Chapter 9: Dear To You

Tears rolled down his trembling face as he raged in silence. While he was curled into a ball and the snowflakes stacked on his shoulders only grew.

“Hey kid, You can catch a cold out here if you’re just outside like this.”

The voice sounded deep and direct.

He turned his head behind him to see an elderly man with a long white beard stretching down to his chest. Wearing dirty clothing as much as any vagabond in Thorinhil, while carrying a large, thick sword, almost half the size of a grown man. A large backpack was strapped to his side, almost bursting from the seams.

The man he would soon affectionately refer to as Mister Fluff and Puff.

He extended his hand out to the dumbfounded child and had a big fat cheesy grin on his face.

“You have no need to fear me, I’m simply a wandering no-home-having fellow like yourself. Come with me, I can’t give you a home. But I can show you how to survive without one!”

Soon the two of them were in an alley which protected them from the elements from the snow storm. 

“What’s your name, boy?”

“T-Teus!”

“Do you know how to keep a fire going, Teus?”

“N-no, I only know how to treasure-hunt.”

“Alright, I’ll show you, listen closely.”

After some time, a fire was burning passionately in front of the old man as he carefully gave Teus instructions.

“Keep your body blocking the breeze, wind steals heat.”

“Yessir…”

“Make sure you feed it with wood chips sparingly. Don’t get greedy and try to make it too big.”

“Yessir…”

“If you see some snow getting on the sticks over there, tap it off so it doesn't get to the flames.”

They continued to go over the basics as Teus tried his hardest to remember every word. His mind raced with thoughts.

“This could be the last time I ever meet somebody like this again. I need to imprint every word he says to me in my head as fast as I can!” 

The instructions continued and the boy listened attentively.

After a while the old man stopped talking. With a big huff he took out a pouch in his backpack that made Teus tilt his head sideways in confusion. His next words made Teus’ eyes light up.

“Alright, now that we have that settled. Let’s eat!”

As he rummaged through the linen sack in his hand, Teus’ grin slowly disappeared when he saw the old man pull out a dark, dead and disgusting chunky rat.

“...”

The old man pierced through the rat with a sharpened stick and placed him over the fire. His eyes staring at his soon to be meal with passion and eagerness. Teus almost barfed in response to the rodent.

“Wait, you’re actually being serious. You’re eating that thing!?”

“Do you have a better meal in mind…?” The old man responded flatly.

“I- I’d rather starve!” The child said instinctively, but before long, his stomach began to rumble. The old man stared at Teus for a little while before he eventually cracked. “On second thought, could you also show me how to cook one…?”

And so the child learned how to cook rats.

After a while of the two eating together the innate urge to pull away from the food he had prepared was subdued. Teus began to eat one rat, then another, and another.

“Do you have any more?” He asked with rat guts rolling down on the side of his lips. The old man had a hardy laugh.

“Haha! What happened!? I thought you didn’t like them?”

“Please!” Teus begged.

“Fine, there are a couple more in the pouch, grab as many as you like!”

Without hesitation he grabbed the bag and began to cook more of the previously unsavory rats.

“Hey… I’ve been meaning to ask you this. But why have you been so…nice to me? Usually people see a peasant like me and wouldn’t think twice about it, maybe spare some bread or something. But you’re really going the extra mile.”

The old man bit into his rat, and with a saddened face, munched on it before he answered.

“...Is that what this is called out here? Just because the world was taken over by dragons, doesn’t mean we have to act like them, ya know.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When people are in situations like peasants like us, all of a sudden everyone forgets about their morals. It became all about trying to live and not what people want to live for. I’m just doing what any decent person should do.”

“What do you mean what people should do? Like their purpose?”

“Huh? no. Like the right thing? The ethical thing, a good deed?”

“How do you know what’s right?”

“The best way I can describe it is like a feeling in your heart. Your morals are in your heart.”

“I don’t feel anything in my heart but blood pumping. How do I find my morals?”

“no, not like that! Like how would you feel if instead of helping you out back there, I just left you like how you said other people do.”

“I’d feel… pretty hungry, cold and sad.”

“Exactly, why should you feel that way, when I know I can help you?”

“Because if you help me too much then you might not be able to help yourself. At least that’s what all the other grown-ups say.”

The old man scoffed in disgust.

“That’s pathetic, fear should never stop you from trying to protect a human life! It’s worth so much more than that!”

Teus appeared puzzled.

“Worth? Like treasure?”

“...So, you’re saying that protecting my life is worth more to you than securing your own?”

“I’ll find another way to see tomorrow if I use up all my resources on you today, but it’s too cold hearted to sit back and watch somebody struggle in need! Human life should hold more value to people than for them to just turn a blind eye.”

“The way he sees things is completely different than everyone else in Thorinhil…it’s actually the exact opposite. Wait, hold more value to people…?”

“Um, are you saying, whatever you value is the right thing? Or erm… the things you value most are your morals?”

The old man’s eyes nearly jumped for joy as Teus finally understood.

“Yes, that’s exactly it! That was the hardest thing to teach you so far!”

Though after his revelation, Teus did not look anywhere near as pleased, instead a single tear dropped from his eye as he stared into the fire. His gaze was filled with sorrow. This caught the old man off guard.

“W-what’s wrong?”

Teus responded without looking him in the eyes. Showing a wry smile as he softly chuckled and explained.

“...It’s nothing. It’s just, I think I get why it took me so long to get it mister. Everyone here calls me nothing but a worthless peasant…Nobody has ever really valued me for anything and I don’t think I’ve ever even had anything of worth. So it makes sense why they don’t have the morals that you're talking about.”

He bit his lip as he looked into the fire. Not breaking his gaze for anything. The old man watched and let out a deep sigh. He placed his hand on Teus’ head and gently ruffled his hair.

“It appears not. But that’s no reason for you to not value your own life and take it into your hands. While everyone is too scared to do anything but attempt to live, you can be brave enough to decide what you want to do. Truly, dare to live in a dying world. Or even dream for a better one.”

Teus coughed as he wiped away his tears.

“I don’t need you to tell me to be brave. Just you wait, some day I’ll be worth more than this worthless peasant that you see in front of you today. I told you that I hunt treasure didn’t I? Someday I’ll find the King’s Crest, the world's most valuable treasure on Gayeal and everyone will have to value me! We’ll see who’s worthless then!”

“...”

“...”

“That’s quite the dream to have…I don’t see why you need to see yourself as worthless now.” The old man remarked.

The coughing got more intense from Teus as he fervently replied.

“Well I do, I need proof. Without that, my goal is just a silly little dream!”

The side of the old man’s fist gently smacked itself on top of Teus’ head, the sudden pain interrupting his thoughts.

“Don’t underestimate the power of dreams…”

Teus looked at the old man blankly as he continued.

“The only reason we are alive today is because of the dreams of people who came before us. Without people’s dreams of surviving despite all odds or their dreams of making order out of chaos, we would have died to the dragons a long time ago. Long ago one man dreamed of building a house, the next dreamed of making towns, the next after that dreamed of a kingdom. Maybe dreams without proof are indeed just dreams, but to achieve grand goals your dreams are the fuel and hope that’s needed in order to turn ideas into reality. Dreamers move the world.”

“...Uh, I don’t really get it.”

The old man sighed, this time not having enough patience to properly explain the subject.

“In simple terms, there is nothing more valuable in this world than a dreamer!”

“...”

“…”

“As if! There’s no way I’d believe that! Dreamer or not, you still need proof that something is worth something!”

The two sat in silence as the wind howled against them. Teus sneezed as the gust increased in power before he wiped his nose with his sleeve.

“You bring up a fair point.” The old man began to rummage through his bag. “There is a big difference in theory and practice. If something exists then there should be proof. So I’ll give you something to always prove its existence.”

He pulled out a purple scarf and wrapped it around Teus' neck.

“It’s so warm…”

“It’s extra valuable because it’s purple!” He chuckled.

“No way, really?”

“It is, purple is a royal color, do you know why?”

“...No, why?”

“Because after dragons took over the world and humans scrambled to the corners of Gayeal, our ancestors made new kings and gave them crowns with purple fabric. Because back then, purple dye was the hardest color to make. So many people wanted it because it was rare. People find worth in things for the simplest of reasons. But that’s why it was valuable to them. This scarf will be valuable to you for another reason.”

“To keep me warm from the cold?”

“Partly, but I’m giving you this scarf so that you will always have a reminder. The food and warmth from today will fade, but that scarf will always remind you that whether or not you or anyone else sees you as valuable. You will always be more than a worthless peasant. If to nobody else, then at the very least to me…!”

Teus’ eyes widened as he tightly gripped the scarf and burst into tears. The entire treatment that the old man had given him made him crumble.

The old man laughed as he lightly tugged on the boy’s scarf.

“Now you’ll be forced to see yourself as worthwhile from now on, huh?”

“But it’s not fair…!”

The old man’s ears perked up for a moment. Watching the child wipe the slobber from his face as he continued.

“Kind people like you are out here in the cold with me. While those jerks who say mean things to me are inside all nice and comfy! What part of that is fair!?”

“The moral road isn’t always rewarding.”

“Why shouldn’t it be!?”

Teus slammed his fists into the surface of his thighs. The tears had finally begun to stop flowing, replaced with a more stoic expression.

“Now I’m certain of it! When I find the King’s Crest, I’m gonna prove that we’re all more than just worthless peasants… Because now I know they’re wrong, after meeting somebody like you, there’s no way they’re right! I’ll prove them all wrong! This time for me and you!”

The old man playfully placed his fist on top of Teus’ head, almost as if to bring him back into reality.

“Stop talking like that, kiddo. The king’s crest is way too dangerous a goal for a child like you! You’re crazy if you think I’d sit back and watch you do something as reckless as that!”

His voice only carried more authority with the next coming words.

“If you’re dead set on it, then your path means you have to go through me…!”

Teus' expression faded as his gaze met the old man’s. A couple moments pass, as though the child were checking to see if he was serious before he dutifully nodded his head.

“Then it's decided…I’ll train to hunt the king’s crest with you as my teacher, mister!”

“Ah, no you’re completely misunderstanding what I meant!”