself with a maturity Ludz had never seen before. 

“What sort of thing?”

“I am sworn to secrecy on this one. Will can get upset if I ruin his surprises,” Fiu said Ludz guessed Fiu helped them with the costumes.

Vince looked like he was about to say something but a tapping from one of the shacks interrupted him. Ludz flipped his empty bowl upside down. Fiu quickly took another seat on the other side of Vince, putting Vince between himself and Ludz.

“That’s my cue,” Ludz said. Finally, the night would be over soon. Handi would get a night to cool her head, and he’d get to figure out if she was really right about Vince. He starts drumming a steady beat on the bowl.

Conni and Tama ran out of a shack, wearing bright colorful robes. Will trailed behind holding Yeshua’s hand. They stood confidently before the fire in front of the others. 

For a moment the night was silent except for the sturdy beat of the makeshift drum. Conni stepped forward, golden yellow robe dragging along the dirt floor. She put her hand over her heart. 

Yeshua sat on the ground and watched the performance, despite being one of the actors. Ludz’ attention drifted to the audience. Handi was already smiling.

“I am the great Gahoren, god of life,” Conni said, with the confidence only a god can have. Vince’s jaw dropped. Here we go again.

“What blaspha-” he started. Ludz promptly elbowed him in the gut not missing a beat.

Conni pointed to Yeshua and Tama who both wear green robes.

Will, in a blue robe, began narrating, in the most dramatic way he could manage. “These two brothers are always fighting.” 

The stage had a moment of awkward silence. Will poked Tama’s arm and whispered, “Fight.”

Tama nodded and lightly tapped Yeshua’s arm. The audience stifled laughter. Yeshua didn’t respond. Conni put her hand to her forehead dramatically and cried out, in the most monotone voice, “Why, oh, why do my children fight.”

This time the audience couldn’t stop their laughter. Will was the only one with a drama bone.

They fought and fought until they both layed dead,” Will exclaimed. Tama dropped to the ground in a dramatic death. Yeshua once again didn’t move. 

“And so I cry,” Conni said, and continued to do her best impression of a fake cry, that wasn’t that good. The audience chuckled again, all but Vince. Ludz kept his eye on him. 

Ludz steadily watched Vince’s expressions as he mindlessly beat the makeshift drums for the children. His reactions were something he was distantly familiar with in what seemed like another life. The bitter memories returned to him as fresh as the ocean breeze blowing him to his past.

The disgusted glares of passersby at fresh Agostagian slaves on the street. Whispers from his country's natives mocked their not-so-distant neighbors. The hymns of his weekly family visits to the kirshe were laced with a vile history of the recent past. The pride in their religion and rituals disturbed him. Ludz was well aware that if he had stayed in that environment longer than he did in his youth he may have treated Stein the same and scowled at the children's creative interpretation of what he had grown up to believe was this world's most popular religion.

In his travels, the songs of Gahoren were the most popular. They were low and melancholy full of history and warning. He had only learned songs of Liebe on the ships. Sailors praised the goddess with their music filled with her vibrant freedom. Somedays he missed traveling, others he was happy to shove the memories into the past and leave them there. 

Will stepped forward to center stage. “And from my father’s tears I, the great Lieba, am born, the greatest goddess of the sea who will bring peace to the lands. The end,” he said. The actors all did a quick bow and then ran to the stew pot. Fiu already has his ladle ready as they rush to be first. Vince stared at them in awe. While the others did a half-assed clap.

Ludz flipped his bowl back over and yawned. What an exhausting day it had been. Handi stood up and went to help Fiu with feeding the kiddos. She picked up Yeshua with a big smile.

“I don’t know why I’m even surprised after I met the kirze,” Vince said. Luds looked back to him, to find Vince shaking his head. He was glad to see Stein still absorbed in his new book, oblivious to the world. Ayn seemed to have snuck back up to her tree while no one paid attention, leaving him to deal with Vince alone.

Ludz stood up straight making him tower over Vince still sitting. “Vince, I’m willing to give you some leniency here,” he said firmly. “New place, new people, new rules. I get it. But, there is a line. Don’t cross it.”

“You’re all savages, living with a kirze,” Vince said.

Ludz chuckled, but his expression remained serious. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. Just the way Vince said those words sent shivers of rage down Ludz’ spine. “Better get use to it. You’re in the workshop with us tonight,” he said.

“What?!”

Ludz raised an eyebrow as if to ask, ‘You got a problem?’

Vince backtracked. “With the- With him?” He nudged his head towards Stein.

Good he wasn’t completely hopeless. This Ludz could work with.

Stein looked up from his book. “Is it over, can I go back to Maj now?” He asked.

Ludz ruffled his blonde hair and extended a hand to Vince. “Come on. You’re done right?” 

Vince denied his hand and stood on his own. He followed Ludz toward the workshop, which was the biggest shack in their little camp. It sat in the center with dozens of wires leading out of it. Maybe Vince would be forced to change his mind about Stein once they went inside.